Three weeks after the death of Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA) — and just a week after the election date was set — Democrats in the Richmond, Va., area head to the polls today to cast their ballots for one of several candidates vying to succeed the late three-term legislator, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. 

Set the scene: In the weeks since McEachin’s death, state Sen. Jennifer McClellan, a vice chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus who mounted a failed primary bid for governor in 2021, shot to the front of the pack, having earned the backing of Virginia’s two U.S. senators; all the Democrats in its congressional delegation; McEachin’s widow; and Del. Lamont Bagby, a state representative who initially challenged McClellan but dropped out of the race and endorsed her last week. McClellan is facing off today against state Sen. Joe Morrissey, a conservative, pro-life Democrat who has been jailed five times, including a three-month sentence for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, whom he later married. Leon Benjamin, a Richmond minister, won the Republican nomination over the weekend, and will face off against either McClellan or Morrisey in February.

All eyes on Va.: The race has attracted national attention, including from major liberal groups such as EMILY’s List and Planned Parenthood, who are supporting McClellan, as well as pro-Israel advocacy organizations. McClellan earned the endorsement of Democratic Majority for Israel PAC and AIPAC PAC. McClellan earned the support of several prominent Jewish Democrats, including Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA), former Speaker of the Virginia Statehouse and now-Del. Eileen Filler-Corn and former state Del. Debra Rodman, who represented Henrico County, near Richmond. “She has a proven track record and really developed the relationships. She ran for governor, so she has that statewide exposure, and she is just known to be a really strong legislator and does the community outreach like no one else,” Rodman told JI. 

No conditions: “During her 17 years in the legislature, Sen. McClellan has worked to strengthen Virginia’s long-standing relationship with the state of Israel,” Jared Leopold, Sen. McClellan’s communications advisor, told JI Monday. Leopold declined to make McClellan available for an interview, but added that if elected she would “support foreign aid bills that provide full funding without political preconditions to ensure Israel’s ability to defend itself,” and that, as a supporter of the two-state solution she will “advocate for direct talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders to ensure a lasting peace.”

Against hate: Morrissey, an iconoclastic legislator who has lambasted the party’s handling of the primary, told JI in an interview on Friday that he has worked closely with the Richmond Jewish community and pledged to stand up against antisemitism as a member of Congress. “There has certainly been an uptick in violence against Jewish people. Not just the people, but also where they choose to worship, including a rise in vandalism to synagogues. I think it is horrific. I have spoken out against it and have decried it,” said Morrissey.

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Early Tuesday morning, congressional leaders released their 2023 federal budget compromise bill. Advocates on and off the Hill once again fell short in their calls for $360 million in funding for the chronically underfunded Nonprofit Security Grant Program — negotiators settled on $305 million in funding, up from $250 million for 2022, Jewish Insider‘s Marc Rod reports. 

No dice: The agreement on $305 million comes despite significant bipartisan pressure, support from the White House and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and language in the just-passed 2023 National Defense Authorization Act supporting the $360 million funding target.

Mideast money: The bill allocates $225 million for aid to the West Bank and Gaza — surpassing 2022 funding levels and the presidential budget request by $6 million; $75 million for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency; and $50 million for the Middle East Partnership for Peace Act. It also includes the expected $3.8 billion in aid to Israel.

Funding boosts: The bill provides $10 million for implementing the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act, aimed at improving hate crimes reporting, matching the Senate’s proposed funding level but falling $5 million short of the House’s proposal. Significant non-reporting plagued the recently released 2021 FBI hate crimes report. The agreement boosts funding for the Holocaust Survivor Assistance Program to $8.5 million, short of the House’s $10 million target but up from $6 million last year. It increases funding for the Office to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism and the special envoy for Holocaust issues to $1.5 million each, up 50% over last year for each department.

Wrap up: Other legislation folded into the bill will levy sanctions on Iranian agents and related banks involved in targeting Iranian or U.S. citizens opposing the regime; grant a congressional gold medal to Nuremberg prosecutor Ben Ferencz; and designate the Kol Israel Foundation Holocaust memorial in Ohio as a national memorial, the first Holocaust memorial to receive such a designation. It also clears the path for the U.S. to rejoin the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It does not include language relating either to the U.N.’s Commission of Inquiry targeting Israel or the death of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

“Enough of the blech. Let’s have fun.” That was how comedian Ariel Elias introduced a series of musical performances last night at a rally in Times Square, which drew hundreds of people to the center of Manhattan on a frigid evening to protest antisemitism, celebrate the second night of Hanukkah — and have a good time, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Ben Sales reports.

Balancing act: Elias — who rocketed to internet fame in October after drinking a beer that a heckler threw at her — had the delicate task that falls to many emcees of Jewish demonstrations: She had to call attention to the grave and worsening problem of antisemitism while keeping the crowd entertained and uplifted. “You know things are rough out there when a bunch of New Yorkers are actually willing to come to Times Square,” she quipped. Less than two minutes later, she got serious: “It’s a hard reality to face, but we have to: Antisemitism is intensifying… It’s become normalized across our culture, on social media, in pop culture, in politics and on the streets. And so our efforts to fight it must be even stronger.”

Artistic expression: The mix of concern and entertainment spanned the arc of the event, part of the national Shine A Light campaign to oppose antisemitism. The rally’s attendees included a robust delegation from the Modern Orthodox Ramaz School, all wearing matching yellow beanies embroidered with the school’s logo. The Ramaz choir (likewise wearing the beanies) closed out the event. Some other rally-goers wore black beanies with the insignia of the UJA-Federation of New York, and some held UJA-branded signs reading, “Fight Jew hatred,” “We stand together” and “Stamp out antisemitism.” In addition to the cast of “Fiddler on the Roof – Yiddish” — which sang “God Bless America” and the show tune “To Life,” both in Yiddish — the event included a performance by the Hasidic rapper Nissim Black, wearing a white overcoat; and speeches by Little Rock, Ark. Mayor Frank Scott, Jr. as well as TikTok influencer Montana Tucker, who recently made a series of videos on the platform about the Holocaust. 

Miami Boy appearance: Near the end of the event, Jewish college students who have experienced antisemitism lit an electric menorah, with blessings (sans God’s name) sung by David Herskowitz, perhaps best known as the third Miami Boys Choir soloist in a viral Jewish music hit. The students were accompanied by Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, the chancellor of the City University of New York, who dropped out of testifying at a City Council hearing on antisemitism earlier this year. Later in the year, he committed to CUNY spending nearly $1 million to combat antisemitism on campus. 

Official pledges: The highest-profile guests were New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Attorney General Letitia James, both of whom pledged to fight antisemitism. Hochul highlighted her efforts to ensure schools were teaching about the Holocaust and to promote security for Jewish institutions. James, who wished the crowd a decently pronounced “chag sameach,” stressed the role of non-Jews in combating hate against Jews. “Working together with non-Jews… is so critically important,” James said. “The only way that we are going to stamp out ignorance is with the light of education and understanding and respect.” 

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Miami, known for its vibrant nightlife, bustling art scene and beautiful beaches, is also ground zero for sea level rise. With the same vigor, city officials are scrambling to find ways to elevate homes, build earthen berms and erect tall sea walls, while simultaneously organizing a weeklong showcase of artistic excellence — making it the perfect spot for an exhibition of three artists whose work calls attention to the problems facing the environment. Mira Lehr, Lauren Shapiro and Beatriz Chachamovits are no strangers to the dichotomy. Separately, the three Florida-based artists create pieces that merge the beauty of nature with its harsh realities, but have come together to paint an even more powerful picture with their newest joint exhibition, “Fragile Beauty,” Jewish Insider’s Tori Bergel reports.

Girl power: Showing through April at the Jewish Museum of Florida in Miami Beach, “Fragile Beauty” combines the trio’s individual works into a larger message about the changes happening to the planet and its struggling ecosystems. The exhibition had its official opening on Dec. 4, the final day of Miami Beach’s annual Art Week. The seven-day event, which this year culminated in the 20th anniversary of Art Basel Miami Beach earlier this month at the Miami Beach Convention Center, brings local and international artists together for a celebration of works along the city’s coastline. “As women, we have a more natural connection with the earth just because of how our body is, how we think, how our process is,” Chachamovits told JI. “We give birth, our body changes just like nature itself to create something new, and that relationship is really deep. So in a way, three female artists that are working in the same role, [coming] together to create an exhibition, I feel that it always makes the voice louder of the situation that needs to be dealt with or seen…that’s ultimately, I think, what we all want to see, the change that we’re asking for.”

Lehr’s look: Lehr, who was featured in two other exhibitions during Art Week Miami Beach in addition to “Fragile Beauty,” has been a prominent figure in the art world for over five decades. At 87, her work has shown in over 300 solo and group exhibitions, and been featured in museums and galleries across the country, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art in D.C. Born in Brooklyn but raised in Miami, Lehr remembers the antisemitism she faced after moving from central to northern Miami Beach, which was predominantly Christian. “I was asked the first day of school what my religion was and when I replied ‘Jewish,’ a bunch of kids said, ‘Oh my God, another one!’ When walking home from school, a kid shot a bobby pin into my ear and said, ‘Let’s get rid of the Jews,’” she recalled. While experiences like those made Lehr “frightened and very conscious of being a minority,” she added that they also made her more empathetic, empowering her to fight for social causes like climate change and fair publicity for women in the arts.

Coral connection: Chachamovits’ art focuses on the decline of the earth’s coral reefs — with particular attention to what scientists say are their three main causes of deterioration: coral bleaching, ocean acidification and plastic pollution — a cause she literally swam upon. “A coral in itself is a bunch of polyps joined together to form a being, and I feel like that represents very much what Jewish culture is,” she said. “We all come together to form a bigger body, a bigger understanding, a bigger community, and in that sense…I’m seeing really this connection between the ocean environment and the interdependence and the symbiosis that exists, that is so vivid and is so strong, inside of the ocean.”

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