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Zabar’s devoted fans mourn Saul Zabar, who transformed his family’s Jewish grocery into an NYC institution
(JTA) — Perhaps the only local issue to unite Jews and non-Jews, Zionists and anti-Zionists and progressives and conservatives in New York City is a love for the Upper West Side emporium Zabar’s.
Their remarkable unity was on display this week after Saul Zabar, who led his family’s famed grocery store for over seven decades and helped make it a cornerstone of Jewish culture in New York City, died at 97.
“A true New York legend. He gave the city lox, love, and a place to argue over babka,” wrote New York City Mayor Eric Adams in a post on X. “Zabar’s isn’t just a store, it’s a slice of NYC soul. May his memory be a blessing.”
“I grew up going to Zabar’s. So many of my childhood memories center around the best lox in NYC (which is saying something),” tweeted Zohran Mamdani, the progressive who is vying to succeed Adams and who was raised on the Upper West Side. “With Saul Zabar’s passing today, the Upper West Side has lost a legend who turned his parent’s humble store into a culinary institution.”
Rep. Jerry Nadler, who famously toted a Zabar’s bag containing “a babka and the constitution” to an impeachment hearing he was leading in Congress, tweeted, “The UWS and New York City lost one of the greats today. Saul Zabar built an institution that has supplied New Yorkers, including myself, with lox, babka, and whitefish for decades. My condolences to the Zabar family and may his memory be a blessing.”
Born in 1928 to Jewish immigrant parents Louis and Lillian Zabar, who established Zabar’s in 1934 as the smoked fish department of a supermarket, Saul Zabar initially set out to become a doctor.
But those plans were cut short in 1950 when his father died at 49, and Zabar and his brother, Stanley, stepped in to run the store alongside Murray Klein, who joined the store in 1953.
As the grocery’s president and principal owner, Zabar took a hands-on approach to the store’s counters, where the Manhattan storefront serves some 2,000 pounds of smoked fish and 8,000 pounds of coffee each week to roughly 40,000 customers, according to The New York Times.
“Money is not why we do this, not why we’re here seven days a week. It’s a way of life for us. It’s kind of old-fashioned,” Zabar told Edible Manhattan in 2012
Today, the iconic Jewish market features a wide array of classic Ashkenazi foods, from bagels and babka to fish salads, pickles, deli meats, and the family’s signature rugelach. Every year, Zabar’s sells 400,000 pounds of its signature coffee blend.
“Saul’s passing marks the end of an era, but his legacy lives on in every bagel, every slice of smoked fish, every cup of coffee, and every conversation that fills our store each day,” wrote Zabar’s in the post on Instagram announcing his death.
Unlike many of its early contemporaries that closed as classic Jewish fare fell out of favor, Zabar’s has adapted to win new fans. The store made appearance in Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks’ film “You’ve Got Mail” as well as on “Seinfeld.” This year, for example, the 91-year-old store collaborated with Adidas in a shoe launch to celebrate the U.S. Open and with Nordstrom to pay homage to its loyal Jewish customers.
Zabar died in a hospital after being admitted for a brain bleed, his daughter Ann told the New York Times.
He is survived by his wife, Carole Ann Kishner, who he married in 1968, and his children Ann, Aaron and Rachel Zabar, along with four grandchildren.
The post Zabar’s devoted fans mourn Saul Zabar, who transformed his family’s Jewish grocery into an NYC institution appeared first on The Forward.
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Singer James Maslow Expresses Solidarity With Israel in New Song ‘On My Mind’
James Maslow in front of the Dizengoff Fountain in Tel Aviv in the music video for “On My Mind.” Photo: YouTube screenshot
Actor and singer James Maslow recently released a single in collaboration with Israeli artists that celebrates Israel and showcases his solidarity with the Jewish state amid its war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
The Jewish artist, who is famously known for his leading role in the Nickelodeon series “Big Time Rush” and as a member of the platinum-selling band of the same name, released on Oct. 3 a track titled “On My Mind,” featuring Shahar Saul, one of Israel’s up and coming rappers, and Israeli vocalist Maya Dadon. “On My Mind” combines “international pop with Middle Eastern influences, reflecting the diversity and vibrancy of Israel itself,” according to a media release about the single.
The music video for the song was filmed in Israel during the Gaza war and is “both a visual love letter to the country and a reminder of the resilience of its people.” The video was made in partnership with Birthright Israel Foundation.
“‘On My Mind’ is about connection, resilience, and remembering those who cannot be forgotten,” Maslow said in a released statement. “Filming in Israel, during such a difficult time, was my way of showing solidarity with a country and people I deeply respect. Working with two incredible Israeli artists made the project even more meaningful.”
During an interview Monday on “CUOMO,” Maslow said the song celebrates Israel’s “diversity, the acceptance, and all the things that I know to be true about it.”
“I have been over there shooting the video to utilize this as hopefully a bridge to bring a bit of a better light to Israel, to Judaism, and hopefully start a conversation where people may realize, ‘Oh, wait a second, I may not have all the facts or I might be being misled right now,’” he added.
“We have normalized antisemitism to the likes of which I never thought that I would see in my life,” Maslow said. “That’s not OK. And that’s why I created this song. And that’s why I’m here today and why I’m standing up.”
Maslow timed the release of “On My Mind” to have it debut mere days before the second anniversary of the deadly Hamas terrorist attack that took place in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Maslow traveled to Washington, DC, to join commemorations for the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre.
“On My Mind” is streaming on all major platforms. Watch the music video below.
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Israel Declares Hamas Defeated ‘Every Place We Fought Them’ as Ceasefire Begins
An Israeli military tank prepares to move atop a truck, after US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas agreed on the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire, on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza, Oct. 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Hamas is no longer the terrorist group whose invasion of Israel triggered the two-year war in Gaza, the Israeli military spokesperson said on Friday at the start of a ceasefire with the Palestinian Islamist organization.
“Hamas is not the Hamas of two years ago. Hamas has been defeated every place we fought them,” Brigadier General Effie Defrin, the military spokesperson, told reporters at a briefing.
He urged Palestinian residents of Gaza to avoid entering areas under control by the Israel Defense Forces in the enclave.
“I am calling from here on the residents of Gaza to avoid entering areas under IDF control. Keep to the agreement and ensure your safety,” he said.
Thousands of displaced Palestinians began flocking towards their abandoned homes after a US-brokered ceasefire took effect on Friday and Israeli troops began pulling back from parts of Gaza.
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Man Wins Appeal Over Conviction for Burning Koran Outside London’s Turkish Consulate
The cover of a Koran. Photo: Wiki Commons.
A man found guilty of committing a religiously aggravated public order offense by setting fire to a copy of the Koran outside London’s Turkish consulate had his conviction overturned on Friday in what supporters said was a victory for free speech.
Hamit Coskun, 51, was fined 240 pounds ($325) at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June after being convicted of an offense by shouting “F–k Islam” as he held aloft the burning book near the consulate in central London in February.
The decision to overturn that verdict after an appeal at London’s Southwark Crown Court was hailed by his supporters as an important triumph for freedom of expression.
“Hamit Coskun’s protest was a lawful act of political dissent,” Stephen Evans, chief executive of the National Secular Society which supported his case, said in a statement. “There is no need to condone the nature of his demonstration – what is important is that it was not criminal.”
Coskun, whose father was Kurdish and his mother Armenian and who lived in central England, had denied the charge and said on social media he was carrying out a protest against the Turkish government. While he was holding the book aloft, he was attacked by a man with a knife who kicked and spat at him.
In its appeal ruling, the court said prosecutors had not properly shown that his behavior was disorderly nor that it was within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused distress.
“Today’s decision reaffirms the vital principle that free speech protects the right to offend, shock, or disturb – even when it challenges deeply held religious beliefs,” Evans said.