Lauren Hakimi

The Guilty Pleasure of the Anti-Memoir - The Provincetown Independent I remember vividly the day I read my sister’s diary. I don’t remember what she wrote, but I remember the anxious urgency with which I turned each page, determined to […]

"I remember vividly the day I read my sister’s diary. I don’t remember what she wrote, but I remember the anxious urgency with which I turned each page, determined to cram as much reading in as possible before someone discovered my crime..."
provincetownindependent.org/local-journa...

Could dementia be the key to saving endangered Jewish languages? Sometimes when people's short-term memories begin to falter, they recall the first languages that they learned.

"One day, when Sabrina Hakim was out for a walk with her father, he started speaking a language she could not understand. Sabrina figured he must be speaking Judeo-Kashi, a variety of Judeo-Iranian. Her father spoke this language as a child in the Iranian city of Kashan before he moved to Tehran."

This is wild: "Since dementia affects shorter-term memory more than longer-term memory, it’s not unusual for multilingual people with dementia to begin speaking the language they learned first."

Via @forward.com and @laurenhakimi.bsky.social.

Could dementia be the key to saving endangered Jewish languages? Sometimes when people's short-term memories begin to falter, they recall the first languages that they learned.

I wrote about how dementia is helping some people preserve rare Judeo-Iranian languages. It's a story of intergenerational partnerships and how family bonds can get stronger even in the face of an awful disease. Check it out! @forward.com @jewishlanguageproj.bsky.social forward.com/culture/7739...

Do you go to a Halachic Egal or Trad Egal minyan? I'd love to hear from you for a story I'm working on. Chat me here or email: keene at forward dot com
-Louis

Why a little-known Jewish writer from Belgium went viral — and why you should read her too Harpman, a Belgian-Jewish writer who survived the Holocaust, wrote the novel 'I Who Have Never Known Men,' which has become a TikTok sensation

For @forward.com, I wrote about my newest favorite book, brought to me by the highbrow literary icons of.... you guessed it... TikTok

forward.com/culture/book...

Glad to hear!! I hope you like it!

On the border between hipster and Hasidic, a Brooklyn barbershop specializes in Orthodox haircuts For the Bukharian Jewish barbers at Kent Avenue Barbershop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, payot are no problem.

For @forward.com, I wrote about a bougie Williamsburg barber shop where Bukharian barbers cut hipster and Hasidic hair alike. Check it out!!

forward.com/culture/7551...

New film captures history of New York’s ‘Latino Borscht Belt’ “Villa Encanto” — financed by Lin-Manuel Miranda — tells the story of Ulster County’s Las Villas on the big screen.

Huge earrings, a vintage beehive coiffure, men in matching sparkly gold blazers. A new film full of bright colors and authentic throwback looks captures the rich history of Las Villas, the "Latino Borscht Belt." I wrote about "Villa Encanto" for @timesunion.com

www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley...

19 Naomis, 0 nametags: What happened when a group of Naomis met in Prospect Park - Jewish Telegraphic Agency A mysterious flyer brings a group of Naomis to Brooklyn to discuss Naomi Klein's "Doppelganger."

Have you seen the Naomi flyers floating around Brooklyn? Though not a Naomi myself, I made it my business to infiltrate their flock and report back to the non-Naomi community for @jta.org New York Jewish Week. Check it out: www.jta.org/2025/06/05/n...

Thank you!!

Barzakh's owner, El Atigh Abba, was born in Mauritania, where a local imam issued a fatwa against him because of his activism in the Arab Spring. This was probably one of the most mind-blowing sets of interviews I've ever done!

At this pro-Palestinian cafe, you can practice your Hebrew and imagine you're in Mauritania El Atigh Abba's Brooklyn cafe is an in-between place influenced by its owner's favorite cafe in his native Mauritania.

My newest for @forward.com: On its busy calendar of speed dating events, belly dancing performances and fundraisers for Palestinians, Brooklyn’s Barzakh Café has also hosted Jewish events, including interfaith Shabbat dinners and Mimouna celebrations

forward.com/culture/7207...

New Yorkers can bid on Ottessa Moshfegh’s toothbrush, Eddie Huang's boxers The live auction is April Fools’ day, but it’s no joke.

Ottessa Moshfegh's toothbrush, a signed box of laxatives, a fake Birkin bag, and more literary treasures will be up for auction on Tuesday in Manhattan. My story for @gothamist.com

gothamist.com/arts-enterta...

State Department plan to deport ‘pro-Hamas’ students relies on a 1952 law that targeted Jews Jewish Holocaust survivors suspected of being Soviet sympathizers were subject to the 1952 McCarran-Walter Act.

I wrote about how Trump is using a 1950s antisemitic law to target pro-Palestine student activists. For @forward.bsky.social

forward.com/news/702427/...

At a 'Sinners' Shabbat' in Brooklyn, the faithful gather for fire massages and human sushi platters When I arrived at the Brooklyn nightclub, a greeter checked my outfit. “Those jeans are black, not blue, right?” she asked. “Right,” I promised. For tonight’s “Sinners’ Shabbat” event, we were instruc...

"We were instructed to dress in 'fetishwear,' but I’m a fuddy-duddy Long Island girl whose only fetish is being attracted to men. Thankfully, the greeter didn’t seem to mind, or notice, my decidedly un-kinky Kate Spade loafers."

My latest for @forward.bsky.social

forward.com/culture/7004...

A new Hasidic community grows in Brownsville, Brooklyn - Jewish Telegraphic Agency Fleeing high housing prices in Crown Heights, some adherents of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement are moving further east to the formerly Jewish, now predominantly African-American neighborhood.

A new Hasidic community grows in Brownsville:

Fleeing high housing costs in Crown Heights, some Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidim are moving east to the formerly Jewish, now predominantly African American neighborhood.

My latest for the New York Jewish Week

www.jta.org/2025/03/06/n...

thank you for including me!!!

This is a great read about one of the many delightful things people invent to celebrate our city and its quirks.

Mr. Marathon Is a 26-Mile Tribute to Cheap Produce Mr. Marathon involves visiting all 13 stores in the Mr. Fruit chain, and buying (and consuming) a thematically appropriate product at each one.

Mr. Marathon Is a 26-Mile Tribute to Cheap Produce

Mr. Marathon Is a 26-Mile Tribute to Cheap Produce Mr. Marathon involves visiting all 13 stores in the Mr. Fruit chain, and buying (and consuming) a thematically appropriate product at each one.

For @hellgatenyc.com, I wrote about Mr. Marathon: a 26-mile run in honor of Mr. Fruit, a grocery store chain known for its cheap produce. "I will literally leave the USA if Mr. Kale closes," said one organizer as we trotted through Bed-Stuy at an 11-minute mile pace

hellgatenyc.com/mr-marathon-...

New Exhibit Explores NYCHA’s Open Spaces, Which Once Made Neighbors Jealous When first created in the 1930s, NYCHA devoted more attention to open spaces than other American housing authorities.

A new exhibition heaps praise on oft-criticized NYCHA, calling upon the authority’s proud origins to express a vision for what public housing might still be, despite challenges posed by climate change and chronic underfunding. @citylimitsnews.bsky.social

citylimits.org/2025/01/16/n...