The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) held its grand soirée at Manhattan’s famed Plaza Hotel near Central Park on Monday, May 20.
Even though this event was meant to be a celebratory function for special Jewish New Yorkers who give back to the community financially, emotionally, and through volunteering, the focus was more on relatively sobering topics such as the October 7 attacks and the rise in antisemitism across the United States, including harassment towards Jews and vandalism on school buildings and houses of worship.
“The Israeli people and the Jewish people were hurt on October 7. They were hurt but they are not broken. They were rocked on that day but they are not caving. Bullets pierced through windows, bullets pierced through doors, and bullets pierced through flesh, but bullets will never shatter or destroy the spirit of the Israeli and the Jewish people,” said JCRC CEO Mark Treyger. “Our history, our story is more than October 7. Our history, our story is more than the Holocaust. Jewish Americans helped build New York and helped build the United States of America. That is the work of JCRC-NY and we are committed with every fiber in our being to strengthen that work for generations to come. We are not going to rest until our hostages are home, until Israel is safe and secure for generations to come. Until every Jew on New York City streets and on college campuses are safe, secure, and celebrated. We’re not going back folks – we’re moving forward.”
The political movers and shakers who align themselves with JCRC-NY did not attend the gala, with the exception of Attorney General Letitia James and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The two U.S. Senators from New York, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, both Democrats, each sent in pre-recorded video messages. After congratulating the four award recipients, Schumer said in his message, “I’ve always been a tremendous supporter of JCRC. You’ve been a valuable resource, not just for me but for the entire New York delegation for so many years. You are at the front of grassroots coalition building to protect New York’s Jewish community and to guard against the terrible scourge of antisemitism. Without you our city can never hope to be the model of tolerance and prosperity for Jewish New Yorkers that we strive for.”
This was the second major Jewish event at which Schumer did not make a personal appearance. The first was the COJO Flatbush breakfast last month.
In her video message, Gillibrand said, “JCRC-NY is an incredible resource for the Jewish community in New York especially in these challenging times. I’m so grateful for your [JCRC-NY] leadership and advocacy as we work together to support Israel and the Jewish community and to combat antisemitism in all its forms.”
Governor Kathy Hochul spoke at the dinner. “JCRC has been at the forefront and we’re here to celebrate that,” she said. “Since Hamas’s brutal October 7 attacks, Jewish New Yorkers have experienced unacceptable harassment with synagogues vandalized, yeshiva students fearing for their safety, and an appalling spike in antisemitic hate crimes even on college campuses. I want you to know that I will never tolerate these vial acts in our state. The safety of Jewish New Yorkers is non-negotiable. I’ll continue using the full force of our state government to combat antisemitism. I promise that as long as I’m governor, as long as I have a breath in my body, I will stand and protect the Jewish community.”
The leader of the House Democrats, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D – Crown Heights, Brooklyn), also addressed the crowd. “This is a challenging and searing time for the Jewish community where we will be able to defeat antisemitism, bury it in the ground and ensure it can never rise up again,” he said. “Congress has taken several steps over the last few weeks, including securing approximately $650 million in Homeland Security grants to ensure that not-for-profit organizations, synagogues, shuls, yeshivas, and other houses of worship have the ability to secure the funding necessary to provide for the safety of its members and the safety of the Jewish community. We must do all we can to maintain Israel’s qualitative military edge, that we assist Israel in its efforts to decisively defeat Hamas, and that we work hard to return the hostages safely so that we can secure a just and a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinian people for the good of the region and for the good of the free world.”
Picking up on the theme of fighting antisemitism and collaborating with other groups, the leader of one of JCRC’s partners spoke about their joint efforts. “We find ourselves in complex times with increased antisemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric. We are grateful to have JCRC as our partner as we tackle these issues strategically and effectively,” said Linda Mirels, president of the UJA Federation. “JCRC weaves a tapestry of a more interconnected New York that ensures the Jewish community has the relationship it needs in this moment. Together with JCRC, we are finding effective solutions for the difficult challenges of today including sponsoring missions to Israel for elected officials and influential New Yorkers working to combat antisemitism across our city and celebrating our Jewish pride with the celebrate Israel parade.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams could not attend the fete. Instead, he sent his A-Team, including Deputy Mayor for Communications Fabian Levy; Commissioner of the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit Fred Kreizman; First Senior Advisor to the Mayor Joel Eisdorfer; Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor Menashe Shapiro; Jewish Liaison for Community Affairs Moshe Davis; and the pride and joy of the Orthodox Jewish community, NYPD Deputy Chief Richie Taylor, the first Orthodox Jew to rise to the number-two position in the city’s police department.
Also taking the stage was Camille Joseph Varlack, Mayor Adams’ chief of staff. “We are not all right if people use their voice to spew hatred toward each other. Hate is not just an issue for one community. It is an issue for all of us. Those who want to spread hate want to divide us. New York City will never, ever let fear and hate dictate how we live,” she said on behalf of the mayor. “Protecting our Jewish community is a sacred responsibility and one we discuss and think about every single day. The mayor has been extraordinarily clear: While New Yorkers have the right to peacefully protest, no one has the right to harass others or to spread antisemitism or hate. There is no place for acts of hate in our city, plain and simple. New York City stands for humanity both here and abroad.”
The awardees kept their remarks short and sweet.
“I hope to mentor the next generation of leaders. This award is more than an honor – it is a call to action,” said Anna Propp Riesenberg, 39, who received the Blumberg Family Young Leadership Award. She lives in the Riverdale section of the Bronx with her husband Gedalia. “I’m excited to continue working with all of you to strengthen our community and to ensure a bright future for the JCRC.” Riesenberg is currently a board member of the JCRC, the Jewish Education Project, and Brown-RISD Hillel, and co-president of the board of the American Friends of the Academy of the Hebrew Language. She holds a Master’s degree in biochemistry from The Weizmann Institute of Science and a Bachelor’s degree in biology from Brown University.
“Every year at tax time, I go through the same ritual with my wife when it comes to calculating charitable deductions,” said honoree Morton Sloan, 84, who now lives with his wife, Judy, in Sands Point, Nassau County, after growing up in the Bronx. “The Jewish Community Relations Committee is a lot more than a set of initials – JCRC. Given the challenges that confront Israel right now and the spate of antisemitism facing Jews both here and abroad, its work is more important now than ever before.” Sloan is a graduate of Brandeis University and received an MBA from New York University. After working on Wall Street, he ran his father’s business, Associated Supermarkets. After folding that business, he developed an upscale supermarket chain, Morton Williams, based in Harlem. The company now has 17 grocery stores throughout New York City.
Sloan’s son-in-law, Avi Kaner, was also honored at the dinner. He entered the family business and now holds the title of vice president of Morton Williams Supermarkets. He opened his remarks talking about the October 7 attacks in Israel. “As we celebrate tonight, our hearts are heavy and I don’t think anyone here has had a good night’s sleep since October 7. I believe the events of October 7 did not make us weaker but made us stronger and more united,” said Kaner, 59, a resident of Westport, CT. “My wife Liz and I were in Israel on October 7. We experienced the heartache, the uncertainty, and the terror. What we quickly realized was the resilience and the unity of the children of Israel. We were in our hotel room in Tel Aviv going in and out of bomb shelters all night.
“At last year’s Salute to Israel parade, there was a judicial reform group who were waving Israeli flags. They were loyal and singing. It showed that this is the example of unity. You don’t have to agree on everything: You can be a Democrat, you can be a Republican, you can be secular, you can be religious – but at the end of the day it’s Kol Yisroel arevim zeh la-zeh [All Jews are responsible for one another.] We all watch out for each other regardless of our beliefs and this is exactly what the JCRC does,” Kaner concluded.
The theme of unity was continued by the final speaker of the evening. “In 1975, Golda Meir stated one cannot and must not try to erase the past merely because it does not fit the present. This evening was woven with threads of the past in an effort to sew for the present and the future,” said Karen Spar Kasner, 68, who received the Communal Leadership Award. She lives in Southampton, in Suffolk County, with her husband and family. “Each of us has a special role and responsibility both individually and collectively to find or provide the resources to educate, to have tough conversations, to connect, make those deeper connections, understanding with those we agree with and those we do not agree with. We must take action in order to preserve the safety and security of the Jewish people here in New York and in Israel. The time is now.”
Kasner and Reisenberg sit on the 70-member JCRC Board of Directors. Kaner and Sloan are not board members.
The JCRC raised more than half a million dollars at Monday evening’s gala dinner. The organization allocates funds toward the Israel Day Parade and taking elected officials to Israel, among other expenditures.
For journalists attending the event, the JCRC set very strict rules. There was no main dinner served to reporters, photographs could only be taken from the back of the ballroom, and seats for reporters were stationed in the rear of the ballroom off to the side. The Jewish Press was the only national weekly newspaper to cover the event in person.
