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 | | NYSN | January Newsletter |
| | Letter from the Executive Director |
| Most of the world will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz today, January 27th. It is likely the government of Poland is planning the annual photo-op with Polish political prisoners who survived the camp as teens or children. They will wear reproduction striped uniforms bearing a triangle with a P and lay memorial wreaths at the executioners’ wall. |
| | The international delegation of world leaders will also march through the Arbeit Mach Frei gates to lay their own wreaths and issue proclamations of “never again!” And then they walk away, believing these actions absolve their predecessors’ inactions. Just last week, a five year investigation in Belgium concluded that its national train company does not have to pay reparations for transporting 25,000 Jews to Auschwitz and other camps. Less than 1,200 survived.
Speeches will be made by the Polish President referencing the “German” crimes against Poland, and, if tradition holds, a mention of the million Jews who were killed at Auschwitz, and five million more across Europe. They will be shoved together with the requisite Poles, Roma, gay people, and Jehovah’s Witnesses to all be memorialized for their suffering and death.
At this point, it will not be surprising if the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz is completely politicized, and the war in Gaza will be compared to the Holocaust and destruction of European Jewry. The alleged combatant and civilian death toll in Gaza is equivalent to about three days of the Nazi’s Operation Reinhard.
People love dead Jews, but they are very much concerned by the existence of the living ones, and, without irony, cannot bring themselves to muster the regard for Jews remaining captive by a terrorist regime hellbent on their violent, absolute destruction.
80 years ago really isn’t that long ago. |
|  | | | | From left, Doron Steinbrecher, Romi Gonen, and Emily Damari with their mothers. (Government Press Office of Israel) |
| As we approach nearly 500 days of captivity and uncertainty, the joy that has been absent since the first hostage release in November 2023 appears to finally be a reality for the first time in a long time.
While the news cycles have taunted us for months, a deal that includes Hamas releasing 33 of our 98 hostages began this past Sunday with the homecoming of civilians Doron Steinbrecher, Romi Gonen, and Emily Damari, and yesterday with the return of soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag.
Paraded by armed and masked Hamas terrorists through a taunting and jeering mob toward their waiting Red Cross vehicles, the victims were forced to film degrading propagandist videos and sign certificates signifying their time in captivity before being flown by Israel to the hospital and waiting their families.
As Hamas continues to cruelly leverage their human capital, we remain cautiously optimistic that the deal will hold. The families have worked around the clock for over a year to secure the release of their loved ones whose humanity has been devalued. And as the fate of too many remains uncertain, we all must find strength in their families’ perseverance and pray alongside them that the agreement holds and our people are freed, including all of the male hostages.
We remain hopeful that the beginning of the end of the nightmare for our people that began on October 7, 2023 is near. New York and American Jews have rekindled a community spirit and clear-eyed determination in the wake of the first horrific and sophisticated attempt to annihilate Jews in the 21st century. It’s our collective mission to ensure it remains the only attempt.
May all the hostages return home soon and may the memories of those lost be for a blessing, always. |
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| | From left, clockwise: Liri Albag, Naama Levy, Daniella Gilboa, and Karina Ariev with their parents. (Government Press Office of Israel) |
| | Yeshiva University President Becomes Ninth Rabbi, Second Orthodox Leader, to Deliver a Presidential Benediction |
|  | Rabbi Ari Berman, President of Yeshiva University in New York, was invited to deliver the benediction at President Trump's inauguration.
In his sermon, Rabbi Berman referenced the plight of the Israelis and foreign nationals held in Gaza, calling on everyone to “hear the cry of the hostages,” and directly addressed the struggles faced by Jewish college students in the face of an unprecedented surge in campus antisemitism.
The rabbi was only the second Orthodox rabbi to deliver the benediction at a presidential inaugural, and the first leader of an Orthodox institution. The first was by Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, who spoke at President Trump’s 2017 inaugural. Nine rabbis have spoken at presidential inaugurations, beginning with Harry S. Truman in 1949. |
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| | January 2025 New York City Primary Update |
| January 15 marked the first campaign finance filing of the 2025 New York City local elections. Among the races with significant filing reports include several council candidates who have been supported by NYSN members. These include incumbent Councilmembers Shaun Abreu, Susan Zhuang, Eric Dinowitz, Lynn Schulman and Julie Menin and challengers Maya Kornberg, Ling Ye and Dermot Smyth. |
| | In the Citywide races, New York State Assemblymember and Socialist Jew hater Zohran Mamdani posted the highest fundraising totals ($641,816 from 6,518 donors) for the three month filing period, which puts him in position to be fully qualified for the City’s $8-to-$1 public matching program. |
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| When totaled, he will have over $3 million to spend, nearly equaling the total hauls of candidates who have been running for significantly longer, including Mayor Eric Adams ($4,394,140/ineligible for public funding), Comptroller Brad Lander ($1,188,981/$2,977,758 match), and former comptroller Scott Stringer ($788,543/$2,157,123 match).
Race newcomer Whitney Tilson posted an impressive six-week fundraising haul of $424,968 from 1,400 donors, while State Senator Zellnor Myrie raised $183,000 in this period (for a total of $647,998 from 3,300 donors overall). All are expected to have similar cash-on-hand positions heading into petitioning, which begins on February 25.
The next filing period will encompass all fundraising from January 12 through March 13 and will be released on March 17, 2025. |
| | | | The Washington PostTrump’s Friendship With Elon Musk has a Cautionary Precedent |
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| | Substack
Is There a “Tisch Effect?” |
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| | Times of IsraelIsraeli Columbia Professor Targeted by Protesters: I Invited Them to Join the Class, They Just Shouted |
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| | NY TimesMayor Adams Won’t Criticize Trump. He Did Sit Down With Tucker Carlson. |
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| | NY PostNYC Comptroller Brad Lander Pockets Campaign Cash From Ousted Anti-Israel Columbia Professor: Records |
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| | Jewish Insider
AOC Attacks Leading Jewish Civil Rights Group Over its Defense of Elon Musk |
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| | NPRHarvard Agrees to Adopt a Broad Definition of Antisemitism to Settle Two Lawsuits |
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| | Fox NewsNFL Legends Make Emotional Trip to Israel in Push for Hostages’ Release |
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| | Jewish PressFreed Hostages Say Hamas Held Them in United Nations Facilities |
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| | The NosherI’m 97. Here’s How American Jewish Food Has Changed in My Lifetime. |
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