Vaad endorses Rabbi Avi Schnall in New Jersey

The Vaad, a Haredi leadership group in Lakewood, New Jersey, endorsed Democratic challenger Rabbi Avi Schnall for state legislature in next week’s election, the Asbury Park Press reported. The Vaad has tended to endorse Republicans in previous races.

Schnall criticized for delayed campaign finance disclosure

Rabbi Avi Schnall, a Democrat running for New Jersey state legislature, amended his campaign finance filings to show $33,000 in debt after the Republican State Committee filed a complaint alleging he had not properly disclosed his finances, Politico reported. Schnall’s campaign spent the money on digital and print advertisements.

Corporal punishment banned in New York private schools

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a law last week banning corporal punishment in private schools, the New York Jewish Week reported. The law was proposed after an investigation by the New York Times last year showed that corporal punishment was commonly administered in Hasidic boys’ schools.

Antisemitic hate crimes increase after Hamas’s attack on Israel

The New York Police Department said there were 33 antisemitic hate crimes in the first three weeks of October, according to the New York Jewish Week. That number includes both physical assaults and other acts that the NYPD considers antisemitic hate crimes, such as scrawling “Globalize the intifada” on a pole in Brooklyn. On Saturday, a rally by a group calling to “globalize the Intifada” gathered on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, not far from the Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters.

Peaceful weekend in Crown Heights despite concerns over protest

Due to concerns related to a pro-Palestinian rally near Crown Heights on Saturday, Orthodox Jews were advised to avoid certain areas, according to the Messenger. The weekend turned out to be peaceful, with no reported incidents of unrest involving Crown Height’s Jewish residents, Hamodia reported. “It was a gorgeous day and we all enjoyed it,” a Shomrim member told the outlet.