News Roundup for July 24,2024

July 24, 2024
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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.

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J Street In the News

Netanyahu Address Creates a Dilemma for Democrats, Roll Call
Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the liberal pro-Israel group J Street, said the invitation is “an act of political gamesmanship that is not really an act of statesmanship.” “That’s what these speeches should be… it should be reserved for the Winston Churchills of the world in a moment of crisis,” Ben-Ami said. Netanyahu’s “track record and all of his activities suggest that the real motivation behind this is political, either to drive a wedge in the Democratic party or to give himself a boost back home.”

10 Things You Need to Know about Prime Minister Netanyahu [Resource], J Street
J Street publishes 10 important facts to consider as Prime Minister Netanyahu addresses US Congress today, among them “Netanyahu has aided Republican efforts to turn Israel into a wedge issue. Through his upcoming speech at Speaker Johnson’s invitation, his 2015 speech to Congress attacking President Obama’s Iran nuclear deal, and other instances in which he has acted antagonistically toward US administrations for political advantage at home, Netanyahu has jeopardized US-Israel relations and undermined bipartisan support.”

Netanyahu Doesn’t Speak for Me [Petition], J Street
Sign and share our petition asking Members of Congress and the White House to “send a message to Prime Minister Netanyahu while he is in Washington: Free the hostages. End the War. Seal the Deal. Now.”

Top News and Analysis

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu Can Expect a Mixed Reception as He Addresses Congress, NPR
There will be notable absences in the chamber when Netanyahu delivers his address. Dozens of Democratic lawmakers, including Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., are expected to sit his speech out. In addition to his speech on Capitol Hill, Netanyahu is expected to meet with Biden and Vice President Harris, and possibly with former President Donald Trump.

Harris’s Views on Israel Are in the Spotlight as Netanyahu Visits Washington, The New York Times
There is no evidence that Ms. Harris has mounted internal challenges against Mr. Biden’s policy toward Israel. But she had pressed administration officials, including the president, to express more sympathy for Palestinians as the death toll soared in Gaza. And analysts say she played a notable public role by expressing sharper criticism of Mr. Netanyahu’s government than Mr. Biden was able to muster, for either personal or diplomatic reasons.

News

Israel Launches New Raids in Gaza as Netanyahu Visits US, Reuters
The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said it had received distress calls from residents trapped in their homes in Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Younis, but were unable to reach the town. Medics later said two Palestinians had been killed in an airstrike on Bani Suhaila, where the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas said fighters had detonated a bomb against an Israeli army personnel carrier.

Hundreds of Pro-Palestinian Protesters Arrested on Capitol Hill Ahead of Netanyahu Visit, NBC
About 200 people were arrested Tuesday during a pro-Palestinian protest in a congressional building the day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address lawmakers. The demonstration, which took place in the Cannon House Office Building, was organized by Jewish Voice for Peace.

Israeli Government Quietly Sends Millions to Unauthorized West Bank Settler Outposts, AP
Documents uncovered by Peace Now illustrate how Israel’s pro-settler government has quietly poured money into the unauthorized outposts, which are separate from its more than 100 officially recognized settlements.

Rival Palestinian Factions Project Unity, but Deep Divisions Remain, The New York Times
For many Palestinians, without concrete steps to make the unity plan a reality, the gathering in the Chinese capital was little more than a performance — and one they had seen before. “What happened in China isn’t significant,” said Jehad Harb, an analyst of Palestinian affairs. “There aren’t any indications that Hamas and Fatah intend to end the split between them.”

Musk Activates Internet Service in Gaza Hospital With Help of UAE, Israel, Haaretz
The Gulf Arab state’s foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, thanked the billionaire entrepreneur for supporting the UAE field hospital in Gaza, where many medical facilities have been destroyed in over nine months of war.

Dozens of Filings Flood ICC’s Israel-Hamas Case, Causing Delays, Reuters
More than 60 governments and other parties will be allowed to file arguments to the International Criminal Court as judges consider whether to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders on both sides of the Gaza war, court documents show.

Trump Posts Letter From Palestinian Leader Ahead of Netanyahu Meeting, Axios
Abbas’ letter is a signal that the Palestinian president wants to start a new chapter with the Republican presidential nominee following their fallout as a result of Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the U.S. embassy to the city in December 2017.

Netanya-Who? Washington Gives Israeli Leader the Cold Shoulder, Politico
Because of the mind-boggling news cycle — one U.S. presidential candidate was almost killed while another dropped out of the race a week later — Netanyahu “hasn’t really been able to get the traction and the airtime they would have expected,” another House aide added.

Israel Is Blocking Physicians With Palestinian Heritage From Entering Gaza, CNN
“They said ‘you’re denied because of your Palestinian ID,’” said Suleiman, the medical mission lead at Rahma, a US-based humanitarian organization, referring to COGAT. “It’s very upsetting, annoying and disturbing to deny someone entry to a war zone to do a mission just because of the fact that they’re by genetics Palestinian.”

Opinion and Analysis

Israeli Politicians Think Netanyahu Favors Deal but Will Avoid Saying So in Congress Speech, Haaretz
Ravit Hecht writes, “Both coalition and opposition members are convinced that Netanyahu is leaning toward a deal. ‘Netanyahu wants a deal that will begin in August, so that it will last until Trump takes office,’ a Likud cabinet minister said. ‘So, when the Trump era begins, it will be much more convenient to start the mission in the north against Iran.’”

The ICJ Is Right: The Israeli Settlements Are an Illegal Affront, The New Republic
Jo-Ann Mort reports, “Settlers are policed by their own allies. Especially since October 7, many reservists in the Israeli Army are based on the West Bank — settlers protecting settlers. And knowing that little of consequence will happen to them under the Netanyahu government, settler violence against Palestinian civilians has grown. Ofran tells me: ‘They go down to the village, throw stones at houses, set fire, a lot of fires. Then, when Palestinians go out to shout at them or throw stones at them, they are attacked. Then the army comes and protects settlers. That’s the dynamics that we see.’”

Netanyahu Will Warn Congress About Iranian Aggression. But His Iran Policy Has Been a Colossal Failure, Haaretz
As Netanyahu is fêted in the U.S. Congress by putative supporters and defenders of Israel, one fact is indisputable: Israel’s security has never been worse, and much of its insecurity emanates from Iran. The Middle East is entering a fresh phase of profound instability and these escalations threaten to pull in other global actors – or already have.

If Only Netanyahu Would Say This to Congress, The Times of Israel
Rick Jacobs offers a version of the speech that many Jews and pro-Israel supporters hope Netanyahu delivers today in Congress. He writes, “Israel must continue to do more to prevent the loss of life and ensure that humanitarian aid gets through to innocent Gazans who so desperately need it. It must not be diverted by Hamas. We will also hold accountable extremist Israelis acting outside the law to divert aid.”

Netanyahu’s Fourth Congressional Address: A Legacy in Jeopardy, The Jersualem Post
Nimrod Novik shares, “A majority of Israelis believe that the prime minister is preventing a hostages-for-ceasefire deal in order to serve his political clock. That clock has at least two hands: one that counts the days until the Knesset goes into a long summer recess, hindering a forced reshuffle or a vote for early elections. The other is counting the months until the US elections, with Netanyahu commonly suspected of secretly rooting for Trump and not-so-secretly investing in soothing the erratic Republican nominee’s lingering anger with him.”