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WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION |
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Happy Tax Day to all who celebrate! It's got a secret Jewish history.
Today: The latest on Gov. Josh Shapiro attack • Former antisemitism envoy supports some campus deportations • Hit TV series rewrites Passover story • and much more.
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After Harvard refused to comply with new federal demands, the Trump administration swiftly responded by freezing billions in funding — escalating its broader campaign against elite universities. (Getty) |
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White House vs. Harvard
The Trump administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism on Monday froze $2.6 billion in federal funding to Harvard, escalating the standoff over, among other things, how the university is handling campus protests related to the Israel-Hamas war. (New York Times)
The move came hours after Harvard President Alan Garber, who is Jewish, said that the university refused to adopt policy changes proposed by the administration, describing the demands as “unprecedented.” “Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism,” Garber wrote in a letter to the Harvard community, “the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard.”
He added: “No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”
Former President Barack Obama praised Harvard, where he attended law school, for setting an example for other universities. (X)
Plus: A group of Harvard professors are suing the Trump administration, arguing that its plan to revoke billions in federal funding over the university’s handling of campus protests violates their First Amendment rights — including free speech and academic freedom. (CNN)
What we’re reading ► Inside the the White House’s campaign against elite universities (New York Times)
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“I don’t oppose many of the things that are being done,” said former Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, Biden’s antisemitism envoy. “I just wish they would be done more deftly.” (Getty) |
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First in Forwarding: As the Trump administration escalates its campaign to revoke the visas of hundreds of international students — many for their involvement in pro-Palestinian activism — former Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, the Biden administration’s antisemitism envoy, is offering support for some of the moves. “To depict some of these people as martyrs and heroes is ludicrous,” Lipstadt told me. Go deeper ►
Plus… Immigration officials on Monday arrested Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian leader in Columbia’s protest movement, at a meeting he thought was a step towards becoming a U.S. citizen. For months, Mahdawai was targeted by pro-Israel groups and by Rep. Beth Van Duyne, Republican of Texas. (Intercept)
A federal judge on Monday heard arguments in the case of Rümeysa Öztürk, a Tufts student arrested by immigration agents and transferred to an ICE facility in Louisiana, signaling he may order her returned to Vermont, as her lawyers have requested. (VT Digger)
Related: The State Department found no evidence linking Öztürk to antisemitism, which casts doubt on the Trump administration’s allegations that she’s pro-Hamas. (Washington Post)
Opinion | Emily Tamkin writes about how Passover teaches why we should stand with Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia protest leader who is being threatened with deportation. (Forward) |
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An arson attack at the home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro occurred hours after Jewish community leaders gathered there for a Passover Seder. (Courtesy Commonwealth of Pennsylvania) |
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Gov. Josh Shapiro… Authorities are still determining a motive behind the arson attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home hours after the first Passover Seder. “We’re looking at the possibility that it was geared towards the governor’s religion and his views on Israel,” said the district attorney. (CNN)
The suspect, Cody Balmer, who admitted to “harboring hatred” for Shapiro, was denied bail on Monday. (CNN)
Opinion | The attack on Shapiro was an attack on all Jews, writes Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin in an essay. (Religion News Service)
Elsewhere in politics: The Trump administration directed State Department staff to flag any signs of “anti-Christian bias” among their colleagues — part of a broader push to enforce a new executive order aimed at protecting Christian employees across the federal government. (AP)
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Actor Jonathan Roumie portrays Jesus in The Chosen: Last Supper. (Courtesy 5&2 Studios) |
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Passover, rewritten
In The Chosen, the hit Christian TV show, the only good Jews are the ones who follow Jesus. The new season dives deep into the Last Supper, complete with “matzo and maror, singing psalms and, of course, talking about how Jesus is the fulfillment of the Passover promise, as is traditional in Christian Seders,” writes our Mira Fox, adding that “there’s a truly gratuitous amount of discussion of Jewish greed, corruption and lack of spirituality.” Go deeper ►
Related: The White House Seder started in a Pennsylvania basement. A new children’s book shares the story.
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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
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Jews gathered this morning for Passover prayers at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. (Getty) |
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In Israel…
📹 The family of Edan Alexander approved the release of a Hamas propaganda video that showed the U.S.-Israeli hostage alive. “Why am I not home?” Alexander asks in the video. (Times of Israel)
🇶🇦 Hamas said it is sending a delegation to Qatar for continued indirect ceasefire negotiations with Israel. (AP)
🇮🇷 Iran and the U.S. both described this weekend’s nuclear talks as constructive. The next meeting is scheduled for Saturday in Rome. (Times of Israel)
🎵 During a performance at California’s Coachella music festival this weekend, the band Green Day changed the lyrics to one of their songs to focus on the plight of Palestinian children. (Variety)
And elsewhere…
🕌 Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is standing in the way of a planned development for an Islamic neighborhood and mosque. (New York Times)
⚖️ Jury selection is set to begin today in a third trial of Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood mogul serving prison time for sex crimes. (NPR)
Shiva calls ► Reuma Weizman, the former first lady of Israel, died at 99.
What else we’re reading ► Why an anti-Nazi pastor executed by Hitler has become a hero to today’s White Christian nationalists (CNN) … Meet the podcaster asking you to side with history’s villains (New York Times) … On HBO’s Hacks, a scene-stealing comedian plays a gay ex-Hasidic Jew (Hey Alma) |
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The documentary Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse debuts tonight on PBS. It explores the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist whose work spans 9/11, the current war in Gaza and the Holocaust. Our PJ Grisar reviews the film. |
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Thanks to Jacob Kornbluh 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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