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‘Parade’ star Ben Platt wears Star of David necklace as part of Met Gala costume
(JTA) — Ben Platt, the Broadway star headlining a musical about an antisemitic episode in American history, donned a Star of David necklace as part of his outfit for Monday night’s Met Gala.
The annual gala is a hallmark of the fashion calendar, and celebrities are urged to put together splashy costumes to match a theme. This year’s event was a tribute to Karl Lagerfeld, the designer whose parents were Nazis and who led a fashion house, Chanel, that had its own Nazi past.
Platt’s outfit — a white boucle tweed suit with platform heels, over a corset — riffed on Chanel’s iconic women’s suit designs. As he has in past years’s Met Gala costumes, Platt also incorporated robust jewelry, including a gold chain belt, rings on multiple fingers and, around his neck, a Star of David necklace. (While Platt did not identify a designer in his Instagram post, commenters suggested that the necklace could be the work of David Yurman, a luxury jeweler who credits the Hebrew Free Loan Society for giving him his start.)
Platt’s necklace choice comes as the performer nears the conclusion of a Broadway revival of “Parade,” which tells the story of the 1915 antisemitic lynching of Leo Frank, a Jewish man accused of raping and murdering a girl who worked in the Georgia factory he managed. Platt has said the show is warranted at a time of rising antisemitism and white supremacy in the United States.
“This show is all about not only antisemitism, but the failure of the country to protect lots of marginalized groups, and we’re all feeling that really intensely right now,” Platt told the New York Times in October, during an off-Broadway run of the show.
Neo-Nazis rallied outside the show during its first night of previews on Broadway in February. Frank frequently features in the rhetoric of some neo-Nazis who reject the consensus that he was innocent of the crime. They see advocacy on Frank’s behalf as evidence of Jewish control of the media — a longstanding antisemitic trope.
Platt, who is Jewish and attended camp in the Conservative movement’s Ramah network, said the incident showed the relevance of the play. “I just think that now is really the moment for this particular piece,” he said.
Platt’s costar on the “Parade” stage, Micaela Diamond, also attended the Met Gala, wearing a lavender gown and makeup. She drew accolades from some fashion-watchers for wearing her hair in its natural curls — a move that some have argued can be an act of resistance for Jewish women.
The duo’s appearance came amid criticism of the Met Gala for honoring Lagerfeld, who had a reputation for racism and sexism. He also drew condemnation in 2017 for criticizing Germany’s decision to admit Muslim refugees and tying his criticism to Germany’s Holocaust record.
Lagerfeld fought to keep his parents’ history — they joined the Nazi Party in 1933, the year of Adolf Hitler’s ascent to power and of Lagerfeld’s own birth — out of public view. It was not revealed until after his death in 2019. (Typically flamboyant, he also insisted on anonymity after making a small donation to a synagogue near one of his homes in the South of France.)
Lagerfeld was best known as the creative director of Chanel from 1983 until his death, building the designer into a fashion juggernaut that is rarely associated with its own Nazi past. Chanel’s early investors, a Jewish family, were forced from Germany and evidence suggests that Coco Chanel, the company’s French founder and namesake, not only had a relationship with a Nazi officer but may have actively spied for the Nazis.
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Antisemitism bills head to NYC Council Committee to Combat Hate
The New York City Council committee is moving forward with a series of bills aimed at addressing the rise in antisemitism, including a controversial proposal that would limit protests outside houses of worship.
The newly created Committee to Combat Hate is set to hold a hearing later this month on seven related bills introduced last month by Council Speaker Julie Menin, who is Jewish. The measures include a proposal to establish a 100-foot buffer zone outside synagogues and educational centers, increased funding for security measures, expanded education on online harassment, and improved reporting of antisemitic incidents.
Antisemitic incidents continue to account for a majority of reported hate crimes in New York City. According to the New York City Police Department, antisemitic incidents made up 57% of all hate crimes reported in 2025. The trend has continued into the new year, with more than half of all hate crimes reported in January targeting Jews or Jewish institutions, NYPD data showed.
Menin, who is the first Jew to lead the city’s legislative body, said last month that the council would vote on her five-point plan to combat antisemitism at Thursday’s meeting, hoping to pass it on an “aggressive and fast timetable.” A council spokesperson said the timetable has since been modified to align with the Feb. 25 committee hearing. After that hearing, the Speaker will decide when the bills go to the full council for a vote.
The panel is chaired by Councilmember Yusef Salaam, who is Muslim and has spoken about the need to confront antisemitism alongside Islamophobia. “When antisemitism rises, Islamophobia often follows,” Salam said at a news conference when the speaker announced her plan. “When Islamophobia is tolerated, antisemitism finds new grounds to grow.”
Before she became speaker, Menin privately promised Inna Vernikov, a Republican from Brooklyn, to create a subcommittee dedicated to combating antisemitism. Instead, she formed a task force, co-chaired by Vernikov and Eric Dinowitz, a Democrat from the Bronx and chair of the seven-member Jewish Caucus. The appointment of Vernikov drew criticism for her incendiary remarks on social media about Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Party’s approach to antisemitism.
Mamdani, a strident Israel critic who faces scrutiny from mainstream Jewish organizations over his response to antisemitism and pro-Palestinian protests, said he broadly supports the package introduced by Menin but expressed reservations about the legality of the proposed 100-foot buffer zone around synagogues and other houses of worship. “I wouldn’t sign any legislation that we find to be outside of the bounds of the law,” he said.
On Wednesday, during a budget hearing at the state Legislature, Mamdani was questioned again about his response to antisemitic rhetoric, including the slogan “globalize the intifada,” that has been chanted at protests against the war in Gaza. “I strongly discourage the language, and I have not used the language,” Mamdani said.
Progressive groups that support Mamdani, including Jews For Racial & Economic Justice, Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow, called on council members to reject the buffer zone bill. “When houses of worship host non-religious political events, they are making a choice with the knowledge that they might be protested for doing so,” the groups said.
Mamdani has faced criticism twice for his response to protests outside synagogues hosting events about real estate investment in Israel. On Jan. 8, protesters outside a Queens synagogue featured chants of “Say it loud, say it clear, we support Hamas here.” Though Mamdani quickly condemned the language, he had to follow up later to denounce Hamas.
Just after Mamdani’s election in November, he issued a mixed response to a demonstration outside Manhattan’s Park East Synagogue that featured anti-Israel and antisemitic slogans. He initially questioned the use of a sacred place for an event promoting migration to Israel. He later clarified his statement and said he would consider legislation limiting protests outside synagogues.
Critics said the response, which took nearly a day, was slow and undercut Mamdani’s repeated pledges to protect Jewish New Yorkers, and raised fresh questions about what kind of mayor he intends to be. New York City is home to the largest concentration of Jews in the United States.
The post Antisemitism bills head to NYC Council Committee to Combat Hate appeared first on The Forward.
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James Van Der Beek, ‘Dawson’s Creek’ star, had longstanding ties to Israel
(JTA) — James Van Der Beek, the beloved star of the 1990s television show “Dawson’s Creek” who married his wife in Tel Aviv in 2010, has died.
Van Der Beek died on Wednesday at 48, following a years-long battle with colorectal cancer.
“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning,” his family wrote on Instagram Wednesday. “He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace. There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity, and the sacredness of time. Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.”
Van Der Beek’s breakout role, playing 15-year-old Dawson Leery in the hit teen drama “Dawson’s Creek” in 1998, earned him widespread acclaim and cemented him as a teenage heartthrob of the early 2000s.
Van Der Beek, who was not Jewish, met his wife, Kimberly Brook, in 2009 while traveling in Tel Aviv at a restaurant on Bograshov Beach.
In August 2010, the pair returned to Israel where they were married at the Kabbalah Center in Tel Aviv and toured around the country during their honeymoon.
In a post on Instagram in 2021, Van Der Beek recalled his time in Israel and Hebron, a city in the West Bank, detailing shouts of “Mazel Tov” from Israelis as well as the arrest of their tour guide by Israeli police.
“This is by no means a complete picture of the situation, and I won’t pretend to understand the geopolitical complexities fueling this conflict…,” wrote Van Der Beek. “But there’s a lot of humanity on both sides of that razor wire, and whatever ‘solution’ fails to recognize that… isn’t a solution.”
Van Der Beek is survived by his wife and their six children, Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn and Jeremiah.
Among the close friends and associates who mourned Van Deer Beek after his death were “Golda” director Guy Nattiv and Becky Tahel, an Israeli-American creative whose career in Hollywood began as a babysitter to the Van Der Beeks’ young children.
“Looking back at so many moments, so many evenings that became sacred because you were in them,” Nattiv posted on Instagram. “Birthdays, Jewish holidays, crowded tables, loud laughter, NFL games and concerts. James, you weren’t just present in our lives you were woven into them. Every piece of you lives inside our hearts now.”
The post James Van Der Beek, ‘Dawson’s Creek’ star, had longstanding ties to Israel appeared first on The Forward.
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Trump Plans to Announce Gaza Funding Plan, Troops at First Board of Peace Meeting, US Officials Say
US President Donald Trump speaks during a charter announcement for his Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, alongside the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 22, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
US President Donald Trump will announce a multi-billion-dollar reconstruction plan for Gaza and detail plans for a UN-authorized stabilization force for the Palestinian enclave at the first formal meeting of his Board of Peace next week, two senior US officials said on Thursday.
Delegations from at least 20 countries, including many heads of state, are expected to attend the meeting in Washington, DC, which Trump will chair on Feb. 19, the officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The details on Trump‘s plans for the first meeting of his Board of Peace for Gaza have not been previously reported.
Trump signed documents in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 23 establishing the Board of Peace. The board‘s creation was endorsed by a United Nations Security Council resolution as part of Trump‘s Gaza plan.
While regional Middle East powers, including Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, as well as major emerging nations such as Indonesia, have joined the board, global powers and traditional Western US allies have been more cautious.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday during his visit to Washington that Israel has joined the board.
Trump has stirred concerns that the Board of Peace might try to resolve other conflicts around the world and compete with the United Nations. The US officials said the meeting next week will focus solely on Gaza.
They said a central part of the meeting will be Trump‘s announcement of a multi-billion-dollar fund for Gaza, which will include monetary contributions from participating board members.
One official called the offers “generous” and said that the United States had not made any explicit requests for donations.
“People have come to us offering,” the official said. “The president will make announcements vis a vis the money raised.”
STABILIZATION FORCE
Deployment of the International Stabilization Force is a key part of the next phase of Trump‘s Gaza plan, announced in September. Under the first phase, a fragile ceasefire in the two-year-old war began on Oct. 10 and Hamas has released hostages while Israel has freed detained Palestinians.
Trump will announce that several countries plan to provide several thousand troops to the stabilization force that is expected to deploy in Gaza in the months ahead, the officials said.
A primary concern for now is disarming Hamas fighters who have refused to give up their weapons. Under Trump‘s Gaza plan, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries, under the plan.
The Board of Peace meetings will also include detailed reports on the work of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, which was established to take over the day-to-day civil administration of Gaza Strip from Hamas. The committee announced its members and held its first meeting in January.
Other updates will cover humanitarian aid for Gaza as well as the Gaza police, the officials said.