big idea: israel lights the fuse & attacks gaza

1. israel is several days into an aerial bombardment of gaza after attacking muslims praying in al-aqsa mosque in jerusalem late last week. protests and near-lynchings have also broken out across israel in cities where arabs and jews historically lived side-by-side in relative calm.
2. as usual, the violence is hugely asymmetric - over a hundred palestinians have been killed, including dozens of children, and only eight israelis. israel has targeted press offices, apartment buildings, and health clinics, and has caused water and power services to be severely curtailed.
3. the current violence is also linked to both israel’s and palestine’s recent election attempts. palestine’s elections were called off after it became clear hamas would overwhelmingly win, which has led hamas to saber-rattle more than usual to save face. israel’s march election led to a defeat of prime minister’s Netanyahu’s coalition. he was set to leave office this week before violence broke out, and it’s now increasingly unlikely that he will anytime soon due to the crisis he caused.
4. so, where’s the US in all of this? Joe said before the election he had no interest in resolving the arab-israeli conflict, and that military aid to israel (totalling $4 billion a year) shouldn’t be conditional on good behavior. he has so far stuck to these unreasonable promises, despite Bernie (and even some moderate dems) arguing that US money should come with strings attached. it’s clear that Joe sees nuclear negotiations with iran, where he needs israeli cooperation, as a higher priority.
5. we also want to note how important disinformation has been on the israeli side. the military and prime minister’s office have both put out misleading tweets and videos in recent days not just as a tactic to confuse hamas, but also to inflame tensions and spread lies about palestinians. this is the future of warfare - not just bombs and soldiers, but WhatsApp forwards and tweet storms. time to warn your crazy auntie about that sketch group she’s a member of.

story to watch: CDC drops mask recommendation

1. the CDC revised its recommendations on thursday, saying fully vaccinated adults mostly don’t need to wear masks and can stop social distancing. this comes as vaccines have been found to cut viral transmission and are highly protective against COVID variants.
2. states and companies were sent scrambling this week as people demanded local rules change to reflect the new guidelines. while Starbucks, Costco, and Trader Joe’s announced masks would essentially become optional in their stores, GM and Kroger have decided to stick with mask mandates. without vaccine passports...