Kagan Wows Em at Manhattan Beach Jewish Center

Well, I’m back on my feet and back to this blog. Sorry for disappearing for a week. Here, at last is my coverage of an event from two weeks ago; Ari Kagan being honored at the Manhattan Beach Jewish CenterIf the leaders of the Russian establishment that coalesed this year to narrowly elect Alec Brook-Krasny to the State Legislature thinks that bete noire Ari Kagan is dead and buried politically, they may have another thing coming. Clearly, important elements of South Brooklyn seem to think Kagan has a future. A few weeks ago there was the dedication of the Minsk ghetto stone at Holocaust Memorial Park at which Ari Kagan was one of the key speakers and Brook-Krasny was in the crowd--acknowledged by Kagan and the other speakers, but not invited to speak himself. (Also snubbed in similar fashion was Holocaust Memorial Council director Pauline Bilus, whom many Russians, including Holocaust survivors, believe charges too much for financially-pressed Russians who want to put up a stone for their loved ones who perished in the Holocaust, but that is another story).

Then last week, Ari Kagan was one of three honorees at the 84th Anniversary dinner of the Manhattan Beach Jewish Center, an old institution in the neighborhood which has understood it needs to aggressively reach out to the Russian community to ensure its survival. The shul, which is modern Orthodox, but seemingly with a tolerant atmosphere, now has a Russian-speaking assistant rabbi, Daniel Finkelman and one of the most prominent members of the shul is Alec Teytel, vice president at a branch of HSBC Bank on Kings Highway.

According to synagogue president Rubin Margules, the shul decided to honor Kagan for his journalistic advocacy for increased social services in the area he entered into his bitter election struggle against Brook-Krasny but saw no reason to reconsider giving the honor during the election struggle. “We have nothing against Brook-Krasny but see our event as a way to stimulate Kagan. He has been a good advocate for the Russian and American community as well.” To be sure, the shul is just outside Brook-Krasny’s district, so would not be liable for direct retribution, but still it seems unlikely B-K and his command appreciated what Margulis and the MBJC were up to that night.

For his part, Teytel, who backed Kagan during the campaign, said from the podium that Ari Kagan ran a great campaign against the Democratic machine. He won the Russian vote and came within 100 votes of winning the whole election (within 140 votes, actually, but close enough). He achieved a moral victory by not being a puppet of the machine.”

Even more gratifying for Kagan, fast rising Cong. Anthony Weiner stopped by briefly took the podium and congratulated him on his service to the community and running an impressive campaign. When Kagan made a politically astute impromptu remark in response to Weiner’s words (unfortunately my tape recorder chose to die at that moment so can't give the exact words), Weiner shook his and said in his best Shumeresque Brooklyn schmaltzy style; “Hey, he’s good. He’s good.” The impression left is that Weiner, one of the brightest political lights in the NYC firmament, quite possibly the next mayor of this fair city, sees Kagan as a comer despite his narrow loss. And that’s pretty interesting, given that Nadler, Kruger, Recchia, Nelson, Savino and the Democratic machine went so strongly for B-K. Clearly, Weiner sees it to his advantage to have lines out to both factions in the Russian community.