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WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

Today: Hezbollah fires rockets into Haifa, Trump claims he went to Gaza, masked protesters surround home of Jewish congressman, new book offers guide for old Jewish men, and the star of a Mormon university’s football team is a Jewish quarterback.

ONE YEAR LATER

Clockwise from top left, our reporters in Israel over the past year: Laura Adkins, Jacob Kornbluh, Arno Rosenfeld and Susan Greene.

The Forward’s $1,000 flak jacket: The tale of an Israeli talisman

“It’s been lugged through bombed-out kibbutzim, dragged around East Jerusalem in a garbage bag, and mocked by locals as it hung from a balcony in Jaffa,” writes my colleague Beth Harpaz. “It’s been secured by strangers amid crying babies and guitar-playing teenagers; left in a hallway with a mysterious package of cookies, and transported around the country by taxi and military van.”

It’s a flak jacket that a frantic Forward journalist bought for $1,000 in the first days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, and its odyssey is something of a window into our coverage of the war that has raged ever since.

Rabbi Aaron Alexander, right, joins First Lady Jill Biden and President Joe Biden as they lit a yahrzeit candle at the White House to mark the first anniversary of the Hamas attack. (Getty)

The anniversary on the campaign trail…

• President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden lit a yahrzeit candle at the White House, as a rabbi recited the El Maleh Rachamim prayer, traditionally said in times of mourning.

  
  

• Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, planted a pomegranate tree — a Jewish symbol of hope and renewal — at their Naval Observatory residence.

  
  

• A group of 25 imams endorsed Harris, and said “she is a committed ceasefire candidate” and “far outweighs the harms of the other options.”

  
  

• Former President Donald Trump visited the grave of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in New York, and then flew to Florida where he hosted an event with Jewish leaders at his golf resort. “I will not allow another Holocaust of the Jewish people,” he told the crowd.

  
  

• Trump did a radio interview Monday where he said, “I did more for the Jewish people than anybody — and it’s not reciprocal.” Trump also claimed he had been to Gaza. His campaign later clarified that “Gaza is in Israel. President Trump has been to Israel.”

  
  

• The vice presidential nominees also took part in anniversary-related events, with Gov. Tim Walz touring a Los Angeles exhibit about the massacre at the Nova music festival and Sen. JD Vance speaking at a pro-Israel rally in Washington, D.C.

Columbia University students held dueling rallies on campus Monday. (Getty)

Protests and vandalism…

“Virtually every campus Hillel planned a vigil of some kind, and Jewish federations planned hundreds of other community events,” reports The Washington Post. “For some pro-Palestinian activists, Monday was a fresh opportunity to protest.” Some highlights…

• Thousands descended on Central Park for a pro-Israel rally featuring speeches from survivors, and a lighting of memorial candles by Gov. Kathy Hochul, Sen. Chuck Schumer and other state politicians.

  
  

• Not far away, near Columbus Circle, pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched down the street. Some praised the Hamas attack and carried a flag reading “Long live Oct. 7.”

  
  

• Protesters at Columbia University shouted “Free, free Palestine,” and “There is only one solution, intifada revolution.”

  
  

• Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators rallied at the University of Pennsylvania. Four were arrested amid clashes with police.

  
  

• Masked anti-Israel activists set up an encampment outside the Cincinnati home of a Jewish congressman.

  
  

• Vandals sprayed “Free Palestine” and “Intifada” on an office building of the Jewish Federation of Detroit. Vandals also struck the homes of the University of Michigan’s president and chief investment officer.

  
  

• Vandals tagged Manny’s Restaurant in San Francisco, which is owned by an Israeli, with antisemitic graffiti.

  
  

• A mural in Milan that depicts a woman fleeing the Nova music festival was defaced on Monday.

Pope Francis at church this past Sunday in Rome. (Getty)

Plus…

• Pope Francis called for Catholics to fast on Monday. Jews around the world fasted on Sunday instead. Here’s why.

  
  

• Hezbollah launched at least 85 rockets into Haifa Tuesday, causing damage and at least one injury.

  
  

• Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of a hostage, was invited to speak at an anniversary event in D.C. hosted by the American Jewish Committee. He used the public forum to lambaste Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

  
  

• The cover of the new issue of Time magazine features hostage families.

  
  

• After a year of war, hatred is the only winner, writes Roger Cohen in an opinion essay for The New York Times.

  
  

• What we’re listening to ► Our editor-in-chief, Jodi Rudoren, stopped by the Politicology podcast to talk about the anniversary, among other things. Listen here.

Peruse more stories about the anniversary ►

ALSO IN THE FORWARD

A page from a new guide to old Jewish men. (Workman Publishing)

Old Jewish men — and all aspiring to that status — now have a guide of their own:Have you ever felt like Jewish guys of a certain age have it all figured out? If yes, there’s now a handy primer: The Old Jewish Men’s Guide to Eating, Sleeping and Futzing Around. “I think that these guys kind of exude truth,” said author Noah Rinsky, who’s only 35.

For the birds: With the escalating conflict on the Lebanese border, a Haifa couple seeking safety in the U.S. sent our Bintel Brief advice column an intriguing question. They’ve been offered free accommodations in a multimillion-dollar home, on one condition: in return, they would need to talk to and feed two parrots. Should they do it? Read our answer.

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Jake Retzlaff of the Brigham Young Cougars celebrates after a recent win over the Baylor Bears. (Getty)

🏈  Brigham Young University in Utah is a Mormon school. Its star player is Jake Retzlaff, the first Jewish starting quarterback in the program’s history. (USA Today)

👮  Police arrested a suspect in the armed robbery that took place at the home of a University of Michigan rabbi who was hosting students for dinner on the first night of Rosh Hashanah. (JTA)

👋  Australia passed a nationwide ban on the Nazi salute in December. On Tuesday, the first person in the Australian state of Victoria was convicted, and could face a year in prison. (AP)

Shiva calls ► Lore Segal, who was rescued by the Kindertransport and wrote novels about young Jewish refugees, died at 96 … Elhanan Tannenbaum, an Israeli businessman taken hostage by Hezbollah in 2000 and released four years later, died at 78.

What else we’re reading ► Jewish Broadway stars surprise New York shul with performance during Rosh Hashanah services … He founded the Harlem Globetrotters and is the shortest man in the basketball hall of fame. A new book tells his story.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

🥣  In the above video, Adam Brody and Kristen Bell taste-test their favorite matzo ball soups while chatting about their new Netflix romcom, Nobody Wants This, about a rabbi who falls in love with a non-Jewish sex podcaster. Come for the puns, stay for Brody revealing that he met his wife, Leighton Meester, at LA’s Canter’s Deli.

Thanks to PJ Grisar, Olivia Haynie and Lauren Markoe 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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