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JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.

WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

How colleges are spinning the protests in emails to parents, Russia using propaganda to divide Americans over Israel-Hamas war, Robert De Niro yells at pro-Palestinian demonstrators, the hidden message in Joan Nathan’s new cookbook, and two Jewish comedians have very different takes on Pop-Tart jokes.

CONFLICT ON CAMPUS

NYPD officers transport arrested students in a bus Tuesday night as they clear a building that was barricaded by pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Columbia University. (Getty)

It’s been a busy 24 hours. Let’s get you caught up…

Police in riot gear stormed the Columbia University building occupied by pro-Palestinian students on Tuesday night, arresting dozens. Columbia had said it would expel students who had occupied the building. Meanwhile the school’s Jewish center was placed on lockdown with students sheltering inside.

Earlier in the evening, the Biden administration condemned the students’ actions. “Forcibly taking over buildings is not peaceful — it is wrong,” said Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman. “And hate speech and hate symbols have no place in America.” The education secretary called antisemitism on campuses “abhorrent” and “unacceptable.”

Violence erupted at UCLA overnight as a pro-Israel group tried to dismantle an encampment of pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Our Louis Keene reports from the scene.

Police at the University of Arizona sprayed chemical irritants early Wednesday and ordered crowds to disperse.

At Tulane University, police were dispersing protesters overnight.

The U.N. human rights chief said on Tuesday he was “troubled” by tactics used by police to break up pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses.

Pro-Palestinian students celebrate reaching a deal with the administration at Brown University, bringing an end to their encampment Tuesday in Providence, Rhode Island.(Getty)

Meanwhile…

Protesters at Brown University and Northwestern University reached agreements with their administrations to dismantle their encampments in exchange for meeting some of their demands.

A new poll found that an overwhelming number of Americans, 80%, support Israel in the war, but that number drops to 57% among college-aged students.

House Republicans said on Tuesday they plan to massively expand oversight of universities that they allege are rife with antisemitism, a tactic the party sees as opportune in an election year.

Stay tuned: We’ve deployed a dozen reporters this week to colleges across the country to give us firsthand accounts of what campus life is like at each. We’ll be publishing their stories in the coming days.

Police officers stand guard after clashes erupted overnight on the campus of the University of California Los Angeles. (Getty)

‘Dear Parents’ | How colleges are trying to spin the protests for the people paying the bills: Parents across the nation are receiving emails, sometimes several a week, updating them on the often raucous demonstrations at their students’ schools. Some find them comforting, others say they only make them feel more anxious. Our Lauren Markoe reviewed more than a dozen emails sent recently, and found they hit on similar themes. Read the story ➤

Opinion | My Columbia classmates are calling for intifada. I just want to go to college: “Protests have a history of bringing the student body together at Columbia. That is not what is happening today,” writes freshman Zachary Singerman. “There is a sense of fatigue, particularly approaching finals, at dealing with yet another escalation, another action that brings news helicopters, journalists and outside attention to campus.” Read his essay ➤

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ALSO IN THE FORWARD

The 1970 Yiddish newspaper protest. (Courtesy)

So do you spell it schlep or shlep? And why does the spelling of Yiddish words matter?The answer to this seemingly innocuous question that comes up again and again involves modern German, Jewish diaspora nationalism and a little-known protest in 1970 in front of the Forward Building in which upset Yiddishists threw an egg at our staffers.

Opinion | Joan Nathan’s new cookbook is about much more than food: “No matter how dark the news may be, Jews for centuries have found respite in coming together and cooking the foods of our diverse communities, grounding us during uncertain times,” writes our columnist Rob Eshman, who has known Nathan for over 20 years. “Who’d have guessed that a cooking memoir is the Torah we need right now?

Plus…

The 2024 Tony nominees showcase a lot of Jewish talent, but — in a departure for an industry now smitten with identity plays — most of them are not focused on Jewish themes.

A 70-year-old Jewish man is among the top-ranked wheelchair pickleball players in the country.

Two Jewish comedians — Jerry Seinfeld and Gary Gulman — have very different takes on Pop-Tart jokes.

NEW FROM THE FORWARD

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Families and supporters of hostages held in Gaza held a rally Wednesday morning outside Secretary of State Antony Blinken's hotel in Tel Aviv. (Getty)

Israel at war…

🤝 Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel today where he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Nentanyahu about a potential hostage deal. Blinken also met with families of American hostages and plans to inspect aid going into Gaza. (Times of Israel)

😠 The Google employees who were fired last month for staging a walkout in protest of the company’s ties to Israel, filed a formal complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. (Washington Post)

🇮🇱🇵🇸 Former President Donald Trump, in a wide-ranging new interview, said he was skeptical of a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (Time)

🇷🇺 Russia is using artificial intelligence, fake social media accounts and other state-sponsored propaganda to divide Americans over the Israel-Hamas war, according to two intelligence officials. (NBC News)

🪖 Israel told its high court Wednesday that it is “hard at work over a plan for gradual recruitment of the ultra-Orthodox community” into the IDF, and that it should be ready in the coming weeks. (Haaretz)

🎬 An angry Robert De Niro yelled at what appeared to be pro-Palestinian protesters interrupting filming of his new TV show on Tuesday in uptown Manhattan. (Haaretz)

And elsewhere…

🔫 The man accused of a shooting outside a Memphis Jewish school last year posted a $200,000 bond Tuesday, and will be monitored by GPS while he awaits trial. (News 13 Memphis)

Quotable ➤ “Jews are experiencing the hate that we white people have been experiencing the last decade.” — Far-right political commentator Charlie Kirk on his Tuesday show.

Shiva calls ➤ Werner Spitz, a forensic expert who worked on the high-profile murder cases of President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nicole Brown Simpson, died at 97 … Paul Auster, the prolific writer best known for his novels about New York, died at 77. (Read our 2021 interview with Auster.)

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Like many modern Hasidic singers, Mendy Twerski is constantly exploring different genres of music. In his new Yiddish song, he sounds like he’d fit right in at a country music festival in Nashville.

Thanks to PJ Grisar, Louis Keene, Lauren Markoe, Rukhl Schaechter and Talya Zax 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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