Shabsie Saphirstein

Tov Bet Midrash, under the auspices of Rav Menashe Sadka, held pre-Yom-Tov shiurim to inspire the community ahead of the grand opening of their Women’s Center, a unique initiative for the tri-state region. The presidium of Tov, including President Reb Abe Rosenthal, chose to establish this center, which will teach and encourage tzniut and taharas hamishpachcah and also include youth projects, after a conversation with Rav Noach Isaac Oelbaum and other gedolei Yisrael, including Rav Don Segal.

With no known credible threats for the high holiday season, calm and smiles were on hand this past Wednesday, September 21, in the auditorium at One Police Plaza when the renowned headquarters for the NYPD once again filled with Orthodox Jewish community leaders for a return to an in-person Annual High Holiday Briefing. In addition to the Mayor, police commissioner, and chief chaplain, in attendance were Richie Taylor, Inspector, Commanding Officer, Community Affairs Outreach; and his deputy commissioner, Mark Stewart; Chief of Department Kenny Corey; Chief of Patrol Jeffrey Maddrey; Chief of Staff to the Police Commissioner Oleg Chernyavsky; Chief of Brooklyn South Michael Kemper; Chief of Brooklyn North Judy Harrison, and Chief of Staten Island Gin Yee.

Last week, on Thursday, September 22, the Redistricting Commission held a public meeting to vote on sending the Commission’s Revised Plan to the City Council. The Commission subsequently declined to send these maps to the Council. There was a presentation of the draft, including a description of the redrawn 51 City Council districts and a Racial Bloc Voting (“RBV”) analysis by Dr. Lisa Handley, a national expert on redistricting and voting rights. Her analysis showed that the draft revised plan followed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to provide minority voters with an opportunity to elect their preferred candidates. To reflect the city’s major new population changes and bring the new districts in line with the new “5% deviation” state law, the Revised Plan has a range of 168,560 to 177,204 persons per council district. The maps were revised from the preliminary plan to equalize the population among all 51 council districts.

Following the international uproar stemming from the Queens College Megaphone Maniac, local legislators stood up for the values of the Jewish community with a strong presence. On Tuesday morning, September 20, a steady stream of elected officials lined the corner of Melbourne Avenue and Kissena Boulevard, just outside of the Queens College Student Union building in Kew Gardens Hills, to decry anti-Semitism and introduce legislation that aims to identify and track hate on college campuses statewide. The bill, sponsored by local Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal and State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, is a valiant effort to recognize Queens College’s 4,000 Jewish students – the eighth largest Jewish campus population in the nation and the largely religious neighborhood that the college calls home.

The Queens Jewish Community Council (QJCC) hosted their food pantry distribution on Sunday, September 18. I, alongside Yaakov Serle, joined staff, volunteers, and elected officials to ensure that needy Jewish families would have a joyous Rosh HaShanah. As we passed out parcels to clients, I was taken back by how many faces were familiar, representing our various Orthodox communities.

The Israel Heritage Foundation has made a distinct name for itself in the Conservative sphere. This past Sunday evening, September 18, in celebration of Rosh HaShanah, the organization once again invited former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, an expected presidential candidate in 2024, for a VIP reception at Mike’s Bistro in Manhattan.