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 | JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT. |
| WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION |
|  | | Today: Vandals hang ‘Wanted’ posters for Jews at university, judge blocks law requiring Ten Commandments in classrooms, DNA project racing to reunite Holocaust survivors, and is the Talmud replacing the Constitution? |
| | |  | Clockwise from top left: Fox News host Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, Rep. Mike Waltz, Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Elise Stefanik. (Getty) |
| You’re hired
President-elect Donald Trump, who will be meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House this morning, made a barrage of hiring announcements Tuesday… Trump nominated former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as the U.S. ambassador to Israel. Huckabee, a Southern Baptist minister who has been leading evangelical trips to Israel for decades, would be the first non-Jew to fill the role in 13 years.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s golf buddy who served as a backchannel to the Jewish business community during the campaign, has been named as the special envoy to the Middle East. Trump and Witkoff’s friendship dates back decades to a ham sandwich incident.
Trump also tapped… Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host and an army veteran, to be secretary of defense John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman, to lead the CIA South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to be homeland security secretary Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead what is being called the Department of Government Efficiency
This round of announcements follows the ones Monday that included two Jewish advisers and people in positions to influence the U.S. relationship with Israel: Stephen Miller as White House deputy chief of staff; Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of state; Rep. Elise Stefanik as ambassador to the U.N.; Rep. Mike Waltz as national security adviser; and former Rep. Lee Zeldin to lead the EPA.
Opinion…
Many of the above people are staunchly pro-Israel and share unwavering support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mocking the Arab Americans who voted for Trump, argues our senior columnist Rob Eshman in a new essay this morning. Huckabee once said there “is no such thing as a Palestinian” and that the West Bank is not occupied.
Rubio said he does not support a ceasefire until Israel destroys “every element” of Hamas.
Waltz said members of Congress who supported a ceasefire were “antisemitic,” and promised to give Israel a free hand to attack Iranian nuclear facilities.
Ratcliffe, as a Texas representative, voted for the ban on immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries.
Stefanik recently called to cut off aid for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA), the main supplier of humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza.
Hegseth has said that one day Israel would see the rebuilding of King Solomon’s Temple on the Temple Mount, where Al-Aqsa, one of Islam’s holiest shrines, now stands.
“Many people predicted that taking out their anger on Biden by voting against Harris would backfire on supporters of Palestinian rights,” Rob writes, “and, well, Trump has quickly proven them correct. It is a self-own of biblical proportions.” Read his essay ► |
|  | Assistant football coach Joe Kennedy takes a knee in front of the Supreme Court after his legal case about prayer in public school was argued before the court in April 2022. (Getty) |
| Prayer in public schools
President-elect Trump said this week that he wants to bring prayer back to public schools, where it was deemed unconstitutional by a landmark 1962 Supreme Court ruling.
A school prayer timeline: Since the adoption of the First and Fourteenth Amendments, which deals with the separation of church and state, compulsory prayers were unlawful. But that didn’t stop schools from allowing it. There have been several court cases over the years — including a Rhode Island Jewish family who sued after a rabbi gave a prayer at a middle school graduation — but in recent years the Supreme Court has signaled it’s open to loosening the law. Go deeper ►
Our readers recall times Christianity came up in class: Many wrote that they silently mouthed the word “Jesus” during prayers or choir songs. Others had teachers threaten them with failing grades for not participating in Christmas pageants. We rounded up 12 of their stories. Go deeper ►
Related: A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a new Louisiana law that would have required state schools to publicly display the Ten Commandments starting in January. The judge was responding to a lawsuit brought by a coalition of parents — including three Jewish families. (JTA)
And somewhat related: Sotheby’s plans to auction in December the oldest inscribed stone tablet of the Ten Commandments. The 1,500-year-old marble artifact weighs 115 pounds, making it impractical for a Louisiana classroom. (Sotheby’s)
More on Trump… A California high school teacher was suspended after going on a profanity-laced rant in class, comparing Trump to Hitler, and telling students they could “end up in a concentration camp.” (ABC 7)
A second Trump administration may spur a flood of “rage giving” to causes that the president opposes — like immigration and refugee aid. (Chronicle of Philanthropy)
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| | |  | | Is the Talmud replacing the Constitution?
An antisemitic tweet went viral yesterday claiming the ancient Jewish canon that captures and codifies rabbinic oral debate over the Torah was replacing U.S. law. Jews on social media had fun mocking the post. “Babylonian Talmud or Jerusalem Talmud?” asked one rabbi. “Can’t wait for the Supreme Court ruling on whether a sukkah with an elephant in place of a wall is kosher,” commented one person, recalling an actual Talmudic discussion. “Wait till they get to Yevamos,” read another, referencing the tractate on levirate marriage. Go deeper ►
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|  | Mark Steinbock, right, on his wedding day in 1975 with his father, Mendel, a Holocaust survivor. (Courtesy Steinbock family) |
| A race against time
Mendel Steinbock was born in Demblin, Poland, in 1918 and survived the Holocaust. From a Displaced Persons Camp in Germany after the war, he searched for his eight brothers and sisters through the Red Cross, and decades later looked again for any relative through the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum when it opened in the 1990s. “My entire life,” his son Mark said recently, “I had been told that he had no living relatives.” But that is now changing for the Steinbocks and other families, thanks to a reunion project offering free DNA kits to survivors. Go deeper ►
Plus: A new musical that opened in New York City follows six American students in Cairo during the Egyptian Revolution. It has fresh resonance in light of today’s pro-Palestinian protests.
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| | READERS LIKE YOU SHAPE EVERY PART OF OUR WORKWhile the Forward is now free to read, it isn’t free to produce. As a nonprofit, member-supported newsroom, we answer to our readers, not to institutions. |
| | | WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
|  | A mural in Italy of a Holocaust survivor was literally defaced. (X) |
| Around the globe…
🎨 Vandals scratched out the faces on a Milan mural of two prominent Italian survivors of Auschwitz — politician Liliana Segre and author Sami Modiano. “They can damage walls, but history and its teachings remain intact,” said the president of Italy’s Holocaust memorial museum. (Euronews)
🇮🇷 A C.I.A employee was charged with leaking documents that appeared to show Israeli plans to retaliate against Iran. (NY Times)
🇮🇱 The mother of hostage Sasha Trufanov, 29, said she is relieved to see her son alive after a new video of him was released in which he expressed concern that the government had “forgotten” those held in Gaza as Israel fights Hezbollah up north. (Times of Israel)
🇳🇱 The CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt, visited Amsterdam this week to meet with Dutch leaders and the local Jewish community in the aftermath of a violent attack on Israeli soccer fans. (Jewish Insider)
🇳🇴 Norway unveiled plans to boost spending to combat antisemitism — including more funding for Jewish and human rights centers and sending Norwegian youth to visit concentration camps. (Bloomberg)
And elsewhere…
😲 “Wanted” posters featuring Jewish faculty and Hillel staff were plastered around the University of Rochester. The school has launched an investigation into the vandalism. (CNN)
👏 Kansas City was named the host of the 2026 JCC Maccabi Games. Around 1,000 Jewish teenaged athletes are expected to compete. (Kansas City Jewish Chronicle)
Shiva call ► Frank Auerbach, who escaped Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport and became one of Britain’s most celebrated artists, died at 93.
What else we’re reading ► An Orthodox rabbi on why Jews should thank God for Biden … Rachel Goldberg-Polin on her new normal … 20 Jewish college basketball players to watch this season.
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| | |  | | Israeli President Isaac Herzog met with President Joe Biden Tuesday in the Oval Office for what will likely be their final meeting before Biden leaves office. Herzog gifted Biden an archaeological find with the name Joseph on it. “In the Bible, it says that Joseph will strengthen Israel,” Herzog said. “And clearly, Mr. President, you’ve done that.” (Times of Israel) |
| Thanks to Rob Eshman and Jacob Kornbluh for contributing to today’s newsletter, and to Jodi Rudoren for editing it. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at editorial@forward.com. |
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