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February 9, 2025
Key Developments and What We're Discussing Today:
1) It's been 492 days since October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel on Simchat Torah and murdered 1,200 people (including 44 Americans). More Jews were murdered on that day than on any day since the Holocaust. Hamas wounded 3,300 and took 251 hostage during a day of brutal savagery and sexual violence.
2) The 76 remaining hostages include six Americans. Sagui Dekel-Chen, thought to be alive, is on the list for the first phase of hostage releases. Edan Alexander is the only American believed to be alive not in the first group. Hamas holds the bodies of Omer Neutra, Itay Chen, Judi Weinstein Haggai, and Gad Haggai. During the first phase, Israel is releasing up to 1,904 Palestinian prisoners — including 737 serving life terms for dozens of murders (all alive) — in return for 33 Israeli hostages (some dead).
3) Trump's absurd plans for Gaza will never come to fruition but his incendiary rhetoric could endanger the remaining hostages.
4) The Antisemitism Awareness Act was reintroduced last week after failing to pass last year. Antisemitism is a growing problem. The Antisemitism Awareness Act is the wrong way to fight it. We should again oppose this misguided, potentially dangerous legislation.
5) Trump issued an executive order to eradicate anti-Christian bias. What's that got to do with the price of eggs--or reality?
6) You can call it a coup, a self-coup, or an autogolpe. Whatever it is, it's happening, and it's the greatest threat to our country since the Civil War. We need to be clear-eyed about the threat and confident that regardless of the odds, we can--and must--prevail.
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Hi Steve,
Yesterday, Hamas released three more hostages: Eli Sharabi, Or Levy, and Ohad Ben Ami. Read about them.
Still no word on when Hamas will release Yarden Bibas's wife, Shiri, and their young children, Kfir, and Ariel.
Trump's insane plan for Gaza. If anyone else said what Trump said during his news conference with Netanyahu, we'd laugh them out of the room. We cannot laugh because Trump is the President of the United States. His outlandish and ill-conceived comments could endanger the remaining hostages.
We cannot normalize incendiary rhetoric from Trump by letting it go unrefuted but we must be careful to remember that part of his flood the zone with nonsense strategy is to distract us from the severe damage Trump and Musk are doing to our country.
JDCA CEO Halie Soifer said, "The notion that the United States is going to 'take over' Gaza, including with the deployment of U.S. troops, isn't just extreme – it's completely detached from reality. In what world is this happening? Not the one we inhabit. Netanyahu praised his 'out of the box' thinking, but let's be honest – it's insane."
Trump's aides have tried to walk back some of what Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) called Trump's immoral and illegal plan, but it still amounts to war crimes for beachfront property. I'm not going to spend more time on this. If you have further questions, chances are that Rabbi Josh Hammerman answered them.
Oppose the Antisemitism Awareness Act. Antisemitism is real. It's growing. Despite the good intentions of some of its supporters, the Antisemitism Awareness Act is the wrong way to fight antisemitism. We should oppose its latest iteration, introduced last week as H.R. 1007.
The Nexus Project said last week that "the obsession with the IHRA definition and the supposed urgency of passing the [Antisemitism Awareness Act] has been an unhelpful and divisive distraction — especially at a time when the new Trump administration is employing and empowering those who spread antisemitic rhetoric and conspiracies. This legislation will not make Jewish Americans safer, and could in fact be used to undermine civil liberties and target partner communities in a way that is deeply harmful to the broader struggle against antisemitism."
Read my updated primer on the Antisemitism Awareness Act.
Trump issued an executive order to eradicate anti-Christian bias. He said it was a "very powerful document." See for yourself. What's next? Protecting anti-billionaire bias? Maybe not. We already have that. It's called DOGE.
Is all hope for democracy lost? It can seem that way. Trump gave Musk and his interns the keys to our government. Congress is supposed to be a check on the Executive branch but the Republican majority thinks it swore an oath to support Trump rather than the Constitution. The Supreme Court is packed with hacks loyal to Trump. Trump knows that if he breaks laws or disregards court rulings, this Republican Congress will not impeach him, let alone convict him.
This is not democracy. This is a coup, aided and abetted by Republican members of Congress. This is an autogolpe.
I don't care how much you've been drinking. If you want to sober up fast, read James Bouie's description of "one of the most serious examples of executive branch malfeasance in American history." Bouie's op-ed is the best I've read on Trump's abuses of power. If you don't understand the stakes after reading it, consider how we'd cover overseas what is happening here right now.
Simon Rosenberg reminds us that "Trump 2.0 is a profound, ongoing betrayal of America, and everything that has made this remarkable nation the most powerful and prosperous in the world. It is why we must fight. As dark as all this is, we cannot for one moment forget that what Trump is doing is wrong; he and his project remain deeply unstable and his coalition fractious; he is doing deeply unpopular things, going far beyond his narrow 'mandate;' he is old, impulsive, reckless and clearly in decline; and extremists and ideologues are often far better at bread and circuses than governing."
We will lose our democracy for sure the minute we give up and abandon hope. Long odds do not mean impossible odds. Our country is facing its greatest threat since the Civil War. This time, Republicans are supporting insurrection and oppression. Democrats are the good guys.
Democrats seem to be finding their footing. If you are represented in Congress by Democrats, remind them that this is not politics as normal. Their job is to fight, not make nice. They should not normalize Republicans or compartmentalize the threat they pose in the name of "bipartisanship."
I've long opposed fetishizing bipartisanship in normal times. Partisan bills can be good. Bipartisan bills can be bad. What matters is the policy, not the (bi)partisanship.
These are not normal times. The only acceptable form of bipartisanship today is bipartisan opposition to Trump. How can we say this is a crisis and then normalize members of Congress who refuse to join us in saying no to Trump and yes to democracy? Conversely, we should welcome anyone to join us in the fight against Trump, no matter how much we disagree on other issues.
Democrats cannot allow Republicans to conduct business as usual. Senate Democrats should every procedural tool available to slow down the Senate. They should vote against all of Trump's nominees rather than supporting some because they are better than others. No more grading on a curve for Republicans.
The key is to convince a few Republican members of Congress that Trump is betraying their principles too. If you have family or friends in GOP districts, urge them to call and mobilize their friends to call their members of Congress. It can make a difference. Maybe all the difference.
Above all, don't lose hope. Don't fall for Trump's strongman gambit. As David Litt advises us, don't be disappointed in advance.
Corrections. I'm entitled to my own opinions but not to my own facts, so I appreciate it when readers bring errors to my attention. No one pointed out any errors in last week's newsletter. The streak of perfect newsletters continues.
In Case You Missed It:
1) Samantha Power called Trump's dismantling of USAID one of the worst and most costly foreign policy blunders in U.S. history. Trump's claims about USAID spending are nearly all false.
2) Over 100 Jewish groups issued a statement calling out Trump's direct assault on the principles that underpin our democracy. If a Jewish non-profit that you support did not sign this statement, ask them why.
3) Harry Litman describes Trump's flagrant violations of the "take care" clause of the Constitution.
4) Adam Serwer writes that private companies in control of social media networks possess an unprecedented ability to manipulate and control the populace.
5) Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs announced on February 3 that his office has renewed $15 million in Israel Bonds that were set to expire.
Social Posts of the Week. Bill Kristol and Rep. Jack Kimble.
Thread of the Week. Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL).
Video Clip of the Week. From Israel's version of SNL, the Red Cross rideshare app.
Vintage Music Clip of the Week. Another Girl, Another Planet.
For those new to this newsletter. This is the newsletter even Republicans have to read and the original home of the viral and beloved Top Ten Signs You're At a Republican Seder (yes, I wrote it). If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, why not subscribe and get it in your inbox every Sunday? Just click here--it's free.
I periodically update my posts on why Democrats are better than Republicans on Israel and antisemitism and on the IHRA definition of antisemitism. My definition of "pro-Israel" is here (it's a work in progress, as am I).
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