Did October 7 change people’s perception of Judaism? Mishpacha’s team visits Penn Station to find out

Photos: Jeff Zorabedian

The events of October 7 were a wake-up call for religious Jews everywhere, galvanizing them to action.

But what about Jews not particularly identified with Judaism or Eretz Yisrael? Jews who disdain all media aside from the New York Times? Were they also shaken by the attacks, by the frightening surge of anti-Semitism around the world? Have they been harassed by pro-Hamas elements or forced to reconsider where they stand vis-à-vis their Jewish identity?

We decided to ask the Jew on the Street what he thinks. And there’s no better place to find mainstream, unaffiliated Jews than in the heart of Manhattan.

Our initial plan was to literally ask people outside, on the street. But rain and cold drove us inside, to the concourses of Penn Station, where we hoped we could collar some unaffiliated and agreeable members of the tribe, and maybe even survey a few non-Jews as well.

Taking the Pulse

Leading our charge is 29-year-old Nachi Gordon, who you may know from his popular Meaningful People podcast. The son of Larry Gordon — considered by many the creator of Jewish radio and currently editor and publisher of the Five Towns Jewish Times — Nachi has media in his DNA. (Even his grandfather Nison a”h arrived in the US at 18 as a correspondent for a Polish newspaper.)

Meaningful People grew out of Meaningful Minute, a daily one-minute inspirational video. “I started by taking the most meaningful parts from speeches given by rabbis,” Nachi says. “They were among the first short-form media clips in the frum world, and it just took off.” (Many of those uplifting messages were later compiled into an ArtScroll book, Meaningful Minute.)

Now with Meaningful People, Nachi’s media empire has grown to 200,000 followers. He recently built a new studio where he produces the content that reaches close to five million people.

Today, Nachi will be taking his interview skills out of his usual comfort zone: Now it will be short conversations with people whose lives are very different from his. The plan is that he will approach passersby to strike up short but meaningful conversations about how things have changed since October 7. (I’m hoping his wholesome, boy-next-door demeanor will make it easier, but he will receive plenty of flat rejections or “Sorry, I’ve got a train to catch” excuses. I mean, it is New York.)

Videographer Michael Apfel joins us, and we’re off, meandering around the large public area at the entrance to the Long Island Railroad, and facing our first challenge: to pinpoint who might really be Jewish.

It’s midday, a slow time to catch commuters. We stand in a sort of atrium at the bottom of the escalator leading down from Seventh Avenue, where the high ceilings, foot traffic, and intermittent PA announcements create a din that makes it hard to hear sometimes, and it takes Nachi a couple of tries before he finds someone willing to chat.

It’s a Crazy Time for You Jews

Don: Netanyahu did right.

Nachi’s first obliging bystander is a man named Don, standing near the Duane Reade pharmacy.

“It seemed like he was just waiting for us,” Nachi commented later. “He kept making eye contact and was willing to speak on the record.”

Don turns out to not be Jewish. Tall, in a polo shirt and casual jacket, he tells us he does consulting for brokerage firms and schleps into the city from his home in Port Jefferson, Long Island, when necessary for business.

“How are your Jewish friends dealing with the situation in Israel?” Nachi asks.

“My Jewish friends are concerned,” he says. “There’s a small Jewish community in Port Jefferson. My daughter’s best friend is Jewish.

“Netanyahu did right,” he offers emphatically. “Hamas took over the Palestinian people, and he was right to go after them. The people who are pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas just aren’t very educated. Biden, Obama… I don’t know what’s going on there. Obama never showed any respect for Netanyahu. He made him wait hours for meetings. Maybe it goes back to the influence of George Soros. But what’s happening with them all is a travesty. I hope Netanyahu stays in power.”

As we finish our conversation with Don, a black man runs by yelling, “Free Palestine.”

Richard: Danger all over

Next, we come across Richard, stocky and bald with a goatee and gold chain, from Brooklyn’s East New York neighborhood. He works nights as an armed security guard at a hospital.

“It’s a crazy time,” he says, when Nachi asks his opinion on the war. “Hey, I come from a neighborhood where you can get killed just for wearing the wrong color. There’s danger all over. Lots of people don’t need a reason to kill.”

Paolo: We don’t learn from history

Nachi approaches Paolo, a tall, graying gentleman with glasses and a stylish, patterned indigo scarf. Turns out he’s an Italian gastroenterologist with credentials from Yeshiva University, Montefiore, and Columbia University, who serves as an assistant professor at Mount Sinai Hospital.

He lives upstate in Plattsburgh, where he maintains a medical practice, and he doesn’t hesitate to share his take on the war; he’s no friend of terrorists or anti-Semites.

“We don’t learn from history,” he says. “The younger generation doesn’t see the bigger picture. They see what’s happening in the moment without understanding the wider perspective. “Who are we to judge the Israelis? Americans are lucky — they never lived through a war.”

The doctor tells us his grandfather was part of the Resistance against Mussolini during World War II, and he was killed by the Nazis.

“So why do people hate Jews?” Nachi interjects.

Paolo laughs. “Because they are brighter, richer, more successful. They’re aggressive, they’re entrepreneurs. They don’t shut up — they say it like it is, they are like, um....”

“Gadflies?” I offer.

“Yes. They had no homeland, they went from country to country, and they developed resilience and skills.”

Nods all around.

“You teach at a college,” I offer. “How do you feel about the political climate for Jews on campus and the way the heads of universities refused to stand up for Jews?”

He shakes his head in disgust. “Columbia will do like the mainstream instead of backing the cause that is right. They want to do what’s easy, what makes money for them.”

“What would you tell students at Columbia who are being harassed?” Nachi asks.

“It’s worrisome,” Paolo acknowledges. “I would tell them not to quit. This is a low moment in history, but don’t give up, don’t leave. Get a good education and become resilient. You survived as a people, and you will survive this.”