An Outcry in Europe, a Shooting in Washington and a Blockade in Gaza

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Daily – "An Outcry in Europe, a Shooting in Washington and a Blockade in Gaza"

Release Date: May 23, 2025
Host: Michael Barbaro
Produced by: The New York Times

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1. Tragic Shooting at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C.

At the heart of this episode is the harrowing incident that occurred on Wednesday night in Washington, D.C., where a man chanting "Free Palestine" opened fire outside the Capitol Jewish Museum. This attack resulted in the tragic deaths of two Israeli Embassy employees.

Details of the Incident:

• Timestamp [02:54]: Aaron Boxerman recounts, “At around 9pm on Wednesday night, there was a shooting in Washington, D.C. It was right outside the Capitol Jewish Museum where a major American Jewish organization, the American Jewish Committee, was having an event for young diplomats focused on discussing aid to Gaza and the Middle East.”
• Victims: Jeroen Liszinski, 30, and Sarah Milgram, 26, both of whom were employees of the Israeli Embassy and were in a romantic relationship. Liszinski had planned to propose marriage during an upcoming trip to Israel.
• Attacker's Motive: Video footage showed the attacker shouting “Free Palestine” during his detention, raising questions about whether the motive was anti-Semitism, anti-Israel sentiment, or other factors. Law enforcement is investigating the incident as a potential hate crime and an act of terror.

Israeli Reaction:

• Timestamp [04:32]: Boxerman explains the Israeli response: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a horrific anti-Semitic murder. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar attributed the attack to toxic anti-Semitic incitement against Israel and Jews globally, particularly from European leaders and international organizations using terms like genocide and crimes against humanity.”
• Impact on Israeli Society: The incident has intensified the emotional and political debate within Israel. Some opposition figures have criticized the government, suggesting that Israeli policies are fueling global anti-Semitism.

2. Israel's Blockade and Escalation in Gaza

The episode delves deep into Israel's ongoing military actions in Gaza, the resulting humanitarian crisis, and the international backlash.

Background of the Blockade:

• Timestamp [11:04]: Boxerman outlines the origins: “In January, Israel and Hamas agreed on a ceasefire aimed at ending the war and freeing hostages. However, by early March, negotiations stalled, leading Israel to impose a blockade on Gaza, restricting all humanitarian aid in an attempt to pressure Hamas.”

Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza:

• Timestamp [07:36]: Rachel Abrams emphasizes the severity: “If the blockade persists, all 2.1 million Gazans would be at critical risk of famine, according to a UN-backed assessment.”
• Health Implications: Dr. Ahmed Al Farah highlights extreme malnutrition cases: “There are people dying of diseases simply because they're so malnourished. We're seeing conditions like severe rickets and vitamin deficiencies that were previously only found in textbooks.”

International Response:

• Timestamp [10:29]: Boxerman notes growing global condemnation: “Britain, France, and Canada have suspended discussions on expanding free trade agreements with Israel, clearly protesting its blockade. The Pope has called for immediate humanitarian aid entry into Gaza, and even former President Trump has commented on the dire conditions.”

Israel’s Military Plans:

• Timestamp [18:49]: Netanyahu's vision: “He describes his plans for Gaza as a full security control through a massive ground maneuver, aiming to decisively defeat Hamas and end the prolonged conflict.”
• Potential for Ground Offensive: The plan involves seizing control of Gaza, displacing many Palestinian civilians to southern Gaza, and maintaining a lasting presence to ensure security.

3. Factors Influencing Israel's Decision to Escalate

Several internal and external factors are influencing Israel's hesitant approach to a full-scale invasion of Gaza.

Hostage Concerns:

• Timestamp [20:18]: Boxerman explains: “About 20 hostages are still believed to be alive in Gaza, with over 30 bodies presumed dead. A major offensive risks the lives of the remaining hostages, creating a significant deterrent.”

Political Leadership and Coalition Dynamics:

• Timestamp [22:38]: Netanyahu's cautious stance contrasts with coalition partners: “While some coalition members advocate for permanent Israeli rule and settlement expansion in Gaza, Netanyahu remains hesitant to commit to long-term plans, avoiding decisive actions that could stabilize his political standing.”

Military Fatigue and Public Opinion:

• Timestamp [23:11]: Prolonged conflict concerns: “Israel's military has been engaged in what is arguably its most intense war in Gaza, leading to fatigue and concerns about sustaining a protracted campaign.”
• Public Sentiment: “Recent polls indicate a majority of Israelis support ending the war in exchange for hostages' release, reflecting fatigue and questioning the war’s purpose.”

4. Balancing Diplomacy and Domestic Pressures

Israel's strategic decisions are deeply intertwined with its need for international support and internal coalition dynamics.

Diplomatic Considerations:

• Timestamp [25:26]: Boxerman highlights Israel's reliance on allies: “Israel is not a superpower and depends heavily on diplomatic backing, especially from the United States. Netanyahu must balance internal security needs with external diplomatic pressures to avoid catastrophic conditions in Gaza.”

Internal Struggles:

• Timestamp [26:54]: Netanyahu's diplomatic maneuvering: “When justifying humanitarian aid entry into Gaza, Netanyahu cited diplomatic necessity, stating, ‘We can't allow things in Gaza to become catastrophic. We can't allow starvation,’ navigating between practical needs and international expectations.”

5. Broader Implications and Community Sentiments

The episode also touches upon the societal and psychological impact of these events on both Israeli and Palestinian communities.

Community Reactions:

• Timestamp [27:21]: Addressing perceptions post-shooting: “In Israel, some officials argue that this attack underscores the perceived global hostility towards Jews and Israelis, reinforcing the need to continue strong military actions. Conversely, some on the Israeli left view the incident as a tragic outcome of the relentless conflict, emphasizing the human toll and the necessity for peace.”

Psychological Toll:

• Timestamp [22:48]: The prolonged conflict has led to significant psychological strain: “Reservists and soldiers express feelings akin to a 'Vietnam moment,' doubting the war's continuation and its ultimate purpose, reflecting deep societal fatigue and questioning the sustainability of the military engagement.”

6. Brief Overview of U.S. Domestic Politics

While the primary focus remains on the Middle East, the episode briefly touches upon significant developments in U.S. politics.

Trump Administration’s Actions:

• Timestamp [29:37]: The Trump administration has taken a contentious stance against Harvard, attempting to halt its enrollment of international students, which could impact the university's revenue streams. It’s anticipated that Harvard will challenge this decision legally.

House Legislation:

• Timestamp [30:05]: House Republicans have narrowly passed a bill aimed at advancing President Trump's domestic agenda, which includes tax cuts, increased military funding, and border security enhancements. The bill faces criticism from Democrats for proposing cuts to essential programs to fund tax breaks for the wealthy.

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Notable Quotes

• Aaron Boxerman [04:32]: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a horrific anti-Semitic murder.”
• Dr. Ahmed Al Farah [13:22]: “We are talking about the most serious degree of malnutrition… [people] are dying of diseases simply because they're so malnourished.”
• Netanyahu [25:26]: “We can't allow things in Gaza to become catastrophic. We can't allow starvation in Gaza.”

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Conclusion

This episode of The Daily offers a comprehensive and poignant exploration of the escalating tensions in Gaza, the tragic consequences of political conflicts as evidenced by the D.C. shooting, and the intricate balance Israel must maintain between military objectives and humanitarian concerns. Through expert interviews and on-the-ground reporting, listeners gain a nuanced understanding of the multifaceted crises shaping the geopolitical landscape today.

Transcript

[Aaron Boxerman]

This message comes from Capital One. Your business requires commercial banking solutions that prioritize your long term success with Capital One. Get a full suite of financial products and services tailored to meet your needs today and goals for tomorrow. Learn [e-mail] Commercial Member FDIC hey there, it's Michael. A quick request before today's show. In the past couple of years, nearly half the states in the US have passed bans on gender affirming care for kids. The Trump administration is now targeting that care and in the coming weeks, the Supreme Court is expected to weigh in. Amidst all of that, some of our colleagues here on the Times audio team have been working on a project about where this care came from, who it was meant to help, and how it got pulled into a political fight that that could end it altogether. The team making that show is looking to hear from kids and parents about their direct experience with gender affirming care. If that's you, what has your experience been with pediatric gender medicine? How have recent government actions affected you and how are you feeling about the future? If you're willing to share your story, please send us a short voice memo to gender storyytimes.com that's gender storyy times.com thank you. And here's today's show.

[Rachel Abrams]

From the New York Times, I'm Rachel Abrams and this is the Daily for the past few weeks, international outcry has been building over Israel's plans to escalate its military campaign in Gaza and over its two month long blockade of the region which has put Gaza's population on the brink of starvation. And then on Wednesday, a man chanting Free Palestine gunned down two employees of Israel's embassy in Washington, D.C. today. Aaron Boxerman, a Times correspondent in Jerusalem, on the desperate situation in Gaza and Israel's fears that the world has become an increasingly dangerous place for its people. It's Friday, May 23rd. Aaron, we're talking to you. I'm in New York, you're in Jerusalem. What time is it over there?

[Aaron Boxerman]

It's about 9:40 in the evening.

[Rachel Abrams]

Well, thank you so much for making the time so late at night to talk to us about this.

[Aaron Boxerman]

Thanks for having me.

[Rachel Abrams]

We want to start this conversation with what happened here in the United States on Wednesday night in D.C. so can you tell us a little bit about the events of the last 24 hours?

[Aaron Boxerman]

So at around 9pm on Wednesday night, there was a shooting in Washington, D.C. it was right outside the Capitol Jewish Museum where a major American Jewish organization, the American Jewish Committee, was having an event for young Diplomats where they were focused on discussing aid to Gaza and the Middle East. Now, according to the police, a shooter approached a number of people who had left the event. He pulled out a handgun and he opened fire, killing two of them. Both of them were employees of the Israeli Embassy in Washington. One of them was named Jeroen liszinski, who was 30 years old, and the other was Sarah Milgram, 26. The two of them were dating, and Mr. Lushinsky, according to his family, had planned to propose marriage during a trip to Israel next week. A lot of the details about the attack remain unclear. There's video of the alleged attacker shouting Free Palestine. At the scene as he's being detained. But it wasn't clear whether the shooter was targeting this event because it was at a Jewish museum or because it was hosting Israeli Embassy employees or for some other reason entirely. At this stage, we just don't know 100%. That being said, law enforcement officials are looking into this as a potential hate crime and an act of terror.

[Rachel Abrams]

These two young people who were killed, they were staff members at the Israeli embassy. And so I'm really curious what the reaction is inside Israel to their deaths.

[Aaron Boxerman]

So in Israel, people were really shocked. I mean, they viewed the idea that two people who work for the Israeli Embassy might be targeted in the middle of Washington, D.C. as, you know, absolutely shocking and horrifying. It was immediately condemned. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a horrific anti Semitic murder. And many Israeli leaders turned their criticism outward. This is the direct result of toxic anti Semitic incitement against Israel and Jews around the world that has been going on since the October 7th massacre. In fact, at a news conference just after news of the shooting broke, Giron Sar, the Israeli Foreign Minister, actually accused Israel's critics abroad. This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and international organizations, especially from Europe, particularly in Europe, where he said some international organizations and government officials had used words like genocide, genocide, crimes against humanity. Crimes against humanity paved the way exactly for such murders. And Saar tried to draw a straight line between this criticism of Israel and the horrible killing of the young couple. But this is really an enormously emotionally charged debate. In fact, some in Israel's opposition actually blamed Israeli government policies which they said were fueling anti Semitism around the world.

[Rachel Abrams]

But these criticisms of Israel are not new right? Like leading human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the International Criminal Court, they've all accused Israel of human rights abuses for months. And that's been an ongoing part of the condemnation of Israel's war in Gaza. So is there something specific that this foreign Minister thinks has changed in all of this?

[Aaron Boxerman]

Let's be clear. This is standard rhetoric from the foreign Minister. There's been enormous international concern over the toll of the war in Gaza. According to Palestinian health officials in Gaza, more than 50,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the war. A lot of those concerns were voiced in private channels with Israeli officials. But over the past few weeks, and especially over the last week, some of Israel's own traditional allies have dramatically ratcheted up their public condemnations of Israeli policies towards Gaza. And to understand that, you really have to understand the situation on the ground in Gaza right now. Rights groups have condemned the decision to block desperately needed food, fuel and medicine, accusing Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war. For more than two months, Israel barred the entry of all humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. That meant no food, no fuel, no medicine.

[Rachel Abrams]

A total blockade.

[Aaron Boxerman]

Right, exactly. And this caused widespread hunger and deprivation among Gazans who had already faced enormous struggles over the course of, you know, more than a year of devastating war. Day 51 of a complete blockade of aid dependent Gaza. It's a desperate daily struggle to get some food as car supplies run out. As the blockade went on over the past two months, we started to hear reports that the situation was getting worse and worse. And that really led to a growing chorus of criticism that began to crescendo in early May. If the blockade persists, all 2.1 million Gazans would be at critical risk of famine, according to a UN backed assessment. A UN backed panel of experts warned that there was a critical risk of famine due to the dwindling stockpiles of food inside the Gaza Strip.

[Rachel Abrams]

Israel is deliberately and unashamedly imposing inhumane.

[Aaron Boxerman]

Conditions on civilians in the occupied Palestinian territory. UN officials began issuing more warnings about how dire the situation was becoming on the ground in Gaza. And in the middle of all this, Israel's Prime Minister, he made it clear today when he said, we are not done with the war in Gaza. Israeli leaders begin starting a drumbeat of threats and warnings. The Israeli Security Cabinet has approved a plan to escalate the military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which suggests that they are going to launch a major ground offensive in Gaza that could potentially upend everything in the Gaza Strip.

[Rachel Abrams]

And just by ground offensive, you mean a full scale takeover of the Strip.

[Aaron Boxerman]

That's what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is talking about. And I think all this together has really begun to cause a dramatic shift in the way that even Israel's traditional allies are talking about Israeli policy toward Gaza. The leaders of Britain, France, and Canada are threatening Israel with, quote, concrete actions if it does not cease its renewed military offensive in Gaza and lift restrictions on humanitarian aid. So this week, we saw Canada, Britain, and France come out with some of the strongest condemnations of the Israeli blockade on humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip. We also saw the new pope call for the immediate entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and for the war to come to an end. We're looking at Gaza, and we got to get that taken care of. We also recently saw President Trump discuss the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

[Rachel Abrams]

A lot of people are starving.

[Aaron Boxerman]

A lot of people are. There's a lot of bad things going on. Pro Palestinian critics have argued that the shift has been mostly rhetorical. But Britain on Tuesday actually did announce that it was suspending further negotiations on expanding its free trade agreement with Israel. And this was very clearly a protest against Israeli policies.

[Rachel Abrams]

Given the global condemnation of this blockade, Israel must have known that it would be controversial, right? Even among its allies. So I want to understand why. Why did they put this blockade in place to begin with? Like, what was the aim?

[Aaron Boxerman]

Back in January, Israel and Hamas agreed on a ceasefire. The goal of the ceasefire was ultimately to reach an end to the war and free the remaining Israeli and foreign hostages who were still held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The first part of the ceasefire is slated to last six weeks, which took Israel and Hamas all the way up to early March. At that point, both sides were deadlocked over the next steps in the truce. And this is when Israel applies that blockade on Gaza, on all humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip, in what Israeli officials called an attempt to pressure Hamas. Basically, their argument was negotiations over freeing the remaining hostages that Hamas is still holding in Gaza have reached a dead end. And we're going to use every tool at our disposal to pressure Hamas to come to the table. Israel also argues that a lot of the humanitarian aid that goes into Gaza is exploited by Hamas, that Hamas either diverts it or takes control of it, stores it for its own purposes or makes money off of it. So from Israel's perspective, this was a key sort of pressure point where they could make their opponents feel the pain. And then two weeks after that blockade begins, Israel resumes attacking Hamas in Gaza, ending the ceasefire.

[Rachel Abrams]

And all of this, of course, becomes much worse. Can you just talk a little bit about the changes you've seen?

[Aaron Boxerman]

So Gazans, who we speak to have talked about street markets that have relatively little food to offer and whatever they do have is at unattainable prices. People scrounging whatever they can from canned food or surviving from basically communal soup kitchens. But even those have also increasingly struggled to keep up their operations as the stockpiles of food in Gaza have dwindled. So a lot of people have lost a lot of weight. Doctors in the enclave say that it's starting to affect people's health. And my colleague Erika Salman actually spoke to Dr. Ahmed Al Farah. I'm in the hospital.

[Rachel Abrams]

Oh, okay.

[Aaron Boxerman]

A pediatrician in Gaza. There's been many times since this war began where we've been hearing about concerns about malnourishment and famine. And is there anything different about this time for you? Yes. First, really, really, we are talking about the most serious degree of malnutrition. Who told her that some people are dying of diseases simply because they're so malnourished. You know, they need the protein, they need the fresh protein. When there's widespread hunger, it's not necessarily that people are going to die of starvation or wasting away, but that their body's immune system might simply become too weak to fight off diseases that they might otherwise be able to fend off. When I talk with my friends and colleagues who are living in America, in Germany, he even said that they're seeing some cases in Gaza that are so extreme when I talk to them that I have a case of severe rickets with Harrison Sulkas with a malformed chest due to severe vitamin D deficiency. They asked me, please, please, can you have some photos for these cases? That his colleagues abroad are asking him to send photos, because this is not found in the modern world. These are cases that they might have studied in theory, but they don't really see them these days out in the world with modern medicine and advanced health care.

[Rachel Abrams]

I mean, they're basically saying, we've only ever seen these conditions in textbooks. I wonder, as these conditions have gotten worse and worse and the blockade has been ongoing, what does Israel say about it? Like, do they acknowledge the situation or how have they responded?

[Aaron Boxerman]

For the first several weeks, Israeli officials took a very clear stance. They said that more than enough supplies had entered Gaza during the ceasefire to provision Gaza for months, at least for a very, very long time, and that the blockade was not causing widespread suffering to ordinary Palestinian civilians living in Gaza. But as the blockade wore on, weeks and weeks later, some Israeli military officers privately began to change that assessment. My colleagues, Natan Odenheimer and Renen Bergman reported that these officers had found that unless Israel changed its policy, and soon that Palestinians in Gaza could face widespread starvation. Finally, on Sunday evening, the Israeli government announced that in order to prevent starvation, they were going to allow some amount of food into the Gaza Strip. So we've started to see some aid trickle in over the past few days, but now everybody is watching and waiting to see what happens next. That is to say, but everyone's still left with this big question, and we still don't know the answer. Is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu actually going to follow through on the massive military operation in Gaza that Israeli leaders have been threatening for weeks?

[Rachel Abrams]

We'll be right back.

[Aaron Boxerman]

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[Rachel Abrams]

Aaron, this massive military operation that Netanyahu has basically been threatening, this takeover of Gaza, what would that actually look like?

[Aaron Boxerman]

Well, it's not 100% clear, but what we know is that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders in his government have been threatening a massive military offensive against Hamas in Gaza for weeks now. When Netanyahu gets up and describes his plans for Gaza to the Israeli public, he talks about full security control of the Gaza Strip after a massive ground maneuver of Israeli forces throughout the enclave, Netanyahu said that this would be a decisive blow to Hamas, and that this could finally end more than a year and a half in which Hamas has really fought a dogged war of attrition in the face of a devastating Israeli military campaign. This time, Netanyahu says the Israeli military would seize control of large chunks of the Gaza Strip. They would basically capture them and stay there instead of going in and withdrawing as they often did during the war. As part of this offensive, at least according to the declared plan, many Palestinian civilians would be displaced to southern Gaza. And at the end of the operation, Netanyahu has promised the public Israel would effectively have complete security control of the Gaza Strip.

[Rachel Abrams]

That seems to be. That last thing you said, seems to be the key difference here. The complete control as opposed to the heavy Bombardment, the fighting, etc.

[Aaron Boxerman]

Exactly. But even though the Israeli military has already formally announced the start of the operation, you know, Israeli forces on the ground have not actually moved that much farther. We haven't seen them sweep through major Palestinian cities like Khan Younis and Gaza City the way that they did during the first year of the war.

[Rachel Abrams]

I mean, that's kind of my question. Why they haven't already swept in? Because if that is what their stated goal is, it doesn't really seem like there's much stopping them. Right.

[Aaron Boxerman]

If Israel really wants to do this, and let's assume for a moment that this is what they want to do, despite the potential cost for Israelis and Palestinians alike, there are still a number of factors that I think are giving them pause. One of them is definitely the hostages. So around 20 of the hostages in Gaza are still believed to be alive. There are the bodies of more than 30 others that are presumed dead. But there is absolutely a fear in Israel that a massive military campaign in Gaza could significantly endanger or kill the remaining hostages that are still alive. Another factor is Netanyahu himself. Netanyahu is described by his biographers and people who know him well as somebody who's fundamentally very cautious and sort of a political chameleon. Throughout the war, he's really refrained from making any big strategic decision about the future of Gaza, about what would be in the enclave in the so called day after the war ends. This contrasts rather sharply with some of his coalition partners who are much more committed to permanent Israeli rule in Gaza and to building Jewish settlements in Gaza. Netanyahu is much harder to pin down. And so far he appears to have successfully avoided having to make that big decision about what the future of Gaza should be.

[Rachel Abrams]

Or seen another way, the stated goal of occupying Gaza may just be more important to the coalition keeping him in power than to Netanyahu, potentially.

[Aaron Boxerman]

Exactly. And I think a third factor that could be a potential check on Israel launching this massive offensive is the state of the military. Israel's military has been fighting for more than a year and a half nonstop, and the country's own security establishment is anxious about the feasibility of a protracted campaign in the Gaza Strip.

[Rachel Abrams]

And why are they worried about that?

[Aaron Boxerman]

There's a number of concerns that they have. Israel is already engaged in, I mean, really the longest, most intense war of its history in Gaza, far outstripping the Yom Kippur War in 1973 or the Six Day War in 1967. The war has really taxed Israel's capacities in many ways, and particularly its soldiers. In recent weeks, we've started to see a real shift in Israeli public opinion. If in the early days, right after the Hamas attack on October 7, the Israeli public was almost totally unified behind the campaign in Gaza, the question is now much more fraught. We've seen opinion polls that show that a majority of Israelis support a deal that would free the hostages in exchange for ending the war. And I think there is also a growing sense among Israelis of, you know, how long can this really last? Does this war really still have a purpose, or has it lost its way? I interviewed one reservist who, you know, described how he couldn't shake the feeling that Israel was sinking into the sands of Gaza, that it was sort of having its own Vietnam moment, in the sense that the United States continued to fight the war in Vietnam well after many had concluded that the war fundamentally could not be won. At least some people have said that they no longer want to participate in the war because they feel that it no longer serves a purpose or because they've been worn down by hundreds of days of reserve duty. I think that says a lot about, you know, how, you know, it raises a yellow card to Israel's ability to continue fighting indefinitely.

[Rachel Abrams]

You know, one thing I didn't hear you talk about in terms of why Israel might be hesitating or why Netanyahu might be hesitating Israel, humanitarian concerns, the concerns raised by all the people that we've been talking about this whole conversation, how much does Israel actually care about those concerns?

[Aaron Boxerman]

So I think Israel does care about these concerns. At the end of the day, Israel is not a superpower. It relies on its allies. It needs, you know, diplomatic backing from the rest of the world. It relies extensively on the United States, its biggest patron. And for all of the bravado and bluster that we hear from Israeli leaders. I think, you know, they do recognize that they have to sometimes make concessions in the face of diplomatic pressure from abroad. So, for example, Netanyahu, when he was justifying the decision to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza to his base, who had sort of criticized him from the right, he said from a diplomatic perspective, not just practically in terms of, you know, the situation in Gaza, but also diplomatically, you know, we can't allow things in Gaza to become catastrophic. We can't allow there to be starvation in Gaza. And on one level you have rhetoric, and then on another level there's, there's real politik and there's interests. And Netanyahu had to sort of walk a fine line between these different competing interests, both inside Israel and inside his own coalition, inside his own security establishment, and then also among his allies abroad.

[Rachel Abrams]

Aaron, since we've been talking, the more details have emerged about the shooter. He's been charged with murder and that he told police that he, quote, unquote, did it for Gaza. And it makes me wonder how many people in Israel are looking at the shooting and thinking the world hates us and there could be more of this, or are people thinking this is exactly how we suspected people felt about us all along and that's why we need to keep fighting?

[Aaron Boxerman]

So some officials have made exactly the latter argument, and that's what Netanyahu is saying. On Thursday night in Israel, he made a statement where he invoked the horrific shooting before pivoting to how Israel couldn't accept an end to the war before Hamas's total defeat. And on the other hand, you also have some people on the left who look at this incident and they draw a totally different conclusion. From their perspective, it wasn't criticism of the war which was making the world less safe for Jews and for Israelis, it's just the war which has had a horrible toll and whose end, as far as all of us can tell, is still nowhere to be seen.

[Rachel Abrams]

Erin, thank you so much.

[Aaron Boxerman]

Thank you, Rachel.

[Rachel Abrams]

We'll be right back.

[Aaron Boxerman]

In 10 minutes or less, the Opinions podcast brings you a fresh way to understand the news with voices from New York Times opinion. I've got a break for you. I'm actually gonna tell you some good news today. One idea, one analysis, one perspective at a time. Featuring David Brooks, Tressi McMillan Cottom, Michelle Goldberg, Thomas Friedman, and many more. Find the opinions in your podcast player. This message comes from Capital One. Your business requires commercial banking solutions that prioritize your long term success with Capital One. Get a full suite of financial products and services tailored to meet your needs today and goals for tomorrow. Learn [e-mail] Commercial Member FDIC.

[Rachel Abrams]

Here'S what else you need to know today. On Thursday, the Trump administration said it would halt Harvard's ability to enroll international students because those students represent a quarter of the university student body. The move could strip Harvard of a crucial source of revenue. It's the Trump administration's latest attempt to strong arm Harvard into falling in line with its agenda, but the university is likely to challenge that decision in court, and on this vote the A's are.

[Aaron Boxerman]

215, the nays are 214, with one answering present. The bill is passed.

[Rachel Abrams]

After one after weeks of intense and at times heated negotiations, Republicans in the House of Representatives narrowly passed a wide ranging bill to deliver President Trump's domestic agenda after a.

[Aaron Boxerman]

Long week and a long night and countless hours of work over the past year. A lot of prayer and a lot of teamwork, my friends. It quite literally is again morning in America, isn't it? All right, all right.

[Rachel Abrams]

The legislation, which now heads to the the Senate, would slash taxes, steer more money to the military and border security, and pay for some of the costs with cuts to Medicaid, food assistance, education and clean energy programs. Democrats, who uniformly opposed the bill, accused Republicans of voting to gut vital government programs to pay for tax breaks to the rich.

[Aaron Boxerman]

With this backstabbing billionaire bill, House Republicans are selling their soul and constituents to the the highest bidder, Donald Trump.

[Rachel Abrams]

Today's episode was produced by Rachelle Bonga Claire tennisketter and Mooge Zaidi. It was edited by Maria Byrne and MJ Davis Lynn with help from Mike Benoit. Contains original music by Marian Lozano and Pat McCusker and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsberg of Wonderly. Special thanks to Erica Solomon. That's it for the Daily. I'm Rachel Abrams. See you Monday.

[Aaron Boxerman]

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