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WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

U.S. hopes Thursday’s ceasefire talks will prevent Iran attack, Rep. Ilhan Omar wins primary, new complaint describes antisemitic bullying at Atlanta K-12 schools, sales of “Doug for First Mensch” totes surge, and the secret Jewish history of ice cream.

OUR LEAD STORY

The Grand Traditional and Artisanal Market during the Festival of the Conversos. (Maria Montserrat)

A small town in Spain is finally embracing its Jewish history — but is any of that history true?

In a rural hamlet of 4,000, an invented Jewish heritage has become a point of pride and a marketing tool. Investigative reporter Andrew Silverstein traveled to Hervás, Spain, where residents have based their economy — and to an extent their identity — on their supposed Jewish past.

Costumed converts: Many in Hervás say they descend from conversos, Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity during the Spanish Inquisition and practiced Judaism secretly. Each summer, tourists come from near and far to celebrate the Festival of the Conversos and dress up as 15th-century Jews.

Fact vs. fiction: Guides lead tourists around — a local synagogue once stood here, a rabbi lived over there. But it seems much of the history of the town has been invented. “Historic antisemitism has evolved into philosemitic tourism,” one local told Andrew.

Medieval mishmash: Over the past century, writers and researchers visiting Hervás projected Jewish influences in the cuisine and local traditions. Travel bloggers describe all 17 streets of the medieval area as the Jewish Quarter. Locals wear yarmulkes, Star of David necklaces, and eat ham tapas on Shabbat.

POLITICS

Rep Ilhan Omar defeated her challenger by a margin of 56% to 43% in the Minnesota Democratic primary on Tuesday. (Getty)

➤ Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat of Minnesota who is a harsh critic of Israel, easily won her primary on Tuesday. The victory comes shortly after AIPAC and other pro-Israel groups, which opted not to get involved in this race, spent tens of millions of dollars to defeat other members of the so-called “Squad.” (JTA)

➤ Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, while in Paris last week, said: “I love the joy that comes with being Jewish.” Our archivist, Chana Pollack, points out that he was invoking a Yiddish aphorism.

➤ Since Vice President Kamala Harris entered the race, sales of Jewish-related merch has surged — including tote bags boasting “Momala for President” and “Doug for First Mensch.”

➤ Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt takes a Talmudic approach to antisemitism, she told my colleague Arno Rosenfeld in the latest edition of his antisemitism newsletter. If you don’t already subscribe, sign up here.

Join us for a virtual event on Tuesday: Live from Chicago and against the backdrop of the Democratic National Convention, join J Street and the Forward for a conversation diving deep into the challenges facing Democrats amid the Israel-Hamas war. Register here and watch it online.

ISRAEL AT WAR

Israeli soldiers attend a funeral Tuesday for Sgt. Omer Ginzburg, who was killed in battle in Gaza. (Getty)

The latest…

Top mediators from the U.S. are heading to the Middle East to meet with their counterparts from Egypt, Israel and Qatar for ceasefire-for-hostage negotiations set for Thursday.

President Biden said that if the talks go well, it “could defuse tensions ahead of an anticipated attack on Israel by Iran and Hezbollah.” Similarly, Iran officials suggested a planned retaliation may be scrapped if a Gaza ceasefire is reached.

Hamas said on Tuesday that it was not planning to take part in the discussions because they think Israel is not “negotiating in good faith.”

Analysis: The AP explains why a deal is so elusive, and our columnist Dan Perry details what each side is thinking.

Plus…

The U.S. approved $20 billion in arms sales to Israel, although much of what is being sold — including fighter jets and missiles — are part of contracts that will take years to fulfill.

Dozens of demonstrators protesting the war in Gaza stopped traffic on a major Los Angeles highway during the Tuesday morning commute, timed to coincide with Tisha B’Av.

Separately, San Francisco this week indicted 26 anti-Israel protesters who blocked the Golden Gate Bridge during an April incident.

The Israeli army has used Palestinian civilians to inspect potentially booby-trapped tunnels, according to a Haaretz investigation. The IDF says it forbids soldiers from doing this.

A 9-year-old Texas boy wrote President Biden a letter asking for his help in ending the war. “I want you to know: I will not be silent,” the president wrote back in a long note. “The United States stands with Israel.”

Graffiti in France reading ‘zog’ next to a swastika. (Getty)

A debate over the term ‘zog,’ or ‘Zionist Occupied Government,’ is surging online:If you hadn’t heard the term before, it might sound like a strange piece of internet slang or perhaps a video game character. But it’s a 1970s variation on the age-old antisemitic conspiracy theory alleging that a secret cabal of Jews runs the government, banks and media. Our digital culture reporter, Mira Fox, delves into the debate of its use online. Read the story ➤

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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators at UCLA in October. (Getty)

On campus…

🎒 A federal judge on Tuesday criticized UCLA for its handling of pro-Palestinian encampments and ordered the university to ensure equal access for Jewish students. The ruling came after three Jewish students filed a lawsuit claiming the school let protesters block them from parts of campus. (LA Times)

😠 Multiple civil rights groups filed a federal complaint, claiming that Jewish students in Fulton County, Georgia, — which includes Atlanta — have been subjected to antisemitism, bullying, and harassment in K-12 schools since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. (CNN)

🏈 Remember last year when Michigan State University displayed a quiz on the big screen at a football game, and it was a question about Hitler? The school blamed the quiz-maker, and now the quiz-maker is suing the school. He claims, in part, that he never gave the school permission to use the quiz. (Lansing State Journal)

And elsewhere…

🏠 Germany is pondering what to do with the 20-acre former estate of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister. The upkeep is too expensive, but selling involves risks. It has even offered to give it away for free, to the right person or group. (NY Times)

🎶 If you’re at synagogue enjoying the choir and can’t place the melody, don’t worry. A new app can identify songs by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, perhaps the most prominent composer of Jewish religious music. (JTA)

A new book we’re enjoying ➤ Tablets Shattered: The End of an American Jewish Century and the Future of Jewish Life by journalist Joshua Leifer is a cogent and compelling argument for what ails institutional Judaism and offers up four paths to fix it.

What else we’re reading ➤ Meet the New Yorker tracing the 300-year history of the Twersky rabbinical dynasty, from Chernobyl to the Bronx … No drinking and only Christian music during Sunday Gospel Hour at Nashville’s most iconic honky tonk … Why the Minnesota Vikings fund Holocaust education.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

🍦 In 1945, entrepreneur Irv Robbins dipped into his $6,000 bar mitzvah savings to open an ice cream shop in California. He later teamed up with brother-in-law, Burt Baskin, to create … yep, you guessed it: Baskin-Robbins. Our editorial fellow Sam Lin-Sommer shares the very Jewish history of American ice cream in the video above.

Thanks to Jacob Kornbluh, Arno Rosenfeld and Jake Wasserman for contributing to today’s newsletter, and to Beth Harpaz for editing it. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at [email protected].

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