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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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Global Leaders React to the Killing of Iran’s Khamenei
A woman holds a poster with the picture of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as people gather after Khamenei was killed in Israeli and U.S. strikes on Saturday, in Tehran, Iran, March 1, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US and Israeli strikes, state media confirmed as another wave of attacks hit the country on Sunday.
Below is international reaction to his death.
PAKISTAN PRIME MINISTER SHEHBAZ SHARIF
“Pakistan also expresses concern over violation of the norms of international law. It is an age-old convention that the heads of state/government should not be targeted.”
IRANIAN PRESIDENT MASOUD PEZESHKIAN
“The martyrdom of the Supreme Leader at the hands of Israel and the criminal America was a great disaster for our country… America and Israel should know that it will bring them nothing but embarrassment.”
EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER URSULA VON DER LEYEN
“With Khamenei gone, there is renewed hope for the people of Iran. We must ensure that the future is theirs to claim and shape. At the same time, this moment carries a real risk of instability that could push the region into a spiral of violence.”
ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ANTONIO TAJANI
“For the moment, Iran is in a transitional phase, and it remains to be seen how long it will last and what impact the war will have. What is certain is that a leader who had guided Iran for decades is gone, and that is bound to have consequences — including the loss of Khamenei’s personal authority over the population.”
FRENCH GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON MAUD BREGEON
“He was responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians in his country and in the region, so one can only welcome his disappearance. It is now up to the Iranian people to choose their own destiny.”
EUROPEAN UNION FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF KAJA KALLAS
“The death of Ali Khamenei is a defining moment in Iran’s history. What comes next is uncertain. But there is now an open path to a different Iran, one that its people may have greater freedom to shape.”
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN
“Please accept my deep condolences in connection with the murder of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Ali Khamenei, and members of his family, committed in cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law.”
SWEDISH FOREIGN MINISTER MARIA STENERGARD
“Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been confirmed dead. This could open a window of opportunities. But there are still many uncertainties remaining.
“Iran’s future must belong to the people. But the road there is long. The risk of a spiral of violence in the Middle East remains great.”
INDONESIA’S ULEMA MUSLIM CLERICAL COUNCIL
“The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) expressed its deepest condolences for the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, as a result of the Israeli-American attack on February 28.
“The United States, which is playing a central role in managing the Palestinian conflict through the BoP (Board of Peace), faces a major question: is this strategy truly aimed at a just peace, or is it actually strengthening an unequal security architecture and burying Palestinian independence? Therefore, the MUI urges the Indonesian government to revoke its membership from the BoP.”
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Israel and US Used Anthropic’s Claude and CIA Intelligence in Timing Iran Strike
CEO of Anthropic Dario Amodei, addresses the gathering at the AI Impact Summit, in New Delhi, India, February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Bhawika Chhabra
i24 News – Israel and the United States used an artificial intelligence system and detailed CIA intelligence to help plan and time their joint strike on Iranian leadership in Tehran, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. The operation targeted a rare gathering of senior Iranian officials and was adjusted to coincide with a Saturday morning meeting at a government compound in central Tehran.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the attack was carried out with the assistance of “Claude,” an artificial intelligence tool developed by the company Anthropic, just hours after the federal administration announced it was terminating its contract with the firm and labeling it a “security threat.” According to the report, sources familiar with the matter said military headquarters around the world, including United States Central Command in the Middle East, are using Claude “for intelligence assessments, target identification, and battle scenario simulations.” CENTCOM declined to comment on the specific systems being used in the operation.
In a separate account, the New York Times said the CIA had been tracking Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “for months, gaining more confidence about his locations and his patterns,” according to people familiar with the operation. The agency then learned that a meeting of top Iranian officials would take place on Saturday morning at a leadership compound in the heart of Tehran and that Khamenei would be present at the site.
Officials with knowledge of the decisions told the Times that the United States and Israel decided to adjust the timing of their attack “in part to take advantage of the new intelligence.” The information provided a “window of opportunity” for the two countries to achieve “a critical and early victory: the elimination of top Iranian officials and the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei,” the report said. The CIA passed its intelligence, described as offering “high fidelity” on Khamenei’s position, to Israel, according to people briefed on the operation.
Those sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the intelligence and military planning, said Israel used the American intelligence alongside its own to execute an operation it had been preparing for months, focused on the targeted killing of senior officials in the Iranian regime. According to the reports, the governments of the United States and Israel had originally planned to launch the attack at night but shifted to a daylight strike after learning of the leadership gathering in Tehran.
The Times said senior figures in Iran’s security establishment attended the meeting, including Revolutionary Guard commander Mohammad Pakpour, Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, military council head Ali Shamkhani, Revolutionary Guard Aerospace Force commander Seyed Majid Mousavi, Deputy Intelligence Minister Mohammad Shirazi, and other top officials. An Israeli security official, quoted by the Times, said the operation “was carried out simultaneously at several sites in Tehran, including at the meeting point of the Iranian political‑security leadership,” and added that despite Iranian preparations for war, Israel had achieved a “tactical surprise” in striking the compound.
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Abu Dhabi Complex Housing Embassies Damaged as Retaliatory Strikes Widen in Gulf
Smoke billows from Zayed port after an Iranian attack, following United States and Israel strikes on Iran, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, March 1, 2026. Picture taken with phone. REUTERS/Abdelhadi Ramahi
Debris from an intercepted drone damaged an Abu Dhabi complex housing the Israeli embassy and several other international missions, causing minor injuries to a woman and her child, Abu Dhabi’s state media office said on Sunday.
Debris from the drone fell against the facade of the Etihad Towers complex after an interception that caused loud sounds heard across the emirate, the media office said.
After the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Saturday, Iran said it would target US bases in the region. But it has also hit a range of civilian and commercial areas across Gulf cities, widening the conflict’s impact on key regional aviation and trade hubs.
As retaliatory strikes widened on Sunday they reverberated across Gulf Arab states, with loud blasts heard in Dubai and the Qatari capital Doha and with Oman being hit for the first time.
PORTS TARGETED
In Dubai, two people were injured after shrapnel from drones fell over two houses when they were intercepted, a Dubai state media office statement said.
Dubai’s international airport, its landmark Burj Al Arab hotel and man-made Palm Jumeirah Island all suffered damage overnight, as did Abu Dhabi’s international airport.
Thick black plumes of smoke continued to rise from the Jebel Ali port area, where one of the berths caught fire on Sunday because of debris from an intercepted missile.
In neighboring Oman, which was spared retaliation on Saturday, Duqm commercial port was targeted by two drones, wounding one worker, the state news agency said.
Dubai is the biggest tourism and trade hub in the Middle East and its airport is one of the world’s busiest travel hubs.
Qatar’s interior ministry said on Sunday that it was responding to a limited fire in an industrial zone after debris fell from an intercepted missile.