Far-left Twitch streamer and political commentator Hasan Piker, appearing at the Web Summit conference in Doha on Tuesday, alleged that Israel’s conduct played a meaningful role in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks, continuing his long-standing pattern of hateful rhetoric targeting Israel and the Jewish people. 

“What I care about is maintaining my editorial independence and speaking truth to power, and the example I always go back to is in the aftermath of Oct. 7,” Piker said to a packed room. “People were not ready, especially in Western audiences, for someone to say that Israel played a significant role in how Oct. 7 took place.”

For New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Sunday’s Super Bowl is about more than his team’s 12th chance at the title. It’s also a national platform for his latest 30-second ad aimed at tackling antisemitism, with more than 100 millions viewers set to tune in. 

Titled “Sticky Note,” the commercial features a Jewish student who is bullied in the halls of his school. As he takes off his backpack, he sees a sticky note reading “dirty Jew” was placed on it. In a show of allyship, a classmate approaches the student and puts a blue square piece of paper over the note. “Do not listen to that,” he says.  

Ohio was once a perennial swing state but, as Democrats have lost ground with working-class voters, it has been a Republican stronghold over the last decade. But it could once again emerge as a political bellwether in 2026, as a test of whether Democrats can make inroads in rebuilding a coalition that can win back national power.

If Democrats want to have hope of regaining the confidence of the silent majority that propelled President Donald Trump to victory in 2024, they’ll need to be able to compete in the Buckeye State. And if Democrats hope to have any outside shot at retaking a Senate majority, the path runs through Ohio as well. 

As she competes in a crowded Democratic primary for Pennsylvania’s 7th District, Carol Obando-Derstine is hoping support from the former Democratic incumbent, her Latina immigrant background, her experience in politics and activism and her expertise in energy will help her stand out in the competitive field of Democrats vying to unseat Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) in the upcoming midterms.

Asked by Jewish Insider about her path to victory in the Democratic primary — facing opponents with, variously, stronger fundraising numbers and backing from popular Gov. Josh Shapiro — Obando-Derstine emphasized that she was endorsed by Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA), who held the seat from 2018-2025.

Fundraising reports for the fourth quarter of 2025, released on Sunday, brought the state of the race in several hotly contested Chicago-area Democratic congressional primaries into focus, with pro-Israel candidates putting up strong showings in several seats.

In the 9th District, state Sen. Laura Fine led the field with $1.2 million raised and ended the quarter with a narrow cash-on-hand lead, at $1.4 million in the bank. Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, an Israel critic, raised $659,000 and had $1.37 million on hand at the end of the quarter, and far-left influencer Kat Abugazaleh raised $1.1 million, but spent $1.4 million, leaving her with $811,000 in her war chest.

Several Republican senators expressed skepticism that the Iranian regime would negotiate in good faith with the United States on its nuclear program or on its crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, as the administration pursues a diplomatic approach with Tehran following threats of military action. 

Some, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) — and the Saudi defense minister, behind closed doors — have warned that, if the U.S. fails to act after President Donald Trump promised Iranian protesters that “help is on its way,” it would be a blow to the U.S.’ credibility in the Middle East and would strengthen the Iranian regime.

In her first week on the job last year, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that she planned to shake up the establishment-oriented press corps by creating a seat at White House press briefings reserved for new media outlets — a broad category that would include “independent journalists, podcasters, social media influencers and content creators,” she said. 

One recent pick for the daily new media seat in the rotation stood out: Drop Site News, a publication founded in the summer of 2024 to offer reporting explicitly hostile to Israel over the war in Gaza and the U.S. response to it. 

Pro-Israel candidates and organizations showcased healthy financial hauls over the final three months of 2025, according to newly released fundraising reports. The strong totals were headlined by AIPAC’s United Democracy Project super PAC, which ended last year with an imposing $95.8 million on hand (up significantly from $40.7 million last cycle at this time), after raising $61.6 million in the final six months of 2025.

In many of the closely watched Democratic primaries pitting pro-Israel candidates against anti-Israel antagonists, both sides posted strong fundraising figures.