To Schmear Or Not To Schmear: Lox Allowed Back To UWS Synagogue's Menu

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Last week, an Upper West Side synagogue said that it would stop serving lox at the kiddush luncheons following Saturday morning services. The announcement sent ripples through the community, spawned multiple media articles, and now has prompted a new statement and backtrack from the holy institution.

B'nai Jeshurun, located at 257 W. 87th St., announced on Sept. 8 that the Community Kiddush events would be returning following their stoppage during the pandemic, but that it would look a little different moving forward.

One of those differences was the removal of lox from the menu.

Rabbi Shuli Passow, the director of community engagement at B'nai Jeshurun, wrote that lox will be eliminated from the community meal "so we can do our part to reduce the environmental impact of pollution and overfishing."

Passow acknowledged that the removal of the beloved item might be difficult to understand for some members of the synagogue.

"We know that for some this is a heretical move! We are here to support you as you process this change," she wrote.

Passow might have underestimated how strong of a reaction there would be to cutting lox off the menu.

In the days that followed the Sept. 8 announcement, multiple publications wrote about the decision, including the New York Jewish Week, the Forward, the WestSideRag and Quartz.

Now, the attention around the issue pushed B'nai Jeshurun to release a second statement about lox, and also walk back in part its total elimination from the Kiddush meals.

"Overall, the community’s response has been very positive," the synagogue wrote on Monday in reference to the overall changes to the Kiddush meals. "However, the removal of lox from our standard Kiddush menu has led to several misunderstandings we wish to clarify."

B'nai Jeshurun admitted to making inaccurate statements in its initial lox statement, and credited responses from readers in bringing their attention to it.

• First, we inaccurately stated that consuming lox contributes to the overfishing of salmon. Most lox is, in fact, made from farmed Atlantic salmon. We thank those who brought this error to our attention, giving us the opportunity to correct our mistake.
• Second, some felt that we implied that eating lox is immoral or that BJ is boycotting lox or lox providers. This could not be farther from the truth.

The Upper West Side synagogue added that if anyone sponsoring the Kiddush meal wanted to include lox on the menu, they'd be welcome in doing so.

The synagogue did double down, though, on its choice to eliminate lox from its non-sponsored community Kiddush due to "the increasing cost as well as our desire to include more plant-based offerings at community meals."

Around 60 percent of salmon is farm grown, not fished, according to Global Salmon Initiative.

B'nai Jeshurun was founded in 1825 and is one of the most prominent synagogues on the Upper West Side.