New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch revealed plans on Wednesday to step up security measures at the 9/11 memorial on Friday and around Jewish institutions that evening and on Saturday for Rosh Hashanah — asserting that the department is unaware of any impending threat, but acknowledging a dangerous environment amid rising antisemitism and the conflict with Iran.

The mayor and police chief appeared together at City Hall to discuss measures to ensure safety around both observances, including “heightened” local and federal security and restricted street and transit access around Ground Zero during the 25th anniversary ceremony for the victims of the attack during the day. In the evening, they said Jewish New Yorkers can expect police deployment to synagogues, yeshivas and other communal spaces, to deter any person hoping to replicate the acts of violence and vandalism inflicted in recent months.

Former Secretary of State Tony Blinken categorically denied a report in Haaretz that he delayed an offer from Hamas immediately after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel to free civilian hostages taken by the terrorist group.

In an article published Tuesday alleging that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ignored warnings from the United Arab Emirates about the attacks, Haaretz reported that Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani had called Blinken on Oct. 7, conveying a message from Hamas offering the unconditional release of hostages under 18 and over 50 years old from Gaza, which he said Israel had refused.

A new poll of Jewish American voters commissioned by the nonpartisan Jewish Voters Resource Center found that Vice President JD Vance is viewed negatively by more than 80% of Jewish voters, including a sizable number of Jewish Republicans. 

The poll finds Vance’s favorability rating at only 14% among Jewish voters overall, with 82% viewing him unfavorably. Only 61% of Jewish Republicans view Vance favorably, compared to the 89% of those who view President Donald Trump favorably, and the 93% of Jewish Republicans who hold a favorable view of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 

Tuesday night’s Democratic primaries in New Hampshire delivered mixed results for candidates who made attacks on Israel a centerpiece of their closing arguments.

Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) trounced progressive activist Karishma Manzur by nearly a 2-to-1 margin (65%-33%) in the Senate primary, after Manzur attacked Pappas for his stance on Israel and called him a “shill for AIPAC” as a central message of her campaign.

LAS VEGAS — In November 2025, Itay Chen’s remains were returned to his family, more than two years after he was killed in his tank during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, during which terrorists took Chen’s remains to Gaza. Chen was the last American held hostage by the terrorist group to be released.

His father, Ruby Chen, spent those two years flying to Washington and around the world advocating for his son’s freedom. But even though his son has been laid to rest, Chen’s fight isn’t over. Now, he’s working to ensure that the American victims of Oct. 7 are remembered, that his son’s “sacrifice was not in vain” and to ensure that other families don’t have to go through the same pain, Chen told Jewish Insider on the sidelines of the Republican Jewish Coalition conference last week in Las Vegas.

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads toward what could be one of the most consequential elections of his career next month, a new book is offering an unusually candid look at the decision-making that will define how history — and Israeli voters — judge him. 

In the War Room: The Inside Story of Israel’s Fight Against Hamas and the Iranian Axis, by Jerusalem Post military correspondent Yonah Jeremy Bob and Wall Street Journal editorial writer Elliot Kaufman, draws on two years of interviews with Israel’s political, military and intelligence leadership to reconstruct the internal battles that shaped the war — battles that often pitted Netanyahu against his own defense establishment.

Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) urged the Trump administration on Wednesday to review whether the United Kingdom and other countries imposing trade restrictions and additional sanctions on Israeli settlements places those countries in violation of U.S. anti-boycott laws — and to consider whether the effort merits a response from the United States.

Tenney sent a letter, obtained by Jewish Insider, to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asking him to review whether these countries’ targeting of West Bank settlements meets the criteria for being included on the Treasury Department’s international boycott list. She also asked Bessent to assess the implications of these trade restrictions for American businesses. 

Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) announced that they are launching the Combating Antisemitism on College Campuses Caucus during a visit to Vanderbilt University on Tuesday.

The announcement was made during an event with Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and the leaders of the University of Kentucky, University of Texas at Austin, Dartmouth College, the University of Alabama and Washington University in St. Louis.