CUNY group pledges to help Jews 'unlearn Zionism,' children of Holocaust survivors clash over fortune of pop artist, Ukrainian learns Yiddish to help war effort, and 'When Harry Met Sally' turns 33. |
PRESIDENT BIDEN'S ISRAEL TRIP |
President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Yair Lapid met in Jerusalem Thursday. (Getty) |
President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid signed a four-page agreement Thursday declaring the “unbreakable” and “unshakable” bonds between their two countries. The so-called Jerusalem Declaration includes a U.S. pledge not to allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon and “to use all elements of its national power to ensure that outcome.” On this second day of Biden’s first visit to Israel as president, Lapid told him Iran would only be deterred by a credible military threat. “Words will not stop them, Mr. President,” he said. “Diplomacy will not stop them.” Lapid also said the president’s visit to Saudi Arabia later this week was good for Israel, and that the two had talked about baseball — a subject the Israeli leader admitted he knows nothing about. Biden, for his part, said he had told Lapid “how important it was, from my perspective, for Israel to be totally integrated into the region,” and that his administration — “and, I think the vast majority of the American public” is “completely devoted to your security, without any if, ands or buts, without any doubts about it.” At the signing ceremony, Biden also said he continues to hold out hope for a “lasting, negotiated peace between Israel and the Palestinian people,” what he described as “a two-state solution for two people, both of whom have deep and ancient roots in this land,” with “both peoples enjoying equal measures of freedom.” He noted that the United States had recognized Israel 11 minutes after its Declaration of Independence in 1948 and declared: “It will be the last country in the world ever to walk away from Israel. On Wednesday, Biden had dismissed the Democratic members of Congress who call Israel an apartheid state as a small group that doesn’t affect American military aid to Israel. “There are a few of them,” Biden said in an interview broadcast on Israel’s Channel 12. “I think they’re wrong. I think they’re making a mistake.” Read this story ➤
After the interview, the president sang happy birthday to the anchor. The video went viral.
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President Biden met at Yad Vashem with two Holocaust survivors, Rena Quint (left) and Giselle Cycowicz. The White House is trying to enforce a no-handshake policy on this trip, most likely due to a rise in COVID cases, but Biden is not always sticking to the plan. (Courtesy) |
Biden also visited Yad Vashem, where he became visibly emotional as a cantor recited El Maleh Rachamim, the prayer for the dead. After a wreath-laying ceremony, he knelt to speak with two seated Holocaust survivors, Rena Quint and Giselle Cycowicz. “He told me about the importance of Holocaust education and called us heroes,” Quint said afterwards. Her grandson Yisroel said it was “very emotional” to watch Biden engage with his 86-year-old grandmother on live TV. “My family was thinking of what a beautiful memorial it is to her brothers, David and Yossi, who were both killed at Treblinka and her mother and father, who were also murdered,” he said in an interview. Biden was joined by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, whose stepfather is a Holocaust survivor, and Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, the U.S. special envoy to combat antisemitism. Biden signed the Yad Vashem guest book, writing, “it can happen again unless we remember.” Fun facts: Biden is traveling with a 500-person entourage, including 100 members of the press, and a 60-car motorcade. Like many of his predecessors, he is staying at Jerusalem’s historic King David Hotel, which opened in 1931, though he took meetings Thursday morning at the nearby Waldorf-Astoria (opened in 2014). On Wednesday, he reportedly had a lunch of sabich, a traditional Israeli sandwich stuffed with fried eggplants and hard boiled eggs. ICYMI: Five key moments from Biden’s 49-year history in the holy land.
Follow our senior political correspondent, Jacob Kornbluh, on Twitter throughout Biden’s visit for the latest tidbits.
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Ukrainian Helena Shot, who is not Jewish, wants to help the Yiddish language. (Courtesy) |
A Ukrainian activist is selling Yiddish postcards to help raise money for first-aid kits: Helena Shot left her home in Lviv when the war broke out and sought refuge in the Netherlands. But she has since sought a way to help her home country. Shot is not Jewish and has no Yiddish background, though its remnants surrounded her back in Ukraine. “Recently I’ve been thinking about my mission related to Yiddish even more,” she said, “that what happened to it can happen to the Ukrainian language too, if we don’t win.” Read the story ➤ A new documentary chronicles the improbable triumph of Gabby Giffords:Arizona’s first Jewish congresswoman survived an assassination attempt but retired early from politics due to the injuries she sustained. Instead of being an ending, that became the start of a new chapter, told in a wide-ranging and raw film that spotlights gun violence, an enduring marriage, and a late-in-life bat mitzvah. Our culture critic, Simi Horwitz, writes that it’s “an inspiring story of resiliency and determination.” Read her review ➤
And one more: A group affiliated with the City University of New York has pledged to help Jews on campus “unlearn Zionism.”
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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
Naama Issachar is writing a book about her experience in a Russian prison. (NBC News) |
🇷🇺 The world is watching the case of Brittney Griner, the WNBA star being held in a Russian prison after authorities found hashish oil in her luggage. To better understand what Russian President Vladimir Putin may do, people are turning to Naama Issachar, an American-Israeli who spent 10 months in a Russian prison for having cannabis, and is now speaking out for the first time since her release in 2020. (NBC News) 🎞️ The Polish Film Institute rescinded its funding for a documentary because it includes statements that most Poles didn’t save Jews in World War II. The Israeli-directed film includes an interview with a Holocaust scholar who says, at most, 100,000 Poles out of 21 million saved Jews. The film institute called it “historically inaccurate.” (Haaretz) 🪦 And speaking of Poland … A mass grave containing human ashes equivalent to 8,000 people has been discovered by archaeologists near the former Nazi concentration camp of Soldau, the country’s Institute of National Remembrance said on Wednesday. (BBC) 📝 Police in upstate New York have charged three people with felony hate crimes after the small town of Hornell was blanketed with white supremacist leaflets. The literature, which included the words “Aryan National Army” and an image of a skull inside a swastika, was found at a Black church and a synagogue in the mostly white town of 8,000, as well as in plastic bags weighted down by rocks, a tactic seen in other places and attributed to the Goyim Defense League. (New York Times) 🎨 The daughter of the pop artist Peter Max, a Holocaust survivor, is suing his legal guardian, alleging that she has allowed Max to be overmedicated, improperly disbursed more than $16 million from his estate, and taken away his rescue cats. The guardian is, in turn, suing the daughter, Libra Max, for defamation. Adam Max, Libra’s brother, is backing the guardian in this latest chapter of the artist’s protracted family legal saga. (New York Jewish Week) 🎨 A Toronto artist repainted his mural after a Jewish city council member said that the original included an antisemitic trope. The new version features a Jewish boy wearing a backpack. (Twitter) Mazel tov ➤ To Daria Atamanov, a 16-year-old Israeli rhythmic gymnast, who won two gold medals and one silver at the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama.
What else we’re reading ➤ Abortion doulas look to spiritual rituals as they brace for increased demand … How some Christians are finding faith through Bitcoin … Seven surprising facts about Jewish weddings, courtesy of a new exhibit.
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In this classic scene from 'When Harry Met Sally,' the woman in the back left is director Rob Reiner's mom, Estelle. (Castle Rock Entertainment) |
On this day in history (1989): The romantic comedy “When Harry Met Sally,” written by Nora Ephron and directed by Rob Reiner, was released. One of its most iconic scenes was filmed inside Katz’s Delicatessen in Manhattan: Ryan’s “infamous fake orgasm” scene, which brought huge success to the deli. Reiner, the director, knew that he wanted the customer who declared, “I’ll have what she’s having” after the fake orgasm to be played by an older Jewish woman, so he enlisted his mom. The scene inspired Katz’s to create a “When Harry Met Sally” Fake Orgasm Contest” for the film’s 30th anniversary. Here are 16 fun facts about the movie ➤ The 21st Maccabiah Games, known as the Jewish Olympics, begin Thursday evening in Jerusalem. More than 10,000 participants from 60 countries will compete. In honor of the birthday of Woody Guthrie, one of our greatest Hanukkah songwriters, here’s a video we produced of his “This Land is Your Land” performed in Yiddish. (Guthrie would have been 110 today; he died in 1967 at age 55.)
In honor of National Mac & Cheese Day, check out this recipe for one-pot cauliflower mac and cheese. |
Last year on this day, Netflix debuted “My Unorthodox Life,” a reality series following a former high school Judaics teacher who left her community and entered the world of high fashion. I’ve known the show’s star, Julia Haart, for decades and hosted an hour-long conversation with her in April. We talked about her religious upbringing, the backlash she’s received, and why she’s still proud to be Jewish. ––– Play today’s Vertl puzzle, the Yiddish Wordle Thanks to Zach Golden, Jordan Greene, Jacob Kornbluh, Jodi Rudoren and Talya Zax for contributing to today’s newsletter. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at editorial@forward.com. |
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