Washington

As Gaza war rages on, Israel focuses on petty politics over Washington – analysis

Published

2 years ago

March 3, 2024

As Gaza war rages on, Israel focuses on petty politics over Washington – analysis

The juxtaposition of two items on the Kan Bet news reel Sunday morning was jarring.

One report dealt with the deaths on Friday of three soldiers and the wounding of 14 others, six of them in serious condition, in a booby-trapped house in Khan Yunis. The other report was that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the embassy in Washington not to help senior cabinet and war minister member Benny Gantz set up any meetings during his current trip to Washington.

On the one hand, a heart-wrenching reminder that a brutal war is grinding on that is extracting a painful toll in the daily deaths of Israeli soldiers. On the other hand, it is a squirm-worthy reminder that petty politics is once again clouding the vision of the country’s leaders.

Even as IDF soldiers continue to fall in Gaza, Netanyahu and Gantz are sparring over protocol, prestige, and power – definitely not a good look right now. If you are fighting in Gaza, if you have a relative being held hostage in Gaza, if you have relatives fighting in Gaza, to see a return of this type of politics seems very small.

If the country’s top leaders cannot come to an agreement on an issue as straightforward as a trip by a senior minister to Washington, then what does that say about their decision-making ability regarding other aspects of the war?

Minister-without-portfolio Benny Gantz walks behind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as Defense Minister Yoav gallant takes his seat, at a recent news conference. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

On October 11, four days after Hamas invaded Israel, Gantz did what a majority of the public wanted him to do and joined a national emergency government, saying that it was a time for unity to fight a barbaric enemy.

Message of unity

At a joint press conference with Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at the time, Gantz said, “Our standing here today, shoulder to shoulder, is a clear message to our enemies, and more important than that, a message to all the citizens of Israel, that we are together, that we are all mobilized.”

This was a powerful message. And there was something reassuring – as the war progressed in the early stages – seeing Netanyahu, Gallant, and Gantz, bitter political rivals, sitting on the same podium at joint press conferences and essentially reading from the same page. That conveyed a sense of solidarity to the country that, as a result of October 7, the country’s political rivals were – at least for the time being – looking at the bigger picture, at winning this war.

Slowly, the bigger picture is becoming clouded by politics.

Just as the sight of Netanyahu, Gallant, and Gantz holding joint press conferences for a few weeks conveyed a message of working together, their failure to have held these joint press conferences since late December sends the opposite message: that they aren’t working together.

And that is a worrisome message to send a nation at war; a nation that thirsts for reassurance, as its sons and daughters are risking their lives fighting, that its leaders are working together harmoniously.

But, apparently, the leaders are not working together harmoniously. If they were, then Gallant would not have done an end-around Netanyahu last week, giving Gantz veto power – unbeknownst to Netanyahu – of any new plan to draft haredim.

If they were working together harmoniously, Gantz would not have decided on his own to travel to the US for talks with administration officials and congressional representatives, and Netanyahu would not have strenuously objected and reportedly told Gantz that “Israel only has one prime minister.”

All those are signs of disharmony.

Neither Netanyahu nor Gantz comes out of this Washington affair looking particularly good.

Why is Gantz insistent on going to Washington over the prime minister’s objections? Why does the prime minister object so strenuously?

Gantz’s supporters will say that he is motivated by the country’s interests. They argue that as Israel’s legitimacy for continuing the war diminishes in Washington with each passing day, and with incidents such as the humanitarian aid tragedy last week, it is important for Gantz to go there and shore up support in the administration.

According to this argument, Gantz is better able to do this than Netanyahu, whose relationship with US President Joe Biden is believed to be strained and who is anathema to some Congressional Democrats. Israel, Gantz’s camp argues, needs America’s continued support – moral, diplomatic, and material – and Gantz can help ensure it.

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Washington

Divorces granted July 2-8 in Washington, Benton counties | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Published

9 hours ago

July 12, 2026

Press Room

Divorces granted July 2-8 in Washington, Benton counties | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

The following divorces granted were recorded July 2-8 in the Benton and Washington county clerks’ offices:

BENTON COUNTY

25-1094. Heather Jones v. Michael Mazzarisi

25-1993. Sarah Waddle v. Brandon Waddle

26-46. Samantha Hines v. Garrett Hines

26-266. Donna Boyd v. Russell Boyd

26-329. Tara Whitwam v. Brett Whitwam

26-354. April Timboe v. Matthew Timboe

26-397. Troy Hull v. Kaley McManamon

26-419. Mark Hagel v. Michelle Hagel

26-437. Deborah Luper v. Donald Luper

26-470. Amanda Russell v. Christopher Russell

26-561. Audrey Mosher v. Dustin Mosher

26-562. Jacob King v. Ashley King

26-649. Chris Edwards v. Sara Edwards

26-664. David Carpenter v. Hannah Holtrey

26-774. Lauren Armfield v. Alexander Armfield

26-775. Sandra Saldana v. Luis Saldana

26-785. Maritza Campos v. Luis De Los Santos

26-798. Darell Shepard v. Rachel Lipscomb

26-802. Jeffery Nicholas v. Tracy Nicholas

26-809. Alicia Moreland v. Travis Moreland

26-814. Mellisa Dugger v. Matthew Crowne

26-817. Sabra Utting v. Derek Utting

26-825. Laura Wortman v. Brian Wortman

26-827. Laura Dean v. Seth Dean

26-845. William Austen v. Krystal Austen

26-846. Janine Robin v. Henry Robin

WASHINGTON COUNTY

24-472. Breayonda Bendickson v. Zackery Thompson

25-1333. Joshua Stephens v. Tiffany Pershall

25-1475. Jacqueline Lybrand v. Zachary Lybrand

25-1720. Jennifer McMahon v. Timothy McMahon

26-10. Janiky Rosario Madera v. Angel Ortiz Fuentes

26-225. Carol Kaufman v. Charles Axtell

26-268. Elizabeth Lasiter v. Prashanth Kumaresan

26-367. Shawn Harp v. Angela Harp

26-414. Patricia Johnson v. Robert Pritchard

26-518. Francisco Ramirez v. Nicole Franz

26-633. Debra Andrews v. Randy Brown

26-695. Jorge Azahares v. Dianelis Rodriguez

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Hulking four-star Arizona OL commits to Cal over Washington football

Published

19 hours ago

July 11, 2026

Press Room

Hulking four-star Arizona OL commits to Cal over Washington football

The Washington Huskies saw one of their most hotly contested offensive line targets in the 2027 class go elsewhere on Saturday afternoon when four-star offensive lineman DaJohn Yarborough announced his pledge to the California Golden Bears

The 6-foot-5, 340-pound product of Basha High School in Arizona, who is ranked as the nation’s No. 426 overall prospect and No. 25 interior offensive lineman by the 247Sports Composite, picked coach Tosh Lupoi and the Golden Bears out of a final four that also included Florida State, Mississippi State, and UW.

Although his junior year was cut short due to a fractured ankle, Fisch and offensive line coach Michael Switzer kept up a strong relationship with the hulking prospect, who has the size, physicality, and skill set the pair looks for from early contributors up front. However,

“The big man slides smoothly in pass protection and balances his weight well, always finding himself on the winning end of collisions with defenders,” Huskies Wire’s Alex Katson wrote in an evaluation of his film. “With such prototypical size and technique, Yarborough profiles as a player who could find himself in the NFL rather quickly with the right coaching staff during his time in college.”

As Washington continues to build up its offensive line for the rigors of the Big Ten, Yarborough would have been viewed as a promising building block alongside Freshman All-American John Mills, former five-star Kodi Greene, and former four-star Champ Taulealea, who should make up the core of Switzer’s unit in 2027.

While the Huskies had consistently been viewed among the top suitors for Yarborough’s services, but Lupoi’s staff has shown early that it can make a big impact quickly on recruits all over the West. Without Yarborough, Washington’s 2027 class consists of three offensive linemen: four-star interior prospect Gecova Doyal, four-star center Reis Russell, and three-star offensive tackle Tye Kennedy.

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Chisholm’s homer keys 3-run 9th as the Yankees rally past Washington 5-3 – WTOP News

Published

1 day ago

July 11, 2026

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Chisholm’s homer keys 3-run 9th as the Yankees rally past Washington 5-3 – WTOP News

Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the New York Yankees over the Washington Nationals 5-3 on Friday night.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the New York Yankees over the Washington Nationals 5-3 on Friday night.

The Yankees and Nationals rank 1-2 in the major leagues in home runs, and all but one run in this game came via the long ball. Ben Rice hit his 29th of the season for the Yankees, and Jasson Domínguez and Austin Wells also went deep for New York.

Keibert Ruiz and James Wood homered on consecutive pitches in the seventh to give Washington a 3-2 lead, but in the ninth, the Nationals brought in left-hander Matt Krook — who had allowed 22 earned runs in 12 2/3 big league innings dating to 2023. Krook (0-1) yielded a one-out single by Domínguez, and Chisholm followed with his 13th homer.

Wells added a solo shot off Justin Lawrence to make it 5-3.

David Bednar (3-3) won in relief, working the final two innings. The Yankees remained four games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.

Rice homered in the first off Carson Palmquist, but the New York designated hitter fouled a pitch off his right leg in the fifth and was shaken up. He was able to stay in the game.

By that time, Domínguez had given the Yankees a 2-1 lead with a homer off Zack Littell (8-6) in the fourth.

The game was delayed two hours at the start, and a wet field might have prevented Washington from tying it in the sixth. New York starter Ryan Weathers allowed a one-out double to CJ Abrams. Then Jacob Young followed with a single. Abrams looked likely to score, but he slipped rounding third and had to stay there.

Fernando Cruz then replaced Weathers and struck out the next two hitters to strand both runners.

New York’s Paul Goldschmidt singled in the first to snap an 0-for-34 drought, and he also reached on an infield hit in the sixth.

Amed Rosario of the Yankees struck out in all three of his plate appearances and made two errors at third base before being lifted for a pinch-hitter.