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Michele Weiss and Justin Brasch mark milestones as first Orthodox Jewish mayors in their cities
(JTA) — This week, as New York City inaugurated its first Muslim mayor, two cities in the United States also made history with the swearing-in of their first Orthodox Jewish mayors.
While Orthodox mayors have been elected in cities and suburbs across the county, including New Jersey, New York State and Florida, the inaugurations of Michele Weiss in University Heights, Ohio, and Justin Brasch in White Plains, New York, this week marked a milestone for Orthodox representation in local politics.
In November, Bal Harbour, Florida, also swore in an Orthodox Jewish mayor, Seth Salver, making him the third Orthodox mayor currently serving in a municipality of Miami Dade.
Here is what you need to know about the United State’s newest Orthodox mayors:
Michele Weiss, first female Orthodox Jewish mayor in the United States
Michele Weiss was sworn in on Wednesday as mayor of University Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, making her one of the first Orthodox Jewish women to lead a city in the United States.
(Meyera Oberndorf, who served as mayor of Virginia Beach, Virginia from 1988-2008, was described as having an Orthodox Jewish upbringing.)
“I want to make a kiddush hashem,” Weiss told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, using a Hebrew term that can mean a positive Jewish role model. “I want to make sure that the Jewish community is seen in a good light, and that’s what I want to portray as a Jewish woman, as an Orthodox Jewish woman, and just make sure that that permeates.”
Weiss said that the Jewish community in University Heights had grown “a tremendous amount” in recent years, driven in part by the low cost of living compared to Cleveland and the fact that the city offers non-public school vouchers.
“It is the largest Orthodox contingency of residents in the state of Ohio, at this point it’s about 20-25%” said Weiss. “They definitely need to be represented, but of course, I represent everyone in the city, not just the Jewish residents.”
Growing up in a Conservative home in another suburb of Cleveland, Richmond Heights, Weiss said that she first became more observant in high school while participating in NCSY, the youth division of the Orthodox Union.
Weiss moved to University Heights in 1997, and worked as the controller and later the CFO of the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland, the largest Jewish day school in Ohio. She is married to her husband, Marcelo, and has three children and multiple grandchildren.
In 2013, Weiss said a coworker inspired her to volunteer as an observer for the League of Women Voters.
“I always was doing quiet good deeds,” said Weiss. “I was at the point, though, where I kept thinking, well, what could I do more for the community? So I had a colleague that said, ‘you know, why don’t you get involved with the city?’”
In 2016, Weiss won a seat on the University Heights city council, and was later appointed by the council as the city’s vice mayor for six years. Weiss said that she felt inspired to run for city council as a voice for the city’s Orthodox.
“I really feel that we’re put on this world to make a difference, and I felt that there needed to be a voice for a lot of reasons,” said Weiss. “I can relate to the secular world and the Jewish world and the Orthodox world, so I can fill that void and that spectrum knowing how to speak to certain people appropriately. I don’t think every religious leader can do that, so I have that ability, and I thought that I would be able to bridge that gap effectively.”
The same year, Weiss also founded the AMATZ initiative, a nonprofit that trains Jewish educators and principals on how to better serve their female students. Weiss also holds board positions on YACHAD, a Jewish disability nonprofit, and the Community Relations Committee at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.
During her tenure on the city council, Weiss often struggled to work with the city’s former mayor, Michael Dylan Brennan, who was censured twice by the council for “inappropriate language.”
During her campaign, Weiss said that she ran on unifying the city, building new municipal facilities and sharing resources with neighboring communities. While Weiss said the mayoral election in University Heights is nonpartisan, she is a Republican. She won the mayoral election with 56% of the vote.
To help bring together the city’s communities following the discord of Brennan’s tenure, Weiss said she planned on hosting programs and educational forums to “show the diversity of our residents.”
“I’m not focusing just on the Orthodox community, I have to focus on everybody, because we want to be a cohesive unit,” said Weiss. “But one of the things is, I think we need to do some healing and unify the community.”
While Weiss said her religious identity had not been a big factor on the campaign trail, during one debate she was asked about her Sabbath observance. Weiss said she had consulted her rabbi and the police chief to develop a plan for situations that would need her attention during Shabbat or Jewish holidays.
Looking ahead to her mayoral tenure, Weiss said she felt a responsibility to serve as a role model amid rising antisemitism.
“There’s hope for the Jewish community going forward in America, and because it’s scary times with with antisemitism right now, I want to be an example, not just to the religious community, but to women and girls that are Jewish that maybe don’t see themselves in that type of leadership position,” said Weiss.
Justin Brasch, first Orthodox mayor of White Plains
Justin Brasch, a career public servant and lawyer, was inaugurated Friday as the first Orthodox mayor of White Plains, a city just north of New York City in Westchester County and a hub of Jewish life.
Brasch, a Democrat, won the mayor’s seat in November with 72% of the vote against Republican opponent Lenny Lolis, becoming the city’s first new mayor since 2011.
Speaking with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about his upcoming mayoral tenure, Brasch said that he looked forward to setting an example as the county’s only Orthodox mayor, a distinction he said he had earned by building bridges across the city’s diverse communities.
“I love what I do, and everybody knows that I care, and of course I have to set an example, I have no choice, and I like that,” said Brasch. “I have to be accessible to everybody, help everybody, and I do. I go into all the communities, I go to Iftar and break the fast at the mosque, regularly attend the black churches, you name it. I’m there trying to be helpful and build bridges and make things better for people.”
Brasch, now 60, was just 17 when he made his first foray into politics, serving as an intern for then-congressman Ted Weiss on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. There, Brasch said he first “saw how much good government could do.”
“He and his office were in there helping people with housing insecurity and food insecurity and problems with Medicare and Medicaid, and supporting immigrants and helping immigrants get their proper paperwork, etc.,” said Brasch. “I was very inspired by that. I loved how much the people in that office and Congressman Weiss cared and how much good they could do through government.”
As a student at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Brasch founded the school’s Young Democrats chapter. After moving back to the Upper West Side, he served on the political committee of the New York City Sierra Club and the board of the Mid-Manhattan NAACP.
Brasch said that he had grown up “confusidox,” with Orthodox grandparents on one side and Reform grandparents on the other.
For several years after graduating college, Brasch lived with his Orthodox grandfather on the Upper West Side, an experience he said helped set him on a path for public service and toward becoming an Orthodox Jew.
“He had a real love for people, and felt that Jews need to be helping the Jewish community and the broader community, and he was always very inspiring to me, very down to earth,” said Brasch.
Brasch moved to White Plains with his wife, Juli Smith, in 2003 in search of more space, drawn by the city’s diversity, “down-to-earth” spirit and, at the time, small Jewish community. He is a member of the Modern Orthodox synagogues Young Israel of White Plains and Hebrew Institute of White Plains. Brasch and his wife, who is a commissioner in the White Plains Housing Authority, have three children.
“I joke that I have made a lot of mistakes in life, moving to White Plains was not one of them,” said Brasch. “It’s a very diverse place. People get along. People help one another. People are very supportive. We don’t have any of that hate and intolerance and anger that exist in other places.”
Since moving to White Plains, Brasch said that he had seen the local Jewish community grow at a steady pace. According to the UJA-Federation of New York’s 2023 population study, Westchester County is home to approximately 89,000 Jewish adults and 16,000 Jewish children.
“Our community is growing. People know that this is a great place to raise a family,” said Brasch. “We’re a very safe city and a great place. We have five synagogues, as I said, they all get along, everybody works together, and there’s a lot of harmony in our community.”
Beyond his work at his small legal firm in New York City, Brasch has served in myriad leadership roles in White Plains’ government, including on its planning board, school board budget advisory committee, youth bureau and a transportation task force.
He also served for 12 years on the county’s budget committee.
“That was an incredible opportunity to help and to review things and discover things, and to make connections, and certainly to show as a Jewish person, that we care and we’re involved,” said Brasch.
Before announcing his campaign for mayor, Brasch said that he believed his involvement in different communities in White Plains demonstrated to the local Democratic Party leadership that he was well suited for the role.
“We’re an extremely diverse city, and everybody sees that I go to all the different communities,” said Brasch. “I show up at the black churches, I go to the mosque, I go to the black community, the Latin community. I’m completely involved, and they felt that I have the leadership skills and abilities to keep our city moving in the right direction.”
Brasch said that his involvement in White Plains’ diverse communities also served another purpose: combatting antisemitism.
“I believe that we need to be more involved in the broader community to fight anti semitism,” said Brasch. “Unfortunately, the propaganda these days is that Jews are a selfish community that only cares about themselves. And actually, when people get to know us, they see that we’re good people, we care, we want to help all communities and help the world.”
Brasch said that he also expected some people to leave New York City for White Plains following the election of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whose election sparked concern among some of the city’s Jewish residents over his harsh criticism of Israel and avowed socialist politics.
“I do have a different vision from him, except with regard to our desire to help people who have less,” said Brasch of Mamdani. “I do think that there will be somewhat of a migration to White Plains from the city, because we’re a safe city that takes care of our people and builds a nice community.”
During his mayoral campaign, Brasch ran on several key issues, including expanding affordable housing, creating new green spaces and building an intergenerational community center that would put programming for the city’s youth and elderly under one roof.
“I’ve always believed that Judaism is about being the best person you can be helping the world,” said Brasch. “Whether we want to say it’s bringing kedushah or holiness to the world, whether it’s tikkun olam, we are supposed to be a light unto the nation, there’s, quote after quote and teaching after teaching, that we’re supposed to be doing a great job being decent and honest people.”
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
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Portuguese artists pull out of Jerry Seinfeld-headlined festival
(JTA) — Several Portuguese artists have dropped out of a comedy festival in Lisbon headlined by Jerry Seinfeld, citing their support for Palestinians and implying opposition to Seinfeld’s support for Israel.
At least six acts over recent days have canceled their appearances at the MEO Commedia a La Carte Fest, a new international comedy festival in the Portuguese capital. The event from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1 has advertised that it will host Seinfeld’s first live appearance in Portugal.
Though none of the artists who withdrew mentioned Seinfeld by name, some hinted at a boycott against his pro-Israel views. The Jewish comedian has become one of Hollywood’s most prominent advocates for Israel since October 2023.
Actress and comedian Inês Aires Pereira announced on Instagram on Saturday that “one of the names” featured at the festival “persistently defends ideas and acts that I consider indefensible,” adding, “We cannot relativize or normalize a genocide.”
The comedy duo Cebola Mol posted a graphic of themselves with a watermelon, widely recognized as a symbol of solidarity with Palestinians. “We will celebrate justice, freedom and joy with you on another occasion,” they said on Instagram.
The festival announced on Friday that performances by the groups Tributo Pop and Conjunto Cuca Monga were also canceled, but did not provide reasons. Two other acts, comedian Pedro Tochas and visual artist Vhils, shared their cancellations on Instagram without further details.
Seinfeld has aligned himself with Israel during its current conflict in Gaza, following decades of largely avoiding commenting on political issues. He visited Israel in December 2023 to meet with the families of hostages seized by Hamas on Oct. 7 of that year. Since then, he has attracted attention for a series of dismissive remarks toward pro-Palestinian advocates.
During an appearance last year at Duke University, Seinfeld compared pro-Palestinian activists with the Ku Klux Klan, saying, “The Klan is actually a little better here because they can come right out and say, ‘We don’t like Blacks, we don’t like Jews.’ OK, that’s honest.”
Representatives of Seinfeld and producers of the MEO Commedia a La Carte Fest did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The post Portuguese artists pull out of Jerry Seinfeld-headlined festival appeared first on The Forward.
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UK, France, Canada to ban goods from Israeli settlements
(JTA) —
The United Kingdom, France and Canada will ban goods produced in the West Bank settlements and Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Parliament on Tuesday, explaining that all such communities were deemed by his country to be illegal.
The declaration exacerbated the rising tensions riling the traditionally strong Israel-U.K. alliance. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar warned that these steps stoked antisemitism against British Jews in an on-camera statement to reporters in Jerusalem.
Sa’ar charged that the measures were a politicized hostile action deliberately taken ahead of Friday’s Jewish New Year holiday, with an eye toward influencing the country’s Oct. 27 elections.
Israel, he said, is responding by closing the British Consulate in Jerusalem that services Palestinians. It will also remove British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat and halt the British training of Palestinian Authority security forces. He added that Israel would bar the entry of 12 British politicians and other nationals involved in anti-Israel activity.
France and Canada have also announced a ban on the import of settlement goods, Miliband told parliament. He noted that the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway have either banned goods or in the process of doing so.
In the same address, Miliband affirmed Israel’s right to exist, reflected on his own Jewish roots and rejected the notion that there was a connection between the policy steps against West Bank settlement activity and the safety of British Jews.
What is motivating the U.K., Miliband said, is “a deep sense of shame about what has unfolded in Palestine under the eyes of the international community” as well as Israel’s “clear intent to bury the Palestinian state.”
In response, he said, the U.K. “will introduce an import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied [Palestinian] territory” as part of a “new comprehensive sanctions regime” that will be put in place within nine months.
This will include, he said, “action against specific companies and individuals who provide services, such as construction, infrastructure, financing or real estate for settlement expansion.”
To those who “finance or facilitate illegal settlements, let me say this, you will face the full force of U.K. sanctions,” Miliband warned.
Miliband clarified that the ban would not affect the export of religious items or life-saving Israeli medications. He explained that trade with the settlements was minimal and that the greater impact would be the sanctions on services.
As part of declaring the ban, Miliband said that the British government is also adopting the International Court of Justice’s 2024 advisory opinion that all Israeli settlement activity over the pre-1967 border was illegal.
But others in Parliament pushed back against Miliband’s declaration. MP Richard Tice of Britain’s right-wing Reform party said that the sanctions were a grave mistake that would “embolden the scourge of antisemitism against British Jews on British streets,” endanger ties with the United States and lead to “tit for tat” sanctions from Israel.
Miliband shot back that “no British Jew is responsible for the policies of the Israeli government and it behooves all of us to make sure that there can be no confusion about that,” saying that Tice’s statement “fell foul” of that goal.
The U.K. action is the latest escalation in tensions between Israel and the Labour-led British government headed by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who took power in July.
The prior government, led by former Labour Premier Keir Starmer, had already angered Israel by recognizing Palestinian statehood in 2025, suspending licenses for the export of arms to Israel and freezing talks toward a free-trade agreement.
France and Canada are also announcing a ban on the import of settlement goods, Miliband told parliament. He explained that the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain, and Norway have either banned goods or in the process of doing so.
In concert with Miliband’s appearance at Parliament, Britain and 11 other countries issued a joint statement pledging “their intention to introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements which are illegal under international law.”
Those other countries were Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
The 12-country bloc said it was taking this step to maintain the viability of the two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, describing the situation in the West Bank as “rapidly deteriorating.”
In its statement, the bloc stressed that it was taking this step amid an “unprecedented level of settler violence and settlement expansion, including the unacceptable decision to publish tenders for the E1 settlement project.” That project is seen as cutting through land that would render a Palestinian state unviable.
The post UK, France, Canada to ban goods from Israeli settlements appeared first on The Forward.
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California Gov. Newsom, a presidential hopeful, slams Netanyahu and AIPAC in PBS interview
(JTA) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a 2028 presidential hopeful, ventured farther than ever in his criticisms of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a weekend interview that delved into the Democratic Party’s relationship with Israel.
“I think it’s overwhelmingly opposed to the current regime in Israel,” Newsom said of the party, in a PBS News Hour interview with Amna Nawaz.
Pressed by Nawaz on divisions among his colleagues on Israel, Newsom denied that the subject is “even controversial anymore,” stressing that “the condemnation of what Bibi Netnayahu’s doing is almost universal.” The governor slammed the Israeli military’s conduct in Gaza and condemned the settler violence that has expanded in the West Bank.
“We want a democratic and secure Israel, and we want a secure and democratic Palestinian state as well right next door,” Newsom said, adding that Netanyahu has proved counterproductive to achieving a two-state solution.
Though he repeatedly maintained that Democrats are not divided on Israel, the governor acknowledged that “some of the language” by fellow Democrats “has been weaponized.” Certain “aspects of rhetoric” from individual candidates, he added, are on “the spectrum of concern,” Newsom said.
A number of candidates from the party’s far left place most if not all of the blame on Israel for a war in Gaza that has resulted in tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths. and downplay the role of Hamas in launching the war with the Oct. 7, 2023 raid inside Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were abducted. Newsom’s rhetoric is of a piece with party moderates who are critical of the Israeli government but who call for a secure Israel, reject Hamas and who resist pressure from the left to call Israel’s actions “genocide.”
Newsom nonetheless insisted that the party is unified on the issue. “But I think universally, everyone agrees, even if you don’t think it’s genocide, that it’s been a moral catastrophe,” he said of the war in Gaza. “The vast majority of us also agree about the atrocities on Oct. 7th and how horrific and unacceptable it was, and the terrorism that was perpetrated by Hamas.”
Newsom was among the many U.S. politicians to visit Israel in October 2023, meeting with survivors and families impacted by the attacks.
During a March book tour, Newsom sparked a backlash when he said that some people were referring to Israel “appropriately as sort of an apartheid state.” He quickly walked back these remarks, telling Politico that he had used the term “in the context of the direction that Bibi is going.”
“I revere the state of Israel,” he declared at the time.
The governor warned, however, that if Netanyahu proceeds in the direction of West Bank annexation, apartheid could become “a word you may hear others use.”
In addition to amplifying his condemnation of Netanyahu this weekend, Newsom also addressed the fact that fewer Democrats are accepting funds from political action committees affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobbying group.
As for Newsom himself, Track AIPAC, an organization that compiles Federal Election Commission data to flag pro-Israel campaign contributions, did not log any such donations to the likely presidential candidate. But the group did flag him as “pro-Israel.”
“It’s a minority of Democrats that are accepting AIPAC,” the governor said, noting a “dramatic change” over the last couple years.
“The vast majority of Democrats I talk to, even Democrats in the past that have in the past have taken AIPAC money, are pledging not to now,” Newsom added. “That’s more of a mainstream position, interestingly, within the Democratic Party.”
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