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.
🤝 Mayoral meetup
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Minneapolis’ Jewish mayor Jacob Frey, who has taken the national spotlight for a defiant stance against federal immigration enforcement in his city, visited Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday.
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“Today I had a meaningful conversation with @NYCMayor about the reality local governments are facing,” Frey said on X. “When federal government targets immigrant communities, it’s cities that feel it first — and cities that step up.”
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Last week, Mamdani issued an executive order to protect New Yorkers from “abusive immigration enforcement” during an interfaith breakfast. The annual breakfast was marked this year by sponsorship from liberal and left-wing Jewish groups, replacing the mainstream Jewish organizations that influenced previous administrations.
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Mamdani’s press secretary Joe Calvello said the two mayors “discussed their shared values when it comes to keeping our cities safe as well as standing up for our vibrant immigrant communities,” according to Politico.
🚨 Yeshiva University student assaulted
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A Yeshiva University student was attacked by several people in the subway station on 181st Street on Thursday night in what the school described as an “unbiased attempted robbery.”
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“Done in the blind spot of the subway station where there are no police or security cameras,” said Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin, who teaches at Yeshiva’s Sy Syms School of Business, in a post on X. “This is beyond frightening for a visibly Jewish community in NYC.”
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The student was taken to Columbia University Irving Medical Center in stable condition, said the NYPD.
🕍 Lawsuit fights historic synagogue’s demolition
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Congregation Chaim Albert, a nearly century-old synagogue on the Brooklyn campus of a historically Jewish hospital, is fighting in court against its demolition to build affordable housing. At a court hearing on Wednesday, the nonprofit that owns the hospital argued it was not bound to keep the synagogue intact, reported Gothamist.
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In December, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was stepping in to save the synagogue and encouraged leaders of the hospital and the congregation to reach an agreement.
📃 Antisemitism bills move forward
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The NYC Council is advancing a package of seven bills aimed at combating antisemitism, introduced by Jewish Council Speaker Julie Menin, reported The Forward.
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The newly created Committee to Combat Hate will hold a hearing later this month on Menin’s proposals, including a 100-foot buffer zone free from protests around synagogues and boosts to security funding, education and reporting of antisemitic incidents.
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Mamdani has said he is awaiting a legal review of the buffer zone measure, and “wouldn’t sign any legislation that we find to be outside of the bounds of the law.”
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A coalition of left-wing Jewish groups has objected to the bill on free speech grounds, saying it “undermines the open society we cherish here in New York City, which has allowed Jews to thrive for centuries.”
🎙 Schlossberg, Lasher answer questions on Israel
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Micah Lasher and Jack Schlossberg, who are both running to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler in a heavily Jewish district, gave their views on Israel aid and West Bank settlements at a candidate forum on Thursday.
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Schlossberg said that funding and weapons aid to Israel should be examined carefully, but he did not believe that “we should abolish it entirely” or that “the United States should abandon its historic ally.” The answer elicited boos followed by a wave of applause.
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Lasher, whom Nadler has endorsed, said he would reintroduce legislation proposed by Nadler to sanction the expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
💼 Manhattan gets a Jewish borough historian
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Harold Holzer, a Jewish Abraham Lincoln expert, is the new official historian of Manhattan.
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Holzer was appointed by Brad Hoylman-Sigal, the new Manhattan borough president, who is also Jewish.
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Holzer has written or edited 55 books, most of them about Lincoln. His resume also includes serving as the press secretary of Rep. Bella Abzug, a Jewish trailblazer who fought for women’s rights in the 1970s.
