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Orly Gottesman, 36, gluten-free chef and restaurateur
Orly Gottesman, 36, is owner and operator of the popular kosher and gluten-free restaurants Modern Bread and Bagel, and Thyme and Tonic, an Upper West Side “plant first” bar and restaurant — but you’ll never see the words “kosher” or “gluten-free” on their menus, Gottesman says. The Le Cordon Bleu-trained patisserie chef was inspired to create gluten-free flours and treats when her foodie husband, Josh, was diagnosed with celiac disease. “Josh and I sought out to create a restaurant with a charming atmosphere, modest prices and such high-quality, delicious food that anyone eating there would have no idea that it was a gluten-free or kosher restaurant,” she says. Gottesman began her business selling her proprietary blends of gluten-free flours; now, Modern Bread and Bagel has three brick-and-mortar locations, with two more New York shops on their way.
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.
How does your Jewish identity or experience influence your work?
A significant chunk of our business revolves around special holiday menus — my favorite part of owning a restaurant is the creative side of coming up with new recipes and menu items, particularly for Jewish holidays. Every Purim, we create new hamantaschen flavors, and on Shavuot, we make delectable cheesecakes! For Passover, I created a grain-free flour, and we were able to supply our Jewish customers with some of the most delicious Pesach cakes and pastries. I always try to recreate traditional Jewish gluten-filled items, first for my husband, and now for our customers, because food provides such a strong emotional connection for people to their religious traditions. It’s no coincidence that our most popular bakery items all happen to be Jewish cultural foods, including challah, babka, rugelach and bagels.
Who is your New York Jewish hero?
Adam Sandler
What’s a fun/surprising fact about you?
Josh and I are both singers and we met in a Jewish a cappella group at NYU. I always dreamed of being the voice of a Disney princess.
Was there a formative Jewish experience that influenced your life path?
Joining Ani V’Ata, the Jewish a cappella group at NYU, was a formative experience for me. I grew up in a Modern Orthodox community and didn’t have many opportunities to branch out and become friends with Jews from different religious affiliations. Ani V’ata brought friends together because they identified as Jewish and shared a love of music. Josh and I met in Ani V’Ata; he was two years ahead of me, originally from Scottsdale, Arizona, and grew up in the Reform Jewish movement. Our lives would likely not have crossed paths had Ani V’Ata and the NYU Bronfman Center not brought us together. We continue to support the Bronfman Center, as it is a cause that is very close to our hearts.
Do you have a favorite inspiring quote?
The Someecards quote: “I’m having fruit salad for dinner. Well, it’s mostly grapes actually. Ok, all grapes. Fermented grapes. I’m having wine for dinner.”
How can people follow you online?
You can visit our websites, modernbreadandbagel.com, blendsbyorly.com or thymeandtonic.com.
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The post Orly Gottesman, 36, gluten-free chef and restaurateur appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Pope Leo Says Those Who Wage War Are Thieves Stealing Away Our Peaceful Future
Pope Leo XIV looks on as he meets with Catholic religious education teachers attending a national meeting organised by the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI), in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, April 25, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Yara Nardi
Pope Leo on Sunday described those who wage wars and appropriate the earth’s resources as thieves who rob the world of a peaceful future, issuing a warning about the use of nuclear power on the anniversary of the Chernobyl reactor accident.
Ukraine is commemorating the 40th anniversary of the world’s worst nuclear disaster on Sunday amid lingering fears that Russia’s four-year-old war could spark a repeat of the tragedy.
In his weekly address after the Angelus prayer, the Pontiff said the Chernobyl accident had left a mark on humankind’s collective conscience.
“It remains a warning over the use of ever more powerful technologies,” the Pope, who has just returned from a 10-day tour across four African nations, said.
“I hope that at all decision-making levels, wisdom and responsibility always prevail, so that atomic power can always be used to support life and peace,” he added.
Commenting on the Gospel of the day, which contained the metaphor of a sheep thief, Pope Leo said thieves came under many appearances, listing as examples “superficial lifestyles driven by consumerism,” prejudices and wrong ideas.
“And let’s not forget also those thieves who, by plundering the earth’s resources, by fighting bloody wars or feeding evil in whichever form, are simply taking away from all of us the chance of a future of peace and serenity,” he added.
Leo, the first US pontiff, has attracted the ire of President Donald Trump after becoming more outspoken against war and despotism.
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UK’s Starmer and Trump Discuss ‘Urgent Need’ to Restore Shipping in Strait of Hormuz
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump (not pictured) hold a bilateral meeting at Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain, July 28, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump discussed the urgent need to get shipping moving again in the Strait of Hormuz during a call on Sunday, a Downing Street spokesperson said.
“The leaders discussed the urgent need to get shipping moving again in the Strait of Hormuz, given the severe consequences for the global economy and cost of living for people in the UK and globally,” the spokesperson for Starmer’s office said in a statement.
“The prime minister shared the latest progress on his joint initiative with President (Emmanuel) Macron to restore freedom of navigation,” the spokesperson added.
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Palestinian Leader’s Loyalists Win Local Elections, Including Some Seats in Gaza
A Palestinian man votes during the municipal election at a polling station in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip April 25, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Loyalists of President Mahmoud Abbas won most races in Palestinian municipal elections, election officials said on Sunday, in a vote that for the first time in nearly two decades included a city in the Gaza Strip run by rival Hamas.
Saturday’s ballot marked the first elections of any kind in Gaza since 2006 and the first Palestinian polls since the Gaza war began more than two years ago with Hamas’ cross‑border attack on southern Israel.
Abbas’ West Bank–based Palestinian Authority (PA) said the inclusion of the Gaza city Deir al‑Balah, which suffered less damage than other areas of the coastal territory during the war, was intended to show that Gaza was an inseparable part of a future Palestinian state.
The elections, in which voter turnout was low, had been held “at a highly sensitive moment amid complex challenges and exceptional circumstances,” Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said as results were announced on Sunday.
But they represented “an important first step in a broader national process aimed at strengthening democratic life … and ultimately achieving the unity of the homeland,” he said.
POSSIBLE INDICATOR OF HAMAS SUPPORT
Hamas, which ousted the PA from Gaza in 2007, did not formally nominate candidates in Gaza and boycotted the race in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Fatah’s victory was widely expected.
But some candidates on one of the Deir al-Balah lists were widely seen by residents and analysts as aligned with the movement, making the vote a potential indicator of support for the Islamist group.
Preliminary results showed that the list, known as Deir al‑Balah Brings Us Together, won only two of the 15 seats contested in Gaza.
The Nahdat Deir al‑Balah list, backed by Abbas’ Fatah party and the Western-backed PA, secured six seats. The remaining seats were won by two other Gaza-based groups, Future of Deir al‑Balah and Peace and Building, not affiliated with either faction.
Abbas loyalists swept the election in the West Bank, running unchallenged in many seats.
Fatah spokesperson Abdul Fattah Dawla noted that turnout was close to that for the last municipal elections in the West Bank, in 2022, praising voters for participating despite ongoing violence by Israel.
“By electing figures linked to Fatah, voters appear to be seeking unrestricted international support for municipal governance and a gradual political shift that could extend beyond the local level,” said Palestinian political analyst Reham Ouda.
The recent war has left much of Gaza reduced to rubble, with many residents displaced and focused on survival. Israel has continued conducting strikes despite an October ceasefire.
In Gaza, voter turnout reached just 23 percent, while in the West Bank it was 56 percent, according to Chairman of the Central Elections Commission Rami al‑Hamdallah.
Al‑Hamdallah said some of the ballot boxes and voting equipment did not make it into the enclave because of Israeli security restrictions, though those challenges were overcome.
Hamas’ Gaza spokesperson, Hazem Qassem, downplayed the significance of the election results, saying that they had no impact on wider national issues.