Left-Wing Jewish Leaders Criticize Trump Administration Over Battle Against Antisemitism, Israel365 News
“The J Street-T’ruah letter acknowledges the serious threat of antisemitism while arguing against its political exploitation: ‘The resurgence of this age-old hatred is alarming, and we unequivocally stand against it in all its forms. We must also be clear: the way in which the Trump administration claims it is combating antisemitism is not about protecting Jews—it is instead overtly abusing the issue to divide Americans, undermine democracy, and harm other vulnerable communities.’”
Orders to Investigate Columbia Protesters Raised Alarms in Justice Dept., The New York Times
“A top Trump appointee in the Justice Department ordered an aggressive investigation in the last several months of student protesters at Columbia University, raising anger and alarm among career prosecutors and investigators who saw the demand as politically motivated and lacking legal merit, people familiar with the episode said.”
Israeli Military Strikes Near Syria’s Presidential Palace After Warning Over Sectarian Attacks, AP
“Israel’s air force struck near Syria’s presidential palace early Friday after warning Syrian authorities not to march toward villages inhabited by members of a minority sect in southern Syria. The strike came after days of clashes between pro-Syrian government gunmen and fighters who belong to the Druze minority sect near the capital, Damascus. The clashes left dozens of people dead or wounded.”
IDF Planning Major Shift in Gaza Aid Delivery in Bid To Thwart Hamas Diversion, The Times of Israel
“The plan is to transition away from wholesale distribution and warehousing of aid and to instead have international organizations and private security contractors hand out boxes of food to individual Gazan families, according to the officials. Each family will have a designated representative tasked with reaching an Israel Defense Forces security zone in southern Gaza, where aid will be distributed after going through several rounds of inspection.”
‘We Are Breaking the Bodies and Minds of Children of Gaza’, Says WHO Executive Director, Reuters
“‘We are breaking the bodies and minds of the children of Gaza. We are starving the children of Gaza. We are complicit,’ Deputy Director General Michael Ryan told reporters at the WHO’s headquarters. ‘As a physician I am angry. It is an abomination,’ he said. Israel says the decision to block the supplies was aimed at pressuring Hamas to free hostages as the ceasefire agreement stalled. ‘The current level of malnutrition is causing a collapse in immunity,’ Ryan said, warning that cases of pneumonia and meningitis in women and children could increase.”
Gaza Kitchens Warn Food Will Run Out in Days After Two Months of Israeli Blockade, BBC
“Recently, the UN’s World Food Programme and Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said they had used up all their stocks of food aid. There is growing international pressure on Israel to lift its blockade, with warnings that mass starvation could be imminent and that intentionally starving civilians is a war crime. ‘Aid, and the civilian lives it saves, should never be a bargaining chip,’ the UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, warned on Thursday.”
Israel Must Give Red Cross Access to Jailed Palestinians, Britain Tells ICJ, The Guardian
“British government lawyers have said Israel is bound by the Geneva conventions to give the International Committee of the Red Cross access to Palestinian prisoners and cannot justify its refusal to do so by pointing to Hamas’s treatment of Israeli hostages.”
Lebanon Warns Hamas Not To Carry Out Any Attacks From Its Territories, AP
“The warning by the Higher Defense Council, Lebanon’s top military body, came weeks after several Lebanese and Palestinians were detained on suspicion of firing rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel. ‘Hamas and other factions will not be allowed to endanger national stability,’ the council said. ‘The safety of Lebanon’s territories is above all.’”
Mike Waltz Out as National Security Advisor, Nominated as Trump’s Envoy to UN, Haaretz
“Waltz replaces Rep. Elise Stefanik, whose nomination was pulled last month in order to preserve House Republicans’ narrow majority, as Trump’s nominee for UN ambassador. While Waltz’s removal as national security advisor is still causing alarm in hawkish pro-Israel circles worried about the implications on Iran diplomacy, his presence as a senior administration official – along with Rubio’s temporary expanded portfolio – will undoubtedly help ease some of these concerns.”
The Stakes in the World Zionist Congress Are Higher Than Ever. Make Sure You Vote, Haaretz
Nomi Colton-Max, co-chair of the New Jewish Narrative and the Hatikvah slate writes: “The claim to centrism, or to being non-political is, of course, fiction: All slates participate in the Congress because of the stakes involved. In Hatikvah, our values guide policy and budget allocation. I want to ensure that money is directed to rebuilding Israel’s south and not expanding West Bank settlements. Occupation is one of the political issues splitting both Israeli society and the American Jewish community; it is impossible to ignore, and that is why it matters who sits at the table.”