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Abe Lebewohl Park honors murdered 2nd Ave Deli founder and East Village ‘mensch’
(New York Jewish Week) — “I need two matzah ball soups!” a deli clerk yells into the microphone during the lunch rush at 2nd Ave Deli — which, since 2006, is no longer located on Second Avenue but on East 33rd Street between Lexington and Third Avenue.
While the original deli building is now a bank, the Midtown location boasts the same old-school vibe: The menu is packed with Ashkenazi treats such as knishes, stuffed cabbage and, of course, pastrami; the gregarious waiters are full of personality; the logo’s Hebraic-styled lettering remains unchanged.
But one fundamental part of the restaurant’s DNA didn’t make the move: its founder, Abe Lebewohl. He was robbed and killed on his way to the bank on March 4, 1996, in a crime that transfixed New York City and has yet to be solved.
Back at East 10th Street and Second Avenue, across from where the deli sat for over 50 years, is a triangular, tree-lined plaza named Abe Lebewohl Park. “They called him the mayor of Second Avenue,” Steve Cohen, the longtime manager of the deli, told the New York Jewish Week of his former boss.
The decision to name the park after Lebewohl was a “no-brainer,” as Cohen called it. It was “neighborhood people” who initiated the naming of the plaza, which is located in front of St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery and dates to 1799. As it happens, in 1980, Lebewohl had joined forces with Marilyn Appleberg, who was president of the 10th and Stuyvesant Streets Block Association, in an effort to clean up the plaza and make it more welcoming.
“That was his neighborhood,” Cohen said. “He was ubiquitous and all-encompassing. When you were around him he blanketed you.”
That Lebewohl would make his mark in Manhattan wasn’t preordained. Lebewohl was born in Kulykiv, Ukraine, in 1931. When World War II broke out, his father was sent to Siberia and Abe and his mother went to Kazakhstan. The family ultimately reunited and ended up at a refugee camp in Italy, where Abe’s brother Jack was born. In 1950, when Abe was 19, the Lebewohls emigrated to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Eager to help his family, Abe went to work as a soda jerk at a deli in Coney Island.
In 1954, Abe opened 2nd Ave Deli with two partners. A few years later, he bought out his partners, and the deli would remain on that corner for decades to come.
Cohen first met Lebewohl while he was working for an electrician, and Lebewohl was looking for a bookkeeper for the deli. Cohen took that job and has now worked at the 2nd Ave Deli in various roles for 40 years. He said Lebewohl was always urging people to “do better” and “would bother you until you did the right thing.”
“He was a world-class noodge but he did it with such warmth,” Cohen said, adding, using a word referring to the Jewish way of life, “He believed very strongly in Yiddishkeit.”
Cohen said Lebewohl was always helping people. One, he recalled, Lebewohl personally drove a 100-year-old customer to the tailor from the deli because he couldn’t get a cab. Another time, he went out of his way to deliver a Shabbat meal to an elderly woman every week. And there was a time he flew to England to cater a wedding so the family of the groom didn’t have to pack deli food in their suitcases. Cohen added that there were several instances when Lebewohl told customers who came up short on their checks, “You’ll pay me next time.”
Cohen said Lebewohl’s kindness extended to his staff, too “I broke my back and I was in the hospital for six weeks and he visited me every day and brought me food every single day,” he recalled. “I would give out the food — I had doctors coming to my room and I would say, ‘You were here yesterday, give it to another doctor.’”
Lebewohl was known for his faith and optimism in people: “He gave them his best and he expected the same in return,” Cohen said in a speech on “Abe Lebewohl Night” in 1998 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage.
The deli is now under ownership of Lebewohl’s nephews, Josh and Jeremy Lebewohl. Following the move uptown, they opened a second location on the Upper East Side. It’s been 27 years since his murder and, on 33rd Street, there is still a sign in the deli’s window offering a $150,000 reward for information that will help solve the crime.
In addition to the park, Lebewohl left another lasting mark on Second Avenue: the Yiddish Theatre Walk of Fame, which he installed on the sidewalk in 1984 to honor Yiddish theater actors, playwrights and composers, including Fyvush Finkel and the Barry Sisters.
“One of the great things Abie has taught me was that you could be a success in business and still be a mensch,” Cohen said. “I attended Talmud Torah [school] for 10 years and learned more about being a good Jew and a good human being working for Abie. It certainly was more palatable.”
Lebewohl was known for sitting down with his customers and enjoying half a sandwich with them. “You thought, and rightly so, you were coming to his home to eat,” Cohen said.
That same sort of hospitality is kept alive to this day: When I arrived at the 33rd Street at the midtown location to interview Cohen, he immediately asked if I wanted a sandwich, some matzah ball soup, the works. When I declined, he turned to the deli clerk behind him and said, “Let me get some pieces of sliced pastrami and corned beef.”
Cohen said he consciously carries on Lebewohl’s way of interacting with customers. “I tell people when they start to work here; you can either be entertained by people all day or assaulted by people all day, now which one are you gonna have a better day with?” he said. “Abe always felt he was entertained by people and he wanted to entertain people.”
During our conversation, every time someone walked into the deli, Cohen greeted them like an old friend. “When people leave here and they say to me, ‘It’s exactly like I remember it,’ to me that’s the greatest compliment,” he said. That’s the way I want it. I want people to say it’s like when Abie was here. I want to carry out his legacy.”
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The post Abe Lebewohl Park honors murdered 2nd Ave Deli founder and East Village ‘mensch’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Iran Unveils New Underground Missile Base Amid Rising Tensions With US, Israel
Iran unveils new underground missile base amid rising tensions with US and Israel. Photo: Screenshot
Iran has revealed a new underground missile base, which officials claim symbolizes Tehran’s growing “Iron Fist,” equipped with thousands of precision-strike missiles to bolster its military power amid rising tensions with the United States and Israel.
The Aerospace Division of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), a state military force and internationally designated terrorist organization, revealed the underground base, which Iranian media described as a “missile megacity,” on Tuesday.
This is the third facility of its kind to be revealed in under a month, highlighting the expansion of Iran’s military capabilities — or at least its attempts to put on a brave face for the world.
According to Janatan Sayeh, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington, DC-based think tank, the regime’s recent missile displays and military drills serve a dual purpose: bolstering domestic support through propaganda while reinforcing its psychological warfare against the US and Israel.
“While Iran inflates its military capabilities, its ballistic missile program remains the primary threat,” Sayeh told The Algemeiner.
However, he also explained that “Iran’s air and naval forces lag significantly behind their American and Israeli counterparts,” posing little challenge to the superior firepower of the US Navy or the Israeli fleet.
WATCH: Iran’s IRGC unveils what it claims is its largest ‘underground missile city,’ housing thousands of precision-guided missiles. pic.twitter.com/RzZLxJzJgp
— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) March 25, 2025
According to Iranian state media, some of Tehran’s newly unveiled missiles are capable of defeating the United States’ THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) system, with some of them designed to evade the system.
“Iran’s Iron Fist is far stronger [today] than before,” Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, said in a speech.
“All the [defensive] dimensions that are required for generating a [military] capability that is ten times [stronger than] the one deployed during Operation True Promise II, have been created,” the commander said during the unveiling, referring to the regime’s name for its ballistic-missile attack against Israel in October.
Although the Islamic Republic has the largest missile arsenal in the Middle East, Sayeh explained that its limitations became evident during the October missile barrage targeting the Jewish state.
“Much like its naval swarm tactics, the regime’s missile strategy hinges on overwhelming adversaries — whether the US Navy or Israel’s David’s Sling and Arrow defense systems,” Sayeh told The Algemeiner.
Last April, Iran launched what was then an unprecedented direct attack on Israeli soil. In that attack, Iran fired some 300 missiles and drones at Israel, nearly all of which were downed by the Jewish state and its allies.
The failed assault, dubbed by Tehran as “Operation True Promise,” was in retaliation for an alleged Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria’s capital of Damascus that killed seven IRGC members, including two senior commanders.
At the time, Iranian officials said the operation showcased “Iran’s ability to strike Israeli military and intelligence targets with surgical accuracy,” adding that they had only deployed a fraction of their firepower.
Iran’s second direct attack on Israel in October came after Israeli forces killed several top leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, both terrorist proxies of the Iranian regime, including the assassination of Hamas’s political chief in Tehran.
According to Sayeh, Tehran views sheer numbers as a way to compensate for its technological shortcomings.
“If Iran were to meaningfully intensify its ballistic missile attacks in the future, it could inflict significant damage with a sufficient volume of projectiles,” Sayeh told The Algemeiner.
“Recognizing this threat, Israel has already targeted missile stockpiles and is likely to do so again should a new round of direct military confrontation arise between the two countries.”
Israel responded in late October to Iran’s second attack with a sophisticated three-wave strike that targeted Iranian missile production sites and air defenses, leaving Tehran vulnerable and crippling its key defensive capabilities.
According to Israeli defense sources, the operation also significantly hindered Iran’s missile systems and production capacity, reducing its ability to launch large-scale attacks. The Islamist regime’s ballistic missile program will need at least a year to recover from the strikes, experts said after the strikes.
Against a backdrop of escalating regional tensions, the US gave Tehran a two-month ultimatum earlier this month to reach a nuclear agreement, warning of severe consequences if it refuses.
During the unveiling of the new underground missile base this week, Iran’s military chief said that the Islamic Republic was advancing its defensive capabilities at a much faster rate than its enemies’ recovery.
“The enemy will definitely fall behind in this balance of power,” Bagheri said during his speech.
Last week, the IRGC deployed advanced missile systems on the islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa, reinforcing its military presence in the Persian Gulf. These islands are located along a critical maritime route for global energy transit, with more than one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passing through the strategic corridor.
According to Iranian state media, these islands are now equipped with “dozens of missile defense and air defense systems.” Additionally, the IRGC’s fast-attack and assault vessels patrolling the Persian Gulf are “armed with new cruise missiles and ready for operations” capable of targeting naval assets.
In an effort to counter Tehran’s expanding military position, Washington has reinforced its naval presence in the region by dispatching additional amphibious assault ships and support vessels to mitigate the risk of Iranian threats to the free flow of commerce through the Strait of Hormuz.
The post Iran Unveils New Underground Missile Base Amid Rising Tensions With US, Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Article Suggests Poor Gazans Might Throw Out Food Aid During Ramadan Because of ‘Large Number’ of It
Trucks carrying aid move, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hussam Al-Masri
Hamas mouthpiece Felesteen recently featured an article about how Gazans should fulfill the obligation of zakat (charity), during this year’s Ramadan holiday.
In the article, questions were asked to the Mufti of Khan Younis, Sheikh Muhammad Ihsan Ashour.
There are questions about whether one may transfer money to the recipient’s bank account where they would have to pay high fees to withdraw it, or whether a widow who receives vouchers to get goods for her children can use them to help her mother.
This one opinion from Ashour is noteworthy (translation courtesy of Google Translate and Grok AI translation):
Sheikh Ashour pointed out that it is not permissible for the zakat payer to purchase food parcels for the poor from his zakat money, lest the poor person be forced to sell the food parcels for a low price or throw them out into the streets due to their large number among the people, as we saw previously.
He seems to be saying that there has been so much food aid in Gaza that poor people didn’t know what to do with it all, so they either threw the aid into the streets or they sold them for next to no money since no one needed it. The article specifically references the 2025 Ramadan holiday, though there is no explicit mention of the time period when food was thrown out.
Still, this is the advice being given in 2025.
A famine zone would not have this problem — which raises serious questions about how many in the media could continue to claim that a famine is even close to happening.
The post Article Suggests Poor Gazans Might Throw Out Food Aid During Ramadan Because of ‘Large Number’ of It first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Rashida Tlaib Introduces Anti-Israel Amendment to Bill Meant to Reduce Foreign Influence on US Universities
US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) addresses attendees as she takes part in a protest calling for a ceasefire in Gaza outside the US Capitol, in Washington, DC, US, Oct. 18, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Leah Millis
US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) has introduced an anti-Israel amendment into the Republican-led DETERRENT Act, which aims to crack down on foreign gifts and contracts at American universities, arguing that the Jewish state’s relationships with US institutions of higher education should be closely monitored.
While speaking on the House floor on Tuesday, Tlaib stated that Israel should be added to the “countries of concern” influencing American universities. Tlaib, one of the most outspoken anti-Israel members of Congress, claimed that the Republican Party has advanced the Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions (DETERRENT) Act in order to “scapegoat” the issues plaguing US higher education on countries such as Iran, Qatar, and China.
The DETERRENT ACT, if passed, would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to limit contracts with specific foreign entities and countries adversarial to the United States, mandate faculty and staff reveal gifts and contracts from foreign actors, and require that certain foreign investments within endowments be disclosed.
“We know that President Trump is the biggest threat to our education system in America right now, not someone in North Korea or China, so please give me a break,” Tlaib said in her remarks, adding that she tacked on an amendment to ensure the bill includes “countries whose leaders have active arrest warrants issued against them by the International Criminal Court [ICC]” and “countries actively on trial with the International Court of Justice [ICJ] for violating the Genocide Convention and the Geneva Conventions.”
The ICC issued arrest warrants last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, for alleged war crimes in Gaza. Meanwhile, South Africa has been pursuing a case at the ICJ accusing Israel of committing “state-led genocide” in its defensive war against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza.
US and Israeli leaders have lambasted both the ICC arrest warrants and ICJ case as baseless, counterproductive, and indicative of a deeply entrenched anti-Israel bias at both institutions.
During her speech, Tlaib pointed to her colleagues’ support for Israel as supposed evidence of their ineffectiveness in “holding countries with human rights abuses accountable” and their unwillingness to “uphold international law.” The firebrand progressive then accused her colleagues of engaging in aggressive action to protect the “Israeli government apartheid regime” by supporting the detainment and arrest of non-citizen college students who protest Israel.
In the 17 months following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel, Tlaib has levied a series of withering criticisms toward the Jewish state. Tlaib, the only Palestinian American woman elected to the US Congress, has repeatedly accused Israel of committing “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza as well as causing a famine, despite the Israeli military’s efforts during the war to mitigate civilian casualties and allow aid to enter the enclave.
“This is not about transparency, as it is claimed. It’s truly about destroying freedom of speech,” Tlaib asserted.
The DETERRENT Act was advanced due to concerns over American universities being targeted by foreign adversaries, seeking to use their financial influence to censor free speech and distribute anti-Western propaganda. Following the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, the topic became a key issue in Washington as campuses became a hotbed of anti-Zionist and anti-American protests.
Critics have also raised alarms over lavish financial gifts and investments given to American universities by countries with close ties to terrorism such as Qatar, which hosts several high-ranking Hamas leaders who often live in luxury outside of the Gaza Strip.
Some observers argue that Qatar severely curtails academic freedom at American schools. Prestigious universities such as Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, and Northwestern operate campuses in the Middle Eastern country. Texas A&M announced plans to shutter its Qatar campus in February 2024.
The legislation also comes as the Trump administration has moved to detain and deport non-citizens accused of supporting internationally recognized terrorist groups. Specifically, the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian legal resident from Syria who completed post-graduate studies at Columbia in December who was apprehended by federal authorities for supporting Hamas, has sparked outrage among liberal lawmakers.
Tlaib decried Khalil’s arrest and penned a letter to Homeland Security Kristi Noem, demanding that Khalil be “freed from DHS custody immediately.” The missive also claimed that the arrest of Khalil represents another example of the Trump administration’s purported “anti-Palestinian racism” and accused the White House of trying to dismantle the “Palestine solidarity movement in this country.”
The post Rashida Tlaib Introduces Anti-Israel Amendment to Bill Meant to Reduce Foreign Influence on US Universities first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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