WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

Good morning. The U.S. continued to push back against the idea of Israel overseeing Gaza if the war successfully displaces Hamas, as reports circulated that more hostages might soon be released. Separately, a suspect was arrested in the killing of Detroit synagogue president Samantha Woll.

ISRAEL AT WAR

People pay tribute at an improvised memorial to Paul Kessler in Thousand Oaks. (Freddy Josef)

After altercation at Israel protest led to his death, lifelong friends grieve ‘kind, gentle’ Paul Kessler. Kessler, 69, who died after a confrontation at a pro-Palestinian protest ended with him hitting his head on the ground, “was passionate about Israel — protection of Israel, sovereignty of Israel, safety of Israel,” one friend told our Louis Keene. But he was “not the kind of guy that was confrontational or aggressive,” said another — just “sensitive to what he saw as injustices in the world.” A devoted amateur pilot who spent the final years of his life grieving the untimely death of his daughter, Kessler is survived by his wife, son and sister. Read the story ➤

And:

• Everything we know so far about the death of Paul Kessler

Gal Gadot’s newest movie screening — featuring Hamas atrocities — is drawing criticism. Gadot has organized screenings of a 43-minute video compiled by the Israel Defense Forces to document Hamas’ Oct. 7 atrocities. But the actress’ advocacy for her native country has been criticized, with some activists even suggesting that a screening she organized at LA’s Museum of Tolerance was intended as a “trap” to paint protesters as antisemitic. Read the story ➤

And:

• Israel releases horrific eyewitness account of rape carried out by Hamas

  
  

• Jewish media publish open letter against rise in antisemitism since Oct. 7 attacks

Tens of thousands of Palestinians fled to Gaza’s south using a humanitarian corridor opened by Israel on Wednesday. (MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)

Latest on the war…

• U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed back on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s suggestion that Israel would assume an “indefinite” security role in Gaza after the war, saying Gaza should be united with the West Bank under the leadership of the Palestinian Authority.

  
  

• The IDF said troops have destroyed some 130 tunnel shafts in Gaza since the war began, as Israeli forces engaged in street battles and tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians fled to Gaza’s south using a humanitarian corridor opened by Israel. The Gaza Health Ministry said more than 10,000 people had been killed in Gaza in a month of war, and more than 25,000 injured.

  
  

• Israel and Hamas are negotiating the release of 10-15 hostages, including six U.S. citizens, in talks brokered by Qatar. Separately, Arab and Western officials say a deal to release 50 hostages had been near completion before Israel invaded Gaza in late October, but talks broke down after troops entered the strip.

  
  

• The U.S. conducted its second airstrike on an Iranian target in Syria since the war began, as the White House seeks to combat increased attacks on U.S. troops in the Middle East. Separately, Iran-backed Houthi rebels reportedly shot down a U.S. drone off Yemen’s coast, and the U.S. suggested that Jews in Iran were being “coerced into staging anti-Israel protests.”

  
  

• Candidates at the third Republican presidential debate — which former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner, skipped — were united in advising Israel to “finish” Hamas.

German leaders attend a commemoration ceremony for the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht at Berlin’s Beth Zion Synagogue. (JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images)

Global antisemitism…

• Today is the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht, when Nazis murdered 100 Jews, sent thousands to concentration camps and destroyed synagogues, Jewish businesses and other sites.  Some Jews rethought plans to commemorate the anniversary because of safety concerns related to the war. “We don’t think the synagogues and other Jewish institutions would be comfortable with a physical demonstration of support that highlights their locations,” said one Brazilian Holocaust educator.

  
  

• Brazilian police arrested two men, thought to have links to Hezbollah, accused of planning attacks on Brazilian Jews. They are seeking 11 other suspects.

  
  

• A 44-year-old Jewish man in Sydney, Australia, was allegedly attacked and called a “pro-Jew dog” by supporters of Palestinians last month. The assault left him hospitalized for four days; he told one Australian outlet he was “very lucky” to be alive.

  
  

• A Dutch watchdog said that reports of antisemitic incidents in the Netherlands had risen by more 800% since the onset of war. Concerns about skyrocketing antisemitism in Europe led French President Emmanuel Macron to say his country would be “ruthless” in combating antisemitism.

  
  

•  A property linked to a New Zealand synagogue was allegedly targeted by an attempted arson; graffiti left on the property read “free Gaza” and “free Palestine.”

The Rosenthal Library at Queens College in New York. (iStock/Littleny)

On campus…

• The president of New York’s Queens College condemned social media posts by a Muslim student group that denied Hamas’ Oct. 7 atrocities, calling them “obviously false and misleading.”

  
  

• New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman is calling on the Biden administration to develop a progressive remedy for campus antisemitism, emphasizing education over punishment. “We can’t criminalize everyone who is at these marches or part of these groups,” he said in an interview.

  
  

• A pro-Palestinian protester interrupted a Jewish Cornell student as she spoke before Congress about recent violent antisemitic threats on campus, yelling “anti-Zionism is not antisemitism.”

  
  

• A Jewish board member of Columbia Business School quit, saying Jews were now “unsafe on campus.”

  
  • More than two dozen Republican members of Congress sent the University of Pennsylvania a letter condemning the university’s response to campus antisemitism.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib attended a bipartisan candlelight vigil on Tuesday to commemorate one month since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

How Jewish House members divided over the censure of Rashida Tlaib. Rep. Tlaib, who is Palestinian, was censured in a Tuesday vote, with 22 Democrats joining the Republican-led effort. Our senior political reporter, Jacob Kornbluh, dug into the internal Democratic rifts over the censure, which are tied to an increasing lack of unity over Israel. “Tlaib has the right to say whatever she wants,” said one Democratic representative, “but it cannot go unanswered.” Read the story ➤

And:

• Rep. Tlaib’s Israel-Hamas statements were offensive. Censuring her was even worse

  
  

• ‘From the river to the sea’: The slogan that led to Rashida Tlaib’s censure, explained

  
  

• Top official says White House antisemitism strategy is ‘under pressure’ due to Israel-Hamas war

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ALSO FROM THE FORWARD

(Courtesy of Albert Einstein Archives)

100 years ago, Albert Einstein fled Berlin due to antisemitism. Einstein left Berlin on Nov. 9, 1923, after hearing rumors of a planned assassination attempt against him. He was at that point perhaps the most famous Jew in Germany, and had been targeted by antisemitism throughout his career, writes our news director Benyamin Cohen, author of a recent book about Einstein. Einstein would leave Germany for good amid the Nazi rise to power in December, 1932. Read the story ➤

– From our Sponsor: Spertus Institute –

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Samantha Woll, president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in Detroit, was found stabbed to death on Oct. 21, 2023. (Courtesy of Facebook)

😨  A suspect was arrested in the death of Samantha Woll, the Detroit synagogue president found stabbed to death outside her home last month. Detroit police provided no details about the suspect, and as of Wednesday night, charges had yet to be filed. (Detroit Free Press)

👀  An Indiana mayoral candidate who refused to denounce a local chapter of Moms for Liberty that quoted Adolf Hitler in a newsletter was elected. Republican Sue Finkam, the incoming mayor of Carmel, denounced the quote itself, but refused to criticize the chapter, which eventually apologized for the quote. (Guardian, Forward)

😞  West Virginia University will lose its only course about the Holocaust amid faculty layoffs related to a major budget deficit. (Mountain State Spotlight)

What else we’re reading ➤ Why Kristallnacht should be a reminder of what the world risks when it ignores Jewish suffering … A Kristallnacht survivor retraces “his childhood journey of escape from Nazi Germany” … “Germans commemorate 'Night of Broken Glass' terror as antisemitism is on the rise again.”

PHOTO OF THE DAY

(ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Margot Friedlander, a German Holocaust survivor, attended a Wednesday talk at the presidential palace in Berlin about combating antisemitism and Islamophobia amid rising tensions over the Israel-Hamas war. During the talk, Friedlander produced the Star of David patch identifying her as a Jew that she had to wear in Nazi Germany.

Thanks to Jaclyn De Bonis and Jay Ehrlich 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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