Tag: judaism

NYPD launching ‘two major security operations’ ahead of 9/11 memorial and Rosh Hashanah

The New York Police Department (NYPD) announced increased security measures for the city ahead of September’s Jewish Holy Days and the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Speaking at One Police Plaza in Manhattan on Wednesday, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D-N.Y.) and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced that the department will implement “heightened security measures” this weekend as Jewish New Yorkers prepare to gather at synagogues for Rosh Hashanah.

The Jewish New Year begins Friday evening, following the 25th anniversary commemoration of the September 11th attacks, when thousands of victims’ family members, former presidents and other dignitaries are expected to gather at Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan.

“As you’ve heard me say in preparation for so many events this year, we have amped up or increased our deployments for large events this year, particularly since the start of hostilities in Iran,” Tisch said at a security briefing.

“Our deployment this year at the World Trade Center for 9/11 will be larger than it has been in previous years, as will be our deployment this year for the High Holidays at shuls and yeshivas and Jewish cultural institutions, just based on the reality of the world that we live in today,” she continued.

“Even as shootings and murders have fallen to historic lows, hate crimes are moving in the wrong direction through the first eight months of this year,” Tisch stated. “Confirmed hate crimes citywide are up 16%, and antisemitic hate crimes are up 9%. And once again, more than half of all confirmed hate crimes in New York City have targeted Jewish New Yorkers, even though Jews make up only about 10% of this city’s population. Those numbers are deeply disturbing.”

During her remarks, Tisch explained that the NYPD’s Counterterrorism Bureau and heavy weapons teams will maintain a visible presence patrolling Manhattan as part of two major security operations.

The first centers on Lower Manhattan, which Mamdani warned will be largely closed to the public on Friday morning during the remembrance ceremony, with the second being the heightened security at Jewish cultural institutions across the city.

Tisch also announced that the U.S. Secret Service will install a security fence along the east side of the West Side Highway—from Liberty to Fulton Streets—as well as around the entire perimeter of the 9/11 Memorial site.

“And because of the security footprint around the site, New Yorkers should expect significant traffic and pedestrian restrictions throughout Lower Manhattan,” Tisch warned.

During the security briefing, Mamdani also emphasized that despite the sensitive time, there are currently no known threats against New York.

“As we look ahead to Friday evening, NYPD personnel will continue monitoring for any threats, both online and in person,” Mamdani said. “Let me be clear. There are no current known specific or credible threats against New York at this time. We will continue to work closely across all levels of city government, as well as with state and federal partners, to keep our city safe.”

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Michigan Democrats’ Israel divide deepens as Jewish attorney general skips state convention

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel will not attend Saturday’s Michigan Democratic Party convention, citing concerns about antisemitic harassment and what she describes as a deteriorating political climate within her own party.

Nessel, a Democrat and the first Jewish person elected to statewide executive office in Michigan, announced last month that she would skip the Aug. 29 nominating convention in Lansing because she does not feel safe or welcome there.

“I don’t feel safe going,” Nessel said, according to Fox News. “I feel like my presence isn’t going to be welcome. I don’t want to get chased around. I don’t want to get harassed. I don’t want to get yelled and screamed at. I don’t want to get booed off the stage, irrespective of what I’m saying.”

Her absence comes after Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., was loudly heckled by pro-Palestinian activists during the party’s April convention as she addressed the crowd about her support for Israel. 

Stevens ultimately lost the Democratic Senate nomination to Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate who has been sharply critical of Israel.

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ADL, Jewish Groups Lobby California to Classify Jews as a Race, ‘Not Just a Faith’

The Anti-Defamation League and a host of major Jewish groups are lobbying California to pass a bill to classify Jews as a race/ethnicity and “not just a faith.”

They’re hoping the reclassification will be implemented nationwide.

From The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, “California could become the first state to list ‘Jewish’ as an ethnicity”:

California could become the first state in the nation to consider “Jewish” an ethnic and racial identity, rather than just a religious affiliation.

A groundbreaking bill, which was recently approved by the State Senate and is awaiting a vote in the Assembly, would expand California’s legal definition of ethnicity “to include Jewish identity” in demographic data collection. In other words, state agency forms would need to include a “Jewish” category in questions that allow for voluntary disclosures of ethnicity or race.

If the bill, SB 1387, goes on to become law, this requirement would also apply to public entities ranging from public schools to unemployment offices to prisons. But the clock is ticking, as Monday, Aug. 31, is the final day of the year that California lawmakers can pass legislation. The governor then has until Sept. 30 to sign bills into laws or veto them.

The ethnicity legislation has been a priority among many Jewish groups across the Gold Rush state, who believe that Jewish peoplehood should be tied to far more than just religion — and that the law should reflect this unique relationship.

Democratic state assemblyman Josh Lowenthal told the Jewish News Syndicate in April that he co-sponsored SB 1387 to improve Jewish communities’ “ability to access public resources” and “protection within the judicial system.”

“Lowenthal said the state relies on demographic data to ‘fairly allocate public health and educational resources, as well as monitor the effectiveness of its programs for represented communities,'” JNS reported.

“We know that good data creates good policy, so this will allow us to be able to inform better policy in the future,” Jewish California CEO David Bocarsly told The Forward. “The goal of this isn’t to get more resources for our community; it’s to get the right amount of resources for our community.”

“If the California bill does become law, Bocarsly expressed hope ‘that other states and hopefully the federal government would also follow suit,'” JTA noted.

These groups for decades have been insisting that race doesn’t exist and is just a social construct, but now they’re leading the charge for Jews to be classified as a race to secure “the right amount of resources” for their people.

Much of the Jewish community as a whole, with the ADL leading the charge, shifted hard to the right after October 7th, and their support helped propel Trump into office.

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt’s shift from an anti-racist liberal to a hardcore Jewish nationalist and MAGA conservative perfectly encapsulates their changing priorities.

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Trump’s Ex-Wife Reveals President Kept Kabbalah Text Close To His Heart

Although President Donald J. Trump declared his longstanding affinity for the Jewish people and State of Israel far before he entered into the political arena, his entrenchment with Zionism has become the defining feature of his second term in the Oval Office. That position has also become the focal point for criticism of the second Trump administration, as critics — many of whom were once his most loyal supporters — have come to question whether the president is intent on putting America or Israel first. That doubt has raised questions that transcend far beyond political concerns into deeper, more philosophical and spiritual realms. One glaring red flag that perfectly distills those questions was observed on the date of Trump’s second inauguration, when he elected not to place his hand upon the Bible when he was sworn in as president. According to an interview with Israeli media, Trump’s former mistress turned ex-wife revealed that decision may have been made because the president keeps another holy book closer to his heart.

Marla Maples, Trump’s second wife, told Israeli Channel 12 news that the president keeps an Aramaic copy of the Book of Pinchas under his clothing close to his heart for “healing and protection.” The portion of the Book of Numbers (specifically, Numbers 25:10-30:1) is distributed among Kabbalistic sects in the Aramaic text Maples referred to Trump’s copy being as an apotropaic talisman. Centered on the biblical figure Pinchas, the son of Eleazar and grandson of the High Priest Aaron, the book is a highly revered section from the Zohar, the foundational text of the preeminent branch of Jewish mysticism known as Kabbalah.

In her interview with Channel 12, Maples described her own deep affinity for Judaism, its mystical elements such as Kabbalah, and the State of Israel, despite maintaining the outward appearance of a Christian identity. The experiences and practices that Maples detailed from her own life drew stark parallels with that of Trump and his family’s, including maintaining a kosher diet, reciting the Shema as a declaration of the Jewish faith, visiting the graves of exalted Jewish religious figures, observing the Sabbath, and frequently visiting Israel.

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The Inconvenient Jew Is One of Zionism’s Biggest Problems

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter recently offered what he apparently believed was a devastating answer to those decrying the genocide in Gaza.

“Jews do not use children’s blood for rituals,” Leiter said. “Jews do not poison wells. And Jews do not starve populations or commit genocide.”

The smear in this common Zionist talking point is obvious: Those who accuse the Israeli government belong in the same moral category as those who spread medieval blood libels against innocent Jews. To say the regime of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has committed genocide is not merely to criticize a government, an army, or a political ideology. It is to accuse “the Jews.”

But there is a growing problem for Zionism and its favorite smear: the moral indignation of Jews.

According to a new AP-NORC poll, 30% of Jewish adults in the United States say Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Only 49% say it has not. Among religiously unaffiliated Jews, the share rises to about four in ten. Also, only about four in ten Jewish adults believe Israel’s continuing military operations in Gaza are justified, while roughly six in ten view Netanyahu unfavorably.

In light of the grave public perspective of a growing percentage of Jews, the Zionists look more and more foolish. Their go-to argument – if you can even call this substanceless insult an argument – has become an argument ad absurdum: Nearly one-third of American Jews, Zionists believe, are secretly medieval antisemites; Jewish critics of Netanyahu believe Jews poison wells; Jews who watch children starve in Gaza and call it genocide are not morally serious observers but morons trafficking in blood libel … against themselves.

But the absurdity is rapidly leading to yet another Zionist offense – as if a genocide were not enough. Since the inconvenient Jew is now one of Zionism’s biggest problems, the Jew himself – insofar as he accepts the universal human principles that genocide flies in the face of – must be treated as an impossibility.

He cannot be debated honestly, because his very existence blows the argument apart. He proves that Jewish identity does not require loyalty to Netanyahu. He proves that revulsion at starving children is not (forgive the grotesque suggestion – it is not mine but Zionism’s) an anti-Jewish prejudice.

So Zionism does to the inconvenient Jew what it does to every inconvenient person.

It erases him.

He becomes “self-hating,” “brainwashed,” “disloyal,” or – perhaps most insultingly of all – “not a real Jew.”

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US Jewish leaders throw support behind bipartisan House antisemitism bill

New York Reps. Dan Goldman and Mike Lawler introduced bipartisan legislation Wednesday aimed at expanding federal support for securing Jewish institutions and combating antisemitism.

The bill, a House companion to the Jewish American Security Act in the Senate, would increase funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which helps secure religious institutions,  to $1 billion, extend funding to Jewish organizations, and allow additional funds to be directed toward law enforcement.

It would also mandate that the Department of Education appoint a dedicated antisemitism coordinator and force social media platforms to explain their handling of online antisemitism.

The bill received support from major national Jewish groups. On Wednesday, during a press conference in Washington, DC, Lawler and Goldman were joined by a host of Jewish leaders, including representatives from the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and the American Jewish Committee, as well as organizations affiliated with the Reform and Orthodox movements.

“Jewish communities across the United States are facing a real and growing security crisis, and the federal government has a responsibility to ensure that all Americans can gather, worship, and live openly and safely as who they are,” Eric Fingerhut, the CEO and president of the Jewish Federations of North America, which has promoted the bill, said in a statement.

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Iran-Linked Terror Plot in Europe: Migrant Spy Ring Accused of Targeting Jewish Leaders in Germany

Federal prosecutors in Germany, according to various reports, have charged two men accused of participating in an Iran-linked plot to carry out violent attacks against Jewish leaders, in what officials describe as a chilling escalation of foreign-backed threats on European soil.

The case, naturally, has reignited urgent concerns across the continent about rising anti-Jewish violence, foreign intelligence operations, and the growing vulnerability of Europe’s Jewish communities.

According to prosecutors, a Danish national identified as Ali S. and an Afghan national, Tawab M., are accused of helping to prepare attacks targeting prominent Jewish figures in Germany. Both men face charges related to attempted murder.

Ali S. is also charged with acting as an agent for a foreign intelligence service. Authorities allege he was working on behalf of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Investigators say he maintained close ties with the elite Quds Force, a unit known for conducting operations abroad. The allegations point to a coordinated effort reaching far beyond Germany’s borders.

Prosecutors state that in early 2025, Ali S. was tasked with gathering intelligence on high-profile targets. Among them were Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, and Volker Beck, head of the German-Israeli Society.

Additional targets reportedly included Jewish businesses in Berlin. Investigators say the intent was to map out potential sites for attacks.

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Media Twist Opposition to Land Theft Into Hatred of a Religion

As revelations about the Catholic Church abuse scandals emerged in the early 2000s, protests at churches grew. In Los Angeles, protesters “defiantly entered” a “church with a wooden cross covered with photographs of abuse victims,” according to the LA Times (6/2/03). An AP report (9/23/02) covered what was then “the largest protest” in response to the sex abuse scandal at “the cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Boston, in months.”

The protests continued for years; in 2018, the National Catholic Reporter (8/26/18) recounted, about “30 protesters, including survivors of clergy sex abuse, stood outside the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, DC,” to call for an “end to cover-ups.”

The widespread molestation of children by priests who had the protection of the church hierarchy angered Catholics and non-Catholics alike. And at no point did any reasonable observer misinterpret these protests as attempts to intimidate Catholic mass goers or spread anti-Catholicism.

Today in New York City, the press is focusing on a series of protests against real estate events that promote “properties for sale in the occupied Palestinian territories” (Intercept, 5/11/26), settlements that are widely recognized as illegal under international law (Amnesty International, 1/30/19). Several such events have taken place at synagogues; the first protest against these illegal land sales, at the Park East Synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in November 2025, sparked so much outcry it inspired a new law giving police authority to restrict demonstrations near houses of worship (Politico, 4/24/26).

The local media have fanned the misconception that these are anti-Jewish protests, meant to intimidate Jewish worshippers attending synagogue, when in fact they are pro-Palestine protests against illegal land sales that are strategically held inside a house of worship.

In the Catholic sex scandal case, it was easy for most people to see that the protests were not about religion or bigotry, but about an injustice committed within a religious order. In the occupied land sales case, the press entertained the notion that any condemnation of Israel that happens within earshot of a synagogue must be rooted in anti-Jewish sentiment.

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Annoying jingle permanently banned from airwaves as California ends ‘strategy of deception’

California is pulling the plug on the wildly recognizable Kars4Kids jingle after a judge ruled the charity’s ads misled donors about who actually benefits from their money.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Gassia Apkarian found that the organization violated California false advertising and unfair competition laws by failing to disclose that donations primarily fund Orthodox Jewish programs tied to Oorah Inc., a New York- and New Jersey-based outreach organization.

The ruling was published May 8 and comes after California resident Bruce Puterbaugh sued the charity in 2021, claiming he donated his car after repeatedly hearing the famous ad and believed the proceeds would help underprivileged children in California.

Instead, Puterbaugh learned the $250 generated from his donated vehicle went to programs connected to Oorah, which focuses on Jewish heritage camps and religious outreach.

According to the ruling, Kars4Kids chief operating officer Esti Landau testified that the charity’s “primary function” is funding Oorah’s programs.

Landau also testified that although about 25% of Kars4Kids’ revenue comes from California, the organization has virtually no meaningful programs benefiting children in the state beyond a backpack drive described in court as a “branding exercise.”

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Soviet Style Trial in Michigan for Criticizing a Politician – A Horrifying True Story

There is an ongoing case in Michigan that should terrify everyone. Marc Aisen was arrested near his home in December of 2023, extradited to Michigan, and has been held pretrial for over two and a half years.

Most Americans don’t believe the system can be weaponized against ordinary citizens. Judges and prosecutors are given the presumption of innocence and good faith, while criminal defendants are given the presumption of guilt because, “if the government went after them, they must have done something wrong.”

The case of The People of Michigan v. Marc Aisen demonstrates just how far the system can crush a person with the process.

Marc Aisen was gainfully employed and lived independently in Massachusetts. In his spare time, he did what countless Americans have done for generations: he wrote messages to politicians, nonprofit boards, and charity officials, on behalf of himself and others, calling them out for what he sincerely believed was complicity in crimes, immorality, and threats to public safety. He volunteered with various organizations within his religious community and the parents’ rights movement to advocate for policies.

On July 26, 2023, from his apartment in Massachusetts, Aisen sent an email to Bloomfield Township, Michigan, Treasurer Michael Schostak. The subject line was: “Michael Schostak Covered Up Child Sexual Exploitation in Jewish Nonprofit.”  The email was not posted on social media. It was sent directly to 56 email addresses, including 23 official local government emails, 14 officials from community boards and homeowners associations, and 19 private individuals. Here is the full text of that July 26 email:

Michael Schostak’s pedophile buddies are recommending child sex “change” experiments to kids and their parents, bespoking their tiny bodies with genital mutilation to make them more sexually appealing to the gay predators they are introducing them to. Michael Schostak is personally complicit in this evil scheme through his role at the “Secure Communities Network”. He doesn’t deny it. They advertise it on the JewishBoston.com website. “Jewish?” No. Faggotry is against the Jewish religion and this is precisely why.

Schostak received the email and forwarded it to Bloomfield Township Police Chief James Gallagher with the message: “Another email this morning. What are my options here?”

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