Jewish teens across New York City have stories to tell. This is one of the reasons why we started the New York Jewish Week Teen Journalism Fellowship — to gain access to communities whose diverse perspectives are crucial in covering the full breadth of stories impacting the 1 million Jews across NYC.
Our current fellows comes to us from schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. You can read more about all 9 of them below.
Meet Our Fall 2024 New York Jewish Week Fellows
Gabriel Fassler (he/him) is a junior at the Packer Collegiate Institute and the Content Editor of his school’s newspaper. Gabriel is fascinated with politics and history, pursuing these interests through Harvard Model Congress and leading Packer Journal of History. Gabriel identifies strongly with his Judaism and leads a committee of 15 Jewish teens from around New York City devoted to combating antisemitism and supporting Israel. Gabriel rides horses competitively, plays tennis recreationally, and loves silver bracelets.
Abigail Kronenberg (she/her) is a senior at Townsend Harris High School in Flushing, Queens. Abby serves as the Managing Editor of The Classic Critic, an online review-based publication. Outside of journalism, she can be found on the soccer field with her teammates, in the front row at a concert, or trying new latte flavors.
Avery Simon (she/her) is a junior at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School in Bronx, New York. Avery writes for her school news paper “The Fieldston News,” and participates in the rube goldberg engineering club. She devotes much of her time to her engineering club and enjoys spending time with her friends and family.
Maayan Lerner (she/her) is a senior at Richard R. Green High School in downtown Manhattan. She serves as a Student Council Representative and is a co-founder and co-president of her school’s Jewish Student Union. She also participates in the Hartman Teen Fellowship, as well as volunteering as a senior board member at UJA PACT. In her free time, Maayan loves reading, biking through Central Park, and attending camp at Ramah in the Rockies.
Max Alperstein is a Jewish Latino high school senior in New York City. Raised in a single-parent household by his incredible mother, Max’s upbringing was filled with love and resilience. His experiences of navigating his American, Guatemalan, and Jewish identities have inspired him to embrace his unique cultural background. This journey led him to create Fearless Interventions, a podcast and creative outlet where he explores his thoughts, experiences, and identity while connecting with inspiring voices from the Jewish world. Max is passionate about music, acapella, graphic design, and video editing, all of which come to life in Fearless Interventions.
Jonah Bryfman (he/him) is a sophmore at Beacon High School in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan. Jonah is the sports columnist for his school’s newspaper, The Beacon Beat. When he isn’t writing juicy articles about colorful sports icons, you can find him shredding on his guitar to classic rock bangers or nervously adjusting one of his many fantasy league rosters.
Lior Austrian-Jacobs (she/her) is a sophomore at the High School of American Studies at Lehman College. She writes for the HSAS newspaper, Common Sense, and participates in the Jewish Student Union and Community Service Club. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music, baking and reading her favorite books.
Renata Firestone (she/her) is a junior at Stuyvesant High School, where she writes in the arts and entertainment section of the Stuyvesant Spectator. In addition to writing, Renata enjoys bad sitcoms and iced tea.
Gershon Leib (he/him) is a sophomore at the Abraham Joshua Heschel School on the Upper West Side. Gershon is a contributing writer for his school newspaper, “Heschel Helios,” and is heading to Washington, D.C. this February with the Jewish Theological Seminary to learn about community organizing. Gershon also has an affinity for international relations and attends conferences with his school’s Model UN Club.
