President Biden’s Failure to Take Action, J Street
J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami writes, “US law is clear: Unrestricted American arms cannot be provided to countries that block humanitarian assistance. It’s long past time to stop the spin and dodges and take action. Backtracking from these requests is not only a breach of our laws that makes America look weak, but it will cost more lives in Gaza, damage US influence, and allow Netanyahu to continue to trash Israel’s reputation and mock our shared values.”
Senators: As Friends of Israel, Vote To Disapprove What The Gaza War Has Become, Substack
J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami writes, “There are multiple reasons Senators should vote for at least one resolution of disapproval. One is to demonstrate concern as friends about where Israel is headed if this war isn’t stopped now. Another is America’s own role in this tragedy. The US is not an uninvolved observer. It has supplied so many of the weapons that made this devastation possible. Voting yes on at least one resolution of disapproval sends a signal – seen throughout Washington, American politics, the Middle East and the world – that there is political will in Washington to object to the course of the war, to enforce American law and to use the leverage we have when Israel’s government consistently defies the American president’s will.”
Trump Tapped Mike Huckabee To Be US Ambassador To Israel. Christian Nationalists Are Thrilled, HuffPost
“The mask is off,” the liberal American Zionist group J Street said in a statement, arguing that Huckabee’s appointment “is further proof that ‘pro-Israel’ for Trump is totally disconnected from Jewish values, safety or self-determination.”
Rightwing Settlers in Israel Welcome ‘Dream Team’ of Trump and His Hardline Appointments, The Guardian
Palestinian groups and leftwing NGOs in Israel have been shocked by Trump’s appointment of outspoken supporters of the projects of far-right Israeli activists and say the government of Benjamin Netanyahu has been emboldened by Trump’s victory. “The series of appointments announced by US president-elect Donald Trump should worry everyone who cares about Israel’s future,” an editorial in the leftwing newspaper Haaretz warned.
Inside the Republican False-Flag Effort to Turn Off Kamala Harris Voters, The Washington Post
Michael Scherer and Josh Dawsey report, “Muslims in Michigan began seeing pro-Israel ads this fall praising Vice President Kamala Harris for marrying a Jewish man and backing the Jewish state. Jews in Pennsylvania, meanwhile, saw ads from the same group with the opposite message: Harris wanted to stop U.S. arms shipments to Israel. […] What voters had no way of knowing at the time was that all of the ads were part of a single, $45 million effort created by political advisers to Tesla founder Elon Musk who had previously worked on the presidential campaign of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), according to a presentation about the group’s efforts obtained by The Washington Post.”
Israeli Strike Kills Hezbollah Spokesperson As Group Prepares Response to Fresh Ceasefire Proposal, CNN
The death of Afif, who was for years an adviser to the late Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and had been responsible for the group’s media relations since 2014, was confirmed by the militant group in a statement calling him a “great media leader.” Hezbollah is currently reviewing a US-Israeli ceasefire proposal submitted to the Lebanese government on Thursday, according to CNN sources familiar with the negotiations. It is unclear whether Afif’s reported killing will impact the negotiations.
Large Majority of Israelis Want Hostage Deal, Even if It Means Ending Gaza War, The Times of Israel
Asked whether it was more important to strike a hostage deal or to continue the war in Gaza, 69 percent of respondents answered that a hostage deal was more important. Fifty-two percent of respondents answered that a deal had not yet been reached for political reasons.
Airstrikes Hit Central Beirut for First Time in Weeks, The New York Times
The attacks came as Israel’s military has been pounding an area just outside the Lebanese capital with some of the heaviest waves of bombardment in months.
3 Soldiers Killed in Northern Gaza Strip; Hostage Holders Said Incommunicado, The Times of Israel
The IDF on Sunday announced the deaths of three soldiers killed during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip in the past day, while Hamas-controlled officials in the Palestinian enclave claimed that dozens were killed or injured in an airstrike on a building.
Student Protesters Face Potential Trump Crackdown, The Hill
Those on campus have already seen stricter rules around demonstrations this academic year, but President-elect Trump, as a candidate, threatened protesters with everything from military action to deportation.
A Gaza School Burned Down Hours After Aid Arrived. Witnesses Say Israeli Soldiers Started the Fire, Haaretz
Witnesses said soldiers forced civilians away from the area, preventing them from collecting aid from the first convoy to reach the area in over a month. A video seen on social media, taken by an IDF soldier, showed two Israeli armored vehicles leaving the school as it was engulfed in flames.
Mike Huckabee, in His Own Words: What Trump’s Incoming U.S. Ambassador Really Thinks About Israel, Palestine and ‘Almighty God’, Haaretz
Rachel Fink reports, “As a staunch proponent of annexation, with close relations over decades with Israeli settlers and the Yesha Council, the umbrella organization of West Bank Jewish settlements, he has been explicit about what that ‘visceral’ connection to Greater Israel means, as well as his skepticism about the national aspirations of what he habitually refers to as the ‘so-called Palestinians.’”
Opinions: A Queer Prayer for Nonviolence in Israel/Palestine, The Washington Blade
Sharon Kleinbaum and Sa’ed Atshan shares, “Our commitment to nonviolence requires courage. We must create spaces where voices of peace are amplified and where stories of those who dare to envision a different future are shared. We must reject efforts that dehumanize, threaten, and use violence in language, slogans, or chants against the innocent.”
Israel’s Judicial Overhaul Is Back Big Time, Haaretz
The Haaretz Editorial Board writes, “The goal of Levin and his gang is to fire the attorney general (who is prosecutor in the prime minister’s criminal trial) and thereby undermine the rule of law; to enact laws to their heart’s content that enable the ultra-Orthodox to evade the draft and to fund draft-dodging without judicial review by the High Court of Justice; to ignore the law regarding the legality of settlements in the territories; and in general to remove any restraint on their power that still remains.”