This article is part of our morning briefing. Click here to get it delivered to your inbox each weekday. Taylor Swift fans have amnesia. The Talmud may be able to explain why: Swifties, as the pop star’s devoted fans are known, are reporting being so overwhelmed by attending her Eras Tour that they can’t actually recall the event afterwards. It’s similar to what happened to the Jews after receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai, explains our culture reporter, Mira Fox. In the aftermath of the holy event, Jews lost pieces of knowledge. When they asked a prophet to repeat the missing info, they were told it was now in the hands of the people, part of a Jewish oral tradition. Read the story ➤
First-person: A Jewish mom and her 10-year-old son joined 80,000 others at a recent Swift show in New Jersey. “The night was magic,” she writes.
A classic story of immigrant Jews returns to New York — this time as a musical: Forward founding editor Abraham Cahan’s novella The Imported Bridegroom was made into a well-received movie in 1989. The film’s writer-director spent the next three decades making it into a musical. Now the tale of a selfish landlord, his Americanized daughter and the Talmud scholar he wants her to marry is going on stage at the 14th Street Y. “It’s not just a fluffy musical,” said director Avi Hoffman. Read the story ➤ |
Zev Yaroslavsky, a former LA City Council member, was active in the fight for Soviet Jews. (Getty) |
Opinion | What makes a ‘Jewish’ politician? “The Los Angeles Police Department once planted rumors that City Council member Zev Yaroslavsky regularly paid prostitutes $300 for oral sex,” begins a new column from our Rob Eshman. “Yaroslavsky, who came to politics as a leader of the movement to free Soviet Jews, easily disproved the allegations. He went on to help abolish the use of chokeholds, stop undercover surveillance of progressive groups and drive the chief of police from office.” In a new memoir, Yaroslavsky makes clear that Jewish history, issues and values guided him through his career. Read the essay ➤
And one more: Hate movements, including those that target Jews, became bolder in 2022, according to a report released Tuesday by the Southern Poverty Law Center. |
Former Vice President Mike Pence speaking in January 2020 at Yad Vashem in Israel. (Getty) |
Former Vice President Mike Pence is expected to officially enter the crowded race for the Republican presidential nomination today. Our colleague, Ron Kampeas, at the Jewish Telegraphic Agency breaks down what you need to know… Staunchly pro-Israel: Pence, an evangelical Christian, credits his “personal faith” for motivating him to advance pro-Israel legislation while in Congress and, as governor, making Indiana the first to ban state business with firms that support the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement targeting Israel. He attended every policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee during the Trump administration. Trump’s Jewish whisperer: Pence has spoken out against antisemitism in the U.S. and abroad, and toured Auschwitz in 2019. He’s occasionally been chided for bringing Christian themes into his speeches at Jewish events. He had a Jewish sister-in-law: Pence wrote in his autobiography about his late sister-in-law, Judy, and that his brother, Thomas — whom he describes as “a pickup-driving, dirt bike-riding, banjo-playing country boy from southern Indiana” — was a “better man” for marrying “an elegant, sophisticated young woman from a prominent Jewish family in Milwaukee.” |
WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
A statue of an antisemite in Vienna, long a site of controversy, was smeared in black tar in November. (Getty)
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? Vienna is planning to tilt a statue of its former mayor, who was known for being an antisemite and inspiring Hitler, 3.5 degrees to change people’s “perspective.” The city’s Jewish leaders are calling the move insufficient. (JTA) ? While we’re in Europe, the chief rabbi of Poland is upset that a local town hosted a children’s bubble party on top of Jewish graves. The cemetery was demolished half a century ago, but the bodies were never removed. (JTA) ?? Vice President Kamala Harris spoke out against Israel’s planned judicial overhaul Tuesday night at an event celebrating the country’s 75th anniversary. The event, at the National Building Museum in Washington, was hosted by the Israeli embassy. (JTA) ? Pope Francis, 86, is scheduled for intestinal surgery today and expected to remain in the hospital for several days. The pope was hospitalized for bronchitis in March. (CNN) ? Miami Beach officials agreed to pay an Orthodox congregation $1.3 million to settle a lawsuit. As we first reported in December, the city said the shul, located in a home in a suburban neighborhood, was not properly zoned. The congregation sued for religious discrimination. (Miami Herald) ☕ A Jewish cafe in Glasgow that emphasized Yiddish culture alongside queer and anarchist politics is closing. The cafe, called the Pink Peacock, said it had suffered antisemitic harassment from fellow leftists as well as right-wing attacks and infighting among its volunteer workers. (Twitter) ?️ Sikhs and others who wear hefty religious head coverings may soon be allowed to ride motorcycles in California without a helmet. The State Senate passed a bill with religious exemptions last week, and it now moves to the Assembly. (Sacramento Bee) ✏️ A silver-plated pencil said to have been given to Adolf Hitler by Eva Braun on his 52nd birthday sold for about $6,700 on Tuesday. The auction house had estimated it would bring 10 times that. (BBC) ? A biopic of Golda Meir starring Oscar-winner Helen Mirren will premiere at the 40th annual Jerusalem Film Festival on July 13. It will arrive in U.S. theaters in August. (Deadline)
What else we’re reading ➤ Historians are learning more about how the Nazis targeted trans people … Israel sees its first-ever case of rare rapid aging ‘Benjamin Button’ disease … 12 Jewish books to read if you miss The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. |
Elvis often wore both ‘chai’ and cross pendants, joking that this would guarantee him a ticket into heaven. (Getty) |
On this day in history (1982): Elvis Presley’s Memphis home, Graceland, opened to the public. As Seth Rogovoy wrote, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll regularly wore necklaces bearing a Star of David and the Hebrew word chai. Elvis, Rogovoy noted, “was not merely passing through a ‘Jewish world’ as an outsider but as a member of the tribe himself, one who could trace direct matrilineal descent back at least as far as his great-great grandmother.” Related: Our PJ Grisar shares the story of the day no one wanted to interview Elvis — except PJ’s granddad.
Tune in today: Watch a live taping of our weekly podcast, That Jewish News Show, at 10:20 a.m. ET. |
One way to deal with that traffic jam from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv? Take a drone taxi. Israel began testing flights of driverless aircrafts to shuttle passengers and cargo around the country. Watch it in action in the video above, and read more about the project from our colleagues at the Times of Israel.
— Thanks to PJ Grisar, Tani Levitt, Lauren Markoe, Arno Rosenfeld and Talya Zax for contributing to today’s newsletter. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at [email protected]. |
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