Laden...
| JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT. Give a tax-deductible donation Mr. Lapid goes to Washington, neo-Nazi buried in Jewish man's grave, Netflix defends antisemitic joke, Peyton Manning likes Jerusalem sushi and more. OUR LEAD STORY Experts, activists and readers respond to novelist’s Israel boycott
For the second day in a row, the Jewish news world was focussed on a 368-page novel with a whimsical cover that tells the story of four people navigating love and relationships. As we first reported in an opinion column on Monday, the celebrated millennial Irish novelist Sally Rooney, has decided not to allow an Israeli publisher to translate her latest book into Hebrew because of her support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. We have several new pieces responding to that news.
Arno Rosenfeld, who writes frequently about the debate over Israel, helped put the story into context. Rooney’s decision is the latest in a string of recent victories for pro-Palestinian activists: In recent months, Ben & Jerry’s removed its ice cream from shelves in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank; Burlington, Vt. nearly became the first American city to endorse BDS; and the movement has found fertile ground in U.S. teachers unions. All are citing a Human Rights Watch report from this spring that accused Israel of committing apartheid.
Meanwhile, while Jewish groups were quite vocal about Ben & Jerry’s West Bank pullout, many have remained mum on the Rooney news. Why? Perhaps because her popularity has not penetrated those circles. “My guess is that most of the people who were scandalized by the Sally Rooney story 1) had to look up who Sally Rooney is and 2) wouldn’t have been able to read her work in Hebrew even if she published in it,” said Yehuda Kurtzer of the Shalom Hartman Institute.
Read Arno’s reporting > and then come back for ...
OPINION | Todd Gitin, a journalism professor and author, fought South African apartheid and the Israeli occupation. Yet he thinks boycotting Israeli publishers – and readers – is a bad idea. “The freedom of literature is the enemy of the locked-up mind,” he writes in an open letter to Rooney. “Your own work is a splendid tribute to the spirit that strives to think its way out of prisons and gropes its way toward a more beautiful world.” Read his OpEd >
YOUR TURN | Dozens of our readers responded to Rooney’s decision (and the original OpEd, by Gitit Levy-Paz), with some praising her stand and others calling the move antisemitic or hypocritical. “Is she considering withholding her books being printed in other countries?” asked Jenny Wilks. “China, Iran, Iraq, Russia, India to name just a few countries who have abhorrent rules for women, homosexuals and anyone who disagrees with their policies.” Then there is Mackenzie Kimmel, who said: “It is our moral inheritance as human beings — and, especially, as Jews — to stand firmly against apartheid, genocide, and ethnic cleansings.” Read a selection of reader responses and send us your thoughts as well!
ALSO IN THE FORWARD (Getty Images) Yair Lapid goes to Washington: In his first diplomatic trip to Washington as Israel’s foreign minister, Lapid met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris. “This generation is not only preoccupied with wars and conflict, but also with the climate crisis, the global immigration crisis, and questions of identity,” said Lapid, who is slated to become Israel’s prime minister in 2023 if the government lasts. Our senior political reporter, Jacob Kornbluh, followed him around the capital and filed this report.
But wait, there’s more… The leading candidate to head the largest Jewish global non-profit withdrew from the race Tuesday. Now the competition for the prestigious position is wide open.A new Hulu series debuts today about the Sackler family, Jewish philanthropists who made their fortune from America’s painkiller epidemic. Nora Berman, our opinion fellow, writes that she’s “lost too many people to opioids to be surprised by anything” in the series, called “Dopesick,” which she says “sends us into a catharsis that can never truly be complete.” This guy read more than 27,000 comics — and now he knows everything about the Marvel universe. “Nobody is supposed to read the whole thing,” admits Douglas Wolk.
WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY Renee Firestone, a Holocaust survivor, being filmed as a hologram for a new museum exhibit. (USC Shoah Foundation) 🚧 As the number of Holocaust survivors continues to dwindle, there is a renewed push to preserve their legacy. At least six Holocaust museums are being built or expanded – including one in L.A. where you can have a conversation with a hologram of a survivor. Construction is scheduled to begin soon on the $75 million Holocaust Museum for Hope and Humanity in Orlando, where 75 million tourists visit each year. (NYT)
⚖️ A Pittsburgh police officer told a judge Tuesday that the Tree of Life synagogue shooter made several references to killing Jews, including shouting “all these Jews need to die.” At a two-day hearing this week to determine what evidence can be brought to trial, defense attorneys are trying to suppress these statements from a jury. (Pittsburgh Tribune)
🎬 Ted Sarandos, CEO of Netflix, defended Dave Chappelle’s new comedy special – which contains jokes about Jews and trans people – drawing a line between artistic expression in standup comedy and hateful speech in the workplace. In a memo to staff, Sarandos brought up the popular Netflix series “My Unorthodox Life,” about a Jewish woman who fled her strict religious community, as another example of supporting creative freedom even when some believe it is harmful. (Forward)
🏡 Federal authorities have been granted permission to sell several homes purchased with illicit funds related to a kosher butcher shop that was a front for a nationwide money-laundering scheme. Catch up on the strange saga of Tibor’s Kosher Meats with our in-depth investigation. (Cleveland Jewish News)
🍻 A brewery in Atlanta hosted a game night Tuesday that celebrated the intersectionality of Hispanic and Jewish/Sephardic cultures. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
🤦🏻 The “Oy gevalt” award for today goes to the German cemetery that just accidentally buried a neo-Nazi in a Jewish man’s grave. (JTA)
Overseen > Peyton Manning, Hall of Fame NFL quarterback, was spotted in Israel this week attending the opening of the new Friedman Center for Peace alongside former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo … as well as at a random sushi restaurant in Jerusalem.
Shiva calls > Jim Fleischer, CEO of the Jewish fraternity AEPi, died at 52 after a three-year battle with cancer. Ronald Klein, a friend and AEPi board member, said Fleischer was instrumental in developing the next generation of community leaders. “Young men who at a younger age felt the passion of Israel, felt the passion of Jewish values, and he just obviously took it upon himself to lead in that direction,” Klein told the Cleveland Jewish News.
> Brian Goldner, CEO of Hasbro, has died at 58 just days after going on medical leave. A polished executive, Goldner was also a toy aficionado, according to the Wall Street Journal: “His voice-mail message was recorded by the Transformers character Optimus Prime, and he owned one of the original suits donned by the White Ranger from Power Rangers.”
> Cynthia Harris, the actress who played the quintessential Jewish mother on the 90’s-era sitcom “Mad About You,” has died at 87.
ON THE CALENDAR Lenny Bruce and Sacha Baron Cohen, seen here not talking about the first amendment. (Getty Images) On this day in history: Two great Jewish comedians – Lenny Bruce and Sacha Baron Cohen – were both born on Oct. 13. Bruce (born 1925) challenged the establishment with, and was often arrested for, his so-called “obscene” brand of humor. Baron Cohen (1971) is no less gutsy in his crusades against Facebook or in-character ambushes of politicians and gun-toting anti-vaxxers. Both men are possessed of tremendous chutzpah. But only one wore an over-the-shoulder Speedo (as far as we know).
It’s also the yahrzeit of Ed Sullivan who, while not a member of the tribe, married a Jewish woman – who told her family she was dating a guy named Ed Solomon. Seriously.
Also on this day: While in Paris in 1881, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, a newspaper editor who later made aliyah, began speaking Hebrew with friends in what is believed to be the first modern conversation using the language.
But wait, this day is even more propitious: B’nai B’rith, a nonprofit Jewish advocacy organization, was founded in 1843. That makes it 54 years older than the Forward.
Speaking of old things … It’s National Fossil Day. Did you hear about the 2700-year-old toilets dug up by archaeologists in Israel last week?
PHOTO OF THE DAY (Courtesy of the National Cathedral) Washington’s National Cathedral unveiled a stone carving of Elie Wiesel on Tuesday. It took two years to make and is the first modern-day Jewish representation at the site. Located on the Human Rights Porch, it joins the likenesses of Rosa Parks, Mother Teresa and Eleanor Roosevelt. “I think he’s in great company in this beautiful cathedral,” Wiesel’s widow, Marion, said at the event. Watch the dedication ceremony here >
This morning’s edition of Forwarding the News was edited by Jodi Rudoren, with additional contributions from PJ Grisar and Talya Zax. You can reach the team at [email protected]. Support Independent Jewish Journalism The Forward is a non-profit 501(c)3 so our journalism depends on support from readers like you. You can support our work today by donating or subscribing. All donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of US law.
MAKE A DONATION / SUBSCRIBE TO FORWARD.COM / SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTERS Copyright © 2021, The Forward Association, Inc. All rights reserved. The Forward Association, Inc., 125 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038 Click here to unsubscribe from this newsletter. To stop receiving all emails from the Forward click here. |
Laden...
Laden...
