 The last two of these terms are direct references to the Italian "Cosa Nostra"; the former is a play on the word "kosher", referring to Jewish dietary laws, while the latter is a direct translation of the Italian phrase "Cosa Nostra" (Italian for "our thing") into Yiddish, which was at the time the predominant language of the Jewish diaspora in the United States.In the late 19th century in New York City, Monk Eastman (who himself was most likely not Jewish) operated a powerful Jewish gang that competed with Italian and Irish gangs, notably Paul Kelly's Five Points Gang, for control of New York City's underworld.Another notorious gang, known as the Lenox Avenue Gang, led by Harry "Gyp the Blood" Horowitz, consisted of mostly Jewish members and some Italian members (such as Francesco Cirofisi).