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National

A group of Jewish House Democrats is circulating a letter denouncing Rep. Pramila Jayapal's (D-Wash.) since-withdrawn comments calling Israel a "racist state," Axios has learned.

Why it matters: It's the latest example of Democrats' bitter divide on Israel bubbling up in recent days as several progressives prepare to boycott the Israeli president's speech to Congress on Wednesday.

Driving the news: After pro-Palestine demonstrators disrupted a panel discussion that included Jayapal at the progressive Netroots Nation conference on Saturday, the Congressional Progressive Caucus chair responded by playing up her anti-Israel bona fides.

"I want you to know that we have been fighting to make it clear that Israel is a racist state, that the Palestinian people deserve self-determination and autonomy, that the dream of a two-state solution is slipping away from us," she told the protesters.

The latest: Jayapal walked back the comments on Sunday in a statement, saying: "Words do matter and so it is important that I clarify my statement. I do not believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist."

Instead, Jayapal said she believes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "extreme right-wing government has engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies."

The other side: The draft letter, a copy of which was obtained by Axios, calls Jayapal's comments "unacceptable," adding, "[W]e appreciate her retraction."

"Israel is the legitimate homeland of the Jewish people and efforts to delegitimize and demonize it are not only dangerous and antisemitic, but they also undermine America’s national security," it continues.

"We will never allow anti-Zionist voices that embolden antisemitism to hijack the Democratic Party and country.”

Zoom in: The letter was authored by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) and Kathy Manning (D-N.C.), Axios is told. 

All seven lawmakers are Jewish and are moderates or swing district members. The letter is still being circulated for signatures.

Asked for comment, a spokesperson for Jayapal referred Axios to her statement on Sunday walking back her comments.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) also put out a statement on Sunday, saying: "Israel is not a racist state."

"Certainly, there are individual members of the current Israeli governing coalition with whom we strongly disagree," they said. "Government officials come and go. The special relationship between the United States and Israel will endure."

What we're watching: The dustup comes as several high-profile progressives say they plan to boycott Israeli President Isaac Herzog's address to a joint session of Congress later this week.

These include Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

Asked by CNN if she is attending the speech, Jayapal reportedly said, "I don't think I am. I haven't fully decided," adding: "I think this is not a good time for that to happen."

Yes, but: Not every progressive is sitting out the speech.

"I am [going]," Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) told Axios, saying of Herzog: "I met him when I was in Israel, and he's actually much more moderate, liberal."

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include comment from Reps. Jeffries, Clark and Aguilar.

Jayapal's Israel comments spark internal backlash

She walked back her comments calling Israel a "racist country."

Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal. Photo: Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images.

Israel

Politics & Policy

Gaming

Axios Gaming

The world's most popular annual video game franchise, Call of Duty, will remain on Sony PlayStation for a decade longer, even if Microsoft purchases the company behind it, thanks to a new agreement announced Sunday.

Driving the news: Microsoft and Sony said Sunday that they've agreed on a deal, after more than a year of failed negotiations. 

Few details were available, though a Sony rep told Axios that the arrangement will last for a decade.

Between the lines: The fate of Call of Duty has fueled corporate and regulatory concerns over Microsoft's $69 billion offer to purchase Activision Blizzard, which makes CoD, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Candy Crush and other top franchises.

Regulators in the U.S., U.K. and Europe questioned whether Microsoft could pull Call of Duty from PlayStation and offer it exclusively on Xbox and PC. That would deny the Sony platform the series that is typically the bestselling game of each year. 

Microsoft has consistently pledged that it would keep CoD on PlayStation and expand it to more platforms, saying that was the most financially fruitful way to manage the series.

But Sony executives questioned Microsoft's offer and terms. While those concerns were never clearly articulated in public, Microsoft could potentially use Call of Duty to hurt PlayStation even without pulling it, by offering it first or better on its own console (Microsoft has denied it would do this) or by offering Sony an unfavorable revenue split on sales of the game. 

Be smart: Sony's agreement with Microsoft comes two days after an appeals court denied what might be the Federal Trade Commission's last opportunity to delay the merger, which was temporarily barred from closing until the end of Friday.

Regulators in the U.K. have blocked the merger but said last week they would consider a restructuring of the deal and not make their final decision until August.

What's next: Microsoft's Activision Blizzard bid expires on Tuesday, though both sides could agree to extend it. 

Microsoft's purchase of the company will have a significant industry impact, making the company one of the largest employers of game developers of all time and establishing Microsoft as the top third-party publisher on PlayStation.

Sign up for the Axios Gaming newsletter here.

Sony signs 10-year deal  with Microsoft to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation

Microsoft's offer to buy Activision Blizzard expires Tuesday, but could be extended.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Screenshot: Activision Blizzard

Video games

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Technology

The outcome of unusual off-cycle redistricting efforts in at least five states — Alabama, Louisiana, New York, North Carolina and Ohio — will play an outsized role in determining which party holds the House majority next year.

Why it matters: Typically, the battle for House control takes place on the campaign trail. In 2024, decisions in state courtrooms will also help determine which party wins control of the lower chamber.

Zoom in: Congressional maps are drawn every 10 years following the census and are intended to last a decade.

But with courts becoming more politicized and partisans seeking every advantage they can get, there's been a flurry of activity seeking to overturn the maps that were implemented for last year's elections.

In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month in Allen v. Milligan that Alabama needs to redraw its congressional districts to ensure fairer racial representation. The court's decision is also expected to overturn Louisiana's map and could reverberate in several other Southern states.

Driving the news: A New York appellate court’s decision Thursday to order a redraw of the state’s congressional map — a decision that will be appealed — threatens to complicate House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) tenuous grip on his leadership role.

Republicans can’t afford to lose more than four House seats in next year’s election. If Democrats can claw back several additional pickups in the Empire State, with an assist from a new map, it could determine the majority.

New York's Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, will ultimately decide whether a new map will be drawn. The court overturned a gerrymandered map drawn by state Democratic lawmakers last year, but the composition of the court is now more favorable to liberals.

Republicans in 2022 won six congressional districts in New York State that President Biden carried, and even small tweaks to the map could make competitive districts unwinnable for Republicans.

What they're saying: “The Appellate Division decision confirms that the New York State Constitution requires congressional district lines be drawn by an independent redistricting commission. In contrast, the current congressional map was drawn by an unelected, out-of-town special master appointed by an extreme right-wing judge, who himself was handpicked by partisan political operatives," said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

“After failing to win at the ballot box last November, New York Democrats are attempting a blatant partisan power grab thinly disguised as a court case. Republicans will appeal to protect the will of the voters of New York, and we will fight to hold the line in the Empire State," said Jack Pandol, communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Go deeper: A favorable ruling for Democrats in New York would offset an anticipated Republican gerrymander of the North Carolina map, after the North Carolina Supreme Court overturned its recent ruling concluding that partisan gerrymandering is illegal.

Republicans are well-positioned to net at least three House seats under a partisan redraw of the battleground state's congressional map. North Carolina's House delegation is currently split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, 7-7.

North Carolina GOP legislators have said they plan to redraw the map later this year.

Between the lines: The big wild card in the redistricting wars is in Ohio, where the state Supreme Court will soon be determining the future of the state's newly drawn map.

Ohio's current map was declared illegal by the state Supreme Court in 2022 but was used last year because there wasn't enough time to draw an alternative.

Democrats performed well under the new map, winning all three of the state's contested battleground districts. But Republicans still hold 10 of the 15 House seats in the GOP-leaning state.

Ohio Republicans may prefer to keep the political status quo to avoid a more aggressively gerrymandered map from being overturned.

The bottom line: Gerrymandering has always been part of the political process.

But the fact that both parties are aggressively trying to gain every possible advantage to dominate in states they control ensures there will be fewer competitive races for control of the House.

2024 House majority runs through the courts

Unusual off-cycle redistricting efforts in at least five states will play an outsized role in the next election.

Gerrymandering

Kids' camp these days isn't just s'mores and swimming. It's multiplication tables and reading comprehension.

Why it matters: Summer camps are incorporating academic and emotional recovery for young students seeing historically low test scores and a widespread mental health crisis.

"Having a safe place is really important" for a generation that's less experienced with social connection, said Tom Rosenberg, the president and CEO of the American Camp Association, a non-profit national accrediting organization for organized camps.

State of play: These programs can help recover some learning and development losses caused by isolation and remote education, experts told Axios.

Summer camps and learning programs can foster greater confidence and readiness to learn come fall, per Rosenberg.

Camps are also a place for building relationships with peers in a less competitive setting than school, he said.

Threat level: Learning loss will become permanent without additional academic programming during the summer and additional months of school, according to 2023 findings from researchers at Harvard University's Center for Education Policy Research.

What's happening: At the YMCA, some chapters work with local school districts to fill academic gaps that specific groups of students need, while also prioritizing kids' emotional wellbeing. 

Programming has to address learning loss at a larger scale than ever before, said Laura Mahan, the director of strategy and quality practices for YMCA overnight camps.

"We understand that [kids are] starting from a different knowledge base than they were before," she said. "So we're teaching things differently so that we can back up to fill that gap."

The Boys & Girls Clubs of America uses a curriculum of one-week modules called "Summer Brain Gain" to prevent students from losing academic skills, said Chrissy Chen, organization's national director of programs and innovations.

Worth noting: Abnormal schedules and isolation during the height of the pandemic escalated an already existing youth mental health crisis.

Kids "need a routine," said Allison Walsh, the vice president of clinical outreach at Charlie Health, a virtual mental health treatment company.

"They need to be in environments that are positive and uplifting and nurturing," added Walsh, a certified positive psychology coach. "They've had several years of not having that necessarily over the summer." 

In addition to providing structure, summer programs expose kids to regular mentors, who can help monitor their wellbeing. 

Summer camp gains importance for kids who survived a pandemic

Illustration of a marshmallow roasting on a No. 2 pencil.

Education

The U.S. health system faces critical questions about cost, access and equity. Technological advances and new discoveries about diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s are transforming patient care and reshaping public health.

Health

Recognized asylum applications, by select receiving country

Data: UNICEF; Chart: Tory Lysik/Axios Visuals

Waves of migrants taking dangerous, unauthorized passages to Europe and the U.S. are fueling a new rush of anti-immigrant policies and deepening political divisions in several wealthy countries.

The big picture: New immigration restrictions, and a sharp increase in anti-immigrant rhetoric from conservative politicians, come as wars, climate-driven disasters and economic woes have led record numbers of refugees and asylum seekers to embark on perilous journeys from their home countries.

Some 2.9 million new asylum applications were submitted last year — more than any year since at least 2000, according to the UN.

40% of the new applications were made by people fleeing Latin America and the Caribbean, especially Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

There’s also been a dramatic surge in Europe, driven by migrants from Syria, northern Africa, Iraq, Turkey and elsewhere.

Driving the news: In the U.S., almost every 2024 Republican presidential candidate has embraced a tough stance on border security and migrants, reflecting polls that suggest most Americans want less immigration.

Proposed policies include finishing former President Trump's border wall, sending military troops into Mexico to target cartels, and restricting or ending birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants.

Large numbers of illegal crossings at the southwest border led President Biden to embrace strict immigration policies. He's drawn criticism from Republicans who want tougher restrictions, and from fellow Democrats who say he's gone too far in limiting asylum.

In Europe, far-right politicians in Poland, Italy, Hungary, Spain and beyond have demanded that the EU tighten its immigration policies. Such calls have grown louder during the recent rioting in France after police in a Paris suburb fatally shot a teen of Algerian and Moroccan descent.

The Netherlands' government collapsed last weekend amid disagreements over new restrictions on refugees and asylum seekers.

In the U.K., Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is embracing a “stop the boats” campaign, echoing Australia’s crackdown on migrants and asylum seekers who try to reach its shores by boat.

And in eastern Germany, the anti-immigrant AFD party won a county government position last week, the first time since the Nazi era that a far-right populist candidate had won an election there.

Reality check: Robust immigration will be critical for continued economic growth in many wealthy nations where birth rates are plummeting, including the U.S.

Asylum seekers who flee their home countries and those who immigrate for other reasons can have vastly different circumstances — a distinction often lost in the whirl of heated political debates that can be stoked by racism.

Voters often respond to politicians' emotional narratives — "how it's going to change their lives in an immediate way," rather than "some sort of abstract, long-term economic need," the Migration Policy Institute's Susan Fratzke told Axios.

Record migration sparks backlash in wealthy nations

Right-wing politicians are capitalizing on voters' concerns by pushing for anti-immigrant policies.

Axios

Sunday's top stories

Jayapal's Israel comments spark internal backlash

Sony signs 10-year deal with Microsoft to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation

2024 House majority runs through the courts

Summer camp gains importance for kids who survived a pandemic

Record migration sparks backlash in wealthy nations

Scorching Southwest heat wave breaks records Saturday, with a hotter Sunday to come

2024's first act: Ramaswamy up, Pence down in Iowa

Trump's spiciest feuds with popular GOP governors

America’s therapy boom

Biden-era revisions to citizenship test stir new fears

FTC loses bid to extend freeze on Microsoft-Activision merger