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Meet 29 remarkable women who lived and worked in the historic Lower East Side
(New York Jewish Week) — The Museum at Eldridge Street (probably) isn’t haunted, but ghosts were what artist Adrienne Ottenberg had in mind when she created the works now on view in the new exhibit at the 1887 landmarked synagogue, “On the Lower East Side: 28 Remarkable Women…and One Scoundrel.”
“When I first came to Eldridge Street, it was falling apart,” Ottenberg recalled of her first visit to the historic building in the 1990s, prior to the 20-year, $20 million restoration completed in 2007. “And it’s magnificent. It’s magnificent even when it’s falling apart. And I thought, oh my god, it’s haunted.”
Now, some of these neighborhood “ghosts” are getting a second life, courtesy of Ottenberg’s mixed-media works of art, which are on display at the museum through May 5, 2024. The exhibit features portraits of 29 notable women, born between the mid-1800s and early 1900s, who lived or worked in the Lower East Side or frequented the teeming immigrant neighborhood— including well-known Jewish figures like poet Emma Lazarus and activist Emma Goldman.
But the exhibit also showcases less famous neighborhood women, like Dora Welfowitz, a garment worker and union member who perished in the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, and Belle Moskowitz, a social worker turned political advisor to Gov. Al Smith. So little is known about one of the subjects that she is identified simply as “Anonymous Chinese Actor,” highlighted here for her participation in a benefit for Jewish victims of a 1903 pogrom in Kishinev.
Researching and creating these portraits was “a gift,” Ottenberg told the New York Jewish Week, explaining that it gave her the opportunity to reconnect with her Judaism and delve into her own family history. Ottenberg’s father was Jewish (a Freudian analyst, to boot, making him a “certain kind of Jew,” she joked) and her mother was not; all told her parents “really didn’t have much interest in bringing us up in Judaism,” she said.
These days, however, Ottenberg, who lives in Chelsea, is married to someone who is “deeply religious” and attends synagogue every Saturday, though she noted that neither he nor his family ever put pressure on her to meet a certain level of observance. “We do all the holidays,” Ottenberg said, later adding, “All the positive things were there for me in Judaism. The warmth, the family, the celebrations…I feel so lucky in that.”
In “28 Women…,” Ottenberg’s portraits are printed on silk and cotton banners and depict the women against or interspersed with street maps of the Lower East Side. “I always start with maps,” Ottenberg, a cartographer by trade, said. “I believe a map can reveal something. A map is about connections, physical connections, but it’s also about other connections as well: emotional connections, connections through time.”
Unfortunately, time is what many of these women’s stories have been lost to — and that fleeting nature of existence is something Ottenberg considered when selecting the medium for her creations. “I wanted that quality of etherealness and the ephemeral quality, which fabric does,” she said. “If you have something on paper, behind a frame, it doesn’t feel ephemeral. But fabric, when you walk past it and it floats in the air, you can sense the transience of, hopefully not just their lives, which are gone, but our lives as well.”
The idea for the exhibit originated in the fall of 2022, after the museum’s curator and archivist, Nancy Johnson had a discussion with Ottenberg about showing her work. As Ottenberg spent time in the synagogue, the idea of spotlighting lesser-known local women took shape, with the early process informed by a friend of Johnson’s who has “made it a personal passion to find out about women from this neighborhood,” Johnson said.
Ottenberg, according to Johnson, “did a lot of reading and talking and walking.” Both conducted research, with Ottenberg citing the Library of Congress, Google Scholar and the New York Public Library as invaluable to her process.
Ultimately, “the selection process really was who moved me, and who I felt had impact, big and small,” Ottenberg said. She also wanted to ensure that a wide breadth of women were included, such as Helen Tamaris, who used dance to speak to the country’s racial injustice, and Elizabeth Tyler, one of the first Black registered nurses and the first Black visiting nurse at The Henry Street Settlement.
“When we have these temporary shows, I always like to do something that kind of resonates in this space, that has to do with the stories that we tell here and the people who pass through this building and this neighborhood, so this did that big-time,” Johnson told the New York Jewish Week. Ottenberg “really looked for connections to this neighborhood, and it turns out that it was a place where a lot of activist women were, either worked here, or lived here, or passed through here, or were inspired by things that happened here.”
For each portrait, there is a corresponding story of the woman’s life available to hear for free via the Bloomberg Connects app. Written by Johnson, the stories are told in the first-person, and recited mostly by the museum’s docents, former staff or those with personal connections to the subjects. (The story of Mirele Poil, a Jewish garment worker who successfully organized a walkout in her workplace, leading to a union contract, is voiced by her great-granddaughter, Diane Shur.)
Some of the women featured in the exhibit played a critical role in creating the world we know today — and until recently, were unknown to Ottenberg and much of the rest of the world. Take Fania Mindell, who co-founded the Brownsville Clinic with family planning pioneers Margaret Sanger and Ethel Byrne and was responsible for translating materials on birth control into languages like Yiddish and Italian. Ottenberg was “delighted” to learn about Cora La Redd, a Black dancer and singer who lived on Broome Street and performed regularly at the Cotton Club.
Ottenberg said the show is the culmination of a year of work, over which time she “fell in love with these women.” And she’s not the only one: As a reporter toured the exhibit on opening day, a museum-goer thanked Ottenberg, saying, “It was so nice to meet Emma Goldman again. I hadn’t thought about her in a while.”
“Don’t you love her?” Ottenberg asked — and the visitor confirmed she did.
Even the “scoundrel” of the exhibit found her way into Ottenberg’s heart. “I could not resist Stiff Rivka,” Ottenberg said of a notorious pickpocket who flew under the radar by camouflaging herself as a rich woman, dressed to the nines for Shabbat.
“It wasn’t just all these amazing women, doing these incredible things — there were people doing really questionable stuff,” Ottenberg said.
Though 21 of the women in the exhibit are Jews, a wide variety of ethnicities are represented in order to honor the truly multicultural history of the Lower East Side. “The unintended consequences of this 19th-century neighborhood mix of cultures and languages and poverty and reinvention was a Lower East Side that let loose new American ideas about education, equality and justice,” Ottenberg said in a press release. “It was a place women could step into a larger role for the people around them, and they did not ask permission to do it.”
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The post Meet 29 remarkable women who lived and worked in the historic Lower East Side appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Iran to Deny UN Inspectors Access to Nuclear Sites, Top Lawmaker Says, Amid Rising Pressure for New Deal
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi arrives on the opening day of the agency’s quarterly Board of Governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Nov. 20, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Lisa Leutner
Iran will not grant access to its nuclear facilities during next week’s visit by a delegation from the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), amid growing international pressure to reach a nuclear deal and avoid new sanctions, according to a top Iranian lawmaker.
On Monday, the head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran’s parliament, Ebrahim Azizi, confirmed that the visiting IAEA team will only be authorized to hold “technical and expert-level talks” with Iranian officials and experts.
“According to the laws passed by parliament, Iran will not let physical access to its nuclear facilities under any circumstances,” Azizi said in a press conference reported by Iranian state-run media.
“No inspector from the IAEA team or any other foreign organization will be allowed to be present at our country’s nuclear sites,” the Iranian lawmaker continued.
In June, the Iranian parliament voted to suspend cooperation with the IAEA “until the safety and security of [the country’s] nuclear activities can be guaranteed.”
At the time, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attributed the decision to IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi’s alleged bias against Tehran and a recent resolution accusing Iran of failing to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog over alleged “undeclared nuclear activities.”
“The IAEA and its Director-General are fully responsible for this sordid state of affairs,” Araghchi said in a post on X.
Grossi “directly facilitated the adoption of a politically-motivated resolution against Iran by the IAEA [Board of Governors] as well as the unlawful Israeli and US bombings of Iranian nuclear sites,” he continued.
During a press conference on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei explained that next week’s visit by IAEA officials to Iran is intended to discuss the “method of interaction” with the agency.
“We are facing exceptional circumstances, as the facilities of a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty [NPT] have been illegally attacked by two nuclear-armed regimes,” Baghaei said.
“Unfortunately, the IAEA did not remain impartial, failed to condemn the attacks, and instead issued a report that provided a kind of political ground for making excuses,” the Iranian diplomat continued.
In June, Israel and the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites in an effort to stop the regime from building nuclear weapons. Iran claims its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
The UN nuclear watchdog’s upcoming visit comes as Iran faces growing international pressure to resume negotiations on its nuclear program.
Last month, Tehran made its first attempt at direct talks with European powers since Israel, with the support of the US, launched an airstrike campaign targeting the country’s nuclear facilities and ballistic-missile capabilities.
The United Kingdom, France, and Germany — collectively known as the E3 — have previously warned they would reinstate UN sanctions on Tehran if no new agreement is reached by the end of August.
The sanctions were originally lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal — known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — which imposed temporary restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for large-scale sanctions relief.
Although the United States withdrew from the agreement in 2018 under President Donald Trump’s first administration, Iran and the three European nations have continued to uphold the deal.
Under the UN Security Council resolution implementing the nuclear accord, international sanctions could be reimposed on Iran through a “snapback” mechanism that would take about 30 days.
As for the United States, Iran has insisted that Washington must compensate Tehran for the losses incurred during the recent 12-day war with Israel to pave the way for renewed negotiations.
However, Araghchi made clear that a deal would remain off the table as long as Trump continued to demand that Iran commit to zero uranium enrichment.
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US Sen. Cory Booker Refuses to Endorse Zohran Mamdani for NYC Mayor
US Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ). Photo: Reuters / Rebecca Cook.
US Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) declined to endorse New York Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani in his bid for New York City mayor, underscoring a simmering divide within the Democratic party over whether to embrace the anti-Israel politician.
Booker, a former presidential candidate known for his progressive rhetoric and background in community activism, has often walked a careful line when it comes to the party’s internal divisions. When asked last week by CNN reporter Manu Raju whether he would support Mamdani, a far-left democratic socialist, Booker said, “I have learned a long time ago, to let New York politics be New York politics. We have enough challenges in New Jersey.”
Citing heated gubernatorial and legislative races, Booker said his energy will be devoted to his home state of New Jersey before adding, “New York City, I love you. You’re my neighbor. You’re about 10 miles from where I live. You guys figure out your elections. I’m going to be focused on mine.”
Booker’s response came after he dodged an initial question from Raju asking if the senator would support Mamdani, who won the New York City Democratic mayoral in June.
“So, you and I are going to have this conversation, and I’m going to say to you one day, I told you so,” Booker responded. “This is not a left-right issue. It really isn’t. It is an authoritarian, versus people who want pragmatic government that makes a difference in the lives of the American people. I’m one of these people that says the lines that divide us in America are not nearly as strong as the ties that bind us.”
“Big corporations, people want to keep our eyes on the screen, want to pit us against each other and tell us how much we should hate each other,” he continued. “I’m sorry, the left-right lens is not the right lens to look at this right now. Right now, it is, can we get back to the pragmatic work of governing?”
Booker’s refusal to endorse Mandani broader tensions within the Democratic party over the rising influence of its far-left, progressive wing, particularly among younger lawmakers who have been outspoken critics of US military aid to Israel. Mamdani, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, has drawn national attention for his calls to end what he describes as unconditional support for the Israeli government, a position that has attracted both praise from progressive activists and backlash from pro-Israel groups and establishment Democrats.
Booker, who has long positioned himself as a supporter of Israel while also advocating for Palestinian rights, has grown increasingly cautious in recent years about aligning with candidates whose positions might alienate key constituencies. Despite the growing anti-Israel sentiment within the Democratic base, Booker has remained outspoken about the need to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza. Booker regularly wears a yellow ribbon pin on the lapel of his suit jacket as a sign of his support for the hostages.
Many observers have argued that the New York City mayoral race, though local, is a proxy battle for the future of the Democratic party, with some claiming that Mamdani’s blend of left-wing economic policies and anti-Zionism are reflective of the party’s increasingly progressive base.
Mamdani, the 33‑year‑old state assemblymember and proud democratic socialist, defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other candidates in a lopsided first‑round win in the city’s Democratic primary for mayor, notching approximately 43.5 percent of first‑choice votes compared to Cuomo’s 36.4 percent.
A little-known politician before this year’s primary campaign, Mamdani is an outspoken supporter of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to isolate Israel from the international community as a step toward its eventual elimination.
Mamdani has also repeatedly refused to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, falsely suggesting the country does not offer “equal rights” for all its citizens, and promised to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York.
Mamdani also defended the phrase “globalize the intifada”— which references previous periods of sustained Palestinian terrorism against Jews and Israels and has been widely interpreted as a call to expand political violence — by invoking the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising during World War II. In response, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum repudiated the mayoral candidate, calling his comments “outrageous and especially offensive to [Holocaust] survivors.”
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Harvard President Denies Looming $500 Million Deal With Trump to Restore Federal Funding: Report
Harvard University President Alan Garber speaks during the 374th Commencement exercises at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, May 29, 2025. Photo: Reuters Connect via Brian Snyder
Harvard University President Alan Garber has told faculty that he will not settle the institution’s dispute with the Trump administration by shelling out $500 million, the Harvard Crimson reported on Monday, contradicting a New York Times article which claimed that the move is impending.
Rather, Harvard has resolve to continue on fighting the federal government in court, the Crimson said, even as it faces a $1 billion shortfall caused by US President Donald Trump’s ordering the confiscation of $3 billion in taxpayer-funded research grants and contracts previously awarded to the university. Amid this cash crunch Harvard has resorted to leveraging its immense wealth to borrow exorbitant sums of money.
In March it issued over $450 million in bonds as “part of an ongoing contingency planning for a range of financial circumstances.” It offered another $750 million in bonds to investors in April, a sale that is being managed by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
According to the Crimson, Garber insists that the Times report is erroneous.
“In a conversation with one faculty member, [he] said that the suggestion that Harvard was open to paying $500 million is ‘false’ and claimed that the figure was apparently leaked to the press by White House officials,” the Crimson said, noting that the Times believes its reporting is on the mark. “In any discussions, Garber reportedly said, the university is treating academic freedom as nonnegotiable.”
Garber’s apparent assurances to faculty that the university will not concede to Trump for financial relief comes as it takes conciliatory steps that seem aimed at reversing an impression that it is doctrinally far left, as well as anti-Zionist. In July, it announced new partnerships with Israeli academic institutions and shuttered its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices, transferring their staff to other sections of the university. These moves came after it “paused” a partnership in March with a higher education institution located in the West Bank. Some reports, according to the Crimson, suggest that Harvard may even found a “new conservative research institute” in any deal with the Trump administration.
Other Ivy League schools have made similar steps while resolving their funding disputes with the US federal government.
On Wednesday, Brown University announced that it agreed to pay $50 million and enact a series of reforms put forth by the Trump administration to settle claims involving alleged sex discrimination and antisemitism. The government is rewarding Brown’s propitiating by restoring access to $510 million in federal research grants and contracts it impounded.
Per the agreement, shared by university president Christina Paxson, Brown will provide women athletes locker rooms based on sex, not one’s self-chosen gender identity — a monumental concession by a university that is reputed as one of the most progressive in the country — and adopt the Trump administration’s definition of “male” and “female,” as articulated in a January 2025 executive order issued by Trump. Additionally, Brown has agreed not to “perform gender reassignment surgery or prescribe puberty blockers or hormones to any minor child for the purpose of aligning the child’s appearance with an identity that differs from his or her sex.”
Regarding campus antisemitism, the agreement calls for Brown University to reduce anti-Jewish bias on campus by forging ties with local Jewish Day Schools, launching “renewed partnerships with Israeli academics and national Jewish organizations,” and boosting support for its Judaic Studies program. Brown must also conduct a “climate survey” of Jewish students to collect raw data of their campus experiences.
Only days ago, Columbia University agreed to pay over $200 million to settle claims that it exposed Jewish students, faculty, and staff to antisemitic discrimination and harassment — a deal which secures the release of billions of dollars the Trump administration impounded to pressure the institution to address the issue.
US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon commented on the resolution, saying it is a “seismic shift in our nation’s fight to hold institutions that accept American taxpayer dollars accountable for antisemitic discrimination and harassment.”
Claiming a generational achievement for the conservative movement, which has argued for years that progressive bias in higher education is the cause of anti-Zionist antisemitism on college campuses, she added that Columbia has agreed to “discipline student offenders for severe disruptions of campus operations” and “eliminate race preferences from their hiring and mission practicers, and DEI programs that distribute benefits and advantages based on race.”
“Columbia’s reforms are a roadmap for elite universities that wish to retain the confidence of the American public by renting their commitment to truth-seeking, merit, and civil debate,” McMahon continued. “I believe they will ripple across the higher education sector and change the course of campus culture for years to come.”
As Harvard debates its future, it continues to be a theater of an unrelenting debate on the Israel-Hamas war and the US-Israel relationship. On Saturday, pro-Hamas protesters instigated their arrests by local law enforcement during an unauthorized demonstration at Harvard Square.
“At least three protesters were pushed to the ground and handcuffed by police officers,” the Harvard Crimson reported on Sunday. “Several protesters were seen pouring water on their eyes, which were red and apparently irritated by a chemical agent.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.