Trump Says U.S. “Getting Closer” to New Gaza Ceasefire and Hostage Deal, Axios
“President Trump said during a Cabinet meeting Thursday that ‘we are getting closer’ to a deal to free the remaining hostages in Gaza and re-establish a ceasefire. […] The Israeli officials noted that several drafts have been exchanged between Israel and Egypt in an attempt to close the gaps between the Egyptian proposal and the Israeli position, but no agreement has yet been reached. The Israeli officials confirmed there has been progress in the talks between Israel and Egypt, but stressed that for now Hamas is not taking an active part in the negotiations and hasn’t been presented with the bridging proposal that is being discussed.”
Israel’s Political Leaders Steering Ceasefire Talks Frustrate Mediators, CNN
“When discussions began over releasing Israeli hostages shortly after the October 7 attack by Hamas, the negotiators tasked to strike a deal were mostly intelligence and security professionals. But in February, Israel made an important change that those now involved say has had a profound slowing effect on the discussions to resurrect the broken ceasefire: The file was taken over by the prime minister’s closest political aide, Ron Dermer. With Dermer, says a source involved in the negotiations, there’s a ‘significant difference in momentum,’ from when Israel’s team was led by intelligence chiefs David Barnea and Ronen Bar. ‘There is a clear shift in [Israeli] priorities,’ the source said. ‘Negotiations are seemingly being politicized from the Israeli team.’”
Israel Releases 10 Palestinians Detained From Gaza. They Say They Suffered Abuse, AP
“Ten Palestinians detained from Gaza by Israeli troops were freed and returned to the territory on Thursday, saying they had suffered constant abuse while imprisoned. They had all been detained from the northern Gaza Strip during Israel’s last offensive there before the January ceasefire. They said they had been held at least part of the time in Sde Teiman, a military prison camp that has become notorious for abuses of Gaza detainees.”
Stay or Go? Israel’s Evacuation Orders Leave Gazans Facing an Excruciating Choice., The New York Times
“The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders for neighborhoods in Gaza City on Friday as it pressed forward with its offensive in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, once again delivering a painful choice to Palestinians about whether to stay or go. The orders targeted eastern Gaza City, including several parts that the military had declared evacuation zones last week. The move suggested that some people had remained in their homes even after the Israeli military had urged them to leave.”
The Controversial and Obscure Law Being Used Against Immigrant Student Protesters, NPR
“Passed in 1952, the act states that the U.S. government may deport ‘an alien whose presence or activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.’ It was specifically designed to detain, deport and bar entry visas to communists. According to the U.S. Department of State, Pennsylvania Congressman Francis McCarren ‘expressed concerns that the United States could face communist infiltration through immigration and that unassimilated aliens could threaten the foundations of American life.’ The Trump Administration is now calling back to that policy.”
Trump Appoints Yehuda Kaploun, Chabad Rabbi and Miriam Adelson Ally, as U.S. Antisemitism Envoy, Haaretz
“If confirmed, Kaploun would join an administration that has cited antisemitism in rolling out a range of new policies, including around canceling the visas of students involved in pro-Palestinian protests, freezing federal funding to colleges and universities and monitoring the social media feeds of immigrants.”
Wiping Clean the ‘Human Stain’ – A Pesach Message, The Times of Israel
Rabbi John L. Rosove writes: “As Jews who love Israel, it is our place to act in solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of Israeli demonstrators marching weekly and calling for an immediate end to Israel’s longest war, the return of the hostages, the restoration of humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians in Gaza, and on behalf of Israeli democracy.”
Please Stop Demonizing Palestinians, Newsweek
George Farah writes: “In Israel itself, huge protests have emerged against the Netanyahu government, which is the most right-wing, violent, and religiously fanatical since the country’s formation. Recently, more than 100,000 Israelis filled squares in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to demand both an end to the war in Gaza and Netanyahu’s resignation. Some carried signs that said, ‘Stop the Genocide.’ These are not ‘anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist mobs.’ Those who equate being pro-Palestinian with being antisemitic have constructed a false binary equation. One can be pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli. Indeed, any champion of human rights must be both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli.”
How Israel Is Bringing West Bank-style Annexation to Gaza, Haaretz
Dahlia Scheindlin writes: “Observers have begun to worry that Israel is replicating its vast destruction of the Gaza Strip there. The concerns take various linguistic forms including turning the West Bank into a ‘second Gaza,’ ‘a mini-Gaza’ or ‘Gazafying’ the area. Right now, these observations are correct. In its operations in Jenin, Tulkarm, Nablus and the Nur Shams refugee camp – which the IDF calls Operation Iron Wall – the army has destroyed buildings and civilian infrastructure, and driven around 40,000 Palestinians out of their homes, creating a new mass crisis of displacement. The operation is ongoing.”
The Enduring Hope, Anahnu
Israel Piekarsh writes: “Alongside the immediate need to stop the government’s actions, we must present Israeli society with a vision that will unite most of Israeli society from the left and right. This vision must be based on recognizing the equal national rights of the Palestinian people and all the different groups within Israeli society.”