J Street works to promote an open, honest and rigorous conversation about Israel. The opinions reflected in articles posted in the News Roundup do not necessarily reflect J Street’s positions, and their posting does not constitute an endorsement from J Street.
Palestinian Who Killed 2 in Tel Aviv Is Shot Dead After Manhunt, The New York Times
Israeli security forces on Friday morning shot dead a Palestinian gunman who had fled the night before after killing two people and wounding 13 others outside a busy bar in central Tel Aviv. The gunman’s attack was the latest in the deadliest wave of terrorism in Israel since 2016. The police said the shootings in Tel Aviv had occurred just after 9 on the last night of the Israeli workweek, outside a bar filled with people enjoying the start of the weekend. The gunman initially escaped, prompting security forces to embark on a nine-hour manhunt. They ordered residents to stay home as they combed the city in search of the gunman, effectively placing central Tel Aviv under a lockdown.
U.S. Floated White House Meeting of Israelis and Palestinians, Axios
The Biden administration has been floating the idea of a White House meeting between senior Israeli and Palestinian officials, according to five current and former U.S and Israeli officials. U.S. officials have raised that possibility with Israeli officials several times over the last four months, and also discussed it with the Palestinians, Egyptians and Jordanians. While the Israeli side didn’t reject it outright they presented several reservations.
Bennett Says Tel Aviv Terrorist Had Accomplices, Vows They Will Pay a Heavy Price, Haaretz
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Friday that the assailant who had carried out Thursday’s terror attack in Tel Aviv had accomplices, and pledged that they would “pay a heavy price.” Bennett commended police and military forces on the attacker’s killing and warned “Every killer must know that we’ll get to him, and anyone who helps terrorists should know that the price to pay will be unbearable.”
Police Reportedly Angry at IDF for Allowing Media Access During Searches, The Times of Israel
Police were reportedly furious with IDF troops for allowing media to tag along during searches for the Tel Aviv terrorist. Reporters had followed troops during live broadcasts as the soldiers searched backyards and alleyways near the scene of the attack on Dizengoff Street.
Lapid Vows to Hold Israel’s Coalition Together in First Comments Since Whip’s Defection, Haaretz
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid vowed that the coalition would “do everything” to hold itself together on Thursday in his first public comments on the political crisis caused by lawmaker Idit Siman quitting the coalition, ending its majority. Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman also voiced his commitment to the coalition’s survival, saying that “the last thing we need is a fifth election cycle within three years.”
PA President Mahmoud Abbas Condemns Tel Aviv Terror Attack, The Jerusalem Post
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday condemned the terrorist attack on Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Street that saw two Israelis killed. The killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians only leads to further deterioration, Abbas said, urging a return to stability amid Ramadan and the upcoming Passover and Easter holidays, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Friday Ramadan Prayers End Peacefully at Temple Mount Amid Heightened Tensions, The Times of Israel
Lapid Vows to Hold Israel’s Coalition Together in First Comments Since Whip’s Defection
Another Reason Congress Should Support the Iran Nuclear Deal: Russia, The Hill
Joel Rubin writes, “If you don’t like Russia with nuclear weapons, then you’ll hate Iran with them. That’s the choice coming to American policymakers’ doorsteps soon. This is because Donald Trump, who unilaterally left the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, enacted a policy that, instead of thwarting Iran’s nuclear ambitions, unleashed them.”
Ukrainian Refugees and Israel’s ‘Jewish’ Character, The Times of Israel
J Street Rabbinic and Cantorial Cabinet Co-Chair Rabbi John Rosove writes, “The Jewish value of “welcoming the stranger” (indeed, any stranger fleeing persecution and violence) ought to compel Israel to throw open the gates and let all refugees, Jewish and non-Jewish, who choose to come to do so and be welcomed with open arms. Not only is doing so based in Jewish values but also in our own historic Jewish experience of being a persecuted people forced to wander the earth.”