Dear Editor:
Queens Jewish Link readers can help press Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to urge Judge Gregory Carro to give would-be synagogue attacker Matthew Mahrer an appropriate sentence.
Background: Mahrer and co-conspirator Christopher Brown were arrested in Penn Station in November 2022 after Brown announced on social media an imminent attack on a synagogue. Police found among their possessions an illegal, enhanced, loaded gun, which the two had bought from ex-con Jamile Hakime for $650, an eight-inch knife, body armor, ski mask, and Nazi swastika patch.
On November 13, Brown was sentenced to ten years in state prison plus five years’ probation. Earlier, Hakime was sentenced to federal prison for selling the illegal gun. On January 22, New York State Supreme Criminal Court Judge Gregory Carro is scheduled to sentence Mahrer. The plea deal worked out could send Mahrer away for 3.5 to 15 years for possession of the gun and ammunition.
Mahrer lives with his parents around the corner from Congregation Ohab Zedek in Manhattan. His parents have mounted a campaign to represent him as a troubled young man who became Brown’s follower. Mahrer, now 24, was a 22-year-old adult when he participated in the planning of what was to be a deadly attack on a New York City synagogue. He must be held accountable for his actions. He conspired with Brown, bought the enhanced, illegal gun, and stashed it in his bedroom.
Please take out a few moments now to call DA Bragg’s office at 212-335-9000 or email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Urge him to press Judge Carro to apply a meaningful sentence, reflecting the seriousness of Mahrer’s intent and culpability in the deadly plot to attack a synagogue with Brown, which, based on all reports, was on the cusp of being actualized.
Our voices are heard when we raise them. And, of course, pass on this message to anyone you believe will respond.
Sincerely,
Lynne Bursky Tammam, Nessim Tammam, Glenn Richter
NYC Voters Love Murder and Mayhem
Dear Editor:
Interesting analysis offered by QJL columnist Izzo Zwiren on the Daniel Penny case. There are a few things worth noting that were left out of Zwiren’s piece.
First, in understanding how New York City got to a point where the District Attorney’s office prosecutes a subway hero while glorifying the thug “victim,” one merely needs to look at New York City voting patterns. Inner city populations and mostly White “wokesters” are in love with murder and mayhem. Now that is a weird sentence to write, but the fact is that they vote for it every chance they get. That’s how DA Alvin Bragg, who has ostensibly legalized most violent crime, garners nearly 85% of the vote when he is up for election.
It’s how Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who presided over the murder capital of the country, gets voted out of office last year for Brandon Johnson, a replacement who incredibly is more pro-criminal, anti-police than Lightfoot was. Slogans such as “Defund the Police” have fallen out of favor with the inner city and woke crowd, so softer, nicer sounding terms such as “Reimagining Law Enforcement” and “Restorative Justice” have replaced them.
Oddly enough, this ideology has biblical origins: it represents the type of justice meted out in Sodom and Gemorah. Victims of violent crime are revictimized when they see the perpetrators either under-sentenced or let off completely. Political pundits were amazed at how much redder New York City got this past election, but that was more an aberration, given Kamala Harris’ own political ineptitude and being on the wrong side of 80/20 issues such as immigration and inflation. When it comes to inner city crime, Democrats own the electorate. Sure, on occasion, you’ll see a few people on the news complaining about not being able to walk the city streets anymore or feel secure riding the subway, but those are the outliers. By and large, violent crime remains super popular in urban centers.
Another point worth noting is the coverage mainstream media has given this case. Descriptions of the “victim” Jordan Neely routinely omit his 42 arrests, including several violent felonies such as his slugging a 67-year-old woman in 2021. Instead, he is portrayed as a subway-performing, Michael Jackson impersonator.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, at the time of the incident, Neely was high on K2, a powerful synthetic marijuana frequently used by homeless drug abusers. For those unfamiliar with K2, it offers the user superhuman strength as well as an impervious feeling to any pain. It is not uncommon for ten cops to be called in to subdue perps who are hyped up on K2. Had Daniel Penny released the choke hold he had on Neely, who was previously threatening other subway riders, it is likely Neely would have responded with a violent, potentially life-threatening attack on those around him. None of these points are brought up by the media, the District Attorney’s office, or local politicians. Instead, they correctly tailor their responses to please the voters of New York City, who time after time vote in those who will continue to perpetuate the murder and mayhem that is destroying New York City.
Zwiren is correct in his assertion that NYPD is more than capable of squashing the violent crime in New York City. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani already showed that can be done. But Zwiren blaming woke DAs for letting violent criminals go free while prosecuting their victims is incorrect. They are only making good on the mandate they receive from the electorate that continues to vote them into office.
Jason Stark
Dear Editor:
So, Moshe Hill is very upset that President Biden pardoned his son Hunter. Now I agree that ideally Biden should not have done that, especially after he said he wouldn’t. However, as usual, Mr. Hill’s righteous indignation is a little much to take when you look at the actions of the person he enthusiastically supports, President-elect Trump.
It just so happens that we have a record of how Trump uses pardons. He pardoned Paul Manafort and Roger Stone, who both obstructed justice to hinder the investigation into him. That’s like a mob boss being able to pardon underlings who stay loyal. Has he ever issued a broad pardon similar to the one Biden used? Sure, he issued a wide-ranging pardon to Michael Flynn, who lied to the FBI on his behalf. Did he pardon family members? Sure, he pardoned his mechutan Charles Kushner (who he now wants to appoint as an ambassador!). There were also drug traffickers and violent felons among the many more he pardoned.
Mr. Hill quotes Jack Posobiec, the Pizzagate guy and definitely one you turn to for truthful reporting, to claim that Biden issued the pardon after being threatened by Hunter. (Get it straight: Did Biden lie or was he blackmailed?) But rather than believe that a far-right activist has the scoop on the Bidens, it more likely has to do with Trump announcing that he is nominating Kash Patel to be FBI Director. Patel, when he wasn’t doing things like hawking a “vaccine reversal” pill, spent the last four years demonstrating a Hunter Biden obsession. (Remember when conservatives freaked out about Alvin Bragg making some references during his campaign to holding Trump accountable? That’s nothing compared to Patel’s rhetoric.) It’s reasonable to assume that is what caused Biden to reconsider.
But Mr. Hill is still very upset about all of Biden’s supposed lies. However, it’s curious that the examples he gives are basically the type of self-serving opinions and predictions that politicians make every day, like Biden’s takes on Afghanistan and inflation. Is the puffery that Trump applies to everything he does a lie? Is he a liar for saying the market would crash if Biden was elected in 2020 (and again in 2024)? No, it’s when he denies verifiable facts, that’s where he’s truly in a league of his own. When he insists he won every election he’s lost (the 2016 Iowa caucus, the 2016 popular vote, the 2020 election). Or when he continuously insists his crowds are larger than they are. That’s just the tip of a giant iceberg and is something that isn’t typical. And with things like the election, you have the whole MAGA apparatus taking actions to try to justify his falsehoods. It always amazes me when a Trump supporter gets sanctimonious about someone else’s lies.
Mr. Hill also revives his claims about Biden’s supposedly crooked business dealings. A while ago he was treating claims about Biden making money off his policy decisions as fact, and saying it was grounds for impeachment, but strangely stopped mentioning those accusations during the campaign. No doubt that had to do with the Republicans investigating Biden continuously failing to offer up any type of legitimate proof to back up their ever-shifting claims. So why bring it up again? It appears that with Patel in tow, Republicans are ready to go back to the well. After all, investigating the Bidens, although unsuccessfully, is one of the only things that their dysfunctional majority was able to accomplish last Congress. But it’s another thing that is laughable to focus on when Trump is poised to again take money in from foreign sources when he is in office. (Maybe the Saudis will give his son-in-law another $2 billion to manage out of the goodness of their hearts.)
It should also be noted that Mr. Hill once more turns to the claim that Biden worked to fire the Ukrainian prosecutor who was looking into Burisma, the company Hunter was involved with. Of course, that has been thoroughly debunked, as the record shows that a broad coalition wanted him fired for the opposite reason, for not investigating Burisma. So why does Mr. Hill continue to push this discredited claim? It appears that it’s not quite the truth that he’s after.
Regards,
Yaakov Ribner
QJL Front Cover Is a Big Deal
Dear Editor:
Newspapers are often influential in shaping public opinion. As such, they carry responsibility to be both informative and accurate. Frum media publications have the added responsibility of not offending the religious sensibilities of their mostly religious readership.
Therefore, I am registering my discontent with the QJL for featuring actor Michael Rapaport on this past week’s cover. While Rapaport is a celebrity and an honoree at the upcoming One Israel Fund Gala event, he is also a menuval, much better known for his vulgarity. His habit of dropping F bombs and crass manner of speech is extremely off-putting to any refined person, irrespective of religious observance.
Contrast that with the Torah personalities who graced the QJL cover the last three weeks: Rabbi Welcher, Rabbi Steinberg, Rabbi Meir Chaim Gutfreund zt”l, and Rabbi Zvi Kogan Hy”d – all role models, all excellent front cover choices. While it’s nice that Rapaport supports Israel, he does not belong on the cover of your otherwise excellent publication.
Doniel Behar
Why 2025 Metropolitan Transportation Authority Fare Hikes Make Sense
Dear Editor:
NYC Transit subway and bus riders should hold accountable any public official, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board member, or transit advocate who opposes future planned four-percent fare hikes in 2025 missing why they are needed. They were previously assumed as part of the MTA’s $51 billion 2020-2024 Five-Year Capital Plan.
In the end, quality and frequency of service is dependent upon secure revenue streams. We all will have to contribute – be it at the fare box or tax revenues generated by different levels of government redistributed back to the MTA. Fare hikes are periodically required if the MTA and operating agencies such as the NYC Transit bus, subway, and Staten Island Railway, MTA Bus, Long Island Rail Road, and Metro North Railroad are to provide the services millions of New Yorkers count on daily. They are inevitable, due to increasing costs of labor, power, fuel, supplies, materials, routine safety, state of good repair, replacement of worn-out rolling stock, upgrades to stations, yards, and shops necessary to run any transit system and inflation.
In 2023, the MTA lost $700 million to fare evasion and spent $1.3 billion on employee overtime. There is little reason to believe that the 2024 numbers will not significantly change. In return for honest riders paying the new four-percent fare increase starting in 2025, the MTA must step up and contribute. The MTA must reduce annual fare evasion by several hundred million and employee overtime payments to well below $1 billion. A fare increase requires MTA fair reforms when it comes to excessive fare evasion and employee overtime expenses.
TANSTAAFL or “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” or in this case a free ride.
Sincerely,
Larry Penner
Dear Editor:
Last week proved once again that if you’re a Democrat, you’re not a Torah-observant Jew. What the current Democratic Party stands for is diametrically opposite what our Torah values are. First, Columbia University is still very much anti-Semitic. There was a newspaper, Columbia Intifada, printed and dispersed among the students. The Democratic Party has been infiltrated with anti-Semites, Jew- and Israel-haters to the core. Where are all the “Jewish” Democrats speaking out? Silence. Not one is proud of their Jewish heritage and helping another Jew. It’s all about getting elected and maintaining power. Senator Chuck Schumer, et al. are pathetic.
Next, you had the Solicitor General of the United States, Elizabeth Prelogar, arguing on behalf of her “Jewish” boss, AG Merrick Garland, that children as young as two years old should be allowed to make the decision to permanently disfigure themselves so they can never have children. You have three activist Justices, all appointed by Democrats, who are in favor of this! Their arguments to affirm the procedures were actually quite absurd. It demonstrated how, as the Left likes to call it, “unqualified” they are to be Supreme Court Justices. The Democratic Party has lost all morals and principles. They do not believe in G-d and certainly do not believe that each human is made in the image of G-d. Adults – parents and teachers – should be protecting children. Now we are actively destroying them? Should this decision come out the wrong way, our society will have collapsed. The Jewish people are a moral and compassionate people. Should an adult struggle with this issue of transgenderism, then we do whatever we can in a respectful and empathetic manner. Children should be off limits and Republicans need to do whatever they can to put an end to it.
There is talk of Joe Biden giving out preemptive pardons to certain people based on their conduct towards Donald Trump or – in Dr. Fauci’s case – the country. Democrats spoke of “threat to democracy” and “Trump will seek retribution if he’s elected.” If Joe Biden gives any one of those individuals a pardon, then he is complicit in covering up whatever crime they committed. There was clear corruption and abuse of power in some cases. Pam Bondi and Kash Patel would go after criminals, whether they worked in Trump’s first Presidency or Biden’s current administration. Biden sent his goon squad to go after political enemies.
Shalom Markowitz
The Hardest Job in the World
Dear Editor:
I actually feel sorry for Joe Biden. His son Hunter must have had to have made a huge pot of lentil soup and shechted a large animal for his father to have pardoned him. If we, as parents, had been in Joe’s shoes, we would have done the same thing. Of course, we would have disciplined our son 50 years ago and taught him some lessons.
So, what’s the hardest job in the world? NASA scientist? Brain surgeon? How about being a parent? Supposedly, we have learned from our parents what to do and what not to do. Corporal punishment is taboo. Yelling and screaming (my specialty) is a no-no. Lavishing too much praise or too little praise are both bad ideas. A time-out for boys should be from ages 2-15, and for girls from 12 to the wedding. Ask Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Moshe, and David. The job is impossible, but when done well, wonderful.
Being a good in-law is equally difficult but a little easier. Just keep your mouth closed and form a constant smile on your face. However, if you are Donald Trump, you just give your mechutanim powerful jobs in your administration. Charles Kushner for ambassador to France? P-l-e-a-s-e! Why not make Hunter Biden the head of the Justice Department? Wait a minute. What about me? I took seven years of French, and I can ask where the bathroom is in French.
Debbie Horowitz
Rabbi Meyer Fendel: A Visionary Legacy of Torah, Community, and HANC
Dear Editor:
It is nearly impossible to capture the multifaceted legacy of Rabbi Meyer Fendel in a single article. He was a man who harmonized seemingly disparate worlds – Olam HaYeshivos with Tziyonut, the Musar Movement with the teachings of Rav Kook, classical yeshivah study with contemporary educational practices, and dreaming with relentless hard work. Yet, as I reflect on his impact while sitting in the very chair he once occupied as the founding Principal of the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County (HANC), I feel compelled to share his extraordinary story.
Founded in 1953, HANC remains a premier yeshivah day school and is now on the verge of its greatest expansion in more than 70 years. What is remarkable, however, is how Rabbi Fendel’s legacy continues to shape each campus. In the high school, for example, pictures of Rav Kook adorn the walls, reflecting Rabbi Fendel’s passion for Tziyonut and the profound influence Rav Kook had on him. His dedication to tikun ha’midos and the Musar Movement is woven into every student’s experience. Most significantly, his belief in embracing all segments of Jewish life – a cornerstone of his founding vision – remains evident in HANC’s steadfast devotion to ahavas Yisrael.
Rabbi Fendel was a visionary with unshakable principles and determination. His book, Nine Men Wanted for a Minyan, recounts the extraordinary journey of founding HANC and the Young Israel of West Hempstead – two institutions that have become pillars of Torah life. At a time when Nassau County lacked formal Jewish educational institutions, Rabbi Fendel dared to envision a thriving Torah-observant community. Guided by Torah Umesorah and figures like Mr. Mendelovich (whose grandchildren attended HANC!), he turned that vision into reality.
Rabbi Fendel’s commitment to building on a foundation of Torah, halachah, and academic excellence was exemplary. His decisions, though often difficult, ensured that HANC’s core values would remain intact. One striking anecdote highlights his courage: At a public discourse following the Six-Day War, Rabbi Fendel challenged Rav Yitzchak Hutner downplaying the miraculous nature of the war. Despite pressure to stay silent, Rabbi Fendel stood firm, though Rav Hutner later privately explained that his approach was guided by pragmatic concerns rather than ideology.
Rabbi Fendel’s educational and pedagogical leadership were legendary. His colleagues, such as Rabbi Schaye Schonbrun, former General Studies Principal at HANC High School, described HANC under Rabbi Fendel as “an educational utopia, an ideal place to learn and work.” He founded Camp Nevei Ashdod, earning the praise of Rav Ovadia Yosef, and was a pioneer in educational innovation, using candid-camera techniques to teach ethics. He also was instrumental in the founding of Midmo – the seminary formerly known as Midreshet Moriah (where my oldest sister Bonnie attended for the simple reason that Rabbi Fendel was involved!) and fulfilled his own dream of making aliyah in the mid-1980s.
Although I grew up in West Hempstead and attended HANC at a time when Rabbi Fendel’s daily presence was less frequent, his impact – and that of his eishes chayil, Goldie a”h – was deeply felt. One story from my mother encapsulates their profound empathy and care. When my parents moved to West Hempstead, Rabbi Fendel was no longer the mara d’asra of the Young Israel, and my family was not yet part of the HANC community. Shortly after, my maternal grandparents tragically passed away and shiv’ah was curtailed by Yom Tov. For years afterward, Goldie and Rabbi Fendel called my mother every Erev Shabbos to check on her – a simple but profound gesture that left an indelible mark.
In a world often marked by division, Rabbi Fendel modeled a harmonious and integrated religious life, drawing from diverse influences to serve as a guide and inspiration to a wide spectrum of Jews. His leadership leaves a legacy and responsibility on HANC, a yeshivah known for its aspirational academics, warmth, commitment to community, passion for Eretz Yisrael and Medinat Yisrael, and unwavering ahavas Yisrael.
Rabbi Fendel’s legacy is not only reflected in the institutions he built, but also in his family, who continue his work in Eretz Yisrael. His children lead Torah institutions and embody the ideals of Torah, Avodah, U’G’milus Chasadim that he instilled as both their father and their principal at HANC.
Rabbi Meyer Fendel was a dreamer who built communities, institutions, and souls. His vision, principles, and compassion leave an enduring legacy that will continue to inspire for generations to come.
Y’hi zichro baruch!
Rabbi Eli Slomnicki
Menahel/Principal
HANC High School
Class of 1997
