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This tight-knit Jewish family has run Mendel Goldberg Fabrics since 1890
(New York Jewish Week) — On Hester Street between Orchard and Allen, tucked away among trendy cafes, high-end clothing boutiques and a smattering of mom-and-pop shops, a green storefront with gold lettering that reads “Mendel Goldberg Fabrics” proudly boasts its year of establishment: 1890.
When Goldberg began his eponymous business more than 130 years ago, the Lower East Side was a neighborhood teeming with Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe — Goldberg and his wife, Chana Henna, had themselves arrived in New York City in the late 19th century, fleeing antisemitism in Poland. Like so many other entrepreneurial immigrants, he sold thread from a pushcart. Eventually, the pushcast turned into a brick-and-mortar store at 72 Hester Street — where the business has remained ever since.
Today, the business is owned and operated by Alice Goldberg, Mendel’s great-granddaughter and the fourth-generation owner of Mendel Goldberg Fabrics. Over the decades, the shop has expanded its inventory from threads and tailoring supplies to silks and other high-end fabrics.
“The store is completely different now, because every generation did something different in this business,” said Alice Goldberg, who grew up watching her father at the store. “Mendel was selling thread from a pushcart. Alexander, his son, started selling silks and other tailoring supplies to the fur trade. My father, Samuel, was selling to Macy’s and Gimbels, who at that point had large fabric departments in New York, as well as starting to import from Europe.”
When Goldberg joined the business about 30 years ago, the store had already been around for a century. So, like her father and his father before him, she pivoted. “I went in the direction of the only thing I knew, which was high-end couture,” she said. “It was my background and all I was used to wearing. When I came in, the wall was a whole row of polyester fabric. It was selling very well; my father did very well with what he sold. But I needed to do what I knew, which was high-end designer.”
Goldberg sources most of her fabrics from Europe — Italy, Switzerland and France — which she purchases on yearly solo trips. These days, the store’s customers run the gamut from Broadway and television costume designers to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and anyone else in need of luxury fabric. Both the recent season of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and the upcoming season of Netflix’s “Bridgerton” feature dresses made from fabrics bought at Mendel Goldberg. Another high-profile client, Elaine Kaufman, the late proprietress of Elaine’s Restaurant on the Upper East Side, had 400 dresses custom made from fabrics bought at the store.
“The neighborhood is completely different,” Goldberg said, referring to the influx of boutiques, bars and cafes that have moved into the area since she started working there.
In 1890, the year Mendel Goldberg established his business, thousands of Jewish immigrants were arriving in New York from Eastern Europe. At the same time, the American garment industry was undergoing a rapid expansion, with New York City and the Lower East Side, in particular, emerging as a center. Many of these Jewish immigrants found jobs in the garment industry, in particular; according to the historian Howard Sachar, “By 1897 approximately 60 percent of the New York Jewish labor force was employed in the apparel field, and 75 percent of the workers in the industry were Jewish.”
Inside Mendel Goldberg Fabrics, the inventory may have changed, but the family’s integrity and dedication to the business remains the same. The walls of the store are covered in heaps of high-end, boutique colorful fabrics: silk, brocade, bouclé, wool, viscose, cotton, lace and linen. Family photographs from every generation are tacked up with pride.
Every weekday, Goldberg drives from her Upper East Side apartment to the store. There, she and manager Louis Ortega — who has been with Mendel Goldberg even longer than she has and is considered a member of the family — pull fabrics, cut orders and ship them out across the world, from California to Vietnam to New Zealand. They handle orders by phone and FaceTime, through an online system, as well as by appointment and from walk-in foot traffic in person. Goldberg’s daughter, Josepha, also works at the store and is likely to take over one day as the fifth-generation owner.
Alice Goldberg and the store’s manager Luis Ortega hold up fabrics inside the Lower Easy Side store, June 29, 2023. (Julia Gergely, design by Mollie Suss)
Goldberg pointed out that the store has always had a large Jewish clientele. “The Orthodox need fabric for shul, for yontif, for aufruf, for sheva brachot, for weddings, for bar and bat mitzvahs,” she said.
In fact, Goldberg’s first memorable sale was to a Hasidic mother who was buying fabric for her 16-year-old daughter. “I knew less than nothing,” Goldberg said, adding that she was able to find her a pink and green cotton fabric that would breathe and stay airy in the summer while still following community standards of tznius, or modesty.
After that, “I knew I had to shop for special fabrics for this clientele,” Goldberg, who is Modern Orthodox, said. With Hasidic and Orthodox men and women in mind, she sourced fabrics with a more conservative style — navys, blacks and whites, with elegant floral prints. To this day, many of Goldberg’s sales are in Hasidic Williamsburg, she said.
What’s more, the business is infused with Jewish values: “My father taught me to follow the Jewish laws of business,” Goldberg said. “It’s critical; the laws of the weights and measures; always pay your help and your suppliers before you take any money; close Shabbat and yom tov [holidays].”
Every fabric is also checked for shatnez — meaning that if it contains both linen and wool, it is prohibited by Jewish law. “If you follow the laws, you’re gonna do OK,” she said. “That’s what he [my father] taught me.”
“The truth is, the fact that I can carry this on and be a fourth-generation owner and keep the legacy alive for my family means everything to me,” she said. “My father left me the responsibility with confidence. So I’ve never let him down.”
To that end, Goldberg is a constant presence at the store. “When she wants to take a vacation, she only lasts three days,” Ortega said.
“I’m not a vacation gal,” responded Goldberg unabashedly.
In 2012, the store suffered from a devastating electrical fire. Despite the damage, Goldberg insisted she had to stay open: She rented a temporary location on Broome Street and set off for Europe to replace her damaged inventory, with the assistance of her younger daughter, Alexandra, while Josepha helped run the temporary location. “They worked like dogs, selling from boxes because we didn’t have enough shelves,” Goldberg said, marveling at her daughters’ dedication and their teamwork. A year later, they were back in the original building.
For Goldberg, living up to the legacy of her great-grandparents Mendel and Chana Henna; her grandparents, Alexander and Ida; and her parents, Samuel and Illean, is what keeps her going.
“This business survived because of the family. Mendel and Chana were immigrants. Every generation just ran with it and did well with it,” said Goldberg, tears welling in her eyes. “We’re going to continue. Family is the essence of this business.”
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The post This tight-knit Jewish family has run Mendel Goldberg Fabrics since 1890 appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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McGill cancels talk with former Hamas insider turned Israel advocate, citing fears of violence
McGill University has canceled an on-campus event planned by Jewish students—and temporarily halted bookings for all extracurricular activities—following threats of violence along with a death threat, as outlined in a […]
The post McGill cancels talk with former Hamas insider turned Israel advocate, citing fears of violence appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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US Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Strip Funding From Universities That Boycott Israel
US Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) at a press conference in Bergenfield, New Jersey, US on June 5, 2023. Photo: Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect
US Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) on Tuesday introduced bipartisan legislation to cut off federal funding from universities that engage in boycotts of Israel.
The legislation, titled “The Protect Economic Freedom Act,” would render universities that participate in the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel ineligible for federal funding under Title IV of the Higher Education Act, prohibiting them from receiving federal student aid. The bill would also mandate that colleges and universities submit evidence that they are not participating in commercial boycotts against the Jewish state.
“Enough is enough. Appeasing the antisemitic mobs on college campuses threatens the safety of Jewish students and faculty and it undermines the relationship between the US and one of our strongest allies. If an institution is going to capitulate to the BDS movement, there will be consequences — starting with the Protect Economic Freedom Act,” Foxx, chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, said in a statement.
Gottheimer added that the legislation is necessary to thwart the surging tide of antisemitism on college campuses. Although the lawmaker noted that students are allowed to engage in free expression regarding the ongoing war in Gaza, he argued that blanket boycotts against Israel endanger the lives of Jewish students and community members.
“The goal of the antisemitic BDS movement is to annihilate the democratic State of Israel, America’s critical ally in the global fight against terror. While students and faculty are free to speak their minds and disagree on policy issues, we cannot allow antisemitism to run rampant and risk the safety and security of Jewish students, staff, faculty, and guests on college campuses,” Gottheimer said in a statement. “The new bipartisan Protect Economic Freedom Act will give the Department of Education a critical new tool to combat the antisemitic BDS movement on college campuses. Now more than ever, we must take the necessary steps to protect our Jewish community.”
The legislation instructs the US Department of Education to keep a record of universities that refuse to confirm their non-participation in anti-Israel boycotts. The list of universities in non-compliance with the legislation would be made publicly available.
In the year following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s massacre acrosssouthern Israel, universities across the country have found themselves embroiled in controversies regarding campus antisemitism. In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Israel, hordes of students and faculty orchestrated protests and demonstrations condemning the Jewish state. Student groups at elite universities such as Harvard and Columbia issued statements blaming Israel for the attacks and expressing support for Hamas.
Several high-profile universities have also shown a significant level of tolerance for anti-Jewish sentiment festering on their campuses. Northwestern University, for example, capitulated to demands of anti-Israel activists to remove Sabra Hummus from campus dining halls because of its connections to Israel. At Stanford University, Jewish students have reported being forced to condemn Israel before being allowed to enter campus parties. Students at the University of Pennsylvania and Brown University launched unsuccessful attempts to convince the university to divest endowment funds from companies tied to Israel.
The post US Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Strip Funding From Universities That Boycott Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Harvard Chaplains Omit Antisemitism From Statement on Antisemitic Incident
Demonstrators take part in an “Emergency Rally: Stand With Palestinians Under Siege in Gaza,” amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, Oct. 14, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Harvard University’s Office of the Chaplain and Religious and Spiritual Life is being criticized by a rising Jewish civil rights activist for omitting any mention of antisemitism from a statement addressing antisemitic behavior.
The sharp words followed the office’s response to a hateful demonstration on campus in which pro-Hamas students stood outside Harvard Hillel and called for it to banned from campus. Such a demand is not new, as it began earlier this semester at the direction of the National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) organization, which coordinates the lion’s share of anti-Zionist activity on college campuses.
As seen in footage of the demonstration, the students chanted “Zionists aren’t welcome here!” and held signs which accused the organization — the largest campus organization for Jewish students in the world — of embracing “war criminals” and genocide.
Addressing the behavior, Harvard Chaplains issued a statement, which is now being pointed to as a symbol of higher education’s indifference to the unique hatred of antisemitism, as well as its permutation as anti-Zionism.
“We have noticed a trend of expression in which entire groups of students are told they ‘are not welcome here’ because of their religious, cultural, ethnic, or political commitments and identities, or are targeted through acts of vandalism,” the office said, seemingly circumventing the matter at hand. “We find this trend disturbing and anathema to the dialogue and connection across lines of difference that must be a central value and practice of a pluralistic institution of higher learning.”
It continued, “Student groups who are singled out in this way experience such language and acts of vandalism as a painful attack that undermines the acceptance and flourishing of religious diversity here at Harvard. Let us all endeavor to care for one another in these divisive times.”
Recent Harvard graduate Shabbos Kestenbaum, who addressed the Republican National Convention in August to discuss the ways which progressive bias in higher education fosters anti-Zionism and anti-Western ideologies, described the statement as a moral failure in a post on X/Twitter on Tuesday.
“Disappointing,” he said. “After Harvard Jews were told by masked students ‘Zionists aren’t welcome here’ outside of the Hillel, the Chaplain Office finally released a statement that did not include the words Jew, Zionism, Israel, or antisemitism. A total abdication of religious responsibility.”
Kestenbaum noted in a later statement that Harvard’s chief diversity and inclusion officer, Sherri Ann Charleston, has so far declined to speak on the issue at all. He charged that when Charleston “isn’t plagiarizing, she and DEI normalize antisemitism,” referring to evidence, first reported by the Washington Free Beacon, that Charleston is a serial plagiarist who climbed the hierarchy of the higher education establishment by pilfering other people’s scholarship.
Harvard University president Alan Garber — installed after former president Claudine Gay resigned following revelations that she is also a serial plagiarist — has, experts have said, been inconsistent in managing the campus’ unrest.
During summer, The Harvard Crimson reported that Harvard downgraded “disciplinary sanctions” it levied against several pro-Hamas protesters it suspended for illegally occupying Harvard Yard for nearly five weeks, a reversal of policy which defied the university’s previous statements regarding the matter. Unrepentant, the students, members of the group Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine (HOOP), celebrated the revocation of the punishments on social media and promised to disrupt the campus again.
Earlier this semester, however, Garber appeared to denounce a pro-Hamas student group which marked the anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by praising the brutal invasion as an act of revolutionary justice that should be repeated until the Jewish state is destroyed, despite having earlier announced a new “institutional neutrality” policy which ostensibly prohibits the university from weighing in on contentious political issues. While Garber ultimately has said more than Gay when the same group praised the Oct. 7 massacre last academic year, his administration’s handling of campus antisemitism has been ambiguous, according to observers — and described even by students who benefited from its being so as “caving in.”
The university’s perceived failure to address antisemitism has had legal consequences.
Earlier this month, a lawsuit accusing it of ignoring antisemitism was cleared to proceed to discovery, a phase of the case which may unearth damaging revelations about how college officials discussed and crafted policy responses to anti-Jewish hatred before and after Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7.
The case, filed by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, centers on several incidents involving Harvard Kennedy School professor Marshall Ganz during the 2022-2023 academic year.
Ganz allegedly refused to accept a group project submitted by Israeli students for his course, titled “Organizing: People, Power, Change,” because they described Israel as a “liberal Jewish democracy.” He castigated the students over their premise, the Brandeis Center says, accusing them of “white supremacy” and denying them the chance to defend themselves. Later, Ganz allegedly forced the Israeli students to attend “a class exercise on Palestinian solidarity” and the taking of a class photograph in which their classmates and teaching fellows “wore ‘keffiyehs’ as a symbol of Palestinian support.”
During an investigation of the incidents, which Harvard delegated to a third party firm, Ganz admitted that he believed “that the students’ description of Israel as a Jewish democracy … was similar to ‘talking about a white supremacist state.’” The firm went on to determine that Ganz “denigrated” the Israeli students and fostered “a hostile learning environment,” conclusions which Harvard accepted but never acted on.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Harvard Chaplains Omit Antisemitism From Statement on Antisemitic Incident first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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