In the News

Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a press conference on ICE overreach at the governor’s Manhattan office on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2026 in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams / New York Daily News) By Marc Schneier PUBLISHED: September 18, 2026 at 5:00 AM EDT Yom Kippur, which is coming on Monday, is the most solemn time on the Jewish calendar, is a day of introspection, self-examination, self-evaluation, and self-reflection. At this sacred time of the year, Judaism reminds us that we have the capacity...

Saudi Arabia is embracing the future while remaining firmly grounded in its Islamic faith, Arab heritage and national character (AFP) Rabbi Marc Schneier At sundown on Sept. 11, Jewish families around the world will gather to welcome Rosh Hashanah by dipping apples in honey and praying for a sweet new year. Yet sweetness is only part of the meaning of this sacred season. Rosh Hashanah is more than the Jewish new year. It marks the anniversary of the creation of the world and begins the Ten Days...

  Rabbi Marc Schneier July 24, 2026 Saudi Arabia stands at a crossroads that few outside its own borders fully understand. Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the most consistent American voices for Saudi-Israeli normalization, died on the night of July 11 with an ambitious autumn diplomatic push unfinished. He had briefed Saudi Ambassador to the US Princess Reema bint Bandar. He had briefed Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan. He had told friends that he still had work to do on Israeli-Saudi...

Franklin D. Roosevelt meets with King Abdulaziz aboard the USS Quincy, Feb. 14, 1945. (FDR Presidential Library and Museum) Rabbi Marc Schneier June 15, 2026 On Feb. 14, 1945, in the Great Bitter Lake of the Suez Canal, President Franklin D. Roosevelt met King Abdulaziz aboard the USS Quincy. The American president was returning from Yalta. The Saudi king had never been to sea. The two men spent one day together. The ship carried a transaction: American security in exchange for the steady flow of...

Rabbi Marc Schneier Children wave the Israeli flag as they march in the Israel Day Parade, Sunday, May 18, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) Next Sunday, May 31, more than 50,000 people will march up Fifth Ave. in the Celebrate Israel Parade, as tens of thousands will line the route, reveling in the fact that Israel in its 78th year is a proud Jewish democracy in our indigenous homeland. The Knesset, Israel’s parliament, is sending its largest delegation in the parade’s history. Mayor...

Rabbi Marc Schneier Muslim faithfuls take part in prayer at the Jamacadaha Stadium in Mogadishu on the first day of Eid Al-Adha. (AFP/File) Muslims around the world are preparing for Eid Al-Adha, which commemorates the binding of Ishmael. This is similar to the biblical narrative known as the Akeidah, the binding of Isaac, and both traditions return to the same story. A father, a son, a knife, a mountain and God — who, at the last possible moment, refuses sacrifice. This is not a story of sacrifice....

Rabbi Marc Schneier March 31, 2026  The declaration at Passover affirms that freedom must be inclusive and that no one should be excluded from dignity (Reuters) The festival of Passover, which the Jewish people observe this year at the beginning of April, is the cornerstone of Jewish identity. The defining message of Passover is enduring: we, too, were strangers in pharaonic Egypt, 3,300 years ago. For the Jewish people, this is not merely a historical recollection, it is a moral imperative. Because...

The “buffer zone” legislation for religious institutions was passed with a vote of 44-5, reaching a super-majority that will make it immune from a potential veto. Protesters of the “buffer zone” legislation gather outside New York City Hall on March 26, 2026. (photo credit: Jewish Telegraphic Agency) By GRACE GILSON/JTA MARCH 27, 2026 05:53 The New York City Council passed legislation on Thursday aimed at protecting synagogues from disruptive protests, marking a decisive...

Matthew Fischetti, Carl Campanile, Craig McCarthy, Matt Troutman Thu, March 26, 2026 at 5:40 PM EDT They’re in the zone. The NYPD will be allowed to set up buffer zones around synagogues and other houses of worship under a controversial bill passed by the City Council Thursday — despite fierce opposition from Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s DSA allies. The dramatic vote sends the legislation championed by Council Speaker Julie Menin — who introduced the bill after anti-Israel protesters swarmed synagogues...

New York City Council passes legislation creating protective perimeters around houses of worship and schools to combat antisemitism and ensure safe access during protests. NYPD protect synagogue in New York City Mar 27, 2026, 6:50 AM (GMT+3) The New York City Council passed legislation on Thursday that creates protective perimeters around houses of worship and schools during protests, part of a package designed to combat Jew-hatred and hate crimes across New York City following an uptick of antisemitism...