WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

Today: Egypt has plan to sideline Hamas • Air France mislabeled non-kosher meal to serve Orthodox family • Musk amplifies conspiracy theory about Jewish diplomat • and Amazon’s King David series has Game of Thrones vibes.

ON POLITICS

Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, and President Donald Trump, take questions from reporters Monday at the White House. (Getty)

Trump’s speech

President Donald Trump is set to address a joint session of Congress tonight in a nationally-televised speech. It will have the look and feel of a State of the Union, but is not called that in the first year of a presidency.

He is expected to talk about his decision to temporarily suspend military aid to Ukraine following his contentious meeting on Friday with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Over the weekend, Russia’s foreign minister called Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, a “pure Nazi” and a “traitor to the Jewish people.” (Times of Israel)

Trump is also expected to talk about the war in Gaza and the release of the remaining hostages, including Edan Alexander, the sole surviving American held by Hamas.  

• Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat from New Jersey, will host Alexander’s parents as his guests for Trump’s speech. Gottheimer was in Qatar last month to advocate for Alexander’s release. (New Jersey Globe)

  
  

• House Speaker Mike Johnson invited as his guest Noa Argamani, freed by Israeli forces in June after being held hostage by Hamas. (Time)

  
  

• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer invited as his guests the parents of two Americans who were killed by Hamas: Ruby Chen, the father of Itay Chen; and Orna Neutra, mother of Omer Neutra. Hamas is still holding the bodies of both hostages in Gaza. (X)

  
  

• Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat from Long Island, said Ronen Neutra, the father of Omer, will be his guest. (X)

  
  

• Five more released hostages — Yair Horn, Eli Sharabi, Omer Shem Tov and Aviva and Keith Siegel — are set to meet with Trump today at the White House. (Ynet)

  
  

• Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the Jewish Democrat from Michigan who was sworn in on a women’s Torah commentary, is scheduled to deliver her party’s response after Trump’s speech. (NPR)

Plus…

• Elon Musk amplified a conspiracy theory about a Jewish former ambassador, calling him the head of a “crime family,” in a post viewed more than 13 million times as of Monday. (Forward)

  
  

• Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump’s pick for U.N. ambassador, was booed Monday at an Anti-Defamation League conference after claiming Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel wouldn’t have happened if Trump were president at the time. (JTA)

From our Sponsor, Zelikow School @ HUC-JIR

ISRAEL AT WAR

Palestinian children carry food past destroyed buildings Monday at a refugee camp in Gaza. (Getty)

The latest…

• Leaders of Arab nations, who have rejected President Trump’s plan to displace millions of Palestinians from Gaza, are meeting today in Cairo to discuss other options. (AP, Guardian)

  
  

• Egypt has drafted a plan for Gaza that would sideline Hamas and install interim leadership backed by Arab, Muslim, and Western nations, aiming to counter Trump’s vision of a Middle Eastern “Riviera.” (Reuters)

  
  

• Israel is not ruling out cutting off electricity to Gaza as leverage in negotiations with Hamas, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. (Haaretz)

  
  

• Opinion | Christianity preaches forgiveness, but Judaism allows for hate when it comes to an enemy like Hamas, writes Rabbi Marc Katz.

CULTURE

David wielding his slingshot in a scene from The House of David. (Amazon)

Biblical binge

Amazon’s new big-budget biblical drama about King David joins a growing list of series made by Christians trying to turn the Old Testament into prestige TV. While House of David waters down the complexity of the story, writes our culture reporter Mira Fox, it does basically get its Jewish research right, even developing a plotline from a midrash. Go deeper ►

Oscars aftermath…

• The Academy Awards was a banner night for Jews in Hollywood. Yet in Jewish online spaces, few appeared to be celebrating these achievements. Instead, the prevailing mood was one of outrage. Here’s why.

  
  

• The Israeli-Palestinian documentary No Other Land won an Oscar, but it has no U.S. distribution. Here’s how you can see it.

  
  

• Mikey Madison, who is Jewish, won best actress for Anora. The movie’s setting, Brighton Beach, has long been home to a particular kind of Jewish life.

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Linda McMahon during her confirmation hearing last month to lead the Department of Education. (Getty)

🤔  Linda McMahon, the billionaire wrestling executive, was confirmed as education secretary and will begin her duties today. She supports Trump’s effort to dismantle parts of the agency she now runs, even as it serves as the main federal body investigating allegations of antisemitism on campus. (Forward)

🏫  The Trump administration said it will review Columbia University’s federal contracts and grants, accusing the school of failing to address antisemitism. (Jewish Insider, Reuters)

⚖️  The man charged with killing seven and injuring dozens more at the 2022 July 4th parade in the heavily Jewish city of Highland Park, Illinois, changed his plea to guilty as his trial was about to begin. (ABC 7 Chicago)

✈️  Air France apologized after it served non-kosher meals labeled as kosher to an Orthodox family of eight on a recent flight. (Religion News Service)

👏  Brad Lander, one of two Jewish candidates in a crowded mayoral race in New York City, the largest Jewish community outside Israel, unveiled a public safety plan that includes measures to curb the rise in antisemitism. (Forward)

📰  A Jewish editorial page editor at the Palm Beach Post was fired after publishing a cartoon about the war in Gaza that drew criticism from the local Jewish federation. (JTA, New York Times)

☦️  For Rome’s Jews, their once-warm bond with the now-ailing Pope Francis has grown complicated, as his recent remarks on Gaza strain a historic friendship. (Times of Israel)

📅  Every Jewish House Democrat urged Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday to reinstate International Holocaust Remembrance Day and Jewish American Heritage Month as default listings on Google Calendar. (Jewish Insider)

🏀  The Yeshiva University Maccabees are heading back to the NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament for the first time since 2022. (JTA)

Shiva calls ► Esther Wachsman, whose son was kidnapped and murdered by Hamas in 1994, died at 76 … Dore Gold, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, died at 71.

COMING TOMORROW

Coming tomorrow: With Purim around the corner, I explore why Queen Esther has become an unexpected inspiration for conservative Christians, her story reimagined as a rallying cry for modern political battles — a shift some say distorts both scripture and history. You’ll get to see the article first as a subscriber to this newsletter.

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