(Oct. 7, 2026 / JNS)
Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, and fellow council Jewish Caucus members Eric Dinowitz (chair), Lynn Schulman (vice chair) and Harvey Epstein hosted Oct. 7 survivor Shalev Biton and his rescuer Yunis Alkarnawi at City Hall on Sept. 23.
The meeting was a partnership with UJA-Federation of New York. Biton survived the Nova festival. Alkarnawi, who is an Israeli Bedouin, saved him and many others.
“We will never forget what happened on Oct. 7,” Menin told JNS.
“Three years ago, more than 1,200 people were killed in the horrific Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel, and 251 people were taken hostage,” the council’s first Jewish speaker said. “We recently hosted Nova festival survivors Shalev Biton and Yunis Alkarnawi at City Hall, together with my colleagues and UJA–Federation of New York.”
“Shalev escaped the festival grounds just in time, finding refuge at Yunis’s nearby farm along with 32 other attendees,” Menin told JNS. “Heroic actions like these remind us that even with the evils that exist today, we must continue to respond to that hate with hope, and we will continue matching that hope with action.”
New York City Council hosts Oct. 7 survivor and his rescuer
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Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, and fellow council Jewish Caucus members Eric Dinowitz (chair), Lynn Schulman (vice chair) and Harvey Epstein host Oct. 7 survivor Shalev Biton and his rescuer Yunis Alkarnawi at City Hall for a meeting in partnership with UJA-Federation of NY, Sept. 23, 2026. Credit: New York City Council.
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Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, and fellow council Jewish Caucus members Eric Dinowitz (chair), Lynn Schulman (vice chair) and Harvey Epstein host Oct. 7 survivor Shalev Biton and his rescuer Yunis Alkarnawi at City Hall for a meeting in partnership with UJA-Federation of NY, Sept. 23, 2026. Credit: New York City Council.
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Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, and fellow council Jewish Caucus members Eric Dinowitz (chair), Lynn Schulman (vice chair) and Harvey Epstein host Oct. 7 survivor Shalev Biton and his rescuer Yunis Alkarnawi at City Hall for a meeting in partnership with UJA-Federation of NY, Sept. 23, 2026. Credit: New York City Council.
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Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, and fellow council Jewish Caucus members Eric Dinowitz (chair), Lynn Schulman (vice chair) and Harvey Epstein host Oct. 7 survivor Shalev Biton and his rescuer Yunis Alkarnawi at City Hall for a meeting in partnership with UJA-Federation of NY, Sept. 23, 2026. Credit: New York City Council.
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Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, and fellow council Jewish Caucus members Eric Dinowitz (chair), Lynn Schulman (vice chair) and Harvey Epstein host Oct. 7 survivor Shalev Biton and his rescuer Yunis Alkarnawi at City Hall for a meeting in partnership with UJA-Federation of NY, Sept. 23, 2026. Credit: New York City Council.
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Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, and fellow council Jewish Caucus members Eric Dinowitz (chair), Lynn Schulman (vice chair) and Harvey Epstein host Oct. 7 survivor Shalev Biton and his rescuer Yunis Alkarnawi at City Hall for a meeting in partnership with UJA-Federation of NY, Sept. 23, 2026. Credit: New York City Council.
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Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, and fellow council Jewish Caucus members Eric Dinowitz (chair), Lynn Schulman (vice chair) and Harvey Epstein host Oct. 7 survivor Shalev Biton and his rescuer Yunis Alkarnawi at City Hall for a meeting in partnership with UJA-Federation of NY, Sept. 23, 2026. Credit: New York City Council.
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Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, and fellow council Jewish Caucus members Eric Dinowitz (chair), Lynn Schulman (vice chair) and Harvey Epstein host Oct. 7 survivor Shalev Biton and his rescuer Yunis Alkarnawi at City Hall for a meeting in partnership with UJA-Federation of NY, Sept. 23, 2026. Credit: New York City Council.
9 of 17
Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, and fellow council Jewish Caucus members Eric Dinowitz (chair), Lynn Schulman (vice chair) and Harvey Epstein host Oct. 7 survivor Shalev Biton and his rescuer Yunis Alkarnawi at City Hall for a meeting in partnership with UJA-Federation of NY, Sept. 23, 2026. Credit: New York City Council.
10 of 17
Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, and fellow council Jewish Caucus members Eric Dinowitz (chair), Lynn Schulman (vice chair) and Harvey Epstein host Oct. 7 survivor Shalev Biton and his rescuer Yunis Alkarnawi at City Hall for a meeting in partnership with UJA-Federation of NY, Sept. 23, 2026. Credit: New York City Council.
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Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, and fellow council Jewish Caucus members Eric Dinowitz (chair), Lynn Schulman (vice chair) and Harvey Epstein host Oct. 7 survivor Shalev Biton and his rescuer Yunis Alkarnawi at City Hall for a meeting in partnership with UJA-Federation of NY, Sept. 23, 2026. Credit: New York City Council.
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Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, and fellow council Jewish Caucus members Eric Dinowitz (chair), Lynn Schulman (vice chair) and Harvey Epstein host Oct. 7 survivor Shalev Biton and his rescuer Yunis Alkarnawi at City Hall for a meeting in partnership with UJA-Federation of NY, Sept. 23, 2026. Credit: New York City Council.
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Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, and fellow council Jewish Caucus members Eric Dinowitz (chair), Lynn Schulman (vice chair) and Harvey Epstein host Oct. 7 survivor Shalev Biton and his rescuer Yunis Alkarnawi at City Hall for a meeting in partnership with UJA-Federation of NY, Sept. 23, 2026. Credit: New York City Council.
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Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, and fellow council Jewish Caucus members Eric Dinowitz (chair), Lynn Schulman (vice chair) and Harvey Epstein host Oct. 7 survivor Shalev Biton and his rescuer Yunis Alkarnawi at City Hall for a meeting in partnership with UJA-Federation of NY, Sept. 23, 2026. Credit: New York City Council.
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Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, and fellow council Jewish Caucus members Eric Dinowitz (chair), Lynn Schulman (vice chair) and Harvey Epstein host Oct. 7 survivor Shalev Biton and his rescuer Yunis Alkarnawi at City Hall for a meeting in partnership with UJA-Federation of NY, Sept. 23, 2026. Credit: New York City Council.
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Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, and fellow council Jewish Caucus members Eric Dinowitz (chair), Lynn Schulman (vice chair) and Harvey Epstein host Oct. 7 survivor Shalev Biton and his rescuer Yunis Alkarnawi at City Hall for a meeting in partnership with UJA-Federation of NY, Sept. 23, 2026. Credit: New York City Council.
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Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, and fellow council Jewish Caucus members Eric Dinowitz (chair), Lynn Schulman (vice chair) and Harvey Epstein host Oct. 7 survivor Shalev Biton and his rescuer Yunis Alkarnawi at City Hall for a meeting in partnership with UJA-Federation of NY, Sept. 23, 2026. Credit: New York City Council.
