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.
Jewish voters overwhelmingly approve Biden, new poll shows, Forward
“Eight in 10 American Jews approve of President Biden’s performance during his first six months in office, according to a new poll published on Tuesday, and most support his management of the recent conflagration between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip and the broader Mideast conflict. […] An exit poll conducted by the same firm for J Street suggested that Jewish voters supported Biden over former Trump 77% to 21% in the 2020 election.”
White Supremacist Candidate Who Disrupted Katie Porter Event Has a History of Violence, The Intercept
“Rep. Katie Porter, the progressive California Democrat, came face to face on Sunday with one of her potential rivals in next year’s midterm election: a young white supremacist, homophobe and anti-vaxxer who boasts of engaging in street fights with racial justice protesters. […] After he disrupted Porter’s event, Taurus recorded a rambling Instagram live account of the incident in which he referred, again and again, to the fact that employees of J Street, a pro-Israel advocacy group for liberal Zionists, or their family members, are among Porter’s leading donors. Rather than explain clearly that all of these individual donors are Americans who support Israel, Taurus incorrectly referred to J Street as ‘a foreign lobby’ and, with scarcely concealed anti-Semitism, accused Porter of being ‘concerned more about what’s going on in Tel Aviv’ than in her district.”
Bennett Slams Netanyahu on Iran: Never Has Anyone Talked So Much and Done So Little, Haaretz
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett harshly criticized on Monday his predecessor, opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of “talking so much and doing so little” when it comes to curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
‘We want to make the climate movement in Israel-Palestine much more political’, +972 Magazine
For the Palestinian and Israeli activists of One Climate, the only way to fight climate breakdown is to tie it with the struggle against the occupation.
Israel’s Lapid to EU’s Top Diplomats: Two-state Solution Is Unfeasible, Haaretz
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said on Monday that although he supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it is currently unfeasible. Lapid made the remarks as the main guest at a meeting of the European Union Foreign Affairs Council, which was attended by 26 EU foreign ministers. “It is no secret that I support a two-state solution. Unfortunately, there is no current plan for this. However, there is one thing we all need to remember. If there is eventually a Palestinian state, it must be a peace-loving democracy. We cannot be asked to take part in the building of another threat to our lives,” the Israeli foreign minister said.
Israel Begins Pfizer Booster Shots for At-Risk Adults as Delta Cases Rise, Wall Street Journal
Israel began administering a booster shot of Pfizer Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine Monday to people with weak immune systems, as it confronts an outbreak of the virus’s highly contagious Delta variant.
Israel refuses to let jailed Palestinian attend funeral, AP
Israel refused to let a prominent jailed Palestinian lawmaker attend her daughter’s funeral on Tuesday, despite a campaign by activists and human rights groups for her to be released on humanitarian grounds. Khalida Jarrar, 58, a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, has been in and out of Israeli prison in recent years.
High Court: Disclosing Netanyahu’s Residential Expenses Is in the Public Interest, Haaretz
The High Court of Justice rejected a petition that sought a detailed list of all expenditures at the prime minister’s residences in 2015, due to the allocation of resources required to do so, but ordered general information about such expenses to be disclosed, finding that there is a public interest in publication of this information.
Poll: A month into new government, Israelis split on whether they support it, Times of Israel
A month after the establishment of the new government led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Israelis are still split on whether they support the coalition, and a plurality continues to prefer Benjamin Netanyahu as premier, according to a survey published Monday. The Channel 12 survey showed 45 percent of respondents were pleased with the new government while 45% were dissatisfied with it.
AIPAC cancels 2022 policy conference, citing lingering pandemic concerns, JTA
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee will not host a policy conference in 2022, the second consecutive year it has made the decision citing COVID-19 pandemic concerns. […] According to a source close to the pro-Israel lobby organization, the decision was made now because deadlines were looming to sign contractual agreements for conference space, hotels and other amenities.
The West Is Waiting on One Man to Determine the Fate of the Iran Nuke Deal, Haaretz
Amos Harel writes, “The Israeli defense establishment believes that Iranian spiritual leader Ali Khamenei has not yet decided whether to adopt the new nuclear deal with the United States. The final decision is in his hands and the chances that it will be signed may diminish after the inauguration of the new Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, on August 5. The Biden administration has been eager to secure an agreement before Raisi takes office.”
In bid to topple government, Netanyahu seeks a dysfunctional Knesset, Times of Israel
Haviv Rettig Gur writes, “The new coalition has proven surprisingly resilient, but a state budget law must pass by November if it is to survive. Likud is hard at work, once again, making sure it doesn’t”
Power Up: No room for Ilhan Omar on congressional trip to Middle East, Washington Post
Jacqueline Alemany writes, “A congressional delegation last week traveled to the Middle East — including stops in Israel and Qatar — for the first time since the flare-up in violence between Israelis and Palestinians and the formation of the new Israeli government. One lawmaker who was told she was unable to be a part of the delegation? Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) — a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee whose criticism of the U.S.-Israel relationship and support for Palestinian rights has exposed a rift in the Democratic Party.”
Let Khalida Jarrar Attend Her Daughter’s Funeral, Haaretz
Anat Matar and Jonathan Pollack write, “Jarrar is one of the greatest feminist, socialist and anti-colonial revolutionaries the Palestinian people have been blessed with, and she is recognized and respected by the international community. Irrespective of the death of her daughter, she should be released immediately from her political imprisonment, which will be ending, one way or another, in three months anyway.”