The debate over AIPAC’s involvement in the high-stakes Michigan Senate race is drawing renewed attention after an Axios report outlined a request from allies of former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) for the pro-Israel group’s super PAC to lay low for the general election. The Rogers campaign advisors suggested instead that the group transfer money for the race to a separate pro-Rogers entity so as not to make its outside spending a major issue in the contest. 

The episode has touched a lot of raw nerves in both the pro-Israel world and the Republican political landscape. Rogers, a longtime supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship, is highlighting his relationships with Michigan’s Jewish community, and has made attacking Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s anti-Israel virulence and his relationship with antisemitic figures like Hasan Piker a central element of his campaign message. 

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, who lived in the Gaza Strip from the age of 10-15, describes himself as an advocate for the Palestinian people. Since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel, 33 of Alkhatib’s immediate and extended family members have been killed. But in his latest book, Hamas and Its Two Million Hostages, Alkhatib argues that Hamas — rather than Israel — bears primary responsibility for the suffering and political stagnation of the people of Gaza.

Alkhatib is a resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, where he directs Realign for Palestine, a project focused on pragmatic, nonviolent Palestinian advocacy. There, he denounces Hamas and advocates for Palestinian statehood alongside a secure Jewish state. 

Antisemitic social media influencer Hasan Piker, who has campaigned with a number of progressive Democratic candidates this year, said on his Twitch stream last week that American Jews who express support for Israel are inviting violence against themselves. 

In his commentary, Piker added that Jews who tie their “entire identity” to Israel, which he referred to as “Jewish ISIS,” are “making antisemitism worse.” 

U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who also serves as the U.S. special envoy for Syria, on Friday described Israel as occupying the Golan Heights, despite the U.S.’ recognition of Israeli sovereignty in the region.

“In the Golan with Syria — they still occupy the Golan against the [United Nations] resolutions, against all of the international order which has said the Golan is Syria’s,” Barrack said during an appearance on commentator Mario Nawfal’s livestreamed show.

One 45-minute lesson on contemporary antisemitism can meaningfully cut teenagers’ belief in antisemitic conspiracy theories, according to a new study by the Anti-Defamation League. 

The study evaluated 372 middle and high school students across nine schools in a North Carolina school district between September and November 2025, finding that students who received the lesson, titled “What Is Antisemitism and What Are Features of Antisemitism?” were 14% more likely than a control group to reject the claim that Jews have too much power in the United States. 

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) blasted Turkey this week over its continued hostility toward Israel, calling on the U.S.’ NATO ally to stop targeting Israel and working with terrorist groups.

“We all know that Turkey likes cozying up to terrorists and supporting Israel’s and America’s enemies,” Scott said Friday, in response to a Turkish request for Interpol to issue an arrest notice for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The United Arab Emirates’ decision to sever trade and financial ties with Iran could deliver a major blow to Tehran’s economy, regional analysts said, disrupting a commercial lifeline that Iran has relied on for years. But experts cautioned that Tehran is likely to turn to existing workarounds to keep money flowing and that the UAE’s full implementation of the move is not completed.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Afra Al-Hameli, a spokesperson for the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced that Abu Dhabi had suspended all trade activity, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran “until further notice.” The UAE — which serves as Tehran’s second-largest commercial partner — issued the declaration after its Defense Ministry reported detecting two Iranian ballistic missiles that were “targeting maritime navigation” before falling into the sea. Iran’s Foreign Ministry denied launching the missiles. 

A fundraiser hosted by Vice President JD Vance in the Hamptons on Wednesday is raising red flags among some Jewish Republicans who continue to harbor concerns over his likely intention to run for president in 2028. 

The event, first reported by Axios, was notably held in the home of Omeed Malik, the Iranian American investor who was an important early backer of Tucker Carlson’s media company. The fundraiser highlights Vance’s ongoing ties to Carlson’s network — even as the far-right commentator has faced backlash for his regular promotion of antisemitic conspiracy theories about Jews and Israel.