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Modi Rosenfeld, 53, comedian and actor
Modi Rosenfeld is a stand-up comedian and actor who performs Jewish comedy around the world. Along with Dani Zoldan, he is a co-founder of the Chosen Comedy Festival, a celebration of Jewish humor and music that made its debut in Coney Island, Brooklyn, last summer. “I do comedy for Jews, but also when there are non Jews in the audience, it opens a window to them to see into the Jewish world,” says the Lower East Side resident, who frequently performs at Jewish fundraisers. “It’s very inclusive, but it has a Jewish flavor.” Over the past year, Rosenfeld, 53, has become more forthcoming about his sexual identity (he’s been married to his husband, Leo Veiga, since 2020), telling our partners at JTA: “Be a proud Jew and be you.”
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?
When you get comfortable on stage, you begin to find your voice. My voice was very Jewish, and it came out proud to be Jewish — not making fun or deprecating. It was just very, very proud. When I do these amazing charity events to raise money and see Jews helping other Jews, I feel very proud. This is who I am. These are the people I’m from. It makes you proud. That’s how that voice grew.
Do you have a favorite recent experience as a Jewish New Yorker?
Not one in specific because I have one every day. I love everyone’s style in New York. Every day, you just see looks and events that can only happen in New York.
What is your favorite place to eat Jewish food in New York?
Second Avenue Deli. I don’t usually eat meat, but if I’m there, I’m gonna have the stuffed cabbage, maybe a pastrami sandwich — those are my two go-tos. Then whoever I’m with, depending on what they order, I’m going to be on their plates as well.
Who is your New York Jewish hero?
My hero — not in comedy, just in general in the big picture — is the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Even though he was from Europe, he was a New York staple and lived here for many years.
What are three spots in NYC that all Jewish New Yorkers should visit?
The Comedy Cellar and Second Avenue if they really want to experience a real deli. The third would just be to walk the streets of New York and look at the style — avoiding Midtown. Go to Washington Square Park and people-watch. The looks people pull are absolutely stunning. Trench coats, belts, clothes from the ’70s — the style of New York is unbelievable.
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Tucker’s Ideas About Jews Come from Darkest Corners of the Internet, Says Huckabee After Combative Interview
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee looks on during the day he visits the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – In a combative interview with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, right-wing firebrand Tucker Carlson made a host of contentious and often demonstrably false claims that quickly went viral online. Huckabee, who repeatedly challenged the former Fox News star during the interview, subsequently made a long post on X, identifying a pattern of bad-faith arguments, distortions and conspiracies in Carlson’s rhetorical style.
Huckabee pointed out his words were not accorded by Carlson the same degree of attention and curiosity the anchor evinced toward such unsavory characters as “the little Nazi sympathizer Nick Fuentes or the guy who thought Hitler was the good guy and Churchill the bad guy.”
“What I wasn’t anticipating was a lengthy series of questions where he seemed to be insinuating that the Jews of today aren’t really same people as the Jews of the Bible,” Huckabee wrote, adding that Tucker’s obsession with conspiracies regarding the provenance of Ashkenazi Jews obscured the fact that most Israeli Jews were refugees from the Arab and Muslim world.
The idea that Ashkenazi Jews are an Asiatic tribe who invented a false ancestry “gained traction in the 80’s and 90’s with David Duke and other Klansmen and neo-Nazis,” Huckabee wrote. “It has really caught fire in recent years on the Internet and social media, mostly from some of the most overt antisemites and Jew haters you can find.”
Carlson branded Israel “probably the most violent country on earth” and cited the false claim that Israel President Isaac Herzog had visited the infamous island of the late, disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“The current president of Israel, whom I know you know, apparently was at ‘pedo island.’ That’s what it says,” Carlson said, citing a debunked claim made by The Times reporter Gabrielle Weiniger. “Still-living, high-level Israeli officials are directly implicated in Epstein’s life, if not his crimes, so I think you’d be following this.”
Another misleading claim made by Carlson was that there were more Christians in Qatar than in Israel.
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Pezeshkian Says Iran Will Not Bow to Pressure Amid US Nuclear Talks
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2025, in Tianjin, China, September 1, 2025. Iran’s Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that his country would not bow its head to pressure from world powers amid nuclear talks with the United States.
“World powers are lining up to force us to bow our heads… but we will not bow our heads despite all the problems that they are creating for us,” Pezeshkian said in a speech carried live by state TV.
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Italy’s RAI Apologizes after Latest Gaffe Targets Israeli Bobsleigh Team
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics – Bobsleigh – 4-man Heat 1 – Cortina Sliding Centre, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy – February 21, 2026. Adam Edelman of Israel, Menachem Chen of Israel, Uri Zisman of Israel, Omer Katz of Israel in action during Heat 1. Photo: REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
Italy’s state broadcaster RAI was forced to apologize to the Jewish community on Saturday after an off‑air remark advising its producers to “avoid” the Israeli crew was broadcast before coverage of the Four-Man bobsleigh event at the Winter Olympics.
The head of RAI’s sports division had already resigned earlier in the week after his error-ridden commentary at the Milano Cortina 2026 opening ceremony two weeks ago triggered a revolt among its journalists.
On Saturday, viewers heard “Let’s avoid crew number 21, which is the Israeli one” and then “no, because …” before the sound was cut off.
RAI CEO Giampaolo Rossi said the incident represented a “serious” breach of the principles of impartiality, respect and inclusion that should guide the public broadcaster.
He added that RAI had opened an internal inquiry to swiftly determine any responsibility and any potential disciplinary procedures.
In a separate statement RAI’s board of directors condemned the remark as “unacceptable.”
The board apologized to the Jewish community, the athletes involved and all viewers who felt offended.
RAI is the country’s largest media organization and operates national television, radio and digital news services.
The union representing RAI journalists, Usigrai, had said Paolo Petrecca’s opening ceremony commentary had dealt “a serious blow” to the company’s credibility.
His missteps included misidentifying venues and public figures, and making comments about national teams that were widely criticized.