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‘Say yes to the dress’: Temple Emanu-El program gives NYC high schoolers a luxury prom dress experience
(New York Jewish Week) – After 30 minutes of perusing the racks of formal dresses and trying on half a dozen of them, Raelynn finally finds the one she’ll wear to the prom: a long, royal blue gown covered in sequins.
Her personal shopper, a Jewish mom who is helping Raelynn pick out coordinating shoes and accessories, announces to the room: “Raelynn, do you say yes to the prom dress?”
Raelynn, a high school senior at Young Women’s Leadership School of East Harlem, nods with a huge smile on her face. The room — which is not a dress shop or a department store, but the basement social hall at Manhattan’s Temple Emanu-El — breaks out into cheers and a round of applause.
Raelynn, who declined to share her last name, is one of more than 350 high school girls from around New York City who will come to the Upper East Side Reform synagogue this week. Now in its eleventh year, Project Prom invites seniors from high schools serving low-income neighborhoods to pick out prom outfits for free.
In addition to serving as personal shoppers, volunteers decorate the social hall with festive streamers and banners, prepare a snack table and set up dress displays in the center of the room.
“This is one of many things we do. We work on food insecurity, we partner with many non-profit organizations, we do whatever we can to repair the world that we live in,” said Rabbi Amy Ehrlich of the work of the synagogue’s tikkun olam, or social action, committee. “But [Project Prom] is a particular joy, especially the women who have come to act as personal shoppers. They want these young women to feel transformed as they step into a gown, maybe for the first time.”
Raelynn was thrilled with her dress, especially as she didn’t think she’d find something she would like. “I’m very picky and dresses aren’t really my thing,” she told the New York Jewish Week while trying on a pair of sparkly silver heels. “I was surprised coming here, I won’t lie.”
Raelynn poses with her prom dress. (Julia Gergely)
The personal shoppers act as styling assistants for the hundreds of girls who will walk through the “boutique” to pick out their prom outfit, shoes and accessories. In addition to some 1,000 dresses to choose from — donated by brands such as BCBG, Steve Madden and Marc Fisher — there are nearly 2,000 pairs of heels in every color, and tables laden with jewelry and handbags.
“It’s my favorite thing to do in my life,” said volunteer Debbie Hailpern.
The girls don’t need to work with a shopper, but having access to one is “a big part of it,” said volunteer and shopper Dana Covey. “At first, the girls are sometimes shy or nervous. Some don’t know what they like or what will fit.” The shoppers and the students also make connections with someone outside of their community and demographic, which can be rare, she said.
“We bring about a better world when we work with people outside our community,” said Ehrlich. “We have to extend our hands to others and also take the hands that are extended to us.”
In between school arrivals, volunteers hustle to rerack dresses and clean up display tables. (Julia Gergely)
Throughout the day on Wednesday and Thursday, girls from 17 schools will arrive at Project Prom via school bus or subway. As Project Prom has grown in size, word of mouth has carried its impact across the city and a growing number of schools and nonprofits have reached out to be included.
Once inside, the students are given a brief orientation and assigned a personal shopper. The shoppers hustle around the room, discussing color, length, fit and cut, the volunteers treating their jobs with commitment you’d see from a Kleinfeld Bridal associate pulling wedding dress options on TLC’s “Say Yes to the Dress.”
Planning the event begins just after Thanksgiving, said Hailpern, who has been volunteering with Project Prom since 2017. “I love just seeing the girls come out in their dresses and helping them with the accessories,” she said as she readjusted the shoe display. “They’re just really super sweet. Some of them know exactly what they want and they have a strong sense of fashion, others don’t. It’s a very joyful thing.”
“You’re making a girl feel beautiful,” she added. “What could be better than that?”
Initially, Temple Emanu-El sourced the dresses through drives and donations from community members. Eventually the committee shifted to reaching out directly to manufacturers — most of whom are happy to donate several dozen dresses in all sizes. Accessories companies get in on the action, too: This year Dessy, a bridal company, donated 400 pairs of ballet flats.
Some 1,700 pairs of shoes were donated by manufacturers for Project Prom this year, according to a volunteer. (Julia Gergely)
Wendy Bienstock, a science teacher at Young Women’s Leadership School, has been bringing her seniors to Project Prom for nearly a decade. “My favorite part is that I know how much fun it is,” she said. “They are very hesitant at first, but they always leave thanking me.”
Bienstock said her students look forward to Project Prom as much as a year in advance. “Some of them will wear these dresses to prom,” she said. “Some of them will wear them to graduation. And some of them will just take them and have a great dress in their closet for summer or college.”
As for Raelynn, she’s excited to wear her dress to her school’s prom on June 9. “They have so many sizes and options, there’s something for everyone here,” she said.
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The post ‘Say yes to the dress’: Temple Emanu-El program gives NYC high schoolers a luxury prom dress experience appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Portuguese artists pull out of Jerry Seinfeld-headlined festival
(JTA) — Several Portuguese artists have dropped out of a comedy festival in Lisbon headlined by Jerry Seinfeld, citing their support for Palestinians and implying opposition to Seinfeld’s support for Israel.
At least six acts over recent days have canceled their appearances at the MEO Commedia a La Carte Fest, a new international comedy festival in the Portuguese capital. The event from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1 has advertised that it will host Seinfeld’s first live appearance in Portugal.
Though none of the artists who withdrew mentioned Seinfeld by name, some hinted at a boycott against his pro-Israel views. The Jewish comedian has become one of Hollywood’s most prominent advocates for Israel since October 2023.
Actress and comedian Inês Aires Pereira announced on Instagram on Saturday that “one of the names” featured at the festival “persistently defends ideas and acts that I consider indefensible,” adding, “We cannot relativize or normalize a genocide.”
The comedy duo Cebola Mol posted a graphic of themselves with a watermelon, widely recognized as a symbol of solidarity with Palestinians. “We will celebrate justice, freedom and joy with you on another occasion,” they said on Instagram.
The festival announced on Friday that performances by the groups Tributo Pop and Conjunto Cuca Monga were also canceled, but did not provide reasons. Two other acts, comedian Pedro Tochas and visual artist Vhils, shared their cancellations on Instagram without further details.
Seinfeld has aligned himself with Israel during its current conflict in Gaza, following decades of largely avoiding commenting on political issues. He visited Israel in December 2023 to meet with the families of hostages seized by Hamas on Oct. 7 of that year. Since then, he has attracted attention for a series of dismissive remarks toward pro-Palestinian advocates.
During an appearance last year at Duke University, Seinfeld compared pro-Palestinian activists with the Ku Klux Klan, saying, “The Klan is actually a little better here because they can come right out and say, ‘We don’t like Blacks, we don’t like Jews.’ OK, that’s honest.”
Representatives of Seinfeld and producers of the MEO Commedia a La Carte Fest did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The post Portuguese artists pull out of Jerry Seinfeld-headlined festival appeared first on The Forward.
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UK, France, Canada to ban goods from Israeli settlements
(JTA) —
The United Kingdom, France and Canada will ban goods produced in the West Bank settlements and Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Parliament on Tuesday, explaining that all such communities were deemed by his country to be illegal.
The declaration exacerbated the rising tensions riling the traditionally strong Israel-U.K. alliance. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar warned that these steps stoked antisemitism against British Jews in an on-camera statement to reporters in Jerusalem.
Sa’ar charged that the measures were a politicized hostile action deliberately taken ahead of Friday’s Jewish New Year holiday, with an eye toward influencing the country’s Oct. 27 elections.
Israel, he said, is responding by closing the British Consulate in Jerusalem that services Palestinians. It will also remove British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat and halt the British training of Palestinian Authority security forces. He added that Israel would bar the entry of 12 British politicians and other nationals involved in anti-Israel activity.
France and Canada have also announced a ban on the import of settlement goods, Miliband told parliament. He noted that the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway have either banned goods or in the process of doing so.
In the same address, Miliband affirmed Israel’s right to exist, reflected on his own Jewish roots and rejected the notion that there was a connection between the policy steps against West Bank settlement activity and the safety of British Jews.
What is motivating the U.K., Miliband said, is “a deep sense of shame about what has unfolded in Palestine under the eyes of the international community” as well as Israel’s “clear intent to bury the Palestinian state.”
In response, he said, the U.K. “will introduce an import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied [Palestinian] territory” as part of a “new comprehensive sanctions regime” that will be put in place within nine months.
This will include, he said, “action against specific companies and individuals who provide services, such as construction, infrastructure, financing or real estate for settlement expansion.”
To those who “finance or facilitate illegal settlements, let me say this, you will face the full force of U.K. sanctions,” Miliband warned.
Miliband clarified that the ban would not affect the export of religious items or life-saving Israeli medications. He explained that trade with the settlements was minimal and that the greater impact would be the sanctions on services.
As part of declaring the ban, Miliband said that the British government is also adopting the International Court of Justice’s 2024 advisory opinion that all Israeli settlement activity over the pre-1967 border was illegal.
But others in Parliament pushed back against Miliband’s declaration. MP Richard Tice of Britain’s right-wing Reform party said that the sanctions were a grave mistake that would “embolden the scourge of antisemitism against British Jews on British streets,” endanger ties with the United States and lead to “tit for tat” sanctions from Israel.
Miliband shot back that “no British Jew is responsible for the policies of the Israeli government and it behooves all of us to make sure that there can be no confusion about that,” saying that Tice’s statement “fell foul” of that goal.
The U.K. action is the latest escalation in tensions between Israel and the Labour-led British government headed by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who took power in July.
The prior government, led by former Labour Premier Keir Starmer, had already angered Israel by recognizing Palestinian statehood in 2025, suspending licenses for the export of arms to Israel and freezing talks toward a free-trade agreement.
France and Canada are also announcing a ban on the import of settlement goods, Miliband told parliament. He explained that the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain, and Norway have either banned goods or in the process of doing so.
In concert with Miliband’s appearance at Parliament, Britain and 11 other countries issued a joint statement pledging “their intention to introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements which are illegal under international law.”
Those other countries were Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
The 12-country bloc said it was taking this step to maintain the viability of the two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, describing the situation in the West Bank as “rapidly deteriorating.”
In its statement, the bloc stressed that it was taking this step amid an “unprecedented level of settler violence and settlement expansion, including the unacceptable decision to publish tenders for the E1 settlement project.” That project is seen as cutting through land that would render a Palestinian state unviable.
The post UK, France, Canada to ban goods from Israeli settlements appeared first on The Forward.
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California Gov. Newsom, a presidential hopeful, slams Netanyahu and AIPAC in PBS interview
(JTA) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a 2028 presidential hopeful, ventured farther than ever in his criticisms of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a weekend interview that delved into the Democratic Party’s relationship with Israel.
“I think it’s overwhelmingly opposed to the current regime in Israel,” Newsom said of the party, in a PBS News Hour interview with Amna Nawaz.
Pressed by Nawaz on divisions among his colleagues on Israel, Newsom denied that the subject is “even controversial anymore,” stressing that “the condemnation of what Bibi Netnayahu’s doing is almost universal.” The governor slammed the Israeli military’s conduct in Gaza and condemned the settler violence that has expanded in the West Bank.
“We want a democratic and secure Israel, and we want a secure and democratic Palestinian state as well right next door,” Newsom said, adding that Netanyahu has proved counterproductive to achieving a two-state solution.
Though he repeatedly maintained that Democrats are not divided on Israel, the governor acknowledged that “some of the language” by fellow Democrats “has been weaponized.” Certain “aspects of rhetoric” from individual candidates, he added, are on “the spectrum of concern,” Newsom said.
A number of candidates from the party’s far left place most if not all of the blame on Israel for a war in Gaza that has resulted in tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths. and downplay the role of Hamas in launching the war with the Oct. 7, 2023 raid inside Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were abducted. Newsom’s rhetoric is of a piece with party moderates who are critical of the Israeli government but who call for a secure Israel, reject Hamas and who resist pressure from the left to call Israel’s actions “genocide.”
Newsom nonetheless insisted that the party is unified on the issue. “But I think universally, everyone agrees, even if you don’t think it’s genocide, that it’s been a moral catastrophe,” he said of the war in Gaza. “The vast majority of us also agree about the atrocities on Oct. 7th and how horrific and unacceptable it was, and the terrorism that was perpetrated by Hamas.”
Newsom was among the many U.S. politicians to visit Israel in October 2023, meeting with survivors and families impacted by the attacks.
During a March book tour, Newsom sparked a backlash when he said that some people were referring to Israel “appropriately as sort of an apartheid state.” He quickly walked back these remarks, telling Politico that he had used the term “in the context of the direction that Bibi is going.”
“I revere the state of Israel,” he declared at the time.
The governor warned, however, that if Netanyahu proceeds in the direction of West Bank annexation, apartheid could become “a word you may hear others use.”
In addition to amplifying his condemnation of Netanyahu this weekend, Newsom also addressed the fact that fewer Democrats are accepting funds from political action committees affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobbying group.
As for Newsom himself, Track AIPAC, an organization that compiles Federal Election Commission data to flag pro-Israel campaign contributions, did not log any such donations to the likely presidential candidate. But the group did flag him as “pro-Israel.”
“It’s a minority of Democrats that are accepting AIPAC,” the governor said, noting a “dramatic change” over the last couple years.
“The vast majority of Democrats I talk to, even Democrats in the past that have in the past have taken AIPAC money, are pledging not to now,” Newsom added. “That’s more of a mainstream position, interestingly, within the Democratic Party.”
The post California Gov. Newsom, a presidential hopeful, slams Netanyahu and AIPAC in PBS interview appeared first on The Forward.
