View From DC: Herzog brings controversy to Washington
Greetings from The National's Washington bureau.
This week, President Joe Biden welcomed Israeli President Isaac Herzog to the White House as the US leader looks to bolster his pro-Israel credentials without openly embracing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right government.
Mr Herzog's visit, set against the backdrop of Israel's judicial overhaul and increased violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, was not without its share of controversy, however.
Progressive Democrats boycotted his speech to Congress and Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal was forced to apologise for calling Israel a "racist state".
At a Tuesday?Oval Office meeting, Mr Biden assured Mr Herzog that the “friendship” between the two countries is “unshakable and unwavering”, despite an increased uneasiness from his administration?over recent events in Israel under?Mr Netanyahu.
The two spoke on Monday, with Mr Biden inviting the Prime Minister to a US meeting later this year, although it's not clear if this will happen at the White House.
A few progressive boycotts aside, Mr Herzog was met with large bipartisan support on Wednesday in a?joint session address of Congress.
“The sacred bond we share is unique in scope and quality, because it is based on values that reach across generations, across administrations, across governments and coalitions, carrying us through times of turmoil and elation," he said.
Outside Washington, the summer heatwave this week intensified to another record-breaking degree.
Temperatures in the?Arizona city of Phoenix hit 43oC?or higher for the 19th day in a row on Tuesday, setting a record for the longest streak with heat at those extremes.
The previous record was 18 days in 1974, according to the National Weather Service.
Senior correspondent Willy Lowry is this week in Aspen, the Colorado ski town that every year transforms into a diplomatic powerhouse thanks to the?Aspen Security Forum.
Over on the West Coast, the glitz and glamour of Hollywood was supplanted by gritty industrial action after actors last week announced the start of a?strike.
They joined writers in the first industry-wide shutdown in 63 years after last-ditch talks failed, with nearly all film and television productions grinding to a halt.
For all this and much more, keep scrolling.
Ellie Sennett
US correspondent
?EYE ON 2024
Ron DeSantis, Trump's nearest rival, cuts campaign staff
Republican presidential contender?Ron DeSantis?is cutting campaign staff as he struggles to catch up with former president?Donald Trump?in their party's crowded primary contest while facing financial pressure.
The Florida Governor let go of several paid staff members late last week to help reduce operating expenses, according to an aide.
The staff members were involved in event planning and may soon join a pro-DeSantis Political Action Committee.
Mr DeSantis has raised more money than the other Republicans seeking the 2024 nomination, but he has shown little movement in the polls amid fierce opposition from Mr Trump and persistent questions about his?far-right policies,?political skills and readiness for the national stage.
领英推荐
What is Washington talking about?
Congresswoman forced to apologise about Israel comments?Representative Pramila Jayapal, who leads a large group of progressive Democrats in the US Congress, has apologised for calling Israel a “racist state". She was criticised by members of her own party for saying: “We have been fighting to make it clear that Israel is a racist state, that the Palestinian people deserve self-determination and autonomy, that the dream of a two-state solution is slipping away from us." The White House said it was glad she apologised.
US-China diplomacy bears fruit?Xie Feng,?China’s new ambassador to the US, described a recent flurry of diplomatic activity between Beijing and Washington as “constructive”, but cautioned that more work was required to mend the fraught relationship. In the past month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and most recently climate envoy John Kerry have all travelled to China to meet top officials.
Cop28 and climate reparations?John Kerry?said the US will not commit to climate reparations at the?Cop28?climate conference. He forcefully shut down questions at a House foreign affairs subcommittee hearing on whether Washington would agree to take accountability for and fund lower-income countries struggling with climate disasters. One study on carbon inequalities found the US holds the “single largest climate debt” to affected countries, at $2.6 trillion a year.
Arab-Israeli environmental co-operation?Opportunities for the full potential of Arab-Israeli climate co-operation "cannot be realised before there is a breakthrough toward Israeli-Palestinian peace", a report has found. The Middle East Institute on Tuesday hosted a report launch on avenues of co-operation between Israel and its Arab neighbours in fighting climate change and addressing regional challenges including drought. "In such regional endeavours, some of those are slowing down decently because of [Israel's] right-wing government and the impact its policies has on Israel relationship," Nimrod Goren, senior Israeli affairs fellow at the institute, said at the report launch.
QUOTED
“We should be the bad cop here.”
– Congressman French Hill, who this week introduced legislation to increase sanctions against those involved in the Captagon drug trade, tells?The National?that Washington should take a tougher stance compared to its "good cop" Arab allies on the Syrian-linked drug trade
Spotlight: Washington museum gives Palestinians a sense of belonging
In the vibrant Washington neighbourhood of Adams Morgan stands a redbrick house that is home to the Museum of the Palestinian People.
What began as a travelling exhibit in 2015 has found its permanent home in the US capital, serving as a beacon for Palestinians to reclaim their national narrative and connect with their heritage.
With its latest exhibition, Tatreez Inheritance: Preserving Palestinian Cultural Heritage in 75 Years of Exile, the museum continues its mission to empower younger generations and promote the?preservation of art and culture.
“Mainly what I want to assert in my work here at the museum is the Palestinian experience based in the United States and what that experience means, and what it means to engage in our identity,” said Wafa Ghnaim, the exhibition's curator.
“It is very different than the rest of the world.”
Founded in 2019, the Museum of the Palestinian People has become a sanctuary for those seeking to reclaim their identity.
ONLY IN AMERICA
Florida man attacked by alligator and flown to hospital
A?Florida?man, 79, was flown to a hospital after being attacked by an?alligator?during an early morning walk.
The man called emergency services at about 5am local time on Thursday in Collier County and said the reptile had bitten his leg. The alligator was about two metres long.
The man was bleeding profusely and his skin had been ripped off, local media reported, quoting emergency call records. He said he wrapped his shirt around his leg to try to contain the bleeding.
Media reports suggested the animal in question was a mother that was protecting its hatchlings.