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JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT. |
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WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION |
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Neo-Nazi indicted for planning to pass out poison candy to Jewish kids, rabbinical seminary to offer remote ordination after enrollment plummets, youth choir of Israelis and Palestinians wows America’s Got Talent, and much more. |
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Family members of Israeli hostages in April at the White House. (Getty) |
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Hostage parents take center stage at Republican National Convention, and say Netanyahu should not come to D.C. without a hostage deal
Tonight: The parents of Omer Neutra, an American hostage in Gaza, are scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention. They said they would “urge leaders and everyday citizens of both parties to come together and do everything in their power to demand the release of their fellow Americans and all the hostages left behind.”
A week from tonight: The Neutras also plan to attend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress where they’d like to see him “announce that the deal to release all the hostages including our son Omer has been signed and that there is a clear timeline for their return.”
On the other hand: Other hostage families say Netanyahu’s D.C. speech is pointless. “I would have preferred that he only be invited to Congress after the deal was done,” said Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son, Sagui, is one of five Americans held by Hamas believed to still be alive. “That would be, for me, a proper victory lap in a way that would be justified.”
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Matt Brooks, CEO of Republican Jewish Coalition, holds up a "Trump” kippah on stage Tuesday at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. (Getty) |
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Elsewhere at the Republican National Convention…
The latest: The CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition spoke Tuesday at the RNC. “President Trump will bring back law and order so that American Jews can once again wear a kippah and walk the streets without fear,” he said while waving a kippah with Trump’s name on it.
‘Never in my life voted for a Republican’: Who is Shabbos Kestenbaum and why will he speak at the GOP convention tonight? The 25-year-old graduated from Harvard Divinity School in May. That same month he testified before Congress about the antisemitic harassment he faced on campus, and is now suing his alma mater. “I don’t support the Republican Party,” he said, “but if they’re going to provide me a platform and an opportunity to speak about my lived experiences, then of course I will take it.” Read the story ➤
➤ J.D. Vance’s ascension to the VP pick may explain why the Yiddish word for bedbug — vants — is trending. Our archivist, Chana Pollack, dug through the Forward’s 127-year history to discover the more than 200 times we used the phrase.
➤ Vance says one of his inspirations is Yoram Hazony, a right-wing Israeli political theorist. Our columnist Dan Perry explains what that might mean for America.
➤ As a Jewish delegate delivered a prayer from the podium, Christian images displayed on the screen behind her. Same for when a Sikh woman offered a benediction. Does the RNC have a religious pluralism problem? Related: “The Republican convention has featured strong rhetoric against antisemitism alongside speakers who have trafficked in it,” reports Jewish Insider. |
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Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday at the Republican National Convention. (Getty) |
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Trump assassination attempt… The FBI raced to open the shooter’s phone, first sending it to its office in Pittsburgh and then to its lab in Quantico. Nobody could unlock it. So they enlisted Cellebrite, an Israeli hi-tech firm known for helping law enforcement. Cellebrite opened it in less than 40 minutes.
The Secret Service received intelligence in recent weeks that Iran was planning to assassinate former President Donald Trump. There is no known connection to Saturday’s shooter.
Stephen Sondheim wrote a musical about presidential assassins, in which they sing of grievances that spurred them toward treason. Our Talya Zax writes that it provides a warning for our current American moment. |
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Sigal Manzuri and Amit Cohen visit the marker of their daughters Norelle and Roya who were killed during the Hamas attack at the Nova music festival. (Getty) |
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Human Rights Watch, harsh critic of Israel, details Oct. 7 atrocities in new report:Most of HRW’s reports about Israel are critical. The organization was the first major international group to accuse the country of apartheid. But its researchers spent months compiling a 246-page document, released this morning, detailing the Hamas terrorist attack in southern Israel, including extensive interviews with survivors. “All this time I keep hearing screaming,” Aya Meydan, a therapist from Kibbutz Beeri recounted. Read the story ➤
Plus… Netanyahu is trying to repair his relationship with Trump, which deteriorated after the 2020 election.
Israel will start sending draft notices to Haredi men this Sunday, after a landmark Supreme Court ruling allowed the army to do so.
A rage room — where people can demolish old computers, tea cups and other ephemera — is a “smash hit for post-Oct. 7 Israelis desperate to vent.” |
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Will Shira Haas, who stars in the new Captain America, still portray an Israeli in the film? (Getty) |
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Did Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World really make an Israeli superhero Russian?Long before the war in Gaza, the studio came under fire for its plans to include the little-known Israeli character Sabra. She was raised on a kibbutz, had bulletproof skin and worked for the Mossad. But now it seems her origin story may no longer exist, with some claiming Marvel caved to pressure from pro-Palestinian activists. But that may not be the full story, explains our culture reporter PJ Grisar. |
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Plus… The flagship rabbinical school of Reform Judaism will allow students to pursue ordination remotely, the school announced Tuesday, part of a program overhaul that aims to reverse plummeting enrollment.
Could the Senate sneak through a controversial definition of antisemitism? My colleague Arno Rosenfeld explains in the latest edition of his newsletter. Read it here, and subscribe here. |
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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
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The neo-Nazi known as “Commander Butcher” was indicted at this Brooklyn courthouse. (Getty) |
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🍭 Federal prosecutors indicted a neo-Nazi accused of planning mass attacks against Jews and other minorities in New York City, including proposing to hand out poison candy to kids at Jewish schools in Brooklyn. (NY Jewish Week)
🇷🇺 A Russian court sentenced the writer Masha Gessen to eight years in prison in absentia. Gessen is at least the fifth prominent Jewish writer to be targeted for criticizing Russia since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. (JTA)
🏀 Patrick Beverley of the Milwaukee Bucks is considering playing for a Tel Aviv team, after spending 12 years in the NBA. (Bleacher Report)
💍 An Israeli teen hiking on Mount Carmel discovered an 1,800-year-old ring depicting a Roman war goddess. Israel’s Antiquities Authority will display it for the public at a Jerusalem museum. (Haaretz)
Mazel tov ➤ To Malka Z. Simkovich, on being named the director and editor-in-chief of the Jewish Publication Society.
What else we’re reading ➤ Teen and Holocaust survivor who met volunteering become ‘dynamic duo’ … DoorDash delivers 100 million charity meals, partnering with religious and other nonprofits … Dr. Ruth’s tips for a happy life.
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The news: The Jerusalem Youth Chorus, a choir consisting of Israeli and Palestinian kids, received a standing ovation on Tuesday night’s episode of America’s Got Talent. “I got goosebumps,” said judge Heidi Klum after their rendition of Home, a popular song by Phillip Phillips. The choir advanced to the next round. Read the story ➤
Related: We interviewed the choir in October, when the war broke out and they had to cancel their American tour. “Singing in groups naturally creates community and builds trust, even on a psychological and neurological level,” the group’s founder told us. “We’re hardwired to trust people more when we sing together.” Read the story ➤
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Thanks to Lauren Markoe, Julie Moos and Arno Rosenfeld 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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