The death of Moment founder Leonard “Leibel” Fein last week marked a major loss for the Jewish world. An incisive literary voice and champion of social justice, Fein was “among the foremost of the so-called liberal Zionists … a social progressive, a fierce peacenik, a staunch defender of Israel and a shrewd observer of the American Jewish community,” wrote The New York Times. The Jewish Week recalled “his husky voice and articulate message on improving Jewish life by doing good for one’s fellow man.” And colleague Steven Cohen praised his talent for melding “dispassionate academic rigor and engaged social action” in The Jewish Daily Forward. At this time last year, Moment interviewed Fein on the magazine’s early days, and what he hoped to achieve with Moment. Here is an excerpt. How did Moment come to be born? I.F. Stone had...

Continue reading