The New York Jewish Week’s 10 most-read stories of 2024

It’s fair to say that 2024 has been a year like no other. As we enter into these final days of of December we’re taking a look back at the stories that resonated most with New York Jewish Week readers.

From a story about the angst felt by liberal Upper West Side Jews after the presidential election to a feel-good article about Jewish New Yorkers turning up for a Druze business owner in need, these are the most-read stories the New York Jewish Week published this year.

1. At an Upper West Side synagogue, Jews gather to ‘sit shiva’ following Trump’s win (Nov. 7)

Less than 24 hours after polls had closed in the presidential election — and just over 12 since Donald Trump, the Republican former president, had been declared the winner — about 100 Jews gathered at the Upper West Side congregation B’nai Jeshurun for what had been billed as a post-election prayer service. The congregation’s leaders understood that the assembled crowd of members and guests had come together for a different kind of Jewish gathering, as the majority of American Jews, especially in liberal bastions on the Upper West Side, had supported Harris. “We’re sitting shiva,” one rabbi said to the group. “Sitting shiva with a sense of loss, of grief.”

2. It is now illegal in New York to forcibly remove someone’s kippah (Nov. 26)

In late November, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation that criminalized the removal of someone else’s religious garb, including kippahs and hijabs. Hochul said the legislation, part of a package she signed into law, will “help protect New Yorkers and further reduce crime.”

The measure came amid a surge in antisemitism in New York City since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. “Public safety is my top priority and I’m committed to using every possible tool to keep New Yorkers safe,” Hochul said in a statement.

3. As calls grown for NYC mask ban, Jewish and Black advocacy groups announce their support (June 28)

In June, amid rising antisemitism and regular pro-Palestinian street protests, Jewish and Black advocacy organizations came together to announce their support for a ban on masks at protests in New York State, linking contemporary antisemitism by masked attackers to past actions by hooded members of the Ku Klux Klan.

The pro-ban coalition of Black and Jewish groups, called Unmask Hate NY, is backing legislation to prohibit most masking at protests, which was introduced in the New York State Assembly by Jewish Bronx Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz. The effort has the backing of the ADL, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, the NAACP, the National Urban League, the UJA-Federation of New York and others.

4. Jewish immigrant men abandoned their wives in droves a century ago. Their stories are getting a new look. (June 14)

In June, a new exhibit, “Runaway Husbands, Desperate Families: The Story of the National Desertion Bureau,” opened at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research near Union Square. Drawing upon the 18,000 case files recorded by the National Desertion Bureau, the exhibit examines a lesser-known aspect of Jewish immigrant life in the United States — namely, that abandonment was common. “Human history, family history is just a lot more complicated than any of us have wanted to own and talk about — no one wants to talk about their great-grandfather who abandoned the family; we want to talk about the great-grandfather who started a business,” Jeffrey Brenner, the CEO of the Jewish Board, told Luke Tress.

5. Jewish NYers are turning out to support a Druze restaurant that experienced anti-Israel vandalism (Feb. 9)

Following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, Gazala’s — an Upper West Side Middle Eastern restaurant run by Gazala Halabi, a member of Israel’s Druze religious community — faced vandalism, two break-ins and a slew of bullying one-star reviews online. And so, on a Sunday in February, hundreds of Jewish and Israeli New Yorkers turned up to dine at her restaurant, which is adorned with both an Israeli and a Druze flag. “They give me the freedom to practice my religion the way I wanted, they give me respect. Should I give them something back? Of course,” Halabi told Julia Gergely of growing up in the Druze community in Israel. “After Oct. 7, I just want the whole world to know I am Israeli.”

6. More than 1,300 attend a free Shabbat dinner at Ayat, a Palestinian restaurant in Brooklyn (Jan. 28)

Way back at the beginning of the year, just over three months after the Oct. 7 attacks, more than 1,300 people made their way to Ditmas Park, Brooklyn to take part in a free Shabbat dinner at Ayat, a local Palestinian restaurant owned by restaurateur Abdul Elenani and his wife, Ayat Masoud. Intended as an antidote to the turmoil the Israel-Hamas war was wreaking in the city, the dinner attracted New Yorkers who remained hopeful that coexistence is possible, including many affiliated with left-wing and anti-Zionist Jewish groups. “This is about a Palestinian making a generous Shabbat dinner without regard for their politics,” Comptroller Brad Lander, who has since declared his candidacy for mayor, told Rachel Ringler. “Nobody is being asked at the door what their position on the conflict is. Everyone is welcome.”

7. 18 essential Israeli restaurants in New York City (July 18)

Craving Israeli food but don’t know where to start? We scoured the city and, in July, we published our guide to New York’s most essential Israeli restaurants, which run the gamut from a hole-in-the-wall kosher falafel joint in central Brooklyn to a blowout, Michelin-starred meal from an Israeli celebrity chef.

8. Tovah Feldshuh, Debra Messing and more Jewish stars perform at first-ever ‘Shabbat on Broadway’ service (Jan. 29)

What happens when you contact a few dozen Jewish Broadway stars and ask them to hold a Shabbat service inside a Broadway theater? The crowds come! In January, nearly 1,700 New Yorkers attended the first-ever “Shabbat on Broadway,” billed as “non-denominational Shabbat service with a real Broadway twist,” featuring the likes of Debra Messing, Tovah Feldshuh, Julie Benko and more. “We had this feeling that, in this very dark time in the world and in the Jewish world, we wanted to put together something that really had light to it and would be this beacon and a place to celebrate and to gather together in community,” Henry Tisch, who produced the service alongside Amanda Lipitz, who also directed, told Julia Gergely. (In December, the pair went on to produce “Hanukkah on Broadway,” a video showing Broadway stars celebrating Hanukkah in Times Square.)

9. New Columbia administrator texts show deans discussing Jewish student ‘privilege’ and ‘$$$$,’ and bashing Hillel leader as a ‘problem’ (July 2)

At a panel discussion in May titled “Jewish Life on Campus: Past, Present, and Future,” Columbia University administrators texted each other disparaging comments about Jewish students, called a Hillel official a “problem” and wrote “Amazing what $$$$ can do.” While the elite uptown university, which had been roiled with protests following the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, had already suspended three of the four administrators involved after the texts were first leaked in June, the release of the full exchanges shed additional light on the situation. In August, the three administrators resigned, and by the end of the month, Columbia’s Task Force on Antisemitism released a report detailing “crushing” discrimination against Jews and Israelis on campus.

10. Democratic Socialists pull endorsement of Ocasio-Cortez after she hosts panel on antisemitism (July 11)

In June, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hosted a panel discussion about antisemitism with Amy Spitalnick, the CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and Stacy Burdett, a former senior official at the Anti-Defamation League and U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Antisemitism, hate and violence against Jews because of their identity is real and it is dangerous,” Ocasio-Cortez said during the panel. “When the Jewish community is threatened, the progressive movement is undermined.”

The following month the Democratic Socialists of America rescinded their endorsement of the popular, if polarizing, politician. “This sponsorship is a deep betrayal to all those who’ve risked their welfare to fight Israeli apartheid and genocide through political and direct action,” a DSA statement said.

Honorable Mention: Meet the New York Jewish Week’s 36 to Watch 2024

In difficult times, tradition can be a comfort — which may or may not be a reason that 36 to Watch, our annual list spotlighting remarkable New Yorkers for their contributions to our city and its Jewish community, was especially resonant in 2024. Like every year, the New York Jewish Week spotlighted local Jews who made outsized contributions in their fields, contributing to society in ways that draw upon their diverse Jewish identities and sensibilities. This year’s class of “36ers” includes a 22-year-old basketball star and a 93-year-old philanthropist who has made a Bronx medical school tuition-free for the foreseeable future, as well as restaurateurs, podcasters, writers, innovators and more.