Jacob Magid

Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US correspondent based in New York

A Palestinian pupil walks past United Nations Relief and Works Agency, (UNRWA) and USAID humanitarian aid, on June 6, 2010 in the Shatie refugee camp in Gaza City. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

May 19, 2022, 3:39 am

US official: Israel ‘enthusiastic’ about Biden’s restoration of aid to Palestinians

USAID chief Samantha Power tells congressional panel that Israeli officials recognize that economic stability in West Bank and Gaza is critical after Trump cut aid

By Jacob Magid

(From left) Democratic representatives Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts respond to remarks by US President Donald Trump after his call for the four Democratic congresswomen to go back to their 'broken' countries, during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, on July 15, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

May 19, 2022, 12:32 am

Rashida Tlaib introduces resolution for US to formally recognize Palestinian Nakba

Initiative backed by ‘Squad’ of progressive lawmakers, to mark ‘catastrophe’ of 1948, unlikely to receive a vote; represents latest broadening of Israel debate in Democratic party

By Jacob Magid

State Rep. Summer Lee, who is seeking the Democratic Party nomination for Pennsylvania's 12th District US Congressional district, speaks to supporters before being endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., during a campaign stop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on May 12, 2022. (AP/ Rebecca Droke)

May 18, 2022, 10:47 pm

Pro-Israel groups see mixed results after pouring millions into Democratic primaries

AIPAC, DMFI-backed candidates score decisive victories in NC, but progressive Lee appears poised to hold off centrist Irwin in PA, where lobbies spent unprecedented sums

By Jacob Magid

Illustrative: Right wing activists attend a ceremony honoring late Jewish extremist leader Rabbi Meir Kahane in Jerusalem on November 17, 2016. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

May 15, 2022, 8:47 pm

US set to remove Kahane’s ‘Kach’ group from foreign terrorism blacklist

State Department notifies Congress that five defunct groups, including the Jewish extremist movement, to have designation dropped; Palestinian jihadist group also to be delisted

By AP and Jacob Magid

Israeli police confront mourners as they carry the casket of slain Al Jazeera veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh during her funeral in east Jerusalem, on May 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Maya Levin)

May 13, 2022, 10:31 pm

US ‘deeply disturbed’ by images of police beating funeral participants; EU appalled

Scenes of cops using force outside hospital, Abu Akleh’s casket almost toppling, draw wide condemnation; cops says rioters seized casket against family’s wishes, brother denies it

By Jacob Magid, Aaron Boxerman and Agencies

This picture taken on May 10, 2022, shows construction work in the West Bank settlement of Givat Ze'ev, near Jerusalem. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)

May 12, 2022, 4:55 pm

Israel authorizes plans for 4,427 West Bank settlement homes

More than half of units get final approval for construction; interior minister hails retroactive legalization of two outposts as a ‘celebration for the settlement movement’

By Jacob Magid and TOI staff

A Palestinian boy walks while backdropped by his home village of Susiya in Area C of the West Bank on July 24, 2015. (AP/Nasser Nasser)

May 12, 2022, 11:49 am

Israel to advance plans for 1,000 Palestinian homes in West Bank’s Area C – official

Last time such approvals were granted, the majority of the 1,300 were for houses already built; this move comes as Defense Ministry greenlights 4,400 new Jewish settlement homes

By Jacob Magid

Mahmoud Abbas, left, and Joe Biden after their meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, March 10, 2010. (AP/Bernat Armangue)

May 12, 2022, 5:00 am

Frustrated by his cautious approach, Palestinians lose faith in Biden

Officials in Ramallah appreciate US president’s restoration of two-state solution narrative, but not his refusal to reopen diplomatic missions or embrace Abbas

By Jacob Magid and Aaron Boxerman

Protesters hold candles and a photo of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed while covering clashes between IDF troops and Palestinian gunmen during an IDF raid in Jenin, in Haifa on May 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

May 11, 2022, 9:44 pm

US demands ‘immediate and thorough’ probe into journalist’s death in West Bank

American ambassador to the UN calls Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing ‘really horrifying’; State Department spokesperson says ‘those responsible must be held accountable’

By TOI staff, Agencies and Jacob Magid

In this July 19, 2021 file photo, US President Joe Biden, right, meets with Jordan's King Abdullah II, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

May 10, 2022, 12:59 am

Jordanian king to meet Biden at White House amid Temple Mount tensions

Leaders reportedly to focus on reducing pressure at flashpoint Jerusalem holy site that threatens to spark a wider conflict and damage ties between Israel and Jordan

By TOI staff and Jacob Magid

Firefighting planes try to extinguish a brush fire west of Jerusalem, August 15, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

May 10, 2022, 12:24 am

Cyprus invites Greece, Israel to establish joint East Med firefighting hub

Nicosia says initiative will speed up efforts to combat annual summer wildfires; proposal made during Zoom of countries’ FMs with Blinken aimed at strengthening 3+1 alliance

By AP, Jacob Magid and Lazar Berman

Israelis protest at the Gush Etzion junction against Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's visit to US president Joe Biden and on what they claim to be the freeze on settlement development, on August 24, 2021. (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)

May 7, 2022, 12:30 am

US slams slated settlement approvals: ‘Deeply damages prospect for 2 state solution’

State Department spokeswoman expresses Biden administration’s ‘strong opposition’ hours after Israel announces plan to green-light 4,000 units for Jewish towns in West Bank

By Jacob Magid

This file photo from October 13, 2021, shows construction in the Israeli settlement of Rahalim, located near the Palestinian village of Yatma, south of Nablus in the northern West Bank. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP)

May 6, 2022, 5:11 pm

Israel set to advance 4,000 settlement homes, testing US opposition

Officials deny report White House threatened to nix upcoming Biden trip over approvals, but say it made its position against the plan clear; 2 outposts to get retroactive approval

By Jacob Magid and Aaron Boxerman

Iranians prepare to set an Israeli flag on fire next to a picture of late Iranian general Qasem Soleimnai during a rally marking al-Quds (Jerusalem) day in Tehran, on April 29, 2022. (AFP)

May 5, 2022, 11:12 pm

US Senate passes non-binding motion against return to original Iran nuclear deal

16 Democrats vote in favor of symbolic measure demanding more restrictions against Iran, keeping Revolutionary Guard Corps on terror list

By Jacob Magid

US Ambassador to Israel Thomas Richard Nides speaks during his swearing-in ceremony as new ambassador to Israel, at the President's residence in Jerusalem, on December 5, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

May 3, 2022, 11:35 pm

US envoy: I give Israel ‘a lot of credit’ for its handling of Jerusalem tensions

Tom Nides notes recent friction in capital, which included frequent clashes on Temple Mount, didn’t spiral into war with Gaza-ruling Hamas as it did last year

By Jacob Magid