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A version of this piece first ran as part of the New York Jewish Week’s daily newsletter, rounding up the latest on politics, culture, food and what’s new with Jews in the city. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.
What you need to know today
- Jewish institutions spend record high on security: American Jewish institutions spent upwards of $1 billion on security in 2025, a record high, according to a new Jewish Federations of North America study. “The fact that Jewish communal spending has shot up 33% is a measure of how much more dangerous life has become for Jewish Americans, and sadly we know that we need even more investment to protect ourselves against the rising level of threat,” said the JFNA’s president and CEO, Eric Fingerhut.
- Judaica shop distances itself from Mamdani: Mayor Zohran Mamdani received a largely warm reception on his recent visit to the Borough Park Judaica shop Eichlers — which turned some critics of the mayor against the Jewish business. Yesterday, a representative of Eichlers clarified in a video that the business did not invite Mamdani, and that “none of our staff participated in any of the gifting, welcoming, all that.”
- 2 million pounds of kosher food: The Met Council, a Jewish non-profit that aims to fight poverty, has distributed more than 2 million pounds of kosher food to families ahead of the High Holidays. The organization says it is the “largest Rosh Hashanah food distribution ever in America.”
- Long Island honey cake tasting: The Jewish Community Relations Council of Long Island is hosting its second annual honey cake tasting ahead of Rosh Hashanah, on Tuesday, Sept. 8. State Sen. Steve Rhoads and Assemblymember Chuck Lavine will join the tasting, which starts at 10:30 a.m. at Zucker’s Bakery in Plainview, before moving to Bagel Boss in Hicksville at 11 a.m.
- Jewish military vets gather upstate: About 150 Jewish military veterans gathered last week for the 131st annual National Convention of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America, which was held in upstate New York this year.
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