Louis Keene is a reporter for the Forward. His work has also been published in The New York Times, New York Magazine and VICE. He is based in Los Angeles and can be followed on Twitter @thislouis.
Louis Keene
By Louis Keene
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News The Deni Diary: A star is born
This is the second installment of Deni Diary, a new weekly report about the rookie season of Deni Avdija, the Israeli basketball phenom who plays for the NBA’s Washington Wizards. Want these updates in your inbox? Click here to subscribe. December 25, 2020: The cedar of Lebanon The Washington Wizards have seven foreign-born players —…
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News Frum Flush: at World Series of Poker, an Orthodox Jew makes final table
It’s been all gimmels for Gershon Distenfeld at the 2020 World Series of Poker main event. The Orthodox Jewish resident of Bergenfield, New Jersey, is one of nine contestants to advance to the last round of the no-limit Texas Hold ‘em tournament, whose winner — considered to be the world champion of poker in a…
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News Yavneh, the school that sued California to reopen, has now closed due to COVID-19 cases
Yavneh Hebrew Academy, an Orthodox day school that sued the state of California in August for permission to reopen, has become the latest to shut down after confirming a number of Covid-19 cases on its campus. Yavneh had been one of several Orthodox schools in the area operating as a camp during county-mandated school closures,…
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News Los Angeles Jewish schools won the right to reopen. Then COVID-19 struck again.
A lawsuit against the state of California filed by Jewish schools in the Los Angeles area has expanded their legal footing for in-person activities, enabling them to bring more students to campus even as coronavirus cases surge. But the schools have not escaped the record-setting spike in California that has continued apace into December, and…
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News Protesters gather outside home of Jewish developer to block purchase of landmark Black mall
A dispute between Black community organizers and a developer who is poised to buy a beloved shopping mall brought scores of protesters to a heavily Jewish neighborhood in Los Angeles on Sunday, where they gathered outside the developer’s home to pressure him to back out of the deal. The developer, Asher Abehsera of the real…
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News Deni Avdija, ‘the greatest talent in Israeli basketball history’ joins the NBA
This story was updated to reflect breaking news. Deni Avdija, a 6’9” forward for Maccabi Tel Aviv, was selected ninth overall by the Washington Wizards at NBA Draft 2020, becoming the highest-drafted Israeli player ever and just the second Israeli player to be drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft. Avdija told a…
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Fast Forward The unlikely story of Ethan Berkowitz: restauranteur and Anchorage mayor, felled by sexting
Anchorage’s Jewish Mayor Ethan Avram Berkowitz announced his resignation Tuesday evening a day after a tumultuous weekend that started with anti-Semitic death threat and ended with admitting to a “consensual, inappropriate text message relationship” with a local TV reporter. That relationship turned hostile on Friday when the reporter, Maureen “Maria” Athens, posted a video to…
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News After son of criminal rabbi takes over Poway synagogue, some congregants quit
After a high-profile rabbi came under investigation for fraud, the rabbi’s son took over the synagogue and brought in three outsiders to set it straight. But the timing of the son’s takeover and the existence of his new board of directors was kept secret for months, leaving a congregation already shellshocked from an antisemitic attack…
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