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Thousands Attend Kosherpalooza Food Festival in a Show of ‘Jewish Unity and Pride’
An attendee at Kosherpalooza 2024 hugging an IDF soldier as part of the “Hug a Chayil” interactive part of the kosher food and beverage festival on May 30, 2024. Photo: Provided
More than 4,000 people gathered to show support for the kosher food and beverage industry in New Jersey on Thursday at the second annual Kosherpalooza, which held a deeper significance this year amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Attendees who bought tickets for the all-day, interactive food festival at the Meadowlands Expo Center had their pick of food and beverages from 150 vendors who were exhibiting at the show. Ticket holders had the opportunity to taste — and sometimes buy — a plethora of kosher options from pancakes to cured meats to root beer.
There were also 14 live food demonstrations — including one by Israeli singer Gad Elbaz, who showed how to make his Moroccan fish — eight panel discussions, a “paint and sip” corner, interactive games like a hot sauce challenge and a blind taste test, and a meet and greet and book signing with cookbook authors.
Guests attending Kosherpalooza 2024. Photo: Shmily Treger
A common sentiment expressed by exhibitors and attendees was the feeling of “unity” in the room, while outside a war continued raging in Israel and Gaza and antisemitism reached record-high levels in both the US and around the world.
Support for Israel and the Jewish community was evident throughout Kosherpalooza. Borough Park native Mishael Niyazov attended the event wearing a sweatshirt that featured the message “Free Our Hostages” on the front and back, referring to those abducted during the Hamas terror group’s Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel. Yoni Cohen from YJC Trade, which imports products from Israel, returned home three days ago from fighting as an IDF reservist in Gaza and then traveled to the United States for 48 hours to host a booth at Kosherpalooza, featuring Max Brenner chocolates and an assortment of halva and techina from Halva Kingdom. He traveled back to Israel on Thursday night.
“I think after Oct. 7, we are really facing now the reality that we only have each other for support and to rely on,” Ben Gingi, an Israeli baker and Instagram influencer, told The Algemeiner. “[Kosherpalooza] to the Jewish community is like a big hug at the moment and giving a lot of stability. It’s beautiful.”
“With everything that’s going on, whenever there’s an opportunity for Jewish people to come together and celebrate something that makes us distinctly Jewish, like our adherence to kosher, it’s a reason to celebrate achdus [togetherness] and Jewish pride,” added Adam Goodfriend, the creator of AGoodFriend.co, a cook-at-home meal kit that is like a kosher version of HelloFresh.
Mishael Niyazov, an attendee at Kosherpalooza 2024, wearing a sweatshirt that draws attention to the Israeli civilians being held hostage by Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: Shmily Treger
In the middle of the Meadowlands Expo Center, Kosherpalooza organizers had set up an area where attendees could “Hug a Chayal,” which is the Hebrew word for soldier. Four active lone soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), who recently returned from fighting in the Israel-Hamas war, attended Kosherpalooza to embrace visitors and also talk about their experiences with whoever asked. The pop-up was organized by Kosherpalooza in collaboration with Nevut, a nonprofit organization founded in 2017 that helps IDF lone soldiers and veterans with their mental health and wellbeing throughout their military service and also when they return to civilian life.
“What it’s going to give the soldiers [being at Kosherpalooza] more than anything is knowing that people care,” said Ari Abramowitz, executive director and co-founder of Nevut, which means “to navigate” in Hebrew. Abramowitz grew up in Monsey, New York, and was called up as a reservist in the IDF after the Oct. 7 attacks. He has already served twice in Gaza since the start of the war. Nevut helped thousands of soldiers travel to Israel to fight for Israel after Oct. 7, and Abramowitz spoke with The Algemeiner about his recent service in the IDF, lone soldiers returning home with post-traumatic stress disorder, and how being at Kosherpalooza helps the soldiers tremendously.
“Where there’s no unity it really breaks apart a nation and this [Kosherpalooza] is bringing us together, seeing so many different walks of life coming together in a room and knowing at the same time that soldiers are on the front lines defending for us — so we can be free and live life,” he said. “Every one of the soldiers that lost their lives [in the war], it was in order so all of us can be free today and be together. It tears me up inside to speak about it, but they would be very sad to see us broken. But to see all of us together living life, and to be able to live what they defended, is the biggest thing.”
Brooklyn resident Stephanie Neta Benshimol attended Kosherpalooza on behalf of the Hostage and Missing Families Forum wearing a dress that featured a large Star of David and the names of Israelis — civilians, hostages, and soldiers — who were all impacted by the Oct. 7 attacks. Benshimol, who is Israeli and American, also carried a large Israeli flag and flyers with pictures of the hostages who have been held captive by Hamas terrorists since Oct. 7.
She told The Algemeiner that Kosherpalooza is a display of “Jewish unity” that is crucial now more than ever as Israel continues its war against Hamas terrorists. “We all have to be united together, no matter what. Israel is am echad, lev ehad [one nation, one heart],” she added. “That’s the only way we are going to win. No matter what your view is in politics, we need to be in this together. Keep talking about the hostages. Spread awareness. Don’t forget the second Holocaust that happened to the nation of Israel.”
Stephanie Neta Benshimol attending Kosherpalooza 2024 wearing a dress that features the names of the Israeli victims and hostages from Oct. 7. Photo: Shmily Treger
Gitty Halberstam, the creator and owner of the coffee liquor Misceo (which means “to brew” in Latin), agreed “100 percent” that it’s important to show solidarity right now for fellow Jews, whether its for businesses, entrepreneurship, or the Jewish community as a whole.
“We have companies here from all different walks of Jewish life, and the Jewish food and wine beverage industry is so diverse and so large and still everyone is here to help each other and be here together,” she told The Algemeiner.
Miss United States Addison Grace Hadley also attended Kosherpalooza and afterwards shared on Instagram that she left the event “smiling with a VERY full belly.” The Nashville native was a nanny to three Jewish children while studying in graduate school and after falling in love with the Jewish culture, decided to convert to Judaism.
“I met so many new friends, tried so many delicious new foods, and had some deeply meaningful conversations with inclusive, genuine people about faith, about food, about culture, about my conversion journey — even got to chat Hebrew name choices with a delightful group of new gal pals!” added the Nashville native. “The highlight of today (though there are SO many choices!) was receiving an invitation to celebrate Shabbat with some of our new friends — the #kosherpalooza family is warm, welcoming, and inviting, and I love them all.”
The post Thousands Attend Kosherpalooza Food Festival in a Show of ‘Jewish Unity and Pride’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Picks Massad Boulos to Serve as Adviser on Arab, Middle Eastern Affairs
Eric Trump, his sister Tiffany Trump and her boyfriend Massad Boulos arrive for U.S. President Donald Trump’s acceptance speech as the 2020 Republican presidential nominee during the final event of the 2020 Republican National Convention on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S., August 27, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
US President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday said Lebanese American businessman Massad Boulos would serve as senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.
Trump made the announcement on Truth Social. Boulos, the father-in-law of Trump’s daughter Tiffany, met repeatedly with Arab American and Muslim leaders during the election campaign.
It was the second time in recent days that Trump chose the father-in-law of one of his children to serve in his administration.
On Saturday, Trump said that he had picked his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s father, real estate mogul Charles Kushner, to serve as US ambassador to France.
In recent months, Boulos campaigned for Trump to drum up Lebanese and Arab American support, even as the US-backed Israel’s military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Boulos has powerful roots in both countries.
His father and grandfather were both figures in Lebanese politics and his father-in-law was a key funder of the Free Patriotic Movement, a Christian party aligned with Hezbollah.
His son Michael and Tiffany Trump were married in an elaborate ceremony at Trump’s Florida Mar-a-Lago Club in November 2022, after getting engaged in the White House Rose Garden during Trump’s first term.
Boulos has been in touch with interlocutors across Lebanon’s multi-polar political world, three sources who spoke to him in recent months say, a rare feat in Lebanon, where decades-old rivalries between factions run deep.
Particularly notable is his ability to maintain relations with Hezbollah, they say. The Iranian-backed Shi’ite Muslim party has a large number of seats in Lebanon’s parliament and ministers in the government.
Boulos is a friend of Suleiman Frangieh, a Christian ally of Hezbollah and its candidate for Lebanon’s presidency. He is also in touch with the Lebanese Forces Party, a vehemently anti-Hezbollah Christian faction, the sources say, and has ties to independent lawmakers.
Aron Lund, fellow at the Century Foundation think tank, said Boulos was well placed to influence Trump’s Middle East policy after playing a small but significant role in expanding Trump’s appeal to Arab American and Muslim voters during the campaign.
“Boulos’ Lebanese political past gives no real indication of a geo-strategic or even national vision, but it demonstrates ambition and a set of political allies that will stand out in Trump’s circle like a sore thumb,” Lund wrote.
MICHIGAN WIN
Boulos, a billionaire with extensive business ties in Nigeria, was born in Lebanon, but moved to Texas as a teenager, where he attended the University of Houston, earned a law degree and became a US citizen.
His son and Trump’s daughter, whose mother is Trump’s second wife Marla Maples, met on the Greek island of Mykonos, at actor Lindsay Lohan’s club, People Magazine reported in 2022.
Trump’s election win in Michigan came in part because of Boulos’ help flipping some of the 300,000 Arab Americans and Muslims in the state who overwhelmingly supported Biden in 2020 but opposed Biden’s policies in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon, Trump campaign officials and supporters told Reuters.
“Boulos played a big role in the outreach to Muslim voters,” said Rabiul Chowdhury, co-founder of Muslims for Trump.
Beginning in September, the Trump campaign held weekly meetings in person and via Zoom with dozens of Arab American and Muslim civic leaders and business executives.
Boulos spent weeks on the ground in Michigan, Pennsylvania and other states with big Arab American and Muslim populations, assuring audiences in private lunches and dinners that tapped his own connections to Lebanese American businessmen that Trump was committed to ending the wars in the Middle East.
The Trump campaign spent tens of millions of dollars on the effort to mobilize Arab American and Muslim voters, Boulos told Reuters in an interview shortly after the election.
Trump won endorsements from Muslim imams and the Muslim mayor of Hamtramck, another town near Detroit with a large Arab American population, as well as the large Bangladeshi community, and courted Iraqi Americans, Albanian Americans and others.
While the events on the ground in Lebanon played a factor, the economy did too. And conservative Arabs and Muslims were concerned about what they saw as the Democrats’ “far left ideology,” including support of transgender rights, Boulos said.
Boulos met with members of the 150,000 strong Albanian community in Michigan.
POLITICAL AMBITIONS?
The new role could offer Boulos the kind of political clout he could not achieve in Lebanon. He had a brief run for Lebanon’s parliament in 2018 alongside pro-Hezbollah candidates, but since then he has not consistently aligned himself with any particular party, sources in Lebanon said.He hails from a Greek Orthodox family. In Lebanon’s sectarian powersharing system, that would cap his chances at a senior role in government at the level of deputy speaker of parliament. The post of president – the highest Christian role in the country – is reserved for Maronite Catholics.
While he used to travel to Lebanon frequently, he has not visited in the last four years, one of the sources said.
Some people in Lebanon were hopeful about the prospects of having a friendly face in Trump’s inner circle even before the announcement on Sunday.
“It’s a nice thing – and hopefully he will work for Lebanon. And Trump maybe is of the type who makes a promise and could possibly be more loyal to it than others,” said Hamdi Hawallah, a Lebanese man in his late 70s.
“So we’re optimistic about him. These days we hold on to a piece of driftwood just to be optimistic.”
The post Trump Picks Massad Boulos to Serve as Adviser on Arab, Middle Eastern Affairs first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Dubai Rabbi’s Killers Said to Be Planning Attack in Thailand
Zvi Kogan. Photo: LinkedIn via i24 News
JNS.org – The terrorist enterprise responsible for the murder of Rabbi Tzvi Kogan in Dubai is planning fresh attacks in southeast Asia and especially Thailand, Israeli authorities warned on Saturday.
“Intelligence suggests that the terrorist infrastructure that perpetrated the murder of Rabbi Tvzi Kogan in Dubai is planning additional terrorist activities,” according to a statement by Israel’s National Security Council. “Relevant security forces estimate this will happen in southeast Asia and especially Thailand,” the statement read.
Kogan’s body was found on Nov. 24. Local authorities arrested three men, all of them Uzbek nationals. Israeli authorities believe the murder may be linked to Iran, which has denied any involvement.
Hebrew media reported on Sunday that an Israeli tourist was assaulted by several Germans in Thailand.
The backpacker, identified only as Ilai, 22, told Ynet that the incident took place on Saturday night in Pai, a town situated about 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of Bangkok. Four Germans in their 20s asked him if he was Israeli and then punched him, leading to a scuffle, he said.
Ilai, a recently discharged Israel Defense Forces soldier who fought in Gaza, fought off his attackers and sustained only minor injuries, according to the report. He decided not to file a police complaint, he said, fearing this would complicate the rest of his stay in Thailand.
The Israeli government raised the threat level for travel in Thailand to level two on Nov. 24, meaning that it perceives a “potential threat,” and recommended that travelers “take increased precautionary measures.” It also maintained its “high threat” level-four advisory against travel in southern Thailand. Israelis in Thailand are advised not to display Israeli or Jewish symbols and avoid congregating with other Israelis.
The new security advice stopped short of calling on Israel to leave Thailand or avoid it.
The post Dubai Rabbi’s Killers Said to Be Planning Attack in Thailand first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Says It Killed Oct. 7 Attack Suspect Who Worked for US-Based Charity
Illustrative. Smoke billows over the city of Khan Younis in Gaza during an IDF ground assault. Photo: Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
The Israeli military said on Saturday it had killed a terrorist who took part in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel and who it said was employed by a US-based charity, World Central Kitchen, in Gaza.
The family of the man, Ahed Azmi Qdeih, said the Israeli allegations were false and meant to justify his unlawful killing. They said he was an engineer who dedicated his life to charitable work.
The military said that he had taken part in the attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel and was under surveillance but did not offer any evidence. Reuters could not independently verify whether he took part in the attack last year.
World Central Kitchen confirmed the airstrike and said it had no knowledge about an employee involved in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
“We are heartbroken to share that a vehicle carrying World Central Kitchen colleagues was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza,” it said in a statement posted on X. “World Central Kitchen had no knowledge that any individual in the vehicle had alleged ties to the October 7th Hamas attack.”
The charity group said it was pausing operations in Gaza, adding that it was working with incomplete information and was urgently seeking more details.
Hamas did not immediately comment.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that three employees of the charity were killed when an Israeli strike targeted a vehicle in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. Medics said a total of five people were killed.
In a later attack in Khan Younis, medics said at least nine Palestinians were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit a car near a crowd receiving flour, a vehicle that was used by security personnel tasked with overseeing aid deliveries into Gaza.
The Israeli military says that it does not target civilians and accuses Hamas of operating from civilian facilities and using Gaza’s population as human shields, which the group denies.
NEW CEASEFIRE EFFORTS
Meanwhile, leaders of Hamas were expected to arrive in Cairo on Saturday for ceasefire talks with Egyptian officials, days after Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon, two officials of the group told Reuters.
The visit is the first since the United States announced earlier this week it would revive efforts in collaboration with Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Hamas delegation is expected to meet with Egyptian security officials to explore ways to reach a ceasefire deal with Israel that could secure the release of hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners.
Progress before now has been limited in a series of on-off talks over months.
Hamas is seeking an agreement that would end the war while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the war will end only when Hamas is eradicated.
The post Israel Says It Killed Oct. 7 Attack Suspect Who Worked for US-Based Charity first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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