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Cory Booker has long embraced Jewish tradition. Now he has married a Jewish woman.
(JTA) — New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker has long been known for his affinity for Judaism. On Saturday, he took that closeness to a new level when he married a Jewish woman in an interfaith ceremony that featured a chuppah and a rabbi.
A senator since 2013, Booker, 56, has been called the “the Senate’s most Jewish non-Jew.” He has featured Torah analysis in his speeches, including in March when he set a record by delivering a 25-hour speech on the Senate floor in which he opposed the Trump administration’s policies and featured his famous penchant for Hebrew.
Booker was also, until this weekend, the Senate’s most prominent bachelor, remaining stubbornly single — despite his stated wishes — through his rise as mayor of Newark, New Jersey, into Congress and onto lists of Democratic potential presidential contenders.
On Saturday night, he married Alexis Lewis, a 38-year-old real estate professional from Washington, D.C., who until recently was living in Los Angeles. The couple’s civil marriage took place last week at a federal courthouse in Newark; they held an interfaith ceremony for their family on Saturday evening, according to the New York Times, which first reported news of their wedding.
Lewis changed her Instagram handle to include Booker’s last name on Sunday. The couple, who began dating last year and announced their engagement in September, has largely kept their relationship private, and Lewis’ Jewish identity was not publicly known until the New York Times story about their wedding.
During their Saturday ceremony, Booker and Lewis exchanged vows under a chuppah that was surrounded by photos of their grandparents and other deceased relatives, and played Mariah Carey’s “Emotions” to accompany the breaking of the glass traditional in Jewish weddings, the newspaper reported.
The New York Times did not name or picture the rabbi who participated in the ceremony. But Matthew Gewirtz, the leader of Temple B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, New Jersey, was confirmed to have participated alongside Booker’s pastor of nearly 30 years, Rev. David Jefferson Sr.
Gewirtz, who declined to comment about the wedding, is Booker’s longtime friend and a leader in social action in the Newark area. When he published a book two years ago, Booker blurbed it with his trademark ebullience.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DRrq5k1Dlve/
“I am a HUGE fan of Rabbi Matt Gewirtz and have had my life enriched by his wisdom and friendship,” Booker wrote. “I am not Jewish and yet I can say the Rabbi’s transcendent spiritual clarity, practical moral mentoring, and unwavering work for healing and justice has inspired me and so many.”
Gewirtz is not the only rabbi with whom Booker has had a long and deep relationship. As a Rhodes scholar at the University of Oxford in the 1990s, he forged a friendship with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, famously carrying the Orthodox rabbi on his back during a Purim party and serving as the president of the school’s Jewish student group, The L’Chaim Society.
Their relationship later soured after Booker backed the Iran nuclear deal in 2015, and two fell out of speaking terms as each became more prominent. A thaw revealed itself in September when Boteach congratulated Booker on his engagement, recalling that Booker’s late father had told him at his son’s bar mitzvah that Booker’s romantic successes mattered more than his political accomplishments.
“Mazel tov @CoryBooker. Ever since our Oxford days 35 years ago, Cory, you’ve told me that you’re desperately seeking your Bashert!” Boteach wrote, using the Hebrew and Yiddish term for “destiny.” He added, “I’m glad you finally found her! Lord knows Debbie and I made our effort to find the right person but it seems you did it on your own and Alexis seems lovely.”
Boteach did not immediately post about Booker’s wedding, which made him one of only a handful of senators ever to wed in office.
In marrying Lewis, Booker joined another, larger group: of non-Jewish Americans who are married to Jews. According to a 2021 Pew study, three quarters of non-Orthodox Jews who married since 2010 wed people who were not Jewish.
Booker, who ran for the Democratic nomination in 2020 but faced criticism at the time for being unmarried, has recently stoked speculation that he may be eyeing a 2028 bid. If he does run for president, he might not be the only Democratic candidate who is married to a Jew: Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, seen as another potential contender, is married to the former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who celebrated her bat mitzvah at 51 several years ago.
The post Cory Booker has long embraced Jewish tradition. Now he has married a Jewish woman. appeared first on The Forward.
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Pezeshkian Says Iran Will Not Bow to Pressure Amid US Nuclear Talks
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2025, in Tianjin, China, September 1, 2025. Iran’s Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that his country would not bow its head to pressure from world powers amid nuclear talks with the United States.
“World powers are lining up to force us to bow our heads… but we will not bow our heads despite all the problems that they are creating for us,” Pezeshkian said in a speech carried live by state TV.
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Italy’s RAI Apologizes after Latest Gaffe Targets Israeli Bobsleigh Team
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics – Bobsleigh – 4-man Heat 1 – Cortina Sliding Centre, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy – February 21, 2026. Adam Edelman of Israel, Menachem Chen of Israel, Uri Zisman of Israel, Omer Katz of Israel in action during Heat 1. Photo: REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
Italy’s state broadcaster RAI was forced to apologize to the Jewish community on Saturday after an off‑air remark advising its producers to “avoid” the Israeli crew was broadcast before coverage of the Four-Man bobsleigh event at the Winter Olympics.
The head of RAI’s sports division had already resigned earlier in the week after his error-ridden commentary at the Milano Cortina 2026 opening ceremony two weeks ago triggered a revolt among its journalists.
On Saturday, viewers heard “Let’s avoid crew number 21, which is the Israeli one” and then “no, because …” before the sound was cut off.
RAI CEO Giampaolo Rossi said the incident represented a “serious” breach of the principles of impartiality, respect and inclusion that should guide the public broadcaster.
He added that RAI had opened an internal inquiry to swiftly determine any responsibility and any potential disciplinary procedures.
In a separate statement RAI’s board of directors condemned the remark as “unacceptable.”
The board apologized to the Jewish community, the athletes involved and all viewers who felt offended.
RAI is the country’s largest media organization and operates national television, radio and digital news services.
The union representing RAI journalists, Usigrai, had said Paolo Petrecca’s opening ceremony commentary had dealt “a serious blow” to the company’s credibility.
His missteps included misidentifying venues and public figures, and making comments about national teams that were widely criticized.
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Iran Prepares Counterproposal as Trump Weighs Strikes
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media on board Air Force One en route to Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., January 31, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
Iran’s foreign minister said on Friday he expected to have a draft counterproposal ready within days following nuclear talks with the United States this week, while US President Donald Trump said he was considering limited military strikes.
Two US officials told Reuters that US military planning on Iran had reached an advanced stage, with options including targeting individuals as part of an attack and even pursuing leadership change in Tehran, if ordered by Trump.
Trump on Thursday gave Tehran a deadline of 10 to 15 days to make a deal to resolve their longstanding nuclear dispute or face “really bad things” amid a US military buildup in the Middle East that has fueled fears of a wider war.
THREATS OF ATTACK FOLLOW CRACKDOWN ON MASS PROTESTS
Asked on Friday if he was considering a limited strike to pressure Iran into a deal, Trump told reporters at the White House: “I guess I can say I am considering” it. Asked later about Iran at a White House press conference, Trump added: “They better negotiate a fair deal.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said after indirect discussions in Geneva this week with Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner that the sides had reached an understanding on main “guiding principles,” but that did not mean a deal was imminent.
Araqchi, in an interview on MS NOW, said he had a draft counterproposal that could be ready in the next two or three days for top Iranian officials to review, with more U.S.-Iran talks possible in a week or so.
Military action would complicate efforts to reach a deal, he added.
After the US and Israel bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities and some military sites in June, Trump again began threatening strikes in January as Tehran crushed widespread protests with deadly force.
Referring to the crackdown on Friday, Trump said there was a difference between the people of Iran and the country’s leadership. He asserted that “32,000 people were killed over a relatively short period of time,” figures that could not immediately be verified.
“It’s a very, very, very sad situation,” Trump said, adding that his threats to strike Iran had led the leadership to abandon plans for mass hangings two weeks ago.
“They were going to hang 837 people. And I gave them the word, if you hang one person, even one person, that you’re going to be hit right then and there,” he said.
The US-based group HRANA, which monitors the human rights situation in Iran, has recorded 7,114 verified deaths and says it has another 11,700 under review.
Hours after Trump’s statements on the death toll, Araqchi said that the Iranian government has already published a “comprehensive list” of all 3,117 killed in the unrest.
“If anyone doubts the accuracy of our data, please speak with evidence,” he posted on X.
ARAQCHI SAYS DEAL POSSIBLE IN ‘VERY SHORT PERIOD’
Araqchi gave no specific timing as to when Iranians would get their counterproposal to Witkoff and Kushner, but said he believed a diplomatic deal was within reach and could be achieved “in a very short period of time.”
United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric reiterated concerns about heightened rhetoric and increased military activities in the region.
“We encourage both the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran to continue to engage in diplomacy in order to settle the differences,” Dujarric told a regular news briefing at the U.N.
During the Geneva talks, the United States did not seek zero uranium enrichment and Iran did not offer to suspend enrichment, Araqchi told MS NOW, a US cable television news network.
“What we are now talking about is how to make sure that Iran’s nuclear program, including enrichment, is peaceful and would remain peaceful forever,” he said.
He added that technical and political “confidence-building measures” would be enacted to ensure the program would remain peaceful in exchange for action on sanctions, but he gave no further details.
“The president has been clear that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons or the capacity to build them, and that they cannot enrich uranium,” the White House said when asked about Araqchi’s comments.