Uncategorized
Mia Simring, 41, Rikers Island chaplain
Mia Simring, 41, is a rabbi and a Jewish chaplain at Rikers Island, New York City’s largest and most notorious jail complex. Simring, who lives on the Upper West Side with her family, says she was inspired to become a chaplain when her mother was hospitalized with cancer. “I felt very much like I wanted to be there at the most intense moments and not just tragic moments, but really joyful moments as well,” she says. Simring became a chaplain at Rikers in 2018 where, she says, “I get to talk to people and I get to pray with people. A lot of it is also explaining the diversity of Jewish life. People have a lot of questions about what it means to be Jewish. Just getting into those conversations and using them as springboards for these pastoral encounters can be really powerful.”
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.
Was there a formative Jewish experience that influenced your life path?
I trained in healthcare settings throughout rabbinical school and after, but over the years my activism was also maturing. I was lead organizer of a “moral minyan” against ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] detention with T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights; it gained a lot of momentum and we had some amazing speakers and performers.
The more the social injustices of the world started to stand out to me, the more I wanted to be involved. I started to look for ways that I could use what skills I had as a rabbi to provide direct service to vulnerable people. I’m less able to fully embody that activist side in my work now, but to really to be in there [at Rikers] with a lot of people who feel so isolated and so forgotten is really powerful for me. It gives me a good feeling of going something for those who are sort of at the bottom of society and need help and can’t always access it.
What was your best experience as a Jewish New Yorker?
Being raised here and raising my children here
What are three spots in NYC that all Jewish New Yorkers should visit?
I grew up very secular and I grew up in Gramercy. I used to walk through the East Village a lot and there was sort of a spot that always inspired me, which was Emma Goldman’s historic home. These things that seems so radical at the time, like the 40-hour work week and having a weekend and workers’ rights, are now what we take for granted. To think about the Jewish immigrant community that my family really came out of, and that we all — Jewish and non-Jewish — benefited from always sort of gave me a little bit of a nice energy.
Another spot would be tashlich at the Hudson River. It’s just so much energy, so many different Jewish groups kind of end up in the same place and it’s really inspiring and uplifting.
Thirdly, the tailor statue in the Garment District. When my grandmother’s family came over, her mom was a garment worker doing piecework, which is now considered sweatshop conditions because you got paid by how much you produce and not by your time and labor. Most garment workers now are Asian and Latina women, and it reminds me that we’ve gone through many waves of people making clothes who are frequently from disenfranchised groups. It’s a moment for solidarity between all of us.
What is your favorite book about New York?
It’s always the last book I read for me, so the last New Yorky book I read was “This Time Tomorrow” by Emma Straub. I also really love “Tepper Isn’t Going Out” by Calvin Trillin because in college I got a car, and then I had to figure out how to park it when I would come home and visit, and that is a book about parking in New York City.
—
The post Mia Simring, 41, Rikers Island chaplain appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Uncategorized
Thousands Protest Over Israeli President Herzog’s Visit to Australia in Wake of Bondi Massacre
Demonstrators gather at Town Hall Square to protest against Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s state visit to Australia following a deadly mass shooting during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on Dec. 14, 2025, in Sydney, Australia, Feb. 9, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Jeremy Piper
Thousands gathered across Australia on Monday to protest over the arrival of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who is on a multi-city trip aimed at expressing solidarity with Australia‘s Jewish community following a deadly mass shooting last year.
Herzog is visiting Australia this week following an invitation from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the Dec. 14 shooting at a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that killed 15.
The visit has attracted the ire of some people in Australia, who accuse Herzog of being complicit in civilian deaths in Gaza. Anti-Israel groups have organized protests in cities and towns across the country on Monday evening.
In Sydney, thousands gathered in a square in the city’s central business district, listening to speeches and shouting pro-Palestinian slogans.
“The Bondi massacre was terrible but from our Australian leadership there’s been no acknowledgment of the Palestinian people and the Gazans,” said Jackson Elliott, a 30-year-old protestor from Sydney.
“Herzog has dodged all the questions about the occupation and says this visit is about Australia and Israeli relations but he is complicit.”
There was a heavy police presence with a helicopter circling overhead and officers patrolling on horseback.
Police used pepper spray and tear gas to push back groups of people who were trying to breach the line and march ahead. Several protesters were arrested as they clashed with police.
Authorities in Sydney declared Herzog’s visit a major event and were authorized to use rarely invoked powers during the visit, including the ability to separate and move crowds, restrict their entry to certain areas, direct people to leave, and search vehicles.
On Monday in a Sydney court, the Palestine Action Group – which organized the protest – failed to legally challenge the restrictions on the demonstration.
PRESIDENT COMMEMORATES LIVES LOST
Meanwhile, thousands of Jewish community members, government officials, and opposition party politicians welcomed Herzog at an event, more than a kilometer away from the protests, honoring the victims of the Bondi attack.
“We all remember the boycotts, the threats, the colleagues who turned their backs on their Jewish friends … that was the prelude to Bondi,” he told a large crowd at Sydney’s International Convention Centre, according to an ABC News report.
Herzog began his visit earlier on Monday at Bondi Beach, where he laid a wreath at a memorial for the victims of the attack. He also met survivors and the families of 15 people killed in the shooting.
“This was also an attack on all Australians. They attacked the values that our democracies treasure, the sanctity of human life, the freedom of religion, tolerance, dignity, and respect,” Herzog said in remarks at the site.
In a statement, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Co-Chief Executive Alex Ryvchin said Herzog’s visit “will lift the spirits of a pained community.”
Uncategorized
Saudi Arabia Wealth Fund Set to Announce Strategy Revamp, Sources Say
A billboard at the site of New Murabba shows The Mukaab, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 26, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Benmansour
Saudi Arabia‘s $925 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF) plans to announce a new five-year strategy this week, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said, in the biggest reset yet of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s economic transformation plan.
The Saudi sovereign wealth fund soft-launched its new 2026-2030 strategy with key investors and strategic partners on Monday on the sidelines of a conference in Riyadh, the two people and another familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The new blueprint will emphasize sectors including industry, minerals, artificial intelligence, and tourism, while scaling back and in some cases reconfiguring expensive mega projects such as The Line, a futuristic mirrored city, the sources said.
All three sources declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
One said the new roadmap will place greater emphasis on attracting capital from major global asset managers, reflecting mounting fiscal pressures as oil prices remain well below levels needed to fund the kingdom’s ambitious transformation agenda.
The shift marks the most significant recalibration to date of bin Salman’s Vision 2030, which for nearly a decade has prominently featured mega futuristic developments. The kingdom is currently reviewing several of the mega projects.
Many of these, including The Line, which extends 170 km (106 miles) into the desert, and the planned Trojena winter sports hub, have faced delays and ballooning costs. The latest to be suspended was a cube-shaped skyscraper in Riyadh.
Last month, Saudi Economy Minister Faisal al-Ibrahim told Reuters: “We’re very transparent. We’re not going to shy away from saying we had to shift this project, delay it, re-scope it,” without mentioning specific projects.
Under the new strategy, NEOM will shift away from its earlier emphasis on tourism and futuristic urban design toward renewable energy and industrial development, including green hydrogen, solar and wind projects, and data centers that benefit from their proximity to the sea for cooling, the people said.
The Line was not on display in the venue at Monday’s opening day of the private sector forum, while NEOM’s video displays underscored the new direction, focusing on energy and industrial initiatives rather than the high‑profile real estate and tourism concepts once billed as being at its core.
PIF’s updated focus echoes details previously reported by Reuters, including a broader shift toward logistics, mining, and advanced manufacturing, as well as clean energy and religious tourism.
Uncategorized
US Issues Fresh Guidance to Vessels Transiting Strait of Hormuz as Iran Tensions Simmer
A map showing the Strait of Hormuz and Iran is seen behind a 3D printed miniature of US President Donald Trump in this illustration taken June 22, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
The United States issued fresh guidance on Monday to commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane for Middle East oil supplies, as tensions simmered between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear program and brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters.
Iran has in the past threatened to close down the Strait of Hormuz, a portion of which lies within its territorial waters, and has at times seized commercial ships and oil tankers moving through the area alleging smuggling.
The US Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration advised US-flagged commercial vessels to stay as far from Iran’s territorial waters as possible and to verbally decline Iranian forces permission to board if asked, according to the guidance.
“It is recommended that US-flagged commercial vessels transiting these waters remain as far as possible from Iran’s territorial sea without compromising navigational safety,” according to the guidance posted on its web site.
It also said crews should not forcibly resist Iranian forces if they board.
“If Iranian forces board a US-flagged commercial vessel, the crew should not forcibly resist the boarding party,” it said.
Iran‘s top diplomat said on Friday that nuclear talks with the US mediated by Oman were off to a good start and set to continue, in remarks that could help allay concern that failure to reach a deal might nudge the Middle East closer to war.
While both sides have indicated readiness to revive diplomacy over Tehran’s long-running nuclear dispute with the West, Washington has said it also wants the talks to cover Iran‘s ballistic missiles, support for armed groups around the region, and human rights.
President Donald Trump ratcheted up the pressure on Iran on Friday with an executive order imposing a 25% tariff on imports from any country that “directly or indirectly” purchases goods from Iran, following through on a threat he made last month.