James Ian Feder
published writer, aspiring rabbi
Based in Brooklyn, I am currently in my fourth year of rabbinical school at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. A Tisch Fellow and Be Wise Fellow, I am the Rabbinic Intern at Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, NJ.
Most recently, I served as the Digital Communications Manager for The OneVoice Movement, a global initiative that supports grassroots activists in Israel, Palestine, and internationally who are working to realize a just and negotiated resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and as the Foreign Relations Coordinator for the progressive Israeli non-partisan movement Darkenu.
Throughout my year-and-a-half tenure as an editor of Out Magazine and The Advocate, I wrote regularly on a range of issues from entertainment and literature to marriage equality, domestic and international politics, the Middle Eastern LGBT refugee crisis, and religious affairs. I have interviewed, among many others, YouTube sensation Tyler Oakley, poet and author Sjón, pop-star Troye Sivan, marriage equality pioneer Jim Obergefell, comedian Margaret Cho, former Congressman Barney Frank, author and activist Roxane Gay, Syrian refugee and activist Subhi Nahas, artist Gio Black Peter, and gay Palestinian-Israeli activist Khader Abu-Sief.
My writing has been published under the names James McDonald and James Feder in Buzzfeed, Haaretz, Vice News, the London Evening Standard, Kirkus Reviews, The Forward, Attitude, Hello Mr., the Huffington Post, and the Lambda Literary Review, and I have appeared live on CNN.
A graduate of the University of St Andrews (MA History) and the University of Glasgow (MLitt History), I'm always looking for ways to apply my historical training to real-world use.
Feel free to contact me with comments, inquiries, and proposed collaborations.
James Ian Feder, né McDonald
I've always been interested in people. In the stories we tell ourselves and others. In the stories others tell about us. One half of my family's story brought me to Europe, where I pursued my education. I began a career in LGBT journalism out of a desire to tell human stories, and then the drive to help lift up the voices of others inspired me to redirect my energies into a non-profit. The other half of my family's story led to my decision to immigrate to Israel, where I joined my voice with those striving for a more just and peaceful world. The key to effective storytelling, I've found, is to meet people where they are with respect and empathy, whether that be in person in Nablus or on Zoom in Manilla. As this next chapter of my own story as a rabbinical student continues to unfold, those principles of respect and empathy are what guide me — and my passion for people is what fuels me.
featured in/on:
CNN — Buzzfeed — The London Evening Standard — Huffington Post — Vice News — The Forward — Haaretz — Kirkus Reviews — Out Magazine — The Advocate — Attitude — Hello Mr. — Lambda Literary Review — Mako — Gayletter — The Outmost