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.
Hillel, Shammai and J Street, The Times of Israel
Emily Kaiman, Deputy Director of Jewish Communal Engagement at J Street, writes, “The houses of Hillel and Shammai agreed on almost nothing. They ruled on cases of halacha in completely opposite ways. And yet, they still ate together and created a community together. Tensions around how we come to collective goals can be difficult, but also productive if we debate our differences substantively. […] In my own work with J Street, I encounter false ideas about my organization, and by proxy, those of us who work to achieve our mission.”
Netanyahu’s Tension with Israeli Security Brass Boils Over, Amid Accusations of ‘Dictatorship’, Al-Monitor
“The growing tensions between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the top military brass have reached a new high. Netanyahu has been trying to prevent the army from informing the public of the repercussions of the judicial overhaul protests on the readiness of the Israel Defense Forces as reserve officers refuse to show up for duty.”
US Jews Urged to Condemn Israeli Occupation Amid Netanyahu Censure, The Guardian
Hundreds of Israeli and American public figures have called on US Jewish groups to speak out against the occupation of the Palestinian territories as “the elephant in the room” of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s deeply divisive judicial reforms.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Fatah Hold Rare Meeting in Gaza, Al-Monitor
According to a joint statement, the factions discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations and defend the Palestinian cause. The meeting in Gaza comes as the PA escalates its crackdown on Islamic Jihad in the West Bank.
Israeli Forces Kill 2 Palestinians in West Bank Raid, Reuters
Israeli forces killed two Palestinians, including a teenager, during a raid in the occupied West Bank that touched off clashes with gunmen, medical officials and residents said.
Israeli Public Health Experts: Judicial Coup Will Negatively Impact Israelis’ Health, Haaretz
In an article published in the prestigious medical journal, “The Lancet,” Israeli experts argued that abolishing the reasonableness clause will undermine public health.
How Israel’s Democratic Crisis Affects Palestinians, The New Yorker
Isaac Chotiner interviews Raja Shehadeh, Palestinian lawyer and activist who co-founded the human-rights organization Al-Haq. Shehadeh says, “There is certainly more openness among Israelis to see the role of the settlements in the corruption of Israel itself. There’s much more willingness to hear about that and realize that the illegal things the settlers have done in the West Bank definitely have an impact on Israel and on Israelis. And this wasn’t the case before at all.”
This Is How Netanyahu’s Government Plans to Enshrine the Discrimination of Women Into Law, Haaretz
Noa Shpigel and Michael Hauser Tov write, “The Israeli governing coalition has taken steps to halt or reverse efforts to bring women into leadership roles and guarantee their rights and safety against discrimination and violence. Instead, they hope to return women to more passive domestic roles subject to the will of men.”