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.
President Biden – Please Save Us From Our Leaders, The Times of Israel
J Street Israel Executive Director Nadav Tamir writes, “Pressuring Netanyahu does not weaken Israel, but is the only way to help Israelis escape a futile war in which our soldiers are being killed on an almost daily basis, our international standing is being undermined and our hostages in Gaza and evacuees from the north and south remain abandoned. American leverage to help Israel reach a political solution in Gaza and a regional alliance against Iran is the only way for President Biden to realize his Zionist convictions, which he has declared several times in the past.”
Fostering Dialogue, Not Division: What Jewish Students Need From You This Year, J Street
J Street U student leader Matan Berg shares, “We will continue to reject false choices between Israeli and Palestinian civilians, right-wing efforts to weaponize antisemitism, and calls for war; we will continue to understand that security, peace, justice, and freedom can only be truly obtained when they are mutual; and we will continue to champion that this moment is not ‘us vs. them’, but rather all of us – together.”
Netanyahu Is Said to Consider Firing Israel’s Defense Minister, The New York Times
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is contemplating dismissing his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, according to Israeli media reports, a move that would sideline one of the Biden administration’s few remaining interlocutors in the hard-line Israeli government. Mr. Gallant’s dismissal would remove perhaps the most significant Israeli leader who vigorously supports a cease-fire deal with Hamas that would free the hostages held in Gaza. He has also been a key point of contact for the United States amid tensions between Mr. Netanyahu and the Biden administration.
Gripped by Despair, Israel’s Hostage Families Try to Keep Hope Alive, The Washington Post
Among hostage families, the deaths of the six marked a turning point. Many who had been keeping their protests in Tel Aviv largely apolitical have now joined the more overtly anti-government demonstrations a few blocks away. The result, organizers say, has been the biggest crowds yet, measuring in the hundreds of thousands. “We are marching with one voice now,” said Lee Siegel, 72, whose younger brother, Keith Siegel, is still being held by Hamas.
US Warns Netanyahu Against Starting a War in Lebanon, Axios
Two sources familiar with Hoschtein’s meetings said the U.S. envoy emphasized to Netanyahu and Gallant that the U.S. does not believe a broader conflict in Lebanon will achieve the goal of returning displaced Israelis to their homes in the north.
US Says Initial Probe Into US Citizen’s Killing Does Not Exonerate Israel, Reuters
The United States will be waiting for the results of the full investigation, which it expects to be prompt, thorough and transparent, Miller said. If those results aren’t satisfactory, Washington could take its own action, he added, without saying what that would be.
Poll Shows Mirror Images of Fear and Distrust Between Israelis and Palestinians, The Times of Israel
The two sides nearly mirror each other in their unprecedented levels of fear and distrust. In addition, Jewish Israeli respondents report record-low rates of support for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the forms of a one- or two-state solution or a confederation with Palestinians.
Blinken Is Heading Back to the Middle East, This Time Without Fanfare or a Visit to Israel, AP
Blinken is going to Egypt for talks Wednesday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and others, in a trip billed as focused both on American-Egyptian relations and Gaza consultations with Egypt.
Three Israelis Indicted for Nationalist Attack Against Palestinian in West Bank, Haaretz
An 18-year-old and two minors were charged with a series of terrorism-related offenses. Israel’s state prosecutor called their acts “severe, unacceptable and ugly” and said the accused posed a danger “to man, to the public and to the state.”
UN Experts Censure Western Support for Israel Since Gaza War, Reuters
The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza as a result of more than 11 months of conflict has prompted questions about Western states’ long-standing political and military support for Israel, including from the United States and Britain which provide arms.
US Airs Frustration with Israel’s Military About Strikes in Gaza, AP
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield was unusually outspoken against the Israeli military at a U.N. Security Council meeting, saying many of the strikes in recent weeks that injured or killed U.N. personnel and humanitarian workers “were preventable.”
Names of 7 Israeli Hostages Removed From Voter Rolls Ahead of Local Elections, Haaretz
Danny Miran, the father of Omri Miran, who was abducted from his home in Nahal Oz, said that he feels as if the Interior Ministry had disappeared his son. In an interview with Channel 13, he said, “How is that seven hostages were deleted from the voter rolls? Living hostages. (If) my son were to return in a week, he won’t be on the voter rolls. Someone decided to kill him. That’s how I feel.”
One Issue on Which Israeli Extremists Are Mainstream, The New York Times
Hagai El-Ad, former executive director of B’Tselem, writes, “When far-right politicians like Mr. Smotrich call for the destruction of Palestinian towns or advocate ‘mega-dramatic’ changes to Israel’s occupation bureaucracy, these comments must be understood for what they are: part of an internal Israeli debate on how – not whether – to subjugate and dispossess the Palestinians. […] Israeli liberals and Western diplomats tend to believe there are two paths forward: a binational, single state, or the two-state solution. But there is a third path: ethnic cleansing, by the expulsion of Palestinians. This is the path that Israel appears to be choosing. Will the United States and Israel’s other allies finally do something about it?”
How Far-Right Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir Weaponised Israel’s Police, Financial Times
Neri Zilber reports, “Since Ben-Gvir took on oversight of the country’s police, the force has been accused of lax policing of settler violence in the occupied West Bank, of aggressive tactics against anti-government protesters, and of failing to halt far-right attacks on aid convoys to besieged Gaza. At the same time, Ben-Gvir has sought to unilaterally change long-standing rules governing Jerusalem’s most combustible holy place, the al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.”
Donald Trump Attempts to Distance Israel from the Democratic Party, The Jerusalem Post
J Street Israel Executive Director Nadav Tamir shares, “An administration led by Kamala Harris, like the Biden administration before it, would invest in diplomacy in the Middle East and try to assist Israel in reaching regional normalization that includes a road map to Palestinian statehood – a clear Israeli-Zionist interest. In accordance with its core values, such an administration would prefer a liberal Israel over an authoritarian one.”
Hamas Is Surviving War With Israel. Now It Hopes to Thrive in Gaza Again, The New York Times
Adam Rasgon reports, “The greatest failure, General Shamni said, is that Mr. Netanyahu has not tried to introduce a realistic alternative governing body in Gaza in the aftermath of Israeli retreats. In late June, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman, dismissed Mr. Netanyahu’s proposition that Hamas could be wiped out.”