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How Jewish New York is spending Martin Luther King Day this year
(New York Jewish Week) – This weekend honors the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Jewish communities around the city are using the opportunity to discuss Judaism’s relationship with social justice and the African-American community, and to organize volunteering events.
The New York Jewish Week has gathered a list of Jewish community events surrounding MLK Day, which is observed as a national holiday on Monday, Jan. 16:
Shabbat dinner and volunteering with Repair the World
Repair the World, a national Jewish volunteer movement framed around the pursuit of justice and tikkun olam, is organizing a number of events around the city this weekend. Join them for Shabbat dinners centered around social change in Manhattan and Brooklyn, or volunteer packing hygiene kits for asylum seekers, painting community murals, preparing meals and rebuilding community gardens and compost systems. Find all Repair the World MLK Weekend Shabbat and volunteer opportunities here.
Annual interfaith celebration Shabbat at Temple Emanu-El
Temple Emanu-El is celebrating an interfaith Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday, Jan. 13. For the fourth year in a row, the synagogue welcomes the Rev. Gary V. Simpson and the congregation of The Concord Baptist Church of Christ. Simpson will deliver a sermon alongside Senior Rabbi Joshua Davidson. The event will be in person and live streamed on the Temple Emanu-El website and Facebook page starting at 6:00 p.m.
Kabbalat Shabbat and interfaith services in Brooklyn with Congregation Beth Elohim
Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope will host an MLK Kabbalat Shabbat featuring testimonies from four participants of the congregation’s adult civil rights group who recently traveled to the South to learn about the country’s legacy of racism. The event will also be livestreamed starting at 6:30 p.m.; a Shabbat dinner will follow for those who attend in person. Find more information here.
At 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 15, a cohort from CBE will also attend a special “In His Words” service at Antioch Baptist Church in Bed-Stuy (826 Greene Ave.). The service will feature excerpts from King’s speeches.
Cinematters Annual Film Festival
Taking place throughout the weekend at Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, the film festival presents three films in honor of Martin Luther King Day that explore themes of inequality, injustice and social responsibility: “Stranger at the Gate” (Jan. 16 at 4:00 p.m.), “Black Mothers Love & Resist” (Jan. 16 at 5:30 p.m.) and “Repairing the World: Stories from the Tree of Life” (Jan. 18 at 7:00 p.m.). The films will be followed by Q&As with directors and producers of the movies. Learn more about the film festival here.
“Warriors Don’t Cry” theater production
On Sunday, Jan. 15, at 1:00 p.m., the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan will stage “Warriors Don’t Cry,” a play inspired by Melba Pattillo Beals’ memoir of the same name. Appropriate for ages 6-12, the play centers around a high school student named Ya Girl who learns about Beals’ battle to integrate Little Rock Central High School as a member of The Little Rock Nine in 1957.
The production is a collaboration between The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts and TheaterWorksUSA and is a part of the Books That Changed My Life Festival at the JCC. Tickets are $10. Find more information here.
An afternoon of learning about volunteering and social justice
UJA-Federation of New York will host “In Service of All: An Afternoon of MLK Learning,” a virtual event on Sunday, Jan. 15, at 4:00 p.m. After a keynote address from Ruth Messinger, global ambassador of American Jewish World Service, breakout sessions and interactive workshops will address questions like, “What does service look like right now? How can volunteerism bring people of all backgrounds together? What do Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jewish texts have to say about changing the world?” Register for the free program here.
Additional volunteer opportunities with UJA
UJA has a helpful guide to the many volunteer opportunities taking place throughout the city on Sunday and Monday, from assembling care packages to organizing meal and grocery drives to donating blood. Take a look here.
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The post How Jewish New York is spending Martin Luther King Day this year appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Herzog Says Wellbeing of Israelis His Only Concern in Deal With Netanyahu’s ‘Extraordinary’ Pardon Request
Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks during a press conference with Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics in Riga, Latvia, Aug. 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
i24 News – In an interview with Politico published on Saturday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog remained tight-lipped on whether he intended to grant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “extraordinary” pardon request, saying that his decision will be motivated by what’s best for Israel.
“There is a process which goes through the Justice Ministry and my legal adviser and so on. This is certainly an extraordinary request and above all when dealing with it I will consider what is the best interest of the Israeli people,” Herzog said. “The well-being of the Israeli people is my first, second and third priority.”
Asked specifically about President Donald Trump’s request, Herzog said “I respect President Trump’s friendship and his opinion,” adding, “Israel, naturally, is a sovereign country.”
Herzog addressed a wide range of topics in the interview, including the US-Israel ties and the shifts in public opinion on Israel.
“One has to remember that the fountains of America, of American life, are based on biblical values, just like ours. And therefore, I believe that the underlying fountain that we all drink from is the same,” he said. “However, I am following very closely the trends that I see in the American public eye and the attitude, especially of young people, on Israel.”
“It comes from TikTok,” he said of the torrent of hostility toward Israel that has engulf swathes of U.S. opinion since the October 7 massacre and the subsequent Gaza war, “from a very shallow discourse of the current situation, pictures or viewpoints, and doesn’t judge from the big picture, which is, is Israel a strategic ally? Yes. Is Israel contributing to American national interests, security interests? Absolutely yes. Is Israel a beacon of democracy in the Middle East? Absolutely yes.”
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Syria’s Sharaa Charges Israel ‘Exports Its Crises to Other Countries’
FILE PHOTO: Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Saturday escalated his messaging against Israel at the Doha forum.
“Israel is working to export its own crises to other countries and escape accountability for the massacres it committed in the Gaza Strip, justifying everything with security concerns,” he said.
“Meanwhile, Syria, since its liberation, has sent positive messages aimed at establishing the foundations of regional stability.
“Israel has responded to Syria with extreme violence, launching over 1,000 airstrikes and carrying out 400 incursions into its territory. The latest of these attacks was the massacre it perpetrated in the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside, which claimed dozens of lives.
“We are working with influential countries worldwide to pressure Israel to withdraw from the territories it occupied after December 8, 2014, and all countries support this demand.
“Syria insists on Israel’s adherence to the 1974 Disengagement Agreement. The demand for a demilitarized zone raises many questions. Who will protect this zone if there is no Syrian army presence?
“Any agreement must guarantee Syria’s interests, as it is Syria that is subjected to Israeli attacks. So, who should be demanding a buffer zone and withdrawal?”
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Turkey’s Fidan: Gaza Governance Must Precede Hamas Disarmament in Ceasefire Deal
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a press conference following a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, May 27, 2025. Photo: Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via REUTERS
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Reuters on Saturday that not advancing the US-backed Gaza ceasefire plan to its next stage would be a “huge failure” for the world and Washington, noting that President Donald Trump had personally led the push.
In an interview on the sidelines of the Doha Forum, Fidan said a credible Palestinian civil administration and a vetted, trained police force needed to be in place to allow Hamas to disarm, and that the group was prepared to hand over control of the enclave.
“First of all, we need to see that the Palestinian committee of technical people are taking over the administration of Gaza, then we need to see that the police force is being formed to police Gaza – again, by the Palestinians, not Hamas.”
NATO member Turkey has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s assault on Gaza. It played a key role in brokering the ceasefire deal, signing the agreement as a guarantor. It has repeatedly expressed its willingness to join efforts to monitor the accord’s implementation, a move Israel strongly opposes.
Talks to advance the next phase of President Trump’s plan to end the two-year conflict in Gaza are continuing.
The plan envisages an interim technocratic Palestinian administration in the enclave, overseen by an international “board of peace” and supported by a multinational security force. Negotiations over the composition and mandate of that force have proven particularly difficult.
Fidan said the Gaza police force would be backed by the international stabilisation force. He added that Washington was pressing Israel over Turkey’s bid to join the force, to which it has voiced readiness to deploy troops if needed.
FIDAN SAYS KURDISH SDF IN SYRIA NOT WILLING TO INTEGRATE
Asked about a landmark deal in March in which the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and Damascus agreed that the SDF would be integrated into Syria’s state structures, Fidan said signals from the SDF showed it had “no intention” of honouring the accord, and was instead seeking to sidestep it.
Ankara, which considers the SDF a terrorist organisation, has threatened military action if it does not comply, setting a deadline of the end of the year.
“I think they (SDF) should understand that the command and control should come from one place,” Fidan added. “There can be no two armies in any given country. So there can only be one army, one command structure … But in local administration, they can reach a different settlement and different understandings.”
Almost a year after the fall of president Bashar al-Assad, Fidan said some issues of minority rights were unresolved, insisting that Turkey’s backing of the new Syrian government was not a “blank cheque” to oppress any groups.
He said Damascus was taking steps toward national unity, but that Israeli “destabilisation policies” were the chief obstacle.
Israel has frequently struck southwestern Syria this year, citing threats from militant groups and the need to protect the Druze community near the frontier. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he expected Syria to establish a demilitarised buffer zone from Damascus to the border.
TURKEY: U.S. COULD REMOVE SANCTIONS ‘VERY SOON’
Fidan also said Washington’s initial 28-point plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war was just a “starting point,” and that it was now evolving in a new format. He said mediation by US officials was “on the right path.”
“I just hope that nobody leaves the table and the Americans are not frustrated, because sometimes the mediators can be frustrated if they don’t see enough encouragement from both sides.”
Asked about efforts to lift US sanctions imposed in 2020 over Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems, he said both sides were working on it, adding: “I believe we’ll soon find a way to remove that obstacle.”