(JTA) — Days after pro-Palestinian protesters shouted chants including “Globalize the Intifada” and “Death to the IDF” outside an Upper East Side synagogue, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who is Jewish, apologized to the congregation during Shabbat services.

Tisch told congregants it was the police department’s duty “to ensure that people could easily enter and leave shul.”

“That is where we fell short,” Tisch said, according to reports from the service. “And for that, I apologize to this congregation.”

The apology from Tisch, who said police allowed “turmoil” to take place outside a synagogue on Wednesday night, was far apart in its tone from the statement issued by Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s team, which “discouraged” the language at the protest, while suggesting that the event was a misuse of a “sacred space.”

The protest occurred outside Park East Synagogue, a prominent Orthodox congregation, while it hosted an event promoting migration to Israel. The protest drew allegations of antisemitism from Jewish leaders and major Jewish organizations, as well as elected officials like Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams. 

But some also criticized the police response, saying they allowed the confrontation to unfold.

“What I find most disturbing is that the police, who knew about this protest a day in advance, did not arrange for the protesters to be moved to either Third or Lexington Avenues,” said Rabbi Marc Schneier, whose father is the longtime senior rabbi at Park East Synagogue, the day after the protest. “Instead, they allowed the protesters to be right in front of the synagogue, which put members of the community at risk.”

Tisch acknowledged on Saturday that police should have set up a “frozen zone” at the synagogue’s entrance; because one was not set up, she said, “the space right outside your steps was chaotic.” Pens with barricades were set up for both the pro-Palestinian protesters and pro-Israel counter-protesters, though the former group “headed for the building entrance before ultimately pulling back to their pen,” a police source told the New York Daily News. 

Tisch said that the protesters were protected by a First Amendment right to protest, even near a house of worship, and said “the NYPD must uphold that right.” 

“They have the right to say things that are incredibly painful to hear. I understand that pain, deeply and personally,” Tisch said.

But, Tisch continued, police could have done more to shield attendees of the event.

“You deserved an NYPD posture that recognized the sensitivity of this location, the climate we’re living in, and the heightened fear within our community,” she said. “Instead, you had turmoil.”

At the conclusion of her remarks, Tisch was reportedly met with a standing ovation, as well as kudos from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who was in attendance. Kraft is the founder of the Blue Square Alliance against Hate, formerly called the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism. 

While Tisch conceded the police could have done more, the congregation’s senior rabbi, Arthur Schneier, who is a Holocaust survivor, told the New York Post that he was grateful for the presence of the NYPD.

“Thank God in the United States, the police are protecting us against the hate-mongers,” Schneier said, contrasting their presence to the police’s cooperation during Kristallnacht.

Tisch’s appearance at Park East came less than a week after she accepted the offer from Mamdani to stay on as police commissioner, which some Jewish leaders viewed as a reassuring sign at a time when anti-Jewish hate crimes are rising. The move to keep Tisch also drew praise from Donald Trump when he met Mamdani at the White House on Friday.

But while Tisch drew the congregation’s applause with her apology, her future boss’ response to the protest was criticized by a number of Jewish leaders and organizations.

“The Mayor-elect has discouraged the language used at last night’s protest and will continue to do so,” Mamdani’s press secretary said in a statement.

She went on, “He believes every New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation, and that these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.”

Following the response from Mamdani’s team, UJA-Federation of New York sent a statement reading that “Every leader must denounce this heinous language,” while Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council, said that it is “not a violation of any law, international or otherwise, for Jews to gather in a synagogue or immigrate to Israel.”

The event at Park East was organized by Nefesh B’Nefesh, a nonprofit that facilitates immigration to Israel for North American Jews. It does not assign immigrants to particular communities, but has showcased West Bank settlements — which most of the world, though not Israel or the United States, considers illegal under international law — in events and on its website as possible destinations for new immigrants.

Tisch’s current boss, Adams, visited Park East Synagogue Monday morning where he met with Arthur Schneier.

“We don’t back down in the face of hate — we show up,” wrote Adams, who returned on Sunday from a trip to Israel and Uzbekistan.

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(JTA) — The organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest have revised this year’s voting rules after broadcasters from several countries accused Israel of interfering in last year’s audience poll.

The new guidelines, which were announced Friday, reduce the number of votes allotted to each fan from 20 to 10, split fan votes with input from a professional jury and discourage promotional campaigns by third parties, according to Eurovision.

“No broadcaster or artist may now directly engage with or support campaigns by third parties — including governments or their agencies — that could distort the vote,” Eurovision director Martin Green wrote in a statement.

The European Broadcasting Union, which runs Eurovision, also pledged to “expand the contest’s advanced security systems” and monitor fraudulent activity.

While the announcement of the new voting guidelines did not mention Israel, it appeared to have been spurred by outcry following last year’s competition, where Israel’s Yuval Raphael took second place after winning a notable lead from the audience vote. Social media posts had exhorted supporters of Israel around the world to vote as many times as possible.

Following her win, the public broadcasters from Spain, Ireland, Belgium, Iceland and Finland called on the European Broadcasting Union to conduct an audit of its audience voting system, with some alluding to Israel manipulating the vote. (Green rejected the allegations of Israeli influence at the time.)

Several European countries, including the Netherlands, Slovenia, Iceland, Ireland and Spain, also announced in September that they would or may boycott the competition if Israel is allowed to participate.

Following the announcements, the European Broadcast Union announced it would allow member countries to vote on Israel’s participation, but changed its plans following the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza last month. The broadcasting union plans to discuss Israel’s participation at its December meeting.

The chancellor of Austria, which is set to host this year’s competition, has also reportedly pressured its public broadcaster not to host the competition if Israel is barred.

“I truly hope that this robust package of measures provides assurance for artists, broadcasters and fans alike,” said Green of the new voting guidelines. “Above all I hope it allows for the Contest to acknowledge the sometimes-difficult world in which we live but resist attempts to turn our stage into a place of geopolitical division.”

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When photographer Julian Voloj heard about the first Jewish Comic Con in Brooklyn, he knew he had to meet its creator, Fabrice Sapolsky. Voloj, who was born in Germany to Colombian parents, had previously authored a number of graphic novels, including Ghetto Brother, the story of former gang leader Benji Melendez, a Puerto-Rican Jew. Voloj and Sapolsky connected at the 2016 convention and realized they shared a vision: a comic that would depict diverse Jewish stories.

Sapolsky, who is French-American with Ashkenazi and Sephardic roots, had been a comic creator for many years, including for Marvel and DC.

“He had this network of illustrators,” Voloj said. “I had the network of ethnically, racially diverse Jews.”

Voloj serves as the executive director for Be’Chol Lashon, an organization dedicated to highlighting Jewish diversity through community events and art. In November 2023, with the organization’s support, Voloj and Sapolsky created a sampler of their imagined anthology Hyphen: Jewish Stories in Our Own Words featuring three stories about Jews who did not fit the archetypal image of what a Jew should be, whether that be because of their racial identity, ethnic identity, or LGBTQ+ identity.

After sharing the Hyphen preview at synagogues and Jewish community centers, Voloj and Sapolsky secured funding to create the official anthology which contains 12 stories — including their own.

Some of the subjects wrote their stories, but others worked with Voloj to figure out what they wanted their section to be.

Haftam’s story of escaping war in Ethiopia starts with an explanation of the holiday of Sigd, which takes place 50 days after the end of Yom Kippur and marks another day of repentance for Ethiopian Jews. Natan’s chapter about battling his unibrow includes a crash course on the Bukharian Jewish language. The section on Eddna, a Jewish woman from Mumbai who eventually immigrates to Israel, provides history on Jews in India.

“You not only get a personal narrative, but also a broader story,” Voloj said.

Although some don’t accept the validity of all the ways Hyphen presents Jewishness, Voloj sees the wide variety of Jewish practice on display in Hyphen as part of what makes Judaism special.

“The terminology for me is always [to] say it’s Jewish communities,” Voloj said. “There’s not something like the Jewish community. So even if you have two Hasids, they might not agree on anything. If you’re a Satmar or if you’re Chabad, I mean, there’s very different philosophies.”

Voloj said that there has also been a lot of excitement and emotional responses to Hyphen.

“I feel like what people can relate to, it’s personal stories. So one story is about a woman that grew up in India, but she’s also like a single mom,” Voloj said. “Her son moves to Israel, and she decided to just follow him. So it’s like basically a story about motherhood,”

The fact that Hyphen is a comic has also helped to broaden its appeal.

“It’s such an American thing and such an intergenerational thing,” Voloj said. “We had the JCC events, there were some people who were over 60. And there the youngest persons were under 10.”

Because they had limited space and wanted each chapter to represent a different identity, a lot of stories didn’t make it into the anthology. Voloj hopes that in the future, they can continue the series.

“At the end of the book, we have photos of the main storytellers. So you can actually see these are all real people,” said Voloj. “And that gives it a nice note like, ‘Oh, yeah, these are like all the different faces of Judaism, and they all look different.’”

“I think that’s a beautiful thing to show. And I feel like it’s a great way to build bridges.”

The post With stories from Jews across the globe, this graphic anthology wants to expand how we see Jewishness appeared first on The Forward.