Monday Briefing: Among some Israelis, muted sympathy for Gaza

June 24, 2024

	By Amelia Nierenberg

Good morning. We’re covering some Israeli’s views of the suffering in Gaza and shootings in the Russian republic of Dagestan.

Plus, the rise of drag in the Philippines.

A man armed with a rifle leading a boy by the hand across a parking lot toward a one-story building.

Netivot is a bastion of political and religious conservatism in Israel. Avishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York Times

Blame for Hamas and little sympathy for Gazans

Some Israelis are struggling to show concern for the people suffering in Gaza, according to interviews conducted in right-wing and liberal strongholds in southern Israel, and with residents from across the country.

Even though Israelis know about the devastation in the enclave, many in the country ask why they should show pity when they say Palestinians there showed none on Oct. 7.

They blame Hamas for starting the war and embedding itself in residential areas of Gaza, which endangers civilians. And the pain of the attacks on Oct. 7 — which was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust — is still raw and increasingly overlaid with anger.

Israel’s mainstream media also rarely focuses on the suffering of Gaza’s civilians and routinely leads broadcasts with the funerals and profiles of soldiers who have died in battle.

Diplomacy: Yoav Gallant, Israel’s minister of defense, visited Washington yesterday for meetings with senior U.S. officials. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel aired new grievances over the Biden administration’s distribution of munitions for the war in Gaza.

West Bank: An influential Israeli official said the government was engaged in a stealthy effort to cement control of the occupied area, in a taped speech from a private event. And on Saturday, Israeli troops tied a wounded Palestinian to a military vehicle, which was captured on video and quickly went viral, prompting outrage and the promise of an investigation by Israel’s military.

A view from above of a city. The Caspian Sea is in the background.

Dagestan’s capital, Makhachkala. Sergey Rassulov/Getty Images

Gunmen killed at least six in a Russian republic

Gunmen killed at least a half-dozen police officers and a priest in two cities in Russia’s southern republic of Dagestan, local officials said. A dozen or more police officers were wounded, state news agencies reported. The attacks — on a synagogue, at least two churches and a police post — appeared to have been coordinated, officials said.

A dozen or more police officers were wounded, Russian state news agencies reported, citing local law enforcement officials. The shootings occurred in the capital, Makhachkala, and Derbent, a city on the border with Azerbaijan. The Russian Investigative Committee, the country’s equivalent to the F.B.I., said it had opened a terrorism investigation.

Region: Dagestan is a predominantly Muslim republic, but it is also home to a Jewish population, and it has experienced a heightened level of violence for at least three decades. Ethnic and religious tensions there have worsened since the Israel-Hamas war broke out.

Aerial view of hundreds of newly assembled cars sit on a lot.

Cars made by Volkswagen and SAIC Motor in Shanghai. Qilai Shen for The New York Times

E.U. and China agree to try to avoid a trade war

China and the E.U. said they would sit down to try to resolve an escalating dispute over proposed tariffs. Billions of dollars in trade are at stake.

The apparent de-escalation comes after the bloc proposed tariffs of up to 38 percent on electric cars from China — and after China threatened to impose tariffs on pork imports from Europe.

MORE TOP NEWS

Heat

People shading themselves with umbrellas.

Muslim pilgrims in Saudi Arabia last week. Fadel Senna/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Hajj: After hundreds of pilgrims died during the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Egypt said it had suspended the licenses of 16 tour companies for failing to offer services like medical care.
U.S.: The end of the early heat wave that gripped much of the country over the past seven days is in sight, but first a couple more days of scorching temperatures are expected.

Other News

H.I.V. Results from a large clinical trial in Africa showed that a twice-yearly injection of a new antiviral drug gave young women total protection from the virus.
Ukraine: Bombs dropped by Russian warplanes killed at least four people in Kharkiv this weekend. Ukraine urged its allies to further ease limits on Western weapons so they could be used against Russian air bases.
Trade: The Biden administration outlined plans to curb new U.S. investment in critical Chinese tech industries that could be used to enhance China’s military.
France: As the far right surges, some voters want the country to have borders that can be sealed tight. President Emmanuel Macron is taking note.
Germany: Björn Höcke, a leader of the Alternative for Germany party, has been steadily tilting the country’s mainstream toward the far right, softening the ground for extremism.
China: Kwon Pyong, a dissident who fled China on a jet ski, recounted for the first time the series of gambles that first helped him escape China and then South Korea.

Sports

Olympics: Sha’Carri Richardson won the 100-meter title at the U.S. trials, qualifying for Paris four years after she was barred from the Tokyo Games.
Euro 2024: For the nearly three million Turks in Germany, the tournament is soccer coming home.

MORNING READ

A performer in a dressing room putting on furry boots.

Paul Hidacan’s drag persona is Zymba Ding. “She is an extension, a revelation of what Paul can do without religious restrictions,” he said. Jes Aznar for The New York Times

Drag is going mainstream in the Philippines, which is both one of the biggest majority-Christian countries and one of the most gay-friendly Asian nations. But there are still few legal protections for gay Filipinos, and same-sex unions are not allowed, so for many artists drag is deeper than sequins and spectacle.

“Drag is not just entertainment,” one performer said. “The mere fact that a man dresses as a woman in public is already a form of defiance.”

CONVERSATION STARTERS

A person in a neon outfit with a big googly eye on their chest. Their mouth is open and they are wearing blue lipstick.

Coney Island’s annual Mermaid Parade on Saturday. Graham Dickie/The New York Times

A pageant of aquatic weirdness: The heat couldn’t keep New Yorkers inside for the Mermaid Parade on Coney Island. See photos here.
Dental health: These five habits can cause a surprising amount of damage to your teeth, experts say.
How to move a huge artwork: In Australia, it takes a big truck, safety vehicles, good planning and cool nerves.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times .

ARTS AND IDEAS

A man leans against a movie poster for the film “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies.”

Pat Boonnitipat directed “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies.” Lauren DeCicca for The New York Times

A winning Thai tear-jerker

The movie “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies” has become a surprise runaway hit across Southeast Asia. People have been posting tear-streaked videos to social media after watching it.

The film explores the tensions that arise in a family before the impending death of one head of the household, and the gender biases that persist. As an aimless young man takes care of his dying grandmother, initially in hopes of inheriting her house, he grows to better understand the complicated web of characters that make up his Thai-Chinese family.

A 27-year-old financial consultant in Singapore uploaded a TikTok video of himself choking up after seeing the film, with the caption “Running over to hug my Grandma now!!”

RECOMMENDATIONS

A bowl of cheese dip garnished with green onions.

Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.

Cook: Go ahead. Have a cheesy dip for dinner.

Read: A writer who interviewed Donald Trump in 2021 for a book about “The Apprentice” portrayed him as wounded, forgetful and hung up on Hollywood.

Clean: Here’s advice to get rid of clothing stains.

Play: Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.

That’s it for today. See you tomorrow. — Amelia

Email us at briefing@nytimes.com.

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