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Broadway’s Jews gather in response to neo-Nazi protest
(New York Jewish Week) – Twenty-four hours after neo-Nazi agitators heckled ticket-holders outside the first preview of “Parade,” a musical about a notorious antisemitic incident, Jewish members of New York’s theater community came together to share their emotions and reactions and look to the future.
The gathering, organized by producer and actor Ari Axelrod, was held on a rainy Wednesday afternoon in a rehearsal space at Open Jar Studios in Times Square. It was just three blocks north of the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, where “Parade” is currently in previews. About 50 people from all ranks of the theater industry — from Broadway producers and marquee stars to undergraduate students in college shows — joined the conversation.
Starring Jewish actor Ben Platt, “Parade” tells the story of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager accused and found guilty of murdering a girl who worked for him, despite little evidence. In 1915, Frank was kidnapped from jail and lynched by a mob, and the case led to the creation of the Anti-Defamation League and a resurgence of interest in the Ku Klux Klan.
At the show’s first preview on Feb. 21, protestors who identified with the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi group headquartered in Florida, accused Frank of being a pedophile and condemned audience members for paying to support pedophiles and Jews.
“The story about Leo Frank is not a new one. They could be protesting anywhere. But there is a reason they knew that that play was happening and where it was happening,” said Axelrod, who told the New York Jewish Week that he has been thinking about holding a gathering in response to antisemitism for nearly two years. “It feels like they came into our home, not just our home as Jews, but our home as theater artists.”
Axelrod, 28, opened by leading the Shehechiyanu, a prayer of gratitude, and a round of deep breaths.
“The intention for today is not to find a solution to the rise in antisemitism or even the solution to what happened yesterday,” Axelrod told the crowd. “The intention is to be in a space and find community and gather as Jews, which is what we’ve been doing for thousands of years. To commiserate and talk and bear witness to how we’re feeling and how other people are feeling, to be seen and heard and held and valued and validated as an individual and as a member of a community.”
The room was full of Jewish and some non-Jewish people in the theater industry of all ages who wanted to express their thoughts and ideas about the protests. (Julia Gergely)
Many in the room felt fear, sadness, frustration and anger at the events. For an assistant on the production team of “Parade” — who asked to remain anonymous because he came to process his own feelings and not as a representative of the show — “it was emotional, especially because not everyone on the team is Jewish. So just being there as a Jewish person, hearing them say that to people going into the show was hard.”
However, he noted the importance of committing to see and work on the show. “Just being at the show last night was its own protest to what they were saying,” he said, adding that the team behind “Parade” is committed to ensuring a safe environment for everyone involved and that they don’t want to let the protests deter people from seeing the show, which is scheduled to run through Aug. 6.
Elliott Masie, a Broadway producer who was on the line with his wife when the threats and jeers began, said his initial reaction was surprise. “I couldn’t discern what they were about at first. They tried to pretend that they were against pedophiles, but then their rhetoric escalated and they started to go up to people in the line and say ‘You paid so much for this, to advocate for a Jew.’ The moment I heard them say the word ‘Jew,’ I realized what they were,” he told the New York Jewish Week.
“The hardest part was that it seemed like most people coming into the theater didn’t understand who they were,” Masie, 72, added.
Still, he said, the show was wonderful. “I’ve never been at a first preview that had as prolonged an ovation. In some ways, they stole the moment. We have to give the moment back and give the moment to all of us. The ultimate love and support we need to do is show the cast and the company that we’re here,” he said.
Over the last year, Jewish stories have been having a moment on Broadway and off, with “Funny Girl,” “Leopoldstadt” and “Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish” all coming to the stage in 2022. Surrounding each show has been discussions of their relevance at time when watchdog groups have been reporting a rise in antisemitic incidents.
“The entire cast of our show and company was scared last night that we were going to walk out to something similar,” said David Krumhotlz, who is in the final weeks of his role as patriarch Hermann Merz in “Leopoldstadt,” Tom Stoppard’s play about the Holocaust. “Thank God it didn’t. We stand in solidarity not only with ‘Parade,’ but with the entire Jewish Broadway community.”
Yael Chanukov, a cast member of “Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish,” spoke about the safety and security discussions the cast and crew had during the show’s run and the fear and anxiety she felt at times doing such a proudly Jewish show that otherwise was one of the most fulfilling experiences of her life.
The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, where “Parade” is in previews, Feb. 22, 2023. (Julia Gergely)
For many, it was an exhalation of years of frustration and confusion over minor and major antisemitism they said they experienced in the theater industry and beyond.
While Axelrod said the goal of Wednesday’s gathering wasn’t to find solutions, by the end of the evening, he had cemented an idea for a Jewish advocacy coalition within the theater industry. He said it might offer resources and tools for how to speak up and show up to support the Jewish theater community.
Representatives from the Anti-Defamation League and Jews for Racial & Economic Justice who were at the meeting offered to help get contacts and funding if the idea were to get off the ground.
“The general tenor that I’m getting is that no one is asking the theater community to make the fight against antisemitism the top priority. Just make it a priority,” Axelrod said.
Actor and writer Mike Haber, 31, had tickets for Wednesday night’s performance of “Parade.”
“Last night, I literally couldn’t even sleep because of what happened,” he said. “This is so beautiful to see so many theater people and we’re all coping with the same emotions and feelings.”
Ninety minutes before the Wednesday evening performance began, the rain had stopped and all was calm in front of the theater. Haber took pictures and burst out singing the show’s tunes. “I love this,” he said. “I can’t wait to see it.”
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The post Broadway’s Jews gather in response to neo-Nazi protest appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Giuliani Says Mamdani Has ‘Hatred’ for Jews for Declining to Attend Israel Day Parade in New York City
Former Donald Trump lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani arrives at US federal court in New York City, US, Nov. 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has lambasted the city’s current mayor, Zohran Mamdani, for the latter’s decision not to attend the annual Israel Day parade, which is set to take place later this month.
“Mamdani’s decision to snub the Israel Day Parade demonstrates his deep disdain and hatred of the Jewish community,” Giuliani, a Republican, told the New York Post on Wednesday. “When you combine this with his failure to attend the investiture of the new Catholic Archbishop [Ronald Hicks], a pattern emerges, revealing a man on a mission to tear down the foundations of Western civilization.”
Mamdani, a far-left democratic socialist, has made fierce anti-Israel activism a cornerstone of his political career, leading many Jewish leaders and other critics to accuse him of antisemitism.
“Have New Yorkers awakened to the fact that they made a disastrous decision in November 2025 by electing this man?” added Giuliani, who served as New York City’s mayor from 1994 through 2001.
Mamdani confirmed earlier this month that he will skip this year’s Israel Day Parade. However, the avowed anti-Zionist first indicated that he would not attend the event in October 2025, the month before his election. At the time, he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he looked forward “to joining — and hosting — many community events celebrating Jewish life in New York and the rich Jewish history and culture of our city,” but not including the parade.
“While I will not be attending the Israel Day Parade, my lack of attendance should not be mistaken for a refusal to provide security or the necessary permits for its safety,” Mamdani said last year. “I’ve been very clear: I believe in equal rights for all people — everywhere. That principle guides me consistently.”
Mamdani is reportedly the first mayor of New York City to skip the Israel Day Parade, which has been held annually since 1964. The parade takes place along Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue and is set this year for May 31 under the theme, “Proud Americans, Proud Zionists.”
For what is believed to be the first time in history, a Muslim group will march in the parade. Supporters of the nonprofit American Muslim & Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council will participate and be led by Anila Ali, the organization’s board chair and president.
As a supporter of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, Mamdani has been highly critical of the country and has refused to recognize it as a Jewish state. New York City is home to the world’s largest population of Jews outside of Israel.
“Since the very first Israel Parade in 1964, every single sitting mayor of New York City has joined in the festive celebrations. New York has historically been proud of its deep relationship with Israel. Not joining the parade is an affront to the history of New York City,” Moshe Davis – former executive director of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, a body formed by Mamdani’s predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams – told Fox News Digital.
Adams told the news outlet that the Israel Day Parade “is a testament to one of New York City’s most important relationships.”
“From health care to technology to innovation, Israel and New York City are partners in building a better future,” he explained. “I want every New Yorker to join the Parade on Fifth Avenue because celebrating this bond isn’t just for the Jewish community; it’s for our entire city.”
Last week, Mamdani posted a video on social media in honor of “Nakba Day.” The word “nakba” is Arabic for “catastrophe” and used by Palestinians to describe Israel’s founding and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Arabs during Israel’s 1948 War of Independence.
Many Arabs left for varied reasons, including that they were encouraged by Arab leaders to flee their homes to make way for the invading armies to destroy the nascent Jewish state. At the same time, about 850,000 Jews were forced to flee or expelled from Middle Eastern and North African countries in the 20th century, primarily in the aftermath of Israel’s declaring independence.
Several pro-Israel Jewish groups found the video posted by Mamdani offensive, and as a result, some Jewish leaders decided not to attend a pre-Shavuot event Mamdani hosted at Gracie Mansion in honor of Jewish Heritage Month.
The UJA Federation of New York and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, both of which are organizing the Israel Day Parade, declined to attend the gathering. They told the New York Post they made the decision because the event’s host is a mayor who “denies the core pillar of our heritage, the State of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people.” At the event, Mamdani announced that his administration will allocate $26 million annually to expand efforts made by the city’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes.
Since Mamdani assumed office, Jews have been targeted in the majority of all hate crimes committed in New York City, continuing a troubling trend of rising antisemitism following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel.
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Vermont Police Investigate Anti-Israel Vandalism of Jewish-Owned Store as Possible Hate Crime
Graffiti is seen on the windows of DG Bodyworks in Cavendish on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. The Vermont State Police has partially redacted profanity that appears on the window to the right. Photo: Vermont State Police
A Jewish woman’s store in Vermont was vandalized early Wednesday morning with anti-Israel graffiti in an incident that police are investigating as a possible hate crime.
“Free Palestine” and “F–k Israel” were spray-painted on the windows of DG Bodyworks, where Israeli flags were on display.
Vermont State Police said they are investigating the vandalism in the Windsor County town of Cavendish as a possible hate crime and will inform the Attorney General’s Office of the incident. Officers who responded to the crime scene reviewed security footage and saw an individual vandalizing the store with purple spray paint during the early hours of Wednesday morning. Police released a photo of the suspect, a white male who wore a cap and covered his face while spray-painting the messages.
Shop owner Denise Gebroe said that her store was targeted because she is Jewish and that while she was “shaken” to discover the graffiti, “I am OK and will not be broken.”
“This was an act of intimidation directed at me because I am Jewish,” she added, in a statement shared with The Algemeiner by Vermont Friends of Israel. “I made Vermont my home because I love it here, but it does not feel the same as it once did. Incidents like this are happening more than many people realize, and most go unreported. I fear for the future of the Jewish community here, and Jewish friends of mine have already left.”
In a statement given to The Algemeiner, Mark Treinkman, president of Vermont Friends of Israel, also called the vandalism an anti-Jewish hate crime and said such an incident “is the predictable consequence of a political campaign in Vermont that demonizes Israel and pressures local communities to treat Jews and Zionists as equivalent to Nazis.” He referenced an Apartheid Free Community campaign active in Vermont, promoted by the Palestine Solidarity Coalition, that is marketed locally as “grassroots activism.”
“When anti-Zionist activists tell people that Jews with deep spiritual, cultural, and familial ties to Israel are ‘baby killers’ and ‘genocide supporters,’ it sends a dangerous signal that intimidation against them is understandable, deserved, or even justified,” Treinkman noted. “History teaches us where this goes. First come campaigns of dehumanization, slogans, pledges, and public shaming. Now a Jewish woman’s storefront has been vandalized in rural Vermont.”
“Synagogues in Vermont have been sent death threats. Swastikas are found on Vermont school walls,” he added, referring to threatening letters sent to several local synagogues and antisemitism graffiti discovered at an elementary school last year. “Jewish students are bullied. What comes next if this is not confronted?”
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Turkey Court Ousts Opposition Leader in Latest Blow to Erdogan’s Challengers
Ozgur Ozel, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), speaks to the media at party headquarters after a Turkish court dismissed a case seeking to remove him and annul the party’s 2023 congress, in Ankara, Turkey, Oct. 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Efekan Akyuz
A Turkish court effectively ousted the main opposition leader Ozgur Ozel on Thursday, annulling the 2023 party congress that elected him chairman in a ruling that dealt a blow to President Tayyip Erdogan’s challengers and hit financial markets.
The appeals court annulled the congress over irregularities and ruled that former Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu – a divisive figure within the party who lost to Erdogan in an election earlier in 2023 – should replace his successor Ozel.
The case was seen as a test of Turkey‘s shaky balance between democracy and autocracy, and the ruling may throw the opposition into further disarray and possible infighting. It could also boost Erdogan’s chances of extending his more than two-decade rule of the big NATO member country and major emerging market economy.
OPPOSITION HIT BY JUDICIAL CRACKDOWN
The CHP, running roughly even with Erdogan’s ruling AK Party in polls, has separately faced an unprecedented judicial crackdown since 2024 in which hundreds of members and elected officials have been detained as part of corruption charges that the party denies.
Among those imprisoned for more than a year is Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is seen as the main rival of Erdogan and remains the CHP’s official candidate for a presidential election set for 2028 but that could come next year.
After the court ruling, Ozel convened party leaders to discuss possible steps and members were called to the CHP headquarters building in Ankara to protest against it.
Ali Mahir Basarir, CHP deputy parliamentary group chair, told Reuters the ruling “is an attempted coup carried out through the judiciary [and] a blow against the will of 86 million people.”
The party rejected the ruling, he said, adding that those who signed off on it were “complicit in this coup attempt and will be held accountable before the courts.”
Turkey‘s main Borsa Istanbul .XU100 dropped 6% in response, triggering a market-wide circuit breaker, while Turkish government bonds slid. Sovereign bonds sold off as much as 1.2 cents, which for many was the biggest fall since late March.
The ruling by the Ankara court overturned a decision last year by a court of first instance that said the case surrounding the CHP’s 2023 congress had no substance.