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JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT. |
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WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION |
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Good morning. Today: Two scholars of fascism on a troubling new risk in Israel; fewer than 20% of Israeli Jews believe Israeli and Palestinian states could peacefully coexist; and UCLA threatens to withhold degrees from pro-Palestinian protesters. |
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Donald Trump departs the courtroom after being found guilty on all 34 counts in his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court. (Getty Images) |
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Opinion | How much more injustice will Trump’s Jewish supporters tolerate? “Now that Donald Trump is a convicted felon, many American Jews face a difficult moral choice,” writes Jay Michaelson: “Is support for Israel’s right-wing government more important than the rule of law and American democracy as we know it?” As Jewish supporters of the former president have tended to have something of a transactional relationship with him, looking past “the scandals, the dinners with neo-Nazis, and the antisemitic conspiracy theories,” what are the chances, Michaelson asks, that Thursday’s judgment will prove a tipping point? Read his essay ➤
7 Jewish things about the courthouse where jurors deliberated Donald Trump’s fate. “What’s so Jewish about 100 Centre St., the Manhattan courthouse where jurors deliberated Donald Trump’s fate and found him guilty Thursday?” writes our Beth Harpaz. (Also the editor of this newsletter; hi, Beth!) The answer: “Plenty, starting with the architect who designed it, a mysterious shofar and Trump’s claim that a famous Jewish billionaire was behind the case.” Read the story ➤
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Pro-Palestinian activists hold signs during a rally to mark Nakba Day at Tel Aviv University on May 15. (Amir Levy/Getty Images) |
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Opinion | We're Israelis who study fascism. This week, our country took a terrifying step toward the abyss. A bill put forward this week by the National Union of Israeli Students, which reportedly enjoys broad support among Knesset members, “would require universities to fire all academics who express dissent, including tenured professors.” For two scholars of fascism, the proposed law is one of the most startling items yet in a cascade of increasing illiberalism in Israel: Cracking down on political speech in academic environments is a move straight out of the authoritarian playbook. Read their essay ➤
Latest on the war… Only 19% of Israeli Jews believe an Israeli and a Palestinian state can peacefully coexist — one of several headline-making findings in a new Pew study released Thursday. Among the others: 77% of Israeli Arabs and 66% of Israeli Jews are worried about the war “lasting a long time.”
Only one hospital remains functional in Rafah after multiple humanitarian operations, including a field hospital, have been forced to shutter this week.
The Mossad said Thursday that criminal enterprises in Europe had worked as proxies for Iran to strike Israeli targets, including in the lobbing of two grenades at the Israeli Embassy in Belgium last weekend.
Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, reportedly told hostage families on Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government would not end the war in exchange for the release of all the hostages who remain in Gaza.
Slovenia became the latest European country to endorse a motion to recognize a Palestinian state.
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A viral post urges people not to look away from Rafah — but doesn’t show a real image of the camp. (Courtesy of Getty Images) |
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Viral meme urges ‘all eyes on Rafah’ — yet it fails to show Rafah at all. If you’ve spent any time on Instagram this week, you’ve probably encountered an “AI-generated image of endless tents in a desert, neatly arranged in rows,” some of them spelling out the slogan “All Eyes on Rafah.” The need to express some public solidarity with besieged civilians in Gaza is understandable, writes our Mira Fox. “But there’s a clear irony to a viral image urging onlookers to keep their eyes on Rafah when the image itself is not of Rafah — or of anywhere. The computer-generated image bears more resemblance to RVs parked at Burning Man than to the haphazardly assembled tents camps where Gazans have been sheltering for months.” Read the story ➤
The homefront… A U.S. State Department official who resigned Tuesday said much of a State Department report that cleared Israel of responsibility for impeding aid deliveries to Gaza was “patently false,” and contravened expert perspectives within the department.
UCLA threatened to withhold degrees from at least 55 students who were arrested during a raid on the campus’ Gaza solidarity encampment early this month.
The share of Americans who have confidence in Netanyahu has risen by 11 percentage points in the last year, per a new Pew analysis. At the same time, 10% fewer Israelis view the U.S. favorably than did so last year.
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The joys and challenges of parenting an energetic 6-year-old. (Illustration by AI via Canva/Beth Harpaz) |
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A rambunctious child is driving Mom nuts. What can she say besides ‘Stop’ and ‘Don’t’? For the latest installment of our Bintel Brief advice column, Beth Harpaz — yes, there she is again: hi! — consulted a dozen parents, grandparents and teachers for tips to advise a mother whose 6-year-old son is, well, a handful. One of the many suggestions: “Their minds are like sponges at this age, so take advantage of that nerdiness. And provide activities that engage body and mind: clay he can knead, puzzles to piece together, blocks he can build into towers and knock down.” |
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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
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Elon Musk. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images) |
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⚖️ A Texas judge ruled Wednesday that a Jewish college student's defamation lawsuit against Elon Musk can proceed. Ben Brody, 23, says Musk amplified a false accusation that he attended a neo-Nazi rally last year. (Reuters)
🚓 The man who allegedly attempted to ram Orthodox students outside a Brooklyn yeshiva on Tuesday was charged with hate crimes. (JTA)
📺 The United Kingdom’s Labour Party barred a candidate from standing for election over 14 social media posts she had liked — including a Jon Stewart video criticizing the discourse around Israel from 2014. (Forward)
👀 A Vancouver comics festival banned an Israeli-American artist because of her past service in the IDF. (JTA)
❗ Vanity Fair France apologized for editing a Palestinian flag pin out of a Cannes Film Festival portrait of Australian actor Guy Pearce. (Variety)
What else we’re reading ➤ Gaza’s “Great Omari Mosque, built on an ancient holy site, is one of the many treasured landmarks damaged in Israel’s military offensive” … “An ancient manuscript up for sale gives a glimpse into the history of early Christianity” … “A Jewish veteran from London prepares to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.”
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(Rina Castelnuovo-Hollander) |
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An Israeli husband and wife hugged at the Gaza border Wednesday as he prepared to board an army convoy to return to war inside Gaza. |
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Thanks to Benyamin Cohen 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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