News Roundup for January 28, 2025

January 28, 2025
Receive the roundup in your inbox every morning!

J Street News Roundup

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.

J Street In the News

Dozens of Liberal Jewish Groups Make First Move Against Trump, Focusing on His Immigration Crackdown, Haaretz
Liberal Jewish organizations on Monday issued a collective rebuke of the new administration’s immigration policies. Organizations like J Street denounced plans for mass deportations and raids — noting how deeply personal the issue is for much of the American-Jewish community. The letter, written directly to Trump, marks the Jewish establishment’s first public stance against Trump policy in the week since he assumed the presidency.

In Letter, Jewish Groups Urge Trump Not To Enact ‘Widespread Persecution of Immigrants’, Religion News Service
In a letter to President Trump, J Street and other organizations write, “As 88 organizations that represent millions of diverse American Jews across the country, we write in opposition to your Administration’s plans to launch mass deportations, build massive detention camps, and conduct sweeping raids.”

Reflecting on the First Week of Trump 2.0, J Street
J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami writes, “We’ll push back on all things Project 2025 as Trump implements his extremist anti-immigrant, anti-choice, anti-democratic, anti-LGBT+ agenda. And concurrently, we’ll be pressing him and his team to move in the right direction when it comes to bringing the remaining hostages home, ending this horrific war and setting in motion a serious ‘day after’ plan.”

Top News and Analysis

Congress Moves To Sanction International Criminal Court, The Washington Post
The Senate is expected to begin voting today on whether to sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague after the court in May brought charges against Israeli leaders – along with Hamas militant leaders, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity surrounding the war in Gaza. The “Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act” is sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and 11 other Republicans and will likely pass, as it did in the Republican-led House earlier this month due to several staunchly pro-Israel Democrats expected to join their GOP counterparts in supporting the legislation.

Trump Doubles Down on Proposal To Move Gazans; Insists Egypt and Jordan Will Agree, The Times of Israel
Trump told reporters on Air Force One Monday evening that he would “like to get [Palestinians] living in an area where they can live without disruption and revolution and violence so much.” Both Egypt and Jordan have come out strongly against Trump’s idea of displacing thousands of Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan, saying that they should be allowed to remain in Gaza and have underlined concerns that Palestinians who decamp for safety may never be allowed to return.

News

Hezbollah Does Not Accept Reasons for Time Extension for Israeli Troop Withdrawal, Chief Says, Reuters
Lebanese Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said on Monday that the group would not accept any justifications to extend the period for Israeli troops’ withdrawal from southern Lebanon. This comes after Israel’s announcement on Friday that its army’s withdrawal would last beyond the 60 days stipulated in the ceasefire agreement, claiming Hezbollah had not fully enforced the terms of the deal. However, Prime Minister Najib Mikati said during a meeting with U.S. Ambassador Lisa Johnson that Lebanon accepted adhering to the ceasefire agreement with Israel until Feb. 18.

2 Killed in Southern Lebanon As Protests Against Israeli Presence Erupt for a Second Day, AP
Firing by Israeli troops killed two people and wounded 17 on Monday in the second day of deadly protests in southern Lebanon, health officials said, as residents displaced by the 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah attempted to return to villages where Israeli troops remain. The shooting came a day after 24 people were killed and more than 130 wounded when Israeli troops opened fire on protesters who breached roadblocks set up along the border.

Opinion and Analysis

For Gazans Returning North, Elation Mixes With Despair, The New York Times
Adam Rasgon speaks to Rajab al-Sindawi: “We’re overcome with joy — we’re finally in our neighborhood near friends and family after a year living on the sidewalk and the sand,” said the 49-year-old secondhand clothing salesman from Gaza City, who had traveled to Rafah, Deir al Balah and Nuseirat after leaving the north. “But our home is gone and it feels like our future is gone, too.”

Make No Mistake: Israel’s Far Right Is Planning for a Gaza Without Palestinians, The Guardian
Ben Reiff writes, “On 3 February, negotiators from Israel and Hamas are due to start ironing out details ahead of the second phase of the ceasefire. This will present Netanyahu with the perfect opportunity to collapse the talks, blame Hamas, and resume the war should he so choose. The international community, which stood by for 15 months as Israel pulverised Gaza and its inhabitants, must leverage every tool in its arsenal to ensure that the agreement holds.”