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WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION |
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Good morning. Here’s the news you need to start your day: Texas floods: Israeli President Isaac Herzog offered his “deepest condolences” after more than 80 people were killed, and hailed Gov. Greg Abbott as “a true friend of Israel who stood with us in our darkest hour.” (X)
2024 election: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Judaism was not a factor in Vice President Kamala Harris passing him over as a running mate, according to a new book out tomorrow. (Forward)
On campus: Columbia University is in talks with the Trump administration to restore federal funding cut over its alleged failure to protect Jewish students during pro-Palestinian protests. (WSJ)
Plus: We have the latest on the weekend of antisemitic violence in Australia, how Trump’s “Big, Beautiful, Bill” could impact Jews, and much more. But we’ll begin today with the high-stakes meeting at the White House.
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MR. NETANYAHU GOES TO WASHINGTON |
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at an April 2025 meeting in the White House with (from left) President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Then-U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) |
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Deal or no deal
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — along with his wife, Sara — landed early this morning at Joint Base Andrews outside of Washington, D.C., for the start of several days of meetings in the nation’s capital. (JTA) President Donald Trump said on Sunday he will be “working on a lot of things” with Israel — including “a permanent deal with Iran” and moving to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. (BBC)
Perhaps most pressing is the situation with Hamas in Gaza. Trump said that there is a “good chance” of reaching a ceasefire-for-hostages deal this week. (AP, Times of Israel)
Israeli and Hamas negotiators met in Doha on Sunday alongside mediators from Qatar and Egypt to iron out details of a plan that would see a 60-day ceasefire with the release of 10 living hostages and 18 deceased hostages. (Reuters)
The U.S. is seeking agreements from Israel on who will govern Gaza after Hamas, and what security measures will keep the group from regaining power. (Axios)
Before boarding the plane on Sunday… Netanyahu and senior Israeli officials reportedly received detailed packets on the medical condition of the 20 remaining living captives, which will help determine which 10 may be released. (Times of Israel)
Netanyahu met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who encouraged the prime minister to make “difficult, complex and painful decisions” on a deal with Hamas. (Times of Israel)
Axios’s Barak Ravid says Netanyahu’s tentative schedule is: Monday: Meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Mideast envoy. Dinner at the White House with President Trump.
Tuesday: Meetings with Vice President JD Vance and members of Congress.
Wednesday: Meeting with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon. In the evening, he is hosting a reception for “leaders of Jewish organizations, evangelical organizations, senior officials in the administration, friends, and close associates.”
Thursday: Fly back to Israel.
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Demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday night. (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images) |
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More on the war in Gaza… A top Hamas security official said the group has lost roughly 80% of its grip on Gaza, with armed local clans stepping in to fill the power vacuum after months of Israeli military assaults. (BBC)
A report set for release tomorrow — based on new testimony from witnesses, therapists, and released hostages — concludes that Hamas carried out “widespread and systematic” sexual violence against Israeli women during the October 7 attacks. (The Times)
Plus… Israel launched overnight airstrikes on Houthi-controlled sites in Yemen, including a power station and ports, prompting the Iran-backed group to fire two ballistic missiles at Israel in response. (Times of Israel)
Dr. Nasser Laham, the editor-in-chief of a Palestinian newspaper, said he was detained by the Israeli military overnight at his West Bank home. The IDF did not respond to a request for comment. (Haaretz)
The family of Daniel Edri, an Israel Defense Forces reservist who died by suicide Saturday after months of combat-related PTSD, is calling on the military to recognize him as a fallen soldier and grant him a full military funeral. (Times of Israel)
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From our Sponsor, Center for New Jewish Culture |
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Applications for the 2025–26 New Jewish Culture Fellowship are now open and will close July 18, 2025.
NJCF brings together an interdisciplinary cohort of groundbreaking Jewish artists to share work and learn together over the course of six months. |
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Holocaust survivor Rudy Jacobsen, left, takes a bag of food from Uriel Rauff, who works for Jewish Family Service Colorado as a driver for the kosher Meals on Wheels program in Denver in 2017. Cuts in the new bill would place “even greater pressure on already overstretched Meals on Wheels providers,” the group said. (RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via Getty Images) |
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How vulnerable Jews will be affected by Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful, Bill’
At places like the Jewish Home Family in northern New Jersey “seniors spend their golden years with access to kosher meals, weekly Shabbat services, and the spiritual support of on-site rabbis. Among the residents are Holocaust survivors receiving specialized care,” report our Hannah Feuer and Clara Shapiro.
The new law could slash Medicaid by up to $1 trillion — a blow to the program that covers nearly two-thirds of U.S. nursing home residents and provides a safety net for millions with low incomes. That includes the 20 to 25% of American Jews considered economically vulnerable, meaning Jews of all ages — not just seniors — could feel the impact.
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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
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People wearing flags of Israel and Australia at a Sunday rally in Melbourne, after antisemitic attacks rattled the country. (William West/AFP via Getty Images) |
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Attacks in Australia…
Pro-Palestinian protesters in Melbourne chanted “Death to the IDF” at a Sunday rally, just two days after violent attacks on a synagogue and an Israeli restaurant. The Friday night attacks marked the latest in a pattern targeting Jewish sites across Australia. (JTA) In one incident, police arrested a man who set fire to the front door of East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation while around 20 people were inside. Everyone escaped safely through a back exit and the blaze, confined to the entrance, was quickly extinguished. It was the second arson attack at a Melbourne synagogue in seven months.
Around the same time, about 20 protesters stormed Miznon, a restaurant owned by Michelin starred-Israeli chef Eyal Shani, with some throwing chairs and shouting “Death to the IDF” as they disrupted diners.
Our senior columnist, Rob Eshman, visited Miznon’s Los Angeles outpost last month where customers seemed unfazed about geopolitics.
Shani’s business partner, Shahar Segal, said he is parting ways with the U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation after less than two months as its spokesperson. (Times of Israel)
And elsewhere…
🇮🇱 Israel’s governing coalition is weighing a bill, backed by far-right and Orthodox parties, that would block automatic citizenship for those with one Jewish grandparent and potentially reshape who qualifies as Jewish under Israeli law. (JTA)
🇦🇹 In Adolf Hitler’s hometown in Austria, two streets named after Nazi supporters will be renamed, affecting the addresses of about 200 households. (Euronews)
👶 New data from the New Jersey Department of Health shows that Lakewood — known for its large Orthodox community — had more births than any other town in the state last year, accounting for 5.3% of all babies born in New Jersey in 2024. (X)
Shiva call ► S. Daniel Abraham, who turned his small family business into the Slim-Fast weight-loss empire, died at 100. He donated millions of dollars to Israeli universities and Jewish schools in the U.S., and was a founding member of the New Synagogue in Palm Beach, Florida.
What else we’re reading ► “He wrote the book on American Jewish history. Stepping back from teaching, Jonathan Sarna says he has plenty of chapters still to go” (JTA) … Seven Kindertransport survivors share their stories (New York Times) … “A fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Iran war tests the harmony of Los Angeles’ huge Iranian community” (AP)
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Emmanuelle Chriqui has played the dream girl in Entourage, the love interest in Zohan, and Clark Kent’s former crush in Superman & Lois. She joined host Hen Mazzig’s And They’re Jewish podcast to share her family’s journey from Morocco to Canada, reflect on Hollywood’s biases, and celebrate the Sephardic dishes of her ancestors.
Dept of corrections: A quote in Thursday’s newsletter attributed to Rep. Jon Rosenthal was a summary, not a statement made by him or anyone else about Texas’ Ten Commandments bill.
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Thanks to Ron Eshman and Jake Wasserman for contributing to today’s newsletter and to Julie Moos for editing it. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at editorial@forward.com. |
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