Community Corner

Package Includes $2.75 Billion for Parochial K-12 Schools

The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (Orthodox Union) welcomed Congressional leaders’ agreement Monday on a COVID-19 relief package that includes many important and critical measures such as substantial funds to support America’s K-12 schools, including $2.75 billion to support Jewish, Catholic, and other nonpublic day schools.

 My Extended Family’s 350 children from single-parent homes took over the entire Jewish Children’s Museum in Crown Heights on the first night of Chanukah, for their Annual Chanukah Party. Each child received Chanukah gelt and a gift and was made to feel the light of Chanukah.

During this difficult time, Margaret Tietz Nursing and Rehabilitation reached out to community seniors at the Young Israel of Forest Hills Senior League to provide traditional holiday meals. The catering truck arrived with hundreds of meals boxed and ready to go. Reservations were made for members to come by and pick up the meals, socially distanced and wearing masks. Margaret Tietz is always glad to connect with community seniors and provide assistance in whatever way possible.

Mr. Seymour N. Chesir’s dedication to the Yeshiva of Central Queens both preserved its legacy of excellence in both Judaic and secular education and fomented the vision for the years that lay ahead. In the month since Mr. Chesir’s passing on November 19, his lasting impressions have emerged from those who knew and worked with him, solidifying his consistent efforts. For well over half a century, Mr. Chesir devoted countless hours serving on the YCQ Board of Trustees as president and chairman of the board, and his name remains synonymous with the contemporary YCQ.

OU Kosher, the world’s largest kosher food certification agency, last week condemned the European Court of Justice’s affirmation of a Belgian law requiring stunning an animal prior to its slaughter, which effectively serves as a ban on ritual animal slaughter for kosher and halal food.

David I. Weprin is a familiar face in local politics, having served six terms since 2010, as our Assembly Member for the 24^th District, covering a large swath of Queens along the Grand Central Parkway from the Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Glen Oaks, through Oakland Gardens, Fresh Meadows, and Jamaica Estates to Briarwood, roughly bordered by Hillside Avenue and Union Turnpike, and then into Richmond Hill. His campaign for New York City’s Office of the Comptroller should not come as a surprise, considering his expansive knowledge in the financial arena.