Democrats are beginning to mobilize for a run to the White House in 2028. The Forward provided a preview: There are five Jewish governors: JB Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania; Josh Stein of North Carolina; Jared Polis of Colorado, and Josh Green of Hawaii.

Also mentioned is Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is the highest-ranking Jewish elected official, and Rahm Emanuel, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, previously Mayor of Chicago, and Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff.

Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, is paying for a trip to Auschwitz for two customers involved in making an antisemitic sign at his Philadelphia bar. According to the Forward, two customers, one a Temple University student, asked two waitresses to make the light-up sign usually reserved for messages celebrating birthdays or a sports team’s win. Portnoy said he fired the two waitresses and is sending the two customers to tour the notorious concentration camp. Temple University suspended the student.

Edan Alexander, the last living American hostage in Gaza, was released on May 12 after 584 days in captivity. His parents flew to Israel to greet their son. Here Edan hugs his mom, Yael. He was born to Israeli parents living in Tenafly, NJ, and enlisted in the Israeli military. He was serving as a soldier on the Gaza border when he was taken captive in the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. He was 19 years old. Fifty-eight hostages remain in Gaza, up to 23 of whom are thought to be alive.                                                                                                                    IDF photo

Suffolk County Legislator Catherine Stark, First Legislative District of New York, has named Rabbi Gadi Capela of our shul the Jewish-American Person of Distinction for 2025. Rabbi Gadi is being cited for his leadership at Congregation Tifereth Israel and in the Greenport community, his tenure as president of the East End Jewish Community Council, and for his interfaith work on Long Island.

The event will be held on Wednesday, May 7, at the H. Lee Dennison Building, 100 Veterans Memorial Highway in Hauppauge, from 6 to 8 p.m. Members of the synagogue are invited to attend by responding to an invitation that will be forwarded to the shul and distributed to all members.

‘We Are From Here’

“We Are From Here,” the film produced by Rabbi Gadi, will be air on JLTV.

Here is a link to the film:

https://app.frame.io/reviews/7ab98fc2-93c5-44ac-bf23-206adb805e55/3f8a8bcd-aee1-4ada-8e2c-b6a1d1e1f154

Here is a link to the film commercial:

https://app.frame.io/reviews/8f700530-6d25-4da2-b6cf-882776b96cbe/c7d36856-a6ef-4447-a52e-23049bd9a20a

Shul member Roberta Garris was the subject of a half-page article in the March 27 issue of The Suffolk Times. Reporter Julie Lane wrote about Roberta’s passion for quilting, and how she has turned that pastime into statements to promote peace.

During the AIDS epidemic, she created a quilt to represent those losing their lives to the disease. More recently, she developed a theme based on the killing of 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of 250 Israelis by the militant group Hamas.

“Asked if her quilts are for sale, Ms. Garris said she couldn’t imagine putting a price on them, trying to figure the hours of research, fabric choices, development of designs, cutting and quilting, and the special moments and emotions she has creating them,” Julie Lane wrote.

Mike Huckabee is not Jewish, but he makes the Jews In The News column this month because of the new position he now occupies. The former Arkansas governor was confirmed recently by the U.S. Senate as the Trump administration’s ambassador to Israel. The 53-46 vote installed a staunch supporter of Israel in a key Mideast post. However, Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, told lawmakers during a hearing last month that he would “carry out the president’s priorities, not mine,” he said.