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The New York Jewish Week’s 10 most-read stories of 2023
(New York Jewish Week) — We’ve made it to the last week of 2023, and before we start the new year, we’re looking back on all the stories that you engaged with most over the past 12 months.
This year, Jewish New Yorkers showed us what meant the most to them — from getting excited about best bites around the city to standing up in solidarity with Israel and against antisemitism to celebrating nearly lost pockets of New York Jewish history.
As the New York Jewish Week continues to grow as part of the 70 Faces Media family, we want to thank you for joining us throughout 2023. Here are the 10 stories you engaged with most this year.
1. Sammy’s Roumanian, iconic Lower East Side Jewish restaurant, mounts a comeback by Lisa Keys (April 27)
Sammy’s Roumanian Steakhouse owners David, left, and Stan Zimmerman, outside their restaurant at 157 Chrystie St. in 2005. (Julian Voloj)
You read that right: The iconic Sammy’s Roumanian Steakhouse — the Lower East Side eatery famous for chopped liver prepared table-side, carafes of schmaltz on the tables and its shticky, in-house entertainer, Dani Luv — is mounting a comeback. The Ashkenazi-influenced restaurant — which shuttered in January 2021 during the pandemic — has a lease “in the works” at 191 Orchard St., between Houston and Stanton streets.
2. This Bronx bakery and its Holocaust survivor founder have been making cheesecake the same way for 63 years by Julia Gergely (May 22)
Fred Schuster, left, smiles next to his son-in-law Yair Ben-Zaken. The two of them run S&S Cheesecake, a bakery in the Kingsbridge neighborhood of the Bronx. (Julia Gergely, Design by Mollie Suss)
Near the northern terminus of the 1 train, just south of Van Cortlandt Park, S&S Cheesecake has been producing thousands of dense, delectable cheesecakes each day for more than 60 years, distributing to steakhouses all across the country. The proprietors are 98-year-old Holocaust survivor Fred Schuster and his daughter and son-in-law Brenda and Yair Ben Zaken.
3. 18-year-old pianist opens Carnegie Hall performance with Israeli national anthem by Luke Tress (Oct. 22)
Kevin Chen performing at Carnegie Hall on Oct. 19, 2023. (Screenshot)
After the Hamas attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, Kevin Chen, an 18-year-old rising star in the world of piano, used his platform to show his support. He opened his performance at New York City’s Carnegie Hall with a rendition of “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem and Hebrew for “the hope.” While he played the melody on piano, members of the audience sang along.
4. The first-ever Borscht Belt Festival celebrates a bygone Jewish era by Leah Breakstone (July 3)
The Nevele Country Club Stardust Room in Ellenville, New York in its heyday. (Catskills Borscht Belt Museum)
The Catskills Borscht Belt museum launched “Borscht Belt Fest,”a one-day festival to honor the history and culture of the “Jewish Alps” this summer in Ellenville, New York. The festival, which included comedy shows, workshops, lectures, exhibits, film screenings, lots of food and a street fair, paid 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.
5. Yeshiva University is left in mourning after a beloved gay alum dies by suicide by Jacob Henry (May 5)
Herschel Siegel, who was a beloved member of the Jewish communities at Yeshiva University and in his hometown Atlanta, died by suicide April 28. (Courtesy)
Herschel Siegel said he had struggled to reconcile his Jewish and queer identities, particularly as a student and 2021 graduate of Yeshiva University. Siegel died by suicide April 28 in Atlanta, where he grew up and had been living. He was remembered by countless friends and allies who felt connected with his struggle for acceptance in the Modern Orthodox world.
6. This Orthodox Jewish model made history at New York Fashion Week by Julia Gergely (Feb. 14)
Lily Brasch, who has muscular dystrophy, walked the runway at New York Fashion Week for the South Asian brand Randhawa. (Hilary Phelps)
Disability activist Lily Brasch didn’t know if she would be able to walk the runway as a model for New York Fashion Week — not because she has a rare form of muscular dystrophy, which weakens muscles and limits her ability to walk, but rather because the show was set for Friday evening, when the weekly Jewish holiday of Shabbat begins. But Brasch, who is Orthodox and goes by the stage name Lily B., quickly devised a workaround: She took her turn on the catwalk in Midtown at 5 p.m. and, instead of schlepping back uptown to her Morningside Heights apartment, quickly headed to a nearby hotel to welcome Shabbat with her sisters.
7. Falafel Tanami had its regulars. Then the New York Times declared it the best falafel in NYC. by Julia Gergely (June 14)
Galit Tanami, the owner of Falafel Tanami, is shown in her restaurant, which in April was named one of the 100 best restaurants in the city by The New York Times. (Julia Gergely, design by Mollie Suss)
Falafel Tanami is a tiny hole-in-the-wall kosher Israeli restaurant. Beloved by Midwood locals, it’s stardom was put on the map in April when the New York Times named it one of the best restaurants in New York City. Hundreds of people show up every day, creating lines that occasionally snake out the door. News stations from across the globe ask for interviews, catering requests come in from all over the city and, of course, the falafel often sells out before closing time. “It has been crazy, baruch Hashem,” Galit Tanami, who owns the store with her husband, Ronen, told the New York Jewish Week. “Everybody is so excited for us.”
8. A ‘not f-ing Jewish’ NYer is going viral for confronting a man who ripped down Israeli hostage posters by Ben Sales (Oct. 27)
A man confronts another man who was filmed removing Israeli hostage posters on a street corner in Queens, according to video shared by the watchdog group StopAntisemitism. (X)
As Israel began its retaliation against Hamas in order to eradicate the terrorist group and get back the 250 hostages who were kidnapped, New Yorkers began to spread awareness by putting up posters of the hostages across the city. While many videos of people ripping down the posters went viral, one in particular stood out. Like the others, this video featured someone tearing down the fliers. But unlike the rest, the man confronting the poster-ripper did not just urge the person to stop. Instead, he said the f-word. A lot. Another difference: The man confronting the person taking down the posters was, by his own admission, “not f—ing Jewish.” “You don’t have a f—ing right to touch that s—,” the man sporting a brown plaid shirt yelled in a thick New York City accent about halfway through the 43-second clip.
9. At a live event with Netflix’s ‘Jewish Matchmaking,’ fans of the show find their people by Julia Gergely (May 19)
The cast of Netflix’s “Jewish Matchmaking” met for a live event in New York, May 17, 2023. (Julia Gergely)
Aleeza Ben Shalom, star of the Netflix hit “Jewish Matchmaking,” visited New York earlier this year to dole out dating advice and promote her show. She stood in the middle of a tight circle of fans, both men and women, young and old, maintaining the same warmth she displays on her TV show and speaking to as many people as she could. More than a few single women were sent to the event at the behest of their worried Jewish parents. “I’m young, I’m 24, I have a lot of great things going on in my life,” said Yael Chanukov, a Manhattan-based actress. “But my parents are so concerned about me finding someone. They bought me the ticket, sent me the email confirmation and said I had to ask Aleeza for advice.”
10. The quest to replace Park East Synagogue’s 92-year-old rabbi is not going smoothly by Jacob Henry (Feb. 8)
The Star of David stands atop the Park East Synagogue, March 3, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
More than a year after it attracted attention for the abrupt termination of a popular assistant rabbi, Manhattan’s Park East Synagogue hadn’t hired a replacement for its longtime senior rabbi, Arthur Schneier. In February, one candidate, Rabbi Yitzchak Schochet, came close, but after a heated squabble about his past outspoken opposition to same-sex relationships, Schochet withdrew his candidacy.
Bonus: NY Jewish Week’s 36 to Watch 2023
This year, our 36 to Watch was a dynamic group of Jewish New Yorkers, from bakers to business owners, athletes to artists, Broadway stars and TikTok stars, pulpit Rabbis and a prison chaplain. As we begin our search for 2024’s batch, take a look back on the New Yorkers we’ve recommended you keep an eye out for as they make their mark on the city.
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The post The New York Jewish Week’s 10 most-read stories of 2023 appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Russian Drone Strikes Jewish School in Kyiv, Causing ‘Significant Damage’
A Russian drone struck the Chabad-run Perlina school in Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct. 30, 2024. Photo: Jewish community JCC in Kyiv, Kyiv municipality, and Yan Dobronosov
A Russian drone struck the main Jewish school in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv early on Wednesday, causing “significant structural damage” but resulting in no injuries at the school.
The drone hit hours before students were expected to arrive, but officials reported several injuries in a neighboring residential building. The drone caused heavy damage to several areas within the school, including classrooms, the student lounge, and a school shuttle, but spared a gas station located just 50 meters away.
Part of the Russian drone landed in the playground of the Chabad-run Perlina school in Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct. 30, 2024. Photo: Jewish community JCC in Kyiv, Kyiv municipality, and Yan Dobronosov
“The school’s reinforced windows, equipped with protective film, prevented further harm to the interior of the structure,” said a statement from the Or Avner Chabad educational network, which runs the Perlina school.
Damage to the Chabad-run Perlina school in Kyiv, Ukraine caused by a Russian drone, Oct. 30, 2024. Photo: Jewish community JCC in Kyiv, Kyiv municipality, and Yan Dobronosov
Perlina’s principal, Elena Vasilivna, noted that the school also doubled as a home for some of its students.
“Some of our students are refugee children from other cities, and sometimes they have to sleep at the school; we have rooms specifically for such cases,” she told The Algemeiner.
Vasilivna noted that she had updated all the parents, “assuring them we would do everything to resume classes as quickly as possible.”
More damage caused by the Russian drone that hit the Perlina school in Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct. 30, 2024. Photo: Jewish community JCC in Kyiv, Kyiv municipality, and Yan Dobronosov
“Throughout the war, we made sure to continue the school routine to provide the children with stability, a supportive atmosphere, and a place where they can play with their friends,” she added.
Kyiv’s Chief Rabbi Yonatan Markovitch also pledged the school would remain open, despite the attack. “Just as the school has remained operational throughout the war, so too will we continue to nurture our children’s souls, even in these challenging times,” he said.
Kyiv’s Chief Rabbi Yonatan Markovitch holds a fragment of a Russian drone that damaged the Chabad-run Perlina school in Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct. 30, 2024. Photo: Jewish community JCC in Kyiv, Kyiv municipality, and Yan Dobronosov
Markovitch hailed the “tremendous miracle” that students were not in the building at the time of the strike.
He visited the site of the impact, accompanied by several city officials, including Kyiv mayor and former boxing world champion, Vitalyi Klitschko.
Jewish communities in the embattled country, many of which are run by Chabad, maintain good relations with Ukrainian authorities.
President Volodymyr Zelensky even called Markovitch last week to wish him a happy birthday, gifting him a signed copy of his book with a personal dedication.
To mark 30 years since the passing of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Ukrainian Postal Service recently issued a commemorative stamp featuring the famous 770 Chabad building located in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in his honor and as a tribute to the Chabad movement and its activities in Ukraine.
Picture of the stamp.
Wednesday’s strike marked the 19th such assault on Kyiv by Russian forces in October alone, with more than 60 Iranian-produced Shahed drones launched across Ukraine that morning.
The post Russian Drone Strikes Jewish School in Kyiv, Causing ‘Significant Damage’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Lebanon, Israel Could Agree to Ceasefire Within Days, Lebanese Prime Minister Says
Smoke billows over Khiam, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, Oct. 29, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
Lebanon’s prime minister expressed hope on Wednesday that a ceasefire deal with Israel would be announced within days as Israel‘s public broadcaster published what it said was a draft agreement providing for an initial 60-day truce.
The document, which broadcaster Kan said was a leaked proposal written by Washington, said Israel would withdraw its forces from Lebanon within the first week of the 60-day ceasefire. It largely aligned with details reported earlier by Reuters based on two sources familiar with the matter.
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said he had not believed a deal would be possible until after Tuesday’s US presidential election. But he said he became more optimistic after speaking on Wednesday with US envoy for the Middle East Amos Hochstein, who was due to travel to Israel on Thursday.
“Hochstein, during his call with me, suggested to me that we could reach an agreement before the end of the month and before Nov. 5,” Mikati told Lebanon’s Al Jadeed television.
“We are doing everything we can and we should remain optimistic that in the coming hours or days, we will have a ceasefire,” Mikati said.
The draft published by Kan was dated Saturday, and when asked to comment, White House national security spokesperson Sean Savett said: “There are many reports and drafts circulating. They do not reflect the current state of negotiations.”
But Savett did not respond to a query on whether the version published by Kan was at least the basis for further negotiations.
The Israeli network said the draft had been presented to Israel‘s leaders. Israeli officials did not immediately comment.
Israel and the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah have been fighting for the past year in parallel with Israel‘s war in Gaza after Hezbollah struck Israeli targets in solidarity with its ally Hamas in Gaza.
Since Oct. 8 of last year, one day after the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s invasion of southern Israel, Hezbollah has been attacking northern Israel almost daily with barrages of missiles, rocket, and drones. The relentless attacks have forced about 70,000 Israelis to flee the northern part of the country, and Israel’s government has vowed to push Hezbollah away from the Lebanon border to ensure the displaced citizens can return to their homes.
The conflict in Lebanon has dramatically escalated over the last five weeks, with most of the 2,800 deaths reported by the Lebanese health ministry for the past 12 months occurring in that period.
Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the leaked ceasefire proposal.
But the Iran-backed group’s new leader, Naim Qassem, said earlier on Wednesday that it would agree to a ceasefire within certain parameters if Israel wanted to stop the war, but that Israel had so far not agreed to any proposal that could be discussed.
The post Lebanon, Israel Could Agree to Ceasefire Within Days, Lebanese Prime Minister Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Latest Pro-Hamas Faculty Group Formed at George Washington University
A statue of George Washington tied with a Palestinian flag and a keffiyeh inside a pro-Hamas encampment is pictured at George Washington University in Washington, DC, US, May 2, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Craig Hudson
Anti-Israel faculty at George Washington University have founded a Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP) chapter, according to an op-ed written by several professors who initiated the endeavor.
“As we pass one year of a genocide funded by the United States and US universities that has expanded to bombing campaigns in Syria, Lebanon, Iran, and Yemen, we and other conscientious members of GW’s faculty and staff have recently established a chapter of Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine,” professors Peter Calloway, Helen DeVinney, Amr Madkour, Sara Matthiesen, and Dara Orenstein wrote in the piece, which was published on Monday by The GW Hatchet. “Though our chapter includes many more faculty in solidarity with the students who are unable to be named publicly for fear of retaliation, we want students, community members, and the administration to know that there are faculty at GW who are aligned with the movement for a free Palestine.”
A spinoff of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a group with numerous links to Islamist terror organizations, FJP chapters have been opening on colleges since Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7. Throughout the 2023-2024 academic year, its members, which include faculty employed by the most elite US colleges, fostered campus unrest, circulated antisemitic cartoons, and advocated severing ties with Israeli companies and institutions of higher education.
As The Algemeiner has previously reported, in May, Harvard University’s FJP chapter published an antisemitic cartoon depicting a left-hand tattooed with a Star of David, and containing a dollar sign at its center, dangling a Black man and an Arab man from a noose. FJP members have also fostered unrest to coerce university officials into accepting their demands, and attempted, in some instances, to prevent police from dispersing unauthorized demonstrations and detaining lawbreakers.
According to an AMCHA Initiative report published in September, titled “Academic Extremism: How a Faculty Network Fuels Campus Unrest,” the group’s presence throughout academia is insidious and should be scrutinized by lawmakers.
“Our investigation alarmingly reveals that campuses with FJP chapters are seeing assaults and death threats against Jewish students at rates multiple times higher than those without FJP groups, providing compelling evidence of the dangerous intersection between faculty activism and violent antisemitic behavior,” AMCHA said in a press release. “The presence of FJP chapters also correlates with the extended duration of protests and encampments, as well as with the passage of [boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement] resolutions on their campuses.”
The BDS movement seeks to isolate Israel on the international stage as a step toward the Jewish state’s destruction.
FJP, the report added, also “prolonged” the duration of “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” protests on college campuses, in which students occupied a section of campus illegally and refused to leave unless administrators capitulated to demands for a boycott of Israel. It also said that such demonstrations lasted over four and a half times longer where FJP faculty were free to influence and provide logistic and material support to students. Additionally, professors at FJP schools also spent 9.5 more days protesting than those at non-FJP schools.
Monday’s op-ed discussed extensively the disciplinary charges the university has filed against pro-Hamas protesters who occupied school property for several weeks during spring semester and committed other severe violations of school rules prohibiting unauthorized demonstrations and vandalism.
“Indeed, as GW faculty and staff, we bear witness alongside brave and visionary students — who are committed to disclosure and divestment and who call for our administration to treat students with dignity and respect using their voices, bodies, and organizing skills to fight for a better world for all,” they continued. “We urge the administration to drop the criminal disciplinary charges against students … and agree to students’ demands for disclosure of GW’s investments and divestments from entities enabling Israel’s war crimes in Gaza and beyond.”
The op-ed did not mention any antisemitism emanating from the anti-Zionist movement, nor the racist behavior and rhetoric of pro-Hamas students — a subject which The Algemeiner has covered since it began last semester, when US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield visited George Washington’s campus to discuss the benefits of a career in foreign policy with African American students.
In a pamphlet distributed to everyone who showed up to Thomas-Greenfield’s event, the GW Student Coalition for Palestine (GWSCP) accused the ambassador of being a “puppet,” alluding to the fact that she is a Black woman holding a distinguished presidential appointment. GWSCP, in addition to comparing Thomas-Greenfield to enslaved overseers, appeared to suggest that the color of Greenfield’s skin excluded the possibility that she is an agent of her own destiny. Later, GWSCP encircled GW Dean of Student Affairs Colette Coleman while a member of the group began “clapping in her face” and others screamed that she should resign.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Latest Pro-Hamas Faculty Group Formed at George Washington University first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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