WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

AIPAC takes millions raised since Oct. 7 for 2024 elections, Congress fumbles Israel aid bill, Elon Musk to help actress fired from Disney over antisemitic comments, stolen Marc Chagall painting returned, and the 50th anniversary of Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles.

ISRAEL AT WAR

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, center, shakes hands with Amir Ohana, Israel's Speaker of the Knesset, second right, while meeting Tuesday at the U.S. Capitol with relatives of hostages taken by Hamas. (Getty)

The latest…

House Republicans on Saturday were touting their stand-alone bill offering $17.6 billion in emergency aid to Israel. Since it did not also include funding for hot-button issues like Ukraine or the U.S.-Mexico border, they figured they had an easy path to success, especially considering that dozens of Democrats agreed to vote for it. But when it came time to pass the bill Tuesday night, some Republicans jumped ship, leaving the bill to die.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan bill in the Senate — which includes money for Israel, Ukraine and border investments — will hold a test vote on the package today.

As truce talks continue this week, Hamas has come up with its latest proposal: A 4 1/2 month cease-fire, which would see the release of 1,500 Palestinian prisoners, with UNRWA continuing to deliver aid in Gaza, in exchange for releasing the remainder of the Israeli hostages in three stages. Hamas’ proposal says that would end the war, which Israel may not agree to.

Protesters in Indonesia demanded boycotts of McDonald’s, Starbucks and other Western brands in October. (Getty)

How the war in Gaza hurt McDonald’s sales: The company this week blamed lower-than-expected revenue on the conflict in the Middle East. The drop in sales is apparently tied to a McDonald’s franchise in Israel donating meals to Israeli soldiers, which sparked outrage in the Arab world and a movement to boycott McDonald’s. McDonald’s franchises in Arab countries have tried to set themselves apart from the Israeli franchise with public statements supporting Palestinians in Gaza. Read the story ➤

Interim UPenn president chastises lecturer over ‘reprehensible’ anti-Israel cartoons:A University of Pennsylvania instructor’s political cartoons about the Israel-Hamas war are the latest flashpoint in the school’s ongoing controversy around antisemitism on campus. One of the cartoons depicts three men standing in front of Israeli and American flags, drinking blood from cups marked “Gaza.” Our Louis Keene tracked down the artist for clarification. Read the story ➤

Albanian artist Albert Xhelili was at Hostage Square Tuesday drawing pencil portraits of hostages. He sees his artwork as a way to keep them alive. (Susan Greene)

‘This place, it’s like Groundhog Day’ | Amid news of hostage deaths, numbness and a sad normalcy: Israeli intelligence confirmed Tuesday that around a fifth of the 136 people believed to still be in captivity in Gaza, are dead. But the regulars keeping vigil at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv were unmoved by the news — and by stories that have been circulating for days suggesting that U.S.-brokered negotiations to pause the fighting and free the remaining hostages are progressing. Our Susan Greene reports from the scene. Read the story ➤

Plus…

AIPAC has raised $90 million since Oct. 7. Some of that money is already going towards the 2024 elections.

On a visit to Israel today, the new president of Argentina announced that he would move his country’s embassy to Jerusalem.

A Palestinian American man was stabbed Sunday while leaving a cease-fire protest in Austin, authorities say, the latest in a spate of violent attacks against Muslims in the U.S. during the Israel-Hamas war.

Sheryl Sandberg, the former Facebook COO, is filming a documentary in Israel about Hamas’ sexual violence during the Oct. 7 attacks. “This is the most important work of my life,” she said.

ALSO IN THE FORWARD

Michael Jackson and Bob Dylan record “We Are the World.” (Netflix)

Netflix’s The Greatest Night in Pop revives the most authentic video of Bob Dylan ever:The new documentary, which tracks how the song “We Are the World” was recorded over one very long night with dozens of music legends, reveals a sweet moment when Dylan had a bit of an anxiety attack, and Stevie Wonder stepped in to help. “For all of Dylan’s impenetrability, here he is at his most human,” writes our culture reporter PJ Grisar. “Here is a musical genius, whose legendary creativity cut songs fast and frequently, at a piano trying to find the notes. It’s almost like watching Bach getting coached by Mozart.”

Auschwitz would seem an unlikely backdrop for a love affair, yet this is a true story: A new book tells the tale of two Jewish prisoners who, relying on friendships and bribes, “retreated monthly to a hideaway that allowed for deeper conversations and even physical intimacy,” writes Julia M. Klein in a review. They survived the Holocaust, but life afterward was a series of missed chances to reconnect — until, finally, there was a deathbed reunion.

Black History Month: Novelist Walter Mosley, the author of 60 books and the first Black man to win the National Book Award’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, said his Jewish mother had a profound influence on the stories he tells.

The Forward is made possible by readers like you.

Support our work with a donation of any size.

Want more Forward? Explore all our newsletters at forward.com/newsletters

– From our Sponsor –

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in 2021 at the White House. (Getty)

👎 The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly voted against impeaching Alejandro Mayorkas, the Jewish homeland security secretary, after a process that a number of Jewish groups and the White House said was marred by antisemitism. (JTA)

📈 The NYPD reported 31 antisemitic hate crimes in January, amid a surge in incidents since the war broke out. In January 2023, for comparison, police recorded 17 antisemitic incidents. (NY Jewish Week)

🇨🇦 Newly declassified documents reveal why Canada let convicted Nazi war criminals keep their citizenship. The revelations came months after a political crisis surrounding the continued presence of former Nazis in Canada. (JTA)

🎒 Florida school districts could opt to allow volunteer chaplains in schools under a bill approved Tuesday by a Senate committee. Some critics worry that white Christian nationalists could use the program to indoctrinate students. (AP)

🇬🇧 An employment tribunal in the United Kingdom ruled that a sociology professor fired by the University of Bristol after being accused of antisemitic comments was discriminated against because of his anti-Zionist beliefs. (Guardian)

🖼️ Police arrested two suspects, and one more is still on the lam, in the case of a $100,000 Marc Chagall print stolen from a Manhattan art gallery in September. The artwork has been returned. (Artnet)

🎬 Actress Gina Carano, fired from Disney’s The Mandalorian in 2021 for making an antisemitic comment on social media, is suing Disney. A spokesman for Elon Musk, fresh off his trip to Auschwitz last month, said his site X, formerly known as Twitter, would help fund the lawsuit so Carano could “seek vindication of her free speech rights on X and the ability to work without bullying, harassment, or discrimination.” (The Hollywood Reporter)

Shiva call ➤ Pearl Louise Berg, the world’s oldest Jew and the ninth oldest person in the world, died at 114.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles was released 50 years ago today. “I think what Brooks might have been doing with both the Black and the Jewish stuff,” said one film historian, “was inserting characters who had traditionally been erased from the Hollywood Western.” Watch the original trailer above, and read this history of the hilarious and controversial film.

But wait, there’s more: Check out the Mel Brooks articles in our archive.

Thanks to Mira, Fox, PJ Grisar and Talya Zax for contributing to today’s newsletter, and to Beth Harpaz for editing it. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at editorial@forward.com.

Support Independent Jewish Journalism

Without you, the Forward’s stories don’t just go unread — they go untold. Please support our nonprofit journalism today.