The AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project super PAC launched a $500,000 ad campaign this weekend targeting former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), who is running in a special election for the seat formerly held by Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill.

The ads highlight Malinowski’s vote in favor of additional funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement years ago, while he was in office representing the neighboring district. The vote also received support from a majority of Democrats.

U.S. officials and GOP legislators are raising concerns about the Syrian government military offensive against territory held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which has been a close U.S. ally. 

Several Republican lawmakers said the Syrian government is failing to meet expectations that Damascus would protect minority rights — which was their impetus to agree to repeal the Caesar Act sanctions on Syria just months ago. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the composition of the Board of Peace Executive Board meant to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza, his office said on Saturday.

“The announcement regarding the composition of the Gaza Executive Board, which is subordinate to the Board of Peace, was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy,” the Prime Minister’s Office stated. “The Prime Minister has instructed the Foreign Affairs Minister to contact the U.S. Secretary of State on this matter.”

Tucker Carlson made a pair of visits to the White House in the last two weeks, having lunch with President Donald Trump two Fridays in a row.

Reached by Jewish Insider, the White House did not say what the purpose of Carlson’s two visits were but confirmed that the far-right commentator and the president had lunch during the second visit. The meeting came one week after Carlson was spotted at a White House gathering for about a dozen oil executives for a discussion about how to best utilize Venezuela’s oil reserves following the U.S. operation that deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. 

Julie Menin, the recently elected speaker of the New York City Council, announced a comprehensive plan to confront rising antisemitism on Friday, unveiling several initiatives that notably include an emerging legislative proposal to establish buffer zones around houses of worship to keep protesters from harassing congregants.

The measure, which echoes legislation introduced last month by state legislators, comes in response to a recent series of anti-Israel demonstrations outside synagogues in New York City, including a protest in Queens last week where participants voiced support for Hamas — raising fears in the Jewish community amid a broader rise in antisemitic activity across the five boroughs.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing pressure from a coalition of local Jewish groups to fill a major administration post related to countering antisemitism, one of the key pledges of his campaign.

In a letter the coalition sent to Mamdani on Friday that was shared first with Jewish Insider, the signatories conveyed their priorities with regard to the Office to Combat Antisemitism, which the mayor has vowed to retain. 

The World Economic Forum kicks off in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday, with topics set to address a world that has been much changed since the last gathering a year ago. For one thing, founder Klaus Schwab will no longer be front and center, following his departure as WEF chair last spring; instead, attendees will hear from WEF President and CEO Børge Brende, WEF co-chairs André Hoffmann and Laurence Fink, and Swiss President Guy Parmelin when the first plenary convenes on Tuesday morning.

Marking a shift from the Biden administration, during which only senior White House officials attended the forum, President Donald Trump will travel to Davos, where he is slated to speak on Wednesday afternoon local time. Joining Trump is a delegation that includes White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and AI and crypto czar David Sacks.

Cameron Kasky’s announcement on Wednesday that he was ending his bid for a coveted open House seat in the heart of Manhattan and pivoting to focus on advocating for human rights in the West Bank didn’t come as much of a surprise — given the 25-year-old progressive political activist’s almost exclusive fixation on targeting Israel as a first-time candidate.

Kasky, a Democratic upstart who was among a range of contenders vying to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) in the 12th Congressional District, had recently returned from a visit to the West Bank, and his experience meeting with Palestinians had left him with “one concern,” he said, motivating his decision to drop out of the primary and seek to promote legislation to counter Israeli settler violence in the territory.