
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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Dozens dead in Kashmir as terrorists target tourists
Speed Read Visitors were taking pictures and riding ponies in a popular mountain town when assailants open fired, killing at least 26
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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What Donald Trump's first term wins can tell us about the next four years
The Explainer Will the past be prologue for a second Trump term in office?
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Last updated
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China accuses NSA of Winter Games cyberattacks
speed read China alleges that the U.S. National Security Agency launched cyberattacks during the Asian Winter Games in February
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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America's woes are a foreign adversary's spy recruitment dream
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As federal workers reel from mass layoffs, the United States is becoming ground zero for international adversaries eager to snatch up disgruntled spies-to-be
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Could Trump's tariff war be his undoing with the GOP?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The catastrophic effects of the president's 'Liberation Day' tariffs might create a serious wedge between him and the rest of the Republican party
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Jewish communities are wary of Donald Trump’s push to punish antisemitism
IN THE SPOTLIGHT While the White House expands its effort to criminalize actions it deems harmful to Jewish Americans, not everyone in those communities are on board with the president's purported assistance.
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Trump, China up trade war risks with tariff threats
Speed Read China said it would 'fight to the end' after President Donald Trump threatened an additional 50% tariff on Chinese imports
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Is Elon Musk's DOGE job coming to an end?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Plummeting popularity, a stinging electoral defeat and Tesla's shrinking market share could be pulling the tech billionaire out of Trump's presidential orbit
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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What does the Le Pen verdict mean for the future of French politics?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Convicted of embezzlement and slapped with a five year ban on running for public office, where does arch-conservative Marine Le Pen go from here — and will the movement she leads follow?
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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America's academic brain drain has begun
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the Trump administration targets universities and teachers, educators are eying greener academic pastures elsewhere — and other nations are starting to take notice
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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What dangers does the leaked Signal chat expose the US to?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The White House's ballooning group chat scandal offered a masterclass in what not to say when prying eyes might be watching
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Why is the US bombing Yemen in the first place?
In the Spotlight The Trump administration's snowballing "Signalgate" scandal has helped refocus public attention onto one of the nation's least-understood military entanglements
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Israel detains director after West Bank settler clash
speed read The director of Oscar-winning documentary 'No Other Land' was arrested and beaten
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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23andMe's bankruptcy isn't just a finance story, it's a potential privacy crisis
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The ancestral testing juggernaut's corporate collapse opens a new — but not wholly unforeseen — front in the battle over who has access to your genetic data
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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US officials share war plans with journalist in group chat
Speed Read Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to a Signal conversation about striking Yemen
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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JFK document dump is a bonanza for conspiracy theorists and historians alike
THE EXPLAINER The release of thousands of files on John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination offers scholars and skeptics a new look at one of the country's lowest moments
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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'Tesla Takedown' protest movement grows as Trump threatens criminal charges
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Nationwide demonstrations at Elon Musk's car dealerships have earned the attention — and ire — of the White House
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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25 things Andrew Tate has said about women
IN DEPTH The accused rapist and sex trafficking influencer has a long and well-documented history of commercializing his misogyny for an audience of susceptible young men
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Trump's military makeover: fewer rules, more violence
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The president and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have begun dramatically rewriting the guidelines for armed forces' operations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Trump trade war heats up as Canada, EU retaliate
Speed Read The president imposes 25% steel and aluminum tariffs in an effort to revive US manufacturing, though it may drive up prices for Americans instead
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Ukraine agrees to ceasefire, ending US aid freeze
Speed Read Kyiv made peace with the Trump administration by agreeing to an immediate ceasefire in its war against Russian invaders
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Romania's election chaos risks international fallout
IN THE SPOTLIGHT By barring far-right candidate Calin Georgescu from the country's upcoming electoral re-do, Romania places itself in the center of a broader struggle over European ultra-nationalism
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
THE EXPLAINER