Dunkin’ Donuts (now officially known as Dunkin’) is facing boycott calls from MAGA supporters, resulting from complaints by Chris Pavlovski, CEO of the company Rumble, an online web hosting and video platform. Rumble is aligned with Donald Trump’s Truth Social, and provides a platform for prominent conservatives including Dinesh D’Souza, Sean Hannity, and Representative Jim Jordan. Pavlovski and his supporters claim that Dunkin’s parent company, Inspire Brands, has refused to advertise on Rumble, supposedly for fear of being aligned with the right wing culture on the site. Meanwhile, Dunkin’ is also facing criticism from the left on social media for its supposed support of Israel against the Palestinians. Dunkin’ does have locations in Israel, but the company has not issued any statements in regard to the Israel-Palestine conflict. What is the story of the Jewish man who started Dunkin’ Donuts?    

‍ Dunkin' Donuts (Silver City Galleria, Taunton, Massachusetts) is licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A. Lender’s Bagels, in New Haven, Connecticut, gained success by purchasing the first automated bagel making machine from its inventor, Daniel Thompson. The machine rolled out the dough which then fed through a punching machine that punched out the inner hole and the bagel itself, eliminating the huge expense of hand rolling bagels. A Lender’s employee, Harry Leibowitz, recognized the possibility of using that machine to make doughnuts, and Murray Lender allowed him to experiment in the afternoons when the days’ bagel making was done. Finding success, Leibowitz eventually purchased his own machine and began making doughnuts which he sold initially from a retail store in New Haven, eventually adding a second location in Riverdale, New York. He named the store Dunkin’ Doughnuts, eventually adding more locations and then franchising the business, while changing the name to Dunkin’ Donuts. The chain was acquired in 1990 by the holding company Allied Lyons, which also includes Baskin & Robbins and Maker’s Mark among its brands.

B. Dunkin’ Donuts was founded by Isaiah Vaisman, a Jewish immigrant from Galicia to Toronto, Canada in the early 1930’s. Vaisman started as a peddler in the heavily Jewish Kensington Market neighborhood of Toronto, where he regularly purchased coffee to drink at the local Tim Hortons restaurant. Like many Jewish immigrants, Vaisman had higher aspirations, and he decided that there could be a future in the food industry. He took a job at Tim Hortons, first at the counter, and later moving up to a managerial position, before leaving the company in 1944 to open his own coffee and doughnut shop, which he called White’s Doughnuts. The store was successful, especially when he began selling not only doughnuts, but also fried doughnut holes, which he called Munchkins. The store expanded, and Vaisman later changed the name to Dunkin’ Donuts after watching so many customers happily dipping their doughnuts into their coffee.

C. In 1935, Charles Lubin and his brother-in-law, Arthur Gordon, both sons of European Jewish immigrants, bought a small chain of bakeries in Chicago which were called Community Bake Shops. It was around this time that the classic New York cheesecake became popular, as Lindy’s and Reuben’s feuded over who actually developed this recipe. Charles Lubin visited New York in the late 1930’s and decided to add a cheesecake to their bakery’s lineup. Arthur Gordon did not agree that this was a good idea, arguing that the bakery should focus on expanding its line of doughnuts. The two split up, with Lubin maintaining ownership of Community Bake Shops, to which he added a cheesecake named after his daughter Sara Lee. The cheesecake was hugely successful, and the company eventually changed its name to Sara Lee Corporation, selling frozen cheesecakes throughout the country. Gordon, however, was also successful, as he opened his own doughnut shop which he named Dunkin’ Doughnuts near Chicago’s Wrigley Field, the first of what became a multinational doughnut chain, later renamed Dunkin’ Donuts.

D. Dunkin’ Donuts was started by a Jewish entrepreneur, William Rosenberg of Boston. During the Depression, Rosenberg dropped out of school after 8th grade and began working for the Jack and Jill Ice Cream Company, eventually becoming national sales manager. He later worked as an electrician at a Boston shipyard during World War II, where he noticed the lunch carts which sold coffee, sandwiches, and snacks to the employees. He decided to buy his own trucks and launch a mobile food stand business, redesigning the trucks with a side wall that opened awning-style for selling the food. Following great success Rosenberg opened his first retail store, and focused on the coffee and doughnuts that were so successful from the trucks. He named the establishment Open Kettle, and as this business expanded, he later changed the name to Dunkin’ Donuts.

E. The Wizard of Oz was filmed at MGM Studios in the late 1930’s. Mendel Mayer, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, lived in New York at the time, where he struggled to make a living selling doughnuts from a cart on the Lower East Side. His cousin, Louis B. Mayer, the head of MGM Studios, invited Mendel to Los Angeles to make doughnuts for the cast to enjoy during the long days of filming. Mendel moved to L.A. and set up his cart at the studio, where his primary product was a small round doughnut which he called Munchkins. The actors, crew, and executives all loved the doughnuts, but they were especially prized by the elf-like actors who greeted Dorothy when her house landed in Oz. These actors, who had to that point been called Ozlings, decided that they preferred to be called Munchkins, and movie director Victor Fleming agreed to that change. Following the release of the movie, Mendel Mayer opened his first doughnut restaurant, Munchkinland, but he later changed the name to Dunkin’ Donuts.

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Kamala Harris is expected to name her vice-presidential pick at any time, and among the top contenders is Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania (by the time you read this we may already know if he’s the one!). Shapiro is the third Jewish person to serve as governor of Pennsylvania, following Milton Shapp (whose name at birth, coincidentally, was Milton Shapiro) and Ed Rendell. Shapiro had a religious upbringing, attending Forman Hebrew Day School and Akiba Hebrew Academy. During high school he volunteered on an Israeli Army base, and he later proposed to his wife (a fellow student at Akiba) while in Jerusalem. His family keeps kosher (he had the kitchen kashered at the governor’s mansion), he makes it a priority to celebrate Shabbat every Friday night with his wife and 4 children, and he addressed the crowd at his inauguration with the words “I stand before you, a proud American of Jewish faith.” He is a strong supporter of Israel but very critical of the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. What is one example of social justice and political leadership that Shapiro showed when he was still young?    

‍ Josh Shapiro 2023 by The White House is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A. The 12th Maccabiah Games were held in Israel in 1985. Josh Shapiro was already scheduled to travel with his family to Israel to attend the games, and also to celebrate his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall. It was announced that former Maccabean and Olympic champion Mark Spitz would be carrying the torch for the opening ceremony, accompanied by children of Israeli Olympic athletes slain at the Munich Olympics. Josh organized a “Children for Olympians” campaign at his school, collecting donations for the families of the slain Israelis.

B. Josh took up the cause of Soviet Jewry when he was 6 years old, through his synagogue. He wrote letters to Avi Goldstein, a Russian boy his age whose parents were refuseniks, persecuted by Soviet authorities and refused the right to emigrate to Israel. Shapiro then began reaching out to others to write Avi, ultimately initiating a letter writing campaign called “Children for Avi,” generating letters to Avi from children across the United States, Canada, and England. Avi and his family were eventually allowed to leave Russia, and Avi attended Josh’s bar mitzvah in 1986.

C. In 1985, 11 people were killed and 250 left homeless when the Philadelphia police issued arrest warrants and went to clear a building occupied by members of MOVE, a Black liberation organization. The MOVE members refused to come out, and the police launched a major assault, with tear gas, gun fire by both sides, and the dropping of bombs on the building. This set off a huge fire that destroyed 61 homes in what was later determined to be excessive force and unreasonable search and seizure by the police. Shapiro, who lived in nearby Elkins Park, organized a fundraiser through his school for the displaced families, specifically to buy toys, diapers, and other products for the affected children. The campaign, called “Children for MOVE” raised over $100,000 for the victims of the tragedy.

D. In 1985, Josh learned that Israel was about to replace its old shekel coin with the New Israeli shekel. Josh organized a campaign asking members of his synagogue to go through their drawers looking for old shekels that they had brought home from trips to Israel, and to donate them to UJA. What began as a local “Children for Shekels” program got picked up in the Jewish media, and ultimately “Children for Shekels” campaigns took place in dozens of communities across America, raising the equivalent of more than $120,000 for UJA.

E. When Josh was 15 years old, for the first time he paid attention to presidential politics. He followed the news as Republican nominee George H. W. Bush selected Indiana Senator Dan Quayle to be his running mate. Josh heard some of the quotes which Quayle offered during his campaign and during his vice-presidency, including “The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation’s history. I mean in this century’s history. But we all lived in this century. I didn’t live in this century,” as well as “Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child.” But the quote that had the biggest impact on Shapiro was when Quayle said, “One word sums up probably the responsibility of any vice president, and that one word is ‘to be prepared’.” Shapiro realized that he too was inspired by that one word, so he began raising funds from his school friends for his own run for vice president, which he hopes will finally come to fruition this year. Shapiro called his efforts “Children for Me” and raised $1.23, which has now grown with interest to $7.16, which Shapiro will hopefully use to launch his official campaign as Kamala Harris’s running mate.

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Donald Trump selected author and Senator J. D. Vance as his running mate. Vance has been outspoken in support of Israel, favoring ongoing financial and military support to Israel despite generally being an “American First” isolationist. He has spoken out against antisemitism, saying “If you beat up a Jew and don’t face consequences, the attacks will continue and get worse.” But he has also warned of an immigrant “invasion,” echoing the right wing replacement theory that claims Jews are behind efforts to replace whites with minorities in America. Also, he echoed another antisemitic trope in invoking the name of Holocaust survivor George Soros, the billionaire supporter of liberal causes who many on the far right hold up as a Jewish puppet master trying to destroy the “Christian social order.” How did Vance invoke George Soros’s name in this way?    

‍ J. D. Vance by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A. “Let’s say Roe vs. Wade is overruled, Ohio bans abortion in 2022 – let’s say 2024. Then every day, George Soros sends a 747 to Columbus to load up disproportionately Black women to get them to go have abortions in California. Of course, the left will celebrate this as a victory...”

B. “Since Barack Obama was elected in 2008, the Democrats have worked to take God out of our Constitution. So now, picture that George Soros will send a 747 to Louisiana to pick up all the Ten Commandments that are on the walls of their schools. Of course, the left will celebrate this as a victory…”

C. “Let’s say that Joe Biden and the Squad just ignore the 2nd amendment. Before you know it, George Soros will be sending a 747 to Texas to load up all the guns that decent people need to stay safe from the illegals pouring over the border. Of course, the left will celebrate this as a victory…”

D. “The liberals have filled our libraries with sex books for kids, DEI manuals, and critical race theory textbooks. If Donald Trump and I don’t win in November, you can be sure that George Soros will be sending a 747 to all the libraries in the country to take away the Bible, not to mention all the copies of Hillbilly Elegy. Of course, the left will celebrate this as a victory…”

E. “In 2012, Joe Biden led the country to gay marriage, and that has moved the country into more genders than we can keep count of. Soon they’ll be banning straight marriage and taxing us for having children. You watch–George Soros will be loading an ark with two of every kind of creepy left-wing animal. There’ll be 2 childless cat ladies, 2 naked mole men, 2 golden doodleboys, 2 tufted titmouse men, 2 pygmy hippopotami girls, 2 black widow bimbos, 2 two-toed sloth harlots. Of course, the left will celebrate this as a victory…”

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Richard Simmons died last week at the age of 76. Simmons gained fame for his exercise videos, in particular his Sweatin’ to the Oldies series. Simmons, having grown up in New Orleans as an obese child, went on to not only lose weight, but find meaning and joy in physical fitness. He shared that message in his videos, television appearances, live events, and classes at his exercise studio, Slimmons. He was born Milton Teagle Simmons to a Jewish mother, Shirley May “Sadie” Satin Simmons, but he was not raised Jewish, and he eventually became what he called an “extreme Catholic.” Why did Shirley’s Russian Jewish family disown her?    

‍ RichardSimmonsSept2011 by Angela George is licensed under ATTRIBUTION-SHAREALIKE 3.0 UNPORTED via Wikimedia Commons

A. Because she served gefilte fish at her seder that was made from non-kosher catfish.

B. Because she married a non-Jewish man, Leonard Douglas Simmons Sr.

C. Because she was a burlesque dancer on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

D. Because she enrolled Richard in a Catholic elementary school, Mater Dolorosa, instead of the local public school.

E. Because it was her disgusting chopped liver that drove Richard to Catholicism.

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