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Supreme Court to hear case of Nazi-looted art today, Yeshiva University responds to rape allegation, Orthodox cellist shunned in Italy, and Marvel's new superhero is the son of a rabbi.
TEXAS ATTACK AFTERMATH Well-wishers approach Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker at a solidarity service Monday night. (Photo: Arno Rosenfeld) Two days after the terrifying hostage-taking at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, our Arno Rosenfeld was one of the first journalists to interview Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker and attended the interfaith prayer service he led Monday night. Meanwhile our senior political correspondent, Jacob Kornbluh, reported on how the latest attack is intensifying the debate over the delay in confirming Deborah E. Lipstadt as the special envoy to combat antisemitism.
Time is now: Democrats seized on the attack to bolster their arguments against Senate Republicans’ continued stalemate on confirming Lipstadt to the State Department post, which was recently elevated to ambassador level. “This was an act of terrorism clearly linked to global antisemitism,” said Halie Soifer, chief executive of the Jewish Democratic Council of America. “We know the perpetrator of this incident was foreign and was clearly radicalized abroad.” The ADL’s Jonathan Greenblatt said that confirming Lipstadt “is an opportunity for policymakers on both sides of the political spectrum to take meaningful action in the fight against antisemitism.”
One envoy not enough: Ellie Cohanim, who served as deputy envoy on antisemitism in the Trump administration, argued that even if Lipstadt had started her job, she “would have no domestic mandate.” Those upset by Saturday’s attack should “ask the Biden administration to appoint a domestic antisemitism czar,” Cohanim said. On Sunday, the American Jewish Committee called on the White House to develop a national action plan to fight antisemitism. Read our story here ➤
And Lipstadt herself weighed in on the synagogue attack with this OpEd published this morning in The New York Times.
Texas rabbi details standoff: Gunman ‘literally thought that Jews control the world’: Our Arno Rosenfeld is in Colleyville and interviewed Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker about the 11 hours he was held hostage inside his shul, before staging an escape. The captor “thought he could come into a synagogue, and we could get on the phone with the ‘Chief Rabbi of America’ and he would get what he needed,” Cytron-Walker said. “Every moment was terrifying.” Read the interview ➤
Plus: Leading interfaith solidarity service, rabbi declares: “No one will be saying Kaddish Yatom for me.”
Happening this week: On Wednesday, President Joe Biden is expected to address Saturday’s attack in more detail during a news conference at the White House.
OpEd: In an essay in the Los Angeles Times, the Forward’s Rob Eshman says that the Texas hostage-taking was a symptom of conspiracy theories run amok. ALSO FROM THE FORWARD For decades, a Jewish family has sought the return of its beloved painting — can the Supreme Court make that happen?The justices will begin hearing a case today that centers on a piece of art that the family was forced to sell to the Nazis at a bargain price. Over the decades, it has been smuggled across continents. At stake is more than the painting itself, now valued at $30 million. The court could set a new legal precedent about looted art. Michelle Young, a journalist who majored in art at Harvard, takes a deep dive. Read the story ➤
Jewish challenger compares Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to Hitler: Nikki Fried, a Democratic candidate trying to unseat DeSantis, said he is “trying to govern over the people” in the same way Hitler rose to power. She was referring to the governor’s plan to reinstate the Florida State Guard, a World War II-era civilian military force that served as a replacement for National Guard units deployed abroad. Fried doubled down in a tweet on Sunday: “Choose your own historical example if you want, but it’s the damn truth.” Read the story ➤ WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY The campus of Yeshiva University in Washington Heights. (Getty Images) 🏀 Five months after a Yeshiva University student accused a member of its celebrated basketball team of rape and university officials of mishandling her complaint, the school has restructured its office for handling sexual harassment and assault. The student called it “a step in the right direction.” (Forward)
🎞️ A new film asks an uncomfortable question: How did Holocaust historians come up with the number six million? David Fisher’s latest documentary, the controversial “The Round Number,” explores how the toll was determined. “It’s not only in the Holocaust,” he said. “In all the other genocides, there are no exact figures.” (Haaretz)
😷 Claudio Ronco, an Orthodox Jew and classical cellist, refuses to get vaccinated. He lives in Italy, which requires a “super green pass” proving vaccination to participate in most aspects of public life. Ronco’s prized possession is a cello used by Jewish prisoners forced to perform at Auschwitz. In today’s mandates, he sees echoes of that government overreach. (Washington Post)
🎙️ A Haredi radio host in Israel has been accused of sexually assaulting women and teenaged girls. The news comes weeks after another Haredi talk show host, the children’s book author Chaim Walder, killed himself after similar allegations, sparking a reckoning within the community. A lawyer for the newly accused host cautioned against “the temptation to publish false information,” saying that these days, “attributing sexual abuse to the ultra-Orthodox gets a higher-than-usual rating.” (Times of Israel)
📺 CBS is being sued for its depiction of a torture device called the “God Helmet” in one of its TV series. Turns out someone else owns the trademark to that name for an actual device that claims to simulate “a religious experience.” (Hollywood Reporter)
Mazel tov ➤To the Erinnerungsort Badehaus, a museum built at the location of a post-Holocaust displaced-persons camp. It is slated to receive an Obermayer German Jewish History Award at the Berlin Parliament on Jan. 25. Among those who nominated the museum for the award is Samuel Norich, former CEO of the Forward and president of its governing board, who lived in the camp in the 1950s.
ON THE CALENDAR Pier Angeli (left) and Danny Kaye (right) on set with their co-star, Chim the chimpanzee. (Getty Images) On this day in history: Danny Kaye, a performer who honed his skills as a tummler in the Borscht Belt, was born in Brooklyn on Jan. 18, 1911. He starred on radio, Broadway, in films and television. He hosted the Oscars and won Emmys. In later years, he taught Chinese cooking classes and founded the Seattle Mariners baseball team. Amid that long and storied career, Kaye, who died in 1987, might be remembered most for his tireless charity work for UNICEF.
Last year on this day, we reported how there were enough Jews for a minyan in President Biden’s new administration.
In honor of National Winnie the Pooh Day, check out our secret Jewish history of the beloved children’s book character. Did you know it’s been translated into Yiddish?
VIDEO OF THE DAY Marvel fans scrambled Monday night to watch the trailer for “Moon Knight,” in which Oscar Isaac plays a character who is the son of a rabbi who escaped the Holocaust.
Moon Knight has a mental illness called dissociative identity disorder and, in the clip above, is lost in an effort to reject his mercenary past. In the comics, this also meant spurning his Orthodox Jewish roots for a time. Whether he will come to terms with that part of his identity – or if this film version even addresses his Jewish background – remains to be seen. We should get answers on March 30, when the show debuts on Disney+.
––– Thanks to PJ Grisar, Jacob Kornbluh and Arno Rosenfeld for contributing to today’s newsletter. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at editorial@forward.com.
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