Community Corner

On Thursday night, April 16, community leaders and school administrators gathered at the Young Israel of Hillcrest for a State Resource Workshop. The meeting addressed a primary concern for the local community: how to better protect non-public schools and religious institutions. Hosted by Assemblymembers Nily Rozic and Sam Berger, the event brought together state agencies and Jewish organizations to discuss practical security tools. The objective was to provide attendees with a clear understanding of the grant programs and safety resources available to their institutions.

Beis Yosef D’Ulem, known to many as Rabbi Friedman’s Shul, was filled with a resounding kol Torah on Monday night, April 20. The Kew Gardens Hills Rosh Chodesh Yarchei Kalah for chodesh Iyar brought together learning groups from across Queens as working baalei batim carved out time to sit down with mar’ei m’komos and immerse themselves in a serious sugya b’iyun. As Rabbi Shaul Neuman noted at the outset, witnessing a community unite on this advanced level provides tremendous chizuk.

 The Young Israel of Jamaica Estates, in partnership with the Young Israel of Holliswood, hosted a Yom HaShoah V’Hagvurah observance on Tuesday, April 14. The event featured guest speaker John Woolf, born in 1928, who recounted his family’s transition from a village mill in Bustino to their 1944 deportation to Auschwitz.

Families and advocates seeking specialized educational services recently gathered at Congregation Beth-El in Fresh Meadows for the Atidaynu “Our Future” school open house. This collaborative gathering, supported by Chazaq, All About Kindness, and Special Neshamos, addressed a vital need for children requiring an environment where they can thrive through intensive, individualized support.

The Kew Gardens Hills community gathered on Sunday, April 19, for a joyous hachnasas sefer Torah ceremony. The event was hosted by the Baal-Lev, Babadzhanov, Borochov, and Mashkabov families in loving memory of their parents and grandparents, Dovid Chai & Mazal Tova Borochov a”h and Avraham & Sara Babadzhanov a”h.

In the days leading up to Yom HaShoah, as Jewish communities reflected on the consequences of unchecked hatred, Congress approved a significant increase in funding for the State Department’s Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism—raising its budget to $2.5 million, nearly a 50% jump. The timing was striking, underscoring that this is no longer a historical concern, but a present reality.