Ben Samuels
@Bsamuels0
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U.S. Correspondent @haaretzcom | Covering all things U.S. and Israel/Palestine, the Middle East and antisemitism | ben.samuels @haaretz .co.il, DM for Signal
Washington, DC
Joined November 2010
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BREAKING:
@BernieSanders
skipped Israel President Isaac Herzog's Congress speech: “It's no great secret that I strongly oppose the policies of Israel’s right wing, anti-Palestinian government. We provide them with $3.8b in aid. We have a right to demand they respect human rights”
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Those worried about antisemitism would be well-suited to remember Rep. Elise Stefanik — going viral after her performance at the campus antisemitism hearing — has platformed some of the most vile antisemitic conspiracies, including Great Replacement Theory
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One of the least understood elements of the Israel-Gaza war is the extent to which Netanyahu empowered Hamas over 14 years to weaken the Palestinian Authority
This helps explain the Bibi-Hamas alliance that backdropped the deadliest day in Israeli history
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Doctors Without Borders calls for an immediate Gaza ceasefire, describing “mass casualty events that would test even the most well-equipped hospitals”
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Israel's repulsive embrace of Elon Musk is a cynical betrayal of Jews, dead and alive
Netanyahu parading him around sites of October 7 massacre, demeaned & denied on Musk's watch, should be a stain on Bibi's legacy alongside other failures of recent weeks
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At least 45 leading Jewish-American figures active in policy, politics and advocacy spaces urge AIPAC to apologize to
@IlhanMN
,
@aoc
,
@CoriBush
,
@RashidaTlaib
over ads and to immediately discontinue campaign
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Alarming numbers for Israel:
- 63% of Democrats oppose Israel’s actions in Gaza
- 67% of adults under 35 oppose Israel’s actions in Gaza
- 64% of people of color oppose Israel’s actions in Gaza
- 52% of women oppose Israel’s actions in Gaza
(per Gallup)
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30 Israeli human rights + civil society organizations urge the international community to "act urgently to stop the state-backed wave of settler violence which has led, and is leading to, the forcible transfer of Palestinian communities in the West Bank"
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Wow. Nancy Pelosi is among 40 House Democrats urging Biden to halt pending weapons transfers to Israel and to condition future military aid.
After Israel killed 7 World Central Kitchen workers in Gaza, we're through the looking glass re: US-Israel ties
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500 American-Jewish activists reported arrested at the U.S. Capitol while protesting Israel's war in Gaza and demanding an immediate ceasefire, in what is being deemed "the largest Jewish protest in solidarity with Palestinians in U.S. history"
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The Republican Jewish Coalition formally denounces George Santos for misrepresenting his Jewish heritage ("I never claimed to be Jewish. I am Catholic. I said I was ‘Jew-ish'"), saying "he will not be welcome at any future RJC event"
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35 U.S. senators, led by
@ossoff
, issue joint statement warning a humanitarian collapse in Gaza would threaten stability in the Middle East
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You won't find more of a pro-Israel stalwart than Chuck Schumer, the highest ranking Jewish elected official in U.S. history
His call for Netanyahu's ouster should be viewed as a watershed moment that cements Bibi's standing within the Democratic Party
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Nick Fuentes is among the most explicitly antisemitic figureheads on the far-right, platforming the most horrid of hateful disinformation about Jewish-Americans. Now he is accompanying America's most famous antisemite in Kanye West as he meets with Trump
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House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks expected to put a hold on $735 million arms sale to Israel pending review as soon as tomorrow, sources say. This is a big, big deal
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U.S. deems Israel in compliance with Biden's national security memorandum requiring recipients of US weapons to abide by international law + not hinder the delivery of humanitarian assistance
Top Democrats, senior US officials & leading NGOs beg to differ
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren became the first senator to say Israel's actions in Gaza may legally constitute a genocide
It feels like there's a new mile-marker passed with how Democrats talk about Israel with every passing day
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.
@BernieSanders
won't support additional U.S. aid to Israel, accusing it of violating international law in Gaza and West Bank: "I do not think we should be appropriating $10.1 billion for the right-wing, extremist Netanyahu government"
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UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in comments sure to stoke significant anger in Israel: "Hamas attacks did not happen in a vacuum, the Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation"
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House Speaker Mike Johnson holds ties to Israel's far right — traveling on a private visit organized by a top settler, meeting with the group behind Israel's judicial overhaul and touring the Temple Mount with an activist against maintaining the status quo
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Nancy Pelosi calling on Biden to halt US arms sales to Israel and condition future aid is an undeniable historical milemarker, and comes after she spent months defending Israel's conduct in Gaza and critiquing cease-fire advocates as Russian plants
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Latest troubling poll numbers for Biden on Israel, from NBC News:
- 70% of voters aged 18-34 disapprove of his policy
- 56% of all voters disapprove of his policy
- 51% of Democrats say Israel's gone too far
- 49% of Democrats oppose U.S. aid to Israel
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Kanye West doubles down on antisemitic tropes (too many to list here, frankly) and rejects an invitation to the Holocaust museum: "I want you to visit Planned Parenthood — that's our Holocaust museum"
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.
@brianschatz
warns: "What Bibi is doing is alarming, appalling, and perilous for the relationship between our two countries." The Jewish Democrat from Hawaii is the fifth senator in recent days to air growing concerns about the state of affairs in Israel
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Wild quotes from Patrick Leahy about Israel being effectively exempt from the U.S. law barring military sales to foreign forces violating human rights (1/6)
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Democrats warn Biden: Israel not in compliance with U.S. law as recipients of military aid
@JoaquinCastrotx
tells me: "Congress & White House need to make clear to Israel that we will enforce US law to protect Palestinian children from starvation in Gaza"
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The International Committee of the Red Cross — the guardian of the laws of war — issues rare public warning on how Israel-Gaza war is being waged:
"Shocked by the level of human suffering. This is a catastrophic failing that the world must not tolerate"
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6-year-old Palestinian-American boy in Illinois killed, 32-year-old mother critically wounded in stabbing by their 71-year-old landlord.
Local police determined they were targeted due to their Muslim identities and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war
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13 Senate Democrats reveal planned amendment requiring weapons received by any country under Biden's proposed aid package used in accordance with both U.S. law and international law
Perhaps the most significant effort ever to condition U.S. aid to Israel
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Big, big deal: Biden says Israel "cannot continue to go down this road," Netanyahu won't be invited to the White House in the near term
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This is utterly disconnected from reality.
Hostages' families have lauded Biden's engagement with them throughout the past six months.
They have even told Netanyahu that the White House treats them with more concern than the Israeli government does.
Can anyone think of another situation in history where Americans were taken hostage by terrorists and our President acted as if this has not occurred.
I can’t think of one example in the last 181 days where
@POTUS
Biden has expressed concern for the American hostages that are…
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Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American lawmaker in Congress, was formally censured (with the help of 22 Democrats) for her rhetoric on the Israel-Gaza war
The most significant rebuke of a politician over criticism of Israel in U.S. history
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Concerning poll numbers for Biden on Israel-Gaza war:
- 56% disapprove Biden's handling of the conflict
- 53% believe U.S. shouldn't send Israel more weapons
- 61% of Dems believe Biden should do more to encourage diplomatic solution
(Per CBS News/YouGov)
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Within hours of Biden launching national antisemitism strategy:
- DeSantis features figures mired in antisemitism scandals during campaign launch
- Trump posts video pitting Soros alongside Hitler, the devil
- Elon Musk quotes a Holocaust-denying neo-Nazi
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'Fucking Shabbat': Trump reportedly irked by Jared Kushner's lack of availability, speculated whether his son-in-law was really religious or just avoiding work
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Please read
@amirtibon
's moving account of how he, his wife and two toddler daughters hid from Hamas terrorists for over 12 hours, escaping thanks to the heroic efforts of his father, a retired general.
My heart breaks for those who weren't as fortunate
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Biden's Middle East trip is falling apart before he even leaves Washington:
- Abbas cancels meeting with Biden in Amman
- Jordan follows by cancelling summit with Egypt's Sissi
- Hezbollah calls for "day of rage" tomorrow as Biden's set to land in Tel Aviv
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Over 50 progressive groups and leaders, including Jewish progressives such as
@IfNotNowOrg
and
@simonerzim
, defend
@IlhanMN
against "smear campaign" and "bad faith attacks"
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.
@RepJerryNadler
and
@RepDanGoldman
— two of the most stalwart pro-Israel Democrats, and both Jews from New York — call for Gaza humanitarian pause to allow for aid delivery + civilians to access secure areas
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A genuinely unprecedented showing of support for Palestinians on the House floor by
@AOC
,
@IlhanMN
,
@RashidaTlaib
,
@AyannaPressley
,
@repmarkpocan
,
@JoaquinCastrotx
,
@BettyMcCollum04
,
@CoriBush
,
@janschakowsky
,
@RepAndreCarson
and
@RepChuyGarcia
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.
@brianschatz
is the latest Democratic senator to call for a humanitarian pause in Israel-Gaza war: "The scale of human suffering right now is untenable"
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Netanyahu is slated to represent Israel at Biden's Summit for Democracy, participating in a panel on the economic benefits of democracy.
Israel, meanwhile, is paralyzed by a country-wide general strike thanks to his attempts at gutting its judiciary
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Jewish lawmakers, leaders of mainstream Jewish organizations back Rep. Ilhan Omar's call for Black-Jewish solidarity and joint fight for justice
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Former Rep. Justin Amash, the first Palestinian-American to serve in Congress, said he is unable to connect with his family in Gaza amid the current blackout: "This is not a viable path forward for Palestinians or Israelis who hope for a peaceful future"
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A dozen Democratic members of U.S. Congress tell
@haaretzcom
: Netanyahu’s attempts to overhaul Israel’s judicial system put Israel on the wrong side of the global fight for democracy
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Joe and Jill Biden call into DNC meeting to "express appreciation to law enforcement who kept everyone inside the DNC safe last night" per White House
U.S. Capitol Police violently dispersed protesters (many of whom were Jewish) demanding a Gaza ceasefire
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White House slams Elon Musk for promoting "Great Replacement" antisemitic conspiracy: "Unacceptable to repeat hideous lie behind most fatal act of antisemitism in US history at any time, let alone 1 month after deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust"
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is just the latest high-profile figure to equate COVID-19 public health measures with the Holocaust. Experts from
@AuschwitzMuseum
and
@cincyhhc
warn comparisons could lead to more antisemitic attacks and create a new wave of deniers
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Days after airing his outrage about Biden and Schumer interfering in Israel’s democracy, Netanyahu will address Senate Republicans tomorrow
I believe this falls under what U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan deemed “an interesting irony”
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Blinken confirms to
@margbrennan
that Hamas is preventing the ~600 Americans in Gaza from leaving: "Hamas has blocked them from leaving, showing once again its total disregard for civilians of any kind who are stuck in Gaza"
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Uncharted waters: The leading U.S. Jewish denominations forcefully condemned Israeli settlers’ rampage against a Palestinian town in the West Bank, explicitly rooting their statements in their Judaism
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BREAKING:
@BernieSanders
calls for conditioning aid to Israel amid crises in Gaza and West Bank: "The Netanyahu gov't, or hopefully a new Israeli gov't, must understand that not one penny will be coming from the U.S. unless there is a fundamental change"
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Two more Jewish House Democrats — Reps. Jamie Raskin and Sara Jacobs — join calls for Gaza ceasefire: "The world has seen enough death and destruction"
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George W. Bush says negotiating isn't an option for Israel, further calling upon Israel to resist pressure to curb its operations against Hamas in Gaza.
Former U.S. officials have told me the atmosphere in DC resembles the days before the 2003 Iraq War
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Sen. Tim Kaine jabs Biden administration for circumventing Congress and "keeping the American people in the dark" on $147 million arms sale to Israel: "We need a public explanation of rationale behind this decision — the second such decision this month"
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55 prominent actors and artists urge Biden: "Call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost"
Full list below
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"You don’t get a free pass on hate speech just because you say nice things about Israel":
@JohnFetterman
tells
@haaretzcom
in a wide-ranging interview that Dr. Oz cannot be trusted to combat rising antisemitism, evidenced by his support of Doug Mastriano
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FBI's Shireen Abu Akleh probe is a watershed moment for U.S.-Israel ties — and it may be a harbinger of things to come with Netanyahu. I broke down the unprecedented pressure campaign from Democratic members of Congress on a Democratic administration
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A group of Israeli soldiers and settlers allegedly ruthlessly assaulted West Bank Palestinians after the Hamas attack - putting lit cigarettes out on them while photographing them stripped & handcuffed
Read
@hagar_shezaf
’s harrowing report on
@haaretzcom
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The Biden administration is facing a deep internal rift on whether to certify Israel's commitment to fully facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza ahead of Sunday's deadline. If Blinken doesn't certify, then arms sales would be immediately halted
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Donald Trump criticizes Israel at a campaign rally — days after the deadliest terror attack in its history left at least 1,200 dead — blaming it on the "rigged election"
He said Israel needed to "straighten it out" and "I’ll never forget Bibi let us down"
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This is an undeniable statement: 57 U.S. lawmakers — one-fourth of all House Democrats — urge the State Department and the FBI to investigate the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh
57 U.S. lawmakers demand FBI, State dept. inquiry into Shireen Abu Akleh killing
***
www.haaretz.com
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The White House slams Republican officials for attempting to politicize Hamas attacks on Israel: "While apparently some individuals like Ronna McDaniel consider this loss of life and pain a 'great opportunity,' most Americans see it as a horrific tragedy"
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Arab and Muslim communities in swing states, as well as progressives nationwide, are threatening not to vote for Biden in 2024 over his Israel-Gaza policies
Key political actors warn there's a world where his support of Israel leads to Trump's return
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The U.S. issuing visa bans on "extremist" Israeli settlers who attack Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, as Biden said the U.S. is prepared to do, would be the most punitive measure taken by America toward Israel in recent memory
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I had a wide-ranging conversation with Rep. Marie Newman about why she has quickly become one of the biggest champions for Palestinian rights in Congress
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Senior U.S. official makes it abundantly clear: Israel's most important contribution to the global response of Russia's invasion of Ukraine would be to join in sanctions — "You don't want to become the last haven for dirty money fueling Putin's wars"
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מאות יהודים-אמריקאים צפויים להפגין בוושינגטון נגד בצלאל סמוטריץ', שאמור לשאת דברים לנאום בוועידת הבונדס. המחאה נגד השר מלכדת ארגונים מכל קצוות הקשת הפוליטית, שעל פי רוב חלוקים בסוגיות הנוגעות לישראל: "סמוטריץ' הוא המאחד הגדול. כולם שונאים אותו."
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- 65% of Americans think U.S. should back Israel vs. Hamas
- 69% Dems back Israel vs. 77% GOP
- Only 48% of Gen Z/millennials think U.S. should back Israel
- 51% of nonwhites think U.S. should back Israel vs. 72% of whites
(NPR/PBS NewHour/Marist poll)
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Bernie Sanders slams Israeli gov't for sending COVID vaccines abroad before sending to Palestinians: "Outrageous that Netanyahu would use spare vaccines to reward foreign allies while so many Palestinians in the occupied territories are still waiting"
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The dam has broken inside the Democratic Party regarding conditioned military aid to Israel amid Gaza war
More than 25% of House Democrats now back conditioned aid & a key Democrat is saying he won't provide Biden with rubber stamp on F-15 sales to Israel
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50 percent of Biden 2020 voters believe Israel is committing genocide against Palestinian civilians, according to a new poll from The Economist/YouGov
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“Over the years, I’ve complained, to both Republican and Democratic administrations about the need to apply the law in Israel," Leahy told the Vermont Community Newspaper Group (2/6)
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Macron’s criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza is pretty unprecedented from a head of a G7 state
“These babies, these ladies, these old people are bombed and killed. So there is no reason for that and no legitimacy. So we do urge Israel to stop”
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More than a year into his national political career,
@ossoff
has become one of the most significant voices in Washington on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Georgia senator tells
@haaretzcom
of his bipartisan efforts to get both sides talking again
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The campaign to vote "uncommitted" in Michigan's Democratic primary, protesting Biden's Israel-Gaza policy, already passed its stated goals with 11% of votes counted. They'll likely have an official presence at this summer's Democratic National Convention
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Much of the U.S. Jewish establishment was quietly uneasy about the ADL's decision to honor Jared Kushner.
Jonathan Greenblatt's introduction, as well as Kushner's remarks, is turning much of that private disquiet into public outrage.
Expect more of this
For the record, I care how you vote.
And I can't fathom why anyone would normalize a former president who mocked Israel, praised terrorists, incited an insurrection, emboldens antisemites, aligns with Putin, refuses to condemn white supremacy, pledges to be a "dictator on day…
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U.S. calls Israel's order to for more than 1 million Palestinians to evacuate north Gaza within 24 hours " tall order" but "fair warning"
- Doctors Without Borders calls it "outrageous"
- World Health Organization calls it "death sentence" for severely ill
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Biden calls the 2 American hostages freed from Gaza today & currently in Israel, as well as their family
Arab-American leader told me: “Biden took 5 days to call Wadea Al-Fayoume [the murdered Palestinian-American 6 year old]’s family. Speaks for itself”
American mother and daughter, first hostages released by Hamas, arrive in Israel
***
www.haaretz.com
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"These accusations are completely false": Biden administration sharply rejects conspiracy theories spread by Netanyahu's son (and key advisor) over allegations that the U.S. is funding anti-judicial overhaul protests in hopes of leading to his downfall
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How Jared Kushner views Israel-Gaza war:
- "Gaza's waterfront property could be very valuable"
- "From Israel's perspective, I'd do my best to move people out, clean it up"
- "I'd just bulldoze something in the Negev"
- A Palestinian state? "Super bad"
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Israel's on the brink, yet Netanyahu's gov't is slated to participate in the Biden administration's Summit For Democracy later this week. Q's must be asked: Does U.S. still consider Israel a democracy? Is Netanyahu's government still a welcome participant?
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Jenna Ellis, a former member of Trump's legal team now advising Doug Mastriano, attacked Josh Shapiro over him highlighting his Judaism on the campaign trail — all while trafficking in antisemitic tropes of her own
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Obama's comments worth reading in full, especially "as we support Israel’s right to defend itself against terror, we must keep striving for a just & lasting peace for Israelis + Palestinians alike" — an increasingly rare line in many official statements
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Irish President Michael Higgins calls for immediate Israel-Gaza ceasefire: "Members of the international community who remain silent or allow their messages to have ambiguous construction have a responsibility to commit to vindicating international law"
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Trump posts an ominous warning to American Jews in honor of Rosh Hashanah, attacking the majority of them for “voting to destroy America and Israel” and retreading well-worn territory of dual loyalty tropes
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Thousands of Jewish activists stage sit-in inside Grand Central Station during Friday rush hour protesting Israel's war and demanding a Gaza ceasefire — in what organizers are calling largest civil disobedience New York City has seen in two decades
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Leahy noted that in Israel's current war, “it appears to me that shooting civilians and targeting civilian infrastructure, when you can't prove it is being used by Hamas, would be a violation of human rights" (4/6)
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Netanyahu to address Senate GOP — days after flouting Biden's red lines on Fox News and at AIPAC.
It is quickly becoming 2015 all over again, where Netanyahu is attempting to turn Israel into a partisan political issue in the U.S.
🚨NEWS from me and
@AndrewDesiderio
:
@netanyahu
is expected to speak to the Senate GOP retreat today via video.
@SenJohnBarrasso
invited him.
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17 Senate Democrats warn Biden: Israel isn't in compliance with national security memorandum requiring recipients of US weapons to not hinder delivery of humanitarian aid
If admin finds this to be true, it could eventually lead to suspended military sales
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As Netanyahu’s government pushes forward its controversial plan to weaken Israel’s judicial system, key supporters of Israel in Congress like
@DickDurbin
,
@timkaine
,
@danielsgoldman
,
@davidcicilline
&
@RepCohen
join Biden and Blinken in sounding the alarm
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Israel informs several Arab states it wants to carve out a buffer zone on Palestinian side of Gaza border
White House: "We've said many times we don't support a reduction in the geographical limits of Gaza — period"
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AIPAC is cementing its evolution from a pro-Israel organization to a pro-Netanyahu organization, choosing his side in the fight for Israeli democracy, while even Miriam Adelson speaks up. 1,000 protesters will accordingly greet AIPAC officials in Jerusalem
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American Jews overwhelmingly approve of Biden’s handling of Israel’s war in Gaza following the Hamas attack, according to the first poll dedicated to U.S. Jewish voters since October 7
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Steadily increasing number of Democratic lawmakers — including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Chris Murphy— decry Israel's planned evictions of Palestinians in Jerusalem and call on Biden to get involved
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“These administrations have argued that Israel has an independent judiciary, so it doesn’t really need to. We’ve seen the efforts recently to make the judiciary even less independent than it had been, and it was losing independence anyway" (3/6)
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Shortly before Biden departs for Israel:
- Israel warns citizens to leave Turkey immediately
- Abbas returning to West Bank from Jordan after hundreds killed in Gaza hospital blast
- Growing protests in West Bank and outside Israel Embassy in Amman
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If you work for American media and Netanyahu approaches you for an interview opportunity, do the following:
- Consider why he is approaching you in the first place
- Study this
@AlonPinkas
piece so you're prepped to fact-check his gaslighting and bluffs
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.
@ChrisMurphyCT
is the latest U.S. senator to float conditioning aid to Israel to send a message to Netanyahu and his far-right government that their "assault on the two-state solution is very bad for the U.S.-Israel relationship"
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Leaders of U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Italy in a rare joint statement, as an unprecedented Gaza war looms: We support Israel in its efforts to defend itself in against Hamas' atrocities
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