‘Jewish blood helps’: In Ukraine, w hat once held people back now speeds them to safety

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Fox News host suggests evolution is Jewish hoax, why a Holocaust survivor has been wearing the same sweater for 75 years, and Mel Brooks' funniest role may surprise you.

OUR LEAD STORY

Victoria Astakhova (right) looks at her daughter Olga and granddaughter, Anastasia. (Photo by Larry Cohler-Esses)

It was never an advantage to be Jewish in Ukraine — until now

Ukraine may be a country bloodstained in the imagination of American Jews by a succession of pogroms and centuries of anti-Jewish prejudice. But with more than 10 million Ukrainians displaced by Russian aggression over the past month, Larry Cohler-Esses found during a week in the border region that those who are Jewish are finding they have advantages over their neighbors.

A foundation of support: Thanks to significant investment over the past two decades by the Chabad movement, the Jewish Agency, the Joint Distribution Committee and other groups, there was a communal infrastructure inside Ukraine that mobilized quickly as the war began. Jews were able to join bus convoys at synagogues and JCCs while other Ukrainians scrambled to stuff themselves into packed trains or risked traversing conflict zones in their own cars.

A helping hand: At border checkpoints in Romania and Poland, the very first tents refugees see as they cross into safety are emblazoned with the Hebrew words for welcome – “Bruchim Haba’im” – or Israeli flags. Jewish groups are sheltering thousands in hotels across the region, providing food, cash assistance, logistical support – locating copies of lost documents, for example – and generally helping people get where they want to go next.

A ticket to a new beginning: Perhaps most importantly, anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent is guaranteed citizenship in Israel. Last week, officials from the Joint and the Jewish Agency said that about 40% of the Jews who had left Ukraine so far were choosing that path. “My non-Jewish friends are here,” said one refugee, but “they don’t have what we have. Here, we have someone who will protect us.”

Read the story ➤

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An artist updates Judaica for evolving rituals:Are you in the market for a new Seder plate with a feminist twist? Sarah Dolin, a potter from Montreal, brings her perspective to her Judaica, adding extra compartments to her Seder plates to hold objects like the orange that symbolizes inclusion, and Hebrew text for vegan alternatives to the traditional egg and shank bone. “If we don’t want Jews to grow up feeling like outsiders,” Dolin said, “their way of practicing has to be celebrated.” Read the story ➤

But wait, there’s more…

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Israeli emergency personnel evacuate a woman from the scene of a deadly shooting. (Getty)

🇮🇱 A Palestinian wielding an assault rifle shot and killed five people – including two Ukrainians – in a suburb of Tel Aviv before being gunned down by police Tuesday night, officials said. It was the latest in a string of deadly attacks inside Israel in recent days, as tensions heighten ahead of the confluence of Ramadan, Passover and Easter. (JTA, Times of Israel)

🏥 Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, donated $1 million to an Israeli nonprofit providing aid to Ukrainian refugees. This follows $5 million Sandberg gave to the group, United Hatzalah, last year, to help fund a unit of female volunteer emergency responders. (VIN News, JTA)

🚀 An Israeli startup that studies data on brain activity will test its gear on astronauts in space next week. Three astronauts, including Israeli Eytan Stibbe, plan to wear helmets made by the company that have 460 airbrushes that connect to the scalp while performing a number of tasks for 20 minutes a day. “We’ve made a GPS-system for the brain,” said the company’s CEO. (Calcalist)

🎭 A buddy comedy in which the two friends drive around in a Chabad “Mitzvah Mobile” is the setting for Lindsay Joelle’s new play, “Treyf,” at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. Along the way, the friends meet a secular Jewish hipster and his girlfriend, who challenge their chaste morality and test their bond to each other in what reviewer Pankaj Tripathi calls “an engaging bromance.” (Global Circulate)

👚 Every Passover for the last 75 years, a 97-year-old Holocaust survivor has worn a blue hand-knit sweater to the first Seder. The sweater was made by a friend who avoided the gas chambers by knitting for Nazi wives. “Instead of Afikomen treats or chocolates,” she said, “I got a sweater!” (NY Jewish Week, Moment)

What else we’re reading ➤ A Jewish, far-right politician is being sued for Holocaust denial in France … The Navy is being barred from taking action against sailors who have objected on religious grounds to getting the COVID-19 vaccine … Scholars are outraged after a Jewish art exhibit at Princeton was canceled over its ties to the Confederacy.

ON THE CALENDAR

On this day in history: Paul Reiser, an actor and comedian, was born on March 30, 1956. He is best-known for creating and starring in the NBC sitcom “Mad About You,” which aired from 1992 to 1999.The series, about the everyday life of the couple Paul and Jamie Buchman, was revived in 2019 with new episodes; both the original and the reboot are available to stream on Amazon. Of the 176 original episodes, perhaps the funniest were the four that starred Mel Brooks as Uncle Phil. Above is a clip for your viewing enjoyment in which Brooks is trying to convince the Buchmans to name their child Deuteronomy. Happy Birthday, Mr. Reiser.

Also: “Moon Knight,” a new Marvel series about a superhero who is the son of a rabbi – like yours truly – debuts on Disney+ today.

Last year on this day, with the release of “Godzilla vs. Kong,” we debated which beast was more Jewish.

On the Hebrew calendar, it’s the 27th of Adar when Zedekiah, the last king of Israel, died in 397 BCE.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Universal day school. Rebrand “Zionism.” Not a single Holocaust survivor in poverty. These were among the “Moonshot” big ideas that attendees at the Jewish Funders’ Network conference in West Palm Beach posted this week on a bulletin board outside the main ballroom.

Some 500 philanthropists, foundation executives and nonprofit officials gathered in what was one of the largest communal gatherings since the start of the pandemic. Talk at the plenaries and workshops was dominated by the Ukraine crisis, COVID-19 and antisemitism, but at the lobby bar, it was all about the simple joy of seeing each other in three dimensions. Some people even remembered how to make small talk.

And others were all about those big ideas. “Every Jewish building to be secure,” one person posted on the bulletin board. “What if every family could experience Israel with their children?” wrote another. “A national effort to scale and support Jewish preschool.” “A new Herzl.”

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Play today’s Vertl puzzle (aka the Yiddish Wordle)

Thanks to PJ Grisar, Jodi Rudoren and Eliya Smith for contributing to today’s newsletter.

You can reach the “Forwarding” team at editorial@forward.com.

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