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 | JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT. |
| WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION |
|  | | New hostage-for-ceasefire deal proposed, Schumer aims to pass campus antisemitism bill, Adidas settles legal dispute with Kanye West, and the secret Jewish histories of George Harrison and Seth Meyers. |
| | |  | President Joe Biden speaks to reporters after casting his early-voting ballot Monday in Delaware. (Getty) |
| Six days left
► Police have stepped up election security in Portland after attempted arson at three ballot drop boxes in the Pacific Northwest, where investigators discovered incendiary devices marked “Free Gaza.” An automatic fire-suppression system protected ballots at two boxes in Oregon, but failed to do so in Washington state, where hundreds of ballots were destroyed. Authorities are still looking for the suspect; it was unclear whether the motive was to support Palestinians or to sow discord.
► In a split illuminating the difficult choice facing Democrats who supported the pro-Palestinian Uncommitted movement in the primaries, one of the group’s co-founders will vote for Vice President Kamala Harris while the other plans to leave the top line of her ballot blank. |
|  | Former Preisdent Donald Trump speaking Sunday at Madison Square Garden. (Getty) |
| More Madison Square Garden fallout… The Anti-Defamation League joined in the criticism after former President Donald Trump’s campaign rally at Madison Square Garden Sunday, which featured anti-immigrant rhetoric and a comedian who targeted minority groups. But now the ADL is itself the target of criticism for failing to call out the rally as a Trump event.
Tony Hinchliffe, the comedian who mocked minorities, said he was inspired by Don Rickles. But that betrays the tradition of Jewish insult comedy, on display at events like the Friars Club Roast, where the “targets or honorees were part of the mishpocheh,” writes our culture critic, Benjamin Ivry.
Marshall Curry directed the Oscar-nominated documentary A Night at the Garden, about the pro-Nazi 1939 rally at Madison Square Garden. He decided to go to the Trump event. “Part of what felt so disturbing,” he said, “is that the audience, when we were waiting to go inside, couldn’t have been more polite, fun, just normal people, as if they’re at a football game having a good time. And when you got inside, it was like a switch was flipped.”
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|  | Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to an estimated 75,000 people Tuesday night at the Ellipse just south of the White House. (Getty) |
| Plus… Despite Trump’s various offensive comments about Jews, he still garners strong support among some independent Jewish voters who think Republicans are better on “security, Israel and antisemitism.” Our Arno Rosenfeld explains why, and explores if Harris could sway them.
Politicians from both parties have descended on the Hasidic village of New Square, New York, in a high-stakes battle for a “key endorsement from a sizable Hasidic voting bloc.” (Jewish Insider)
Dayenu, a nonpartisan Jewish group, is using environmental issues to mobilize voters. A recent poll of Jewish voters found that climate ranked fourth in priority; Israel ranked ninth. (New York Times)
Watch: Our senior political reporter, Jacob Kornbluh, has key insights on the issues that matter most to American Jews and how the campaigns are trying to court them in the campaign’s final days.
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| | |  | Mourners gathered Tuesday for the funeral of Guy Ya'akov Nazri, an IDF soldier killed in Gaza. October is the deadliest month so far this year for the Israeli military. (Getty) |
| The latest… An Israeli airstrike on a Gaza apartment building Tuesday killed more than 90 people, including at least 20 children, Gazan officials said. The IDF is investigating and cautioned “against trusting the unverified death count.” (Times of Israel)
October has been the deadliest month this year for the Israeli military. More than 55 soldiers have been killed, including four Israeli soldiers killed Tuesday in Gaza and a soldier killed in combat in southern Lebanon this week as well. (Times of Israel, Haaretz, New York Times)
A new proposal aims for a month-long ceasefire with the release of 11-14 hostages in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners. Israel is waiting to make a decision until after the U.S. election next week, according to an official. (Axios, Times of Israel, NPR)
The U.S. on Tuesday offered a $5 million reward for any new information about a 1994 incident when a plane in Panama exploded midair, killing 21 people, mostly Jews. It’s believed that Hezbollah was behind the attack. (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to delay his son Avner’s November wedding due to security concerns. (Times of Israel)
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| | – From our Sponsor: JFNA– |
| | Join Us on November 10 at Stand Together in Washington, D.C. |
| Building on the momentum of the historic March for Israel in 2023, it is time to Stand Together. Join us at an event for unity, strength, and resilience for the Jewish community. Together, eventgoers will stand with Israel, for the hostages, and against antisemitism. |
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| | |  | Left to right: George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney of the Beatles. (Getty) |
| Spiritual Beatle
Paul McCartney, who married into the faith multiple times and was recently spotted at Yom Kippur services, is often referred to as the “Jewish Beatle.” But in a new book by our music critic, Seth Rogovoy makes the case instead for George Harrison, known as the quiet or spiritual Beatle. His “My Sweet Lord,” which gave us a popular music hallelujah long before Leonard Cohen, “crossed all cultures and borders,” Rogovoy said, adding that it includes English, Hebrew and Sanskrit. Go deeper ►
Plus… Late Night with Seth Meyers could have been called Late Night with Seth Trakianski. The late night host talked about his Jewish family in his new comedy special.
If someone with cancer dies by medically assisted suicide in a state where it’s legal, can they be buried in a Jewish cemetery? Our Bintel Brief column got advice from rabbis, funeral homes, a chevra kadisha and a historian.
Should you put jalapeños in matzo ball soup? Chipotle salsa in couscous? A new Mexican Jewish cookbook shows you how.
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| |  | | WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
|  | At the University of Washington, the only Jewish studies professor on the school’s antisemitism task force quit, saying he thought “real conversation and discourse” was lacking. (Getty) |
| On campus…
🎒 What happens when a school hires an outside task force to examine campus antisemitism? At the University of Washington, Jewish faculty say their opinions were not represented and complained that the outside group was politically motivated. (JTA)
🇮🇱 The CUNY Graduate Center’s student government approved a boycott of Israel that prohibits student activity fees from being used to purchase products from a wide range of companies including Sabra hummus, Starbucks and McDonald’s. (New York Post)
👏 Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to pass a bill aimed at curbing antisemitism on college campuses during Congress’ lame duck session after the election. (Axios)
And elsewhere…
😲 A visibly Jewish man was slashed in the face outside a Whole Foods in Brooklyn on Tuesday, and will be undergoing surgery. The attacker allegedly “yelled hateful rhetoric.” (COL Live)
👟 Adidas and Kanye West have been involved in legal disputes since October 2022, when the shoe company ended a partnership with the rapper after a series of antisemitic rants. They have reached an out-of-court settlement. (Reuters)
Shiva call ► Paul Mendes-Flohr, the world’s foremost Martin Buber scholar, died at 83.
What else we’re reading ► Poland’s Jewish museum marks its first decade, made tumultuous by politics … For sale: hundreds of abandoned churches … This Thursday’s mashup holiday “Diwaloween” celebrates light as the year turns dark.
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| | |  | In case you missed it: Our editor-in-chief, Jodi Rudoren, was in conversation last week with Adam Mansbach, author of The Golem of Brooklyn. The novel is about a high school art teacher who makes a golem during summer break. Oh, and the golem can only speak Yiddish. Hilarity ensues. |
| Thanks to Unitha Cherry, Lauren Markoe and Arno Rosenfeld for contributing to today’s newsletter, and to Julie Moos for editing it. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at editorial@forward.com. |
| | Jewish journalism you can trust! |
| Invest in the future of Jewish journalism. Become a monthly member during our High Holiday Donor Drive to support the Forward all year long! |
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