Israel was going to annex the West Bank. It didn’t.

Zack, Jenn, and Alex discuss the stalled Israeli plan to unilaterally annex parts of the West Bank. The deeply controversial move was supposed to take place on July 1, but at the last minute Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided not to go through with it — for now, at least. The Worldly crew looks at what factors may have led to his sudden reversal and what might happen next. In the second half of the show, the gang examines how the politics in the Democratic Party around the US-Israel relationship are shifting and what all of this means for the future of the two-state solution. References: Here’s Jen Kirby’s piece on the annexation plan. Alex wrote about what Trump’s peace plan actually said. This New York magazine story talked about the Bowman-Engel race and how Israel played a part in it. You can find Peter Beinart’s essay that Zack mentioned in Jewish Currents, and here’s Ilan Goldenberg’s op-ed in the Washington Post. Back in 2016, Zack wrote about how Bernie Sanders broke the Israel taboo. Polls show most Americans support Palestinian statehood, while another poll shows Americans — but not liberal Democrats — are mainly pro-Israel. Vox’s Conor Murray wrote about how Israel’s second coronavirus wave is a problem for Netanyahu.  Hosts: Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), national security reporter, Vox   Consider contributing to Vox: If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts   More to explore: Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily news podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.   About Vox: Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.   Follow Us: Vox.com  Newsletter: Vox Sentences  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices