Ted Merwin, Ph.D. is a Senior Writer for the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA). Before coming to JFNA, he worked as AIPAC’s Synagogue Initiative Director for the Mid-Atlantic Region. For many years, Ted taught Judaic Studies at Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA), where he was the founding director of the Milton B. Asbell Center for Jewish Life. He is the author of Pastrami on Rye: An Overstuffed History of the Jewish Deli, which won a National Jewish Book Award, and In Their Own Image: New York Jews in Jazz Age Popular Culture. In addition, his articles on Jewish culture have appeared in The New York Times, New York Daily News, New York Post, Washington Post, Newsweek, Hadassah and many other newspapers and magazines.