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This Jewish temple is providing a home for a historic church in the Village
(New York Jewish Week) — After a six-alarm fire left a historic Manhattan church homeless, a synagogue stepped in to provide a space for church-goers to continue worshiping while they figure out a plan for a new home.
Two years later, the bond between the two congregations has only grown, with a new twist: East End Temple on E. 17th St. is supporting Middle Collegiate Church in its clash with the Landmarks Preservation Commission over plans to rebuild their damaged building in the East Village.
Dec. 5 marked the two-year anniversary of the fire that brought her church to the Reform congregation, or “out of a place in the wilderness,” as the Reverend Dr. Jacqui Lewis told the New York Jewish Week. Lewis said that East End’s Rabbi Josh Stanton was one of the first people who reached out to her after the fire, which started next door and destroyed the 128-year-old sanctuary.
“We just made a covenant to move in there,” Lewis said. “Josh was offering me a tabernacle. This big-hearted rabbi opens the door to a church, in a time of rising antisemitism, that’s just bold, fierce love at work.”
Stanton told the New York Jewish Week that the relationship between the two faith communities “predates the fire itself.”
“The reverend has been a friend and a mentor for years,” Stanton said. “When her community’s building went up in flames, I reached out to her and just said, ‘anything you need, just know that I’m here, know that our community is here.’”
Middle Collegiate Church started using the temple’s space on Easter Sunday that spring. The synagogue’s president Brian Lifsec said he was there on the first day.
“It felt like a tent in the desert for these congregants,” Lifsec said.
It’s not all bleak out there.
I went to church last Sunday, where East End Temple, a Jewish synagogue in the East Village, has been hosting @middlechurch for almost two years after a fire destroyed their historic building. pic.twitter.com/0FjtlXr7TA
— Jacob Henry (@jhenrynews) December 8, 2022
Stanton said that East End Temple covers “upwards of 95% of the cost” for the church to rent the space.
“That’s because of the generosity of our donors,” Stanton said. “And because our community understands that walking the walk of Judaism means reaching out to people who might themselves not be Jewish.”
Lewis is the first woman and first African-American to serve as a senior minister for the Collegiate church system, which dates back to the Reformed Dutch Church congregations that formed in the New York area in the 1600s. She is comfortable leading church services in front of an ark, a menorah and Hebrew scriptures, but aches to get back into her own building.
How and whether she can do that depends in part on the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which is responsible for preserving New York City’s historically significant buildings. It seeks to protect the historic facade made of limestone that remains standing. The church, following an 18-month study by several architectural and engineering firms, says there is too much damage to the existing structure to integrate it into a new home.
“The walls themselves are historic,” Stanton said. “Despite the church’s best efforts, there is no way to keep them safely up. What is so sad and problematic is that from an architectural standpoint, there is nothing they can do.”
Lewis said that the church has spent over $4 million to secure the site, clean up debris, stabilize the facade with stainless steel and paint the bricks so they don’t deteriorate — and it is still not safe to rebuild.
“We did that because we wanted the facade,” Lewis said on Sunday after prayer, as she led some church members to the site of the burnt-down building. “We just can’t afford it. We’re wanting to build a building that is appropriate for this historic neighborhood but also has the capacity for 22nd-century ministry.”
The Reverend Dr. Jacqui Lewis of Middle Collegiate Church leading services at East End Temple. (Courtesy)
In a phone call last week, Lewis said that she doesn’t want this to feel like she’s in “a battle” with the preservation community.
“But some parts of the preservation community are pretty strident about us keeping up the wall,” Lewis said.
The church is waiting on a decision from the commission on Dec. 13, which will decide the fate of their building.
Anthony Donovan, a church member who has lived in Greenwich Village for 31 years, told the New York Jewish Week that “there are deep pockets of real estate that would really love this facade” as part of their own plans.
“Luxury housing would look fantastic behind this facade,” Donovan said. “And they have millions to keep that facade that we don’t have.”
Village Preservation, an activist group opposed to the demolition of the facade, said in an emailed press release that alternatives need to be studied.
“We are urging the Landmarks Preservation Commission not to grant such permission at this time, because we don’t believe there is sufficient documentation that alternatives to preserve the historic facade have been fully explored, nor that there is sufficient evidence at this time to justify the permanent and irreversible removal,” the organization said.
“The facade is on life support,” Lewis said. “We could pull the plug and come back to life. We could have a resurrection. We could have a new life that is both historic and moves into the 22nd century, and that’s what we want to do.”
Assembly member Harvey Epstein, who is Jewish and represents the district, gave testimony supporting the church at a previous hearing with the Landmark Preservation Commission.
“While I understand Landmark’s concerns, I think more important than just what that physical piece is that the actual church and the people behind it get to come back,” Epstein told the New York Jewish Week over the phone.
He added that Rabbi Stanton is an example of someone “living Jewish values everyday” by allowing the church to worship at East End Temple.
“It’s really critical, especially in times where you see an increase in antisemitism, that people who are Christian know that people who are Jewish, while having different religious beliefs, are allies to them as well,” Epstein said.
Stanton said that if it is decided that the walls have to stay up, then the conversation will move into “the realm of heartbreaking decisions.”
“It is not clear if the walls have to stay up, that the church will have to rebuild at all, even if it raises significant funds to do so,” Stanton said. “If they move out of this area, there’s going to be a huge gaping void for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers. It just wouldn’t be the same.”
The building has served the community since 1892. Before the fire, it served as a community hub for other programs, some run by other synagogues, that include soup kitchens and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
The Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis of Middle Collegiate Church leads congregants outside the destroyed remains of the previous church building. (Jacob Henry)
It has also played a role in supporting people during the AIDS crisis, helping people pay rent during Covid and more recently, supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Together, the church and synagogue communities also hold a “food for families” program, where members help feed 1,500 families every Sunday.
Edna Benitez, a church-goer who has lived in the Village for 27 years, told the New York Jewish Week that when the fire broke out, the church was housing a Torah for another synagogue, The Shul of New York.
“They had an ancient Torah,” Benitez said. “Our fire destroyed the building, but the Torah stayed. It’s a huge symbol. We’re here two years later celebrating in a temple. We housed the Torah, this incredible, prized possession that meant so much to you, and now you’re housing us.”
Whatever happens with the Landmarks Commission, Lewis said that she expects her partnership with Stanton and East End Temple “to be lifelong.”
“We have so many things to do together,” Lewis said. “I know that we’ll be welcome there, and I also know that they know that we need a bigger space. In the meantime, they’ve been incredible hosts and they are offering us ongoing hospitality.”
Outside the church facade, Stanton spoke out how in a time of troubling antisemitism — fueled by celebrities like Kanye West and Kyrie Irving and propagated by groups like the Black Hebrew Israelite sect — the relationship between his synagogue and the church represents “real life.”
“While antisemitism is on the rise, so too is allyship,” Stanton said. “The Reverend Dr. Jacqui Lewis, who embodies allyship at its best, is one of the people who reaches out every single time that something awful happens to a Jewish community.”
Lewis, who can command a stage (or bimah), led a passionate sermon on Sunday, with the fire on the back of everyone’s mind.
“Could we do a little interior work as we go along this pilgrim’s journey so that we are not accidentally putting fuel on the fire that is raging and burning down the world?” she said.
—
The post This Jewish temple is providing a home for a historic church in the Village appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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New York Democrat Comptroller Candidate’s Plan to Divest From Israel Is Imprudent, Republican Opponent Says
Joseph Hernandez, Republican candidate for New York State Comptroller, speaking with voters. Photo: Hernandez campaign
The plan of a Democratic candidate for New York comptroller to divest the state of its holdings in Israel bonds violates the fiduciary duties of an office which oversees the management of hundreds of billions of dollars in pension funds and other assets, his Republican opponent, Joseph Hernandez, told The Algemeiner during an exclusive interview on Monday.
Hernandez, a Cuban refugee whose family fled the Castro regime, explained that the proposal, promised by former Kansas state Rep. Raj Goyle (who moved to New York after a failed bid for US Congress in 2010), would amount to an endorsement of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel while alienating a country widely regarded as arguably the most reliable US ally.
Israel bonds, he added, are one of the safest assets a government could own. He has promised to invest $1 billion in them if he is elected.
“From a purely financial perspective, these are good investments. You would put your own money in this for sure, and you shouldn’t apply politics to the equation,” he said. “Imagine if we stopped investing the bonds of other foreign countries or vice versa because of disagreements over policy. That’s just bad decision making.”
“The economic rationale for investing in Israeli bonds is impeccable,” Hernandez continued. “Israel has an exploding technology sector producing giant leaps in artificial intelligence and the next generation of health care and biotech. We should be partnering with them in these areas, beyond the bonds. I think the relationship, from an investment perspective, should be broader. As the fiduciary and ultimately as the sole trustee of the New York State pension fund, I will seek ways not only to increase investment on the bonds side but also to collaborate on bringing the next generation of technologies to New York and promote a new era of job growth in the state.”
In New York City specifically, records show that Israel bonds, historically yielding approximately 5 percent annually, have outperformed many alternatives.
As for the state overall, Israeli firms pour billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs into the local economy, and business experts have warned that a push for divestment could lead Israeli-associated and Jewish-owned companies to leave.
A study released by the United States-Israel Business Alliance in October revealed that, based on 2024 data, 590 Israeli-founded companies directly created 27,471 jobs in New York City that year and indirectly created over 50,000 jobs when accounting for related factors, such as buying and shipping local products.
These firms generated $8.1 billion in total earnings, adding an estimated $12.4 billion in value to the city’s economy and $17.9 billion in total gross economic output.
As for the entire state, the report, titled the “2025 New York – Israel Economic Impact Report,” found that 648 Israeli-founded companies generated $8.6 billion in total earnings and $19.5 billion in gross economic output, contributing a striking $13.3 billion in added value to the economy. These businesses also directly created 28,524 jobs and a total of 57,145 when accounting for related factors.
From financial tech leaders like Fireblocks to cybersecurity powerhouse Wiz, Israeli entrepreneurs have become indispensable to the innovation ecosystem. The number of Israeli-founded “unicorns,” privately held companies with a valuation of at least $1 billion, operating in New York City has quadrupled since 2019, increasing from five to 20.
However, anti-Israel activists in the US have been pushing for state and local governments, in addition to businesses, universities, and various cultural forums to divest all assets from Israel-linked entities in accordance with the BDS movement.
The BDS movement seeks to isolate Israel on the international stage as the first step toward its elimination. Leaders of the movement have repeatedly stated their goal is to destroy the world’s only Jewish state.
Goyle’s plan would enact the divestment component of BDS by aiming to limit Israel’s capacity to issue bonds for the purpose of borrowing money, a core function of government which raises capital for expenditures such as roads and bridges while contributing to economic health, market stabilization, and a high credit rating.
The New York Post reported last month that Goyle wants to fully divest $338 million in foreign assets, including Israel bonds, from New York’s retirement fund.
“I’m here to tell you that when I am comptroller, we will not renew the foreign bond portfolio of the state comptroller’s office and that includes Israel bonds,” Goyle told a gathering of supporters of the left-wing Working Families Party. “We will not send a blank check for [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu’s war crimes in Gaza.”
The state comptroller’s office manages pensions for state and municipal workers and runs the Common Retirement Fund, one of the largest pension funds in the country with a $291 billion investment portfolio. It currently holds about $337.5 million in Israel bonds.
“I live in New York, the largest Jewish population outside of Israel. I see what this community contributes to America and to our society,” he said. “The relationship that we have is unbreakable and it is one we should continue to invest in both socially, politically, and financially.”
Across the political spectrum, Israel bonds are widely considered wise investments.
“They’re stable, they’re guaranteed, they’ve never had a problem, and it’s a good investment,” state Assemblyman David Weprin, a Democrat and former chair of the New York City Council Finance Committee, told the Post.
Goyle is not the only New York Democrat advocating a rupture in the state’s financial relationship with Israel. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who entered office last month, has been an outspoken supporter of the BDS movement.
Mamdani, a far-left democratic socialist who has made anti-Israel activism a cornerstone of his political career, has repeatedly accused Israel of “apartheid” and refused to recognize its right to exist as a Jewish state.
Such positions have raised alarm bells among not only New York’s Jewish community but also Israeli business owners and investors, who fear a hostile climate under Mamdani’s leadership.
His election came after former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander refused last year to renew some Israel bonds in the city’s pension fund, which is a separate entity. The office of then-Mayor Eric Adams accused Lander of pushing a political agenda by moving to withdraw millions of dollars in city pension funds from bonds issued by the Jewish state.
On Monday, Hernandez pledged to be beholden to New York’s taxpayers and not fringe ideological groups.
“There’s a reason that this is an independent elected role,” he concluded. “It’s supposed to be a role that doesn’t take political filters or use politics for decision making. This is about fiduciary duty and what it is in the best interest of the taxpayers, and I intend to execute to that effect.”
Both Goyle and Hernandez are vying to unseat incumbent state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, a Democrat.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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After 3-hour White House meeting, Trump says he ‘insisted’ to Netanyahu that Iran talks should continue
(JTA) — Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday in an effort to push the U.S. leader to widen negotiation with Iran to include Israeli security priorities.
“Nothing definitive” came out of the highly anticipated meeting between the leaders, which lasted roughly three hours, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social immediately afterwards. But he signaled that he had resisted a push to end direct talks with Iran.
“There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a Deal can be consummated. If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference. If it cannot, we will just have to see what the outcome will be,” wrote Trump.
Prior to boarding a flight on his way to Washington D.C. on Tuesday, Netanyahu told reporters that his meeting with Trump would center “first and foremost” on negotiations with Iran.
“I will present to the president our views on the principles in the negotiations, the important principles, and in my opinion they are important not only to Israel — but to everyone in the world who wants peace and security in the Middle East,” Netanyahu told reporters.
During Wednesday’s meeting, which was closed to the press, Netanyahu was expected to push Trump to widen negotiations with Iran beyond its nuclear program, including imposing restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile program and ending Iranian support for Hamas and Hezbollah.
The talks Wednesday were also expected to center on developments in the ceasefire in Gaza, with Netanyahu officially joining the Board of Peace during a meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier in the day.
Met with U.S. Secretary of State @marcorubio at Blair House in Washington.
Ahead of my meeting at the White House with President Trump, I signed Israel’s accession as a member of the “Board of Peace.”
We will continue strengthening the unbreakable alliance between Israel and… pic.twitter.com/CJ4Lw92WdX
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) February 11, 2026
Netanyahu’s visit Wednesday was his sixth to the United States since the beginning of Trump’s term. Trump surprised him at an earlier meeting by announcing that he planned to open direct talks with Iran, which has vowed to destroy Israel.
The visit shortly followed talks in Oman on Friday between Iran’s foreign minister and Trump administration officials on reaching a potential nuclear deal. Those talks came a month after Iranian leaders ordered a crackdown on civil protesters in which an estimated 30,000 Iranians or more were murdered.
On Tuesday, Trump told Axios that he was “thinking” about sending another aircraft carrier strike group to the Gulf where he has already assembled a large military buildup, adding, “Either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough like last time.”
Iran has said it will retaliate if the United States strikes to curb its nuclear program, sparking concern of a war. Last June, the United States struck three nuclear sites in Iran amid the country’s 12-day war with Israel, damaging but not destroying them.
In an interview Tuesday with Fox Business Network’s Larry Kudlow, Trump said that a good deal with Iran would mean “no nuclear weapons, no missiles.”
“We’ll see what happens. I think they want to make a deal,” said Trump. “I think they’d be foolish if they didn’t. We took out their nuclear power last time, and we’ll have to see if we take out more this time.”
The post After 3-hour White House meeting, Trump says he ‘insisted’ to Netanyahu that Iran talks should continue appeared first on The Forward.
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Nazi Symbols Appear at Northwestern University as School Seeks to Turn Page on Campus Antisemitism Crisis
Illustrative: Signs cover the fence at a pro-Palestinian encampment at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. on April 28, 2024. Photo: Max Herman via Reuters Connect
Northwestern University said on Monday that it has identified the non-student who graffitied Nazi insignia on the campus earlier this month, pledging to file criminal charges against the suspect through the local police department.
The Schutzstaffel (SS) symbol representing the notorious paramilitary group under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany was spray-painted on Northwestern’s campus in Evanston, Illinois. The SS played a central role in the Nazis’ systematic killing of 6 million Jews during the Holocaust.
After the symbol’s discovery, students reported others like it on the north side of campus even as university maintenance staff rushed to repair the first defacement.
“Despicable and hateful graffiti were found on several signs of our Evanston campus, and the university immediately removed or painted over them,” the university told a local outlet, The Evanston RoundTable, in a statement on Feb. 6. “Northwestern has launched an investigation to identify the individual responsible for this vandalism, utilizing camera footage, forensics, and other methods. Based on that investigation, we have identified a suspect who we belief is unaffiliated with Northwestern.”
It added, “The university is working with local law enforcement on next steps, including potential criminal charges.”
On Feb. 10, The Northwestern Daily reported that the Evanston Police Department is involved in the investigation. “The department takes reports of hate-based incidents seriously and continues to pursue investigative leads,” a spokesperson for the department said.
Northwestern University has been the site of dozens of antisemitic incidents and the center of the federal government’s efforts to combat campus antisemitism.
During the 2023-2o24 academic year, former university president Michael Schill reached a shocking and unprecedented agreement with pro-Hamas organizers of an illegal encampment, agreeing to establish a new scholarship for Palestinian undergraduates, contact potential employers of students who caused recent campus disruptions to insist on their being hired, and create a segregated dormitory hall to be occupied exclusively by Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) and Muslim students. The university — where protesters shouted “Kill the Jews!” — also agreed to form a new investment committee that would consider adopting the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
In late November, Northwestern University agreed to pay $75 million and end the controversial agreement in exchange for the US federal government’s releasing $790 million in grants it impounded in April over accusations of antisemitism and reverse discrimination.
“As part of this agreement with the federal government, the university has terminated the Deering Meadow Agreement and will reverse all policies that have been implemented or are being implemented in adherence to it,” the university said in a statement which stressed that it also halted plans for the segregated dormitory. “The university remains committed to fostering inclusive spaces and will continue to support student belonging and engagement through existing campus facilities and organizations, while partnering with alumni to explore off-campus, privately owned locations that could further support community connection and programming.”
Northwestern had previously touted its progress on addressing the campus antisemitism crisis in April, saying that it had addressed alleged failures highlighted by lawmakers and Jewish civil rights activists.
“The university administration took this criticism to heart and spent much of last summer revising our rules and policies to make our university safe for all of our students, regardless of their religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation, or political viewpoint,” the university said at the time. “Among the updated policies is our Demonstration Policy, which includes new requirements and guidance on how, when, and where members of the community may protest or otherwise engage in expressive activity.”
The university added that it also adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, a reference tool which aids officials in determining what constitutes antisemitism, and begun holding “mandatory antisemitism training” sessions which “all students, faculty, and staff” must attend.
“This included a live training for all new students in September and a 17-minute training module for all enrolled students, produced in collaboration with the Jewish United Fund,” it continued. “Antisemitism trainings will continue as a permanent part of our broader training in civil rights and Title IX.”
Other initiatives rolled out by the university include an Advisory Council to the President on Jewish Life, dinners for Jewish students hosted by administrative officials, and educational events which raise awareness of rising antisemitism in the US and around the world. Additionally, Northwestern said that it imposed disciplinary sanctions against several students and one staff member whose conduct violated the new “Demonstration and/or Display Policies” which safeguard peaceful assembly on the campus.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.