JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.

WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

Today: Netanyahu expected at White House next week • Jewish groups decry Trump’s mass deportation plans • Sneak peek at the future of JCCs • Doug Emhoff to return to law practice • And the controversy over a Super Bowl ad shot in Katz’s Deli.

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

Elon Musk, who is expected to have an office in the West Wing, at a rally after the inauguration. (Getty)

Six words

As Elon Musk’s controversial hand gesture at an inauguration rally was widely compared to a Nazi salute, Musk’s defenders pointed to the six words he said immediately afterward as proof it meant something else: “My heart goes out to you.”

The phrase has now taken on a life of its own. In social media posts, selfies and video clips, as well as on fan merchandise for sale online, people are saying “My heart goes out to you” while appearing to make a Nazi salute, report my colleagues Louis Keene and Jake Wasserman.

The mimicry has gotten at least one public official in trouble. A Republican town supervisor in eastern Pennsylvania resigned Saturday amid outrage that followed a viral TikTok video in which she pounded her chest three times, lifted her right hand up in a gesture similar to Musk’s and repeated the phrase.

Musk has periodically faced criticism for engaging with antisemitic tropes, and has on multiple occasions promoted Holocaust deniers on X, his social media platform. But Musk’s Jewish defenders point to his visits in recent years to both Auschwitz and Israel.

Related….

Our editor-in-chief, Jodi Rudoren, was on ABC News Monday talking about Musk and his salute. Watch it here.

The Union for Reform Judaism and 13 other Jewish groups said it would stop posting on X, blaming Musk’s platform for promoting “hate, antisemitism and societal division.” (URJ)

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters Monday aboard Air Force One. (Getty)

The huddled masses

Dozens of Jewish groups signed an open letter to President Donald Trump opposing his plans for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, urging him to uphold America’s tradition as a refuge for those fleeing persecution. (JTA)

Opinion | Our columnist Aviya Kushner was surprised to receive a flurry of messages saying that she can now report foreign college students who support Hamas to deportation authorities. “I am deeply worried about the idea of the Jewish community participating in, or worse, spearheading, the deportation of students and faculty, no matter how heinous their views,” she writes. “I keep thinking — who were your grandparents? Who were your great-grandparents?” Read her essay ►

In other Trump news…

Trump signed an executive order to create a U.S. version of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system that repels cross-border attacks. (Forward, White House)

The White House budget office is pausing all grants disbursed by the federal government. It was unclear whether the move will impact funds disbursed to houses of worship for security purposes. (CNN, New York Times, Washington Post)

The Senate confirmed Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary. Bessent is a protégé of George Soros, a champion of liberal causes who is frequently the target of antisemitic conspiracy theories, including from Trump himself. (Forward, NPR)

Bill Ackman, the Jewish billionaire who made headlines when he withdrew his donations to Harvard over antisemitism on campus, compared Trump to God in a social media post. “Other than the almighty, who has accomplished more in seven days than @POTUS Trump?” Ackman wrote. “To be fair, we have to keep in mind that Trump didn’t rest on the seventh day.” (X)

ISRAEL AT WAR

Displaced Palestinians returned on Monday to northern Gaza. (Getty)

Bibi to D.C.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House next week. The scheduling depends partly on Netanyahu’s ability to travel: he is currently appearing in court for his corruption trial and is also recuperating from prostate surgery. If it happens, it would be the first meeting with a foreign leader in Trump’s second term. (Times of Israel)

The latest…

Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, is set to meet today with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, and on Wednesday with Netanyahu in Israel. (Axios)

Trump on Monday doubled down on his suggestion that Egypt and Jordan should take in Palestinian refugees from Gaza, though neither country has agreed to do so. (Times of Israel)

Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians walked back into northern Gaza on Monday, reversing an exodus that began 15 months ago. (AP)

Plus….

Delta is expected to resume flights to Tel Aviv starting on April 1. The airline had suspended most flights since the outbreak of the war. (Jewish Insider)

El Al’s near monopoly on flights since Oct. 2023 has caused ticket prices to skyrocket. Travelers are hoping the return of Delta and other carriers will lead to lower costs, but experts are unsure it will. (Times of Israel)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel is set to open an embassy in Zambia as “part of a broader move to strengthen relations with countries in Africa.” (Times of Israel)

CULTURE

Barak Hermann, the incoming president and CEO of the JCCs of North America, on a treadmill at a JCC in Baltimore. (Benyamin Cohen)

Reinventing the JCC

Barak Hermann runs the JCC of Baltimore, where he built a bar and hosted a performance of The Nutcracker. “Why can’t I offer a Christian show for the community during the holidays?” he told me, as we spoke last week while walking on treadmills in the building’s gym. It’s all part of a philosophy he brought from the hospitality industry to reinvent the age-old institution into a gathering place for everyone in town. This summer, when he takes over as the new CEO and president of the JCC Association of North America, he’ll get a chance to reinvent the Jewish Community Centers on a larger scale. Go deeper ►

The famous deli scene in When Harry Met Sally, starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. (Castle Rock Entertainment)

Mayo mess

Hellmann’s Mayonnaise is teasing a Super Bowl ad shot in Katz’s Deli in New York City, home to the iconic “I’ll have what she’s having” scene in When Harry Met Sally — with a likely reunion of the film’s stars, Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. But our PJ Grisar takes umbrage with the idea of mayo on pastrami. “Sports’ biggest night should not be normalizing the wanton use of this condiment at Jewish eateries,” he writes, adding, “I won’t have what she’s having.” Read the story ►

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Former Vice President President Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff at the White House a few days before the Trump inauguration. (Getty)

✍️ Doug Emhoff, the former second gentleman, is returning to practice corporate law and will split his time between Los Angeles and New York. (New York Times)

🎒 After critics argued that some college-level textbooks approved by the Florida education department downplayed the severity of antisemitism and Holocaust atrocities, the state set up panels to vet the material. Defenders of academic freedom find the move concerning. (New York Times)

😠 A rabbi of a New Jersey congregation said demonstrators protesting a talk by an Israeli soldier yelled “baby killers” and graffitied the synagogue’s driveway. (JTA)

Holocaust Remembrance Day…

🇮🇪 During an event in Ireland, several attendees protested President Michael Higgins’ remarks linking the Holocaust to the war in Gaza. Ireland recently recognized the state of Palestine, leading Israel to close its embassy in Dublin. (JTA)

🤔 Kathrin Meyer, departing secretary-general of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, warned that Holocaust distortion — subtly twisting facts about the Nazi genocide — is more dangerous than outright denial. (JTA)

🇩🇪 A film adaptation of the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial — the first trial of Germans by Germans for the crimes of the Holocaust — debuted on Monday in Israel. (Hollywood Reporter)

📺 Resistance, a PBS documentary that surfaces the often unsung stories of how Jews fought back against the Nazis, aired Monday and is now available to stream. (Forward)

Before we go…

Shiva call ► Dr. Perry Brickman, a longtime leader of Atlanta’s Jewish community who authored a book exposing antisemitism at Emory University’s dental school, died at 92.

What else we’re reading ► Why a new movie about the Munich Olympics targets the ethics of journalism, not war (Washington Post) … Why religious people don’t trust religious institutions (New York Times) … The only Jew in Oświęcim, Poland, can see Auschwitz from her bedroom window (JTA)

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro spent a half-hour talking with Holocaust survivor Esther Bratt, shown above with family, and then hosted them and others for Shabbat dinner.

Thanks to Louis Keene, Jacob Kornbluh and Jake Wasserman 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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