News Roundup for November 19, 2025
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.
U.N. Support Propels Trump Gaza Plan, But Road Ahead Is Still Rough, New York Times
“Nadav Tamir, Israel director for J Street, the liberal U.S. pro-Israel lobby, said he wished the Trump administration would adopt a similarly tough-minded and assertive approach to Mr. Netanyahu’s right-wing government over all its dealings with the Palestinians. […] If the administration were as aggressive with Israel on the West Bank as it has been in Gaza, he said, ‘then it could be a great turning point for the region.'”
[Audio] Antisemitism Task Force Re-Groups After Severing Ties With the Heritage Foundation, NPR Morning Edition
Speaking to NPR, J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said, “When any side, whether it’s Muslims, Christians or Jews begin to introduce the idea that God somehow gave only one people a piece of land, you make it a conflict that can’t be resolved.”
MBS Tells Trump He Wants to Join Abraham Accords Subject to Path for Palestinian State, Axios
“Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) told President Trump that he is ready to work on the kingdom joining the Abraham Accords and normalizing relations with Israel, but only if any agreement provides a clear path for a Palestinian state.”
Thirteen Killed in Israeli Strike on Palestinian Refugee Camp in Lebanon, Haaretz
“The Israeli army said that it struck militants operating in a ‘Hamas training compound’ in the Ein El-Hilweh refugee camp in the country’s south. It alleged that the compound was ‘used by Hamas terrorists for training and exercises in order to plan and carry out terrorist attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel.'”
On Top of F-35 Sale, US and Saudi Arabia Ink Deals for Civil Nuclear Energy and Tanks, Times of Israel
“The United States and Saudi Arabia signed agreements on civil nuclear energy and the sale of cutting-edge weaponry during a visit Tuesday by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as US President Donald Trump announced he was designating Riyadh a major non-NATO ally.”
Israeli Figures Warn State Has ‘Lost Control’ as West Bank Settlers Attack, Washington Post
“The attacks have exposed a deep rift between the most radical Israeli settlers, who believe they have a divine right to the land, and parts of the traditional security establishment, which sees the violence as destabilizing and undermining the state.”
Gaza Storms Bring Flooding, Sewage and Misery in Tent Camps, Reuters
“The Hamas-run Gaza government has estimated losses from the stormy weather at around $4.5 million, including 22,000 tents, spoiled food and medicines and damage to infrastructure, while local aid groups say 300,000 new tents are urgently needed.”
Meeting Between Witkoff and Hamas Official Said Canceled Due to Israeli Pressure, Times of Israel
“A planned meeting between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, scheduled to take place Wednesday in Turkey, has been canceled due to Israeli pressure, the Lebanese channel Al-Mayadeen reported.”
The Israeli Right’s Radical Ambitions Have Been Stymied. That Makes It Even More Dangerous, Haaretz
Joshua Leifer writes, “A year ago, the settler right believed their vision of a reoccupied Gaza devoid of Palestinians to be in reach. That vision has been squashed. […] Yet one of the dangers of radical right-wing movements is that defeat rarely chastens or stops them: More often, it drives them to even greater extremes.”
On Republican Neo-Nazism, Hamas and Israel: An Epidemic of Moral Cowardice, New York Times
Thomas Friedman writes, “Three examples preoccupy me personally: The Republican Party today has a neo-Nazi problem that it refuses to confront. The progressive left today has a pro-Hamas problem that it refuses to confront. And the Jewish people and Israel have a radical Jewish settler problem that they refuse to confront.”
