Washington, D.C
An ode to Israel's diplomats in DC and beyond amid the deterioration of Israel's rep – opinion
It is embarrassing to admit, but of all those to whom one’s heart goes out these days, there is a small corner in my heart for Israelis with fancy titles who live in a pleasant city abroad.
I refer to the staff of the Embassy of Israel in Washington DC, where I served as congressional liaison officer. I proudly represented a small democracy defending itself bravely against threats by surrounding dictatorships while doing everything in its power to achieve peace. We heard some criticism, but overall, due to mutual trust and a meeting of interests and values, the country and I were queens of the hill: Capitol Hill.
As befits queens, everyone wanted to please us. Can we help you pass a law? Would you care for a Free Trade Agreement? I was recently reminded that I was there at the beginning of the funding of the Arrow aerial defense system – I had been involved in so much good, that I forgot.
The importance of the relations was expressed during VIP visits, which entailed a lot of work – we coordinated, accompanied, summarized, and reported. Visits yielded practical results, like agreements and important declarations. The prime minister, foreign minister, defense minister, and finance minister each visited at least once a year, along with other dignitaries. Requests for meetings were almost always honored.
When Israel’s government changed, we represented its policies loyally and professionally. None of my interlocutors, including those who became friends, knew my personal opinions or how I vote.
Neutrality was our guide regarding internal American matters. When we arranged for a visitor to meet a committee chairman, we made sure that we met with the minority leader of the same committee. Not only because what goes up always comes down and vice versa, but because bi-lateral support for Israel is a strategic asset which cannot be endangered. Until a few years ago, it was inconceivable that senior Israelis hinted at a preferred candidate or party, never mind expressing themselves openly.
Invitations to Washington have nearly stopped with the new coalition
GIVEN THE policies of the current coalition, meaning the erasure of the Green Line, invitations to Washington all but stopped. I would sometimes imagine myself walking the corridors of Congress and being asked, “how does annexing millions of Palestinians tally with Israel being a democracy?” or about the judicial “reform,” which would eliminate the separation of powers. Being sister-democracies is at the core of the values on which the special relationship is based. In my imagination, I had no answer.
There is no need to elaborate what the ongoing war has done to Israel’s image, while the aforementioned trends continue unabated. Thus, shortly before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced that he had changed the status quo regarding the Temple Mount. Americans know that he is a follower of Meir Kahane, founder of the Jewish Defense League, designated a terrorist organization by the FBI.
That Netanyahu is the first foreign leader to address a joint session of Congress four times is remarkable. I have no idea who works in the embassy now, but have no doubt that staff noticed many empty seats, that they were upset to see families of hostages arrested for wearing a shirt that might upset the speaker – as though he has no connection to their plight – and that they cringed when they heard their prime minister directing an unveiled dig at Vice President Kamala Harris, who could well be the next president. Even those not deemed US experts understand that her goodwill is more important than a transient headline designed to please her opponents.
Undoubtedly, Israel’s representatives found a suitable diplomatic response when, after the compliments about the presentation and the ovations, they were asked follow-up questions. Why should we trust a foreign leader, when polls indicate that the majority of his people do not trust him and that they want him to resign? Deradicalization of Gaza sounds good, but what does it mean? Do you have a plan for “the day after,” or is it all slogans and PR?
No, one shouldn’t pity Israel’s diplomats in Washington, certainly not in relation to those who lost everything on October 7 and since. Yet, to understand the deterioration of Israel’s position in the world, particularly in the US capital, stand for a minute in the shoes that used to be mine and see how respect and credibility were replaced with mistrust and partisanship.
The writer was Israel’s first ambassador to the Baltic States after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, ambassador to South Africa, and congressional liaison officer at the embassy in Washington. She is a graduate of Israel’s National Defense College.
Food and Friends expects to double its impact with a $30 million addition and renovation.
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Nonprofit donating two million meals each year is now set to expand
Food and Friends prepares over two million meals each year for people in the D.C. region who are battling serious illnesses. The organization expects to double its impact with a $30 million addition and renovation.
The first shovels went into the ground Monday at Food and Friends’ headquarters in Northeast D.C.
The 17,000-square-foot expansion will dramatically impact how many people the organization can serve on a daily basis, the nonprofit said.
“The demand has been so high, and so we need more room. And we’re really, really excited to be kicking that off,” Food and Friends CEO Carrie Stoltzfus said. “We’re going to be able to more than double what we do.”
Food and Friends currently packages roughly 7,100 meals per day and delivers throughout the D.C. region in an area approximately the size of Connecticut.
Staff described the current building as bursting at the seams, with many rooms doubling as food storage.
“Most of the expansion space will be for food production and food storage because that’s really what drives everything else that we do and why we’re all here,” Stoltzfus said.
The new building, set to be completed in May, will include a state-of-the-art kitchen. The current kitchen will be transformed into a chilled food packing room.
The expansion also adds private nutrition counseling rooms for clients who are battling diseases such as cancer, AIDS, renal failure and other illnesses.
All clients of Food and Friends are referred to the program by healthcare providers. Dietitians and chefs have developed 11 meal types tailored to specific health needs.
Rebecca Kahn, director of nutrition services at Food and Friends, said its food is medicine, leading to better health outcomes.
“Hospital visits are going down as compared to before getting our services. Clients are saving money on healthcare costs,” she told WTOP.
Loris Adams is a volunteer and a former client who received meals from Food and Friends while she battled ovarian cancer. She’s thrilled with the expansion.
“People like me, people like your neighbors have an opportunity to be fed and nourished — body, soul and spirit — while they’re going through really hard and difficult times,” she said after the groundbreaking.
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Two weeks after White House officials touted President Donald Trump’s efforts to make the city “safe and beautiful,” the water in the 13-basin fountain at Meridian Hill Park has turned into a murky, rust-orange hue.
(Courtesy CNN)
Courtesy CNN
(Courtesy CNN)
Courtesy CNN
(Courtesy CNN)
Courtesy CNN
(CNN) — At a ceremony in front of the iconic cascading fountain at Meridian Hill Park in Washington, DC, earlier this month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and top US officials touted President Donald Trump’s efforts to make the city “safe and beautiful.”
But less than two weeks later, the historic park that served as Hegseth’s backdrop has become the latest hurdle President Donald Trump is facing in his mission to give the nation’s capital a facelift, as the water in the 13-basin fountain has turned into a murky, rust-orange hue.
The fountain had been devoid of water for seven years before the Trump administration repaired and reopened it in May in a $4 million renovation that delighted residents. After the renovation, residents flocked to the park in the evenings, sitting on the steps bordering the fountain, having picnics, and reading books.
But this week, parkgoers observed a brown color overtaking the reservoirs.
“It looks like mud,” said James Langan, a New York resident visiting DC.
The fixture at Meridian Hill Park is one of nine fountains being returned to service under Trump’s March 2025 executive order calling to make DC “safe and beautiful” coinciding with preparations for the nation’s 250th anniversary. When CNN visited the nine fountains scattered across DC this week, only one appeared to still be inoperable, and two had brown-colored water.
Some residents and visitors said they welcomed running water at Meridian Hill Park, despite the coloring.
“Whenever I’d like come here before, I was kind of disappointed that the water was never on, and it was kind of like overrun with trash,” Washington, DC, resident Jedi Sworobuk told CNN. “I think it’s nice to have, especially in the heat in the summer.”
The Interior Department told CNN on Tuesday evening that the brown water at Meridian Hill Park is “sediment as a result of the reopening of two water lines that had been out of service for some time,” noting it expected the water to run clean in the next 24 to 36 hours.
A CNN crew observed workers cleaning the cascading basins on Wednesday, following social media buzz about the browning water.
On Saturday, the pools of water were still murky, but less orange.
The Interior Department did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday on the state of the Meridian Hill fountain, and on the fountains at the General Philip Sheridan statue in Sheridan Circle, which were inactive.
The fountain at Meridian Hill Park caught the attention of Alexandra McKenna, a London resident who traveled to DC and made the park a stop on her trip.
“It looks pretty gross,” McKenna said, laughing.
McKenna pointed to the water at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which has also generated headlines in recent weeks, adding, “It’s kind of a thing going on in Washington at the moment.”
The Meridian Hill Park scramble comes after the Reflecting Pool saga dominated conversations in Washington. After Trump called for the pool’s renovation in April, the more than $14 million project has taken on a lifecycle of draining, painting, filling and peeling.
Trump alleged vandals gashed the pool’s lining. In recent weeks, at least three people were charged with destruction of property after allegedly removing pieces of blue paint from the pool, and a former Olympian was indicted on that allegation. The canoeist, David Hearn, pleaded not guilty.
During a May Cabinet meeting, Trump said most of the fountains were in final stages or fixed.
In his recent July Fourth address on the National Mall, Trump declared the city “safe, gleaming, and beautiful again,” though some beautification projects, like the Reflecting Pool, appear to be in progress.
The National Park Service said work to restore and rehabilitate historic landscapes will occur in phases, noting that the public may experience closures or limited access at certain sites.
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Washington, D.C
Sen. Graham’s death shocked Washington. What will be his legacy? : Consider This from NPR
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina at a hearing to examine the 2027 budget for the Department of Defense on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on May 12, 2026.
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The nation continues to react to the unexpected death of South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. Graham was a veteran politician, a dealmaker and military hawk. He was also one of President Trump’s staunchest critics before his election, only to become one of Trump’s close allies on Capitol Hill after his victory.
Former Republican Senator Jeff Flake served alongside Graham from 2013-2019, and said he and Graham were “friends to the end,” despite moments of tension and disagreement. Flake weighs in on what will be Sen. Graham’s legacy.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
This episode was produced by Henry Larson, with audio engineering by Peter Ellena.
It was edited by Michael Levitt.
Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorning.
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