Defining “Pro-Israel” in 2025, Substack
J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami writes, “The Trump administration and the political right are abusing the Jewish community’s very real fears about antisemitism – using them as a pretext for a deeply frightening assault on three critical pillars of the American Jewish experience: higher education, immigration and constitutional protections for free speech and for minority rights. This assault is the most significant threat in our lifetime to the very fabric of American life that has benefitted Jewish Americans over the last several generations.”
Turmoil Rocks Columbia University As Trump Administration Demands Changes — or Else, NPR
“Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of J Street, a Jewish and pro-Israel advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., called the Trump administration’s targeting of higher education part of ‘an all-out assault on the norms of our democracy and against the very existence of critical institutions, programs and services across all sectors of our society.’”
Netanyahu Moves To Fire Intel Chief Who Is Investigating His Aides, Axios
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to remove Ronen Bar as head of the Shin Bet domestic security agency and will seek cabinet approval for the move this week, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement […] In his statement, Bar said he’d told Netanyahu he had ‘several sensitive investigations’ to complete, as well as getting Israel’s remaining hostages out, before offering the prime minister his resignation and offering two internal candidates to succeed him. He said he still intends to complete those tasks before stepping down.”
Hamas Says It Will Only Release American-Israeli Hostage if Ceasefire Deal Is Implemented, AP
“Hamas said Saturday it will only release an American-Israeli and the bodies of four other hostages if Israel implements their ceasefire agreement, calling it an “exceptional deal” aimed at getting the truce back on track […] A senior Hamas official said long-delayed talks over the ceasefire’s second phase would need to begin the day of the release and last no longer than 50 days. Israel also would need to stop barring the entry of humanitarian aid and withdraw from a strategic corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt. Israel has said it won’t pull out from the corridor, citing the need to combat weapons smuggling.”
Israeli Strikes in Gaza Kill 9, Including Aid Workers and Journalists, NPR
“Two back-to-back Israeli airstrikes in the northern Gaza city of Beit Lahiya killed at least nine people on Saturday, according to Gaza civil defense. A London-based aid organization confirmed eight of those killed were staff members, saying they were carrying out charity work. The Israeli military says it was targeting two terrorists operating a drone in the area. In a statement, it says it hit those individuals and then struck again when ‘a number of additional terrorists’ collected the drone operating equipment and entered a vehicle.”
Nita Lowey, Longtime Jewish Congresswoman and Middle East Peace Advocate, Dies at 87, The Forward
“Nita Lowey, a Jewish Democrat from New York who served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 32 years, has died at 87 […] Upon her retirement, Lowey said she felt no conflict between loving Israel and criticizing its government. She also recalled with pride taking members of the Congressional Black Caucus to Israel in the 1990s to learn about Israeli efforts to assist developing African countries. The country’s medical and science innovations, she said, ‘make me so proud to be a Jew, as a Jewish member of Congress having the opportunity to work for peace, work for good relationships between Arabs and Jews. It’s been a privilege.’”
Don’t Fool Yourself Into Thinking It Will Stop With Columbia, The New York Times
David French writes, “The chilling effect on free speech here is profound. Even if Khalil’s rights are ultimately vindicated — and even if Columbia can successfully resist the administration’s efforts to cancel grants and contracts and control what gets taught and by whom — very few people or institutions will be willing to confront the administration if confrontation carries such a substantial cost.”
As ICE Targets a Palestinian Activist, Some Jews Are Asking if This Is the Fight Against Antisemitism They Signed Up For, The Jewish Telegraphic Agency
“The Trump administration is exploiting real concerns about antisemitism to undercut democracy: from gutting education funding to deporting students to attacking diversity, equity, & inclusion,” said Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, in a statement. “As we’ve repeatedly said: this makes Jews — and so many others — less safe.”
The Most Meaningful Moment of the Campaign for Me, Substack
Former Director of Jewish Outreach and Policy Advisor for the Harris Campaign, Ilan Goldenberg, writes, “There is a surplus of agony on all sides of the tragic conflict in the Middle East. In a competition of pain, there are no winners. In our Jewish tradition, we say kol adam olam um lo’o, every person is an entire universe. We must save all these universes. In an inflamed Middle East, we know the one thing that can most immediately release pressure and bring hope to the entire region, a deal that brings this diverse group of 109 hostages home and ends the suffering of the innocent civilians in Gaza. The time is now.”
Israel Can No Longer Ignore Gaza’s Future, YNet News
Israeli politician and retired IDF Brigadier General Efraim Sneh writes, “Netanyahu’s government eagerly embraced U.S. President Donald Trump’s so-called ‘Riviera Plan.’ But the fundamental flaw in the plan is that no Arab country would be willing to absorb two million Palestinians, and non-Arab nations were already trying to reduce their existing refugee populations. They have no interest in taking in more. ‘Voluntary evacuation’ during wartime is simply a euphemism for forced displacement, and those who facilitate it will eventually be accused of war crimes. Even Trump himself appears to recognize the lack of international and regional support for his proposal and is quietly retreating from it.”