The curious case of Donald Trump and Sabbatai Sevi

Former President Donald Trump and 18 others were indicted Monday night by a grand jury in Atlanta in a sweeping racketeering case. They are accused of organizing a criminal enterprise and committing a total of 161 criminal acts attempting to reverse the results of the 2020 election in Georgia. 

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It is the fourth major criminal indictment of Trump. Here are some of the columns we published after the others.

Once upon a time, eager acolytes thought their false Messiah could make their country great again Sound familiar? Rob Zaretsky, a history professor and regular Forward contributor, was talking about Sabbatai Sevi, the 17th century rabbi and mystic. The thousands of Jews who flocked to Sevi were dumbfounded when their leader converted to Islam. “To survive a leader’s act of apostasy, whether political or theological,” Zaretsky writes, “a movement needs both a base filled with fanatical devotion and a front office led by a skilled spinmeister.” Read the story ➤

Also by Rob Zaretsky: Trump compared his last indictment to Nazi Germany. He was right, but for all the wrong reasons.

Opinion | Why this rabbi isn’t celebrating (or dismissing) the Trump indictments: “The Jewish sacralization of law requires a more sober attitude than rejoicing over the misfortunes of one’s enemies — even of one’s oppressors,” writes Rabbi Jay Michaelson. “Bringing the powerful to justice is always a sacred duty, and it must be discharged with appropriate seriousness.” Read the essay ➤

Plus: In the Florida case regarding classified documents, Trump is accused of violating the Espionage Act. So were the Rosenbergs.

ALSO IN THE FORWARD

Michael Flynn has a history of incendiary comments about Jews and Muslims. (Getty)

Former Trump adviser blames Jews for boarding trains to Auschwitz: Michael Flynn, Trump’s notoriously short-lived national security adviser, falsely stated that “there weren’t any guards” monitoring deportations and that Holocaust victims could have simply walked away or defied Hitler’s soldiers. The clip of his speech has been viewed 8 million times since it was posted to Twitter on Friday. It’s not the first time that Flynn, a retired U.S. Army General and Christian nationalist, has made controversial statements about Jews. We’ve rounded up seven more of his past remarks. Read the story ➤

The new world champion of Scrabble can spell schlep four ways: David Eldar, a 33-year-old from Australia, won the tournament in Las Vegas last month with words like zep and fyce. He spends 10 to 15 hours a week practicing the game. Our Beth Harpaz asked Eldar about Jewish words, his tips for winning, and his favorite Wordle starting word. Read the story ➤

Opinion | Covering the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting and its aftermath tested me as a Jewish journalist: Ron Kampeas of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency was one of the first reporters on the scene hours after the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history. He’s gone back several times, most recently to cover the months-long trial that ended with the shooter being sentenced to death. It “delivered a punch to my gut,” Kampeas says of the experience. Read the essay ➤

And one more: New York Mayor Eric Adams appointed Fabien Levy, a Persian Jew, as deputy mayor. Colleagues call Levy a “true mensch.”

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

AEPi students at a 2018 Israel Independence Day event at the University of California, San Diego. (Getty)

?   The Anti-Defamation League is teaming up with the Jewish fraternity AEPi to train students how to respond to antisemitism. And how to advocate for Israel. (JTA)

☀️  An Israeli soldier died on Monday, apparently due to the heat wave gripping the country. Temperatures in Jerusalem Monday reached 97 degrees Fahrenheit. (JNS, Times of Israel) 

?  Police arrested a man who threatened a rabbi at the University of Kentucky Chabad. He was “calling for extermination,” the rabbi said, saying “that death is the only option, and just some horrifying violent messages talking about goose stepping Jews into the gas chambers.” (Lexington Herald-Leader, WKYT)

✝️  Archaeologists in Israel are deciding whether to uproot a centuries-old floor containing a mosaic of Jesus and loan it to the evangelical Museum of the Bible in Washington. (AP)

?  Israeli filmmaker Shai Gal made a documentary about the end of his parents’ marriage — after four kids and more than five decades. “I just looked at this great story happening in my house,” he said, “and thought, how can I not tell it?” (Jewish Insider)

Mazel tov ➤  To James S. Snyder, formerly of MoMA and the Israel Museum, on his new position as the director of the Jewish Museum in New York. 

What else we’re reading ➤  Actor Ben Kingsley reveals why he stars in so many Holocaust films … An advocate for secular education among Haredi Jews discovers journalism … A Savile Row–trained rabbi, now working in Brooklyn, is one of the hottest tailors in town.

ON THE CALENDAR

(Wikimedia)

On this day in history (1939): The Wizard of Oz premiered at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. With songs by the Jewish composer-lyricist team Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, the film adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s fantasy novel about Dorothy’s trip down the yellow brick road took on a distinctly Jewish perspective. Forward contributor Benjamin Ivry says the wistful “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” has an  “innate message of vey is mir despite the overt optimism.”

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Murray’s Cheese introduced a new logo. Notice that it now says “Est. 1962.” This comes two years after Andrew Silverstein debunked the iconic brand’s origin myth and its 1940 founding date in an exposé in our pages.

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Thanks to Jacob Kornbluh, Rebecca Salzhauer and Talya Zax for contributing to today’s newsletter. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at [email protected].