| JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT. |
| WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION |
| | | Hamas admits to killing hostage, Columbia preps for fall protests, Cornell student sent to prison for antisemitic threats, why AIPAC is staying away from Rep. Ilhan Omar’s primary today, Streisand joins ‘Jewish Women for Kamala’ event, and much more. |
| | | | Elon Musk and former President Donald Trump promoted what our opinion columnist called a “fact-free vision” of U.S. Jews’ relationship with Israel during a public discussion Monday. (Getty) |
| Opinion | The Elon Musk-Donald Trump love fest was short on facts — and long on attacks on Jews: During the two-hour public discussion Monday night, “Trump noted that an Iranian attack that could ‘obliterate’ Israel was imminent. Israel’s precarious situation, he suggested, meant that any Jew thinking of voting for Vice President Kamala Harris, was, essentially, mentally ill,” writes our senior columnist, Rob Eshman. In particular, “on the eve of Tisha B’Av, a somber day that marks the destruction of the Second Temple during a period when Jews were deeply divided, Trump pressed just a little harder on the bruise of division.” Read his essay ➤
Plus… Rep. Ilhan Omar, who has long drawn the ire of many American Jews over her criticism of Israel, is facing a challenger today in the Minnesota Democratic primary. But AIPAC and other pro-Israel groups have opted not to spend money trying to defeat her. Here’s why.
The Harris campaign tapped Ilan Goldenberg, an Israeli-born former peace negotiator, as its liaison to the Jewish community.
Barbra Streisand is set to join a “Jewish Women for Kamala” virtual event this Thursday night. |
| | | | Friends and family members attend the funeral of Israeli soldier Staff Sergeant Aschalwu Sama, an Ethiopian-Israeli, after he was killed in December in Gaza. (Getty) |
| Opinion | As a Black rabbi on Tisha B’Av, I’m mourning how Jews have lost Black allies since Oct. 7: The Jewish community is locked in trauma from the Hamas attack, and our ability to find nuance is severely compromised, argues Rabbi Heather Miller. “Many Jewish leaders have abandoned long-held partnerships with Jews and non-Jews because of their feelings about the war in Gaza, especially with Jews of color and non-white communities,” she writes. “We have planted ourselves into ‘us’ and ‘them’ categories, responding to each other’s pain in shortsighted ways that aren’t going to serve us in the long term.” Read her essay ➤
Plus… Another opinion: Moses Green, a recent Yale University grad, proposes a new Tisha B’Av, where we feast instead of fast.
In Israel: As the country’s leaders spar and an Iranian attack looms, Jews see echoes of Tisha B’Av everywhere.
Recommended viewing: On this day of Jewish mourning, many adults rewatch Holocaust films or documentaries. But what to show children? Our intern, Samuel Eli Shepherd, offers up five movies that tackle grief, sadness and Jewish suffering in a kid-friendly way.
In the sanctuary: A famous Yiddish teacher recalls how she first got interested in the language: From under her grandfather’s prayer shawl on Tisha B’Av, she glimpsed a poster on the wall advertising Yiddish lessons.
Coincidence? The day before Tisha B’Av, the day on which we mourn the destruction of Jerusalem, a piece of ancient stone fell in front of the Western Wall during prayer services. |
| | | | People walk past a billboard showing a portrait of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar next to Palestine Square on Monday in Tehran. (Getty) |
| Opinion | As Israel confronts a week of peril, its enemies navigate tricky waters of their own:Israeli officials openly anticipate an imminent strike by Iran, and possibly from Hezbollah as well. Meanwhile, the U.S., which has sent an additional military warship to the region, has pushed Hamas to come back to the negotiating table for a ceasefire-for-hostage deal. Our columnist Dan Perry breaks down what each side is thinking. Read his essay ➤
Plus… Hamas said on Monday that its “group assigned to guard Israeli hostages killed a male captive and seriously wounded another two female hostages.” This would mark the first time that Hamas admitted its guards killed a hostage; they usually blame deaths on Israeli strikes. The IDF could not confirm or deny the incident.
The war has made Gaza a hotspot for infectious diseases. “Food shortages, crumbling infrastructure, a failing medical system, flowing sewage, waste buildup, and summer heat have turned the humanitarian crisis in Gaza into a serious epidemiological threat,” Haaretz reports. The New York Times goes inside a hospital in Gaza.
There is infighting among members of a new abortion rights group over whether Jews who support Israel should be welcome in the movement. |
| | READERS LIKE YOU SHAPE EVERY PART OF OUR WORK |
| Reporting on war, antisemitism and a high-stakes election takes resources. Help us expand our ability to bring you independent, unbiased news and analysis. |
| | | | | Roman Sobeilis lives on a street named Salom Aleihem in the city of Beltsy, Moldova. (Stella Mackler) |
| Contributor Stella Mackler traveled to Beltsy, Moldova, to visit with the 78-year-old man who is keeping old traditions alive in a dwindling Jewish community.
At a Major League Baseball game Saturday night, a Jewish batter came to the plate to face a Jewish pitcher throwing to a Jewish catcher. It was only the third time that’s ever happened.
Florida has ordered state universities to scrutinize their syllabi for “antisemitism or anti-Israel bias.” The effort is both Orwellian and vaudevillian, writes Robert Zaretsky in an opinion essay. |
| | WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
| | Pro-Palestinian demonstrators at a protest outside Columbia University in April. (Luke Tress) |
| On campus…
🛑 In a possible nod to de-escalating protests this fall, Columbia University said its campus would be closed to members of the public until further notice.(NY Jewish Week)
⚖️ A judge sentenced a former Cornell University student to nearly two years in prison “for threatening to kill members of the university’s Jewish community last fall.” (CNN)
🏫 The American Association of University Professors, a major academic union, withdrew its opposition to boycotting Israeli universities. (Haaretz)
And elsewhere…
🇨🇦 Canada revoked the charitable status from two Jewish nonprofits, but did not publicly cite the reason for the revocation. One of the groups, the Jewish National Fund, filed a lawsuit claiming the decision was “flawed and fundamentally unfair.” (JTA)
🇩🇪 A prominent German cantor and opera singer was killed in what police are describing as a family dispute. His adult son is being held on suspicion of manslaughter. (JTA)
🇫🇷 Antisemitic incidents in France nearly tripled in the first half of 2024, compared to the same period last year, from 304 incidents to 887. (Algemeiner)
Shiva call ➤ Queenie Hallegua — the second-to-last Jewish resident of Jew Town, an historic Indian Jewish community — died at 89.
What else we’re reading ➤ How “Seinfeld Night” became a New York summer tradition … Why white supremacists are trying to attack energy grids … That time when Sammy Davis Jr. befriended the high priest of the Church of Satan.
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| | | | | Thousands of people gathered Monday night to usher in a 24-hour fast by praying Tisha B’Av services at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Catch up here with all of our stories about the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. |
| Thanks to Jay Ehrlich, Marilynn Jacobs, Jacob Kornbluh, Lauren Markoe 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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