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🤝 JVP activist will reportedly be Mamdani’s ‘faith liaison’
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Rabbi Miriam Grossman, who serves on JVP’s rabbinical council, will join Mamdani’s newly created Office of Mass Engagement as a “faith liaison,” reports Jewish Insider. A listing for the role indicates that Grossman will “represent the mayor” to the Jewish community.
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Grossman previously led the independent congregation Kolot Chayeinu in Brooklyn and is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. She told us in 2023 that pro-Palestinian Jews were “proud of their Judaism” and said she supported their push to use Jewish music in protests.
🕍 Iraqi man charged with plotting to attack a synagogue in NYC
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An Iraqi man who was recently arrested in Turkey has been charged with plotting attacks on a prominent Manhattan synagogue and other Jewish targets around the world in response to the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, who is alleged to be a commander in the Iraq-based Kataib Hezbollah that functions as a proxy for Iran, appeared in federal court in Manhattan on Friday.
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NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who is Jewish, said in a speech at Temple Emanu-El during Shabbat services that al-Saadi was “targeting the heart of our Jewish community.” Tisch did not name the synagogue, but said that al-Saadi chose a site that supported Israel and Zionism.
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“In my 18 years in government, I have not seen a threat environment quite like this one,” said Tisch. “Today’s case is a stark example of how these tensions that originate overseas translate into violence.”
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Mamdani condemned the plot on X, posting, “Let me be clear: antisemitism, violent extremism, and terrorism have no place in our city. This kind of hate is despicable. I’m thankful this alleged attack was stopped before any New Yorkers were hurt.”
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Al-Saadi was also involved in organizing 18 attacks in Europe and the stabbing of two Jews in London last month, according to the criminal complaint.
🎙️ Claire Valdez does an interview with streamer who called Jews ‘demonic ethnicity’
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New York Assembly member Claire Valdez, a democratic socialist who is running to represent parts of Brooklyn and Queens in Congress, did an interview on Friday with a Twitch streamer who was suspended from the platform last year for calling Jews a “demonic ethnicity,” according to Jewish Insider.
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Michael Beyer was suspended for a week after his comments resurfaced online. “Jewish is not an ethnicity,” he said during a livestream in 2024. “This constructed ethnicity, this demonic ethnicity, wholly invented.” Beyer later apologized, saying he meant that “Jewish ethnicity in Israel is a Zionist construction and is intended to flatten the true diversity of Judaism.”
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Valdez, a longtime critic of Israel, is facing off in a heated primary against Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez. Velazquez has endorsed Reynoso, while Mamdani has endorsed Valdez.
🗣️ NYC Jewish leaders condemn Mamdani’s Nakba Day video
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Some Jewish leaders have denounced Mayor Zohran Mamdani over a video that he posted on Friday marking Nakba Day, which commemorates the displacement of about 700,000 Palestinians when Israel was established. The video produced by City Hall features Palestinian-American author and translator Inea Bushnaq, who tells her story of displacement as a child in 1948.
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Mamdani’s recognition of Nakba Day marked a shift for NYC mayors, though it was consistent with his longstanding pro-Palestinian advocacy. His post came the day after the anniversary of the date Israel announced independence in 1948, which he did not note, breaking from his predecessors. Mamdani has also said repeatedly that he will skip the Israel Day parade on May 31.
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Jewish critics of Mamdani said he omitted important context about 1948 and slammed him for posting shortly before many Jews went offline for Shabbat. “Every opportunity the Mayor has had to lead as a unifying and inclusive leader, he has instead chosen to deepen division, inflame tensions, and fail in his fundamental responsibility to bring people together,” tweeted Daniel Rosenthal, the vice president of government affairs for UJA-Federation of New York.
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Bronx Rabbi Avi Weiss urged Jewish organizations to “boycott” Mamdani and “refuse to meet with him.” Mamdani is set to host Jewish community members for a celebration of Shavuot at Gracie Mansion this evening.
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Pro-Palestinian Jewish voices who have allied with Mamdani applauded the message. “Jewish New Yorkers say: End the ongoing Nakba! Thank you @NYCMayor for using your platform in this way,” said the local chapter of the group Jewish Voice for Peace.
👋 The Jewish lawyer running against a rabbi to represent the Upper West Side
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Meet Eli Northrup, the New York Assembly candidate who says the words “Zionism” and “Zionist” have outlived their usefulness. “I don’t know that it’s serving us to be categorizing people as Zionist or anti-Zionist,” Northrup told our Joseph Strauss.
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Northrup, a public defender and policy advocate, is running to represent the Upper West Side in Albany. His opponent is Stephanie Ruskay, who aims to become the first woman rabbi elected to a state legislature in U.S. history.
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Though Northrup and Ruskay have a lot in common, Northrup has distinguished himself as a strong supporter of Mamdani and volunteered for the mayor’s campaign last year. He also won an endorsement on Friday from Sen. Bernie Sanders. The race may end up hinging on which candidate is progressive enough for a district where one-third of households are Jewish and voters overwhelmingly supported Mamdani, says The New York Times.
🥒 Jewish-Asian pickling
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Stop by a Jewish-Asian pickling exchange at the 14th Street Y Tuesday from 7 to 11 p.m. to find out where kimchi meets sauerkraut.
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