Local

If you’ve seen local demonstrations organized by progressive groups, you may have seen volunteers with bright caps and shorts in such crowds. They are members of the National Lawyers Guild who defend protesters against alleged police misconduct, taking videos and notes. Their members come from many law schools and certainly the CUNY School of Law is among them, as its mission is devoted towards “law in the service of human needs.”

In his first foreign trip since being elected, Long Island’s three Republican Congressmen joined Speaker Kevin McCarthy on a trip to Israel this week to promote ties and highlight the importance of the country as an ally.

The last of a generation passed away on veterans’as it coincided with the weekend of Memorial Day, an apparent fit for Loretta Z. Weiss, 103, longtime member of multiple veterans’ organizations and supporter of civic causes. She would have celebrated her 104^th birthday on June 2.

In the decade following the collapse of communism in Romania, the city of Cluj had a nationalist mayor who painted park benches in the national colors and signs written only in Romanian. Such tactics were designed to make the city’s ethnic Hungarians feel like outsiders, suffering discrimination and humiliation in their native city. Author Edith Pollak can relate to this experience of alienation.

The most visible way to demonstrate support for Israel is by showing up. This Sunday, the Celebrate Israel Parade along Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue will honor the 75^th anniversary of Israel’s restored independence with “Renewing the Hope” as this year’s theme.

In contrast to New York City, where many functions of government are decided by the City Council, in Nassau County there are multiple layers, such as school boards, fire districts, the town councils, and the county legislature. Their roles and members are not as well known to voters as their state and federal representatives, and one young candidate hopes to raise awareness of local government.