Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan recorded another strong showing in the race for United Nations secretary-general on Thursday, increasing her support in the eighth Security Council straw poll, while Turkey’s newly nominated candidate struggled in his debut and the established front-runners maintained their positions.

Thursday’s straw poll again used undifferentiated ballots, concealing whether votes came from the five permanent, veto-wielding members — the U.S., United Kingdom, France, Russia and China — or the council’s 10 elected members. The selection process has also been shaped by informal regional rotation norms and calls for the U.N. to select its first female leader. The latest result shows that the newcomers took nothing from the front-runners, while Grynspan appears to be consolidating support.

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), a leading moderate Democrat in the House and co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, argued after the decisive Democratic sweep in Tuesday’s midterm elections that the administration needs to bring Congress and U.S. allies in on issues related to the Iran war.

Suozzi emphasized, in an interview with Jewish Insider on Wednesday, that a clear message from the election is that voters are concerned about the impact of the war on prices, and many analysts — as well as prominent Republican leaders — have interpreted the election results as a clear repudiation of the Iran war.

Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, resigned from the Justice Department on Thursday, leaving her role that included spearheading the Trump administration’s efforts to combat antisemitism on college campuses.

Her departure had been largely expected after she indicated to Bloomberg in August that she intended to return to her California-based law firm, Dhillon Law Group, following her government service.

The mayor and City Council president of Philadelphia joined a growing chorus of state leaders condemning an upcoming anti-Israel “Boycott Ride” targeting Jewish- and Israeli-owned businesses in the city, warning that the planned demonstration risked fueling antisemitism and intimidating the local Jewish community.

After calls from Jewish groups for city officials to speak out, Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson and Mayor Cherelle Parker issued statements on Thursday against the planned Nov. 8 bicycle rally in Rittenhouse Square, which organizers are promoting with the slogan “No business for Zionists.” 

Leading figures in the Israeli opposition bloc faced pushback from friends and foes on Thursday after presenting themselves as being able to salvage the U.S.-Israel relationship by removing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from office, in statements following the U.S. midterm elections this week.

Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid wrote a lengthy post on X calling for “a work plan instead of panic” in response to the midterm results, where Democrats swept across the country. He noted that moderate pro-Israel Democrats still hold leadership positions in the party, such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). 

In the immediate aftermath of a landslide election like Tuesday night, there’s inevitably going to be a predictable flurry of overreaction. 

But after examining the sheer scope of the Democratic victory, it’s worth considering the significant political implications the midterm results carry for Vice President JD Vance, whose path to the presidency in 2028 looks a whole lot cloudier after the GOP’s shellacking. 

Democrats’ sweeping victories in Tuesday’s midterm elections have raised questions about the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship and President Donald Trump’s approach to the war with Iran, as the incoming Democratic majorities in both chambers prepare to wield greater influence over American foreign policy. 

The election comes as Democratic lawmakers increasingly scrutinize the U.S.-Israel relationship, advocating for restricting American arms sales and military assistance. JI reported in September that Democrats have been preparing a range of legislative proposals that could significantly alter U.S. policy toward Israel, including restrictions on military assistance and arms sales and sanctions targeting settlement activity and settler violence in the West Bank.

Prominent Jewish leaders and longtime Democratic donors in Michigan made a substantial push to prevent Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed (D-MI) from achieving victory in Michigan on Tuesday. That effort failed — and now some say they’re grappling with questions over the community’s future in the Wolverine State.

Though it appears a narrow majority of Jewish voters did cast a ballot for El-Sayed, there were signs of notable movement in the community’s vote toward his opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI).