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Beatrice Weber, 48, Yaffed executive director
Beatrice Weber, 48, is the executive director of Yaffed, whose mission is to improve the quality of secular education in New York’s Hasidic and haredi yeshivas. A speaker, activist and writer raised in the haredi Orthodox community in Toronto, and a board member of Right to Parent, she is the first person to successfully sue a New York City school for its failure to provide a secular education in accordance with state education law. Weber lives in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
For the full list of this year’s 36 to Watch — which honors leaders, entrepreneurs and changemakers who are making a difference in New York’s Jewish community — click here.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Ordained as an Interspiritual Minister, I inspire others to tell their stories and become change makers in their own lives and beyond.
Growing up, everything was decided for me. At the age of 18, I was married off to a rabbi in my ultra-Orthodox community. I had never even finished high school. For years, I tried to be the perfect submissive wife. I dressed modestly, even shaving all the hair from my head. I cared for our children and household. For over two decades, I was stuck, living imprisoned in my own life. When I finally left my marriage with my four youngest children, I faced severe opposition from my family and the community. While leaving to a new city and life was a huge victory for me, it also felt like the start of a battle. I had to fight for custody of my youngest children. I had to fight for the very permission to live my own life.
Deprived of a well-rounded education and knowledge of the world as a Hasidic child, I have devoted my life to telling the truth about the institutionalized education deprivation taking place in many Hasidic and haredi communities and advocating for change. Recently, I have been encouraged by invitations to address Jewish communities and put together storytelling events and know that the only way we will effect lasting change is to unite on the issue of education which is core to Jews throughout the world and over the course of our history. I also know that change comes from within and I will continue being a “secret sister” to the ultra-Orthodox men and women who contact me under the cover of anonymity, seeking support in their own life journey to self-actualization.
Who is your New York Jewish hero?
Ruth Messinger, global ambassador of American Jewish World Service and former Manhattan Borough President
What’s a fun/surprising fact about you?
I have 10 kids.
How does your Jewish identity or experience influence your work?
My personal biography is the catalyst for the work I do. I believe in the Jewish ethic of “Justice, justice shall you pursue.” It is unjust to deprive a child of their legal right to an education and to a future bright with possibilities.
Was there a formative Jewish experience that influenced your life path?
Being the grandchild of Holocaust survivors.
Do you have a favorite inspiring quote?
From Ethics of the Fathers (Pirkei Avot): “It is not up to you to finish the task; neither are you exempt from taking part.” (2:21)
What is your favorite place to eat Jewish food in New York?
My kitchen!
What is your favorite book about New York?
“All of a Kind Family,” by Sydney Taylor
What are three spots in NYC that all Jewish New Yorkers should visit?
The Tenement Museum. Hasidic Williamsburg. A guided tour of Union Square, where Jewish progressives have protested and agitated for change for more than a century.
Anything else you’d like us and our readers to know about you?
I am writing a memoir.
How can people follow you online?
Beatriceweber.com, Facebook, Twitter
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The post Beatrice Weber, 48, Yaffed executive director appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Canada Boosts Security at US, Israeli Diplomatic Buildings After Consulate Shooting
A member of law enforcement personnel works at the scene outside the US Consulate after shots were fired, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, March 10, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. Photo: REUTERS/Kyaw Soe Oo
Canada is increasing security around US and Israeli diplomatic buildings after a shooting at the US consulate in Toronto, a Canadian police official said on Tuesday.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Chief Superintendent Chris Leather said the consulate shooting is being investigated as a “national security incident,” although it’s too early to determine the motive.
Leather said the US and Israeli consulates in Toronto, the country’s most populous city, and embassies in the capital Ottawa will be seeing a change in the security posture in response to the shooting.
“These consulates deserve a heightened amount of vigilance and security at this time in the hopes that we can bring the temperature down in the coming days and weeks,” Leather told reporters at a press conference.
Toronto Police Deputy Chief Frank Barredo said police were called to the US consulate in Toronto around 5:30 am ET on Tuesday, where they found spent shell casings and damage to the building.
Barredo said witness evidence indicated that two men exited a white SUV that was stopped outside the consulate around 4:30 am ET, shot a handgun at the front of the building and then drove away.
While there were people in the building at the time of the shooting, police say no one was injured.
SYNAGOGUE SHOOTINGS
The consulate shooting follows three separate incidents last week where gunshots were fired at synagogues in the Toronto area. No one was injured in those shootings. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called the attacks “criminal antisemitic assaults.”
Barredo said it’s too early to draw a connection between the consulate shooting and those at the synagogues.
“We definitely will be looking at any possible connections. Obviously, it is far too early in this investigation, but we do not look at them in isolation,” he said.
Canada‘s public safety minister described the consulate shooting as an unacceptable incident.
“The shooting … is absolutely unacceptable. Canada will never tolerate intimidation and violence of any kind, including towards our American friends in Canada,” Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said in a post on X.
The US State Department said in a statement that it was aware of the incident and was closely monitoring the situation in coordination with local law enforcement.
Separately, on Sunday, an improvised device exploded in Norway at the US embassy in Oslo, and police were still searching for a suspect, with a possible link to the Iran war among the lines of inquiry.
In New York City, two men have been charged with terrorism after throwing a homemade bomb at anti-Islam protesters over the weekend.
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Suspected Hamas Member Detained in Cyprus Over Weapons Procurement
Palestinian Hamas terrorists stand guard at a site as Hamas says it continues to search for the bodies of deceased hostages, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, Dec. 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer
Cypriot authorities have detained a suspected member of Palestinian terrorist group Hamas wanted in Germany for procuring weapons and ammunition for attacks on Israeli or Jewish facilities, German federal prosecutors said on Tuesday.
The Lebanese-born suspect, identified only as Kamel M. in line with German privacy rules, was detained at Cyprus‘ Larnaca airport on March 6, arriving from Lebanon, they added in a statement.
The suspect is wanted in relation to the transport of 300 rounds of live ammunition, according to prosecutors. It wasn’t clear from the statement where the rounds had come from, or where they were thought to be heading.
“The operation served as preparation for deadly Hamas attacks on Israeli or Jewish institutions in Germany and Europe,” they said.
Police also searched the suspect’s apartment in Berlin.
Once Kamel M. is extradited to Germany, a judge will decide on pre-trial detention, the statement said.
Attacks against Jews and Jewish targets have risen worldwide since Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, triggered by the Islamist group’s 2023 attacks on Israel.
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Russia Told Trump It Isn’t Sharing US Military Asset Info With Iran, Says Witkoff
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attend a documents signing ceremony in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool
Russia has denied sharing intelligence with Iran on US military assets in the Middle East, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Tuesday in a CNBC interview.
Witkoff said the denial came during a phone call that US President Donald Trump had with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.
The Washington Post reported on Friday that Russia was providing Iran with targeting information that included locations of US warships and aircraft in the Middle East.
“Yesterday on the call with the president, the Russians said that they have not been sharing,” Witkoff said when asked if Washington thought Russia had shared with Tehran intelligence about the location of US military assets.
“We can take them at their word. But they did say that. And yesterday morning, independently, Jared [Kushner] and I had a call with [Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri] Ushakov who reiterated the same,” said Witkoff.
He added: “That’s a better question for the intel people, but let’s hope that they’re not sharing.”