
Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with a major in religious studies, and a minor in integrated liberal studies.
Rafi lives in the Twin Cities, where he does not bike, run or take part in any team sports. He does, however, have a variety of interests, hobbies and passions.
Latest articles by Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
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FBI bars Minnesota from ICE killing investigation
Speed Read The FBI had initially agreed to work with local officials
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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A running list of the international figures Donald Trump has pardoned
in depth The president has grown bolder in flexing executive clemency powers beyond national borders
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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ICE kills woman during Minneapolis protest
Speed Read The 37-year-old woman appeared to be driving away when she was shot
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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A running list of all the celebrities Trump has pardoned
IN DEPTH Reality stars, rappers and disgraced politicians have received some of the high-profile pardons doled out by the president
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Last updated
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Trump fears impeachment if GOP loses midterms
Speed Read ‘You got to win the midterms,’ the president said
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Maduro pleads not guilty in first US court hearing
Speed Read Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty to cocaine trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracy
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Venezuela’s Trump-shaped power vacuum
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The American abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has thrust South America’s biggest oil-producing state into uncharted geopolitical waters
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Why is Iran facing its biggest protests in years?
TODAY’S BIG QUESTION Iranians are taking to the streets as a growing movement of civic unrest threatens a fragile stability
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Wave of cancellations prompt Kennedy Center turmoil
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Accusations and allegations fly as artists begin backing off their regularly scheduled appearances
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Why is Trump’s alleged strike on Venezuela shrouded in so much secrecy?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Trump’s comments have raised more questions than answers about what his administration is doing in the Southern Hemisphere
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Why recognizing Somaliland is so risky for Israel
THE EXPLAINER By wading into one of North Africa’s most fraught political schisms, the Netanyahu government risks further international isolation
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Shots fired in the US-EU war over digital censorship
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The Trump administration risks opening a dangerous new front in the battle of real-world consequences for online action
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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All roads to Ukraine-Russia peace run through Donetsk
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Volodymyr Zelenskyy is floating a major concession on one of the thorniest issues in the complex negotiations between Ukraine and Russia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one report
IN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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‘Lumpy skin’ protests intensify across France as farmers fight cull
IN THE SPOTLIGHT A bovine outbreak coupled with ongoing governmental frustrations is causing major problems for French civil society
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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The Alps start the countdown to ‘peak glacier extinction’
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Central Europe is losing ice faster than anywhere else on Earth. Global warming puts this already bad situation at risk of becoming even worse.
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s order
Speed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Japan’s Princess Aiko is a national star. Her fans want even more.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Fresh off her first solo state visit to Laos, Princess Aiko has become the face of a Japanese royal family facing 21st-century obsolescence
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Australia’s teen social media ban takes effect
Speed Read Kids under age 16 are now barred from platforms including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and Reddit
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Europe sets 2027 deadline to wean itself from Russian natural gas
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As negotiators attempt to end Russia’s yearslong Ukraine invasion, lawmakers across the EU agree to uncouple gas consumption from Moscow’s petrochemical infrastructure
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run out
Speed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Judge tosses Trump DOJ cases against Comey, James
Speed Read Both cases could potentially be brought again
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein: a Timeline
IN DEPTH The alleged relationship between deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump has become one of the most acute threats to the president’s power
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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US, Kyiv report progress on shifting Ukraine peace plan
Speed Read The deal ‘must fully uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty,’ the countries said
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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