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Jews face hiring discrimination in U.S. • Muslim man threatens rabbi at Miami hotel • 100-year-old Nazi guard could get new trial • and how Elon Musk could make life difficult for Orthodox Jews.

A SECOND TRUMP TERM

Donald Trump speaking to a group of Jewish donors in September in Washington, D.C. (Getty)

Combatting campus antisemitism

President-elect Donald Trump plans to deport foreign students involved in pro-Palestinian protests and potentially dismantle the Department of Education, which could shift enforcement of civil rights cases — like the bullying of Jewish students at both K-12 schools and at universities— to the Department of Justice. “Some Jewish parents, if they’re not exactly welcoming all of these changes, see an opportunity in Trump’s education agenda,” reports the JTA’s Andrew Lapin. Go deeper ►

Related…

• A right-wing Jewish group is hoping to use artificial intelligence facial recognition technology to ferret out foreign students who are active in pro-Palestinian protests, with the goal of making it easier for Trump to deport them. (Times of Israel)

  
  

• Opinion | Will Trump’s efforts to fight antisemitism curb free speech and help degrade democracy? Trump may go after “progressive outfits more broadly,” writes Emily Tamkin, “eroding civil society organizations that might otherwise help push back against his administration.” Read her essay ►

  
  

• Miriam Adelson, the billionaire widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, spent $100 million on reelecting Trump. One of her goals is coming into focus: blaming Muslim immigrants to European countries for a rise in antisemitism there. “Given the influence she holds over Trump, it may be a harbinger of his future administration’s approach,” writes our Arno Rosenfeld in the new edition of his antisemitism newsletter. (Sign up here!)

ISRAEL AT WAR

Left to right: Jon Polin, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Ronen Neutra, Orna Neutra and Daniel Neutra at the memorial service for Omer Neutra Tuesday on Long Island. (NY Hostages Families Forum)

‘Hell to pay’ in the Middle East

Trump gave an ultimatum to Hamas: There will be “hell to pay” if hostages aren’t released before he takes office. But what exactly does that mean? It “was long on fury and short on details,” writes JTA’s Ron Kampeas, who spoke to experts about the reframed rhetoric. They suggest Trump could be setting himself up to take credit for a potential deal or acting as a mouthpiece for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Go deeper ►

Related ► After Trump’s threat, Hamas shifted the blame to Netanyahu, claiming he is the one that is holding up the release of hostages. (Algemeiner)

The latest…

• Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the mother of slain American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, sharply criticized political leaders this week during a speech to Jewish lay leaders and philanthropists in New York. She accused politicians — without naming names — of prioritizing their own power over taking meaningful action to resolve the ongoing hostage crisis. (Forward)

  
  

• Goldberg-Polin and her husband, Jon Polin, attended the Long Island funeral Tuesday of Omer Neutra, a New York native whose body is being held by Hamas. (Forward)

  
  

• The Israel Defense Forces advised around 30 soldiers who served in Gaza to avoid international travel after anti-Israel groups filed war crimes complaints against them, which could potentially lead to their arrest. (Times of Israel)

  
  

• Google executives were warned in 2021 that Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract with the Israeli government, could facilitate human rights violations against Palestinians and potentially harm the company’s reputation, according to newly revealed documents. (NY Times)

  
  

• The Israeli military said it created its first-ever air force technicians unit for Haredi men, with accommodations to maintain a religious lifestyle, including setting up a synagogue in an aircraft hangar. (Times of Israel)

BUSINESSES, BLOCKBUSTERS AND BOOKS

A study found that individuals with common Jewish and Israeli names fared worse when applying for entry-level administrative roles. (Getty)

We’re hiring?

A job applicant named “Rebecca Cohen” is slightly less likely than one named “Kriste Miller” to receive a positive response when applying for administrative roles, according to a study sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League released Wednesday. The research found evidence of hiring discrimination against Jews in the United States. Applicants with the two American names were more likely to receive a positive response than someone with an Israeli name, “Lia Avraham.” Go deeper ►

September 5 depicts the story of the 1972 Munich massacre from the point of view of the ABC Sports crew who broadcast the crisis to the world. (Paramount)

Perfect timing or too soon?

September 5, a new film about the 1972 Munich Olympics and the ABC Sports crew who broadcast the massacre to the world, is already generating Oscar buzz. But can a film about Israeli hostages in a time of Israeli hostages survive the news cycle? The film’s producers say this isn’t about current events, but director Tim Fehlbaum admitted, “What’s happening in the world today will have an influence on how people will see this movie.” Go deeper ►

President Biden walking out of a bookstore holding The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine. (Getty)

Judging a book by its cover

Opinion | President Joe Biden was photographed on Black Friday leaving a bookstore with a copy of The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi. Many American Jews and Israel supporters were outraged. But as our senior columnist, Rob Eshman, points out: They should try reading it instead. Read his essay ►

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Students participating in the National Students for Justice in Palestine's 2016 conference at George Mason University. (Courtesy Soliman Photography/National SJP)

🎒 George Mason University in Virginia suspended its chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. Its members are criticizing the school for involving the police. (Intercept, X)

⏰  Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom Trump tapped to run a new Department of Government Efficiency, suggested stopping the semi-annual clock changes, a move which we’ve previously reported could complicate life for Orthodox Jews. (CNN, Forward)

🇺🇸  Senate Democrats re-elected Chuck Schumer, currently the highest politically ranking Jew in American history, to be their leader when they become the minority in the next Trump administration. (PBS)

💰 New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is allocating $63.9 million to enhance security measures for 336 organizations statewide that are at risk of hate crimes, including but not limited to religious organizations. (NY Jewish Week)

🇩🇪  A German court overturned a previous ruling that declared a 100-year-old former Nazi concentration camp guard unfit for trial, now allowing him to face charges of aiding and abetting 3,322 murders during World War II. (AFP)

🤔  The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on whether Holocaust survivors can sue Hungary in American courts for property seized during World War II, with justices expressing skepticism about allowing such foreign claims. (CNN)

🌴  A Muslim man in the lobby of the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami threatened Rabbi Shmuley Boteach with an expletive-laden tirade, calling him a “baby killer,” and mocked his son’s service in the Israel Defense Forces. Boteach is threatening legal action. (X, CBS News)

Transitions ► Lucien Gubbay, 93, retired from the Montefiore Endowment, a Jewish nonprofit in the U.K.

Shiva calls ► Rabbi Simcha Raz, the author of biographies of famous rabbis and books about Jewish and Hasidic thought, died at 93 … Morton Abramowitz, an American diplomat who advocated for the rights of refugees, died at 91.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

In case you missed it: Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, joined New York Times columnist Bret Stephens Tuesday night to discuss the attack on Jews and Israelis after a recent soccer match in Amsterdam and what that portends for the rise in antisemitism in the United States.

Dept. of corrections: In Tuesday’s edition, we incorrectly named the author of an article about Drake, the Jewish rapper. It was by Olivia Haynie, not PJ Grisar.

Thanks to PJ Grisar, Jacob Kornbluh and Arno Rosenfeld for contributing to today’s newsletter, and to Julie Moos for editing it. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at editorial@forward.com.

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