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Worsening Israeli-Palestinian violence has exposed fraught divides within both Israeli society and the Democratic Party—one with somewhat more urgent implications than the other.
- On Thursday, Israel called up 9,000 more reserve troops and began a ground invasion into the Gaza Strip, marking a major escalation in the conflict. Just a few days into the worst fighting in the region since 2014, Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 87 Palestinians in Gaza, including at least 18 children. Rockets fired by Hamas militants have killed seven Israelis, including two children.
- While the asymmetrical military conflict is nauseatingly familiar, this week’s violence has spilled over into unusual nationwide unrest, with Jewish and Arab Israeli mobs clashing in the streets in cities across Israel. On Wednesday night, an Israeli news channel broadcast live footage of far-right Israeli attackers relentlessly beating a man, presumed to be Arab, in a Tel Aviv suburb. Authorities have declared a state of emergency in the mixed Arab-Jewish town of Lod, where Arab and Jewish mobs have torched cars and assaulted residents.
- Several Israeli leaders have warned that the country could be slipping towards civil war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the street clashes pose a greater threat than the escalating conflict with Hamas: “Nothing justifies the lynching of Jews by Arabs, and nothing justifies the lynching of Arabs by Jews.” Setting an important de-escalatory example for the nation, Netanyahu has, uh, rejected a ceasefire proposal.
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Meanwhile, in an internal dispute with fewer molotov cocktails, many Democrats have found themselves a good ways left of President Biden in their responses.
- The Biden administration has dusted off traditional, unconditionally pro-Israel talking points: According to a summary of National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s Tuesday call with his Israeli counterpart, he “conveyed the President’s unwavering support for Israel’s security and for its legitimate right to defend itself and its people, while protecting civilians.” The administration has (rightly!) condemned the Hamas rocket attacks targeting Israeli cities, but Biden has yet to publicly say a word about Israel’s responsibility for devastating civilian losses in Gaza.
- That’s not where the Democratic base is anymore, in part because of how thoroughly Donald Trump politicized U.S. support for Israel. It isn’t just The Squad calling for an acknowledgement of Palestinians’ human rights and of Israel’s complicity in the violence: Biden’s close pal Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) has called out the attempted evictions of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) issued a statement criticizing the Israeli police violence that helped trigger a full-on conflict. Both of them also condemned Hamas. Easy-peasy!
For more context about what’s happening from a Palestinian perspective, we’d highly recommend this week’s episode of Pod Save The World: Foreign policy analyst Rula Jebreal joined Ben Rhodes to talk about what led to the current conflict, how we should be thinking about asymmetries of power, and the path to peace. You can watch the whole thing here →
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In the latest episode of Hysteria, hosts Erin Ryan and Alyssa Mastromonaco talk to Senator Mazie Hirono about new anti hate crimes legislation, the equality act, and more! Listen and subscribe to Hysteria wherever you get your podcasts →
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Nearly two-million Americans are poised to lose their pandemic unemployment benefits early, as more GOP governors announce they’ll end the $300 weekly federal boost and expansions of jobless benefits. Democrats extended those benefits through early September as part of the American Rescue Plan, but in some states they’ll now end as early as June 12. Republicans have reflexively and opportunistically blamed enhanced unemployment for workforce shortages, and further justified their actions by citing the improving economy, which they will of course be hurting by denying unemployed people the money they need to buy things. If all Republican governors were to pull out of federal assistance, it would affect some 4.8 million workers, and nearly 1.4 million Americans in pandemic unemployment programs would stop receiving any payments at all.
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- The CDC says that fully vaccinated people can safely ditch masks and social distancing both indoors and outdoors—though masks are still required during travel. Please enjoy this unbelievably satisfying new CDC graphic, and this perfect side note that anti-vaxx conspiracy theories have convinced some holdouts to mask up.
- Matt Gaetz’s indicted pal Joel Greenberg will plead guilty in federal court on Monday, and will reportedly cooperate with investigators as part of the deal.
- The president of the second-largest teachers’ union has called for a full reopening of public schools in the fall, and pledged $5 million for a GOTV-style campaign to build families’ confidence in going back to school.
- Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) followed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) around yelling about her support for “terrorists,” raising security concerns. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the incident may require a House Ethics Committee investigation, and AOC compared Greene to the kind of people she used to throw out of bars all the time.
- With the help of a British ex-spy, Project Veritas ran a campaign to discredit perceived enemies of then-President Donald Trump inside the government, which included secret surveillance operations against FBI employees.
- An active duty Marine Corps officer has been arrested for assaulting a Capitol Police officer on January 6.
- A number of sources say that Colonial Pipeline paid hackers nearly $5 million in ransom, but both Colonial and President Biden have declined to confirm or deny that. Either way, the fuel’s a’flowing, but gas hoarders have caused ongoing shortages in much of the southeast.
- What do you know, the For The People Act is incredibly popular in West Virginia.
- The Senate Judiciary Committee has deadlocked on Kristen Clarke’s nomination to lead the DOJ’s civil rights division. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer must now decide whether to move the nomination out of committee for full Senate consideration.
- The president of the University of South Carolina has resigned for plagiarizing his commencement speech, which he could have avoided if he had just resigned immediately upon addressing "the newest alumni from the University of California."
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More than a dozen influential progressive and environmental groups have warned Biden not to waste time looking for a deal with Republicans on infrastructure. In a Thursday letter, John Podesta and other signatories urged Biden to quickly pass Biden’s proposals through budget reconciliation rather than let compromises and delays eat away at his agenda. On Thursday, Biden met with a group of Republicans led by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), who may very well be negotiating in good faith, but she still reports to a GOP leader who’s pledged to obstruct everything he can, and who on Wednesday called raising taxes to fund infrastructure a “red line.” Between that and House Republicans ousting their No. 3 leader for acknowledging that Biden is the legitimate president, seems like Podesta & Co. might have a point!
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Nearly 60 percent of American adults have received at least one vaccine dose, and new coronavirus cases declined last week in 37 states.
The Biden administration will invest $7.4 billion to hire more public health workers, both to help states’ overstretched health departments and to prepare for future crises.
Brooklyn Center, MN, Mayor Mike Elliott has proposed a measure to remove police officers from enforcing some traffic violations and responding to mental health calls.
Major fast food and retail chains have begun boosting wages to attract more applicants.
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