2019
August
16
Friday

Monitor Daily Podcast

August 16, 2019
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Linda Feldmann
Washington Bureau Chief

In today’s Daily, we look at the slowing global economy, a lawmaker in the limelight, the need for more study in a high-profile debate, progress that's come drop by drop, and an unforgettable documentary.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib isn’t going to the West Bank to see her grandmother after all. The House Democrat and fellow Rep. Ilhan Omar had planned to visit the Israeli-occupied territory, and Israel seemed amenable – despite the women’s support of the anti-Israel boycott movement. Then President Donald Trump took to Twitter, and within hours, Israel had barred the visit. 

Ultimately, Israel relented, but Ms. Tlaib – profiled in her district in Michigan in today’s Monitor Daily – rejected the new conditions.

It’s not every day that Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, top Republicans, and AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby group, agree. But they did here. AIPAC tweeted that despite the women’s politics, “we also believe every member of Congress should be able to visit and experience our democratic ally Israel firsthand.” 

That message could easily be broadened. Anybody with a chance to visit Israel would learn so much about its rich history and culture, and its welcoming people, as I was able to do in 1984 – from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to the West Bank and Lebanese border. We rented a car and drove the entire country, an experience that shows just how small and vulnerable Israel is. In other words, we saw the place and talked to people for ourselves. We didn’t rely on others’ impressions.

Perhaps someday Ms. Tlaib and Ms. Omar will have another opportunity.


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

The Explainer

Al Drago/Reuters
Signs displaying people killed from gun violence are held up during a news conference to schedule a Senate vote on the Background Checks Expansion Act, on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, June 20, 2019.

Points of Progress

What's going right

On Film

Courtesy of Amazon Studios
Nanfu Wang, co-director of the documentary “One Child Nation” and mother to a young son, draws attention to a propaganda billboard. China’s one-child policy was altered in 2015 in favor of a two-child approach.

The Monitor's View

AP
NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis.

A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

A message of love

Ann Hermes/Staff
A dog rests in the heat beside a sack of dried chili peppers in Khari Baoli. It’s more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit and the air around Asia’s largest spice market is so filled with spice dust that workers hauling the heavy sacks cough and sneeze as they push through crowded alleyways. The bustling bazaar is packed and restless, with dogs underfoot and monkeys overhead. Shouting can be heard as wholesale and bulk buyers haggle over everything from chilies and cardamom to nuts and dried fruits.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Karen Norris. )

A look ahead

Thank you for joining us today. We’ll be back Monday with a beautiful video about a Pakistani American artist who is working to revive the Islamic tradition of decorated nikahnamas, or stylized marriage contracts. Nushmia Khan opened her store this year, and has created illuminated contracts for couples around the world.

More issues

2019
August
16
Friday
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