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WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION |
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Good morning. Here’s the news you need to start your day: Middle East: President Trump said Israel agreed to a 60-day Gaza ceasefire and urged Hamas to accept before things escalate.
Campus conflict: Newly revealed texts show Columbia’s acting president believed a Jewish trustee was a “mole” and urged her removal, suggesting the board add an Arab member instead.
Jimmy Swaggart: The televangelist, who died Tuesday at 90, is best known for his tearful “I have sinned” speech — a moment that spotlighted the stark divide between Christian and Jewish views of confession.
We have more on these stories below. But first, how the race for New York City mayor is proving to be a litmus test for the nation’s largest Jewish community. |
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Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani at the New York City Pride March on Sunday. (Noam Galai/Getty Images) |
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Zohran Mamdani’s complicated Jewish moment
Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old assemblyman who roundly defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, formally accepted his party’s nomination on Tuesday. Asked about Mamdani’s plan to fight immigration enforcement activities in New York City, President Donald Trump threatened to arrest Mamdani if he wins in November — falsely claiming the Ugandan-born Mamdani entered the U.S. illegally. (Times of Israel)
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand privately apologized to Mamdani for claiming he had referenced a “global jihad.” A spokesperson added: “She believes Mr. Mamdani is sincere when he says he wants to protect all New Yorkers and combat antisemitism.” (Politico)
Jewish Democrats say Mamdani’s primary win isn’t a crisis for the party’s historic ties to Jews — but his stance on Israel still worries them. (JTA) |
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Zohran Mamdani at a press conference last week in Astoria Park in Queens. (Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg via Getty Images) |
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Zohran Mamdani has represented Astoria’s Jews for 4 years. What do they think of him?
Astoria is one of the most diverse communities in the country, home to sizable Middle Eastern, Balkan, Brazilian, and Bangladeshi populations — and a growing community of over 20,000 Jews. “Their views, shaped by their neighborhood and personal experiences with Mamdani rather than national politics, offer a more nuanced picture,” reports Andrew Silverstein. Con: “I don’t think he’ll make a good mayor for Jews,” said one Jewish Democrat who has lived in Astoria for 50 years, “because he’s a Muslim.”
Pro: But Rachel Paster, a lawyer and mother of two who hosted a community Chanukah party in 2023, had a different view. “He came to really genuinely listen and have a deep conversation with everyone who was there,” she said. “He seems to understand that he is running for the position of mayor for everyone.” |
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Opinion | How my Jewish great-grandfather paved the way for Zohran Mamdani — and Donald Trump: In 1935, Irwin Steingut became the first Jewish speaker of the New York State Assembly — the same chamber that would, decades later, launch Mamdani’s political career. “I think if Irwin were here today, the prospect of his beloved New York City electing its first Muslim mayor would fill him with hope,” writes his granddaughter Stefanie Iris Weiss, who also notes Steingut played an “accidental” role in Trump’s rise. Read her essay ►
Stay updated on all of our Zohran Mamdani coverage. |
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Israeli troops deploy at a position near the border with Gaza on Monday. (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images) |
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Ceasefire?
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Israel has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept the deal ahead of his upcoming meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday at the White House. (Axios)
Hamas says it’s open to a Gaza ceasefire but hasn’t accepted the U.S.-backed deal, insisting any agreement must fully end the war — a key sticking point in negotiations. (AP)
Plus… Less than half of Israelis say they trust Netanyahu, according to a new Israel Democracy Institute poll conducted before the ceasefire with Iran. (Haaretz)
The Trump administration is calling on the United Nations to remove Palestinian rights envoy Francesca Albanese, accusing her of antisemitism and supporting terrorism. (JTA)
Last week’s violence in the West Bank, in which Israelis set a Palestinian village on fire, came amid a rise in settler attacks and set off a chain of clashes in the area. (New York Times)
A prominent ultra-Orthodox leader from Bnei Brak was arrested at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday, accused of sexually abusing minors and young men and temporarily fleeing the country after complaints began to surface last month. (Haaretz) |
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The most memorable image of Rev. Jimmy Swaggart is of his tearful confession. (Photo-illustration by Chorna Olena/iStock; KXAS-TV) |
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When teshuvah meets television
As a rabbi’s kid growing up in the 1980s Bible Belt, I secretly watched televangelists, mesmerized by the slick sets and soaring choirs. But behind the glitz was a deeper divide — a theatrical brand of repentance that prized performance over accountability. That all came rushing back with Tuesday’s news of Rev. Jimmy Swaggart’s death. His tearful “I have sinned” speech, delivered after he was caught with a prostitute, became a cultural touchstone. But in all the drama, one essential element of Jewish repentance was missing. Read my essay ►
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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
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Claire Shipman testifying before Congress in April 2024 about campus antisemitism. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) |
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🏫 Texts obtained by Congress show Columbia University’s acting president Claire Shipman agreed a Jewish board member was a “mole” and “a fox in the henhouse.” Shipman pushed for her removal, suggesting an “Arab on our board” instead. The school says the text messages were taken out of context. (Jewish Insider)
🇩🇪 German prosecutors say a man accused of spying on Jewish sites in Berlin for Iranian intelligence has been arrested. “We will not tolerate any threats to Jewish life in Germany,” the foreign ministry said, adding it would summon Iran’s ambassador. (JTA, Guardian)
💰 CBS parent company Paramount Global said it would pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit with President Trump over the editing of section of a Kamala Harris 60 Minutes interview about the war in Gaza. Initial reports last week indicated that part of the settlement would include antisemitism public service announcements on its networks — but it’s unclear whether that’s part of the final deal. (New York Times)
📺 The Christian creators behind the hit series The Chosen, about the life of Jesus, are developing a new show for Amazon Prime about the Old Testament’s Joseph. (Variety, Forward)
Transitions ► After expanding the LGBTQ+ group Keshet into a multimillion-dollar juggernaut, Idit Klein is stepping aside. In an interview with Abigail Pogrebin, Klein reflects on the organization she built and its future challenges. (Forward)
Our most-read story yesterday ► No Jews allowed: White supremacists are building a segregated community in Arkansas, but is it legal? |
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On the season finale of the Being Jewish with Jonah Platt podcast, Jonah interviews … his mom, Julie Platt, the outgoing board chair of the Jewish Federations of North America. They chat about communal leadership, campus antisemitism, and why Jewish summer camp is formative. |
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Thanks to Talya Zax for contributing to today’s newsletter, and to Julie Moos for editing it. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at editorial@forward.com. |
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