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A bagel and lox giveaway draws a crowd of hundreds in Midtown
(New York Jewish Week) — There are few things in the world that famously impatient New Yorkers will line up for: theater tickets, hot nightclubs and really good food — even more so if it is free.
So it was on Thursday morning, when several hundred people stood on line near Bryant Park in Midtown to celebrate National Bagels and Lox Day, which falls every year on Feb. 9. There, Whitestone, Queens’ Utopia Bagels and Greenpoint’s Acme Smoked Fish teamed up to hand out free bagels-and-lox sandwiches from a pop-up food truck.
The weather Thursday morning was gray but mild, and people had started to queue on the corner of 42nd Street and 5th Avenue at 8:00 a.m., one hour before the bagel bonanza was set to begin. By 8:30, the line stretched to two dozen people — arms crossed and earbuds in, scrolling on their phones or craning their necks to see when the windows would open.
Two intrepid staff from Utopia Bagels assembled the sandwiches fresh on Thursday morning for nearly three hours. (New York Jewish Week)
The line quickly took on a life of its own. Every five minutes, it seemed to double, then double again. By 9:25, it was snaking around the block, folding over itself two or three times. The NYPD was called in to help reroute the crowd. People began running to save their spots.
Those who got on line — and yes, according to Paul Brian’s “Common Errors in English Usage,” Americans typically wait in line, while New Yorkers and Bostonians wait on line — early were able to smugly enjoy their bagels and lox on their way to work. Anyone who got there after the food truck close to when it opened officially at 9:00 a.m. risked having to call in late — maybe very late.
“Are you in line for a bagel? Seriously, is it that good?” a passerby shouted at the line.
“Well, it’s free!” came a response just as quickly.
The onlooker simply shrugged and kept walking. “Have a good day, I guess,” she called out behind her shoulder.
The line began to curve around the block before the NYPD helped move the truck and the bagels across the street. (New York Jewish Week)
Donovan, a 51-year-old from Brooklyn, joined the throng after his nearby workout class. “I really don’t want to wait, but it’s free — and free is better than cheap,” he told the New York Jewish Week, adding that he had a Zoom meeting at 11 a.m. and he was worried he wouldn’t make it.
The time was 9:21, and Donovan was near the middle of the line, with some 50-plus people behind him. “Time is money, too, but I wanted to get myself a treat,” he said, adding that he was eager to try Utopia Bagels — considered by many to be among the best, if not the best — bagel in the city. Even with the long wait, this was quite possibly quicker than schlepping to Queens from his Manhattan home.
Near the front of the queue were Eric and Angelica, who live in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, respectively. They’d been on line for 15 minutes and in that time it had grown considerably behind them.
A chalkboard on 42nd and 5th Avenue with a callout that sounded almost too good to be true. (New York Jewish Week)
“We’re questioning if it’s worth it, but now the line is so long we feel like we have to stay,” Angelica said, illustrating what an economist might call the “sunk cost fallacy.” She’d grown up near Utopia Bagels, she said, and loves to get their bagels when she visits her parents. The opportunity to get one on the way to work is rare, she added, so she was willing to wait.
The reward at the end was a freshly made “Super Nova” sandwich, which included Acme nova salmon, cucumbers, tomato, onion, capers and cream cheese on a plain bagel. On a regular day, the sandwich runs $14.25, plus a trip out to Whitestone.
Of course, even if New Yorkers are willing to wait a while for something tasty and free, many will still have an attitude about it — efficiency being the biggest gripe. Toward the very end of the line at about 9:30 was a woman who heard about the giveaway from a colleague and really wanted to nab a bagel. “I’m about to give up,” she said. “I don’t understand why they need to make every bagel [sandwich] fresh. They should have prepared some in advance!”
Pure joy as those on line were handed their free bagel sandwiches. (New York Jewish Week)
By 11:40 a.m. — 400 bagels and 30 pounds of nova later — supplies had run out. But those with time to spare tomorrow morning can grab a freebie at Acme’s “Fish Fridays” at their headquarters at 30 Gem Street in Greenpoint. There, each week, New Yorkers in-the-know line up to get Acme’s iconic smoked fish at wholesale prices. In addition to giving away the Super Nova sandwich, they are offering whitefish salad sandwiches and, in honor of the Super Bowl, specialty Buffalo-glazed hot smoked-salmon sandwiches.
“Just looking at all these people, I feel so much pride in what my great-grandfather and grandfather started, and what my father and brothers and I have continued,” said Emily Caslow, a fourth-generation co-owner of Acme Smoked Fish.
Caslow wasn’t surprised at the length of the line. “New Yorkers are not known for their patience, but they will wait when something is worth it,” she said. “And they always show up for us.”
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The post A bagel and lox giveaway draws a crowd of hundreds in Midtown appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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IDF Soldier from Connecticut Killed in Southern Lebanon Combat
Sgt. Moshe Yitzhak Hacohen Katz. Photo: courtesy.
i24 News – The Israel Defense Forces announced on Sunday morning the death of Sgt. Moshe Yitzhak Hacohen Katz, 22, originally from New Haven, Connecticut, who was killed during combat operations in southern Lebanon on Saturday.
According to the military, Katz was killed in a rocket attack targeting Israeli forces operating during efforts to expand a security zone in southern Lebanon. The IDF said the strike occurred overnight between Friday and Saturday, during a large-scale barrage aimed at units deployed in the area.
An initial military investigation found that one rocket directly hit an infantry unit from the 890th Battalion of the Paratroopers Brigade, killing Katz instantly. Three additional soldiers were wounded and are listed in moderate condition.
The IDF said the announcement of Katz’s death was delayed to ensure that all family members, including those in the United States, were properly notified.
The army also said that recent attacks have largely focused on the four IDF divisions operating in Lebanon. In the past 24 hours alone, approximately 250 rockets were launched toward Israeli positions, with 23 crossing into Israeli territory, according to military figures.
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AI-Generated Antisemitic Rabbi Racks Up Millions of Followers with Questionable Financial Advice
i24 News – An AI-generated character known as Rabbi Goldman has attracted millions of followers online by combining old antisemitic tropes with digital-age conspiracy theories. The avatar, presented as a caricature of a New York rabbi, plays off stereotypes of Jewish power and wealth while dispensing unsolicited “financial advice” and conspiracy-laden commentary about global elites.
In his videos, Rabbi Goldman claims that Jews have “known every secret for thousands of years,” weaving age-old prejudice into modern misinformation. Among his assertions: that the moon landing was faked, the US government will soon exert total control over its citizens, and billionaires stage yacht sinkings for insurance fraud—all allegedly foreknown by “the Jews.”
Before being removed on Sunday night, his Instagram account had racked up over 1.5 million followers. Yet the same page remains active on Facebook, which shares an owner with Instagram, with roughly 180,000 followers and thousands of interactions per post. The comments reveal an audience that is genuinely engaged with, and emboldened by, his vitriolic rhetoric.
Rabbi Goldman’s videos follow a simple formula designed to thrive in algorithm-driven ecosystems. They begin with a cryptic slogan implying secret knowledge or hidden wealth — invoking Jews as the keepers of these secrets — to draw viewers in and extend watch time, thus being featured on more people’s feeds. What follows is a cascade of AI-generated, factually dubious monologues, all culminating in a pitch: he can show you how to acquire the same “Jewish wisdom.”
That pitch leads to his website, where a manual titled How to Make and Invest Money sells for $9, and he claims it has been purchased by over 4,000 people. The real product, however, carries a fuller title — How to Make and Invest Money Like the Jews. The 62-page PDF amounts to generic, AI-spun financial advice labeled as “the Jewish method,” occasionally interspersed with random references to the Talmud. Just like the videos, it references how Jews have managed to be successful for thousands of years but offers little backup as to how that can translate to a real-world scenario.
Most of it plays off the stereotype of Jews being financially astute. But some lines, such as “Jews do not day trade… We buy the market — the entire market — and we hold it indefinitely,” remove the mask entirely.
Whether we like it or not, antisemitism thrives online—and platforms’ recent loosening of content restrictions under the banner of “free speech” has only amplified it. Social media has become an ideal environment for grifters to blend prejudice with profit. And that is, to their credit, what the creators of Rabbi Goldman have done.
They have clearly borrowed from the “manosphere” playbook—a cluster of influencers promoting hyper-masculine, materialistic lifestyles infused with misogyny and antisemitism. Like Andrew Tate and similar figures, Rabbi Goldman appeals to disaffected young men who feel alienated by the economy and society in which they live, eager to locate a scapegoat.
In Goldman’s case, the scapegoats are the elites and billionaires. But the framing of the Jews alongside the elites has, by proxy, made them the scapegoat too. By merging coded hatred with generic Instagram-style self-help language, the character transforms antisemitism into a marketable aesthetic.
So essentially, the creator of Rabbi Goldman has found a niche in an emerging market, playing off of antisemitism to sell cheaply produced slop to teenagers. Which is both entrepreneurial and morally awful. But the issue is that social media has bred the ground for this by rewarding shock content and letting antisemitism often go untouched. Even when they deleted his Instagram account, dozens of copycats popped up, including an absurdly ironic German-language version that uses the likeness of British politician Jeremy Corbyn.
And this is what happens when social media companies are reactive rather than proactive. They were chasing shadows after the account became so big. Instead, they need to cut it out at its source, be tougher on antisemitism, and be more vigilant with AI content.
And for social media users, it is hard to tell what’s real and what isn’t anymore. Just try not to get financial advice from an AI rabbi who thinks the moon landing was fake.
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Pezeshkian Clashes with IRGC Over Iran’s War Strategy and Economy
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2025, in Tianjin, China, September 1, 2025. Iran’s Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Deep divisions have reportedly emerged within Iran’s leadership as the war enters its fifth week, with tensions growing between President Masoud Pezeshkian and senior figures in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to a report by Iran International.
The report by Iran International claims Pezeshkian has sharply criticized the military escalation strategy led by IRGC commanders, warning of severe economic consequences if the conflict continues.
He is said to have cautioned that without a ceasefire, Iran’s economy could “completely collapse within three weeks to a month.”
According to the same report, Pezeshkian has called for the restoration of executive and administrative authority to the civilian government, a demand reportedly rejected by IRGC leadership, including Ahmad Vahidi.
Vahidi is said to have pushed back, blaming the current crisis on the government’s failure to implement structural reforms prior to the war and recent protest movements.
Meanwhile, signs of economic strain are becoming increasingly visible across Iran. Reports from several major cities describe ATMs that are empty, out of service, or inaccessible, alongside repeated disruptions to online banking systems.
Public sector employees have also reported delays in salaries and benefits over the past three months.