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A Jewish reporter goes inside Rikers for a new book on a notorious jail
(New York Jewish Week) — Reuven Blau, son of a Holocaust survivor, suggests his father may have inspired him to strive for change within New York City’s notorious Rikers Island jail.
“There’s this subconscious drive to change things, or to help people in a way that you don’t understand,” said Blau. “Inside Rikers, you realize how difficult it is, and how terrible the circumstances are for everyone involved.”
A reporter for The City who studied at a yeshiva in Brooklyn, Blau is the co-author, with Graham Rayman, of “Rikers: An Oral History,” a new book on a jail that makes frequent headlines for the violence and despair trapped within its walls. The book seeks to humanize the people inside the jail — both inmates and the people who work there — and tell their stories.
Its aim, Blau told the New York Jewish Week, is to amplify the voices of “people who are rarely seen as people,” he said.
The jail complex, which opened in 1932, has long been criticized for its harsh conditions, which include horror stories of inmates caged in tiny showers, sleeping on excrement-smeared floors, suicides, beatings and more. Many have called for its closure since the 1970s. As of Dec. 14, 19 people died at Rikers in 2022 — the highest death rate since 2013.
Rikers Island, the jail complex located in the East River that has been open since 1932, is the site of a constant stream of violent news and headlines over the past few decades. (The City/Ben Fractenberg)
The reporters spent close to three years interviewing about 130 people, with most of the conversations taking place over the phone or in person with people already out of jail. They also made several trips to the jail complex.
One of the people they spoke with was Rabbi Gabriel Kretzmer Seed, a Jewish chaplain on Rikers. Seed spoke about singing Shabbat songs with an inmate who suddenly got up and punched him.
“He was a pretty strong person, but I only ended up with a bloody lip. He might have been mumbling something, but I don’t remember what he said specifically. I was quite shocked. Everything happened so quickly,” Seed said. “I was totally in shock because I had known him for a while and he was the last person I thought would hurt me.”
Seed then remarked that he was able to work with mental health staff and ultimately managed to have a good relationship with the inmate after the incident.
“It was such a revealing story, how there are people who are there to help others,” Blau said. “And they become aware of how people are misplaced there.”
Prior to joining The City, Blau had worked at the New York Daily News and the New York Post. Despite his deep reporting experience, Blau, 43, noted that it’s been “the weirdest thing” to become the “voice” of Rikers. “I’m this whole yeshiva guy,” Blau said. “I’d never been to jail. It wasn’t an issue I was familiar with at all in any way.”
Blau, who grew up in Denver and went to a yeshiva high school in Chicago, said that he remains observant. “Big cholent fan,” said Blau, who lives in New Jersey with his wife, Sara, who had a baby girl in May. “My favorite part of the culture is the social service network that exists in many communities.”
He fell into reporting after majoring in English at Brooklyn College. Before working for the tabloids, Blau wrote for The Chief, a newspaper dedicated to labor and local politics, where he covered the union that represents New York’s corrections officers, among other things.
In 2011, he landed a scoop with the Post about a “jailhouse bar mitzvah” which revealed that correction officers and supervisors attended a lavish Jewish coming-of-age cermony behind bars at a downtown Manhattan jail whose costs were carried by taxpayers.
“I always had some foot in the jail coverage,” Blau said of his time working in the news industry.
His co-writer, Rayman, covers criminal justice for the Daily News. Rayman told the New York Jewish Week that he doesn’t think people can read the book and “come away with a feeling that anything other than that particular jail system is deeply flawed and in need of major changes.”
The city is required by law to close Rikers Island by 2027, yet many are casting doubt over whether that will be possible.
“I really hope that there’s not a journalist behind me in 20 or 30 years that is writing about the same issues, because I think that means the coverage we’ve been doing hasn’t made an effect,” Blau said. “I look at it through that lens. I try to come up with ways that are going to change things for the better in a real meaningful way.”
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The post A Jewish reporter goes inside Rikers for a new book on a notorious jail appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes admits ‘at least 6 million’ Jews were killed in Nazi Germany
Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes appeared to acknowledge that “at least” six million Jews were killed in Nazi Germany, in a tense interview with broadcaster Piers Morgan on Monday. Yet, he doubled down on his past statement that Adolf Hitler was “f–king cool” and claimed that the true “genocide” is against white Christians.
In a 30-minute exchange that aired live on the Piers Morgan Uncensored talk show on YouTube, Fuentes also mocked descendants of Holocaust victims and survivors for speaking about the atrocity, claimed that organized Jewry politically benefits from it and criticized laws in certain countries that prohibit Holocaust denial or debate about it.
It is unclear whether Fuentes’ admission about the number of Jews killed by the Nazi regime during World War II represented an about-face from his past questioning of the Holocaust — referring to it as a “hoax” and claiming the numbers of victims “don’t add up” — or simply trolling for argument’s sake.
Fuentes, whose followers are known as groypers, has become popular among white supremacists in recent years, promoting a wide range of antisemitic views and conspiracy theories on his podcast “America First.” He attended the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where marchers chanted, “Jews will not replace us,” has denied the Holocaust and warned Jews to leave the country. His recent appearance on The Tucker Carlson Show prompted what some are calling a civil war in the Republican Party.
Asked by Morgan how many Jewish people he thinks died in the Holocaust, Fuentes said, “I’m thinking, maybe seven million. What’s the number, seven, six million? Something like that. … It could maybe even be more than that.” He later added, “It could even be higher. It’s at least six million. It could be 100 times that.” Fuentes said his interest in the Holocaust stemmed from what he called “censorship” of conspiracy theories and the shutting down of debate on the matter, compared to other global tragedies.
“If the truth is so clear, and if there’s such overwhelming evidence, why do you need to throw people in jail for disagreement?” he said. “I think everything is debatable. I think everything, at least, should be debated. And if the evidence is very one-sided, let the evidence speak. Don’t throw people in jail.”
When pressed about his admiration of Hitler, Fuentes doubled down. “That’s absolutely true,” he said. “And I’m tired of pretending.” Fuentes explained: “It’s just cool — the uniforms, the parades, it’s cool. As a guy, you look at World War II, and it’s fascinating, and it’s interesting, and it’s compelling, and it’s cool.”
Fuentes went on to describe Holocaust education as “propaganda” that is being used as a “political narrative” to target Christianity. “It is treated like a religion with dogma, with blasphemy laws,” he said, adding that younger Americans “are done hearing about that.”
“There’s a genocide going on right now” in America, Fuentes continued, pointing to the birth rate among immigrant and minority communities that would make the white population a minority in decades to come. “And these Jewish people that are 100 years old, talking about my grandparents and the Holocaust, they don’t care about that. Actually, they like to see it,” he said. “So, forgive me if I don’t believe or talk about compassion; there’s a genocide going on right now. It’s not against Jews or in Gaza. It’s against whites.”
In the two-hour interview, Fuentes also defended his misogyny and racist views about Black people, commented on his 2022 dinner with Trump, his relationship with rapper Kanye West, now known as Ye, and his recent interview with Carlson.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced on Monday a resolution that strongly rejects the views of Fuentes and condemns Carlson’s platforming of him. All Senate Democrats signed on as co-sponsors and the measure is also supported by some nonpartisan Jewish groups, among them the Union for Reform Judaism, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and Hadassah.
Asked in the interview with Morgan if he hates Jewish people, Fuentes said, “I don’t hate any Jews. … I like a lot of things about them. I think they’re funny, I think they’re smart. I think that they’re pretty remarkable people. … It’s just that there is a sort of natural opposition between them and Christians because of the theology.”
The post Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes admits ‘at least 6 million’ Jews were killed in Nazi Germany appeared first on The Forward.
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Israeli Airline El Al Launches New Youth Points Program to Encourage Young Travelers
Illustrative: The Israeli flag carrier El Al’s airliner lands at Abu Dhabi International Airport, United Arab Emirates, Aug. 31, 2020. Photo: WAM/Handout via REUTERS
Israel’s national airline El Al has announced a new program that allows young travelers between the ages of two and 18 to earn exclusive benefits and points through flights that won’t expire until they turn 21.
El Al Young is a free program that gives youth travelers access to rewards as part of the Matmid Frequent Flyer Program, and parents or guardians can register as many youngsters as they have starting at the age of two. The young passengers can earn points by flying on El A; or Sundor and gain access to content on the curated Youth Mode in the El A; app, where they can watch videos, play games, and learn facts about aviation all while earning loyalty points every time they fly. Kids who are already members of the Matmid Frequent Flyer Program are automatically enrolled in El Al Young.
Young travelers using the app will earn points that can be redeemed for rewards such as seat upgrades and free checked baggage, booking award tickets to fly with friends, and buying snacks from onboard duty-free. El Al will launch new promotions on the app in the months ahead that will help travelers earn more points and save on fares. El Al points typically expire after 18 months but travelers in the youth program can keep their points until they are 21.
“El Al Young is a game-changer for family travel, while making every journey more fun and engaging,” said Nadav Hanin, vice president of marketing and digital at El Al Airlines. “With this program, El Al Airlines is inspiring the next generation of travelers by allowing them to earn their own points, explore Youth Mode on the El Al app, and enjoy more independence and excitement when traveling with El Al. Family travel has always been at the heart of our business, and with El Al Young, we’re strengthening that bond while creating unforgettable adventures for travelers of all ages.”
El Al operated its first scheduled flight in 1949 and now serves 49 international destinations in 33 countries. It operates more than 50 weekly non-stop flights between the US and Israel.
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New Art Exhibit in NYC Examines Jewish Polish Artist Arthur Szyk and His Fight Against Nazism
“The Map Maker” (1942) by Arthur Szyk. The political drawing depicts Hitler painting his version of “Deutsches Sud America” (“German South America”) which consists of a large swastika painted over the shape of South America. Photo: Provided
An exhibition that opened on Sunday in New York City spotlights the work of prolific Jewish Polish and anti-fascist artist Arthur Szyk, including scathing portrayals of the Nazis and his attention to themes such as Jewish identity, resistance, and Zionism.
“Art of Freedom: The Life and Work of Arthur Szyk” opened at the Museum of Jewish Heritage –A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in Lower Manhattan on the anniversary of when the United States entered World War II. The exhibit in the museum’s Rita Lowenstein Gallery features over 100 objects, including original drawings, rare prints, illuminated manuscripts, commercial cartoons, and political materials. Visitors will have access to 18 never-before-seen pieces and 38 original artworks.
Szyk’s work “Anti-Christ” from 1942, which is a critique of Adolf Hitler and Nazi crimes, greets visitors at the exhibit and is back on view in New York City for the first time in over 80 years. The artwork shows Nazi officials standing over skulls, victims on the gallows, vultures bearing swastikas, and Hitler with tiny skulls in his eyeballs as he stares straight ahead at the viewer.
Also on view is “The Map Maker” (1942), a political drawing by Szyk that depicts Hitler painting his version of “Deutsches Sud America” (“German South America”), which is shown as a large swastika painted over the continent. Others stand around him — including Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and top Nazi officials Joseph Goebbels, Hermann Goering, and Heinrich Himmler — and they all want their own similar map. On the floor are folders that say, “Deutsches Europa,” Deutsches America,” “Deutsches Africa,” “Deutsches Australia,” illustrating the plan to have Nazism dominate the world. Also on the floor is a book titled Idiot’s Delight and a quote at the bottom of Szyk’s drawing says, “Now that you’ve joined us the Fuhrer will make a special map for you!”
Szyk was born in Łódź in 1894 but moved to Paris at the age of 15 to study art. With other Polish-Jewish artists and writers, he traveled to the area now known as Israel in 1914, which was an impactful trip that deepened his connection to Judaism and solidified his dedication to being a lifelong Zionist advocate. Szyk died in 1951.
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in her “My Day” newspaper column that Szyk’s work “fights the war against Hitlerism as truly as any of us who cannot actually be on the fighting fronts today.”
“As an institution committed to educating visitors about Jewish life before, during, and after the Holocaust, we are thrilled to present Arthur Szyk’s exquisitely detailed and beautiful work, and to look back at his influential role inshaping public discourse around America’s pivotal entry into WWII,” said Jack Kliger, president & CEO of the Museum of Jewish Heritage.
The new Szyk exhibit highlights pieces by Szyk that are on loan from private collections as well as newly acquired pieces from the museum’s permanent collection, which will be on view for the first time. The exhibit will remain open at the Museum of Jewish Heritage through July 26, 2026.