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Mattie Kahn, 31, writer
Mattie Kahn, 31, is a writer whose work has been published in the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Vogue, Elle, Glamour and more. She’s won two Front Page Awards from the Newswomen’s Club of New York, most recently for her feature in the Atlantic on Arthur Kahn, the first Jewish person killed in the Holocaust, who was also her great-uncle. Kahn’s first book, “Young and Restless: The Girls Who Sparked America’s Revolutions” will be out in June; recently, the Upper West Sider generated a lot of buzz for her Vogue piece on what she’s dubbed the “Torah-teacher aesthetic.”
For the full list of this year’s “36ers” — which honors leaders, entrepreneurs and changemakers who are making a difference in New York’s Jewish community — click here.
Was there a formative Jewish experience that influenced your life path?
I was educated at Ramaz in New York for over a decade. It doesn’t get much more formative than that. But also: I am the daughter of a mother and father who have hosted between 15 and 30 people for Shabbat lunch each week for their entire adult lives. South of The Kosher Marketplace [at 90th Street and Broadway] and north of the train station on 72nd, it feels safe to estimate that around 30% of residents have attended one at some point or another. That culture of hosting and eating together and spending long hours talking about art and literature and the contents of People magazine (our other Torah) shaped me.
How does your Jewish identity or experience influence your work?
The two are inseparable. Jews are natural reporters: We love asking questions, pestering, never taking no for an answer. I don’t think all Jews love gossip (we’re not supposed to, I know), but I do, and being a yenta has served me well as a writer and a chronicler of ideas and movements. I have increasingly written about my own Jewish identity, from exploring the divergent memory cultures in America and Germany for Vox, to writing about my great-uncle Arthur Kahn and the Holocaust for the Atlantic, to setting the world of Jewish educators aflutter with my ode to what I call “Torah-teacher aesthetic” for Vogue.
Who is your New York Jewish hero?
She died in 1998, but Bella Abzug forever. A pioneering New Yorker, Jew and feminist, with a great sense of humor and powerful accessories collection.
What is your favorite place to eat Jewish food in New York?
Barney Greengrass on the Upper West Side, but nothing will ever replace the Ratner’s-sized hole in my heart.
What is your favorite book about New York?
Vivian Gornick’s “Fierce Attachments.” A top-five book of all time.
In one sentence, what was your best experience as a Jewish New Yorker?
Once, at a restaurant downtown, I saw Maggie Gyllenhaal finishing her meal with a friend when Jake Gyllenhaal, her brother, happened to walk in for his own dinner. When the two saw each other and hugged, the entire restaurant clapped. He was wearing a Russ & Daughters shirt. Jewish parents the world over were kvelling.
How can people follow you online?
mattiekahn.com has all the book links. I’m also @matkahn on Instagram and @mattiekahn on Twitter.
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The post Mattie Kahn, 31, writer appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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UK Police Charge Two Men in Connection with Filming Antisemitic TikTok Videos
The TikTok logo is pictured outside the company’s US head office in Culver City, California, US, Sep. 15, 2020. Photo: REUTERS
British police have charged two men with religiously aggravated harassment offenses after they were alleged to have traveled to a Jewish area of north London to film antisemitic social media videos.
The two men, Adam Bedoui, 20, and Abdelkader Amir Bousloub, 21, are due to appear at Thames Magistrates’ Court, a statement from the Crown Prosecution Service said on Saturday.
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US Imposes Sanctions on Companies It Accuses of Aiding Iran’s Weapons Sector
A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, Jan. 20, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
The US Treasury on Friday announced sanctions against 10 individuals and companies, including several in China and Hong Kong, over accusations they aided Iran’s efforts to secure weapons and the raw materials needed to build its Shahed drones and ballistic missiles.
The Treasury move, first reported by Reuters, comes days before US President Donald Trump plans to travel to China for a meeting with President Xi Jinping and as efforts to end the war with Iran have stalled.
In a statement, Treasury said it remained ready to take economic action against Iran’s military industrial base to prevent Tehran from reconstituting its production capacity.
Treasury said it was also prepared to act against any foreign company supporting illicit Iranian commerce, including airlines, and could impose secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions that aid Iran’s efforts, including those connected to China’s independent “teapot” oil refineries.
Brett Erickson, managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors, said Treasury’s actions were aimed at cracking down on Iran’s ability to threaten ships operating in the Strait of Hormuz and regional allies.
Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes, after the US and Israel attacked a large number of targets in Iran on February 28. Shipping through the crucial waterway has ground to a near halt since the war began, sending energy prices sharply higher.
Iran is a major drone manufacturer and has the industrial capacity to produce around 10,000 a month, according to the British government-fund Center for Information Resilience.
Erickson said the sanctions were still narrowly focused, giving Iran more time to adapt and reroute procurement to other suppliers. Treasury was also not yet going after Chinese banks that were keeping Iran’s economy going, he added.
The companies facing sanctions include:
• China-based Yushita Shanghai International Trade Co Ltd for facilitating acquisition efforts for Iran to purchase weapons from China.
• Dubai-based Elite Energy FZCO for transferring millions of dollars to a Hong Kong company to aid the procurement effort.
• Hong Kong-based HK Hesin Industry Co Ltd and Belarus-based Armory Alliance LLC for working as intermediaries in the procurements.
• Hong Kong-based Mustad Ltd for facilitating weapon procurement by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
• Iran-based Pishgam Electronic Safeh Co for procuring motors used in drones.
• China-based Hitex Insulation Ningbo Co Ltd for supplying materials used in ballistic missiles.
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Gaza Flotilla Activists to Be Released From Israel Detention and Deported
Brazilian Activist Thiago Avila, who was detained aboard the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, which was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters, appears at a court in Beersheba, southern Israel May 6, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
Two activists arrested last month when Israeli forces intercepted the Gaza-bound flotilla they were traveling on are expected to be deported in the coming days after being released from security detention on Saturday, their lawyers said.
Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were detained by Israeli authorities on April 29 and brought to Israel.
The activists were part of a second Global Sumud Flotilla launched from Spain on April 12 to try to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering aid to the enclave.
Israel’s foreign ministry said Abu Keshek was suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organization and Avila was suspected of illegal activity. Both denied the allegations.
BRAZIL AND SPAIN SAID THE DETENTION WAS UNLAWFUL
The governments of Spain and Brazil said Abu Keshek’s and Avila’s detention was unlawful, but Israel’s Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court remanded them in custody until May 10.
Human rights group Adalah, which has assisted in their legal defense and also said the detention was unlawful, said that Abu Keshek and Avila were informed that they will be released from detention on Saturday and handed over to immigration authorities’ custody until their deportation.
“Adalah is closely monitoring developments to make sure that the release from detention goes ahead, followed by their deportation from Israel in the coming days,” the group said. Israeli officials were not immediately reachable for comment.
Israeli authorities held them under suspicion of offenses that included aiding the enemy and contact with a terrorist group.
Gaza is largely run by Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.