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New York State

This is the Forward’s coverage of the Jewish community in New York state, home to the most Jews of any U.S. state.

See also: New York City

The Latest

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Ahead of Simchat Torah street parties, mayor says NYPD not sure how to enforce new health rules

The New York City Police Department does not know how it will enforce new state restrictions on religious gatherings just days before Simchat Torah, a holiday typically celebrated in Orthodox communities with massive dance parties that spill onto the street. “The lawyers all have to get on the same page, and the NYPD has to…

By Ari Feldman Oct 8, 2020 | 3 min read
News
Orthodox stage mask-burning protest in Brooklyn, furious at new COVID-19 rules

Hundreds of Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn thronged the streets of Borough Park last night to protest New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new COVID-19 restrictions, which directly target Orthodox neighborhoods with high infection rates and would dramatically disrupt Orthodox life during the last week of the High Holidays. At the gathering, a video shared on social…

By Ari Feldman Oct 7, 2020 | 6 min read
News
Cuomo, pointing finger at Orthodox community, will shut down schools in virus hotspots

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a striking challenge to leaders in the Orthodox Jewish community on Monday, demanding that they comply with state rules capping attendance at religious gatherings and enforce mask wearing in order to avoid a total shutdown of religious institutions. The challenge came after the governor announced that, effective Tuesday, he…

By Ari Feldman Oct 5, 2020 | 6 min read
News
The Jewish couple behind the Central Park women’s statue

When the statue of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Sojourner Truth was unveiled in Central Park, becoming the first statue in Central Park to honor historical women, the Jewish couple largely responsible for making it happen watched the proceedings via Livestream from their home in La Jolla. The former longtime New Yorkers couldn’t…

By Alix Wall Sep 13, 2020 | 4 min read
Fast Forward
COVID spikes in NYC Orthodox neighborhoods, large weddings eyed as culprit

(JTA) – Rising fears about a second wave of coronavirus cases in New York City’s Orthodox communities appear to be coming to pass, with the proportion of tests turning up cases of the disease more than four times the citywide rate in one heavily Orthodox neighborhood in newly released data from late August. Meanwhile, rising…

By Shira Hanau Sep 8, 2020 | 5 min read
Fast Forward
Alvin Kass, long-serving NYPD rabbi, mugged on Upper West Side

NYPD Chief Chaplain Rabbi Alvin Kass was mugged near his home on Manhattan’s Upper West Side early Tuesday morning, the New York Post reported. Kass, 84, was confronted by a man saying he was hungry, who went into Kass’ pockets. The assailant grabbed Kass’ wallet, but it dropped to the ground, and the assailant left…

By Ari Feldman Sep 1, 2020 | < 1 min read
News
Jewish nursing homes struggle with extra costs from COVID-19

Jewish nursing homes are hurting. Even as some of their clients fight the coronavirus itself, the homes are struggling with the extra financial burdens that come from preventing the virus’s spread: •Miami Jewish Health, the largest nursing home in southeast Florida, has laid off about 30 employees and furloughed another 10. Though it has received…

By Stewart Ain Aug 19, 2020 | 4 min read
Fast Forward
“Do you pledge not to travel to Israel:” Democratic Socialists asks NYC council candidates

(JTA) – Lots of candidates for New York City Council are expected to seek an endorsement from the local Democratic Socialists of America chapter, a rising force in city politics, in next year’s elections. To apply for the endorsement, the candidates will have to decide if they will pledge not to travel to Israel if…

By Shira Hanau Aug 14, 2020 | 2 min read

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