⚖️ Who Will Live and Who Will Die: In the Washington Post, Daniella Greenbaum reflects on a federal jury’s recommendation of the death penalty for Robert Bowers, the man convicted of killing 11 people at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in October 2018. “Since the days of the Mishnah, Jews have been debating and disagreeing about things as granular as the inner workings of sand worms and as monumental as the morality of capital punishment. There’s a reason children in Jewish schools are taught about the Talmud’s back-and-forth before they are taught any of its practical conclusions: We are a people who believe that the law must be in the hands of its practitioners, that the Torah is ‘not in heaven’ but here on Earth. We are taught that the victor of a debate is always truth, never one of the participants, and that debate is divine. I don’t know why Bowers murdered 11 people trying to commune with their god in peace. And I don’t know what the Sanhedrin, the ancient Jewish high court, would have decided about his fate. Some questions don’t have good answers. But we can’t be paralyzed by that ambiguity.” [WashPost]

🔥 Northern Exposure: In the Christian Science Monitor, Neri Zilber looks at the possibility of a confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah along the Lebanese border as tensions near a fever pitch. “More recently, near-daily provocations have taken place, with Hezbollah operatives attempting to sabotage the border fence and even firing an anti-tank missile at a disputed Israeli village that straddles the frontier. Nevertheless, says the security official, Israeli intelligence’s official assessment is that Mr. Nasrallah still does not want war but is using the increased friction on the border to erode Israeli deterrence and strengthen Hezbollah’s standing as Lebanon’s ‘true protector.’ Israeli officials assess the strategy as risky, but surmise that the Hezbollah leader may be gambling that any flare-up can be contained to a few days of fighting, similar to the many clashes between Israel and Gaza-based militants in recent years. ‘You know how something like this starts, but you don’t know how it ends,’ warns the security official. ‘But both sides don’t have an interest in a total war.’” [CSM]

🤝 The Reconcilers of Rehovot: The New York Times’ Patrick Kingsley and Gabby Sobelman spotlight the effort made by leaders in Rehovot, Israel, to find compromise among the city’s secular and religious residents. “Licenses to open on the Sabbath are granted to bars and restaurants north of a particular street, but not south of it. A major cultural center will close on the Sabbath, [Mayor Rahamim] Malul decided, but a stadium will stay open. Despite secular resistance, a new synagogue will open in a mostly secular neighborhood, but with only two floors instead of five. To make these deals, Rehovot relies in part on a dedicated mediation center. Established in 2011, the center has 50 mediators, who help resolve hundreds of community disputes each year. They host feuding groups in private rooms, attempting to broker truces between not just the religious and secular, but also sparring neighbors and couples, and residents who disagree on the judicial overhaul. Before Israelis gathered for this year’s Passover, the center published tips for families hoping to overcome their differences on the issue. ‘We have conflicts, we have challenges, and we are not hiding that,’ said Aviva Chalabi, the center’s director. ‘But my message is complexity is part of our life.’” [NYTimes]

🇮🇱 Clipping Israel’s Wings: In Forbes, Paul Iddon considers Israel’s military relationship with the U.S., following a comment by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant last week suggesting that the country was reliant on American fighter planes and Israeli pilots. “For decades, former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Arens, who was also an aeronautical engineer, resented the decision, arguing that American pressure had essentially robbed Israel of the opportunity to compete with American aerospace giants (Israel had estimated there would be demand for up to 407 Lavis on the international export market). In 2010, he argued that had Israel pushed ahead with the project, it ‘would be operating the world’s most advanced fighter, upgraded over the years to incorporate operational experience and newer technology’ instead of going ‘hat in hand’ to the U.S. for F-35s costing approximately $150 million each. The special military relationship between the United States and Israel is, in many ways, incomparable to any other in the world. Gallant’s comment is a reminder that this relationship, as advantageous to Israel as it is, has rendered his country almost wholly dependent on the U.S. for its airpower, long a crucial pillar of Israel’s deterrence and [qualitative military edge].” [Forbes]

🏃‍♂️ Mondaire’s Momentum: Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) endorsed former Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY), days after Jones snagged the backing of the Congressional Black Caucus PAC. 

✋ On the Trail: Speaking in New Hampshire, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis touted his support for Holocaust education and opposition to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, following a question at a town hall that raised concerns over perceived white nationalist support for the 2024 presidential candidate.

🪖 Tuberville Fallout: Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) hold on military promotions is stalling the transfer of responsibilities for two top senior members of the military tasked with addressing rising tensions in the Gulf as Iran continues its efforts to seize ships in the region.

👨 Shapiro’s Style: Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. spotlights Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s approach to politics.

⛺ Gone Camping: Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff visited a network of Jewish camps in Pennsylvania that included Cedar Lake Camp, where he was a camper in the 1970s.

📸 Before the Fall: Bloomberg published photos from FTX’s final year — including shots from private plans, offices and parties — before founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested and charged with misusing the company’s funds.

🏫 Memphis Mayhem: Police in Memphis, Tenn., said that the man who attempted to enter a Jewish day school last week shot at a contractor on site before leaving the premises.

🚓 Panhandle Vandals Nabbed: Officials in Pensacola, Fla., arrested four teenagers in connection with a spate of antisemitic vandalism across the city.

🙏 Foxx Apology: Actor Jamie Foxx apologized for a social media post that included antisemitic tropes, saying it was “never my intent” to cause harm to the Jewish community and that he “now know[s] my choice of words have caused offense.”

🥯 Very Appetizing: Schneiders Deli, which sells Ashkenazi-style classics, opened in Chicago’s Ohio House Motel.

⚖️ Judicial Reform Push: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he intends to push on with a key part of the government’s judicial overhaul plans to restructure the judicial selection committee that appoints judges, and will then stop pursuing any other pieces of the contentious legislation.

🛃 Entry Point: Israel will include Gazan Americans in its pilot for eased travel conditions for all Americans as it strives to be accepted into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program.

🔫 Terror Cell: The Washington Post reports from inside a Palestinian terror cell in the West Bank.

🕊️ Saudi Role: CNN looks at the role that Saudi Arabia, which hosted a summit to discuss a peaceful resolution in Ukraine over the weekend, is attempting to play in stabilizing global and regional conflicts to ultimately bolster the kingdom’s ambitious domestic agenda.

🇮🇱🇸🇦 Israel-Saudi Ties: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said to Bloomberg that Jerusalem and Riyadh will continue to deepen economic and business ties, even if Israel and Saudi Arabia don’t normalize relations.

🇯🇵 Tokyo Tour: Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is visiting Japan, the first time he has visited the country since 2019.

🚀 Weapons Display: Iran unveiled a new tranche of weaponry, including weapons with a 1,000-km range, cruise and ballistic missiles and combat drones.

🇮🇷 Court Appointment: Iran appointed Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, who has been under U.S. sanctions since December for overseeing the prosecution of protestors in Iran, to the position of supreme court chief.

🇸🇾 Strike in Syria: Syrian media reported that four Syrian soldiers were killed in alleged Israeli airstrikes in and around Damascus.

🛰️ Drone Evidence: The Defense Intelligence Agency says debris collected from drones downed in Ukraine and Iraq provides “undeniable” evidence that Iran is providing Russia with one-way armed aircraft.

🕯️ Remembering: Cornell professor Florence Berger, who developed a reputation as a shadchante for the many matches she made, died at 83. Actor Mark Margolis, who was known for his roles in more than 150 movies and TV shows including “Scarface,” Requiem for a Dream” and “Breaking Bad,” died at 83.

Athletes compete today in the women’s steeplechase event during the European Athletics U20 Championships in Jerusalem.

Former PR director for the New York Yankees and author of more than 20 books, Marty Appel turns 75…

Brooklyn resident, Esther Holler… Counsel at Mayer Brown, he was previously the U.S. trade representative and later the U.S. secretary of commerce, Michael “Mickey” Kantor turns 84… Co-founder of the Hard Rock Café chain, his father founded the Morton’s Steakhouse chain, Peter Morton turns 76… Retired lieutenant general in the Israeli Air Force, he also served as Chief of Staff of the IDF, Dan Halutz turns 75… President of private equity firm Palisades Associates, former CEO of Empire Kosher Poultry, Greg Rosenbaum turns 71… Former U.S. intelligence analyst, he pled guilty to espionage in 1987 and was released from prison in 2015 and moved to Israel in 2020, Jonathan Pollard turns 69… Spiritual leader of Agudas Israel of St. Louis since 1986, Rabbi Menachem Greenblatt… Founder of the Cayton Children’s Museum in Santa Monica, Esther Netter… Professor of computational biology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Liran Carmel turns 52… CEO at Capital Camps & Retreat Center, Havi Arbeter Goldscher… U.S. Rep. (D-VA) since 2019 and a former CIA officer, Abigail Spanberger turns 44… Emmy Award-winning political reporter for The New York Times, Jonathan Swan turns 38… Public address announcer for both MLB’s Oakland Athletics and AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, Amelia Schimmel… Former MLB catcher, he played for Team Israel at the 2020 Olympics, Ryan Lavarnway turns 36… VP of product management at Parsley Health, Estee Goldschmidt… Professional Super Smash Bros. player, known as Dabuz, Samuel Robert Buzby turns 30… Goalkeeper for Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer, he played for the U.S. in the 2009 Maccabiah Games in Israel, Zac MacMath turns 32… Founder of global nonprofit Love For Our Elders with 50,000 volunteers, now in graduate school in Madrid, Jacob Cramer turns 23… Scott Harrison…