WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

Today: Fauda actor injured in Gaza, congregants leave after synagogue preschool opts not to fire teacher who shared pro-Hamas content on social media, some airlines to resume trips to Israel, and happy 103rd birthday to the world’s oldest Olympian.

OUR LEAD STORY

The Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn. (Getty)

Arrests at Chabad’s iconic headquarters after students thwart attempt to fill secret tunnel

It took months, perhaps years, for a small crew of Lubavitchers to dig a secret passageway underneath 770 Eastern Parkway, the famed Brooklyn headquarters of the Chabad movement. They would not let it be filled so easily. Our Louis Keene has the story this morning.

The context: The tunnel was discovered in December and deemed a danger to the structure. But when a cement truck arrived on Monday to fill in the tunnel, students mounted a last stand.

The scene: Ripping off wood paneling in the women’s section of the sanctuary, the students revealed the cavernous space and jumped inside, refusing to leave. The NYPD eventually made 10 arrests, and video showed several men in Hasidic garb being led out, their wrists bound with zip ties.

But why? Reports said those behind the tunnel’s excavation had hoped to expand 770, but it was not obvious how the tunnel, which connected the synagogue to the defunct Chabad mikvah around the corner, accomplished that.

Real estate dispute: The chaos at 770 is the latest chapter in a multiyear battle. The Chabad-Lubavitch movement, despite holding the title to the property, does not control the sanctuary that spans the space below it. It has been locked in litigation with a Chabad synagogue over control of that space for decades.

Related: How 770 Eastern Parkway became the world’s most-recognizable Jewish building

The Forward is made possible by readers like you.

Support our work with a donation of any size.

Want more Forward? Explore all our newsletters at forward.com/newsletters

ISRAEL AT WAR

Survivors of the Nova Music Festival massacre embrace at a backyard gathering. (Lipaz Avigalny)

In a residential backyard in central Israel, survivors of the Nova Music Festival massacre strive for healing:In the first days after the attack only a handful of survivors showed up, but since early November, more than 100 people have been meeting here three times a week. Volunteers provide counseling, shiatsu massage, art therapy, fresh food and relaxed conversation. “Connecting with other survivors helps us open up and move forward in our healing,” said Itamar Or-Luz, who survived by hiding in a bush for eight hours and lost nine friends Oct. 7. “We went through hell.” Read the story ➤

Opinion | The worst thing American Jews can do right now is hide: A Los Angeles synagogue recently moved a Shabbat afternoon service to an undisclosed location, out of fear that a pro-Palestinian demonstration taking place at a nearby park might turn violent. The “decision is an example of what not to do in these fraught times,” writes Michael Berenbaum, a congregant at the shul and one of the creators of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “We should be standing our ground, expecting and demanding that our rights be protected.” Read his essay ➤

Fauda actor Idan Amedi, right, with IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, in an undated photo. (IDF)

Plus…

IDF reservist Idan Amedi, an actor who stars in the hit Netflix series Fauda, was wounded while fighting in Gaza.

Starting soon, El Al will not be the only way to get to Israel during wartime. Several airlines will resume partial service to Israel in the coming weeks.

Americans for Peace Now, a left-wing pro-Israel organization, is calling for a ceasefire in the war, the first American Zionist group to do so after more than three months of fighting.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in Tel Aviv today with President Isaac Herzog, Foreign Minister Israel Katz, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The IDF confirmed on Monday that its operation to eliminate Hamas in Gaza is shifting stages from intense combat to more targeted operations.

Commuters in the New York City area faced major delays Monday morning as several pro-Palestinian protests shut down traffic on the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges as well as the Holland Tunnel. Police arrested over 300 demonstrators.

– From our Sponsor: The Association for Jewish Studies –

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

(Getty)

✍️ Substack, the popular newsletter platform, has a lax moderation policy leading to content that can be extreme. But after complaints from users, Substack said it would remove some publications that express support for Nazis. (Platformer)

🎒 At California’s Congregation B’nai Israel, a teacher in the preschool posted pro-Hamas and antisemitic content on her personal social media pages. The synagogue’s leadership has opted not to punish the employee. In response, some congregants have left the synagogue. (Jewish Insider)

😠 A professor of family medicine, who spent 30 years at the University of British Columbia, resigned from his post, citing rising instances of antisemitism within the faculty. (CBC)

🏀 An expert on Jews in American sports said that an incident last Thursday of high school basketball players yelling antisemitic slurs at a Jewish team was “a terrible situation,” but is not “representative of a major trend.” (Forward)

✝️ Martin Scorsese revealed the topic of his next movie: Jesus. The filmmaker, who is Roman Catholic, said it will not be a historical epic, but will rather focus on the teachings of Jesus in the modern world. (Hollywood Reporter)

Shiva calls ➤ Leon Wildes, an immigration lawyer who successfully represented John Lennon and Yoko Ono against efforts to deport them from the U.S. in the 1970s, died at 90 … Norman Finkelstein, a longtime teacher at Massachusetts Hebrew College, died at 82.

Mazel tov ➤ To Agnes Keleti, a Hungarian-Israeli gymnast who won 10 Olympic medals, who turns 103 today.

What else we’re reading ➤ German culture minister implements changes to ease restitution of Nazi-looted art … President Biden calls out “poison” of white supremacy in speech at South Carolina church … A Greek Holocaust survivor in Vermont knows how to save humanity. He just needs us to listen.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

(Getty)

Marie-Pascale Radoux, whose 32-year-old son Orion Hernandez Radoux is one of more than 100 hostages still being held in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attacks, spoke to a reporter Monday at her home in France near the southwestern city of Toulouse. “The days when nothing happens are terrible,” she said. “Hyperactivity keeps you from not slipping into fear and anxiety.”

Thanks to Louis Keene 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.

Support Independent Jewish Journalism

Without you, the Forward’s stories don’t just go unread — they go untold. Please support our nonprofit journalism today.

If you’ve received this newsletter in error, our apologies! You can update your email preferences, or email us at help@forward.com and we’ll update our records.