A version of this piece first ran as part of the New York Jewish Week’s daily newsletter, rounding up the latest on politics, culture, food and what’s new with Jews in the city. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.
🔯 Antisemitism task force chair sparks backlash
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Inna Vernikov, a Jewish Ukrainian-born Republican, was tapped to lead the City Council’s new antisemitism task force on Thursday. The bipartisan group is also co-chaired by Eric Dinowitz, a Jewish Democrat.
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Vernikov’s appointment raised some eyebrows, as she has previously made headlines for controversial moves. In 2023, she was arrested for bringing a gun to a pro-Palestinian protest. (The charges were dropped.)
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During the mayoral election, Vernikov called Mamdani a “terrorist-lover” and said that “jihad” was “coming to NYC” if he won. In another post responding to a letter that Mamdani wrote in Yiddish, Vernikov said, “he wants you to burn in an oven.”
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City Council Speaker Julie Menin was questioned about naming Vernikov on Thursday. She said the caucus voted for a bipartisan task force, but added that she would “pay very close attention” to Vernikov’s conduct, reported Politico.
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Mamdani also answered a question about Vernikov’s rhetoric on Bloomberg News. “The difficulty of this is that I know that there are so many in this city who have to deal with similar kinds of smears,” he said. “It is all too easy to allow that to color the way that you approach any one issue.”
🚨 Chabad ramming suspect charged
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The man accused of repeatedly ramming his car into Chabad’s world headquarters on Wednesday has been charged with four crimes.
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Dan Sohail faces charges of attempted assault, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and aggravated assault — all potential hate crimes. Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch denounced the incident as an antisemitic attack.
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But Sohail’s father and several Chabad rabbis said he did not show signs of anti-Jewish hate beforehand, and he even announced an intention to convert to Judaism, according to The New York Times.
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Sohail also reportedly visited a yeshiva in Carteret, New Jersey earlier in the week, but was turned away. The rabbi of Chabad of South Brunswick told The Forward that Sohail had attended its Purim celebration last March.
📖 Sotheby’s presents Mazhor from 1415
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The Rothschild Vienna Mahzor, a prayerbook created in 1415 and looted by the Nazis, returns to public view today as part of Sotheby’s Old Masters presentation at the Breuer building.
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Chaim Dovid Berson, the cantor of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, sang Kol Nidre from the machzor in a video for Sotheby’s.
🍾 Isiah Thomas launches kosher champagnes
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NBA legend Isiah Thomas, a New York resident who has coached the Knicks and served as president of the New York Liberty, is releasing two kosher champagnes.
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The collection will officially launch at the 20th annual Kosher Food & Wine Experience on Feb. 3. “I’m a big believer in excellence being available for everyone,” said Thomas.
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Six-time NBA All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire launched his own line of kosher Israeli wines in 2018; he converted to Judaism two years later. Some kosher-for-Passover wines, like Bartenura Moscato, have caught on with a market far beyond Jewish customers.
🥯 Whither pumpernickel?
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Where did all the pumpernickel bagels go? The taste for this bagel variety could be dying out, according to a report from Grub Street.
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Pumpernickel was born from the blending of Jewish immigrant stories. First, Eastern European Jews brought bagels in the 18th century, and then a wave of German Jews brought dark rye bread in the 19th century. The combination? Pumpernickel.
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At least some bagel spots say they won’t get rid of pumpernickel, even if it has fallen out of favor. As Tim Von Hollweg of Russ & Daughters told Grub Street, “We are, in many ways, the keepers of tradition and history. There are certain things, even if they’re not the most popular, we’re going to continue to make.”
