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JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT. |
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WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION |
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Good morning from Tampa, where even a hurricane couldn’t stop people on Sunday from showing up to the Jewish Book Festival. Today: Nasrallah funeral in Lebanon, pro-Palestinian student group takes University of Maryland to court, Netflix’s rabbinic romantic comedy is top show of weekend and much more. |
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Roniel Tessler, left, and Jason Eisner both say they've felt discriminated against for their pro-Israel views. (Courtesy) |
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Queer Zionists navigate the post-Oct. 7 dating scene
On the gay dating app Grindr, Jason Eisner’s profile contains a Star of David emoji. In the year since Oct. 7, it has elicited more vitriol than flirtation. Eisner said he’s had people start a chat with him just to interrogate his stance on Israel. When Eisner wears his chai necklace to a gay bar, he expects to be confronted.
Why it matters: Israel’s supporters often trumpet the country’s openness towards queer culture, and recognition of same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, in contrast with the hostility toward LGBTQ+ rights among its enemies like Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. But the international LGBTQ+ community has protested widely and vocally against Israel since Oct. 7, linking the oppression of queer people with the oppression of Palestinians. It has left Zionists like Eisner feeling alienated in a new way — that is, the old way: Some compared the experience of being Jewish and pro-Israel in the queer world to being closeted again.
“It feels like my world has gotten smaller and smaller and smaller over the last 11 months,” said Eisner, a theater producer. |
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People walk by a billboard of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Monday in Tehran. (Getty) |
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The killing of Hezbollah’s leader… The funeral today for Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah who was assassinated on Friday, will lead into three days of mourning in Lebanon.
President Joe Biden called the killing of Nasrallah was “a measure of justice for his many victims.” Vice President Kamala Harris said he was “a terrorist with American blood on his hands.”
Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, called Nasrallah’s death “the most important day in the Middle East” since the Abraham Accords, which Kushner worked on.
Nasrallah’s death could prove a pivot point for the entire Middle East, writes our columnist Dan Perry in an opinion essay.
The latest… Israel also killed two more senior Hezbollah leaders over the weekend.
An Israeli airstrike killed Fateh Sherif, whom Hamas called its leader in Lebanon. He was also an employee of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees.
Roughly 100,000 people have fled Lebanon for Syria, a U.N. official said.
The U.S. military said it is boosting air support capabilities in the Middle East and placing troops on heightened readiness to deploy there, a warning to Iran against escalating the regional conflict. Plus… Ten trade unions accused Israel of breaching labor law “by holding back pay and benefits from more than 200,000 Palestinian workers,” since Oct. 7, The Guardian reports.
An Israeli hip-hop artist couldn’t stop writing songs after Oct. 7. |
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– From our Sponsors: American Friends of the Hebrew University– |
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We Are One: Stand with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The HU community represents a large segment of Israeli society. With 28,000+ members, no one has remained untouched by the horrors unleashed by Hamas or by the ongoing war. Learn more about how HU continues to support its community and how you can contribute. It helps to know that you are with us – because We Are One. |
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“President Biden understands that this year’s High Holidays may feel different,” said the White House Jewish liaison. (Getty) |
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The High Holidays… President Joe Biden is expected to host a call with rabbis and other Jewish leaders on Tuesday ahead of the High Holidays. The annual ritual takes on added significance in the wake of rising antisemitic attacks and as Biden prepares to conclude his more than four-decade political career in January.
Attorney General Merrick Garland, who is Jewish, said the High Holidays “should not be a time of fear” and that the Justice Department will not tolerate criminal acts motivated by antisemitic hate.
For rabbis writing High Holiday sermons during the Israel-Hamas war, procrastination pays off.
Vice President Kamala Harris has a secret brisket recipe. We tried tracking it down. |
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Adam Brody and Kristen Bell in Nobody Wants This. (Netflix) |
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The show everyone’s talking about… A real-life rabbi helped on the set of Netflix’s Nobody Wants This, a romantic comedy about a non-Jew dating a rabbi. “Anything in the series that is, for lack of a better way to put it, overtly Jewish,” he said, “I did my best to make sure it was done with authenticity and respect.”
Actor Adam Brody, who plays the rabbi in the series, says he prepped for the role by listening to Jewish podcasts and studying Torah. “It was all very illuminating,” he said.
In case you missed it: We explored the history of the hot rabbi, reviewed the series, and interviewed rabbis married to non-Jews to get their take.
Many people binge-watched the series over the weekend. It’s No. 1 on Netflix’s rankings in the U.S. this morning. |
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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
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University of Maryland students gathered in November for a pro-Palestinian demonstration. (Getty) |
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On campus…
🕯️ The University of Maryland canceled all student-led vigils planned for Oct. 7, including one that was to be hosted by the school’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. The group sued, and today a federal judge will hear arguments in the case. (Capital News Service)
🎒 California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill that requires universities to incorporate antisemitism and other forms of hate into DEI training. He also established a “permanent program to train K-12 teachers on Holocaust and genocide education.” (X, J. The Jewish News of Northern California)
🏫 “An investigation into misconduct complaints against the two administrators of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles found no ethical violation warranting public action against them.” (JTA)
And elsewhere…
🎭 Roald Dahl, the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and other beloved children’s classics, ignited a scandal when he made antisemitic comments about Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon. A new London play starring John Lithgow as Dahl recalls that episode. (NY Times)
⚔️ Archaeologists in Egypt recently discovered a sword they say belonged to Ramses II, believed to be the biblical Pharaoh. (Times of Israel)
What else we’re reading ► Jews and Catholics warn against Trump’s latest loyalty test for religious voters … Conservative Christians were skeptical of mail-in ballots. Now they are gathering them in churches … Neo-Nazis are using AI to sell Hitler to a new generation.
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Thanks to Louis Keene, Jacob Kornbluh, Julie Moos and Talya Zax 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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