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WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION |
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Today: Harvard’s funding at risk • Podcaster wants ‘final solution’ for Jews • Netanyahu reverses course • LA fire victims gifted new Judaica • And why Cohen is a popular first name for Christians |
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Randy Fine, who is Jewish, and Josh Weil, who is Muslim, are facing off today in a special election in Florida. (Wiki/Getty) |
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Election day
What’s happening: Voters head to the polls today in several races nationwide. We’re keeping an eye on Florida’s 6th District, where Jewish Republican Randy Fine faces Muslim Democrat Josh Weil in a surprisingly close special election for a seat in the U.S. House. Why it matters: The race — to replace Mike Waltz, now Trump’s national security adviser — in deep-red Florida is the first big electoral test for Republicans since Trump returned to office.
Go deeper: Our senior political reporter, Jacob Kornbluh, breaks down the candidates’ positions and how the local Jewish community is responding. |
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Related: A Jew and a Muslim are also facing off in an upcoming election for a City Council seat in Brooklyn, where Israeli issues have taken center stage. (Hell Gate) |
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Pro-Palestinian groups gathered for a protest at Harvard University on Oct. 14, 2023. (Getty) |
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Trump threatens Harvard
Driving the news: The Trump administration is reviewing whether Harvard should continue receiving nearly $9 billion in federal contracts and grants, citing concerns over campus antisemitism and what officials call a failure to protect Jewish students. (Wall Street Journal, Washington Post) Harvard President Alan Garber, who is Jewish, called antisemitism “one of the most insidious forms of bigotry” in a letter to the campus community Monday night, but added that removing this funding would “halt life-saving research.”
The review of funding comes after the administration cut $400 million in federal contracts and grants to Columbia, which is negotiating changes in hopes of restoring the money.
On other campuses… Jewish groups and pro-Israel students are cautiously optimistic and taking a wait-and-see approach to Columbia’s new president, Claire Shipman. (Jewish Insider)
A pro-Palestinian Cornell student, a dual citizen of the U.K. and Gambia who was targeted by immigration officials, said Monday he’s leaving the country, citing safety concerns and fear of detention. (JTA)
A University of Minnesota grad student detained by ICE last week wasn’t involved in campus activism, according to a new lawsuit; instead, his arrest appears tied to a 2023 DUI conviction. (AP, New York Times)
A Minnesota State University student was detained by immigration officials Friday, though the school says it has no information on why the student was targeted. (Minnesota Star Tribune)
The University of Chicago is investigating after a faculty member posted a sign calling to “deport Zionists.” (Chicago Maroon)
A Jewish group released a counterproposal to the Trump administration’s campus crackdown. The Nexus Project warns against using antisemitism to justify deportations and calls for clear distinctions between antisemitism and criticism of Israel. (Axios) |
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Podcast host Stew Peters, left, called for a “final solution” to deport U.S. Jews. (X) |
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And elsewhere… Stew Peters, a popular far-right podcast host, called for a mass deportation of U.S. Jews, adding that “we absolutely do need a final solution on that.” (Forward)
After President Trump withdrew Rep. Elise Stefanik for his pick to be U.N. ambassador, he floated the idea of possibly replacing her with David Friedman, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel. (Jewish Insider)
A majority of Americans (54%) disapprove of Trump’s handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to a new poll. A similar poll in June 2024 found that 73% disapproved of Biden’s handling of the conflict. (X)
Nearly two-thirds of U.S. Jews say Trump’s tense handling of U.S.-Ukraine relations — including a rocky meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — makes them “more concerned” about how he might treat Israel, according to a new survey. (Times of Israel) |
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| Vote for hope. Vote Hatikvah. |
| The World Zionist Congress elections are open! The Hatikvah Slate is a chance to vote your values in the world parliament of the Jewish people and stand up for pluralism, democracy and human rights. Vote Hatikvah Slate (Line #16) to support a vision just Israel, based in equality for all its inhabitants. Together we can end hate, and uphold Israel's highest values. |
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Israelis demonstrate in an anti-government protest Monday outside the Knesset in Jerusalem. (Getty) |
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The latest… Israel’s military issued broad evacuation orders Monday for Rafah and surrounding areas, signaling a possible large-scale ground offensive in Gaza’s southernmost city. (AP)
Israeli forces killed 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers — including at least one United Nations staffer — and buried them in a mass grave in southern Gaza last week, according to the U.N. (Guardian)
Israel launched airstrikes on the outskirts of Beirut Tuesday for the second time in a week, killing three and raising fears that the fragile ceasefire may be collapsing. (New York Times)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reversed course Tuesday morning, scrapping his decision to appoint Eli Sharvit as Shin Bet chief just a day after announcing it, following fierce public backlash. (Times of Israel)
“The top priority is the return of the hostages alone — not the destruction of Hamas, not to destroy infrastructure, not nonsense like that,” said Omer Wenkert, who spent 505 days in captivity in Gaza. (Wall Street Journal) |
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This generous illustration of me and my colleague Mira Fox has given me great hair and height. (Midjourney) |
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Name game
Christians in red states have been giving the first name Cohen to boys, and in blue states naming girls Mira. My colleague Mira Fox and I wrote about the strange confluence and the deeper theological meaning behind it. (And despite the illustration, I'm much shorter than Mira.) Go deeper ►
Our most-clicked story yesterday: The Final Four March Madness tournament will feature three Jewish coaches.
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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
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Etgar Keret at his home in Tel Aviv. (Getty) |
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✍️ The Jewish Theological Seminary is launching an MFA in Creative Writing to be led by Etgar Keret, the celebrated Israeli short story writer. Advisers to the program include Ira Glass, Alex Edelman and Jodi Kantor. (JTS)
🇦🇪 A United Arab Emirates court sentenced three people to death for the killing of Rabbi Zvi Kogan, a Chabad rabbi kidnapped and murdered in November. (AP, JTA)
🛩️ Israel’s National Security Council warned Tuesday that Iran and terror groups like ISIS are planning attacks on Jews and Israelis traveling during Passover. (Jewish Insider)
🇬🇧 The BBC declined offers to provide antisemitism training for its staff, according to the U.K. government’s adviser on antisemitism. (Telegraph)
🖼️ A 17th-century painting stolen by the Nazis in 1940 from a Jewish art collector in Belgium is being returned to the collector’s descendants, after spending 30 years on display at a London gallery. (Guardian, JTA, Reuters)
What else we’re reading ► Will religion’s winning streak at the Supreme Court continue? (New York Times) … In Tennessee’s hills, a developer plans a sanctuary for blue-state Christians seeking refuge (Religion News Service) … Novelist wonders if his Jewish great-grandfather made chemical weapons for the Nazis (Guardian) |
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After wildfires tore through Los Angeles earlier this year, destroying hundreds of Jewish homes, volunteers across the country rallied to replace what flames took: menorahs, kiddush cups and cherished ritual items.
Last week, those donations found their way home. At a special Judaica fair hosted by a local synagogue, fire survivors gathered to rebuild not just their homes, but their Jewish lives. Our reporter Louis Keene was there, hearing from Angelenos about what they lost in the fires — and what they found in this outpouring of community.
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Thanks to Louis Keene and Talya Zax for contributing to today’s newsletter, and to Julie Moos for editing it. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at editorial@forward.com. |
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Today’s newsletter made me: |
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Support independent Jewish journalism |
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Support Jewish journalism this Passover. Your gift will go twice as far with a match by the Forward board. |
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