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Daybreak: The Blockade Has Failed

Plus Reform Yoffie retires, and more in the news

by
Marc Tracy
June 11, 2010

• The flotilla aftermath has brought home the blockade’s failure to disrupt Hamas’s rule, prompting rapid rethinking in Israel of alternative ways to strenghten Gaza’s pro-Western business class and undermine Hamas. [NYT]

• The Obama administration is working Capitol Hill to somewhat defang Iran energy sanctions—which would ban the sale of refined petroleum—lest they go too far and anger diplomatic allies. [LAT]

• Rabbi Eric Yoffie, longtime head of the Reform movement, announced that he will step down two years from now. [Forward]

• The French, Spanish, and Italian foreign ministers call for an “impartial, transparent, and … international” investigation; an end to the blockade; and resumption of the peace process. [IHT]

• Speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., President Abbas acknowledged Jewish history in the land and claims to West Jerusalem. [JPost]

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.