DOJ suggests action against anti-Israel protesters in Brooklyn

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🚨 DOJ suggests action against anti-Israel protesters in Brooklyn

• Protesters who appeared to assault a woman while demonstrating outside an Israeli real estate event in Brooklyn could be hit with federal charges, according to a senior Justice Department official.

• “We are aware of this situation last night and are working with our colleagues in NYC to collect evidence and analyze potential charges,” said Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, on X. Dhillon responded to a video that appeared to show a woman being pushed and having her hair yanked during Monday’s demonstration outside Young Israel of Midwood, an Orthodox synagogue.

• The NYPD has arrested four people after clashes between pro-Palestinian protesters and pro-Israel counter-protesters near the synagogue, which was hosting an Israeli real estate expo. Another video circulating on X appeared to show the same woman shouting at and spitting on an anti-Zionist rabbi.

• Leo Terrell, chair of the DOJ’s task force to combat antisemitism, criticized Mamdani and city officials for what he called an insufficient response to the protest. “Let me be clear, I am sick and tired of Jews being harassed in New York City,” Terrell told the Jewish News Syndicate. “Did you see what happened in Brooklyn? Where is the mayor? Where is the district attorney? Where are the hate crime charges?”

💰 Mamdani announces $26 million to fight hate crimes

• Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced $26 million for the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes as part of his budget proposal on Tuesday, a jump from its current $3 million and part of his campaign promises to Jewish voters. He did not specify how much would be directed specifically toward combating antisemitism.

• The proposal aligns with a plan presented by the progressive group Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, which has supported Mamdani. JFREJ praised the investment as a “huge win” on X.

• Meanwhile, Mamdani faces mounting pressure to address the recent string of pro-Palestinian protests outside synagogues holding Israeli real estate events. He condemned the violence in Midwood in a statement to The Forward, saying that “antisemitic, anti-Muslim and racist rhetoric, as well as racial slurs, displays of support for terrorist organizations, and calls for the death of others” were “despicable.”

🪧 Pro-Israel groups announce protest against New York Times

• Jewish pro-Israel organizations have announced a protest outside The New York Times headquarters on Thursday. The groups EndJewHatred, Stop Antisemitism, Hineni and the Movement Against Antizionism said the newspaper published “libel” after a column by opinion writer Nicholas Kristof alleged that Israeli forces used dogs to sexually assault Palestinian prisoners.

• Israel’s foreign ministry also accused The New York Times of releasing “one of the worst blood libels ever to appear in the modern press.” The newspaper has defended the article, saying that Kristof is “a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has reported on sexual violence for decades, and is widely regarded as one of the world’s best on-the-ground reporters documenting and bearing witness to sexual abuse experienced by women and men in war and conflict zones.”

💼 Rabbi Harry Pell to be interim head of Leffel School after UJA taps Michael Kay

• Rabbi Harry Pell, the associate head of Westchester County’s Leffell School, will become the school’s interim leader after its current head Michael Kay was tapped to lead UJA-Federation of New York.

• Pell, who teaches Talmud and modern Israeli history and leads a school trip to Poland and Israel, will take over for Kay in October.

🎙️ Bores says he takes different view on Israel aid than group that endorsed him

• Assembly member Alex Bores, a candidate in the heated Democratic primary to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler, broke with the group Our Revolution — which endorsed him — over its approach to Israel during a candidate forum at West Side Institutional Synagogue on Tuesday.

• Our Revolution, which was founded by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, opposes military funding for Israel. Bores said that he explained to the group his position on Israel, “which is well-documented and different from theirs,” before they decided to back him. The endorsement sparked speculation that Bores was attempting to carve out a left lane in the primary.

• Candidates Micah Lasher and George Conway also joined the forum. All the participants agreed that antisemitism was not limited to one political party. Jack Schlossberg, who has called for blocking arms sales to Israel, did not attend.

🏆 Nadler backs Assembly candidate whose opponent called him ‘old Jew man’

• Nadler and Lasher are endorsing NYC Council member Diana Ayala in her primary challenge to Assembly member Eddie Gibbs, according to City and State. Gibbs got on Nadler’s bad side when he wrongly claimed the congressman’s endorsement last cycle — and then, after winning the race, called Nadler “the old Jew man.” Nadler responded that Gibbs was a “disgrace” and “antisemite.”