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Letter from top Dems to Biden: ‘Use all diplomatic tools available’ to stop Israeli judiciary reforms
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, is spearheading a letter from Democrats urging President Joe Biden to “use all diplomatic tools available” to get Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt his controversial legislation to sap the power of Israel’s top court.
The letter also opposes any potential Israeli annexation of West Bank territory and supports the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The signers express “our deep concern regarding the planned changes to the structure of the Israeli judiciary, the fragile security situation in the West Bank, and the threat of partial or full annexation of areas that would most certainly be part of a future Palestinian state,” according to a copy that the Jewish Telegraphic Agency obtained before DeLauro’s deadline to obtain signatures. “We urge you to use all diplomatic tools available to prevent Israel’s current government from further damaging the nation’s democratic institutions and undermining the potential for two states for two peoples.”
The letter is notable for its alarmed tone. It also underscores Democratic concern at the direction of Netanyahu’s new governing coalition, which includes far-right politicians, and his plans to reform the country’s court system. The legislation being advanced by Netanyahu’s government would allow a majority of lawmakers to override Supreme Court decisions and would give the governing coalition full power over appointing the court’s judges. In the face of widespread protest of the plan, Israel’s president is urging a compromise.
The letter also addresses escalating violence in the West Bank, singling out Palestinian terrorist attacks on civilians and retaliatory Israeli military raids. More than a dozen Israeli civilians have been killed in terror attacks, and dozens of Palestinians have been killed in Israeli raids. Israel says most of the Palestinians killed have been militants, though a number of civilians have been killed as well, including a man who died amid a riot by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Huwara following a Palestinian terror attack last month.
“We are profoundly concerned that the recent violence and increased tensions could spiral into a major conflict, despite the recent steps taken,” the letter says. “U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director William J. Burns recently warned that Israel appears to be on the brink of confronting a third intifada.”
The letter also cites weeks of massive demonstrations in Israel against the planned judiciary reforms. It comes ahead of a visit to the United States by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician who is speaking on Sunday to Israel Bonds, which sells Israeli government bonds to investors abroad. Biden administration officials have said they will not meet with Smotrich.
DeLauro, who is from Connecticut, has long been close to the mainstream pro-Israel community, earning an endorsement last year from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s affiliated political action committee.
Among other senior Democrats signing the letter are Jewish members including Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Jan Schakowsky of Illinois and David Cicilline of Rhode Island.
Not all Democrats were pleased with the letter. Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Jared Moskowitz of Florida, who are both Jewish, released a joint statement that did not directly address the letter, but that cautioned lawmakers not to interfere at this juncture in Israel’s internal debates.
“Regardless of our personal views and concerns, Congress should not publicly intervene in ongoing negotiations of a key democratic ally,” their statement said. “Doing so, especially in a partisan way, could undermine those negotiations toward a positive outcome.”
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Report: Regime Change Not Ruled Out as US Mulls Escalation Against Venezuela
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a march amid the disputed presidential election, in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 3, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Maxwell Briceno
i24 News – The United States is poised to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations in the coming days, as the US administration of President Donald Trump ratchets up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government, Reuters reported Saturday citing four officials familiar with the matter. An escalation that would go so far as overthrowing Maduro’s dictatorial regime could not be ruled out, it is understood.
The report could not provide the exact timing or scope of the new operations, nor confirm that Trump had made a final decision to act. Reports of looming action have proliferated in recent weeks as the US military has deployed forces to the Caribbean amid worsening relations with Venezuela.
Two of the US officials said covert operations would likely be the first part of the new action against Maduro. Another “senior administration official” said he did not rule anything out regarding Venezuela.
“President Trump is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice,” the official was quoted as saying.
Also on Saturday, three international airlines canceled their flights departing from Venezuela, the day after the US Federal Aviation Administration warned major airlines of a “potentially hazardous situation” when flying over the country.
Brazil’s Gol, Colombia’s Avianca and TAP Air Portugal canceled their flights departing from Caracas on Saturday, according to Flightradar24 and the official website of Simon Bolivar Maiquetia International Airport.
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Indonesia’s Biggest Islamic Group Asks Chief to Resign Over Invitation to Pro-Israeli Speaker
Then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Yahya Cholil Staquf, secretary general of the 60-million member Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, at his office in Jerusalem. Photo: Haim Zach/GPO.
Indonesia’s biggest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, has asked its chief to resign for inviting a US scholar known for his support of Israel during the Gaza war to an internal event in August, according to meeting minutes reviewed by Reuters.
The leadership of NU, which is also the world’s biggest Islamic organization with around 100 million members and affiliates, has given Chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf three days to offer his resignation or be removed from his post, according to the minutes from a meeting on Thursday.
NU cited Staquf’s invitation to a person “affiliated with an International Zionism network” for an internal event and alleged financial mismanagement as reasons for his ouster.
Staquf, who has been NU’s chairman since 2021, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NU official Najib Azca told Reuters the decision was linked to Staquf’s invitation to former US official and scholar Peter Berkowitz for an August training event.
Staquf has apologized for the invitation and called it an oversight as he had not carefully checked Berkowitz’s background, adding that he condemned Israel‘s “brutal genocidal acts in Gaza.”
Berkowitz often writes in support of Israel‘s campaign in Gaza, according to his website, including a piece in September aiming to refute allegations of genocide against Israel.
Berkowitz spoke at NU seminars about the history of Western political thought in August, his website showed.
Berkowitz did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment that reached him outside of office hours.
Indonesia, the world’s Muslim-majority nation, has routinely condemned Israel‘s actions in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza since the war broke out in 2023. It has long advocated for a two-state solution and has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
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Protesters at Tel Aviv Rally Call for State Inquiry into Oct. 7 Failings
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in the state memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Iron Swords War on Mount Herzl. In Jerusalem on 16 October 2025. Photo: Alex Kolomoisky/POOL/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Israeli protesters gathered on Saturday in Tel Aviv, to demand the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appoint a committee to initiate a state inquiry on the security failings of October 7.
Saturday night rallies in Tel Aviv have been a fixture of the two-year-long war in Gaza that was triggered by the Hamas-led cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, that saw the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
Protesters charged that Netanyahu refuses to be held accountable for his share of responsibility in Israel’s blackest day. They likewise took exception to Netanyahu’s wish to select the members of the committee, arguing this represented subversion of the democratic process.
Protesters also demanded the return of remains of the three deceased hostages still remaining in Gaza: Ran Gvili, Dror or and Sudthisak Rinthalak.