Good morning, New York. Mayor de Blasio announced yesterday that he’s extending his vaccination mandate to all on-site employees working for private businesses in the city; the city will release specific rules on Dec. 15, before the mandate takes effect Dec. 27.
WE GOT YOU COVERED: Local bagel shops assured the New York Jewish Week that they aren’t running short on cream cheese, despite an ominous report in the New York Times. “It’s not going to affect your order,” workers at Tal Bagels told our Julia Gergely. “You’ll still see the same amount of cream cheese on your bagel.” (New York Jewish Week)
ONE MAN’S TREASURE…: Michael Steinhardt, the New York hedge funder, art collector and megadonor to Jewish causes, says he bought and traded antiquities in good faith. But in an arrangement with the Manhattan District Attorney he agreed to return 180 stolen items worth $70 million to their rightful homelands and to never again collect ancient artifacts. (JTA)
OUT AND ABOUT: UJA-Federation of New York’s Wall Street Dinner Monday night — which raised a record $32 million — made very clear that the city and even its most affluent denizens still lived in the shadow of the pandemic. (New York Jewish Week)
HIGH HOPES: Yeshiva University, riding fresh breezes and facing some stiff winds, raised more than $250 million over the last two years towards a newly announced goal of $613 million. (New York Jewish Week)
REPEAT VISITOR: Cops are searching for a man who broke into Brooklyn’s Congregation Israel of Kings Bay Synagogue three times in recent weeks and stole cash from a donation box. (ABC7)
HAT IN THE RING: Former Democratic Rep. Max Rose, a Jewish U.S. Army veteran, announced Monday that he is running again for his old seat on Staten Island, which he lost to incumbent Republican Nicole Malliotakis in 2020. (Jewish Insider)
AROUND THE JEWISH WORLD, WITH JTA
- Pennsylvania will allocate $6.6 million in funding for the redevelopment of the Tree of Life synagogue campus where 11 people were killed in an antisemitic attack in 2018.
- A Palestinian teenager was shot dead by Israeli border police after he rammed his car at and seriously injured an officer at a checkpoint early Monday morning.
- A Massachusetts town apologizes after using a Hanukkah menorah created by Messianic Jews — that is, Christians — in a holiday display.
GIVING & GETTING
Michael Aloni, far right, who played ‘Kive’ on the Israeli series ‘Shtisel,’ poses with Rabbi Uriel Vigler and Shevy Vigler, the founders and directors of Belev Echad, at the group’s annual dinner in Manhattan, Dec. 5, 2021. (Rebecca Howard)
“Shtisel” star Michael Aloni (Kive Shtisel) was among the guests at the Belev Echad annual dinner in support of wounded Israel Defense Forces veterans, held Sunday night at Capitale in Manhattan. The evening raised $1.7 million to support wounded Israeli soldiers and their families. Eleven wounded IDF veterans, who took part in a 10-day tour of New York City courtesy of Belev Echad, were honored.
WHAT’S ON TODAY
Join the Museum of Jewish Heritage for a program revisiting the massacre 0f Jews in the Rumbula Forest outside Riga, Latvia in 1941. The program will feature work-in-progress clips from “Rumbula’s Echo,” a forthcoming documentary, with remarks by director and producer Mitchell Lieber; Lolita Tomsone, director of the Zana Lipke Memorial Museum and initiator of an annual Rumbula commemoration in central Riga; and Ilya Lensky, director of the Jewish Museum of Latvia. Register here. 2:00 pm.
Michael A. Meyer (Hebrew Union College) and Susannah Heschel (Dartmouth College) examine the excruciating ethical choices faced by Jewish religious leaders, such as Rabbi Leo Baeck, as well as the response of church leaders, under Nazi rule. Hosted by Leo Baeck Institute New York | Berlin and Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics. Register here. 3:00 p.m.
Shuly Rubin Schwartz, chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary, discusses the origins, history, assets and opportunities of Conservative Judaism. Register here. 8:00 p.m.
Investor Joe Sanberg and financial journalist Nicole Lapin discuss how Jewish values have impacted and enhanced their entrepreneurial careers. Register for this Jewish Future Pledge event here. 8:00 p.m.
Photo, top: The crowd at Tompkins Square Bagels’ Second Ave. location was steady and reasonably calm on Monday morning, Dec. 6, 2021, despite reports of a cream cheese shortage. (Julia Gergely)
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
