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I’m writing to share J Street’s statements and news updates.
I hope you’ll check out, or continue making use of, our regularly updated dossier on the Netanyahu government. As always, you can find our Congressional briefing book, background information on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, recordings of previous briefings and more at J Street’s Congressional Resource Page.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
All the best,
Debra
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Debra Shushan, PhD
Director of Policy, J Street
mobile: (757) 746-0366 | [email protected] | @DrShushan
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This week on j street
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J STREET CONDEMNS ABBAS’S ANTISEMITIC COMMENTS, CALLS FOR RETRACTION AND APOLOGY
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| STATEMENT |
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J STREET WELCOMES NOMINATION OF JACOB J. LEW FOR US AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL
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| WEBINAR |
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Netanyahu’s One-State ‘Solution’: The Reality in the West Bank
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What we’re reading
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Former Shin Bet Chiefs Urge Biden Not to Host Israel’s Netanyahu at White House
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| Two former heads of Israel’s Shin Bet security service are urging U.S. President Joe Biden to refrain from inviting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House during his visit to the U.S. next month. The calls come as momentum grows for a potential Oval Office meeting between the two leaders amid steady efforts to push for normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia— despite a deteriorating state of affairs between Israel and the Palestinians, unprecedented settlement expansion in recent months, repeated racist and xenophobic rhetoric from Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners and an unencumbered march toward a judicial overhaul previously condemned by the Biden administration. Ami Ayalon, who headed the Shin Bet from 1995 to 2000, warned that “an official visit of Netanyahu to Washington will be seen as legitimizing the government coup that he is leading with the aim of weakening the judicial system and establishing an authoritarian regime in Israel.” Ayalon added that “we expect the U.S. president to make it clear that the alliance between us requires maintaining Israel’s identity in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence.” He was echoed by Yuval Diskin, who headed the Shin Bet from 2005 to 2011, who went even further and called upon Biden to avoid meeting Netanyahu until he halts the judicial overhaul. “If this does not happen immediately, I fear these processes will become irreversible and result in strategic damage to the State of Israel and the American interests in the Middle East,” Diskin said. “Prime Minister Netanyahu is causing severe damage to the strategic relationship between the U.S. and Israel, as well as to the U.S. strategic interests in the Middle East,” he warned. |
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Netanyahu shares Knesset speaker’s message of defiance toward High Court
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| Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday shared on social media a speech by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana from a day earlier, in which Ohana suggested the coalition may not accept a High Court of Justice ruling next week if it strikes down a recently passed controversial law amendment. Netanyahu has not publicly committed to respecting the court’s judgment on the case. A refusal by the coalition to abide by a possible ruling against it would create a constitutional crisis over which branch of government has the final say… Anti-overhaul protest organizers fiercely condemned Netanyahu’s retweet, saying: “A prime minister who encourages the Knesset to break the law is not a legitimate prime minister in a democratic state. Netanyahu has declared war on the rule of law… and he intends to crush the court in the coming weeks. He will discover millions of Israelis standing up to him and defending the courts.” Ohana made the remarks during a press conference convened at the Knesset ahead of a September 12 hearing on petitions against the law, part of the government’s controversial judicial overhaul, which bars courts from intervening in government and ministerial decisions based on their “reasonableness.” Later, a separate hearing will be held on petitions against a law shielding prime ministers from forced recusal… The High Court will also soon hear petitions against Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s refusal to convene the Judicial Selection Committee, which he is trying to reconfigure as part of the judicial shakeup to give the coalition control over appointing new judges. |
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US slams legalization of 3 West Bank outposts ‘previously illegal under Israeli law’
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| The US State Department condemned Israel on Thursday for moving forward with the legalization of three wildcat outposts located deep in the West Bank. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich — who also is a junior minister within the Defense Ministry in charge of settlement affairs — announced the move on Wednesday, saying that the IDF’s Central Command, Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fox had signed off on orders designating for the municipal boundaries of Avigayil, Asahel and Beit Hoglah. This appears to be the first time in over a decade that Israel is legalizing outposts that will serve as independent settlements, rather than neighborhoods of existing settlements… The moves by Smotrich come as the Biden administration is working to broker a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which Washington is expecting will require significant moves by Jerusalem that will advance a two-state solution. One of the gestures presented would be Israel transferring West Bank territory to the Palestinian Authority’s control — something that Smotrich and other far-right lawmakers are likely to oppose. In response to a query on the outpost legalizations, a State Department spokesperson told The Times of Israel, “Our views have been clear and consistent: The expansion of settlements or outposts undermines the geographic viability of a two-state solution, exacerbates tensions, and further harms trust between Israelis and Palestinians.” |
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U.S., U.K., Jewish Orgs. and pro-Palestinian Activists Condemn Abbas’ Holocaust Revisionism
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| The Biden administration on Thursday sharply condemned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for claiming Adolf Hitler chose to “fight” Jews because of “their social role” and not due to their Judaism and demanded an apology from the Palestinian leader. The U.S. government’s demand was roundly echoed across the political spectrum, ranging from liberal pro-Israel organizations to pro-Palestinian activists and Republican members of Congress. “I am appalled by President Abbas’ hateful, antisemitic remarks at a recent Fatah meeting. The speech maligned the Jewish people, distorted the Holocaust, and misrepresented the tragic exodus of Jews from Arab countries,” said U.S. special antisemitism envoy Deborah Lipstadt, who is among the world’s most renowned Holocaust scholar. “I condemn these statements and urge an immediate apology,” she added… U.S. special envoy for Holocaust Issues Ellen Germain joined, calling Abbas’ statements “horrifying examples of Holocaust distortion and efforts to rewrite the history of WWII and the Holocaust. We must call out such lies and distortions whenever we see or hear them. The truth matters.” The United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement that “The U.K. condemns the recent antisemitic remarks made by President Abbas,” adding that it “stands firmly against all attempts to distort the Holocaust. Such statements do not advance efforts towards reconciliation.” |
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Palestinians set out terms for agreeing to historic Saudi-Israeli deal
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| Officials from the Palestinian Authority (PA) held talks in Riyadh with Saudi counterparts on Wednesday. They were also due to see US officials. The Americans are long thought to have been pushing for a landmark pact to normalise Israel-Saudi ties… For a deal to succeed it would have to be seen to involve significant Israeli concessions to the Palestinians. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, needs to assuage his own public – historically opposed to Israel and deeply sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. Meanwhile, President Biden will also need to prove he has won significant gains for the Palestinians to get support from his Democratic Party. Many in the party reject the idea of any defence sweeteners for the Saudis due to the country’s human rights record and its role in the war in Yemen. They are also hostile to the idea of rewarding Israel’s current extreme nationalist governing coalition, which they see as exacerbating tensions in the West Bank and which has sparked unprecedented instability within Israel itself. Their list of demands in return for engaging with the American-backed process was set out during a meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf last week in Amman… Such concessions are very significant – reportedly already seen by the Americans as overreaching by the Palestinians. But they are a far cry from the official, publicly stated Palestinian position on Saudi-Israel normalisation – which is to reject it outright if it does not leave them with an independent state… engaging with the Saudis this time may be a way to remind Riyadh of the basis of the Arab Peace Initiative – the goal of an independent Palestinian state – rather than being left out of the process completely, suggested another senior Palestinian official. |
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Israeli Man Seriously Wounded in Stabbing Attack in Jerusalem’s Old City
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| A 56-year-old Israeli man was stabbed on Wednesday near the Jaffa Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City, according to Magen David Adom emergency services… One other man was lightly wounded after attempting to stop the assailant and taken in for medical treatment. The suspect, a 17-year-old from East Jerusalem, was arrested and taken in for questioning. Police Chief Kobi Shabtai also arrived at the scene. The knife used was also taken in as evidence. According to Israel Police, the incident is being treated as a terror attack. Footage of the incident circulated on social media showing the assailant emerging from behind a man’s back while talking on the phone and suddenly begin stabbing the victim. According to the footage, another person at the scene tried to stop him, and the assailant began running away while also trying to stab the man as well. Today, senior Hamas figure Salah al-Arouri was interviewed by Al Jazeera TV and said that the organization was aiming for “the strengthening of the resistance forces and its power in the West Bank.” It will be used to deal with “the extreme right in Israel, which seeks to Judaize the West Bank, mainly in the Jerusalem and Hebron areas.” |
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