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Mamdani 🤝 Torres
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani appeared alongside Rep. Ritchie Torres at a press conference in the Bronx this morning. The appearance, which celebrated the securing of federal funds for increased internet access, was a notable display of collaboration between Mamdani, an anti-Zionist, and Torres, who is staunchly pro-Israel and endorsed Andrew Cuomo in the mayoral primary.
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The two politicians’ team-up could be bad news for Michael Blake, Torres’ top primary challenger in NY-15, who cross-endorsed Mamdani during last year’s primary and has included photos with the mayor in his campaign ads. Blake and fellow NY-15 challenger Jose Vega have attacked Torres for his support from AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group.
📊 Survey says
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Mamdani is receiving more negative than positive reviews from Jewish voters in New York City, according to a poll released Sunday by a group that aims to demonstrate that Mamdani’s anti-Israel views are not widely held among Jews.
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The poll, commissioned by The Jewish Majority, also found that 82% of Jewish voters — including two-thirds of those who voted for Mamdani — were concerned about the “rise of antisemitism in New York City.” More than half of them — 58% — said they believed the rise “was linked to the “normalization of anti-Zionism.”
🚫 Students vote to stop funding Hillel chapter
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On Friday afternoon, the New School student government voted to stop funding Hillel campus chapters at the New School and Baruch College, citing concerns over the organization’s support for Israel’s military.
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The resolution was met with outrage from a number of Jewish leaders, who suggested that the decision to target Hillel — an organization aimed at facilitating a space for students to engage in Jewish life on campus — was antisemitic.
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“Targeting a Jewish campus organization because it affirms Jewish identity is not about policy disagreement,” wrote Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council. “It crosses a line into the exclusion of Jewish students from campus life.”
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Meanwhile, the New School’s administrators rejected the vote, saying the student senate “does not have the authority to determine the recognition, funding eligibility, or official status of registered student organizations.”
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Some staunch critics of Israel blasted the school’s statement. “Just like @Columbia, The New School’s administration would rather gaslight and punish their own students than listen to them,” wrote Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil. “Everything in service of Israel. Democracy for thee, apparently.”
📢 Protesters: ‘We support Hamas here’
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The flurry of protest activity comes two years after the pro-Palestinian encampment movement began at Columbia University. On Thursday, a group of protesters marched from Columbia’s gates to City College, 20 blocks north, saying that they aimed to demonstrate that “the student intifada is as strong as ever.”
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Protesters chanted pro-Hamas slogans including “Say it loud, say it clear: We support Hamas here,” according to video shared on social media.
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The protest came less than a week after Mamdani vetoed legislation that would have given the New York Police Department latitude to limit protests outside of educational institutions. Mamdani said the legislation would have inappropriately curtailed the rights of students, including pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
🤩 ‘The Office’ star at the Altneu
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The actor and comedian B.J. Novak was reportedly spotted downing cholent after services on Shabbat at the Altneu, the buzzy Modern Orthodox congregation on the Upper East Side.
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Novak, who starred on “The Office” and is appearing now in “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” attended a Schechter school in Boston as a child and the Conservative movement’s Ramah summer camp. Novak’s father William co-edited “The Big Book of Jewish Humor” in 1981.
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Itamar Weisbrod, the man who broke the news of Novak’s shul-going on X, reported that the star was present for “most of Shacharit,” an early portion of the morning service.
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