Inside a hostage crisis center, U.S. raises travel advisory to Israel, France and UK report rise in antisemitic incidents since attack, Trump slams Israeli intelligence & young couple weds amid chaos. |
Residents of Mitzpe Yericho gather in the home of Rabbi Achiya Eliyahu (seated, in the black T-shirt) and Idit Eliyahu, who are sitting shiva following the death of their 19 year-old son, Ariel. (Laura Ben-David) |
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and rival Benny Gantz on Wednesday formed a wartime unity government. “Every Hamas member is a dead man,” Netanyahu said, as he promised to “crush and eliminate” the group. The death toll from the Hamas attack has surpassed 1,300 – most of them civilians. The victims… ‘He lived such a full life’ | In a city on a hilltop, a family mourns its oldest son:Dozens of visitors – including our Laura E. Adkins on the ground in Israel – paid a shiva call Wednesday to the family of Ariel Eliyahu, a 19-year-old killed fighting Hamas this week. Ariel “did so many things in his life,” his father told Laura, ticking off his love of music and of learning Torah. “It’s sad to know that most of these things will not exist anymore.” Read the story ➤ ‘I found a hostage!’ | Inside the Tel Aviv war room where civilians locate the kidnapped:Earlier in the day, Laura found herself inside a converted convention center, where 1,500 tech experts are working around the clock to locate the estimated 100-plus people kidnapped by Hamas. This war room is run entirely by civilians — many of them the very same people who marched in the pro-democracy protests in Israel’s streets for 40 weeks. “We know a lot of things that the government doesn’t know,” said Professor Karine Nahon, one of the organizers.Read the story ➤ One of those feared abducted by Hamas is Vivian Silver, a 74-year-old peace activist and grandmother: Prior to Saturday’s invasion, Silver, who lives on a kibbutz, drove to Gaza several times a week and brought Palestinians needing medical care to hospitals in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem as a volunteer for an organization called Road to Recovery. “If there’s anybody who ends up being a hostage in captivity and can organize a meeting, and negotiations between Hamas and their captives, that would be Vivian,” said Maggie Bar-Tura. “She’s indefatigable.” Read the story ➤ What we know about accounts of sexual assault during the Hamas attack: Both President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have described women being raped during the Saturday attack by Hamas, echoing reports circulating widely on social media. We spoke with the Israeli military and a White House official to learn what evidence they have for these claims. Read the story ➤ |
President Joe Biden at a roundtable with Jewish leaders on Wednesday. (Getty) |
A moment of silence for Israel at the Phillies-Braves game Wednesday night in Philadelphia. (Getty) |
Terrorists after crossing the border fence with Israel on Saturday. (Getty) |
Join the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies & The Naomi Foundation for the 2023 Naomi Prawer Kadar Annual Memorial Lecture with academic and cultural critic Dr. Ilan Stavans, a virtual talk titled “Yiddish and Ladino: Forking Paths.” This event will take place at noon on Wednesday, October 25 on ZOOM. |
WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month. (Getty) |
On this day in history (1930): Jack Gottlieb, a composer and confidante to Leonard Bernstein, was born. Gottlieb was the first director of Hebrew Union College’s School of Sacred Music, and had his works performed in settings sacred and otherwise across the country. But he was best known for his relationship with Bernstein, whom he met while in graduate school at Brandeis and worked with for decades, including editing many of Bernstein’s books. Gottlieb died in 2011, at age 80.
Tonight at 7 p.m.: If you’re in the San Francisco area, our Jodi Rudoren will be speaking at Congregation Emanu-El about reporting and media responses to the war in Israel.
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“The open questioning of the government’s response, in the first two days especially, is something I've never seen before in a time of war,” Jodi told Alex Wagner Tuesday night on MSNBC. Watch the segment above. --- Thanks to Jacob Kornbluh, Arno Rosenfeld, Sam Lin-Sommer 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. |
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