Uncategorized
Shatzer Matzohs, matzah bakery with a loyal following, appears to close its doors this Passover season
(New York Jewish Week) — Shatzer Matzohs, a matzah bakery that has operated for decades and gained a loyal following, may not be producing the unleavened bread ahead of Passover this year.
“At this point in time, we’re not baking,” said a person speaking on Shatzer’s phone line who identified herself as the owner but declined to give her name.
The owner told the New York Jewish Week that the closure is “temporary,” but that she does not know what the future holds. Another person at the Shatzer phone number told the Jewish Week in a subsequent call that the factory may indeed reopen ahead of Passover, but that it has not started baking yet, as it would have at this point in time in previous years.
Rabbi David Bashevkin, a writer and the director of education for the Orthodox youth group NCSY, recalled the brand, which is produced in a factory in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Kensington, as being “the matzah of my childhood.”
“For many people, it had a reputation as the best matzah bakery in the tri-state area, which by definition means it’s the best matzah in the world,” Bashevkin told the New York Jewish Week.
The owner would not comment on why the factory is closing or the history of the company. American Jewish historian Zev Eleff told the New York Jewish Week that he was able to find advertisements for the company in Yiddish newspapers that date back to the 1960s.
“It was a staple,” said Eleff, who serves as the president of Gratz College, a Jewish institution outside of Philadelphia. “The idea of family-owned and tradition, that was a commodity. It’s an important quality, and I think that’s something that’s now lost.”
Shatzer Matzos produces round “shmura” matzah, which is a handmade version of the Passover staple whose production is supervised beginning at the moment the wheat is harvested.
“To hear that we’re not going to have Shatzer Matzoh this year is just a devastating loss,” Bashevkin said. “In my family, we ate their matzah all year long. My father still has Shatzer Matzoh boxes from last year.”
In the Facebook group “Great Kosher Restaurants Foodies,” Riki Landa announced that the company is closed this year, adding that the news was “so sad.”
“I don’t think many will appreciate that for many years, Shatzer was the handmade shmura place,” Rabbi Josh Yuter wrote on Twitter.
“This was the matzah of our youth,” Bashevkin said. “And we’re still rooting for it to come back.”
—
The post Shatzer Matzohs, matzah bakery with a loyal following, appears to close its doors this Passover season appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Uncategorized
Iran to Boycott World Cup Draw Over Visa Restrictions
Soccer Football – World Cup Playoff Tournament and European Playoff draws – FIFA Headquarters, Zurich, Switzerland- November 20, 2025 The original FIFA World Cup trophy is kept on display during the draws. Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Iran intends to boycott next week’s World Cup draw due to the limited number of visas allocated to the country’s football federation.
According to the Tehran Times, the United States issued visas to only four members of Iran‘s delegation, with requests for three additional visas denied, including one for Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) President Mehdi Taj.
“We have informed FIFA that the decisions taken are unrelated to sport and that the members of the Iranian delegation will not participate in the World Cup draw,” FFIRI spokesman Mehdi Alavi said on Friday, per the report.
Alavi said the federation has been in contact with FIFA in an effort to resolve the situation.
The World Cup draw will take place on Dec. 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
The expanded 48-team World Cup is being hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Matches will be played at 16 venues, including three in Mexico and two in Canada.
The draw will sort the teams into 12 groups of four. The top two teams from each group and the eight best third-place teams will advance to the knockout stage.
Iran has secured a spot in its fourth consecutive World Cup and seventh appearance overall.
Uncategorized
Dublin to Rename Chaim Herzog Park in a Move Slammed as Attempt to Erase Jewish History
Anti-Israel demonstrators stand outside the Israeli embassy after Ireland has announced it will recognize a Palestinian state, in Dublin, Ireland, May 22, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Molly Darlington
i24 News – Citing the Gaza war, Dublin city council voted to rename a park honoring Israel’s sixth president, the Irish-born Chaim Herzog, in further manifestation of anti-Israel sentiment in the country.
While a new name is yet to be chosen, reports cite efforts by pro-Palestinian activists to change it to the “Free Palestine Park.”
Former Irish justice minister Alan Shatter harshly criticized the vote, charging that “Dublin City Council has now gone full on Nazi & a committee of the Council has determined it should erase Jewish/Irish history. Herzog Park in Rathgar is named after Chaim Herzog, Israel’s 6th President, brought up in Dublin by his father, Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, a friend of Eamon De Valera, who was Chief Rabbi of Ireland & Israel’s first Chief Rabbi… Some councillors want the Park renamed ‘Free Palestine Park.”
The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland issued a statement regarding the renaming of Herzog Park.
“It sends a hurtful and isolating message to a small minority community that has contributed to Ireland for centuries. We call on Dublin City Councillors to reject this motion. The removal of the Herzog name from this park would be widely understood as an attempt to erase our Irish Jewish history.”
A virtuoso diplomat and an intellectual giant, Herzog had served in a variety of roles throughout his storied career, including a memorable stint as the ambassador to the United Nations, where in 1975 he delivered a speech condemning the Soviet-engineered resolution to brand Zionism as a form of racism. The address is now regarded as a classic, along with the oration from the same session by the US Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar slammed the decision, saying that Ireland’s “antisemitic and anti-Israel obsession is sickening.”
Uncategorized
Qatar’s Al Thani to Visit Beirut Wednesday to Meet with Lebanon’s Leaders
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani makes statements to the media with then-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Doha, Qatar, Oct. 13, 2023. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani will visit Beirut on Wednesday to meet with Lebanon’s leaders, Al-Jadeed reported Saturday.
The visit comes “as part of an effort inseparable from the efforts by Egypt in coordination with Arab countries, foremost among them Saudi Arabia.”
The trip coincides with a sensitive period for the country, ravaged by war and deep economic crisis.
Lebanon is under growing pressure from both Israel and the United States to more swiftly disarm Hezbollah and other Islamist groups across the country, with Israel increasingly inclined to stop the Shiite militia from rearming and rebuilding its infrastructure.
Hezbollah was left devastated in the aftermath of a nine-day war last year, that saw Israel take out its command structure and lay waste to a significant proportion of its missile arsenal.