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Julian Shapiro-Barnum, 23, YouTube star
Julian Shapiro-Barnum, 23, is a comedian and actor known for his viral online show, “Recess Therapy.” By channeling the energy of Mr. Rogers and Art Linkletter, as he tells us, “I conduct on-the-street interviews with children ages 2 to 9 about their hopes, confusions, and dreams, eliciting thoughts on topics including climate change, love, stress, and most recently, corn.” (Yes, with more than 6 billion impressions, Shapiro-Barnum’s “corn kid” interview was last summer’s most shared video.) Shapiro-Barnum was raised by five gay parents in Brooklyn; the Crown Heights resident says “unconventional” Jewish upbringing helps him connect with widely diverse children.
For the full list of this year’s 36 to Watch — which honors leaders, entrepreneurs and changemakers who are making a difference in New York’s Jewish community — click here.
What inspired you to do what you do?
I make “Recess Therapy” because I think adults can learn a great deal from children. Kids are full of empathy, love and joy. They are always willing to learn and rethink their ideas! As we get older our ideas and sense of self hardens into an identity. Kids can teach us to be malleable and embrace change!
Who is your New York Jewish hero?
Tony Kushner.
How does your Jewish identity or experience influence your work?
Growing up within a culture of storytelling and music greatly influenced my interest in the arts. I feel like my early exposure to Passover tradition — putting on a play on the story of Passover and hearing my dad sing — got me interested in the arts.
What is your favorite place to eat Jewish food in New York?
My dad’s house.
What is your favorite book about New York?
“10:04” by Ben Lerner.
In one sentence, what was your best experience as a Jewish New Yorker?
Going to Benj Pasek‘s Passover seder.
Do you have a favorite inspiring quote?
“Elmo thinks it’s important to be kind because if you’re kind to somebody, then they’ll be kind to somebody, and it goes on and on and on.” — Elmo
What are three spots in NYC that all Jewish New Yorkers should visit?
Ursula (best breakfast burrito in NY!!), the Vale of Cashmere (a beautiful spot in Prospect Park) and Su’juk (the best vintage clothing spot).
Where can people follow you online?
On Instagram @recess_therapy or @julianmsb
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The post Julian Shapiro-Barnum, 23, YouTube star appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Israel’s Netanyahu Hopes to ‘Taper’ Israel Off US Military Aid in Next Decade
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the press on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview published on Friday that he hopes to “taper off” Israeli dependence on US military aid in the next decade.
Netanyahu has said Israel should not be reliant on foreign military aid but has stopped short of declaring a firm timeline for when Israel would be fully independent from Washington.
“I want to taper off the military within the next 10 years,” Netanyahu told The Economist. Asked if that meant a tapering “down to zero,” he said: “Yes.”
Netanyahu said he told President Donald Trump during a recent visit that Israel “very deeply” appreciates “the military aid that America has given us over the years, but here too we’ve come of age and we’ve developed incredible capacities.”
In December, Netanyahu said Israel would spend 350 billion shekels ($110 billion) on developing an independent arms industry to reduce dependency on other countries.
In 2016, the US and Israeli governments signed a memorandum of understanding for the 10 years through September 2028 that provides $38 billion in military aid, $33 billion in grants to buy military equipment and $5 billion for missile defense systems.
Israeli defense exports rose 13 percent last year, with major contracts signed for Israeli defense technology including its advanced multi-layered aerial defense systems.
US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Israel supporter and close ally of Trump, said on X that “we need not wait ten years” to begin scaling back military aid to Israel.
“The billions in taxpayer dollars that would be saved by expediting the termination of military aid to Israel will and should be plowed back into the US military,” Graham said. “I will be presenting a proposal to Israel and the Trump administration to dramatically expedite the timetable.”
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In Rare Messages from Iran, Protesters ask West for Help, Speak of ‘Very High’ Death Toll
Protests in Tehran. Photo: Iran Photo from social media used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law, via i24 News
i24 News – Speaking to Western media from beyond the nationwide internet blackout imposed by the Islamic regime, Iranian protesters said they needed support amid a brutal crackdown.
“We’re standing up for a revolution, but we need help. Snipers have been stationed behind the Tajrish Arg area [a neighborhood in Tehran],” said a protester in Tehran speaking to the Guardian on the condition of anonymity. He added that “We saw hundreds of bodies.”
Another activist in Tehran spoke of witnessing security forces firing live ammunition at protesters resulting in a “very high” number killed.
On Friday, TIME magazine cited a Tehran doctor speaking on condition of anonymity that just six hospitals in the capital recorded at least 217 killed protesters, “most by live ammunition.”
Speaking to Reuters on Saturday, Setare Ghorbani, a French-Iranian national living in the suburbs of Paris, said that she became ill from worry for her friends inside Iran. She read out one of her friends’ last messages before losing contact: “I saw two government agents and they grabbed people, they fought so much, and I don’t know if they died or not.”
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Report: US Increasingly Regards Iran Protests as Having Potential to Overthrow Regime
United States President Donald J Trump in White House in Washington, DC, USA, on Thursday, December 18, 2025. Photo: Aaron Schwartz via Reuters Connect.
i24 News – The assessment in Washington of the strength and scope of the Iran protests has shifted after Thursday’s turnout, with US officials now inclined to grant the possibility that this could be a game changer, Axios reported on Friday.
“The protests are serious, and we will continue to monitor them,” an unnamed senior US official was quoted as saying in the report.
Iran was largely cut off from the outside world on Friday after the Islamic regime blacked out the internet to curb growing unrest, as videos circulating on social media showed buildings ablaze in anti-government protests raging across the country.
US President Donald Trump warned the Ayatollahs of a strong response if security forces escalate violence against protesters.
“We’re watching it very closely. If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they’re going to get hit very hard by the United States,” Trump told reporters when asked about the unrest in Iran.
The latest reported death toll is at 51 protesters, including nine children.