Category: Other

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Earlier this week, 99 out of the 120 members of the Knesset voted against unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. The rare moment of near-consensus in Israel’s fractious parliament was meant as a rebuke of American efforts toward Palestinian statehood. Last week, reports emerged that the Biden administration was planning a renewed…

WASHINGTON (JTA) — This week, Rep. Ritchie Torres posted two tweets about issues that directly affect his Bronx constituents: funding centers for mental health care and public safety on the subway. Sandwiched in between was a third post echoing the core talking point of pro-Israel activists since Oct. 7: “The international community remains obsessed with…

WASHINGTON, D.C. (JTA) — For months, President Joe Biden has asked for — and Congress has debated — sending wartime foreign aid to Israel as it battles Hamas in the Gaza Strip.  The bill currently on the table, passed in a bipartisan vote by the Senate last week, would see some $14 billion go to…

(JTA) – About two dozen progressive Jewish activists tuned into the “MI Jews Uncommitted Phone Bank” this week, ready to ask their networks not to vote for President Joe Biden. Their virtual phone bank, held ahead of Michigan’s Feb. 27 primary, was unlike any other. Instead of a get-out-the-vote campaign, this crew would be better…

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Two decades-old left-wing pro-Israel groups, Americans for Peace Now and Ameinu, are poised to merge — a consolidation of voices in the liberal Zionist camp amid Israel’s war with Hamas. The presidents of the two small nonprofits — Americans for Peace Now’s Hadar Susskind and Ameinu’s Ken Bob — told the Jewish…

(New York Jewish Week) — Democrat Tom Suozzi beat Republican Mazi Pilip, an Israeli-American Orthodox Jew from Ethiopia, in an election to fill the New York congressional seat briefly held by George Santos. The Democratic victory narrows the thin Republican majority in the House and returns Suozzi to a seat he held until he left…

WASHINGTON (JTA) — On its second try, the U.S. House of Representatives impeached the Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas by a single vote, in a process some Jewish groups said was tainted by antisemitic rhetoric. The impeachment of Mayorkas, who is Jewish, passed Tuesday on party lines by a vote of 214-213, with three Republicans…

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved a defense aid package for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, including humanitarian assistance for Palestinians, that now faces a difficult path in the Republican-led House of Representatives.  The bill, approved 70-29 in a bipartisan vote before dawn on Tuesday after weeks of wrangling, is the latest bid to…

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Egypt’s foreign minister dampened speculation that the country’s peace treaty with Israel would be at risk if Israel invaded Rafah, a city on Gaza’s border with Egypt. In recent days, Israeli officials have said they plan to send ground troops into Rafah as the next stage in their war against Hamas. More…

(JTA) — Meta has shut down the Instagram and Facebook accounts of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “for repeatedly violating our Dangerous Organizations and Individuals policy.” The company did not elaborate on its policy, reported Friday by multiple media outlets, but since Oct. 18, 11 days after Hamas terrorists raided Israel and murdered more…