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Blinken: US will judge Israeli government on its policies, not its politicians
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Biden administration will base its relationship to Israel’s incoming government on the actions it takes, not the people installed in positions of power, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a speech Sunday.
Blinken’s speech, to the conference of the liberal Jewish Middle East policy group J Street, was notable because it offered the first official response to deepening questions about how the White House would work with a Israeli government that includes far-right parties. Until now, sources close to the administration had suggested that the White House could decline to meet with those parties’ leaders.
Blinken said the Biden administration would “continue to unequivocally oppose any acts that undermine the prospects of a two-state solution, including, but not limited to, settlement expansion; moves toward annexation of the West Bank; disruption to the historic status quo at holy sites; demolitions and evictions; and incitement to violence.”
The speech drew criticism from some J Street followers for stopping short of dealing firmly with an incoming Israeli government that they feel is taking aim at some of Israel’s core democratic principles.
“I had zero expectations for Blinken’s speech. And he couldn’t even meet those,” said Richard Goldwasser, a former J Street board member from Chicago, on Twitter. “Pablum on Xanax.”
The theme of J Street’s conference this year was battling anti-democratic forces in Israel and in the United States. Jeremy Ben-Ami, in his opening speech Saturday night, unveiled the group’s new motto, “Pro Israel, pro-peace, pro democracy”; the “pro-democracy” element was new. Ben-Ami drew a contrast with J Street’s main rival, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
AIPAC drew liberal Jewish criticism after its launch last year of political action committees that back an array of candidates, ranging from progressive to far right. It has also declined to comment on the likely inclusion in Netanyahu’s government of far right extremists, including Itamar Ben-Gvir, a disciple of the late racist rabbi Meir Kahane.
“So rather than focusing on defeating the white nationalists and the election deniers, with whom most of Jewish America has nothing in common, they instead are spending tens of millions of dollars to defeat liberal and progressive candidates who may or may not have once in their lives uttered a critical word about Israeli policy,” Ben-Ami said. “Organizations that failed to call out the Ben-Gvirs and the [Bezalel] Smotriches of Israel while endorsing the Jim Jordans, the Andy Biggs, the Scott Perrys here in the U.S. do not speak for us.”
Perry of Pennsylvania, Biggs of Arizona and Jordan of Ohio have all to varying degrees endorsed the election lies by President Donald Trump that spurred the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
J Street’s conference was focused on democracy in the United States at times to the exclusion of the issue that founded the organization in 2008, Israeli-Palestinian peace. In a 30-minute keynote speech Saturday night, Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Jewish Democratic congressman from Maryland known for his constitutional expertise, barely mentioned Israel.
“I know that you know what it means to be pro-Israel and pro-peace,” Raskin said. “And I want to just discuss for my time with you tonight what it means to be a pro-democracy American in 2022 in a rather frightful world where so many people have turned to propaganda and conspiracy theory and disinformation and fanaticism and authoritarianism.” He was interrupted multiple times by applause.
AIPAC mocked J Street for its absence of conventional pro-Israel content. “Not a word of praise for Israel,” the organization said in a tweet attached to a photo of Ben-Ami speaking at the conference. “Not a single recognition of Israel’s achievements or value. Not a single embrace of the Israeli people.”
Noa, the Israeli singer-songwriter, also appeared on Saturday night, singing songs that had been penned by Palestinian-Israelis. She likened the relationship of the Jewish Diaspora to Israel to that of a mother to a daughter, saying that mothers need to look out for the children, whatever tensions may arise.
“The Jewish people needs to help the maturing child,” she said, reflecting a theme that it repeated itself throughout the conference: that a voice like J Street was especially needed at a time of crisis in its democracy. “The worst thing we could do is walk away,” said Rabbi Jill Jacobs, the director of T’ruah, a rabbinic human rights group.
Blinken did speak about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, reflecting the pessimistic mood in the room but saying that he believed progress could still be achieved.
“I know that many people are disillusioned,” he said. “Many people are frustrated. We’ve been trying to get to a two-state solution for decades, and yet it seems that we’ve only gotten further away from that goal. But we cannot afford to give up hope. We cannot succumb to cynicism. We cannot give in to apathy. It’s precisely when times are difficult — when peace seems even further from reach — that we’ve simply got to work harder, that we must continue to pursue whatever openings we can to show that progress is still possible.”
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The post Blinken: US will judge Israeli government on its policies, not its politicians appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Germany’s Merz Heads to Saudi, Gulf in Quest for New Partners
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during a cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Feb. 4, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz began a tour of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday aiming to forge energy and arms partnerships as Europe’s biggest and richest economy sought to reduce dependence on the US and China.
“We need such partnerships more than ever at a time when politics is increasingly being determined by major powers,” Merz said at the start of his three-day trip, adding the aim of such alliances was to preserve freedom, security, and prosperity.
“Our partners may not all share the same values and interests, but they share the view that we need a world order in which we trust agreements and treat each other with respect,” he added.
The tour, which follows visits to Brazil and South Africa last year and India last month, is part of a broader German initiative to diversify global alliances.
“In such a network of partnerships, we reduce unilateral dependencies, mitigate risks and create new opportunities together for our mutual benefit,” said Merz.
In the Gulf, Merz said he wanted deeper cooperation in the energy and armaments sectors, adding Berlin was adopting a less restrictive approach on arms exports. Germany’s economy minister prepared the ground last week.
QATAR ALREADY ONE OF GERMANY’S BIGGEST FOREIGN INVESTORS
Relations with Saudi Arabia deteriorated after the killing of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Merz said while some improvements in human rights had taken place, there was more to be done and he would discuss this.
The Gulf states, with large sovereign wealth funds, already play a role in Germany’s economy. Qatar is one of the largest foreign investors in Germany, holding stakes in companies such as Volkswagen, utility RWE and shipping group Hapag-Lloyd.
Merz said he would address broader regional issues, calling for greater peace, stability, and cooperation, including normalization with Israel.
“One day, Israel should also be a welcome part of this order, not a rejected foreign body,” said Merz, addressing the balance Gulf states maintain on Israel and Palestinians.
On Iran, Merz said he had three demands: that Tehran stops violence against its own people, halts its military nuclear program, and ends destabilizing activities in the region.
Germany remains one of Israel’s closest allies in Europe, while Gulf states have navigated differing approaches to Iran, particularly since the Gaza war.
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The US and Europe Are Funding a Palestinian Authority Army in Gaza — That Doesn’t Exist
People attend the funeral of Palestinian critic Nizar Banat, who died after being arrested by Palestinians Authority’s security forces, in Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 25, 2021. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma
While donor countries continue sending hundreds of millions in aid for Palestinian Authority (PA) salaries, they might want to ask a simple question: What are we paying for?
In a staggering admission on official PA TV, a Palestinian economic expert revealed the existence of an entirely useless financial sinkhole:
Economic expert Muayyad Afaneh: “We have about 17,000 [PA] Security [Forces] employees in the Gaza Strip, and 20,000 civil employees. They are still receiving salaries from the PA, and there are many services in the Gaza Strip that the PA is spending money on.”
[Official PA TV, The Economic Discourse, Jan. 3, 2026]
Could you imagine that there are 17,000 PA Security Forces members in Gaza, where Hamas — not the PA — has ruled with an iron fist since 2007?
To be clear, these PA Security Forces have no authority and no involvement in Gazan policing. Hamas does not allow them to operate. They are a ghost payroll. Yet month after month, the PA sends them salaries funded by international aid.
This financial farce is made worse by the fact that Israel has already made it clear that these forces must not have any post-war role in Gaza. So, what exactly is the PA paying for?
Worse still, the economic expert on PA TV explained that PA employees in Gaza receive salaries equal to their counterparts in actual PA-controlled areas, despite doing nothing.
Currently the PA is paying twice to the Gaza Strip. The first time is the money being held [by Israel], and the second time, it is still obligated to pay the allocations to the Gaza Strip [it does] to the West Bank, meaning the same salary rate a [PA] employee in the West Bank receives, an employee in the Gaza Strip receives.
[Official PA TV, The Economic Discourse, Jan. 3, 2026]
This is a slap in the face to American and European taxpayers who genuinely believe they are contributing to peace, governance, and development.
The Palestinian Authority’s lack of respect for donor money is systemic. From glorifying terrorists with salaries and promotions to financing people not to work, the PA treats foreign aid like a bottomless ATM with no accountability.
It’s time donors ask: Why are you paying salaries to people who protect nothing and serve no one?
The author is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article first appeared.
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How October 7 Changed Jewish Identity Across the World
The personal belongings of festival-goers are seen at the site of an attack on the Nova Festival by Hamas terrorists from Gaza, near Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Oct. 12, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
The impact of October 7 and its aftermath on Jews around the world will be felt for at least a generation to come.
There is a concern that since the hostages have been returned, and the war in Gaza is over, that the energy and commitment on the part of Jewish people will subside. This is not the case. People have been recalibrated in ways that have not yet been fully understood, and those changes apply to Jewish people from all different walks of life.
Long after the headlines fade and the news cycle moves on, the psychological, emotional, and communal reverberations will continue to shape how Jewish people understand themselves and one another.
The questions about how to maintain “Jewish peoplehood,” have also largely been answered. For decades, Jewish leaders and thinkers have pondered how to maintain a shared sense of peoplehood — especially in open societies where assimilation and secularism were not only possible but often encouraged. Many Jews, particularly outside of Orthodox communities, experienced Jewishness as cultural, incidental, or even optional. The events surrounding October 7, 2023, shattered that assumption. What has become clear is that Jewish identity, whether embraced or ignored, is not something that can simply be set aside.
While Orthodox Jews may have always felt a strong and explicit sense of belonging to the Jewish people, the shift among secular and loosely affiliated Jews has been particularly striking. Individuals who once felt no sense of “otherness” have been forced to confront the reality that others see them as such.
A brief anecdote illustrates this shift. Recently, a customer of mine, who is otherwise completely secular, remarked to me during a routine conversation, “You know, Dan, I really didn’t realize how much people hate Jews. I’m honestly shocked by it.”
What had changed was not his theology or observance, but his awareness. He had come to recognize that his identity connected him to a broader people — and that this connection carried meaning, consequences, and responsibility. He indicated that while in the past he felt no particular affiliation, he now understood himself as part of something larger. The feeling of this man is not an isolated feeling; it is one that is shared by countless people. Out of his pain a reawakening occurred that will ultimately serve to preserve his Jewish identity.
When looking at the glass half full, one can take comfort from the phrase “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Jewish people have been quite literally forced to reinforce their connections and identification with their Jewishness. This has made the Jewish people stronger. It may be hard to see since people are still in the midst of it, but from 10,000 feet away and over the arc of time, this will become clear.
This observation does not, in any way, minimize the profound pain, grief, and suffering endured by victims, families, and communities. None of that is diminished here. But alongside the trauma exists another truth: a reawakened sense of peoplehood is real. This, too, is part of the Jewish story in this moment — and it deserves to be told.
Daniel Rosen is the co-founder of a non-profit technology company called Emissary4all, which is an app to organize people to move the needle on social media and beyond. He is the co-host of the podcast “Recalibration.” You can reach him at dmr224@yahoo.com