Hochul Advises Mamdani Less Israel, More NYC Governing. Push for Brooklyn District Leader to Resign for Antisemitic Statements. Vox Media Failed Its Jewish Employees.

This week’s newsletter is dedicated to the 120 Jewish families that arrived in Argentina in August 1889. Fleeing pogroms and restrictive laws in the Russian Empire, these Jews created what is now the modern Argentinian Jewish community. They settled in the town of Moisés Ville, building synagogues, schools, and businesses. Moisés Ville became the first thriving Argentinian Jewish community, and the term “Jewish gauchos” was born.

Photo Source: Yiddish Book Center

• GOVERNOR TO MAYOR — FOCUS ON NYC, LESS ON ISRAEL

  • In an interview with The New York Times, Governor Hochul advised Mamdani to concentrate on governing New York City, the job he was elected to do, and to focus less on Israel. She was specifically asked about the Mayor threatening to arrest Netanyahu, something he has no legal authority to do, and questioned about his rhetoric fueling the rise of antisemitism in the city.

    • NYPD hate crimes data showed that Jews, who make up 10% of the city’s population, were targeted in 70% of hate crimes.

      

    Photo Source: NY1

  • Hochul, a supporter of Israel, was specifically asked by The New York Times about Mamdani’s approach and how it made Jewish New Yorkers feel. Her response was to focus on issues like child care, bus speeds, and housing, not Israel.

    “I encourage him to — ‘let’s focus on the blocking and tackling of city government.’ That is where I believe the main focus should be.” - Governor Hochul

  • Hochul also stressed her support to Jewish New Yorkers, saying:

    “I will throw my body against any antisemitism. I have, and I will.” - Governor Hochul

  • Hochul endorsed Mamdani when he was campaigning, but has spoken out against his anti-Israel rhetoric. She has said he does not have the power to arrest Netanyahu, has vowed to protect investments in Israel, has opposed Israeli boycotts, and has supported a bar against protests targeting houses of worship.

  • Hochul is running for reelection against Republican candidate Bruce Blakeman. A current Sienna Poll shows Hochul leading at 49% over Blakeman at 39%.

• CALLS FOR RESIGNATION AFTER BROOKLYN DEMOCRATIC PARTY DISTRICT LEADER DOUBLES DOWN ON ANTISEMITIC STATEMENTS

  • Carmella Charrington, a recently elected district leader backed by DSA lawmakers, shared an antisemitic conspiracy theory video earlier this year. More recently, she made claims of deed theft against her property to Rahma Zein, an Egyptian podcaster, stating:

    “They’re Zionists that basically did this. Same thing that they’re doing in the West Bank, it’s the same thing. There’s a connection.”

    • The video, which has since been deleted, blames Jews for slavery, gay rights, and other antisemitic tropes, many of which were espoused by Henry Ford in his book The International Jew.

      • Jewish Insider covered the details of the video in this story.

      • When this video surfaced in June, Charrington told The New York Times she was not antisemitic.

        “I have learned that the book talked about in this video is a piece of white supremacist literature. It has been used for over a century to blame Jews for systemic issues and to turn people against Black folks, immigrants and the L.G.B.T. community. It was a mistake to repost the video and I apologize.”

        

        Photo Source: NY Post

  • Then came the podcast with Zein which was posted last week, claiming deed theft by “Zionists.”

    • Charrington is referencing Jewish investors who acquired her property. The New York State Attorney General says this is an inheritance dispute and not deed theft. The New York Post covered the details of this extensively in April.

  • After the recent podcast with Zein, pressure is mounting for Charrington to resign from her role in the role Brooklyn Democratic Party.

    “Carmella Charrington should resign as district leader. She has demonstrated that she is unfit for this position of public trust.” - Marc Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council.

    • City & State reports a letter signed by nine district leaders called for her resignation:

      “As Democratic district leaders, we have a duty to reject bigotry without regard to ideology, faction, or political convenience.”

      “Antisemitism has no place in Brooklyn. Harrington (sic) was elected to serve this community and should know better. That kind of rhetoric is unacceptable from anyone entrusted with Democratic leadership, and it demands immediate accountability and reflection.” - Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, Brooklyn Democratic Party leader

MORE IN NYC NEWS

• JEWISH EMPLOYEES CONCERNS IGNORED BY VOX MEDIA

  • Subsequent to New York Magazine’s publication of “Habibi City,’ (Above the Scroll covered this story here), Jewish Insider reported this week that Jewish employees alleged bias against Israel subsequent to October 7 in the magazine’s reporting.

  • A Jewish employee resource group says that a memo was circulated after the terrorist attack that provided “editorial guidance for staffers writing about the attack and ensuing war in Gaza.”

    • Examples of guidance include urging writers to use the word “terrorist” to describe Hamas, avoid framing stories with a “both sides” effect and avoid words like apartheid and genocide which the document call “dangerous and factually incorrect.”

      • At the time this document was circulating after October 7, 2023 Vox Media owned New York Magazine and Vox, a news site.

    • Jewish Insider reports that the employees allege:

      “The Palestinian perspective is the only perspective being offered in our coverage, which not only is extremely hurtful towards the Jews, but also does a major disservice to our audience by not painting a clear picture.”

      • The story details a long history of New York Magazine and Vox Media presenting biased and sometimes hostile perspective towards stories focused on Israel or Israel-adjacent coverage.

ANTISEMITISM IN AMERICA

• PARAMOUNT GOES AFTER MARK RUFFALO FOR ANTISEMITIC POSTS

  • Actor Mark Ruffalo, who has long used his social media (20.5 million followers on Instagram alone) for advocacy, has been posting about the potential Paramount merger of Warner Bros. Discovery. Ruffalo has been accused of targeting Larry and David Ellison with antisemitic statements, posting that they are “powering some of the most destructive and inhuman forces in the world.” He has posted that Paramount board member Safra Catz has engaged in genocide and apartheid based on technology that has been used to assist the IDF after October 7.

    • The Paramount merger is valued at $111 billion. Variety reports that the Ellison family behind Paramount has come out blasting Ruffalo for his social media posts/stories, stating they are:

      “troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked in purported service of a business dispute. Words like ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid,’ applied to a corporate transaction, aren’t just wrong — they’re a bridge too far, and they cheapen the very real suffering those words are meant to describe. This doesn’t deserve a response in kind — and to be clear, we don’t tolerate prejudice of any kind, against anyone.”

  • Ruffalo has been one of the most vocal actors in Artists4Ceasefire since the Israel-Hamas war began after the October 7 terrorist attack. He also has a long-standing history of anti-Israel and what some allege is antisemitic rhetoric long before October 7.

    

    Photo Source: PageSix

    • Ruffalo has called the IHRC definition of antisemitism “propaganda”, has worn the red-hand pin at award shows (which for many Jews represents an image evoking the murder of two Israeli reservists during the Second Intifada), and signed a petition to boycott and refuse to work with Israeli film institutions and screen Israeli films. He also signed a letter supporting UK Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn was removed from office over his party’s failure in managing antisemitism.

ANTISEMITISM AROUND THE GLOBE

• ARGENTINA - Federal Judge Removed Over Antisemitic Statements

  • Alfredo Eugenio López, a federal judge in Argentina, was removed from his position this week by Argentina’s Jury of Impeachment. The Jury is a panel of lawyers, lawmakers, and judges, who found López discriminated against the country’s Jewish community. The panel found issued a statement:

    “For the purposes of these proceedings, it is particularly significant that, by acting in this manner, he shattered public confidence in his continued fitness to administer justice impartially.”

    • López made a series of antisemitic social media posts wherein he describes Jews as “cynical,” “redundant,” a “breed of vipers,” and tells Jews “the nation is Catholic and you are foreigners.” He also tells Jews to “go to Israel” which he says is a “fictitious state” and posts about honoring a Nazi collaborator.

    • This is the first time in Argentina’s judicial history that a judge has been removed from his post for antisemitic statements.

• CANADA - Candidate Running for Mayor Alleges Only Civilians Have Been Killed in the Israel-Hamas War

  • Neil Saravanamuttoo, who is running for mayor in Ottawa, posted his self-titled “position on Gaza” on social media yesterday. Despite the fact that the mayor of Ottawa has no impact on foreign policy, Saravanamuttoo says “those in positions of leadership have a responsibility to call out injustice.” He used his platform to claim that 70,000 civilians have been killed in Gaza after the October 7 terrorist attack. He also unequivocally states that a genocide occurred in Gaza and promises to raise the Palestinian flag in Ottawa for those that are suffering “the grief of loss and anguish of injustice.”

    • Why is this relevant? Saravanamutto fails to acknowledge that any Hamas terrorists are part of the 70,000 casualty count, nor does he mention the murders, atrocities, taking of hostages, and use of sexual violence committed by Hamas against Israeli civilians on October 7. Eight Canadian and Canadian-Israeli citizens were murdered by Hamas, including Vivian Silver, a long-time peace activist who worked with Palestinian communities and NGO’s advocating for peace and shared society.

      • The Jewish population in Ottawa numbers approximately 15,000 people. Despite being a little over 1% of the population, Canadian Jews have experienced unprecedented levels of antisemitism since October 7.

      • Artur Wilczynski, former Canadian Ambassador, criticized Saravanamuttoo for amplifying hate while the Jewish community in Ottawa has been under attack.

        

        Artur Wilczynski@Arturmaks

        The incidence of antisemitic hate crime in the city of Ottawa compounded by years of incitement and harassment and Saravanamuttoo amplifies the hate.

        

        Jesse Brown @JesseBrown

        In Ottawa, antizionist teenagers built pressure cooker bombs, intending to slaughter hundreds of Jews. In Ottawa, a man with an online history of hatred stabbed a Jewish grandmother in a kosher supermarket. SO, what do the people of Ottawa need to hear from their next mayor....?

        11:06 PM · Aug 21, 2026 · 2.58K Views

        3 Replies · 9 Reposts · 65 Likes

• ADVICE FROM SURVIVORS OF SYNAGOGUE ATTACKS

  • The Forward published a piece this week with advice from survivors of Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue and Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas. The article interviews a congregant and rabbi who survived the mass shooting and 11-hour hostage crisis in Pittsburgh and Texas, respectively. Both give words of wisdom to Central Synagogue, following the hate crime last week.

    “We’re here, and we know how they feel. It’s not a good feeling, and we shouldn’t have to live with this. We are in a time of biblical proportions.” - Audrey Glickman, survivor, Tree of Life

    “We have to live our values of loving the stranger. Judaism has always been a part of the world, even when we try to isolate ourselves from it. The walls will never be high enough. It is also a Jewish value to protect our own lives, to value our own lives. We should employ that with the rational part of our brain, not the emotional part. We shouldn’t panic, but we should be prepared.” - Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker

• THE FOOD COLLAB WE DIDN’T KNOW NEEDED

  • Mike Solomonov, the Israeli chef and restauranteur behind Zahav, Goldie, Federal Donuts, K’far, and multiple other restaurants, is doing a one-night collaboration with Chef Kwame Onwuachi. Onwuachi owns acclaimed restaurant Tatiana in New York City. Both chefs are James Beard award winners and will collaborate on a 4-course dinner at Zahav to celebrate the launch of Onwuachi’s new book, All Hours.

    

    Photo Source: Mike Solomonov Instagram

• JEWISH FILM HONORING THE RIGHTEOUS AMONG THE NATIONS WINS BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT AT BURBANK FILM FESTIVAL

  • The Righteous Road Trip, a film documenting the gentiles that saved Jews during the Holocaust, won the award for Best Documentary Short at the Burbank International Film Festival.

    

    Photo Source: BurbankFilmFest Instagram

  • The film follows Jonny Daniels, a British-Israeli activist, as he travels over 2,000 miles across three countries in Europe to give gifts and Christmas trees to surviving members, most of whom are over 90 years old, to the last Righteous Among the Nations. Vanessa Roth, an award-winning filmmaker, directed and co-produced the documentary.