The Times of Israel is liveblogging Friday’s events as they happen.
Columbia deans resign after being placed on leave for texting ‘ancient antisemitic tropes’
WASHINGTON — Three Columbia University deans, who engaged in what the school’s administration called troubling text message exchanges that touched on “ancient antisemitic tropes,” have resigned, a university spokesperson says late Thursday.
Cristen Kromm, former dean of undergraduate student life; Matthew Patashnick, former associate dean for student and family support; and Susan Chang-Kim, former vice dean and chief administrative officer, were earlier placed on leave as an investigation proceeded.
The message exchanges took place during an event on campus titled “Jewish Life on Campus: Past, Present, and Future” and followed weeks of protests at Columbia and other campuses around the country over Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, the university administration said in July.
“This incident revealed behavior and sentiments that were not only unprofessional, but also, disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes,” the university said in July.
Austin updates Gallant on deployment of F-22s to Mideast, calls for finalizing Gaza deal
WASHINGTON — US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin phoned Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday and discussed the US steps in the Middle East to defend Israel and a Gaza ceasefire, Austin says on social media platform X.
“The US F-22 Raptors that arrived in the region today represent one of many efforts to deter aggression, defend Israel and protect U.S. forces in the region,” Austin posts.
He adds: “I also stressed the importance of concluding a ceasefire deal in Gaza that releases the hostages.”
US official warns of ‘quite significant consequences’ if Iran attacks Israel
A senior Biden administration official says Iran has no right to attack Israel military following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which was widely attributed to Israel.
“There’s absolutely no legitimate basis whatsoever for Iran to launch a military attack against Israel, which it continues to threaten,” the senior official says in a briefing with reporters.
“There’s been a sense out there that somehow, Iran now has the right to attack Israel militarily, and we completely reject that logic,” he adds.
The senior Biden administration official says the US is prepared for any contingency. “We have moved an awful lot of military force into the region, including F-22s that arrived today… We’re doing all we can to deter such an attack, to defeat an attack if it comes, and also to demonstrate to Iran that there’s a better path forward here than a military attack.”
Earlier today, Biden met in the Oval Office with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to review US military deployments to help defend Israel from an attack against Iran, the official adds.
“The consequences of such a direct attack could be quite significant, including for Iran and Iran’s economy, which I know their new government is concerned about,” the senior official adds.
US official: ‘Still a significant amount of work to do’ but we believe deal is possible
A senior administration official clarifies that while the joint statement issued by the US, Egypt and Qatar refers to the aim of next Thursday’s negotiations as closing the remaining gaps, “It’s not like the agreement is going to be ready to be signed on Thursday.”
“There’s still a significant amount of work to do, but we do believe that what’s left can be bridged,” the senior administration official says, adding that Thursday will only see a “resumption” of the talks, not their finalization.
Pressed several times on whether the US thinks Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is serious about reaching a deal, the administration official tries to strike a more balanced approach.
“It’s incumbent upon not just the Israeli side, but also the Hamas side [to reach a deal]. At the end of the day, this is a hostage negotiation, and they’re holding hostages,” the senior official says.
“With some force of will and sitting down to hash it out, we think [a deal] is possible,” he says.
The idea for a joint statement came out of the calls Biden held on Tuesday with the leaders of Qatar and Egypt, the senior administration official says, noting that Netanyahu’s office has already welcomed the initiative and said the premier would send a delegation to the summit next week.
The administration official says the summit next Thursday will be held in either Doha or Cairo and that preparatory talks will likely begin soon in Washington to prepare for the meeting, as the US simultaneously readies for a potential attack on Israel by Iran.
The official says the joint statement by the US, Egypt and Qatar was the result of US President Joe Biden’s counterparts in Cairo and Doha pushing for the move, and is not specifically aimed at sending a signal to Iran regarding its potential attack on Israel.
However, the senior US official acknowledges that if Iran “launches a major war in the Middle East with some massive attack on Israel, which they’re threatening in coordination with other groups, that’s obviously going to significantly jeopardize any hope of getting a ceasefire in Gaza, because we’ll very much be focused on other things.”
PM’s office: Israel will attend Aug. 15 talks ‘to finalize the details for implementing’ deal
Responding to “the offer of the United States and the mediators,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says Israel will dispatch a delegation to attend negotiations on a ceasefire-for-hostages deal on August 15.
A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office notes the location of the talks has yet to finalized, after the US-led statement proposed Cairo or Doha, but says the delegation will travel to wherever is decided on “to finalize the details for implementing the framework agreement.”