Opinion

In a brazen move to attack nearly every single one of the hundreds, if not thousands, of synagogues and the millions of Jews in New York, Democratic Socialists in the New York State Legislature are trying to dissolve any non-profit that is monetarily associated with Israel.

Yes, we are brothers with a common fate and destiny. We will survive and thrive together, or history shows that we will not survive. We are people of the book. Books are made of words. Words are powerful and dangerous. Used properly, they can inspire, uplift, result in unfathomable achievements. Used to incite, to vilify, to degrade, they can lead to total and complete destruction.

As reported in last week’s Queens Jewish Link, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib was at the forefront of an attempt to co-opt the 75^th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel to push revisionist history about the events that occurred immediately thereafter. Tlaib, working with radical anti-Israel and Jew-hating groups, was pushing a Nakba event in order to “educate” her fellow members of Congress on the pseudo-historical notion that all the problems that have befallen the Palestinian people in the last three quarters of a century are squarely because of the Jews.

Starting on Wednesday night and going through Monday, May 15, the American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), with the help of other groups like the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), will be hosting a series of events to highlight the 75^th anniversary of the Nakba. Their goal is to continue to spread their revisionist history to Congress and the rest of the world about what happened in 1948.

The monstrosity of a state budget passed a month after it was originally due, and it is seeking to not just run the state government, but actively interfere in the day to day lives of New Yorkers.  The budget, amounting to a massive $229.8 billion, represents a 3.7 percent increase from the previous year and a staggering 69 percent increase from a decade ago. The budget includes various components such as Medicaid, Covid relief funds, federal aid, and borrowed capital funds.  The part that’s garnering a lot of headlines, however, is the regulation against gas stoves.  

I am proud to call Queens my home. What makes our borough so vibrant are the unique, tight-knit communities and neighborhoods that have persisted and thrived over the 40 years I have lived here. For my part, I have been proud to work to support and strengthen the Jewish communities of Kew Gardens, Kew Gardens Hills, Forest Hills, and Flushing as President of Tomchei Shabbos of Queens.