News

Yeshiva Tiferes Moshe just concluded the amazing V’Shinantam L’Vanecha Shakla V’tarya Chazarah Program! The program gave boys in grades 5 through 8 the opportunity to review the Gemara they have learned and say it over by heart to earn participation in a very special trip. Last Thursday, Camelback Snowtubing Park was filled with close to 50 of our 7^th and 8^th graders who qualified. All the kids had a great time on the slopes while also enjoying the specially made YTM pom-pom winter hats!

Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal (D-Flushing) announces major victories for the Jewish community in the recently enacted New York State budget. Legislators worked throughout the weekend to garner votes and pass an on-time budget in the early morning hours of April 1. The package of bills addressed several areas of concern for New York’s Jewish communities, including increased security money, investment into yeshivos, beneficial healthcare measures, and funding for Holocaust survivors.

This week, the Mix-It-Up Anti-Bullying Club members at the Yeshiva of Central Queens gave lessons to the elementary school students. The first, second, and third graders were read stories about bullying. They then answered questions about the stories and about bullying. The fourth and fifth grades were shown a PowerPoint presentation about bullying, along with a video and song related to bullying. After viewing the PowerPoint and a discussion, the fourth and fifth grade students wrote their thoughts on two anti-bullying quotes that will be displayed in the junior high school building as a reminder.

On Wednesday, April 3, MTA’s Honors College participated in an interactive discussion with Rabbi Aryeh Tuchman (’92), MTA alumnus and Associate Director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism. Rabbi Tuchman discussed anti-Semitism in American history and the modern world, and distinguished between hardcore anti-Semites and those who may not be racist, but were influenced by stereotypical images of Jews that have been perpetuated throughout history. Together, the group read anti-Semitic texts from the early 20^th Century that were directed against Jewish immigrants and compared them to some of the extremist views of today. Rabbi Tuchman also led a Q&A session, which sparked more engaging conversations. MTA talmidim enjoyed this experiential learning opportunity and look forward to exploring more intriguing topics at their next Honors College meeting.

Senator Todd Kaminsky, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato and Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi announced that they secured $175,000 for Shalom Task Force in this year’s state budget.

On Wednesday, April 3, the NYPD held its Annual Pre-Pesach Briefing at the auditorium of One Police Plaza. Among the speakers were Commissioner James P. O’Neill, Jr. and Ambassador Dani Dayan, Consul General for the State of Israel in New York.