Caught in the Middle: Nigeria’s Jews | Debates vs. Trump Mega-Rallies

www.ozy.com [OZY.COM]( [VIEW ONLINE]( 9 MUST READS TODAY [Daily Dose]( Sunday Aug 04, 2019 1 [Fast Forward]( [Fast Forward]( [How Nigeria's Jews Are Getting Caught in a New Separatist War]( The tapping noise from Ima Nwachukwu’s footsteps breaks the solemn silence as the 49-year-old rabbi walks among worshippers draped in white robes, prayer shawls and yarmulkes at a synagogue in Port Harcourt, Nigeria’s third-largest city. “Remember you are not the only one persecuted. Jews all over the world are,” she tells them. She bows before the Star of David — ringed by a ribbon of blue light — at the end of a long sermon in which politics, persecution and purification all mingle. It’s a sermon rooted in a sharpening battle for survival that Nigeria’s small but fast-growing Jewish community faces. Africa’s most populous nation has seen its Jewish population double over the past five years to an estimated 10,000 people. But now, the community finds itself increasingly caught in a violent battle between Nigerian authorities and a revived secessionist movement for the creation of Biafra, which briefly existed as a separate nation in the 1960s. [READ MORE]( 2 [Need to Know]( [Need to Know]( [Donald Dossier: What If Trump Trades Debates for Mega-Rallies?]( The Twitterverse was quiet. After two days of Democratic debates, President Donald Trump had abstained from blasting his rivals, other than one tweet briefly stating that the people on stage would not, in fact, make America great. It was muted, a rare moment where the president was willing to play the part of an incumbent and act like his opponents were beneath the attention of the Oval Office. That didn’t last, of course. It turned out he was just saving his best ammunition for his own fireworks show. At a rally in Ohio on Thursday night, the reality TV show host submitted his most ambitious bit of counter-programming in the 2020 race to topple him. [READ MORE]( 3 [Rising Stars]( [Rising Stars]( [The Next Front Line of the Mass Incarceration Fight Is Mississippi]( This morning, more than 19,000 people awoke in state prisons across Mississippi, home to the nation’s third-highest incarceration rate. More than half of the inmates are Black, even though African Americans represent just 30 percent of the state’s population. This is the world where Jody Owens grew up, and the one he wants to change. Owens, 37, a candidate for district attorney of Hinds County in the Aug. 6 Democratic primary, knows his platform does not fit the norm of a Mississippi DA. As he seeks to lead criminal prosecutions in the county that includes the state capital of Jackson, Owens wants to utilize drug courts and restorative justice programs to send fewer people to prison. He won’t charge low-level marijuana cases, and he will only seek cash bail for defendants when he deems that not doing so would impact public safety or risk a no-show at trial. [READ MORE]( 4 [Good Sh*t]( [The Little-Known Gritty Cultural Hub in Buenos Aires]( The deceptively ordinary-looking streets of the Abasto neighborhood are filled with compelling and affordable art, music and theater. 5 [Flashback]( [When French Emperors and Royalty Fine Dined ... on Jell-O]( From haute cuisine to Jell-O shots, oh, how the mighty have fallen. 6 [Fast Forward]( [New England Farmers Are Aging. Immigrants Are Set to Replace Them]( In Maine, one solution to an age-old problem is new blood. 7 [Need to Know]( [Look Closer: Long-Awaited Help Is Finally on the Way]( After all this time, 9/11 first responders are getting the relief they deserve. 8 [Fast Forward]( [Black Women Help Harlem Emerge as a Global Fashion Hub]( Led by Black women, Harlem’s new fashion renaissance is here, and it’s drawing the world’s attention. 9 [Good Sh*t]( [Where to Find the Freshest Air in Ghana]( This town is so clean and tranquil, it was chosen as a venue for peace talks in the ’60s. You Should Know This [Forced to Divorce: Americans With Disabilities Must Pick Marriage or Health Care]( OZY Media Mountain View, California 94040 This email was sent to {EMAIL} [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Read Online](