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JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT. |
WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION |
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Good morning. Today: Settler activists trespass into Gaza, Jewish students testify to Congress about campus antisemitism, and Prince William visits a London synagogue. |
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ISRAEL AT WAR |
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A person holds a sign during a vigil for Aaron Bushnell at the U.S. Army Recruiting Office in Times Square. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) |
Opinion | Society agrees suicide is a tragedy. Why would anyone praise the immolation that took an airman’s life? Aaron Bushnell, 25, died after setting himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. last Sunday. Many on social media have rushed to herald him as a “martyr,” writes Michal Lev-Ram — a response that ignores how dangerous it can be to discuss suicide on social media, let alone praise it. Read her essay ➤
Plus: Blacks and Jews are at odds over the war. Focusing on Israel will hurt both communities. In Black and Jewish communities alike, the war is dominating every conversation, writes Tamar Manasseh, a Black rabbi in Chicago. But with the United States facing a crucial election with major ramifications for the future of democracy, American Blacks and Jews need to find common ground in fighting for our shared future. “While I care deeply for Israel,” Manasseh writes, “I care for my neighbors, too.” Read her essay ➤
More from Opinion: “After more than 100 Gazans died trying to access food, will the world finally address their starvation?” asks our deputy opinion editor, Nora Berman. Read her essay ➤
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Palestinians mourn after a Thursday morning incident killed more than 100 gathered around a humanitarian aid convoy. (AFP via Getty Images) |
Latest from the war… The United States blocked a United Nations Security Council motion assigning blame to Israel for the deaths of more than 100 Gazans seeking food from a humanitarian aid convoy yesterday, after President Joe Biden said his administration was looking into “competing versions of what happened.”
The European Commission lifted its suspension of funds to UNRWA, the U.N. agency that serves Palestinian refugees, releasing a first installment of $54 million.
A group of Israeli settler activists briefly trespassed into Gaza through a military checkpoint while rallying for the reestablishment of Israeli settlements in the strip.
Nine Jewish students testified about campus antisemitism in front of a group of members of Congress, with one University of Pennsylvania student saying, “I’ve been told over and over again that the university is taking these issues seriously, but always — no action.”
A new poll found that Americans, and particularly Democrats, are more divided over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict now than anytime this century. But 56% of respondents still think the U.S. should not take a side in the conflict.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would move forward in developing plans to end exemptions from military service for ultra-Orthodox Jews.
Israel’s war cabinet will take over management of Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque during Ramadan from Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister, after Ben-Gvir called to restrict access to the compound during the monthlong holiday.
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Josh Radnor stars in Itamar Moses’ The Ally. (Joan Marcus) |
How a Jewish playwright’s internal Israel-Palestine debate became a Russian doll of Trojan horses. Itamar Moses, the creative force behind the Tony Award-winning musical The Band’s Visit, is making a splash with his latest work at Manhattan’s Public Theater: The Ally, a couldn’t-be-more-timely play about a leftist Jewish playwright and professor. “For weeks after Oct. 7, it was harder to think of a lower stakes question than ‘What does this all mean for my Off-Broadway play?’” Moses told Dan Friedman. “At the same time, I had to deal with it.” Read the story ➤ |
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ALSO IN THE FORWARD |
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Lee Krasner in East Hampton, 1953. (Getty Images) |
‘A Jewish woman, a widow, a damn good painter and a little too independent’ — reclaiming Lee Krasner’s legacy. Krasner, an artist who was married to Jackson Pollock until his death in 1956, was much more than just his partner and then widow. But her first solo show, in 1951, wasn’t the major art world debut she’d hoped for: Not a single painting from the exhibit sold. Now, the two paintings from the show that Krasner left untouched afterward, as she destroyed the rest of the works she’d displayed, have finally been reunited. |
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Calvin Trillin, who made his name covering the Civil Rights Movement and the American South, published his most recent book in February. (Getty Images, Random House) |
Writers beware: Reading this journalist’s reflections on life may cause extreme jealousy. Calvin Trillin’s new book, The Lede: Dispatches from a Life in the Press, is a grand display of the deft touch that made Trillin a beloved cultural figure, writes Curt Schleier, with Trillin deploying an “almost poetic flair that captures the essence of his subject far better than a camera.” |
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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
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More trouble for Elon Musk's X, formerly known as Twitter. (SERGEI GAPON/AFP via Getty Images) |
⚖️ A federal judge expressed skepticism of a suit brought by X, formerly known as Twitter, against a hate speech watchdog that scrutinized the social media platform, owned by Elon Musk. The Center for Countering Digital Hate found the site enabled the spread of hate speech, and has suggested the suit was brought in an effort to silence criticism. (NPR)
🇬🇧 British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the United Kingdom will spend the equivalent of $68 million to protect Jewish communities over the next four years, amid a significant increase in antisemitic incidents in the country after Oct. 7. (Times of Israel)
🍲 Celebrity Israeli-American chef Michael Solomonov’s beloved falafel joint, Goldie, opened its first New York City location — but good luck getting a taste if you don’t work for Google. The new joint is located in the tech behemoth’s Hudson Square campus, and only accessible to employees. (Eater)
🤷♀️ Deborah Feldman, author of Unorthodox, has sparked a conflict in Germany, raising accusations that Jews in the country — where she moved after leaving New York’s Satmar Hasidic community — are engaged in a morally compromised transactional relationship with the state. (Haaretz) What else we’re reading ➤ “Israel-Hamas war brings back pain to Argentine Jewish community decades after major bombing attack” … “In Britain, shockwaves from Israel-Hamas War are jolting domestic politics” … “A seasoned reporter’s eye makes this Holocaust memoir unforgettable.” |
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PHOTO OF THE DAY |
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(Toby Melville - WPA Pool/Getty Images) |
During a Thursday visit to London’s Western Marble Arch Synagogue, Prince William, Prince of Wales, spoke with Holocaust survivor Renee Salt, 94. William, who recently said “too many have been killed” in the course of the war, expressed concern about spiking antisemitism in the United Kingdom during the visit. |
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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