Bidens first Democratic challenger is a Jewish philosopher angry at the presidents treatment of Palestinians – Forward

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Bidens first Democratic challenger is a retired Jewish philosophy professor angry at the presidents treatment of Palestinians

If Jerome Segal comes knocking at your door, its because he wants to introduce himself. Hell chat and then hell ask you to put one of his lawn signs in your front yard. The Bronx native will tell you hes running to become the next president of the United States. The 2024 race has begun.

Mideast map: Segal has spent decades trying to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 1987, according to his website, he was part of the first Jewish-American delegation to go to Tunis to open dialogue with Arafat and the PLO. He is the founder of a group called the Jewish Peace Lobby, and has written extensively about the Middle East. During a visit to the region in July, President Biden said the ground is not ripe at this moment to restart negotiations, a statement Segal calls shameful.

Not new to politics: The 2024 presidential race is Segals fourth bid for public office. This summer he came in ninth in the 10-candidate Democratic primary for Maryland governor, with .67% of the vote. He challenged Maryland Sen. Benjamin Cardin in the 2018 Democratic primary, and ran in the 2020 U.S. presidential election as the candidate of the Bread and Roses Party, which he founded.

Senior moment: In a recent poll, one-third of Americans said they believe President Biden is too old to run for reelection. Segal is 78, just one year younger than Biden. When they speak of age, he said, it is not a question of chronological age, but creative capacity and whether or not someone has new responses that new challenges call for.

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Then and now: Paula Goldstein as a USO hostess during WWII and now, nearing 100. (Courtesy)

A century of memories, starting with the old Forward building: It was like the North Star of the Lower East Side, recalls Paula Goldstein, 99, who grew up buying our newspaper each day at the candy store on Market Street. Goldstein spent a recent afternoon recalling the highlights of the 20th century to her niece. They covered presidents (JFK was so impossibly handsome) and comedians (apparently, Don Rickles reminds her of Nikita Khrushchev), adventurers (Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh) and so much more (democracy, spies and famous relatives). Goldstein shows no sign of slowing down. Literally. On the day of our visit, she was wearing new sneakers. Yes, I wore my Pumas out. Read the story

She studies Torah and table tennis | Meet the 20-year-old Orthodox phenom angling for a spot at the Olympics: Estee Ackerman, a Yeshiva University senior, beat Rafael Nadal at pingpong as a preteen and is nationally ranked in her sport. But shes been making headlines recently off the court. Last month, the mother of her doubles partner yelled at her for being disgusting and unprofessional over her modest dress. The words stung, but Ackerman is focused on the future. Its my passion to inspire others, she said. Read the story

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Thanks to Samuel Breslow, Jordan Greene, Beth Harpaz, Lauren Markoe, Chana Pollack, and Talya Zax for contributing to todays newsletter. You can reach the Forwarding team at editorial@forward.com.

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Bidens first Democratic challenger is a Jewish philosopher angry at the presidents treatment of Palestinians - Forward