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A kosher ‘kind of Chinese’ restaurant in New Jersey lands on NYT’s 2023 list of eateries ‘we’re most excited about’

(JTA) — Fat Choy was a critic’s pick for its flavorful, inventive vegan Chinese menu when it opened in Manhattan’s East Village in 2021. But pandemic and inflation pressures forced its closure the following year, and its chef, Justin Lee, considered exiting the kitchen to become a teacher.

Now, Fat Choy has reopened in suburban New Jersey, with a Jewish partner and kosher certification. And this week, the restaurant landed on the New York Times’ 2023 Restaurant List — the 50 restaurants across the United States that the newspaper’s dining critics are “most excited about.”

It’s not the only vegetarian restaurant on the list: New York City’s Superiority Burger, which recently reopened with a revamped menu, is also a pick. But Fat Choy stands out as the only eatery with kosher certification to win the distinction — though the newspaper didn’t note that in its blurb.

“If we’re lucky, the future might look something like Fat Choy,” dining critic Pete Wells wrote, saying that the restaurant offers an antidote to the lab-grown meat that is seen as the vanguard for plant-based dining. He added. “Dishes such as Not Quite Beef and Broccoli, made with roasted mushrooms, and Mr. Lee’s homage to General Tso, in which battered fried cauliflower takes the place of chicken, will make instant sense to anyone who’s ever been to Panda Express.”

Fat Choy’s resurrection came after Jonathan Krieger, the Jewish cofounder of Australian cafe chain Bluestone Lane, convinced Lee to reopen in the bedroom community of Englewood. Krieger, who moved to the New Jersey suburbs during the pandemic, is Fat Choy’s CEO. He has also opened a community space and spa in the area.

Named for a Cantonese new year’s greeting and describing itself as “kind of Chinese, also vegan,” Fat Choy displays a kosher insignia, in Hebrew, at the top of its website. It also includes a link to its certificate, which shows that its current status is guaranteed through the end of August 2024, except during Passover, along with a statement by Krieger.

“We are proud to be certified Kosher by the International Kosher Council, who uphold the strictest standards in Kashrut,” the statement says. “We believe in upholding the highest standards in food quality, cleanliness and treatment of our employees and guests.”

Operated by Rabbi Zev Schwarcz, the International Kosher Council specializes overseeing kosher regulations in vegan and vegetarian restaurants. Schwarcz, an Orthodox rabbi ordained at a haredi yeshiva in Ohio, has made himself the go-to certifier for such restaurants, which use very few potentially non-kosher ingredients, by offering lower-priced services, often to restaurants that aim to serve a diverse and not primarily Jewish clientele.

The agency has faced criticism from other certifying agencies for not requiring constant supervision by an in-person inspector and for working with restaurants that operate on Shabbat; some kosher-keeping diners do not eat in restaurants that it certifies.

Still, Fat Choy has generated some buzz among kosher-keeping diners, with multiple people posting in a prominent Facebook group, Great Kosher Restaurant Foodies, that they had enjoyed their meal at Fat Choy. “Had the General Lee’s Cauliflower — it was delicious,” a group member wrote in mid-August, shortly after the restaurant’s opening. “Hit the spot.”

Englewood, the city where Fat Choy has opened in a strip mall, is home to a significant Jewish community, as are several of its surrounding towns, including Teaneck. Residents can choose from a wide range of both synagogues and kosher eateries. Fat Choy’s location had originally been advertised as the future home of Urban Shuk, a kosher food hall offering a range of cuisines from different vendors.

Landing on the New York Times’ best-of list can be transformative for restaurants. After the newspaper placed Falafel Tanami in Brooklyn on its list of best meals in the city earlier this year, the family-owned kosher restaurant experienced a surge of customers, sold out of some of its signature products and began contemplating an expansion.

What’s coming for Fat Choy? If Krieger’s track record is any indication, more locations could be in the future: Bluestone Lane now has 50 sites across the United States, and he also previously ran a taco chain with eight locations. The restaurant itself was not available for comment: Its phone line was busy all day Tuesday.

It did post a note to its website about the New York Times accolade.

“Being ranked as the number 1 restaurant to try for New Jersey is a testament to our passion and commitment to reimagine what vegan can taste like and bring our flavor of Chinese delights to every plate,” the restaurant said.


The post A kosher ‘kind of Chinese’ restaurant in New Jersey lands on NYT’s 2023 list of eateries ‘we’re most excited about’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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Hamas Warns Against Cooperation with US Relief Efforts In Bid to Restore Grip on Gaza

Hamas terrorists carry grenade launchers at the funeral of Marwan Issa, a senior Hamas deputy military commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

The Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza has warned residents not to cooperate with the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, as the terror group seeks to reassert its grip on the enclave amid mounting international pressure to accept a US-brokered ceasefire.

“It is strictly forbidden to deal with, work for, or provide any form of assistance or cover to the American organization (GHF) or its local or foreign agents,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement Thursday.

“Legal action will be taken against anyone proven to be involved in cooperation with this organization, including the imposition of the maximum penalties stipulated in the applicable national laws,” the statement warns.

The GHF released a statement in response to Hamas’ warnings, saying the organization has delivered millions of meals “safely and without interference.”

“This statement from the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry confirms what we’ve known all along: Hamas is losing control,” the GHF said.

The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May, implementing a new aid delivery model aimed at preventing the diversion of supplies by Hamas, as Israel continues its defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group.

The initiative has drawn criticism from the UN and international organizations, some of which have claimed that Jerusalem is causing starvation in the war-torn enclave.

Israel has vehemently denied such accusations, noting that, until its recently imposed blockade, it had provided significant humanitarian aid in the enclave throughout the war.

Israeli officials have also said much of the aid that flows into Gaza is stolen by Hamas, which uses it for terrorist operations and sells the rest at high prices to Gazan civilians.

According to their reports, the organization has delivered over 56 million meals to Palestinians in just one month.

Hamas’s latest threat comes amid growing international pressure to accept a US-backed ceasefire plan proposed by President Donald Trump, which sets a 60-day timeline to finalize the details leading to a full resolution of the conflict.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced that Israel has agreed to the “necessary conditions” to finalize a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, though Israel has not confirmed this claim.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with Trump next week in Washington, DC — his third visit in less than six months — as they work to finalize the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

Even though Trump hasn’t provided details on the proposed truce, he said Washington would “work with all parties to end the war” during the 60-day period.

“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he wrote in a social media post.

Since the start of the war, ceasefire talks between Jerusalem and Hamas have repeatedly failed to yield enduring results.

Israeli officials have previously said they will only agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms, and goes into exile — a demand the terror group has firmly rejected.

“I am telling you — there will be no Hamas,” Netanyahu said during a speech Wednesday.

For its part, Hamas has said it is willing to release the remaining 50 hostages — fewer than half of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.

While the terrorist group said it is “ready and serious” to reach a deal that would end the war, it has yet to accept this latest proposal.

In a statement, the group said it aims to reach an agreement that “guarantees an end to the aggression, the withdrawal [of Israeli forces], and urgent relief for our people in the Gaza Strip.”

According to media reports, the proposed 60-day ceasefire would include a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a surge in humanitarian aid, and the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas, with US and mediator assurances on advancing talks to end the war — though it remains unclear how many hostages would be freed.

For Israel, the key to any deal is the release of most, if not all, hostages still held in Gaza, as well as the disarmament of Hamas, while the terror group is seeking assurances to end the war as it tries to reassert control over the war-torn enclave.

The post Hamas Warns Against Cooperation with US Relief Efforts In Bid to Restore Grip on Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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UK Lawmakers Move to Designate Palestine Action as Terrorist Group Following RAF Vandalism Protest

Police block a street as pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather to protest British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s plans to proscribe the “Palestine Action” group in the coming weeks, in London, Britain, June 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy

British lawmakers voted Wednesday to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, following the group’s recent vandalizing of two military aircraft at a Royal Air Force base in protest of the government’s support for Israel.

Last month, members of the UK-based anti-Israel group Palestine Action broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, a county west of London, and vandalized two Voyager aircraft used for military transport and refueling — the latest in a series of destructive acts carried out by the organization.

Palestine Action has regularly targeted British sites connected to Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems as well as other companies in Britain linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza in 2023.

Under British law, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has the authority to ban an organization if it is believed to commit, promote, or otherwise be involved in acts of terrorism.

Passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 385 to 26 in the lower chamber — the House of Commons — the measure is now set to be reviewed by the upper chamber, the House of Lords, on Thursday.

If approved, the ban would take effect within days, making it a crime to belong to or support Palestine Action and placing the group on the same legal footing as Al Qaeda, Hamas, and the Islamic State under UK law.

Palestine Action, which claims that Britain is an “active participant” in the Gaza conflict due to its military support for Israel, condemned the ban as “an unhinged reaction” and announced plans to challenge it in court — similar to the legal challenges currently being mounted by Hamas.

Under the Terrorism Act 2000, belonging to a proscribed group is a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison or a fine, while wearing clothing or displaying items supporting such a group can lead to up to six months in prison and/or a fine of up to £5,000.

Palestine Action claimed responsibility for the recent attack, in which two of its activists sprayed red paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyager aircraft and used crowbars to inflict additional damage.

According to the group, the red paint — also sprayed across the runway — was meant to symbolize “Palestinian bloodshed.” A Palestine Liberation Organization flag was also left at the scene.

On Thursday, local authorities arrested four members of the group, aged between 22 and 35, who were charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK, as well as conspiracy to commit criminal damage.

Palestine Action said this latest attack was carried out as a protest against the planes’ role in supporting what the group called Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.

At the time of the attack, Cooper condemned the group’s actions, stating that their behavior had grown increasingly aggressive and resulted in millions of pounds in damages.

“The disgraceful attack on Brize Norton … is the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action,” Cooper said in a written statement.

“The UK’s defense enterprise is vital to the nation’s national security and this government will not tolerate those that put that security at risk,” she continued.

The post UK Lawmakers Move to Designate Palestine Action as Terrorist Group Following RAF Vandalism Protest first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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US-backed Gaza Relief NGO Vows ‘Legal Action’ Against AP Claim Group Fired on Palestinian Civilians

Palestinians collect aid supplies from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US-backed nonprofit operating aid distribution centers in the Gaza Strip, is pushing back forcefully against an Associated Press report alleging that its contractors opened fire on Palestinian civilians.

The GHF is accusing the AP of withholding key evidence and relying on a “disgruntled former contractor” as a central source.

“In response, we are pursuing legal action,” the organization said in a statement released Wednesday.

GHF said it conducted an “immediate investigation” after being contacted by the AP, reviewing time-stamped video footage and sworn witness testimony. The group concluded that the allegations were “categorically false,” stating that no civilians were fired upon at any of their distribution sites and that the gunfire heard in the AP’s video came from Israeli forces operating outside the vicinity.

“What is most troubling is that the AP refused to share the full video with us prior to publication, despite the seriousness of the allegations,” the statement read. “If they believed their own reporting, they should have provided us with the footage so we could take immediate and appropriate action.”

The nonprofit’s public rebuttal raises sharp questions about the AP’s reporting process, suggesting the outlet declined to engage with the organization in good faith and instead leaned on a source GHF describes as having been terminated “for misconduct” weeks prior. The group also claimed the AP’s recent coverage of its activities had begun to “echo narratives advanced by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health.”

The AP has not yet responded publicly to the GHF’s accusations or provided clarification about its decision not to share the video footage before publication. The original report alleged that American contractors employed by GHF had fired weapons near or toward civilians.

The GHF statement confirmed that a contractor seen shouting in the AP’s video had been removed from operations, though the group insisted this was unrelated to any violence and did not constitute evidence of wrongdoing.

GHF, which describes its mission as delivering food to Gaza “safely, directly, and without interference,” said it remains committed to transparency but would not allow its operations to be “derailed by misinformation.”

The dispute highlights the fraught information environment in Gaza, where limited access and competing narratives frequently complicate the verification of on-the-ground events.

The post US-backed Gaza Relief NGO Vows ‘Legal Action’ Against AP Claim Group Fired on Palestinian Civilians first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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