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I’m writing to you as a J Street advocacy leader to share updates from the region over the past week, including Prime Minister Netanyahu’s embrace of the incoming Trump administration, the fallout from the firing of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and antisemitic attacks in Amsterdam.
As always, please feel free to reach out to J Street’s 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
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This week on j street
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| STATEMENT |
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Jewish Voters Reject Trump and Republicans, Support Diplomacy, Oppose Netanyahu Government Policies
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What we’re reading
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In Trump victory, Netanyahu sees himself as ‘the great winner’
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| Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejoiced over Donald Trump’s election victory, as he banked on resetting relations with Washington and following through on his maximalist aims in the country’s multifront war. Netanyahu congratulated Trump on “history’s greatest comeback” in a post on X Wednesday morning as the results became clear, but before many had made a final call, hailing his return to the White House as “a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance” between the U.S. and Israel. Later Wednesday, the two men spoke by phone, agreeing “to work together for Israel’s security” and discussing “the Iranian threat,” according to a statement from the prime minister’s office. |
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Palestinians will not be allowed to return to homes in northern Gaza, says IDF
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| Israeli ground forces are getting closer to “the complete evacuation” of northern Gaza and residents will not be allowed to return home, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said, in what appears to be the first official acknowledgment from Israel it is systematically removing Palestinians from the area. In a media briefing on Tuesday night, the IDF Brig Gen Itzik Cohen told Israeli reporters that since troops had been forced to enter some areas twice, such as Jabaliya camp, “there is no intention of allowing the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to return to their homes”. He added that humanitarian aid would be allowed to “regularly” enter the south of the territory but not the north, since there are “no more civilians left”. |
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After his firing, Gallant tells hostage families Netanyahu needlessly keeping IDF in Gaza
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| Former defense minister Yoav Gallant reportedly told families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel’s military has no reason to remain in the Strip, and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is keeping soldiers in Gaza “out of a desire to stay there.” The conversation came hours before his firing went into effect Thursday evening and the Knesset voted to approve the appointment of Israel Katz as the new defense chief. According to a report on Channel 12, Gallant, who was abruptly fired from his post by Netanyahu on Tuesday night, told the families that the prime minister is the only one who can decide whether or not to agree on a hostage deal, and that he “tried and failed” to influence the premier on the matter. |
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Israeli Soccer Fans Injured in Amsterdam Attacks That Authorities Call Antisemitic
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| The authorities in Amsterdam on Friday were investigating bursts of violence tied to a soccer game between a Dutch club and an Israeli team, which Israeli and Dutch officials described as antisemitic attacks. The police in Amsterdam said that 62 people had been arrested in connection with attacks in the city, which unfolded over several tense hours in multiple locations as people gathered in support of the Israeli team and others protested its arrival. Dutch officials said that attackers, some riding scooters, assaulted Israelis, and the Israeli Embassy in the Netherlands said that some had been kicked or beaten. Most of those arrested were later released, the Amsterdam authorities said, and five Israelis who had been hospitalized with injuries were discharged. Some others sustained light injuries, they said. The Israeli airline El Al sent planes to bring Israeli citizens home from Amsterdam. |
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B-52 Bombers, Dozens of Fighter Jets: As Israel Braces for Iran Attack, U.S. Boosts Mideast Forces
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| The United States is continuing to deploy its forces in the Middle East, in an attempt to deter Iran from attacking Israel and to help defend Israel if such an attack does happen. After the Biden administration deployed a THAAD missile defense system in Israel last month to complement the Arrow system, six B-52 bombers, capable of carrying large amounts of munitions, were sent to Qatar this week, according to open aviation data and satellite images. The number of aircraft sent to the region may increase. This is another signal as to the offensive capabilities of the United States, after the U.S. Air Force sent B-2 stealth bombers a few weeks ago to attack underground targets in Yemen. |
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UN to Israel: Replacing UNRWA relief agency would be your responsibility
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| The United Nations says replacing its Palestinian relief agency UNRWA in Gaza and the West Bank is not the world body’s responsibility, signaling it was Israel’s problem, according to a letter excerpt seen by Reuters. The U.N. formally responded in a letter to Israel’s decision to cut ties with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, a move that UNRWA has said leaves its operations in Gaza and the West Bank at risk of collapse. Under a new law, Israel told the U.N. on Sunday it was ending a 1967 cooperation agreement with UNRWA that covered its protection, movement and diplomatic immunity. The law will also ban UNRWA’s operations in Israel from late January. |
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Netanyahu Appoints Yechiel Leiter as Israel’s Ambassador to U.S. Hardline Settler, Ex-member of Far-right Kahanist Group
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| Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed Yechiel Leiter as Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. Leiter, who will be replacing ambassador Michael Herzog, is considered close to Netanyahu and previously served as his chief of staff. Leiter was born in the U.S. and immigrated to Israel four decades ago. He has been actively involved in supporting Jewish settlements in the West Bank, particularly in Hebron, currently lives in the settlement of Eli. His son Moshe was killed in combat in northern Gaza during the war, about a year ago… In his youth, Leiter was active in the Jewish Defense League, an organization founded in the U.S. by Rabbi Meir Kahane and later designated as a terrorist organization by U.S. authorities. He was part of a group of activists within the organization who eventually moved to live in settlements in the West Bank. |
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