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Annually, Rav Dovid Goldwasser, manhig ruchani and longtime Rav of Brooklyn’s Khal Bais Yitzchok, famously visits the Queens tziyun of Rav Yaakov Joseph (Rabbi Jacob Joseph) at the Union Field Cemetery (in Ridgewood, Queens) for New York’s only chief rabbi’s yahrzeit. Last week, Rav Goldwasser, joined by Rabbi Yosef Gesser, a noted tour guide to kivrei tzadikim, was seen accepting names for inclusion in a Mi SheBeirach after the recital of T’hilim. The previous Satmar Rebbe, Rav Yoel Teitelbaum, often encouraged his chasidim to daven at the tziyun as news of salvations were reported. But who was Rav Joseph and what is his legacy?

In recent weeks, the Queens Jewish Link has begun a strong Brooklyn distribution, sharing our material with over 1000 Brooklynites in the Flatbush and Borough Park neighborhoods. To that end, I gladly accepted Shea Rubenstein’s invitation to represent the Queens Jewish community at the 15^th annual Jewish Community Council of Marine Park (JCCMP) legislative breakfast, where he is Executive Director. Held at Kingsway Jewish Center on Sunday, June 11, the gathering was well attended, attracting easily 250 community leaders and elected officials.

Council Member James F. Gennaro held a powerful sit-down conversation with Idit Silman, Israel’s Minister of Environmental Protection. The dialogue marked Gennaro’s first environmental input on the world stage. Previously, he gained much accolade for advancements on the city and state levels. The duo was joined by Yuval Laster, Senior Deputy Director General and Policy Planning & Strategy for the State of Israel's Ministry of Environmental Protection.

The Yehuda and Shomron has once again become the contentious topic of the day, with a terrorist attack and unwarranted Jewish vigilante reactions. Recently, the Biden Administration’s resumption of the research boycott of Judea and Samaria, an Obama-era policy, became apparent when an Ariel University grant request for funds for a research, development, and scientific project beyond the Green Line was denied.

Digital Inspection Sticker Program Is Underway

Since my youth, I have been fascinated by license plates. While traveling, it’s always a delight to track the unique plates and their states. In recent weeks, New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder unveiled ten new plates featuring distinct images representing New York State’s ten regions. “Every region of our state has something unique and interesting about it, and we are happy to celebrate that uniqueness by making these new license plates available for New York drivers,” said Commissioner and Chair of the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee.

Communal unity was on full display just before 10 p.m. on Wednesday evening, June 14, at the Beth Gavriel Bukharian Jewish Congregation and Community Center when history was made and a whopping $9,338,530 was raised as construction on the new citadel of Torah in Forest Hills enters its final stages. Reaching 116% of the fundraiser original $8 million goal, kudos was extended by Rav Emanuel Shimonov, mara d’atra; Rav Ilan Meirov, mara d’atra of the youth minyan; and Rav Tomer Zion, mara d’atra of the netz minyan, to the Alishaev and Koptiev families for matching every donation raised.