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Historic church being housed by a synagogue gets green light for restoration
(New York Jewish Week) — When a fire devastated the Middle Collegiate Church in the East Village two years ago, East End Temple, a nearby Reform synagogue, welcomed church-goers to worship in their sanctuary.
Since then, a relationship has blossomed between the synagogue and the church, which has remained homeless due to the six-alarm fire that destroyed most of the historic building in 2020.
But this weekend, when the congregations get together for a planned Martin Luther King Jr. Teach-In this Sunday, they’ll have something additional to celebrate: The NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission cleared the way for the church to build a new home.
Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis of Middle Church said on Wednesday that the Landmarks Commission voted to allow the church to remove the burnt remains of its facade, allowing the congregation to rebuild.
According to Lewis, East End’s Rabbi Josh Stanton was one of the first people who reached out to her after the fire, which started next door. The synagogue has since supported the church in its efforts to win approval for its renovation so that it can return home.
“Truly, God is good,” Lewis wrote on Twitter. “Out of this fire, fierce love is rising.”
Yesterday, the NYC Landmarks Commission voted to let us remove the destroyed remnants of our facade, so we can build a new home.
As Christian fascism rises, the world needs churches like Middle. As unapologetically antiracist, prochoice, and queer as God. pic.twitter.com/EChCv6qqCx
— Middle Church (@middlechurch) January 11, 2023
Stanton welcomed the Landmarks Commission’s decision.
“I am relieved by the decision and elated that Middle Collegiate Church will be able to rebuild,” Stanton said. “Buildings are meant to serve human needs and higher purposes — and the new church building will do so in transformational ways.”
He told the New York Jewish Week that the relationship between the two congregations builds upon King’s legacy. “We view each other as kindred spirits as opposed to feeling a sense of animus,” Stanton said, adding that some 300 people from both congregations are planning to attend Sunday’s teach-in, which is about strengthening the bond between black and Jewish communities.
“We are, as a Jewish community, going to church with our wonderful friends and colleagues at the leading multicultural church in New York City,” Stanton said.
He added that the church will continue to use the synagogue sanctuary for the ‘foreseeable future,’ unless it should outgrow the space.”
In a time of rising antisemitism, he added, this type of joint learning is “essential work,” he added. “This is one of those opportune moments, probably the most opportune since the Civil Rights era, for Black folks, Jewish folks, and Black and Jewish folks, to work together in a concerted way.” Last year, a number of African-American celebrities — notably the rapper Kanye West and the New York Nets star Kyrie Irving — were criticized for sharing antisemitic tropes with their millions of social media followers, stoking tensions between the Black and Jewish communities.
Both Lewis, Stanton and others will speak at the King event. After church services, the community will break bread, take part in community organizing work and learn more about their shared history.
Middle Church has served the East Village community since 1892. Before the fire, it was a community hub for other social programs — some run by other synagogues — including soup kitchens and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. It has also played a role in supporting people during the AIDS crisis, helping people pay rent during Covid and more recently, supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Since Easter of 2021, the church has prayed at the synagogue’s sanctuary on East 17th Street every Sunday.
It’s not all bleak out there.
I went to church last Sunday, where East End Temple, a Jewish synagogue in the East Village, has been hosting @middlechurch for almost two years after a fire destroyed their historic building. pic.twitter.com/0FjtlXr7TA
— Jacob Henry (@jhenrynews) December 8, 2022
The Temple covered upwards of 95% of the cost for the church to rent the space.
“Josh was offering me a tabernacle,” Lewis told the New York Jewish Week last month. “This big-hearted rabbi opens the door to a church, in a time of rising antisemitism, that’s just bold, fierce love at work.”
In her tweet announcing the Landmark Commission’s approval, Lewis also thanked multiple elected officials who helped fight for the church, including Council Member Carlina Rivera, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, Assembly Members Harvey Epsteim and Deborah Glick, and the NYC Mayor Faith Advisor Pastor Gil Monrose.
“We are forever in your debt,” Lewis wrote.
The MLK event is taking place this Sunday, Jan. 15 at East End Temple in the East Village. The church is also accepting donations to support its rebuilding efforts.
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The post Historic church being housed by a synagogue gets green light for restoration appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Herzog Says Wellbeing of Israelis His Only Concern in Deal With Netanyahu’s ‘Extraordinary’ Pardon Request
Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks during a press conference with Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics in Riga, Latvia, Aug. 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
i24 News – In an interview with Politico published on Saturday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog remained tight-lipped on whether he intended to grant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “extraordinary” pardon request, saying that his decision will be motivated by what’s best for Israel.
“There is a process which goes through the Justice Ministry and my legal adviser and so on. This is certainly an extraordinary request and above all when dealing with it I will consider what is the best interest of the Israeli people,” Herzog said. “The well-being of the Israeli people is my first, second and third priority.”
Asked specifically about President Donald Trump’s request, Herzog said “I respect President Trump’s friendship and his opinion,” adding, “Israel, naturally, is a sovereign country.”
Herzog addressed a wide range of topics in the interview, including the US-Israel ties and the shifts in public opinion on Israel.
“One has to remember that the fountains of America, of American life, are based on biblical values, just like ours. And therefore, I believe that the underlying fountain that we all drink from is the same,” he said. “However, I am following very closely the trends that I see in the American public eye and the attitude, especially of young people, on Israel.”
“It comes from TikTok,” he said of the torrent of hostility toward Israel that has engulf swathes of U.S. opinion since the October 7 massacre and the subsequent Gaza war, “from a very shallow discourse of the current situation, pictures or viewpoints, and doesn’t judge from the big picture, which is, is Israel a strategic ally? Yes. Is Israel contributing to American national interests, security interests? Absolutely yes. Is Israel a beacon of democracy in the Middle East? Absolutely yes.”
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Syria’s Sharaa Charges Israel ‘Exports Its Crises to Other Countries’
FILE PHOTO: Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Saturday escalated his messaging against Israel at the Doha forum.
“Israel is working to export its own crises to other countries and escape accountability for the massacres it committed in the Gaza Strip, justifying everything with security concerns,” he said.
“Meanwhile, Syria, since its liberation, has sent positive messages aimed at establishing the foundations of regional stability.
“Israel has responded to Syria with extreme violence, launching over 1,000 airstrikes and carrying out 400 incursions into its territory. The latest of these attacks was the massacre it perpetrated in the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside, which claimed dozens of lives.
“We are working with influential countries worldwide to pressure Israel to withdraw from the territories it occupied after December 8, 2014, and all countries support this demand.
“Syria insists on Israel’s adherence to the 1974 Disengagement Agreement. The demand for a demilitarized zone raises many questions. Who will protect this zone if there is no Syrian army presence?
“Any agreement must guarantee Syria’s interests, as it is Syria that is subjected to Israeli attacks. So, who should be demanding a buffer zone and withdrawal?”
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Turkey’s Fidan: Gaza Governance Must Precede Hamas Disarmament in Ceasefire Deal
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a press conference following a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, May 27, 2025. Photo: Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via REUTERS
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Reuters on Saturday that not advancing the US-backed Gaza ceasefire plan to its next stage would be a “huge failure” for the world and Washington, noting that President Donald Trump had personally led the push.
In an interview on the sidelines of the Doha Forum, Fidan said a credible Palestinian civil administration and a vetted, trained police force needed to be in place to allow Hamas to disarm, and that the group was prepared to hand over control of the enclave.
“First of all, we need to see that the Palestinian committee of technical people are taking over the administration of Gaza, then we need to see that the police force is being formed to police Gaza – again, by the Palestinians, not Hamas.”
NATO member Turkey has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s assault on Gaza. It played a key role in brokering the ceasefire deal, signing the agreement as a guarantor. It has repeatedly expressed its willingness to join efforts to monitor the accord’s implementation, a move Israel strongly opposes.
Talks to advance the next phase of President Trump’s plan to end the two-year conflict in Gaza are continuing.
The plan envisages an interim technocratic Palestinian administration in the enclave, overseen by an international “board of peace” and supported by a multinational security force. Negotiations over the composition and mandate of that force have proven particularly difficult.
Fidan said the Gaza police force would be backed by the international stabilisation force. He added that Washington was pressing Israel over Turkey’s bid to join the force, to which it has voiced readiness to deploy troops if needed.
FIDAN SAYS KURDISH SDF IN SYRIA NOT WILLING TO INTEGRATE
Asked about a landmark deal in March in which the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and Damascus agreed that the SDF would be integrated into Syria’s state structures, Fidan said signals from the SDF showed it had “no intention” of honouring the accord, and was instead seeking to sidestep it.
Ankara, which considers the SDF a terrorist organisation, has threatened military action if it does not comply, setting a deadline of the end of the year.
“I think they (SDF) should understand that the command and control should come from one place,” Fidan added. “There can be no two armies in any given country. So there can only be one army, one command structure … But in local administration, they can reach a different settlement and different understandings.”
Almost a year after the fall of president Bashar al-Assad, Fidan said some issues of minority rights were unresolved, insisting that Turkey’s backing of the new Syrian government was not a “blank cheque” to oppress any groups.
He said Damascus was taking steps toward national unity, but that Israeli “destabilisation policies” were the chief obstacle.
Israel has frequently struck southwestern Syria this year, citing threats from militant groups and the need to protect the Druze community near the frontier. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he expected Syria to establish a demilitarised buffer zone from Damascus to the border.
TURKEY: U.S. COULD REMOVE SANCTIONS ‘VERY SOON’
Fidan also said Washington’s initial 28-point plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war was just a “starting point,” and that it was now evolving in a new format. He said mediation by US officials was “on the right path.”
“I just hope that nobody leaves the table and the Americans are not frustrated, because sometimes the mediators can be frustrated if they don’t see enough encouragement from both sides.”
Asked about efforts to lift US sanctions imposed in 2020 over Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems, he said both sides were working on it, adding: “I believe we’ll soon find a way to remove that obstacle.”