Daybreak: Hamas’s ‘Culture of Resistance’
More on N.J. scandal, plus Reform leader on settlements
July 24, 2009
• Since February’s Gaza incursion, Hamas has shifted its focus from actual armed struggle toward a public-relations and educational campaign aimed at cultivating a “culture of resistance.” [NYT]
• While acknowledging “real strategic issues at stake,” Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union of Reform Judaism, claimed the “vast majority” of American Jews favor of a settlement freeze. [Haaretz]
• Israeli police for the West Bank’s Shai District have established a special unit for large-scale evacuations. [JTA]
• “It’s going to just reinforce the stereotype of New Jersey politics and corruption,” says one professor in a rundown of yesterday’s 44 arrests for corruption stemming from a Syrian Jewish community on the Jersey Shore. [NYT]
• Relatedly, Levy-Izhak Rosenbaum—the one arrested for trying to flip black-market kidneys—explains his $150,000 asking price for the human organ: “One of the reasons it’s so expensive is because you have to shmear everyone.” [Daily Intel]
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.
