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Israeli sandwich shop Sherry Herring goes belly up on the UWS
(New York Jewish Week) – The Upper West Side outpost of the popular Israeli sandwich shop Sherry Herring closed last week, after less than two years in business.
Sherry Herring announced its closure in an Instagram post on May 31. “We have some important news to share,” the post said. “Regrettably, we are closing the doors of Sherry Herring, our beloved restaurant at 245 West 72nd St. We appreciate your support and the memories we’ve created together.”
“The only thing I can say is that I’m very sad that we are closing,” Israel-based founder Sherry Ansky told the New York Jewish Week when asked the reason for the restaurant’s closure. “Maybe if I was there it would have been different, but I had to stay in Israel and couldn’t be there.”
Ansky started Sherry Herring in a Tel Aviv farmer’s market in 2011, where it quickly became a destination. Its signature herring sandwich consists of “a fresh baguette, slathered with sour cream and French butter, seasoned with hot pepper, seeds and juice from a tomato, onions and scallions, and finished off with brined herring.”
Ansky got the idea to open a New York City outpost during the pandemic, sending her son-in-law and business partner, Eyal Amir, to scout a location for the first of what they hoped would be several Sherry Herring shops. They chose the Upper West Side, Amir told the New York Jewish Week, “because it is a Jewish neighborhood where our penetration to the market will be easiest.”
Sherry Herring opened on West 72nd Street in October 2021 with “no sherry and no herring,” the New York Jewish Week reported at the time. Ansky was stuck in Israel waiting for travel documents to be approved, and the herring that would be the star of the menu was still aging in brine in the Netherlands. (It eventually arrived mid-December.) The New York menu also included salmon, mackerel and tuna sandwiches.
The first time Ansky saw the line for her shop, ““I fainted and ran away,” she said. “I told the people to go away! I can’t do it.”
The eatery was beloved both by locals and globe-trotting foodies. “Somebody Feed Phil” star and “Everybody Loves Raymond” creator Phil Rosenthal described the herring sandwich at the Tel Aviv shop as “a perfect example of something seemingly simple yet a very sophisticated work of art.”
Changes had been made to the menu and the New York restaurant in the months leading up to its closure. In February, they announced an “elevated” evening menu called “Sherry Herring After Dark,” which featured various tapas style dishes and Israeli wine and beer. The restaurant also posted on Instagram that it was hiring on March 5. Later that month, Sherry Herring lost its kosher certification — and indicated to the website Yeah That’s Kosher that “they will likely close their UWS location by September.”
Instead, the closure happened several months earlier. “The owners decided that it’d be best for everybody to close,” the New York restaurant’s general manager, Alex Ben Chimol, said when reached by phone by the New York Jewish Week. “Maybe we’ll reopen another time in a different location.”
Sherry Herring’s May 31 Instagram post hinted at that possibility, stating: “Although we won’t be at this location anymore, we’re excited for new culinary adventures. Stay connected for updates on our future plans.” The text on the image reads: “See you soon New York.”
“They made me fall in love with herring and they tried their best in recreating an old Jewish niche,” Uncle Edik’s Pickles proprietor Edward Ilyasov told the New York Jewish Week. “We loved their creativity and they carried our pickles from the very beginning. They will be missed!”
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The post Israeli sandwich shop Sherry Herring goes belly up on the UWS appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Defense Minister Moves to Shut Down Israel’s Historic Army Radio Station
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz looks on, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem, Nov. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said he plans to bring a proposal to the government on Sunday to close Galei Tzahal, the Israel Defense Forces’ radio station, ending a broadcast operation that has been on the air for more than seven decades.
If approved, the shutdown would take effect on March 1, 2026.
The announcement has triggered sharp backlash from journalists, legal experts, and civil society groups, who warn the move could have far-reaching implications for press freedom. Tal Lev-Ram, the station’s commander, has already signaled that Galei Tzahal’s leadership intends to challenge the decision in the High Court of Justice. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara also voiced concern, cautioning that the plan could amount to political intervention in public media and pose risks to freedom of expression.
Criticism has also come from the Israeli Press Council, headed by former Supreme Court justice Hanan Melcer, which labeled the proposed closure unlawful.
The council argued that dismantling a public broadcaster requires explicit legislation passed by the Knesset, not a government decision alone. Advocacy organizations, including the Movement for Quality Government, said they are preparing legal petitions as well.
Katz defended the initiative by citing the findings of a professional review committee, which concluded that a military-run radio station broadcasting political and current affairs programming to the general public represents a “democratic anomaly.”
He argued that Galei Tzahal has moved beyond its original mandate of serving soldiers and their families.
The committee examined a range of alternatives, such as converting the station into a music-only outlet or partially privatizing its operations.
Ultimately, it recommended either closing the station altogether or significantly scaling it back by removing political content. Katz noted that Galgalatz, the popular music station operated by the army, would continue broadcasting under the proposed plan.
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Trilateral Summit: Israel, Greece, Cyprus to Discuss Regional Security
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in the state memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Iron Swords War on Mount Herzl, Jerusalem on Oct. 16, 2025. Photo: Alex Kolomoisky/POOL/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Jerusalem will host a trilateral summit tomorrow, bringing together leaders from Israel, Greece, and Cyprus to discuss strengthening security cooperation in the eastern Mediterranean.
The summit follows reports by Amichai Stein of i24NEWS last week that the three countries are considering the formation of a joint rapid-response military unit.
The Israeli Prime Minister is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with each of his counterparts before convening the full trilateral session, which will conclude with a joint press statement outlining the summit’s outcomes.
Media reports indicate that the initiative is driven in part by concerns in Athens over Turkey’s growing military activity in the region. The proposed rapid-response force is expected to enhance coordination, readiness, and overall security among the three allies.
Analysts say the meeting could solidify Israel, Greece, and Cyprus’s strategic partnership and signal a more unified approach to regional defense challenges.
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Justice Department Restores Trump Photo to Public Database of Epstein Files
An exterior image from the U.S. Virgin Islands property on Little St. James once owned by Jeffrey Epstein. via U.S. Justice Department
A photo of US President Donald Trump that had been removed from the cache of Jeffrey Epstein files released by the Department of Justice was restored on Sunday after officials determined none of Epstein’s victims were in the image, the department said.
The photo showing a desk with an open drawer containing a photo of Trump with various women was flagged by the Southern District of New York for review to protect potential victims.
“After the review, it was determined there is no evidence that any Epstein victims are depicted in the photograph, and it has been reposted without any alteration or redaction,” the Justice Department said on X on Sunday.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said earlier on Sunday his office removed the photo because of concerns about women in the photo. “It has nothing to do with President Trump,” Blanche said during a Sunday morning appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker.”
The Justice Department released thousands of documents on Friday related to Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender who committed suicide in 2019. But it has drawn criticism, including from some Republicans, over extensive redactions and few documents mentioning Trump despite his well-publicized friendship with Epstein.
During an ABC News interview on Sunday, Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called for a “full and complete investigation as to why the document production has fallen short of what the law clearly required.”
Up to 16 photos, including the desk drawer Trump image, were removed on Saturday from the Justice Department website, according to The New York Times, NPR and the Associated Press, although Reuters could not independently confirm the removals.
The Justice Department said on Sunday it acted with an abundance of caution after receiving requests from alleged victims and their lawyers to remove information.
Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing and has denied knowing about Epstein’s crimes.