WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

Biden’s comments on safety of Israel roils some American Jews, University of Texas instructors suspended over pro-Palestinian message, George Clooney’s warning about Hitler, and celebrating Taylor Swift’s birthday with a time-honored Jewish tradition.

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ISRAEL AT WAR

The latest: Ten Israeli soldiers were killed amid heavy fighting in Gaza, Biden’s top adviser headed to Israel Thursday to discuss war timetable, and Israel’s military reportedly began pumping seawater into Hamas’ vast complex of tunnels in Gaza.

President Joe Biden at the White House Hanukkah party on Sunday. (Getty)

President Biden has said a number of times, most recently at the White House Hanukkah party Sunday night, that “Were there no Israel, there wouldn’t be a Jew in the world that is safe.” Some American Jews are taking umbrage at the comments…

Safety first: “He is the president of the United States, a country home to some 7 to 8 million Jews. And as the elected leader of this country, the responsibility for the safety of American Jews — and indeed all Americans — rests with him,” writes Emily Tamkin. Read her essay ➤

A dose of reality: History has “given Jews a finely honed survival instinct, and even though I hear my American Jewish friends talking about hiding their stars of David and their mezuzahs, what I don’t see them doing is packing up for Israel,” writes Rob Eshman. Read his essay ➤

Related: Biden is scheduled to meet today with the families of eight Americans taken hostage by Hamas.

Why an Israel-born comic is hoping his latest act becomes irrelevant as soon as possible

Jewish comedian Shahak Shapira performed standup at a bar in Berlin run by a Palestinian friend. It was a week after the war began. The 25-minute video of that routine — featuring jokes about Hamas and hummus — has been viewed more than 300,000 times.

A tragic comedy: One minute, he’s giving a shoutout to the Germans in the audience: “Feels good, right? I bet there’s a bunch of Germans going, ‘Oh my god, this is so good, this is not our fault this time.’” Then he’s talking about Bono’s tribute to those slain at a music festival in southern Israel. “I will never forgive Hamas,” he says, pausing for effect before adding, “for making me listen to U2.”

A reason to laugh: ​“If you’re able to make fun, to laugh at certain things instead of crying over them, it kind of regains us a piece of power,” said Shapira, whose grandfather Amitzur Shapira was one of 11 Israelis killed by terrorists at the 1972 Olympics in Munich and whose other grandfather was a Holocaust survivor.

Read the story ➤

People visit a memorial in Tel Aviv on Tuesday which recreates the layout of the Nova music festival site. The exhibit includes destroyed cars, tents and damaged personal items recovered from victims of the attack on Oct. 7. (Getty)

Plus…

On social media, some are mining the war for marketing gimmicks: Your eyes are not deceiving you: Yes, the furniture industry did indeed partner with the Anti-Defamation League to condemn Hamas. “Their statement isn’t bad,” writes our digital culture reporter, Mira Fox, “but it is undeniably odd.” Elsewhere, a news article suggested that for stressed-out Israelis, the war could help with weight loss. Read the story ➤

• More than 100 faculty members at the University of Texas are demanding the reinstatement of teaching assistants who were suspended after expressing support for the Palestinian cause.

  
  

• Rutgers University suspended its campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, joining a growing number of universities that restricted the group’s operations as campus activism has spiked since the war began.

  
  

• The Israel Defense Forces said it recovered the bodies of two hostages who were captured by Hamas on Oct. 7. It is believed that 135 hostages remain in Gaza — not all of them alive.

  
  

• A hummus restaurant in Berlin is owned by an Israeli and a Palestinian. After temporarily closing, the eatery reopened — filled with customers showing support for the duo, some seeking an alternative to deep social rifts over the war.

ALSO IN THE FORWARD

Mels Diner, founded by two Jewish businessmen, plays a key role in George Lucas’ film. (Getty)

The secret Jewish history of American Graffiti: George Lucas’ ode to California cruising culture turned 50 this year — and it starts on a very Jewish note: literally. The tune of “Rock Around the Clock,” penned by Jewish songsmiths Max C. Friedman and James Myers kicks off the action as the Jewish-owned diner, Mels Drive-In, is shown and serves as a hub for our heroes. As Seth Rogovoy writes, the Jewish resonances don’t stop there. “Of the 40-odd numbers selected by director George Lucas, fully a quarter are written by Jewish songwriters.”

First-person | A priceless Hanukkah story — and it cost only $70: Our editor-at-large, Robin Washington, remembers walking into a Chicago Judaica store when he was 12 years old and seeing a gilded menorah. The only problem was he couldn’t afford it, but the shopkeeper let him put it on layaway. Now it’s an heirloom destined for his 10-year-old grandtwins.

Plus…

• A Beverly Hills man was attacked on his way to shul this past Shabbat. He read the Torah portion anyway.

  
  

• A Yiddish-speaking Israeli soldier shows us what gift he got for Hanukkah.

  
  

• And happy birthday to Taylor Swift, who has some songs that follow a time-honored Jewish tradition.

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Grzegorz Braun seen shortly after using a fire extinguisher on a Hanukkah menorah in Poland’s parliament building on Tuesday. (Getty)

🔥  A far-right politician in Poland used a fire extinguisher to put out Hanukkah candles in the country’s parliament on Tuesday. Asked to explain the incident afterwards, he said, “Those who take part in acts of satanic worship should be ashamed.” (AP, JTA, Reuters)

🇺🇸  Top White House officials are set to meet with a bipartisan slate of Jewish members of Congress Wednesday as the administration presses for funding for key parts of its national strategy to combat antisemitism, including efforts on college campuses. (JTA)

💰  A New Jersey township will pay $2.2 million to settle a 6-year-old lawsuit that claimed it discriminated against the town’s growing Orthodox community. (Asbury Park Press)

🇦🇷  Argentina’s new president reportedly plans to appoint the rabbi who serves as his spiritual adviser to be the country’s next ambassador to Israel. (Algemeiner)

Quotable ➤  “Everybody knew Hitler was kind of a bad guy. [They] had no idea how much worse it was going to get” — George Clooney talking about his new movie, The Boys in the Boat, which tells the story ​​of the University of Washington crew team that represented the U.S. at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

Mazel tov ➤  To Zvika Klein on becoming the new editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post.

Shiva call ➤  George Cohon, the chairman of McDonald’s in Canada and in Russia who used “hamburger diplomacy” to bring Big Macs to Moscow, died at 86.

What else we’re reading ➤  A non-Jewish writer explains why she loves her mezuzah … New documentary tells the story of queer religious families in the Midwest … The Brooklyn Seltzer Museum tells the fascinating history of “Jewish champagne.”

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Michael Rapaport, the Jewish American actor, appeared in a sketch on a popular Israeli satirical TV series Tuesday night, poking fun at the three presidents of Harvard, MIT and and the University of Pennsylvania who have been swept up in controversy over their failure to tell Congress that calling for the genocide of Jews goes against school policy.

Related: This morning’s edition of The Daily podcast from The New York Times offers more context to the testimony of the university presidents.

Thanks to Talya Zax 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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