Navigate to News section

Daybreak: Israel Tries To Halt, Discredit Flotilla

Plus, are Jewish Dems leaving Obama? and more in the news

by
Marc Tracy
June 29, 2011
President Obama yesterday.(Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
President Obama yesterday.(Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

• The efforts of an Israeli anti-flotilla legal group have apparently delayed at least two of the boats, including the American The Audacity of Hope, even as the rest of the flotilla begins to form. [NYT]

• There have also been extensive official Israeli propaganda efforts against the flotilla, including one YouTube video that turned to be a hoax. [WP]

• Ben Smith reports an unquantified trend of President Obama losing the support of some Jewish Democrats. [Politico]

• Egypt is woefully underprepared for the elections still scheduled for September, leading to fears the vote will be discredited and/or heavily favor the better organized Muslim Brotherhood. [WP]

• Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad acknowledged that U.N. recognition of statehood would be purely symbolic. [AP/Haaretz]

• In Gaza, the desert blooms on the sites of abandoned settlements. [NYT]

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