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Sponsored by All Inclusive with Jay Ruderman JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT. Give a tax-deductible donation Colin Powell was more than a Shabbos Goy, Jewish baby at center of life-support debate dies, Van Gogh from Nazis may fetch $30 million, the strangest Dead Sea photo and more. THREE TO GET STARTED Opinion | A Tree of Life survivor opposes death penalty for shooter:With the trial getting underway soon, Beth Kissileff, whose husband was in the building, argues that there are many reasons not to seek capital punishment – including religious ones. “The shooter committed a horrible atrocity,” she writes, “yet his life is still one given to him by God, and we as humans do not have the right to take it.”Read the OpEd >
Colin Powell’s early life was steeped in Jewish culture and Yiddish. It stayed with him:Growing up in what he called a “heavily Jewish neighborhood” in the Bronx, Powell spent a lot of time at the home of Melvin Klein (who was one of the first in the area to have a television) and at the Orthodox synagogue, where his duties as Shabbos Goy included shutting off the lights. “Men ken redn yidish,” Powell told an astounded Yitzhak Shamir, then Israeli prime minister, ahead of the first Gulf War in 1991. “We can speak Yiddish.” Read the story >
A message from our sponsor: All Inclusive with Jay Ruderman Fran Drescher Discusses Keeping The Nanny’s Fran Fine Jewish on All Inclusive with Jay Ruderman. Hear from “The Nanny” star Fran Drescher on why she insisted that her character on the CBS sitcom would remain Jewish after the network attempted to make the character Italian. Subscribe to the All Inclusive podcast as host Jay Ruderman interviews leaders and experts across an array of industries on the latest news, technology, and advocacy pertaining to social justice. LISTEN NOW
WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY At 95, Mel Brooks will be making 'History' again. (Getty Images) 🏥 Alta Fixsler, a 2-year-old Hasidic girl born with a brain injury, died in the U.K. on Monday after she was taken off life support against her parents’ wishes and amid an international debate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who tried to bring her to the U.S. for further treatment, expressed his disappointment that British authorities ignored the legal and moral calls to keep her alive. (JTA)
💰 Senate Democrats have included $1 billion in funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system in the appropriations bill released on Monday – as a backup for approval of the standalone House-passed Iron Dome replenishment bill. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has refused to lift his hold on the standalone bill. (Twitter)
🎨 A Van Gogh painting seized by the Nazis could fetch as much $30 million at auction next month, a new world record for a work by the Dutch impressionist. The proceeds will be split between the current owner, a Texas oil magnate, and the heirs of two Jewish families who owned the piece before World War II. (NYT)
🌊 A magnitude 5.8 earthquake under the Mediterranean Sea this morning was felt in parts of Israel. No injuries or damages have been reported. (Times of Israel)
😷 Dennis Prager, the conservative talk-show host, announced on Monday that he has tested positive for COVID-19. He said he had tried to become immune to the virus by hugging strangers and is following the “Zelenko protocol,” referring to the Hasidic doctor who spouted unproven vaccine conspiracies, reportedly convinced President Trump of the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine and attended a rally that turned into the Capitol riots. (Media Matters)
🚔 At least nine people – including three rabbis – were arrested Monday outside the New York headquarters of BlackRock as they protested its investments in fossil fuel at a rally organized by the Jewish Youth Climate Movement and the nonprofit Greenfaith. (Twitter)
📺 Mel Brooks’ “History of the World” will finally be getting a “Part II.” Hulu has nabbed the rights to air the eight-episode variety series, a sequel to the classic 1981 film. “I can’t wait to once more tell the real truth about all the phony baloney stories the world has been conned into believing are history,” Brooks said. (JTA)
FROM OUR CULTURE SECTION A memoirist wrote about her parents’ tempestuous marriage. Was it all an elaborate cover story?Judy Bolton-Fasman’s beautifully written new memoir contains tales of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants, a meeting with Fidel Castro, a Guatemalan teenager, international espionage and rumors of a second family in Cuba. And, poignantly, her turbulent childhood home was nestled on Asylum Avenue. “Her goals are familiar and highly relatable,” writes our reviewer, Julia M. Klein. “To understand her confounding, obviously mismatched parents and to fit the puzzle pieces of her childhood into a larger whole.” Read the review >
But wait, there’s more.. While the pandemic limits travel, our culture editor Adam Langer journeys to faraway lands through the art on his wall. Tell us about your favorite artwork: editorial@forward.com.At a new exhibit at the Met Cloisters, an oddly-shaped window reveals hints of Jewish life in medieval Spain. Our Irene Katz Connelly got a guided tour. Lou Reed, the Jewish rock star who led the Velvet Underground along with John Cale, is heralded in a new documentary about the seminal band. Dan Epstein, our music critic, writes that the film “reminds us how lucky we were that those personalities all happened to collide in the right place and the right time.” There’s a movie out about a little-known 30-year-old Polish Jewish mathematician. It’s OK if you missed it, writes our reviewer, Simi Horowitz.
ON THE CALENDAR On this day in history: Roger Wolfe Kahn, a jazz musician and orchestra bandleader, was born on Oct. 19, 1907. The son of Otto Kahn, a noted patron of the arts, Roger owned several New York nightclubs – including one where he spent $250,000 on the interior, including a silver stage. The city’s gossip columns loved Kahn, whose first of two marriages was to Broadway star Hannah Williams – who married boxer Jack Dempsey a few weeks after the divorce. In later years, his love for aviation and socialite lifestyle gave him a Gatsbyesque mystique.
PHOTO OF THE DAY (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images) More than 200 volunteer nude models gathered in southern Israel for a shoot with photographer Spencer Tunick. Everyone was painted white to symbolize the salt in the biblical story of Lot’s wife and in the nearby Dead Sea. “I don’t fear anyone turning to stone, that’s quite a punishment,” Tunick said, referring to Lot’s wife. “No hummus for maybe a year, but no death.” This is the latest such art installation by Tunick to draw attention to the environmental dangers impacting the Dead Sea.
Thanks to Mira Fox, Jacob Kornbluh and Rukhl Schaechter for their contributions to today’s newsletter. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at editorial@forward.com. Support Independent Jewish Journalism The Forward is a non-profit 501(c)3 so our journalism depends on support from readers like you. You can support our work today by donating or subscribing. All donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of US law.
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