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🫓 A matzah bakery burns in Brooklyn
A massive fire ravaged the Boro Park Seder Matzah Bakery in Brooklyn on Wednesday morning, with firefighters working for hours to tame the blaze.
The bakery has been a staple in the area, home to a large Orthodox Jewish population, for about 40 years. It’s not yet clear how extensively it was damaged.
“That’s a very huge loss,” resident Abraham Fried told News 12 Brooklyn. “Everything is handmade, and this is one of the few places where we make matzah. We don’t have so many places. They start baking for Passover months ahead.”
One firefighter and three residents were injured in the fire. The city Department of Buildings ordered the bakery and two neighboring buildings to vacate, forcing families to leave their homes.
🗣️ Paladino says antisemitism calls for deporting Muslims
Republican City Council Member Vickie Paladino was rebuked by several colleagues for her reaction to the Hanukkah mass shooting in Sydney, which authorities say was carried out by attackers with ties to ISIS. In a now-deleted X post on Sunday, she called for the “expulsion of Muslims from western nations.”
Paladino reinforced her comments in an op-ed published in the Queens Jewish Link on Wednesday. “It turns out that visceral hatred for Jews, Israel, America, and Western values as a whole is a fundamental belief for a great many of the people we generously welcomed and provided refuge to,” she wrote.
Paladino said the threat of “global jihad” may require “massive sweeps of Muslim neighborhoods.” She concluded, “Israel understands the nature of this war, and what we’re up against. Are we ready to do what’s necessary also?”
Zohran Mamdani condemned Paladino for “vile Islamophobia” on Monday. “A million Muslims live in New York City. We belong here, as does every other New Yorker,” he said on X.
📚 Culture corner
🥯 Jewish food report
🏀 Brooklyn Nets honor Sydney victims
The Brooklyn Nets will pay tribute to the Sydney shooting victims during their game with the Miami Heat Thursday night.
The 14-year-old nephew of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was killed in the attack, will light a “basketball menorah” at the event. The teenager has the same name as his uncle.
The Nets roster includes Israeli rookies Danny Wolf and Ben Saraf. Doors open for the game at Barclays Center at 6 p.m., with the menorah lighting at 7:30 p.m.