News Roundup for February 25, 2026
J Street to Host 2026 Convention in DC, Washington Jewish Week
“J Street will host its 2026 Convention at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill for the first time in four years from Feb. 28 through March 3, where attendees will hear from leading experts and elected officials about Israel, antisemitism and civil rights, and advocate for various legislative priorities on Capitol Hill.”
We Are Talking Past One Another on Zionism, The Forward
Jay Michaelson writes, “Personally, I still cling to that dream, even if it is a delusion. And obviously, I am not alone. Organizations like J Street, the New Israel Fund, Truah, and many others still believe that Zionism can mean, or should mean, a Jewish and actually-democratic state alongside a Palestinian one. What’s left of the Israeli Left does too.”
House Democrats Introduce Bill to Bar U.S. Weapons if Israel Violates Gaza Cease-fire, Haaretz
“J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami noted the bill ‘puts into law the common sense principle that American weapons cannot be used by the Israeli government in Gaza and the West Bank in ways that fundamentally violate American values and directly contravene U.S. interests.'”
Trump Says He Prefers Diplomacy, but Lays the Case for War With Iran, Axios
“Trump’s speech may mark the launch of an effort to prepare U.S. public opinion for going to war against Iran and to justify such a move if he concludes that the negotiations with Iran have reached a dead end.”
‘Children Are Inside!’: Palestinian Homes, Vehicles Set on Fire in Apparent Settler Attack, Times of Israel
“Footage published by Palestinian media showed several fires burning in the village, and reports indicated that at least four locations had been targeted, including the site of a residential tent and the entrance to a family home with the family inside. […] Israeli security forces were eventually dispatched to the scene, although the flames had died down by that point, and no arrests were made.”
Aid Groups Petition Israeli Court to Let Them Keep Working in Gaza After Ban Over New Rules, Associated Press
“Seventeen international aid groups said Tuesday they have petitioned Israel’s Supreme Court to allow them to keep working in the Gaza Strip and other Palestinian areas, where Israel is set to bar them for refusing to comply with new rules.”
Knesset Advances Bill That Would Outlaw Egalitarian Prayer at the Western Wall, Haaretz
“If passed, this bill would likely outlaw egalitarian prayer anywhere in the vicinity of the Western Wall as well as prevent women from wearing prayer shawls and tefillin at the Kotel, as is the custom of Women of the Wall.”
U.S. Sent F-22 Fighter Jets to Israel, Official Says, New York Times
“The United States sent a group of F-22 Raptor jets to Israel on Tuesday, a U.S. official and a person familiar with the deployment said. The move continued the U.S. military buildup in the Middle East and came two days before the next round of negotiations with Iran about its nuclear program was expected.”
Why Iran Will Escalate, Foreign Affairs
Former Director for Iran at the National Security Council Nate Swanson writes, “From Iran’s perspective, both Israel and the United States appear to have concluded that they can strike without any direct provocation and when doing so serves domestic political needs; Iran even thinks the two countries will be tempted to strike frequently. As a result, Iranian officials feel they need to give Trump a bloody nose or they will perpetually be at risk.”
Evil in the West Bank, The New York Review
David Shulman writes, “As long as the daily horrors in the occupied territories continue and the extreme right remains in power, democracy in Israel will be sick at the core.”
