WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

Today: RFK Jr. ally under fire for antisemitism • California coffee shop sued for harassing Jewish customers • Why Hasidic voters endorsed longshot candidate for NYC mayor • And Kanye West picks a new name (again).

POLITICS

Faith leaders gathered Tuesday in Los Angeles for a prayer vigil and march to protest President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. (Getty)

Faith and fury in L.A.

Just before Mayor Karen Bass imposed a curfew in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday night, she stood with faith leaders in Grand Park, urging firm but peaceful resistance to President Donald Trump’s immigration raids.

“We will not obey in advance. We will not turn our gaze. We will not fan the flames of extremism. We will not answer violence with violence,” Rabbi Sharon Brous said in a speech in which she compared the president to the “authoritarian” Pharaoh of the Bible. (Los Angeles Times)

A growing number of anti-Israel activists are also showing up to the protests, where causes like Palestinian solidarity and immigrant rights are being linked under a shared framework of anti-oppression and social justice.

Organizers say the connection lies in opposing what they describe as “state violence” — both in the U.S. and in Israel. Some activists wore keffiyehs and carried Palestinian flags alongside signs denouncing deportations. (Times of Israel)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in January during his confirmation hearing to become Secretary of Health and Human Services. (Getty)

Old virus, new strain

The head of a new group aligned with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, is under fire for his antisemitic views — including that Jews were responsible for the pandemic, that Israel may have been behind 9/11, and that the conspiracy-filled fictions in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion are real. My colleague Mira Fox has the details. Go deeper ►

Context: Over the years, RFK Jr. has himself been hounded by accusations of antisemitism, including when he said that the Covid-19 virus may have been “ethnically targeted” to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people, and when he compared pandemic lockdowns to Nazi Germany.

From our archive: How RFK Jr.’s conspiracy mongering blends old and new antisemitism (July 2023)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks at a vigil outside the U.S. Capitol Tuesday in memory of the two Israeli embassy staffers who were killed as they left the Capital Jewish Museum.

Plus…

On the steps of the Capitol Tuesday evening, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a vigil in memory of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, who were murdered last month outside the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C. Johnson said terrorists have put “a bounty on the heads of peace-loving Jewish Americans.” (Jewish Insider)

Johnson is set to go to Israel next week, where he plans to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and give a speech at the Knesset. (Punchbowl News)

The House Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence will hold a hearing this morning at 10:30 on the surge in antisemitic violence and its threat to U.S. national security. (Watch it here)

A man who has a history of dressing up as Nazis and who praised Hitler’s military for having “accomplished incredible things” is a donor to the Republican nominee for governor of Virginia. The primary is June 17. (Forward)

NYC MAYORAL RACE

Dozens of Hasidic voting blocs endorsed City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, left, for mayor. (Jacob Kornbluh)

Bagels and blocs

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is polling low and is a longshot candidate to be the next mayor of New York City. So why did 25 Hasidic sects endorse her this week? Our senior political reporter, Jacob Kornbluh, explains the strategy: The shift is meant to hurt the frontrunner, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and help the current mayor, Eric Adams, who as an Independent is not competing in the Democratic primary and is the preferred candidate for these sects. Go deeper ►

Our Hannah Feuer ranked the mayoral candidates based on their bagel orders. She wonders if Zohran Mamdani’s pick from Absolute Bagels, which includes an extra 10 cents for toasting, is an odd choice for a socialist candidate who has made affordability his signature issue. And when Zellnor Myrie called himself a “plain bagel person,” Hannah wondered: “Did you just invent a new Myers-Briggs type?” Go deeper ►

What’s next: Early voting begins Saturday. The primary is June 24.

ISRAEL

Activist Greta Thunberg speaks to reporters Tuesday at the airport in Sweden. She was deported from Israel after attempting to make a symbolic aid delivery off the coast of Gaza. (Getty)

The latest…

Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, said the U.S. is no longer pushing for an independent Palestinian state, and if there were one, it wouldn’t be in the West Bank, suggesting instead it could be established in another Muslim country. (Bloomberg)

During a phone call, Trump urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the Gaza war soon and drop public talk of striking Iran. (Haaretz, Times of Israel)

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas urged Hamas to release all hostages, surrender its weapons, and relinquish control of Gaza. (New York Times)

In an unprecedented move, five Western nations — Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the U.K. — imposed sanctions, including travel and financial restrictions, on far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, accusing them of fueling violence and blocking peace efforts. (JTA)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounced the decision. “These sanctions do not advance U.S.-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, bring all hostages home and end the war,” he said. “We remind our partners not to forget who the real enemy is.” (Politico)

For the hostages, Tuesday marked the 613th day in captivity, the same number as the commandments in the Torah. The parents of slain hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin asked the public to “flood the world with goodness and light” with a “day of good deeds.” (JTA)

Opinion | Why progressives must retire the slogan ‘free Palestine’: “The words are only a symbol of a deeply held human rights ideal — nothing more,” writes Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove. “But after the attacks in D.C. and Boulder were both marked by use of the same term, I fear few Jews will be able to hear it without worrying that violence might follow.” Read his essay ►

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs in November 2024. (Getty)

🎒 Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill that would have banned antisemitic content in public schools and universities and allowed educators to be disciplined or sued for violating the rules. (AP)

☕ The Department of Justice sued a Palestinian-owned Oakland coffee shop for allegedly refusing service to Jewish and pro-Israel customers. The incidents occurred in October, at the same time the shop began offering a drink named after Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. (SF Gate, JTA)

🏳️‍🌈 Brooklyn’s 2025 Pride events will skip the interfaith service this year after at least one group reportedly withdrew over the host synagogue’s public support for Israel. (JTA)

✝️ Southern Baptists, inspired by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, overwhelmingly endorsed a ban on gay marriage and called on the Supreme Court to overturn its decision that legalized same-sex marriage. (CNN)

👿 The Satanic Temple’s Iowa chapter filed a complaint Tuesday alleging religious discrimination after state officials barred them from holding a holiday display and event at the Capitol last December. (AP)

🇨🇦 Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he is “appalled” after a vandal used red paint to deface the National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa. (Global News)

🏆 Van Jones, the CNN commentator and social justice advocate, is set to receive the Fighting Hatred Award from the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation at a gala tonight in Manhattan, to honor his work “promoting tolerance, bridging communities and combating hatred.” (AJCF)

🤷 Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, is changing his name once again. It’ll now be Ye Ye, according to newly filed business documents. (Vulture)

What else we’re reading ► The secret Jewish history of Sly Stone (Forward) … Thomas Friedman on why the Israeli government is a danger to Jews everywhere (New York Times) … Meet the Jesus-loving rabbi of Litchfield County, Connecticut (ARC Mag).

VIDEO OF THE DAY

“Todah Rabah,” a new tune from Uri Davidi — who made his name on the Jewish wedding circuit — has a fun toe-tapping hook, which may explain why I’ve had this music video on repeat the past few hours.

Today’s newsletter made me:

🤓 Confident I understand issues impacting American Jews.

🔗 Connected to the Jewish world.

💡 Curious to learn about something I read.

🤷🏽‍♀️ No different.

❤️ Love this newsletter? Check out what else the Forward has to offer!

Support independent Jewish journalism

Become a member and ensure the Forward’s journalism remains free for all.