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📱Rama Duwaji apologizes for old posts, but not all of them
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In an interview with the arts magazine Hyperallergic, first lady Rama Duwaji apologized for old, uncovered social media posts, which included language like the n-word and use of the word “gay” in derogatory ways. Duwaji said that being 15 years old at the time “doesn’t excuse it” and that she is “truly sorry.”
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Duwaji did not, however, address the more recent Instagram posts that she liked which celebrated Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
🚧 Kathy Hochul doubles down on ‘buffer zone’ legislation
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Gov. Kathy Hochul once again expressed her support for statewide legislation yesterday that would create 25-foot buffer zones around houses of worship.
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Hochul’s comments came a couple of weeks after a similar, albeit less aggressive NYC-specific bill passed with a supermajority — and as Mayor Zohran Mamdani weighs whether to veto a bill insulating educational institutions from protests.
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Hochul announced an additional $70 million in funding for the state’s Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes program.
☑️The latest in NY-17
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In New York’s heavily Jewish 17th Congressional District just outside the city, Bedford County’s Democratic committee endorsed Beth Davidson, the Jewish moderate who has led in recent polls. The Democratic primary’s winner will challenge Rep. Mike Lawler in November.
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Meanwhile, Westchester Democrats reportedly declined to endorse a candidate because neither Davidson nor Cait Conley, the other frontrunner, received enough votes. Effie Phillips-Staley, the staunchly pro-Palestinian candidate polling third, withdrew her name from committee consideration, citing what she said was an unfairly negative response by the committee to her West Bank trip and interview with Hasan Piker.
📝 Progressive Jewish org endorses pro-Palestinian candidates
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Left-wing organization Jews for Racial and Economic Justice issued five new endorsements yesterday under its political arm, the Jewish Vote.
- One of its endorsees is David Orkin, a Jewish democratic socialist and immigrant workers’ rights attorney running for State Assembly in the 38th District in Queens. Orkin has been a member of anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace, and started the Tuscon, Arizona, chapter back in 2013. He’s running against incumbent candidate Jenifer Rajkumar, an Eric Adams ally who was endorsed by the new group, ActJew.
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Also among JFREJ’s endorsees is Aber Kawas, a Palestinian-American community organizer who worked with Mamdani’s office while he was in the State Assembly. Kawas, who’s running for Assembly in the 34th District in Queens, helped develop Mamdani’s “Not on our Dime” legislation, a failed bill aimed at blocking nonprofits from funding Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Kawas has said she wants to “bring the issue of Palestine into local office.”
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The group also endorsed Eon Huntley, a retail worker and member of the Democratic Socialists of America who is running for a second time for New York State Assembly in the 56th District in Brooklyn after narrowly losing to Stefani Zinerman in 2024.
📺 Brad Lander praises donation from Ms. Rachel
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Former city comptroller Brad Lander, who is running against Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman in his Manhattan and Brooklyn district, praised a $3,500 donation to his campaign by Ms. Rachel, the children’s YouTube personality whose outspoken pro-Palestinian advocacy has drawn criticism from parents and antisemitism watchdogs.
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Lander, who has attacked Goldman’s support for Israel and ties to AIPAC, called Ms. Rachel the “Mr. Rogers of our time,” adding that he was “really proud to see this donation come in.”
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“The world needs more Ms. Rachels, radiating kindness & empathy in a time of such darkness & cruelty,” Lander wrote in a post on X. “She’s standing up for children everywhere and fighting for the future that every one of them deserves.”
🀄️ Mahj Madness
- On June 28th and 29th, our partners at Kveller are hosting the biggest Jewish mah jongg festival ever — and you’re invited. All experience levels are welcome; get tickets and more info here.
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