WATCH: Go behind-the-scenes of our most popular story of the week. Today: Naftali Bennett eyes a comeback, Texas passes bill for bible study in public school, protesters compare abortion to Holocaust, and the 'Palestinian Queen' performs at Coachella music festival. |
That industrial musical in ‘Mrs. Maisel’ wasn’t a fever dream — it was history: The latest episode of Amazon’s hit series, which dropped overnight, finds everyone’s favorite fictitious mid-century Jewish comedian compelled to perform in a production for a waste management company at an industrial trade show. Sheldon Harnick, a lyricist on Broadway’s Fiddler on the Roof, remembers working on such productions in real life — for companies including Buick and Burger King. Bill Siegler, who was stage manager for Ford’s annual spectacular, said of the genre: “It wasn’t Chekhov, but it was exciting.” Read the story ➤
‘Beau Is Afraid’ isn’t a Jewish ‘Lord of the Rings’ — it’s way worse:Horror auteur Ari Aster’s filmography has been short on Jewish content, but he promised that his latest would be a kind of Hebraic take on Tolkien’s fantasy saga. Our PJ Grisar was disappointed. “To accept this film as Jewish,” he writes, “is to buy into the most strained tropes about overbearing Jewish mothers, taken to an extreme that would make Philip Roth blush.” Read his review ➤
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(Getty/iStock/Forward montage by Laura E. Adkins) |
Opinion | The Coachella music festival delivered a lesson in Mideast politics: Elyanna, known as the “Palestinian Queen,” gave the first Arabic-language performance in the festival’s history. “In a debate that too often casts Palestinians as either beleaguered victims or bloodthirsty terrorists, Elyanna presented a joyful and powerful representation of Palestinian life,” writes our columnist Rob Eshman. “The young singer, and other influencers like her, are fundamentally changing the way that young Americans view the conflict.” Read his essay ➤ And elsewhere… A Holocaust survivor revealed a decades-old secret: He arrested one of Hitler’s henchmen.
Speaking of which, Thursday was Hitler’s birthday. Why do so few antisemites and white supremacists celebrate the day?
Criminal charges were dropped against Alec Baldwin Thursday in the case of a shooting that occurred on a movie set in 2021. Our Louis Keene spoke with rabbis earlier this year about the Torah’s view on accidental killings.
A new choral piece inspired by Yiddish lullabies is premiering across four continents. Its 32-year-old composer says his musical journey began as a young child in synagogue. |
Jewish leaders need tools and training to respond to the troubling rise in antisemitism. A new Spertus Institute program fills this critical need. This program gives front-line leaders the opportunity to work with a team of experts to equip them to respond to antisemitic incidents with knowledge, strength, and skill. Preferred admission deadline is June 1 for Fall Cohort. |
WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
Naftali Bennett, second from the left, met on Wednesday with Jewish Democrats at the Capitol. (Courtesy) |
🇮🇱 Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with U.S. lawmakers and reporters in Washington this week. Some saw it as a signal he’s ready to run for office again. (JTA) 🏫 The Texas Senate passed a bill Thursday to require that every public school classroom in the state display a copy of the Ten Commandments. It passed another setting aside time during the school day for Bible reading and prayer. The bills now go to the House. (Texas Tribune) 🩺 A protest at West Virginia University this week showcased posters of aborted fetuses alongside photos from the Holocaust. “Abortion doctors act like death camp doctors,” read one sign. (WBOY, WV Public Broadcasting) 🇩🇪 Germany set up a panel of international experts to review the events surrounding the murder of Israelis at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The commission is part of an agreement established last year in which Germany agreed to pay roughly $28 million in compensation to the families of the victims. (AP) 🐔 A Jewish animal rights group put up billboards in Los Angeles this week featuring a photo of matzo ball soup next to a picture of a scraggly chicken. “Chicken soup? More like discomfort food,” the signs read. They’re part of a campaign against factory farming called IsThisKosher.org. (Religion News Service) 🍔 Shake Shack plans to open 15 stores in Israel over the next decade, starting with one in Tel Aviv in 2024. The restaurant chain, which has 240 outlets across the U.S. and 120 international ones, did not respond to questions about whether any of its Israeli offerings would be kosher. (JTA) Shiva call ➤ Yehonatan Geffen, a prominent Israeli author and songwriter, died at 76. Our editor-in-chief recently wrote about one of his most famous songs, “Yihye Tov.” Long weekend reads ➤ There’s a new documentary about a Jewish professor who created a competitor to Monopoly and got sued by Parker Brothers … Israel’s right-wing government has Jewish Democrats at a loss … The bagel has emerged as the unofficial food of official Washington. |
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In this weekend’s edition of our print magazine: How a prisoner with a swastika tattoo taught a Holocaust educator a life lesson; a new ADL report showed that antisemitism is going down in some countries (but not in the U.S.); and our PJ Grisar offers some unsolicited advice to HBO: Jewish plotlines for its forthcoming Harry Potter TV series. Plus: Our most popular advice column of 2023 (so far) dives into the story of a convert whose ex told her she’s no longer Jewish because of their divorce. Download your copy now ➤ |
Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks in December at a joint meeting of Congress. (Getty) |
On this day in history (2019): Volodymyr Zelenskyy won the Ukrainian presidential election in a landslide. Zelenskyy, a comedian who played a fictional Ukrainian president in a popular sitcom, rose to global prominence after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last spring. TIME Magazine named him Person of the Year for 2022. |
That Jewish News Show: Laura E. Adkins, our opinion editor, and I chatted about a Supreme Court case regarding a postal employee who sued for religious discrimination and a new survey that found one in four Americans never heard of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. We also talked to our colleague Louis Keene about one of the most-viewed articles on our site this week: about an Orthodox gay man who was banned from his synagogue – and is fighting back. Watch now ➤ --- Thanks to PJ Grisar, Sarah Nachimson and Talya Zax for contributing to today’s newsletter. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at editorial@forward.com. |
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