After graduating from college, Bari Weiss embarked on her career in journalism by working with Jewish news outlets such as Tablet, Haaretz Newspaper, and The Forward.
In 2013, she joined the Wall Street Journal as an editor for op-eds and book reviews. However, in 2017, she decided to leave her position following Donald Trump’s inauguration.
“Witnessing individuals I believed shared my fundamental values come to terms with a candidate whose campaign was built on demeaning and demonizing the most vulnerable in our society was heartbreaking,” she revealed to Reason. She explained her departure was influenced by her employer’s hesitance to publish political opinions seen as excessively anti-Trump.
That year, she transitioned to The New York Times, taking on the role of staff editor and writer for the opinion section.
Speaking to the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, Weiss remarked on her career shift, “In the past year, I’ve gone from being the most progressive voice at The Wall Street Journal to the most conservative at The New York Times.”
In July 2020, she penned a comprehensive resignation letter to A.G. Sulzberger, the publisher, citing “bullying by colleagues” and an “illiberal environment.”
In her letter, she criticized the paper, saying, “The paper of record increasingly serves as the record of those living in a distant galaxy, disconnected from the realities of most people’s lives. Today, standing up for principle at the paper invites not praise, but a target on your back.”
Beyond journalism, Weiss is an accomplished author. Her debut book, How to Fight Anti-Semitism, released in September 2019, earned both a National Jewish Book Award and a Natan Notable Book Award that year.
