Sergey Kadinsky

The Council district covering Downtown Flushing does not have a sizable Jewish population, but certainly the decisions made by its future Council Member can affect Jewish communities across the city, in the funding they receive, combating anti-Semitism, and the city’s relationship with Israel. Incumbent Peter Koo is term-limited and there are nine candidates seeking his seat, each with deep resumes of civic and political involvement.

This past Monday, the Stop & Shop supermarket on Hempstead Turnpike in West Hempstead reopened following the killing of store manager Ray Wishropp on April 20 by a former employee. Neighbors of this popular supermarket expressed solidarity with Wishropp’s family, and the two shooting survivors who also worked at the store.

 A small spelling change relating to the hatred of Jews was announced last Friday by the Associated Press. Anti-Semitism will no longer appear with a hyphen in the AP Stylebook, the highly respected guide to punctuation, abbreviations, and pronouns that is used by journalists and educators. When placed inside a sentence, it will appear in lower case.

 When North Woodmere resident Eytan Israelov, 24, was accepted to the nursing school at Columbia University, he was proud to be accepted to the Ivy League school but also noticed the school’s logo, a crown topped by a cross in the highly specific color called Columbia Blue. He was not offended by the logo that predates this country’s independence, but wanted to personalize his graduation gown in a way that celebrates his Jewish identity.

The city’s largest Jewish nonprofit works closely with the mayor in assisting the neediest individuals with food, housing, and other services. With an election this year, it hosted six mayoral candidates in an online forum on Monday, where they spoke of their vision for post-COVID New York City.

When a candidate for City Council speaks out against anti-Semitism, such a statement is expected in the city with the country’s largest Jewish population. Likewise, when that candidate meets with a popular online Jewish news publication, she appears to be making the right moves in getting the word out among Jewish voters.