This year’s Lamplighter Awards ceremony, which honored both the CEO of Palantir and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries on Sept. 16, served as a guiding light for the Jewish community in challenging times, according to Rabbi Levi Shemtov. The 2025 Lamplighter Awards honorees were Alex Karp, the CEO and co-founder of Palantir Technologies, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of whom have “distinguished themselves” in terms of support for the Jewish community and Israel, said Shemtov, the executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad). “Each honoree was recognized for the unique ways they have strengthened and supported the Jewish community through their leadership, generosity and unwavering dedication,” John F. Fish, the event chair and 2023 Lamplighter Award honoree, said. In 2005, Karp co-founded Palantir, a data analysis company that allows people to collaborate with artificial intelligence. “That message resonated with him and took him through his toughest days.”Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Hersh’s mother, introduced Karp at the awards ceremony.