News Roundup for July 18,2024

July 18, 2024
Receive the roundup in your inbox every morning!

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

JD Vance, a Born-Again Trumpist, Offers a Political Jackpot for Democrats, The Nation
According to the liberal Zionist group J-Street, “Vance has said it is ‘right’ for American Jews to be ‘ashamed’ of voting for President Biden, defended Trump after dining with antisemitic white supremacist Nick Fuentes, and has repeatedly echoed the racist, antisemitic ‘Great Replacement’ conspiracy theory, which has led to lethal attacks on Jews and immigrants.”

Top News and Analysis

GOP Puts Israel and Antisemitism Front and Center, Courting US Jews, The New York Times
It was a tricky two-step for a party whose nominee dined in 2022 with an outright and outspoken antisemite, Nick Fuentes, and for a convention that had also featured Mark Robinson, the lieutenant governor of North Carolina, who has spouted Holocaust denial, and Charlie Kirk, the youthful conservative leader who stirred controversy last fall by defending Elon Musk’s endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory.

US, Israel, Palestinian Authority Hold Secret Talks on Rafah Crossing, Axios
Israel and Egypt have so far failed to reach an agreement on how to reopen the crossing. Egypt wants personnel from the Palestinian Authority to operate the crossing. Israel wants people who aren’t affiliated with Hamas to do it, but objects to any official involvement of the Palestinian Authority – mostly for domestic political reasons.

With Gantz’s Backing, Israel’s Parliament Passes Resolution Opposing Palestinian Statehood, Haaretz
The declaration states that ‘a Palestinian state would pose an existential threat to the State of Israel and its citizens.’ It received support from 68 Knesset members, with opposition from only 9 lawmakers, all from Arab parties.

News

Democratic Platform Boosts Israel Funding, Blames Hamas for War, JTA
The language should allay concerns among some pro-Israel groups alarmed at the increase in calls among some Democrats to suspend aid to Israel, but it will likely not put the matter to rest. Pro-Palestinian groups have said they will protest the Democratic convention in Chicago next month, where the platform must be approved — and may yet be changed.

Israel Gives an Indication of the War’s Toll on Hamas, The New York Times
Israel’s military has said that it had killed or captured around 14,000 combatants in Gaza since the war there began more than nine months ago, an unverifiable and ambiguous number that gives a measure of Israel’s assessment of its progress toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stated goal of destroying Hamas.

Hamas Says Commander Killed in Israeli Airstrike in East Lebanon, The Times of Israel
Hamas says that Muhammed Jabara, killed in an Israeli airstrike in eastern Lebanon this morning, was a commander in the terror group. Jabara was identified by Lebanese media as a member of al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, or Islamic Group.

Israel Bombards Central Gaza as Tanks Advance Deeper in Rafah, Reuters
One Israeli airstrike killed six people in Zawayda town in central Gaza and two other people were killed in a strike on a house in Bureij camp. An Israeli air strike killed three people in a car in Deir Al-Balah, a city packed with people displaced from elsewhere in Gaza, health officials said. In Gaza City in the north, medics said two Palestinians were killed in another airstrike.

Urging Deal, Mossad Chief Said to Warn Time Running Out for Young Female Hostages, The Times of Israel
“It could take long weeks. The girls in captivity don’t have time to wait for changes in the proposal under discussion,” Barnea was quoted as saying in the closed-door meeting. Other people at the meeting backed the need for a swift agreement, the reports said.

Far-Right Israeli Minister Visits Sensitive Jerusalem Holy Site, a Threat to Gaza Cease-Fire Talks, AP
Ben-Gvir said while standing in front of the golden dome of Al-Aqsa Mosque that he “is praying and working hard” to ensure that Netanyahu will not give in to international pressure and will continue with the military campaign in Gaza. Ben-Gvir last visited the site in May to protest countries unilaterally recognizing Palestinian statehood.

Hezbollah to Hit New Areas in Israel If Civilians Targeted, Nasrallah Says, Reuters
Five civilians, all Syrians and including three children, were killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon on Tuesday and at least three Lebanese civilians were killed the day before, according to state media and security sources. “Continuing to target civilians will push the Resistance to launch missiles at settlements that were not previously targeted,” Nasrallah said.

ICJ to Begin Evidentiary Stage of South African Case Accusing Israel of Genocide in June 2025, The Times of Israel
The evidentiary proceedings in South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip will be heard at the International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ) in June and October 2025, the Times of Israel’s sister site Zman Yisrael has learned. The court has decided to devote those two months to hearing testimony and arguments on the matter.

As Gaza’s Doctors Struggle to Save Lives, Many Lose Their Own in Israeli Airstrikes, AP
Tank shelling on a northern Gaza hospital during a siege in November killed three doctors, including two doctors working with Doctors Without Borders, according to the group. They are among a total of six staffers from the international charity killed in the war. Israel has detained doctors and medical staff. At least two have died in Israeli detention, allegedly of ill-treatment.

Knesset Advances Bill Allowing Israel Police to Restrict Citizens Without Evidence, Haaretz
The committee stated the reason for its approval is that the bill’s goal is to give the police further measures in their war against crime in Arab communities. The state’s public defense criticized the bill, saying that raises serious constitutional problems as well as “serious harm to the right to liberty and dignity.”

Opinion and Analysis

Deceive, Defy, and Defer: Netanyahu’s Time-Tested Strategy to Outmaneuver Biden, +972
Lev Grinberg argues, “In his upcoming speech to Congress on July 24, Netanyahu will further entrench his role in the U.S. elections, and will likely receive standing ovations from Republicans but also some Democrats who depend on AIPAC to fund their campaigns. As he did with Obama, Netanyahu intends to exercise his own leverage and help defeat Biden on his home turf.”

JD Vance Is a Huge Fan of Israel’s Yoram Hazony. What Might That Mean for America?, The Forward
Dan Perry shares, “The broader ethos of the ‘national conservatism’ movement of which Hazony is a leader opposes modernity, liberalism and socialism. It calls for replacing the current elite with a new aristocracy via populism, and, most importantly, reintegrating church and state. It is a religious, conservative, law-and-order cornucopia that would delight the MAGA crowd, and should set off alarm bells for American Jews.”

Longing for Hope, 30 Years after the Amia Bombing Killed My Mother, Times of Israel
Rabbi Claudia Kreiman, member of J Street’s Rabbinic and Cantorial Cabinet, shares, “It was longing for my mom that helped me continue finding meaning and joy in the midst of my mourning when I was 20 years old. Longing and a broken heart somehow lit the way to hope, to possibility, to love and beauty. Now I must learn again how to sit in the darkness and allow hope and light to rise. Somewhere deep inside, I still believe that humans can be and do better, that the world can be a beautiful place.”


Know someone who may be interested in receiving this newsletter? Did a friend forward you this email and you want to subscribe? Sign up for the J Street News Roundup here.