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July 27, 2025
Key Developments and What We're Discussing Today:
- Today, July 27, marks 660 days since October 7, 2023. The Hamas-led attack on Simchat Torah resulted in 1,182 fatalities (including 44 Americans) and over 4,000 wounded. 251 hostages (210 alive, 41 dead bodies) were taken during a day of brutal savagery and sexual violence. It was the largest single massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, with more than one in every 10,000 Israelis killed, and the third overall deadliest terrorist attack in the world to date.
- The 50 remaining hostages, 27 known to be dead, 20 thought to be alive, and three of unknown status, include the bodies of two Americans: Omer Neutra and Itay Chen. Releasing all the hostages is clearly not a priority for Trump and Netanyahu, but it's a top priority for us. It is beyond outrageous that after all this time, they are still languishing in tunnels with no outside contact.
- Pro-Israel means supporting the State of Israel's safety and security and opposing the government of Israel when it acts contrary to the shared values at the foundation of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
- Jews might not be welcome in certain progressive spaces, but they are welcome in the progressive space that matters most: the Democratic Party. The numbers prove it.
- Neither the U.S. nor Israel's military has found proof that Hamas systemically stole aid. Israeli officials said that the UN was largely effective in delivering aid. Israel's government has used those claims as excuses to restrict aid into Gaza, but yesterday it announced steps to increase aid.
- Israel bears significant responsibility for a morally unacceptable humanitarian crisis in Gaza and for continued attempts to permanently end prospects for a two-state solution, the only solution that will ensure Israel's survival as a Jewish, democratic state and allow Palestinians and Jews to live in freedom with dignity. If only for the sake of Israel's safety and security, we must speak out.
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Hi Steve,
For some in our community, "pro-Israel" means advocating for the policies of whatever Israeli government happens to be in power. In their eyes, unlike every country that exists and has ever existed, Israel can do no wrong. If it seems to be doing wrong, it's not, or it's for a greater good, or it's not Israel's fault.
They are like the mid-20th-century American communist who flipped on a dime, opposing U.S. entry into World War II until Germany attacked the Soviet Union and then reversing their position when Stalin told them to support U.S. entry.
They are like today's Republicans who supported Donald Trump's calls for releasing the Epstein files until Trump changed his mind.
They need, right now, to watch what Ilan Green, father of two combat soldiers, one severely wounded, said on Israeli TV. This is a must-watch video.
A more effective approach to pro-Israel advocacy is supporting both Israel's safety and security and the values and aspirations that the State of Israel (not necessarily its government) stands for, and helping it live into those values.
Strategic interests can vary and diverge. We are better off basing the U.S.-Israel relationship on shared values because shared values are immutable. That means ensuring that both countries live into those values.
According to Israel's Declaration of Independence, "The State of Israel will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations."
Those are the standards and values to which Israel holds itself and to which we should hold Israel, not the standards set by authoritarian regimes around the world. Those are the values that make us proud of Israel and that thousands of Israelis are marching in the streets every week to support.
The problem with the pro-Israeli government rather than the pro-State of Israel approach is that since those who use the former approach cannot deny those values, they must deny the facts, and they lose credibility and intellectual integrity.
Sruli Fruchter writes, "The rhetorical response by those supporters of Israel who refuse to face the facts follows one of two approaches: denying reality, or deflecting responsibility. They almost always presuppose Israel’s blamelessness, and suggest antisemitic blood libels or pathological anti-Zionism are the only sensible explanation for concerns over famine and malnourishment in Gaza."
That's no way to advocate for Israel.
After Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, Israel launched a justifiable military campaign against Hamas. Israel's goals were to crush Hamas and free all the hostages, both legitimate goals. If anything, Israel waited too long. No other country would have tolerated the thousands of rockets Hamas fired into Israel from Gaza for years.
Gaza is densely populated. That made civilian casualties inevitable.
The rules of proportionality in international law do not require equal numbers of dead on both sides. The rules require that, taking into account the legitimate military objective, reasonable care must be used to prevent killing more civilians than necessary relative to the legitimate objective.
Destroy a hospital for the sake of destroying a hospital? Unacceptable. Destroy a hospital that serves as a base for terrorists? In some cases, acceptable--the assessment almost by definition must be case-by-case and fact-specific.
At some point, the rationale for the Gaza war evaporated. What we are now seeing in Gaza is a pointless war that is causing a humanitarian crisis.
Rabbi Jill Jacobs writes, "As current and former high-level security and defense personnel have testified, this war long ago ceased being a war to neutralize Hamas, return the hostages, and protect Israelis, and became a war of revenge and of settlement that serves primarily to hold the government coalition together and keep Netanyahu out of prison. Almost every day, dozens of Palestinians are killed just trying to secure food for themselves and their families. Nearly every week brings news of more young soldiers killed in action.
"The longer the war continues, the less likely it becomes that the hostages who have survived until now will return home alive. The vast majority of Israelis want the war to end, and tens of thousands march in the street every week to call for the deal that will end it."
She is right: "The biggest threat to Israel, and indeed to Judaism itself, is coming from Israel’s governing coalition. Israel is increasingly becoming an autocratic and theocratic state. This is the moment for American Jews — including both leaders and ordinary Jewish community members — to raise their voice."
Israel is the occupying power in Gaza. As such, it has undertaken a duty to feed the population regardless of Hamas's role, whatever that might be, in impeding food delivery.
Hamas is not engaged in massive aid theft. Hamas is an evil terrorist organization, so it would not be surprising if it were stealing aid. But an internal U.S. government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft by Hamas of U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies.
The Israeli military never found proof that Hamas routinely stole aid, and said that the UN aid delivery system was largely effective.
Israel used the claim of massive Hamas theft as a rationale for restricting aid to Gaza. But even if Hamas stole as much food as some claim, that would not relieve Israel of its responsibility, now that it controls Gaza, to feed a starving population.
Yesterday, Israel announced that it "will unilaterally open additional humanitarian corridors for the purpose of expanding humanitarian aid distribution to the non-combatant population of Gaza." See also this announcement yesterday from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and this tweet from the IDF.
It is unclear whether this is enough, how long it will continue, or why this is only happening now.
If you are worried about Hamas stealing the food, the answer is to "make food so abundant that its value to terrorists and gangsters drops like a stone."
Being pro-Israel means siding with the Israelis in the streets, not the extreme right-wing government of Benjamin Netanyahu. Being pro-Israel means demanding that politicians and Jewish organizations that claim to support Israel but have remained silent start speaking out against steps that preclude a two-state solution and demanding that Israel fully address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and end the war in exchange for immediate release of all hostages.
Hamas absolutely should be condemned for its crimes, but my guess is that most American politicians and Jewish organizations have more influence over Israel's government than Hamas's government.
This does not mean cutting military assistance to Israel that it needs for its safety and security. If a country forfeited its right to exist because it elected a government whose policies were antithetical to our values, the U.S. would have disappeared after Trump won his first term in office.
I love the United States. That's why I oppose Trump's policies.
I love Israel. That's why I oppose Netanyahu's policies. At the same time, I oppose efforts to jeopardize the safety and security of Israel by cutting military assistance essential for Israel to defend itself.
If those are your priorities too, then you have a home in the Democratic Party. If you question whether the Democratic Party continues to stand for those values, look to the votes in Congress. Some progressive spaces do not welcome Jews, but those spaces are not the Democratic Party.
If you question whether Jews are welcome in the Democratic Party, ask yourself why, of the ten Jewish U.S. Senators, nine are Democrats, one is an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, and none are Republicans.
Ask yourself why, of the 25 Jewish House members, 21 are Democrats and four are Republicans.
Israel must exist as a Jewish state. Jews deserve a homeland as much as any other people, maybe more. But that does not give Israel's government carte blanche to betray the values that are at the core of the Zionist dream of a Jewish, democratic state.
On Wednesday, the Knesset voted 71-13 to adopt a non-binding resolution in favor of annexing the West Bank. Annexation means the end of Israel as a Jewish, democratic state. Israel won't be a democratic state with everyone allowed to vote under that scenario. It will be a Jewish state that stays Jewish because Palestinians in the West Bank will not be allowed to vote, which will be the only way that Israel can remain "Jewish," if you can call such a state "Jewish" in any sense other than Jews will rule.
No one expects a two-state solution now. The distrust on both sides is too great. Leaders ready and able to make it happen are not in power in the U.S., Israel, or among the Palestinians. But a two-state solution is the only solution that will allow a Jewish, democratic state to exist along with a Palestinian state. It will not require either side to abandon its narrative, but it will require both sides to give up land it thinks is theirs by right. Annexation would be a death knell for a two-state solution and likely cause support for Israel in the U.S. to plummet. Whatever you call that, it ain't pro-Israel.
The best answer to charges of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, or enabling mass starvation is not to argue about words.
It is for Israel and the international community to flood Gaza with humanitarian aid and avert the famine.
It is for Israel and Hamas to agree to an end to the war (not a pause or ceasefire) that includes release of all hostages immediately, not in stages.
It is for Trump to prove he can do diplomacy and persuade or pressure Israel and Hamas to agree to these terms, not the interim measures that Israel and Hamas have been going back and forth about.
If Trump wants to win his Nobel Peace Prize, that's more likely to win it for him than bombing Iran and leaving Iran with the capacity to build nuclear weapons within months.
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.
In Case You Missed It:
- Kinney Zelesne released the first video of her campaign for DC's congressional delegate seat. We need her voice in Congress.
- Nexus Project National Director Jonathan Jacoby writes that "it is deeply concerning that [Columbia University] continues to give in to the Trump Administration’s weaponization of antisemitism as a means towards undermining academic freedom."
- Jewish Congressional Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said that "Columbia’s students, faculty, staff, and larger community deserve better than this cowardly decision."
- Dan Shapiro's July 23 testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee on the Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism.
- Shaul Magid: "Those engaged in increasingly unfathomable Gaza denial are like someone in the passenger seat of a car holding the wheel against the will of the driver as the car careens toward a cliff. The cliff, however, may not be the fate of the state. The state...will survive. Rather, the cliff is a 2000-year-old wisdom tradition called Judaism."
Social Post of the Week. Donald Trump in his own words.
Thread of the Week. Michael Koplow.
Quote of the Week. From Joseph Heller's Catch-22.
Video Clip of the Week. South Park Trump video.
Public Relations Master Classes of the Week. Astronomer hired Coldplay singer Chris Martin's ex-wife to do this video (it's real) and Zohran Mamdani's pre-vacation message and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA).
Music Clip of the Week. Wet Leg - Chaise Longue - Live
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 the IHRA definition of antisemitism and on why Democrats are better than Republicans on Israel and antisemitism. My definition of "pro-Israel" is here (it's a work in progress, as am I).
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