An urgent call during Kol Nidre: The time this top prosecutor had to work on Yom Kippur – Forward
Posted By admin on September 13, 2022
Geoffrey Berman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, speaks during a press conference on Oct. 10, 2019. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
By Jacob KornbluhSeptember 09, 2022
It was the holiest night of the year. Geoffrey Berman, then the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, was at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan reciting the Kol Nidre prayer, the beginning of the evening service on Yom Kippur, in 2019, when his phone vibrated. The call was from a federal prosecutor asking about two Soviet-born Jews who were set to flee the country, both under investigation for suspected campaign finance violations. He wanted to know: Should they be arrested before they could board their flights?
For once I was glad that I was nowhere near the front of its vast sanctuary, Berman writes in his forthcoming memoir, titled Holding the Line: Inside the Nations Preeminent US Attorneys Office and Its Battle with the Trump Justice Department, slated for publication on Tuesday and obtained in advance by the Forward. I always have the same faraway seats, and this allowed me to leave the synagogue without being noticed.
The men in question, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, associates of former New York City mayor and Bermans past law partner Rudy Giuliani, had bought one-way plane tickets to Frankfurt, Germany, the prosecutor informed him.
Parnas and Fruman, Republican donors with deep ties to the Jewish community, were implicated in efforts to remove Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, from her job and gather information on the Ukrainian business dealings of Hunter Biden, the son of then former Vice President Joe Biden. They were also accused of illegally funneling money to America First Action, a pro-Trump super PAC, as well as to the election campaign of former Rep. Pete Sessions, a Republican from Texas.
Berman writes that although he should not have been working on the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, he left the synagogue and went back to his apartment, spending the rest of the night debating with his team about how quickly they could obtain an indictment and the urgency of barring Parnas and Fruman from travel. He decided, though many pushed back, that they should not be allowed to leave the country.
The pair was arrested the next evening at Dulles International Airport in Virginia and charged with conspiracy, falsification of records and lying to the Federal Election Commission about their political donations.
Berman, who was fired by former President Donald Trump in June 2020, also details in the book his work to return to their rightful owners art and other valuables stolen by the Nazis during World War II.
There were satisfying days in the Southern District, but its hard to say there were many happy ones, Berman writes. September 12, 2018 was a happy day. He had organized a ceremony for that day at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City to returnDeux Femmes Dans Un Jardin, painted in 1919 by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, to Sylvie Sulitzer, the last remaining heir of her grandfather, Alfred Weinberger, a prominent art collector in prewar Paris.
Berman also facilitated the return of a 1639 painting, A Scholar Sharpening His Quill by Salomon Koninck, which was stolen by the Nazis in France from the children and heirs of renowned Jewish art collector Adolphe Schloss and taken to Adolf Hitlers personal headquarters in Munich.
I was passionate about these art repatriation cases, Berman writes, because it was an opportunity to redress wrongdoing and bring back some of the remains of once vibrant Jewish communities in Europe.
The book also reveals an incident with Giuliani first reported by The Guardian on Thursday in which he scolded an Orthodox Jew, mistaking him for a Muslim, while having dinner with some clients at a Manhattan restaurant in 2016.
A drunk Giuliani ranted about Islam when one of the executives whose family emigrated from Egypt and who was wearing a yarmulke and had ordered a kosher meal confronted him and said he was familiar with Islam and that it was not a violent religion.
Im sorry to have tell you this, but the founder of your religion is a murderer, Giuliani shot back, thinking the executive was Muslim, even though the former two-term mayor was clearly acquainted with Jews, Berman writes, according to the Guardian report.
More:
An urgent call during Kol Nidre: The time this top prosecutor had to work on Yom Kippur - Forward
- Freehold Jewish Center - Wikipedia - May 29th, 2023
- Police: Michigan woman wanted to blame synagogue vandalism on Azov Regiment - UpNorthLive.com - May 29th, 2023
- Jury selection concludes in trial for Pittsburgh synagogue shooter who killed 11 - Fox News - May 29th, 2023
- Graphic crime scene and autopsy images will be part of synagogue ... - thejewishchronicle.net - May 29th, 2023
- Boston Synagogue to Host Boston's West End Lyric's 'The Joys of ... - OperaWire - May 29th, 2023
- Terrorist With A Knife Neutralized Near Synagogue In West Bank ... - i24NEWS - May 29th, 2023
- 22-year-old jailed for attempted arson attack on German synagogue - The Times of Israel - May 26th, 2023
- Jury selection wraps in Pittsburgh synagogue massacre with testimony expected Tuesday - ABC News - May 26th, 2023
- IDF: Palestinian killed after infiltrating West Bank settlement synagogue with knife - The Times of Israel - May 26th, 2023
- SYNAGOGUE - JewishEncyclopedia.com - May 24th, 2023
- Lit Explosive Tossed From Pickup Truck Near Synagogue - Newsweek - May 24th, 2023
- Shavuot: When Children Take Their Parents to Synagogue - Impact of Chabad Hebrew schools felt deeply at reading of ... - Chabad.org - May 24th, 2023
- Light unto the nations: How Kherson's synagogue became a massive outreach center - Ynetnews - May 24th, 2023
- Sim Shalom Online Synagogue Soars into the Summer with ... - Benzinga - May 24th, 2023
- Homepage | Park Avenue Synagogue - May 22nd, 2023
- Cherry Hill rabbi donates Torah to new synagogue in Idaho - CBS News - May 22nd, 2023
- Park East Synagogue is still searching for its next leader as another assistant rabbi exits - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - May 20th, 2023
- Synagogue massacre trial expected to start May 30 | The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle - thejewishchronicle.net - May 20th, 2023
- Campaign to give Sons of Jacob Synagogue a fresh look - My North Bay Now - May 20th, 2023
- Sacred Art: The Hope of History at Dohny Street Synagogue - MutualArt.com - May 20th, 2023
- Revelers outside Jerusalem's Great Synagogue say they 'came to ... - The Times of Israel - May 20th, 2023
- Synagogues In Orlando | Jewish Family Community Center | Ohev Shalom ... - May 17th, 2023
- Meet our Clergy - Congregation of Reform Judaism - May 17th, 2023
- London synagogue catches heat for lighting indoor Lag BOmer bonfire - The Times of Israel - May 17th, 2023
- Jury selection in Tree of Life Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial advances - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - May 17th, 2023
- Ivanka Trump and her family were spotted going to synagogue - HOLA! USA - May 17th, 2023
- Wenatchee synagogue vandalized with swastikas | News ... - wenatcheeworld.com - May 17th, 2023
- Warsaw's Great Synagogue destroyed 80 years ago today The ... - The First News - May 17th, 2023
- Pittsburgh Jewish community tracks jump in hate speech amid synagogue massacre trial - The Times of Israel - May 13th, 2023
- Voice for Jewish community reflects on first week of jury selection in synagogue shooting trial - CBS News - April 29th, 2023
- Potential jurors' stance on death penalty gauged as jury selection in synagogue shooting trial continues - WTAE Pittsburgh - April 27th, 2023
- Pittsburgh Jews keep defying hate as synagogue trial nears - The Hill - April 22nd, 2023
- Capitol Hill synagogue vandalized on eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day - The Seattle Times - April 20th, 2023
- This gay Orthodox Jew was banned from his synagogue. Now hes fighting back. - Forward - April 20th, 2023
- Teen accused of posting bomb threat targeting Forsyth County synagogue, deputies say - WSB Atlanta - April 20th, 2023
- The Synagogue | The Pluralism Project - March 10th, 2023
- Jessica Seinfeld Calls For Non-Jews To Join Friends At Synagogue Tomorrow For Shabbat To Counter Day Of Hate With Love And Light - Deadline - February 27th, 2023
- Synagogue Facts & Features | What is a Synagogue? | Study.com - February 19th, 2023
- Arab worlds 1st purpose-built synagogue in century opens at UAE interfaith center - The Times of Israel - February 17th, 2023
- What Is the Purpose of the Synagogue? | Reform Judaism - February 16th, 2023
- Ancient Synagogues in Israel and the Diaspora - February 2nd, 2023
- Park Synagogue, Cory United to hold MLK Jr. Day commemoration - Cleveland Jewish News - January 6th, 2023
- Ice Cream Factory, The Court Hotel and The Old Synagogue set for thrilling New Years Eve celebrations - PerthNow - December 21st, 2022
- NJ Synagogue Threat: FBI Says Credible Information Developed NBC New York - December 11th, 2022
- Video shows man making bigoted remarks at Bloomfield Twp. synagogue - Detroit Free Press - December 11th, 2022
- Two men, one a descendant of Holocaust survivor, indicted in connection with threat to attack NYC synagogue - CNN - December 11th, 2022
- Michigan man charged after threatening synagogue-goers yelled antisemitic invective during arraignment - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - December 7th, 2022
- AA Synagogue - November 24th, 2022
- How One Jewish Groups Tweet Surveillance Uncovered a Synagogue Plot - The New York Times - November 24th, 2022
- Tree of Life - November 21st, 2022
- Jewish Community Security Organization in UK Says It Discovered N.Y. Synagogue Threats - HS Today - HSToday - November 21st, 2022
- Welcome to Edgware United Synagogue - November 16th, 2022
- New Jersey man accused of sending online threats to attack a synagogue and Jewish people, federal prosecutor says - CNN - November 11th, 2022
- I Let My Son Be an Extra on Maisel on the Holiest Day of the Jewish Year - Kveller.com - October 19th, 2022
- Why a new program aiming to fight anti-Zionism among Reform Jews is bound to fail - Mondoweiss - October 19th, 2022
- Reeling from the loss of her mom, this rabbi created an online community for healing - St. Louis Jewish Light - October 19th, 2022
- Slovak Who Attacked Gay Bar Credits Buffalo Shooter with Giving Him 'Final Nudge' - HS Today - HSToday - October 19th, 2022
- OPINION: Let's make this the year we end paid High Holiday tickets J. - The Jewish News of Northern California - October 15th, 2022
- Churches need to see more of the faithful - liherald.com - October 15th, 2022
- Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley: October 14-20, 2022 - Sedona.biz - October 15th, 2022
- Why Conspiracy Theorists Always Land on the Jews - The Atlantic - October 15th, 2022
- Religion: Clergy strive to reconcile politically divided congregations | Journal-Courier - Jacksonville Journal-Courier - October 8th, 2022
- Huntsville's Temple B'nai Sholom encourages the community to visit the historic synagogue - WZDX - September 29th, 2022
- The synagogue is in the street: On Yom Kippur, Tel Aviv shows another side of itself - Forward - September 29th, 2022
- A Long Island synagogues renovations uncover a massive work of art - Forward - September 29th, 2022
- Synagogues exit pandemic with reflection, determination and hope for the future - Ynetnews - September 29th, 2022
- For the Sin We Have Sinned by Making People Feel Unwelcome at Synagogues - Jewish Exponent - September 29th, 2022
- The tragedy of Jews who can't stand with Israel - JNS.org - September 29th, 2022
- Fellowship in Their Golden Years - International Fellowship of Christians and Jews - September 29th, 2022
- Aurora rabbi joins other faith leaders in call for peace and progress - Daily Herald - September 29th, 2022
- Worshiper stabbed to death outside Dimona synagogue after asking suspect to be quiet - The Times of Israel - September 27th, 2022
- Paxton Works to Safeguard First Amendment Protections for Religious Group Facing Illegal Discrimination - Texas Attorney General (.gov) - September 27th, 2022
- Date, fast times, meaning behind Yom Kippur and what celebrations involve - iNews - September 27th, 2022
- Finding Refuge from War and Persecution in Connecticut's Quiet Corner - UConn Today - University of Connecticut - September 27th, 2022
- 'Sense of accomplishment': Synagogue recruits 163 Torah readers from one Rosh Hashanah to another - Daily Herald - September 25th, 2022
- So, whats up with all that kissing in synagogue? (No, not the people the Torah!) - Forward - September 25th, 2022
- The Top 10 Secrets of the Eldridge Street Synagogue and Museum in NYC - Untapped New York - September 25th, 2022
- Police increase patrols at Long Island synagogues, temples ahead of High Holy Days - CBS New York - September 25th, 2022
- Pandemic's aftermath and economic crisis have some synagogues rethinking their membership fees - eJewish Philanthropy - September 25th, 2022
- 'Exactly the spiritual leader that we wanted': Rabbi Meeka Simerly to lead her first Rosh Hashana at Havre de Grace's Temple Adas Shalom - Baltimore... - September 25th, 2022
Comments