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New Poll: Jewish Voters Strongly Support President Biden and Congressional Democrats, Adamantly Oppose Dobbs Decision, Jewish Electorate Institute
With less than two months until the pivotal midterm elections, a new poll of Jewish voters finds strong support for President Biden and Congressional Democrats, demonstrating higher approval ratings from these voters than among the general population, with 70% saying they approve of President Biden’s job performance and will support a Democratic candidate in November. The poll also found an 82% disapproval of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, an overwhelming rejection of efforts to ban access to abortion care. A majority of respondents said that the Dobbs decision adds to their motivation to vote in November. The Jewish voters surveyed also expressed continued concern about the January 6 insurrection, with most respondents following the Select Committee’s hearings closely and a majority saying that the hearings have made them more motivated to vote. While 71% of respondents reported an emotional attachment to Israel, most of these voters also noted that domestic issues, including the future of democracy and abortion access, are more likely to be priority factors when voting. The poll also found that 68% of Jewish voters support the U.S. reentering the Iran nuclear deal.
Israel Election: Arab Joint List Splinters as Parties Submit Final Lists, Haaretz
Israel’s political parties have submitted their slates to the Central Election Committee ahead of Thursday’s 10 P.M. deadline, finalizing their lineups for the November 1 Knesset election – the fifth in three-and-a-half-years. Almost an hour after the deadline to submit the rosters has passed, the three factions that make up the Joint List – Hadash, Balad and Ta’al – announced that Balad will run separately, a move that experts say will decrease voter turnout in the Arab community. Meanwhile, Likud chairman and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu brokered an agreement between Israel’s far-right parties, as well as an ultra-Orthodox merger aimed at consolidating the national camp’s votes.
Biden Unveils Historic Package of Anti-hate Actions Amid Antisemitism Spike in the U.S., Haaretz
U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday told the first-ever White House summit to combat hate-motivated violence that his administration is issuing a historic package of new actions to be taken by the federal government alongside civic, faith, philanthropic and business leaders.
Israeli Injured in Suspected Terror Shooting at Settlement of Carmel, The Times of Israel
An Israeli man was shot and moderately hurt in a suspected terror attack in the southern West Bank settlement of Carmel on Thursday night, the military and medics said.
Germany Offers One of the Largest Holocaust Reparations Packages, and a Special Fund for Ukrainians, The Washington Post
Germany agreed to one of its largest financial reparations packages ever for the world’s remaining Jewish Holocaust survivors on Thursday — including a 12 million euro ($12 million) emergency fund for 8,500 survivors who remain in war-torn Ukraine.
Anti-LGBTQ Party to Run With Far-right Religious Zionism After Netanyahu Pressure, Haaretz
Noam, a far-right party that strongly opposes the rights of the LGBTQ and Reform Jewish communities, will run with the Religious Zionist list in the upcoming election, after opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu requested the merger.
How an Israeli Raid on a Palestinian Rights Group Unfolded, The Washington Post
Miriam Berger reports, “The Forensic Architecture study group, which is based at the University of London and runs an investigations unit in partnership with Al Haq, mapped and synchronized footage of the raid from the office’s four CCTV cameras, and shared it exclusively with The Washington Post. “The footage shows a real contradiction between what the [Israeli] Ministry of Defense is saying Al Haq and its sister human rights organizations are, and how its soldiers behave in the field,” said the report’s lead researcher, who spoke on the condition of anonymity over fears of backlash from Israeli authorities.”
From Violence to Collapse: Palestinian Authority Faces Critical Weeks, Haaretz
Amos Harel writes, “Opinions on whether there is still anything to expect from Abbas’ administration are divided among the professionals who deal with this issue. There are some voices, albeit still a minority, that believe the months ahead will see the final collapse of old paradigms by whose lights Israel has operated since the signing of the Oslo Accords 29 years ago this week. They argue that, given the rot and the internal weakness, the present model of the PA will no longer succeed in ruling in the West Bank, a development that is indeed discernible already in the Jenin area.”
