Good morning! I’m Talya Zax, the Forward’s innovation editor, filling in this week on the Forwarding desk. Today: the rare musical that “isn’t even a little bit Jewish,” a Jewish French politician gets acquitted of Holocaust denial, and a triumphant artistic return to a site of Nazi horror. |
Tucker Carlson has been criticized for advancing the ideas behind replacement theory. (Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty) |
Today, we take a closer look at replacement theory, the conspiracy that appears to have fueled the suspected shooter behind Saturday’s massacre at a Buffalo supermarket. Also known as the great replacement theory or white replacement theory, it’s a decades-old falsehood in new packaging, suggesting that nefarious forces are conspiring to replace white, European populations with immigrants, people of color and Jews. In a 180-page screed, the Buffalo gunman made clear how deeply this conspiracy theory, which has thrived on online forums and right-leaning TV programs — most notably, Tucker Carlson’s on Fox News — influenced his thinking. We have several articles examining how the theory reentered mainstream thinking, and why it’s so dangerous. Carlson, in his first show since the shooting, stuck with the notion that the best defense is a good offense. The TV host’s rhetoric has been under intense scrutiny recently for advancing many of the ideas mentioned in the shooter’s manifesto. Our opinion editor, Laura E. Adkins, watched his show Monday night and argues that in trying to place blame for the shooting on Democrats’ attitudes toward free speech, Carlson made clear how difficult it will be to stop the spread of racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories. Read her column ➤ Four reasons replacement theory has become so widespread, and so dangerous. Don’t particularly want to think about replacement theory, let alone discuss it? Ignorance is no longer an option, writes Aviya Kushner, our language columnist. With new data suggesting 32% of Americans — and nearly half of Republicans — believe the basic ideas behind the theory, it is simply too popular to brush aside. How did it get that way? Media, media, media — plus an international cadre of politicians invoking it, and ready access to guns. Read the story ➤ If you think the forces behind replacement theory are new in the U.S., you don’t know your history. In remarks about the shooting, President Joe Biden asked the American people to “address the hate that remains a stain in the soul of the country.” That phrasing is similar to things Biden has said in response to prior tragedies — and brings up the question of what, exactly, the soul of the country might be. That has long been a question without a clear answer, writes our Robert Zaretsky. But one thing is apparent: “racism and violence have long been part of who ‘we’ are as a nation.” Read the essay ➤ Plus: A primer on what replacement theory is, where it’s appearing today, and what it has to do with Jews. Read the story ➤ |
Adolf Hitler appears in the first-ever Volkswagen “Beetle,” produced in 1937. (Getty Images)
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‘Nazi Billionaires’: New book chronicles the exploits of wealthy dynasties who cozied up to the Third Reich:Financial incentives fostered popular support for the Hitler’s regime from families that today own German auto companies such as BMW, Porsche and Volkswagen; European luxury hotels; and American brands including Krispy Kreme, Panera Bread and Dr Pepper. “It is galling to learn how readily these businessmen — whose 1930s empires included weapons manufacturing, energy, transportation and banking — agreed to fund the Nazi Party,” Julia M. Klein writes in a review. Read the story ➤ The latest New York Congressional maps pit two veteran pro-Israel House members against each other: U.S. Rep Jerry Nadler announced he would challenge Rep. Carolyn Maloney, meaning New York will lose decades of seniority in the House — and, possibly, its only Jewish representative. Our senior political correspondent, Jacob Kornbluh, walks through other implications for Jewish communities and issues from the redrawn maps. Read the story ➤ Why ‘The Music Man’ was the last great goyish musical. Stephen Sondeim, Rogers and Hammerstein, Jerome Robbins — there’s no denying Jews have become synonymous with the great American musical. But a buzzy revival of “The Music Man” reminds us of a time when Broadway could be, well, distinctly more goyish. Read the story ➤ |
WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
A memorial in Jerusalem’s Old City to those killed in the 2021 Mount Meron disaster. (Ahmad Gharabli/Getty) |
🎟️ On the eve of Lag B’Omer, new security measures have been enacted at Mount Meron, where a popular holiday festival last year resulted in 45 deaths during a stampede. But scalpers are attempting to subvert new restrictions on attendance by selling forged tickets. (Times of Israel) 😩 A new data leak reflects the extent of China’s ongoing genocide against the Uyghurs. In one county, nearly 1 out of every 25 people has been imprisoned on charges related to terrorism — the highest rate of imprisonment anywhere in the world. (Associated Press) 🤒 Israel has scrapped a policy requiring travelers to test negative for COVID. As of Saturday, passengers will not be required to test either before boarding a plane headed for Tel Aviv or upon arrival. (Haaretz) ⚖️ Éric Zemmour, the Jewish French right-wing politician who recently ranked fourth in the first round of French presidential elections, was acquitted on charges of Holocaust denial by the Appeals Court of Paris. (JTA) 🎻 Nazis built Germany’s Peenemünde Power Station as a home for their rocket and nuclear weapon development programs. Next week, the New York Philharmonic is scheduled to perform a program of music by Jewish composers at a festival that’s taken up residence in the plant — including work by Andre Previn, who escaped the Holocaust. (Broadway World) 🇱🇧 Hezbollah lost its hold on parliament in Lebanon. The Iran-backed group’s coalition majority fell in elections that came on the heels of serious criticism of the party, particularly in relation to the country’s recent economic devastation. (CNN) 💸 A Hasidic family returned a wallet containing $1,400 to the Bronx man who lost it with the help of State Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein. The Brooklyn family’s mitzvah, Eichenstein said, is an example of “how we’re supposed to treat each other.” (New York Jewish Week) 👽 Today, Congress is slated to hold its first public hearings on UFOs in half a century. We know what you need to prepare: The secret Jewish history of UFOs — and the tantalizing question of whether one appears in the Bible. (Forward) What else we’re reading ➤ Meet the Jewish couples’ therapist enthralling television audiences — and helping out some marriages on the way … What to do when there are no Jewish rites for mourning a stillbirth … Books for the children in your life during Jewish American Heritage Month. |
On this day in history: Bob Saget, the actor who became known as “America’s dad” when he played Danny Tanner on the beloved sitcom “Full House,” was born on May 17, 1956. Saget, who was also host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” had a dirty sense of humor that would have made his most famous character squirm. He died suddenly in January at age 65, and Netflix is set to release a comedy tribute to him on June 10. Last year on this day, we reported on the Reform movement’s cover-up of what an investigation called the “sexually predatory behavior” of one of its most prominent rabbi. On the Hebrew calendar, it’s the 16th of Iyar, the first day that manna fell from heaven, as described in the Book of Exodus. |
In October 2020, our editor-in-chief, Jodi Rudoren, sat down with a group of experts on disinformation and hate groups to discuss the conspiracy theories that had proliferated in advance of that fall’s presidential election. More than 18 months later, the president has changed, but many of the alarming trends spotlighted in that conversation have grown stronger. It’s a conversation worth revisiting. ––– Play today’s Vertl puzzle (aka the Yiddish Wordle) Thanks to Benyamin Cohen and Lauren Hakimi for contributing to today's newsletter. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at editorial@forward.com. |
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