Photo by Hillary Fox/pexels.com
By Forverts Staff
April 22, 2025
Forward CEO and Publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen has announced the acquisition of the Yiddish.com and Yiddish.org web domains, donated by the New York real estate developer and philanthropist Elie Hirschfeld and his wife Sarah Hirschfeld, a physician.
“We are so grateful for Elie Hirschfeld’s generosity in gifting the Forward these two important web domains,” Fishman Feddersen said. “Yiddish is central to the history and mission of the Forward and this gift will help more Yiddish enthusiasts find our content.”
Elie Hirschfeld, the son of the late New York real estate developer Abe Hirschfeld, serves as the president of Hirschfeld Properties, a leading owner and developer of real estate properties in the New York City metropolitan area. According to a 2015 report in the Wall Street Journal, one of his properties, an East Hampton estate worth about $32.5 million, was frequently leased as a summer residence by Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Hirschfeld is also a theatrical producer and art collector. He and his wife are longtime supporters of education, medicine, healthcare and Jewish causes.
“My love of Yiddish began by hearing my mother sing Yiddish to me ever since I was born, in Israel,” said Elie Hirschfeld. “My parents spoke Yiddish and Hebrew to each other and sometimes to me. I continue to feel deeply connected to this beautiful language to this day. Sarah and I are very proud to make the gift of the domains along with a monetary gift as well.”
The Forward was founded in 1897 as the Forverts, a Yiddish-language daily. It soon had 275,000 readers, making it the most widely read Jewish newspaper in the world.
The newspaper became an English media outlet in 1990, but has continued its commitment to Yiddish language and culture, advancing, propagating, and nurturing an array of articles, videos, games, social media and events that reward current Yiddish speakers and encourage those who want to learn it, helping to lead the current revitalization and interest in Yiddish language education.
The Forward became fully digital in 2019 and now reaches a monthly readership of 1.5 million.
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— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
