J Street Welcomes the Nadler, Smith, Himes Settler Violence Sanctions Bill, J Street
In response to Reps. Jerry Nadler, Adam Smith, and Jim Himes introducing a bill to codify President Biden’s West Bank sanctions framework, J Street’s Director of Government Affairs Hannah Morris said: “It’s incredibly significant to have such senior members of Congress, including respected Jewish and national security leaders, show unity on legislation like this. There’s clear recognition that settler extremism in the West Bank is a threat to both the Palestinian people and, as Israel’s own intelligence leaders have said, a threat to Israelis and Israel’s security as well.”
10 Jewish Organizations to Senate: Trump’s Abuse of Antisemitism to Fight Civil Liberties is Reason to Not Give Him More Powers, J Street
J Street and nine other Jewish organizations sent a letter to Senate offices calling on them to oppose the Antisemitism Awareness Act (S.558). The letter cautions that “Voting in favor of this legislation in this current political climate would represent an endorsement of the Trump Administration’s escalating efforts to weaponize antisemitism as a pretext for undermining civil rights, deporting political dissidents, and attacking the fundamental pillars of our democracy, making the Jewish community and others less safe.”
MPAC and J Street Joint Statement On Use of Fighting Antisemitism as Pretext to Suppress Free Speech and Civil Liberties, J Street
J Street and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) issued a joint statement condemning the Trump Administration’s assault on free speech and civil liberties in the name of fighting antisemitism and urging Senators to vote against the Antisemitism Awareness Act. “The Trump Administration has not only failed to quell the escalation of hate – it has exacerbated it. From legitimizing white nationalist talking points to overseeing an increasingly authoritarian crackdown on protest and dissent, this administration has exploited rising tensions to erode fundamental civil liberties, particularly those of students.”
How Senators Risk Empowering Trump’s Crackdown, J Street
J Street Chief of Staff Adina Vogel-Ayalon writes: “I’ll be really honest: In a time of rising antisemitism on both the left and the right, we don’t take it lightly to be advocating against something called the ‘Antisemitism Awareness Act.’ But this bill, while framed as a response to rising antisemitism, risks giving Donald Trump and his allies a powerful new tool to target dissent, silence protest and erode democratic freedoms. J Street strongly opposes the AAA, and we’re not alone. We’ve joined a broad coalition of Jewish and non-Jewish, pro-democracy, civil liberties groups – and today, we are coming together to show the depth of our concern and commitment to opposing this bill.”
To Be Free in Our Own Land, The Times of Israel
J Street Israel Executive Director Nadav Tamir writes: “We will be able to celebrate true independence only if we become a truly strong and democratic state. Only if we rebuke a government willing to leave our brothers and sisters as hostages in favor of taking over yet more Palestinian land. Such an outcome can only occur if we are successful in facilitating the creation of a Palestinian state alongside us. The massacre of October 7th is a result of Hamas’s hatred and loss of humanity, but also a consequence of the ‘conflict management’ policy, the desire to maintain the status quo instead of ending this conflict for good. This approach sanctifies stagnation over progress.”
Rubio Looks To Cut Security Coordinator Role for West Bank, Gaza, Axios
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio is considering eliminating the U.S. security coordinator role for the West Bank and Gaza Strip as part of a broader staffing overhaul, according to five U.S., Palestinian, Arab and Israeli sources. Held by a three-star general, the role involves coordinating between political and military officials in Israel and the Palestinian Authority to try to avoid and contain security crises. It has become especially important as the security situation in the occupied West Bank has continued to deteriorate.”
Trump Dismisses at Least 7 Biden Appointees to U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, Jewish Insider
“The Trump administration has removed several Biden appointees from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, including former Ambassador Alan Solomont, a member of J Street’s Board of Directors, along with former Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, Ambassador Susan Rice, and others. Solomont learned of his dismissal through a curt email from a staff member of the Presidential Personnel Office, reviewed by JI, which read, ‘On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council is terminated, effective immediately. Thank you for your service.’”
Gazans Are Again Going Hungry as Israel’s Total Siege Nears Two Months, The Washington Post
“Earlier this week, the IPC, including more than 50 U.N. and other analysts, began another evaluation of food insecurity and acute malnutrition in Gaza, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. But Palestinians say the current situation is particularly devastating, as they had just started to rebuild their lives under the truce, when aid dramatically surged. On March 18, a little over two weeks after Israel imposed the siege, it shattered the ceasefire with a wave of strikes. Israeli troops now occupy swaths of Gaza, but the government has refused to open the crossings to aid.”
IDF Will Call Up Tens of Thousands of Reservists Ahead of Escalating Gaza Operations, Haaretz
“The IDF is set to begin issuing draft orders to tens of thousands of reservists ahead of an expected expansion of the fighting in the Gaza Strip, army officials said. Some reservists will be deployed to operations in Lebanon and Syria, and others will be stationed in the West Bank. These reservists will replace conscript units, which will be moved south and begin preparing for operations in Gaza. However, reservists have already been informed that some of them will also be required to take part in combat inside the Strip. […] Many officers and soldiers have already announced their intention not to report for the next round of fighting, citing burnout.”
Right-Wing Activists Riot Outside Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Event at Reform Synagogue in Israel, The Forward
“Right-wing activists rioted outside a Reform synagogue that was screening a joint Israeli-Palestinian ceremony on Israel’s Memorial Day, mobbing and harassing one woman as others exited under police protection. Three people were arrested on the scene, according to reports in Israeli media, and several people reported injuries, including police officers. Footage from the site on Tuesday night showed a group of dozens, mostly men, crowding the entrance to Beit Samueli-Kehillat Ra’anan, a Reform synagogue in the Tel Aviv suburb of Raanana that is home to a large population of American immigrants.”
Harvard President “Sorry” After Reports on Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Axios
“The first report found antisemitism to be present on campus, through class work and academic programs, in social settings and in hiring faculty. The Islamophobia report found that 92% of surveyed Muslims believe they’d face academic or professional consequences for expressing their political beliefs. […] ‘I am sorry for the moments when we failed to meet the high expectations we rightfully set for our community,’ Garber said in a letter accompanying the reports on the previous academic year. ‘Separately and together, the task force reports reveal aspects of a charged period in our recent history, offering searing personal accounts as they hold up a mirror to our interactions with one another.’”
UN Chief Urges ‘Irreversible Action’ on Israel, Palestinian Two-State Solution, Reuters
“United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Tuesday pushed countries to ‘take irreversible action towards implementing a two-state solution’ between Israel and the Palestinians ahead of an international conference in June. ‘I encourage Member States to go beyond affirmations, and to think creatively about the concrete steps they will take to support a viable two-state solution before it is too late,’ Guterres told a Security Council meeting on the Middle East.”
Israel Says It Carried Out Strike To Protect Druze in Syria, Warns Damascus To Ensure Their Safety, The Times of Israel
“The IDF carried out a strike on an armed group preparing to attack a Druze community in the town of Sahnaya in Syria’s Damascus province, say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz in a joint statement. They call the strike a ‘warning operation.’ Israel also conveys a ‘serious message’ to Syria’s leadership: ‘Israel expects it to act to prevent harm to the Druze.’”
Israel, Gaza, and the Starvation Weapon, Foreign Affairs
“The ICC’s arrest warrants against Israeli leaders seek to challenge this longstanding impunity. But the case also highlights the continuing difficulties of prosecuting starvation crimes: prosecutors need to prove that the Israeli leadership intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival… Yet the court’s focus on the crime of starvation could have legal ramifications for other recent and unfolding conflicts.”