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JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.

WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION

Lawsuit claims Kentucky abortion ban violates religious freedom of Jewish women, politician who suggested Jews stole 2020 election on ballot today in West Virginia, summer Birthright participation drops by half, and Madonna’s “satanic” concert blamed for causing floods in Brazil.

ISRAEL AT WAR

Families of hostages and their friends at an Independence Day rally for the hostages on Monday night in Tel Aviv. (Getty)

Today is Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day…

Subdued and defiant | An Israeli Independence Day like no other: Mayors of cities large and small called off fireworks, survivors of Oct. 7 declined invitations to carry the national torch, and protesters calling on the prime minister to resign took to the streets as a somber nation marked its 76th anniversary. Meanwhile, a new poll found that there’s been a marked decline in Israelis who are confident about a victory in Gaza: 38%, compared to 74% in October. Our Susan Greene reports this morning from Tel Aviv. Read the story ➤

Plus: Congregations and communities across the U.S. are grappling with how to celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut in the midst of the war.

Opinion…

This Yom Ha’atzmaut, we need the humility to question Israel’s future, argues Sruli Fruchter, who recently made aliyah.

Rabbi Mikie Goldstein says he will not be celebrating Yom Ha’atzmaut this year. “How can we celebrate independence when we are not prepared to grant it to others?” he asks.

Pro-Palestinian protesters opposed Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. (Getty)

How Eurovision became a microcosm of a world divided over Israel

“There were at least two Eurovision Song Contests this year,” writes our Talya Zax, who spent last week reporting on the competition in Malmö, Sweden: “the music bonanza, which for die-hard fans is both a shelter from real-world tensions and a mecca for ideals about what human connection can and should look like, and the agonizing global political fight over Israel’s participation, which in the contest’s final days appeared as though it might eclipse the entertainment altogether.”

In Malmö, where efforts to build closer ties between Jews and Muslims broke down after Oct. 7, Eurovision found a host city grappling with a similar split between lofty ideals “and a reality in which identity-based divisions seem increasingly unresolvable.” Now, both Eurovision and Malmö face versions of the same challenge: How can they live up to the vision of coexistence they’ve long heralded?

Plus…

Egypt is considering downgrading its diplomatic ties with Israel, following a crisis in relations over Israel’s Rafah operation.

The number of young adults from the U.S. and Canada taking free Birthright trips to Israel this summer is about half what it was last summer.

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CONFLICT ON CAMPUS

Student activists and the pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which protesters agreed to take down in exchange for concessions from the administration. (Mark Caro)

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, trying — and failing — to talk about Israel:Reporter Mark Caro recently spent several days on campus talking with Jewish students, who make up an estimated 13% to 14% of the school’s population. What surprised him the most was how many of them tried to have conversations with pro-Palestinian protesters, but were impeded by monitors wearing yellow vests keeping the two sides apart. “No one’s allowed to talk to me,” said one Jewish student. Read the story ➤

Plus…

A sign at the pro-Palestinian encampment at Harvard was taken down after critics called it antisemitic because it depicted the university’s interim president, who is Jewish, as a devil.

The New School got its first on-campus rabbi last fall, just weeks before the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. She identifies as anti-Zionist.

A far-right activist group that is doxxing pro-Palestinian college students is being funded by top Republican political donors, according to newly revealed tax returns.

The board of Ben & Jerry’s issued a statement declaring pro-Palestinian campus protests as “essential” to democracy.

– From our Sponsors: Brandeis University –

NEW FROM THE FORWARD

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Prosecutors at the Alameda County Courthouse in Oakland allegedly had a habit of excluding Jews from juries, according to newly revealed documents. (Getty)

⚖️ A number of death row cases in California from the 1990s may be tossed out after it was recently discovered that prosecutors worked to exclude Jews from the juries. (JTA, New York Times)

🫄 A judge in Louisville heard arguments on Monday in a case brought by three Jewish women who claim their religious freedom was violated by Kentucky’s abortion ban. (Kentucky Lantern)

😲 File under irony: The New Jersey Senate canceled its hearing on a bill that would codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism — which classifies most anti-Zionism as antisemitic — because they can’t guarantee the protection of Jews attending the hearing. (X)

🤔 In a congressional primary today in Maryland, AIPAC poured $4.2 million into a race where Israel is not an issue. (JTA) … In another race in Maryland, a Jewish Gen-Z-er wants to be the next progressive pro-Israel congressman. (JTA)

🤦 And in a West Virginia primary today, Republican Rep. Carol Miller is fending off a challenge from a state delegate who was convicted for his participation in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and who suggested it was possible that “Jews stole the election.” (Jewish Insider)

💰 Rep. Jamaal Bowman, Democrat from New York, attacked his primary challenger, George Latimer, for receiving funding from pro-Israel donors. “AIPAC is funded by right-wing Republicans who want to destroy our democracy,” Bowman said during a Monday debate. (JTA)

🎒 A class-action lawsuit alleges that Chicago public school students were coerced into participating in a Hindu ceremony as part of a project on meditation. (Religion News Service)

🌊 Far-right Christians are blaming Madonna’s “satanic” concert for causing floods in southern Brazil that have killed more than 100 people. (Religion News Service)

VIDEO OF THE DAY

In honor of Yom Ha’atzmaut, our Rukhl Schaechter shares how to say various Yiddish phrases related to Israel.

Thanks to Jacob Kornbluh, Susan Greene 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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