Karsh Journalism Fellowship — Fellowship

The Jacki and Jeff Karsh Journalism Fellowship trains working journalists to report on Jewish issues in the United States and abroad. It was founded in 2024 by Jacki Karsh, a six-time Emmy-nominated journalist, and her husband Jeff, and is funded through a grant to Jewish Federation Los Angeles, which incubates the project and handles administration. Rob Eshman, senior columnist at the Forward, directs it.

Fellows keep their jobs and take part alongside them: three in-person retreats in New York, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, monthly one-hour video sessions in between, and one reported piece of their own. The organisers describe it as the only journalism fellowship in the world devoted entirely to Jewish topics, and state that it is nonpartisan and built on accuracy, independence, transparency and accountability. Up to ten fellows are selected a year; twelve are listed in the 2026 cohort.

Benefits & funding

US$4,000 stipend.
All travel and lodging for the three retreats covered, from anywhere in the United States.
Three multi-day retreats: New York (14-17 January 2027), Washington, D.C. (19-21 March 2027) and Los Angeles (29 April to 2 May 2027).
Sessions with journalists, scholars, policymakers and innovators, plus field visits that have included the Holocaust Memorial Museum and the New York Times newsroom, group discussion and Shabbat dinners.
Curriculum spanning American Jewish history, entertainment and culture, civic engagement, antisemitism, US-Israel relations, faith-based reporting, and investigative technique for sensitive subjects such as misinformation and conflict coverage.
A pool of sixteen journalist mentors who lead sessions, open up sources and contacts, and give feedback on each fellow’s reporting project.
Fellows without a staff or contract position get help finding an outlet for their project.
Editorial independence is explicit: the fellowship does not approve, edit or control what a fellow publishes.

Eligibility

Early- and mid-career journalists from all backgrounds, working on any platform.
US citizenship, or valid work authorisation permitting employment in the United States for the whole fellowship period.
Based anywhere in the United States; travel to the retreats is covered.
No Jewish background or prior coverage of Jewish topics is required.
In-person attendance at all three retreats is mandatory, as is participation in the monthly one-hour video sessions.
A commitment to publish or produce one reported work on a Jewish topic of the fellow’s choosing within nine months of the start of the fellowship.
No degree requirement is stated.

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USA

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Application process

1
Check the eligibility statement on the application page and confirm you can work legally in the United States for the full fellowship period.
2
Assemble a résumé, two work samples as files or broadcast links, and two professional references.
3
Write the essay responses: a personal statement of 200 to 800 words, an account of your experience with Jews, Judaism and Israel, and a proposed story idea on an underreported Jewish topic.
4
Submit the application by 15 October 2026.
5
Fellows are announced on 1 November 2026.
6
Join the video orientation on 16 December 2026, then attend the three retreats and the monthly sessions.
7
Publish or produce the reported work within nine months of the start of the fellowship, with your own editor approving the project and a mentor giving feedback.

Program timeline

Application deadline
15 October 2026
Fellows announced
1 November 2026
Video orientation, 6:00 PM Pacific Time
16 December 2026
New York City retreat
14-17 January 2027
Video session, 6:00 PM Pacific Time
10 February 2027
Washington, D.C. retreat
19-21 March 2027
Video session, 6:00 PM Pacific Time
20 April 2027
Los Angeles retreat
29 April to 2 May 2027
Within nine months of the start
reported work published or produced