| | | | | | | | | | Israel's deadly strike on a World Central Kitchen aid convoy Monday, killing seven of its workers, many of them foreigners, is sparking a new level of outrage in Washington and around the world. R. David Harden, former USAID mission director to the West Bank and Gaza, argues that it should not be seen as another unfortunate tragedy in a brutal war, but a moment that will have strategic and immediate consequences for Israel's war against Hamas.
Amira Hass spoke to Gazans who rail against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and the decision to go to war on October 7. They say many people fear that Hamas will punish them for speaking out, and blame the Arab media for looking the other way when someone criticizes the group.
Last weekend, Palestinians marked Land Day, which commemorates the six unarmed protesters against land expropriations killed by Israeli forces in 1976. Nagham Zbeedat, who grew up attending the protests writes that Palestinians on both sides of the Green Line are still living its legacy, and this year, with dangerous dreams by some of an Israeli reoccupation of Gaza, the day is more relevant than ever.
Anshel Pfeffer explains why despite most Israelis' having no faith in Netanyahu, the current wave of anti-government protests is yet to see mass numbers in the streets. Dahlia Scheindlin warns that meanwhile, the Bible-infused nationalists in power are consolidating plans to resettle Gaza, following a well-worn Israeli playbook. She asks: Who, or what, can stop them?
Another matter feeding domestic discontent is the emotional subject of exemptions from the army for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students. Rivka Neriya Ben-Shahar, who is religious herself, writes that it's precisely because Torah study is so dear to her that she wants to preserve it. To do so, she advocates for a new model that would shatter the paradigm of tens of thousands of men studying in yeshivas, receiving plentiful state benefits but not joining the workforce or the IDF, especially now, in the aftermath of October 7 and the ongoing war.
In the U.S., Joe Lieberman died last week at 82. Matthew E. Berger writes that after narrowly losing his White House bid as Al Gore's vice presidential nominee, Lieberman saw himself as the Democratic heir apparent in 2004, as did his proud mother. But although he got further than any Jewish politician had before, or since, American Jews didn't flock to his side. | | |
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