“The View” co-hosts

Amid the intense fury over Whoopi Goldberg’s controversial assertion that the Holocaust was “not about race” because it had involved “two groups of white people” was a somewhat more constructive plea from Jonathan Greenblatt, the chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, that has largely gone unaddressed,Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. Appearing on the show a day after Goldberg had made her remarks, for which she has apologized, Greenblatt took the opportunity at the end of a long and emotional discussion to suggest that the panelists consider enlisting a Jewish co-host.

Is this seat taken? Greenblatt’s suggestion was hardly an idle one. While Goldberg was suspended by ABC on Tuesday for two weeks, another seat has been vacant for months since a former co-host, the conservative foil Meghan McCain, quit last August. Out of 22 co-hosts who have worked for “The View” since 1997, when the show was created, only two have been Jewish, the last of whom, the comedian Michelle Collins, departed in 2016 after just a year in the role. The broadcast journalist Barbara Walters, who helped launch the show 25 years ago, retired from her seat in 2014.

Two to tap: On Thursday, Greenblatt followed up on the conversation he had started, after JI inquired about his own preference for the seat. He had two picks, provided by way of an ADL spokesperson: the actress Debra Messing, who has put her Jewish identity front and center in speaking out against antisemitism and other injustices, and Juju Chang, the Korean-American “Nightline”anchor on ABC News who converted to Judaism in the 1990s after her marriage to the media executive Neal Shapiro.

Funny woman: “Is Sarah Silverman available?” said the novelist and essayist Dara Horn, whose most recent nonfiction book is People Love Dead Jews: Reports From a Haunted Present, published last September. Silverman, the actress and comedian known for her raunchy humor and provocative commentary, was among the candidates most frequently suggested. In recent months, she has placed herself at the center of a high-profile debate over representations of Jewish women in Hollywood, after criticizing what she described, on her podcast this past fall, as a “pattern in film” and TV in which non-Jewish actors are cast as Jewish characters — a topic of discussion that seems particularly well-suited for the show. “She’s a sharp, fierce, independent thinker, who has been making trenchant social commentary for decades,” actor Joshua Malina told JI. “She’s endlessly funny and has a huge, Jewish heart. She’d be perfect.”

Journalistically speaking: Another commonly cited pick was Bari Weiss, the former New York Times editor who has already appeared on “The View” as a guest host, and who publishes a popular Substack newsletter, “Common Sense.” In social media comments on Monday, Weiss reiterated that view in describing Goldberg’s remarks as a “whitewashing of the Jewish people and Jewish history.” Bethany Mandel, the conservative columnist who is outspoken on Jewish issues, said that Weiss could help bring a renewed focus to addressing antisemitism in a manner that, she believes, has been lacking since McCain left the show. But she was equally enthusiastic in recommending a somewhat lesser-known journalist who would be a “provocative” addition to the cast: Batya Ungar-Sargon, the former opinion editor of The Forward who now serves as a deputy opinion editor at Newsweek.

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Israeli President Isaac Herzog meets with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the first Israeli presidential visit to the UAE

During his visit to the United Arab Emirates this week, Israeli President Isaac Herzog offered security assistance to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan following a series of Houthi drone and missile attacks on the Gulf nation. Israel’s show of support for the Emiratis amid the attacks from the Iran proxy marks a shift that has occurred in Washington, too, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. While the signing of the Abraham Accords brought about a regional realignment, the normalization agreements also changed the calculus among the countries’ representatives in Washington and the way they approach U.S. policymakers.

New levels: “There has been discussion in a way that never existed before. There are parallel interests and joint interests, so I’ve gotta believe — I know that there is consultation,” said a D.C.-based foreign policy professional who is in frequent contact with both Israeli and Emirati diplomats, as well as American national security officials.

Catching up: In the turbulent waters of the Middle East, Israel and the UAE increasingly find themselves in the same boat. But before the Houthi attacks, those boats were traveling at different speeds: Both countries face a shared threat from Iran, but the nature of that threat, and how each responds to it, is different. But the attacks on the UAE could change things.

Shared goal: Senior Emirati and Israeli leaders — including Emirati Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid — advocated this week for Washington to redesignate the Iran-backed Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, which would make it easier to sanction the rebels. President Joe Biden removed the designation weeks into his presidency in the hopes that it would bring the Houthis to the negotiating table and make it easier for humanitarian relief to enter Yemen.

Under fire: The missile attacks on civilians in the UAE have also given the Emiratis an experience that Israeli civilians know all too well from their proximity to Hamas in Gaza. “When people go through similar experiences of having non-state actors fire rockets on their cities, that’s bound to be a bonding experience of sorts,” saidDavidMakovsky, director of the Koret Project on Arab-Israel Relations at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Read the full story here.

The main entrance to Beth Israel Congregation in Ann Arbor, Mich.

In the latest move in a long-simmering conflict between an Ann Arbor, Mich., synagogue and a group of demonstrators who have picketed its Shabbat services for nearly two decades, one congregant is now asking the Supreme Court to intervene, while facing a recent ruling that he and a co-plaintiff must pay more than $150,000 in court costs for the demonstrators, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Background: For 18 years, demonstrators affiliated with a group calling itself Witness for Peace (WFP) — formerly Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends — have displayed dozens of provocative signs on both sides of the road outside Beth Israel Congregation each week on Saturday morning as congregants arrive for Shabbat services. Signs include messages such as “Resist Jewish power” and “End Jewish Supremacism in Palestine.” The Anti-Defamation League describes WFP as “anti-Semitic” and its leader, Henry Herskovitz, as a Holocaust denier.

See you in court: In 2019, Beth Israel congregant Marvin Gerber and Miriam Brysk — who attends another congregation that holds services at the synagogue — filed suit against Herskovitz and his associates in federal district court, arguing that WFP violates their First Amendment right to freely practice their religion. WFP, supported by the American Civil Liberties Union, counters that the demonstrators are exercising constitutionally protected free speech rights. Thus far, the congregants’ argument has not been successful, with federal district and circuit courts siding against them.

Reinforcements: Gerber is now petitioning the Supreme Court to take up the case. He has until April 1 to file a formal petition. Nathan Lewin, who has argued before the Supreme Court nearly 30 times, recently agreed to represent Gerber pro bono. “The Jewish community in the United States should view [the lower-court ruling] as a clear and present danger,” Lewin toldJI. “Not only because it combines what [the lower-court judge] viewed as simply being anti-Israel propaganda with what is sheer antisemitism. But I think what is most important is that it really hinders, intimidates, harasses people going to the synagogue, the right to worship.”

Impacted: Beth Israel Rabbi Nadav Caine said that the demonstrations have been “traumatic,” “infuriating” and “just really depressing” for some congregants. He also noted that the protests can be particularly upsetting for out-of-town visitors coming to the synagogue for events like baby namings and bar and bat mitzvahs. He compared Herskovitz to a “terrorist” who he said has been “holding us hostage for 18 years” in furtherance of a “personal vendetta against Beth Israel.”

Read the full story here.

The US Capitol Building is seen in Washington, D.C. May 12, 2021.

Congressional and Senate candidates nationwide released their fundraising numbers for the end of 2021 earlier this week, providing a clearer picture of how closely watched races could play out as redistricting maps are finalized across the nation, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod, Gabby Deutch and Matthew Kassel report.

Andy Levin and Haley Stevens: Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) outpaced Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI) last quarter, with a $630,000 haul to Levin’s $365,000. With $2.6 million in total fundraising and $2 million on hand, Stevens approximately doubled Levin in both categories. Levin raised $365,000 and has $1.1 million on hand.

Sean Casten and Marie Newman: Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) more than doubled Rep. Marie Newman’s (D-IL) fourth-quarter fundraising, bringing in $700,000 to her $338,000. Casten now has $1.6 million on hand, nearly triple Newman’s $573,000 war chest.

TX-35: Progressive Austin City Councilmember Greg Casar led the field running in Texas’ newly vacant 35th Congressional District with $468,000 raised and $356,000 in the bank, followed by state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez with $251,000 raised and $220,000 in the bank and San Antonio City Councilmember Rebecca Viagran with $47,000 raised and $45,000 in the bank.

Nicole Malliotakis and Max Rose: In New York’s newly drawn 11th Congressional District, Rep. Max Rose (D-NY) outpaced Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), who unseated Rose in 2020, last quarter, after announcing his candidacy in December. Rose raised $812,000 compared to Malliotakis’ $715,000, but Malliotakis has significantly more cash on hand, with $1.8 million compared to Rose’s $734,000.

Ohio Senate: Matt Dolan led the Ohio Republican Senate field with a total of $8.3 million total raised last quarter — although nearly $8 million of that was self-funded, with $348,000 raised from other donors. Jane Timken was otherwise the leader, with $593,000 raised. Mike Gibbons, Josh Mandel and J.D. Vance were all well behind with $82,000, $65,000 and $43,000, respectively. That left Dolan with the largest war chest at $10.4 million, Gibbons with $6.4 million, Mandel with $6 million, Timken with $3.6 million and Vance with $1 million. On the Democratic side, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) led Justice Democrats-backed Morgan Harper by raising $2.9 million to her $342,000. Ryan has $5 million in the bank compared to her $437,000.

Pennsylvania Senate: PennsylvaniaTV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz led the Republican field last quarter, which was upended by presumed frontrunner Sean Parnell’s exit from the race. Oz brought in $669,000, trailed by real estate developer Jeff Bartos with $454,000 and former Ambassador Carla Sands with $165,000. Bartos has the largest war chest, however, at $2.5 million, trailed by Sands at $1.5 million and Oz — who joined the race near the end of 2021 — at $1 million. Former hedge fund executive David McCormick entered the race after the new year. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman dominated the Democratic field with $2.7 million raised and $5.3 million in the bank, followed by Rep. Conor Lamb (D-PA) with $1.3 million raised and $3 million in the bank. Physician Val Arkoosh was well behind, raising $620,000 with $1.2 million in the bank, as was state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, raising $339,000 with $285,000 in the bank.

Read more here.