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| | | WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION |
| | Scheduling: This newsletter will be off tomorrow for the July 4th holiday and back on Monday.
Today: Australia bans Kanye West • Gaza ceasefire by Monday? • Conservative shul OKs first interfaith wedding • And Dr. Ruth’s son offers life lessons on his mom’s first yahrzeit.
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| | SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE |
| | An attendee at a Feb. 2024 Christian conference in Nashville where Donald Trump was speaking wears a "Make America Pray Again” hat. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images) |
| Rabbi sues over Ten Commandments law, in latest fight over Christian nationalism
The Ten Commandments have become part of a broader national reckoning over the rise of Christian nationalism — the belief that America was founded as a Christian nation and should be governed by biblical principles. In recent years, that ideology has increasingly shaped education policy, with lawmakers in multiple states proposing or passing measures that blur the line between church and state.
Now, 16 Texas families — including Christians, Jews, and atheists — are suing to block a new law requiring every public school classroom to display the Ten Commandments. Signed last month by Gov. Greg Abbott, the law mandates a large, prominently placed poster with a specific version of the biblical commandments. Supporters say it promotes “timeless values.” Critics call it unconstitutional state-sponsored religion.
“While our Jewish faith treats the Ten Commandments as sacred, the version mandated under this law does not match the text followed by our family,” said Rabbi Mara Nathan of San Antonio, a public school parent and the lead plaintiff in the case filed Wednesday. “The school displays will conflict with the religious beliefs and values we seek to instill in our child.” (Disclosure: Nathan’s husband, Larry, works at the Forward but is not involved in our editorial work.)
State Rep. Jon Rosenthal, the Texas Legislature’s only Jewish member, fiercely opposed the bill. “This isn’t about faith,” he told the Forward in May. “It’s about political power.”
Why it matters: This is the second lawsuit against the law in less than a week. A separate challenge was filed by a coalition that includes a group of Christian and Nation of Islam faith leaders and families — an unlikely alliance reflecting the growing pushback to what many describe as Christian nationalism. (AP)
Context: Texas has become a testing ground for bringing religion — and specifically Christianity — into taxpayer-funded schools. In the last four years, lawmakers there have:
What’s next: Jewish parents in Louisiana also sued when a similar Ten Commandments law passed last year. That case worked its way up to a federal appeals court where, last month, a judge blocked the law, calling it unconstitutional.
Go deeper ► |
| | | | Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani on June 24. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) |
| Zohran Mamdani’s record on Jews and Israel, explained
Zohran Mamdani — the Democratic nominee to become mayor of New York City, home to the largest population of Jews in the country — continues to dominate the headlines. During the campaign, his opponents repeatedly accused him of anti-Zionism and antisemitism.
But what has the 33-year-old Democratic socialist actually said about Jews and Israel? My colleague Hannah Feuer reviewed interviews, social media posts and statements made by Mamdani, spanning from his college years as co-founder of Bowdoin College’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter to his current mayoral campaign. She’s rounded up the quotes and the context. Go deeper ►
Plus: Fox News host Harris Faulkner questioned why Jewish lawmakers would support Mamdani. “The same way that I would question Chuck Schumer,” she said, “who works against the interests of his own people at times for the politics.” President Trump has repeatedly called Schumer, the highest ranking Jewish elected official in the U.S., “a Palestinian.” Schumer’s response? “Don’t tell my mother.” (Daily Beast, Forward) |
| | Curtis Sliwa in August 2023. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) |
| Mamdani’s Republican opponent has a history of slurs and stereotypes against Jews
Curtis Sliwa, the Republican facing Mamdani in November's election, has his own history of troubling statements about Jews. Sliwa’s decades as a brash talk radio host have left a trail of controversial remarks that could complicate efforts to win over voters. For example, he once portrayed Hasidic Jews — who typically support Republican candidates in statewide and federal races — as power-hungry and claimed they are “making babies like there’s no tomorrow” to collect government benefits.
“I’ve said a lot of things I shouldn’t have,” Sliwa told our senior political reporter, Jacob Kornbluh, in a 45-minute interview on Tuesday. “What I’ve learned in life is the art of apology.” He added: “I am not perfect. But then again, when I get confronted, I don’t run.”
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| | | | | Pediatric patients and their mom at a Jordan hospital on Wednesday after being transferred from Gaza, as part of a U.S.-backed agreement between Israel and Jordan to evacuate 2,000 children in need of urgent care. (Salah Malkawi/Getty Images) |
| Freed Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander and his family are set to meet with President Trump and first lady Melania Trump this afternoon in the Oval Office. (CBS News)
A potential ceasefire…. Hamas is reportedly satisfied with ceasefire terms that include assurances the war in Gaza will end and fighting won’t resume during talks, with President Trump expected to announce and back the deal once finalized. (Times of Israel)
A deal could possibly be timed to Monday, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with President Trump at the White House. (Times of Israel)
Far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir is urging fellow coalition member Bezalel Smotrich to join him in opposing what he calls a “reckless” ceasefire and hostage deal, saying their parties were elected to ensure Israel doesn’t “surrender in Gaza.” (Times of Israel)
Overnight airstrikes and shootings killed 94 Palestinians in Gaza — including 45 people trying to access humanitarian aid — according to local hospitals and Gaza’s Health Ministry; the Israeli military has not yet commented. (AP)
Bob Vylan, the British punk band under fire for leading a “Death to the IDF” chant at Saturday’s Glastonbury Music Festival, said the backlash is a “distraction” from the “atrocity” happening in Gaza. (Vulture)
Ahead of their U.S. concert tour, the State Department revoked the band’s visas — a move typically kept private due to confidentiality rules, but one President Trump appears to be publicizing to send a message. (AP)
Plus… Israeli settlers broke into homes in the Palestinian village of Mu’arajat al-Sharqiya overnight, forcing families to flee amid reported efforts to establish a new outpost — part of a broader surge in settler violence that last week saw another West Bank village set on fire. (Times of Israel, New York Times)
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers reintroduced a bill Wednesday that would let the president supply Israel with bunker-buster bombs and the aircraft needed to deliver them, like those the U.S. used on Iran’s nuclear sites. (Jewish Insider)
Some nuclear experts warned that recent U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites could push Tehran to pursue a more dangerous and clandestine path toward developing nuclear weapons, with no outside monitors currently allowed in. (ABC News)
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| | | | Dr. Ruth Westheimer at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images) |
| Dr. Ruth was his mom, and she taught him everything he knows
Today on the Hebrew calendar is the first yahrzeit of Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the beloved sex therapist, Holocaust survivor, and Jewish grandmother to a generation. But her legacy isn’t just about sex — it’s about resilience, optimism, and showing up. “My mom’s gifts to me were countless,” writes her son, Joel. “Her joie de vivre was contagious; her generosity was a constant lesson in kindness; her get-it-done attitude was a daily counterpoint to my own procrastinating ways. But her love of people, and her desire to connect with so many in so many ways, was the greatest gift.” Read his essay ►
Related: Get your hands on this pocket guide to the Jewish grandmothers of Mexico.
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| | | | WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
| | Conservative Judaism has been trying to chart a middle path between Jewish tradition and acceptance of the reality of interfaith families. (Stock photo/Burke/Triolo Productions via Getty Images) |
| 🕍 In a first for Conservative Judaism, a Minnesota synagogue will now allow its clergy to take part in — but not officiate — interfaith weddings, offering blessings and music as long as no non-Jewish rituals are included. (JTA)
🏫 Claire Shipman, the acting president of Columbia University, apologized for private messages endorsing the removal of a Jewish trustee with pro-Israel views, saying her comments were made in frustration and don’t reflect her true beliefs. (Jewish Insider)
🎒 George Mason University is now under federal investigation for allegedly failing to address antisemitic harassment, joining a growing list of schools facing Title VI probes by the Trump administration. (Jewish Insider)
🎶 Australia canceled Kanye West’s visa over his recent song “Heil Hitler,” with officials citing his history of offensive comments and saying the country didn’t need to be “importing bigotry.” West is married to Bianca Censori, an Australian architect. (JTA)
🗣️ Two Jewish therapists in Dallas are suing their former employer, claiming they were fired in retaliation for objecting to a workplace policy that barred religious discussion and for speaking out about how their supervisors handled antisemitism. (Jewish Insider)
📱 An antisemitic Instagram comment posted from a West Virginia politician’s account is being blamed on a “basically homeless” man who was using the delegate’s old iPhone, which had the Instagram app still logged in, according to the state House leader. (West Virginia Watch)
🏡 The Chicago suburb of Dalton is set to buy the childhood home of Pope Leo XIV, hoping to turn it into a tourist attraction and revitalize a struggling town burdened by financial troubles. (AP)
Transitions ► After 11 years, Eric S. Goldstein is stepping down as CEO of UJA-Federation of New York, the country’s largest Jewish federation. (JTA) |
| | | | Nik Jakobs, left, helps movers unload items donated to his new synagogue. (Courtesy Nik Jakobs) |
| 🧑🌾 An update: Last month, we told you about Temple B’nai Israel, a Pennsylvania synagogue that closed after 113 years and donated its ark, bimah, a Torah, even its stained glass windows to Nik Jakobs, a 40-year-old Jewish farmer who is building a synagogue in a two-acre cornfield in rural Illinois.
Well, we’re happy to report that the moving truck arrived Wednesday. The items will be stored in his parents’ garage for safekeeping until the synagogue is built. Nik and his brothers plan to break ground in the fall, and we’ll keep you posted as the journey progresses. |
| Thanks to Jacob Kornbluh and Talya Zax for contributing to today’s newsletter, and to Julie Moos for editing it. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at [email protected]. |
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