JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.

WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

Hezbollah targets Tel Aviv in new attack, antisemitism report calls for changes across 25 New York college campuses, Congress advances bill to make Jewish museum part of Smithsonian, and why Christians are suddenly putting up mezuzahs.

ELECTION 2024

Former President Donald Trump’s Jewish confidantes include, from top, Miriam Adelson, Steve Witkoff and Laura Loomer. (Getty)

Who are the Jews in Trump’s inner circle?

Former President Donald Trump’s inner circle has changed from his 2016 campaign and his presidency, when his Jewish daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner were central to managing his message. At the time, a team of professionals — including Gary Cohn and Steve Mnuchin — drew up detailed plans to govern. None of them are part of Trump’s team today.

Trump’s current crop of advisers serves more informally. On Israel and Jewish outreach in particular, right-wing media figures and mega donors have supplanted policy wonks.

The list of Jewish influencers whispering to Trump include Laura Loomer, a conspiracy theorist and self-described Islamophobe; Steve Witkoff, Trump’s golf buddy; and Miriam Adelson, who committed more than $100 million to the campaign.

Go deeper: Find out who else is on the list ►

Plus…

A new poll shows sharp differences among Orthodox and Haredi voters, with 93% of Haredi respondents intending to vote for Trump and 55% of Modern Orthodox intending to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in a head-to-head match-up. Dive into the findings ►

Trump said in an interview that a mass deportation of illegals could be done quickly because local police know the migrants’ “serial numbers.” For some, it evoked images of Nazis branding Jews during the Holocaust.

North Carolina Lt. Governor Mark Robinson sits with his wife, Yolanda Hill Robinson, during a campaign event last month for former President Donald Trump. (Getty)

Why antisemitic politicians pose a quandary for Jewish leaders

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the state’s Republican candidate for governor, has questioned the Holocaust, disparaged Jews and — we learned last week — praised Adolf Hitler and called himself a “Black Nazi” on a porn site.

Why it matters: Jewish leaders have condemned Robinson and other elected officials who express sympathy for far-right extremists, but they often struggle to make the outrage stick for two reasons, explains my colleague Arno Rosenfeld.

Fear of impotence: Failing to force a prominent official to resign, or drop out of a race, can make Jewish organizations appear weak.

Policy implications: The more complicated factor is that Robinson, like many other controversial conservatives, supports Israel even as he says questionable things about Jews. It can be easier to rally outrage against progressives who make inflammatory comments that some claim are antisemitic — even if they’re a far cry from praising Hitler — while also voting against pro-Israel legislation in Congress.

Related: White evangelicals still plan on voting for Robinson.

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ISRAEL AT WAR

An Israeli emergency responder arrives today at the site of a rocket strike, fired from Lebanon, in the northern Israeli city of Safed. (Getty)

The latest…

In a first, Hezbollah fired a missile towards central Israel this morning, aiming for the Mossad headquarters near Tel Aviv. The IDF intercepted the missile and there were no reported injuries.

Hezbollah also struck northern Israeli towns — including Kibbutz Sa’ar and Safed — injuring at least two.

Israeli fighter jets hit more than 100 targets in Lebanon today. The Kremlin urged Russian nationals to leave Lebanon.

At the United Nations…

President Joe Biden, speaking Tuesday in his final address to the U.N. General Assembly, said a full-scale war in the Middle East could still be avoided, even as Israel ramps up airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and ceasefire negotiations in Gaza remain stalled.

Families of some of the hostages are set to travel with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the U.S. for his Friday speech to the United Nations.

Opinion: A political cartoon depicting Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American member of Congress, as an ally of Hezbollah shows how “all of us have been responsible for dehumanizing the other side,” argues Lux Alptraum.

ALSO IN THE FORWARD

Visitors to the new Herzl exhibit have the chance to pose with him. (PJ Grisar)

An up-close look at the real Theodor Herzl — and the true meaning of Zionism: A Manhattan exhibit dedicated to the Zionist leader features never-before-displayed artifacts from his life and career, from a marble bust to his second grade report card. David Matlow, the owner of the largest private collection of Herzl memorabilia, said the objects reflect just how big an icon Herzl was, being more than just a man, but the symbol of an idea. “He was a superstar,” said Matlow.

Plus: Sitcom star Patricia Heaton, who is Catholic, launched a campaign encouraging her non-Jewish friends to hang a mezuzah at their front door in solidarity with the Jewish community. Some are calling it cultural appropriation ►

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Police stand in between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Baruch College in June. Read more about what’s happening at Baruch. (Getty)

On campus…

🏫 A new report found that the “system of handling complaints regarding antisemitism, discrimination, and retaliation” at the 25 campuses of the City University of New York “is ineffective and needs to be completely overhauled.” (NY Jewish Week, NY Times)

👮 There have been at least three reported attacks on Jewish students this month at the University of Michigan. (Detroit Free Press)

🎒 San Francisco’s school district rescheduled a series of training sessions on antisemitism to be delivered by the American Jewish Committee, after initially postponing them in response to criticism from some who thought it would be biased in favor of Israel. (KQED)

😲 A guidance counselor at a Jewish boys’ high school in Los Angeles who was fired for having sexual relationships with two students has been arrested. The police also believe she may have other victims. (NBC, X)

And elsewhere…

✍️ Dozens of Ohio Jewish clergy signed a letter in solidarity with immigrant communities after former President Donald Trump falsely claimed that Haitian migrants in Springfield are eating people’s pets. (HIAS)

🇺🇸 Congress advanced a bill this week that could potentially bring the existing Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia under the Smithsonian umbrella. (JTA)

🤷 The Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. which has been working to rehab its reputation after a looted antiquity scandal and allegations of misrepresenting Jewish texts, put on display this week what it claims is the world’s “oldest Jewish book.” (JTA)

💃🐕 Roni Sagi, an Israeli dancer who performs with her border collie, Rhythm, came in second place last night on the season finale of America’s Got Talent. (TV Line)

VIDEO OF THE DAY

In case you missed it: Our editor-in-chief, Jodi Rudoren, chatted with Joshua Leifer about his new book, Tablets Shattered: The End of an American Jewish Century and the Future of Jewish Life.

Thanks to PJ Grisar, Louis Keene, Lauren Markoe and Arno Rosenfeld for contributing to today’s newsletter, and to Dan Perry for editing it. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at [email protected].

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