By DAVID CRARY and PETER SMITH

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s Jewish community — the largest in the United States — abounds with anxiety and friction a day ahead of an election that could give the city its first Muslim mayor.

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That candidate, Zohran Mamdani, has won over many progressive Jewish voters with vows to make the city more affordable and equitable. Yet he has alarmed many other Jews — in New York and across the U.S. — with harsh criticism of Israel, including saying its military campaign in Gaza amounts to genocide.

The tensions within the politically diverse community were illustrated Friday in a sermon by Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, who leads Central Synagogue in Manhattan, one of the country’s most prominent Reform synagogues.

She pointedly criticized Mamdani’s words about Israel, yet declined to endorse either of his opponents, Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa, and pleaded for New York’s Jews to minimize virulent political infighting.

“It endangers all of us: It’s the way we are trying to impose a litmus test on other Jews, essentially saying you’re either with us or you’re against us,” she said.

A local election in the national spotlight

Buchdahl has faced some criticism for not signing a statement endorsed by more than 1,000 Jewish clergy members nationwide denouncing Mamdani. She said that on principle, she doesn’t endorse candidates or sign joint statements, but she interrupted her sabbatical schedule to return to her pulpit the weekend before the election.

In the sermon, Buchdahl said Mamdani has “contributed to a mainstreaming of some of the most abhorrent antisemitism” with words that she said were not only “demonizing Israelis, but echoing the age-old antisemitic trope that Jews across the world are the root cause of our problem here.”

Mamdani has made overtures to Jewish voters throughout the campaign, promising to increase funding to investigate antisemitic incidents in New York and repeatedly condemning violence in the Middle East. He has also denounced “atrocities” committed by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, describing the attacks as a “horrific war crime.”

But Mamdani has not retreated from his long-standing support for Palestinian rights. He also has said he would direct the city’s police department to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York on charges brought by the International Criminal Court.

In response to allegations that his views amount to antisemitism, Mamdani has often quoted an Israeli man whose brother was killed on Oct. 7, saying that “we must never give up on the conviction that all life, Israeli and Palestinian, Jewish and Arab, is equally precious.”

Buchdahl, in her sermon, said she recognizes the voices of younger Jews who say they shouldn’t fearfully vote based on a “single issue when other issues are just as urgent.” They cite Mamdani’s outreach to Jewish leaders and his moderated rhetoric.

“I would not quickly trust a campaigning politician changing his lifelong positions, but I hear those who believe that we must engage even with those we deeply disagree with or risk isolating ourselves,” Buchdahl said.

Leading rabbi: It’s not a simple choice

Like Buchdahl, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, New York-based Rabbi Rick Jacobs, said he was sticking by his long-held decision to avoid making political endorsements.

“If you think the choice for mayor is simple, I respectfully suggest that you are not paying attention,” Jacobs wrote in an open letter last week. “I implore our Jewish community and all New Yorkers to carefully consider the many urgent issues our city faces before casting your vote.”

“I can attest that Zohran Mamdani is not lacking in empathy for the Jewish community’s anxiety over regular threats to our safety. In public interviews and in a personal meeting, I’ve heard him pledge to protect the Jewish community,” wrote Jacobs, before raising doubts about the Democratic candidate.

“Mamdani has been consistent in saying that he believes Israel has a right to exist as a state of all its citizens, but not as a Jewish state,” Jacobs wrote. “His argument might sound tidy in a seminar; in the real world it is cause for grave concern.”

Among the signatories of the anti-Mamdani statement was a prominent Conservative rabbi from New York, Elliot Cosgrove.

“To be clear, unequivocal and on the record, I believe Zohran Mamdani poses a danger to the security of the New York Jewish community,” Cosgrove declared at the start of a recent sermon at Park Avenue Synagogue.

“Zionism, Israel, Jewish self-determination — these are not political preferences or partisan talking points,” Cosgrove added. “They are constituent building blocks and inseparable strands of my Jewish identity.”

Even Hasidic leaders are divided

As evidence of the divisions within Jewish ranks, there have been competing endorsements of Mamdani and Cuomo by leaders of different factions within the Satmar Hasidic community.

On Sunday, Rabbi Moshe Indig, a leader of the community’s Ahronim branch, declared his support for Mamdani, posing in a handshake with the candidate at a meeting in Brooklyn. Within hours, three other leaders of the branch repudiated Indig’s action and endorsed Cuomo.

“Across the board, the progressive movement’s crusading agenda is a threat to our ability to live as Torah Jews and educate our children with the same values,” the pro-Cuomo leaders said.

To the left of the political center, New York-based author and commentator Peter Beinhart spoke in a recent video of his dismay at the vitriol being directed at Mamdani by many Jewish leaders.

Beinhart said he worries “that the organized American Jewish community was willing to sacrifice almost anything to preserve unconditional support for the state of Israel, that every other value, every other principle was subordinated to that.”

“What are you willing to sacrifice in order to prevent a New York mayor who says that Israeli Jews and Palestinians should live equally under the same law? What are you willing to try to do to destroy such a candidate? The answer is: lie with almost anyone, do almost anything.”

Smith reported from Pittsburgh. AP journalist Jake Offenhartz contributed from New York.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Revalon Wesson spent a lot of time in the R.H. Stafford Library in Woodbury as a kid. They remember getting lost in the books, the sound of the waterfall that stood in the middle of Central Park and the lush greenery surrounding it.

As an adult, Wesson has used the space to study and connect with friends. Now that the park has undergone a $42 million renovation, adding close to 24,000 square feet to the building since its opening in 2002, Wesson said there’s a bit of nostalgia missing from the space, but the update was much needed.

“There’s much more seating,” Wesson said. “I do like the more modern look to it. It just looks a lot cleaner and more accessible.”

Woodbury Central Park’s grand reopening was held Sunday, and all were welcome to attend and check out what the updated space has to offer. Some visitors were Woodbury residents like Wesson, who’d frequented the space prior to the renovation. Others came from neighboring cities like Cottage Grove, with young kids excited to explore the updated playground, and others traveled from throughout the Twin Cities to see the space for the first time.

“It’s welcoming and I like the integration of the green space, and these community spaces allow in the wintertime for you to be indoors but still feel like you have access to live greenery,” Kenos Leong said. “It’s really important and amazing, and we don’t really have a lot of that in Minneapolis.

Updated after 23 years

The indoor park, which connects the R.H. Stafford Library, YMCA and Stonecrest Senior Living, is a three-story building. On the side of the east entrance, visitors will notice a welcome desk in partnership with Destination Woodbury, the city’s new visitors bureau.

Visitors are encouraged to stop by the desk for guides, to ask questions or get connected to community resources, according to Woodbury Parks and Recreation Director Michelle Okada.

The east entrance also leads directly to the amphitheater, which is used by public speakers, as well as for wedding events, concerts and performances. The theater seats 175 people total and has been renovated with cushioned benches and is now fully enclosed, Okada said.

A new large event space is also located on the first floor. It can host up to 300 people, according to Okada, depending on the configuration of the space. It can also be split into three rooms, Woodland Rooms A, B and C. The space will be used for large event gatherings, community meetings and wedding events, Okada said.

The R.H. Stafford library sits between the east and west entrances. Both entrances now have varied seating arrangements, from soft-seated booths to high and low top tables, along with benches and cushioned chairs. The additional seating is one of Okada’s favorite improvements, she said.

“The architects were really thoughtful in including welcoming elements,” Okada said.

New and updated seating options are an addition to the entire building. On the lower level of the space, amidst the indoor garden, which features tropical plants and a new water wall, visitors can sit on benches surrounded by plants, with charging stations nearby for those working on devices. Tables for larger groups are also scattered throughout the walkable green space.

A visitor looks at the new water feature, not running, inside Woodbury Central Park. (Claudia Staut / Pioneer Press)

“This place is wonderful to go in the winter, because you’re surrounded by green, but it’s a good way to escape the snow,” said Sara Hudis, of St. Paul, who was especially excited about the nearby power outlets, said.

Spaces for all ages

The lower level is also home to the South Washington County Schools district offices and meeting rooms, as well as two designated meeting and event spaces, Savanna Rooms A & B.

Those spaces, however, were not what the kiddos were interested in on Sunday. Instead, the little ones flocked to the updated two-story Lookout Ridge indoor playground.

A view from the ground level of the new indoor playground at Woodbury Central Park. (Claudia Staut / Pioneer Press)

“We came to the library a bunch, and then we came to the old Lookout Ridge a handful of times (before the renovation),” said Allison Ryks, of Cottage Grove. “But this is beautiful.”

Ryks’ two kids, Hattie, 9, and Wesley, 7, said they had a lot of fun going down the slide of the playground and climbing all the way to the top.

Locally designed art is also an intentional feature of the building, according to Okada. At Lookout Ridge, a large mural of the St. Croix River Valley follows the playground from top to bottom, starting on land and traveling up to the sky. On the first floor, a public wall art gallery displays photos taken by community members and wraps around to a birch tree tile mosaic.

“I think the cohesion of the mural and playground is a unique element,” Okada said.

The building, which connects to Stonecrest Senior Living, has long hosted events for seniors in various spaces, Okada said. Now with the renovation, two rooms on the second floor, Prairie Rooms A & B will be used most frequently by the senior community.

While the entire building was created with community input, Okada said, seniors in the community were very involved in the design process for the two meeting spaces. The rooms will host hobby activities like bridge, knitting and book club, as well as learning opportunities like history classes and fitness. There is also a small kitchen in the space for social gatherings.

“We will be having a fantastic time,” Woodbury Bridge Club manager Earl Conner said. “We were in the dungeons of the basement before. Now we’re in an open space upstairs with the light.”

Sustainability and accessibility

Another integral element of the updated building was incorporating sustainable technology and natural architecture, including metal and wood columns and paneling, according to Okada. The building uses geothermal technology for heating and cooling, bird-safe glass, a solar rooftop and energy-efficient lighting throughout the space.

All new lighting illuminates the upper atrium at the remodeled Central Park in Woodbury. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

“We are really looking forward to the cost benefit,” Okada said.

Along with sustainable features, the building is also ADA compliant, something Woodbury resident Linda Hood said she was very happy to see.

“I’m very impressed,” Hood said of the renovated space.

Hood, a disability advocate who won Miss Wheelchair Minnesota in 2022, has helped create awareness around the need for adult changing stations across the state and country, as well as create legislation surrounding the matter.

She is the reason why the indoor park, which has 28 single-stall bathrooms, features two with adult changing tables, according to Woodbury Mayor Anne Burt.

Hood, who has lived in Woodbury since 2002, said the bathrooms are her favorite part of the renovation. She loves visiting the library, but before the changing stations were updated to fit her needs, she said she’d have to go home in order to simply use the bathroom. Now she can stay for as long as she’d like, she said.

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Other elements of the space have also been updated to be ADA-compliant, like the floor, which once had a gravel texture that has been smoothed out.

“The floor was hard because anytime the floors aren’t smooth, it’s hard on the wheels and makes for a bumpy ride,” Hood said.

Other added features include a wellness room for prayer, or anyone in need of a quiet space, a dedicated lactation room for nursing parents, a working space available for community organizations to rent, which is currently being used by TrueLens Community Media and more.

For more information, pricing and hours, visit woodburymn.gov/centralpark.

By Patrick Howell O’Neill, Bloomberg News

WASHINGTON — As voters across the U.S. from New York City to New Jersey and Virginia to California prepare to cast ballots Tuesday, election officials are operating with sharply reduced support from a federal government agency that had previously helped states and localities counter bomb threats and cyberattacks.

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The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has abandoned an Election Day situation room it had operated for years to share vital intelligence on physical and cyber threats with state and local authorities, said Paul Lux, chair of the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, a national coalition of election officials.

CISA’s decision to end the information-sharing arrangement follows the dismantling of the agency’s election security team earlier this year. Remaining election personnel with CISA, a unit of the Department of Homeland Security, have since been prohibited from working with or contacting state election officials, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The cuts have sent state and local officials responsible for running elections searching for ways to shore up potential gaps in cybersecurity, threat monitoring and physical protection of polling places. Changes at Homeland Security are sinking in as the nation confronts a bitterly divided political climate marked by violent outbursts including the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

Americans will head to the polls on Tuesday to decide the winners of gubernatorial, mayoral and legislative races, as well as judicial seats and ballot initiatives. Election Day marks the first real test of the political landscape since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, offering an early glimpse of how his administration will oversee elections whose integrity he and his allies have repeatedly challenged. The New York City mayoral race, in particular, has drawn national attention as a proxy battle over urban governance, progressive politics and the future of the Democratic party.

Homeland Security officials continue to communicate and provide guidance to state and local personnel on other matters, according to an agency spokesperson.

“Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, CISA has refocused on its core mission and leads the nation’s effort to secure critical infrastructure, and that includes election infrastructure from cyber and physical threats,” said DHS spokesperson Scott McConnell. “Every day, DHS and CISA are providing our partners the most capable and timely threat intelligence, expertise and resources they need to defend against risks.”

DHS officials forcibly reassigned or put on leave members of CISA’s election security and resilience team in the months after Trump returned to power in January, according to people familiar with the matter. The CISA team was charged with coordinating election security efforts among the more than 10,000 election jurisdictions throughout the U.S.

The federal government has historically taken a lead in uniting, informing, and enabling state and local election officials to secure elections. In February, CISA froze all election security activities and the department initiated a review of CISA’s role in helping state and local officials, Politico reported. Nine months later, the result has not been made public.

The loss of federal support is a “nasty shock” to election officials who have relied on federal support to fend off hackers and potentially violent plots, said Lux, who is also the supervisor of elections for Okaloosa County, Florida.

Meanwhile, Americans are reporting an increase in politically motivated violence, according to an October Pew Research Center poll. In one case, a Texas man was charged in September with making violent terroristic threats against New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.

The reduction in election security services come amid deeper cuts resulting in reduced capacity for CISA’s Cybersecurity Division to provide services to critical infrastructure entities. Remaining capabilities, such as vulnerability scans and ransomware notifications, also are degraded in quality, according to former CISA officials.

“There are things important to the elections community that will be missing on this Election Day,” Lux said. “First and foremost, we have lost the ability to communicate on a national scale.”

During the 2024 election cycle, suspicious packages containing white powder were sent to election offices in more than a dozen states. CISA’s election security team at the time served as a national intelligence clearinghouse, sharing detailed reports with election officials including photos of the handwriting and envelopes. The crime was not solved.

Dozens of malicious and suspicious cyber incidents targeting American election infrastructure occurred in the weeks leading up to Election Day, including phishing attempts, denial of service attacks and more, according to Lux. The 2024 election also saw at least 227 bomb threats, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. CISA’s situation room had been where intelligence on the threats was collected and sent to election officials around the country.

The Trump administration also appointed people who have spread conspiracies about the 2020 election results to prominent positions. Heather Honey, who spread false information about the vote in Pennsylvania that year, has served as the deputy assistant secretary for election integrity in DHS’s Office of Strategy, Policy and Plans, according to an organizational chart on the department’s website.

Lux’s Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, or EI-ISAC, tried to set up its own national version of the situation room for this year’s election. The effort failed because the organization, which lost federal funding this year, couldn’t afford the software licensing fees required to collect and share data with so many partners nationally. Lux said he intends to ask DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to confirm whether the CISA situation room will return in time for the midterm elections next year. CISA didn’t respond to a request for comment on the matter.

EI-ISAC used to be a free program but, due to federal funding cuts, has been rolled into a larger paid membership with another information-sharing collective, Lux said. Major election jurisdictions can afford to have teams of cybersecurity professionals on staff. However, the demise of CISA’s free services and EI-ISAC’s new pricing model are expected to have an especially big impact on smaller and poorer jurisdictions.

That makes election offices with less funding particularly vulnerable to state-backed hackers from China, Russia and Iran, officials said. Attackers from each of those countries have previously sought to interfere in U.S. elections.

“It’s those small, underserved jurisdictions which are the bigger concern because they are the least prepared to deal with it,” Lux said.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The Gophers football program picked up a commitment Monday from speedy wide reciever Braiden Stevens for its 2026 recruiting class.

The three-star prospect from Platte County High School in Platte City, Mo., was committed to South Dakota State before the U, Nebraska, West Virginia and others offered scholarships this fall.

Stevens, who is listed at 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds, took an official visit to Minnesota for the 23-20 overtime win over Michigan State on Saturday.

Stevens, who also participates in track and field, is known for his speed, which is presumed to be in the range of 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash and 10.4 in the 100-meter dash.

Stevens is the 25th commitment in the U’s class for next season. He comes aboard after Utah receiver Kai Meza left the class in September and then pledge to California.

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