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Citing antisemitism, the CEO of Kars4Kids is challenging New York’s concealed carry law in court
(JTA) — The CEO of Kars4Kids, the Jewish charity with a catchy advertising jingle, is challenging New York state’s concealed carry law in court — claiming that it leaves children vulnerable to antisemitic attacks.
Eliohu Mintz, who heads Kars4Kids, is also the CEO of Oorah, a Jewish outreach nonprofit funded by Kars4Kids that runs a summer camp in upstate New York. In a federal lawsuit filed Friday, Mintz and a camp administrator, Eric Schwartz, say the law exposes the camp to antisemitic attack because it bans private citizens from carrying guns in places where religious activities are conducted.
“The violent attacks on Jewish people targeting places of worship and places where children are — the most vulnerable of the population — are random and provide the victims with no notice or advance warning,” Mintz said in a declaration attached to the lawsuit. “I cannot be left unprepared and unarmed in the event that an evildoer decides to attack one or both of the [camp’s] campuses, nor can the other licensed staff members.”
The suit is one of several challenging the Concealed Carry Improvement Act, which was passed last year after the Supreme Court struck down an earlier firearms ban. The act limits where New Yorkers can carry firearms, including a ban on carrying in “sensitive locations” such as schools, medical facilities or houses of worship, among others. Another lawsuit has been brought by two pastors seeking to carry weapons in church, and in May, lawmakers amended the act to allow pastors and designated security personnel to carry weapons in houses of worship.
The lawyer who filed the lawsuit for Mintz and Schwartz, Amy Bellatoni, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in an email that the amendment would not apply to her clients.
“The plaintiffs are staffers who have carried for personal protection and want to continue carrying,” she said. “They are not designated security personnel and, therefore, not part of the exemption.”
Jewish security specialists have said that arming rank-and-file Jews is not an effective deterrent against antisemitic attacks. But Schwartz, who lives year-round on the grounds of the camp, which is called The Zone, said in a declaration that he and his fellow staff members are “easily recognizable and identifiable to the public” as Orthodox Jews. He said that they “have been openly targeted over the years for discriminatory acts including yelling ethnic and hateful slurs and throwing objects, including Molotov cocktails.”
The three defendants in the suit are law enforcement officials: New York State Police’s acting superintendent, Steve Nigrelli; Ronald Stevens, the sheriff of Schoharie County, where The Zone is located; and Susan Mallery, the county’s district attorney.
A spokeswoman for Nigrelli said that the New York State Police does not comment on pending litigation. Mallery and Stevens did not return requests for comment.
This isn’t the first time Kars4Kids, which is based in the heavily Orthodox city of Lakewood, New Jersey, has found itself interacting with the legal system. In 2019, Pennsylvania and Oregon fined the organization for deceptive advertising. They accused the charity of obscuring that most of the money it raises goes to Orthodox outreach rather than needy children. In 2017, the Minnesota attorney general said she was “concerned and troubled” by the organization’s practices. It has also been criticized by charity watchdogs.
Mintz has said information about Kars4Kids’ relationship with Oorah is available on the organization’s website, and is too detailed to include in radio and TV ads.
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The post Citing antisemitism, the CEO of Kars4Kids is challenging New York’s concealed carry law in court appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.
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Trump Urges NATO Countries to Halt Russian Oil Purchases
US President Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Aug. 26, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Ernst via Reuters Connect
i24 News – US President Donald Trump issued a letter to NATO nations on Saturday, impressing upon them to stop purchasing Russian oil and impose major sanctions on the regime of Vladimir Putin to end its war in Ukraine.
“I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA. As you know, NATO’S commitment to WIN has been far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian Oil, by some, has been shocking! It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia,” the message read.
“Anyway, I am ready to ‘go’ when you are. Just say when? I believe that this, plus NATO, as a group, placing 50% to 100% TARIFFS ON CHINA, to be fully withdrawn after the WAR with Russia and Ukraine is ended, will also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR. China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip.”
Trump’s post comes after the recent flight of multiple Russian drones into Poland, widely perceived an escalatory move by Russia as it was entering the airspace of a NATO ally. Poland intercepted the drones, yet Trump played down the severity of the incident and Russia’s motives by saying it “could have been a mistake.”
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Netanyahu Says Getting Rid of Hamas Chiefs in Qatar Would Remove Main Obstacle to Gaza Deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the US Independence Day reception, known as the annual “Fourth of July” celebration, hosted by Newsmax, in Jerusalem, Aug. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that getting rid of Hamas chiefs living in Qatar would remove the main obstacle to releasing all hostages and ending the war in Gaza.
Israel on Tuesday targeted the Hamas leadership in Doha.