The New York State Republican Party’s election night event in Manhattan was among the few nationwide GOP gatherings that had little to celebrate Tuesday night. Until 12:30 AM, the evening’s program was a litany of concessions. First came Joe DioGuardi, the long shot challenger to Democratic senatorial incumbent Katherine Gillibrand, who left the stage of…
Virginia Republican Rep. Eric Cantor has provoked heated reaction with his proposal that American assistance to Israel be taken out of the annual foreign aid bill and be passed separately, on its own — a suggestion that appeared to telegraph his party’s intention to significantly reduce foreign aid now that the GOP has gained control…
MIDTOWN MANHATTAN — On an evening of much Democratic sorrow, there’s one room full of Democrats erupting in cheer: the glitzy ballroom of the Sheraton Hotel in midtown Manhattan, where the state party is indeed partying in front of a gigantic American flag. Screens show broadcasts from local NY1 News, but not national election results…
SKOKIE, ILL. — Politics and economics were on the menu Tuesday at Ken’s Diner, a kosher restaurant on Dempster Street, the commercial heart of the Chicago suburb of Skokie. With a widely held, well-deserved reputation for the world’s best hamburgers, Dan Hechtman, co-owner and brother of the eponymous Ken, measures the nation’s economic health through…
A community defined by its quest for social justice and known for its disproportionate support for the Democratic Party has woken up to a new reality, dominated by a clear message from voters who chose cuts over spending, Republicans over Democrats. Jewish politicos and communal activists began the process of adjustment, bidding farewell to five…
TEANECK, N.J. — It’s a beautiful fall day in this suburban town 10 miles from Manhattan. Benjamin Franklin Middle School is located on a quiet side street, framed by gorgeous trees. Far from the hubbub of contested elections and attack ads, voting this afternoon has the feeling of small town America, what with neighbors greeting…
The blogosphere is abuzz with people wondering why the singer once known as Cat Stevens, and later as Yusuf Islam, was invited to sing at Jon Stewart’s and Stephen Colbert’s “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear” last weekend in Washington. Now going by just Yusuf — his given name was Steven Demetre Georgiou — the…
FLATBUSH, BROOKLYN — On election day here, the name of the game is religious education. Home to an affluent and increasingly observant Syrian Jewish community, Flatbush is a neighborhood of elegant houses and well-manicured lawns hugging Ocean Parkway, one of Brooklyn’s busier thoroughfares. Life in the Jewish community here orbits around the gleaming Sephardic Community…
BORO PARK, BROOKLYN — On election day in this ultra-Orthodox Jewish enclave, the sound of trucks can’t be ignored. On 12th Avenue, a Chevy Aveo with speakers taped to its roof calls in Yiddish for voters to support New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino. On 48th Street, a Budget rental truck promotes Eric Schneiderman,…
FAIRFAX, LOS ANGELES — In Los Angeles’ heavily Jewish Fairfax District, Bill and Jay, a couple of alte kochers lingering over bagels and coffee at Canter’s Deli (“Regulars,” said one of the Canter’s staff, “Same table, same food, same shtick!”), seemed to evoke the two sides of the Jewish vote here. “I’ve very excited,” Bill…
DELRAY BEACH, FLA. — The weather is far brighter than the mood on this election day, the temperature a toasty 81, the sky a cloudless blue, the breeze just enough to ruffle the fronds of the royal and sabal palms that grace the grounds of Boca Delray Golf and Country Club. “Another gorgeous day in…
