All that (plus other disturbing incidents) added to the harmful legacy of a district whose students, just a few years ago, had hosted something called "Kick A Jew Day."
What went down in Naples, and what it says about Jews in Florida... and America:
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Andrew Lapin
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Michigander. Host/creator, "Radioactive": pbs.org/wnet/exploring… Yikes Beat . Occasional film critic.
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Three new board members -- all conservative -- had just been elected last year.
One had an openly antisemitic campaign volunteer, and initially did not condemn her.
Another told me he attends a "Messianic Jewish synagogue," and wants to hand out Bibles to every student.
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Collier County, Fla., needed a new superintendent. One of the candidates made a disparaging comment about "unchurched" Americans.
This alarmed the local Jews, but so did the makeup of the school board that almost voted for him.
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This story began when we heard about a Florida rabbi who had been harassed with antisemitic language outside a school board meeting.
But it only got darker and more bizarre from there.
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New from me: A school district in Christian County, Missouri, thinks having "Maus" available to students could be in violation of a state law.
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A Missouri school board will vote next week on whether to ban Art Spiegelman’s Holocaust graphic memoir “Maus,” on the grounds that the book may be considered “explicit sexual material.” jta.org/2023/06/14/uni
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The number-one question I get on The Yikes Beat is: "What do schools have against Anne Frank?"
So I wrote this to explain why a new illustrated version of her diary has become the oddest target of the modern book banning movement.
For :
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Join us tomorrow at 12 p.m. ET to learn more about this viral story from JTA editor in chief and senior reporter . Details here: bit.ly/42ePvvO
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Exclusive: The Florida mom who got Amanda Gorman's poem banned apologizes for promoting “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion."
jta.org/2023/05/24/uni
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Daily Salinas, the Florida mom who pressed her kids' school to ban Amanda Gorman's poem, heard from a lot of reporters today.
The only one she called back was . Why?
"I want to apologize to the Jewish community,” Salinas told
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Daily Salinas had shared a summary of the Protocols, a notorious antisemitic forgery, months ago. "I didn't read the words," she said -- except for the word "communism."
She also didn't read Gorman's poem in its entirety, she said.
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I spoke to the Florida mom who got Amanda Gorman's "The Hill We Climb" pulled from her elementary school.
She told me she wanted to apologize for something else: promoting the Protocols of the Elders of Zion on Facebook.
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Israel is turning 75. For American Jews, planning the birthday party has gotten complicated.
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A parent objected that the graphic novelization of Anne Frank's diary was "not a true adaptation of the Holocaust." A spokesperson for the school district said, “That’s not the actual diary of Anne Frank. It’s a fictional novel that has some inappropriate content in it.” 1/x
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A public high school in Florida has removed an illustrated adaptation of Anne Frank’s diary from its library. jta.org/2023/04/05/uni
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Simply incredible: A Florida school specifically designed to teach the classical Western canon as a way of countering "wokeism" fired its principal for showing their student's Michelangelo's "David."
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The two worst words in the English language, separately and together:
"Holocaust tweet."
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MI GOP defends their tweet comparing gun reforms to the Holocaust.
Whatever else you could say about this, you can't call it cynical -- they definitely believe it's valid!
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MIGOP Chairwoman @KristinaKaramo responds to the bogus authoritarian frenzy over the legitimate comparison to the troubling history of governments that have disarmed their citizens. #Defend2A twitter.com/KristinaKaramo…
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THE FABELMANS, TÁR and THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN had a combined total of zero Oscars tonight.
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Forever in debt to (and written before I peeked at) 's tradition, here was my own humble contribution to #YourOscarsMenu this year
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Now that the entire series is out, here is the complete Jewish History of the World...
Part II.
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In his latest column, Friedman cites my JTA story on American rabbis trying to communicate their thoughts on Israel to their congregants.
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My column: American Jews, You Have to Choose Sides on Israel nytimes.com/2023/03/07/opi
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I fought hard for the Brooksian "Part I" on the end of this headline, but it soon shall vanish. Nothing gold can stay.
But you should still join me this week on a journey through Jewish world history!
Connecticut College's president incited an uproar with a planned fundraiser at a Florida golf club known for its antisemitic and racist history.
Weeks later, students have occupied a campus building and are calling on her to resign.
New :
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What do rabbis in their position fear more: the so-called "Death by Israel Sermon," where your congregation turns on you for speaking your mind about Israel?
Or "an anti-Zionist element" emerging within the next generation of clergy?
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Some say that years of unvaried pro-Israel messaging have left the clergy without "the muscle" to respond to a serious moral crisis.
Others fear that, without rabbis continuing to support Israel, lib Jews may turn away from it entirely -- which they see as the worst outcome.
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I spoke to a half-dozen American rabbis about how they are wrestling with Israel's political metamorphosis.
What message do they want to leave with their congregants? What steps are appropriate for liberal Jews to take?
A story months in the making:
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Michigan AG Dana Nessel, who is Jewish, confirms she was one of this man's targets.
He also tweeted a death threat at Elon Musk.
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The FBI has confirmed I was a target of the heavily armed defendant in this matter. It is my sincere hope that the federal authorities take this offense just as seriously as my Hate Crimes &
Domestic Terrorism Unit takes plots to murder elected officials. jta.org/2023/03/01/uni
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A heavily armed Michigan man tweeted his plans to kill every Jewish elected official in the state, leading the feds to arrest him.
He'd worked for the University of Michigan for ten years. Online, he shared antivax conspiracy theories and QAnon stuff.
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Thanks to for having me on to discuss and the demagogic media techniques of Father Coughlin!
One of the most revered figures in the Conservative movement appeared as a character witness this week for a rabbi who pleaded guilty to soliciting underage sex, as part of a plea for a lenient sentence.
New for :
(Correction to my first tweet: Case Western Reserve University, the other school that has banned him, is private, not public.)
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In the world of Israel/antisemitism campus discourse, Popivker's case is an outlier that reverses the usual script of who is getting harassed by who.
Read more :
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Popivker told me he's practicing civil disobedience, like MLK and John Lewis: "I raise awareness about what's going on."
The Lawfare Project, a pro-Israel legal fund, is providing guidance on his case, and told me he is "a Jewish civil rights activist."
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Popivker has made weekly visits to CSU to advocate for Israel. Some students say they learn from him. Others say he's harassed them.
One filed an order of protection against him after he contacted her school and employer over her social media posts.
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How does a rabbi get himself banned from multiple public universities?
My story on Alex Popivker, whose persistent campus appearances -- and recent theft of a Palestinian student banner -- led to Cleveland State U declaring him "persona non grata."
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You always dream of being a 36 Under 36. Thank you to the Detroit Jewish News for this honor.
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I know Oxford survivors who attend MSU. Thinking of them tonight and the tapestry of gun violence young adults of this generation experience.
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UPDATE — Lena Epstein claiming conversion to Messianic Judaism sows confusion
Her spox tells me: “Her beliefs are personal, and she’s not going to be bullied into a box or forced to explain herself to a bunch of intolerant, politically motivated hacks."
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Re-upping my piece on Israeli filmmakers who are seeking to tell Palestinian stories, and how such efforts are being received, as CINEMA SABAYA opens in the US today. LET IT BE MORNING is also playing in theaters now.
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Look, re-enacting the exact plot of WHITE NOISE in real life is simply not acceptable. What is going on here.
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During her 2018 run for Congress, Epstein invited a Messianic "rabbi" to offer a prayer with Mike Pence after the Tree of Life synagogue shooting. A chorus of local Jews placed an ad in the Jewish News urging the community not to vote for her.
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