The Israeli Defense Forces shared drone footage and a recording on Wednesday saying it was proof that an explosion at the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza on Tuesday night was caused by a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket that had misfired and landed within the Gaza Strip, next to the hospital. According to unverified Hamas reports, hundreds of people were killed in the blast, sparking protests across the region and prompting Jordan to cancel a scheduled meeting with President Joe Biden, who was slated to visit the Hashemite Kingdom after his stop in Israel on Wednesday, Jewish Insider’s Ruth Marks Eglash reports.

Timing: “Islamic Jihad was responsible for the strike on the hospital,” IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a press conference on Wednesday morning. Hagari recounted how a barrage of rockets were fired into Israel’s territory around 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, including towards Tel Aviv. Around 10 of those rockets were fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hagari said, and around 7 p.m. there were reports of an explosion at the hospital.

Media response: “Hamas checked what happened, they understood it was a rocket shot by Islamic Jihad and decided to launch a global media campaign to hide what really happened,” said Hagari, criticizing international media outlets that rushed to lay the blame on Israel, some of which have yet to change their headlines.

Evidence: Hagari shared aerial footage of the hospital, noting that the damage was in the parking lot, not on the hospital itself, and suggesting that the high number of casualties was inflated by Hamas. In addition, Hagari said, there were two independent videos showing the failed launch and its fall in the compound, as well as a recording of communication between Hamas terrorists. Hagari shared the recording with journalists, in which two Hamas terrorists can be heard recognizing that the rocket had hit inside Gaza, next to the hospital. Hagari translated the recording in real-time, relaying that the two men recorded were discussing how the shrapnel from the strike did not belong to Israeli munitions.

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Less than a week after a Shabbat that saw the largest massacre of Jews in a single day since the Holocaust, another Shabbat came — and with it, some of the largest crowds at American synagogues since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vigils and pro-Israel protests around the country have garnered thousands of attendees, with no sign of the numbers letting up as the war between Israel and Hamas enters a second week. The outpouring of grief and mourning with Israel in the week and a half since the Hamas terrorist attacks that killed more than 1,400 Israelis represents a new moment in American Jewish history, community leaders and scholars of Jewish history tell Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch and eJewishPhilanthropy’s Haley Cohen. 

Moral clarity: The loudest anti-Zionist voices have been pushed further to the margins while American Jews across the religious and political spectrums have joined together in a unified show of solidarity. “I usually urge us to sit with the complexity and with nuances but some moments give you clarity,” Rabbi Angela Buchdahl told a packed sanctuary at Manhattan’s Central Synagogue last Friday. Her sermon has been viewed more than 63,000 times on YouTube.

Broad solidarity: As Jewish communities focus on the unprecedented brutality of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, the feeling of solidarity surpasses political divides. “On another day, let’s talk about the occupation and oppression. Not right now. People are being murdered and kidnapped,” said Rabbi Rachel Timoner, the senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Elohim, a progressive synagogue in Brooklyn. “We have to talk about how any country has the right to defend itself against terrorism. Any country has the right to bring its hostages home. It’s not right to ask Israel to refrain from military action when 200 of its innocent people are currently being held.”

Misplaced blame: Many Jews on the political left have grappled over the past 10 days with comments coming from some progressives once seen as allies who are now blaming Israel for the attack, describing Hamas’ terrorism as a necessary response to Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. “I have felt very — I don’t know, for lack of a better word, triggered — by the boldness of standing up in the midst of this colossal tragedy and changing the plotline. And that’s what it feels like. It’s like a changing of the plotline from collective grief and Israel’s necessity and obligation to not just respond, but to defend itself,” said Yehuda Kurtzer, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. “There’s a refusal to engage with any measure of humility about what’s different as a result of this mass slaughter.”

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Eileen Filler-Corn, the first woman and first Jewish speaker of Virginia’s House of Delegates, is launching a new campaign for a competitive open congressional seat in Northern Virginia, she announced in an exclusive interview with Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel.

‘Proud American Jew’: The 59-year-old Democrat is centering her campaign around her Jewish faith and support for Israel in the wake of Hamas’ attacks. “My connection to Judaism, my connection to the State of Israel, to the security of Israel, has always been part of who I am,” she said. “I am a very proud American Jew. I’m proud of my connection to Israel. I always speak out about my experiences in Israel and the importance of having a strong Israel-U.S. relationship, but also the importance of standing up to terrorism and against Hamas.”

First to declare: The recent atrocities have “been devastating,” said Filler-Corn, who has friends and family in Israel and spent a year before college living near the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon, which has been targeted by Hamas rockets. The reactions from lawmakers who have downplayed the attacks, she said, have only strengthened her commitment to upholding support for Israel in the House. Filler-Corn is the first Democrat to declare for the seat held by Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA), who said last month that she would not seek reelection after being diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder.

Emerging trend: Her focus on Israel is the most high-profile demonstration of how Middle East policy is now shaping several House races across the country. In Pittsburgh, Bhavini Patel, a new challenger to Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), is drawing sharp contrasts on Israel, while in Minneapolis, Don Samuels, a former city councilman, is preparing to announce a rematch against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), a fierce critic of the Jewish state. But Filler-Corn’s candidacy represents a more crystallized version of that trend, owing to her deep personal commitment to Jewish causes, which she has frequently highlighted as a state legislator.

Read the full interview here.

When President Joe Biden landed in Israel on Wednesday, he became the first American president to do so in wartime. His speech last week and remarks to Jewish communal leaders who met with him at the White House showed an understanding of Israelis’ and Jews’ pain at this time at a level matched by few, if any, past presidents. The transfer of aircraft carriers to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf, among other acts, show that Biden’s support was not only in words, but in actions. However, there are concerns in Israel about Biden’s embrace — as reflected in a headline in Tuesday’s Yediot Ahronot calling it a “bear hug” — a phrase that in Hebrew refers to holding someone close in order to restrain him, not just to show love, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.

Comes with a price?: Prominent military analyst Yossi Yehoshua argued that, while U.S.-Israel cooperation is closer than ever before, the Biden administration may not allow the Jewish state to fully pursue its goals in the war. “There is a price to this aid, and the time has come to speak about it more clearly and without being sentimental: The Americans are taking the lead of this war in accordance with their interests in the region,” Yehoshua wrote. “It may be, for example, that Biden is not interested in an active move to remove the Hezbollah threat from [Israeli] towns in the north, and he is certainly interested in being as cautious as possible about a humanitarian disaster in Gaza.”

Officials respond: The message reverberated deeply enough for Jerusalem and Washington to address it. Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi opened his press conference on Tuesday by calling the headline “an injustice to a true friend in a time of need.” Then, the White House took things a step further than simply denying that it is not limiting Israel’s response; American officials told Axios that the White House discussed the possibility of joining the fight if Hezbollah attacks Israel.

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Read more: The New York Times’ Bret Stephens writes that Biden “stepped into the vacuum” left by the absence of Israeli leadership. “I expect Biden to caution Israel’s war cabinet that a military campaign that concludes with a long-term Israeli occupation of Gaza would be a Pyrrhic victory. I expect the Israelis to reply that they cannot be asked to eliminate Hamas as Gaza’s dominant military and political actor without the cooperation of the United States and moderate Arab regimes, particularly Egypt. This is not a confrontation; it’s a potentially fruitful dialogue that will work much better once Netanyahu is out of office and cannot put his personal needs ahead of the national interest.”

Ahead of President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel on Wednesday, Republican lawmakers escalated criticisms of the president over his pick for U.S. ambassador to Israel, policies on Iran, aid to the Palestinians and border security, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Side by side: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is set to hold a confirmation hearing today for Jack Lew, the president’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Israel. Lew is likely to meet with a harsh grilling from Republicans critical of his and Biden’s records on Iran.

Uncertain future: Foreign Relations Ranking Member Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID) declined to say last night whether Republicans will support Democratic efforts to approve Lew’s nomination in the committee before the end of the week, but said that Lew has “a lot of baggage” because of his past work on Iran policy. “We can show support for Israel by filling the ambassadorship, but it has to be the right person,” Risch said. “He’ll have the opportunity to explain his differences with us over Iran [at the hearing tomorrow], and at that point we’ll see where we are.”

Legislation and messaging: Republicans also introduced a barrage of legislation on Tuesday aiming to force a harder line toward Iran and the Palestinians, and accused the administration of potentially allowing Iran or other foreign adversaries to set up a Hamas-style attack within the United States.

Goes both ways: At a GOP leadership press conference, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) rejected former President Donald Trump’s description of Hezbollah as “very smart” and Trump’s criticisms of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “I couldn’t disagree more. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, just like Hamas, funded by the same source as Hamas,” McConnell said. “And Prime Minister Netanyahu is one of the great leaders of modern times.”

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) pledged yesterday that the Senate will move quickly to approve a supplemental aid package for Israel, and will not wait for the still-deadlocked House to make the first move on an aid package, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

About the package: Schumer said yesterday at a Democratic leadership press conference that the Senate expects to receive the administration’s aid request by the end of the week, which he said will include military, diplomatic and intelligence aid to Israel, as well as humanitarian aid to Palestinians and Israelis. He said at a Jewish communal event that he’s urging that additional security aid for U.S. Jewish institutions be included in the bill. 

Exclusive: Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Todd Young (R-IN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Mitt Romney (R-UT) will be introducing a resolution today demanding the hostages’ immediate safe release, JI has learned. The resolution lays out the scope of Hamas’ attack on Israel, “condemns Hamas in the harshest terms for its premeditated, coordinated, and brutal terrorist attacks,” demands Hamas provide medical care to hostages and release them and urges the U.S. to “lead a global campaign” for the hostages’ release.

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Elsewhere on the Hill: Six additional progressives, Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Greg Casar (D-TX), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Joaquin Castro (D-TX) and Veronica Escobar (D-TX) joined calls for an immediate cease-fire or truce between Israel and Hamas. “It is because of our dedication to the safety of both Israelis and Palestinians that we seek a path forward without further escalating the toll of civilian dead and injured,” they said in a joint statement with Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL), who previously called for a cease-fire, They alluded, without specifics, to a “different path” to stopping Hamas. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) also appeared to call for a mutual cease-fire.