Less than 24 hours after a violent antisemitic attack in New York City, Gov. Kathy Hochul made an unscheduled stop on Long Island — for Shabbat dinner at The Hampton Synagogue. There, she rushed to reassure congregants she would be doing everything in her power to protect the Empire State’s Jewish community.
Hours later, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore was in that very same room in Westhampton Beach — speaking to the congregation and answering tough questions about Israel.
It wasn’t a coincidence.
In recent years, what started out as an informal East End gathering place has quietly become one of the country’s foremost stages for Jewish civic and political life, with members including Patriots owner Robert Kraft, celebrity jewelry designer Lorraine Schwartz, Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, and many philanthropic members all passionate about global affairs.
In this place, political hopefuls, business and thought leaders from all different ideologies come to speak — directly to one of the nation’s most influential Jewish communities.
Sandy Cahn, who sponsors the synagogue’s Stewart Cahn Global Breakfast Forum, said that’s exactly why the politicians keep showing up.
“It’s a really important way to reach our community,” Cahn told The Post. “Sometimes it’s controversial, sometimes it’s not. The rabbi is really asking tough questions.”
Much of that influence traces back to one man.
Congregants describe Rabbi Marc Schneier as an equal part spiritual leader and ringmaster. A larger-than-life personality, with a uniquely colorful life, whose relentless energy has transformed the congregation into the Hamptons’ de facto Jewish town hall.
They don’t just come for the speakers. They come for him.
The charismatic Rabbi, who founded the congregation in 1990, channels a Tony Soprano energy and jokes that he always wanted to be “Don Schneier.” A little bit show business, a little pizzazz, he peppers conversations with stories, Jewish geography and blunt political opinions.
While enjoying an onion bagel with lox, the Upper East Side native boasted he pressed the governor three separate times on whether she would condemn mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s comments about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“It’s a virtual Meet The Press here on Sunday,” Schneier told The Post.
Hochul’s appearance, which she had already done a handful of times, underscored why political leaders increasingly seek out his community.
“I’m very progressive in thinking, but rabid dog for Israel,” the New York native said, before adding that he didn’t find the governor’s response to be adequate.
What began as a casual meeting in Schneier’s living room 36 years ago has evolved into far more than aa typical house of worship — drawing Bill and Hillary Clinton, Michael Bloomberg, Andrew Cuomo, Eric Adams, Marco Rubio and Bruce Blakeman among many others.
And these are not canned appearances, but intimate, interactive meetings with a politically engaged, philanthropically minded, and arguably deeply influential and deep pocketed audience that is not afraid to ask substantive questions.
Unlike tightly choreographed campaign events or Manhattan fundraisers, appearances here are intentionally intimate. Politicians linger after services, answer questions from the synagogue’s heavy hitting congregants, and engage in unscripted conversation.
“It’s important for the politicians because we’ve defined ourselves as the summer destination for the American Jewish community,” Schneier said.
But Schneier insists the synagogue’s influence stems not from politics but from the eclectic and welcoming community he spent decades building.
“My focus is never to impose, rather to expose people to different points of view, and that’s also been my rabbinate,” the 18th-generation rabbi told The Post.
That philosophy has helped create what congregants describe as one of the Hamptons’ most diverse religious communities, bringing together people of different political views, professions and observance under one roof.
Of his guests, the rabbi said they welcome the variation in perspectives. And according to Schneier, they seek him out.
“Marc understood from the beginning that people wanted more than services,” longtime congregant and president of the synagogue Jeff Zuckerman told The Post.
Developer Alex Witkoff, a congregant — and son of Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff — who is also the leader of the synagogue’s Holocaust Memorial art project, said Schneier has transformed the synagogue into the epicenter of Jewish life on the East End.
“Rabbi Marc Schneier is larger than life,” Witkoff told The Post. “His tour de force personality and bold, colorful perspective have made The Hampton Synagogue the center of Jewish life in the Hamptons.”
He credited Schneier’s ability to connect ancient teachings with current events, politics and culture for attracting an unusually broad audience, making the torah feel timeless.
That approach has proved valuable at a time when many religious institutions are struggling to attract members.
Nationally, synagogue membership and religious participation have declined in recent decades. Yet, The Hampton Synagogue now counts roughly 500 member families. It can draw more than 1,000 worshippers during peak summer weekends, many spilling onto the patio.
“In my wildest dreams, I never thought it would amount to what we have today. It’s more than just a synagogue,” Schneier said with a laugh. “It’s like a Jewish country club.”
“I’ve never been to a kiddush where every week it’s like a bar mitzvah in my life,” actor and member Tovah Feldshuh told The Post. “On August 5, I’m going to an omakase dinner at the shul.”
For veteran public relations executive Ken Sunshine, whose longtime client Barbra Streisand even donated to the synagogue in his honor, the draw has always been Schneier himself.
“My wife and I are Jewish, not religious at all, but we’ve adopted a verb in our vocabulary: ‘to be Schneiered,’” Sunshine told The Post. “He’s a great organizer. There’s no secret why it’s a thriving congregation.”
Jewish activist and longtime congregant Ari Ackerman said Schneier possesses an unusual combination of pastoral instincts and entrepreneurial vision.
“He’s not just a rabbi—he’s a brilliant entrepreneur and marketer,” Ackerman told The Post. “If he wasn’t a rabbi, he’d make millions in marketing.”
As antisemitism continues to rise, Schneier believes the synagogue’s continued growth reflects a broader shift within the American Jewish community.
“There’s this thirst not only for Jewish identification but Jewish knowledge,” he said. “We’ve built a political program that’s really expanding people’s horizons. This synagogue is all about growth.”
That growth was on full display this weekend.
By Sunday afternoon, the forum had welcomed Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who told congregants he was “not confused about Hamas or Hezbollah and who they are” or “the damage they have done.”
“As a member of the U.S. military, I saw the consequences of this,” Moore said. “I have never believed they were legitimate negotiating partners.”
Wearing a Hatzalah lapel pin, Moore stood next to Schneier and spoke candidly about Israel, despite his previous comments about Netanyahu.
By the time Moore finished speaking, a group of 75 congregants gathered around him in a sun-filled room and fired off questions about his controversial comments and his positioning for the Jewish people, just as they had with Hochul less than 48 hours earlier.
And that’s exactly how Schneier likes it.
“Here, you can actually press the flesh,” he said. “They become part of the community.”
Read the full article here
