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Michele Weiss and Justin Brasch mark milestones as first Orthodox Jewish mayors in their cities
(JTA) — This week, as New York City inaugurated its first Muslim mayor, two cities in the United States also made history with the swearing-in of their first Orthodox Jewish mayors.
While Orthodox mayors have been elected in cities and suburbs across the county, including New Jersey, New York State and Florida, the inaugurations of Michele Weiss in University Heights, Ohio, and Justin Brasch in White Plains, New York, this week marked a milestone for Orthodox representation in local politics.
In November, Bal Harbour, Florida, also swore in an Orthodox Jewish mayor, Seth Salver, making him the third Orthodox mayor currently serving in a municipality of Miami Dade.
Here is what you need to know about the United State’s newest Orthodox mayors:
Michele Weiss, first female Orthodox Jewish mayor in the United States
Michele Weiss was sworn in on Wednesday as mayor of University Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, making her one of the first Orthodox Jewish women to lead a city in the United States.
(Meyera Oberndorf, who served as mayor of Virginia Beach, Virginia from 1988-2008, was described as having an Orthodox Jewish upbringing.)
“I want to make a kiddush hashem,” Weiss told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, using a Hebrew term that can mean a positive Jewish role model. “I want to make sure that the Jewish community is seen in a good light, and that’s what I want to portray as a Jewish woman, as an Orthodox Jewish woman, and just make sure that that permeates.”
Weiss said that the Jewish community in University Heights had grown “a tremendous amount” in recent years, driven in part by the low cost of living compared to Cleveland and the fact that the city offers non-public school vouchers.
“It is the largest Orthodox contingency of residents in the state of Ohio, at this point it’s about 20-25%” said Weiss. “They definitely need to be represented, but of course, I represent everyone in the city, not just the Jewish residents.”
Growing up in a Conservative home in another suburb of Cleveland, Richmond Heights, Weiss said that she first became more observant in high school while participating in NCSY, the youth division of the Orthodox Union.
Weiss moved to University Heights in 1997, and worked as the controller and later the CFO of the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland, the largest Jewish day school in Ohio. She is married to her husband, Marcelo, and has three children and multiple grandchildren.
In 2013, Weiss said a coworker inspired her to volunteer as an observer for the League of Women Voters.
“I always was doing quiet good deeds,” said Weiss. “I was at the point, though, where I kept thinking, well, what could I do more for the community? So I had a colleague that said, ‘you know, why don’t you get involved with the city?’”
In 2016, Weiss won a seat on the University Heights city council, and was later appointed by the council as the city’s vice mayor for six years. Weiss said that she felt inspired to run for city council as a voice for the city’s Orthodox.
“I really feel that we’re put on this world to make a difference, and I felt that there needed to be a voice for a lot of reasons,” said Weiss. “I can relate to the secular world and the Jewish world and the Orthodox world, so I can fill that void and that spectrum knowing how to speak to certain people appropriately. I don’t think every religious leader can do that, so I have that ability, and I thought that I would be able to bridge that gap effectively.”
The same year, Weiss also founded the AMATZ initiative, a nonprofit that trains Jewish educators and principals on how to better serve their female students. Weiss also holds board positions on YACHAD, a Jewish disability nonprofit, and the Community Relations Committee at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.
During her tenure on the city council, Weiss often struggled to work with the city’s former mayor, Michael Dylan Brennan, who was censured twice by the council for “inappropriate language.”
During her campaign, Weiss said that she ran on unifying the city, building new municipal facilities and sharing resources with neighboring communities. While Weiss said the mayoral election in University Heights is nonpartisan, she is a Republican. She won the mayoral election with 56% of the vote.
To help bring together the city’s communities following the discord of Brennan’s tenure, Weiss said she planned on hosting programs and educational forums to “show the diversity of our residents.”
“I’m not focusing just on the Orthodox community, I have to focus on everybody, because we want to be a cohesive unit,” said Weiss. “But one of the things is, I think we need to do some healing and unify the community.”
While Weiss said her religious identity had not been a big factor on the campaign trail, during one debate she was asked about her Sabbath observance. Weiss said she had consulted her rabbi and the police chief to develop a plan for situations that would need her attention during Shabbat or Jewish holidays.
Looking ahead to her mayoral tenure, Weiss said she felt a responsibility to serve as a role model amid rising antisemitism.
“There’s hope for the Jewish community going forward in America, and because it’s scary times with with antisemitism right now, I want to be an example, not just to the religious community, but to women and girls that are Jewish that maybe don’t see themselves in that type of leadership position,” said Weiss.
Justin Brasch, first Orthodox mayor of White Plains
Justin Brasch, a career public servant and lawyer, was inaugurated Friday as the first Orthodox mayor of White Plains, a city just north of New York City in Westchester County and a hub of Jewish life.
Brasch, a Democrat, won the mayor’s seat in November with 72% of the vote against Republican opponent Lenny Lolis, becoming the city’s first new mayor since 2011.
Speaking with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about his upcoming mayoral tenure, Brasch said that he looked forward to setting an example as the county’s only Orthodox mayor, a distinction he said he had earned by building bridges across the city’s diverse communities.
“I love what I do, and everybody knows that I care, and of course I have to set an example, I have no choice, and I like that,” said Brasch. “I have to be accessible to everybody, help everybody, and I do. I go into all the communities, I go to Iftar and break the fast at the mosque, regularly attend the black churches, you name it. I’m there trying to be helpful and build bridges and make things better for people.”
Brasch, now 60, was just 17 when he made his first foray into politics, serving as an intern for then-congressman Ted Weiss on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. There, Brasch said he first “saw how much good government could do.”
“He and his office were in there helping people with housing insecurity and food insecurity and problems with Medicare and Medicaid, and supporting immigrants and helping immigrants get their proper paperwork, etc.,” said Brasch. “I was very inspired by that. I loved how much the people in that office and Congressman Weiss cared and how much good they could do through government.”
As a student at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Brasch founded the school’s Young Democrats chapter. After moving back to the Upper West Side, he served on the political committee of the New York City Sierra Club and the board of the Mid-Manhattan NAACP.
Brasch said that he had grown up “confusidox,” with Orthodox grandparents on one side and Reform grandparents on the other.
For several years after graduating college, Brasch lived with his Orthodox grandfather on the Upper West Side, an experience he said helped set him on a path for public service and toward becoming an Orthodox Jew.
“He had a real love for people, and felt that Jews need to be helping the Jewish community and the broader community, and he was always very inspiring to me, very down to earth,” said Brasch.
Brasch moved to White Plains with his wife, Juli Smith, in 2003 in search of more space, drawn by the city’s diversity, “down-to-earth” spirit and, at the time, small Jewish community. He is a member of the Modern Orthodox synagogues Young Israel of White Plains and Hebrew Institute of White Plains. Brasch and his wife, who is a commissioner in the White Plains Housing Authority, have three children.
“I joke that I have made a lot of mistakes in life, moving to White Plains was not one of them,” said Brasch. “It’s a very diverse place. People get along. People help one another. People are very supportive. We don’t have any of that hate and intolerance and anger that exist in other places.”
Since moving to White Plains, Brasch said that he had seen the local Jewish community grow at a steady pace. According to the UJA-Federation of New York’s 2023 population study, Westchester County is home to approximately 89,000 Jewish adults and 16,000 Jewish children.
“Our community is growing. People know that this is a great place to raise a family,” said Brasch. “We’re a very safe city and a great place. We have five synagogues, as I said, they all get along, everybody works together, and there’s a lot of harmony in our community.”
Beyond his work at his small legal firm in New York City, Brasch has served in myriad leadership roles in White Plains’ government, including on its planning board, school board budget advisory committee, youth bureau and a transportation task force.
He also served for 12 years on the county’s budget committee.
“That was an incredible opportunity to help and to review things and discover things, and to make connections, and certainly to show as a Jewish person, that we care and we’re involved,” said Brasch.
Before announcing his campaign for mayor, Brasch said that he believed his involvement in different communities in White Plains demonstrated to the local Democratic Party leadership that he was well suited for the role.
“We’re an extremely diverse city, and everybody sees that I go to all the different communities,” said Brasch. “I show up at the black churches, I go to the mosque, I go to the black community, the Latin community. I’m completely involved, and they felt that I have the leadership skills and abilities to keep our city moving in the right direction.”
Brasch said that his involvement in White Plains’ diverse communities also served another purpose: combatting antisemitism.
“I believe that we need to be more involved in the broader community to fight anti semitism,” said Brasch. “Unfortunately, the propaganda these days is that Jews are a selfish community that only cares about themselves. And actually, when people get to know us, they see that we’re good people, we care, we want to help all communities and help the world.”
Brasch said that he also expected some people to leave New York City for White Plains following the election of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whose election sparked concern among some of the city’s Jewish residents over his harsh criticism of Israel and avowed socialist politics.
“I do have a different vision from him, except with regard to our desire to help people who have less,” said Brasch of Mamdani. “I do think that there will be somewhat of a migration to White Plains from the city, because we’re a safe city that takes care of our people and builds a nice community.”
During his mayoral campaign, Brasch ran on several key issues, including expanding affordable housing, creating new green spaces and building an intergenerational community center that would put programming for the city’s youth and elderly under one roof.
“I’ve always believed that Judaism is about being the best person you can be helping the world,” said Brasch. “Whether we want to say it’s bringing kedushah or holiness to the world, whether it’s tikkun olam, we are supposed to be a light unto the nation, there’s, quote after quote and teaching after teaching, that we’re supposed to be doing a great job being decent and honest people.”
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
The post Michele Weiss and Justin Brasch mark milestones as first Orthodox Jewish mayors in their cities appeared first on The Forward.
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9 Israeli Soldiers Injured in Lebanon Fighting, 2 in Serious Condition
Two IDF soldiers. Photo: IDF.
i24 News – Two Israeli officers were seriously wounded and seven additional soldiers injured in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
According to the military, the first incident occurred during the morning hours amid an encounter between Israeli forces and armed militants operating in the area.
During the engagement, an anti-tank missile was launched toward deployed troops, which the IDF said was fired by Hezbollah operatives. Two officers were struck in the attack, with one sustaining serious injuries and the second moderately wounded.
A second incident took place overnight in a separate sector of southern Lebanon, when Israeli forces operating in the area came under rocket fire. In that strike, one officer was seriously wounded and six soldiers were moderately injured, the IDF said.
The incidents come amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, marked by repeated exchanges of fire and periodic ground confrontations in southern Lebanon.
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Report: Some 30 US Troops Injured in Iranian Attacks on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi
Screenshot of video of Saudi Arabia’s Air Force intercepts Iranian drones over Saudi airspace. Photo: Saudi Defense Ministry / Screenshot
i24 News – Over 12 US troops have been injured in Iranian attacks on a Saudi air base in the past week, the Associated Press reported on Saturday citing two people who have been briefed on the matter.
On Friday, the Islamic Republic launched six ballistic missiles and 29 drones at Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan air base, wounding at least 15 troops, including five seriously, according to the sources who spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity.
US officials initially reported that at least 10 US troops were injured, including two seriously wounded.
The base had come under attack twice earlier this week, including an incident that injured 14 US troops, according to the people who had been briefed on the matter.
Located some 100 kilometers from the Saudi capital of Riyadh, the base is run by the Royal Saudi Air Force, but is also used by US troops.
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At CPAC, a Generational Divide Over Republican Support for Israel
Gabriel Khuly, 19, and Joshua-Caleb Barton, 31, pose for a picture outside Generation Zion’s booth at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) USA 2026 at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, in Grapevine, Texas, U.S., March 27, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Nathan Layne
When former Congressman Matt Gaetz opened his speech by aligning with a Republican faction “loyal to only one nation,” his message to the Conservative Political Action Conference was clear: It was a veiled swipe at perceived Israeli influence over US politicians, even without naming Israel outright.
A month into the US-Israeli war with Iran, Gaetz’s comments struck a discordant note at the annual CPAC event. They cut against calls for unity and exposed a growing Republican rift largely along generational lines, as younger conservatives increasingly question support for Israel.
That skepticism reflects a broader distrust of military intervention among younger Republicans, fueled in part by conservative figures such as Tucker Carlson, whose allegations of excessive Israeli influence on US policy have drawn accusations that he is stoking antisemitism. Carlson has repeatedly denied accusations of antisemitism.
The Iran war, including Israel’s role in it, emerged as one of the main flashpoints at CPAC, which for decades has served as a central gathering for Republican politicians and activists.
Jack Posobiec, a conservative commentator and online influencer, said age 45 is a dividing line, with the younger cohort more likely to question the party’s steadfast support of Israel.
“People want to paint it off as if it’s antisemitism, but I don’t think that’s what it is,” Posobiec told Reuters. “It’s just a question of: Why? What is the purpose of this relationship? And I hear that a lot from young voters.”
The issue has roiled the Democratic Party in recent weeks, with some lawmakers and primary candidates distancing themselves from the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC amid growing unease over Israel’s military actions.
It is now exposing fault lines among Republicans as well, turning off young voters who helped propel Trump to victory in 2024 and potentially complicating the party’s efforts to defend slim majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives heading into November’s midterm elections.
Noah Bundy, 17, and Ryder Gerrald, 18, conservative friends from Georgia attending their first CPAC, said they opposed the war with Iran and questioned whether the military operation put Israel’s interests ahead of America’s.
“I think they totally pushed us into a war with Iran,” Bundy said. “My whole family is military and none of us is really for it.”
“Our younger generation, we don’t like Israel as much compared to the older generation,” said Gerrald. He said he would prefer redirecting US taxpayer dollars toward domestic priorities, rather than spending to bolster Israel’s military.
EVANGELICAL SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL
The party’s pro-Israel stance, however, resonates strongly with evangelicals – a pillar of Trump’s political base – and with older voters like Harry Strine III, an 83-year-old CPAC attendee who was wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat.
“Israel is God’s people,” Strine said. “The US was founded on the Judeo-Christian belief. I guess I’m a traditionalist.”
On the conference’s opening day, Rev. Franklin Graham said that, by striking Iran to protect Israel, President Donald Trump was like the biblical figure of Esther, a Jewish queen who, according to scripture, was elevated by God to save her people from annihilation in ancient Persia.
“I believe God has raised him up for a time such as this, like Queen Esther,” said Graham, a prominent Christian evangelist, invoking a core evangelical belief that the modern state of Israel represents the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.
But unease over the Iran war and rising gasoline prices has pushed Trump’s approval rating down to 36% – its lowest since his return to the White House – a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday found. Support among his core base remains strong, however, with 74% of Republicans backing the strikes on Iran.
The debate over Israel coincides with a broader Republican fight over the future of the MAGA movement and who belongs in it. Allegations of antisemitism flared at a December event organized by Turning Point USA, a nonprofit focused on promoting conservative politics. At its first national event since founder Charlie Kirk’s death, commentator Ben Shapiro criticized fellow conservatives for associating with figures like white nationalist streamer Nick Fuentes, who has praised Hitler.
In his CPAC speech on Thursday, Gaetz said he did not agree with Shapiro and other conservative commentators “that we have some sort of near slavish loyalty to a country in a faraway land,” an apparent reference to Israel.
He argued that conservatives needed to allow for disagreements and that “antisemitism isn’t hiding around every corner and in every bush.”
Visitors to the CPAC booth of Generation Zion, a nonprofit group that trains young Christians and Jews to advocate for Israel and to combat antisemitism, could pick up a sticker reading “Tucker Carlson Hates Me,” a rebuke of the commentator’s recent criticism of Christian Zionism and Israel’s alleged sway over U.S. politics.
Gabriel Khuly, a 19-year-old volunteer for the group, said that while the Republican Party has an antisemitism problem, it is driven by a small minority with an outsized voice online.
“The actual anti-Israel, antisemitic wing of the Republican Party, I think, makes itself seem a lot bigger than it really is.”