Stand Up and Be Counted, Substack
J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami writes, “What Donald Trump may do with the levers of power firmly back in his hands – particularly with a Congress ready to lend a stamp of legitimacy – should send shivers down the spine of the whole American Jewish community. Sadly, the silence is deafening.”
Antisemitism, the Mideast and Jewish Voters Play a Big Role in Some Key House Races in U.S. Election, Haaretz
From Arizona to Pennsylvania, from Vegas to the Catskills, the Jewish community is expected to play an outsize role in deciding who controls the House of Representatives in January. Here are 16 congressional races to look out for on Election Day.
Classified Leaks by Detained Netanyahu Aide May Have Undermined Hostage Operations, Axios
The arrests of four suspects, including Netanyahu spokesperson Eli Feldstein, are at the center of what is likely to be the biggest scandal inside the Israeli government since the beginning of the war in Gaza. The alleged leak of top secret information could have caused “significant damage” to efforts to free hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, the judge said.
Smotrich Extends Deal Allowing Israel-PA Bank Ties, but Only for One Month, Angering US, The Times of Israel
Smotrich has long spoken in favor of collapsing the Palestinian Authority. The one-month extension allows the far-right minister to keep his options open depending on who wins the presidential election next week, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel.
Israeli Forces Used Civilians as Human Shields in Gaza, Palestinians and Soldiers Say, The Washington Post
The Washington Post reports, “Saad was among four Palestinian men who spoke on the record to provide vivid accounts of what they described as Israel employing detained Palestinians as human shields in Gaza […] in this case, by forcing them to carry out life-threatening tasks to reduce risk to Israeli soldiers. Their nearly contemporaneous accounts are detailed, corroborated by other witnesses, and consistent with testimony by an Israeli soldier who fought in Gaza, and with interviews collected by Breaking the Silence, an organization that works with troops who have served in the occupied Palestinian territories.”
Entire Northern Gaza Population ‘At Imminent Risk’ of Death, UNICEF Head Says, The Washington Post
All those who remain in northern Gaza — especially children — are “at imminent risk of dying” from disease, famine and ongoing bombardments there, UNICEF’s executive director warned.
Israel Informs UN That 1967 Agreement Recognizing UNRWA Is Void, The Times of Israel
The Foreign Ministry on Monday officially informed the United Nations that Israel is withdrawing from the 1967 agreement recognizing the Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA after the Knesset passed legislation to severely limit the operations of the agency in Israel and in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The bill takes effect in three months.
US Warns Iran: We Won’t Be Able to Restrain Israel if You Attack, Axios
“We told the Iranians: We won’t be able to hold Israel back, and we won’t be able to make sure that the next attack will be calibrated and targeted as the previous one,” a U.S. official said.
Israel Says It Carried Out Ground Raid Into Syria, Seizing a Syrian Citizen Connected to Iran, AP
Israel has carried out airstrikes in Syria multiple times over the past year, targeting members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah and officials from Iran, the close ally of both Hezbollah and Syria. But it has not previously made public any ground forays into Syria.
Israeli Authorities Probe Suspected Gaza Intelligence Leak by Netanyahu Aide, Reuters
A suspected leak of classified Gaza documents involving an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has jolted Israeli politics and outraged the families of hostages held by Hamas who have been pushing for a deal to get their loved ones home.
After All the Mishegoss, Can Harris Get the Jewish Vote She Needs?, The New Republic
Eric Alterman writes, “Trump’s promises to rule as a lawless, vindictive dictator, coupled with the fact nobody knows whether he might win, has spooked a great many people in politics. Those Jews who take their cues from the professional Jewish organizations that profess to speak to them can hardly be said to be getting a clear message on the threat Trump presents to all of us.”
Palestinians Were Living Under Occupation for Decades Before the War. A Palestinian and an Israeli United To Show the World Their Reality, CNN
Yuval Abraham, who produced the documentary ‘No Other Land’ shares, “Change is possible, especially if there is willingness from the US leaders to allow us to reach the point of change. The United States is very much complicit in what we are seeing in our movie. For a better future for Palestinians and for Israelis, we need change in US foreign policy, and we hope that the film will contribute to that.”
Leaked ‘Hamas Documents’ Suggest Netanyahu Ran Influence Campaign. Target: Israelis, Haaretz
Amos Harel reports, “In the wake of the discovery of the bodies of six hostages who were murdered by Hamas in Rafah, there was heavy public pressure on the government to resume talks on a deal for the release of the remaining hostages. It appears that the slanted leak was meant to deflect that pressure and assign full responsibility for the stall in the negotiations to the commander of the captors, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was later killed in a confrontation with Israeli soldiers.”
Takeaways From AP’s Report on Three Hospitals in Northern Gaza Raided by Israeli Troops, AP
Isabel Debre, Julia Frankel and Lee Keath report, “Over the past 13 months, the Israeli military has besieged and raided at least 10 hospitals, saying the attacks are a military necessity because Hamas uses the facilities as command and control bases. The Associated Press examined the raids late last year on three hospitals in northern Gaza — al-Awda, Indonesian and Kamal Adwan hospitals — interviewing more than three dozen patients, witnesses and medical and humanitarian workers as well as Israeli officials. Israel has presented little or even no evidence of a significant Hamas presence at the three.”