Muslim groups launch anti-BDS initiative

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What you need to know today

• A coalition of Muslim groups launched an anti-BDS initiative. The new group, called the Unbreakable Bond Coalition, announced that it’s starting an alternative to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel that will invest in Israel, its Arab citizens and Palestinians employed by Israeli companies, reported AmNY. The initiative will launch on July 9 and aims to mobilize at least 500,000 pro-Israel supporters to invest in Israeli treasury bonds.

• NYC Jews are the most targeted minority in hate crimes this year, police records say. The NYPD documented 178 anti-Jewish hate crimes from January to June. Overall crime declined to historic lows, according to the department’s biannual crime report, the Algemeiner reported.

• Psychologists launched a program to combat antisemitism in mental health care. Miri Bar-Halpern, a lecturer in psychology at Harvard Medical School, and Dean McKay, a professor of psychology at Fordham University, are rolling out a program to train future clinicians in providing care for Jewish patients, reported Jewish Insider. The program will be piloted in doctoral psychology programs at universities in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

• A new Riverdale synagogue was approved by a community board. The construction of the synagogue was approved this month by Bronx Community Board 8’s Land Use Committee, reported The Riverdale Press. The project, set to end with a 4,100-square foot synagogue that holds 120 people, is still awaiting approval from the New York City Planning Commission and the New York City Department of Buildings.