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JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT. |
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WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION |
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Hostage negotiators hope this week is turning point, how the Israel-Hamas war upended life for Australia’s Jews, security group to teach Jewish students krav maga to counter campus protesters, Tim Walz’s high school used to play ‘Gestapo Game,’ and a rare chance to see inside a Mormon temple. |
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DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION |
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Final preparations were being made at the DNC stage on Sunday in Chicago. (Getty) |
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Our editor-in-chief, Jodi Rudoren, and our senior political reporter, Jacob Kornbluh, are in Chicago this week for the Democratic National Convention. Join Jodi for a conversation on Zoom, and follow Jacob online.
Why Gaza remains a significant challenge for Democrats in the 2024 election
The upshot: The Israel-Hamas war has divided some parts of the party, with Vice President Harris trying to carefully navigate both sides. J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami believes this approach could resonate with many Democratic voters. “I don’t know that people on the extreme fringes will ever be satisfied by balance,” he said.
Timing is everything: Ceasefire-for-hostage talks are continuing this week in Cairo. A breakthrough could give a boost to Harris, with credit going to the aggressive diplomacy from the Biden administration. And it would also likely stave off an Iranian retaliatory strike against Israel.
Unless it’s not: But a temporary six-week ceasefire means it could lead to renewed fighting by election time. “If there is increased fighting in the run-up to the elections, that probably will be more beneficial to Trump,” said Evelyn Farkas, a former Pentagon official in the Obama administration.
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at a campaign rally this month in Las Vegas. (Getty) |
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At the high school where Tim Walz worked, teachers played the “Gestapo Game” in which students were divided into groups: Some would have to wear yellow stars and play Jews, while the others would play the part of Nazi officers. “Trying to simulate the conditions that victims of the Holocaust experienced was absurd,” Walz wrote in his 2001 master’s thesis. Read the story ➤
Plus: What American Jews should know about Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. And catch up on all of our election coverage.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, with Israel's President Isaac Herzog today in Tel Aviv. (Getty) |
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The latest…
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken is in Israel today — his ninth trip since the war began — meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog. On Tuesday, he plans to “travel to Egypt to continue his efforts to broker” a ceasefire agreement, which he described as a “decisive moment” in stopping a wider regional war with Iran and Hezbollah. This is “probably, the best, maybe the last opportunity,” he said.
Asked at a Sunday rally in Pennsylvania about the negotiations in the Middle East, Harris replied: “We are not going to give up,” adding, “We’ve got to get a ceasefire and we’ve got to get these hostages out.” |
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Pro-Palestinian activists rally outside the Sydney Opera House on Oct. 9, 2023, just two days after the Hamas attack. (Getty) |
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You may have heard that a New York Times reporter is being blamed for leaking private information on Australian Jews, which led to doxxing attacks. Read about the Times’ connection here, and read about the toll the attacks have taken on Australia’s Jewish community below…
Jews felt Australia was a safe and boundless space. Then the Israel-Hamas war began, and everything changed: The shaming of hundreds of Australian Jewish artists, musicians and writers played out very much in public, with the release of names and photos and threats, at least one targeting a child. The subsequent harassment, reports Ron Kampeas during a visit to Sydney, “changed how the community, known for its disproportionate number of descendants of Holocaust survivors, views the land they love — a place they thought was far removed from the hatreds that plagued their forebears.” Read the story ➤
Plus… Hamas claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv Sunday which killed the bomber and injured one passerby.
In a West Bank village committed to nonviolence, attacks by Israeli settlers are the new daily norm, writes Rabbi Robin Podolsky in an opinion essay.
Chime in: I’m working on an article tied to the anniversary of Oct. 7 about how Jewish Americans experienced that tragic day. If you have a unique/interesting story, send me an email, and we might include you in the piece. Thanks! |
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READERS LIKE YOU SHAPE EVERY PART OF OUR WORK |
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Reporting on war, antisemitism and a high-stakes election takes resources. Help us expand our ability to bring you independent, unbiased news and analysis. |
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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
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Though unlikely to make the ballot, the referendum in Pittsburgh has prompted a top staffer in the mayor’s office who supported it to resign. (Getty) |
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🇮🇱 A proposed ballot measure in Pittsburgh would prohibit the city from working with companies that do business with Israel. Local rabbis have filed a challenge to the measure, which a judge is reviewing today. (JTA)
🥊 As the fall semester gets underway, “a Jewish community-based security organization will provide students training in hand-to-hand combat — including the Israeli martial art of krav maga — designed to help counter campus intimidation and harassment.” (eJewishPhilanthropy)
⚖️ A judge sentenced a New Jersey man to seven years in prison for a 2023 incident involving arson and antisemitic graffiti. (AP)
🇦🇷 Police arrested seven people on Saturday in Argentina who were allegedly part of an Islamic terrorist organization planning attacks on Jewish targets, including synagogues. (JTA)
⛪ Once a Mormon temple is consecrated, only members of the religion are allowed inside. But a new one was just built in Pittsburgh and will be offering tours to the public for two weeks until it is consecrated. (Religion News Service)
Shiva calls ➤ Charlie Moss, an adman who produced the ubiquitous “I ♥ NY” tourism campaign, died at 85 … Bella Bryks Klein, a major Yiddishist who helped distribute the Forverts in Israel, died at 75.
What else we’re reading ➤ How the Israel-Hamas war could shape next year’s New York City mayoral race … Would Jesus park in a bike lane? For Philadelphia churches, it’s a real question … Jared Kushner wants to turn an ecologically sensitive stretch of Albania into a luxury resort.
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No, that’s not Vice President Kamala Harris extolling the virtues of supporting the Forward. (Although when I met her husband, Doug Emhoff, earlier this summer, he told me he reads our stories.) This photo from a Friday event in North Carolina is simply showing off the tail end of the campaign’s slogan: A new way forward. And the inset is the latest work from Shepard Fairey, the artist behind Obama’s iconic “Hope” poster. Hey, at least they didn’t use the Yiddish version, the Forverts. |
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Thanks to Jacob Kornbluh and Robin Washington 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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