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WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

ADL to honor Jared Kushner, medical school named after Einstein to offer free tuition in perpetuity, Jon Stewart tackles war in Gaza, and a writer recalls his family’s role in the 1917 collapse of a bank for Jewish immigrants.

ISRAEL AT WAR

The latest: “My hope is by next Monday we’ll have a ceasefire,” President Biden told reporters on Monday. The goal, Biden said, was to have a deal in place before the start of Ramadan on March 10, when experts fear tensions could escalate. If agreed upon, the temporary pause in fighting, set to last six weeks, would include the release of at least 40 hostages. In the meantime, families of Americans held hostage in Gaza are being invited to President Biden’s State of the Union address next week.

President Joe Biden joined an Israeli war cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv on Oct. 18, 2023. (Getty)

Biden assured victory in Michigan primary, but the state’s large Arab American population wants to send a warning

When Michiganders go to the polls today, some Democrats will not be voting for President Joe Biden. Instead they will choose the “uncommitted” box on the ballot, in the hopes of sending a message: They are dissatisfied with the president’s approach to the Israel-Hamas war, and want him to call for a permanent ceasefire.

Fed up: The largest Arab American population in the country, with at least 200,000 people, is in Michigan. That’s where a movement to cast an “uncommitted” protest vote has gained momentum, with 9% of the state’s Democratic primary voters planning to do so, according to a new poll.

Wider implications: While it likely won’t impact today’s results, some Democratic Party officials are worried it could spur problems in the general election. If those Democratic voters unhappy with Biden choose to sit out in November and encourage other progressives to do so as well, it could be a critical swing in a critical swing state.

Unintended consequences: “Any effort to deflect or divert Democratic support from President Biden in this election is effectively a vote for Donald Trump,” said Halie Soifer of the Jewish Democratic Council of America. “Those who want Biden to win in November shouldn’t play with fire and waste their vote on a third party or protest position.”

Related: Meet the Michigan Jews backing the “uncommitted” campaign.

Jared Kushner, then an adviser to President Donald Trump, speaks at a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the normalization of ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates in August 2020. (Getty)

Stateside…

• The Anti-Defamation League will honor Jared Kushner at its conference next month, describing his previous diplomatic work in the region as “pivotal” for hostage negotiations with Hamas.

  
  

• The New York Civil Liberties Union is threatening to sue Columbia University over the school’s suspension of two student groups opposed to the war in Gaza.

  
  

• A bill to mandate Holocaust education in Washington state’s middle and high schools died last week after debate over whether an amendment alluded to Israel’s war with Hamas.

  
  

• David Draiman, the Jewish frontman of heavy metal band Disturbed, is raising money to provide private security for Matisyahu after the Jewish reggae singer had two venues cancel on him in the face of pro-Palestinian protests.

  
  

• On his third episode back as host of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart tackled what he called a “light” topic: the war in Gaza.

Gunter, a French bulldog, and Kesh Ladduwahetty were part of the crowd in front of the Israeli Embassy Monday in Washington, D.C., where a man set himself on fire the previous day. (Lauren Markoe)

Outside the Israel Embassy, tears for the ‘martyr’ who set himself on fire there: The day after Aaron Bushnell, an active duty soldier in the U.S. Air Force, set himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., to protest the war in Israel, hundreds gathered to pay their respects to him. Our Lauren Markoe visited the site Monday and met mourners, pro-Palestinian activists, and a French bulldog named Gunter, who wore a placard across his back that read “Good Boys Against Genocide” on one side and cursed the Israel Defense Forces on the other. Read the story ➤

A woman casts a vote with her children in local elections Tuesday in Israel. (Getty)

In Israel…

• Elections in Israel for local mayors and city councils that were twice delayed because of the war are taking place today.

  
  

• Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accepted the resignation of his prime minister and entire cabinet, paving the way for a reformed government.

  
  

• Trying to get a good night’s sleep has been a nightmare for many Israelis since Oct. 7. Psychologists are blaming scary dreams.

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ALSO IN THE FORWARD

Left to right: Sarah Suzuki, Danny Bryck and Yehuda Hyman prepping a new Purim play. (Steven Pisanoai)

This Purim play features Henry Ford, Eastern Parkway tunnels and Marjorie Taylor Greene:David Herskovits’ new play, Remember This Trick, relates the familiar story of Esther while exploring contemporary and historical antisemitism. But it’s not about Jew hatred so much as it is how Jews survive in spite of it. “I’m interested in the way Jews adapt and respond to these things in different ways,” Herskovits said. In this case, the response is a play where Haman quotes Henry Ford.

First-person | My family’s role in the 1917 collapse of a bank for Jewish immigrants:David Winner’s great-great-grandfather — a Talmudic scholar and a nascent businessman — built the Jarmulowsky Bank in the Lower East Side but his son helped lead it to financial devastation. His “family escaped an angry mob outside their building by climbing up the fire escape, and eventually changed their names and the arc of their lives.”

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

A school bus for the Los Angeles Unified School District. (Getty)

🤔  The Los Angeles teachers union and another influential labor group have ceased campaigning for a school board candidate who promoted an antisemitic book. (JTA)

💉  West Virginia lawmakers passed a bill Monday allowing religious exemptions for vaccine requirements at some schools. The bill now heads to the state senate and, if approved, to the desk of the Republican governor. (ABC News)

🤦  A German far-right extremist already serving a life sentence following an attempt to attack a synagogue in 2019 was convicted Tuesday of hostage-taking for his actions in a jailbreak attempt. (AP)

🖼️  A Jewish Ohio man has a bizarre art collection: nearly one thousand antisemitic pieces produced by and for Nazi Germany. “It’s important to see these pieces in order to really understand,” he said. (Cleveland Jewish News)

Shiva calls ➤  Joan Holden, a playwright whose satirical works included a musical about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, died at 85 … Shelly Weiss, a progressive Jewish activist known as Brooklyn’s “queer icon,” died at 77 … David Edery, who was held hostage by Hamas terrorists in his home on Oct. 7, died at 68. David’s wife, Rachel, famously stalled the terrorists for 20 hours, feeding them cookies and Coke Zero, until help arrived.

What else we’re reading ➤  Meet the former Facebook executive who wants to fix Harvard’s antisemitism problem … Against a canvas of despair, Gaza’s artists trace their struggle … The true story of a runaway Nazi, a determined sleuth, and a chase around the world.  

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Left to right: Dr. Samuel Belkin, president of Yeshiva University; Albert Einstein; and New York State Attorney General Nathaniel Goldstein. (Albert Einstein Archives)

Here’s a photo of Albert Einstein standing over a model of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine before it was opened by Yeshiva University in 1955. Dr. Ruth Gottesman, a 93-year-old Jewish philanthropist and former professor at the school, announced on Monday that she is donating $1 billion to provide free tuition in perpetuity. The school offered to change the name from Einstein to Gottesman, but she demurred. “We’ve got the gosh darn name,” she said, “we’ve got Albert Einstein.” Read the story ➤

Fun fact: The Forward once interviewed Albert Einstein’s mother and asked her if she had any idea her son would amount to anything. Her response? “I thought he’d grow up to be gornisht.”

Thanks to PJ Grisar, Jacob Kornbluh and Chana Pollack for contributing to today’s newsletter, and to Beth Harpaz for editing it. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at editorial@forward.com.

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