Hey everyone! I hope you had a great Hanukkah! As always, feel free to reach out to me with questions, comments, concerns, or ideas for how to make News of the Jews better at newsofthejews@gmail.com. If you need good Jewish/Israeli shows or movies, make sure to check out this newsletter. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @skaps1.
This week was pretty quiet, so I figured I would recap (in no particular order) the biggest stories of the year (be sure to click the links for a more in-depth review of each event):
1. Trump Administration releases its Israeli-Palestinian Peace Vision:
Officially referred to as a vision (and not a peace plan), President Trump’s attempt to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict focused on economic inducements and Israel’s security. Notably, the vision calls for Israel to retain its West Bank settlements in “enclaves” while creating a land-locked Palestinian state. The plan was historic because by supporting it, the Israeli government has approved a Palestinian state (albeit with a limited form of self-governance). So far, the Palestinians have rejected the plan, and it lacks widespread support from the international community. Still, the vision may have a lasting legacy for acknowledging the reality on the ground in Israel/Palestine and offering an alternative proposal from traditional plans, even if it is unlikely to succeed.
2. Israel finally forms a new government after three elections:
After three elections in a year, Israel finally managed to cobble together a government. Though Blue and White’s Benny Gantz campaigned on ousting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he ultimately pivoted and formed a unity government that includes Blue and White, the Likud, and the religious parties. In doing so, Gantz’s party split in two, with the breakaway party, Yesh Atid (led by Yair Lapid), becoming the main opposition party. Under the terms of the coalition deal, Gantz is set to become Prime Minister in November 2021, though it is unclear if Israel will head to elections first. The coalition has been unstable and on the brink of collapse for months, so it would be hard to say the unity government has been a success.
An underrated story related to Israel’s government has been the emergence of Israeli-Arab pragmatism in politics. I linked to a story in the honorable mentions about this (see What’s behind an Israeli Islamist politician’s budding relationship with Netanyahu?), but it has been a theme all year. Back when Gantz formed the coalition with Netanyahu, there was a lot of speculation that Blue and White would partner with the Israeli-Arab Joint List and a few other parties in a bid to oust Netanyahu.
3. Ice Cube, Mel Gibson, Nick Cannon, and DeSean Jackson implicated in high-profile antisemitism controversies:
There have been a number of celebrities who were embroiled in antisemitic controversy this year. Ice Cube tweeted clearly antisemitic imagery on his Twitter. Winona Ryder accused Mel Gibson of asking her if she was an “oven-dodger.” Nick Cannon promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories on his podcast. Lastly, DeSean Jackson posted a photo of an antisemitic passage attributed to Hitler on his Instagram. There were also antisemitism allegations against Madonna, Wiley, and Jay Electronica.
Some good things came out of the incidents. DeSean Jackson apologized, met with a Holocaust survivor, and accepted Jewish fellow-NFL player Julian Edelman’s invitation to tour the Holocaust Museum with him. Zach Banner, another NFL player, earned praise from the Jewish community for speaking out during the incident. Nick Cannon apologized and met with Rabbis to further understand antisemitism.
4. The Abraham Accords establish diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco:
Perhaps the Trump administration’s most significant foreign policy achievement was the Abraham Accords, a set of agreements between Israel and Arab countries to normalize relations. For years, many pundits and experts argued that normalization could not happen until the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was resolved. However, the Trump administration upended that paradigm (with the help of the looming Iranian threat) and showed that peace was possible now. Though the deals have faced criticism for using arms deals and historic policy changes to secure the agreements, normalization between Israel and Arab countries has long been a bipartisan objective. President-elect Biden has voiced his support for the initiative.
5. Joe Biden elected President of the United States (and immediately nominated several high-profile Jewish cabinet secretaries):
On November 4, the United States elected Joe Biden to be the next President of the United States. Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have both been supporters of Israel throughout their careers, so America’s Israel policies are expected to remain friendly and cooperative. The President-elect and Vice President-elect also have extensive connections to Judaism. All of Biden’s children married Jews, and Harris’ husband, Douglas Emhoff, is Jewish.
Biden and Harris. Source: Brian Cahn/ZUMA Wire.
Biden also quickly nominated several Jews to his cabinet. Antony Blinken, his long-time foreign policy advisor, was nominated to be the Secretary of State. He also nominated former Chairwoman of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellen to be the Secretary of the Treasury and Alejandro Mayorkas to be the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Honorable mentions:
“Netanyahu: A small shot for a person, a huge step toward the health of us all” by Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman (JPost)
“Dr. Fauci prefers latkes to hamantaschen” by Gabe Friedman (JTA)
“Amid Iranian threat, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley visits Israel” (JNS)
“Gal Gadot gets Jimmy Fallon to try gefilte fish for the first time” by Gabe Friedman (JTA)
“What’s behind an Israeli Islamist politician’s budding relationship with Netanyahu?” by Ariel Ben Solomon (JNS)
“How Jewish Celebrities Celebrated Hanukkah in 2020“ by Lior Zaltzman (Kveller)
“Paris area Jewish family assaulted after playing Hebrew-language songs in their car” by Cnaan Liphshiz (JTA)
“Trump names Rudy Giuliani’s son and 2 other aides to Holocaust Museum Council” by Ron Kampeas (JTA)
“Chloe Fineman, SNL’s master impressionist” by Matthew Kassel (Jewish Insider)
If you enjoyed this newsletter, feel free to pass it along to a friend!