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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced intensifying pressure on two fronts on Tuesday, clashing with French President Emmanuel Macron over the war in Lebanon as the Biden administration threatened to cut weapons shipments if Israel doesn’t supply additional humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin wrote a letter Monday to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer demanding Israel address the worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza by expediting the delivery of aid — or face the possibility of losing military assistance.
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The Treasury Department announced on Tuesday that it had designated the radical anti-Israel group Samidoun as a “sham charity” operating as a key international fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine — which the U.S. has long identified as a foreign terrorist organization.
The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said that PFLP — which operates in the West Bank and Gaza — has used Samidoun as a front group in order to “maintain” its fundraising in Europe and North America.
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On the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, the home of University of Michigan President Santa Ono and several locations — with ties to either Jewish individuals or organizations with connections to Israel — became the latest targets in a spate of antisemitic vandalism that have plagued the state throughout the year.
Even as the attacks have been aimed against high-profile victims or leading Jewish institutions, one prominent Jewish leader in the state is calling out the state’s political leadership for muted reactions in their condemnation of the vandalism and other recent incidents, noting that few have used the power of their office to speak out against a spasm of antisemitism affecting the state.
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In a closely contested House race on Long Island, Democrat Laura Gillen is seeking a rematch against freshman Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY), who is among the most vulnerable Republicans now up for reelection.
The Nassau County matchup is shaping up to be a must-win for Democrats in their effort to win back the House, and private polling suggests a dead heat to the finish line, according to strategists from both parties.
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Bill Kristol, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle, and Eliot Cohen, an advisor to then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, joined the Jewish Democratic Council of America on Monday to make a conservative and pro-Israel pitch for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign for president.
The two argued that, despite some disagreements, Harris is largely pro-Israel and would be a more consistent and reliable hand in Middle East policy than former President Donald Trump.
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Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) and Democratic challenger Sue Altman sparred over Israel policy and antisemitism at their first and only debate on Sunday night, rehashing attacks and jabs each has been deploying on the campaign trail, trying to characterize each other as too extreme for the moderate district.
Both candidates cast themselves as strong defenders of Israel and fighters of antisemitism and sought to raise doubts about their opponents’ records. New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, which they’re vying to represent, includes a significant Jewish population.
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Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) introduced a new resolution on Friday blasting Tucker Carlson for hosting Holocaust revisionist Darryl Cooper on his online show last month.
Carlson’s interview with Cooper became a high-profile issue in the presidential race, given former President Donald Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance’s (R-OH) ongoing associations with Carlson, and their refusals to condemn Carlson. Torres’ resolution could bring new attention to the situation — which has faded from headlines — in the final weeks of the presidential race.
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Vice President Kamala Harris spoke out against the antisemitism on American college campuses, pledging in a Friday virtual event before Yom Kippur to “do everything in my power to combat antisemitism whenever and wherever we see it.”
“I know across the country, many Jewish parents and grandparents are worried for their children who are on college campuses, and I know many Jewish students have feared attending class in recent months,” Harris said. “When individuals participate in calls to violence and harassment against Jews, that is antisemitism, and I condemn it. When Jews are targeted because of their beliefs or identity, and when Israel is singled out because of anti-Jewish hatred, that is antisemitism, and I condemn it.”
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