This article is part of our morning briefing. Click here to get it delivered to your inbox each weekday. Why do conspiracy theorists love to hate Rothschilds? A Rothschild explains: For centuries the family was the face of Jewish success — both for Jews who aspired to their way of life and antisemites convinced their influence was insidious. Even now, some insist they have trillions of dollars and control everything from the banks to the weather. In his new book, Jewish Space Lasers, Mike Rothschild (no relation) unpacks why one family came to be blamed for everything and why the myths around them are so hard to eradicate. “There is nothing new in the book,” Rothschild said. “It’s just that every generation discovers it again.” Read the story ➤
From ‘Star Wars’ to Madonna, 11 times shofars showed up outside shul: Being little more than a husk of keratin from the head of a ram, goat or antelope, the shofar is not a very versatile instrument. Even so, the ceremonial horn has made quite a few appearances outside of Jewish ritual. Did you know, for instance, that Dave Brubeck incorporated it into a cantata and Jerry Goldsmith used it in both Planet of the Apes and Alien? Even Marcel the Shell had his turn trying to be a ba’al tekiah. Read the story ➤
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Holy cow! Can one heifer herald the end of the world as we know it? Some fringe Jewish and Christian groups believe a red heifer recently born in Israel may herald the coming of the prophesied messianic era, including a rebuilt Temple. They’ve been preparing for construction, including the cow breeding program that produced new red calf. But while Jewish prayers mournfully commemorate the Temple’s destruction, the construction of a new one is, according to culture writer Mira Fox, “a complicated, controversial proposition, both religiously and politically.” Read the story ➤
First-person | After 547 days of war, I am ready to leave Ukraine: Helen Chervitz has been doing more than reporting for us from Kyiv since the war began. “I tutored children when the schools closed,” she writes. “I donated blood. I have gone on countless grocery runs for the elderly and others too afraid to leave their apartments. I volunteered in any capacity I felt I could be useful.” But she has now made an agonizing decision. Read her essay ➤ |
Israeli volunteers help build a makeshift hut next to a destroyed home in Morocco. (Courtesy) |
First-person | What I learned on my rescue mission to Morocco: Yisrael Bitton, a volunteer medic, was part of a four-person team from United Hatzalah of Israel that swept into Morocco this week to help with the relief efforts after the devastating earthquake. “There was one particular moment that touched me deeply,” he writes. “An elderly couple’s modest house had been obliterated,” and they needed help constructing “a makeshift shelter of straw reeds where they could spend the night.” Read his essay ➤
And one more: An anti-circumcision activist is suing a Jewish anti-circumcision group. The lawsuit highlights concerns over antisemitism in the movement. |
WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
Roger Waters performing in May in Munich. (Getty) |
? The University of Pennsylvania is facing criticism from a growing number of Jewish leaders and alumni for hosting a Palestinian cultural festival next week featuring several controversial figures — including Roger Waters, the former Pink Floyd frontman known for his anti-Israel activism and for wearing a Nazi-style uniform on stage. The ADL’s Jonathan Greenblatt called the event “mind-boggling.” (Jewish Insider) ? A former employee of HSBC Bank sued the company, alleging that it discriminated against him after he asked not to work on Jewish holidays. He was fired after he complained about his treatment. (Bloomberg) ?? Tens of thousands of Jews are expected to flock to Uman, Ukraine, for an annual Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage, despite another year of wartime warnings. (JTA) ?? Hundreds of Haredi men blocked traffic at a major Jerusalem intersection Wednesday to protest an attempt to force a community member to enter the country’s mandatory military draft. It was a precursor to a looming battle over the issue. (AP) ? Police arrested a man Wednesday who had allegedly hung swastika flags from a busy Orlando overpass earlier this summer … Meanwhile, federal agents in Argentina raided and shut down a publisher that sold books with antisemitic and Nazi content. (CBS12, DW) ? Andy Samberg and Kate Winslet star in a new movie about the real-life story of two wartime photographers who were among the first to capture images of the Dachau concentration camp. It debuted this week at the Toronto International Film Festival. (JTA) Quotable ➤ “This shapes my ultimate wish on this Rosh Hashanah: that Jews will respond to antisemitism by combining a relentless push against antisemites with an even more energetic pull toward their tradition in all its manifestations. That they will respond by demonstrating pride in who they are and solidarity with others facing persecution for who they are.” – Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, the U.S. antisemitism envoy, in an Op-Ed in The New York Times.
What else we’re reading ➤ The race to catch the last Nazis … An Israeli TV channel for Netanyahu fans rapidly gains influence … How roving rabbis help the few Jews of rural Australia celebrate Rosh Hashanah. |
Amy Winehouse in 2007. (Getty) |
On this day in history (1983): Amy Winehouse, the Jewish singer-songwriter, was born in London. Winehouse, who died in 2011 at 27, attended a Jewish nursery school as a child, and nurtured a love of Jewish culture throughout her life: A recent biography reveals that she loved the Hanukkah song “Ma’oz Tzur” and bonded with her producer, Mark Ronson, over their shared Jewish identity. Winehouse would have been 40 this year. |
Ahead of Rosh Hashanah, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is providing thousands of Jews in Ukraine and across the former Soviet Union with food packages. Above, Lina Frolova, an 88-year-old retired teacher from Moldova, receives apples, honey and more supplies. — Thanks to Mira Fox, Ella Goldblum, PJ Grisar 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].
Hope you have a terrific day. |
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