Figuring out the mindset of New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani is going to be a constant challenge. Curiously, according to a report from a spokesperson for Rabbi Marc Schneier, Mamdani, while on his way to meet with US President Donald Trump, telephoned Schneier with regard to the antisemitic protest demonstration outside Park East Synagogue, where Schneier’s father, Rabbi Arthur Schneier, is the spiritual leader.
Schneier, who is president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, revealed the gist of the conversation in an interview last week with The New York Times.
Schneier had suggested that the mayor-elect support legislation that would bar demonstrations directly outside houses of worship.
Mamdani reportedly responded, “I love the idea, and I can’t thank you enough.” Mamdani’s spokesperson, Dora Pekec, also confirmed to the NYT that he is interested in Schneier’s legislation idea.
Schneier also told Mamdani that he would like to introduce him to several leaders in the Muslim world who have either forged peace with Israel or who are preparing to do so. He opined to Mamdani that the mayor-elect is “out of touch with Muslim leadership across the world,” and that private meetings arranged by Schneier could help him better understand Israel, anti-Zionist rhetoric, and the impact such rhetoric has on Jewish communities, such as New York City, the largest Jewish community outside of Israel.
52nd anniversary of the passing of David Ben-Gurion
■ The 52nd anniversary of the passing of David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s founding prime minister, was marked last week with a graveside ceremony in Sde Boker and a conference at the Ashkelon Academic College. KAN Reshet Bet early morning radio host Arieh Golan remarked on the fact that in Jerusalem of all places, there is no Ben-Gurion Street. There is an area of government ministries known as Kiryat Ben-Gurion, but there is no major street commemorating the man who, in 1948, proclaimed the establishment of the sovereign State of Israel.
Golan raised the issue several times, including in conversation with Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman, a past foreign minister and defense minister. It was apparently something that Liberman had not thought about before, but once it was brought to his attention, he said that he would speak about it to Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion. Now that a new, massive entrance to the capital is in the process of construction, once inaugurated, it could and should certainly be named for Ben-Gurion.
■ Later that morning, former justice minister Meir Shetreet, in an interview with Kalman Libeskind, claimed that most of Israel’s political parties are not democratic because they do not hold primaries, and their potential legislators are selected by the head of the party or by a committee of elders. Thus, when it comes to voting for the Knesset, the public votes for a block, not for specific people. Legislators selected by the chairman are beholden to him and must toe the party line whether they agree with everything or not.
Shetreet said that it was difficult for members of parties led by Yair Lapid, Avigdor Liberman, or Naftali Bennett to become MKs unless they were particularly close to the leader. Originally a prominent member of Likud until he defected to the now defunct Kadima party, Shetreet was speaking after the previous day’s first Likud internal elections in 13 years, including for the Central Committee, which controls almost everything Likud says or does.
■ As things slowly began to get back to normal over the past month or two, Israel’s major academic institutions came to the fore with the inauguration of new buildings and new projects, as well as with awards to faculty members, students, and global researchers. Last week, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology announced the names of the winners of its most prestigious award, the Harvey Prize, which is given annually to researchers who have made significant breakthroughs in their respective fields in science and technology.
This year’s prize winners are two American scientists, Prof. David Liu of Harvard University and Prof. Chad Mirkin of Northwestern University, who work to translate their scientific discoveries into clinical applications and who have made groundbreaking advances in nanotechnology and medicine.
Liu will receive the prize in recognition of his pioneering work in developing base editing and prime editing, two genome editing techniques now used to treat genetic diseases in humans.
Mirkin is known for developing nanoparticle-based biodetection schemes, in particular the Dip-Pen nanolithography.
The two will receive their awards in June 2026 at the annual meeting of the Technion’s Board of Governors.
■ After receiving the Genesis Prize at a ceremony in Jerusalem in 2022, Pfizer chairman and CEO Dr. Albert Bourla will receive the ANU Yakir Award at a combined Hanukkah and fundraising event hosted in New York by the American Friends of ANU, the Museum of the Jewish People, which is located on the Tel Aviv University campus.
Bourla came to international attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Pfizer provided incredible quantities of COVID vaccines to Israel and many other countries. During the pandemic and afterward, Bourla became the subject of many electronic and print media stories, and the Jewish media also delved into the tragic fate of the Jewish community of his hometown, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Bourla had asked that Genesis Prize’s $1 million award money, which is given to a charity or charities designated by the laureate, be used to build a Jewish museum in Thessaloniki. At the award ceremony in Jerusalem, the entertainment was provided by singer, guitarist, and composer Yehuda Poliker, whose parents had been among the members of the Jewish community who had been deported from Thessaloniki to Auschwitz. Poliker, as part of a tour, was recently in Thessaloniki, where he was warmly received.
Following COVID and his Genesis Prize award, Bourla was in high demand to speak at Holocaust memorial events. The affinity that he had developed for Israel came to the fore again in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas invasion, and he wrote on X/Twitter:
“Over the past few days, the scope of the atrocities carried out against Israel and its citizens have become clearer and more horrific. I know I am not alone when I express my shock and grief about the ongoing situation. I can scarcely imagine the full magnitude of what people are experiencing there: civilians of all ages targeted and killed in cold blood, hostages taken and tortured, victims paraded through the streets, and so much more. It is not enough to condemn these actions – we ourselves must take action.
“To help support urgent and humanitarian health needs in the region, the Pfizer Foundation has launched a donation campaign to support several key organizations that are working to provide critical emergency assistance in the region, and Pfizer will match all colleague donations made through this campaign..
“Personally, I am heartbroken by the atrocities we have witnessed, and over the last few days, I have been on the phone constantly with friends and relatives in Israel. My prayers continue to be with them and with the people of Israel.”
Bourla is obviously more than deserving of both awards.
■ Because modern Israel’s pioneers were mainly of Russian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, and Polish backgrounds, prominent personalities from other countries – with the possible exceptions of Morocco, Iraq, and Yemen – were overlooked in terms of national backgrounds.
Among Israelis of Greek background are or were banker and philanthropist Leon Recanati; composer and conductor Kobi Oshrat; actress and singer Hanny Nahmias; politician Yehoshua Matza; Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion; prolific author A.B. Yehoshua; former MK Ayelet Nahmias Verbin, who chairs the Jewish Agency Fund for Victims of Terror; and Israel Consul-General in New York Ofir Akunis.
They also include former basketball star Motti Aroesti; political scientist and former deputy mayor of Jerusalem Meron Benvenisti; Olympic rhythmic gymnast Linoy Ashram; human rights expert and professor of law Ruth Gavison; singers and actors Oshik Levy and Shiri Maimon; shipping magnate Moshe Mano; lawyer and former chief negotiator with the Israeli team negotiating with Palestinians Yitzhak Molcho; and television and stage director Tzedi Tzarfati.