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You can live in a former synagogue in the East Village for a cool $2.3M
(New York Jewish Week) — Anyone can pray in a synagogue. But have you ever fantasized about living in one?
Well, if you will it — and you happen to have $2.3 million handy — it is no dream: An East Village penthouse is on the market in a building that was constructed in 1908 as Congregation Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Anshe Ungarn (The Great House of Study of the People of Hungary).
The 1,600-square-foot renovated triplex at 242 East 7th St. boasts a wealth of amenities, including three exposures, a 400-square-foot private terrace, a master bedroom with an “Aspen lodge aesthetic” and an en-suite bathroom that appears to be the size of a studio apartment.
The unit is fully modern and does not have any original details — and according to listing agent Jason Lanyard of Douglas Elliman, that’s a good thing. “What I have found is that owners here [in NYC] love the provenance of a building, but they love that they don’t feel the provenance,” he told the New York Jewish Week.
The synagogue was in operation until the mid-1970s and was converted into a cooperative apartment in the mid-1980s. “Somehow when they made the conversion to a co-op, with the exception of the exterior of the building, they sort of scrubbed it of any Judaic content,” he said.
By contrast, the exterior of the building — which is located between Avenues C and D — boasts the name of the congregation in its original Hebrew lettering. The structure was designated a landmark in 2008 as “a fine example of an early 20th century Classical Revival style synagogue surviving on Manhattan’s Lower East Side,” according to New York City’s Historic Districts Council.
First established in the Lower East Side in 1883, the Congregation Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Anshe Ungarn was one of the earliest Hungarian congregations in New York. After outgrowing several previous sites, in 1908 the congregation purchased a house on East 7th Street “and spent $10,000 rebuilding it with a brick and stone façade in the then popular Beaux Arts style,” according to the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.
The synagogue was designed by architects Samuel Gross and Joseph Kleinberger of the firm Gross & Kleinberger. The pair designed many tenement buildings on the Lower East Side as well as larger apartment buildings in Upper Manhattan.
In designing the small building on East 7th Street, “the architects created a highly detailed façade that is more rich and varied than many Lower East Side synagogue buildings,” according to the society.
Approximately 100,000 Jews came to New York City from Hungary, as part of a wave of Jewish immigration between 1848 and 1914. “Like others coming from the expanded Austro-Hungarian Empire, the earliest immigrants tended to be more highly educated and left their homelands because of political dissent,” writes the Landmarks Preservation Society, “while those who came after 1880 tended to be laborers, artisans and trades people who came for economic gain.”
The congregation’s relative wealth is is reflected in the building’s design: The limestone facade “exhibits highly developed details and fine workmanship, expressive of the aspirations of the congregation, one of the luckier and more established ones which could afford to build a home of its own,” according to the Greenwich Village Preservation Society.
More than 100 years later, the now-residential, five-unit building stands as a testament to a different sort of wealth. Interest in the unit, said Lanyard, which originally was listed in September at $2.4 million, has been extremely high: “It was a sleeper until the day after Christmas,” he said. “It’s been crazy ever since.”
The city’s real estate market has been very busy these past few weeks, said Lanyard, who surmised that the triplex’s loft-style layout is a major source for its popularity among prospective buyers. “Lofts in the East Village are not common,” he said. “In many ways, it’s a synagogue that gave us a loft. It’s just so heartwarming.”
“How great it is that a converted synagogue thrives so much,” he added.
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The post You can live in a former synagogue in the East Village for a cool $2.3M appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Brooklyn Nets Select Israeli Basketball Players Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf in NBA Draft
The opening tip between the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards, at Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, Dec. 13, 2020. Photo: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
In a landmark night for Israeli basketball, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf were selected in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets, marking the first time two Israeli players have been drafted in the same year.
Saraf, a 19-year-old guard known for his explosive athleticism and creative playmaking, was taken with the 26th pick. A standout with Maccabi Rishon LeZion and a rising star on Israel’s youth national teams, Saraf gained international attention with his electrifying scoring and commanding court presence.
With the 27th pick, the Nets selected 7-foot center Danny Wolf out of the University of Michigan. Wolf, who holds dual US-Israeli citizenship and represented Israel at the U-20 level, brings a versatile skill set, including sharp passing, perimeter shooting, and a strong feel for the game. After his name was called, Wolf grew emotional in an on-air interview, crediting his family for helping him reach the moment.
“I have the two greatest brothers in the world; I have an unbelievable sister who I love,” Wolf said. “They all helped me get to where I am today, and they’re going to help me get to where I am going to go in this league.”
The historic double-pick adds to the growing wave of Israeli presence on the NBA stage, led by Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, who just completed a breakout 2024–25 season. After being traded to Portland last summer, Avdija thrived as a starter, averaging 16.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. In March alone, he posted 23.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game, including two triple-doubles.
“I don’t think I’ve played like this before … I knew I had it in me. But I’m not really thinking about it. I’m just playing. I’m just free,” Avdija told reporters in March
With Saraf and Wolf joining Avdija, Israel’s basketball pipeline has reached unprecedented visibility. Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the moment “a national celebration for sports and youth,” and Israeli sports commentators widely hailed the night as “historic.”
Both Saraf and Wolf are expected to suit up for the Nets’ Summer League team in July. As the two rookies begin their NBA journey, they join a growing generation of Israeli athletes proving that their game belongs on basketball’s biggest stage.
The post Brooklyn Nets Select Israeli Basketball Players Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf in NBA Draft first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Denies Any Meeting With US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS
Iran currently has no plan to meet with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday in an interview on state TV, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s statement that Washington planned to have talks with Iran next week.
The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran was assessing whether talks with the US were in its interest, following five previous rounds of negotiations that were cut short by Israel and the US attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The US and Israel said the strikes were meant to curb Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons, while Iran says its nuclear program is solely geared toward civilian use.
Araqchi said the damages to nuclear sites “were not little” and that relevant authorities were figuring out the new realities of Iran’s nuclear program, which he said would inform Iran’s future diplomatic stance.
The post Iran Denies Any Meeting With US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Ireland Becomes First European Nation to Advance Ban on Trade With Israeli Settlements
A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Ireland has become the first European nation to push forward legislation banning trade with Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — an effort officials say is meant “to address the horrifying situation” in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, Irish Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris announced that the legislation has already been approved by the government and will now move to the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade for pre-legislative scrutiny.
“Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza,” Harris said during a press conference.
The Irish diplomat also told reporters he hopes the “real benefit” of the legislation will be to encourage other countries to follow suit, “because it is important that every country uses every lever at its disposal.”
Today Ireland becomes the first country in Europe to bring forward legislation to ban trade with the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza.
Every country must pull every lever at its disposal. pic.twitter.com/Z4RTjqntEY— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) June 24, 2025
Joining a growing number of EU member states aiming to curb Israel’s defensive campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Ireland’s decision comes after a 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal.
The ICJ ruled that third countries must avoid trade or investment that supports “the illegal situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Once implemented, the law will criminalize the importation of goods from Israeli settlements into Ireland, empowering customs officials to inspect, seize, and confiscate any such shipments.
“The situation in Palestine remains a matter of deep public concern,” Harris said. “I have made it consistently clear that this government will use all levers at its disposal to address the horrifying situation on the ground and to contribute to long-term efforts to achieve a sustainable peace on the basis of the two-state solution.”
“Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal and threaten the viability of the two-state solution,” the Irish diplomat continued. “This is the longstanding position of the European Union and our international partners. Furthermore, this is the clear position under international law.”
Harris also urged the EU to comply with the ICJ’s ruling by taking a more decisive and “adequate response” regarding imports from Israeli settlements.
“This is an issue that I will continue to press at EU level, and I reiterated my call for concrete proposals from the European Commission at the Foreign Affairs Council this week,” he said.
Last week, Ireland and eight other EU member states — Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden — called on the European Commission to draft proposals for how EU countries can halt trade and imports with Israeli settlements, in line with obligations set out by the ICJ.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the latest move by European countries, calling it “shameful” and a misguided attempt to undermine Israel while it faces “existential” threats from Iran and its proxies, including Hamas.
“It is regrettable that even when Israel is fighting an existential threat which is in Europe’s vital interest — there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession,” the top Israeli diplomat said in a post on X.
It is regrettable that even when Israel fighting an existential threat which is in Europe vital interest – there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession.
Shameful! https://t.co/lxm9qm8sM1— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) June 19, 2025
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