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WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

High-stakes ceasefire talks begin today, large pro-Palestinian protests planned for Democratic National Convention, Chuck Schumer writing book about antisemitism in America, and come watch Dirty Dancing with us tonight.

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OUR LEAD STORY

Minouche Shafik testifying before Congress in April at a hearing on campus antisemitism. (Getty)

Columbia University president resigns amid criticism of her handling of pro-Palestinian protests

Minouche Shafik stepped down Wednesday, bowing to pressure from faculty, students and public officials who widely criticized her handling of pro-Palestinian campus protests last school year.

Moving on: “This period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in our community,” Shafik wrote in a letter. “Over the summer, I have been able to reflect and have decided that my moving on at this point would best enable Columbia to traverse the challenges ahead.”

Zooming out: Shafik’s resignation — 13 months after starting her job — makes her the latest Ivy League president to step down following the wave of protests that roiled college campuses, joining Claudine Gay of Harvard, Martha Pollack of Cornell and Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania.

Pro-Palestinian protesters clash with police in April outside Columbia University. (Luke Tress)

Columbia appointed an interim president. Here’s what she has said about antisemitism and campus protests

Katrina Armstrong, a physician and dean of Columbia’s medical school, stayed mostly out of the spotlight this past year, but did speak about the campus turmoil on a few occasions.

Nuance needed: “The Palestinian people are not Hamas and are not terrorists,” Armstrong said at a November event. “We need in this difficult moment to be able to navigate this distinction.”

She added: “We must describe Hamas as it describes itself — as an entity openly committed to the destruction of Israel and to attacking the Jewish people — to provide our Jewish colleagues the comfort that comes with knowing that others understand what occurred on Oct. 7 and the terrible psychological impact of that terrorist attack.”

ELECTION 2024

Workers attach signage to the United Center arena ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. (Getty)

What to know about the pro-Palestinian protests planned for the Democratic National Convention: Organizers say Chicago should expect as many as 25,000 protesters next week around the DNC, demanding an end to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and U.S. aid to Israel. City and party officials want to avoid a repeat of the 1968 DNC in Chicago, remembered for its bloody clashes between police and protesters against the Vietnam War. Our Lauren Markoe has all the details. Read the story ➤

Also: Pro-Israel activists are setting up a “Hostage Square” in Chicago to remind people of the captives. The group has “not yet received a city permit, but organizers say they will go ahead with it whether or not it’s approved.”

Philippe Reines aboard the campaign plane of Hillary Clinton in 2016. (Getty)

He attended an elite Modern Orthodox day school. Now he’s playing Trump in Harris’ debate prep: Our Beth Harpaz reports that the role comes naturally to Philippe Reines, “a famously in-your-face kind of guy, unafraid to take on critics.” Reines once said that anyone facing off against the former president must be prepared for his “bluster, vulgarity, innuendo and refusal to admit he’s wrong.” Reines also played the role of Trump during debate prep in 2016 with Hillary Clinton, when he tried to throw her off her game by giving her a bear hug. We’ve got the video. Read the story ➤

Plus…

A Jewish Democratic group is launching a 30-second commercial today, touting Harris’ and Walz’s commitment to Israel and combating antisemitism. Here’s your exclusive first look.

Republicans have criticized Walz for his ties to a Minnesota imam who praised Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and once shared a link to a pro-Hitler documentary. “The governor and he do not have a personal relationship,” a spokesperson for the Harris-Walz campaign said on Wednesday. “Gov. Walz strongly condemns Hamas terrorism.”

ISRAEL AT WAR

A man jogs by a wall covered with photos of hostages this morning in Tel Aviv. (Getty)

Amid mounting pressure to end the war and to stave off new attacks from Iran and Hezbollah, high-stakes ceasefire talks are set to begin today in Qatar. Here’s what you need to know …

A group of 99 rabbis and cantors from across the U.S. are calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a deal that would free the remaining hostages.

Former President Donald Trump reportedly spoke with Netanyahu on Wednesday to discuss the deal.

Hamas said it would “only participate if the talks focus on implementing a proposal detailed by President Joe Biden in May and endorsed internationally.”

Top U.S. officials said Israel has done all it can militarily against Hamas in Gaza, and that “continued bombings are only increasing risks to civilians while the possibility of further weakening Hamas has diminished.”

Plus…

Several dozen far-right Jewish activists tried unsuccessfully to enter Gaza to recite the morning prayer service.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is worried that his efforts to normalize relations with Israel could lead to his assassination.

Coca-Cola created an ad campaign in South Asia featuring its ties to the Muslim community, in an attempt to quash a boycott of corporations with alleged ties to Israel. It had the opposite effect.

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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Sen. Chuck Schumer’s book, Antisemitism in America: A Warning, is set for release in February. (Getty)

🇺🇸 Sen. Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking elected Jewish official in the U.S., has written a book about antisemitism in America, which is set to publish in February. (NY Jewish Week)

🇮🇱 A handful of staffers at the Pittsburgh mayor’s office “signed a petition to have residents vote on a controversial city boycott of Israel this fall.” The highest-profile staffer among them resigned Wednesday. (WESA)

🕍 Vandals sprayed antisemitic graffiti on a Bethesda synagogue, just days after similar vandalism was found at two schools in the area. Police are investigating. (WTOP)

🇫🇷 A French Olympian was suspended by the French Athletics Federation after old social media posts resurfaced, showing him expressing support for Hamas and asking Allah to “strike the Zionists.” (JTA)

🎧 Malcolm Gladwell examines Hitler’s lasting impact on the Olympics in the latest season of his popular Revisionist History podcast. “We forget, in the teens and ’20s, the Olympics were basically a glorified track meet,” Gladwell said. “It wasn’t this kind of international extravaganza the way it is now. It’s really Hitler who understands that the Games have this broader symbolic potential, and can boost the status of the host country.” (JTA)

Shiva calls ➤ Jay Kanter, the Hollywood agent for Marlon Brando and Marilyn Monroe, died at 97 … Rabbi Shmuel Butman, the longtime public face of Chabad who each Hanukkah lit a two-ton public menorah in Manhattan, died at 81.

What else we’re reading ➤ Why it took a Ugandan Jew four conversions to receive Israeli citizenship … Less God, more yoga: Churches short on worshippers get creative … In rom-com musical Sabbath Girl, an interfaith relationship takes center stage.

TONIGHT IN NYC

For decades, Forward subscribers jammed our switchboards each summer to ensure their beloved daily was delivered to their Borscht Belt hotels. Join our archivist, Chana Pollack, tonight at 6:45 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage to hear some of what we reported on the Catskills, and see what the tumult was all about. The talk will be followed by a screening of Dirty Dancing. Register here ➤

Thanks to Louis Keene, Jacob Kornbluh and Talya Zax 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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