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WHAT’S DRIVING THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONVERSATION |
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Good morning. Early Friday morning, Israel launched attacks against Iran. We’ve got a breakdown of what’s happened so far; analysis of how we got here and what might come next; and perspectives on what, exactly, these developments mean. |
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Smoke rises from a location allegedly targeted in Israel’s strikes on Tehran, Iran, early Friday morning. (SAN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images) |
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The facts: Israeli strikes are ongoing in Iran, with one of the latest hitting a military airport. Israel’s chief military spokesman warned citizens that “we must brace for a lengthy operation.” (New York Times)
The attacks killed top military brass, including both Ayatollah Khameni’s second-in-command and the commander in chief of the Revolutionary Guards, as well as two top nuclear scientists. Some sources said that at least 20 high-ranking military commanders were killed. (New York Times, Reuters)
They also struck Iran’s top nuclear complex at Natanz; social media images showed the uranium enrichment facility engulfed in flames. Israel also claimed it struck an “underground command center,” saying Iranian officials had gathered there to “prepare for an attack on the state of Israel.” (CNN, AP)
Iran launched more than 100 drones at Israel in an initial retaliation. The IDF’s chief of staff said the military is “mobilizing tens of thousands of soldiers and preparing across all borders” and issued a warning to Israeli citizens, saying “the expected cost” of Iran’s expected counterattacks “will be different from what we are used to.” (CBS, Times of Israel)
Israel also shut its embassies across the world amid preparations for an Iranian backlash. (Reuters)
In order to execute the attack, which a security official said took years to plan, Israel established a covert drone base inside Iran and smuggled vehicles bearing weapons systems into the country. (Times of Israel)
The United States was aware of plans for the operation, and while officials in President Donald Trump’s administration quickly asserted that the U.S. had no involvement in the attack, Trump heralded the strikes this morning, saying “I think it’s been excellent.” He also said that “there’s more to come.” (ABC)
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An anti-Israel billboard in Tehran’s Palestine square on May 5. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images) |
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The context:
Israel’s strike on Iran: How we got here, what we don’t know and what happens next. Hours before Israel’s first strike, “a majority of member nations of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency” voted “to censure Iran for its noncompliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty,” writes Ron Kampeas — a vote that sparked an Iranian pledge to ramp up nuclear production. But that threat is just one of many reasons that Israel may have chosen to attack when it did. Read the story ➤
Will the US come to Israel’s defense as Iran retaliates for attack?The White House initially distanced itself from the operation, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying Thursday that Israel’s attack was “unilateral.” That left open a question of paramount importance: Will the U.S help coordinate regional partners in the Middle East to protect Israel against Iran’s retaliatory strikes? In Israel, officials had been taken aback by Trump’s apparent coolness toward the idea of military action against Iran, raising questions that once appeared settled. Read the story ➤ |
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People look over the aftermath of a massive Israeli airstrike on June 13 in Tehran, Iran. (Getty Images) |
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How to understand it:
Analysis: What to watch for as Israel escalates ‘shadow war’ with Iran. “The strike comes just days before another round of direct U.S.-Iran talks to negotiate a nuclear agreement,” writes our political reporter, Jacob Kornbluh. “Those talks, scheduled to take place in Oman, will now almost certainly be postponed.” And, occurring just after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced a potential political setback over the issue of the Haredi draft, they might strengthen the embattled leader’s domestic standing. Read the story ➤
Opinion | A precise, Chekhovian logic guided Israel’s strike on Iran — but chaos could come next. The attack was simultaneously shocking and inevitable, writes our columnist Rob Eshman. Yes, the details are stunning, but Netanyahu has been laying the groundwork for the operation for close to 30 years. And Iran’s brutal behavior — not just against Israel, but across the Middle East and within its own borders — has long demanded an international answer. Read his essay ➤
Plus: |
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U.S. Army soldiers work on an assortment of tanks to prepare for a military parade. (Getty Images) |
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Opinion | A Trumpian parade with soldiers, jets and military vehicles? No tanks. President Donald Trump has long been fascinated by military parades, after witnessing a memorable French display on Bastille Day in 2014 — an occasion that led him to insist that his first secretary of defense, retired General James Mattis, organize a lavish July 4 parade. Well, on Saturday, for his birthday, Trump is getting the spectacle he’s long craved. But while, in Bastille Day parades, “the world witnesses a brilliant reenactment of the founding of a republic dedicated in principle, though not always in practice, to the revolutionary values of liberty, equality, and fraternity,” writes our culture columnist Robert Zaretsky, Trump’s pageant is unlikely to spark similar respect. Read the story ➤ |
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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY |
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San Francisco International Airport. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images) |
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In the Middle East… Egypt detained and prepared to deport more than 200 activists who had gathered in Cairo for the Global March to Gaza, with plans to depart for the Gaza border on Friday and establish an encampment. (Haaretz)
Hamas attacked a bus transporting Palestinian workers for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Wednesday, killing at least eight people. (Times of Israel)
Everywhere else… Two Palestinians from the West Bank had their visas revoked and were deported yesterday after landing in San Francisco on Wednesday. The pair’s visit had been coordinated by a local synagogue. (JTA, San Francisco Examiner)
A planned meeting of the Conference of European Rabbis in Sarajevo was canceled when the hotel hosting the event nixed plans, citing “recent developments and significant public attention” after a Bosnian official publicly objected to the gathering. The official argued that the conference would be “a message of legitimization of the occupation and systematic destruction of the Palestinian people”; the CER has no formal link to Israel. (JTA)
A Palestinian New York man pleaded guilty on charges related to his assault of Jewish people at three separate protests against the war in Gaza. (Fox News)
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Thanks to Benyamin Cohen for contributing to today’s newsletter, and to Julie Moos for editing it. You can reach the “Forwarding” team at editorial@forward.com. |
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