With a Push and a Nudge, Biden Shows Bibi the Exit Ramp

Jewish Politics & Power is published every other week. Sign up for our newsletter for updates. 1. What American Pressure Looks Like The Biden administration, last week, found its voice. Its public voice, that is. Not only did the White House make clear openly and formally that America is not being attacked by aliens, but top administration officials finally said out loud what they really think about the current Israeli government’s policies. It was no hot mic incident, nor was it an off-the-cuff comment. The Biden administration, in an orchestrated and calculated move, decided to escalate its pressure campaign against Netanyahu’s government. The public offensive began with Biden’s written comments to New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman in which he weighed in on the new coalition government’s plan for “judiciary reform,” which would severely undercut the power and independence of Israeli courts....

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Netanyahu Rolls Out His New Government; Jewish Americans React

Jewish Politics & Power is published every other week. Sign up for our newsletter for updates. 1. Rabbis are Speaking Out In a midnight phone call to Israeli president Isaac Herzog, Benjamin Netanyahu formally informed him that he had succeeded in forming a new government based on a coalition made up of his own Likud party, two ultra-Orthodox parties and the Religious Zionist bloc—a joint list consisting of three far-right political parties. On Thursday, he will present his new government to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, and upon approval, Netanyahu’s sixth government will be sworn in, heralding the most extreme ruling coalition in Israel’s history. Bibi’s partners haven’t made this final stretch of negotiations any easier for him. As the presumptive prime minister made his rounds in the American media trying to convince an overseas audience that despite his seemingly far-right...

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Can the Government Save America from Antisemitism?

Jewish Politics & Power is published every other week. Sign up for our newsletter for updates. 1. Washington Takes on Antisemitism With its ornate decorations and side windows overlooking the West Wing entrance to the White House, The Indian Treaty Room, on the fourth floor of the Eisenhower Executive Building in Washington, DC, is ripe with history, from hosting official signing ceremonies to presidential press conferences dating back to the 1950s. Last Wednesday, the Biden administration chose this venue for its first-ever roundtable on antisemitism, led by Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. For a meeting full of symbolism, it was an opportunity for the White House to visually convey the importance the administration sees in sending out a clear message against antisemitism. “An epidemic of hate” is how Emhoff described the rash of anti-Jewish incidents and expressions flooding America in recent months....

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