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All-Republican City Council will lead Long Beach By CHRIS ColUCCI ccolucci@liherald.com
Courtesy John McNally
City Councilman George Ennis, far left; council Vice President Chris Fiumara; President Brendan Finn; Councilwoman Tracey Johnson and Councilman Michael Reinhart.
It was standing-room-only at City Hall as the Long Beach City Council welcomed one re-elected incumbent and two new members on New Year’s Day. George Ennis and Tracey Johnson were sworn in for their first terms, while Michael Reinhart, who was first elected in 2023, took the oath of office for the second time. Reinhart and Johnson began four-year terms, while Ennis, who garnered the third-highest vote total in last November’s election, will serve for two years. The special meeting certified the first all-Republican City Council since 1971 — the incoming members join Republicans Brendan Finn, the council president, and Chris Fiumara, its vice president, who were elected alongside Reinhart in 2023 — but Ennis and Johnson stressed in their inaugural comments that partisan politics won’t play a role in governing the city. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman began the ConTinuEd on PaGE 3
Dunking on antisemitism on Barclays Center court By AIDAN WARSHAVSKY awarshavsky@liherald.com
Nearly 18,000 people attended a tribute to the 15 victims of the Bondi Beach massacre in Sydney, Australia, at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center just days after last month’s shooting, and teens from Chabad Teen chapters in Long Beach and the Five Towns joined the Chabad Teen Network, known as CTEEN, in solidarity as they remembered those who died. The tribute took place during halftime of the Dec. 18 Brooklyn Nets-Miami Heat game. It featured a short game played by CTEEN members, as
well as the lighting of a giant basketball menorah watched by some 180 teens and their families. The menorah was lit by 14-year-old Brooklyn native Eli Drizin, a nephew of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, one of two Chabad rabbis who were killed in the attack. After reciting the blessings and lighting the menorah, attendees turned the solemn ceremony into a celebration of Jewish resilience that drew a standing ovation from the arena. The Nets roster includes two rookies from Israel, Danny Wolf and Ben Saraf, whose presence has inspired young
Jews with the message not to compromise their faith to achieve their dreams. That inspired the CTEEN players in the halftime game, who included Long Beach’s Dillon Weintraub. The 10th-g rader at Long Beach High School, who played point guard, said that the game was an opportunity to represent Judaism, and that lighting a menorah in a venue like Barclays showed the world that “we’re just like everyone else.” “I think it’s important for Jewish people to be represented,” Weintraub said. “The more they see us, the more they can recognize that we’re people,
too.” Weintraub, who also plays lacrosse at Long Beach High, said he felt that the game presented a chance to showcase what Jewish boys and men can do in sports. “Sometimes Jewish people are overlooked when it comes to athletics,” he said, “especially for young Jewish males.”
Nassau County’s CTEEN chapter is part of an extensive international ChabadLubavitch youth organization that provides Jewish teens with social, educational, leadership and volunteer opportunities at local Chabad centers. With 842 ch ap t e r s i n 6 7 c o u n t r i e s, CTEENs are empowered to ConTinuEd on PaGE 3