In the News

MLK was clear: Anti-Zionism is antisemitism – opinion The question is not what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would say today – he already told us. The question is whether we are prepared to listen. DR. MARTIN Luther King, Jr. addresses the crowd from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, during the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons) ByMARC SCHNEIER JANUARY 18, 2026 10:44 “The whole world must see that Israel must exist and has a...

By Barbara Russo-Lennon Jewish counter-protesters gather in front of Park East Synagogue as police keep demonstrators separated during a protest against a Nefesh B’Nefesh event on Nov. 19 Photo by Yoav Ginsburg/ZUM A prominent NYC rabbi expressed cautious optimism after Mayor Zohran Mamdani quietly reinstated an Adams-era executive order that he previously revoked: One that directed the NYPD to better regulate protests outside houses of worship, including synagogues. Rabbi Marc Schneier, president...

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani rescinded nine executive orders that his predecessor, Eric Adams, had issued before he left office. Among the orders Mamdani rolled back were a BDS ban, and the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism. By Michael Arria  January 2, 2026 Zohran Mamdani at the Resist Fascism Rally in New York City’s Bryant Park on October 27, 2024. (Photo: Bingjiefu He, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0) In his first hours in office, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani rescinded...

“Wherever anti-Zionism has been normalized, it has led to an increase of hostilities toward Israel and the Jewish people,” Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch told JNS. “I would welcome the mayor waking up one day and understanding that.” Debra Nussbaum Cohen New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Jan. 1, 2026. Credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office. Within moments of Zohran Mamdani’s swearing in as New York City mayor at midnight on Jan. 1, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch called JNS from Jerusalem, explaining...

        Rabbi Marc Schneier argued that contemporary Jewish communities—particularly in the United States—possess a level of strength, visibility, and influence unparalleled in modern history, even as hostility toward Jews intensifies globally.   By: Reuven Y. Epstein At a time when headlines around the world chronicle a troubling resurgence of antisemitic incidents, a prominent American rabbi is offering a counternarrative that is both sobering and unexpectedly hopeful....

BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 4.​ The Chairperson of the Caucasus Muslims Office, Sheikhulislam Pashazade, received a delegation led by President of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding (FFEU) Rabbi Marc Schneier today, the office told Trend. Greeting the guests, Pashazade spoke about the unique multicultural lifestyle in Azerbaijan, the leading role of the Azerbaijani state in international interfaith dialogue thanks to the efforts and initiatives of President Ilham Aliyev, and the activities of...

Baku, December 4, AZERTAC Sheikhulislam Allahshukur Pashazade, Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Board (CMB), met with a delegation led by Marc Schneier, President and Founder of the US-based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. During the meeting, Allahshukur Pashazade emphasized Azerbaijan’s unique multiculturalism and its role in international interfaith dialogue, crediting the country’s leadership and the Caucasus Muslims Board for promoting global cooperation. He highlighted the coexistence...

  BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 4.​ The Chairperson of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations, Ramin Mammadov, met with a delegation led by Rabbi Marc Schneier, President of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding (FFEU), on December 4, the Committee told Trend. According to the Committee, Mammadov stressed that promoting the country’s strong multicultural values remains a key priority of state religious policy. ”Under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, comprehensive...

By Rabbi Marc Schneier   As ceasefire negotiations continue between Israel and Hamas to end the war, the eyes of the world once again turn to the Gulf. The region’s leadership has proven that diplomacy, rooted in faith and moral conviction, can achieve what decades of conflict could not. Today, that same leadership is vital to transforming a temporary truce into a foundation for lasting peace. Gulf countries – Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates – have already shown the world that reconciliation...

Zohran Mamdani believes that most of the backlash to his candidacy is “Islamophobic.” It is not. Daily News – Opinion – by Rabbi Marc Schneier   Zohran Mamdani believes that most of the backlash to his candidacy is “Islamophobic.” It is not. I scrolled down my X timeline after last Wednesday’s debate, seeing dozens of people saying that anyone who is critical of Mamdani’s stance on Israel is “Islamophobic.” Throughout my more than two decades of building bridges between Jews and...