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This Week:

• Pres. Trump Lays Out Plan to End Gaza War

• PM Netanyahu Speaks with PM of Qatar

• Ondrasik: Hollywood Joins History’s Shameful Betrayals by Blacklisting Jewish Artists

• Short Takes

• Week's Best Tweets

• Upcoming Events

Pres. Trump Lays Out Plan to End Gaza War

The White House released a 20-point plan Monday afternoon for a ceasefire and path forward in the Gaza Strip. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed it in their joint press conference.

Read the full plan here.

PM Netanyahu said of the plan:

I support your plan to end the war in Gaza, which achieves our war aims. It will bring back to Israel all our hostages, dismantle Hamas' military capabilities, end its political rule, and ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel… Mr. President, when our two countries stand shoulder to shoulder, we achieve the impossible.

…But if Hamas rejects your plan, Mr. President, or if they supposedly accept it and then basically do everything to counter it, then Israel will finish the job by itself.

This can be done the easy way, or it can be done the hard way, but it will be done. We prefer the easy way, but it has to be done. All these goals must be achieved, because we didn't fight this horrible fight, sacrifice the finest of our young men to have Hamas stay in Gaza and threaten us again and again and again with these horrific massacres.

Read the full text of his remarks here.

At this writing, Hamas has not yet accepted the plan.

However, the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Indonesia, Turkey, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan praised President Trump's plan. The Palestinian Authority said in a statement that it welcomes President Donald Trump's "sincere and determined efforts" to end the war in Gaza.

The RJC said in a public statement:

The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) applauds President Donald J. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for advancing a comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict, which will secure the release of every remaining hostage held in Gaza and conclude the war that was started by Hamas on October 7th, the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Israel has accepted multiple offers to bring this conflict to an end–it is now time for Hamas to finally accede and surrender.

President Trump has demonstrated once again that he is the greatest peacemaker of our time, and his unprecedented partnership with Prime Minister Netanyahu – most recently demonstrated by the obliteration of Iran's nuclear weapons program in Operation Midnight Hammer - proves that the US-Israel relationship is stronger than ever, and both nations are committed to a safer, securer, and more prosperous future for the Middle East…

FURTHER READING

John Spencer: Trump's 20-Point Plan: The Most Comprehensive Path To End the War and Secure Peace

PM Netanyahu Speaks with PM of Qatar

During his meeting on Monday with President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone with the Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani. PM Netanyahu expressed "his deep regret that Israel's missile strike against Hamas targets in Qatar unintentionally killed a Qatari serviceman."

Some news outlets have portrayed this conversation as a humiliation for Netanyahu, because he apologized to Qatar and assured al-Thani that Israel has no plans to undertake such an operation again.

Such reports are misleading if they do not also quote Netanyahu's firm words addressing the grievances that Israel has against Qatar:

I know your leadership has grievances against Israel and Israel has grievances against Qatar, from support for the Muslim Brotherhood to how Israel is portrayed on Al Jazeera to support for anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses.

I welcome the President's idea to establish a trilateral group to address both our countries' outstanding grievances.

Netanyahu and Al Thani "underscored their shared commitment to working together constructively and clearing away misperceptions, while building on the longstanding ties both have with the United States," according to the White House readout.

Amit Segal, writing at the Wall Street Journal, adds:

It is too early to know if there will be an agreement to end the war in Gaza, and if so whether it will be implemented. But there is reason for President Trump's optimism that Hamas might release hostages, give up its weapons and leave power. Change is afoot not in Gaza but in Doha—the government of Qatar is pressuring its protégés to accept the deal.

The regime, which thwarted the last hostage deal, changed its mind because the war has reached its home. After the Israel Defense Forces operated in five Muslim capitals—Gaza, Beirut, Damascus, Sana'a, and Tehran—it hit Doha. The attempted killing of senior Hamas officials in broad daylight in Qatar signaled to the natural-gas emirate that it couldn't continue the double game it has played in recent years. Despite the threats against Israel, the Qataris are now working to make Hamas accept the demands from Jerusalem.

…Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's telephone apology for violating Qatar's sovereignty is lip service to divert attention from the emirate's turnaround.

…Qatar is part of the problem, not the solution. Israel's decision to strike there with quiet American approval marked a crucial moment in the war. It signaled that between the West and fundamentalist terror one must choose a side. There is now talk that senior Hamas figures might have to move to hotels in another Arab capital. The Qataris saw what befell the regimes that backed Hamas, and they don't want to be next.

Ondrasik: Hollywood Joins History’s Shameful Betrayals by Blacklisting Jewish Artists

Award winning singer-songwriter John Ondrasik, who performs under the name "Five for Fighting", has written a scathing op-ed for Fox News on a film industry boycott of Israel:

Over 3,900 film artists, including some of Hollywood’s most celebrated names, just signed a boycott of Israeli cinema institutions. They claim this is a principled stand. I call it what it is: a cowardly act that feeds antisemitism, punishes Jewish artists, and poisons the very spirit of creativity.

I am not Jewish. I don’t claim that heritage. But I don’t need to be Jewish to see right from wrong. Common sense alone tells us that when you single out the world’s one Jewish state, when you target its filmmakers and artists while ignoring brutal regimes across the globe, you are not standing for justice. You are standing for bigotry dressed up as virtue. You are empowering and legitimizing terrorists.

… What’s worse is the deafening silence from Hollywood’s elite, particularly the Jewish elite. Many of you built careers, and fortunes, on stories of courage, identity, and overcoming oppression. Yet when your own people are under attack — when antisemitism is exploding on campuses, in the streets, and now in the arts — too many of you remain on the sidelines, or worse, join the chorus of condemnation. The fact that virtually no non-Jews have the moral clarity to call out their industry’s hatred and blood libels is also a stain that will not be erased by time or contrition.

… This is not just about Israel. This is about the soul of art itself. When you turn creativity into a political weapon, when you punish people not for their talent but for their identity, you kill art. You replace courage with cowardice, imagination with ideology, and beauty with blacklists.

Thankfully, there are a few voices in Hollywood on the right side of history, including Paramount and a letter signed by 1200 entertainment leaders, including yours truly, which condemned the blacklisters.

Many of us have wondered how the Holocaust could ever have happened. We need wonder no longer. It’s shades of 1938. Because if you can’t find the courage to defend Jewish artists and the Jewish state, don’t be surprised when history remembers this as the moment Hollywood lost its conscience, creativity, and credibility. We all know who you are.

John Ondrasik will perform at the gala banquet during the RJC's 2025 Leadership Summit in Las Vegas at the end of this month. For more details about the entertainers' boycott of Israel and those condemning it, see our Short Take below.

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Short Takes

Captured documents reveal Hamas organized, funded Gaza flotilla

Documents found in Gaza and released by Israel's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday traced direct Hamas involvement in organizing and financing a "close-knit" flotilla seeking to break the Israeli blockade of the Strip.

"This confirms that key assets of the flotilla are effectively owned and controlled by Hamas," the Foreign Ministry said. "They clarify the chain of command and financial support behind these operations, which have long been presented under civilian pretense."

JNS: 'Snapback' UN sanctions on Iran go into effect

The United Nations reimposed "snapback" sanctions on the Iranian regime at 8 p.m. on Saturday as a result of the latter's "significant non-performance" of its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, stated Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state.

"The world will not acquiesce to threats and half measures, and Tehran will be held to account," the secretary said.

Liev Schreiber, Mayim Bialik, Debra Messing Among 1,200 Industry Names Rejecting Israeli Film Boycott in New Open Letter

Earlier this month, thousands of entertainment industry figures signed a pledge saying they would refuse to work with Israeli institutions and companies.

This week, more than 1,200 pro-Israel entertainment industry names signed a new open letter denouncing the boycott.

Among those putting their names behind the new open letter and defending Israel are Liev Schreiber, Mayim Bialik, Debra Messing, Gene Simmons, Sharon Osbourne, Greg Berlanti, Jerry O'Connell, Howie Mandel, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Lisa Edelstein, Erin Foster, Anthony Edwards, Rebecca De Mornay, Sherry Lansing and Haim Saban.

The signers of the boycott pledge against Israel include Emma Stone, Joaquin Phoenix, Yorgos Lanthimos, Ava DuVernay, Adam McKay, Boots Riley, Olivia Colman, Ayo Edebiri, Lily Gladstone, Mark Ruffalo, Hannah Einbinder, Peter Sarsgaard, Aimee Lou Wood, Paapa Essiedu, Gael Garcia Bernal, Riz Ahmed, Melissa Barrera, Cynthia Nixon, Tilda Swinton, Javier Bardem, Joe Alwyn and Josh O'Connor.

Tweets

Events

Best wishes for a meaningful Yom Kippur, from the Officers and Staff of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

All RJC offices will be closed on October 2 in observance of the holiday.