What the Heck Does It Mean to Be A ‘Zionist’ In the 2020s?, Substack
J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami writes, “My ‘pro-Israel’ recognizes the enormous and ever-widening gap between those aspirations and today’s reality. My ‘pro-Israel’ aims to help Israel get back on the path to being secure, democratic and Jewish, a path that resolves its conflicts, establishes its borders and lives up to the values of the Jewish people. My ‘pro-Israel’ recognizes the importance of working with those who are deeply upset by Israel’s present path to understand that it’s the policies and actions of the country’s extremist leaders we need to question, not the existence of the country itself.”
Upholding US Law to Hold Netanyahu Accountable Is Pro-Israel, J Street
Rabbi John Rosove and Sam Berkman write, “Last month’s vote revealed something important: Leveraging US law to promote a shift toward policies that benefit Israel’s long-term security is not anti-Israel—it is profoundly pro-Israel. Nineteen senators, all pro-Israel, stood up for US law and for their principles in the face of the ongoing war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Among those who voted a symbolic ‘yes’ to disapprove the sales were the second-highest ranking Democrat–the Senate Majority Whip, four Democratic leaders, the incoming ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 vice presidential running mate.”
Israel Captures Syrian Territory After Assad Regime Collapse, Axios
This is the first time Israel has captured territory in Syria since the war in 1973. Israel notified the U.S. in advance about its operation to take control of the buffer zone on the border with Syria and several other key locations on the Syrian side of the border, an Israeli official told me. Israel told the Biden administration this is a temporary move that will last a few days to a few weeks, until the security situation along the border stabilizes, Israeli and U.S. officials said.
Netanyahu Is Set To Take the Witness Stand for the First Time in His Corruption Trial in Israel, The Washington Post
It will be the first time an Israeli prime minister has taken the stand as a criminal defendant, and Netanyahu has repeatedly sought to delay the proceedings, citing the ongoing Gaza war and security concerns. The judges ordered the trial to resume Tuesday, moving the proceedings to an underground chamber in a Tel Aviv court as a security precaution.
Settlement Revival? Military Entrenchment? A Look Into Israel’s Long Term Gaza Plans [Audio], Haaretz
The evidence is mounting that Israel is entrenching itself militarily in Gaza for the long term. At the same time, Israel’s settler movements and far-right government are making no secret of their concrete plans to revive the Jewish settlements in the Strip. Haaretz reviews findings into the establishment of military installations and uprooting of Gaza civilians based on satellite imagery.
Preparing for Deal, Hamas Tells Fellow Gazan Terror Groups to Identify Hostages They Hold, The Times of Israel
Hamas has told factions including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front and the Popular Resistance Committees to prepare information such as whether their hostages are alive or dead, the sources told AFP.
Israeli Airstrikes Hit Security Complex, Research Centre in Damascus, Sources Say, Reuters
Israel conducted three airstrikes in the Syrian capital on Sunday against a security complex and a government research centre which it has said in the past was used by Iran to develop missiles.
Records Seized by Israel Show Hamas Presence in UN Schools, The New York Times
Israel claims that Hamas has used the buildings for military purposes and to hide its fighters, making them legitimate targets under international law. But the United Nations says that Israeli strikes on schools have likely violated the law by causing disproportionate harm to noncombatants.
Internal Project Esther Documents Describe Conspiracy of Jewish ‘Masterminds’ Seeking to Dismantle Western Values, The Forward
The Heritage Foundation’s Project Esther, a conservative plan to counter antisemitism, sees the problem as one in which a handful of “masterminds” including Jews like George Soros and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker are seeking to “dismantle Western democracies, values and culture,” according to internal Heritage documents obtained by the Forward.
Asian Farmworkers Are Being Killed in Israel’s Embattled Border Regions, The Washington Post
Thousands of Thai workers have been laboring in Israel’s frontiers for months, some inside closed military zones where they’re the only civilians present alongside Israeli soldiers, authorities say. At least six migrant workers – five Thai, one Indian – have been killed in cross-border attacks in the north.
Expulsion and Talk of Depopulating Gaza? That’s Exactly What Ethnic Cleansing Looks Like, Haaretz
Moshe Ya’alon, former IDF chief of staff and defense minister under Netanyahu, writes, “IDF troops have been sent in recent weeks to expel Gazans from the northern part of the Strip. If this is a temporary move that serves justified defense needs, it can be allowed under certain circumstances. But if this is a permanent attempt at expulsion that will result in settlers moving in – it’s ethnic cleansing. As long as senior government officials keep talking about the second option, they are precipitating the carrying out of messianic war crimes.”
We’re Watching Israel Self-Destruct – At the Hands of Its Own Leaders and Citizens, The Forward
Dan Perry shares, “This reality already undermines Israel’s democratic principles. If Netanyahu, backed by a future President Donald Trump, goes further and annexes the West Bank without giving its Palestinian residents citizenship, it would cement an apartheid-like system — and risk Israel losing the dwindling support it has internationally. The likely trick of only annexing specific areas where Jews live, creating an impossible non-contiguous map for a never-to-be Palestinian state, will fool no one.”
What the Fall of Bashar Assad in Syria Means for Israel, JTA
Ben Sales writes, “Iran is widely seen as Israel’s chief adversary, and it funded and coordinated extensive efforts in the region to counter Israel. For Israel, Assad’s ouster means that yet another node of Iran’s so-called regional ‘Axis of Resistance’ has been taken out. But since Oct. 7, that alliance has been decimated. To both sympathizers and opponents, Assad’s downfall is a huge setback for Iran and its regional influence.”