The Times of Israel is liveblogging Thursday’s events as they happen.
US considering airdropping aid into Gaza as land deliveries increasingly hard
US President Joe Biden’s administration is considering airdropping aid from US military planes into Gaza as land deliveries become increasingly difficult, an American official tells Reuters.
The Axios news site, which first reported the US was considering airdrops, cites US officials acknowledging such action would not be particularly effective, and that any large amounts of aid can only be moved in by land.
“The situation is really bad. We are unable to get enough aid [in] by truck so we need desperate measures like airdrops,” a US official says.
Florida Senate unanimously passes bill to define antisemitism
Antisemitism would be defined in Florida law under a bill the Senate unanimously passed today after its sponsor warned that an increase in acts against Jewish people will lead to extremism against other groups.
Florida is among several states seeking to define antisemitism. In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp signed a similar bill last month.
“Outbreaks of antisemitism can be a harbinger of deep societal trouble and reflect that extremism and violence are eminent. It is dangerous and unacceptable,” says Democratic Sen. Lori Berman, the bill’s sponsor. “When there is hateful behavior against anyone, it can quickly become a societal endemic.”
The bill language was taken from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. It defines antisemitism as “a certain perception of Jewish individuals which may be expressed as hatred toward such individuals. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish and non-Jewish individuals and their property and toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
There has been a surge in antisemitic incidents since the Israel-Hamas war began in October. Even before the war, Florida dealt with neo-Nazi protesters at highway overpasses, antisemitic flyers in neighborhoods and antisemitic projections on buildings, including the Jacksonville Jaguars football stadium.
“This bill is one method to combat antisemitism,” Berman says. “Defining it and codifying it makes a clear statement that we are going to identify, confront and call out antisemitism.”
She said the bill doesn’t infringe on free speech rights and doesn’t prevent people from criticizing Israel as it would any other country. But by having it in law, it will allow law enforcement to use it when prosecuting hate crimes.
The House passed the bill last month, but would need to consider minor changes by the Senate before sending the measure to the governor. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’s office said he will review the bill once he receives it.
US Supreme Court agrees to hear Trump presidential immunity claim
The US Supreme Court agrees to hear Donald Trump’s claim that as a former president he enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution, as the 2024 White House candidate faces dozens of state and federal charges.
The court schedules arguments in the high-stakes case for the week of April 22 and says Trump’s trial on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election will remain on hold for now.
Trump had been scheduled to go on trial for election interference on March 4 but the proceedings have been frozen as his presidential immunity claim wound its way through the courts.
The Supreme Court says it will address the question of “whether and if so to what extent does a former president enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office.”
It will be among the most consequential election law cases to reach the court since it halted the Florida vote recount in 2000 with Republican George W. Bush narrowly leading Democrat Al Gore.
A three-judge appeals court panel ruled earlier this month that the 77-year-old Trump has no immunity from prosecution as a former president.
Netanyahu meets UN humanitarian coordinator for Gaza
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets the UN humanitarian coordinator for Gaza, Sigurd Kaag, in his Jerusalem office.
The PMO readout calls the meeting “productive.”
“The two discussed some of the current challenges in the region and possible ways to deal with them,” according to the Israeli statement.
Netanyahu’s office sends out a photo of his meeting with USAID head Samantha Power instead of with Kaag.