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WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION |
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Today: Harvard’s antisemitism contradictions • Halal restaurant angers congressman • Missile strikes Ben Gurion Airport, as Israel expands war in Gaza • And the secret Jewish history of Cinco de Mayo. |
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Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy said he would pay for a trip to Auschwitz for the two customers involved in making an antisemitic sign at his Philadelphia bar. (Getty) |
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Sign of hate
Temple University in Philadelphia suspended a student Sunday for their involvement in a Saturday incident at a local sports bar in which they made a light-up sign that read “F--- the Jews.” The school said it is continuing to investigate. Two customers asked two waitresses to make the sign, which is usually reserved for messages celebrating birthdays or a sports team’s win.
The bar is an offshoot of Barstool Sports, a brash internet brand devoted to sports and pop culture. It is owned by Dave Portnoy, who is Jewish and has been vocal about supporting Israel after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
Portnoy said he fired the two waitresses and will pay for the two customers to take a trip to Auschwitz, where “they are going to do a tour of the concentration camps.”
Learn more: NBC Philadelphia, Temple statement
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Demonstrators occupy a makeshift protest camp at Swarthmore College on April 24, 2024. A year later, the encampment was recreated. (Getty) |
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Caps, gowns, and crackdowns
As colleges enter commencement season, the final weeks of the academic year have become a flashpoint for pro-Palestinian protests. Over the past several days, 15 students have been arrested at encampments and demonstrations at Rutgers, Swarthmore and UCLA in scenes that underscore the mounting tensions between student activists, university administrators and federal authorities under pressure to respond. Go deeper ► New York City police shared an internal report with federal immigration officials about a Palestinian woman arrested at a protest outside Columbia — and the Trump administration is now using it to try to deport her, court records show. (AP)
“Under the thinly veiled guise of security, rights are being denied and due process eliminated,” writes Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia student who spent 16 nights in jail before a judge ordered his release last week, halting the Trump administration’s deportation efforts. (New York Times)
Sen. Jon Ossoff, the Jewish Democrat from Georgia, criticized the Trump administration for using antisemitism to justify attacks on civil liberties. (Jewish Insider)
At Dartmouth College, about 65 people held a candlelight vigil at the site of last year’s mass arrests during a pro-Palestinian protest. This time, the college negotiated with organizers, and no one was arrested. (Valley News)
A graduate student at Tulane filed a lawsuit against the school and a former campus police officer, claiming the officer falsely described his actions during an arrest at a pro-Palestinian protest last year. (Nola)
The president of the University of Michigan is leaving to become the president of the University of Florida. His three-year Michigan tenure was marked by accusations that the school was doing too little to combat both antisemitism and Islamophobia. (Detroit Free Press)
The University of Haifa suspended an anti-war student group made up of Israelis and Palestinians, for holding a campus event without a permit. (JTA)
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Harvard is fighting against the Trump administration, while also trying to make it a more welcoming campus for Jewish and Muslim students. (Getty) |
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At Harvard…
The New York Times published a pair of profiles over the weekend which I recommend reading… Alan Garber, Harvard’s president, is both defending and reforming the university. As the article points out, Garber is fighting with Trump, but he also agrees with him.
Shabbos Kestenbaum, the 26-year-old Harvard alum and Orthodox Jew who is suing his alma mater over accusations that it ignored antisemitism when he was a student, said “I’m going to sound braggadocious” as he talked about his newfound influence with the Trump administration and beyond.
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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House on Sunday after returning from Florida, where he spent the weekend. (Getty) |
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Trump’s 2026 budget… The Trump administration’s budget proposal, submitted to Congress on Friday, includes a $49 million cut to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights — the agency that handles campus antisemitism complaints and has already reduced staff by about half. (Jewish Insider, Forward)
The National Endowment for the Arts began canceling grants this weekend, following President Trump’s budget proposal to eliminate the agency. Several Jewish cultural institutions could be impacted. (Guardian, JTA)
Trump’s budget proposal includes funding to create a U.S. version of Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, which he’s calling the “Golden Dome for America.” It’s unclear how the U.S. would replicate the system, since the country is much larger than Israel and doesn’t face the same kind of missile threats from nearby countries. (JTA)
Plus… Rep. Mike Collins, a Georgia Republican, said that the replacement of a Steak ‘n Shake at a Congressional food court with an Asian restaurant serving halal cuisine was “equivalent to the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem in the 7th century.” (Forward)
After removing Doug Emhoff and other Biden appointees from the board of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, Trump added eight new members — including a radio shock jock, an Orthodox newspaper publisher, and the son of mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. (JTA)
As Catholic cardinals begin preparations to select the next pope, President Trump faced sharp criticism on Sunday from church leaders, politicians, and commentators for posting an AI-generated image of himself dressed as the pope, seated on a throne. (CNN, Washington Post)
A U.S. missile system that was based in Israel will be refurbished and sent to Ukraine. The previously unreported deal was orchestrated by the Biden administration in September. (New York Times)
Martin Marks, who led Trump’s outreach to Jewish voters during the 2024 campaign, is now serving as the White House’s liaison to the Jewish community. (Jewish Insider)
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Travelers pull their luggage as they walk towards Ben Gurion Airport after main road entrances to the facility were closed by police, following a strike from a missile launched from Yemen on Sunday. (Getty) |
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The latest… Late Sunday, Israel’s security cabinet unanimously signed off on a plan to dramatically expand its military campaign against Hamas and to conquer Gaza — despite reported warnings from the army chief that it could put hostages at greater risk. (AP)
The families of hostages say that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is “choosing territories over hostages.” (Times of Israel)
Netanyahu and Trump both vowed to retaliate against Iran after the Houthis in Yemen sent a ballistic missile that hit the grounds of Ben Gurion Airport Sunday, striking near a runway and injuring six people. Iran denies ordering the attack. (Times of Israel)
The Houthis said they would continue to strike Israeli airports in response to the expanded military campaign in Gaza. (Reuters)
The U.S., Israel, and a new international foundation are nearing a deal to restart humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza — with safeguards to prevent Hamas from controlling the supplies. The United Nations and other aid groups said they would not cooperate because they believe the new initiative is flawed. (Axios / Axios)
Israel published on Sunday its annual report on global antisemitism. It focuses heavily on threats from “radical Islam” and “the progressive left,” but largely skips over far-right antisemitism. (Haaretz)
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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
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The murder of two Israelis in Los Angeles “seem like targeted attacks,” said one local resident. (Getty) |
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👮 Two Israeli men were found murdered in Los Angeles within 24 hours. Authorities believe the deaths are not related, but that hasn’t stopped the Jewish community from worrying. “It’s terrifying,” said one local resident. (JTA)
☀️ A Jordanian man living in Florida was sentenced to six years in federal prison for targeting several businesses — including a solar farm — because he believed they supported Israel. (JTA)
⚖️ An Illinois man who was convicted in the killing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy was sentenced to 53 years in prison. (NPR)
🍦 In new court documents, Ben & Jerry’s accused Nelson Peltz — an activist investor on the board of its parent company — of muzzling its ability to speak out about the war in Gaza. (Reuters)
🎩 A top hat worn by Hitler before the Holocaust and discovered by a Jewish soldier from Brooklyn at the Fuhrer’s Munich apartment in 1945, is now on display at a military museum in Saratoga Springs, New York. (WGRZ)
Shiva calls ► Sybil Shainwald, a lawyer who fought for women’s health issues, including in a landmark case against the manufacturer of a drug that caused cancer, died at 96 … Rabbi Sholom Lipskar, who led an influential Chabad synagogue in south Florida, died at 78.
What else we’re reading ► Is Anthony Weiner ready to go another round? (Atlantic) … Pro-Nazi singer sells out Zagreb arena as Croatia’s collaborationist past sheds its taboo (JTA) … Why is Meir Kahane making a comeback among Orthodox Jews? (18Forty).
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There’s a whole world of Hasidic entertainment, and one of its stars is actor Ari Abromowitz. “I don’t lead a celebrity life,” he told Frieda Vizel, a former Hasid with a popular YouTube channel. Watch their interview above.
And, before we go: The secret Jewish history of Cinco de Mayo
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Thanks to Jacob Kornbluh and Arno Rosenfeld 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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