Supreme Court is most pro-religion it's been since 1950s, but is that a good thing? Plus: The Church of Scientology, 'This American Life,' Catherine the Great, Benjamin Netanyahu and much more. Plus: Play today's Vertl puzzle, the Yiddish Wordle |
Several states have used anti-BDS laws to retaliate against Ben & Jerry's decision to stop selling ice cream in the occupied West Bank. (Getty) |
Appeals court upholds anti-BDS law as ‘purely commercial’: The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday to uphold an Arkansas law that requires state contractors to pledge not to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. It is the first time a federal appeals court has validated state anti-BDS laws, which have been enacted in 36 states. The Arkansas case involved a newspaper that lost state government advertising because it refused to sign the pledge. Read the story ➤ Opinion | Even after being taken hostage, heroic Texas rabbi is still welcoming the stranger:Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker hosted his final Shabbat service at the Colleyville synagogue, and our editor-at-large, Robin Washington, was moved by the community’s continued openness. “It wasn’t the quantity of those attending but a quality about them that struck me,” he wrote, “specifically, that some of them were people Rabbi Charlie didn’t know or only recently met.” Read his essay ➤ This law professor argued that Reform Jews aren’t devout enough to merit religious freedom:With the Supreme Court expected to overturn Roe v. Wade any day now, a Florida synagogue has filed a lawsuit arguing that the state’s new law banning abortion after 15 weeks violates Jews’ freedom of religion since Jewish law requires abortion in certain cases. But the suit has opened a much larger debate — into the legitimacy of non-Orthodox streams of Judaism. “If virtually every other facet of halacha is not binding on members of this congregation,” the professor, Josh Blackman, wrote in a conservative publication, “how could it be that this one teaching on abortion is binding?” Read the story ➤ Opinion | Don’t leave New York City without a Jewish representative in the House: Roughly 1.1 million Jews live in the five boroughs: that’s about 1 of every 8 city residents — and 1 of every 7 Jews in the country. In 1992, when U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler was first elected to Congress, he was one of eight Jews in New York City’s delegation. Now he’s the only one, and redistricting has pitted him against another veteran Democratic lawmaker, Carolyn Maloney, in the Aug. 23 primary. Lincoln Mitchell, a political analyst, argues that retaining a Jewish member from the most Jewish city in the country is enough reason to back Nadler. Read his essay ➤ Related: The New York Times on Wednesday published a lengthy piece about Nadler and the history of the Jews in the city’s Congressional delegation. At the birthplace of the ballistic missile, a concert for peace: In its first appearance abroad since 2019, the New York Philharmonic performed at a German music festival in a former Nazi munitions factory. “As a new war rages in Ukraine,” writes Annie Levin, “these performances reminded the audience of the lasting devastation such conflicts cause.” Read the story ➤
And one more: Meet every Jewish name that has ever been inscribed on NHL’s Stanley Cup
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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
The U.S. Supreme Court still has 13 cases to decide in the coming days. (Getty) |
⚖️ A new study found that the Supreme Court has become the most pro-religion it’s been since at least the 1950s, with Tuesday’s ruling allowing religious schools to receive public funds the latest example. Religious groups win 85% of the time, according to a forthcoming study. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a dissenting opinion in this week’s case, wrote: “This Court continues to dismantle the wall of separation between church and state that the Framers fought to build.” (New York Times) ✍️ And speaking of the Supreme Court, the Church of Scientology said it would petition the justices to enforce an arbitration agreement it has with its former members. The request comes as the church is hoping to keep alleged rape victims of a member out of the courts. (Twitter) 🇮🇱 Nov. 1 is emerging as the likely date for Israel’s upcoming elections, the country’s fifth in three years. Meanwhile, some in the Knesset are trying to rush through legislation that would ban anyone who has been charged with serious crimes — like former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing corruption charges — from becoming prime minister. (Times of Israel) 🎤 Ira Glass, the host of “This American Life,” and Etgar Keret, the celebrated Israeli author, held a public conversation Wednesday in front of a sold-out crowd in a Tel Aviv theater. The topic? What makes a good story. Keret said it has to be smarter than the person who wrote it. “For a story to be like life,” he said, “ it should be something you don’t understand.” (Times of Israel) 💍 Two pulpit rabbis from different denominations met at a leadership retreat, fell in love, and married. Picking an officiant was no easy task, as their social circles were filled with fellow rabbis. (JTA) He said it ➤ “In a world where domestic polarization is becoming almost the single biggest challenge, the experiment succeeded,” Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, in an exit interview with New York Times columnist Bret Stephens.
What else we’re reading ➤ Two Jewish brothers defied segregation in Atlanta, and paved the way for the city to join Major League Baseball in the 1960s … Victoria becomes first Australian state to ban public displays of swastikas … A case for why time loops are inherently Jewish.
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On this day in history: Catherine the Great, the Empress of Russia, granted Jews permission to settle in Kyiv on June 23, 1794. Previously driven out by waves of persecution, Jews were allowed to acquire property in the city after Catherine’s edict — so long as they paid double the tax imposed on Christians. Jews were considered foreigners under Catherine’s reign, and were mostly confined to the Pale of Settlement, which was created in 1791. Catherine’s colonization of present-day Belarus and Ukraine has drawn comparisons to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing invasion.
Last year on this day, we reported on a Swiss baker whose challah wowed the internet.
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In case you missed it: Debbi Wilgoren, an editor at The Washington Post, joined our editor-in-chief, Jodi Rudoren — her sister — for a behind-the-scenes conversation about how their respective publications cover antisemitism and extremism. Watch it here ➤ ––– Thanks to Jacob Kornbluh and Rudy Malcom for contributing to today’s newsletter.
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