RSS
David Corenswet, the next Superman, has deep Jewish roots in New Orleans — where he was married by a rabbi
(JTA) — When David Corenswet was announced as the next Marvel Superman last month, Jewish movie and comic fans rejoiced: He will be the first Jewish actor to portray the hero in a blockbuster.
But one Jewish community in New Orleans has been particularly excited.
“The Corenswet family is well known and loved” in New Orleans, said Daniel Sherman, rabbi of the city’s historic Temple Sinai synagogue. “I have also heard a few groups talking about having some screening events to support David and are thrilled with the prospect of having not only a ‘Jewish Superman,’ but one with local roots.”
The Corenswet clan has long ties to Temple Sinai, Louisiana’s oldest Reform synagogue, founded in 1870. Although David Corenswet grew up in Philadelphia, many members of his family still attend Temple Sinai, including his uncle Jay, a past president of the congregation.
“It’s not the biggest issue in anyone’s life, but we’re very gratified that we’re going to have a Jewish Superman,” said Edward Cohn, a rabbi emeritus at Temple Sinai who is close to the Corenswets.
Corenswet also tapped Cohn when he got married in March. The ceremony took place at the Immaculate Conception church — one of the city’s historic Jesuit houses of worship, first opened in the 1850s — because Corenswet’s wife is Catholic.
Cohn co-officiated the ceremony with a priest — and according to Julie Vanderbrook, Immaculate Conception’s longtime wedding coordinator, “the rabbi kind of ran the show.”
It was the first time in at least two decades (possibly ever, according to Vanderbrook) that the church hosted a ceremony that included a chuppah, or Jewish wedding canopy. Other Jewish rituals, including the breaking of the glass, were combined with Catholic ones. Cohn said that Corenswet had a specific vision for how the day would go, and church staffers were delighted with how he carried it out.
“The bride and groom were just so determined to intersperse the Jewish traditions with the Catholic traditions, which to me just enhanced the beauty and the strength of both faiths,” Vanderbrook said. “I felt I got to know [the Corenswet family] pretty well, because they were delightful people.”
Multiple members of the New Orleans community who know David described him as quietly intense and intellectual, and he has successfully kept most of his personal life — including the details of his Jewish identity, and the very fact that he is married — private, even as the Hollywood spotlight has begun to shine brightly on him. (His publicists did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.)
Corenswet poses with Rabbi Edward Cohn at his wedding rehearsal dinner at Immaculate Conception Jesuit Church in New Orleans. (Courtesy of Cohn)
But Cohn said Jewishness is an important part of David’s private life, even if he doesn’t regularly go to a synagogue. David and his new wife, who is also an actor, have been living in Philadelphia, and Cohn said they are “definitely intending to affiliate with a congregation,” even though they regularly travel to Los Angeles and other filming locations.
In 2020, David spoke at a Zoom event organized by Jewish Pride New Orleans, a group under the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans umbrella.
“He was so generous with his time,” said Marc Behar, who founded JP NOLA. “A thoughtful, kind person.”
Cohn also knew David’s grandfather, Sam Corenswet, Jr., who Cohn described as a “bright, worldly, well-educated southern gentleman.” Like his own father, Sam Jr. was involved with the Temple Sinai board — and the New Orleans Mid Winter Sports Association, which runs the college football Sugar Bowl (previously an end-of-year championship game, now part of the annual NCAA football Playoff). The family ran a wholesale appliance distributor business.
An article on the Sugar Bowl website explains the many famous college football figures Sam Corenswet, Jr. met over the course of a 50-year tenure as president of the association: “He’s met many of the legendary college coaches, Bear Bryant, Woody Hayes, Bud Wilkinson, Bob Devaney, Bobby Bowden and Nick Saban, through the years. He’s witnessed numerous Heisman Trophy winners and national championship squads.”
David Corenswet’s father John, who died of cancer in 2019 at 64, was an actor-turned-lawyer. The family did not have cable TV while David grew up, and they instead watched classic movies together. David caught the acting bug early and made his debut at age 9 in a local production of Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons.” He would go on to Juillard; in auditions, he kept an old New York City subway token in his pocket, a gift and good luck charm from his father.
Corenswet, 30, is still far from a household name. He has starred in multiple Netflix series developed by prolific producer Ryan Murphy, including “The Politician” and “Hollywood,” but a turn as Superman will exponentially raise his profile. “Superman: Legacy” is slated for release in 2025 and co-stars Rachel Brosnahan, of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” fame, as Lois Lane.
It’s unclear whether David will bake anything Jewish into his performance — Superman was originally created by two Jews and the character’s real name, Kal-El, is thought to be a nod to Hebrew — but the rabbi who stood under the chuppah with him said he’s sure the actor will make the role his own.
“For a guy who is an actor, he’s not looking to be on stage all the time,” Cohn said. “He can laugh at himself. He’s got a great sense of humor, which I think will be really important in this role that he’s going to play.”
—
The post David Corenswet, the next Superman, has deep Jewish roots in New Orleans — where he was married by a rabbi appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
RSS
Miriam Libicki illustrates her experience being banned by the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival
This cartoon originally appeared in the Fall 2024 issue of the quarterly magazine published by The Canadian Jewish News.
The post Miriam Libicki illustrates her experience being banned by the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
RSS
Justice Department Charges Afghan Citizen With Plotting To Commit Terror Attack on Election Day
An American flag waves outside the US Department of Justice Building in Washington, US, Dec. 2, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Tom Brenner
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued charges against an Afghan citizen allegedly plotting to execute a terrorist attack during Election Day at the behest of Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, a 27-year old resident of Oklahoma City, schemed to help ISIS commit an act of terrorism on American soil through the acquisition of firearms and ammunition, according to the federal officials. Tawhedi allegedly sold many of his assets and moved several family members out of the United States as part of his preparations for the terrorist attack.
“As charged, the Justice Department foiled the defendant’s plot to acquire semi-automatic weapons and commit a violent attack in the name of ISIS on U.S. soil on Election Day,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, “We will continue to combat the ongoing threat that ISIS and its supporters pose to America’s national security, and we will identify, investigate, and prosecute the individuals who seek to terrorize the American people.”
“This defendant, motivated by ISIS, allegedly conspired to commit a violent attack, on Election Day, here on our homeland,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.
While investigating Tawhedi, the FBI surfaced messages between Tawhedi and an ISIS-connected individual “who facilitated recruitment, training, and indoctrination of persons who expressed interest in terrorist activity.” In addition, the Justice Department report alleges that Tawhedi obtained, viewed, and saved ISIS propaganda on his digital devices. He also sent messages in a Telegram account affiliated with ISIS and sent money to sham “charity organizations” which fundraise for the terrorist group.
While Tawhedi and an alleged partner, who is a minor, were in the process of selling his assets in advance of the planned terrorist attack, an individual connected with the FBI contacted him under the guise of purchasing a computer. During their communications, the individual informed Tawhedi that they were in the process of launching a new gun business.
Tawhedi and his partner eventually met up with the FBI-connected individual in rural Oklahoma on Oct. 7 with the goal of purchasing firearms to carry out the terrorist attack. The duo successfully bought and took possession of “two AK-47 assault rifles, ten magazines, and 500 rounds of ammunition.”
The agency slapped Tawhedi charges of “conspiring and attempting to provide material support to ISIS,” and “receiving a firearm to be used to commit a felony or a federal crime of terrorism.”
In recent months, the DOJ has been busy holding foreign extremists accountable for planning or committing acts of terrorism on American soil. In September, the agency announced charges against several top leaders of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas for orchestrating the Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel. That same month, the agency thwarted a planned shooting against New York Jews by a Pakistani national.
The post Justice Department Charges Afghan Citizen With Plotting To Commit Terror Attack on Election Day first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Brown University Rejects BDS Proposal
More than 200 Brown University students gathered outside University Hall where roughly 40 students sat inside demanding the school divest from weapons manufacturers amid the Israel-Hamas war. Photo: Amy Russo / USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connect
The Brown University Corporation has voted down a proposal — muscled onto the agenda of its annual meeting by an anti-Zionist group which held the university hostage with threats of illegal demonstrations and other misconduct — to divest from ten companies linked to Israel, according to an announcement from the University.
According to the university, the Corporation heeded the counsel of the Advisory Committee on University Resources Management (ACURM), which witnessed earlier this semester a presentation — delivered by the pro-Hamas group Brown Divest Coalition (BDC) — in support of divestment and recommended that it be turned down. Brown University president Christina Paxson concealed ACURM’s opinion from the public, ostensibly to shield it from political pressure, but the decision had the effect of fueling speculation that the body, which once recommended divestment several years ago, had done so again.
“The Corporation also discussed the broader issue of whether taking a stance on a geopolitical issue through divestment is consistent with Brown’s mission of education and scholarship. The Corporation reaffirmed that Brown’s mission is to discover, communicate, and preserve knowledge. It is not to adjudicate or resolve global conflicts,” president Paxson and Brown Corporation chancellor Brian T. Moynihan said on Wednesday in a letter commenting on the vote.
They continued, “The manner in which our community now reflects on this decision creates an opportunity. Throughout our history, Brown as a community has been guided, even when we disagree with each other, by a deeply held campus culture characterized by mutual respect, support for each other, empathy, understanding of differences and, importantly, a willingness to engage in constructive dialogue regarding these differences. Whether you support, oppose or have no opinion on the decision of the Corporation, we hope you will do so with a commitment to sustaining, nurturing, and strengthening the principles that have long been at the core of our teaching and learning community.”
Brooke Verschleiser, a third-year Brown University student and biochemistry major who helped lead the effort of Jewish students to oppose divestment, told The Algemeiner on Wednesday that she commends the Corporation’s prudence.
“We are pleased that ACURM followed its charge and that the Corporation made its decision based on the facts and appropriate guidelines,” Verschleiser said. ” We echo President Paxson’s hope that the community will uphold its culture of ‘mutual respect, support for each other, empathy, understanding of differences, and, importantly, a willingness to engage in constructive dialogue.”
The Brown Corporation’s mere consideration of the divestment proposal, which many argued would descend the university into the paranoia and hatred of antisemitic conspiracy, set off waves of opposition over the past several weeks.
Last month, Joseph Edelman, a trustee of the Corporation has resigned from his position, condemning the vote as a betrayal of the Jewish community.
“I disagree with the upcoming divestment vote on Israel,” Edelman, a hedge fund manager, wrote in an op-ed explaining his decision. “I am concerned about what Brown’s willingness to hold such a vote suggests about the university’s attitude toward rising antisemitism on campus and a growing political movement that seeks the destruction of the state of Israel.”
Others, including 24 attorneys general, warned that conceding to the demands of a group which endorses mass casualty events inspired by Islamist extremism would have “immediate and profound legal consequences” — potentially divestment from Brown mandated by “laws in nearly three-fourths of states prohibiting states and their instrumentalities from contracting with, investing in, or otherwise doing business with entities that discriminate against Israel, Israelis, or those who do business with either.”
Meanwhile, an investment network, JLens, published a study which found that adopting divestment — a core tenet of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement — may compromise Brown’s financial health. According to the study which measured the havoc BDS would wreak on university investment portfolios, divestment from Israel would incinerate over $300 million in returns for the Brown’s endowment in the just the next decade.
News of Corporation’s decision was greeted with invective and abusive language, as the pro-Hamas group which proposed divestment took to social media to lodge expletives and other offensive insults at Christina Paxson, who withstood sharp criticism for agreeing to negotiate with its members.
“F— you CPax. F—You Brown Corp,” the Brown Divest Coalition said in a statement on Wednesday. “Free Palestine.”
American universities are largely rejecting demands to divest from Israel and entities linked to the Jewish state, delivering further blows to the pro-Hamas protest movement, which students and faculty pushed with dozens of illegal demonstrations to coerce officials into enacting the policy.
In August, Oberlin College’s Board of Trustees voted against BDS after reviewing a proposal submitted by “Students for a Free Palestine,” a spin-off of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which has been linked to Islamist terrorist organizations. The following month, University of Minnesota and Chapman University also rejected BDS, citing similar reasons, including “fiduciary duty” and the importance of insulating investment decisions from the caprices of political opinion.
Oberlin explained that divestment would undermine its mission to create a space in which students “express contested views,” adding that adopting the divestment proposal “would be taking a clear institutional stand on one side of a fraught and contested issue that divides the Oberlin community.” It continued, “The board believes that doing so could constrain critical thinking, discourse, and debate on the subject, which would jeopardize the college’s mission.”
Christina Paxson and Brian Moynihan expressed similar views in Wednesday’s statement.
“Brown’s Public Statements Policy is already clear that the university does not make institutional statements on social, political, or policy matters unrelated to the university’s operations in advancing education, scholarship and discovery,” they said. “Brown’s standards for divestment should be reviewed to ensure that they are aligned with this policy…for now, it is clear that the endowment should not and will not be used to take a stance on the contested geopolitical issues in the Middle East.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Brown University Rejects BDS Proposal first appeared on Algemeiner.com.