JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.

WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

Today: Kanye promoted swastika T-shirts during Super Bowl • Georgetown delays event with convicted Palestinian terrorist • And comedian Alex Edelman shows off his megillah reading skills.

THE U.S. AND ISRAEL

President Donald Trump, with Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick, speaks with reporters Monday in the Oval Office. Lutnick, who is Jewish, praised Trump’s efforts to release hostages. (Getty)

‘All hell is going to break out’

The fragile ceasefire-for-hostages deal is teetering, with threats from President Donald Trump and Hamas adding new uncertainty. Let’s get you caught up on what’s happened in the past 24 hours…

• Hamas began Monday saying it would postpone the next release of hostages, alleging Israel has breached aspects of the ceasefire agreement, including by delaying aid and firing on residents in Gaza. (JTA)

  
  

• Trump’s response? Frustrated with the slow “dribs and drabs” release of hostages that was agreed upon as part of the ceasefire, Trump said the deal should be called off if all hostages are not released by 12 p.m. on Saturday. “All hell is going to break out,” he told reporters in the Oval Office. (JTA, X)

  
  

• “Threats have no value and further complicates matters,” a Hamas official said Tuesday. (AP, Times of Israel)

  
  

• There are 73 hostages still in Gaza, with at least 34 of them confirmed dead by the Israel Defense Forces. Six are Americans, three of whom are believed dead. (American Jewish Committee, Times of Israel)

  
  

• Shlomo Mansour, believed to be the oldest hostage, was actually killed during the Oct. 7 attack and his body taken captive, Israeli authorities said Tuesday. (JTA)

  
  

• Protesters blocked the highway in Tel Aviv Monday night, urging Israel to “not endanger” the hostage deal by delaying the second phase. (Times of Israel)

  
  

• Trump is set to host King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House today. The meeting could get awkward: Trump said he would stop aid to Egypt and Jordan if they refused to take in Palestinian refugees from Gaza. (New York Times)

  
  

• In an interview with Fox News that aired Monday, Trump said he did not think displaced Palestinians would ever return to Gaza. (X)

  
  

• Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said he would stop the so-called “pay-for-slay” program that gave money to families of convicted terrorists and other prisoners. (JTA)

Opinions…

• Trump’s plan for Gaza is awful, argues our senior columnist, Rob Eshman. Also awful: Not a single Democrat has come forward with a compelling alternative.

  
  

• By not focusing on Hamas, the media is failing in its coverage of the war, writes our language columnist Aviya Kushner.

TRUMP’S SECOND TERM

Asylum seekers board a van for transport to a shelter after waiting hours outside U.S. customs on Jan. 21. Many waited months for an appointment only to have them canceled by President Trump’s executive order. (Getty)

Immigration freeze

• The Jewish nonprofit HIAS — along with Church World Service and Lutheran Community Services Northwest — is suing the Trump administration over its freeze on refugee admissions. (JTA)

  
  

• Jewish groups and synagogues are regrouping to figure out how they can help immigrants and refugees at a time when Trump is moving swiftly against them. “We’ve been here 160 years,” said Stacey Shor of JCFS Chicago. “We’ve made it through administrations, recessions, wars, two pandemics. We’ll be here.” (JTA)

  
  

• An 89-year-old Iranian Jew arrived just before U.S. borders were shut to refugees. Hundreds more Iranian Jews are waiting. (J. The Jewish News of Northern California)

CULTURE

Kanye West and his wife, Bianca Censori, at the Grammy Awards last week in Los Angeles. (Getty)

Wild West

• Kanye West left X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, after making a series of antisemitic posts, including calling himself a Nazi. (JTA)

  
  

• An X account impersonating West’s wife, Bianca Censori, blessed the Jewish people and thanked President Trump for his work in getting Israeli hostages released. X allows anyone to buy a verified check mark for $8. (Hollywood Reporter)

  
  

• West bought a Super Bowl ad that aired in some local markets, promoting a website with only one item for sale: a $20 T-shirt with a swastika on it. “There’s no excuse for this kind of behavior,” the Anti-Defamation League said in a statement. (CNN, Forward, JTA)

More on the Super Bowl…

• The halftime show was a “a commentary on fascism in their near goose-walking step,” writes our Mira Fox. “It seems clear that any references to Nazism were not endorsements but criticisms of America’s increasing affinity for the authoritarianism of the Third Reich.”

  
  

• Did the weekly Torah portion predict the winner? The section of the Book of Exodus we’re reading in synagogue speaks poorly of “red chiefs” and positively of the “wings of eagles.” I spoke with spiritual leaders in Philadelphia, who offered many biblical lessons from the big game.

  
  

• The NFL banned for life the protester who crashed the halftime show and displayed a combined Palestinian and Sudanese flag, ESPN reports.

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Jake Paul, seen here defeating Mike Tyson in a November boxing match, revealed on Monday that he is Jewish. (Getty)

On campus…

🛑  A scheduled event today with a convicted member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine at the Georgetown University Law Center was postponed. (Jewish Insider)

🎒  The founder of Mothers Against College Antisemitism encouraged the group’s more than 61,000 followers to alert immigration officials about students who support Hamas and can be deported under a new executive order. (New York Times)

🤔  An upcoming Supreme Court case may determine whether public schools should be allowed to promote religion. It could pave the way for publicly funded Jewish day schools. (JTA)

And elsewhere…

🇬🇧  UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer fired a government minister and suspended him from the Labour Party after leaked WhatsApp messages revealed antisemitic, racist and sexist jokes. The MP later apologized. (Haaretz)

🍿  The Berlin Film Festival, which kicks off Thursday, features an eclectic group of movies, including one featuring a roller-skating Hitler in 1980s attire. (Hollywood Reporter)

🥊  Jake Paul, the social media star-turned boxer, revealed on Monday he is Jewish, in a video featuring a Chabad emissary wrapping him in tefillin. He grew up attending church, but recently discovered that his maternal grandmother was Jewish. (Jerusalem Post)

Transitions ► The Jewish Electorate Institute named Joel Rubin its new executive director … 18Doors, a nonprofit that encourages Jewish communities to embrace interfaith couples, named Mike Wise its new CEO.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

At a talk he gave last week at Columbia University, comedian Alex Edelman revealed that his bar mitzvah coincided with Purim. He went on to sing the opening verses of the Book of Esther — in Hebrew, with cantorial notes and by heart.

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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