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This Week:

• Democrats Push Back on Trump's New Israel Arms Sale
• The ICJ's Pernicious Plan to Redefine Genocide
• Abbas Denied Visa as Netanyahu Heads to UN

• On the Passing of Senator Jon Kyl

• The Lie of 'NAZA' and the Truth of 'Fauda'
• Short Takes
• Week's Best Tweets
• Upcoming Events

Democrats Push Back on Trump's New Israel Arms Sale

The Washington Post reports:

President Donald Trump's administration is planning to sell to Israel a munitions package worth $2.8 billion, which will ​include tens of thousands of highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs…

The planned sale, which has been informally communicated to relevant congressional committees who weigh in on large ​arms sales, includes 20,000 MK 84s and 20,000 BLU-117s, the ​official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said.

The Jewish Insider reports:

Congressional Democrats are taking steps to attempt to halt a planned $2.8 billion sale of heavy bombs to Israel, which is reportedly set to be financed with U.S. foreign military funding.

Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced he is placing a procedural hold on the sale, citing concerns that the weapons would be used in violation of U.S. and international law.

…Meanwhile, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who has helped lead efforts in the past to force Senate votes to block military sales to Israel, also vowed to step in.

"Trump is sending $2.8 BILLION of bombs paid for by YOU, the American taxpayer, to a govt led by a wanted war criminal," Van Hollen said on X. "All while Netanyahu keeps bombing Gaza & blocks justice for Americans killed on his watch. How is this America First? We will work to stop it."

The ICJ's Pernicious Plan to Redefine Genocide

Two experts on international law write at the Wall Street Journal about the International Court of Justice's latest effort to attack Israel:

The Trump administration is working to dismantle the International Criminal Court. But a different tribunal, the International Court of Justice, could become a greater threat to the security of the U.S. and its allies. The ICJ is deciding a case, Gambia vs. Myanmar, that could drastically lower the legal threshold for genocide.

This is the express goal of some advocates, since it would pave the way for a genocide finding in South Africa's pending case against Israel. The lower threshold would also unleash genocide claims against the U.S., other North Atlantic Treaty Organization members and their officials in international courts. It would do so in foreign courts, too, as at least 90 countries have enacted "universal jurisdiction" over genocide allegedly committed abroad by foreigners against foreigners.

…The timing is important. The Myanmar judgment, expected in October, would establish the lower threshold before the ICJ judgment on Israel. It would change the rule first in the less-watched case against Myanmar rather than seemingly invent it for Israel.

Abbas Denied Visa as Netanyahu Heads to UN

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will attend the UN General Assembly in New York City later this month. Several layers of security will be provided by elements of the NY police department and Israeli security agencies. One report says that there is unusual involvement by the US Secret Service in preparations for Prime Minister's visit.

The United States has denied a visa to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to attend the UN General Assembly for the second consecutive year. The AP reports:

In a statement, the [State Department] said the Palestinian Authority had continued to pursue legal action against Israel at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court and kept paying stipends to the families of prisoners convicted of attacks against Israelis. It also mentioned officials tied to the Palestine Liberation Organization, or PLO.

"As a consequence of their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace, the United States will extend sanctions that deny visas to PLO members and PA officials" in accordance with standing U.S. law, the department said.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who threatened last July to arrest Netanyahu if he came to New York, now says he will not participate in expected protests against the Israeli leader during the UN session.

On the Passing of Senator Jon Kyl

Former Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), who served in Congress for more than 25 years, has died at the age of 84. He served in the House from 1987 to 1995 and then in the Senate. He rose through the GOP Senate leadership and served as minority whip before leaving the Senate in 2013. After the death of Senator John McCain in 2018, Sen. Kyl was appointed to, and briefly filled, McCain's vacant seat.

Senator Kyl was one of Israel's strongest and most consistent supporters in Congress. He was the author of the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act which required the US to move our embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel's capital, Jerusalem. That piece of legislation laid the groundwork for President Trump's momentous decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem. Kyl's previous work as a Senator also includes instrumental work on securing funding for the Arrow missile defense system and pressuring President Obama against unilaterally recognizing a Palestinian state.

We honor Sen. Jon Kyl's service to his country. May his memory be a blessing.

The Lie of NAZA and the Truth of Fauda

There has been a lot of discussion this week about the new anti-Israel film NAZA (the Hebrew military acronym for collateral damage). Directed by Israelis and presented as a documentary, the movie presents testimony from 24 anonymous former IDF soldiers. They claim that Israel uses AI to select targets and that senior IDF officials deliberately and knowingly approve strikes in Gaza that will result in civilian deaths.

The film was won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival this week.  The IDF has rejected the film's claims.

The film, intended to indict Israel for conducting a genocide in Gaza, is answered by a TV show that depicts the genocidal Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 against Israel.

Netflix just released the new season of the popular Israeli TV show Fauda, about an Israeli counterterrorism commando unit. Episodes seven and eight portray what happened on October 7, in far more detail and with far more grounding in fact than most audiences have been exposed to before.

The show's depiction of October 7 has educated people around the world about what happened that day and how Israelis responded. Notably, the show has been widely seen in the Middle East. The Jerusalem Post reports that as of mid-September, Fauda was the top Netflix show in Lebanon, ranked fourth in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar; sixth in Bahrain and Morocco; seventh in Oman; eighth in Kuwait; and tenth in Egypt.

It may well be that the good done by the fictional show Fauda will outweigh the harm that the self-hating directors of NAZA intended to inflict with their purported documentary film.

Short Takes

Jewish Insider: Trump taps Rep. Wesley Hunt as U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia

President Donald Trump on Monday informed the Senate that he plans to nominate Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) as the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, moving toward filling one of the numerous Middle East ambassadorship posts that have sat vacant since the start of his second administration.

Hunt, a former Army officer and Apache helicopter pilot, served two deployments in Saudi Arabia as a military diplomatic liaison. He is serving his second term in the House, but lost a primary bid for Texas' Senate seat earlier this year.

The Guardian: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rejoins DSA after membership lapse of seven years

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has rejoined the Democratic Socialists of America after not renewing her membership for seven years, amid speculation that she might run for president in 2028.

The 36-year-old New York representative and one of the country's most prominent democratic socialists renewed her membership in the group's national organization after reports emerged earlier this month that it had lapsed. Ocasio-Cortez initially joined the group in 2018.

Tweets

Events

Best wishes for a meaningful Yom Kippur and a g'mar chatima tova.

RJC offices will be closed on Monday, September 21 in observance of the holiday.