WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

Congress may vote on Israel aid this week, ADL says ad comparing Trump to Hitler “denigrates” Holocaust, Pope condemns rising antisemitism, and a sneak peek at a Jewish Super Bowl ad.

THE GRAMMY AWARDS

Singer Montana Tucker, the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, arrived at the Grammys Sunday night wearing a large yellow ribbon with the words “Bring Them Home” on it, to bring attention to the hostages still held by Hamas. (Getty)

The Grammys were held in Los Angeles Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena (yes, it’s really called that). Below, courtesy of our culture reporter PJ Grisar, are the Jewish highlights, including some of this award seasons’ first mentions of the Israel-Gaza war.

The band boygenius (yes, they lowercase their name) wore pins from the group Artists4Ceasefire on their matching suits; singer-songwriter Montana Tucker, whose grandparents were Holocaust survivors, wore a large yellow ribbon with the words “Bring Them Home” on her dress on the red carpet.

Annie Lennox, in her tribute to the late singer Sinead O’Connor, ended her performance by holding up her fist and saying, “Artists for cease-fire. Peace in the world.” Lennox was previously married to Israeli human rights activist and film producer Uri Fruchtmann. Her current husband, Mitch Besser, is also Jewish.

In a speech, Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, mentioned the 364 victims of the Nova music festival and called music a great connector. He revealed that the quartet of musicians in front of him, underscoring his remarks, were of Israeli, Arab and Palestinian descent. “Now is the time for us, for humanity, to play together, to come together, with empathy and with love,” Mason said.

Dua Lipa kicked off the night with a medley that included a tribute to a Hungarian-born son of a rabbi: her song “Houdini.”

Host Trevor Noah forced a mishpacha moment, urging Meryl Streep to join the table of producer Mark Ronson, her Jewish son-in-law.

Here’s a complete list of winners.

ISRAEL AT WAR

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken departs Joint Base Andrews Sunday for his fifth trip to the Middle East since the war began. (Getty)

Jewish nonprofit workers face pushback calling for Gaza cease-fire: “Many top rabbis and Jewish leaders expressed unwavering solidarity with Israel in the aftermath of Oct. 7 and argued that a cease-fire would leave Hamas in power and allow it to continue attacking Israelis,” writes our Arno Rosenfeld. “But younger Jews — including those working at Jewish nonprofits and synagogues — are far more likely to take a dim view of Israel’s response to the Hamas attack.” Read the story ➤

House Democrats open to supporting GOP’s stand-alone Israel aid bill: Speaker Mike Johnson offered up a $17.6 billion package to help Israel fight Hamas, but refused to include money for Ukraine, or to compromise on immigration issues. The White House called the tactic a “political game,” but House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said “we will evaluate that legislation over the next few days.” Read the story ➤

Meanwhile: In the Senate, bipartisan negotiators unveiled a plan Sunday to cut down on illegal border crossings, while bolstering aid to both Israel and Ukraine. A vote is expected this week.

Plus…

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting the Middle East this week in an effort to secure a truce in the war.

A college student in Berlin beat a Jewish classmate until he was hospitalized after the two got into an argument Friday night about the Israel-Hamas war, police said.

In her latest column, our editor-in-chief, Jodi Rudoren, explains two seemingly bold Biden administration steps to crack down on terror in the Middle East.

‘CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM’

Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm has given us many quintessential Jewish episodes. (HBO)

The 18 most Jewish episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm: For 12 seasons, the latest of which premiered Sunday night, Larry David has added unconsidered new dimensions to Jewish existence — or, more accurately, unnecessarily added to our collective tsuris. But what are the most Jewish episodes? Our PJ Grisar thought that a normal ranking wouldn’t be appropriate, so he sorted the 18 most notable instances of Yiddishkeit — from the unspeakable to the prophetic — into three different boxes to represent the multifaceted Larry. See the list ➤

Related….

David said his favorite episode of the entire series is the one where he feels guilty eating at a Palestinian chicken restaurant. Our Hollywood-based reporter, Louis Keene, spoke with Curb’s cast and crew to find out how that episode came together.

In Sunday’s episode, David hinted that this season’s storyline may take him to Israel. Oh, and he taught viewers a Yiddishism, referring to a hotel housekeeper as a “farbisiner,” a sourpuss, and also the likely inspiration for Austin Powers’ Frau Farbissina, played by Jewish actress Mindy Sterling.

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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

A digital billboard truck sponsored by the Lincoln Project last month in New Hampshire. (Getty)

🛑 The Anti-Defamation League is calling on the Lincoln Project, a super PAC run by a group of “never Trump” Republicans, to pull a new ad that draws parallels between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Adolf Hitler’s regime in Nazi Germany, saying that the video “denigrates the memory of the 6 million and trivializes the horrific events of the Holocaust.” (Forward)

✍️ In a letter published this weekend, Pope Francis condemned all forms of antisemitism, calling it a “sin against God.” The pontiff also called, once again, for the release of the hostages. (Reuters)

🤦 A toy fidget spinner that can be snapped together in various configurations is being advertised on Amazon in the shape of what looks like a swastika. (Forward)

💻 A BBC employee who promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media has left the company. (Deadline)

🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQ+ Palestinians who are in danger of being persecuted for their sexual orientation can seek asylum in Israel, a Tel Aviv judge ruled on Sunday. (Jerusalem Post)

🤝 This past weekend, synagogues across America observed Refugee Shabbat. The annual tradition began after the 2018 massacre at the Tree of Life in Pittsburgh, where the shooter was fixated on the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, better known as HIAS. (Religion News Service)

Shiva call ➤ Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon, who served as dean of students for three decades at America’s largest yeshiva, died at 86.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

A man named Clarence Jones helped Martin Luther King Jr. draft his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, which King delivered at the 1963 March on Washington. Jones has spent the decades since speaking out against all forms of hate — including both racism and antisemitism.

Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and the Jewish philanthropist behind the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, has purchased an ad during the Super Bowl this coming Sunday that will highlight Jones’ lifelong work.

Watch the video above as Kraft informs Jones of the news.

Thanks to PJ Grisar and Jacob Kornbluh 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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