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WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

Good morning. Today: IDF warns soldiers who fought in Gaza to avoid traveling abroad • New election data shows increase in Jewish support for Trump • Preview Ilana Glazer’s new comedy special.

ISRAEL AT WAR

Palestinians waited Friday to receive food outside a distribution center south of Khan Yunis in Gaza (Photo by Bashar Taleb/ AFP via Getty Images)

Criticism of Amnesty International’s Wednesday report declaring Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide is spreading, with the U.S. and German governments both coming out in opposition to the findings.

U.S. officials “continue to find that the allegations of genocide are unfounded,” said a State Department spokesperson. (Department of State)

Amnesty Israel, the Israeli branch of Amnesty International, decried the report and said its members had no involvement in its production. In a statement, the group wrote that while it believes “the scale of the killing and destruction carried out by Israel in Gaza has reached horrific proportions and must be stopped immediately,” it does not meet the strict definition of a genocide. (Times of Israel)

A photo of Judy Weinstein and her spouse Gadi Hagai, who were taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, pictured on the front door of her house in Nir Oz, Israel on Thursday. (Amir Levy/Getty Images)

More on the war …

Israeli officials announced Wednesday that Israeli forces had recovered the body of hostage Itay Svirsky, whom the IDF says was murdered by Hamas operatives some four months after being taken hostage on Oct. 7. (Times of Israel)

Israel’s government appeared to tacitly admit that some gear issued to soldiers may be unsafe, amid a long-running debate over whether the army is adequately outfitting troops. (JTA)

The IDF warned soldiers who have fought in Gaza during the war to avoid traveling abroad, citing fears they might be arrested or questioned by foreign officials. (Times of Israel)

United States Sen. Tom Cotton introduced a bill seeking to make the federal government end references to the West Bank, and instead refer to the region as “Judea and Samaria.” A version of the same bill was introduced in the House of Representatives in February. (JNS)

DEPT. OF ADVICE

(Illustration by Mira Fox/Canva)

As a Jew, I’m starting to wonder if I can even be a progressive anymore. “I would describe myself as left-wing Zionist. I refuse to see Jewish safety and Palestinian rights as mutually exclusive,” a reader writes into our advice column, Bintel Brief. “I don’t believe that criticisms of the Israeli government, especially regarding the treatment of Palestinians, or even Zionism itself, are inherently antisemitic — I probably share many of them.” In today’s increasingly identitarian environment, can someone with nuanced values find a real political home? Read our advice ➤

Readers help a ‘left-wing Zionist’ find their political tribe. Readers had advice for our frustrated correspondent, too. “One thing I think is always important is to make sure your values don’t change,” one wrote. “Don’t let people you disagree with or don’t want to associate with change your commitment to human rights, democracy, equality, etc.” Read their responses ➤

- From our Sponsor, Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards -

DEPT. OF CULTURE

John Lennon arrives at the the ‘Hit Factory’ recording studio in 1980. (Getty Images)

Barbra Streisand recorded here — and so did Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, John Lennon and, uh, The Village People. The Hit Factory did exactly what its name promised, and produced, well, hits — many with particular interest for the Jewish people. It’s easy, writes Dan Epstein, “to randomly point at any Hit Factory-related album and find a Jewish connection. In fact, the studio’s original owner, R&B songwriter and producer Jordan ‘Jerry’ Ragavoy, was the son of a Hungarian-born Jewish optometrist.”

Saying ‘adieu’ to San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum. The museum, which will close for at least a year on Dec. 15 — with signs suggesting the shuttering may be permanent — is currently filled with exhibitions that reflect on endings, writes Dan Friedman. One of them is a show by artist Leah Rosenberg themed around rainbows: “The ephemeral nature of the rainbow makes it especially beautiful, it almost seems a miracle that it ever appeared at all,” Friedman writes.

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

A month out from the election, Jewish voting trends have become more clear. (Ellen Schmidt for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

In politics…

A month out from the election, poll analysis shows that President-elect Donald Trump did in fact win a higher proportion of Jewish support than in 2020 — but a decisive majority of Jews still voted for Vice President Kamala Harris. (JTA)

Elon Musk was reportedly the force behind a conservative PAC that sparked controversy for its use of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s initials in its name, and its production of ads claiming Trump was aligned with Ginsburg’s stance on abortion. (Politico)

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Mike Johnson are at odds over how to advance the Antisemitism Awareness Act — and gearing up to cast blame on one another if they’re unsuccessful. (Axios)

Dept. of scandal…

Is a Christian-affiliated group trying to influence the elections of the World Zionist Congress, a Jewish organization with major influence in Israel? Some members are concerned. (JTA)

JPMorgan Chase and AT&T are among major companies that have pulled funding from the streaming site Twitch, amid concerns about proliferating antisemitism on the platform. (Times of Israel)

Overseas…

Italian police arrested 12 neo-Nazis they accused of planning violent attacks against government officials and major institutions. (AFP)

Also in Italy: For the first time ever, the government paid compensation to the family of a victim of Nazi war crimes, allocating 800,000 euros to the heirs of a man killed in a 1944 massacre. (Reuters)

A Melbourne synagogue was severely damaged in an arson attack; the masked perpetrators set the fire while congregants were assembling for morning prayers. (Times of Israel)

Shiva call ➤Shalom Nagar, who at 23 was chosen to be the prison guard who hanged Adolf Eichmann, died in his late 80s; sources differ as to whether he was 86 or 88.

What else we’re reading ➤

Tracking the fates of the university presidents who testified a year ago at Congress’ first campus antisemitism hearing. (Inside Higher Ed)

“Why is Brown keeping Hitler's library in its collection?” (Providence Journal)

Michael Chabon on a new “history of the comic strip as a technological artifact” (New York Review of Books)

A new novel about Palestinian journalists “asks what is lost when the multiplicity of experience is reduced to a single, traumatic story.” (Atlantic)

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Just the early Hanukkah present we need: Ilana Glazer’s new comedy special drops Dec. 20. “I never went on birth control,” she jokes in the trailer: “my poorly-straightened hair and commitment to jazz band was doing all the work for me.”

Thanks to Benyamin Cohen for contributing to today’s newsletter, and to Julie Moos for editing it. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at [email protected].

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