WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

Today: The Hague opens hearing on Israel genocide case, U.N. to investigate claims of Hamas sexual assault on Oct 7, Jewish donors flock to Nikki Haley, and DeSantis offers Florida as refuge for students fleeing antisemitism at elite universities.

Want to support independent Jewish journalism and receive a copy of our new e-book compilation of our best reporting from 2023?

Make a recurring donation in any amount before Jan. 31, and we’ll send you a complimentary digital download of our newest e-book, featuring our best reporting from the war and other important and moving pieces we published last year. It’s a great way to support the Jewish journalism that matters to you and catch up on the stories you might have missed in 2023.

THE CHABAD TUNNEL

A mural of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in the Crown Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn. (Getty)

Some see the Chabad tunnel as part of a Messianic quest to build a Third Temple — not in Jerusalem but in Brooklyn: The brouhaha over a secret tunnel at Chabad headquarters this week highlighted a rift between those who believe the Lubavitcher Rebbe is the Messiah and those who don’t. Our Louis Keene, who has been covering the developing story all week, explains the genesis of the divide that is roiling the movement – and how the tunnel was possibly an inevitable outcome. Read the story ➤

The secret Jewish history of secret Jewish tunnels: Jewish history often involved the construction of secret tunnels. They helped transport resources, and served as important strategic strongholds, hideouts or means of escape in times of war. We round up some of the most fascinating — including a tunnel used by 232 Jews to flee a ghetto during the Holocaust. Read the story ➤

Tunnel vision: On X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Jewish tunnel conspiracies reveal antisemitic accounts masquerading as pro-Palestinian advocacy groups.

But wait, there’s more: New York City investigators said they found a 60-foot long tunnel underneath a building adjacent to the Chabad headquarters in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. It’s the length of a bowling alley and left parts of both buildings potentially unstable.

ISRAEL AT WAR

Members of Israel’s legal team on Thursday at the International Court of Justice in The Hague for the hearing on the genocide case against Israel, brought by South Africa. (Getty)

The latest…

The International Court of Justice at The Hague began hearing a “genocide” case against Israel today. Watch the proceedings here.

The United Nations will launch an information-gathering mission over the widespread evidence of sexual violence by Hamas during its October assault on Israel, a spokesman said Wednesday.

‘People are afraid’ | Advocates warn of crackdown on Arab Israeli students:Some Arab students at Israeli universities are considering leaving school over a hostile environment, including disciplinary proceedings against more than 100 students for what some advocates describe as innocuous pro-Palestinian social media posts. “The universities have taken a stand against the students,” said Adi Mansour, attorney with Adalah, which works on Arab Israeli human rights. University officials say that they have an obligation to investigate the posts, some of which allegedly celebrated the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. Read the story ➤

Opinion | Gazans are starving. Airdrops of aid could help change that: “My brother’s wife and four young children, along with other friends and family members, have lost significant amounts of weight,” writes Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a U.S. citizen from Gaza and a political analyst. Aerial food drops could “bypass the interference and theft from nefarious players such as Hamas.” Read his essay ➤

Plus: The work of three artists may help Jews process the atrocities of Hamas. “The works embody our communal pain,” writes Laura Hodes.

– From our Sponsor: The Association for Jewish Studies –

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Republican presidential candidates Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley at a Wednesday night debate in Iowa. (Getty)

🇺🇸 The Iowa caucuses are Monday and Nikki Haley is hoping that she can pull off an unlikely win over Donald Trump. One thing the former South Carolina governor has in her corner: a growing number of major Jewish donors. (JTA)

🎒 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order to make it easier for Jewish college students facing antisemitism on their campuses across America to transfer to Florida’s public universities, where he said such bigotry will not be tolerated. (Forward)

🎤 At a Wednesday night debate, Haley and DeSantis sparred over the war in Israel and antisemitism in America. (Haaretz)

🖼️ A federal court rejected a Jewish family’s decades-long legal fight for a famous Pissarro painting that was taken from them by the Nazis at the dawn of World War II and is currently at a museum in Spain. (Los Angeles Times)

🎵 Skepta, a British rap star, apologized for album artwork that some said evoked the Holocaust. The cover for his latest single featured a photo of the backs of several shaved heads. One of them was tattooed with the single’s title, “Gas Me Up.” (Forward)

Shiva call ➤ Norma Barzman, one of the last surviving victims of the Hollywood blacklist, died at 103.

What else we’re reading ➤ Is fueling online antisemitism China’s new tool against the West? … Meet the Christians against Christian nationalism … The fading online celebrity of George Santos.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

(Getty)

Tens of thousands of people gathered at the Western Wall Wednesday for a mass public prayer, calling for the safe return of the hostages. “I’m 69 so I don’t serve in the army but the call to this prayer is my draft order,” said attendee Emmanuel Ohaiun. “There is the war on the ground, and there is holy warfare that I came to fight.” A Hamas spokesperson said the hostages “will not be returned alive” unless Israeli forces leave Gaza.

Thanks to Arno Rosenfeld 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.