We Will Meet This Challenge, Again, J Street
In a message to supporters yesterday, J Street president Jeremy Ben-Ami writes,” The overwhelming majority of Jewish Americans oppose the politics and policies of both Trump and Netanyahu. We understand the threats they pose are intertwined. It’s not surprising that the same forces that don’t oppose Netanyahu and the Israeli right are silent about Trump and the danger he poses to our democracy.”
In Trump Victory, Netanyahu Sees Himself As ‘The Great Winner’, The Washington Post
But while Trump could allow Israel to go after Tehran more aggressively, analysts said, he could also insist that Netanyahu “end the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon by the time he is sworn in on January 20,” Nadav Tamir, a former Israeli diplomat and now executive director of the J Street lobbying group in Washington, wrote in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Wednesday. Such a push could deepen Israel’s strategic quagmire, Tamir wrote, because “unlike a democratic government, he is not working to create a diplomatic alternative to replace Hezbollah and Hamas.”
Almost All Voting Groups Shifted Toward Trump, Except American Jews. Why?, The Forward
Rob Eshman writes, “A preliminary exit poll showed Jews backed Vice President Kamala Harris over Trump by 79% to 21%. Two other polls, by J Street/GBAO Strategies and Fox News, had Jewish support for Harris at 71% and 66%, respectively.”
If Jewish Unity Means Accepting Bigotry and Dehumanization, Count Me Out, Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Larry Yudelson shares, “If the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations has no room for a liberal, Zionist group like J Street, it’s incumbent on all of us to demand that our organizations — our synagogue bodies and our rabbinical associations — walk away from that false unity. It is time to show our devotion to democracy by demanding it from our representatives.”
Gaza Didn’t Cost Harris the Election. But Her Approach Pointed To a Broader Problem, The Forward
Arno Rosenfeld writes, “It’s not entirely clear yet what percentage of Jewish voters cast ballots for Harris, or whether Israel played more of a role in their decision-making this year than usual because of the war. […] A third poll, by GBAO Strategies on behalf of the liberal pro-Israel group J Street, put the figure at 71%, down from the 77% of the Jewish vote that Biden won in 2020.”
B-52 Bombers, Dozens of Fighter Jets: As Israel Braces for Iran Attack, U.S. Boosts Mideast Forces, Haaretz
The United States is continuing to deploy its forces in the Middle East, in an attempt to deter Iran from attacking Israel and to help defend Israel if such an attack does happen.
Trump Wants to End Gaza War on Israel’s Terms, Foreign Policy
Steven Cook writes, “For Gazans, it may seem that the quicker the war ends the better. But if the Trump administration allows the Israeli government to pursue the end of the conflict in ways it sees fit, it is likely that more Palestinians will be killed along the way. Then, of course, there are Netanyahu’s partners who want to resettle the Gaza Strip, the logical conclusion of which is the further dispossession of a population that was already predominantly refugees and their descendants.”
Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 40 in East Lebanon – Health Ministry, BBC
The Israeli military said the strikes, in the governorates of Baalbek and Bekaa, hit operatives and infrastructure of the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.
A New Law Allows Israel To Deport the Relatives of Attackers. Experts Expect It To Be Struck Down, AP
It would apply to Palestinian citizens of Israel and residents of annexed east Jerusalem who knew about their family members’ attacks beforehand or who “express support or identification with the act of terrorism.”
Palestinians Dismayed by Trump’s Win, Their Leaders Urge Peace, Reuters
Palestinians, locked in war with Israel for more than a year, expressed fear at Donald Trump’s return to the White House, while the leaders of the militant group Hamas and the Palestinian Authority urged him to act for peace.
UN to Israel: Replacing UNRWA Relief Agency Would Be Your Responsibility, Reuters
The U.N. views Gaza and the West Bank as Israeli-occupied territory. International humanitarian law requires an occupying power to agree to relief programs for people in need and to facilitate them “by all the means at its disposal” and ensure food, medical care, hygiene and public-health standards.
Rescuers Pull 30 Bodies From a Building in Central Lebanon Hit in an Israeli Strike, AP
Lebanese rescuers pulled 30 bodies out of the rubble after a late-night Israeli strike on an apartment building in the town of Barja, Lebanon’s Civil Defense service said Wednesday as the Mideast wars press on with no signs of abating.
Israeli Soldier Killed by Rocket Fire in Northern Israel, Haaretz
A combat soldier in the 605th Engineering Battalion, was killed on Wednesday by a rocket strike in Moshav Avivim in northern Israel. Sosnov, 20-years-old from Jerusalem, was hit during a barrage fired from Lebanon, alongside three other soldiers who were evacuated in moderate condition to hospitals in Haifa and Safed.
After Oct. 7, Israeli and Palestinian Civil Societies’ Pro-Peace Role Is More Important Than Ever, Middle East Institute
Yael Patir shares, “Investing in Arab-Jewish civil society cooperation within Israel and in a political coalition that includes Arab representation is therefore essential for building an inclusive foundation for future peace initiatives. Such a foundation will also prove instrumental in furthering regional normalization. The realization of this potential depends heavily on a shift in relations between Jewish and Arab citizens, overcoming barriers of fear and racism to ensure dignity and equality for Arab citizens, and making their safety a national priority.”
Trump’s Reelection Is Devastating American Jews. Our Tradition Tells Us How We Should Begin To Move Forward, The Forward
Emily Tamkin writes, “I mean this specifically for Jewish communities: We can, and will, find solace within and across our individual Jewish spaces. I do not think we will all suddenly agree on the meaning of antisemitism, deeply troubling instances of which I expect will rise when a person who regularly spews antisemitism returns to office. But I do hope that we will work together to speak out against such antisemitism when it comes from the most powerful person in the world, which it will.”
Israel Cannot Remain a Democracy Without Protecting Press Freedom, Freedom House
Kat Cosgrove argues, “To protect press freedom in Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon, the US and other democratic governments should immediately arrange for swift, transparent, and independent investigations into all killings of journalists in the conflict zone. They should demand that Israeli and Egyptian authorities provide international journalists with access to Gaza, and that Israeli forces cease communications blackouts and take whatever steps are necessary to keep journalists safe in Gaza and other areas under Israeli military control. Finally, they should call on all parties to the conflict to respect the right of journalists to report on the hostilities, including by promptly releasing any journalists still in arbitrary detention in Israel or the Palestinian territories.”