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Domestic Politics at Play as US Insists on Two-State Solution
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas visiting the West Bank city of Jenin. Photo: Reuters/Mohamad Torokman
JNS.org – The Biden administration is insisting that the “day after” Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza see progress toward a two-state solution, ultimately resulting in a Palestinian state next to Israel.
“We have to work toward bringing Israel together in a way that provides for the beginning of option… an option of a two-state solution,” U.S. President Joe Biden said at a campaign reception on Dec. 12.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that Gaza must be handed over to the Palestinian Authority at the end of the war. The solution “must include Palestinian-led governance and Gaza unified with the West Bank under the P.A.,” he said.
This stands in sharp contrast to the view expressed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has said he will “not allow the entry into Gaza of those who educate for terrorism, support terrorism and finance terrorism,” referring to the P.A.
“Gaza will be neither Hamastan nor Fatahstan,” he added.
During a press conference on Saturday night, Netanyahu said, “As of this moment, the Palestinian Authority senior leadership simply refuses to condemn the massacre, and some of them even praise it openly. They will control Gaza on ‘the day after’? Haven’t we learned anything? As the Prime Minister of Israel, I will not allow that to happen.”
A different era
According to Eytan Gilboa, an expert on U.S.-Israel relations at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan and a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, Biden wants to return to the “two states for two peoples” paradigm because it would reduce hostility towards the United States in Arab countries as well as reduce opposition from the progressive ranks in his government.
For this reason, he said, the United States has an “obsession with the day after.”
“Biden wants Israel’s high-intensity warfare behind him to help his domestic political position,” Gilboa told JNS.
“There are also domestic politics in Israel,” he added. “Netanyahu also appears focused on domestic politics for the day after.”
“Both leaders are worried about their domestic political base,” he said.
He explained that in the past, when the United States went to war, “it was war, period—nothing else. Military activities were not mixed with politics.”
“We live in a different era,” he added.
The United States seems to agree the P.A. is not a good solution, but apparently believes it to be the best of the available options.
According to Gilboa, “Worried about the failures in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States is pushing for a settlement of the Palestinian issue. They want to integrate Gaza with the West Bank, they want the P.A. to take over Gaza and start negotiations over a peace settlement.”
Netanyahu is not the only source of resistance to this concept in Israel.
During an interview with Sky News on Wednesday, Israeli Ambassador to the U.K. Tzipi Hotovely also rejected the possibility, saying that the Palestinians only want one state “from the river to the sea.”
“I think it’s about time for the world to realize the Oslo paradigm failed on October 7 and we need to build a new one,” said Hotovely. When asked if a new paradigm would include a Palestinian state, she said “absolutely no.”
Israeli spokesmen have repeatedly emphasized that Israel would only allow a demilitarized Palestinian state, with all the tools to govern itself but none of the tools with which to threaten Israel.
Political performance
According to John Hannah, a Randi and Charles Wax Senior Fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) in Washington, the U.S. and Israeli positions are actually not as far apart as it would appear.
The idea of a two-state solution governed by the P.A. is “a joke, a distant aspiration, or a complete fantasy depending on your level of cynicism,” he said.
He told JNS that there is “a lot of political performance at play here” and that the Biden administration “knows full well that a Palestinian state is a complete non-starter for the foreseeable future.”
The P.A. in its current state is “ineffective, corrupt and completely illegitimate in the eyes of its own people,” he added. “It can’t even fight terrorism in Jenin. Why in the world would any Israeli agree to put it in charge of security in Gaza, especially after the existential horror of 10/7 that was celebrated by Palestinian society across the board—not only in Gaza but in the P.A. as well?”
Palestinians support Hamas
The American demand for a Palestinian state governed by the P.A. comes against the backdrop of a striking poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) last week which showed that support for Hamas has more than tripled in the West Bank since Oct. 7.
Even more disturbing, according to the PSR, nearly 75% of Palestinians (82% in the West Bank and 57% in the Gaza Strip) believe Hamas’s atrocities were justified.
This widespread Palestinian sentiment worries many Israelis and is likely to have an effect on their support for a Palestinian state next to Israel.
Shockingly, more than half of adults in the U.S. aged 18 to 24 believe that resolving the ongoing crisis in Gaza involves dismantling the State of Israel and transferring control to Hamas and the Palestinian people, according to a recent Harvard-Harris poll. The survey, conducted last week and released on Friday, indicates that 51% of young Americans advocate ending the Israeli state, while 32% support a two-state solution.
“Such a terror state would be a threat not only to Israel, but to Jordan and Egypt as well, and therefore a disaster for U.S. interests,” Hannah said.
What is clear is that Israel wants security control over Gaza, with a civil entity governing the civilians, minus the anti-Israel incitement and hatred that has existed there until today.
“The P.A. would not be able to control both the West Bank and Gaza,” said Gilboa. “The U.S. wants Israel to provide answers but they themselves have not provided sufficient answers.”
Lowest common denominator
According to Hannah, the two-state concept is “the only idea, the lowest common denominator, that the so-called international community can agree on to convince themselves that we’re not all condemned to a future of strife and conflict.”
Because of this, “The administration dutifully mouths the words to placate its friends and allies, and perhaps most importantly its progressive base in the Democratic Party, all the while knowing that it has no chance of being implemented in any timeframe relevant to the immediate ‘day after’ in Gaza,” he said.
The post Domestic Politics at Play as US Insists on Two-State Solution first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘Your Nazism Knows No Bounds’: Popular LA Restaurant Draws Backlash After Denying Service to Jewish Man
Protesters outside of Mauro’s Cafe in Los Angeles after a patron wearing a kippah said he was denied a cup of coffee. Photo: Screenshot
A popular restaurant in West Hollywood, California drew protests and widespread backlash online after it allegedly denied service to a Jewish man wearing a kippah.
Mauro Cafe is a small Italian restaurant and cafe in Los Angeles County often frequented by celebrities. On Sunday, a man wearing a kippah said he attempted to order a cup of coffee from the restaurant but was refused.
Video of the man walking into the restaurant before coming out and saying he was denied service because he looked Jewish went viral on social media this week.
West Hollywood cafe owner throws out Jewish customer and REFUSES to serve him after seeing he was wearing a kippah.
Mauro Cafe in Melrose refused to allow the man to buy coffee with one waitress telling him to “get off the property.”
@growthfactororg pic.twitter.com/BXDqPpSBYP
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) July 2, 2024
“The owner, she says I cannot buy a coffee,” the man said in the video after walking out. When asked why he was refused service, he responded, “Because I look like I am Jewish.”
Although the owner of the restaurant, who has been identified as Evelyne Joan, appeared to turn the patron away, employees of the restaurant later bought him a coffee, according to the video.
The incident sparked backlash among Los Angels’ Jewish community, prompting some to protest against antisemitism and discrimination more broadly outside of Mauro Cafe.
Jewish Americans protest outside a cafe in West Hollywood after the owner REFUSED to serve a Jewish customer and threw him out because he was wearing a Kippah.
The owner of Mauro Cafe stood outside as Jews protested against her antisemitic business chanting “Shame.”
@idan_bg pic.twitter.com/6P0ExiWcVE
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) July 2, 2024
“Your Nazism knows no bounds,” one protester yelled.
“The owner of Mauro Cafe, Evelyn [Joan], does not demonstrate for any of the atrocities committed within walking distance of Israel!” another demonstrator said, calling out Joan for only protesting against the Jewish state.
“Apologize!” the activists demanded.
Social media users quickly noted that Joan has a history of protesting against Israel and Jewish sites. The nonprofit organization Jew Hate Database revealed that she participated in the violent anti-Israel demonstration outside of Adas Torah synagogue in the heavily-Jewish Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles late last month.
In video posted to social media, Joan can be seen holding a microphone while preventing Jews from accessing the synagogue and shouting “Free Palestine” and “Shame on you!”
Demonstrators swarmed the synagogue to protest the sale of Israeli real estate taking place inside the building. The protests quickly descended into violence as anti-Israel protesters were caught on video shoving, punching, and screaming at those attempting to defend the synagogue.
The violence received widespread condemnation. US President Joe Biden slammed the protests as “antisemitic and un-American.”
Outside of Mauro Cafe, activists chastised Joan for her participation in the protest. “When it comes to Jews she runs and blocks their place of worship!” they said, referring to the anti-Israel demonstrators who waved Palestine flags and donned keffiyehs while blocking entry into the Adas Torah synagogue.
Prominent figures on social media decried the restaurant’s apparent anti-Jewish discrimination this past weekend. “Imagine if a white business didn’t serve a black customer. Lead story of every single news program. Mauro Cafe. Run by racist dirtbags,” tweeted conservative political commentator Dave Rubin.
The incident came almost three months after the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released a report showing antisemitic incidents in the US rose 140 percent last year, reaching a record high. Most of the outrages occurred after Hamas’ Oct. 7 atrocities in southern Israel, during the ensuing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
The post ‘Your Nazism Knows No Bounds’: Popular LA Restaurant Draws Backlash After Denying Service to Jewish Man first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jews Today Cannot Wait for Miracles
Pro-Hamas activists gather in Washington Square Park for a rally following a protest march held in response to an NYPD sweep of an anti-Israel encampment at New York University in Manhattan, May 3, 2024. Photo: Matthew Rodier/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
One of the amazing features of the Torah is the way that it conveys human nature with all its greatness and pettiness, triumphs and failures.
This week, we look at the Korach rebellion, in which there are three different groups of protesters each with their own agenda.
Korach and the other Levites were fighting for a religious position and power. On Ben Pelet’s group represented the tribe of Ruben’s political fear of being replaced by the tribe of Judah. And Datan and Aviram were only concerned with their own physical and material interests.
This serious rebellion against the established authority of Moses and Aaron reflects precisely the sorts of conflicts of opinion and commitment that divide the Jewish people to this very day — those who do not identify with the nation, those animated by religious power and authority, and those whose values are the same material values as the secular Western world. Of course, my comparison is fanciful. But I hope it makes a valid point.
The children of Israel faced a crisis of self-image coming out of slavery and subjugation in Egypt. Nevertheless, they escaped from Egypt, arrived at Sinai, and had the national revelation. But almost immediately, they fall back into an idolatrous mindset. And when it came to proceeding to the land of Canaan and not relying on everything to be provided for them, the facade of unity collapsed.
It was clear that the nation was simply not ready to take upon itself the burden of responsibility of running their own affairs within a land of their own. The result was that they were sent back into the wilderness for another generation to prepare themselves psychologically and physically for what would happen 40 years later.
When Moses was faced with this rebellion, his first reaction was to “fall on his face” both in resignation and in supplication to God. God’s response was to give him the confidence to stand up to them.
Moses tries first to reason with them. When this fails, the miracles of the earth opening up — the fire that consumed the Levites who brought the censors, and the staffs that flowered and produced almonds — finally ended the revolt and restored order.
In those days, miracles were visible — and solved the problem. But now both in the Diaspora and in Israel, we are faced as never before with our internal divisions and the increasing tsunami of hatred and denial of our rights (and lives) across the world.
The picture looks so bleak from almost every point of view, so it is not surprising that more and more of us are looking for miracles. And because we can see no rational and logical fair resolution, we turn to prayer.
Prayer is a wonderful tool both of self-validation and connecting with spiritual energy beyond the physical world. But it’s not a tool that can guarantee anything. Similarly, the dream of a Messiah may give us a sense of hope, but we have no guarantees. Besides as the Talmud says, “Ein Somchin Al HaNes” — we cannot and should not rely on miracles
It is up to us to be proactive in our lives ,and take the steps necessary for our self-defense and well-being.
Not everyone is suited or equipped to deal with every threat, whether it is physical, political, or cyber. But we must all be prepared to rise to the challenge and do whatever we can to play our part, no matter how small. We never know how things are going to work out, and we may be surprised by turns of events that we didn’t expect.
Yes, I hope for miracles — but I know one cannot rely on them.
The author is a writer and rabbi, currently based in New York.
The post Jews Today Cannot Wait for Miracles first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Why Will The New Republic Not Take Action Against Inciteful New Hire?
A scene from the anti-Israel protest that took place outside the exhibit “Nova: Oct. 7 6:29 AM, The Moment Music Stood Still” in New York City on June 10, 2024. Photo: Screenshot
Some journalists report what they see and hear on the ground, while others report what they want to see or hear. It’s unfortunate when that happens, and it is especially prevalent in today’s media.
Talia Jane (or Talia Ben-Ora) belongs in the latter category.
Jane (who identifies with the pronouns they/them) is an associate writer for The New Republic; their work for the publication is labeled as “breaking news.”
Only much of this content is not necessarily breaking news, and it’s not written as such. With headlines that are sarcastic and distorted from the truth, Jane probably manages to grab eyes, but irresponsibly misleads readers.
Jane continuously steps out of bounds as a journalist, backing vile anti-Israel activity (and behavior towards Jews), and passing it off as valid resistance to the Israeli “occupation.”
Earlier in June, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch published an in-depth article on Jane — exposing that The New Republic’s latest hire is a raging anti-Zionist. It appears that Jane also has Jewish heritage.
Deutch’s article centered around this heinous piece Jane wrote for The New Republic on June 14, which defended the recent anti-Israel protest outside the Nova Exhibit in New York. The “breaking news” writer claimed that the protest was not antisemitic in nature.
Here are some clips from said protest.
Appalling antisemitism in NYC — protesting an exhibit commemorating the victims of the massacre at the Nova music festival. The only logical conclusion one can make when you show up to protest against people who were murdered by Hamas, is that you support Hamas and the murder of… pic.twitter.com/c3eyZwRXvV
— Adam Milstein (@AdamMilstein) June 12, 2024
Today the almost daily anti-Israel protests that have besieged NYC since Oct 7th converged on the Nova Exhibit. Those who went to commemorate the slaughter of 100s of innocent Israelis at a music festival were met with chants of “intifada revolution” pic.twitter.com/6mT8FpLfp5
— daniela (@daniela127) June 11, 2024
The TNR journalist also refuses to accept the actual definition of Zionism as the right to self-determination of the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland. Jane has defended this since-expelled Columbia student, who led anti-Israel protests on its campus:
In April, Jane called it ‘insane’ for the White House to criticize a Columbia student who said on social media that Zionists deserve to die, because ‘Zionism is synonymous with ethnonationalist supremacy and *not* Judaism.’
Since Deutch’s article was published on June 20, Jane’s behavior has not changed; this “journalist” and activist continues to share despicable comments and reposts on X (formerly Twitter). This, despite TNR magazine editor Michael Tomasky’s assurance, quoted in the article, that the publication is “working to address the situation.”
Jane took to X to defend anti-Israel protesters, while there is a clear presence of a Hamas flag in the frame:
Just a reminder that NYPD fully and illegally kettled the anti-genocide demo outside a Biden campaign event in Manhattan, then made arrests because the group they prevented from moving…didn’t move. https://t.co/FhcPtXzof0
— Talia Jane (@taliaotg) June 29, 2024
Jane also reposted a donation link from the Hamas-run Gaza Municipality’s X account.
Our damages amount to approximately 1 billion dollars. Please help us raise the first million. Your support is crucial for us to continue our efforts in #Gaza City.
Donation link: https://t.co/DR0P9iVohK
— بلدية غزة – Municipality of Gaza (@munigaza) June 26, 2024
It is a wonder, that after intense backlash over Jane’s piece more than two weeks ago, TNR’s chief editors have allowed this journalist to remain on their staff. The most they appeared to muster up was a disclaimer at the top of said piece.
Although Jane’s articles are currently more US politics-focused in recent weeks, that does not detract from still occurring behavior online. Does TNR approve of this kind of rhetoric and biased, unprofessional behavior to define their reputation?
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Why Will The New Republic Not Take Action Against Inciteful New Hire? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.