This week’s substack is dedicated to the beautiful six who were kidnapped on October 7, survived almost a year of starvation, cruelty and torture by Hamas in Gaza, and ultimately murdered (shot at close-range) in a tunnel in Rafah at the end of August 2024. Their second-year yahrzeit (anniversary of a loved one’s death according to the Hebrew calendar) fell this past Shabbat.
Clockwise from top left. Photo Source:
Hersh Goldberg-Polin - American/Israeli - Hersh was kidnapped after fleeing the Nova music festival. He lost his hand/forearm while he and 27 music-goers were hiding in a shelter that was ambushed by Hamas terrorists who threw live grenades in the shelter. His good friend Aner Shaprio, an unarmed soldier, threw seven live grenades out of the shelter as they were launched in until the eighth exploded, killing him. Hersh’s parents, Jon and Rachel, became fierce advocates for the hostages and their families. Hersh was 23 years old when he was murdered.
Almog Sarusi - Almog was kidnapped while attending the Nova music festival with his girlfriend Shahar, who was injured and died on October 7. Almog was taken hostage by Hamas while trying to help Shahar. He was 27 years old when he was murdered.
Eden Yerushalmi - Eden was at the Nova music festival, hiding for four hours before she was kidnapped and taken into Gaza. She was 24 years old when she was murdered.
Alexander Lobanov - Alexander was bartending at the Nova music festival when he was kidnapped into Gaza. His wife Michal was pregnant with their second child when he was taken hostage. Alexander left behind his wife and two young sons, the second born while he was in captivity. He was 33 years old when he was murdered.
Carmel Gat - Carmel was taken hostage visiting her parents in Kibbutz Be’eri. Her mother was killed on October 7 and her sister-in-law taken hostage and later released in the November 2023 ceasefire deal. Carmel was 40 years old when she was murdered.
Or Danino - Or was at the Nova music festival on October 7. He went back to try and help others escape when he was kidnapped into Gaza. Or was engaged and left behind his fiancee Liel. He was 25 years old when he was murdered.
70% OF JULY’S NYC HATE CRIMES TARGET JEWS
The NYPD has released the data on hate crimes for July 2026. 33 confirmed hate crimes were reported last month, 23 of which were against Jews. Since January 1, 2026, 360 hate crimes have occurred in the city, 205 of which were confirmed to be targeted at Jews, representing an 8.5% increase from 2025.
Jews make up 10% of the city’s population.
NYPD data shows other crimes (burglary, murder, grand larceny, felony assault, etc.) have all decreased while hate crimes have increased.
An additional $26 million was allocated to combat hate under the Mamdani administration, but it’s unclear how much of that has been directed to deter and fight antisemitic hate crimes.
Mamdani spoke at a press conference earlier in the week:
“The work to uproot antisemitism out of this city is one that will continue until we see hate crimes come to an end in the city.”
Moshe Spern, the president of United Jewish Teachers, has been an outspoken critic of the mayor:
“When one community is being attacked at this disproportionate rate while the rest of the city gets safer, that is not random. It is a failure of leadership. Jewish New Yorkers have every right to expect that their safety will be treated as a priority, not an afterthought. The mayor must stop the rhetoric that fuels hostility and start treating antisemitic violence with the urgency it demands.”
DOJ INVESTIGATES MAMDANI ADMINISTRATION OVER ‘UNEQUAL TREATMENT’ OF JEWS
The Civil Rights Division of the DOJ has initiated a probe into the Mamdani administration and the allegations of ‘unequal treatment’ of its Jewish community.
The New York Post broke this story this week, reporting that US Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon told the paper that a letter has been sent to the mayor about his treatment of Jews and that his department is actively investigating antisemitism around the country.
“The king of antisemitism is none other than Mayor Mamdani.” - Assistant AG Dhillon
The Post says the mayor’s office did not respond to their request for comment.
Photo Source: Reuters
Jewish community, political, and religious leaders have repeatedly stressed that Mamdani’s anti-Israel rhetoric is contributing to the climate and violence against Jews.
The mayor has faced significant criticism for fanning the flames of antisemitism by his open criticism of Israel, a desire to arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu despite having no legal authority to do so, declining to unequivocally condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada, refusing to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and being the first mayor to not attend the Israel Day parade.
ANTISEMITISM IN AMERICA
FEDERAL LEGISLATION INTRODUCED AIMED AT PROTECTING HOUSES OF WORSHIP AGAINST PROTESTS
The Right to Worship Act was introduced to the Senate and House of Representatives this week. The act aims to protect houses of worship from protest activity during religious services and would create a 100-foot buffer zone around churches, mosques, synagogues, etc.
The legislation was brought by a bipartisan group including Senators Ted Cruz (R. - Texas) and Elissa Slotkin (D. - Michigan) and Congressmen Brad Knott (R. - North Carolina) and Tom Suozzi (D. - New York). A statement by the Congressmen:
“I will always stand up for people’s right to protest peacefully, but attendees of religious services should not be harassed, threatened, intimidated, or targeted for practicing their faith.” - Tom Suozzi
“Today, many Americans are unable to worship without fear of harassment, assault, or other forms of intimidation. The right to worship freely is foundational to our nation and was one of the motivations for its founding. No American should ever feel that their choice is between worshiping in fear and not worshiping at all.” - Brad Knott
Protests outside Park East (NYC) and Adas Torah (L.A.) synagogues in 2025 and 2024. Photo Sources: KTLA, Times of Israel, Getty Images The act is similar to the Buffer Zone Bill that passed in New York this past March. That bill was originally introduced with a 100-foot buffer zone but was modified due to free speech concerns.
The Times of Israel reports that if passed, the bill would “bar individuals from “knowingly disrupting” or “knowing impeding people from participating” at scheduled religious services, including through threats or intimidation.”
Support for the bill has come from Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh groups. A full list of groups that endorsed the Right to Worship Act can be found here.
If passed, the bill would impose civil penalties against offenders:
$2,500.00 for a first offense, $5,000.00 for a second offense, and $10,000.00 for a third offense.
The bill also allows for the individuals targeted by protestors to commence civil actions against the offender(s), and for the Attorney General in the state where the offense occurred to pursue civil actions against the offender(s).
JEWS PIVOT TO OPENING THEIR OWN PUBLISHING HOUSES
In a post-October 7 world, publishing houses have declined to publish books by Jewish and Israeli authors, agents have told authors they need to remove any semblance of a plot or characters being Jewish, or they simply face a “silent moratorium” as reported in the Pen America story last month.
Meg Keene, a well-known non-fiction author, joins other Jewish authors who have recently launched publishing companies to combat this issue.
Photo Source: Sarah Deragon
Keene wrote an essay last month detailing how her fiction novel that had scenes based in Tel Aviv as well as Holocaust stories and Hebrew references, received significant interest in 2023. By 2024, when she began contacting agents she saw warning signs, with some agents saying there were concerns about her Jewish online presence, a character’s Israeli name, and questioning references to her characters’ Zionism. When the novel went out to publishers, the book did not sell. Keene says other Jewish authors shared similar experiences:
“Books that were bought for six figures before Oct. 7 but barely promoted afterward. Israeli agents with stacks of manuscripts that American publishers would not even consider.
For Jewish authors, perhaps the most visceral gut punch was a viral spreadsheet titled “Is your fav author a zionist???” It was a list of Jewish fiction authors, color-coded by how Zionist they were perceived to be, with a column detailing their purported transgression. The spreadsheet itself was eventually taken down, but the message sent to the industry was clear: If you work with Jewish authors, it will cost you.”
But most significantly, Keene says after reviewing the data from Publishers Weekly, she found a “76% decline in fiction deal announcements to large presses that mentioned Jews, Judaism or Israel” and an 82% decrease in 2026.
Solution: Meg Keene Books, an imprint of Wicked Son Press, is born. Wicked Son is a right-leaning nonfiction Jewish publisher but has committed to publishing 4-6 fiction books annually. The books will be chosen by the publisher’s founders and Keene.
“Earlier this year I got to the point where I realized I didn’t have anything left to lose.” - Meg Keene
ANTISEMITISM AROUND THE GLOBE
THAILAND - Israeli Mother and Daughter Beaten by French Tourist
A 62-year-old woman and her 23-year-old daughter (whose names have not been released for privacy) were violently attacked this week by a French tourist in Koh Phangan, an island in Thailand. The attack was so severe the women were hospitalized, with the mother requiring surgery to her ear and head (due to internal bleeding), and the daughter needing surgery on her nose.
The women report they were visiting a waterfall on the island when a man asked where they were from and began verbally assaulting them about Gaza when he learned they were Israeli. He then violently beat the mother until she was unconscious and assaulted the daughter when she tried to defend her mother. The daughter reports breaking free and running to get help. The attacker was later arrested after a subsequent incident and attack on police officers in a neighboring town.
The mother gave a statement from the hospital:
“Out of nowhere, he started beating me viciously and bit my ear. We have injuries all over our bodies, everything is swollen. We went through what felt like a terror attack. It was horrifying.
We tried to fight back, but he was extremely violent. This happened in a place where we never dreamed it could happen. We will learn not to say we are from Israel, because you can never know how someone will react.”
Thailand is a popular destination for Israelis, and has generally been believed to be a safe country both to live and vacation in. The Israeli National Security Council raised the threat level for Israelis traveling to certain parts of Thailand to a Level 2 (take increased precautionary measures) in November 2024. The southern areas of Thailand have a Level 4 threat level (travel to this destination is prohibited. Those who are already there must leave immediately).
CANADA - 95% of Canada’s Jewish College Students Have Experienced Antisemitism
The data is in and the numbers of what Jewish university students in Canada have experienced is staggering. A report titled Campus Antisemitism and Student Experiences (CASE) was issued by the Department of Canadian Heritage detailing antisemitism by province in universities across the country.
The report is broken down into three main sections: Antisemitism is a Campus-Climate Issue, the Lived Experience of Jewish Students, and Institutional Betrayal. Key findings of the survey as reported by 900 Jewish Students:
95.7% - “experienced or witnessed at least one instance of antisemitism over the previous 12 months.”
84% - “antisemitism is a serious problem on campus.”
70% - “said their university does not take antisemitism seriously.”
68% - “campus is not a safe and inclusive place for Jewish students.”
72% - “limit what they say in class about being Jewish.”
CASE is filled with student experiences of antisemitism on campus. A few excerpts from the report:
“I dropped out. My anxiety level was too high and no one at school seemed to care. It is open season on Jewish students.”
“I was told by a professor, in class in the middle of the lecture, that Jews belong in Poland and need to go back.”
“Professors sharing links to Holocaust denial websites as mandatory reading material.”
“I was told to go die when I said I was a Jew from Israel.”
“A Women and Gender Studies professor graded me 0% on an assignment because I spoke about sexual assault on October 7, 2023. He suggested I focus instead on the Israeli Police’s role in sexual assaults.”
“One of my friends was wearing her Magen David [Star of David] and was spat on by someone. She has been afraid to wear her necklace since.”
“I was in the library and saw written on a desk: “just because Hitler killed 6 million Jews does not mean he is a bad person #love #peace #tolerance.”
“Various [protesters] shouted antisemitic slurs at visibly Jewish students on campus, including phrases such as “Hitler should have killed all of you.”
“Residents in my campus residence spread rumours that I am a child killer, a white supremacist, a racist, and a Zionist, simply because they discovered that I was Jewish.”
“A professor cancelled class on October 7 so that students could attend anti-Israel protests.”
This is only a small excerpt. If you wish to read all of student reports, the full CASE survey can be found here.
UNITED KINGDOM - Palestinian Summer School Teaches Kids to ‘Crush Zionism’
The Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), a grassroots organization, hosted 100 Arab youth for a summer program, where students chanted “we will crush Zionism” and “young people, rise up, our revolution is an Arab revolution.”
Photographs and videos from the program have raised concerns about PYM radicalizing youth. Images of some students wearing shirts with the numbers 10 and 7, potentially referencing October 7, as well as an adult wearing a shirt with the number 48, referencing 1948 with the words “the future is decolonial.” They also projected images of Ghassan Kanafani, a Palestinian novelist, militant, and former spokesperson of the PFLP.
Photo Source: PYMBritain Instagram
The Israeli government says PYM has ties with the PFLP, a group affiliated with the Popular Front. A French court referenced a 2014 internal security report that came to the same conclusion. The PFLP has been a designated foreign terrorist organization by the United States government since 1997 and the U.K. since 2014.
PYM’s website says they are an “international movement that organizes Palestinian and Arab youth to struggle for Palestinian liberation…We believe that Palestinian youth have a right and responsibility, even in the far diaspora, to be active participants in working to liberate our people and land from the river to the sea.”
They formed in response to the Oslo Accords and claim to “reject Western imperialism, Zionism, and the Palestinian Authority.”
They have 15 chapters based in Britain, Canada, and the United States.
Their website does not mention Israel but rather only references the Zionists, the occupation, and claims of genocide. There is no mention of Hamas on their website.
The PYM co-hosted a protest in NYC on October 8, 2023.
MIZNON IS COMING TO THE US OPEN
The US Open, the last grand slam of the tennis season, is just weeks away, and a new Jewish restaurant will be joining the food court. Created by acclaimed Israeli chef Eyal Shani, Miznon is a fast-casual concept with locations around the world. Tennis fans can look forward to a pita-centric menu stuffed with a variety of fillings: crispy schnitzel, rib-eye roast beef, and falafel with hummus.
Inside tip: get a side of the green beans. They are an iconic Miznon dish and are addictively snackable.
Photo Source: USTA
JEWISH UCLA STUDENT THAT STOOD UP TO CAMPUS PROTESTERS BECOMES A MARINE
Eli Tsives, a Jewish UCLA student, became known when a video he was in went viral showing him being blocked from walking on campus by pro-Palestine protestors during the 2024 encampments. Tsives went on to become an activist and leading voice for Jewish students.
Tsives has also been active in his position that college students are lacking patriotism. On Saturday he posted on his social media account that he officially became a United States Marine.
JEWISH SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTS 2026 HONOREES
From acclaimed basketball coach Bruce Pearl to tennis player Diego Schwartzman to basketball announcer Marv Albert (whose career spanned five decades), the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inducts its 2026 honorees. The full list of the athletes, coaches, and media personalities can be found here.
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