Israeli startups announce new tech ‘kibbutz’ in NYC

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... A version of this piece first ran as part of the New York Jewish Week’s daily newsletter, rounding up the latest on politics, culture, food and what’s new with Jews in the city. Sign up here to get it in your inbox. What you need to know today - Trump rejected Mamdani’s vow to arrest Netanyahu. President Donald Trump shut down Mayor Zohran Mamdani after he said he was in “active conversation” with the city’s Law Department about arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York City for the U.N. General Assembly in September. “Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon told NewsMax Monday that Mamdani’s pledge was a “stunt,” adding, “The U.S. is not part of the ICC so there is no warrant against a prime minister in the U.S., and there is no jurisdiction for the mayor.” Mike Waltz, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, also dismissed the credibility of Mamdani’s threat, writing in a post on X that “federal authority trumps any local mayor’s wishes.” Mamdani also faced renewed backlash from local leaders, with Assemblymember Simcha Eichenstein asking New York Attorney General Letitia James in a letter to examine whether Mamdani had violated state law by exploring a Netanyahu arrest. - Lasher’s past as a magician has resurfaced. Micah Lasher, likely to be the congressman representing Manhattan’s Upper West Side, enjoyed enough success as a teenage magician to perform on the “Today” show and “CBS This Morning.” Magic taught him to “begin with the proposition that any outcome is achievable,” the Jewish Democratic nominee for New York’s deep blue 12th District told The New York Times. - Avila Chevalier will address a prominent Muslim group’s gala. The Council on American-Islamic Relations announced on Monday that NY-13 Democratic primary winner Darializa Avila Chevalier and NJ-12 Democratic primary winner Adam Hamawy, both staunch critics of Israel, will be keynote speakers at the group’s annual gala in Washington, D.C., in September. CAIR, the country’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, is calling the event “We the People: Saving Our Democracy, Building Our Future.” - Israeli startups announced a tech “kibbutz” in NYC. Israeli tech leaders said on Monday that their new center, called “Hakibbutz NYC,” will provide a home for Israeli startups in Chelsea, The Times of Israel reported. Jewish stories matter, and so does your support. The New York Jewish Week brings you the stories behind the headlines, keeping you connected to Jewish life in New York. Help sustain the reporting you trust by donating today.