South Carolina returns book about antisemitism to school shelves, lawsuit reveals Giuliani's offensive remarks about Jews, the secret Jewish history of Louis Armstrong, and is it OK to date your rabbi? |
Josh Shapiro’s wife, Lori, holds three Bibles for the swearing in ceremony, including one from Tree of Life. (Getty) |
I have a crush on my rabbi. Is it OK to ask him out? Assuming he’s single and there’s no awkward power dynamics, our Bintel Brief advice columnist said: Go for it! Just keep in mind some potential pitfalls – like possibly having to switch shuls if it doesn’t work out. But if all goes well, you could be your congregation’s next rebbetzin. Just remember to invite us to the wedding. Read the column ➤
On the other hand: Several rabbis wrote in saying they disagree with our advice. “Dating a congregant is among the reddest of red lines for clergy,” said one rabbi, adding that some denominations explicitly warn against it. Read the rest of their responses ➤
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Rudy Giuliani at the burial site of the Lubavitcher rebbe in 2018. (Jacob Kornbluh) |
Below the belt: Rudy Giuliani said that Jewish men have “small” and “unused” genitalia, according to newly released transcripts relating to a sexual harassment lawsuit. Our political reporter asked Giuliani’s spokesperson how many Jewish men’s genitals Giuliani had seen to reach this conclusion, and our culture reporter writes that the Borat movie warned us about this. Did you know? After losing the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump named Giuliani’s son Andrew to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, which governs and funds the U.S. Holocaust museum.
Workplace drama: The Brooklyn district attorney asked the city to investigate accusations that his chief of staff engaged in antisemitic and other abusive behaviors, including proposing that observant Jews pay more for kosher meals at an office holiday party.
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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
Bernard Malamud, author of 'The Fixer,' a 1996 novel about an antisemitic blood libel. (Getty) |
📗 A South Carolina school district will return to its library shelves Bernard Malamud’s The Fixer, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about antisemitism, nearly a year after it was removed following a parental complaint. (JTA) 💣 J. Robert Oppenheimer met with Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion to discuss Israel’s nuclear quest, according to declassified documents in the Israeli state archives. (Haaretz) 💰 Activists affiliated with IfNotNow, a group opposed to the Israeli occupation, launched a campaign Tuesday to pressure Democratic New York members of Congress to refuse endorsements and financial contributions from AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. (Forward) 🇭🇺 Hungarian Jews are accusing the Chabad movement of usurping control of their community organization — and its funding and real estate, including a historic synagogue — with the aid of the Hungarian government. (JTA) 🏀 The Kansas State and University of Arizona men’s basketball teams are set to travel to Israel and the United Arab Emirates next week to play several exhibition games and tour both countries. (Jewish Link) 🏕️ Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman of the United States, on Thursday visited Cedar Lake Camp in Milford, Pennsylvania, the Jewish camp where he spent his teen summers, to talk about antisemitism. The camp, where Emhoff was voted most athletic in 1978, named a soccer field after him. (Twitter) 💕 Former Bachelorette contestant Gabby Windey revealed she’s now dating a woman, Robby Hoffman, a Jewish comedian who grew up Hasidic in Brooklyn. (Hey Alma, Hollywood Reporter)
Long weekend reads ➤ How Judaism shaped George Soros’ heir, and how he hopes to shape the Jewish community … Being Jewish has become hip and fashionable in Poland … The story behind the story of Anne Frank’s best friend.
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On this day in history (1901): Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans. Armstrong grew up in poverty but was taken in by the Karnofskys, a family of Lithuanian Jews who gave him odd jobs and bought him his first instrument, a cornet. The jazz singer and trumpeter later wrote a memoir about his time with the Karnofskys and wore a Star of David for much of his life in their honor.
Monday, Aug. 7 at 12 p.m. ET: Most Eastern European Jewish foods are related to holidays or special occasions. But what kind of foods did Jews in the shtetl eat on a regular Wednesday? Join our Yiddish editor, Rukhl Schaechter, food scholar and chef Eve Jochnowitz, folklore and food scholar Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett and travel writer Joe Baur for a free Zoom event. Register here ➤
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Did you catch Bomba, the Israeli circus trio, on this week’s episode of America’s Got Talent? They stood naked on the stage, only using paddles to cover their private parts, and played a version of matkot, a popular Israeli beach game. All four judges voted them through to the next round. Watch their audition above.
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--- Thanks to Mira Fox, PJ Grisar, Beth Harpaz, Lauren Markoe, Rebecca Salzhauer and Talya Zax for contributing to today’s newsletter. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at [email protected]. |
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