[Video] Randi Weingarten on Why Fascists Fear Teachers, Substack
This week on Word on the Street Live, J Street Chief Policy Officer Ilan Goldenberg spoke with Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. We spoke about her work countering right-wing authoritarianism and the Trump Administration’s efforts to target education and free speech under the guise of fighting antisemitism.”
Why the US Should Place Restrictions on Offensive Arms Transfers to Israel, The J Street Policy Center
“J Street urges Congress to ensure that US offensive weapons are not being used to continue the war in Gaza or to support de jure or de facto annexation of the West Bank, including through settler violence.”
Israeli Airstrikes ‘Killed Any Hope’ for Hostages in Gaza, Says Qatari Prime Minister, The Guardian
“Qatar’s prime minister has said that Benjamin Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for the remaining hostages in Gaza following Israel’s extraordinary strike on Hamas negotiators in Doha on Tuesday.”
White House Condemns Israeli Strike in Qatar, as Sense Mounts That Hamas Leaders May Have Survived, The Forward
“‘Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals,’ President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday afternoon. ‘However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.’”
IDF Chief Ignores Top Military Lawyer in Ordering Full Gaza City Evacuation, Haaretz
“IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir on Monday ordered the evacuation of the entire population of Gaza City, contrary to the position of the army’s top lawyer, the IDF’s Military Advocate General, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi. Last week, Tomer-Yerushalmi warned Zamir that it could not be determined that the planned evacuation operations to southern Gaza would be legal and demanded that evacuation notices be postponed until the necessary conditions for receiving the population were in place, but he ignored her position.”
Facing Israeli Assault, Many in Gaza City Say Fleeing Again Is Worse, The New York Times
“Residents of the city, much of which has already been reduced to rubble, said in interviews that they cannot, or will not, leave. Some do not trust Israel to let them return if they flee. Others cannot afford to leave, or worry that they or their loved ones could need medical care that might be unavailable if they left.”
Israel Attacks Sanaa, Al-Jawf in Latest Strikes on Houthis, Reuters
“Israel struck the Yemeni capital Sanaa and the northern province of al-Jawf on Wednesday, with the Houthi health ministry saying it killed 35 people and wounded 131 others. The strikes are the latest in a series of attacks and counterstrikes between Israel and Houthi militants in Yemen, part of a spillover from the war in Gaza.”
Turkey Could Be Next in Israel’s Cross-Hairs After Qatar. The Consequences? Catastrophic, Haaretz
Sinan Ciddi writes, “If war did break out, beyond the immediate destruction in Syria, hostilities could spill into the Mediterranean, where Turkish naval power collides with Israel’s offshore energy infrastructure. Cyber attacks, terrorism and proxy wars would almost certainly accompany open combat. Regional players such as Egypt, Greece and the Gulf monarchies would be forced to choose sides. Global powers – the U.S., Russia and China – could be pulled into the vortex.”
Is the True Zionist Ideal Blind Support of Israel, or Loving Criticism?, The Forward
Caleb Espiritu-Bloomfield writes, “You can decry Hamas, and also see that the Israeli government bears the true responsibility to change things for the better in the region. If they have the power to tip the scales of war — which they do — they also have the power to tip the balance toward peace. Yet we have watched them prepare to embark on a new campaign of decimation in Gaza City; bomb humanitarian zones; and murder innocents waiting for desperately needed aid. Calling out these atrocities and injustices at the hands of the government and military of Israel is an expression of my deep connection to the land of Israel — not disdain for it.”
Netanyahu Normalized Corruption and Is Dragging Israel Down With Him, Haaretz
The Haaretz Editorial Board writes, “The commission determined that Netanyahu and Cohen, who was the head of Israel’s National Security Council at the time, refrained from documenting meetings and conversations, gave cabinet members and heads of the defense establishment selective reports while creating false presentations of the situation, which led to decisions based on partial and misleading pictures.”