Seth M. Siegel

I’m proud to be supporting my friend Brad Lander for Congress.  @BradLander has spent his career taking on big fights for New York’s working families. He’ll bring principled leadership to Washington and make sure Congress works for the many, not just the few.

🚨 WOW!!! MUST WATCH: This is from @LauraLoomer: Israeli President Herzog sent a letter to Tucker Carlson threatening to sue him for defamation, and...the POS Carlson is now whining and APOLOGIZING to President Herzog. I LOVE IT!

New York City’s only Ethiopian-Israeli restaurant has closed its doors for regular dining, citing the backlash it faced during the war in Gaza.⁠ ⁠ Beejhy Barhany, who opened Tsion Cafe in Harlem in 2014, recently announced that she is reimagining her restaurant as an event venue for culturally immersive experiences. That means no walk-ins, only group bookings made in advance.⁠ ⁠ Barhany sees the new model as a prime opportunity to educate New Yorkers about her culture. But she said the change represents a sad concession to the realities of Jewish life in the city since Oct. 7, 2023.⁠ ⁠ “Everything kind of changed — so much animosity,” she said. Things got even worse, she said, when she dropped meat from the menu in February 2024 to go fully vegan and kosher — a move that drew plaudits from Jews in the city but also raised Tsion’s profile among critics of Israel.⁠ ⁠ “I was proud to be Jewish. I wanted to illuminate that,” she said. “But from the moment we pivoted to be kosher, it became worse and worse.”⁠ ⁠ People would call the restaurant and harass whoever picked up the phone, Barhany said. One day, she recalled, a server at the restaurant was standing outside and “a bunch of Gen Z’s” passing through said, “Don’t ever come to this place. It’s owned by Israelis. By Zionists.”⁠ ⁠ While some Israeli restaurants that faced harassment drew public attention and support, Tsion, located off the beaten track in Harlem, did not. Barhany said she did not seek to publicize the incidents, hoping that they would recede in prominence. But they took a toll.⁠ ⁠ “It’s kind of tiring,” she said. “You’re here to nourish the community and it feels like you are perceived like the enemy.”⁠ ⁠ In Tsion’s new model, guests will register in advance for “curated, culturally immersive and experiential events” that, at least at first, will focus on Barhany’s own culture.⁠ ⁠ Repost @NYJewishWeek

RATINGS: @CBSEveningNews with Tony Dokoupil grows +10% in adults 25-54 versus premiere week, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel statistics for the week ending Jan. 16. The first two weeks of the new CBS EVENING NEWS is up +4% in viewers and +13% in adults 25-54 compared with the 2025-26 season-to-date average.

When I became the Chief Marketing Officer at Levi's, at about 2 months in, I had some mid-level know it all come into my office to tell me everyone hated me, I was steering the ship into oblivion. She told me everyone knew I was doing a terrible job. (The brand had been in decline for over 10 years.) What I had done in my first two months: 1) Say no one could go on trips anymore unless they had a role at the photo shoot or event. No more boondoggles. 2) No drinking at events or concerts we were hosting. We were there to work, not party. 2) Say Marketing needed to feature actual product in the ads. 3) Say we needed to move away from dark and moody and into the realm of fun - because people have fun in jeans. Awful, right?! She wanted me to know, she said, she was trying to help. (She put her feet on my desk while saying this.) Needless to say, this was not a person who was very good at her job. And I wasn't doing mine to be liked so I didn't care if "everybody hated me". I was trying to turn a business around that had been flailing. I took the responsibility seriously. Six years later, we had a very successful IPO. 2 years after that I became the brand president. These people complaining about new leadership are lame. They always do it. They want it how it was, even if how it was wasn't working. And it's even lamer that @Variety writes about this like it's news. Keep going @bariweiss.

The new guy starts Monday. Join us January 5th at 6:30 p.m. ET for the new CBS Evening News with @tonydokoupil.

From a New York Times profile about Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro. Hmmm. “Unclear what [the would-be murderer] was referencing.” @New York Times needs more insightful editors.