About Us
The Baltimore Jewish Times is Maryland’s largest Jewish weekly publication and a cherished weekly tradition. Founded in 1919 by David Alter, the publication has attracted and retained a large and loyal audience of readers who value its news and advertising information.
The Baltimore Jewish Times is one of North America’s largest Jewish weekly publications serving the Jewish community. It averages more than 120 pages, and its all-paid circulation reaches nearly 50,000 readers.
The Baltimore Jewish Times is the glue that links Baltimore’s diverse Jewish community. From the physician in Pikesville to the manufacturing company president in Greenspring. From the religious scholar in Upper Park Heights to the real estate development executive in Owings Mills. From the active retiree in Mt. Washington to the young, single person in Federal Hill. They all share one thing in common every Friday—the pages of the Baltimore Jewish Times.
The success and vitality of the Baltimore Jewish Times is the result of a dedicated, talented and motivated staff which is committed to providing a product of high quality and value that meets the needs of readers and advertisers. The Baltimore Jewish Times and its staff also strive to enhance the quality of life inside and outside of the Baltimore Jewish community through social action and sponsorship of community events.
Andrew Alter Buerger is the CEO of Alter Communications, Inc., a regional diversified media company. Some of its magazines include the Baltimore Jewish Times and Style magazine, Chesapeake Life magazine and PaperDoll as well as http://www.jewishcareers.com. Andrew is the fourth generation publisher of the Baltimore Jewish Times, a paper that his great-grandfather, David Alter, founded in 1919.
Among his responsibilities is writing a semi-monthly column that tackles the issues facing the Jewish world, particularly how to make Judaism relevant to today’s younger generation. It was Andrew’s column, titled “An Open Letter to Prince Abdullah,” which gained him national recognition. He also writes a blog on JewishTimes.com.
Prior to moving back to Baltimore in March 1997, Buerger was the publisher of the Vancouver Jewish Bulletin starting in spring of 1995. Before joining the Jewish Bulletin, he was the circulation marketing director for the Jewish News Group working in Detroit. He oversaw the circulation marketing programs for 5 Jewish newspapers.
He holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Colorado that he received in 1993 and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Vermont.
Buerger currently serves on the boards of The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, The Star-Spangled Banner Museum, and the Charles A. Buerger Foundation. The Daily Record selected him as one of the 50 Most Influential Marylanders in 2007.
Andrew recently founded Climb for Hope which took 20 other climbers to Mt. Cotopaxi, the world’s highest active volcano at 19,400 feet. The Ecuadorian climb raised $150,000 for research at Johns Hopkins on a promising vaccine to treat breast cancer.
Phil Jacobs, executive editor, started his career as a high school sports writer as a Northwestern High School junior in Baltimore City.
When looking at college, he headed to the University of Maryland, College Park with the goal of becoming a reporter for the campus daily, The Diamondback.
For all of his college career, Phil worked mostly as a sports editor, writer and sometimes news reporter for The Diamondback.
His first paid position came as a writer for the Eastern Shore Times, a weekly in Ocean City, Md.
He moved on to become sports editor of the Prince George’s Journal, before landing his dream job as assistant editor on the Baltimore Jewish Times. Phil has been with the Jewish Times since 1982. He left for seven years to work on the JT’s sister paper, the Detroit Jewish News. He returned, however, in 1997 as editor.
Phil has been married to his high school sweetheart, Lisa Cohen Jacobs, for 30 years. His oldest daughter, DeDe Jacobs Komisar, is a Yeshivat Rambam and Goucher College graduate who made aliyah last summer. His younger daughter, Emily, attends University of Maryland, College Park.
Phil is a former competitive ice hockey goalie, a sport he played for almost 30 years in Baltimore and Detroit. He is also a self-admitted Civil War history geek and will bore anyone he can with Civil War trivia.
He and his family are members of Congregation Tiferes Yisroel in Baltimore.
Neil Rubin is editor of the Baltimore Jewish Times. He oversees the day-to-day operations of the award-winning weekly, writes editorials and columns, and represents the paper at national events. He also coordinates the editorial content of http://www.jewishtimes.com .
His main interests are the evolving American Jewish-Israeli Jewish relationship, interfaith dialogue, American Jews in politics, and Israeli politics.
The Baltimore native holds an undergraduate degree in Journalism from the University of Maryland and a masters in Modern Jewish Studies from the Baltimore Hebrew University. He is working on a Ph.D. from BHU, focusing on historical attitudes regarding U.S. policy towards Israel and the response of American Jewry. He also teaches undergraduate courses at BHU on the “History of Israel: 1800-present” and “Contemporary Jewish Issues.”
Neil has was won awards from the American Jewish Press Association (8 times), the Maryland-D.C.-Delaware Press Association (3 times) and the Maryland Professional Chapter: Society of Professional Journalists (4 times). He has appeared on numerous radio and TV stations, including CNN and NPR.
His national volunteer activities include: the executive board of the American Jewish Press Association (AJPA); co-directing the AJPA/Hillel Jewish Student Journalists Initiative; and senior advisor to Brandeis University’s Gralla Fellowships Program for Jewish Journalists. He is active with Congregation Chevrei Tzedek.
Included among the figures with whom he has had extensive sit-down interviews are: Nobel Laureates Elie Wiesel and Shimon Peres, former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, Knesset member Natan Sharansky, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Reform leaders Rabbis Alexander Schindler and Eric Yoffee, talmudic scholar Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, former USSR Chief Rabbi Adolph Shayevitch, Nation of Islam Chief of Staff Leonard Farrakhan Mohammed and numerous ambassadors, Senators and Congressmen.
Prior to returning home to Baltimore in 1998, Neil spent 7 ½ years editing the Atlanta Jewish Times. He also has been Director of Public Relations for the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization, a writer at B’nai B’rith International, and Publications Editor for The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore.