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Seder subway stunt rolls Passover out in public — but watch that matzo ball soup
It was one of those only-in-New-York moments: Roughly 60 Jews packed into a muggy subway car, grape juice sloshing with every bump, preparing to hold a Passover Seder on the ride from Union Square to the Bronx.
Given the tight quarters, the meal was surprisingly comprehensive, complete with a rabbi, Seder plate, the Four Questions, and spirited renditions of “Dayenu” while Yiddish singer Riki Rose played guitar. The only crucial component missing was the hunt for the afikoman, which was a blessing — no one seemed on board with going head-to-head with Pizza Rat for the prize.
This was the third annual “Subway Seder,” a stunt organized by the rapper Kosha Dillz, whose real name is Rami Even-Esh. The event doubled as both a social media spectacle and something more meaningful. Attendees told the Forward the Seder offered a chance to be loudly and proudly Jewish in the most public of spaces, at a time when being visibly Jewish can feel scary. As the Seder unfolded, a few plainclothes volunteer security guards stood watch.
“Matzo ball soup spills and antisemitic comments, I suppose, are the range of concerns,” said Elizabeth Weinstein, who attended the subway Seder with her husband, Andrew, and dog, Finley, who sported a matzo-patterned bandana.
Dillz came dressed as Moses, wearing a tan tunic, long white beard and a backwards baseball cap that read “Don’t Kvetch, Vote.”
The evening began outside the subway at Union Square Park, where Dillz and the rapper Princess Superstar led the crowd in song. The group then descended underground, chanting “Subway! Seder!” in call-and-response format, while commuters looked on.
Upon boarding, Dillz set up a plastic folding table and took out the Seder plate. Attendees referred to their “Ten Minute Seder” Haggadah by Rabbi Yonah Bookstein as they followed along with the prayers.
Some logistics proved challenging. At one point, the folding table collapsed. The subway car lacked working air conditioning. Attendees packed in shoulder to shoulder, while social media influencers jostled for the best camera shot. With all the shvitzing and sloshing, few seemed eager to touch their matzo ball soup from Katz’s Delicatessen. Organizers apparently did hide the afikomen, but they forgot to direct participants to search.
But a little balagan didn’t kill the good vibes. Soon people were dancing, chanting prayers and tapping out rhythms on Manischewitz matzo boxes.
“Judaism needs to meet the people where they’re at, and this is a fabulous way to do it,” said Rabbi Arielle Stein, who typically leads above-ground services at Congregation Rodeph Sholom on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. “It’s fun, and it also provides people some education, culture and adventure.”
Nor did the sticky environment deter Seder-goers from eating non-soup foods. Attendees chowed down on matzo, gefilte fish and kosher-for-Passover seven-layer cake from the Orwashers Bakery.
Officially, using the subway for “non-transit” activities can result in a $50 fine, and open liquids on board are a no-no, according to the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s rules of conduct. But in practice, MTA employees who witnessed the Seder mostly shrugged; one politely turned down an offer of matzo.
“Just consider us street performers,” Dillz told the Forward.
Beyond transit authorities, Dillz knew the Seder had the potential to provoke passengers. During the inaugural subway Seder in 2024, he said a passerby yelled “Free Palestine” at the group. Just a few weeks ago, Dillz said, he was assaulted and briefly arrested after he tore down a sign for Ayatollah Khomeini at a vigil for the Iranian Supreme Leader.
But Dillz wasn’t about to let fear for his safety spoil a good meal. After all, who could really hate a subway Seder?
“People are here to see me and do something cool. It’s not like a rally,” Dillz said. “They don’t know what to make out of it, even very antisemitic people.”
As the train pulled into the Bronx, the Seder concluded with the final cup of grape juice. Participants began to disembark, but with a hope: Next year on the Q train.
The post Seder subway stunt rolls Passover out in public — but watch that matzo ball soup appeared first on The Forward.
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UK adopts sweeping measures against antisemitism in schools
(JTA) — The U.K. has adopted sweeping measures to combat antisemitism in English schools, prompting pushback from the country’s largest teachers’ union.
The move came after a new government-commissioned review found that three in five Jewish students reported experiencing antisemitism in English schools. The most common incidents were jokes, stereotypes and comments about Jewish people. About half of respondents who witnessed or experienced antisemitism said the incidents were not reported, most often because they did not think they would be taken seriously.
The government on Wednesday accepted 27 recommendations from the report, including dedicated antisemitism training for leaders and staff, improved recording of antisemitic incidents and moves to build a better understanding of Jewish life, identity and contemporary antisemitism.
The government commissioned the report following a spate of high-profile attacks on Jews in Britain, including an attack on a synagogue in Manchester last year that left two men dead.
The report’s author, Sir David Bell, the vice chancellor of the University of Sunderland and former chief inspector of schools in England, recommended addressing antisemitism distinctly from other forms of racism. He argued that antisemitism was a “uniquely complex” problem because of intertwined racial and religious dimensions, since Jewish identity can encompass both an ethnicity and a religion, along with expressions of prejudice that hold all Jews responsible for the actions of Israel.
The government will also encourage English schools to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. The definition is supported by many mainstream Jewish organizations and has been adopted by 47 countries, including the U.K., but critics say that it conflates some forms of antisemitism with criticism of Israel.
British Education Secretary Lucy Powell called Bell’s review a “generational moment” and said that “implementation is now my priority.”
However, the National Education Union, the largest union representing teachers, lecturers, teaching assistants and support staff in the United Kingdom and Europe, raised concerns on Wednesday about recommending the IHRA definition for schools. NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said in a statement that the definition “risks deepening the problem rather than tackling it, and actively undermining efforts to confront antisemitism.”
“The IHRA’s contested framing risks blurring the line between antisemitism and legitimate criticism of the Israeli government and the genocide in Gaza, leaving teachers with uncertainty when they need clarity,” said Kebede. He cited a risk that “children who cannot critically explore issues through classroom discussion will instead seek their answers in online and unsafe groups.”
Kebede also encouraged Britain’s Department for Education to strengthen guidance on all forms of racism, not only antisemitism, saying that 65% of teachers report they have not received any antiracism training in the past year.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews, an umbrella organization for British Jewish communities, celebrated the antisemitism report and the government’s adoption of its proposed measures. The group specifically praised the report’s “clear recommendations that schools and local authorities follow government guidelines by adopting the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism as a tool to deepen understanding of contemporary antisemitism.”
“We remain concerned about undue external influence on schools driven by narrow political agendas, and tendentious materials seeping into schools and increasing disharmony, and we will continue to press for vigilance against this,” said the Board of Deputies.
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Orthodox Jewish man stabbed in midtown Manhattan
(New York Jewish Week) — An Orthodox Jewish man is in stable condition after being stabbed on Wednesday evening in the Diamond District of midtown Manhattan. Police are investigating the attack as a possible hate crime.
Police told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident as a possible antisemitic attack, and Manhattan Shomrim — the Jewish community watch group — has asked people to share footage as police search for the suspect. No arrests have been made.
The victim was identified by police as a 26-year-old man, and Orthodox Jewish outlet COLLive identified him as a resident of Crown Heights, the neighborhood that is home to the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement’s headquarters.
He was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. Police said they were called at about 5:50 p.m. on Wednesday after the man was stabbed in the back with “an unknown sharp object” on 47th Street near Fifth Avenue. ABC7 reported that the victim told investigators he believed he was stabbed with a needle or syringe.
According to the Chabad website, which published an interview with the victim, he is a recently ordained Hasidic rabbi named Joseph, who commutes to Midtown each day to wrap tefillin with Jewish merchants. The attacker, Joseph told the website, was a woman who seemed to be following him prior to the stabbing.
The attack comes as Jewish New Yorkers have been targeted in more than half of the hate crimes committed in New York City this year, despite making up about 12% of the city’s population.
In July, an assailant stabbed two men on the Upper West Side, including one who was leaving a synagogue, while yelling “Allahu akbar,” and was charged with committing hate crimes.
Louis Keene contributed reporting.
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VIDEO: A Hasid gives us a tour of Morocco in Yiddish
דער ירושלימער יוטוב־שטערן וועלוול קירשנבוים האָט לעצטנס אַרויסגעשטעלט אַ ווידעאָ אויף ייִדיש פֿון אַ פּרעכטיקן וויזיט, וואָס ער האָט געמאַכט אין מאַראָקאָ. עס באַגלייט אים זײַן חבֿר אַבֿרהם פּרץ.
אינעם ווידעאָ זעט מען ווי קירשנבוים דאַוונט שחרית מיט די אָרטיקע ייִדן און באַזוכט אַ גוט אָפּגעהיטענעם בית־עולם, וווּ עס ליגן באַערדיקט גרויסע צדיקים ווי למשל הרבֿ חיים בן עתר (1696–1743), באַקאַנט ווי דער „אור החיים“. „מענטשן מיינען, אַז נאָר אין אייראָפּע זענען דאָ קבֿרים פֿון צדיקים!“ זאָגט קירשנבוים.
מיר זעען אַ גרויסע, שיינע שיל מיט אַ פֿײַנער אַרכיטעקטור אין קאַזאַבלאַנקאַ; דעם גרויסן אַראַבישן שוק, וווּ קירשנבוים קויפֿט זיך אײַן מלבושים פּונקט ווי די מאַראָקאַנער גייען אָנגעטאָן. ער באַוווּנדערט אויך די שיינע טיי־גלעזער און טשײַניקן, וואָס מע פֿאַרקויפֿט דאָרט, און באַקענט זיך מיט אַ ייִדישן סוחר וואָס האַנדלט מיט זילבער און גאָלד, פּונקט אַזוי ווי זײַן טאַטע און זיידע האָבן געטאָן פֿאַר דור־דורות.
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