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.
Once Victims in Southeast Europe, Jews Come to Aid Fleeing Ukrainians, The New York Times
Today, as in the early 1900s, Jews are once again escaping violence in southeast Europe. But the context is radically different — cathartically so for the many Israelis who have come here to join the relief effort.
Israeli Troops Demolish Homes of Palestinian Attackers, AP
The Israeli military said Tuesday it has demolished the homes of two Palestinians accused of carrying out a deadly shooting attack in the occupied West Bank last year. The men are accused of shooting at a car driving near the outpost of Homesh, killing a Jewish seminary student and wounding two others.
Turkish, Israeli Presidents To Meet for First Time After Fractious Decade, Reuters
Turkey and Israel will seek to overcome years of animosity and insults when their presidents meet for the first time in more than a decade this week, expanding a recent Turkish charm offensive with regional rivals.
U.S. ‘Very Much Appreciates’ Israel’s Ukraine-Russia Diplomacy, Blinken Tells Lapid, Haaretz
The Biden administration “very much appreciates” Israel’s engagement in the diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Monday, at the start of their meeting in Riga.
Israel Says Iran Tried to Fly Arms to Hamas Using Drones, Wall Street Journal
Israel accused Iran of trying to use long-range drones to fly small arms to Palestinian militants in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in an evolution in Tehran’s use of unmanned vehicles against its Middle East rival.
Palestinian Authority Remains Neutral on Ukraine, Al-Monitor
Palestinians remain silent about the Russian war on Ukraine, as the Palestinian Authority (PA) has yet to take an official stance on Moscow’s military attack that was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin Feb. 24. The PA appears to be trying to avoid any negative political repercussions that could result from a stance it might have on the ongoing war.
Why This New Israeli-Palestinian Peace Plan Deserves Attention, The Washington Post
Gershom Gorenberg writes about the The Holy Land Confederation plan, proposed by Hiba Husseini, former legal adviser to Palestinian negotiators; Yossi Beilin, one of the Israeli architects of the Oslo process; and a team of other Palestinian and Israeli experts. He advocates for the plan, writing, “Israel will have to disarm and control radical settlers and their supporters who would sabotage the agreement. Palestine will have to end the existence of armed political factions and disarm its society, so that violent struggle for the rest of the land will end. If those conditions are met, the two-state outcome can be politically attractive, and a confederation might be the best way for both states to flourish.”
Why Naftali Bennett Went to Moscow, Foreign Policy
Neri Zilber explains Israel’s strategic interest in brokering a resolution between Russia and Ukraine, reporting, “One Israeli concern arising from the Ukraine crisis would be its ability to maintain its so-called deconfliction mechanism with Russia in Syria, in place since September 2015, when Russian forces intervened in the civil war on the side of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Israeli military officers in Tel Aviv communicate with their Russian counterparts in Syria’s Hmeimim air base ahead of Israeli Air Force’s work against Iranian assets, allied militias, and weapons shipments. Hundreds of such strikes have reportedly taken place in recent years. Israeli officials told Foreign Policy that these airstrikes are crucial to stopping Iran’s military entrenchment inside Syria; deconflicting with Russia is therefore a strategic imperative.”
What I Didn’t See as a Jewish Israeli, Yes Magazine
Tzvia Thier shares an excerpt from her book, noting, “It has been hard work to examine my own mind. Many questions leave me wondering how I could have not thought about them before. My solid identity was shaken and then broken. I have been an eyewitness to the systematic oppression, humiliation, racism, cruelty, and hatred by “my” people toward the “others.” And what you finally see, you can no longer unsee.”