News Roundup for December 1, 2025
Why I Disagree with Peter Beinart’s Apology for Speaking at Tel Aviv University, Word on the Street
J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami writes, “Tel Aviv University is arguably the most open-minded major university in Israel. Its community is made up of exactly the people who rarely hear Peter’s arguments in Israeli media or political discourse. Reaching them — challenging them — is not ‘normalizing’ injustice. It is modeling the kind of pluralist engagement any open, democratic society requires.”
[Listen] Nadav Tamir on Diplomacy, Danger and the Possibility of Hope, Spotify
J Street Israel Director Nadav Tamir discusses the path forward for Israel with the the hosts of The Optimist, The Pessimist & The Realist.
Israeli Fire Kills 2 Palestinian Children in the Latest Test of Gaza Ceasefire, NBC
“The two brothers, aged 11 and 8, died when an Israeli drone struck close to a school sheltering displaced people in the town of Beni Suhaila, according to staff at Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.”
Netanyahu Asks Israel’s President to Pardon Him in Corruption Cases, New York Times
“Mr. Netanyahu said he believed that canceling his trial would help heal the divisions in Israeli society. But the immediate effect of the request appeared to amplify the rifts that have intensified over two years of war and his long battle with the judiciary.”
Palestinian-American Teenager Held in Israeli Prison Freed After Nine Months, The Guardian
“Ibrahim was arrested in a raid on his family’s West Bank home in February when he was still 15 years old, with Israeli forces allegedly blindfolding and handcuffing him in the middle of the night.”
Palestinian Death Toll Has Surpassed 70,000 Since the Israel-Hamas War Began, Gaza Ministry Says, AP
“The toll has continued to rise after the latest ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10. Israel still carries out strikes in response to what it has called violations of the truce, and bodies from earlier in the war are being recovered from the rubble.”
In War-Weary Lebanon, Many Look to Pope Leo for Peace, Washington Post
“Leo’s arrival — after his plane required a technical repair in Turkey — comes as Lebanon, locked in a relentless cycle of violence, is again living under the shadow of war. Worried talk over tea at shisha bars and on TV talk shows is of a collapsing ceasefire between Israel and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah that could bring the resumption of full-scale hostilities.”
Netanyahu, Seeking Pardon, Borrows From Familiar Playbook, New York Times
David M. Halbfinger writes, “In its sheer audacity, however, [the request] seemed ripped from the playbook of another leader who did not let multiple felony charges, or even a conviction, stop him from seeking power: President Trump.”
Jewish Leaders Must Work With Educators to Battle Antisemitism — Not Demonize Us, The Forward
Randi Weingarten writes, “We can’t ignore the anti-democratic actions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, the settler violence in the West Bank or the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We need to honestly confront these issues head-on, just as we simultaneously demand that Jewish voices are not silenced and Jewish students and teachers feel safe.”
The Altruistic Personality Revisited, Times of Israel
John L. Rosove writes, “Without a doubt in my reading of history, however, the most extreme acts of moral courage, resistance and defiance against a murderous regime were taken by the many thousands of rescuers who hid or helped Jews during the Holocaust at great personal risk to themselves, their families and communities.”
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