Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced a joint resolution of disapproval on Thursday that aims to block the U.S.-Saudi nuclear deal, allowing the Democrats to force a vote on the deal when the chamber returns from recess.

It appears unlikely at this point that the GOP-controlled Congress will vote to block the deal, with most Republicans expressing support for it, but some GOP holdouts have voiced their concerns. The agreement would tee up the possibility of nuclear enrichment inside Saudi Arabia and lacks the safeguards applied to deals with the United Arab Emirates and some other U.S. allies.

In a combative interview with NBC News’ Tom Llamas on Wednesday, Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed dismissed his half-sister’s past comments about his family’s ties to the Muslim Brotherhood as “hearsay.”

El-Sayed had, in a previous NBC interview, denied that his family has any ties to the Muslim Brotherhood after ignoring attacks from his GOP opponent Mike Rogers on the subject at a debate last week. But newly resurfaced tweets by his half-sister — largely written in 2012 and 2013 — drew those denials into question, as his sister had repeatedly said that family members of theirs had long been Muslim Brotherhood members, including their mother.

Former President Barack Obama criticized Israel’s security policy as having “ceded moral ground” and said that Israel’s founding had unjustly taken land from Palestinians in remarks in Belfast, Northern Ireland, this week.

At the same time, the former president also emphasized that both Israelis and Palestinians have a responsibility to change their approach in order to move toward peace.

James Talarico, the Democratic Senate nominee in Texas, reiterated his sharp criticism of Israel at a CNN town hall on Wednesday, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of targeting Palestinian civilians and restricting humanitarian aid and declining to push back when pressed on the credibility of those claims.

Talarico made the comments while speaking on stage with Rabbi Holly Levin Cohn of Congregation Beth El Binah, a Reform congregation in Dallas, who told Talarico that she was “concerned with some of the things that I’ve been hearing lately about your stance on Israel and also on your support of the Jewish people.” 

​U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee met quietly in recent days with Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot amid the final stretch of Israel’s high-stakes election campaign, Jewish Insider has learned, the first known time U.S. officials have met with the former IDF chief of staff, considered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief rival in the contentious race. 

The meeting, according to a source familiar with the matter, focused on critical security concerns, including Gaza, West Bank escalation and rising settler violence.

A year after the Anti-Defamation League exposed what it described as a coordinated campaign to inject antisemitic and anti-Israel narratives into Wikipedia entries, 91% of one banned editor’s contributions to six prominent articles on issues related to Israel remain in the live text, according to a new report.

The report, released Thursday by the ADL Center for Technology and Society, found that Wikipedia has failed to systematically review or correct edits to pages on Hamas, Zionism, the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks and Israel’s war in Gaza, even after banning editors involved in the alleged campaign. 

Families of Americans killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel said a State Department memorial event honoring their loved ones offered a meaningful recognition of their loss, with some calling on the U.S. government to take further action and investigate the attacks.

The State Department, in coordination with the American Jewish Committee, held a memorial service on Wednesday honoring the 46 Americans killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. The ceremony brought together senior Trump administration officials, lawmakers and family members of the Americans killed in the attacks.

Many Diaspora Jews who care about the future of Israel have been watching the election campaigns in Israel unfold from afar.

And while Diaspora affairs do not rank high in Israelis’ concerns in Oct. 27 election — security and the economy are the top issues — most Zionist political parties have given thought to the issue, whether in their platforms or when candidates are asked about antisemitism and Israel’s connection to world Jewry.