Daily Briefing July 16: What the latest House vote says about support for Israel

Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg for today’s episode.

WATCH the full episode here:

The US House on Wednesday defeated a vote to end Israel aid. Still, with nearly 50% of Democrats backing the measure, Magid notes the significance of the measure and the vote, which he says sends the message that Israel will not have the bipartisan support it used to have if it continues its current policies toward the Palestinians.

Magid reviews the recent visit of US lawmaker Ro Khanna to the West Bank, where he was briefly detained in a Palestinian village by Israeli settlers. Magid examines whether the incident was later amplified by Khanna or constitutes another case of settler violence.

He touches on the venting JD Vance did during a recent podcast hosted by Joe Rogan, in which the US vice president expressed frustration over an Israeli social media campaign that criticizes the Iran deal.

The latest round of Israel-Lebanon talks ended in Rome, and while the tone was positive, Magid tells us that it’s unclear whether Israel will be withdrawing anytime soon from the two agreed-upon pilot zones in southern Lebanon. He opines that Israel’s reluctance is probably tied to the upcoming elections and notes that the lack of progress is a sore spot for the Lebanese.

The Board of Peace is progressing with plans for Gaza, with its own set of pilot zones, says Magid, but those plans are still theoretical for now.

And he tells us that the Palestinian Authority has brought in an outside consultancy to vouch for progress in its reform of West Bank prisoner payments, in an attempt to prove that it is no longer incentivizing attacks on Israelis.

Check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

US House defeats amendment to end Israel aid, but nearly 50% of Democrats back measure

US lawmaker detained by settlers says lack of punishment shows Israeli complicity

‘Go to hell’: Vance lashes out at reported Israeli-backed online campaign smearing Iran MOU

Lebanon talks in Rome wrap up without specific timeline for pledged IDF withdrawals

Board of Peace plans launch of pilot Gaza housing project, but green light elusive

PA says external audit proves payments incentivizing attacks on Israelis have ended

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.

Check out yesterday’s episode here: