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| | | WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION |
| | Good morning. Here’s the news you need to start your day: Texas floods: For the Jewish community in central Texas, the floods — which have now claimed the lives of more than 100 people — have hit close to home.
On campus: Barnard College, an affiliate of Columbia University, settled a lawsuit brought by Jewish and Israeli students.
Bob Dylan: In 1999, the rock legend spent two hours jamming on the set of a TV sitcom. There are only two copies of the lost footage.
Plus: We have more on these stories below. But first, a White House dinner between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu where they talked about Hamas, Iran, Zohran Mamdani — and a Nobel Peace Prize.
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| | | | | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sits across from President Donald Trump at a White House dinner on Monday. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images) |
| Dinner and diplomacy
President Donald Trump hosted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for dinner Monday at the White House, where they discussed major issues — from Gaza’s future to Israel’s potential ties with Gulf nations.
They praised the U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, and Netanyahu flattered Trump by announcing he had nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize, a long-held goal of the president.
“He’s forging peace, as we speak, in one country in the region after another,” Netanyahu said of Trump, and presented him with a letter he sent to the prize committee.
Context: Any head of state like Netanyahu is allowed to nominate anyone for a Nobel Peace Prize. The deadline for the 2025 submissions has passed: it was Jan. 31. Learn more about the selection process.
Arrest warrant?
Netanyahu dismissed as “silly” a campaign pledge from Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, to arrest him if he visits the city, reports our Jacob Kornbluh. “I’m not concerned,” Netanyahu said. “There’s enough craziness in the world, but I guess it never ends.” Trump interjected: “I’ll get him out.” It was unclear if the president meant he would get Netanyahu released from custody, or if he would — as previously promised — try to deport the Ugandan-born Mamdani, who is a legal citizen of the U.S.
Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist who recently won a crowded Democratic primary, made the arrest pledge last November in response to the International Criminal Court’s issuance of a warrant for Netanyahu. The court, headquartered in The Hague, accused the Israeli leader of war crimes. The United States is not a party to the ICC. |
| | | | Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered Monday near the White House. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images) |
| Iran… Iran has ramped up a mass deportation campaign, expelling some 800,000 Afghan refugees in recent weeks, with officials claiming the displaced could be spies for Israel. (New York Times)
In a new interview with Tucker Carlson, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed Israel tried to assassinate him and said he’s open to renewed nuclear talks with the U.S., though he questioned whether Washington can be trusted. (Times of Israel)
Israel-Hamas war… With major gaps still unresolved, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is heading to Qatar for hostage talks, as mediators were told President Trump wants a ceasefire deal finalized by week’s end. (Times of Israel)
A roadside bomb in northern Gaza killed five Israeli soldiers and injured 14 others on Monday night. (Haaretz)
Three reservists in the Israel Defense Forces are under investigation for allegedly abusing Hamas detainees held at a northern Israel facility. (Times of Israel)
Gaza’s future… Israel’s defense minister said he is working on a plan to confine all Gazans in a “humanitarian city,” where Palestinians would be barred from exiting. Critics call it an internment camp. (Guardian)
At the White House meeting, Netanyahu endorsed the mass transfer of Palestinians from Gaza, backing Trump’s previously floated plan to displace millions. “It’s called free choice,” Netanyahu said. “If people want to stay, they can stay, but if they want to leave, they should be able to leave. It shouldn't be a prison.” (Haaretz)
Opinion | Can Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe be reversed? It’s up to Trump: “Netanyahu’s visit offers Trump the ideal opportunity to lay down the law with his Israeli counterpart,” writes Larry Garber, the former head of the USAID West Bank/Gaza mission. “With Hamas’ increasingly apparent debilitation in Gaza, there is no justification for Israel’s campaign there to continue.” Read his essay ►
What’s next? Netanyahu’s third trip to the U.S. this year continues today with scheduled meetings with Vice President JD Vance and members of Congress. |
| | | | | A search and rescue volunteer holds a T-shirt and backpack with the words Camp Mystic on it. (Danielle Villasana for The Washington Post via Getty Images) |
| A Christian camp with Jewish ties
Although Camp Mystic is Christian, its stellar reputation made it an option for generations of Jews in the area. Hattie Lee Gleichenhaus, a 90-year-old Jewish resident of San Antonio, recalled fond memories of attending camp there as a pre-teen. Decades later, her two granddaughters and daughter-in-law would also attend Camp Mystic.
So when Gleichenhaus heard news of flash floods that killed dozens of campers and counselors, it felt personal. “One of the worst things I’ve ever heard,” Gleichenhaus told our Hannah Feuer. “It’s made me sick.”
Plus… At least one Jewish family lost everything. Now, other families at their day school, Austin Jewish Academy, have been sharing an online fundraiser to help the family rebuild.
Meanwhile, Chabad of Boerne has transformed into an aid distribution center and set up a webpage to accept donations and coordinate volunteers. Shalom Austin is also raising money to help impacted families, and the local Jewish Family Services is offering free grief counseling from its therapists. |
| | | | | | The cast of Feast of the Seven Sinners lines up at curtain call. (Clara Shapiro) |
| Sex, spells, and shtick
I tried to summarize this wonderful story from our Clara Shapiro, but gave up. There’s just no topping her introduction.
“It’s been a busy time at the 14th Street Y. There was an orgy, followed by a brawl. Catering was sparse and massively unkosher, featuring an apple-stuffed roast pig as the centerpiece. One man died after accidentally imbibing a love potion that disagreed with his constitution. Another met a violent end after being spanked with excessive rigor.
If that sounds exhausting, imagine it all happening in 90 minutes. Then add some tuneful original klezmer numbers; translate the whole megillah into Yiddish; crowdsource an enthusiastic audience of diverse ages; and you have the The Feast of the Seven Sinners, or Di Sude fun di Zibn Zindikers, a new Yiddish musical.” |
| | | | | | WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
| | | Barnard College in New York City. (Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images) |
| On campus…
🎒 Barnard College, an affiliate of Columbia University, settled a lawsuit brought by Jewish and Israeli students who alleged widespread antisemitism on campus, agreeing to adopt a “zero tolerance” policy and implement a broad set of reforms, including new restrictions on student protests. (JTA)
⚖️ A federal trial that began Monday in Massachusetts, spurred by a lawsuit brought by two faculty associations, challenges the Trump administration’s efforts to arrest and deport noncitizen academic activists over anti-Israel speech. (New York Times)
🎓 Pepperdine University, a private Christian school, has partnered with the Washington Institute to launch a new master’s program in Middle East policy studies — one it touts as an alternative to more hostile, anti-Israel academic environments. (Jewish Insider, Pepperdine)
And elsewhere…
🕍 The I.R.S. said churches, synagogues and other houses of worship can endorse political candidates to their congregations, effectively excusing them from a long-standing ban on political activity by tax-exempt nonprofits. (JTA, New York Times)
🐊 President Trump dubbed a swiftly built ICE detention center in the Florida Everglades “Alligator Alcatraz” — but some critics, alarmed by its harsh conditions, have taken to calling it “Alligator Auschwitz.” (JTA)
🎶 Croatian singer Marko Perkovic, known for his far-right views, led a crowd of nearly half a million in a pro-Nazi salute at a Saturday concert in Zagreb, prompting authorities to consider prosecuting attendees. (JTA)
🎻 The hunt is on to recover a 316-year-old Stradivarius violin and return it to the descendants of the Jewish family it was stolen from near the end of World War II. (New York Times)
Shiva calls ► Anna Ornstein, who survived the Holocaust and became a renowned psychoanalyst, died at 98 … Avi Piamenta, a popular Jewish songwriter whose music could be heard at Jewish weddings across the globe, died at 69 … Richard Greenberg, a Tony-winning playwright whose work explored love and baseball, died at 67. Read our 2016 interview with Greenberg. |
| | | | | Blast from the past: Bob Dylan made a guest appearance on a 1999 episode of the sitcom Dharma & Greg in which he performs in a studio for about three minutes. Actress Jenna Elfman, who shared the scene with the rock legend, said in an interview published Monday that they filmed two hours of Dylan jamming. So where’s the lost footage? There are two copies: One is inside a studio vault; the other is at Elfman’s home. Dylan gave it to Elfman for her birthday.
“It was one blip in time of a very charmed and delightful two hours of my life,” she said. “And it stays there in that little pocket of time as a wonderful memory.”
Peruse all of our Dylan content.
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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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