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Good morning. Today: IDF deaths by suicide on the rise; the secret Jewish history of Benito Mussolini (yes, really); and the critics argue: Is a new Bob Dylan biopic brilliant or basic?

ISRAEL AT WAR

Rula Daood and Alon-Lee Green of Standing Together, speaking in San Francisco in December. (Zachary Hoffman)

Opinion | It’s a hopeless time. Here’s one genuinely good Israeli solution. The new year is supposed to mark a moment of renewal and fresh faith in the future — but as 2024 turned to 2025, our senior columnist Rob Eshman’s “hope supply” was “pushing zero.” He went looking for inspiration in the Israeli-Palestinian coexistence group Standing Together. What he found: a welcome break from “the eliminationist, rejectionist voices that have come to feel increasingly dominant on university campuses and social media.” Read Rob’s essay ►

Latest on the war…

The IDF said it had recorded 28 deaths by suicide among its soldiers over the last 15 months, a jump from before Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, and that “thousands of reservist soldiers had apparently stopped serving in combat roles due to mental stress.” (Times of Israel)

Israel’s 2025 budget includes a major increase for pro-Israel advocacy work worldwide — some 20 times more than previous years. One likely target: College campuses in the United States. (JTA)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was discharged from a Jerusalem hospital Friday, four days after prostate removal surgery — and two since he left briefly “to cast a decisive vote on a budget bill, stymying a rebellion in his own governing coalition.” (JTA)

DEPT. OF CULTURE

Bob Dylan in London, 1966. (Getty Images)

A Complete Unknown, the new Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet as the Jewish troubadour, is based on a book by Elijah Wald. “When I say that I feel like I won the lottery, I am not kidding,” Wald told us, joking that the number of books about Dylan “must be about the same” as the “number of lottery tickets.” Go deeper ►

Related: Gary Lucas, a guitarist and songwriter himself, said the movie “packs a dramatic punch” and that Chalamet’s recreation of Dylan’s songs “are the lifeblood of this film.”

But Seth Rogovoy, author of a Dylan biography, thinks the film gives “a superficial, simplified gloss” to a complex, dramatic period in Dylan’s life.

Miriyem-Khaye Seigel and Shane Baker in Bashevis’ Demons. (Magnus Swärd – Jewish Culture in Sweden)

While Yiddish lives, Isaac Bashevis Singer’s ghost stories may flourish. If you’re spending the weekend in New York City and feeling a shock to the system to herald the new year, our PJ Grisar recommends Bashevis’ Demons, a play retelling three of the Nobel laureate’s ghostly tales. “Singer’s words are the stars,” PJ writes, “most captivating in ‘The Last Demon,’ an elegy for Jewish life in Europe and the terminal trajectory of its Yiddishe demons, who have no one left to tempt into sin.” Read the story ►

DEPT. OF ADVICE

How can a parent support a shy teenager? (Illustration by iStock/Canva)

How can I help my shy teenage daughter meet other Jewish kids, including boys?Our Bintel Brief advice column had a brisk response to a mother eager for her 16-year-old to make Jewish connections: Mom, chill. “Think more broadly about her social life and interests, and worry less about the religious affiliation of kids she spends time with.” And when it comes to potential romance, well, “don’t push her. She’s only 16.” Read her advice ►

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Elon Musk. (Allison Robbert/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

In politics

Fresh off his endorsement of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Elon Musk is now weighing in on politics in the U.K. He endorsed a party led by Nigel Farage, a politician who’s been accused of spreading antisemitic rhetoric. (Business Insider, Guardian)

State Rep. Hillary Cassel, who is Jewish, is one of two Florida legislators to become Republicans this week. One reason Cassel cited: what she calls the Democratic Party’s “failure to unequivocally support Israel.” (Associated Press)

President Joe Biden awarded 20 people the Presidential Citizens Medal Thursday, including a prominent Jewish advocate of marriage equality. (JTA)

On campus and court…

Rutgers University settled a Department of Education investigation into allegations of antisemitism and discrimination on campus, agreeing to implement anti-harassment training. (Forward)

An international lawn-bowling group reversed its decision to bar Israeli contestants from this month’s World Indoor Bowls Championships in England, citing improved security measures. (Reuters)

Around the world…

ICYMI: The standard Israeli work week is Sunday-Thursday, but the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange is set to transition to Monday-Friday trading, to better align with international markets. (Reuters)

The Netherlands published the names of some 425,000 people suspected of Nazi collaboration during World War II online for the first time. (BBC)

What else we’re reading ➤

“Why is it so hard to build a Holocaust memorial in London?” (New Yorker)

Why “a growing number of religious leaders” are “experimenting with A.I. in their work.” (New York Times)

“Shrapnel and sturgeon: making caviar under the rockets in Israel.” (New York Times)

A heartfelt thank you to whoever wrote this headline: “The dill of a lifetime? In a nation that’s enduring its own sour patch, the pickle dominated 2024.” (Associated Press)

PHOTO OF THE DAY

(Mario Nunes Vais - Collezione del Fondo Nunes Vais/Wikimedia Commons)

A century ago today, Benito Mussolini gave a speech seen as a death blow to Italy’s democratic institutions, fully establishing himself as the country’s dictator. One of the forces behind his rise to power: The Jewish socialite and writer Margherita Sarfatti, who was his lover for two decades, and helped to plot out the Fascist ascent — only to be forced to flee Italy after Mussolini enacted racial laws targeting Jews.

Thanks to Benyamin Cohen for contributing to today’s newsletter, and to Jodi Rudoren for editing it. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at [email protected].

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