J Street Horrified by Terror Attack in Colorado, Urges Swift Action, J Street
J Street Senior Vice President and Chief Policy Officer Ilan Goldenberg writes, “We are horrified and shaken by yet another brutal attack on our community here in the United States. That an incendiary weapon was unleashed on a peaceful gathering in solidarity with Israeli hostages is terrifying. Our hearts are with the victims of this sickening attack, some of whom have suffered severe and significant burns.”
How Boulder Attack Could Boost Trump’s War on ‘Hostile Migration’, Newsweek
J Street Vice President and Chief of Staff Adina Vogel-Ayalon told Newsweek, “There’s a bright-red line between free speech and political violence. These attacks are horrific and our hearts are with the victims of this sickening attack…Whatever our policy positions, we can surely agree that everyone in the United States should have the right to freedom of assembly and to peacefully protest, regardless of their background.”
Gaza Officials Say Israeli Forces Killed 27 Heading to Aid Site. Israel Says It Fired Near Suspects, AP
“Palestinian health officials and witnesses say Israeli forces fired on people as they headed toward an aid distribution site on Tuesday, killing at least 27, in the third such incident in three days. The army said it fired ‘near a few individual suspects’ who left the designated route, approached its forces and ignored warning shots.”
After Several Attacks, Heightened Anxiety Among American Jews, The New York Times
“The drumbeat of violence erupting across the country and taking an unpredictable variety of forms has deepened anxieties among many American Jews, and contributed to a sense that simply existing in public as a Jewish person is increasingly dangerous.”
UN Calls for Investigation Into Killings Near Gaza Aid Distribution Site, BBC
“The UN secretary-general has called for an independent investigation into the killing of Palestinians near an aid distribution centre in Gaza on Sunday, amid disputed reports that Israeli forces had opened fire on people waiting to collect aid.”
Israeli Soldiers Bar Media From Visiting West Bank Villages on Tour Organized by Oscar Winners, AP
“Israeli soldiers on Monday barred journalists from entering villages in the West Bank on a planned tour organized by the directors of the Oscar-winning movie ‘No Other Land.’ The directors of the film, which focuses on Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territory, said they had invited the journalists on the tour Monday to interview residents about increasing settler violence in the area.”
Growing Risks for Pregnancy and Childbirth in Gaza Under Israeli Blockade and Bombardment, BBC
“With acute shortages of food, the UN says that one in 10 new babies is underweight or premature. There has also been an increase in miscarriages, stillbirths and congenital abnormalities.”
The Two Things I Fear Most After the Horrifying Attack on Jews in Boulder, The Forward
Emily Tamkin writes, “I don’t know how to break this cycle. But I do strongly suspect that as a first step, American Jews — and Americans more generally — need to insist on our right to participate in civic life. That can mean running to raise awareness of the plight of the many hostages still in Gaza. It can mean attending an event for Jewish professionals, or showing up at a pro-Palestine protest, or writing an op-ed. It should mean that we all have the right to go out into society and do so safely, returning to our loved ones at the end of the day, no matter what we believe.”
Israel’s Dangerous Escalation in Gaza, Foreign Affairs
Assaf Orion writes, “Israel finds itself in a political, social, and moral crisis unlike any it has confronted since its founding. It now looks as if the end of the war will come only when the government hits the hard cliffs of reality, whether through the soaring costs in blood and treasure, acute constraints in resources, or overwhelming international pressure, with U.S. President Donald Trump being the most plausible war-stopper at present if he decides to take that course.”
Jews Are Afraid Right Now, The New York Times
Chief Executive of the National Council of Jewish Women Sheila Katz writes, “When antisemitism emerges within progressive spaces, cloaked in the language of justice, too often it is met with silence and discomfort, creating echo chambers where dangerous ideas are amplified rather than confronted.”
Stop the Bulldozers, Stop the Propaganda: Israel’s Bedouin Citizens Are Not a ‘Planning Problem’, Haaretz
The Haaretz Editorial Board writes, “Since it was sworn in 17 months ago, the Netanyahu government has left hundreds of Bedouin citizens – including children, older people and people with disabilities or chronic illness – without roofs over their heads.”