The News Not Noise Letter: US Threatens Shift in Israel Policy
After the deadly aid convoy strike, Biden gives Israeli PM Netanyahu an ultimatum. Plus: an earthquake rattles Northeasterners and how humans explained eclipses before Galileo.
For regular updates, follow us on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Threads.
Today we bring you news that may elicit an unusually broad range of emotions. At the end of the newsletter, we hope you feel curiosity, delight and some anticipation, when we get into Monday’s eclipse and the folklore and traditions surrounding eclipses through history. Our News That Doesn’t Suck may bring relief and good cheer. So should the promising numbers around jobs. But first, we start with the anguish and fallout from the attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy that killed 7 aid workers.
Also, note that today, while the hard news is free to all subscribers, some content at the end of the newsletter is behind a paywall. As we say here – the work of journalism is expensive. This is how we keep the lights on. Thank you for your grace and support!
Here are your headlines:
Israel/Gaza/World Central Kitchen: The deadly Israeli airstrike that killed seven World Central Kitchen humanitarian aid workers has prompted a change in tone — and possibly aid — from some of Israel’s most steadfast US supporters. This incident has drawn international condemnation and intensified demands that Israel allow more food and medicine into Gaza without delay. It’s also raised questions about whether Israel has instituted the right processes to operate the “most moral army in the world” which “does everything to avoid harming non-combatants,” as PM Netanyahu says.
Rare Disciplinary Action: After a swift investigation into the WCK airstrike, the IDF today fired two senior officers and formally disciplined three others saying the strike was “a grave mistake,” with “errors in decision making,” “in serious violation of commands” and “contrary to the Standard Operating Procedures.” The IDF expressed “deep sorrow for the loss” and said that officers mistakenly identified gunmen in the caravan of aid vehicles and assumed they were Hamas; also misidentified a bag as a weapon; and their drones couldn’t see the WCK logo on the roof of the three vehicles at night. The IDF offered few other details, but WCK founder Chef José Andrés filled in the picture: the vehicles were “traveling in a deconflicted zone” in specially-marked vehicles and had coordinated their movements with the IDF in advance. Despite this, they were still targeted “car by car.” “This was not just a bad luck situation where ‘oops’ we dropped the bomb in the wrong place,” Andrés said. UN Secretary General António Guterres Friday argued that this incident highlights concerns about “military procedures in place that allow for those mistakes to multiply time and time again.”
WCK Response: World Central Kitchen released a statement saying the IDF’s response to the airstrike is not enough. They’re calling for “an independent commission” adding “without systemic change, there will be more military failures, more apologies and more grieving families.”
Biden Ultimatum: Israel’s investigation comes after President Biden laid down an ultimatum for Israeli PM Netanyahu: he must make changes or Biden “will have to reconsider his policy with regard for Gaza.” Calling the strike that killed aid workers “unacceptable” he reportedly told Netanyahu the US expects Israel to take “specific, concrete, measurable” steps to negotiate an “immediate ceasefire,” ensure a “dramatic increase” in humanitarian aid into Gaza, and establish a better “deconfliction process” to prevent tragedies like these again. The White House refused to specify what changes the President would seek if Israel doesn’t comply, but it almost certainly relates to the US’s supply of weapons and other aid to Israel. (Israel today announced it will open another aid corridor in northern Gaza, which the UN says is not enough. Sen. Mark Warner, a Biden ally, tweeted that “responsibility for humanitarian access and deconfliction lies with Israel.”)
Mounting Pressure: Biden isn’t the only powerful figure pressuring PM Netanyahu to change tactics and/or step aside. As tens of thousands of Israelis protested Netanyahu this week, top Netanyahu rival Benny Gantz called for new elections. And former President Trump said this week that Israel should “get it over with and let’s get back to peace and stop killing people.”
A Note on Hostages: As I’ve covered the WCK deaths this week, some in this audience have pointed out that there are still 130 hostages in captivity in Gaza, not all still alive, who must be returned, and they are rarely in the news. We agree. I endeavor to talk about the hostages in every item on the Gaza war. And believe both that news outlets must cover the ongoing hostage crisis and that Hamas must return them immediately. (CIA director Bill Burns will lead a new round of hostage/ceasefire negotiations this weekend in Cairo.) I also believe that the horror of the hostage-taking doesn’t lessen the importance of covering and asking tough questions about the deadly strike on WCK aid workers.
Northeast Earthquake: Did ya feel it? A rare 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck the US Northeast Friday morning. The epicenter was located in Tewksbury Township, NJ – about 50 miles west of Manhattan – and the quake was felt in NYC, Philadelphia, and Boston. Though no major damage has been reported, trains were delayed and flights were temporarily grounded at multiple airports in the region as buildings shook. The US Geological Survey says this was the third-largest earthquake in the Northeast in 50 years. USGS is predicting a 36% chance of an aftershock this week with a magnitude of 3 or higher. For Northeasterners unused to earthquakes and unsure what to do if there’s an aftershock, here’s some safety guidance from FEMA.
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs: Hey this is good news. (You can exhale now!) US economy added 303,000 jobs in March, exceeding expectations by more than 100,000. Unemployment decreased to 3.8%. To get a sense of how impressive this is, you only need to look at some of the headlines:
Here’s some news that doesn’t suck:
Americans Share Values (Still): In our current divided political moment, it’s easy to assume we are wildly different from our fellow Americans. So what I’m about to share may shock you. A new AP-NORC poll indicates that a vast majority of Americans still agree on American values. About 90% of respondents said the rights to equal protection under the law, voting, free speech, and privacy are “extremely or very important to the US’s identity.” More than 80% said freedom of religion and freedom of peaceful assembly are “extremely or very important,” and 77% say freedom of the press is crucial, too. The right to bear arms is more divisive, with just over half of respondents saying it is “extremely or very important,” and about a quarter each saying it is “somewhat important” or “not too or not at all important.” It’s fair to say we might apply the values we do share in different ways. But by and large, the major values that have shaped American culture still resonate with a significant majority of us – and we think that’s cause for hope.
Final Four: Get ready for more magic tonight. NCAA women’s basketball has reached the Final Four, and tonight’s games will determine which two teams will go head-to-head in the championship game. First at 7pm Eastern/4pm Pacific, the South Carolina Gamecocks (led by legendary coach Dawn Staley) will go up against the NC State Wolfpack. Then Caitlin Clark will lead the Iowa Hawkeyes against Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies at 8:30pm Eastern/5:30pm Pacific. Both games will be shown on ESPN. We’ll be keeping tabs on the games and on the ratings – the Elite Eight showdown between Iowa and LSU smashed ESPN viewership records, in part thanks to Clark’s powerhouse performance. ESPN says that averaging 12.3 million viewers, the Iowa-LSU game was the “most watched men's or women's college basketball game ever on ESPN, more than doubling the prior largest audience.”
Monday’s Total Solar Eclipse
On Monday, people in 15 US states will be able to see a rare total solar eclipse. For 3-5 minutes, the moon will pass between the Earth and the sun, casting the world in an eerie shadow. And around the moon, people will be able to see the solar corona, the normally-invisible “atmosphere” of the sun that will look like a hazy halo of light around the edges of the moon. If you’re watching the eclipse, even if you’re outside the path of totality, you should use protective glasses (no, normal sunglasses aren’t enough). Your pets don’t need glasses (their instincts make them unlikely to look directly at the sun), but if possible you should keep them indoors to reduce anxiety. And if you won’t be in the path of totality on Monday, you can watch a livestream of the eclipse from Indiana University (totality will begin at 3:04 pm Eastern in this area).
Throughout history, total solar eclipses have held deep significance in myriad cultures. Here’s just a sampling of the stories different peoples have told about the total eclipse: