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The first-ever Borscht Belt Festival celebrates a bygone Jewish era
(New York Jewish Week) — After a dozen-plus years in the making, the Catskills Borscht Belt museum is set to open in 2025. But for those who can’t wait another two years, the museum is launching a festival to honor the history and culture of the “Jewish Alps” this summer.
The first-ever Borscht Belt Fest will debut on July 29 in Ellenville, New York, about 90 miles from Manhattan.
The one-day festival will pay tribute to the legacy of the Borscht Belt — the colloquial name for the once-ubiquitous resorts and bungalow colonies in parts of Sullivan, Ulster and Orange counties that catered to Jewish families — and its influence on modern American culture. On the lineup are comedy shows, workshops, lectures, exhibits, film screenings and a street fair with plenty of entertainment and Jewish food.
With a few years before the museum opens, the festival is “a way for us to start cultivating a really broad audience for this new cultural institution,” Andrew Jacobs, president of Catskills Borscht Belt Museum’s board of directors and a reporter for The New York Times, told the New York Jewish Week.
The museum will be located in an old bank, pictured above, at 90 Canal Street in Ellenville, New York. (Catskills Borscht Belt Museum)
The timing for the festival and subsequent museum opening, noted Jacobs, is ideal: “We’re tapping into this zeitgeist moment,” he said, pointing to the Amazon Prime hit “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and how it revived interest in the Catskills and its heyday in the 1950s and ’60s.
“Also there’s a sense that this time in history has been unacknowledged, underappreciated nd hasn’t gotten its due,” Jacobs added. “And so I think there’s a sense among people who lived it, or whose parents lived it, like, ‘I want this to be acknowledged, I want it to be honored and celebrated, and I want to be part of that.’”
Like the festival, the forthcoming Borscht Belt Museum will also be in Ellenville, located in a building that was once home to Home National Bank — one of the first banks to lend money to Jewish hotel owners in the 1920s. Exhibits and activities will include archival film and audio, lectures, interactive activities and workshops.
Back in the day, from roughly the 1900s to the 1970s, Route 17, then better known as “The Quickway,” was packed during the summer months with New York Jews making their exodus from the crowded city to the Catskill Mountains. Named after the Ashkenazi beet soup, the Borscht Belt drew travelers upstate for leisure, Yiddish culture, food and entertainment. Many legendary Jewish comedians performed early in their careers at Catskills resorts, including Jackie Mason, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Joan Rivers and Jerry Seinfeld.
Of course, Jews also came to the Catskills because they were barred from vacationing at many other popular locales — and therefore they created a vacationland of their own, packing Jewish-owned resorts like Grossinger’s Catskill Resort Hotel and Kutsher’s Hotel and Country Club.
“These institutions shaped American Jewish culture, enabling Jews to become more American while at the same time introducing the American public to immigrant Jewish culture,” according to the Catskills Institute, an organization at Northeastern University promoting research and education about the region and the era.
By the late 1960s, however, with the rise of air travel, more resorts allowing Jews and younger generations choosing other vacation destinations, the lure of the Catskills began to dim. By the 1980s, most resorts and hotels that populated the Borscht Belt were defunct.
The Borscht Belt Festival aims, however briefly, to revive the traditions and culture of the Catskills’ golden age. With a focus on comedy, the festival’s events include “The Borscht Belt Classic,” a homage to family-friendly Catskills comedy, and a talk with writers Alan Zweibel and Bill Scheft about their experiences writing and performing stand-up comedy in the mountains.
Another comedy performance is Luci Pohl’s “Immigrant Jam,” which pays tribute to immigrant culture and experiences — Pohl herself is a Jewish immigrant from Germany — and a standup comedy showcase presented by the Manhattan club the Comedy Cellar.
Pohl, who is a member of the festival’s advisory board, said that rather than choosing a big headliner, the organizers wanted to focus on comedians they can’t see on Netflix, or maybe haven’t heard of yet. Similar to the Borscht Belt, the festival aims to be a place to “discover new talents,” she told the New York Jewish Week.
Other highlights include a “Rocky Horror”-esque screening of “Dirty Dancing” — in which participants are encouraged to dress as their favorite characters and can sing and dance along to the film, set at a Catskills resort — and a concert from the klezmer group The Shul Band. There will also be the first exhibit of the work of the late Holocaust survivor and painter Morris Katz — who was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Record as both the world’s fastest and most prolific artist — put together by a curator from the New-York Historical Society.
Various signs for the resorts and bungalow colonies in the Borscht Belt. (Catskills Borscht Belt Museum)
Jacobs expects some 8,000 to 10,000 attendees at the festival throughout the day. In addition to having a good time and learning about the Borscht Belt, “We want to bring culture back to the Catskills and … develop Ellenville as a kind of a regional cultural hub,” he said.
Looking ahead, Jacobs said the goal is to have the Borscht Belt Museum and its spin-off festival evolve into a brand. They are hoping to host the Borscht Belt Film Festival in Ellenville in the fall; create a stand-up comedy outpost at Ellenville’s Shadowland Theater, featuring monthly shows there; and create year-round programming in both New York City and upstate.
The museum’s first pop-exhibit, curated by the International Center for Photography New York in partnership with the Bard Graduate Center, will be open from early July through the end of the summer at the yet-to-be renovated site of the future museum.
Many Jewish museums “can be a bit depressing — it’s pogroms and the Holocaust, which is important,” said Jacobs, who directed the 2008 documentary “Four Seasons Lodge,” about a Catskills bungalow colony populated by Holocaust survivors. “But I think there’s a real craving for a museum that tells a story about Jews that is triumphant and joyous.”
The Borscht Belt Fest will take place on July 29 in Ellenville, New York. For tickets, visit Borschtbeltfest.org
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The post The first-ever Borscht Belt Festival celebrates a bygone Jewish era appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – As Israeli leaders weigh the contours of a possible partial ceasefire deal with Hamas, the families of the 50 hostages still held in Gaza issued an impassioned public statement this weekend, condemning any agreement that would return only some of the abductees.
In a powerful message released Saturday, the Families Forum for the Return of Hostages denounced what they call the “beating system” and “cruel selection process,” which, they say, has left families trapped in unbearable uncertainty for 638 days—not knowing whether to hope for reunion or prepare for mourning.
The group warned that a phased or selective deal—rumored to be under discussion—would deepen their suffering and perpetuate injustice. Among the 50 hostages, 22 are believed to be alive, and 28 are presumed dead.
“Every family deserves answers and closure,” the Forum said. “Whether it is a return to embrace or a grave to mourn over—each is sacred.”
They accused the Israeli government of allowing political considerations to prevent a full agreement that could have brought all hostages—living and fallen—home long ago. “It is forbidden to conform to the dictates of Schindler-style lists,” the statement read, invoking a painful historical parallel.
“All of the abductees could have returned for rehabilitation or burial months ago, had the government chosen to act with courage.”
The call for a comprehensive deal comes just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares for high-stakes talks in Washington and as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume in Doha within the next 24 hours, according to regional media reports.
Hamas, for its part, issued a statement Friday confirming its readiness to begin immediate negotiations on the implementation of a ceasefire and hostage release framework.
The Forum emphasized that every day in captivity poses a mortal risk to the living hostages, and for the deceased, a danger of being lost forever. “The horror of selection does not spare any of us,” the statement said. “Enough with the separation and categories that deepen the pain of the families.”
In a planned public address near Begin Gate in Tel Aviv, families are gathering Saturday evening to demand that the Israeli government accept a full-release deal—what they describe as the only “moral and Zionist” path forward.
“We will return. We will avenge,” the Forum concluded. “This is the time to complete the mission.”
As of now, the Israeli government has not formally responded to Hamas’s latest statement.
The post Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Melbourne Police Investigate Wave of Antisemitic Attacks, Including Synagogue Arson
Illustrative. Vandals defaced the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Australia on June 22, 2025. Photo: Screenshot
i24 News – A wave of antisemitic incidents across Melbourne is under urgent investigation by Victoria Police, after a synagogue was set alight, a Jewish-owned restaurant targeted by protesters, and a third attack saw multiple cars torched at a business in the city’s northeast.
The third incident occurred around 4:30 a.m. Saturday at a business on Para Road in Greensborough. Offenders set fire to three vehicles and sprayed graffiti on both the cars and a nearby building wall. One car was destroyed, and two others sustained moderate damage.
“There were references of antisemitism in the graffiti,” Dunstan confirmed, adding that the business had previously been linked to pro-Palestinian activism.
While police say no direct link between the three incidents has been established yet, they are not ruling out the possibility of coordination.
The attacks began Friday night, when a man was seen pouring a flammable liquid on the entrance of the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation and setting it alight around 8 p.m., while around 20 people were inside for Shabbat services. Worshipers quickly evacuated through the back, and the fire was contained to the front of the building. No injuries were reported.
Police have released an image of a suspect believed to be in his 30s, of Caucasian appearance, with a beard and long hair.
Just hours after the synagogue arson, a protest of around 70 people moved through Swanston Street before a smaller group gathered outside Miznon, a popular Jewish-owned restaurant in the CBD, chanting offensive slogans. One man was arrested and later released on summons for hindering police.
In response to the series of attacks, federal agencies including the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) have joined the investigation.
“This is disgraceful behavior by a pack of cowards,” said Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan. “Any attack on a place of worship is an act of hate. Any attack on a Jewish place of worship is an act of antisemitism. There should be no hesitation in calling this what it is.”
The post Melbourne Police Investigate Wave of Antisemitic Attacks, Including Synagogue Arson first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Says Iran Has Not Agreed to Inspections, Give Up Enrichment
US President Donald Trump speaks at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (not pictured), at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, June 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Iran had not agreed to inspections of its nuclear program or to give up enriching uranium.
He told reporters aboard Air Force One that he believed Tehran’s nuclear program had been set back permanently although Iran could restart it at a different location.
Trump said he would discuss Iran with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits the White House on Monday.
“I would say it’s set back permanently,” Trump said as he traveled to New Jersey after an Independence Day celebration at the White House. “I would think they’d have to start at a different location. And if they did start, it would be a problem.”
Trump said he would not allow Tehran to resume its nuclear program, adding that Iran did want to meet with him.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Friday it had pulled its last remaining inspectors from Iran as a standoff deepens over their return to the country’s nuclear facilities bombed by the United States and Israel.
The U.S. and Israel say Iran was enriching uranium to build nuclear weapons. Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Israel launched its first military strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in a 12-day war with the Islamic Republic three weeks ago. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s inspectors have not been able to inspect Iran’s facilities since then, even though IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said that is his top priority.
Iran’s parliament has passed a law suspending cooperation with the IAEA until the safety of its nuclear facilities can be guaranteed. While the IAEA says Iran has not yet formally informed it of any suspension, it is unclear when the agency’s inspectors will be able to return to Iran.
Iran has accused the agency of effectively paving the way for the bombings by issuing a damning report on May 31 that led to a resolution by the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors declaring Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations.
The US and Israeli military strikes either destroyed or badly damaged Iran’s three uranium enrichment sites. But it was less clear what has happened to much of Iran’s nine tons of enriched uranium, especially the more than 400 kg (880 pounds) enriched to up to 60% purity, a short step from weapons grade.
The post Trump Says Iran Has Not Agreed to Inspections, Give Up Enrichment first appeared on Algemeiner.com.