?? News from Israel: Israeli forces raided the occupied West Bank city of Jenin Tuesday morning and captured a terror cell they said was planning an “imminent attack” … In a separate raid the day before in Jericho, clashes erupted and soldiers killed a 15-year-old Palestinian … Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reversed his decision to fire Defense Minister Yoav Galant, a move seen as a victory for the mass protests that erupted after his firing.
? We often share news of major artworks returned to the heirs of Jewish families who lost them during the Holocaust. Now, The New York Times reports that “some German institutions have begun to give back cups, candlesticks, teapots and other items of crafted silver that Jews were forced to surrender during the reign of the Third Reich.” (NYT)
? Agudath Israel of America, an umbrella organization representing Orthodox Jews, has asked the Pulitzer Prize Board not to give an award to The New York Times investigation of Hasidic yeshivas. The Pulitzers, the most prestigious prizes in journalism, are set to be announced May 8. Agudath said giving one to The Times for this reporting would be “a tacit approval and furtherance of offensive, antisemitic tropes.” (Agudath Israel)
✍️ A Virginia public high school is requiring one of its teachers to remove a New Testament verse from his email signature. A Christian legal group says the directive amounts to religious discrimination, noting that other teachers are allowed to include personal messages, including their pronouns. The verse, John 3:16, states: “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (Religion News Service)
? Fans of Rachel Brosnahan, aka The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, will now have the chance to see her portray another 1960s housewife. Brosnahan stars with Oscar Isaac in The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, a play headed to Broadway after a successful run in Brooklyn. (Hollywood Reporter, Plus: Read our review of the play)
✡️ Model and fashion designer Sofia Richie, the daughter of music legend Lionel Richie, converted to Judaism. “What a magical day,” she wrote on Instagram with a photo of her conversion certificate. Richie is engaged to Elliot Grainge, a music executive who is Jewish. (Popstar)
Shiva call ➤ Al Jaffee, the legendary cartoonist who spent 55 years at Mad Magazine, died at 102. Jafee told us in a 2016 interview that his humor stemmed from the fact that he thought in Yiddish.
What else we’re reading ➤ Why are young Americans becoming less religious? … The real Jewish history behind Netflix’s Transatlantic and the WWII rescue mission that inspired it … Turning over the stones of England’s lost Jewish past.
