Dr. Hussein Abdul-Latif and Dr. Morissa Ladinsky are the faces of transgender youth health care in Alabama. (Courtesy)
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A Muslim and a Jew providing trans care in the Bible Belt
There is one clinic in the state of Alabama providing gender-affirmative medicine for trans youth, and it is run by a pair of pediatric endocrinologists — one who is Muslim, and one who is Jewish.
The duo have for decades treated hundreds of patients for gender dysphoria, most of whom were referred to the clinic by a psychiatric unit after suicide attempts. But since May, when Alabama’s legislature passed a law criminalizing care for transgender youth, the doctors could face up to 10 years in prison for continuing their work.
Our deputy opinion editor, Nora Berman, spoke recently with Dr. Hussein Abdul-Latif and Dr. Morissa Ladinsky about what their work. Read the interview ➤
Prepping: Before the law came into effect, the doctors worked overtime, filling a year’s supply of prescriptions for hormones and puberty blockers and six months of injectable testosterone so that their patients would be covered in the short term. Looking to the future, they may send their patients to Atlanta or Nashville for treatment.
An immutable Bible: Abdul-Latif said the challenges they face from some churches is “the acceptance of the literal Bible, but without the depth of history of interpretation to navigate it.” Of himself and Ladinsky, he said: “We come from traditions with pretty sophisticated mechanisms of interpretation that have lasted for thousands of years.”
An evolving tradition: Ladinsky said the whole experience has been “really jarring for me.” She said it made her realize “what a big deal it is to grow up as a Jew, where the words on the page of the Torah are derived from an oral tradition and we have centuries of practice in interpreting and aligning its teachings with modern society.”
Having faith: “We are working with a majority Christian population,” Abdul-Latif said. “I have to accept my limitations. I need to respect where they come from and not argue too much. I don’t have the right to argue in a religion that I don’t belong to.”
Read the interview ➤
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PRESIDENT BIDEN’S TRIP TO ISRAEL
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Israeli President Shimon Peres met with then-Vice President Joe Biden in Jerusalem in 2014. (Getty)
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New poll finds Israelis have less confidence in Biden than they did in Trump: As Joe Biden makes his first trip to Israel since becoming president, a Pew survey of 1,000 Israelis also found that they are divided over whether he favors Israel or the Palestinians more in their long-running conflict. And: Israelis are more likely to have a favorable view of the U.S. than Americans have of Israel. Read the story ➤
Biden is expected to announce $100 million in aid to Palestinian hospitals when he visits with President Mahmoud Abbas. The administration has reportedly asked Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to match that contribution.
Biden plans to meet with Holocaust survivors, may attend the opening of the Maccabiah Games, and is scheduled to take a rare direct-flight from Israel to Saudi Arabia. Here’s a preview of his trip.
And here’s what “Biden’s rabbi” thinks of the president’s visit to Israel this week.
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Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou was criticized after saying she supports a boycott of Israel. (YouTube)
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New York lawmaker withdraws endorsement of colleague who backs BDS: Brian Cunningham, a Democratic state representative from Brooklyn, told the Forward late last night that he no longer supports Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou in the crowded primary race for the redrawn 10th Congressional District. Niou said in an interview published Monday that she supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, drawing immediate backlash in the heavily Jewish Brooklyn district. “I will not support a candidate that fails to recognize our democratic ally’s right to exist,” Cunningham said, citing his own experience visiting Israel in 2018. Read the story ➤
Meet this year’s two Jewish MLB All-Stars: Joc Pederson, an outfielder for the San Francisco Giants, and Max Fried, a pitcher for the Atlanta Braves, were named to the National League roster, the first time since 2015 that two Jewish ballplayers made the cut for the Summer Classic. Pederson, who is batting a career-high .259, also played in the 2015 All-Star game as a rookie for the Los Angeles Dodgers. This year’s contest, next Tuesday at Dodger Stadium, will be the first appearance for Fried, who wore No. 32 in high school to honor that other Jewish southpaw, Sandy Koufax. Read the story ➤
Why is Beanie Feldstein leaving ‘Funny Girl’ early — and why is Lea Michele taking her place? Some speculation on Monday centered around looks: There is a “contrast between Feldstein, who is queer and plump, and Michele, who is classically beautiful” writes our culture reporter, Mira Fox. But Fox contends the problem was likely something else – a revival with poor reviews and an inability to match the original. “Having had Barbra Streisand in that role,” said one agent attached to the show, “almost froze the musical.” Read the story ➤
And one more: A new book goes in search of an Argentinian Jewish rebel who disappeared during the country’s military dictatorship.
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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY
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Shira Hofesh and Alexey Kabishcher, two Israelis who got married virtually in the state of Utah. (Courtesy)
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? An Israeli judge ruled that the country must recognize marriages performed virtually from Utah. In the early days of the pandemic, when Israelis couldn’t travel, some couples turned to “Zoom weddings” performed by a justice of the peace in Utah, of all places. Haredi politicians froze the recognition of such weddings, prompting the couples to sue. If the court decision stands, it could allow Israelis to marry outside the strict Orthodox rules of the rabbinate without leaving the country — including same-sex and interfaith couples. (JTA)
?? The Biden administration accused Russia on Monday of antisemitism and exploiting Jewish suffering. The announcement was timed to coincide with a United Nations session called by Russia to bolster its claim that it is trying to denazify Ukraine. The U.S. State Department called that “Holocaust distortion.” (JTA)
? An Israeli soldier killed herself with her commander’s gun 10 days after reporting she was raped at an off-base Purim party. Now the army is investigating officers involved for failing to pass her complaint on to the police or provide her with treatment. (Haaretz)
? Actress Shira Haas, star of “Shtisel” and “Unorthodox,” has been cast in another Netflix show: “Bodies,” a new British crime thriller. Haas can also be seen as a young Golda Meir in an upcoming biopic about the Israeli prime minister. (Jerusalem Post)
Most unexpected reference to a Jewish pastry ➤ In his new biography of Harvey Weinstein released today, Ken Auletta, the longtime New Yorker writer, reveals that Weinstein’s mother, Miriam, used to bring rugelach to her son’s Miramax offices.
Mazel tov ➤ To Hannah Deutch, a Holocaust survivor who celebrated her 100th birthday at her Queens synagogue this weekend. “I go to shul every Shabbat in the morning,” she said. “The shul is my family.”
Shiva calls ➤ Lily Safra, the philanthropist and widow of billionaire Edmond Safra, died at 87 … Monty Norman, the composer of the James Bond theme music, died at 94.
What else we’re reading ➤ Faith leaders attend White House celebration of gun control law … Israeli researchers find exposure to sunlight may make men — but not women — hungry … More proof that Paul Rudd is a total mensch.
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The Rolling Stones performing in London last month. (Getty)
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On this day in history: The Rolling Stones took the stage for their first gig at London’s Marquee Jazz Club on July 12, 1962. Over the years, the band collaborated with a number of Jewish artists, and, as the Forward’s Seth Rogovoy wrote in 2019, were known to feature Jewish themes in their music. Rogovoy described “Shattered,” from the band’s 1978 comeback album, “Some Girls,” as an “ode to that most Jewish of cities, New York” and noted that it includes “perhaps the only use of Yiddish in a Top 40 hit: ‘Shmatta shmatta shmatta, I can’t give it away on Seventh Avenue.’”
Last year on this day, we reported on the death, at 98, of Esther Bejarano, a member of the so-called Auschwitz orchestra, which was forced to play music as their fellow Jews were ushered into the gas chambers.
It’s the one year anniversary of this newsletter, which first arrived in inboxes on July 12, 2021. It included this photo. If you’re a fan, why not send this link to a friend and invite them to sign up?
On the Hebrew calendar, it’s the 13th of Tammuz, the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman, a leader of Eastern European Jewry who died in 1941.
In honor of Cow Appreciation Day ?, meet a shtetl cow named Vashti.
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