Good morning, New York. Tonight, join Andrew Silow-Carroll, editor-in-chief of The New York Jewish Week, as he leads a discussion about the causes of and solutions for antisemitism in New York City.
The virtual conversation will feature Deborah Lauter, executive director of the Mayor’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes; Scott Richman, regional director, Anti-Defamation League NY/NJ; and Leo Ferguson, of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice. Presented by Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan and hosted in partnership with the New York Jewish Agenda and The Center for Jewish Living. Register here. 7:00 p.m ET.
MANDATE DAY ONE: A vocal minority of Jewish schoolteachers in New York City are citing religious faith to decline vaccinations, even though the majority of rabbinic leaders across every denomination have said Jewish law actually encourages the opposite. (JTA)
GOVERNOR’S RACE: Rep. Lee Zeldin, the Jewish Republican from Long Island who is running for governor, opens his campaign headquarters in Manhattan today.
COUNCIL DISTRICT 48: Read about Inna Vernikov, the pro-Trump, Ukraine-born Jewish Republican looking to win the City Council seat in Brooklyn vacated by Chaim Deutsch, who was forced out of his seat earlier this year after getting convicted of tax fraud. (New York Post)
NOT AMUSED: Comedian Sarah Silverman, normally a fan of the “Squad” of progressive Democrats, criticized Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Bronx/Queens) and other Squad members for opposing $1 billion in funding for Israel’s defensive Iron Dome system. (Times of Israel)
PHOTO FINISH: A State Supreme Court justice dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Attorney General’s office against B&H Photo. (Hamodia)
- The A.G. charged that the Manhattan electronics store, which employs hundreds of Hasidic Jews, falsely underpaid taxes and filed fraudulent tax returns for the period of 2006.
- Why it matters: The Orthodox media added the case to their gripes about progressive A.G. Letitia James, who hasn’t ruled out a race for governor.
REST IN POWER: A traveling exhibition about the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg opened Sunday at the New-York Historical Society. (West Side Rag)
- “Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg” features a 3D rendering of Ginsburg’s childhood home in Brooklyn; her robe and the frilly “jabot” she used to decorate it; and photographs from her life as a champion of women’s and civil rights. The exhibit runs through Jan. 23, 2022.
AROUND THE JEWISH WORLD, WITH JTA
- The man who opened fire at a synagogue in Poway, California, in 2019 and killed a congregant will spend the rest of his life in prison.
- ICYMI: Vice President Kamala Harris did damage control after critics said she should have objected strenuously when a student asked her about “ethnic genocide” carried out by Israel.
- Jon Stewart returned to regular series TV on Thursday night with “The Problem with Jon Stewart,” a new talk show on Apple TV+. Read some of the funniest Jewish highlights from Stewart’s career.
TODAY’S BIG IDEA
Zebulon Simantov reads a prayer book before celebrating Rosh Hashanah in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 18, 2009. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
Feel-good or ironic stories about “the last Jew of Afghanistan,” Zebulon Simantov, “mask a much larger and darker reality about societies that were once ethnic and religious mosaics, but are now home to almost no one but Arab Muslims, Lithuanian Catholics or Han Chinese,” writes Dara Horn. (New York Times)
WHAT’S ON TODAY
Dr. David Kraemer of the Jewish Theological Seminary will explore biblical and rabbinic views of the Sabbath as commentaries on the significance of work. The talk is the opening session of a weekly series with JTS scholars about the meaning of work and rest in Jewish tradition. Register here for the series. 2:00 p.m.
BBC Middle East Editor Raffi Berg discusses his book “Red Sea Spies: The True Story of Mossad’s Fake Diving Resort.” The secret evacuation of thousands of Ethiopian Jews inspired the recent Netflix drama “The Red Sea Diving Resort.” Register here for this virtual Commonpoint Queens event. $8 members/$10 non-members. 1:00 p.m.
Photo, top: An exhibition at the New-York Historical society exploring the life and work of the late Supreme Court justice and legal trailblazer Ruth Bader Ginsburg opened Sunday in Manhattan. (New-York Historical Society)
