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WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

Israel braces for retaliatory strike from Iran, Harvard drafts new rules to combat protesters, Congress concerned Elon Musk is profiteering off antisemitic content, and Olympic history could be made today.

ELECTION 2024

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro at a campaign rally for Vice President Kamala Harris last week. (Getty)

Vice President Kamala Harris met with potential running mates on Sunday at her residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington. Among them was Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. If chosen, he would become the second Jew in U.S. history — after the late Sen. Joe Lieberman — to be named a vice-presidential nominee of a major party.

The campaign against Shapiro…

As Harris whittled down her search, there is a campaign by some of those on the progressive left to tank Shapiro’s chances because of his support of Israel — despite the fact that the other candidates also have pro-Israel records.

“Either the activists involved are extraordinarily lazy and never thought to investigate the other VP possibilities,” Yair Rosenberg writes in The Atlantic, or they think that Jews are uniquely untrustworthy.”

Joe Scarborough, the popular host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, forcefully defended Shapiro, saying the attacks were “a toxic mix of antisemitism, extremist views on Gaza, and jealous colleagues.”

Meanwhile, in an opinion essay, Rafael Shimunov argues that Shapiro’s alarmist response to campus protests should disqualify him from being Harris’ running mate.

The case for Shapiro…

Stats: Shapiro has won statewide office three times and is very popular. Among both Democrats and Republicans, he enjoys a roughly 60% approval rating. Perhaps most critically, he has the potential to bring the swing state’s crucial 19 electoral votes to the ticket.

Shapiro enjoys bipartisan popularity and a proven track record of effective leadership, writes contributing columnist Alex Zeldin in an opinion essay.

Will Shapiro’s Jewishness hurt or help a Harris ticket? “Historically, that has always been a much greater concern for Jews” but most voters don’t care, said Brandeis University’s Jonathan Sarna, one of the leading historians of American Jewry.

More on Shapiro…

What would a Josh Shapiro vice presidency mean for American Jews and Israel?

Shapiro’s position on Gaza tests close bonds with Arab, Muslim community

Do you have questions about Josh Shapiro?

Elsewhere in the election…

Democrats: Rabbis, politicians and at least one Tony Award-winning comedian joined a “Jews for Harris” Zoom call on Friday.

Republicans: Among pro-Israel conservatives, concern is mounting over isolationism — and antisemitism — on the right.

And at the Green Party: Presidential candidate Jill Stein is nearing her pick for a running mate. Al Jazeera is reporting that three pro-Palestinian activists are on her shortlist.

ISRAEL AT WAR

Israeli mounted police deploy as Haredi protesters demonstrate on the first day they were asked to enlist for compulsory military service on Monday near Tel Aviv. (Getty)

The latest…

Israelis began the workweek jittery and “in a state of deep uncertainty” as it braced for imminent retaliatory strikes from Iran after the assassination last week of a top Hamas official in Tehran.

As tensions rise, the U.S. is sending more combat aircraft and warships to the region.

Ben-Gurion Airport continues to be much less crowded, as most major airlines paused flights to and from Israel, reports our senior political correspondent, Jacob Kornbluh, who was at the airport Sunday.

“An Israeli airstrike on a school functioning as a shelter in Gaza City killed at least 30 people and injured dozens more on Sunday,” according to Palestinian health officials. Israel said it had targeted terrorists in Hamas command centers.

Hundreds of Haredim clashed with police on Monday in front of the recruitment office as they protested the start of a military draft for them.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hired a new spokesperson. The 37-year-old is a Biden critic.

Hostage Ariel Bibas turns 5 in captivity today. Hundreds in both New York and Tel Aviv marked his birthday.

Rev. Ana Levy-Lyons delivering a sermon at the First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn. She’s now studying to become a rabbi. (Debra Nussbaum Cohen)

She was a successful minister. Then Hamas attacked Israel and now she’s becoming a rabbi: Many rabbis have struggled with how to navigate the strong — at times conflicting — views of their congregants about the war in Gaza. But for Rev. Ana Levy-Lyons, who was until a month ago the spiritual leader of the First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn, it has been a career-changing crisis. She discovered later in life that she’s Jewish. “I have realized that I am heir, not only to the beauty of the lineage,” she said, “but also to the trauma.” Read the story ➤

Opinion | With Israel’s north on the brink of war, a chef commits to the land he loves: For nearly 10 months, 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the north. Despite government evacuation orders, Chef Erez Komarovsky still spends half of each week at his home in the village of Mattat, a half-mile from Lebanon. He is angry at the evacuation, angry at Bibi’s leadership — and refuses to give up on the land and food he loves. “I’m not afraid,” he told our senior columnist, Rob Eshman, over lunch. “When the sirens go off, I get a glass of wine and sit on my balcony.” Read the essay ➤

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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Pro-Palestinian groups gathered at Harvard University in October. (Getty)

🏫 Harvard has drafted new rules that “would prohibit daytime and overnight camping, excessive noise, unapproved signage and chalk or paint displays on campus property,” after protests roiled the university in the spring. (Jewish Insider)

🎒 Drexel University in Philadelphia reached an agreement to “respond more effectively” to antisemitism after a federal probe was launched. (AP)

💻 More than a dozen Jewish House Democrats are calling for a hearing with Elon Musk on how X is profiteering off of antisemitic content and offering premium social media services to U.S.-designated terrorist groups. (Jewish Insider)

😲 Vandals defaced the home of Rep. Kim Hicks, a Minnesota state representative, with “swastikas, racial slurs, and Ku Klux Klan signatures.” (ABC 6)

👶 A British rabbi was jailed in Ireland for performing a circumcision without a medical license. Ireland permits rabbis to perform circumcisions only on Jews; it appears the baby may not have been Jewish. (JTA)

💻 As they plan for a “post-survivor world,” the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Manhattan is using artificial intelligence to create an installation where visitors can interact with people who directly experienced the Holocaust. (NY Times)

On the calendar ➤ Today is the start of the Nine Days, a period of mourning on the Jewish calendar, which culminates on the fast day of Tisha B’Av on Aug 13.

Shiva calls ➤ Filmmaker Manfred Kirchheimer, whose 1986 documentary explored a group of Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany (including himself) who had settled in Washington Heights, died at 93 … Ina Jaffe, who spent decades reporting for NPR, died at 75.

What else we’re reading ➤ First woman rabbi from Uganda steps into role at Bay Area synagogue … One church, two astronauts. How a Texas congregation is supporting its members on the space station … Archaeologists discover ancient Jerusalem moat, solving 150-year-old mystery.

OLYMPIC UPDATE

Amit Elor celebrates at the World Championships in September in Serbia. (Getty)

Amit Elor, the youngest U.S. Olympic wrestler in history, has overcome personal tragedy and online antisemitism. Today, she will vie for gold in Paris. Read an interview.

Israeli windsurfers Tom Reuveny (gold) and Sharon Kantor (silver) both medaled over the weekend. Reuveny won the same event that his coach, Gal Fridman, won 20 years ago.

Israeli gymnast Artem Dolgopyat won silver in floor exercises; it’s the same event for which he won a gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

Israeli Raz Hershko won a silver medal in the women’s judo competition, while fellow Israeli judoka Peter Paltchik won bronze. Over the decades, most of Israel’s Olympic medals have come from judo. Here’s why the country is so good at the sport.

Israel has so far won six medals in Paris, its most ever in a single Olympics.

American Jewish teenager Claire Weinstein won her first Olympic medal, earning silver in the women’s 4×200-meter freestyle swim relay alongside Katie Ledecky.

Jackie Dubrovich and Maia Weintraub, members of the U.S. women’s fencing team, both won gold medals.

Here’s a roundup of Jewish athletes at the Games, and when they are competing. Keep up with all of our Olympic coverage.

Snoop Dogg, the unofficial mascot at the Games, poses with Israel’s Ashlee Bond at the dressage event. (Courtesy X)

Thanks to Jacob Kornbluh and Chana Pollack 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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