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I’m writing as a J Street advocacy leader to share important updates from the region as well as J Street’s statements and resources from the past week.
This week marked the chaotic and dangerous rollout of a new aid mechanism in Gaza. The bodies of two Israeli-American hostages were recovered, Judith and Gadi Haggai, and reports indicate Israeli authorities began arming a jihadist group in Gaza to weaken Hamas. Netanyahu faces political crisis over military draft disputes, and rising antisemitic attacks—most recently in Boulder—are heightening fears for Jewish Americans’ safety.
You can find more on each of these developments and others below, along with our most recent statements here.
I invite you to reach out to your J Street Public Affairs staff with any questions.
All the best,
Lily
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Lily Adelstein
She/Her
Deputy Director of Government Affairs, J Street
Cell: 202-699-2701
J Street’s Congressional Resource Page |
This week on j street
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J Street Horrified by Terror Attack in Colorado, Urges Swift Action
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J Street Distressed by Continued Reports of Shootings and Fatalities Near Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Sites
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Explainer: New Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Mechanism for Aid Delivery
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J Street Mourns, Honors Lives of Judith Weinstein-Haggai and Gadi Haggai, Urges Ceasefire to Free Remaining Hostages
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J Street Rejects Trump Administration’s Travel Ban 2.0 and Ongoing Efforts to Demonize Immigrants
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What we’re reading
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US Group Distributing Aid in Gaza Reopens Sites After Deadly Shootings
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| A U.S.- and Israeli-backed organisation distributing aid in Gaza reopened two sites on Thursday, a day after halting work in response to a series of deadly shootings close to its operations. The U.S.-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said 26 truckloads of desperately needed food were handed out at two sites in southern Gaza’s Rafah area. The GHF, which has been fiercely criticised by humanitarian organisations, including the United Nations, for alleged lack of neutrality, began distributing aid last week and had been running three sites earlier this week…The organisation halted distributions on Wednesday and said it was pressing Israeli forces to improve civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its operations after dozens of Palestinians were shot dead near the Rafah site over three consecutive days. |
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U.S. Proposes Interim Step in Iran Nuclear Talks Allowing Some Enrichment
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| The Trump administration is proposing an arrangement that would allow Iran to continue enriching uranium at low levels while the United States and other countries work out a more detailed plan intended to block Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon but give it access to fuel for new nuclear power plants. The proposal amounts to a diplomatic bridge, intended to maneuver beyond the current situation, in which Iran is rapidly producing near-bomb-grade uranium, to reach the U.S. goal of Iran enriching no uranium at all on its soil. But it is far from clear that the Iranians will go along. |
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Former Israeli PM Olmert Explains Why He Believes His Country is Committing War Crimes
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| One of the strongest condemnations of Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza has come from its own former prime minister, Ehud Olmert, who served from 2006 to 2009. Last week, he wrote a scathing op-ed in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz with the headline “Enough Is Enough. Israel Is Committing War Crimes.” Geoff Bennett spoke with Olmert to discuss more. |
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Haredi Leaders Threaten to Bring Down Israeli Government as Effort to Revive Draft Exemptions Stalls
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| Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition was thrown into disarray on Wednesday night after the spiritual leaders of Haredi factions threatened to bring about an early election if penalties for yeshiva students avoiding military service are not canceled… The political threat became more acute on Wednesday evening, when Sephardic Haredi party Shas, which has 11 seats in the Knesset, supported UTJ’s move to call an election. Israeli media reported that Shas’ spiritual leader Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef told the party’s lead negotiator, former minister Ariel Atias, to tell Netanyahu that he will not have a government if agreements are not reached with the Haredi parties. |
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Netanyahu’s Arming of Gaza Gang Shows ‘He’s Learned Little Since Oct. 7’
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| An Arab ambassador said Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to arm one of Gaza’s most notorious criminal gangs as a foil to Hamas demonstrates that “he has learned little since October 7.” “Netanyahu worked to weaken the [Palestinian Authority] by bolstering Hamas in Gaza before October 7, and now he is doing it by bolstering this gang of criminals,” the ambassador told The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity, likening the Gaza financial aid that Netanyahu solicited from Qatar for Hamas to the transfer of weapons that the premier authorized to the Abu Shabab clan, which is widely known for its looting of humanitarian aid in Gaza. |
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US Vetoes UN Security Council Demand for Gaza Ceasefire
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| The United States on Wednesday vetoed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that demanded an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza and unhindered aid access across the war-torn enclave. The other 14 countries on the council voted in favor of the draft as a humanitarian crisis grips the enclave of more than 2 million people, where famine looms and aid has only trickled in since Israel lifted an 11-week blockade last month. |
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Israel Bars Arab Foreign Ministers From High-Level West Bank Visit
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| The Israeli government has barred foreign ministers from a number of Arab states, including Jordan and Saudi Arabia, from visiting the Israeli-occupied West Bank to meet with Palestinian leaders, the Jordanian government said on Saturday. A Jordanian foreign ministry statement said the delegation had planned to meet in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday with Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the territory. A visit by such high-ranking Arab officials to the West Bank would have been very unusual. The Israeli government refused to comment. |
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How Boulder Attack Could Boost Trump’s War on ‘Hostile Migration’
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| President Donald Trump has been working to shut down pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses and to enact sweeping immigration changes and deportations. A violent attack under the guise of a pro-Palestinian demonstration by a migrant who overstayed a visa has helped administration officials to promote anti-immigration goals. … Adina Vogel-Ayalon, vice president and chief of staff of pro-Israel and pro-peace organization J Street, told Newsweek: “There’s a bright-red line between free speech and political violence. These attacks are horrific and our hearts are with the victims of this sickening attack…Whatever our policy positions, we can surely agree that everyone in the United States should have the right to freedom of assembly and to peacefully protest, regardless of their background. That freedom includes freedom from horrific terror attacks like we saw yesterday, and freedom from government crackdowns designed to silence free speech.” |
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