| | | | | As Republicans gather for their party convention at a time of heightened political drama, Central Conference of American Rabbis head Rabbi Hara Person writes that the new Republican Party platform could pave the way for eventually declaring both abortion and IVF illegal. She argues that, for U.S. Jews, the fight for reproductive and fertility rights is also about opposing enshrining an explicitly Christian definition of life into secular law. As the war in Gaza slogs on toward its tenth month, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert writes that while arrest warrants will likely be issued against Israel's political leaders and military commanders, it is Israel itself that will be put on trial in the end. Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists – which organized an open letter signed by over 70 news and civil society organizations calling for Israel to allow unlimited international media access to Gaza – argues that the restrictions are allowing misinformation and disinformation to flourish. Sheren Falah Saab argues that Israelis are perilously disconnected from the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza – as well as from how war has destroyed so many lives – and that when they do encounter a personal story, they fear the truth and its tragedy. Yossi Melman writes that Israel's possible killing of Hamas military chief and October 7 architect Mohammed Deif in an attack that killed scores of Palestinians is an example of Israel's evolving assassination policy, which he argues begets more violence in the long run. People deceive themselves when they place hope in such tactics, he writes. Nadav Tamir, a former Israeli diplomat who now heads J Street in Israel, opines that Armenia – which recognized Palestinian statehood – owes nothing to a hypocritical Israel. Lord Michael Levy, an ex-advisor to former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, argues in the aftermath of Labour's U.K. election victory that the party has shown a willingness to stand up for Israel's security, even when that has alienated some of its own supporters. But, he cautions, a Labour government will not stand up for Israeli actions that undermine peace and international law and harm not only Palestinians, but Israel itself. | |
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