HEADLINES
Gaza Stabilization Plan Stalls Global Support Wavers
UN Says Israeli Wall Crosses Lebanon Boundary
Columbia Rejects Israel Divestment Over Endowment

The time is now 7:01 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.

Two people were seriously wounded in a shooting in Herzliya late tonight as police opened an investigation and began searching for suspects, with authorities noting the background of the incident appears criminal in nature. Emergency responders described two men in their 20s to 30s sustaining penetrating injuries and being transported to a hospital in serious condition.

Across the region, a border-related development surfaced when United Nations forces said an Israeli wall crossed the de facto Lebanon boundary, rendering nearly an acre of land inaccessible to local residents. The finding underscores ongoing sensitivities along the Lebanon-Israel frontier and the fragility of arrangements designed to maintain calm along a volatile border.

In Washington, the prospects for the next phase of the Gaza plan championed by President Trump have grown uncertain as international diplomacy stalls. US efforts to secure a Security Council majority for a Gaza stabilization force are meeting resistance from Russia and China, and Algeria has shown hesitancy. Israeli officials have publicly supported the draft but have warned that Palestinian leadership may be publicly backing the proposal while undermining it in private, complicating the administration’s attempt to unify international backing for stabilization efforts.

On college campuses and in broader civil society, debates over antisemitism and Israel remain deeply contested. A British university has barred an academic who repeated antisemitic libels in a lecture to Students for Justice in Palestine, after an incident in which the lecturer circulated conspiracy theories and asserted inflammatory stereotypes about Jews. In the United States, Columbia University’s investment committee rejected demands to divest from Israel, a move long advocated by anti-Israel protest coalitions. The advisory panel found that while there was some support for divestment from human rights violations, the broader proposals requiring divestment from Israel lacked adequate consensus and were not financially viable within the university’s endowment framework. Columbia’s endowment stands at about fourteen and a half billion dollars, and the decision reflects the committee’s emphasis on consensus, practicality, and financial considerations in socially responsible investing.

Meanwhile, a high-profile campus antisemitism dispute unfolded in Kentucky, where a tenured law professor at the University of Kentucky, Ramsi Woodcock, filed a lawsuit after being investigated and reassigned over eliminationist rhetoric he published online against Israel. The suit argues that the inquiry and reassignment infringe on free speech and due process, while the university contends it acted to preserve a safe and inclusive environment and to apply a state antisemitism law that relies on the IHRA definition of antisemitism. The case illustrates the ongoing tension between academic expression and campus safety considerations, a dynamic closely watched by Jewish groups and civil rights advocates on a national scale.

In the realm of diplomacy and dialogue, US diplomacy continues to pursue channels with regional actors. Reports indicate a US envoy, Steve Witkoff, is planning to meet again with senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya in a bid to keep a direct line of communication, with the understanding that such contact can influence broader discussions about Gaza stabilization and regional security. The two most recent meetings were held in Cairo, where Witkoff offered condolences over the death of a family member and signaled the administration’s preference to maintain open, direct contact with interlocutors on the Palestinian side.

Culturally, a collaborative effort between Israeli and American journalists, Don’t Feed the Lion, brings together Yonit Levi of N12 and Bianna Golodryga of CNN to produce a book aimed at middle school readers to address antisemitism in schools. The project reflects a growing emphasis on education and media literacy as a component of broader efforts to counter antisemitism in diverse classrooms and communities, resonating with both Israeli and Jewish-American audiences.

Finally, on the legal and policy front, the day’s developments echo a broader pattern in which questions of security, civil rights, and national identity intersect with US and international policy toward Israel and the Palestinian territories. As Washington seeks to balance strategic aims with international diplomacy, and as domestic debates over campus speech, investment, and antisemitism continue to unfold, Israeli and Jewish perspectives—particularly regarding security concerns, the safety of Jewish communities abroad, and the protection of Israel’s security needs—remain central to how global audiences interpret the day’s events and the signals these debates send about future policy and regional stability.

Thank you for tuning in to this Israel Today: Ongoing War Report update.
I'm Noa Levi. Stay safe and informed.
Keep in mind that this AI-generated report may contain occasional inaccuracies, so consult multiple sources for a comprehensive view. Find the code and more details in the podcast description.

SOURCES
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https://www.timesofisrael.com/columbia-university-investment-committee-rejects-demands-to-divest-from-israel/
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-873891
https://t.me/newssil/179796
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https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-professor-sues-university-for-probing-his-call-for-global-war-to-end-israel/
https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/article-873890
https://www.jpost.com/must/article-873786
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s1wmwqrl11g