Your Daily Phil: Cosgrove’s anti-Mamdani pulpit endorsement sparks debate among rabbis
Add EJP on GoogleGood Friday morning!
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we report on a debate in rabbinic circles about whether clergy should endorse candidates from the pulpit after Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove came out against Zohran Mamdani and in favor of Andrew Cuomo in his latest Shabbat sermon. We also interview Harmeet Dhillon about how the Justice Department is balancing protecting free speech with cracking down on antisemitism on college campuses. We feature an opinion piece by Masha Pearl about applying lessons from the Holocaust survivor experience to supporting the returned hostages in the months and years ahead; and Rabbi Josh Joseph shares stories of Rabbi Moshe Hauer from their time together at the Orthodox Union. Also in this issue: Dr. Miriam Adelson, Rabbi Yakov Nagen and Michael Smuss.
Shabbat shalom!
What We’re Watching
The Jewish National Fund’s annual Global Conference for Israel continues through the weekend.
Early voting begins tomorrow in New York City’s mayoral election.
American Friends of Beit Issie Shapiro, which supports the Israeli disability nonprofit, is holding a gala on Sunday night at Los Angeles’ Sinai Temple.
The Jewish Community Center Association of North America will kick off its three-day Professional Conference, ProCon 2025, on Monday in Minneapolis.
What You Should Know
Even after the IRS ruled this summer that spiritual leaders could endorse candidates from the pulpit, few major rabbinic figures opted to do so. But this past Shabbat, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of the Park Avenue Synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and one of the leading rabbis in the country, pleaded with congregants not to vote for Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race. He urged them to call undecided friends and family members and spread the message. And, perhaps most significantly, he endorsed former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the independent candidate, in the election, early voting for which opens on Saturday, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Jay Deitcher.
Preaching politics into the pews has always been a fine line. Prior to July’s IRS decision, the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 tax code, caused congregations to lose tax-exempt status if leaders endorsed candidates (not policies), but it was rarely enforced. The line blurred more as Mamdani stoked fears among New York’s Jewish population, with prominent rabbis like Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, the leader of Manhattan’s Reform Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, taking aim at the front-runner on his podcast and in sermons, and more than 900 rabbis signing a petition condemning Mamdani earlier this week.
But Cosgrove crossed a Rubicon by openly endorsing Cuomo from the pulpit. Some in the Jewish community told eJewishPhilanthropy that given the risk posed by a Mamdani mayoralty, this is something that should have occurred far more often and far earlier. Others expressed concerns that — regardless of one’s opinions of a specific candidate — this kind of politicization of religion ultimately puts Jews and democracy in danger.
“As a rabbi, the safety of the Jewish people is my preeminent concern,” Cosgrove told eJP. In the past, he has never been so forthrightly political. The rules dictated by the IRS had nothing to do with his decision to condemn Mamdani or endorse Cuomo, he said. “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. This was an exceptional circumstance.”
Rabbi Jack Moline, who spent seven years as executive director of the Interfaith Alliance, is far from a Mamdani supporter, describing Cosgrove’s speech against him as “terrific.” Yet Moline said that ultimately the reasons for endorsing a politician from the pulpit are not relevant, and the Johnson Amendment should be kept intact. “On a personal level, I found very little to disagree with it. My problem is where he said it and when he said it. If he’d stepped to the sidewalk outside of Park Avenue Synagogue and given that speech to CNN or ABC or to Vox, I would have had no problem with it,” Moline said.
For rabbinic student Steven Goldstein, who left the Reconstructionist movement because he felt its rabbinic school was “a training ground for anti-Zionist rabbis,” Cosgrove’s speech should have happened three months ago, before Mamdani became mayoral front-runner. “It may well be too late for this election, but it’s not too late to create a new model of Jewish activism in this country,” said Goldstein, who previously served as a civil rights lawyer, as a press secretary for Congress and as a counsel to the House Judiciary Committee.
The reaction to his speech in his congregation, Cosgrove said, “has been largely, but not uniformly, positive.” Leadership has been supportive of his decision to speak out. “The pulpit should be a place for learning, for inspiration, for comfort, for reminding people not of who they are but who they should be, to teach from the riches of traditions,” he said. “That’s my comfort zone as a rabbi. In this instance, I felt compelled to enter new territory.”
QUAD CONTROL
Harmeet Dhillon says DOJ will fight antisemitism through law, not speech codes
When Harmeet Dhillon started her role as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Justice Department in April, she refocused the division’s priorities to explicitly follow the aims of President Donald Trump: rooting out antisemitism, eradicating diversity, equity and inclusion programs and ending the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports. But while Dhillon, a Republican operative and civil rights attorney from San Francisco, is committed to rigorously carrying out Trump’s agenda, she is attempting to do so while also remaining committed to protecting free speech, she told Gabby Deutch for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider.
Pushing back: “People in the Jewish community have pressured me to issue guidance to outlaw certain kinds of speech on the campus, and I haven’t gone that far. I don’t think that’s appropriate,” Dhillon said yesterday in her office. “I think that you can criticize Israel. Many Jews criticize Israel. You can criticize the United States’ role. You can support the aspirations of the Palestinian people. You can even support Hamas, to a degree.”
Read the full interview here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
HEALING PROCESS
Freedom is only the beginning: What former hostages can learn from Holocaust survivors
“The joy of return is immeasurable, yet anyone who has worked with survivors of trauma knows that the real journey begins after the cameras turn off,” writes Masha Pearl, executive director of The Blue Card, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “Holocaust survivors have carried the pain of captivity, loss and fear for a lifetime. As Israeli hostages return home, we must draw on those same lessons. Recovery does not end with freedom; it begins there.”
A path we’ve walked before: “The most important lesson we have learned from survivors is that healing begins with being heard. When someone listens without judgment, the survivor starts to regain control over their own story. That act of listening is not passive. It is care. The newly freed hostages will need that same compassion from their families, their communities and the world. Community itself is also a lifeline. The Holocaust survivors we serve often tell us that loneliness can hurt as much as memory. Connection is what sustains them… There is another lesson too. Purpose gives life back its meaning. Many Holocaust survivors found strength in teaching, volunteering and telling their stories. They chose to build, to nurture and to remember. For those returning from captivity, that same search for meaning will be essential.”
IN MEMORIAM
Man of God, man for good: Rabbi Moshe Hauer
“There are no words because he is not here to write them. There are no words because he is not here to speak them. There are no words because he is not here. This is the situation I find myself in after last week’s sudden tragic passing of Rabbi Moshe Hauer, my co-executive vice president at the Orthodox Union, who was like a brother,” writes Rabbi Josh Joseph in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy.
How a life’s message lives on: “I am also reminded of what Rabbi Hauer said a few years ago when his father passed away, how he encouraged us all to speak no matter how difficult the topic or circumstances: ‘G-d gave us the power of speech in our lifetime. When we follow the mandate of “Na’aseh Adam” (“Let us make Man”), when we live our lives as we should and complete His creation, we grant ourselves the power of speech beyond our lifetime. We continue to speak, our life’s message continues to be heard, long after we are gone.’ So now I feel I have an opening to say something.”
Worthy Reads
A Yiddische Kop: The Israeli tabloid Israel Hayom, which is owned by Dr. Miriam Adelson, quotes her remarks from an event last night for participants on Birthright Israel’s Taglit Excel program, which Adelson and her late husband, Sheldon, supported. “Regarding the war, Dr. Adelson announced, ‘After October 7, I decided that I’m not giving one more single shekel to enterprises that aren’t Israeli. I decided to invest in Israeli and Zionist enterprises only.’ … ‘We don’t have money like Qatar, but Israelis have a sharp mind, and we can use it to reduce the propaganda against Israel. I’m optimistic because of the people in Israel; I know we’ll never surrender, for so many years we survived, suffered, and I’m sure we’ll continue.’” [IsraelHayom]
Why Can’t We Be Friends: In The Times of Israel, Rabbi Yakov Nagen shares his conviction that Jews and Muslims don’t have to buy into Hamas’ destructive narrative that we can’t be neighbors and friends. “To accept this narrative is to empower it, a self-defeating outcome. What is the alternative? Every religion is shaped by two elements: its core sacred texts and the contemporary lived realities of its adherents. I challenge the notion of an inevitable Jewish-Muslim conflict on both fronts. … [T]he current reality of Muslims’ relations with Jews and Israel is far from monolithic. It encompasses not only animosity and support for violence but also empathy and solidarity. While the extent of each dimension within these complexities is open to debate, it is vital to reject fatalism and to see reality as dynamic and open to change.” [TOI]
Tip Them Off, But Do It Right: In Nonprofit Quarterly, executive coach Marian Urquilla advises an outgoing board president wondering if they should share their concerns about the executive director’s resistance to succession planning before their departure. “You’re not asking whether to confront the ED. You’re asking whether to equip the next board president with a clearer understanding of what they’re stepping into. In my view, the answer is yes. But how you do it matters. … Resist the urge to frame the ED as obstinate or outdated, even if that’s how it feels. Instead, describe the pattern that speaks to your first-hand experience.” [NPQ]
Word on the Street
The Chronicle of Philanthropy looks at the growing controversy after GoFundMe automatically created fundraising pages for 1.4 million nonprofits, which in some cases included incorrect information…
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who dropped his reelection bid last month, endorsed former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is mounting an independent bid after falling short in the primary; the endorsement came two days before the start of early voting…
Michael Ben-Gad, an Israeli professor at the City University of London, says he was threatened with beheading by a group of masked students who broke into his classroom…
Former Harvard President Larry Summers clashed with university administrators during the removal of an anti-Israel installation on the Cambridge campus…
An anonymous manifesto was sent on Wednesday to two Pomona College student-run newspapers by demonstrators who recently stormed a campus vigil for the second anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks. The emailed manifesto states that “Zionism is a death cult that must be dealt with accordingly,” Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports…
The Times of Israel breaks down various polls regarding the prevalence of anti-Zionism among American Jews…
The editor of Portland, Ore., newspaper The Jewish Review said his outlet was blocked from attending a recent virtual press conference, organized by the Portland chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, on Israel; Rockne Roll, the only staff member of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland-owned publication, said he was removed from the press conference and not allowed to reenter…
The New York Times profiles Israeli American mentalist Oz Pearlman…
A Russian missile struck a synagogue in Kherson, Ukraine, last night, causing significant damage to the building but no injuries…
Michael Smuss, a Jewish painter and the last surviving fighter in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, died on Tuesday at 99…
Major Gifts
The Baltimore Banner has received a $500,000 gift from the Andrew and Julie Klingenstein Family Fund…
Time magazine examines who has donated to the White House ballroom’s $250 million renovation, including a number of Jewish philanthropists, such as Dr. Miriam Adelson, Laura and Isaac Perlmutter, Edward and Shari Glazer, the Lutnick family and others…
Transitions
B’nai B’rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin announced that he is retiring on June 30, 2026, after 37 years with the organization…
Pic of the Day
Freed Israeli hostage Eliya Cohen embraces his longtime partner, Ziv Aboud, who also survived the Oct. 7 terror attacks, after they got engaged last night, eight months after his return from Hamas captivity; the engagement took place on the roof of Tel Aviv’s Setai hotel.
Birthdays
Chattanooga, Tenn.-based billionaire and CEO of Mohawk Industries, the world’s largest flooring company, Jeffrey S. Lorberbaum turns 71…
FRIDAY: Genealogist who specializes in the research of Jewish roots in Poland and the former Soviet Union, Miriam Weiner turns 83… Writer and adjunct instructor at Queensborough Community College, Ira Greenfest… Stock market analyst who has published books and appears regularly on CNBC and Bloomberg TV, Charles Biderman turns 79… Retired Pentagon official, Judy Gleklen Kopff… Financial planner and president of Laredo, Texas-based International Asset Management, Joseph Rothstein… Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Southern California since 1997, Brad Sherman turns 71… Retired executive editor of The Washington Post, Martin “Marty” Baron turns 71… Program director at the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, Alan Divack… Co-founder and former CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio (now Sirius XM Radio), he made aliyah in 2002, David Margolese turns 68… Producer of CBS’ “60 Minutes,” Henry Schuster… Russian-Ukrainian businessman, he is a supporter of Jewish initiatives in Europe and a co-founder of the Genesis Prize, German Khan turns 64… Professor and chair of politics at the University of Hull in the U.K. for 18 years until this past June, Raphael Cohen-Almagor turns 64… Political correspondent for The New York Times and author of (((Semitism))): Being Jewish in America in the Age of Trump, Jonathan Weisman… Russian businessman and former owner of the Premier League’s Chelsea Football Club, Roman Abramovich turns 59… Co-founder of the Ira Sohn Conference Foundation, focused on pediatric cancer research and care, Evan Sohn… Political communications consultant, Tovah Ravitz Meehan… Israeli author and editor of science fiction and fantasy, Vered Tochterman turns 55… Businesswoman, model, actress and television personality, she has appeared on more than 250 magazine covers, Caprice Bourret turns 54… Fashion designer, Zac Posen turns 45… Founding partner of Be Clear Communications, Matt Lehrich… Rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor, born to a Jewish mother in Toronto, he celebrated his bar mitzvah, Aubrey Drake Graham now known as Drake turns 39… Executive director at Flatbush Community Fund, Yitzy Weinberg… Director of community engagement at Friends of the IDF, Yehuda Joel Friedman…
SATURDAY: Senior U.S. District Court judge based in Brooklyn, appointed by President Reagan, Judge Edward R. Korman turns 83… Former chief policy and strategy officer of Oscar Insurance, following stints as a Supreme Court clerk, White House counsel, chancellor of the NYC schools and EVP at News Corporation, Joel Klein turns 79… Board chair of the Israel Policy Forum from 2016 until 2023, she also serves as president of the Goldman Environmental Foundation, Susie Gelman turns 71… President of Dallas-based SPR Ventures, he serves on the boards of Texas Capital Bancshares and Cinemark, Steven Rosenberg… Acting deputy secretary of state during the latter part of the Biden administration, her family name was Nudelman, Victoria Jane Nuland turns 64… Television personality and author of 16 books, Bruce Feiler turns 61… Voice actress and singer, best known for voicing Asajj Ventress in “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” Nika Futterman turns 56… Actor, he is currently starring on the CBS show “The Equalizer,” Adam Charles Goldberg turns 55… Television screenwriter, showrunner, executive producer and director, best known for running the television medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy,” Krista Vernoff turns 54… Actress, she has appeared as various characters on the FX anthology series “American Horror Story,” Leslie Erin Grossman turns 54… State Department official, she is married to Rep. Brad Sherman, Lisa Nicola Kaplan… Physician, author and public speaker on health issues, Michael Herschel Greger, MD turns 53… Sharon Iancu… Rapper and songwriter, known professionally as The Alchemist, Daniel Alan Maman turns 48… Director of the Chabad House at Princeton University, Rabbi Eitan Yaakov Webb… Singer and songwriter who competed in the ninth season of “American Idol” (2010), Vered “Didi” Benami turns 39… Singer and model, she has released three albums and toured internationally, Hannah Cohen turns 39… Program officer at San Francisco’s Koret Foundation, Rachel Elana Schonwetter… Director of community relations at the Baltimore Jewish Council, Josh Sherman… Musician, known professionally by the mononym “Grandson,” Jordan Edward Benjamin turns 32… Budding public intellectual, Cole S. Aronson turns 29… Executive director of FairTest, Harry Feder…
SUNDAY: Former chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, the first woman to serve in that position, Deborah Tobias Poritz turns 89… South African judge who led the 2009 U.N. Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict of that year, Richard Goldstone turns 87… Veteran Israeli war correspondent, winner of the 2018 Israel Prize, Ron Ben-Yishai turns 82… Actress best known as one of “Charlie’s Angels,” she now develops and markets her own brands of clothing and perfume, Jaclyn Smith (family name was Kupferschmidt) turns 80… Chiropractor in White Plains, N.Y., Leonard Linder, DC… Certified life coach and hypnotherapist, Evie Sullivan… CEO at MDI Real Estate Services in Grand Blanc, Mich., Gary Hurand… Former secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton turns 78… Media critic at The Baltimore Sun, assistant professor at Goucher College and the author of The Jews of Prime Time, David Lee Zurawik turns 76… Aventura, Fla., resident, Cecilia Kleiman… Illustrator and graphic memoirist, he is an emeritus professor at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Martin Lemelman turns 75… Rabbi of Congregation K.I.N.S. and Dean of Ida Crown Jewish Academy, both in Chicago, he is a past president of the Rabbinical Council of America, Leonard Matanky, Ph.D. turns 67… Senior counsel in the antitrust division of the USDOJ, Perry Howard Apelbaum turns 67… Director of communications at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Jeffrey Rubin… Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Stacy Madeleine Schiff turns 64… Cultural commentator and mathematician, Eric Ross Weinstein turns 60… Founding partner and president of Global Strategy Group, Jefrey Pollock… Screenwriter, director, producer and editor, Jessica Sharzer turns 53… Canadian-born television and film actor, David Julian Hirsh turns 52… Staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, her 2019 novel Fleishman Is In Trouble hit the best-seller lists, Taffy Brodesser-Akner turns 50… Author and broadcast journalist for NBC, Katherine Bear Tur turns 42… Figure skater who won a 2006 Olympic silver medal, plus three World Championship medals and the 2006 U.S. Championship, Alexandra Pauline “Sasha” Cohen turns 41… Executive director of product management at Politico, Danielle Feldman… Head coach for the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, he is the youngest head coach in the NHL and the league’s first Jewish head coach in over 30 years, Ryan Warsofsky turns 38… Journalist for The Wall Street Journal, recently freed after being unlawfully detained in a Russian prison, Evan Gershkovich turns 34… Tel Aviv resident, Dr. Alberto Calo…
