How the Death of USAID Will Haunt Israel, Gaza and Trump, Haaretz
J Street Policy Center Senior Fellow Larry Garber writes, “Rather than cheering the looming closure of the USAID mission and the termination of assistance projects to Palestinians, Israel and its supporters in the US should recognize that the loss of a reliable funder and capable monitor of assistance will further isolate Israel internationally, will diminish US credibility as an effective interlocutor between Israelis and Palestinians and will result in a loss of US influence in the region.”
The Coming Jewish Civil War Over Donald Trump, The New Republic
“[Trump’s attack on universities and his threats to the survival of US democracy] are tied up with the problem of the transformation of Israel into a country to which millions of liberal American Jews remain profoundly emotionally committed, but whose government consistently violates their most deeply held values. Taken together, these challenges combine to present American Jews with what J Street president Jeremy Ben-Ami described as the fundamental question: ‘What does it mean to be Jewish in the US in the middle of the twenty-first century?’”
What to Expect from Trump’s Middle East Trip [Video], J Street
President Trump takes off for the Middle East on Monday. There’s no shortage of pressing issues up for discussion in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. However, it’s still unclear what Trump’s reaction will be to the Israeli government’s newly announced plans to re-seize large swaths of Gaza, and how this announcement might impact his discussions. J Street’s Senior Vice President and Chief Policy Officer Ilan Goldenberg sat down with Middle East experts Ambassador Michael Ratney and Jen Gavito to discuss what to expect from Trump’s visit.
Israeli Army Places Returning the Hostages at the Bottom of Its Gaza Campaign Goals, Despite Promises to Families, Haaretz
“Operational orders presented to army commanders listed ‘defeating Hamas’ as the top priority for the expanded Gaza operation, with returning the hostages as last – contrary to assurances by the chief of staff and army spokesperson. Defense sources say the priorities were set by political leadership.”
Leading Aid Group Shuts Down its Soup Kitchens Across Gaza over Israel’s Blockade, AP
“World Central Kitchen was serving 133,000 meals per day and baking 80,000 loaves of bread over the past weeks, but said it was forced to suspend operations since there is almost no food left in Gaza for the organization to cook. The lack of food is threatening Gaza’s population, already battered by 19 months of war. In April, the World Food Program said its food stocks in Gaza have run out under Israel’s blockade, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory.”
Exclusive: US, Israel Discuss Possible US-led Administration for Gaza, Sources Say, Reuters
“The ‘high-level’ consultations have centered around a transitional government headed by a US official that would oversee Gaza until it had been demilitarized and stabilized, and a viable Palestinian administration had emerged, the sources said.”
Israel Confirms Serious Concern for Lives of One Israeli, Two Foreign Hostages; Families Informed, Haaretz
“An Israeli source said that there are 21 living hostages being held in Gaza and there is a serious concern for the lives of three additional hostages. The three additional hostages include an Israeli and two foreigners, who have not sent a sign of life since the war began on October 7.”
Israeli Strikes Kill 48 at Gaza Shelters for Displaced Palestinians, Hospitals Say, as Military Operation Intensifies, CNN
“At the site of one attack in the Al Bureij camp in central Gaza on Tuesday, video from the scene showed a large crater where people searched through the rubble of the school for survivors, the remnants of tents and belongings littering the ground. According to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, 33 people were killed in the strike, including women and children.”
US Pressuring Humanitarian Groups to Get Behind Israeli Aid Plan for Gaza, The Times of Israel
“Amid this pushback, the Trump administration has indicated to these organizations – including the World Food Program – that their US funding could be slashed if they do not cooperate, a staffer at an international aid group, a senior Western diplomat and an Israeli official told The Times of Israel.”
Israel Downs Drone as Houthis Vow to Continue Tit-for-Tat Strikes, The New York Times
“The Israeli military said in a statement that the drone was intercepted by the air force and sirens blared as it approached. It was not immediately clear who launched the drone. But the Houthi militia group reiterated that it would continue to attack Israel, both to avenge attacks in Yemen and because of the war in Gaza.”
My Holocaust Survivor Parents Would be Appalled by What Became of their American Dream, The Forward
Professor Michael Brenner writes, “If they were alive today, they would be shocked to see a country whose leaders support extreme right-wing parties in Germany, and in the rest of Europe. A country where Jews and Israel are under increasing attack on university campuses, and elsewhere. A country whose president has rehabilitated and celebrated those who attacked Congress, the very symbol of American democracy, on Jan. 6, 2021.”
The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs Funds Settlers Propaganda with Millions of Shekels, Peace Now
Peace Now writes, “While the government is raising taxes, cutting services and placing the entire burden of the cost of war on the public, it is pouring millions into financing political campaigns for a minority of messianic settlers. The pretext of fighting delegitimization is just an excuse, while it is clear to everyone that these are funds intended for political purposes solely for settlers beyond the Green Line.”
The Huge, Under-the-Radar Shift Happening in the West Bank, The New York Times
Adam Rasgon and Fatima AbdulKarim write, “The streets looked like Gaza. Homes reduced to rubble, walls pockmarked by bullet holes, roads ripped apart by bulldozers. Neighborhood after neighborhood was deserted. But this was not Gaza, a territory devastated by the war between Israel and the militant group Hamas, where tens of thousands have been killed and hunger stalks the population. It was the occupied West Bank, another Palestinian territory where the Israeli military has been tightening control in the most sweeping crackdown on militancy there in a generation.”