For What it’s Worth: Warren Hecht

Candidates have always made outlandish promises just to get their supporters to go out and vote. However, it was assumed that once the person was elected, these promises would not be fulfilled. Trump changed that dynamic, and Mamdani has followed in his footsteps. Two major events have already occurred in 2026: one locally and one internationally.

There have been many silly things done by this administration. Probably the silliest was the big announcement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the State Department is changing the font for its documents back to Times New Roman from Calibri. Rubio called the original change “woke,” claiming it had been done to mitigate accessibility issues for individuals with disabilities. With all of the international crises going on—Ukraine, Israel and Hamas, Syria, and Venezuela—the Secretary of State felt it was so important to change the font back to Times New Roman.

Last week, when I wrote my column, it was the first day I had the flu. Because I was sick and had less energy and focus than usual, I changed the topic I had originally planned and instead wrote about the Turning Point conference. It seemed to be the right choice, since it made the front page, which was unusual.

I am writing my column on December 7, 2025, the 84^th anniversary of the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, what President Roosevelt proclaimed “a day that will live in infamy.” Eighty-four years later, I doubt many Americans are commemorating the day or even know what happened on this date in 1941.

We see that in our time, individuals running for election address the economy, including affordability and inflation. Voters often focus solely on these issues and ignore all the other troubling things those candidates have said in the past, instead choosing to look only at what they promise to do in the future. In the past, a politician’s views on Israel—which often masked antisemitism, or were blatant antisemitism outright—would have disqualified a person.

Before I discuss the remainder of my trip, I want to comment on the photograph that accompanied my article in last week’s Queens Jewish Link. It was not provided by me. If you look carefully at the photo, there is a red street sign that says “No Standing Anytime.” Clearly, this picture was taken in New York and not in Hungary, and it is not an accurate depiction of what you would have seen on the streets of Budapest. There are Chasidim in Budapest who appear to be in charge of the Beit Midrash shul where I davened. The kosher supervision authority over all kosher establishments in Budapest, to my knowledge, is the Beth Din Tzedek of the Chareidi Communities of Budapest. However, the majority of Jews on the streets in the Jewish Quarter are not Chasidim.