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JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.

WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called “forced famine” of Palestinians in Gaza a genocide, Pennsylvania to move polling places out of shuls on Passover, reviewing the new Nazi series on Apple TV+, and a record number of Jewish players as Major League Baseball opens its season.

ISRAEL AT WAR

People in costumes walk past a poster with the faces of the hostages along the parade route on Shushan Purim, celebrated Monday in Jerusalem. (Getty)

Lewd cartoon depicting Jewish federation CEO as pro-Israel dominatrix reveals tensions in Rochester, New York: A local cartoonist who said he wanted “to do my small part as an American to help end the Gaza genocide,” sent out mailers as the Rochester City Council was debating a resolution to endorse a ceasefire, which it passed late Friday. “The antisemitism is bad enough, but the sexualization of it is incredibly degrading,” said Meredith Dragon, the primary target of the cartoon. “As a woman, as a professional, it’s gross.” Read the story ➤

Yes, you can keep your Jewish-themed event safe in this fraught moment: It’s not unusual these days for a venue hosting a Jewish author or cultural event to get threatening messages and sometimes even cancel because it’s not worth the risk. Or a Jewish group wants to rent space for an event, but can’t afford the owners’ demands for thousands of dollars in extra security measures. The Secure Community Network says it doesn’t have to be that way. “We encourage every event to go on,” said Brad Orsini, the nonprofit’s senior national security adviser. Read the story ➤

Relatives of Israeli hostages protest a Purim parade Monday in Jerusalem. (Getty)

The latest…

Shushan Purim is celebrated today in Jerusalem. Families of the hostages are leading a parade. Other family members protested the parade while their relatives were held hostage.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is in Washington, D.C. this week to meet with Biden administration officials.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat from New York, made the case Sunday on CNN that a “forced famine” of Palestinians in Gaza constitutes a genocide.

Professor Ron Hassner ended his two-week sit-in at his office at the University of California, Berkeley, saying the school had made sufficient commitments to satisfy his concerns about the safety of Jewish students on campus.

Wearing “Bring them home” dog tags, Sen. John Fetterman speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol last month after hosting families of Israeli hostages. (Getty Images)

How John Fetterman’s outspoken support for Israel won him supporters on the right and critics on the left: Since Oct. 7, the Democratic senator from Pennsylvania has been one of the most vocal supporters of Israel in Washington. Months later, Fetterman has maintained that posture, which has increasingly become an outlier among some Democrats as the war approaches the six-month mark and criticism of Israel mounts in the party. “People believe that wearing shorts and a hoodie makes you a progressive,” said Jill Zipin, the founder and chair of Democratic Jewish Outreach Pennsylvania. “Wearing shorts and a hoodie makes you someone who wears shorts and a hoodie.” Read the story ➤

Plus…

Is Louis Vuitton selling pro-Palestinian T-shirts for $800?

A spate of new books, well in the works before the start of the war, tries to make sense of the growing opposition to Zionism among young activists.

Using some of their favorite recipes, our editor-in-chief made 134 cookies for the 134 Israeli hostages still in Gaza. She gave them out on Purim, and donated the same amount she spent on ingredients to World Central Kitchen’s relief effort in Gaza.

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ALSO IN THE FORWARD

Coco Chanel (actress Juliette Binoche) charming officers at a Nazi gala. (Apple TV+)

A ‘new look’ at the Holocaust through fashion recycles old excuses for Nazi collaborators: Coco Chanel rose to the height of power before World War II; Christian Dior became famous in its wake. A new show from Apple TV+ follows the two fashion houses through the war and its aftermath, tracing their various involvement — Chanel collaborated with the Nazis, while Dior supported his sister in the resistance (though he still made dresses for Nazi wives). “There’s a phenomenon that has emerged in recent decades of movies, books and TV shows using World War II as a way to signal that they’re a serious endeavor, a piece of prestige media,” writes our Mira Fox.

​​How Hester Street made its way to the stage:Joan Micklin Silver’s Oscar-nominated Hester Street debuts as a play on Wednesday. Premiering at Theater J in Washington, D.C., the show fleshes out the backstory of the characters, who first appeared in the novella Yekl by Ab Cahan, the Forward’s founding editor, and includes extensive scenes in Yiddish and original music and songs (but don’t call it a musical). Ira Deutchman, Silver’s friend and a producer on the show says the adaptation is “not only going to preserve Joan’s legacy on a certain level, but it’s also going to make it even richer.”

Plus: Amid continuing headlines about hostages in Israel, efforts are also underway to bring attention to the plights of two Jews who were deprived of their freedom a year ago this month: a Jewish reporter imprisoned in Russia and a Jewish academic kidnapped in Iraq.

NEW FROM THE FORWARD

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Clockwise from top left: Zack Gelof, Alex Bregman, Joc Pederson, Rowdy Tellez, Max Fried, Garrett Stubbs and Dean Kremer. (Getty Images; Design by Mollie Suss)

⚾ A record 19 Jewish players appeared in at least one Major League Baseball game in 2023. That record, topping the previous high of 17 in 2022, is likely to be broken yet again when the new season starts on Thursday. (JTA)

🤦 After failed attempts to change the date, Pennsylvania is set to hold its presidential primary on the first day of Passover. Polling places inside synagogues are being moved elsewhere to not conflict with services. (AP)

😲 Three 13-year-old students at a Maryland middle school were charged with hate-crime violations for acts that included displaying swastikas and making Nazi salutes. (Washington Post)

🇮🇹 Italy on Sunday marked the 80th anniversary of a massacre in which 335 people were shot to death as a reprisal for an attack by partisans that killed 33 Nazi soldiers on a street in Rome. (AP)

🇵🇱 And in Poland on Sunday, the country marked the 80th anniversary of the “Great Escape,” when 76 captives tunneled out of a German prisoner-of-war camp into a snowy forest. (AP)

📺 In case you missed it: Rugrats debuted a Purim episode this weekend, featuring the voice of Henry Winkler retelling the story of Esther. (Kveller)

Shiva call ➤ Norman Miller, a German refugee who served in the British Army and arrested a top Nazi, died at 99.

What else we’re reading ➤ Meet the man who helped redefine campus antisemitism … Hindu advocate criticizes General Mills for using beef-based gelatin in Yoplait yogurt … Ina Garten’s method of cutting bagels is dividing the internet.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

New York’s Central Synagogue put on a Barbie-themed Purim shpiel Sunday. It starts around the 30-minute mark in the video above.

Thanks to Mira Fox and PJ Grisar 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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