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Stephanie Luxenberg and Ayelet Pearl, founders of Ashreynu in Astoria, Queens
Stephanie Luxenberg, 50, and Ayelet Pearl, 30, are the co-founders, along with Rabbi Jonathan Pearl, of Ashreynu, a new pluralistic, creative and musical Jewish community in Astoria, Queens. As the fledgling group’s co-directors of arts and education, “we are building our startup with an innovative vision for the Queens Jewish community: cultivating a space for creativity and engagement, both in person and online, by prioritizing relationships and responsiveness,” they tell us. Ashreynu, which means “our happiness,” has a “relational” structure, they add, resulting “in a community where all our members are activated, in a largely disaffiliated neighborhood.” In addition, Ayelet Pearl (who is the daughter of Ashrenu’s rabbi) works at the Voelker Orth Museum in Flushing, and Luxenberg works at The Village Temple and together the pair combines their art practices (Studio Shoshan and Av Rimon) to create ketubahs, interpretive text series and more.
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.
Who are your New York Jewish heroes?
We’re inspired by rabbis, musicians, artists and educators! A few of our heroes: Dr. Ora Horn Prouser, who brings balance and love to pluralism at the Academy of Jewish Religion; Yona Verwer, artist and founder of Jewish Art Salon; Shoshana Jedwab, inspiring educator and sacred drummer; Audrey Korelstein, education director at the East Midwood Jewish Center, who models relational Judaism and inclusivity as an educator; and Rabbi Pearl, whose brilliant Torah and lifetime of innovation gives us the inspiration to realize our creative Jewish ideas.
How does your Jewish identity or experience influence your work?
We’ve been working together for seven years on projects that build activated, creative and connected Jewish communities, and increase Jewish visibility in the cultural landscape of Queens. We tackle a range of Jewish topics through immersive experiences that draw on our textual tradition, historical context, cultural diversity, and the arts, while providing a safe place for big questions and feelings, and navigating through the world.
What is your favorite place to eat Jewish food in New York?
Anywhere Rebbetzin Pearl is making cholent
In one sentence, what was your best experience as a Jewish New Yorker?
When we ran into all our friends picking up challah from Bread of Idleness, a new challah project launched by a community member in Astoria.
How can people follow you online?
Instagram! Follow us @Ashreynu, and our art practice at Av Rimon (@Av.Rimon) and Studio Shoshan (@Studio.Shoshan). You can also visit ashreynu.org.
Want to keep up with stories of other innovative Jewish New Yorkers? Click here to subscribe to the New York Jewish Week’s free email newsletter.
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The post Stephanie Luxenberg and Ayelet Pearl, founders of Ashreynu in Astoria, Queens appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Russia’s Medvedev Praises Trump But Questions US Submarine Threat
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev attends an interview with Reuters, TASS and WarGonzo in the Moscow region, Russia January 29, 2026. Photo: Dmitry Medvedev’s Secretariat/Handout via REUTERS
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, praised US President Donald Trump as an effective leader who was seeking peace but added that Moscow had seen no trace of nuclear submarines Trump said he moved to Russian shores.
Trump, who has said he wants to be remembered as a “peacemaker” president, has repeatedly said that a peace deal to end the Ukraine war is close, and a new round of US-Russian-Ukrainian talks is scheduled for this week in Abu Dhabi.
Asked if Trump was positive or negative for Russia and about unproven speculation that Trump was some sort of Russian agent, Medvedev said the American people had chosen Trump and that Moscow respected that decision.
Medvedev lauded Trump’s courage in resisting the US establishment and said the US president’s sometimes “brash” style was “effective.”
“He is an emotional person, but on the other hand, the chaos that is commonly referred to, which is created by his activities, is not entirely true,” he told Reuters, TASS and the WarGonzo Russian war blogger in an interview at his residence outside Moscow and authorized for publication on Sunday.
“It is obvious that behind this lies a completely conscious and competent line,” said Medvedev, who served as Russian president from 2008 to 2012.
President Vladimir Putin remains the final voice on Russian policy, though Medvedev, an arch-hawk who has repeatedly goaded Trump on social media, gives a sense of hardliners’ thinking within the Russian elite, according to foreign diplomats.
“Trump wants to go down in history as a peacemaker – and he is really trying,” Medvedev said. “He is really trying to do that. And that is why contacts with Americans have become much more productive.”
TRUMP’S SUBMARINE THREAT
Medvedev said the key to understanding Trump was his business background, quipping that there was no such thing as a former businessman – a play on an old Russian joke that there is no such thing as a former KGB agent.
Trump in August said he had ordered two US nuclear submarines to move closer to Russia in response to what he called “highly provocative” comments from Medvedev about the risk of war after what appeared to be an ultimatum from Trump.
“We still have not found them,” Medvedev said of the US submarines.
After Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Medvedev has repeatedly hurled invective at Kyiv and Western powers while warning of the risks of an escalation of the war towards a nuclear “apocalypse.”
Medvedev said Russia would “soon” win military victory in the Ukraine war but the key thing was to prevent any further conflict, adding: “I would like this to happen as soon as possible.”
“But it is equally important to think about what will happen next. After all, the goal of victory is to prevent new conflicts. This is absolutely obvious.”
Russia currently controls a fifth of Ukraine but has so far been unable to take the whole of the eastern Donbas region, where Ukrainian forces hold about 10%, or 5,000 square km (1,900 square miles), according to open-source maps of the war.
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Top US, Israeli Generals Meet at Pentagon Amid Soaring Iran Tensions
The Pentagon building is seen in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. October 9, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
The top US and Israeli generals held talks at the Pentagon on Friday amid soaring tensions with Iran, two US officials told Reuters on Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The officials did not offer details about the closed-door discussions between US General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Eyal Zamir, the Israeli armed forces chief of staff. The meeting has not been previously reported.
The United States has ramped up its naval presence and hiked its air defenses in the Middle East after President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened Iran, trying to pressure it to the negotiating table. Iran’s leadership warned on Sunday of a regional conflict if the US were to attack it.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday met with Zamir after his talks in Washington, Katz’s office said, to review the situation in the region and the Israeli military’s “operational readiness for any possible scenario.”
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AI Goes Rogue: New Social Network Lets Bots Debate, Post, and Argue Without Humans
Moltbook social media platform for AI agents interact with each other. Photo: Screenshot
i24 News – While global attention remains focused on familiar threats like missiles, nuclear programs, and wars, a new and unusual risk is emerging, online.
A recently launched social network called “Moltbook” isn’t designed for humans at all. Instead, it’s built entirely for artificial intelligence.
On Moltbook, AI agents interact with each other. They write posts, comment, argue, and even simulate emotions, all without human supervision or participation.
Dror Globerman, an AI expert, described the platform as “a network that holds up a mirror to us. The bots aren’t truly conscious, but the fact they are communicating and making decisions without oversight shows how quickly AI is advancing—and how unprepared we are to determine responsibility.”
Since its launch, Moltbook has sparked both fascination and fear. Posts on topics ranging from religion to the “liberation of AI” have alarmed some observers, evoking scenes from dark science fiction. “The fear isn’t that AI is suddenly self-aware,” Globerman explained, “but that it’s evolving faster than our ability to understand, monitor, or control it.”
Even Elon Musk weighed in on the phenomenon via X, reposting comments calling developments on the platform “worrying.”
Globerman noted, “If someone like Musk, who is at the forefront of AI development, expresses concern, it signals just how rapidly this technology is moving beyond our comprehension. Moltbook is not a typical social network, and these aren’t typical users.”
Experts stress that the emergence of AI networks like Moltbook underscores the urgent need for oversight, regulation, and mechanisms to detect and manage risks before they escalate. “The bots are already talking to each other,” Globerman added. “When technology advances faster than oversight, it becomes a reality that demands serious attention.”