Daily Kickoff
👋 Good Monday morning!
Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad agreed to an Egyptian-mediated cease-fire that went into effect on Sunday night, 56 hours after hostilities began. Israeli military jets and armed drones pounded PIJ targets in the Gaza Strip, while almost constant rocket fire rained down on Israeli civilian communities and cities, including Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion International Airport.
A senior Israeli diplomatic official said that the counter-terrorism operation was being viewed as a success, with Israel’s clear objectives — to destroy PIJ’s infrastructure and capabilities in the Gaza Strip — achieved in a relatively short timeframe. The official thanked Egypt for its role in mediating the cease-fire, as well as other countries in the region and beyond, including the U.S.
President Joe Biden welcomed the announcement of a cease-fire, saying “over these last 72 hours, the United States has worked with officials from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, and others throughout the region to encourage a swift resolution to the conflict.” He also thanked Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and other senior Egyptian officials “who played a central role in this diplomacy, as well as Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar and his team for helping to bring these hostilities to an end.”
The president emphasized his “long-standing” support for Israel’s security, “including its right to defend itself against attacks.” He said: “Over these recent days, Israel has defended its people from indiscriminate rocket attacks launched by the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the United States is proud of our support for Israel’s Iron-Dome, which intercepted hundreds of rockets and saved countless lives.”
The truce appeared to be holding on Monday morning, with Israeli officials denying reports that Israel had agreed to release two high-ranking PIJ prisoners from its jails — Bassam al-Saadi, whose arrest last week sparked the latest round of fighting, and Khalil Awawdeh, who has been on a hunger strike for 150 days. The senior Israeli official denied their releases were among the terms of the cease-fire, saying only that the Iranian-backed terrorist group had agreed to stop firing rockets after suffering “a severe blow” that had “set them back decades.”
The Israeli military also said the operation, dubbed “Breaking Dawn,” had dealt a severe blow to PIJ, killing two of its top commanders in the Palestinian enclave. Khaled Mansour, the Islamic Jihad commander for southern Gaza, was reportedly killed in an airstrike on an apartment building in the Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza late Saturday; while Tayseer Jabari, the senior commanding officer of the group’s Northern Division, was killed on Friday. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said Monday that a total of 44 people had been killed during the hostilities, including 15 children and four women. More than 311 people were injured.
Approximately 1,100 rockets were fired by militants towards Israel, the army said on Monday, assessing that around 200 of the rockets fell short, landing inside the Gaza Strip – including killing some of the civilians. The Iron Dome missile-defense system, the army said, had seen a success rate of 96%, intercepting some 380 of the rockets that crossed into Israel and were headed toward populated areas. Only mild injuries were reported on the Israeli side, with no reported deaths.
Ahead of the upcoming primaries in New York, Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Jerry Nadler (D-NY), who are locked in a heated race in the state’s 12th Congressional District ahead of the Aug. 23 primary, weighed in on the weekend conflict. In a thread posted on Friday, Nadler noted, “As I’ve always said when we’ve led the fight for funding, peace happens when civilians are safe, and the Iron Dome is a critical tool for protecting the Israeli civilian population — Jews and Arabs alike — from terrorist attacks.” Maloney also noted her support for Iron Dome, adding that “Congress must continue to support Israel which has been and continues to be one of our closest allies.”
Reactions to the weekend flare-up were muted in the neighboring 10th District, with only one of the top-tier candidates in that Democratic primary speaking about the conflict. Attorney Dan Goldman retweeted a video posted by the Israeli government of an Iron Dome interception and added, “The Iron Dome saves innocent lives. Non-negotiable.”
on the menu
The kibbutznik behind D.C.’s hottest new Israeli café

Tatte founder Tzurit Or
From the minute that Tatte, an all-day Israeli café, opened in Washington, D.C.’s West End neighborhood, the line was out the door and down the block. It was the summer of 2020, and customers wearing masks would wait in the long queue — six feet apart — to order a fresh pastry, like a halva brownie or a pistachio croissant, or to try one of the restaurant’s signature Israeli dishes: shakshuka, maybe, or a roasted cauliflower pita. In the two years since the West End opening, six more locations have opened in Washington, Arlington, Va., and Bethesda, Md., with two more set to open over the next few months. “D.C. knows how to enjoy Tatte,” the cafe’s founder, Tzurit Or, told Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch over shakshuka at the chain’s Newton, Mass., location, near Or’s home. Ten years ago when Tatte began selling the egg-and-tomato dish, “no one ever heard of shakshuka,” she noted.
Kinneret to Copley: Before becoming the hottest spot for lunch meetings and afternoon coffees for Washington’s political set, Tatte (“like latte,” coffee cups and branded T-shirts remind customers), started as a farmers market stand in Boston’s Copley Square in 2007. But its true origin story can be found on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, at Kibbutz Kinneret, where Or grew up.
Baking since birth: “I didn’t learn to bake. It’s the way I was raised,” Or said. Her mother baked all the time, including for the kibbutz dining room, and instilled in Or a deep-seated aversion to ever bringing a store-bought dessert to a party. “I didn’t eat any food out of a box until I got here,” she said of the United States.
Israeli education: Early on, Tatte only served baked goods before beginning to offer a full-service menu. Even now, many Tatte employees, let alone customers, are at first unfamiliar with its Israeli ingredients and some of the Hebrew words, things like “bourekas” or “shakshuka.” Two years ago, Or explained, Tatte added a glossary of those terms. “As a guest, we want it to be more approachable. We don’t want you to be afraid of our food,” she added. For staff, the education is more involved. New employees watch a video explaining “a little bit about the kibbutz,” said Or, “and how humble it is.” Staff also have to learn the intricacies of preparing Israeli food.
Washington welcome: Or fell in love with Washington the first time she visited six years ago, years before she considered opening Tatte there. “For me, I have to get to know the neighborhood, the people, so I spent a lot of time there before I made the decision,” she said. “My first visit, I said, ‘D.C. will understand Tatte.’” She was right: Tatte It doesn’t necessarily have to be translated for them,” she said of Washingtonians. In 2021, the readers of the lifestyle magazine Washingtonian voted Tatte the city’s best bakery.