Axios

The Biden administration on Tuesday said Israel has taken "significant steps" to improve the flow of aid to Gaza over the last three weeks but stressed more work needs to be done.

Why it matters: Israel has been under intense international pressure to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. The comments from David Satterfield, President Biden's special envoy for humanitarian issues in the Middle East, are the first significant public signal that the Biden administration sees Israel changing its course on aid into Gaza.

Journalist and religious scholar Stephanie Saldaña has won a Christopher Award for her book about Catholic, Muslim, and Yazidi refugees from Iraq and Syria.

The big picture: The Christophers, the New York-based nonprofit group that gave out the award, said "What We Remember Will Be Saved: A Story of Refugees and the Things They Carry," helps us understand "the little things matter a great deal."

The race to engage the estimated 36.2 million U.S. Latinos who are eligible to vote in this year's election hit full steam this week with the launch of two major nonpartisan efforts.

Why it matters: Latino turnout in 2020 hovered around 54% — the lowest of all racial and ethnic groups.

• Both Republicans and Democrats consider Latino voters, especially in swing states, crucial to their success, but advocates have long said registering Latinos to vote comes with unique challenges.

Ecuadorians on Sunday overwhelmingly voted in favor of President Daniel Noboa's security measures, including the reinstatement of criminal extraditions and deploying more armed forces to fight crime.

The big picture: As gang violence in the country continues, with two mayors killed in the week leading up to the election, the results show that support for Noboa's handling of crime remains high.

As a TikTok divestment law races to passage, TikTok's parent company ByteDance must reckon with the legislation across all of its apps, many of which are growing rapidly in the U.S.

Why it matters: The broad language included in the bipartisan TikTok ban bill could make it impossible for most ByteDance apps to operate in the U.S. unless the Chinese firm sells them to U.S. companies.

Global disapproval of U.S. leadership abroad inched upward in 2023, according to a new Gallup report published Tuesday.

Why it matters: The report paints a portrait of how the U.S. is perceived internationally, as the U.S. flexes its influence on the world stage amid wars raging in Europe and the Middle East.

A pro-Palestinian protest at New York University resulted in multiple people being taken into custody on Monday night, the NYPD said.

The big picture: The latest incident of a university cracking down on demonstrations related to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza came hours after police arrested 45 people at Yale and Columbia University canceled in-person classes due to pro-Palestinian protests.

Starting tonight, Jews will observe Passover, a holiday that's been around for thousands of years.

Zoom in: To many, one important tradition — along with eating matzo and drinking four glasses of wine at dinner — is to continuously update the Passover celebration.

• "Putting our rituals in a glass case actually turns them into idols in some ways … and I think it's unauthentic to the tradition," says Rabbi Sarah Krinsky of Adas Israel Congregation in D.C.

Catch up quick: Passover commemorates the Exodus story, when the Jews fled slavery in Egypt. That tale of Pharaoh, Moses and the parting of the Red Sea is told via a storytelling dinner called a Seder.

• One tradition is discussing the items displayed on the ceremonial Seder plate, which helps frame the Exodus story.
• For example, bitter herbs represent the bitterness of slavery, and an apple and nut mixture symbolizes mortar in bricks that Israelites built when they were slaves.

"The entire point of the Passover Seder, really, is to be a pedagogical tool that elicits questions from children, that then sparks discussion," Krinsky says.

• "Almost all of the funky things that you see down at a Seder … 'Why do we wash our hands in this order? Why do we eat foods in the order we do?' The answer to almost all of those things is we do it to provoke questions."
• Those questions turn into conversations filled with important lessons about history, family and culture.

Case in point: Many Jews are switching up the Seder plate because items there can serve as jumping-off points for discussions about current events.

• One popular recent tradition involves putting an orange on the plate. The fruit has "several mythologies around it," Krinsky says, but is typically a symbol of inclusivity, often for women and/or the LGBTQ+ community.
• This year, the Israel-Hamas war might be top of mind for many Jews, and could translate into a new plate item. "Maybe people would want to add an olive branch this year" or a food — like one of the "seven species" — associated with Israel, Krinsky says.

The big picture: It's not just the food. A number of Jews have used ChatGPT to create a Haggadah, the text that guides the Seder, spurring conversation about how technology can fit into religion.

Carly's thought bubble: When I hosted Passover last year for a number of friends who'd never been to a Seder, I wanted the evening to be interesting and informative.

• My plan: Incorporate clips from "Rugrats" and "The Prince of Egypt" alongside poetry and oft-overlooked stories of women in the Old Testament.
• I didn't have an editor, and I can admit now that the Seder was too long. But I'll try again this year!
• This article appeared in Axios Finish Line, our nightly newsletter on life, leadership and wellness. Sign up here.

Elisha Wiesel, son of the late-Holocaust writer Elie Wiesel, is joining forces with international human rights advocates to draw attention to the Chinese government's repression of ethnic Uyghurs.

Why it matters: Beijing is facing mounting international pressure over allegations of genocide and mass detention against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in the country's northwest region of Xinjiang.

Columbia University announced all classes would be virtual Monday, as Passover begins, following days of pro-Palestinian protests on campus.

Why it matters: Big-name colleges have been cracking down more aggressively on pro-Palestinian protests, which they say are getting increasingly intense and disruptive.

A UN-appointed independent commission of inquiry said in its report published on Monday that "Israel has yet to provide supporting evidence" to its claim that many of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff in Gaza are members of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations.

Why it matters: The inquiry was launched in response to allegations from Israel that 12 of UNRWA's employees were involved in the attack. More than a dozen countries that support the organization's work, including the U.S., suspended their funding as a result.

The head of Israeli military intelligence on Monday announced his resignation more than six months after the massive intelligence failure preceding Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.

Why it matters: Major General Aharon Haliva is the first senior Israeli Defense Forces officer and high-level government official to resign as a result of its failure to prevent Hamas' attack, which killed more than 1,200 Israelis and led to another 240 being taken hostage.

Former President Trump's meetings with foreign heads of state have begun ruffling feathers in the diplomatic community — and the Biden administration.

Why it matters: One recent meeting — between Trump and Javier Milei, Argentina's right-wing president — seems to have particularly irritated Biden's team. It showed the complex politics at play as Trump, the presumed GOP nominee, eagerly tries to show international leaders that he's back.

Incendiary pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University are drawing backlash from members of Congress and the White House over allegations of antisemitic incidents.

Why it matters: Columbia is the latest institution on Congress' radar for its treatment of antisemitism after Harvard, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania all came under intense scrutiny from lawmakers last year.