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.
J Street Response to Anti-Zionist Smear on University of Wisconsin Madison Campus, J Street
“J Street U – J Street’s student organizing arm – today responded to a prominent chalk message on the University of Wisconsin Madison Campus.”
Israel Rejects U.S. Call for Review of IDF Rules of Engagement in West Bank, Axios
Israel on Wednesday rejected the U.S. call for it to review the Israel Defense Forces’ rules of engagement in the West Bank as part of accountability steps for the killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Tuesday that the Biden administration will continue to press Israel “to closely review its policies and practices on rules of engagement” of the IDF in the occupied West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid expressed “sorrow” over Abu Akleh’s death on Wednesday but said “no one will dictate our rules of engagement to us, when we are the ones fighting for our lives.”
Palestinian Teen Shot Dead After Wounding Israeli Soldier, AP
Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian teen in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, Palestinian officials said, after the military said he hit a soldier in the face with a hammer. The military said the soldier was lightly wounded. It provided a photo of the hammer and a knife, which it said was also in the Palestinian’s possession. The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed the death, near the village of Baytin, and identified the teen as Haitham Mubarak, 17. It had no details about the circumstances behind his death.
Housekeeper to Israel’s Defence Minister Jailed for Offering To Spy on His Employer, The Guardian
A housekeeper who worked for Israel’s defence minister has been jailed for offering to spy on his employer for an Iran-linked hacking group. Omri Goren Gorochovsky, a resident of the central city of Lod, was sentenced to three years in prison by an Israeli court on Tuesday after being found guilty of attempting to pass on information to an enemy entity. Initial espionage charges were dropped under a plea deal.
In Rare Comment, Israeli Official Says Syria Strikes Sent ‘Message’ to President Assad, Haaretz
A Foreign Ministry official said Wednesday that Israel’s alleged airstrikes in Syria are a signal to President Bashar Assad, but declined to say whether Israel had actually carried out the attacks.
Gazans Caught Between Hope and Mistrust As Israel Offers Work, The Jerusalem Post
Days after the end of a brief bout of fighting last month, Gazan workers were already returning to work across the border under a permit scheme launched as part of Israel’s strategy of using economic inducements to help stabilize the volatile enclave.
Netanyahu Surprises U.S. Officials With Cameras in Closed-door Iran Meeting, Haaretz
Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu surprised a visiting delegation of leading U.S. lawmakers with cameras during what was intended to be a private, off-record meeting. Several key members of Congress – including Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Robert Menendez and Sen. Lindsey Graham, who Netanyahu has lauded as among Israel’s most loyal friends in Washington – were in Israel to meet with senior Israeli officials including Netanyahu, Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Mossad chief David Barnea to discuss the emerging Iran nuclear deal.
It’s Time for Democrats To Act on a Dark Money Ban in Primaries, The Washington Post
Katrina vanden Heuvel writes, “An increasing amount of money from corporations and Republican megadonors is spewing into Democratic primaries to defeat progressive candidates. Perhaps the most notorious example is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and its various affiliated PACs and outlets, which reportedly raised $1 million each from leading Republican superdonors Bernie Marcus and Paul Singer as part of a war chest used against progressive primary candidates. More than $2 million was poured into largely negative ads against Summer Lee, a progressive state legislator running in Pittsburgh, accusing her of being a disloyal Democrat. Lee started out as the odds-on favorite and barely survived, but other progressive women of color — including Donna Edwards in Maryland, Nina Turner in Ohio, Jessica Cisneros in Texas, and Nida Allam in North Carolina — suffered defeat amid the flood of negative ads funded by AIPAC and other outside groups.”
Iran Derangement Syndrome Season Is Here Again, Responsible Statecraft
Ben Armbruster notes, “Iran hawks have to lie about the JCPOA because they know it’s unpopular, if even a bit taboo, to be completely up front about their preferred course of action: war to bring about regime change or collapse. The roots of this dynamic lie in two competing visions for U.S. policy toward Iran… Iran hawks don’t care about the hypocrisy of blaming Biden for the outcome of their own policy preference. They just need a reason to start a war. These are merely just a few of the dozens if not hundreds of false and misleading statements that have been or will be made about the JCPOA since this debate began. (Groups like NIAC and J Street have also addressed the most serious of them)”