Daily Kickoff
👋 Good Monday morning!
Violent clashes raged across Israel over the weekend, with riots in Jerusalem between Palestinians and Israeli police spilling over into protests in Haifa and multiple rockets fired overnight from Gaza.
Dozens of Palestinians were hospitalized and scores of Israeli police officers wounded amid clashes on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount on Saturday and Sunday, which continued anew this morning as Israel marks Jerusalem Day.
The outbreak of violence sparked a message of “serious concerns” from the United States as well as condemnations from Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
In an effort to quell further violence, Israel’s Supreme Court agreed to delay a hearing slated for today over the potential eviction of dozens of Palestinians living in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem. And Israeli Police temporarily banned Jews from visiting the Temple Mount today.
The traditional Jerusalem Day “flag march,” which generally angers Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem each year, is still slated for this afternoon despite security warnings that it will further inflame violence in the city.
Coalition negotiations between Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett continued full speed ahead over the weekend, with reports indicating that the parties are close to signing an agreement with the backing of Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas.
The election for the next president of Israel, who will be chosen by the 120 members of the Knesset, has been scheduled for June 2.
Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer told the Makor Rishon conference yesterday that American Jews are “disproportionately among our critics” and Israel should prioritize outreach to evangelical Christians in the United States.
Dermer said there is “no question” that Israel would have made peace with Saudi Arabia if President Donald Trump had been reelected. He also criticized Israelis for being “less than grateful” to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and said he hopes “the successor to Benjamin Netanyahu will be Benjamin Netanyahu.”
On the Issues
What explains Tom Carper’s recent approach on Israel?

Sen. Tom Carper, D- Del., speaks during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the FDA foreign drug manufacturing inspection process on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 2, 2020. (Stefani Reynolds/Pool via AP)
Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), a deeply religious Christian who looks forward to weekly Bible study, has frequently told friends and colleagues that he prays every night for a peaceful end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And over the past few months, Carper, 74, has indicated he is pursuing a new and more distinctive path on Middle East issues, one that is frustrating many of Delaware’s pro-Israel advocates, reports Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel.
‘Puzzling’ vote: In early February, Carper was only one of three senators — alongside Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) — who voted against a budget amendment preventing the U.S. government from moving its embassy outside of Jerusalem or downgrading it to a mission. Carper’s vote came as a surprise in large part because he says he supports keeping the embassy in Jerusalem. “I was puzzled when I saw that he was with Warren and Sanders,” former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who was recently enlisted by Carper to help with the D.C. statehood effort, said in a recent interview with JI. “I just generally had the impression that he sort of had a mainstream, Democratic, pro-Israel position.”
Taking a stance: In March, Carper signed a letter asking that the Biden administration “urge the Israeli government to do more to help the Palestinians” with vaccine distribution “in the occupied territories.” And a week later, Carper abstained — as he did the previous year — from signing onto a letter denouncing the International Criminal Court’s newly launched investigation of Israel for alleged war crimes. Taken together, this trio of seemingly principled stands represents a “troubling” direction for Carper, according to David Margules, a member of Delaware’s tight-knit pro-Israel community. Yet as Carper throws his support behind “statements coming from the fringe of the Democratic Party,” Margules was at pains to explain the senator’s motivations. “I’m really not quite sure, to be honest with you.”
‘Always ambiguous’: Barry Kayne, a pro-Israel advocate in Delaware, was equally mystified. “I can’t understand why he’s taken the positions that he’s taken,” he told JI. “I mean, it’s absolutely infuriating to me. But I don’t have an explanation.” Such bewilderment underscores a sense of mounting frustration among some in the state who say they have long struggled to make sense of Carper’s approach, which until recently had been somewhat more muted. “Tom has been a conundrum for me for over a decade,” Kayne added. “I’ve lobbied him for years. I’ve written to him relative to pro-Israel legislation or U.S.-Israel legislation, and he’s always ambiguous.”
Explanation: In a statement to JI, a spokesperson for Carper defended the senator’s embassy vote as “a principled stance on the belief that President Joe Biden — like presidents before him — should have the ability to develop and pursue his foreign policy agenda in any area of the world without limitations set by Congress, especially just a couple of weeks after taking office.” The spokesperson said the senator’s vote was aimed at ensuring “the Biden administration is not constrained in its ability to conduct its own foreign policy… Sen. Carper supports the decision not to move the embassy.”
In his words: In a lengthy email to JI, Carper clarified his underlying philosophy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a function of what he described as deeply held religious views. “The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is no easy feat to address,” he wrote. “But in the process of working towards an equitable resolution, we must never lose sight of the people — on both sides of the conflict — that are affected every single day,” Carper continued. “When it comes to our foreign policy in the Middle East, and the multitude of issues the United States and our allies face and have to consider, we must never lose sight of the innocent men, women, and children that are impacted by the decisions that are made.” Carper, who has visited Israel several times throughout his career in public office, told JI that: “Israel and the United States are connected by a shared set of democratic values and I’m proud to have a voting record that clearly shows my commitment to Israel’s security and prosperity.”
Face to face: Carper, chair of the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee, is slated to meet President Joe Biden at the White House today to discuss his infrastructure proposal.