The Nevada Democratic senator said, ‘One thing we know for sure is hate may start with the Jews, but it never ends there’
Sen. Jacky Rosen/X
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) visits the the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland.
Add JewishInsider on GoogleSen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a co-chair of the Senate antisemitism task force, visited Poland last month to discuss antisemitism and the Holocaust, including a visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
She told Jewish Insider in an interview last week that the trip was designed to “really think about and witness for myself firsthand what … this extreme hate can really do,” with a focus on the experiences of Jews in Poland during the Holocaust. Rosen’s trip included visits to both Warsaw and Krakow.
“One thing we know for sure is hate may start with the Jews, but it never ends there,” Rosen continued. “And so I went to think about that, to talk to folks about how they still deal with the scars there in Poland, and how it will inform my work here in America as we fight rising antisemitism.”
She said that one of the critical lessons from the trip was that the genocidal antisemitism of the Holocaust did not come on suddenly or all at once, but instead “creeps up bit by bit.”
“It’s important for us to remember and think about the history of the Holocaust because it’s a warning for what’s in store for us when society ignores hate and discrimination,” Rosen said. “It’s a moment that we’re in right now, that calls all of us, Jew and non-Jew, to action.”
The trip was Rosen’s first visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau, though she said she had been close with a woman who had survived the camp. She described it as “quite an intense experience.”
“When you see it there, you just can’t imagine how hate can just fester and grow, and the cruelty that people just did every day,” she said. “The indifference from society — how could you not smell the crematoriums? People knew, and they were indifferent because it wasn’t them.”
She said that visiting the camp brought to life the images and stories that she has heard.
“You feel the pain that was there, and I kept thinking, ‘What did it smell like? What were the cries? What were people doing?’ It’s very haunting,” she said.
She said that she came away from the trip dedicated to passing the Jewish American Security Act, a bill she is helping lead to combat antisemitism in the United States and better protect Jewish community institutions in the face of rising antisemitism globally.
She said that she and Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), the lead Republican sponsor, are continuing to work to pass the bill before the end of the year, and said that building more bipartisan support during the Senate’s brief September session will be critical.
“Whether I go forward and do unanimous consent [request to pass the bill], whether it becomes part of a larger end of the year package, as we oftentimes have, doing nothing is not an option,” Rosen said.
Rosen said that the “bright spot” of her trip was visiting Krakow, which still maintains a vibrant Jewish community where she was able to enjoy a Shabbat dinner, a show of “resilience” and moving forward in the face of “cruelty and indifference.”
The Nevada senator also met with members of the Polish government but said her conversations largely focused on NATO and the Russian incursions into NATO territory, rather than on Poland’s handling of post-Holocaust issues or antisemitism.
The country, and particularly its former government, have been condemned for its failure to reach a restitution agreement for Holocaust survivors and efforts to downplay Poland’s role in the Holocaust.
She said she had spoken about fighting antisemitism in modern Poland with others during her trip, including the country’s chief rabbi, the U.S. ambassador to Poland and the head of the American Jewish Committee’s office in Poland.
Rosen said that provisions in the Jewish American Security Act addressing social media will help address the rise of antisemitism abroad as well, and also emphasized the need for the U.S. to continue to lead in pushing back against Holocaust denial and distortion and setting a model of how countries can support and protect their Jewish communities.
Plus, Trump floats a deal or 'annihilating' Iran
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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed appear on the "“For the Sake of the Argument with Lori Goldman” podcast.
Good Tuesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Addressing the U.N. General Assembly this morning, President Donald Trump said he faces a “big decision” regarding Iran: “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before … or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic?”
But Trump quickly made clear he believes that a deal will be reached “right after the [midterm] election, because it doesn’t make sense for them not to,” Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports…
Trump later said during a press availability with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had a “very good meeting” with Iranian officials today on the sidelines of the UNGA that lasted for three hours, while Trump has reportedly told his advisors he’s open to meeting with the Iranians himself “if the conditions are right”…
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will be provided a security detail from the State Department while attending the UNGA, Axios reports…
Speaking on Fox News about recent Houthi and Iran-backed attacks on Saudi Arabia, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. has “a defense agreement with Saudi Arabia. We intend to live up to our commitments on it. We will,” though he said Washington is “working to see if this thing can be fixed” first…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani reupped his criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an interview with CNN yesterday, calling him “a war criminal and an architect of a horrific genocide of the Palestinian people.” Netanyahu responded in a video message today accusing Mamdani of supporting Hamas and inciting riots against Jews…
The Trump administration is discussing with Middle East partners a $10 billion investment fund, with $5 billion from the U.S. and matching contributions from the other countries, to rebuild energy infrastructure damaged in the Iran war and develop new oil and gas routes that reduce reliance on the Strait of Hormuz…
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in his address to the UNGA, accused Israel of having a “genocidal mindset that can never get enough of killing” and called on more world leaders to recognize a Palestinian state…
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that she is endorsing the state’s Democratic Senate nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, after having previously voiced reservations over his views on Israel and antisemitism, JI’s Emily Jacobs reports. In a joint podcast appearance with El-Sayed, Nessel, who is Jewish, acknowledged that “people are going to call me a traitor to my people” and a “kapo,” but said, “I can’t be true to my values if I even consider voting for [GOP nominee] Mike Rogers. Yes, I’ll be voting for Abdul.”
El-Sayed, for his part, vowed to support the Jewish American Security Act but said he would work to expand the legislation to provide similar protections for people of other faiths. He also answered in the affirmative when Nessel asked if Jewish Zionists have a place in the Democratic Party…
Meanwhile, Michigan Jewish leaders called on former Vice President Kamala Harris to appeal to El-Sayed, whom she campaigned with in Michigan today, to accept their five “nonnegotiable” demands including Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, noting Harris’ own history of fighting antisemitism and standing with the Jewish community, JI’s Marc Rod reports. In their appearance today, Harris and El-Sayed did not address foreign policy…
Vulnerable Republican candidates in high-profile races, including Rogers, Iowa Senate candidate Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) and Michigan gubernatorial candidate Rep. John James (R-MI), have urged a prompt end to the Iran war in recent days, citing rising costs ahead of the midterm elections, JI’s Marc Rod reports…
A new CNN poll found that 61% of Americans view Israel as an “ally” or “friendly” country, down from 73% who said the same in March 2025, while 15% view it as an enemy, the highest in any CNN poll since 2000 and double the amount who said the same last year. The figure who see Israel as an enemy is even higher among Americans under 45, at 23%…
Several airlines are canceling flights to and from Iran as U.S. sanctions kick in tomorrow, targeting any entity that offers Iranian airlines fuel, landing services, ticketing or other services…
Weekend Recap
The Houthis fired on Saudi Arabia’s international airport on Saturday, marking the group’s first direct attack on Saudi soil in months. U.S. embassies across the Middle East issued a security alert following the attack urging Americans to “seriously reconsider travel” to the region, but President Donald Trump has reportedly decided to hold off, for now, on a planned strike against the Houthis…
A gunman opened fire outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, as congregants gathered for Yom Kippur services on Sunday. A police officer was wounded and the assailant was killed…
An Israeli man in his 30s was killed on Sunday in a drive-by shooting terror attack near the Halamish settlement in the West Bank, where he was ritually bathing ahead of Yom Kippur…
Two men in their 30s were arrested in Manchester, England, over a plot to target the Jewish community there during Yom Kippur…
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has, like her House counterpart, placed a procedural hold on a $2.8 billion sale of bombs to Israel…
Politico published a story during Yom Kippur targeting David Milstein, an observant Jew who serves as senior advisor to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, for soliciting monetary gifts in his wedding invitation, while Milstein remained offline for the holiday…
Retiring Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) crossed party lines to endorse Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY)…
Israeli President Isaac Herzog pardoned Elor Azaria, a former IDF combat medic who was convicted in 2017 of manslaughter after he shot dead an incapacitated Palestinian assailant who had stabbed a soldier…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with author Zibby Owens on her latest book, Between Chapters: How I Started Over, Took Some Chances, and Found the Plot.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will address the U.N. General Assembly tomorrow morning. It remains unclear if Pezeshkian will hold a meeting with President Donald Trump while in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Jewish organizations including UJA-Federation of New York, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, American Jewish Committee New York, Anti-Defamation League New York/New Jersey, the New York Board of Rabbis and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations will hold a rally against antisemitism outside U.N. headquarters.
In Washington, ADL will bring survivors of antisemitic attacks — including the June 2025 firebombing of an Israeli hostage awareness march in Boulder, Colo., the deadly May 2025 shooting at the Capital Jewish Museum and the March 2026 terror attack at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich. — to Capitol Hill to lobby for the Jewish American Security Act and the Right to Worship Act.
The Senate Armed Services Committee will receive a classified briefing on CENTCOM operations from its commander, Adm. Brad Cooper.
American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) will host its Lamplighter Awards reception, this year honoring Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Jeff Miller, chair of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. The event will be co-chaired by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA); Norm Brownstein, founder and chair of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck; and Eli Miller, senior managing director of Liberty Strategic Capital.
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The group plans to discuss a range of subjects including U.S. allies’ decision to sanction Israel
POLICY PIPELINE
The former State Department envoy says EPICA will stay ‘laser focused’ on policy, tracking whether governments follow through on the global guidelines she helped write
The former State Department envoy says EPICA will stay 'laser focused' on policy, tracking whether governments follow through on the global guidelines she helped write
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Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt speaks at the March for Israel on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, in Washington, D.C.
When Deborah Lipstadt returned to academia last year after nearly three years navigating the State Department as the U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, she had a new mission: to turn what she learned in government into a training ground for the next generation of policymakers confronting antisemitism.
Lipstadt, a longtime Emory University historian, announced last week the launch of the Emory Policy Institute on Countering Antisemitism. The institute will pair undergraduate fellowships with summer internships in Washington; offer seminars for diplomats, journalists and policymakers; and track how governments are implementing the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism that Lipstadt helped develop while serving as special envoy under President Joe Biden.
“In academia, professors think they’re right more often than not. Very often they are right in their assessments. But in diplomacy, you want to be effective. Sometimes you’ve got to compromise, narrow your view and adapt without losing sight of what you want to do,” Lipstadt told Jewish Insider in an interview on Thursday.
Building off that “narrow focus” is what distinguishes EPICA from a crowded field of university antisemitism centers, Lipstadt said.
“I didn’t want to be a kolboinik like some of these other institutions,” she told JI, using the Yiddish word for a jack-of-all-trades. “There are people doing research on antisemitism in the Muslim world in the seventh century. There are people doing research on antisemitism in imperial Russia — all important topics to know. But that was not what I wanted. I wanted to be laser focused on policymaking.”
As special envoy from 2022-2025, Lipstadt frequently argued that antisemitism is not only a threat to Jews and Jewish institutions, but a broader danger that also imperils democracy, the rule of law and international stability.
She said the three focus areas of EPICA aim to address that notion. The student internships will span a wide range of fields in Washington, from Capitol Hill offices to social media companies. The summer internships will be fully funded, covering housing, travel and a stipend, to ensure that students can participate regardless of their financial circumstances.
The institute also plans to hold seminars in the U.S. and Europe for diplomats, journalists and policymakers, working with existing NGOs to educate emerging leaders about antisemitism.
The third focus will be monitoring the implementation of the Global Guidelines, an initiative of Lipstadt’s office during her final year as special envoy, which continue to be utilized by the Trump administration. While numerous countries signed onto the guidelines, Lipstadt said some of the signatories have not followed through in their commitments under the framework, and EPICA will track which governments are adhering to them.
Aaron Keyak, who served as Lipstadt’s deputy special envoy, will serve as the executive director of EPICA. “We’re going to be taking the academically rigorous approach that an Emory University student would take to their research,” Keyak told JI.
Lipstadt said she launched EPICA due to urging from peers, along with the support of Emory.
“When I was finishing up in January 2025, a number of people — some academics, some government officials — said to me that I had a very unique perspective on things,” Lipstadt told JI. “They said now that I’m out of Washington, it can’t just be interesting stories I’m telling at dinner parties or the Shabbos table.”
Plus, Piker defends China over Israel
Robert Sullivan
A fleet of F-35 "Joint Strike Fighter's" over Edwards Air Force Base, California.
Good Thursday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump told Axios today that he has “a big decision coming up” regarding Iran: “Do I want to go in and annihilate them [the Iranian regime] or do I not? It’s a big decision.” Trump also said he “may” meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he comes to New York for the U.N. General Assembly next week…
The State Department announced it has approved “a possible foreign military sale” to Saudi Arabia for 48 F-35 advanced fighter jets and “related equipment,” including engines, at an estimated cost of $24.3 billion. The proposed sale “will not alter the military balance in the region,” the department said, in a potential reference to Israel’s qualitative military edge, which the U.S. is required by law to uphold…
Meanwhile, a group of House Democrats introduced a resolution today to block the U.S. nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports, citing the lack of safeguards in the deal applied in previous agreements with other U.S. allies and arguing that the deal paves the path toward a Saudi nuclear weapon.
Under procedural rules, the Democrats should be able to force votes on the resolution, which seems likely to pick up support from most Democrats and potentially a handful of Republicans…
Russia and China vetoed a U.S. resolution at the U.N. Security Council today to renew the mandate of a panel of experts meant to monitor Iran’s nuclear program and efforts to evade sanctions…
In another clip released by Axios of Alex Thompson’s interview with Hasan Piker, the far-left streamer defended his lenient views on China as compared to Israel: Asked by Thompson why he cares more about Israel’s treatment of Muslims than China’s, Piker responded, “Israel is murdering not just Muslims, but Christians as well, with my tax dollars,” and made a distinction between what Israel is doing in Gaza as an “actual genocide,” whereas he said China’s actions against the Uyghur Muslim minority are a “cultural genocide”…
Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Michigan Senate nominee for whom Piker has acted as a campaign surrogate, distanced himself from comments Piker made in another clip claiming that the U.S. had “pound for pound” committed more acts of terror than al-Qaida. “I do not agree with this statement [on al-Qaida], nor do I give much weight to the statements made by a social media streamer,” El-Sayed said in a statement to Axios…
A group of Jewish Democrats in Michigan published an open letter today urging voters to support El-Sayed, despite acknowledging they remained concerned about some of his views, “including aspects of his approach to Israel and the language used by some of his allies.”
Among the 500 signatories were Eli Savit, the Democratic nominee for Michigan attorney general; former Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI) and his son, former Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI); Alicia Chandler, the past president of the Detroit chapter of the American Jewish Committee; and Decky Alexander, the chair of the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus…
Hedge-fund manager Clifford Asness, a major Jewish GOP donor who is outspoken against antisemitism, took aim at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on X over a report that Schumer’s Senate super PAC had put another $10 million behind El-Sayed: Sharing the cover of Schumer’s book Antisemitism in America: A Warning, Asness wrote: “by ‘warning’ I think he might’ve meant something a bit different than we were told”…
A new poll from The Hill and Emerson College found the Texas Senate race in a dead heat less than two months from Election Day: Democratic state Rep. James Talarico barely edged out Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, 47%-46%. In Alaska, another battleground state, an AARP poll found former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) with a more sizable lead over Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), 46%-41%…
The Harvard Kennedy School announced this week the launch of a new program focused on Israel, set to examine issues including Israeli politics and society, U.S.-Israel relations, Jewish-Arab relations and Israel’s place in the region. Barak Sella, a Kennedy School graduate who is spearheading the initiative, spoke with JI’s Haley Cohen about the program’s goals…
Automaker General Motors has begun building missile parts for Lockheed Martin’s Patriot missiles, in an effort to boost production of the critical interceptor whose stockpiles have been depleted by the Iran war and heavy demand from allies…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with former State Department antisemitism envoy Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt on her newly founded institute at Emory University to combat antisemitism.
Axiosis expected to air its full-length interview with Hasan Piker tomorrow, after releasing several clips today.
World leaders will converge this weekend in New York ahead of high-level week at the U.N. General Assembly, which will see speeches from global heads of state and many diplomatic sideline events and meetings.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a press conference today that they are expecting “multiple protests every day” of the event, but that there are “no known, specific or credible threats against the United Nations General Assembly or our city,” JI’s Will Bredderman reports.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz and Anwar Gargash, a senior diplomatic advisor to UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed, will sit for a conversation on Sunday hosted by Al-Monitor.
On Monday evening, as Yom Kippur comes to an end, former U.S. diplomat Morgan Ortagus and Lebanese banker Antoun Sehnaoui will host a break the fast and UNGA welcome reception in New York.
In observance of Yom Kippur, we’ll be back with the Daily Overtime on Tuesday. Shabbat shalom and g’mar chatima tovah!
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SCOOP
The previously unreported Jewish outreach comes as Democrats worry about El-Sayed’s struggles to expand support beyond his base
ANCHOR POINT
Reshef, an Oklahoma native, said her time growing up in the close-knit Oklahoma City Jewish community played a major part in her identity
The bill would also allow nonprofits to use a portion of federal grant money to pay personnel to administer grant funding
Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
Law enforcement officials are on scene to investigate an attack on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colorado on June 1, 2025.
Over a year after the deadly firebombing attack targeting an Israeli hostage awareness march in Boulder, Colo., Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO), who represents the city, and Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) introduced legislation to modify Nonprofit Security Grant Program conditions to allow grantees to use funding for staffing costs.
Currently, synagogues and other NSGP recipients are allowed to use funding to hire contracted security guards. Under the new bill, the Safe Spaces for All Act, grantees would also be able to use funding to hire full-time security staff, as well as off-duty police officers.
The bill would also allow institutions to use up to 5% of a grant to pay staff to prepare grant applications and administer grants. Supporters of the program have frequently highlighted that the laborious grant application process is a significant obstacle for small congregations and institutions that may not have dedicated grant-writing staff.
“We must do far more to combat the scourge of antisemitism, and to ensure that synagogues, temples and community centers have the resources to ensure that they are safe as hateful threats and violent actions metastasize in Colorado and across the country,” Neguse, who serves as the assistant Democratic leader, said in a statement. “The Safe Spaces for All Act bolsters security for our communities, and ensures that under these incredibly trying circumstances, members of the community can feel protected and supported.”
Bacon, a retiring House member who co-chairs the House antisemitism task force, said that “every nonprofit, especially faith-based and community organizations, deserves to safely serve their communities.”
“As threats increasingly target our vital civic and religious institutions, this straightforward, pragmatic measure ensures we’re providing the tools needed to keep Americans safe — without creating a new bureaucracy,” he continued.
The Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Federations of North America and the JEWISHcolorado Jewish Community Relations Council are also supporting the bill.
Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, emphasized that Jewish community defenses must “evolve and escalate” at pace with the threats facing them, and that security personnel are often “the first person you meet” inside an American synagogue today.
“The Safe Spaces for All Act meets that reality head-on by modernizing the Nonprofit Security Grant Program so at-risk organizations can protect the people they serve,” Greenblatt said.
Eric Fingerhut, the CEO of JFNA, said that community institutions “require flexible, practical tools to keep communities safe” and that the bill “clarifies eligible uses under the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, ensuring organizations can use these resources to address their evolving security needs.”
The Colorado JCRC said that “security is not one-size-fits-all” and that security personnel and grant-management capacity “are just as critical as the cameras, barriers, and other physical improvements.”
The Safe Space for All Act, the group continued, “would provide institutions the flexibility to use NSGP funding where it can have the greatest impact — making the program more accessible, responsive, and effective.”
Plus, Israel and Morocco upgrade ties
Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a press conference at the Unisphere on Nov. 5, 2025.
Good Wednesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Democrats announced plans to try to block the Trump administration’s sale of $2.8 billion in bombs to Israel, which is reportedly set to be financed with U.S. foreign military funding, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced he’s placing a procedural hold on the sale, while Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) vowed, “We will work to stop it”…
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in New York today alongside U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz, where Jerusalem and Rabat agreed to a series of measures to boost bilateral ties, including appointing full ambassadors to each other’s countries, turning their diplomatic missions into embassies, increasing direct flights and holding high-level visits in the near future…
Meanwhile, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter had a “positive meeting” with his Lebanese counterpart, Nada Hamadeh, in Washington yesterday, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel. The two ambassadors agreed to meet again next month in Rome for further negotiations.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said today that he’d like to reach a security agreement with Jerusalem once the IDF withdraws from southern Lebanon “primarily to end the state of hostility,” though it “could be a prelude to a later peace agreement”…
Saudi Arabia appears to have escalated its fight against the Houthis by launching a Chinese-made ballistic missile for the first time, based on debris recovered in Yemen and analyzed by Yemeni officials and weapons experts — until now, Riyadh had relied on fighter-jet airstrikes against the Iran-backed militants. The debris may provide rare proof of China’s long-denied missile sales in the Middle East…
The Houthis, for their part, claimed to shoot down a Saudi F-15 today, releasing video purporting to show burned remains of the American-made fighter jet. U.S. officials reportedly met with Houthi representatives at the U.S. Embassy in Oman over the weekend to try to turn down the temperature on the conflict…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told reporters today that he does not intend to participate in any demonstrations against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appearance at the U.N. General Assembly next week — and maintained he did not endorse protests against the PM’s arrival, an apparent ratcheting-down of his remarks from earlier this summer, JI’s Will Bredderman reports.
Mamdani also said that he “welcome[s]” a planned prayer demonstration by students from the Modern Orthodox Ramaz and SAR high schools outside Gracie Mansion on Friday, though he noted he may not be in residence at the time…
Senate Democrats largely sounded a positive note after their meeting with Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Washington today. Departing from the meeting, Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tina Smith (D-MN) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) told C-SPAN they felt positively about him and his electoral prospects.
El-Sayed also got a boost from former Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI), a longtime Jewish Democrat whose son and brother also represented Michigan in Congress, who yesterday urged “all Michiganders of conscience” to vote for El-Sayed. Despite his “significant disagreement with Abdul in his approach to the conflict involving Israel and the Palestinians,” Levin wrote in a statement, “I have never failed to support the full Democratic ticket”…
Netanyahu announced in a video statement that he intends to introduce a bill to revoke the citizenship of any Israeli who “defames IDF soldiers abroad,” as well as another bill to increase the amount of damages they can be sued for, referencing opposition party leader Yair Golan, former Military Advocate-General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi and Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the filmmakers behind the recent film “NAZA”…
The New York Times announced it had removed a line in an article about “NAZA” that had drawn fierce backlash as it read, “Israelis still largely view themselves as the victims of Oct. 7,” less than three years after attacks that constituted the single deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
The Times attributed it to an “editing error” and said the sentence “was intended to convey Israelis’ perception of the government’s military response” to Oct. 7 but had “inadvertently suggested that Israelis’ experience as terror victims was a matter of perception”…
Amazon Web Services said yesterday that it is unable to restore some customer data held in its data centers in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain that were struck by Iranian drone attacks earlier this year. “A cloud region losing customer data because of an airstrike — I don’t think that’s ever happened before,” internet-infrastructure expert Doug Madory told The Wall Street Journal…
County prosecutors in Washington state agreed to dismiss charges against the “UW33,” members of the University of Washington anti-Israel group SUPER UW who had been arrested after occupying and severely damaging a UW engineering building last year to protest the school’s relationship with companies that do business with Israel. Under the agreement, the charges will be dismissed if the defendants complete community service and do not commit any more crimes in the next year…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with Erielle Reshef, the MS NOW anchor and reporter who says she “won’t hide” her Jewish identity as she appears on a network with a progressive audience increasingly critical of Israel.
House Republicans announced the chamber is canceling votes tomorrow and will therefore adjourn this afternoon after a vote on a major Russia sanctions package, not set to return until after the midterm elections in November. While House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) denied that the issue was related, an early recess allows the caucus to avoid a vote on a measure forced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the war in Iran.
Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA) will speak at the Hudson Institute about the Trump administration’s economic isolation campaign against Iran and China’s relationship with the regime.
The Atlantic Festival will kick off in New York, with speakers over the three-day event including New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), Columbia University President Jennifer Mnookin, authors and reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan and other leaders of journalism, art and industry.
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The vice president, answering a question about unease among some on the right over the relationship, argued Trump has been more willing than any president in 40 years to challenge Netanyahu
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Analysts said that while Israel could help Riyadh in combating the attacks, any cooperation is likely to be limited and politically fraught
In an interview with JI, Suozzi recounted the story of a six-day silent retreat in Louisiana after losing the New York gubernatorial primary, which he said hardened his resolve to stick by his values
Heather Diehl/Getty Images
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) speaks with members of the media outside the U.S. Capitol on December 17, 2025 in Washington, DC.
At a time of rising anti-Israel and, in some cases, antisemitic sentiment in segments of the Democratic Party, Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) said in an interview with Jewish Insider this week that he is not fazed by the pressure, to which some Democratic colleagues have caved.
Suozzi, a moderate pro-Israel Democrat from Long Island, has long been a vocal champion of the U.S.-Israel relationship and the Jewish community in the House, and represents a heavily Jewish district.
The New York congressman is also the lead Democrat in the House on a bill to establish 100-foot buffer zones outside of houses of worship. He had introduced legislation of his own on the subject earlier this year, but subsequently teamed with Rep. Brad Knott (R-NC), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and outside advocates on a bipartisan consensus bill, the Right to Worship Act, which Suozzi had a significant role in negotiating.
A slew of outside groups supporting that bill, many of which also backed Suozzi’s original legislation, are set to rally outside the Capitol on Wednesday in support of the legislation.
Suozzi said he “decided years ago that I would be a supporter of Israel through thick and thin, based upon my travel there and different experiences I’ve had in my life.” He said he feels only more emboldened to stick to his guns on the issue in his political second act — Suozzi was a member of Congress from 2017 to 2023, before losing a bid for governor of New York.
In a 2024 special election, he won back his old seat after disgraced former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) was expelled from Congress.
After his gubernatorial loss, Suozzi spent time traveling around the country, culminating in a six-day silent Jesuit retreat in Louisiana, where Suozzi said he “surrendered to the fact that I don’t control things, and things happen the way they’re supposed to happen.”
“You would say things are either beshert or they’re not,” Suozzi said, using the Yiddish word for destined. “So I’ve decided that I’m just going to stick to my values and work as hard as I can, and whatever happens, happens. And so I’ve decided on this issue that I’m going to do the right [thing]. I’m a little bit more fearless than I was last time around. I’m going to do what I think is right and let the chips fall where they may.”
At this point, he said he’s “used to” the pressure and that he takes the “good with the bad.”
“There are some people there are some people that are really happy with my position, and there are others and there are other people that are very unhappy with my position, and that’s that’s the life I live — I guess we all do,” Suozzi said.
A co-chair of the House Problem Solvers Caucus, Suozzi argues that lawmakers need to communicate more and find areas where they can come together and work together.
“Everybody’s going off into their respective camps on a regular basis, and you know there’s not enough conversation taking place,” he said. “We’re facing a lot of very serious issues in our country right now, and it’s not good enough to just do a video onto your phone and say how bad the other side is. We have to do the difficult work of actually trying to find common ground.”
He points to the buffer zone bill as one example of such work.
As Knott told the story in a recent appearance on Fox News, Suozzi called Knott and approached him on the House floor when he heard that Knott was working on his own buffer zone bill. “He put down his bill, he joined this one, he contributed unbelievably productively to this bill’s formation and now he’s gone and helped secure Sen. Slotkin, Sen. Cruz, so it’s a hats off to Rep. Suozzi in this effort,” Knott said during the interview.
Suozzi has said in multiple interviews about the bill that the goal is to ensure that people feel safe going to religious services, and that showing up to practice one’s religion shouldn’t require facing down danger.
“The objective here was to successfully respect the constitutional protections for the right to free speech and the equally important right to worship, which are both in the First Amendment,” Suozzi told JI. “The big thing in my head was that a person shouldn’t have to show particular courage just to attend a religious service.”
He said he hopes that the Senate will take up the bill during the remaining weeks it is in session before the midterm elections, so that the House can take the bill up during the lame duck session.
“The tough lift, the heavy lift here, is to show that we’re trying to responsibly balance First Amendment freedom of speech and right to worship rights,” he said.
Asked about his conversations with colleagues on the bill, Suozzi said that the fact that such a wide range of groups, including ones representing a range of religions and religious communities, “makes people feel more comfortable that we’re taking into account those type of concerns” and that no community has expressed serious concerns.
“It’s just a matter of getting people’s attention in the midst of all the different noise that’s going on here in Washington, D.C. these days,” he said.
The coalition of support for the bill is broad, including a range of Jewish groups including the reform, conservative and Orthodox movements, various Christian and Catholic groups, Hindus, Sikhs, Seventh-Day Adventists, Mormons and Muslims — even including a Muslim group that has faced scrutiny for featuring extremist speakers at a recent conference and which was accused of ties to the Muslim Brotherhood at a hearing Cruz chaired.
Suozzi said he’s found Knott to be “very, very thoughtful, certainly very intelligent” and that he’s brought experience as a prosecutor to the issue. A co-chair of the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus, Suozzi said that he thinks that members of Congress need to cross the aisle to talk to each other more on both this and other issues.
“Tom Suozzi has been an outstanding leader in fighting antisemitism, supporting Israel, and standing with American Jewry,” Nathan Diament, the executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center said in a statement, of Suozzi’s work. “His work with Congressman Knott to protect our right to worship is exactly the kind of bipartisan leadership we need. There is no greater friend to the Jewish community than Tom Suozzi.”
The administration failed to produce the proposal it promised by Rosh Hashanah
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a food distribution center on July 27, 2026 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s team vowed that it would produce its long-promised plan to fight antisemitism in the five boroughs “soon” — but declined to provide any specifics about when it might actually come out or why his administration failed to meet its original Rosh Hashanah deadline.
The mayor has repeatedly alluded to a forthcoming “first-in-the-nation municipal response” to anti-Jewish prejudice, even as his short tenure leading the city with the largest Jewish population in the world has seen a spike in hate crimes against Jews. The Jewish community is consistently the target of more than half of all hate crimes, despite making up around one-tenth of New York City’s population.
When asked why its Office to Combat Antisemitism had failed to produce the plan before the High Holy Days as promised, a City Hall spokesperson only promised it would be out “soon.”
“The mayor is fully committed to the safety of Jewish New Yorkers and to using every tool available to ensure that Jewish communities continue to thrive as an essential part of the fabric of the five boroughs,” Sam Raskin, Mamdani’s deputy press secretary, told Jewish Insider.
Mamdani himself did not answer a question from JI about the report’s status following an unrelated event — the release of a plan to combat traffic-related deaths — on Tuesday afternoon.
Former Mayor Eric Adams, Mamdani’s predecessor, released a “blueprint” for tackling antisemitism on his last day in office, largely detailing steps his office had already taken. This included an executive order Adams signed adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism as official city policy.
The IHRA definition has been sharply criticized by Mamdani’s base for its assertion that the denial of the Jewish right to national self-determination and the comparison of Israeli actions to Nazi Germany are antisemitic, even though it explicitly states that criticism of Israeli policy that might be applied to any other country “cannot be regarded as antisemitic.”
Mamdani, whose frequent broadsides against Israel powered his rise to political prominence, repealed the Adams order, along with a dozen others his predecessor signed, the day he assumed office.
The administration’s failure to put out its program to counter anti-Jewish hate sparked outrage from the Anti-Defamation League, one of Mamdani’s most consistent critics.
“The delay from the @NYCMayor’s office to combat antisemitism is unacceptable,” the group posted on X. “The safety and security of Jewish New Yorkers is not a political football.”
The group further demanded the final plan include an official definition of antisemitism — which the administration has resisted setting — specific proposals for protecting Jewish institutions, “zero tolerance” for antisemitism in the municipal bureaucracy and a pledge not to boycott businesses and organizations linked to Israel.
Raskin did not respond to a JI request for his reaction to the ADL’s statement.
An insider with knowledge of the plan’s status told JI it remains unfinished. The source, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely, added that the administration had received input from the Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, an anti-Zionist activist group that supported Mamdani’s election.
Outreach to JFREJ was answered with an autoreply stating the group was inaccessible until after Yom Kippur.
Plus, voters split on aid to Israel
Nic Antaya/Getty Images
Vice President JD Vance speaks during a rally at Universal Contracting and Urban Tree Trimming on August 31, 2026 in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
Good Tuesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
The U.S. destroyed two Iranian vessels yesterday after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps tried to steal a Navy drone in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. officials told Axios…
Top military leaders from the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt reportedly met in Germany last week to discuss the war in Iran. CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper assured the group that the U.S. does not plan to withdraw its forces from the region, while Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF’s chief of staff, updated participants on IDF operations in several arenas…
Saudi Arabia issued an alert today for a possible attack targeting the pilgrimage city of Mecca, amid ongoing attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen in recent days…
Riyadh also canceled some oil shipments meant to depart for Europe in September after its key East-West pipeline was damaged in drone attacks, Reuters reports, compounding the global oil crisis…
The Trump administration is preparing a $2.8 billion sale of 40,000 one-ton bombs and 20,000 Penetrator warheads to Israel, a U.S. official told The Washington Post…
The Iran war could cost the U.S. up to $3 billion for each month that it continues, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found in a report released today, on top of the $38 billion the CBO estimated that the war already cost in its first five months…
U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa visited southern Lebanon today to “see firsthand the progress and challenges in the pilot zones” where the Lebanese Armed Forces have taken over control from the IDF, according to a statement…
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) said she was “followed, shouted at, and harassed by two rogue paid actors,” following a hearing on the Hill today, who ostensibly targeted her for her views on the Middle East. “Let me be clear: I have always wanted the wars in the Middle East to end,” she wrote in a statement on X. “People are free to disagree with me, challenge me, and protest my positions. That is democracy. But disagreement is not license for intimidation or harassment”…
The Trump administration reached a settlement agreement with Lincoln Memorial University to end discrimination against Jewish students, the Justice Department announced today, after a federal investigation found that an LMU college denied requests by Jewish students for religious accommodations, but provided those same accommodations to non-Jewish students…
Michigan Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Gary Peters (D-MI) are imploring the Democratic Senate caucus to help Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed with financial support in his race against former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), Semafor reports, and are inviting members to a meet-and-greet with El-Sayed in Washington later this week…
In a meeting with House Republicans today, Vice President JD Vance urged members who are “running against a Democrat who’s not that crazy” in the midterm elections to “just talk about Abdul El-Sayed. He’s got enough material for the whole country”…
Vance also told the New York Post that the Iran war will be in a “much different phase in a couple of months” and said the U.S. “is not engaged in aggressive operations [against Iran]. We’re just not”…
Appearing at the Hudson Institute today, Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) argued that the U.S. and Israeli strikes that killed much of Iran’s leadership could have a deterrent effect on Chinese President Xi Jinping by proving that authoritarian rulers are not untouchable. He further claimed that Chinese bot networks helped drive the surge in online antisemitism after the Oct. 7 attacks, citing an estimate that these bots accounted for roughly 22% of such social media activity.
Ricketts also sharply criticized the isolationist think tank Defense Priorities, likening its case for a U.S. pullback from the Indo-Pacific to Britain and France’s 1938 agreement in Munich to let Hitler seize part of Czechoslovakia…
Ed Sheeran issued a statement regarding Macklemore being dropped as the opening act from the rest of his U.S. stadium tour, writing on Instagram that the decision was out of his hands and that he respects Macklemore’s choice to speak about Israel onstage, even if he does not choose to do the same. He confirmed that he spoke with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft about the issue as well as promoters and “activists on both sides.”
Four of Sheeran’s other opening acts — Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Irish folk band Beoga — pulled out of his tour today in what they said was solidarity with Macklemore and the Palestinian people…
In a New York Times/Siena poll released today, respondents were split over whether they preferred a candidate who would support or oppose military aid to Israel. The survey found that 36% of respondents overall backed a candidate who was supportive of military aid, while 37% leaned towards someone who was opposed — and responses broke sharply along partisan lines. By a 67%-9% margin, Republicans said they would support a candidate advocating for Israel aid, while Democrats backed the candidate opposing Israel aid, 53%-17%…
Ally Chemtob, a Democratic member of the New Castle, N.Y., Town Council, yesterday endorsed Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) for reelection, citing his relationship with the Jewish community and record on antisemitism and Middle East policy, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a dive into Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s attacks on AIPAC and Democratic operative Michael Sacks and what they mean for pro-Israel donors in the deep-blue city.
On the Hill, the House Homeland Security Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold hearings on how counterterror efforts have evolved in the quarter-century since the 9/11 attacks.
Politico’s Decoded Summit will take place in Washington, with speakers including David Sacks, co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
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BOOKSHELF
Speaking to JI about ‘I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends,’ the liberal Fox News co-host also shared her conflicted views on Zohran Mamdani and how Oct. 7 deepened her Jewish identity
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'Free speech allows difficult and controversial views, but it does not require anyone to stay silent when someone has a history of hateful comments about Jewish Americans, 9/11, and Hamas terrorism,' Cuellar wrote on X
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) questions DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin during the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security hearing in Rayburn building on Thursday, June 25, 2026.
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) criticized plans for antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker to speak on the flagship campus of the University of Texas, becoming the first Democrat in Texas’ congressional delegation to do so.
Piker was invited by the school’s University Democrats student group for a speech set for Sept. 30.
“Hasan Piker’s scheduled appearance at the University of Texas is deeply concerning,” Cuellar wrote on X. “Free speech allows difficult and controversial views, but it does not require anyone to stay silent when someone has a history of hateful comments about Jewish Americans, 9/11, and Hamas terrorism.”
Cuellar, among the most moderate Democrats in the House, said that Jewish students at the school “should not be made to feel targeted or unsafe on their own campus. UT should be a place for debate, learning, and respect, not antisemitism or rhetoric that excuses terrorism.”
He stopped short of explicitly calling for the speech to be canceled.
Piker said on X that the comments were a “direct violation of the 1st amendment,” adding, “free speech must be protected. dems should push back against this attack!”
Adit Raha, a spokesperson for University Democrats, dismissed those criticizing the event.
“With less [than] fifty days until the election, some members of our party seem to be more focused on a twitch streamer rather than the issues that matter most to voters such as ending the cost of living crisis, passing medicare for all, and stopping the genocide of Palestinians all while we’ve been steadfast in organizing thousands of students on campus to get them out to vote come late October when early voting begins,” Raha said in a statement to Jewish Insider.
Democratic Majority for Israel thanked Cuellar for “speaking up on this important matter.”
“Piker is a dangerous figure who continues to peddle in dangerous conspiracy theories, antisemitism, and hateful bigotry. He should be provided no safe harbor in our party,” DMFI said.
Various Republicans including Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas Attorney General and Senate nominee Ken Paxton and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) all previously condemned the planned speech. Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX), who co-chairs the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, declined to comment last week when contacted by JI.
Responding to Piker’s post about Cuellar, UT’s University Democrats stood firm and accused the university of failing to properly facilitate the event by providing a sufficiently large space.
“There are multiple 2,000+ seat venues on campus available for use and yet the [university] remains silent!” the group said on X. The group also suggested that political considerations are driving those difficulties.
The University of Texas did not respond to a request for comment.
Plus, Dept of Ed report on foreign funding delayed — again
ARNAUD FINISTRE / AFP via Getty Images
Benjamin Haggerty, known as Macklemore, performs at the Goldencoast Rap Festival in Corcelles-les-Monts, France, on Aug. 30, 2026.
Good Monday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump claimed today that Iran “wants to make a deal, quickly and badly,” writing on Truth Social that he “will determine whether or not the U.S.A. will choose to engage – The concept of which we are open to.” He also wrote in another post that rising diesel prices around the world are “mostly caused by the Russia/Ukraine War, not Iran,” and that Russia and Ukraine had agreed not to target each other’s energy infrastructure…
The Treasury Department imposed sanctions today on Russia’s VTB Bank for assisting Iran in evading sanctions, including helping to move billions in frozen Iranian assets. The U.S. had previously sanctioned VTB Bank over its role in financing Russia’s war against Ukraine; Treasury said the bank was now “among the most comprehensively sanctioned financial institutions in the world”…
CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah today, as the Gulf state continues to face escalating attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. MBS reportedly urged Trump last week to conduct strikes against the Houthis, which the president refused…
Asked about the hostilities, Vice President JD Vance told reporters today that the U.S. is in direct contact with the Houthis as well as in continued discussions with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, “so we actually feel like we are on top of the situation”…
Meanwhile, U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham is reportedly weighing Saudi requests for assistance, including helping defend against Houthi strikes on oil infrastructure, and has thus far agreed to send British military advisors to Saudi Arabia for consultations…
Trump nominated Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) to be U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia; in a statement, Hunt highlighted his previous service in the region as an Army officer and as a diplomatic liaison in Riyadh…
Widespread protests, the largest since the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad in 2024, have broken out across Syria after Damascus raised diesel prices by 40% and household gas prices by 9% over the weekend…
Columbia University anti-Israel protest leader Mahmoud Khalil and several of his fellow activists filed a lawsuit against Columbia in federal court today, arguing that the school failed to protect them against harassment they allege that they faced on campus due to their activism…
The release of a Department of Education report on foreign funding to U.S. colleges and universities, due out last Friday, was delayed for a fifth time and is now set to be released on Sept. 25…
Macklemore has been dropped as the opening act for the remaining U.S. dates of Ed Sheeran’s stadium tour after several venues refused to host the rapper, the tour’s promoter said, following controversy over his repeated onstage anti-Israel tirades that critics said veered into antisemitism.
Macklemore claimed in a subsequent post on Instagram, which again accused Israel at length of committing genocide, that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft — who also owns Gillette Stadium, where Sheeran is scheduled to play later this month — rallied other stadium owners to collectively agree they would not allow Macklemore to perform at their venues.
Kraft responded in a statement, saying that hosting Macklemore after his “history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community” would cross a line into platforming hate speech. He invited Macklemore to a sit-down discussion “because ultimately our goal is the same — peace for all people, an end to suffering, and an end to all hate”…
The Temple Israel congregation in West Bloomfield, Mich., returned to its sanctuary for Rosh Hashanah services on Friday, six months after an attacker drove a truck full of explosives into the synagogue.
During the service, the Forward reports, congregational leaders spoke about the prayer books donated by other synagogues around the country after theirs were destroyed, the neighbors of other faiths who supported the Jewish community and the additional security measures put in place to facilitate the reopening…
Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF chief of staff, denounced “NAZA” — a new documentary by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor alleging Israel used AI-assisted systems to kill Gazan civilians — as “blood libel” and ordered a review of possible legal action against its creators, along with a probe into whether classified material was leaked to make it.
The IDF called on the filmmakers to allow the military to view the documentary in its entirety, after it premiered last week at the Venice International Film Festival…
A ProPublica investigation found that Umar Kremlev, a Russian businessman close to President Vladimir Putin, paid for hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses for Donald Trump Jr.’s three-day May wedding in the Bahamas, including renting a private island.
After the story was published, Trump Jr.’s wife, Bettina Trump, confirmed Kremlev’s role on Instagram, writing that “our dear friend Umar very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding” as “an extraordinarily generous wedding gift,” and insisting “friendship doesn’t require a political motive.” National security experts warned the arrangement gave a Putin ally intimate access to the president’s son…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with Fox News co-host Jessica Tarlov on her new book, I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends, including her reflections on her closely watched sit-down last year with far-left streamer Hasan Piker.
Vice President JD Vance is expected to address House Republicans tomorrow on the White House’s messaging strategy for the midterm elections.
The Eradicate Hate Global Summit will begin in Pittsburgh with a keynote speech from Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist Dr. Alfred Garwood.
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin will speak at a Democratic Majority Action Committee fundraiser in White Plains, N.Y., where she is expected to address combating extremism, including antisemitism.
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A new digital ad from Moskowitz’s campaign opens with footage of the Holocaust, and discusses his family history and work to combat antisemitism
Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) speaks at a press conference on Capitol Hill on Sept. 8, 2025.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) is leaning into his work to combat antisemitism as he launches his general election campaign, airing a new advertisement on the subject on digital platforms.
After beating an anti-Israel Democratic Socialists of America-aligned candidate in the primary, Moskowitz, who is Jewish, now faces former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer, who is also Jewish and has pledged to be vocal against antisemitism as a member of Congress.
The newly drawn 25th district in coastal South Florida has one of the largest Jewish populations in the country, which has historically been strongly supportive of Moskowitz.
The black-and-white ad opens with footage from the Holocaust, with voiceover by Moskowitz, stating, “In every generation, they rise against us,” and discussing the murder of his great-grandparents in Auschwitz and his grandmother’s escape from the Holocaust. The ad does not include specifics, but Moskowitz’s grandmother was part of the Kindertransport that evacuated Jewish children from Germany between 1938 and 1940.
Standing in front of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in his district, the site of the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, Moskowitz highlighted that the gunman had carved swastikas into his weapons.
“That’s why I’ve fought antisemitism and have led bipartisan efforts to increase security and synagogues and Jewish nonprofit centers, and expand education so we can stop hate crimes before they happen,” Moskowitz said. “Because never again is now.”
Moskowitz’s campaign did not disclose the size of the ad buy.
The lawmakers also said they do not have serious concerns about antisemitism on the political right
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN) leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol on June 4, 2025.
LAS VEGAS — Jewish House Republicans said during the Republican Jewish Coalition’s leadership summit in Las Vegas earlier this month that there’s little appetite among Republicans to end U.S. aid to Israel as the two sides look toward the end of the current memorandum of understanding on military aid.
They also said they do not have serious concerns about antisemitism on the right, and argued that it did not stand any real chance of encroaching into the GOP.
Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN) argued to Jewish Insider that the near-unanimous GOP vote this summer against an amendment to cut off U.S. aid to Israel showed that most Republicans want U.S. aid to continue, when asked about the next MOU and the prospect of winding down aid.
“I think the message is that the majority of the members of the House want to see the aid continue, want to see this alliance continue, but elections have consequences, and we don’t know what the makeup of the next House is going to be on the Republican side and on the Democrat side,” he said.
Kustoff said that the vote to cut off aid on the Democratic side, including House Minority Whip Katherine Clark’s (D-MA), shows “where the Democrat[ic] Party is going,” even as he praised select members like retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) for continuing to stand up for the U.S.-Israel relationship.
“I do feel confident that if the Republicans maintain the majority of the House, that this strong relationship continues and exists,” Kustoff said.
Rep. Craig Goldman (R-TX) emphasized that Israel and the United States are facing threats not only from Iran and its nuclear program but also from the terrorist groups that Iran has spent decades funding.
“I certainly will fight tooth and nail as long as I’m a member of U.S. Congress to continue aid to Israel,” Goldman told JI. “It’s too important for not only our national security but world security. Our strongest ally in the Middle East, we can’t let fall in bad hands.”
Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) also argued to JI that continuing aid is in the interests of the U.S., explaining, “I think it’s in Israel’s best interest to stop taking the aid. I don’t know that it’s in America’s best interest.”
At least some Republicans on Capitol Hill have argued, echoing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that U.S. aid to Israel should be wound down and ended in the coming years, though the idea does not seem to have purchase among others like Kustoff, Goldman and Fine.
Kustoff also told JI that the administration needs to “continue to make the argument” to Congress and the American public about the next steps in the Iran war in order to secure the necessary funding from Congress to continue the war effort.
“It’s so important for the administration to talk about what these next steps look like, and again, for the members of Congress who are going to be voting on these important appropriations, we need to know what these next several weeks look like in terms of planning and implementation,” Kustoff said.
Kustoff said that antisemitism is “far more” of a problem on the left than the right, pointing to recent primary results, but acknowledged that misinformation on social media targeting the Jewish community is impacting younger Americans regardless of political affiliation.
“There is no easy answer. Part of it is that people like me on our side, and people on the Democrat[ic] side, have to stand up and denounce and call out the misinformation, the out-and-out lies that are out there on social media,” Kustoff said. “We know that the misinformation emanates from the enemies of Israel and the enemies of the United States, to permeate discontent primarily among our younger population.”
He argued that the Republican Party can block antisemites from gaining ground in the GOP, as they have in the Democratic Party, by remaining firm on its “principles,” standing unequivocally in support of Israel and focusing on recruiting candidates who align with the party’s values and ideals.
Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and a former House Republican, also argued during a press appearance at the RJC conference that antisemitism on the right is less serious of a problem than on the left.
Democrats, he emphasized, are campaigning alongside the likes of streamer Hasan Piker, framing some candidates as functionally answering to Piker and his views.
“Where do you see congressional Republicans on the ballot this November campaigning with a [neo-Nazi] Nick Fuentes? It’s just it doesn’t happen. You know there’s no defense of him on the trail, and there’s a reason for that,” Zeldin said, arguing that Fuentes is not actually a conservative at all.
The Democratic Party leadership, he continued, is “being led by those extreme elements.” Zeldin said he witnessed the evolution of the Democratic Party firsthand with the rise of the Squad during his time on Capitol Hill. He also argued that the right-wing equivalent of a Squad member would never make it to a GOP nomination or be elected to federal office.
“When you see antisemitism, it should be singularly identified and crushed in any form, and antisemitism has no place in this country. I’ll say it unequivocally. I’ll say it forcefully and passionately every single time,” he said, when asked by JI how to prevent such a trend from repeating itself among Republicans.
“It’s to be identified, confronted and crushed,” he continued. “How do you eliminate it? It’s not by elevating it, embracing it, empowering it. You can’t be silent towards it. You can’t allow it to spread and gain a foothold. Wherever you see it, you have to identify it, and you have to crush it.”
Goldman voiced fears about the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America on the left.
“Organizations like the Democratic Socialists of America scare me as not only just an American but as a Jewish American,” Goldman said. “I have tremendous fears of what’s building on the left.”
He noted that the other Goldman on Capitol Hill, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), had been defeated by a further left candidate despite being a reliably progressive vote.
“That’s very, very scary,” he said. “That member, that person’s going to be a member of the U.S. Congress next year. So I think it’s a big moment to wake up. … This isn’t just normal Democrats running and winning. These are socialists.”
He said he’s not concerned about antisemites gaining similar purchase within the GOP.
Plus, Iran reconstitutes underground
Courtesy Miznon
Miznon green beans at the US Open
Good Thursday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
The International Atomic Energy Agency has observed construction activity at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected underground nuclear site, IAEA head Rafael Grossi told Bloomberg Television. President Donald Trump said similarly yesterday, “We notice there’s a little activity at Pickaxe,” and warned Iran “not to get cute because we will have to hit them very hard”…
Iran has also resumed producing ballistic missiles, officials told The Wall Street Journal, working in underground facilities with components it had stockpiled before the war began…
Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), the GOP nominee for Senate in Michigan, plans to take aim at his Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, in his remarks at the GOP midterm convention today, calling out in particular El-Sayed’s relationship with streamer Hasan Piker.
Rogers will highlight Piker’s comments that America “deserved 9/11,” according to Axios, as other Republican candidates also campaign around the 25th anniversary of the attacks…
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee attended a ceremony today at the 9/11 Living Memorial Plaza in Jerusalem, the only memorial outside of the U.S. to list the name of each victim killed in the terror attacks…
The next round of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon will be held over two days next week in Rome, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel…
Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod last week that he’s likely to support the administration’s proposed nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, which would reportedly allow for joint U.S.-Saudi nuclear enrichment efforts inside the Gulf country.
Mast’s support, as the chair of a committee that will be responsible for reviewing the deal during a mandatory congressional oversight period, is a strong sign that many congressional Republicans will coalesce behind the administration in support of the agreement…
The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law wrote to Qatari Ambassador to the U.S. Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad al-Thani yesterday amid a back-and-forth online, urging the Qatari Embassy to release a full public accounting of its funding to U.S. colleges and universities, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
“There is a straightforward way for the Government of Qatar to demonstrate that public accounts of its activities are inaccurate or misleading: full disclosure,” Brandeis Center CEO Ken Marcus said in a letter to Al-Thani, after the ambassador claimed that critics of Qatar are engaged in a “coordinated disinformation campaign” to manipulate data on foreign funding in U.S. higher education…
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” today that the U.S. should take a “very tough position” if Israeli voters reelect the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel’s upcoming elections, but said a new Israeli government could provide opportunities for more constructive progress…
The Honey Deuce — the U.S. Open’s iconic signature cocktail — is facing fierce competition for the tennis tournament’s most popular menu item this year. Surrounded by greasy fried foods, the unexpected breakout star is a green bean bowl from Eyal Shani‘s Tel Aviv-born eatery Miznon, whose head of operations spoke with JI’s Haley Cohen about the craze…
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel announced that his interview with Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico will not air on his show tonight, and will instead be posted online, after the Trump administration threatened the show, host network ABC and local stations.
The move comes months after former “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert said his show was also prevented from airing an interview with Talarico due to threats from the Federal Communications Commission…
The J50, a forum of Diaspora Jewish organizations, issued a declaration signed by 59 organizations representing 40 countries that states anti-Zionism, “as manifested today through efforts to deny the Jewish people their right to self-determination, or demand that Jews renounce Zionism as the price of acceptance in political, academic, professional, or cultural life,” is antisemitic, and reaffirms the principles of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism…
Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon launched a Task Force on Combating Antisemitism at the global body yesterday. Its first meeting was attended by representatives from several countries including the U.K., Australia, Argentina and Slovakia…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the NYPD are preparing for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming visit for the U.N. General Assembly.
President Donald Trump will attend the Pentagon memorial ceremony for the 9/11 anniversary tomorrow, while Vice President JD Vance will attend the memorial ceremony at Ground Zero.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations will host its annual policy conference and gala in Washington over the weekend, with speakers including New York City Democratic congressional nominee Darializa Avila Chevalier; New Jersey Democratic congressional nominee Adam Hamawy; Virginia state Del. Sam Rasoul; anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour; Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin; Drop Site News co-founder Ryan Grim; and commentator Cenk Uygur.
The annual All-In Summit — the influential tech-and-politics gathering run by the “All-In Podcast” — kicks off in Los Angeles on Sunday with speakers including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang; Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella; NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman; SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell; California GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton; and former L.A. mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt.
We’ll be back with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shana tovah u’metukah!
Stories You May Have Missed
BEYOND WORDS
Rabbi Ronald Kaplan, who volunteered as a spiritual first responder after 9/11, was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer traced to his time on the pile — a battle he’s still fighting on the 25th anniversary of the attacks
DOHA DEALINGS
The network’s new ‘Global Perspectives’ forum comes amid ongoing concerns about its ability to cover the Gulf state objectively
Plus, Trump predicts war ends after Election Day
Saul Loeb-Pool/Getty Images
Vice President JD Vance boards Air Force Two on August 31, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.
Good Wednesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Asked about the U.K., France and Canada enacting sanctions against Israeli settlements in the West Bank, President Donald Trump told reporters this afternoon on his way to Dallas for the GOP midterm convention that he’ll be “speaking to Israel” about the issue. “I understand exactly what’s going on, but I want to find out why all of a sudden does that happen,” he added…
Trump also predicted the Iran war “will end immediately after” the midterm elections because the Iranian regime is “desperate to affect the election”…
White House officials and GOP elected officials told Axios that they’ve stopped trying to persuade Trump on anything and find it futile to push back on his decisions, with one longtime advisor telling the outlet, “Why bother? He’s the boss”…
A new poll of American Jewish voters commissioned by the nonpartisan Jewish Voters Resource Center found that Vice President JD Vance is viewed negatively by 82% of Jewish voters, including 39% of Jewish Republicans, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. Vance’s approval numbers are markedly lower than those of Trump — who is viewed positively by 89% of Jewish Republicans — and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, at 93%…
A new CNN poll of the Senate races in Michigan and Maine found the Democratic candidates leading, though both were within the margin of error, indicating the races remain neck-and-neck in the lead-up to November. In Michigan, Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed led former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) 47%-44%, while in Maine, Democratic nominee Troy Jackson led Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) 48%-45%…
Trump has begun tapping his super PAC’s $400 million war chest through a new group, No Going Back PAC — financially backed by his main super PAC, MAGA Inc. — which has reserved at least $47 million in ads across six contested Senate races and one House race, The New York Times reports. The PAC’s top investments include nearly $15 million in Michigan, $11 million in Ohio and $9.6 million in New Hampshire…
Pakistan transmitted a warning from Saudi Arabia to Iran to rein in its Houthi proxies in Yemen amid an escalation in hostilities between the terror group and Riyadh, Reuters reports. Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif also sounded a cautionary note in an interview reminding global actors that attacks on Saudi Arabia could now trigger its mutual defense pact with Pakistan and Turkey…
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors voted today for the first time in two decades to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council for violating its nuclear nonproliferation obligations, diplomats told Reuters. The move marks an escalation that opens Iran to possible U.N. sanctions, though Russia and China’s vetoes on the UNSC make actual punitive action unlikely…
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar inaugurated the first Israeli Embassy in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana…
Israel and the Palestinian technocratic committee governing Gaza have successfully vetted roughly 16,500 Palestinians to serve in the Board of Peace’s new police force, though Jerusalem has not yet given its approval for the recruits to leave the Gaza Strip for training, two Board of Peace officials told The Times of Israel…
Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL), Craig Goldman (R-TX), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) urged Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to take steps to ensure Hamas cannot “exploit” economic instability in the West Bank, raising concerns about Israel’s decision to withhold tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority…
Former Secretary of State Tony Blinken rejected as “complete fiction” a Haaretz report that he delayed an offer by Hamas immediately after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks to release some of the hostages it had captured…
White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff earned more than $100 million — including nearly $69 million in cash and $38 million in crypto — from the trust that owns his stake in World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency venture he co-founded with Trump and his family in 2024, according to a new financial disclosure…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for reactions from Texas officials and Jewish leaders to the decision by the University of Texas’ Democratic student group to host far-left streamer Hasan Piker on campus later this month.
The GOP midterm convention, which offers a test of whether President Donald Trump can boost the prospects of Republicans in competitive general election races, concludes tomorrow with closing remarks from the president and a keynote address from Vice President JD Vance.
Also speaking at the summit tomorrow are Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Michigan GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Donald Trump Jr.
Stories You May Have Missed
A FATHER’S LOVE
Chen — father of Itay Chen, whose body was held by Hamas for more than two years — is continuing to advocate to ensure that American victims of Oct. 7 are remembered, and that his son’s ‘sacrifice was not in vain’
BOOKSHELF
Jerusalem Post military correspondent Yonah Jeremy Bob and Wall Street Journal editorial writer Elliot Kaufman draw on years of interviews with top Israeli leadership
Plus, Rick Scott floats refuge for Canadian Jews
Amir Levy/Getty Images
A view over the Jewish settlement of Kedumim in the West Bank on Sept. 8, 2026 in Kedumim, West Bank.
Good Tuesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a sweeping new sanctions regime today targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank, marking a major escalation in Britain’s diplomatic stance toward Israel, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
Addressing the House of Commons, Miliband unveiled an import ban on goods produced in settlements alongside targeted sanctions against individuals and corporations involved in constructing, advertising or financing settlement expansion. Miliband went further than any previous British official in accusing Israeli settlers of carrying out “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians in the West Bank and calling them “terrorists” with the tacit backing of the Israeli government…
Denouncing what he described as a “hostile sanctions package,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel would be taking swift retaliatory measures, including closing the British Consulate in Jerusalem, expelling British representatives from the U.S.-backed International Gaza Support Center, terminating the British Support Team in Ramallah tasked with training members of the Palestinian Authority Security Forces and barring 12 British officials, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who are “involved in antisemitic and anti-Israel activity”…
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters about Miliband’s announcement, “Obviously, we’re not going to do what the U.K. did,” but declined to comment further. He said Washington and London “share the goal of stability” and “don’t want to see some uptick in violence” in the West Bank…
All the while, Israel Space Agency head Shimrit Maman met today in Brussels with Ekaterina Zaharieva, the European commissioner for startups, research and innovation, as more European countries turn to Israel for their defense technology needs and as the EU looks to increase its presence in space. The moves mark a shift from 2024, when a plan for an EU air-defense shield was reportedly scrapped as officials realized they would need to rely on Israeli technology to construct it…
CENTCOM carried out strikes near Iran’s Kharg Island this afternoon, including on Iranian oil tankers, a U.S. official told Fox News. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to retaliate against U.S. forces in the region…
The Treasury Department announced sanctions today against 27 Iranian airlines as well as several front companies, foreign intermediaries and other aviation-related actors for supporting the regime’s illicit activities…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denied reports that he was warned by the UAE ahead of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks: “If there was any relevant information, it was passed through intelligence channels between the two countries,” the PMO said.
Meanwhile, an Emirati source confirmed to The Times of Israel that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed personally transmitted the warning in a phone call to Netanyahu days ahead of the attacks…
A coalition of Michigan rabbis and Jewish leaders launched a petition laying out their five “nonnegotiables” for candidates to receive their backing, an effort ostensibly aimed at Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
The list includes a candidate’s support for Jewish safety, including for Zionist Jews; for Jews to be able to define their own identities, including a connection to the State of Israel; for Israel’s existence as a Jewish state; for full Jewish participation in American political life; and for an affirmative vision for the Middle East moving forward…
In a letter obtained by JI’s Emily Jacobs, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) urged President Donald Trump to establish an expedited legal pathway for Jewish Canadians to obtain refugee status in the United States amid rising antisemitism in their home country…
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced today the release of $70 million in state hate crimes funding to “fortify” religious facilities across the state — as well as a “surge” in police presence — as the High Holy Days begin this weekend, JI’s Will Bredderman reports.
Nearly 300 schools, houses of worship and civic groups — not exclusively Jewish ones — will receive grants of up to $250,000 each for cameras, alarms, security training and cybersecurity enhancements…
Spotted at the “Freedom 250” celebration hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem today to celebrate the American semiquincentennial were U.S. Ambassdor to Israel Mike Huckabee and his wife, Janet; former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman; Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana; Miriam Adelson; Museum of Tolerance chair and co-founder Larry Mizel; former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren; National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir; Argentine Ambassador to Israel Rabbi Shimon Axel Wahnish; Meta’s Jordana Cutler; United Hatzalah President Eli Beer; venture capitalist Eric Reiner; businessman Simon Falic; and singer Ishay Ribo, who performed for the guests…
The 59th season premiere of CBS News’ “60 Minutes” this Sunday will feature an interview with one of the officers who was shot down in his F-15 fighter jet over Iran in April. The officer, known as “Dude 44,” will be interviewed by correspondent Norah O’Donnell in his first on-camera sitdown…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with Elliot Kaufman and Yonah Jeremy Bob on their new book, In the War Room: The Inside Story of Israel’s Fight Against Hamas and the Iranian Axis.
The Republican National Committee will kick off its first-ever midterm convention tomorrow afternoon in Dallas, with dozens of candidates and elected officials scheduled to speak over the two days of programming.
President Donald Trump will deliver the keynote address tomorrow night (as well as closing remarks on Thursday), with additional remarks throughout the convention by Vice President JD Vance; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent; Attorney General Todd Blanche; House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA); Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Jon Husted (R-OH) and Dave McCormick (R-PA); Texas attorney general and Senate candidate Ken Paxton; Georgia Senate nominee Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA); Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers; and North Carolina Senate nominee Michael Whatley.
Some GOP candidates in tight races, including Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), former Sen. John Sununu (R-NH) and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), will not be attending the convention, in what appears to be a pointed effort to keep their distance from Trump.
The MEAD conference, a summit of government officials, policymakers and leaders in Middle East policy, will conclude in Washington tomorrow. Representatives from 24 countries, including several that have no diplomatic relations with Israel, are reportedly in attendance.
The Israeli Embassy in Washington will host its Rosh Hashanah celebration tomorrow evening.
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin and Comptroller Mark Levine will walk the runway at the Metropolitan Opera House during Style Across the Aisle, where they will be dressed by Jewish designers Elie Tahari and Yosel Tiefenbrun.
Stories You May Have Missed
MAMDANI’S MENSCH
Uri Fraenkel made an improbable ascent from bus-managing bureaucrat to Mamdani’s Borough Park chaperone
PAPPAS UNDER PRESSURE
The pro-Israel moderate has been recalibrating his foreign policy views under pressure from a far-left anti-Israel opponent
The Florida Republican cited rising antisemitism in Canada as reason for the emergency measure
Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) at the US Capitol in Washington, on July 16, 2026.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is urging President Donald Trump to establish an expedited legal pathway for Jewish Canadians to obtain refugee status in the United States amid rising antisemitism in Canada.
In a letter to the president on Tuesday, Scott encouraged Trump to set up a refugee program for Canadian Jews to legally seek refuge from religious persecution in their home country. The Florida senator noted that Trump recently amplified a report on Christian leaders urging him to create a legal pathway for Jews in Canada to come to the U.S., and vowed to support the president if he pursued the idea.
“The Jewish community throughout Canada is experiencing a rapid increase in threats, harassment, and violence. A significant number of these intolerable instances occur in places of worship, schools, and Jewish-owned small businesses,” Scott wrote in the letter, obtained by Jewish Insider.
“As a result of this proliferation of antisemitism, you expressed consideration for an expedited legal pathway for the Canadian Jewish community to find refuge in our great nation,” he continued. “Should you pursue this effort, please know that I stand behind this noble decision.”
Scott predicted that Florida, which is home to some of the largest Jewish communities in the U.S., would embrace Canadian Jews who relocate to the state in search of a more welcoming environment.
“If those in the Canadian Jewish community wish to lawfully come to the United States, Florida will happily welcome them to our proud and thriving state,” Scott wrote. “Unlike other neighboring nations and states, Florida will defend the Jewish community from antisemitism and provide our friends with new opportunities to prosper and live their American Dream.”
“Florida will continue to stand at the ready to assist your administration’s efforts in protecting the Jewish community abroad and at home,” he added.
The White House did not respond to JI’s request for comment on the letter or if the president was considering such a move, which would run counter to the Trump administration’s hardline immigration approach aimed at restricting legal and illegal immigration.
Last Monday, Trump shared a report from Just the News highlighting a letter to him from the National Association of Christian Lawmakers, in which the group called on him to direct the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to develop “lawful, secure, and appropriately expedited pathways” for Jewish Canadian nationals and their immediate family members to seek refuge in the U.S. as Canada’s Jewish community faces increased threats.
In July, Oklahoma GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt sent Trump a letter vowing to welcome to his home state Jewish Canadian families who legally come to the U.S. while fleeing antisemitism.
“Should Jewish families lawfully come to the United States in search of safety and opportunity, I want you to know that Oklahoma would proudly welcome those who choose to make our state their home,” Stitt wrote to Trump at the time.
Stitt wrote that Oklahoma had been “blessed with a strong and vibrant Jewish community, especially in Tulsa, that has contributed to our state’s success since before statehood and stands ready to welcome new neighbors. I know those traditions of faith, family, entrepreneurship and civic engagement would continue to flourish here.”
“You shouldn’t live in fear because of your faith. In Oklahoma, you can practice freely without fear of violence,” Stitt said in a post on X highlighting his letter to Trump late last month.
Mayor Brett Smiley, who converted to Judaism while in office, faces a Bernie Sanders-backed democratic socialist in Wednesday's Rhode Island primary, with an anti-Israel divestment referendum looming over the race
(Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley answers questions during a press conference at the Providence Public Safety Complex on December 16, 2025.
In the upcoming Democratic mayoral primary in Providence, R.I., on Wednesday, Israel and antisemitism have claimed prominence as unusually divisive sources of debate for a municipal race, raising concerns among Jewish leaders who worry the focus on Middle East policy in particular will only contribute to further polarization on a sensitive issue.
The election is pitting Mayor Brett Smiley, 47, a first-term incumbent who converted to Judaism while in office in 2024, against state Rep. David Morales, a 27-year-old democratic socialist backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and leading progressive groups including the Working Families Party.
One of the top subjects of debate is a controversial ballot initiative up for a vote in November that — if passed — would require Providence to refrain from investments in “foreign countries conducting ethnic cleansing, apartheid, illegal military occupation or genocide.”
Even as the ballot measure does not name Israel, unlike recent efforts explicitly targeting the Jewish state in Pittsburgh as well as Somerville, Mass., the referendum was driven by local anti-Israel activists, leaving Jewish leaders now rallying to oppose it with little doubt over its subtext. Smiley, a vocal supporter of Israel, has opposed the referendum, saying it could run afoul of state law, while Morales has been among its key defenders, framing the effort as a moral cause.
In a statement shared with Jewish Insider, Smiley noted “the city’s legal department has determined that this ordinance is both unenforceable and likely in violation of existing state law,” while adding the effort “is consuming resources that should be spent protecting the integrity of our elections.” He called the referendum “unproductive” and “burdensome to our election officials,” warning that it “will harm the finances of our city.”
Morales, in an interview with JI on Friday, said he believed the successful effort to secure ballot access for the referendum was a step toward ensuring “that in no way, shape or form is Providence contributing to” what he described as “apartheid, illegal military occupation or genocide.”
“The fact that we are actively having this type of conversation, I think, speaks to the broader question of who do we want representing us? Who do we want making decisions out of City Hall, the Statehouse or to the walls of Congress?” Morales added, pledging to use his “platform as mayor of Providence” to push for federal opposition to “unconditional military aid” for Israel.
The heated atmosphere of the election underscores the degree to which rising Democratic divisions over Israel are now shaping even local races for roles with no direct ability to influence foreign policy outcomes. In another demonstration of how such elections have gained a more nationalized valence, Morales has also won praise from Track AIPAC, an extreme anti-Israel account, even as AIPAC itself does not engage in city or state races.
As leftist candidates have increasingly linked their opposition to the war in Gaza to a broader suite of social justice causes on the domestic front, Israel is emerging as a significant issue animating an activist base that has helped fuel a growing number of major upsets at both the state and federal levels this cycle.
While there is no independent public polling on the race, a survey released last week and commissioned by a group tied to a supporter of Morales showed the Democratic insurgent leading by 10 points, with 48% of the vote.
A spokesperson for Smiley declined to share internal polling but expressed skepticism of the recent survey, noting that it was commissioned by a group affiliated with Jorge Elorza, a former Providence mayor who is backing Morales.
Morales, who has sought to channel the energy of Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for mayor of New York City — where the state legislator hosted a fundraiser in July — has also notably denounced his opponent’s attendance at a conference sponsored by the Combat Antisemitism Movement, where Smiley is chair of the mayoral advisory board.
The conference, Morales argued in December, is organized by “outside donors pushing a national agenda,” which he claimed was “designed to chill political speech” and to crack down on “expressing solidarity with Palestine.” The mayor, who has also faced protests outside his home over a trip to Israel, has rejected that characterization, while pointing to what he casts as a “double standard” for supporters of the Jewish state.
“In my darkest days as mayor,” Smiley told JI last week, “I have found strength and resilience through my faith and my community, and I will continue to work every day to ensure that Providence Jews are able to gather, worship and celebrate safely and free from hatred and discrimination.”
“That’s why I have spoken out against antisemitism” and joined “conferences focused on understanding and combating antisemitism — conferences that my opponent has repeatedly condemned,” he said in the written comments.
Against the backdrop of such tensions, some of Smiley’s campaign signs were recently defaced by antisemitic imagery — including devil horns and a Hitler mustache — in an incident that turned up the temperature of an already contentious race.
“While campaigns can often get heated, there is no excuse for targeted attacks and hate speech in our political dialogue,” Smiley wrote in the statement to JI. “Actions like this are about more than one person — they send a message to an entire community that they are not safe or welcome here. That is not how we treat our neighbors in Providence, and it’s incumbent on all of us to disavow hate speech in all its forms.”
Speaking more broadly, Smiley said antisemitism “is on the rise around the country, and our community is feeling that here in Providence,” which is home to an estimated 15,000 Jewish residents.
“No one should ever have to ask if it’s safe to put a mezuzah on their door or display a menorah in their window, and yet these conversations are happening more and more often in our city,” the mayor told JI.
Morales, for his part, condemned the vandalism last month, while urging residents to oppose “all forms of bigotry,” a sentiment he reiterated to JI on Friday.
Despite concerns among local Jewish leaders who feel his rhetoric against Israel is sowing unneeded tensions, Morales vowed to engage proactively with community members who do not share his stances.
“When I talk about building a Providence for all, it’s not just about building a city for people I agree with,” he clarified in the interview. “It’s about engaging with neighbors from all walks of life and all backgrounds, and so I will certainly be engaging directly with our Jewish community, and ensuring that they feel safe and welcomed.”
Morales has faced attacks from the mayor over his past support for defunding the police, a position he has said he no longer holds. He emphasized to JI that as mayor, “when there is a need for additional police details for gatherings and events” at synagogues and other institutions, he will be “ready to deploy those additional forms of security measures and support.”
Still, Jewish leaders indicated they were far from reassured by such promises, largely citing Morales’ vocal support for the ballot initiative they view as a thinly disguised effort to institutionalize the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel at the municipal level.
“Providence’s investment decisions should be driven by what’s best for Providence residents,” said Steven Baker, president and CEO of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, “not by divisive political tests that make our community more polarized and less united.”
Avi Nevel, the founder and CEO of the Rhode Island-Israel Collaborative, said he was “extremely concerned about what we are seeing in this race, and I think what has happened was totally uncalled for.”
“I definitely feel that there is a wave of anti-Israel sentiment that is also coinciding with antisemitism. Unfortunately, past experience has taught us that the two can often overlap, and I believe we need to take this very seriously,” he told JI last week.
Ken Schneider, the president of the Rhode Island Coalition for Israel, said the “mayoral race is of great importance to the Jewish community in Providence.” He called the ballot referendum both “anti-Israel and anti-Jewish” and said the city “should not insert itself in international politics.”
“The community has mobilized against this,” he told JI last week, while vowing that members of his group “will be at the polls” on Primary Day “to point out the major differences between Smiley and Morales.”
The winner on Wednesday will face Republican candidate Dave Talan as the prohibitive favorite in November. Providence has not elected a GOP mayor in nearly half a century.
Tony Affigne, a professor of political science at Providence College, said debates over Israel “aren’t the concerns that animate most Providence voters,” noting that “a critical shortage of affordable housing, school funding and effectiveness, anxiety about local ICE actions, property tax rates and community safety are top of mind for our local electorate.”
He framed the race as a fight for generational change, describing Morales as “an energetic, insurgent young candidate” who is “promising a focus on affordability and a clean break with the past.” He called the mayor a “well-connected, well-financed incumbent,” saying Smiley has been both “administratively experienced and policy oriented — if somewhat uninspiring on a personal level.”
“Either could win based on their relative strengths, depending somewhat on turnout for this and the other races on the ballot this year,” Affigne told JI.
He attributed much of the shift on Israel policy among his Democratic colleagues to bullying, harassment and threats from the anti-Israel camp
Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) speaks at a press conference on Capitol Hill on Sept. 8, 2025.
For Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), the Democratic caucus has become an increasingly lonely place for those who remain staunchly pro-Israel, with what he described as bullying, harassment and threats from the anti-Israel camp contributing to the shift away from Israel among Democratic lawmakers.
“What is it like to be in the caucus? It’s become lonely,” Moskowitz said during a wide-ranging interview with Jewish Insider in his Capitol Hill office last week. “None of my colleagues are mean to me, but it is an ostracizing feeling. There’s no doubt that the Democrats that are super pro-Israel, in general, feel somewhat ostracized, and how could you not?”
He said that the “mushy middle” of the party is being pushed left, explaining that he has had colleagues tell him that consultants have told them that, in order to win reelection, they’ll need to reject AIPAC or vote against pro-Israel legislation or express opposition to Israeli missile-defense systems.
“No one really loves family infighting,” he said. “For me, I’m fighting for what I believe in. For me, it’s not about the polling. I’ll go down on this issue. Ultimately, I’m not interested in moderating to try to win my election.”
He also attributed some of the shift to harassment and threats of violence targeting members, including Moskowitz being the target of an assassination attempt in 2024. Standing up for Israel, at this point, puts members’ families at risk, he said, and with that pressure coming exclusively from the anti-Israel side, it’s no surprise that some members are caving.
“I talk to members. They’re scared from all of this stuff. Not only are they scared, their spouses are scared, and do not underestimate the spouse in this congressional relationship,” he said. “The bullying is only happening one way. Members are getting bullied online. They’re getting bullied in the hallways. They come down the steps [from the House chamber], cameras get put in their face on this issue.”
Moskowitz said that, because he has refused to cave on this issue, he now needs armed security and police protecting him in his district — as do other outspoken members. He said that it’s important for members who have been outspoken, on both sides of the aisle, to be reelected.
“If you look at what’s happened to the Jewish community in two years, where are we in five? Where are we in five years? Are we going to lose an entire political party?” he asked.
And Moskowitz warned that he sees similar issues on the horizon in the Republican Party. “The Tucker [Carlson] wing of the [Republican] Party is ready to pounce. The only thing that’s keeping them at bay is Trump. … The fight you’re seeing that we’re having now, they are going to have on the right.”
The Florida congressman, asked about the upcoming Israeli elections, said that he believes that some of his Democratic colleagues have “backed themselves into a corner” by focusing their criticism on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“A lot of my colleagues, when they voted to cut off aid to Israel, both in the Senate and in the House, said, ‘Well, it was all about Netanyahu,’” he recounted. “My argument to them was, ‘At some point, he won’t be there. How are you going to go back to those voters who you’ve now courted because you cut off aid and go back to them saying, ‘Well I’m going to let the aid flow now because Netanyahu is gone?’”
As a result, he predicted that a loss for Netanyahu would do little to change Democratic discourse on Israel, noting that anti-Israel voices online have already begun to target other Israeli leaders as polling has suggested that Netanyahu may lose.
Moskowitz said that the recent outrage, from both progressive commentators and some of his colleagues, over his appointment as ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Middle East and North Africa subcommittee has been disproportionate to the position itself, and tinged with “veiled antisemitism.”
At the same time, Moskowitz argued that the appointment shows that pro-Israel Jews remain part of the Democratic “big tent” — at least for Democratic House leaders. He also noted that anyone on the committee — which includes several vocal critics of Israel — could have objected to the appointment, but chose not to.
“For me, this isn’t game theory. This is real,” Moskowitz said, emphasizing that his relatives fled the Holocaust in Europe. “Tough economic times in a country, wealth inequality — the Jews. It’s not a new playbook that’s being run on the community.”
“Not only does the big tent include pro-Israel Jews but we’re going to give them leadership spots on that issue,” he said.
He said that he sees criticisms of “Zionists” and of Israel as barely disguised attacks on the Jewish people as a whole — with the vast majority of American Jews being Zionists — drawing on historic tropes and patterns.
“For me, this isn’t game theory. This is real,” Moskowitz said, emphasizing that his relatives fled the Holocaust in Europe. “Tough economic times in a country, wealth inequality — the Jews. It’s not a new playbook that’s being run on the community.”
“If we don’t fix the affordability issue, antisemitism is going to continue to get worse,” he added. “For me, it’s intricately linked. It’s not our fault, but we are being made the scapegoat for all of these things. Flock cameras? Jews. AI? Jews. Can’t afford your groceries? Jews. If we don’t start fixing problems here, we’re going to be on the short side of that stick.”
His children, he said, will grow up in a different and more hostile America than he did, after the Jewish community had believed it was assimilated and safe.
“We assimilated in Spain. We assimilated in Germany. Never thought what could happen could happen, and we were expelled and exterminated in both of those countries,” he said.
He credited much of the rise in antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment to malign foreign influence, particularly through coordinated bot campaigns on social media. He said that, if the Nazis had a tool like social media on their side during World War II, they likely would have won.
“Congrats to China and our foreign adversaries, who took an 80-20 issue and turned it into a 20-80 issue as an experiment in a petri dish that they can apply to Taiwan in the future,” Moskowitz said. “We’re just letting foreign adversaries decide how the American people are going to think on everything.”
He described social media platforms as deliberately blind to the problem — until similar tactics were applied to the issue of data centers, which could impact their bottom lines.
“When it comes to Israel, I want to see them treated like any other ally,” he continued. “If the idea is that the majority of our members want to cut off aid to Israel, then we’re going to have to look at all our other allies’ humanitarian records, and we’re going to have to treat them all the same. I look at that as calling balls and strikes, and getting into reality off of the internet.”
Moskowitz is favored to be chairman of the Middle East subcommittee next year if Democrats take the House, but he said he would still need to rally support on the committee to secure the seat. He said that ultimately House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Greg Meeks (D-NY) would set the agenda for Democrats, but that he sees opportunities to use the post to strengthen U.S. ties with the Gulf and Mideast allies.
He called the decision to allow a Saudi nuclear energy deal to proceed without Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords a “missed opportunity” and said it’s important to ensure that Gulf allies don’t try to appease Iran “because the Iran war now has gone south.”
“When it comes to Israel, I want to see them treated like any other ally,” he continued. “If the idea is that the majority of our members want to cut off aid to Israel, then we’re going to have to look at all our other allies’ humanitarian records, and we’re going to have to treat them all the same. I look at that as calling balls and strikes, and getting into reality off of the internet.”
The congressman also blasted those who blame Israel alone for the war in Iran, explaining that in conversations with ambassadors from the Gulf countries, “they were all supportive of this — all of them,” but are now “upset about the marketing and the branding of the war” and hiding from responsibility.
Moskowitz supported the administration’s 2025 strikes on Iran’s nuclear program, and opposed war powers efforts to block a U.S. attack on Iran before the war began earlier this year. But he has supported war powers resolutions since the war started, arguing that Congress must preserve its constitutional role in making war.
“I think the president made a mistake in hindsight. Think about it this way: In an alternative reality, had he come to Congress in the very beginning, it probably would have passed,” he said, “and then we would have owned it with him. He owns it all on his own.”
He said the administration underestimated Iran’s willingness to take the Strait of Hormuz hostage and to expand the war to attack Gulf allies, and overestimated the fragility of the Iranian regime.
Moskowitz also said that the administration has shifted and scaled back its goals, noting that Trump no longer emphasizes the need to remove enriched nuclear material from Iran, now focusing primarily on the Strait of Hormuz.
“We didn’t succeed on the terms he told people of why we were going. And so I think it was a completely failed strategy on prosecuting the war,” Moskowitz said, even as he said he’s glad that former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead, Iran’s navy has been destroyed and the Iranian nuclear program has been set back.
He said he does not want the war to become a long-term problem, but also said that he still does not want to see a deal that would provide Iran with substantial financial relief. “That has to be still the North Star. They cannot have a nuclear weapon. But mistakes that we have made to try to achieve that now could have long-term repercussions.”
Since beating Democratic Socialists of America member Oliver Larkin by nearly 30 points in his primary race, Moskowitz has gone on the offensive against the DSA and the surging socialist wing of the Democratic Party.
He said that he thinks mainstream Democrats need to recognize income inequality and other economic struggles that are driving young people toward the DSA, but also need to realize that the DSA is “awash in antisemitism” and a range of other unpopular and fringe ideas.
“There will be members here from the DSA, but they’ll be 5% of the caucus,” Moskowitz said. “What we can’t do is what the Republicans did with [former House Speaker] Kevin McCarthy. We can’t go make a deal with the DSA because then that deal will be held over the entire caucus for the next two years while we’re in power.”
He said that, despite being targeted with what he described as the “whole DSA apparatus” in his primary, he decided not to engage directly with his opponent, to not run negative ads and to try to keep the race local.
“I was going to deny these viral moments for them,” he said, arguing that other Democrats had erred by getting in direct fights with DSA opponents. “It was my belief that the voters would reject it without me having to spend a ton of money explaining to them why it was bad, and that’s what happened.”
He said his polling showed that Larkin’s stances were turning off voters and argued that his strategies “blew up in their face,” alienating older voters, Jewish voters and Hispanic voters.
“This is not a place that the DSA can win in, and they shouldn’t have done it because it made them look stupid,” Moskowitz said.
Moskowitz noted that he now enters the general election with $2 million, a substantial cash advantage over his Republican opponent, former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer, who is also Jewish.
He argued that his brand of politics and his past ties to former Gov. Ron DeSantis will help him win over independent voters in the general election, and highlighted his appeal with Jewish voters, among whom he vastly outperformed former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. He noted that he doesn’t have to calibrate stances on the U.S.-Israel relationship in his district, but can instead express his honest views in a way that other Democrats can’t.
“This election between me and [Singer], on [Israel and antisemitism] in particular, is the difference between a vote versus a voice,” Moskowitz continued. “He’ll be a vote on pro-Israel. I’m not going to deny that. He will be a vote, but he won’t be a voice.”
Kaploun also met with parliamentary leaders to discuss bilateral efforts to counter extremism
State Department
Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Yehuda Kaploun
Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the Trump administration’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, visited the United Arab Emirates this week for his first official visit, taking part in high-level meetings that culminated in a Thursday morning discussion with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
During his trip, the envoy also held meetings with senior government officials and rulers, including Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, chairman of the Defence, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee at the Federal National Council, the UAE’s parliament.
The meetings focused on bolstering the strategic U.S.-UAE partnership, advancing regional stability and strengthening bilateral efforts to counter extremism, hate speech, and religious intolerance, according to the FNC.
The UAE has long positioned itself as a hub for regional tolerance, having normalized diplomatic ties with Israel through the 2020 Abraham Accords and established the Abrahamic Family House — an interfaith complex in Abu Dhabi featuring a synagogue, church and mosque.
Kaploun previously met with Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed in Washington in February.
The State Department declined to comment.
Plus, Mahdawi's defenders go quiet on resurfaced posts
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Vice President JD Vance speaks during a news briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Sept. 3, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Good Thursday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Vice President JD Vance defended his friendship with far-right commentator Tucker Carlson at a White House press briefing this afternoon, saying that he would not “play the game where I throw friends under the bus because I have political disagreements with them,” Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
“Everybody knows that Tucker Carlson and I are friends. And I think it’s very obvious that Tucker has said some things that I disagree with,” Vance said. He criticized Carlson’s attacks on President Donald Trump and his recent comments expressing support for Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed over former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers in Michigan’s Senate race, though he did not mention Carlson’s extreme antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric…
On the other side of the spectrum, asked by Stephen A. Smith if there was anything antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker could say that could cause El-Sayed to publicly disavow him, El-Sayed responded, “I mean, sure,” but said the “idea that you just categorically disavow an individual, that to me doesn’t make sense.” He added that Piker has 3 million listeners, to whom he wants to “offer … a pathway into an electoral movement”…
Many of the liberal Jewish and civil rights organizations and lawmakers who protested federal efforts to deport Columbia University anti-Israel protest leader Mohsen Mahdawi are so far silent on new revelations about Mahdawi’s lengthy history of antisemitic and pro-terrorist social media posts, JI’s Haley Cohen and Marc Rod report.
Mahdawi, a 35-year-old Green Card holder and West Bank native, pledged in a 2010 Facebook post, “soon, very soon, we will annihilate the Jews.” He also praised Hamas and honored deceased terrorists in several posts on Instagram and Facebook, declaring that Palestinians have the capacity and conviction “to kill and to wound”…
Iran fired missiles and drones at Kuwait and Bahrain early today local time, according to the Kuwaiti Defense Ministry and Bahraini Foreign Ministry…
Trump disputed reports that the U.S. is running low on munitions, writing on Truth Social that the U.S. has “virtually unlimited amounts of Mid to High Grade Ammunition” and is “stockpiling” more but that “sales to Allies will soon again, begin”…
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said at an event for Defense Ministry employees today that Jerusalem is “seeing signs” that the pressure campaign on the Iranian regime “could push them to desperate measures,” and warned that if Iran is to attack Israel, “we will strike all infrastructure — including energy infrastructure — and return Iran to the Stone Age”…
Israel is releasing five Lebanese civilians who had been detained in southern Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said today, in exchange for Beirut’s assistance in locating the remains of Lebanese Jewish community figures. The PMO said the individuals being released were determined through questioning not to be involved in terror activities…
A new study by the Jewish Federations of North America found that Jewish institutions’ security spending has surpassed $1 billion per year, a 33% increase from 2024. The total breaks down to about $225,000 per institution, including community centers, synagogues, schools, summer camps and nonprofits, with the largest share of the cost allocated to security personnel…
As a group of leading Hasidic rabbis exited their Oval Office meeting with Trump this afternoon, communal leader Yossi Gestetner told reporters that the gathering was “an opportunity for the first time in over 50 years for the president of the United States to meet with the grand rabbis of the largest Hasidic sects … We had the opportunity to thank the president for all that he does for the United States.”
Among the attendees were Vance; Jared Kushner; Satmar leaders Rav Aharon Teitelbaum and Rav Zalman Leib Teitelbaum; Rav Malkiel Kotler, rosh yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, N.J.; New Square Mayor Israel Spitzer; Rav Aron Mendel Twersky; and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), who represents large Hasidic and Orthodox Jewish communities in Rockland County, including Monsey and New Square…
House Democrats overwhelmingly voted against the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act, a bill that would strip federal funding from colleges and universities engaged in boycotts of Israel, with just 33 Democrats supporting the measure, JI’s Marc Rod reports. The bill ultimately passed 237-169, with two Republicans voting against the measure along with the majority of Democrats…
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, told JI’s Marc Rod that he’s hoping to take action in the committee on several bills regarding antisemitism in the remaining months of the congressional term, and also previewed plans for a hearing on the International Criminal Court.
“We’ve been supportive of all of those [antisemitism bills] in the past, so we’ll see what we can get done here in the last few weeks of September, or maybe even in the lame-duck session” after the midterm elections, Jordan said…
The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights issued a “Dear Colleague” letter today to all healthcare providers that receive HHS funding, explaining how antisemitic conduct can violate federal civil rights law in patient care, medical education, provider training and other settings.
It’s the first such letter from the federal government to incorporate the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, according to the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) about his views on the Democratic Socialists of America, being pro-Israel in the Democratic Party and more.
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed will speak on a panel at the Islamic Society of North America‘s annual convention in Detroit on Saturday alongside outspoken Israel critics Cenk Uygur and Zaid Shakir.
Meanwhile, former Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner will no longer speak at a Labor Day rally hosted by the progressive group Hancock County Activists, in what was supposed to be his first public appearance following the suspension of his campaign after a former romantic partner accused him of rape. The group said he was dropped as a speaker because “the media frenzy got just too insane,” and he will instead lead a march for veterans after the rally.
In observance of Labor Day, we’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Tuesday. Shabbat shalom!
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In a 2010 social media post, the Columbia University anti-Israel protest leader pledged, ‘soon, very soon, we will annihilate the Jews’
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
Supporters hold up signs behind U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) during a rally held by Congress members in support of detained Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi
Many of the liberal Jewish and civil rights organizations and lawmakers who protested federal efforts to deport Columbia University anti-Israel protest leader Mohsen Mahdawi are so far silent on new revelations about Mahdawi’s lengthy history of antisemitic and pro-terrorist social media posts.
Mahdawi, a graduate student at Columbia facing deportation for his role in campus protests, wrote posts over the span of 15 years that supported armed violence and called to “annihilate the Jews,” according to a 100-page investigation published Wednesday by journalists David Collier and Rachel Feldman — with Arabic-to-English translations confirmed by Jewish Insider.
Mahdawi, a 35-year-old green card holder and West Bank native, pledged in a 2010 Facebook post, “soon, very soon, we will annihilate the Jews.” He also praised Hamas and honored deceased terrorists in several posts on Instagram and Facebook, declaring that Palestinians have the capacity and conviction “to kill and to wound.”
Some of the posts were published as recently as 2024, while Mahdawi was an undergraduate student at Columbia, where he is now enrolled in the Ivy League’s School of International and Public Affairs.
The report states that in 2015, the FBI investigated Mahdawi after a Vermont gun-store owner alleged that he had sought to purchase a sniper rifle and machine gun while claiming to have considerable firearm experience, and allegedly said he had used modified submachine guns “to kill Jews while he was in Palestine.” Another man separately alleged Mahdawi told him, “I like to kill Jews.” Mahdawi denied the allegations. The investigation ended that year, and no charges were filed.
Mahdawi was arrested and detained by federal immigration officers in April 2025 while appearing at a U.S. citizenship interview in Vermont, where he resides. This summer, a federal appeals court reversed a decision that had released Mahdawi from Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention on bail last year. The ruling does not require Mahdawi to return to a detention center, but he is potentially at risk for rearrest. The court of appeals announced Thursday that it will rehear his case.
Both J Street and the ACLU — two groups that have previously defended Mahdawi — did not respond to requests for comment from JI on Thursday, asking if the organizations would update their statements of support in light of the newly unveiled posts. Both groups have previously stated Mahdawi is being unfairly targeted by the Trump administration over his advocacy for Gaza and Palestinian rights.
In 2025, when Mahdawi was arrested, J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said the group was “outraged by the Trump Administration’s continued anti-democratic crackdown on Palestinian and pro-Palestinian students in the United States, and its cynical exploitation of genuine fears of antisemitism as its pretext for doing so.”
The group encouraged people to sign a petition supporting him in late July.
Beth Jacob Synagogue, a non-denominational congregation in Vermont that co-sponsored a fundraiser last month for Mahdawi’s legal aid, also did not respond to a request for comment from JI on Thursday.
Democratic members of Congress have also rallied in support of Mahdawi, particularly Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT). Balint, who is Jewish, led close to 70 House Democrats on a letter condemning Mahdawi’s arrest, calling it “dystopian” and motivated by “statements that the Trump Administration does not agree with.”
“It is Mr. Mahdawi’s right as a legal resident of the United States to argue for what he believes in,” the letter reads. “This most fundamental of American rights is crucial to the fabric of our country, and one that America was built upon. … We profoundly oppose unlawful abductions and expect a prompt response to our questions.”
Balint, Sanders and other Democrats also held a rally in April 2025 outside the State Department, defending Mahdawi and dismissing past allegations that he had told a gun shop owner that he had made comments about killing Jews and having built weapons for terrorist groups.
Balint, Sanders, Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT), who met with Mahdawi in detention, and other Democrats who have been vocally supportive of Mahdawi did not respond to requests for comment.
The Congressional Progressive Staff Association also hosted a happy hour with Mahdawi earlier this year.
“Mahdawi frequently speaks of justice. It is one of the central themes of the identity he presents to American audiences,” Collier and Feldman wrote in their report. “But justice requires something more fundamental: truth. After almost one hundred pages examining his words, his history and the stories upon which his public identity was built, that is where the problem with Mohsen Mahdawi ultimately lies.”
Although the report exposes dozens of Mahdawi’s most egregious comments, his extreme anti-Israel stance and support for terrorist groups has been public knowledge for years.
Mahdawi has been characterized by the Department of Homeland Security as a “ringleader” in anti-Israel protests at Columbia. It accused him of using “threatening rhetoric and intimidation” against Jewish students before graduating last year. He has not been charged with a crime.
In a “60 Minutes” interview in December 2023, Mahdawi said he could “empathize” with Hamas and its Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. “To empathize is to understand the root cause and to not look at any event or situation in a vacuum. This is for me that path moving forward,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mahdawi is scheduled to speak at a Columbia symposium next week titled The Forever War and the First Amendment. The university did not respond to a request for comment from JI.
The Ohio Republican said the committee is investigating Middle East funding of universities
Heather Diehl/Getty Images
Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on March 4, 2026 in Washington, DC.
LAS VEGAS — Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said that he’s hoping to take action in the committee on antisemitism in the remaining months of the congressional term, and also previewed plans for a hearing on the International Criminal Court.
Several major pending bills on combating antisemitism, including the Right to Worship Act, Jewish American Security Act and the Antisemitism Awareness Act, fall at least in part under the jurisdiction of Jordan’s committee, which could help move them forward to the full House.
“We want to try to be helpful in that,” Jordan told Jewish Insider, acknowledging that there are several pending bills on the subject. “We’ve been supportive of all of those in the past, so we’ll see what we can get done here in the last few weeks of September, or maybe even in the lame duck session” after the midterm elections.
Jordan said he hadn’t paid much attention to a whistleblower investigation opened by his Democratic counterpart, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), into allegations that the administration had mishandled its investigations of antisemitism on college campuses.
“We know what happened. You know, it’s like, what are we supposed to do? Not believe our lying eyes, as the old line goes?” Jordan said. “The vast majority of Americans have common sense, and they saw what took place on these campuses.”
He praised the work being done on the issue by the Justice Department, and said his own committee is also examining funding from Middle Eastern nations flowing to universities.
Jordan also defended the U.S. war in Iran, calling it consistent with President Donald Trump’s pledge not to allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, even as he acknowledged that it is contributing to cost of living concerns.
“I know that things cost too much, but we’re working on that,” he said. “But we’ve got to also understand this regime … 47 years, largest state sponsor of terrorism, killed Americans, killed Israelis, killed others, killed thousands of their own people — they are bad, and you cannot let that regime get a nuclear weapon.”
He expressed full support for the supplemental funding request for the war submitted by the administration.
“I understand we’ve got running huge deficits, got a big debt, and we’ve got to address that problem too. But this is national security, and you have to do that,” he said.
Jordan also argued strongly for maintaining the “special relationship” between the U.S. and Israel, explaining that the two countries’ shared Judeo-Christian heritage is important to him, especially as an evangelical.
“There are 190-some countries in the world, and the left focuses on attacking two. The radical left focuses on attacking the United States and Israel,” he said. “They’re two countries with shared values and principles, but they’re also two countries with a special purpose, and started in such similar ways.”
The House Freedom Caucus co-founder, who made a brief run for the House speakership in 2023 that was blocked by fellow Republicans, said he would be supporting House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to remain in his role if Republicans maintain control of the House.
Asked if he would make a bid for minority leader if Republicans lose the House, Jordan insisted that would not happen.
“We’re going to keep the majority. I’m focused on that,” he said, noting that he’s traveled to more than a dozen states in the past month to rally with GOP candidates. “We’ve got to win. … They will ruin this amazing thing called America — the left will ruin it if they get power.”
Frustration has grown in pro-Israel conservative circles over Vance's refusal to condemn Tucker Carlson by name, particularly after his RJC summit appearance
Saul Loeb-Pool/Getty Images
Vice President JD Vance boards Air Force Two on August 31, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.
Vice President JD Vance’s fireside chat with Republican Jewish Coalition Chairman Norm Coleman was met with a largely positive response in its immediate aftermath, with RJC board members largely agreeing that the event had helped Vance alleviate concerns among top Jewish Republicans, particularly about where he stands on Israel and antisemitism.
Several board members came out of the speech, which took place on Monday night at the RJC’s leadership summit in Las Vegas, saying they’d be prepared to support Vance if he runs in the 2028 presidential election.
Yet even shortly after the conversation, some observers, including some who were otherwise broadly supportive of Vance’s remarks, said that his comments — or lack thereof — on one issue had disappointed members of the crowd: Tucker Carlson.
Coleman posed a broad question to Vance about a range of right-wing commentators including Carlson, Joe Rogan, Megyn Kelly and Nick Fuentes, asking how he decides whether to engage with them.
Vance focused his answer on drawing a spectrum between the often-apolitical Rogan and the white nationalist, neo-Nazi Fuentes. He said he believes in most cases, like Rogan, that it’s better to engage and use their platform to get his message out. But he said that there are other figures like Fuentes — whom Vance proactively condemned even before Coleman posed the question — whose views and comments are so abhorrent that he won’t engage with them.
He acknowledged that many in the room might disagree with comments by Carlson or Kelly but did not say anything specific about Carlson’s antisemitic turn or whether he remains willing to engage with him.
There’s been intense focus on Vance’s relationship with Carlson in light of his past defense of the commentator as a “friend of mine” who should not be expelled from the conservative movement and whom he would not throw “under the bus” — even as Carlson’s podcast has become a platform for virulently antisemitic rhetoric and Holocaust-denying content. In 2024, Carlson was reportedly a key advocate for Vance to get the VP slot.
More recently, Carlson has withdrawn his support for President Donald Trump, a break that was made clear after Trump’s declaration of war against Iran earlier this year — an aspect of their relationship Vance hasn’t yet addressed.
In the days since Vance’s appearance at the RJC, frustration and concern has grown in Jewish and pro-Israel conservative circles about Vance not directly addressing Carlson in his answer.
“If you truly oppose antisemitism say, ‘I reject and condemn antisemitism in all its forms and in every way.’ That wasn’t too tough,” conservative talk show host Mark Levin wrote on X on Tuesday. “And this, ‘I will not tolerate those who say antisemitic things and promote Jew-hatred, and that includes Tucker Carlson and his ilk.’ Very easy. Simple. Clear. Straightforward. Is that expecting too much from any Republican official? I think not.”
Vance’s office did not provide comment on those criticisms.
Vance’s remarks, including during his answer about the podcasters, also raised some eyebrows for the way he used the terms “blood libel” and “blood guilt” interchangeably, referring to, as he described it, punishing individuals for their heritage or ancestry.
Blood libel, particularly in the context of antisemitism, refers specifically to the centuries-old myth of Jews murdering non-Jewish children to use their blood in religious ceremonies.
Carlson, meanwhile, leveled a broadside against the RJC in response to an inquiry from Politico. “An organization that promotes and defends genocide is continuing to insist that they’re the real victims? I can’t imagine who buys this nonsense anymore,” he told the outlet.
JI asked Vance’s office for the vice president’s response to Carlson’s attack against the organization in front of which he just spoke, but did not receive a response.
The North Carolina Republican Senate nominee said support for Israel is a top-tier issue for his state’s voters
Shelby Tauber/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Michael Whatley, GOP Senate candidate for North Carolina, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Grapevine, Texas, on March 26, 2026.
LAS VEGAS — North Carolina Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley is emphasizing that he stands firmly with Israel as he seeks to attract votes from the state’s Jewish community.
North Carolina Jewish Democrats have found themselves increasingly alienated from their state party in recent years, as the party resisted efforts to establish a Jewish caucus and approved various anti-Israel measures. But with a formidable and moderate nominee in former Gov. Roy Cooper at the top of the ticket, who has a generally strong record on Jewish community issues from his time in office, it remains to be seen how many Jewish votes will be up for grabs in November.
“The Jewish people matter [and] our relationship with Israel matters,” Whatley told Jewish Insider during the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit in Las Vegas. “Israel has been and will be our No. 1 ally in the Middle East and they need to be and we need to make absolutely sure that we have a senator who is going to fight for that relationship.”
Beyond just the Jewish community, during the RJC event, Whatley described support for Israel as a top-priority issue for North Carolina voters. He expressed unequivocal support for continued U.S. military aid to Israel.
Whatley has sought to cast Cooper as an extremist unfriendly to the Jewish community, highlighting, in his interview with JI, a Washington Free Beacon report that the governor had hosted an imam with extremist ties at a 2018 Iftar dinner at the governor’s mansion and criticizing him for not dispatching state police to stop university campus protests against the war in Gaza or speaking out against the state party’s anti-Israel resolutions.
“I think that there’s a track record that he has that Jewish voters should take a look at and understand there’s a very clear distinction,” he continued.
“These are more lies from a desperate candidate. Roy has been a strong advocate for and friend to the Jewish community throughout his career, hosting the first ever Passover Seder and Menorah Lighting at the Executive Mansion and working to stem the tide of antisemitism and he’ll continue that work as U.S. Senator,” a Cooper campaign spokesperson said in a statement to JI.
During his time as governor, Cooper signed anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions legislation and a bill codifying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism into state law, as well as hosted various events with the Jewish community and condemned antisemitism.
Whatley also noted that he spent a summer living in Israel, interning at an archeological site in Caesarea while he was a graduate student at Wake Forest University. He called Israel “truly remarkable” and a “fantastic country” with “fantastic people.”
He visited Israel as Republican National Committee chairman following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, meeting with senior Israeli leaders and visiting sites of the Hamas assault.
Despite its political unpopularity, Whatley expressed support for the war in Iran, emphasizing the need to block Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and arguing that it is “long past time for presidents to quit kicking this can down the road. When President Trump made the call that Iran was too close to a nuclear weapon and went in — I think that is where we need to be.”
In spite of skepticism from many political observers about his chances, and Cooper leading in the polls, Whatley expressed confidence that he is going to win the race.
“We feel very good about where the polls are right now,” Whatley said. “I’m down four points going into Labor Day. That is absolutely within striking distance.”
He said his campaign just began to run TV ads in the past few weeks, which he suggested would help him close the gap.
“The fact is that the people of North Carolina are not going to vote for the worst governor in the history of North Carolina,” Whatley insisted, pointing to Cooper’s record on criminal justice, immigration, transgender issues and the economy. “We are prosecuting this case from one end of the state to the other.”
Whatley said he entered the race after Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) announced his retirement at the urging of people in the state as well as President Donald Trump.
“Fundamentally, [I’m running] because I want to represent this state. I want to fight for the people of North Carolina,” Whatley said. “I want to make sure that I’m representing every family and every community across the state and to make sure that we have a conservative champion in the Senate.”
McCormick also offered a strong defense of America’s role in the world and commitment to its alliances
Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Washington AI Network
Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) attends the Pre-Alfalfa breakfast hosted by Washington AI Network at Ned's Club Washington, D.C., on Jan. 31, 2026 in Washington, DC.
LAS VEGAS — Asked how he thinks the Republican Party can stop antisemitic figures from being elected in the Republican Party, Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) said the GOP should continue continue to “beat the s**t” out of them — electorally.
McCormick, speaking to Jewish Insider on the sidelines of the Republican Jewish Coalition’s conference this weekend, pointed to Rep. Randy Fine’s (R-FL) decisive victory over a neo-Nazi candidate in Florida last month as one such example.
“We live in a country where you get to express your ideas, no matter how horrific and hateful those ideas are, and where anybody can run for office,” McCormick said. “That’s the country I want to live in. But the way that you ensure those ideas don’t get a foothold is you beat the s**t out of them. You beat them in elections. You beat their ideas with better ideas. … Within the Republican Party, we need to have that discipline.”
He said he applies the same logic to beating “these horrible antisemitic ideas on the left with better ideas on the right.” Speaking to the RJC, he argued that the Democratic Party, up to and including its leaders, have made excuses for antisemitism and given it a home in their party, as well as become consumed with an obsession with Israel.
McCormick, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Middle East subcommittee, told JI that the U.S. should continue to use “any tools at our disposal” against Iran, particularly keeping economic pressure on the regime.
“I think this is all hopefully coming to a fork in the road where the leadership can choose a path to giving up a path to a nuclear weapon and giving up any nuclear weapon program, or continued pressure,” he said.
If Iran refuses to concede, he said the U.S. should continue its campaign with a focus on economic tools and use military force “selectively,” for instance if Iran attempts to place more mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
“It’s a combination of economic and military tools, just with the explicit goal of putting added pressure on the leadership,” McCormick said.
He acknowledged that the war is having impacts at home, particularly at the gas pump, but said he tells constituents that there’s no doubt that Iran would have had a nuclear weapon and the ability to utilize it if the U.S. didn’t take action, so he supports President Donald Trump’s decision to strike.
“There’s trade-offs involved, but I think it was the right step to take,” he said.
During his remarks to the RJC, referencing the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), McCormick made a case for continued U.S. engagement in the world as a source of American strength, an idea that he said is under attack from figures on both sides of the aisle.
“Our commitment to freedom is therefore not simply an ideal; it’s a source of national power,” McCormick said. “That doesn’t mean we impose freedom on the world by force, but it does mean we should cherish it everywhere and support it when prudent in the coldest realpolitik terms. A freer world makes America stronger.”
And, he said, “a strong America also requires a commitment to take threats seriously, and when necessary, use force to eliminate them.” He said that the U.S. must take its adversaries seriously when they threaten the country and warned such actors that doing so invites American retaliation.
“Credible deterrence requires the willingness to act,” McCormick continued, “and when all other options are exhausted, it requires us to put our men and women in uniform in harm’s way.”
He also argued that the U.S.’ commitment to strong alliances has been a source of strength. McCormick said that Israel has been a “model ally” but that even close allies can and will have disagreements, and described “tough love” as an important element of any relationship with an ally.
Asked by JI whether he was referring to any specific disagreements with Israel, McCormick said he was not but explained that “we shouldn’t misunderstand a deep-seated friendship and alliance where we’re deeply committed to one another with agreement on everything,” going on to suggest that the “media or the narrative” will take any disagreements out of proportion.
He said that such disagreements should not undermine overall confidence in the strength of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
McCormick indicated that he supports the effort to phase out U.S. military aid in the coming years, but said that increased cooperation going forward in the next generation of warfare, including drones and AI, will be crucial.
“There’s no better wingman in some of the operations that we’ve undertaken than the State of Israel,” McCormick said. “So I think the the next step will be to figure out how to ensure that coordination is happening in the most effective way possible — and I’ve read some of the criticisms around this discussion — in a way that doesn’t sacrifice any autonomy or independence on the part of the United States or on the part of Israel for that matter.”
The Pennsylvania senator said one of his key priorities for the rest of the year is trying to secure energy permitting reform, which he called “the single most important thing we could do for the U.S. economy, global security and the AI revolution” to ensure the U.S. can keep pace in computing power. He said the issue crosses multiple domains, including his work on the Middle East subcommittee.
Plus, Trump tells Israel not to sweat Iran
Uri Fraenkel blows a shofar during New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's visit to Borough Park.
Good Wednesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
In a phone interview with Israel’s Kan public broadcaster, President Donald Trump said Israel “should not worry” amid renewed hostilities between the U.S. and Iran. “You know why? Because I’m the president and I will take care of Israel,” he added.
Asked separately by reporters today how long the military action will last, Trump said, “I don’t think too long”…
An Oakland, Calif., coffee shop that drew national scrutiny for promoting Hamas and forcibly removing Jewish patrons announced it has indefinitely suspended operations amid lawsuits brought by the Justice Department, Anti-Defamation League and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law over its alleged harassment of the Jewish customers, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
About its decision to close down, the cafe wrote on Substack, “These lawsuits represent the ongoing efforts of zionist organizations and the federal government to use the courts as a tool to repress free speech and public political commitments to Palestine”…
Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani, the sister of Qatar’s emir, promoted a divisive exhibition at the Venice Biennale called “Gaza — No Words — See the Exhibit,” which highlights allegations that Israel deliberately targeted children in Gaza among other actions that the exhibit portrays as constituting genocide, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports.
The Qatari royal, who chairs several of the Gulf state’s leading cultural organizations, hailed the display — which features a textile collection of 100 hand-stitched panels made by Palestinian women called the “Gaza Genocide Tapestry” — as “a powerful exhibition, one not to miss”…
Actor Mark Ruffalo reportedly tried to enlist Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt — with the assistance of Greenblatt’s former Obama administration colleague Norm Eisen — to help Ruffalo make amends after remarks he made opposing the merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery were characterized by critics as antisemitic, an offer which Greenblatt refused.
Eisen then worked to gather support from over 180 Jewish figures in entertainment who signed an open letter supporting Ruffalo amid what they allege is a “smear campaign” against him…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani today visited Borough Park in Brooklyn, home to one of the largest Orthodox Jewish communities in the city and the world, a week and a half before the Jewish New Year, JI’s Will Bredderman reports.
Footage released by Mamdani’s office of his visit to Eichler’s Judaica — a purveyor of Jewish books and religious items that has been in business for nearly 40 years — showed the mayor discussing garbage pickup and curriculum at yeshivas with local leaders, who gifted him honey for Rosh Hashanah…
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee met yesterday with U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss progress made in the U.S.-mediated negotiations between Jerusalem and Beirut, which Huckabee called a “historic process, only impeded by Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah”…
Around 30 Jews remain unaccounted for among the thousands of people missing after last week’s devastating flash floods near the Nepal-Tibet border, according to Rabbi Chezky Lifshitz, who leads the Chabad House of Kathmandu. The Israeli Foreign Ministry has also confirmed that at least two Israelis are missing…
Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, wrote on X today that the “Israelization of our societies is a fact,” claiming Israel is “a model of containment/repression dressed as democracy” and that pro-Israel advocacy groups “sell that image abroad”…
In an interview with Rolling Stone, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said it “makes sense” that Jews are sensitive to criticism of Israel crossing into antisemitism, highlighting recent FBI statistics showing anti-Jewish hate crimes make up the majority of religiously motivated hate crimes in the country. “You’ve heard the joke, but it’s serious: Paranoid people have enemies too,” he said.
About his potential decision to run for president in 2028, he said, “I’m more yes than no. I haven’t made a full decision because I want to make sure that we get through this successfully, meaning winning the midterms, and then I’m going to make a final decision”…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at the continued concern within the GOP to Vice President JD Vance’s ongoing failure to distance himself from far-right commentator Tucker Carlson, a dynamic highlighted in Vance’s remarks at the Republican Jewish Coalition summit on Monday.
President Donald Trump will host several Hasidic rabbis in the Oval Office tomorrow to convey his Rosh Hashanah greetings, a meeting the White House claimed is the first of its kind since 1979. The gathering will reportedly include members of the Satmar community, an anti-Zionist Hasidic sect.
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TEHRAN TALK
Democrats say the administration has no clear endgame in its standoff with Tehran, while Republicans maintain the pressure campaign is working
HOUTHI HARASSMENT
Rep. Mike Lawler: ‘Iran and its Houthi proxies have now simultaneously put pressure on two of the world’s most important maritime checkpoints’
Jerusalem Coffee House shuttered last week as the Justice Department, ADL and Brandeis Center all pursue legal action over the October 2024 incident
Getty
An Oakland, Calif., coffee shop that drew national scrutiny for promoting Hamas and forcibly removing Jewish patrons announced it is indefinitely suspending operations amid three separate antisemitism lawsuits.
Jerusalem Coffee House closed its doors last week, citing the legal challenges brought by the Justice Department, Anti-Defamation League and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law over its alleged harassment of two Jewish customers.
“We’re two months out from trial in federal court, set for October 26, 2026, and we need to turn our full attention there,” the cafe wrote on Substack, saying Aug. 23 would be its “last operating day for some time.”
“These lawsuits represent the ongoing efforts of zionist organizations and the federal government to use the courts as a tool to repress free speech and public political commitments to Palestine,” the post continued. “We’ve faced harassment, property damage, and hate messages since. Despite it all, we’ve continued building the work that matters most to us.”
In October 2024, video circulated of Jonathan Hirsch, a Jewish man wearing a hat with a Star of David, and his five-year-old son being harassed and forcibly removed from the cafe by its owner, Abdulrahim Harara.
Harara said that Hirsch’s cap was “a violent hat, and you need to leave,” as Hirsch’s son began crying.
Harara, whose family is from Gaza and who has used his establishment’s menu to honor the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, said that he wasn’t asking Hirsch to leave because his hat had a Jewish symbol, but then repeatedly questioned whether he was a Zionist.
Another worker at the shop later accused Hirsch of causing a problem by coming to the cafe as a Jew, something a female co-owner of the business pushed back on in the moment. Hirsch and his son said they came into the store looking for a bathroom to use, but also ordered coffee and played chess at one of the tables.
After Harara repeatedly demanded that Hirsch and his son “get out,” Hirsch accused him of religious discrimination for refusing them service because they are Jewish.
The female co-owner of the establishment told Hirsch that he was in a shop “owned and run by Palestinians,” something Hirsch noted did not mean they were entitled to deny him service for being visibly Jewish. The co-owner incorrectly stated that any establishment would have the right to deny service to customers for being gay, which Hirsch also opposed.
Harara eventually called the police, despite asserting that it was “against my ethos” to utilize law enforcement. Police removed Hirsch from the cafe for alleged trespassing, which the officer said she was enforcing to separate him from Harara.
Hirsch told Jewish Insider at the time that once outside, Harara followed him out and shouted at his son, “Your dad’s a b****.”
Weeks prior to the incident, the cafe had drawn criticism for announcing a new menu featuring a juice called “Sweet Sinwar,” which critics said was a tribute to the Hamas leader. The updated offerings also included “Iced in Tea Fada,” a nod to the violent Palestinian uprisings against Israel known as intifadas. Harara told the San Francisco Standard at the time that the menu launch was not tied to the first anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, but to the business’ one year anniversary.
The Jewish congressman said that the outside interference may have come from foreign sources
Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Representative Randy Fine (R-FL) departs following a vote at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on July 15, 2026.
LAS VEGAS — Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) alleged in an interview with Jewish Insider this week that an unregistered spending campaign, to the tune of millions of dollars, illegally interfered in his congressional race to aid his neo-Nazi opponent, influencer Dan Bilzerian. Fine added that the money backing that campaign may have come from foreign sources.
Fine, speaking to JI on the sidelines of the Republican Jewish Coalition summit this weekend, said that the group, Florida First Action Network, spent millions on television and mail advertising attacking him without registering with the Federal Election Commission, as required by law.
No group by that name is registered with the FEC. A website for the Florida First Action Network provides few details, stating, “Florida First Action Network is dedicated to promoting American principles, supporting effective leadership, and holding public officials accountable to the people of Florida.” The website provides an address for a postal box in Florida.
“It’s completely illegal,” Fine said, emphasizing that federal law requires transparency in federal election spending. He linked the campaign to a Florida politician and attorney who was listed on the forms for the television ad buys. The attorney, Anthony Sabatini, was also paid by Bilzerian’s campaign for legal services. Fine did not offer specific evidence of a foreign nexus for the funding.
He said that this influx of outside spending allowed Bilzerian and his allies to outspend him 5-to-1, though Bilzerian ultimately lost to Fine by a substantial margin. The congressman said Sabatini and likely Bilzerian should be sent to prison for this activity, and has urged the FBI to investigate.
In an emailed comment to JI, Sabatini did not respond to the substance of Fine’s accusations and instead lobbed a personal insult about Fine’s appearance.
“We cannot have millions of dollars of illegal, anonymous money pouring into our elections. It’s an existential threat to our country,” Fine continued. “If they can do it to me, they can do it anywhere,” he said, adding that allowing such anonymous spending would open a door for American adversaries to interfere directly in U.S. elections and “own Congress.”
Fine’s race was marked by increasingly ugly and antisemitic rhetoric, including consistent antisemitic attacks by Bilzerian — including an ad celebrating Hitler — vandalism of a Fine campaign sign with a swastika and a man arrested for issuing a death threat against Fine on the morning of the primary election.
“It’s not often that you get to say you faced evil and you slayed it, but that’s what we did,” Fine said. “It was very unpleasant, I’m not going to lie. But what was important for me to understand, what I said to my kids, is that I was simply the vessel.”
He said that Bilzerian’s campaign was effectively against the Jewish people, rather than just against Fine himself, and that he felt like he was “taking the blows for the entire Jewish community.”
He said he was ultimately proud of the results in the race and argued that, despite Bilzerian’s 18% finish, racist and antisemitic gubernatorial candidate James Fishback’s 10% result is more reflective of the prevalence of extremist ideology within the GOP base.
He said that the outside spending supporting Bilzerian made a very different case than Bilzerian’s own campaign did — absent the open bigotry espoused by Bilzerian and casting Bilzerian in a misleading positive light while misrepresenting Fine.
“When you spend $3 or $4 or $5 million creating a narrative that’s false in both directions, it’s going to have an impact,” he said. “I ascribe the incremental 8% [difference between Fishback and Bilzerian’s results] to the $5 million worth of lies.”
During his speech to the RJC convention, Fine also noted that some of the same donors who supported Bilzerian have also supported far-left anti-Israel candidates like Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed, describing it as an example of a long-standing “alliance between Nazis and Muslim terrorists.”
Speaking to JI, he called his race, along with the resignation of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and primary defeat of Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), proof that Republicans “deal with” and reject antisemitism in their ranks, while “Democrats celebrate theirs.”
He said that he believes that the future of Jews in America and the future of Western civilization is at stake in the midterms, and that the “Democratic Party is lost. And so if we don’t fight back, if we don’t win, we could go the same way. I’m very, very worried about the future of America.”
During his speech during the RJC convention, Fine also reiterated comments he has made in the past decrying what he describes as “mainstream Muslims” — whom he characterizes as those who believe in extreme Islamist ideology — which have previously garnered accusations of Islamophobia.
Fine argued that continuing U.S. aid to Israel — a subject that has become a point of debate among some in the Republican Party — is an America First policy.
“If you’re Israel you want to end that aid and the reason is because giving that aid to Israel gives the United States real leverage over the State of Israel,” he said. “The America First position, which is we like to have our tentacles into the world, is to continue to give that aid.”
He said that ultimately if Israel doesn’t want U.S. aid, it would reject it, but argued that maintaining the strong relationship between the two countries is good for the United States, allowing opportunities to improve weapons systems, share intelligence and more.
“We get so much out of that $3.8 billion [in annual U.S. military assistance to Israel] than we give by doing it, and the same people who obsess about this $3.8 billion don’t obsess about the $380 billion that we waste every year on other things,” he continued. “I think it’s in Israel’s best interest to stop taking the aid. I don’t know that it’s in America’s best interest.”
The Florida congressman, who has been strongly supportive of President Donald Trump and his administration and serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, praised the Iran war, saying he believes it’s going well and that the U.S. is making significant progress in destroying Iran’s military, constraining its economy and loosening Iran’s grip over the Strait of Hormuz.
Plus, Rahm Emanuel offers Piker a 'two-by-four' education
Photo by Elke Scholiers/Getty Images
Crude oil tankers, bulk carriers and vessels sit anchored around Qaboos Port on June 22, 2026 in Muscat, Oman.
Good Tuesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
The U.S. struck Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran today, CENTCOM announced, following Iranian attacks on U.S. forces in the region over the weekend as well as strikes on two tankers carrying Saudi oil in the Strait of Hormuz yesterday.
Iranian officials told The New York Times that the strikes hit several targets in southern Iran including a military base and the perimeter of a commercial airport. Tehran retaliated by firing missiles once again at U.S. bases in Jordan, according to Jordanian state media…
President Donald Trump had warned on Truth Social that if Iran retaliates for “this very justified attack,” the U.S. will strike Iran again “at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all,” which he said “is waiting in the wings.” He told Fox News that the U.S. was targeting Iranian radar capabilities as it attempted to rebuild and said an agreement with the regime “isn’t worth the paper it’s written on”…
Even so, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on the sidelines of a gathering of G20 finance ministers in Asheville, N.C., today that the Strait of Hormuz “will be bypassed in two years” as “a worthless piece of water.”
Bessent also said his department is likely to announce sanctions on other banks this week and next after targeting Egyptian Banque Misr for its connections to the Iranian regime…
Russia has been helping Iran develop advanced supersonic cruise missiles, according to a Financial Times investigation of leaked Russian communications. The highly sophisticated weapons technology, which can travel at several times the speed of sound, could assist Tehran in targeting U.S. aircraft carriers and other assets in the region…
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said at a press conference today that Israel and Syria are engaged in negotiations mediated by the U.S. and that Damascus is “still committed” to reaching a diplomatic agreement, despite what he described as dozens of ongoing IDF incursions into Syrian territory…
The Justice Department announced today that the FBI seized $560,000 in cryptocurrency donations intended for Hamas as well as fundraising and recruitment communication infrastructure belonging to the terror group.
John Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, said the seizures “deprive Hamas of resources it relies on to recruit and radicalize individuals online and finance barbaric attacks like the one on Oct. 7, 2023”…
Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he would go on Hasan Piker’s Twitch show to give the antisemitic streamer “a lesson in what he is perpetuating and the advocacy and the rhetoric of what he’s doing,” Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. “I can give him a two-by-four upside his head because of what he said,” Emanuel said in a CNN interview yesterday, referring to recent comments in which Piker had claimed that Jews who support Israel are inviting violence against themselves.
Piker criticized what he called the “violent death threats from rahm israel emanuel” in a post on X responding to JI’s story, a day after he said on his Twitch stream that he had deleted the social media app…
Ahead of his address at the Republican Jewish Coalition summit last night in Las Vegas, Vice President JD Vance’s team reached out to several prominent Jewish GOP donors to test the waters of how he might be received, The New York Times reports, in a reflection of how the vice president hoped to use the appearance to assuage concerns among the key constituency for his potential 2028 presidential run…
California’s state Legislature passed a bill yesterday adding Jewish as an ethnicity option on state forms that collect demographic data. The bill, which now awaits Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature or veto, has raised some historical concerns around government records of Jews, while its proponents say the state’s privacy protections should prevent improper use of the data…
FBI Director Kash Patel hosted Shin Bet head David Zini in Washington today where they discussed counterterrorism efforts including breaking terrorist financing networks, intelligence sharing and counter-drone technologies, according to Patel…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul held a joint press conference this morning ahead of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks calling on the Trump administration to release what they said is $87 million in frozen counter-terror funding owed to the state.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin held a dueling presser elsewhere in the city accusing the two leaders of failing to address crime and highlighting the administration’s work to detain thousands of illegal immigrants across New York…
A trade union issued a strike notice to Brussels Airlines as workers said they are being forced to staff flights to Israel, a breach of the union’s contract that says employees may volunteer but may not be compelled to fly to Tel Aviv. The workers have “serious concerns about both their physical safety and the mental and ethical impact of these flights,” a union spokesperson told The Brussels Times…
Jewish leaders from 59 communal organizations from around the world convened in Jerusalem this week for a meeting of the J50 Forum, a body established by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and currently chaired by William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
Meeting with the group today, Sa’ar said they discussed “our shared and deepening concern over the global rise in antisemitism, and the clear connection between the obsessive anti-Israel rhetoric of many governments and the growing attacks against Jewish communities”…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for perspectives from lawmakers on whether the U.S. or Iran has the upper hand as the war currently stands.
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The potential presidential contender said he could give Piker ‘a two-by-four upside his head’ over his comments that pro-Israel Jews invite violence against themselves
Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library
Rahm Emanuel speaks at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library on July 3, 2026 in Medora, North Dakota.
Rahm Emanuel, the veteran Democratic operative and former mayor of Chicago who is now mulling a presidential bid in 2028, said he would go on Hasan Piker’s Twitch show to give the antisemitic streamer “a lesson in what he is perpetuating and the advocacy and the rhetoric of what he’s doing.”
“I can give him a two-by-four upside his head because of what he said,” Emanuel said in a CNN interview on Monday, referring to recent comments in which Piker had claimed that Jews who support Israel are inviting violence against themselves.
Emanuel’s characteristically tough-talking rhetoric came months after he confirmed to Politico in March that he was open to appearing on Piker’s show, with a spokesperson saying at the time he “is always willing to have difficult conversations with anyone about the future of the country, and to tell people he disagrees with why they’re wrong.”
Piker’s relationship to the party has emerged as a Democratic flashpoint, most notably in Michigan’s heated Senate race, where the Democratic nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, has recently sought to distance his campaign from the controversial streamer as he has faced widespread backlash over his comments about pro-Israel Jews.
“What he said the other day, I think I’m glad he said it,” Emanuel said of Piker, “because it’s out front that somehow we invited the violence against ourselves.”
Emanuel, who is Jewish, said Piker “needs to be challenged” over such claims. “Anybody associated with that rhetoric needs to disassociate with them, because if it was any other group in America — any other group — people would be worked up and in a tizzy, appropriately.”
“Now, if this was any other constituency, the party would deal with this,” he added in the interview with CNN’s Kasie Hunt on Monday. “But everybody seems to be like, ‘Oh, this is OK, whatever.’ You also have a person who thinks 9/11 is OK,” a reference to Piker’s assertion that America deserved 9/11, comments the streamer has since said used “imprecise” language.
Though many Democrats have rejected Piker, others have defended the streamer or downplayed his ties to the party, calling such debates a distraction or a Republican talking point.
But in a moment of rising antisemitism in both parties, Emanuel said Democrats are discrediting themselves if they cannot unanimously condemn Piker for his offensive statements. “If I can’t say it about him, you clearly can’t attack people who go around chanting ‘the Jews will not replace us,’ and have a president of the United States saying ‘there are good people on both sides,’” he argued, alluding to the violent neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017.
“My point is we need to deal with this out front,” Emanuel said, adding: “But everybody seems to get tongue-tied when it comes to antisemitism, and that to me is unacceptable.”
Despite his words of warning, Emanuel bristled at the suggestion that Jewish Democrats feel alienated within a party they have long called home, saying the surge of antisemitism transcends traditional partisan boundaries.
“It’s not a party problem,” he explained, citing FBI statistics showing Jews are the most-targeted group for religion-based hate crimes. “If you segregate it as somehow ‘this is political or partisan,’ you’re actually allowing it a pass.”
Even as he has grown more openly skeptical of Israel in recent months, Emanuel, a former chief of staff in the Obama administration, has increasingly criticized his party’s far-left flank.
In other recent interviews, for instance, he has said that the ascendant Democratic Socialists of America, which has promoted candidates accused of spreading antisemitism, is not a part of the Democratic Party.
“The Democratic Party is not open to being taken over,” he said on “Fox News Sunday” this weekend.
Terrell said the 'wrong people are in charge' while claiming that not all laws that could protect Jewish Americans are being enforced
Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for End Jew Hatred / The Lawfare Project
Leo Terrell speaks onstage during Unite Against Extremism on April 29, 2026 in New York City.
LAS VEGAS — Leo Terrell, a senior counsel at the Department of Justice and head of the DOJ’s antisemitism task force, confirmed a report in The New York Times on Monday of friction between himself and Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights and Terrell’s onetime boss, including that the two have not communicated directly in more than a year.
Terrell also previewed plans for his upcoming national tour to combat antisemitism, which he said aims to grow the tent of allies in fighting antisemitism as well as leverage public-private partnerships, social media, new data tracking tools and more to expand efforts to combat Jew hatred.
The Times reported that Terrell repeatedly complained about disrespect by Dhillon, that the two clashed over investigations into Columbia University, that Dhillon sought to block Terrell from Fox News appearances and that she sought to remove Terrell’s top aide.
“That story is accurate, 100%. That’s an accurate representation of my relationship with Harmeet Dhillon,” Terrell said in an interview with Jewish Insider on the sidelines of the Republican Jewish Coalition’s leadership summit. When pressed on Dhillon’s own public comments about her work fighting antisemitism, he said only that the media should “go beyond the headlines and learn the truth.”
Dhillon has spoken publicly on numerous occasions about her efforts to fight antisemitism, with a particular focus on efforts to utilize the FACE Act, which prevents individuals from obstructing access to houses of worship, to go after protesters targeting synagogues and what she said are broader efforts to dismantle the groups behind such incidents. She has also been involved in efforts to combat antisemitism on college campuses.
Though he initially said that he would not speak further about Dhillon beyond confirming the Times reporting, Terrell made further disparaging allusions to her during his conversation with JI, including stating that some laws on the books to protect Jewish Americans are not being enforced.
“The wrong people are in charge. The wrong people. Take that statement [with] one of the questions you asked me previously. When you’ve got people who consider Tucker Carlson a friend and a client, and want to make sure no one knows — give me a break. They’re in the government. Give me a break,” Terrell said. “I’m not putting two and two together. You’re smart enough, but those things are kept buried.”
Dhillon previously served as an attorney for Carlson.
The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Dhillon.
Despite his apparent tension with Dhillon, Terrell offered high praise for others in the administration including President Donald Trump, Attorney General Todd Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, who he said have been fully supportive of all of his efforts and proposals related to his work.
“Even though [antisemitism] exists, this administration honestly is working to try to curb it,” Terrell said. “I know I could do a lot more, and so the job that I have to do is to do more, and with Trump, Blanche and Woodward, I can do it. And then you work around other people and you just go forward. But I love the work that I’m doing. I wish it wasn’t necessary, but I will continue this job in the manner I’m doing as long as I’m able to do it.”
With the backing of Trump, Blanche and Woodward, Terrell is about to launch a 15-city tour on combating antisemitism, focusing on cities where the Jewish community has faced attacks. He said the details of the private partners that will be part of the tour should be finalized this week.
He emphasized, during remarks to the RJC, the need to “expand the base” of those fighting antisemitism beyond the Jewish community and usual allies. He emphasized to JI that fighting antisemitism isn’t an issue for the Jewish community alone.
Terrell said that goal is central to his tour, which aims to bring together allies across the entire American community, from all religions and races, and go beyond “talking to the choir” at events like the RJC summit.
The tour will also include senior members of other departments including the Labor, Treasury and State departments, to target the problem of antisemitism from various angles — from going after antisemitic unions to targeting the nonprofit status of groups promoting antisemitism to expelling visa-holders who are spreading antisemitism.
Terrell also aims to bring in nongovernmental figures from other walks of life, including sports and other pop culture figures. He said he hopes that 90% of the figures speaking during the tour will be non-Jews.
“I’m not trying to change Hasan Piker. I’m not trying to change Tucker Carlson. I’m trying to change the 60% of the people in the middle that have been getting misinformation,” Terrell said.
Partnering with media figures and influencers outside of government, Terrell is also aiming to create a social media campaign to support his efforts across platforms and forums.
And he said he will be launching an app to nationally track every incident of antisemitism across the country, including whether local law enforcement and prosecutors take action.
He said he’ll also work to hold accountable local officials in the cities he’s visiting who have failed to take antisemitism seriously, and to address the creeping growth of antisemitism in K-12 schools.
And he will aim to visit with every local Jewish community in each city.
Terrell described his work as urgent to pursue before the end of the current administration, while a supportive president remains in office.
“If we don’t set up guardrails right now, this country is in trouble because we have a president right now, in my opinion, who has taken such an aggressive step towards fighting antisemitism,” he said. “We’ve got to do something now.”
In addition to the tour, Terrell is launching a 15-person bipartisan advisory council on combating antisemitism, the appointees for which are awaiting approval from Trump. The council, he said, aims to write actionable recommendations for how various cabinet agencies can be better addressing antisemitism that can be implemented immediately.
Though he was not able to disclose all of the members he recommended for the commission, Terrell mentioned that Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is one.
Terrell said that he believes that the recent FBI statistics showing antisemitic hate crimes comprising a majority of religious hate crimes in the country in 2025 and the second-largest category of hate crimes overall likely undercount the extent of the problem because of what he described as issues in major cities’ governance.
Large cities like New York City, Terrell said, ignore or misrepresent incidents of antisemitism as free speech or downplay the severity of antisemitic attacks. “That is a pattern and a practice in a lot of cities,” he said.
He added that the data also doesn’t capture the hundreds of thousands of dollars the Jewish community spends annually on security costs so that it can gather safely — what Terrell refers to as the “Jewish tax.”
Confronting a skeptical crowd, the vice president expressed support for Israel and the Jewish community; he wasn’t pressed directly on his past comments and affiliations that have most concerned Jewish Republicans
Nic Antaya/Getty Images
Vice President JD Vance speaks during a rally at Universal Contracting and Urban Tree Trimming on August 31, 2026 in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
LAS VEGAS — Vice President JD Vance stuck to a pro-Israel line and rejected antisemitism in remarks on Monday to the Republican Jewish Coalition, avoiding any new controversies while not being pressed directly about some of his past comments and affiliations, including with Tucker Carlson, that have most concerned Jewish Republicans.
Attendees, with some exceptions, largely said that the speech helped Vance reassure skeptical Jewish and pro-Israel Republicans and boost his support with the RJC crowd ahead of a potential 2028 presidential bid.
Vance, in an off-record conversation with RJC Chairman Norm Coleman, audio and a transcript of which were leaked shortly after his remarks, was asked about a list of antisemitic influencers including Carlson and Nick Fuentes and his decisions about how to engage with those figures. He didn’t directly address Carlson — who he has previously defended as a friend — in his response, instead highlighting differences he sees between figures like Fuentes (who he tagged as antisemitic) and Rogan (who he said wasn’t).
“One area where I really do draw the line is on people who engage in what I call this blood libel attitude. I recognize a lot of people in this room might disagree with things that Tucker Carlson or Megyn Kelly or Joe Rogan has said, but — just to hone in on Fuentes and Rogan, I think these are two very, very different categories of people, both with their reach, but also within the ideas that are in their actual head,” Vance said.
Regarding Rogan, he said that he thinks the best approach is to engage and make his case and try to reach his audience. Fuentes, he said, is a substantively different case who is not worth engaging with given both his neo-Nazi views and his personal attacks on Vance and his family.
“But outside of some pretty bright lines, I try to talk to as many people as I can,” Vance continued.
Vance also highlighted a “growing suspicion” among the under-40 generation of the U.S.-Israel relationship and said that he believes that the best way to make the case for the relationship is to “actually get out there and talk about the ways in which it is in the best interest of the United States of America,” highlighting advanced missile defense technology as one example.
He said that other arguments that may have “made a lot of sense rhetorically 30 or 40 years ago” may not have the same appeal to young people today.
Asked about his past comments that Israeli and U.S. interests don’t always align, the vice president said that Israel is important to U.S. national security and among the U.S.’s most critical alliances, as well as undergirded by a “deeper cultural symbiosis and harmony.”
Vance was not directly asked about his recent comments accusing the Israeli government of conducting influence operations in the U.S. to undermine negotiations with Iran.
Vance suggested that Israel’s focus on the Middle East and the U.S.’s desire to shift away from a two-decade focus on that region is “a natural place in which Israel is going to look at these things slightly differently than the United States of America. … The most important thing is to say that there are alignments of interest across a whole host of issues.”
Towards the end of his remarks, Vance said that he sees antisemitism as having increased primarily as a result of immigration and the “importation of large groups of people who bring their ethnic rivalries” rather than changing sentiments in the American populace.
The vice president emphasized that he and the entire administration “love” the Jewish community and “you will very much always be on the team so long as I have any say in it.”
He argued that antisemitism — or the idea of punishing anyone for their genetics or ancestry, which he referred to as “blood libel” or “blood guilt”— is anathema to his Christian faith. He also highlighted past conversations with conservative activist Charlie Kirk about how antisemitism is “corrosive to the soul.”
“I think the antidote to antisemitism is the rejection of this idea of blood guilt,” Vance continued. “And I would tell any young man who claims to be a Christian that this is super corrosive for the soul.”
Vance said he feels a personal affinity and connection between the Catholic and Jewish religions and sees similarities between the two faiths — noting that he participated in a reading at the Orthodox Jewish wedding of his former chief of staff, Jacob Reses.
Vance, who spent the day on the campaign trail in Michigan with former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), called Rogers “the single most important candidate right now in this midterm election” and El-Sayed “one of the worst disgraces running in the history of the American political process.”
“You don’t see a bunch of innocent Jewish kids who almost lose their lives and empathize with the killer unless you see those people as less than human,” Vance said, referring to El-Sayed’s response to the attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich., in March.
Several RJC board members, all speaking in their personal capacities, and other attendees largely said that Vance’s remarks had helped his case with the Jewish community.
“His sincerity was appreciated, and his comment that the under-40 generation doesn’t have the same emotional or historical attachment to Israel so must be met where they are was correct,” Joshua Katzen, an RJC board member told Jewish Insider. “The audience was relieved.”
Katzen told JI prior to Vance’s speech that the remarks would be an opportunity to alleviate concerns from RJC members, and his remarks earned repeated standing ovations from the crowd.
“I am going to support him,” Yitz Applbaum, another RJC board member, told JI. “He is definitely strong on the U.S.-Israel relationship and totally understands the issues, especially with the youth and how we need to work to do away with antisemitism with people under 40. [That was] a very key part of what he talked about.”
Sander Gerber, also an RJC board member, told JI, “Vice President Vance spoke to an enthusiastic room who understands that the American Jewish community is a core part of the political future of our country. I applaud the VPs statements repudiating antisemitism on the right.”
Bobby Schostak, an RJC board member and former Michigan Republican Party chairman, said that the RJC is “honored to have [Vance] here” and that Vance “made clear his positions … there was nothing concerning to me overall.”
“I think he needs to continue to reach out to us and us to him,” Schostak continued. “We have a good understanding going forward, but I didn’t find anything there, you know, alarming or concerning.”
Stuart Weil, an RJC member from California, told reporters that Vance’s remarks confirmed to him that any potential issues were a result of media distortion of Vance’s record.
“I will gladly support JD Vance as president of the United States,” Weil said. “As a big supporter of Israel, I believe that JD Vance will make a wonderful president. … He just reinforced what I already know.”
Not everyone was won over by Vance’s comments, however, with one attendee expressing disappointment with his failure to repudiate Carlson directly. “He was given the opportunity to call out and separate himself from Tucker. To the disappointment of many, he ducked the Tucker issue altogether,” the attendee told JI.
Schostak also acknowledged that others in the room might not have been satisfied with Vance’s answer.
“He addressed it as the elephant in the room. … I think the way he responded was, ‘It was important to not ignore all factions of opinion,’” Schostak said. “I don’t know how well that was received.”
Radio host Sid Rosenberg, who in remarks before the RJC earlier in the day urged the audience to “give Vance a chance,” said that he was disappointed by Vance’s remarks.
“He was not strong enough on Israel. In fact he referred to Israel as ONE of our best allies. One of?” Rosenberg said on X. “He had a chance to hammer [Carlson] and [Kelly] but instead spent all his time defending [Rogan] over Nick Fuentes. He also blamed immigration for a lot of the antisemitism in our country today. Silly. Look, he’s still better than any Democrat candidate but I don’t think he wowed the STRONG Jews in the room tonight.”
RJC CEO Matt Brooks and other members of the group’s leadership offered strong praise and support for Vance during a press conference following the session.
“Coming into a room that many would say had not necessarily known who JD was and what was in in his heart, or would be coming in skeptical to learn more — I think he really connected very very well with the audience tonight,” Brooks said.
Ari Fleischer, an RJC board member and former White House press secretary, told reporters that Vance “really helped himself tonight” and “answered a lot of the questions that people had about where his heart is.” He added that repeated appearances will help the crowd grow more comfortable.
“Today was not primary day, but I think today was progress day for JD Vance with the Jewish community,” he said.
Vance entered the room facing a divided crowd — with some in the audience skeptical of the vice president given his ties to Carlson, his public criticisms of Israel, his approach to negotiations with Iran and a host of other issues.
Uniformly, RJC board members and Jewish Republican elected officials said that Vance’s appearance at the RJC was a positive sign for him and for the Jewish community and that they were grateful that Vance was coming to address the crowd.
“I was surprised yet pleased to see that he’s coming,” Katzen said ahead of the speech. “I doubt that the vice president is coming to tell us that he thinks that Tucker Carlson’s view of Judaism is correct. He’s not here to tell us that. I have to think that he’s here to build bridges. I wonder how explicit he’ll be in rejecting the antisemites associated with Tucker Carlson.”
He said that Vance “must understand that he’s walking into 750 people who are very skeptical about his support” — largely because he “failed to respond when offered the opportunity” to people who have made antisemitic comments — so RJC members want him to address those concerns.
“I think his remarks can make all the difference,” Katzen said, noting that Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s name received loud applause from the RJC audience, while the same was not true of Vance.
“He can fix that tonight, and I hope he will. I would much rather have the Republican Party choosing between two excellent candidates [in 2028], especially the Jews in the Republican Party,” Katzen said. “I don’t want the Jews to feel like there’s only part of the Republican Party that is a home for them, because the Jews have no home in the Democratic Party.”
He said he would still prefer Vance to any Democrat.
RJC board members who spoke to JI otherwise generally declined to speculate about Vance’s potential presidential ambitions or the 2028 race, arguing that it’s too early to consider that election. Vance was the only anticipated 2028 hopeful who attended the conference.
Board member Eric Levine said ahead of the speech that it’s an “affirmatively good thing” that Vance is speaking to the RJC because it shows that the Jewish community and the U.S.-Israel relationship matter to him — particularly when juxtaposed with the increasing hostility toward Israel on the Democratic side.
Levine said that Vance has been helping President Donald Trump advance his Middle East policy — “and there has been no more pro-Israel president in the history of our country than Donald Trump.”
“Having said that, it’s a fool’s errand to just deny reality,” Levine continued, referring to Vance’s “relationship and association with Tucker Carlson,” who he said is indistinguishable from Nick Fuentes, former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Hasan Piker, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. “So it’s unhelpful to have a relationship with Tucker Carlson, but that’s up for the vice president to navigate.”
He said he didn’t expect a sweeping statement from Vance either in defense or denunciation of Carlson.
Others said they had fewer concerns about the vice president going into the speech, but saw it as an opportunity for the vice president to mend fences with those in the RJC crowd who were concerned.
Schostak said before the event that it was “terrific” and an honor for Vance to appear, and said that it was an opportunity to start a process of strengthening his relationships with members of the RJC and reassuring those who do have concerns.
“This is a process. You’re not going to do everything in 45 minutes, but I think he’s going to show us, honoring us by being here and showing us that he cares about the American Jewish community and its fight against antisemitism and its support and his support for Israel’s right to defend itself and its self-determination,” Schostak said.
He said that the appearance was a “starting point to have those discussions for people that have any doubts or concerns” but he also argued that those concerns are largely based on incomplete comments.
“I think people are hearing things out of context. They’re getting three-hour podcast sections sliced and diced and put into a digital feed,” he said. “And I just think that unless you are hearing in its entirety, it’s hard to draw an honest conclusion.”
Applbaum before the event said he didn’t share the concerns of some other RJC members, but that he hoped the speech would provide an opportunity for Vance to assuage their concerns.
Applbaum emphasized that Vance’s association with Trump and his policies gives him strong credibility and credentials — ”they’re great for Israel, they’re great friends with the Jewish people in Israel.”
Brooks said that the RJC, not Vance’s team, decided to close the event to the press, so that Vance could “talk to the people in the front of the room in a way that wasn’t through the filter of the people on the press risers in the back of the room.”
Brooks and Fleischer downplayed the event’s significance as a stop on the 2028 presidential election trail, emphasizing that the speaker list had been selected with an eye toward the upcoming midterm elections, rather than the next presidential race.
Disclaimer: Yitz Applbaum serves as Jewish Insider’s wine columnist.
Plus, Trump previews Iran retribution
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 21, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Delegates, politicians, and Democratic Party supporters are in Chicago for the convention, concluding with current Vice President Kamala Harris accepting her party's presidential nomination.
Good Monday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump told Fox News this morning that the U.S. will respond to Iran’s attacks yesterday on U.S. forces in Jordan: “We’re going to hit them hard. There will be a response,” he said…
CENTCOM and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have proposed to Trump a campaign of limited strikes around the Strait of Hormuz to prevent Iran from rebuilding its radar and missile capacities, U.S. officials told Axios, a plan that may draw the president’s approval following the renewed hostilities over the weekend…
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Jewish Democrat, encouraged Jewish voters on Sunday to put aside concerns about their safety “in exchange for the opportunity to save the rest of humanity,” regarding Michigan’s closely contested Senate election this November, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
“We have a moral imperative to place the needs of the world above even our own self-interest and, yes, even our own survival,” Nessel told attendees in her remarks at the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus’ annual “Summer Simcha” gathering…
Vice President JD Vance, appearing at a GOP rally in Michigan, attacked the state’s Democratic Senate nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, as a terror sympathizer, targeting him for his comments following the violent attack on Temple Israel earlier this year where he said “hurt people hurt people.” Vance spotlighted a rabbi and security guards from the synagogue who were in the audience…
El-Sayed’s campaign is working to hire a Jewish community liaison, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports, as he seeks to make inroads with the Jewish community after apologizing over the weekend for his remarks regarding the Temple Israel attack…
Politico speaks with Detroit-area Arab Americanleaders who helped rally their community to support Trump in his 2024 campaign, many of whom are now souring on the GOP amid the war in Iran and the president’s attacks on El-Sayed — a potentially meaningful shift for the swing constituency that could have an impact in the Senate race…
San Francisco congressional nominee Connie Chan endorsed the “Oakland People’s Arms Embargo,” an activist movement seeking to halt what it claims are arms shipments out of Oakland Airport heading to Israel, as she seeks to best state Sen. Scott Wiener in the Democrat-on-Democrat race with the backing of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)…
New York City congressional nominee Brad Lander addressed an incident over the weekend where he was accosted by individuals who accused him of being a Zionist while participating in a protest against a Hindu nationalist leader at Madison Square Garden: Lander in response claimed once again that Israel is carrying out genocide, occupation and apartheid against Palestinians and said he was “glad to participate” in the protest, despite the blowback from “a couple of fringe a**holes with drums and bullhorns”…
Former Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer told attendees at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit to give Vance a “warm welcome” when he speaks at the summit this evening, JI’s Marc Rod reports from Las Vegas. Dermer praised the vice president for playing a “critical role” in the 12-day war against Iran in June 2025, “and particularly the first day, where that element of surprise was so critical to our success”…
In his remarks at the RJC summit, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee condemned Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood for their spending to influence U.S. education with anti-Israel sentiment, JI’s Marc Rod reports — a notable comment from a representative of the Trump administration, which has largely embraced Doha…
Vivek Ramaswamy, the GOP nominee for governor of Ohio, told the RJC audience that they “represent the most successful demographic group in America” and therefore antisemitism “is an attack on the idea of success. It is an attack on the idea of meritocracy. It is an attack on the idea of capitalism. It is an attack on the very idea of America itself”…
British designer John Galliano and the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that a planned exhibit honoring Galliano’s work would not move forward after the project faced backlash due to Galliano’s history of being convicted of an antisemitic hate crime, JI’s Haley Cohen reports.
“I remain fully accountable for the pain caused by my words in the past … I understand that meaningful atonement is not achieved through an exhibition, institutional recognition or a single public gesture. It is a continuing responsibility, demonstrated through listening, learning and one’s conduct over time,” Galliano said in a statement…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at where Israel’s elections stand with less than two months until voters head to the polls.
Massachusetts will hold its primary elections, where Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) hopes to fend off a generational primary challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA).
With the House back from its August recess, the Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the threat posed by the Houthi terror group to U.S. interests in the Red Sea.
The leaders of China, Russia, India, Iran and several other countries gathered in Kyrgyzstan today for a two-day meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization focused on political and security issues.
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent kicked off a two-day meeting of the G20 finance ministers in Asheville, N.C., today, where he is expected to push U.S. allies to cooperate in the Trump administration’s economic isolation campaign against Iran. Also in attendance are several Fortune 500 executives, including Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and David Solomon of Goldman Sachs.
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One member of the Michigan Democrats’ Jewish Caucus said Jewish Democrats ‘remain divided’ on El-Sayed after his outreach
OHIO HOT SEAT
The union ironworker has drawn backing from J Street, JDCA and Bernie Sanders while declining to take firm positions on the Jewish state
The Ohio GOP gubernatorial nominee spoke at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual conference on Monday
Arden S. Barnes/For The Washington Post via Getty Images
Republican Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during the town hall at the American Legion Anderson Post 318 ahead of the GOP primary election in Ohio.
LAS VEGAS — Vivek Ramaswamy, the GOP nominee for governor of Ohio, described antisemitism as an attack on core ideals of the United States, including success and meritocracy, in a speech at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual conference on Monday.
“Why am I here at the Republican Jewish Coalition talking to you about success? It is because you represent the most successful demographic group in America, and the antisemitism that is now spreading across our country is not just an attack on Jewish people; it is an attack on success,” Ramaswamy said. “It is an attack on the idea of success. It is an attack on the idea of meritocracy. It is an attack on the idea of capitalism. It is an attack on the very idea of America itself.”
He said he sees antisemitism as an expression of “envy of Jewish achievement,” and believes that is the primary driver of the current “epidemic” of antisemitism across the country.
“It is the spread of envy, and as much as it causes psychological and sadly even physical harm to the Jewish community, it causes even more psychological harm to those who harbor it, those who harbor envy, and those who harbor antisemitism reject a fundamental truth that America was built on,” Ramaswamy said.
He said that Americans should be lifting up successful Jews and other Americans, rather than villainizing them. And he emphasized that standing up against antisemitism is “about standing up for America.”
Ramaswamy is locked in a highly competitive race for governor against Democrat Amy Acton, the former director of Ohio’s Department of Health who headed the state pandemic response.
‘I understand that meaningful atonement is not achieved through an exhibition, institutional recognition or a single public gesture,’ Galliano said in a statement
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
John Galliano attends the "Le Grand Diner du Louvre" Passage Richelieu Photocall at Musee du Louvre on March 4, 2025 in Paris, France.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art and British designer John Galliano announced Monday that they are canceling a planned exhibit honoring Galliano’s work, citing public outcry over his past conviction for antisemitic remarks.
The disgraced fashion powerhouse — who was convicted of a hate crime in 2011 and fired from Dior after a video surfaced of his drunken, antisemitic and anti-Asian tirade at a bar in La Marais, a Jewish quarter of Paris — was scheduled to be the focus of “John Galliano: Horizons,” a nine-month exhibition by the Met’s Costume Institute. The exhibition was scheduled to launch in May with the Met Gala, the star-studded annual spring benefit.
Although Galliano publicly apologized for his rant years ago — and the Met consulted with Jewish leaders including Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt ahead of announcing the exhibition — it sparked widespread criticism from some Jewish leaders, including New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who called the museum’s decision to highlight Galliano’s career “a serious mistake” in a letter she sent on Thursday to Met leadership.
“After much reflection and discussion with The Met and all those involved, I have decided, with great sadness, that it is best for the exhibition not to take place at this time,” Galliano said in a statement about the decision. “I remain fully accountable for the pain caused by my words in the past, particularly the hurt I caused to the Jewish and Asian communities, and I remain deeply sorry for it. I understand that meaningful atonement is not achieved through an exhibition, institutional recognition or a single public gesture. It is a continuing responsibility, demonstrated through listening, learning and one’s conduct over time.”
On Monday, Menin said she was “pleased” that the Met agreed to not honor Galliano.
“From the beginning, I have told them that I strongly disagreed with this decision, and at this rising time of antisemitism, it had served as a gut punch to the Jewish community. This is the correct decision, as the harm and pain this was causing was simply unacceptable,” Menin wrote on X.
“Museums such as The Met must be held to a high standard of inclusiveness and tolerance, and I am pleased that they have listened to the concerns I have raised and reacted with the right decision. As the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, and as the first Jewish speaker of the New York City Council, this decision was personal to me, and the Jewish community and I felt a strong obligation to speak out.”
“With antisemitism at crisis levels, the Met honoring John Galliano at this moment was misguided, and even Galliano ultimately recognized what the Met should have done from the start,” Greenblatt wrote on X. “This was the wrong move at the wrong moment. Timing matters.”
Asked whether he plans to change his vetting procedures for staff, Collins said, ‘I can’t see into the future’
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Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) speaks during a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on a resolution "stating that President Donald Trump did not engage in insurrection," on Tuesday, February 6, 2024.
LAS VEGAS — Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) on Sunday disavowed the antisemitic views and white nationalist affiliations of several former staffers and said that he understands why Jewish voters are concerned, but also suggested there was little he could have done to identify those red flags in the hiring process.
Collins, the GOP nominee for Georgia’s Senate seat, has been mostly quiet publicly about the repeated disclosures concerning his former staffers — as well as his son-in-law — and is working to court Jewish voters concerned about Sen. Jon Ossoff’s (D-GA) record of voting against aid to Israel on multiple occasions.
“Those staffers — those views are abhorrent, and they don’t represent my values,” Collins told reporters at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit. “And you can look at my voting record.”
Pressed by Jewish Insider on how or whether he would change vetting procedures to ensure that such staff didn’t find their way onto his team again in the future, Collins downplayed the connections between himself and their activity, saying “this was after they were on my team and gone.”
But at least one of those staffers was engaged in the activity while still working for Collins: his former Chief of Staff Kip Talley was reportedly active in a white nationalist group chat discussing efforts to free a Holocaust denier from prison while still on Collins’ team.
“I can’t see into the future, but regardless I still don’t agree with them, period,” Collins continued. “We can vet all day long, but what happens when they leave and they go out into the future — that’s a different question. But I certainly don’t want people around me like that.”
He said that he sees “a rise of antisemitism and hate with young people around the globe, and we certainly need to address that because so many of these young people feel like they’ve been forgotten.”
Collins said that education and opportunity are key to pulling young people out of such radicalization and conspiracy theories.
Collins cast Ossoff as positioning himself to run as a Democratic Socialists of America candidate for president, highlighting Ossoff’s recent endorsement of Abdul El-Sayed for Michigan’s Senate seat and the support he previously received from antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker.
Neither Ossoff nor El-Sayed are DSA members. Piker disavowed Ossoff this week after Ossoff condemned recent antisemitic comments.
“We are both polar opposites, even on where we stand on Israel,” Collins said. “And it goes well past just the support for Israel and the Jewish population.”
In remarks to the RJC audience, Collins emphasized that his support for Israel is rooted in his religious faith.
“My faith tells me to support Israel,” Collins said. “I don’t have to answer to anybody in this room, but I tell you what, I’ve got to answer to the man upstairs, and by God, that’s important to me, and I know where I stand on that.”
He went on to emphasize that, even apart from faith, the contributions Israel has made to the world and the ways it has supported U.S. interests — including opposing Iran and other terrorist regimes — make supporting Israel worthwhile.
“That’s my stand. It always will be, and I have no problem professing that,” Collins said.
The keynote address, scheduled for Monday night, comes as some Jewish Republicans have been deeply skeptical of the vice president’s worldview
Vice President J.D. Vance arrives at Ben Gurion airport on October 21, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel (Photo by Nathan Howard - Pool/Getty Images)
Vice President JD Vance will appear at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit in Las Vegas, Nevada, to deliver the keynote address at Monday night’s closed-door gala dinner for VIP attendees.
Vance’s address comes as Jewish and pro-Israel Republicans have expressed concern over his critical tone toward Israel and his association with far-right commentator Tucker Carlson, who has hosted numerous antisemitic guests on his podcast over the last two years.
The appearance will be Vance’s first at the RJC’s annual summit since entering public office. Vance attended the three-day confab as a guest in 2021 while running in the GOP primary for his former Senate seat, though he did not deliver remarks at that year’s gathering.
President Donald Trump will be delivering videotaped remarks at the gala dinner on Monday night. Several of the GOP’s top Senate recruits will also be in attendance, including former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers, who’s running against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in the pivotal Michigan Senate contest. Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), who’s running against Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), will also be speaking.
The summit has evolved somewhat in recent years as rising antisemitism within the GOP caused intra-party fissures. Carlson’s decision to host neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes for a friendly interview on his podcast in the days leading up to last year’s confab prompted the RJC to make fighting right-wing antisemitism a key focus of the summit, which has historically been centered around celebrating broad GOP support for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and connecting Republican politicians and candidates with potential donors.
Signs saying “Tucker is not MAGA” were featured at last year’s 2025 summit.
While Vance has condemned antisemitism and argued that it has no place in the GOP, he has said he rejects the notion that Jew hatred is spreading in the conservative movement. He also dismissed the suggestion that the rise in anti-Israel sentiment in the Republican Party was the result of antisemitism.
He said after being heckled over Israel’s war in Gaza at a Turning Point USA event in April that “the humanitarian situation in Gaza was an absolute catastrophe” when Trump began his second term and defended the ceasefire brokered by the president. In a pivot from his tone two years prior, Vance instead criticized the Biden administration for failing to reach a deal to stop the fighting and declined to defend Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
Since the Iran war was launched six months ago, the vice president has led several rounds of direct peace talks with Iran while emphasizing publicly that the administration was looking for a peaceful end to the conflict. He has also largely defended the war in public by noting the efforts to end the conflict.
In June, he issued a scathing public rebuke of Israeli officials who have criticized Trump for approving the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, during which he cautioned Israeli skeptics of the deal against “attacking the only powerful ally” it has left and urged them to “wake up and smell the reality of the situation that country is in.”
The Maryland Democrat campaigned alongside Abdul El-Sayed this week, while withholding criticism of antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) speaks during the House Administration Committee hearing on June 10, 2026.
For years, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) has been viewed by his Jewish constituents as an ally in fighting antisemitism and as generally supportive of Israel, despite his deep disagreements with the Netanyahu government and current U.S. policy in the Middle East.
The congressman has maintained a good relationship with many of the Jewish constituents in his suburban Washington district with the largest share of Jewish voters in Maryland, even as he’s backed numerous measures restricting U.S. aid to Israel, which has drawn backlash from prominent Jewish community figures.
But a recent broadside against the Trump administration’s investigations into antisemitism, in which Raskin cited whistleblower reports to describe the investigations into Harvard, Brown and Columbia universities as fabricated and predetermined, is generating new tensions with some community members.
Raskin also spent Wednesday on the campaign trail boosting Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, whose virulent anti-Israel views and associations with an antisemitic streamer have made him persona non grata throughout much of Michigan’s Jewish community.
Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt, the CEO of the Zionist Rabbinic Coalition who leads a synagogue in Raskin’s district, said that the letter from Raskin regarding his investigation into the campus antisemitism efforts was “disappointing” in light of the extent of intimidation targeting Jewish students on campus. Weinblatt said he saw the administration’s policies as a good-faith effort to support Jewish students and disrupt those who have isolated and harassed them.
He said he’s concerned that Raskin’s letter could undermine both the federal tools to protect students as well as lead some people to believe that the problem of campus antisemitism was overstated.
“We have an administration that wants to try to do something, to help protect and defend Jewish students, to help to make them feel safer and more secure,” Weinblatt said. “It would be unfortunate and tragic to be limiting their ability to be able to do that.”
He said that, if Raskin believes — as he said he does — that campus antisemitism is a serious problem to be addressed, he should articulate how that should be done in lieu of the Trump administration-led probes.
“Congressman Raskin has a history of being committed to pursuing issues related to justice and fairness, and so I think it’s unfortunate that he — as a member of Congress who is identifiably Jewish — is taking this action, because I think many Jews are concerned about the environment on college campuses and would look to our Jewish members of Congress to help,” Weinblatt continued.
But, he acknowledged, any action should be taken in a way that is legal, appropriate and measured, and should be done in accordance with the applicable laws.
Some federal courts have also raised objections to the administration’s efforts, finding that the funding cuts targeting Harvard were unconstitutional and that the administration had overstated its case against the university.
In a lengthy statement to Jewish Insider, Raskin emphasized that antisemitism on campus is a real problem that schools must address. But he said that the government levying unjustified penalties helps no one.
“Universities have a duty, under federal law, to prevent and address harassment and discrimination on their campuses and they should be held to account if and when they fail to do so,” Raskin said. “But when the government ignores the actual facts found by its investigators and resorts instead to levying major financial penalties on our universities despite the facts and the law, everyone loses, especially the actual victims of antisemitism and racism.”
He said that the government cannot legally penalize chosen targets without or in spite of an investigation “no matter how just may be its stated cause.”
“Throughout history, Jews have often suffered as the designated scapegoats of these perverted forms of justice,” he continued.
The Washington Jewish Week called Raskin’s efforts wrongheaded, arguing in an editorial published Thursday that the congressman is “making a mistake” by focusing on re-investigating the investigations, rather than trying to address the antisemitism itself.
“Raskin instead describes the administration’s investigations as ‘fake,’ a ‘pre-baked frame-up operation’ and a ‘sham,’” the editorial continues. “Those are sweeping conclusions to announce before conducting an investigation supposedly intended to determine what happened. … The House Judiciary Committee should be strengthening [the civil rights investigatory] system, not conducting another round of political theater about who weaponized government first.”
The editorial argues that Raskin should be putting his energy toward “showing America how to address [campus antisemitism] properly.”
Raskin previously criticized the administration’s efforts to shutter parts of the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, a move he said endangered efforts to fight antisemitism, among other forms of discrimination.
Raskin, citing the whistleblower testimony, said in his statement to JI that the administration had “used fabricated and disproven claims of antisemitic discrimination as a cudgel, even in cases where the targeted school’s own Jewish students, faculty, and rabbis applauded and praised the university’s positive and proactive responses to incidents of antisemitism or intolerance” and “ignored Jewish voices and the on-the-ground facts found by investigators.”
He said that in doing so, the administration, rather than his probe, undermined legitimate efforts to combat antisemitism and sent a public message that the problem of campus antisemitism is not a real one.
“If we lose public confidence in the integrity of government investigations and the government’s respect for the facts, we will lose the effectiveness of our anti-discrimination laws,” Raskin said. “This is why everyone, but especially the actual victims of antisemitism and racism, have every reason to stand by the rule of law and the central importance it places on actual facts rather than allegations and suppositions.”
Ron Halber, the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, took a more sympathetic view of Raskin’s efforts, even while underscoring that colleges and universities have failed to protect Jewish and pro-Israel students and that he’s glad that they are being investigated and held accountable.
But he also expressed concerns about some of the penalties the Trump administration imposed, particularly stripping funding from the schools, and said that if Raskin has evidence that the cases were pre-determined, those issues should be investigated.
“If there are cases where nothing was found and the universities were punished, first of all, it’s illegal, it’s unethical and Jews do not want antisemitism being used as a weapon to further other political goals. We want open, objective investigations,” Halber said. “If a university did not act properly and protect their Jewish students, we want them to be held accountable and punished accordingly.”
He said that if some of the investigations do prove to have been faulty, that would also cast doubt on other investigations that may have found more credible evidence. “It doesn’t help us get to the bottom of [the campus anti-Israel protests and administration responses] if the investigations themselves are flawed.”
Kenneth Marcus, the CEO of the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, which has represented Jewish students in legal action against various colleges and universities, dismissed the Raskin letter as the result of a disgruntled former Department of Justice employee, who filed a whistleblower complaint because she did not align with the administration’s efforts to combat antisemitism.
“It is no secret that the career ranks of the Justice Department contains some long-time employees who do not share the current administration’s values or priorities. The federal government has a legal obligation to enforce Title VI to protect Jewish students as vigorously as it does with other groups,” Marcus said. “After years of paying insufficient attention to anti-Semitism, it is a welcome relief that the Justice Department has finally made it a priority.”
He argued that the administration’s investigations were evidently necessary, as well as overdue.
“No one can deny the seriousness of the problem at institutions like Harvard and Columbia. The question isn’t so much why this administration has responded forcefully to the problem at these campuses but rather why wasn’t it done sooner,” Marcus continued.
On the campaign trail with El-Sayed this week, Raskin was also asked — as a widely regarded figure among liberal Jews — about his pitch to Jewish Democrats concerned about El-Sayed. He emphasized in response that Democrats’ efforts must be focused on defeating President Donald Trump and GOP candidates for Congress.
Raskin visited Ann Arbor on Wednesday to campaign for El-Sayed, also joining Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI). Many prominent Jewish Democrats in the state say they’re agonizing over the general election, torn between their party loyalty and their concerns about El-Sayed and his allies.
“The Democratic Party is a very big tent,” Raskin said. “It’s a very big tent because there are a lot of people in it, and they’re just like — you know, any big family Thanksgiving dinner, there can be arguments and people jostling, and there’s unruliness. But fundamentally, we all believe in democracy, in freedom, and the progress and prosperity of our people.”
He said that the election is a “referendum about the future: Will we have democracy or will we have autocracy? This is our chance to cut this reign of lawlessness and terror in half in this election.”
Raskin also praised El-Sayed’s career in public health and said that he would be critical to making health care more affordable in the Senate, but didn’t directly address the concerns that members of the Jewish community have raised about the nominee.
He also did not address a question from JI about influencer Hasan Piker — whom various other leading Democrats have condemned this week — and his ties to El-Sayed.
Plus, Ossoff joins Piker pushback
(Win McNamee/Getty Images)
U.S. President, Donald Trump (R), speaks to Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as he arrives at Etimesgut Air Base for the annual NATO Summit on July 7, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey.
Good Thursday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) joined the growing list of Democrats condemning far-left streamer Hasan Piker’s recent comments suggesting American Jews incite antisemitic attacks due to their support for Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports: An Ossoff spokesperson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the Georgia senator “unreservedly rejects reckless and dangerous rhetoric suggesting that policy advocacy invites violence against the Jewish community or any community.”
Piker had in March named Ossoff as his “dark-horse pick” for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, alongside a series of further-left candidates. Ossoff, at the time, did not respond to questions from JI about Piker…
Meanwhile, Ossoff’s opponent, Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), is again facing criticism over the extremist activity of an associate, following a Washington Post report that a former staffer shared images of a swastika and of himself in a KKK robe…
The State Department sent a cable to U.S. embassies around the world urging them to work with local governments to shore up security for global Jewish communities ahead of the High Holy Days and the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks…
The Turkish government has retained Ballard Partners — a lobbying firm with deep ties to President Donald Trump — to represent Ankara’s Ministry of National Defense in Washington, as Turkey and the U.S. continue to improve ties under the Trump administration.
The firm’s team on the contract includes former Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL), a pro-Turkey and pro-Israel voice on Capitol Hill who co-founded the Congressional Caucus on U.S.-Turkey Relations in 2001. Speaking with JI’s Matthew Shea, Wexler framed the partnership as aiming to strengthen U.S.-Turkish ties while also attempting to mend severely strained relations between Ankara and Jerusalem…
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met today in Tehran with Iranian officials including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, where he discussed with them “efforts being made to reduce escalation and create appropriate conditions for dialogue,” according to the Qatari Foreign Ministry.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said during his meeting with Al Thani that Iran “[does] not trust the Americans” and threatened that “if America starts evil against the Islamic Republic, we will bring disaster on their military and economic interests”…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani met with Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, this morning — weeks after Waltz denounced the mayor’s suggestion that he might arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and weeks before the leader of the Jewish state is set to arrive in the city for the U.N. General Assembly, JI’s Will Bredderman reports…
More than 70% of Jewish educators in teachers’ unions fear that speaking up about antisemitism in their union could harm their careers or reputations, according to a study published today by the Anti-Defamation League.
Nearly three-quarters of respondents (73%) said they feel compelled to self-censor in teachers’ union spaces, and almost half (47%) reported reducing their participation in union activities because of harmful rhetoric or behavior targeting Jews, Zionists or Israel, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…
A dozen countries issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s move this week to dismantle a vocational training center run by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency in east Jerusalem, which came following the passage of a 2024 law banning the organization from operating in Israel after several of its employees were found to have participated in the Oct. 7 attacks.
Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom called for Israel to immediately “halt all disruptions to UNRWA’s activities.” Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs rebutted the statement, claiming UNRWA has never had land rights to the area, which Jerusalem claims is owned by the Jewish National Fund…
Trump highlighted on Truth Social today a statement by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of the Inspector General that it had referred for suspension or debarment 101 current or former UNRWA staff for participating in the Oct. 7 attacks or for affiliation with Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades. Among those referred were “UNRWA school principals, teachers, security personnel, attendants, psychosocial counselors, and medical professionals,” USAID OIG said…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how the civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia sent to Congress by the Trump administration may unfold.
Tomorrow marks the six-month anniversary of the outbreak of the Iran war, with the conflict now largely stalled. The Trump administration has reportedly conveyed to mediators that it has no interest in returning to the terms of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding reached in June that quickly fell apart, while the White House maintains that there are “no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled” with Tehran.
Rabbi Jonah Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, will be one of the keynote speakers at tomorrow’s March on Washington commemoration at the Lincoln Memorial, marking the 63rd anniversary of the historic march co-led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Other speakers at the event include Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and civil rights leaders.
On Saturday, Sanders will join Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) at a rally for Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) ahead of his primary next week against Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA).
The Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus will hold its Summer Simcha on Sunday honoring Attorney General Dana Nessel, where Michigan Democrats including Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and congressional nominee Jeremy Moss are slated to speak.
The Jewish American Summit will be held in Los Angeles on Sunday, with speakers including Jay Sures, vice chairman of United Talent Agency; U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee; Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter; educator and activist Yossi Farro; GOP California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton; and Jewish communal professionals and leaders.
The Republican Jewish Coalition’s Annual Leadership Summit will kick off Sunday evening in Las Vegas with a welcome reception. Vice President JD Vance is expected to address the gathering. If you’ll be in attendance, be on the lookout for JI’s Marc Rod!
We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat shalom!
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The survey of hundreds of teachers’ union members also found nearly half of respondents have reduced their participation in union activities because of rhetoric or behavior targeting Jews, Zionists or Israel
Photo by Jeffrey Basinger/Newsday RM via Getty Images
School classroom.
More than 70% of Jewish teachers in unions fear that speaking up about antisemitism in their union could harm their careers or reputations, according to a study published Thursday by the Anti-Defamation League.
The report, “Antisemitism in U.S. Teachers Unions,” surveyed 307 Jewish members of teachers unions in 24 states — with significant representation from California, Massachusetts and New York — as well as two focus groups of current union members. These groups featured active and retired K-12 teachers and non-teaching staff, with one group representing Massachusetts districts and the other representing California.
The responses revealed a climate of pervasive hostility toward Jewish union members. Since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, Jewish union members reported that their unions passed resolutions blaming Israel for the massacre, promoted curricular materials containing antisemitic content and repeatedly declined to address antisemitism concerns raised by Jewish members. Several respondents noted a double standard in Israel being singled out for criticism in ways no other country faces.
While antisemitism in teachers unions existed before Oct. 7, the report states that the attacks “accelerated and intensified dynamics that were already present.” In June, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission opened an investigation into the National Education Association — the nation’s largest teachers union — over its alleged failure to address antisemitism.
Nearly three-quarters of respondents (73%) said they feel compelled to self-censor in teachers’ union spaces, and almost half (47%) reported reducing their participation in union activities because of harmful rhetoric or behavior targeting Jews, Zionists or Israel.
More than 70% agreed that statements about the Israel-Hamas war failing to condemn Hamas or the Oct. 7 attacks are a problem in their union, while 68% flagged calls to cut ties with mainstream Jewish organizations as problematic.
The climate hasn’t improved over the nearly three years since the attacks, the teachers said: About 52% witnessed minimization or denial of the Oct. 7 attacks in the past year, roughly 49% heard “Zionist” used as a slur and approximately 44% said speakers justifying violence against Jews or Israel had been platformed at union events.
Furthermore, union leadership has largely failed to respond, according to those who participated in the survey. Among members who raised concerns, 69% said they were not satisfied with the response. More than a quarter of respondents said their union had sponsored programming related to Jews, Zionists/Zionism or Israel in the past year, and 78% of that group described the programming as biased.
Jewish members are responding by pushing for reforms, with requests made including asking for clear condemnation of threats and harassment against Jews (almost 76%), balanced antisemitism education (73%) and concrete guardrails against harassment tied to Jewish identity and Zionism (71%).
One respondent described an environment where “Jewish educators have gone into hiding. They do not admit to being Jewish or wear any identifying clothing/jewelry. We are still being told not to speak.”
The report comes weeks after major Jewish organizations expressed “reason for optimism” that the NEA was taking meaningful steps to address rising antisemitism following its annual Representative Assembly, held last month. The organizations credited NEA’s Jewish Affairs Caucus with pushing through three amendments to the NEA Constitution and a resolution on Jewish education at this year’s RA. The gathering marked a stark contrast from last year, when delegates voted to boycott ADL materials in a measure Jewish groups condemned as antisemitic, among other disruptive events.
In addition to preventing measures that would antagonize or exclude Jewish members, at this year’s convention, members also passed resolutions that were “good for the Jews,” including one that recognized Jews as a protected ethnic minority, according to Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, which worked closely with NEA and its Jewish caucus over the past year and spearheaded the effort to revise regulations and pass the new rules.
Addressing the report’s findings, Shira Goodman, the ADL’s vice president of public affairs, said there is more work to be done.
“Jewish educators have shown extraordinary courage, showing up to meetings, filing complaints, running for leadership positions and advocating from within, often at real personal and professional cost,” Goodman said in a statement about the report.
“They are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for the same dignity and belonging that unions promise every member. The reforms they are calling for are reasonable, achievable and entirely consistent with the values these institutions claim to uphold. It is time for union leaders to listen and to act.”
The comment from Ossoff came months after Piker named him as his ‘dark-horse pick’ for 2028, which Ossoff did not respond to at the time
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) in the Senate Select Intelligence Committee on July 15, 2026.
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) joined the growing list of Democrats condemning far-left streamer Hasan Piker’s recent comments suggesting American Jews bear responsibility for inciting antisemitic attacks due to their support for Israel.
Piker had in March named Ossoff as his “dark-horse pick” for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, alongside a series of further-left candidates. Ossoff, at the time, did not respond to questions from Jewish Insider about Piker.
An Ossoff spokesperson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the Georgia senator “unreservedly rejects reckless and dangerous rhetoric suggesting that policy advocacy invites violence against the Jewish community or any community” and that “American Jews and all Americans must have the freedom and security to speak out and petition their government without fear of reprisal.”
The statement as reported by the AJC, which did not explicitly mention Piker, came in response to a question about the streamer’s comments.
Meanwhile, Ossoff’s GOP opponent, Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), is again facing criticism over the extremist activity of an associate, following a Washington Post report that a former staffer shared images of a swastika and of himself in a KKK robe.
“[Former Collins staffer] Preston Parra has no affiliation with Mike Collins’ office or campaign. The posts are vile, completely unhinged, and Mike Collins unequivocally condemns them,” Meyer Siegfried, a Collins campaign spokesperson said in a statement. “Rep. Collins believes the rise in antisemitism and hate among younger Americans and among Jon Ossoff’s allies like Hasan Piker and [Michigan Democratic Senate nominee] Abdul El-Sayed is equally abhorrent and, unlike Ossoff, has condemned it from all sources directly.”
In recent months, Collins’ son-in-law was revealed to be an antisemitic and white nationalist social media influencer and his former chief of staff was found to be a member of a group chat with prominent white nationalists where he discussed using congressional authority to free a Holocaust denier from prison.
Another former Collins staffer also went on an antisemitic tirade against Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) at a Washington, D.C. bar earlier this year, and Collins previously responded approvingly to an X account that attacked a reporter for her Jewish identity.
David Kramer, a Jewish Democratic leader in Michigan, said Rep. Hillary Scholten is ‘someone who has a very strong sense of self and what she thinks is right and wrong’
Heather Diehl/Getty Images
Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) speaks outside the U.S. Capitol on March 26, 2026 in Washington.
Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) has emerged in recent weeks as one of the Democratic Party’s most outspoken voices against antisemitic influencer Hasan Piker — including standing as one of the few Michigan Democratic holdouts in endorsing Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in light of his relationship with Piker.
Her stalwart outspokenness against antisemitism and resistance to her party’s home-state Senate nominee is increasingly rare in today’s politics. But Jewish Michiganders who have worked with her say she’s long been close with and supportive of the community, and that she’s been deeply and personally disturbed by rising antisemitism and other rhetoric from Piker and El-Sayed.
At an event for a fellow Michigan House candidate this week, Scholten faced down a questioner who said that she was making “bad faith accusations” against El-Sayed and Piker and stoking Islamophobic hate speech in the interest of protecting U.S. aid to Israel. Scholten stood her ground.
“I do not support the comments of Hasan Piker. He has said some terrible things about America, about American troops, and I would stand by comments condemning those. I think they don’t have any place in the Democratic Party or in the United States of America,” she said. “But even though we may not necessarily be in agreement about all of those things, we are in alignment about the things that unite us as Democrats: lowering costs, delivering on universal health care, and fighting corruption.”
Speaking to reporters after the event, she said that she has not endorsed El-Sayed and hasn’t heard from him in any capacity.
“If he would [reach out to me], I would have questions,” Scholten said. “A lot of it has to do with his past associations with Hasan Piker.”
She said she’s hearing “a lot of support” from people who agree with her raising the question of “whether this is the right direction for our party.”
Scholten was among Rep. Haley Stevens’ (D-MI) most outspoken supporters during the Senate primary, and unlike Stevens, refused to commit to endorse El-Sayed during the general election. Her decision to stick to her guns carries political risk: El-Sayed carried Scholten’s district in the Democratic primary, winning the Kent County (Grand Rapids) base by 26 points over Stevens.
El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment, but largely shrugged off questions about Piker and criticisms from Scholten and other Democrats during a press conference on Wednesday.
He accused Republicans of pushing a false narrative of Democratic division and suggested that his critics are simply “still nursing wounds or grievances from the primary.”
Despite having repeatedly campaigned with Piker, El-Sayed also dismissed him as “a streamer in California” who is not central to the campaign, which he described as focused on issues in Michigan. He asserted that questions about Piker are driven by a media focus on a “tabloid version of our politics.”
Scholten declined to comment to Jewish Insider for this story.
She was first elected in 2022, after losing a 2020 race in a GOP-leaning district against former GOP Rep. Peter Meijer. The Grand Rapids-area district was redrawn to be more favorable to Democrats two years later, and she prevailed over a hard-right Republican challenger who defeated Meijer in the GOP primary. The Cook Political Report now rates her as a shoo-in to win reelection.
In a 2020 interview with Jewish Insider during her run for the House, Scholten did not rule out conditioning or reducing U.S. aid to Israel in the interest of serving as a neutral arbiter to pursue a two-state solution, though she also argued that the U.S. should continue to be supportive of Israel. Scholten voted earlier this year against an amendment cutting U.S. aid to Israel that was supported by nearly half of House Democrats.
She also strongly condemned the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, saying that it has “deep roots in antisemitic sentiment and rhetoric.”
Jewish Democrats in Michigan said that Scholten is a longtime ally of their community, and said that her strong stand against Piker and antisemitism is nothing new.
David Kramer, a prominent Jewish Democratic leader in the Detroit area who served as campaign chair for Stevens’ Senate race, said Scholten is “someone who has a very strong sense of self and what she thinks is right and wrong, and she has a history of speaking up, even if it’s unpopular” — pointing also to her early call for then-President Joe Biden to end his reelection campaign and her strong and early support for Stevens.
“This is another one in the pattern of her doing what she thinks is right, even when she knows she’s going to get some flak for it,” Kramer continued. “I’m absolutely, positively convinced that she’s doing this just because of what her convictions are and her gut reaction.”
He said he’s heard from Scholten directly that even her staff have warned her about the potential consequences of the stand she has taken on Piker and El-Sayed, but that she feels strongly that this is an issue of right and wrong.
Kramer said that Scholten has come to him on various occasions about her concerns that El-Sayed and Piker’s comments and activity will cause insecurity in the Jewish community — “she just gets it.”
He added that, while Scholten is close with the small Jewish community in Grand Rapids as well as with Jewish leaders in the Detroit area, her positions come from her own deeply held values.
“She is a very, very smart, very, very principled person who is willing to speak the truth and is willing to take stands even if it is not something that others would say will help her politically, and that is really unusual today in politics,” Mark LoPatin, another Detroit-area Jewish Democrat who has interacted with Scholten, said. “She is one of the few who is really willing to get out there to say, ‘This is wrong,’ and why she believes it’s wrong.”
LoPatin said that Scholten may very well face a more difficult primary race in 2028 as a result of her outspokenness and has told supporters that she has faced backlash for her stances, but that she does not plan to back down.
“We should have more congressional leaders that are willing to do that,” he said. “We probably wouldn’t be in the position that we’re in right now.”
Michael Horowitz, another Detroit-area Jewish Democrat, said he got to know Scholten through Stevens and her campaign at joint events they held together. “She just fits a category of intelligent, caring people who are trying to do good … they approach their job with the goal of trying to get things done.”
He said that Scholten is someone who “sees right and wrong” and was “particularly offended” by the attacks leveled against Stevens in the primary, as well as against state Sen. Jeremy Moss, a House candidate whom Piker attacked by name in recent comments that have drawn particular criticism.
“This isn’t a political calculation, she sees it as wrong,” Horowitz said. “It’s just a person who’s a decent person, cares about right and wrong. I think it just upset her. … I don’t see any agenda here, other than people that she’s close to have been attacked, and … she doesn’t buy into it. This isn’t who she is, and she’s willing to say something.”
Kramer said that, having known Scholten for several years, he believes her convictions on antisemitism are authentic and deeply rooted. He also noted that she’s an active member of her church and “someone of a lot of faith,” and said he believes that some of her dedication to the issue of antisemitism comes through her faith, though he said he hasn’t asked her the question directly.
LoPatin agreed that Scholten’s stance seems to be a product of her moral character, and said that quality means he’ll continue to support her even if he disagrees with particular stances she may take. “I do know that she will have a thoughtful response to whatever those issues are.”
Kramer also emphasized that, despite not having endorsed El-Sayed, Scholten remains committed to helping Democrats up and down the ballot in Michigan win in November — a commitment Scholten expressed herself at the event earlier this week.
The group typically masks its antisemitic views by using coded rhetoric and promoting conspiracy theories, said the report’s author, Lars Rensmann
Hendrik Schmidt/picture alliance via Getty Images
An AfD flag flies in the market square in Zeitz.
Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party has embedded antisemitism into its core ideology, using coded rhetoric, conspiracy myths and historical revisionism to mobilize voters and undermine German democracy, according to a new report released by the American Jewish Committee.
The AJC report details how the party rarely uses explicit anti-Jewish rhetoric in official statements, instead relying on coded verbiage — such as attacks on so-called “globalist elites” — to mask its hostility while maintaining plausible deniability.
“Antisemitism is very much part and parcel of the authoritarian nationalist worldview of the AfD,” said Lars Rensmann, the author of the report and a professor of political science and comparative government at Germany’s University of Passau. During a briefing on the report on Wednesday, he explained that the group “frames politics through stark friend and enemy logics,” pitting a supposedly “virtuous people” against corrupt “domestic elites, hostile external forces and migrants.”
Rensmann said a key pillar of that rhetoric is the Great Replacement conspiracy theory, which claims that white Western populations are being systematically, “replaced by migrants, particularly migrants from the Muslim world,” in a process orchestrated by Jews, Rensmann said.
He noted that AfD and its allies frequently personify this narrative through attacks on financier George Soros as the “string‑pulling Jew that personifies this kind of orchestration of a replacement of domestic populations.”
While open Jew-hatred sometimes surfaces among rank-and-file activists, Rensmann stressed that the AfD typically relies on “encoded language.” Its antisemitism, he argued, is embedded “in historical revisionism, in positive references to the Nazi past, in downplaying Nazi crimes,” as well as in “targeted campaigns against Jewish individuals,” such as [journalist] Anetta Kahane and [former vice president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany] Michel Friedmann.”
Rensmann noted that the party’s hostility extends to what scholars describe as “secondary antisemitism” — resentment of Germany’s postwar culture of Holocaust remembrance. AfD figures, he said, have repeatedly attacked Holocaust memory as a “cult of guilt” and have engaged in “Nazi crime relativization.”
“Far from being an isolated problem,” Rensmann said, “political antisemitism functions as a key mobilizing resource within the AfD’s broader challenge to liberal democracy.”
“We see a very large support of antisemitism among AfD voters, to which, of course, the party also appeals,” Rensmann continued, noting that AfD voters are “disproportionately antisemitic.”
Rensmann said the AfD is recognized in Europe broadly as too radical for even other far-right parties. Because of its extremism, he noted that the AfD was excluded from the main right-wing populist family in the European Parliament in 2024.
“They are isolated because of their positive references to the Nazi past, the downplaying of the SS as a criminal organization and their antisemitism and extremism,” Rensmann said. As a result, the AfD has had to form a group in the European Parliament with “tiny homophobic and antisemitic and right‑wing extremist neo‑fascist parties in Europe.”
From an American vantage point, he suggested, the AfD represents “the Tucker Carlson wing of the MAGA movement” within German politics.
The AfD also frequently attempts to shield itself from criticism of antisemitism by adopting a “superficial” pro-Israel stance, according to Rensmann, particularly by framing Israel as a frontline state against Muslim immigration. Rensmann said that while some AfD actors have used pro-Israel rhetoric as a “counter element” to political antisemitism, this support is performative and “constantly undermined” by anti‑Israel memes and the growing strength of an “overtly anti‑Israel wing” inside the party.
For the German Jewish community, he said the most immediate concerns center on what AfD gains in upcoming state elections could mean for policy.
“According to the Constitution, education is primarily a state matter,” Rensmann said. “They have ample opportunity to basically set curricular guidelines,” including on how the Nazi past and the Holocaust are taught.
Rensmann warned that an AfD‑led state government could also “draw potential civil servants to the state … with an extremist party neo‑Nazi background, who were rejected as teachers, as educators in other states,” but would then have “a good chance to join and become lifetime civil servants.”
Remko Leemhuis, director of AJC’s Berlin Lawrence and Lee Ramer Institute for German‑Jewish Relations, pointed to domestic intelligence agencies and the police as another potential flashpoint.
Every German state has its own domestic security service and helps finance the memorialization of former concentration camp sites and other institutions. If the AfD takes power in a state, “this means the AfD then has political power to … direct security services where to look, where not to look,” Leemhuis said.
He added that party leaders could “immediately appoint a new president” to the state intelligence agency, shift focus away from right‑wing extremism and move quickly to cut funding for memorial sites “to a level where a lot of these memorial sites are no longer able to operate in a way that they used to.”
“This would increase the risk for Jewish institutions and Jews in that state dramatically,” Leemhuis warned, adding that the concern is “not an overstatement” given the profiles of AfD candidates in eastern regions.
Leemhuis also underscored that the Jewish community’s stance toward the AfD remains unequivocal. “No Jewish institution has any contacts with the AfD — not the Central Council, not any Jewish organization, not the embassy of the State of Israel,” he said, noting there is “unity among the community and Jewish organizations in Germany to have no contacts with them.”
From Washington’s perspective, AJC officials argued that AfD’s antisemitism poses not only a European challenge but a test of the U.S. commitment to combat antisemitism globally.
Historically, mainstream German parties built a “firewall” around the AfD by pledging to block it out of coalition partnerships — a boundary past U.S. administrations have typically respected, according to Julie Rayman, AJC’s senior director of policy and political affairs. Under the Trump administration, however, she said that approach has appeared to change.
At the 2025 Munich Security Conference, Vice President JD Vance “talked about this firewall” and “publicly … criticized European governments for excluding populist parties,” Rayman said. Vance then “went pretty much directly from his speech to meet with AfD leader Alice Weidel,” signaling “a senior U.S. official publicly questioning the legitimacy of Germany’s efforts to isolate the AfD.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio subsequently “publicly criticized the designation in 2025 of … AfD as an extremist organization,” calling it a “farce” and suggesting the label was meant to limit the party’s political influence, she said.
While lower‑level State Department engagement with the AfD has continued to reflect earlier practice, Rayman warned that senior‑level outreach risks normalizing a movement whose antisemitic record is often downplayed or misunderstood in Washington.
“I am not saying that the United States shouldn’t talk to the AfD,” Rayman said, acknowledging that the party is “too electorally significant to simply ignore.”
“The objective should be engagement without endorsement,” Rayman stressed, cautioning that U.S. officials might make decisions about the AfD “without recognizing the extremist antisemitism within AfD” in ways that “could jeopardize both German Jews and American Jews.”
The donor list of the campaign and two supporting committees reveal 'America First, Israel Never' Dan Bilzerian enjoyed a kind of crossover appeal: not so much across the aisle as around the political horseshoe
Prodip Guha/Getty Images
Dan Bilzerian on Sept. 13, 2019 in Mumbai, India.
Examining the campaign finance reports of neo-Nazi influencer Dan Bilzerian prompts the question of who exactly would want to be associated with the hate-mongering candidate, who was badly defeated last week in his primary bid against Jewish congressman Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL). The next question is who would want to be associated with his associates.
In an age of dog whistles, Bilzerian leads a blaring Wagnerian orchestra of antisemitism. He made his name as an online influencer who dabbled in Holocaust denial and conspiracy theories about a Jewish role in everything from the John F. Kennedy assassination to 9/11. He capped his congressional campaign with an ad praising Adolf Hitler and featuring AI images of his opponent “the fat Jew Randy” sprouting horns.
So why would anybody give him their money — let alone thousands upon thousands of dollars?
The donor list of the campaign and two supporting committees reveal the “America First, Israel Never” candidate enjoyed a kind of crossover appeal: not so much across the aisle as around the political horseshoe.
Bilzerian’s biggest underwriters, after the candidate himself, are a couple of Georgia attorneys: Rawan and Ibrahim Awad, who together donated a combined $25,303 to Bilzerian’s committees. But Ibrahim Awad has also given heavily this cycle to left-wing, anti-Israel candidates — $7,000 to Michigan Senate contender Abdul El-Sayed, $4,000 to the failed comeback bid of former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), $3,500 to New Jersey House candidate Adam Hamawy, $1,000 to Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) and $1,000 to the Democratic Socialists of America’s Darializa Avila Chevalier in New York.
Closer to home, Awad also gave $1,000 to former far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). In the years since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, he has given sizable sums to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), former Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), and Green Party presidential contender Jill Stein.
Bilzerian also drew support from a number of his fellow travelers on the extreme right: at least $2,860 from fellow antisemitic internet personality Jake Shields; $2,500 from veteran conservative donor and Unz Review contributor Eugene Kusmiak, who has railed against “entrenched Jewish supremacism” and written that “the most intelligent humans” are antisemitic; and $7,380.40 from serial entrepreneur Kyle Kinsel, who markets canned water under a brand associated with alt-right comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, infamous for his incendiary routine at a 2024 Trump rally that mocked multiple minority groups, including Jews.
The one issue uniting these far-left and far-right candidates? Opposition to Israel.
Another illustrative example is California businessman Tony Bushala, whose money has similarly flowed to Israel’s critics on both ends of the political spectrum. Besides the $2,663.06 to Bilzerian, this cycle Bushala has shoveled $7,000 to Rep. Derek Tran (D-CA); $2,500 to Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA); $1,250 to Michigan House candidate Aisha Farooqi; $4,100 to Bush; $1,000 to imploded Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner; and smaller amounts to Tlaib, El-Sayed, Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), DSA House nominee Claire Valdez in New York and former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander’s ouster of Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY).
At the same time, he’s given $4,734.58 to Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Mark Newgent, a primary challenger to Rep. Mark Self (R-TX), both of whom leaned into an extreme anti-Israel message in their unsuccessful campaigns this year.
Bushala also donated $2,000 in January to the far-right Anti-Zionist America PAC, which alleges on its website that “Zionism has taken over the U.S. government,” resulting in “subservience to Israel in word and deed.” The committee’s founder has called the Oct. 7 attacks a “false flag” and labeled Jewish people “the synagogue of Satan.”
There was a notable overlap in some of Bilzerian’s top donors and that of racist and antisemitic Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback, who finished in third place in the state’s GOP primary. Bilzerian’s committees got at least $12,000 from one of Fishback’s most generous supporters: attorney Hassan Shibly, who previously ran Florida’s Council on American-Islamic Relations chapter before resigning amid allegations of domestic abuse. As JI reported previously, Shibly is a longtime supporter of Omar’s, as well as of other left-wing candidates aiming to overturn the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Shibly did not respond to questions for this piece. However, contacted in July about his gift to Fishback, he denied holding any personal prejudice, and identified his opposition to U.S. aid to Israel as “one of the most significant reasons for my support.”
Plus, Treasury tags Palestine Action as terror group
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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks on Oct. 16, 2022 in East Lansing, Michigan.
Good Wednesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel raised concerns that Senate Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed has not yet walked back his comments about the violent attack on Temple Israel in March, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. El-Sayed had said about the attacker — whose relatives, including a Hezbollah commander brother, had been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon — that “hurt people hurt people.”
“A lot of us perceived that as sort of making excuses for somebody who sought to murder over 100 pre-K school children, and that’s the kind of mentality that bothers me a lot,” Nessel, who is Jewish, explained in a podcast interview with The Atlantic’s David Frum. “You can’t make excuses for that kind of domestic terrorism,” she added…
Nearly all Senate Democrats signed on to a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urging him to address growing settler violence in the West Bank by issuing “clear directives” to the Israel Police and IDF to intervene in such incidents; ensuring that individuals responsible for harassment or violence against Palestinians are held accountable; and ending Israeli settlement expansion, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
The letter, led by Sens. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), who have generally been supportive of Israel, was signed by every Senate Democrat except for Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and John Fetterman (D-PA) — who stand at opposite ends of the caucus on Israel issues…
Addressing the U.N. Security Council today, Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov said neither Israel nor Hamas are yet fulfilling their obligations under the Gaza disarmament road map.
“After three years of war and 20 years of military operations, I ask, will another [Israeli] strike on a munitions depot stop Hamas from rearming or tightening its grip on Gaza? It will not. … In the opposite direction, every weapon still carried, every tunnel still worked on and every convoy still obstructed [by Hamas] sets the process back,” Mladenov said…
White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner reportedly visited CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Fla., today for briefings on Iran…
The Treasury Department named as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization the U.K.-based group Palestine Action, which has been involved in multiple high-profile break-ins and vandalism incidents at weapons manufacturers and British military installations.
The department also proscribed the transnational organization Masar Badil for being a front for Samidoun, which is itself a sanctioned front group for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, JI’s Matthew Shea reports…
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, thanked China — Iran’s largest trading partner — for rejecting the U.S.’ economic campaign against Iran, in which Washington has said it will ask all nations to help isolate Tehran. Iran’s relationship with China “needs no one’s permission,” Ghalibaf wrote on X, after China’s Foreign Ministry said yesterday that Beijing rejects the sanctions “that have no basis in international law”…
The New York Times looks at the operations of Iran’s largest bank — Bank Melli — after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said each of its branches around the world “must be shuttered and dark”…
Saudi Arabia is working to reroute its oil exports once again, this time through the costlier Suez Canal, as its ships in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — itself a backup route to the Strait of Hormuz — have come under attack by the Houthis…
In his first international media interview, former Israeli hostage Evyatar David told CNN about the extreme starvation and psychological distress he suffered during his more than 700 days in Hamas captivity…
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) renewed her membership with the Democratic Socialists of America this month, the organization told City & State New York, after the DSA “recently noticed” her membership had lapsed in 2019. The congresswoman also recently met with leaders of the DSA’s New York City chapter…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with the Republican Minnesota state senator who’s hoping a “boring,” common-sense campaign can beat the far-left Democratic nominee for the House seat currently held by Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN).
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani will visit Tehran for meetings with Iranian officials.
Israeli singer Ishay Ribo will perform with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
The four-day Milken Institute Hamptons Dialogues will kick off in New York.
Stories You May Have Missed
GOING ALONE
At a Dearborn church, El-Sayed declined to say whether he’d like to win an endorsement from state Sen. Jeremy Moss, a Jewish Democratic holdout
EXCLUSIVE
The Jewish civil rights group pointed to $737 million in Qatari funding and communications showing Qatar Foundation officials trying to shape Northwestern’s post-Oct. 7 messaging
Nessel, a Jewish Democrat, expressed her frustrations with the Democratic Senate nominee on David Frum’s podcast
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 21, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Delegates, politicians, and Democratic Party supporters are in Chicago for the convention, concluding with current Vice President Kamala Harris accepting her party's presidential nomination.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Jewish Democrat who has been outspoken against the rise of antisemitism in her party, raised concerns that Abdul El-Sayed, the state’s Democratic nominee for Senate, had not publicly withdrawn his equivocal comments responding to a violent attack in March on a synagogue in suburban Detroit.
El-Sayed faced backlash for comments that critics interpreted as excusing the attack perpetrated by a Lebanese American man whose relatives — including his brother, a Hezbollah commander — were killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, controversially arguing that “hurt people hurt people.”
While many Jewish Democrats in Michigan have raised alarms over El-Sayed’s hostile rhetoric toward Israel and vilification of AIPAC, Nessel indicated in a a new podcast interview released on Wednesday that his remarks about the synagogue attack remain a key source of tension with skeptical Jewish voters whose support he will likely need to win in the battleground state.
“A lot of us perceived that as sort of making excuses for somebody who sought to murder over 100 pre-K school children, and that’s the kind of mentality that bothers me a lot,” Nessel explained to David Frum of The Atlantic. “You can’t make excuses for that kind of domestic terrorism,” she added.
Nessel, who recently said that she would not attend her party’s state nominating convention due to fears of antisemitic harassment, told Frum that El-Sayed, “to his credit,” had since clinching the nomination in early August held meetings with Jewish leaders in the state to address their reservations with his candidacy.
“I think privately he will say that he regrets having made those remarks,” she said on the podcast. “But here we are. It’s almost the end of of August, and he still has not withdrawn those statements and said, ‘I misspoke’ or ‘I now recognize the harm that I caused by making those statements.’”
His reticence “has me concerned that he really stands by them, and if so, what does that mean for American Jews moving forward?” Nessel said, while suggesting his response carried troubling implications about his ability to roundly denounce future potential terrorist incidents.
“I think by the same logic,” she argued, “if Iran were to attack, whether it would be a government building or a church or a mall or what have you, that we would just deserve those attacks, because, of course, we are engaged in this war in Iran, and really the list goes on and on as to how you could make excuses for acts of domestic terrorism.”
“It’s a dangerous, dangerous world to live in, where you have somebody who supports that kind of logic,” Nessel added. “When you are providing some sort of rational explanation for why it occurs,” she went on, “it possibly encourages other people to do the same.”
Even as she voiced hesitation about El-Sayed and acknowledged many Jewish Democrats are backing his opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), she said she would never vote for the GOP nominee. “To make this abundantly clear,” she emphasized, “I will amputate my right arm before I fill in the oval next to Mike Rogers’ name.”
Nessel said she would “leave hope” for El-Sayed to “withdraw” his earlier remarks about the synagogue attack “because he now has a greater understanding of it” after his meetings with the Jewish community. “That’s my hope, and I’ve had that conversation with him personally. He still hasn’t done it, but I hope that we’ll hear more from him about this soon.”
Nessel is among the most prominent Democratic holdouts on El-Sayed, who on Tuesday declined to confirm if he hoped to receive an endorsement from Jeremy Moss, a Jewish state senator and Democratic congressional nominee in Michigan. El-Sayed stirred controversy this week over a statement that his critics said failed to adequately distance himself from his campaign surrogate Hasan Piker, the antisemitic streamer who recently targeted Moss while claiming Jews who support Israel are inviting violence against themselves.
Moss has likewise remained noncommittal about whether he will back El-Sayed, even as he said they are in “continual dialogue” about such shared goals as fighting “MAGA extremism” and “Jewish and Arab safety and security.”
Speaking more broadly, Nessel, who said she has been “bombarded” with antisemitic death threats since she became Michigan’s first Jewish attorney general, claimed that El-Sayed has displayed “a lack of knowledge about” the “religious values and beliefs” of Judaism.
The “real dearth” of understanding on such issues is contributing, she said, to a growing sense of political homelessness among Jewish Democrats who are now questioning their place in a party they had long called home.
At the moment, El-Sayed’s rhetoric on Israel and antisemitism is “creating this dynamic where you have a lot of Democrats thinking there’s good Jews and bad Jews,” Nessel argued in the interview. “The good Jews are the ones that don’t believe in Zionism, and the bad Jews are the ones that believe that Israel is our biblical religious historical homeland.”
“We absolutely want a Democratic majority in the Senate. But is Abdul going to spend six years railing against Israel, irrespective of who the government is there?” she asked. “That is a real concern.”
“And an even greater concern is how that’s affecting American Jews,” Nessel continued. “Because it really is turning up the antisemitism.”
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL): ‘It is disingenuous for El-Sayed to try to distance himself from Piker without specifically condemning, refuting, or even just rejecting Piker’s hateful rhetoric’
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) speaks during the New Democrat Coalition news conference on its policy platform for the 119th Congress in the Capitol on February 26, 2024.
As more Democratic lawmakers join the chorus calling out influencer Hasan Piker over his comments that Jews’ support for Israel invites antisemitic violence, a growing number of moderate Democratic lawmakers said that Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s efforts to distance himself from Piker, a campaign surrogate, haven’t gone far enough.
“Hasan Piker’s recent ‘victim-blaming’ comments inciting violence against American Jews reflect one of the oldest strategies long deployed by bigots and tyrants alike. His most recent diatribe is consistent with his history of antisemitic statements,” Rep. Brad Schnieder (D-IL), a co-chair of the Congressional Jewish Caucus and chair of the centrist New Democrat Coalition, said in a statement.
Schneider said that El-Sayed had “so-far refused to condemn the words of Hasan Piker, his friend and frequent campaign surrogate.”
“It is disingenuous for El-Sayed to try to distance himself from Piker without specifically condemning, refuting, or even just rejecting Piker’s hateful rhetoric,” Schneider continued. “Claiming that no one speaks for him except himself and his team is not enough. The Jewish community in Michigan deserves outright condemnation of rhetoric that threatens their safety and very identity.”
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) expressed similar sentiments.
“El-Sayed’s response was pathetic and it did not answer the call,” Gottheimer said on Fox News. “He did not condemn Piker. He didn’t even mention Piker. He didn’t condemn what Piker said. He didn’t say I will never campaign with this guy again. … Frankly, he should not only condemn him, but no Democratic members should allow Piker anywhere near them on the campaign trail, they should have nothing to do with this guy. And anybody who does and has not condemned him bears responsibility for some of these comments like that.”
Gottheimer also urged House Republican leadership to call up his resolution with Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) condemning both Piker and far-right antisemitic influencer Candace Owens for a vote when the House returns to session next week — a move to force progressive lawmakers who have allied and associated with Piker to take a clear stance on the record about Piker’s history of antisemitism.
El-Sayed did not respond to a request for comment.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) also reiterated his previous condemnations of Piker’s comments in an appearance on CNN, confirming that he had been referring to Piker in a statement the day prior, which did not name the influencer specifically.
“Those comments were dangerous, malicious and antisemitic and should not be tolerated by anyone in the public square,” Jeffries said. “Everybody, regardless of ideological perspective, should be willing to denounce this rise of antisemitic rhetoric, hate crimes and bigotry, and actually try to move us to a society where we embrace everyone — even where there are differences on issues, be they foreign or domestic. The notion that people should be targeted because of their religious beliefs or ethnicity or race, whatever the case may be, that’s fundamentally inconsistent with who we are in this country.”
Piker dismissed the criticism from various Democrats as the result of an “aipac boss call.”
“they are unanimous in their hatred of me, and i welcome their hatred. if you’re a defender of israel’s genocide, of its occupation, of its child killing spree – then your boos mean nothing to me,” Piker wrote on X.
Other Democrats joined Jeffries in condemning Piker.
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a co-chair of the bipartisan Senate antisemitism task force, called the comments a “new low,” even for someone who “has been trafficking in antisemitic tropes for a while.”
“Blaming Jewish Americans for the violence and hate they’re facing is not just wrong, it provides an excuse to those perpetuating these anti-Jewish hate crimes,” Rosen said. “Let me be absolutely clear: crimes against Jews for being Jews is antisemitism plain and simple. There’s no excuse for it.”
Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) said, “This shouldn’t be hard: no community should face the threat of violence for their political views.”
“In a time where political violence and anti-semitism has been spiking— and where just 6 months ago Michigan had a nearly deadly event of anti-semitic mass violence at Temple Israel — no one should causally be suggesting that anyone, Jews or otherwise, are to blame for being targeted,” Slotkin said.
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) emphasized the pattern of “the extremes of American politics” of blaming Jews for antisemitism.
“Let me put it plainly: there is absolutely no justification for antisemitism. There never has been, and there never will be,” Torres said. “No amount of victim-blaming or gaslighting by Hasan Piker can shift moral responsibility away from where it belongs: the antisemites who commit acts of violence and terror against Jews.”
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said that “Piker’s dangerous and hateful language targeting Jewish Americans has no place in our civic discourse. Suggesting that Jewish Americans bear responsibility for hatred or violence directed against them is wrong, dangerous, and antisemitic” and that his commentary goes well beyond debate over Israeli or American policy.
“No American should be told that their political beliefs make them responsible for hatred or violence directed against them,” Booker continued. “There is a bright line between vigorous debate and rhetoric that stokes hatred toward our neighbors. Mr. Piker has crossed that line, repeatedly and unmistakably.”
Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ), who chairs the campaign arm of the New Democrat Coalition, said, “Framing violence against Jewish Americans as something they brought on themselves shifts the blame from the perpetrators onto the very people they want to harm.”
Meanwhile, at least one progressive House Democrat is taking a different approach, calling out the growing number of Democrats who are condemning Piker.
“When the head of a major left-leaning DC think tank regularly gets in fights with the Dem base and progressive influencers on social media, almost in an irrational and uncontrollable way, does that ultimately hurt the think tank?” left-wing Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) said, an apparent reference to Center for American Progress CEO Neera Tanden, a vocal Piker critic on social media.
Plus, Moskowitz named to powerful Mideast post
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro speaks before Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 6, 2024.
Good Tuesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social today that the Navy informed him that “all mines have been removed and/or detonated” in the Strait of Hormuz, and that the U.S. has notified Iran “that any ship or boat placing new mines will be immediately and systematically destroyed.” The U.S. Space Force is monitoring the strait as well as Iran’s nuclear sites, including Pickaxe Mountain, for any suspicious activity, he added…
Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said following a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran today that he is hopeful the two countries “will soon announce a temporary corridor for the Strait of Hormuz and practical arrangements to restore safe navigation,” while continuing to work towards a permanent agreement on administering the waterway. The Omani Foreign Ministry further specified that the parties aim to establish a joint effort to clear the strait of mines — despite Trump’s announcement that all have been cleared…
The State Department is preparing to send some foreign service officers and other diplomats back to work at embassies in Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Iraq and Kuwait that were evacuated or had staffing reductions during the Iran war, according to a State Department document obtained by The New York Times, potentially indicating the Trump administration does not expect hostilities to resume…
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced that Israel has expelled officials from the Netherlands from the military and humanitarian coordination hub for Gaza located in Kiryat Gat due to “a series of anti-Israel moves by the Dutch government,” including a new law prohibiting trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank…
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed doubled down on his anti-Israel rhetoric during an event at a Dearborn church today, Jewish Insider‘s Matthew Kassel reports, a day after the nominee drew renewed scrutiny over his ongoing association with antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker.
El-Sayed declined to confirm if he hopes to win an endorsement from state Sen. Jeremy Moss — a Jewish Democratic nominee for a congressional seat in the Detroit area who is a key holdout in offering his backing — and said that his support for ending aid to Israel is “about making sure that in our foreign policy, we substantiate equal rights to peace, dignity and self-determination for Palestinian folk”…
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) was named ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, where he said he will “work to strengthen America’s relationships with Israel and our Gulf allies.”
A source familiar with the situation told JI’s Marc Rod that, since outgoing ranking member Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) would have been unable to remain in the post next year, he decided to give up the position early to help support Moskowitz in his reelection race — in a South Florida district with a substantial pro-Israel constituency where the leadership position will further bolster Moskowitz’s profile — and to pass off committee leadership to a preferred successor….
A new New York Times/Philadelphia Inquirer/Siena University poll released today found that nearly half of voters in Pennsylvania view Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Jewish Democrat mulling a presidential bid in 2028, as “about right on support of Israel,” even as he has faced skepticism from the far left over his pro-Israel views, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports. Sixty percent of Democrats said they were satisfied with his support for the Jewish state; 39% of Republicans said the same, while another 40% said he is not supportive enough…
The Department of Justice announced today that a 26-year-old Ohio man had been arrested and charged for sending an email threatening to kill Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) and his family, saying he would behead the Jewish congressman and calling him a Nazi, JI’s Marc Rod reports…
The IDF said it views with “utmost severity” an incident involving far-right MK Zvi Sukkot and his aides who, during a requested tour of the Palestinian town of Madama, attacked a memorial — dubbed the “Martyrs’ Monument” — with a sledgehammer, an incident which was captured on video. The IDF said the tour participants “acted deceptively and manipulatively” while accompanied by IDF soldiers “who had been diverted from their operational activities for this purpose … while the IDF is operating under significant operational strain”…
The Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish group that was backed by the U.S. in the fight against ISIS, has officially dissolved, SDF head Mazloum Abdi announced at the presidential palace in Damascus today. The group has completed its merger into the Syrian army under President Ahmad al-Sharaa, Abdi said — the culmination of a fraught integration process that followed months of deadly clashes between government and Kurdish forces…
Assouline, the luxury publisher known for turning global cities into vibrant $100 coffee-table books, has focused its lens on several Middle Eastern capitals over the years — most recently Beirut. But out of hundreds of titles spanning the globe, not a single Israeli city has made the cut, despite co-founder Prosper Assouline‘s Moroccan Jewish roots, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how Jewish leaders are viewing Rep. Jamie Raskin‘s (D-MD) investigation into the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on campus antisemitism.
Israeli singer Omer Adam will marry his partner Sacha Israelovich at a converted 14th-century Christian monastery in the Italian seaside village of Portofino tomorrow, after having held a civil ceremony today. Hassidic singer Motty Steinmetz is expected to perform at the celebration, reportedly prompting gender-segregated seating for the guests.
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CONFRONTING HATE
House Minority Leader: ‘There is zero justification for threats against the safety of our Jewish brothers and sisters at a moment of rising hate’
HOLLYWOOD HEADACHE
Rabbi Noah Farkas, CEO of Jewish Federation Los Angeles: ‘California has a special obligation to … protect the people who power this industry from antisemitism’
At a Dearborn church, El-Sayed declined to say whether he’d like to win an endorsement from state Sen. Jeremy Moss, a Jewish Democratic holdout
JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP via Getty Images
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed departs with his wife, Sarah Jukaku (R) after a press conference on August 5, 2026.
Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan’s Democratic Senate nominee, doubled down on his anti-Israel rhetoric on Tuesday — a day after he drew renewed scrutiny over his ongoing association with antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker.
Speaking at a Dearborn church, El-Sayed declined to confirm if he hopes to win an endorsement from state Sen. Jeremy Moss, a Jewish Democratic nominee for a congressional seat in the Detroit area, whom Piker had recently targeted on his show while arguing that Jews who support Israel are inviting violence against themselves.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat that we have our disagreements, especially when it comes to foreign policy and the best use of our tax dollars,” El-Sayed said of Moss at the event on Tuesday, billed as “Hate Has No Home in Michigan.”
“And the plurality of Michigan Democratic primary voters nominated me to be the Democratic nominee,” he added.
While reiterating his opposition to antisemitism and appreciation for Judaism, he said that his support for ending aid to Israel is “about making sure that in our foreign policy, we substantiate equal rights to peace, dignity and self-determination for Palestinian folk.”
“I’d rather my tax dollars not get spent to take away some people’s self-determination that could be used to empower other folks here,” El-Sayed argued in his remarks.
The comments suggest El-Sayed is continuing to play to his far-left voting base, even as his hostile views on Israel have alienated Jewish Democrats whom he will likely need to win the competitive battleground state.
Moss, for his part, is among the most prominent Democratic holdouts on El-Sayed, whose modest effort to distance himself from Piker on Monday drove a wedge between the two nominees.
In a statement posted to X on Monday, El-Sayed made no mention of either Piker or Moss, omissions that drew backlash from critics. Instead, he said that “nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople,” while downplaying Piker as a “Twitch steamer” who would not define the contest. He did not say if his relationship with Piker, who has been a top surrogate for his campaign, would change moving forward.
“My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own daughters,” he went on in his statement. “Antisemitism is a scourge and we need to address it in all its forms. And I stand against any rhetoric that puts the community at risk.”
The statement reportedly disrupted a conversation between the two nominees regarding an endorsement from Moss that is now in question — even as the state senator has vowed not to back El-Sayed’s Republican rival, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), who has been courting Jewish Democrats.
Moss, in a statement released Monday, said that he and El-Sayed have been in “continual dialogue” about shared goals such as fighting “MAGA extremism” and “Jewish and Arab safety and security.”
“There is still work ahead to unite our ticket despite our differences,” Moss added, without confirming if he would back El-Sayed. “It won’t happen overnight, nor should it. It will require continuing outreach that is credible and authentic.”
Jessica “Decky” Alexander, the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus chair, said that several campaigns and Jewish voices had urged El-Sayed’s team to release a statement on Monday countering Piker’s comments. “Whether they would have or not” without such prompting, “I do not know, but there is a comment,” she told Jewish Insider, calling his response a sign of “definite forward movement.”
“Many caucus members have shared that they would like him to disavow Piker,” she clarified on Tuesday.
Plus, Bessent's plan to make Iran an 'economic outcast'
Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks during his weekly press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on March 19, 2026.
Good Monday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced this afternoon that the Trump administration is launching “Operation Economic Outcast” against Iran, an effort aimed at severing Tehran’s global economic ties in order to “collapse every last option” for the regime, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
The Treasury Department designated over 60 entities, individuals and vessels “that enable the Iranian regime to procure illicit nuclear and missile technology, conduct cyber operations and generate oil revenue,” Bessent said, while President Donald Trump “is making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests to cease their interactions with the regime”…
The Treasury Department also redesignated Hezbollah, already a Foreign Terrorist Organization, for acting as a proxy of the Iranian regime under the direction of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and sanctioned 10 individuals who were part of a network transferring funds to Hezbollah through couriers on commercial flights between Lebanon, Turkey, the UAE and Iran…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed today that Iran tried to assassinate one of his sons: “Iran tried to kill, to murder one of my sons,” he said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 14, without specifying which of his two sons was the target…
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) today denounced comments by antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker claiming that Jews are inviting antisemitic attacks against themselves by supporting Israel, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
Jeffries wrote on X that the “malicious claim that American Jews are inviting violence against themselves is dangerous and antisemitic,” without naming Piker directly. “We will fight the cancer of antisemitism with the fierce urgency of now,” he said…
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, meanwhile, distanced himself from Piker but did not name him nor address the substance of his comments.
El-Sayed insisted that “nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople,” despite having campaigned prominently with Piker, and went on to downplay Piker as “a Twitch streamer” who will not define the race or his campaign. He did not say whether his or his campaign’s relationship with Piker will change going forward…
Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) condemned Piker outright, calling him “a hack who thrives on hate, shock and awe because he lacks substance.” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who has previously appeared on Piker’s show, also rejected the streamer’s comments, telling JI’s Marc Rod that “Jews are not the cause of [antisemitism]. Neither are people who support Israel. Antisemites are to blame. That’s it”…
Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) attended three AIPAC-hosted fundraisers in Los Angeles yesterday with another planned for today, according to The New York Times, as reporting emerges about a growing rift between Rogers and the pro-Israel group as he runs for U.S. Senate.
Rogers reportedly told Michael Tuchin, AIPAC’s board chair, that the group should consider whether it is the best messenger against El-Sayed, though he did not explicitly say he did not want its support and its United Democracy Project super PAC is still considering running ads backing Rogers…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned comments by Brooklyn Democratic leader Carmella Charrington attacking Jewish investors with whom she is engaged in a property dispute as “Zionists” and suggesting some link between her situation and Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank.
“Suggesting that an alleged deed theft in Brooklyn is part of a global conspiracy involving Jewish people is blatant, reprehensible antisemitism. Trafficking in these dangerous antisemitic tropes is vile and inexcusable,” the mayor’s office told JI’s Will Bredderman, after initially avoiding his questions on the issue at a press conference earlier today. However, the administration did not answer a follow-up question about whether the mayor believes Charrington should step aside from her district leader role…
Several leading Jewish and pro-Israel organizations condemned actor Mark Ruffalo for using what they deemed antisemitic rhetoric in his recent social media commentary targeting the Ellison family amid the pending merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, JI’s Haley Cohen reports.
Rabbi Noah Farkas, president and CEO of Jewish Federation Los Angeles, said Ruffalo’s “unhinged rant, which combined Jewish wealth, media control, secret technology and sinister global power, is not legitimate criticism. It draws on recognizable antisemitic tropes with a long and dangerous history”…
As New York magazine continues to come under fire for a recent cover issue depicting the rise of Southwest Asian and North African culture in New York City while taking a hostile view of Israel, the magazine said its editors decided “genocide” is an “accurate description” of Israel’s actions in Gaza and therefore “its use would be allowed in our pages,” claiming that “accusations of antisemitic intent” in usage of the word “were in fact obfuscating an overwhelming scholarly consensus”…
The Trump administration formally revoked Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism today at the end of the 45-day congressional notification period, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced, in order to “eliminate the final major barriers for private sector investment in Syria and promote Syria’s economic recovery and reintegration into the global economy.”
Rubio also revoked the designation of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — a group that Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa led until he assumed the presidency in January 2025 — as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, after having removed HTS from the Foreign Terrorist Organization list last year…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a preview of tomorrow’s Senate special election runoff in South Carolina, where Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) still has the backing of much of the GOP establishment, including President Donald Trump, in her race against Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC).
Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi is expected to visit Iran tomorrow, as the two countries continue negotiations over administering the Strait of Hormuz amid the announcement of the new U.S. economic campaign against Tehran.
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BOOKSHELF
Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a Gaza native who lost 33 family members in Israeli airstrikes, argues in his new book that Hamas bears primary blame for Palestinian suffering and political stagnation
MONEY MOVES
The suspension ends a key commercial lifeline, though analysts said Iran’s sanctions-evasion networks and enforcement uncertainty limit how decisive a blow it will be
House Minority Leader: ‘There is zero justification for threats against the safety of our Jewish brothers and sisters at a moment of rising hate’
(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks during the March for Israel on the National Mall November 14, 2023 in Washington, DC.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) issued a strong rejection of antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker’s comments last week that Jewish supporters of Israel are inciting antisemitic violence against themselves, though he did not name Piker personally.
“The malicious claim that American Jews are inviting violence against themselves is dangerous and antisemitic,” Jeffries wrote on X on Monday. “There is zero justification for threats against the safety of our Jewish brothers and sisters at a moment of rising hate. We will fight the cancer of antisemitism with the fierce urgency of now.”
The comments mark the most prominent denunciation of Piker from a Democratic leader thus far, following criticisms of the streamer from other Democratic lawmakers and moves by some who have affiliated or campaigned with Piker to distance themselves from his comments.
Jeffries’ statement was notably more direct and tougher than the response of Abdul El-Sayed, the Michigan Democratic Senate nominee who campaigned with Piker in the closing week of the primary. El-Sayed earlier on Monday put out a statement distancing himself from the streamer without addressing the substance of Piker’s antisemitic remarks.
Rabbi Noah Farkas, CEO of Jewish Federation Los Angeles: ‘California has a special obligation to … protect the people who power this industry from antisemitism’
Hoda Davaine/Getty Images
Mark Ruffalo attends a screening at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on Jan. 28, 2026 in London, England.
Several leading Jewish and pro-Israel organizations condemned actor Mark Ruffalo for using what they deemed antisemitic rhetoric in his social media commentary targeting the Ellison family amid the pending merger of Paramount with Warner Bros. Discovery.
Ruffalo posted an Instagram story last week featuring footage of Safra Catz, the executive vice chair of Oracle and a Paramount board member, discussing the company’s engagement in Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks. In the post, Ruffalo called Larry Ellison, Oracle’s co-founder and executive chairman, a “classic oligarch,” accusing him and his son, Paramount Skydance chairman and CEO David Ellison, of “powering some of the most destructive and inhuman forces in the world.”
Pointing to Catz, who is Israeli American, Ruffalo wrote that she “revels in what we now have come to see as a genocide, which was built on an apartheid system of oppression powered by Oracle.”
Paramount condemned Ruffalo on Friday, saying it was “troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked in purported service of a business dispute. Words like ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid,’ applied to a corporate transaction, aren’t just wrong — they’re a bridge too far, and they cheapen the very real suffering those words are meant to describe. This doesn’t deserve a response in kind — and to be clear, we don’t tolerate prejudice of any kind, against anyone.”
The studio said Ruffalo’s remarks “expose the true motive of some of those who have acted against the deal” and urged those involved to “lower the temperature, not raise it.”
The “Avengers” star fired back on Paramount’s accusations of antisemitism, calling it “appalling and fundamentally dishonest,” and stating that “everything I know about acting, activism, and humanism has been profoundly shaped by the Jewish friends, colleagues, and loved ones.”
On Monday, Rabbi Noah Farkas, president and CEO of Jewish Federation Los Angeles — which serves the epicenter of the entertainment industry — said Ruffalo’s “unhinged rant, which combined Jewish wealth, media control, secret technology and sinister global power, is not legitimate criticism. It draws on recognizable antisemitic tropes with a long and dangerous history.”
Farkas called on California Attorney General Rob Bonta — who told Ruffalo in February “Mark, I hear you,” regarding earlier criticism of the deal and said the state has a “special interest in protecting competition” — to clarify his comments. On Sunday night, Bonta canceled planned settlement talks with Paramount after accusing the company of acting in bad faith by misrepresenting details from an earlier meeting.
“We agree that California has a special obligation to protect Hollywood, but not only from anticompetitive conduct. It must also protect the people who power this industry from antisemitism and every form of hate,” Farkas said.
“Bonta has done the right thing on some issues, but his record with Jewish Californians remains mixed. In some important moments, he has failed to stand up with the clarity and urgency our community deserved. This is why it is so important that Bonta clarify what ‘Mark, I hear you’ means. Hearing legitimate antitrust concerns cannot mean excusing rhetoric that invokes age-old tropes about Jewish wealth, media control and sinister power.”
Several other Jewish leaders condemned Ruffalo over the weekend, stating that his comments repeat old antisemitic tropes and could put Jewish people in danger. Since the Oct. 7 attacks and ensuing war in Gaza, Ruffalo, a four-time Oscar nominated actor, has frequently pushed accusations of Israeli-led “genocide,” “apartheid” and “famine” to his millions of followers.
“Oppose the Paramount merger on the merits, find arguments grounded in facts, and draw on what you know about the industry without engaging in antisemitic rhetoric,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, wrote on X.
“Introducing the Jewish state out of the blue when it’s entirely unrelated, making baseless claims about Israel, and then trying to avoid accountability by essentially claiming that ‘some of my best friends are Jewish’ is gaslighting 101,” Greenblatt wrote, asserting that Ruffalo’s words “continue to put Jewish communities around the world at risk while antisemitic incidents are far too common.”
Simon Wiesenthal Center CEO Jim Berk said, “Invoking Israel in an issue where it is completely irrelevant is a textbook case of obsession and demonization.”
Ari Ingel, executive director of Creative Community for Peace, said Ruffalo’s statements “echo some of the oldest antisemitic conspiracy theories in history, depicting Jews as a wealthy and sinister elite who accumulate control over media, money and power, then use that control against society.”
CCFP, an organization that works to counter anti-Israel sentiment in the entertainment industry, called for Hollywood to boycott Ruffalo until he retracts the remarks and apologizes.
Two progressive groups took a different approach, defending Ruffalo by stating that his criticism of a corporation and the Israeli government is not antisemitic.
“What is antisemitism? Blaming Jewish people for the actions of the Israeli government. Hatred or discrimination directed at people because they are Jewish,” the Israel advocacy group J Street wrote Monday on X. “What isn’t? Criticism of a corporation’s monopolistic actions and investments. Criticism of Israel’s government. We cheapen the fight against antisemitism when we blur that distinction.”
The Nexus Project wrote Sunday on X that claiming Ruffalo is antisemitic is “misguided.”
“He expressed his opinion about a corporation’s actions and investments, not an executive’s religion,” the group said. “Whether you agree with him or not, he did not cross the line into antisemitic speech. The same is true of his longstanding opposition to Israel’s actions in Gaza.”
Ruffalo was among more than 20 Hollywood actors known for their roles in Marvel films who on Friday reportedly signed a petition calling for the release of Marwan Barghouti, an imprisoned Palestinian terrorist serving five life sentences in Israel, according to an Instagram post published by the group.
Scholten, a Democrat, also called out Piker for targeting state Sen. Jeremy Moss, a Jewish Democratic congressional nominee in Michigan
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) speaks during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on March 26, 2026.
Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) on Monday condemned antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker for comments suggesting that Jews supporting Israel are inviting violence against themselves, and for targeting Democratic Michigan state Sen. Jeremy Moss by name.
Moss last week condemned individuals circulating an unsourced and undated audio clip claiming to depict him expressing his fealty to Israel, which Moss has said is fabricated. During a stream last week, while making those comments about antisemitism, Piker displayed posts about and images of Moss from the antisemitic account TrackAIPAC, including an excerpt from the allegedly fabricated audio clip.
“Hasan Piker’s calls for violence against American Jews, and directly naming a Michigan elected official (and future Congressional colleague) Jeremy Moss are unacceptable. Full stop,” Scholten said on X. “Piker is a hack who thrives on hate, shock and awe because he lacks substance. It’s dangerous for everyone. We should all be calling out this disgusting rhetoric so it loses its grip on our politics once and for all. It has no place in Michigan, and no place in our country.”
Scholten had previously criticized Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed for campaigning with Piker and has not endorsed El-Sayed.
Scholten is one of several elected leaders who has condemned Piker’s comments — though most of the controversial streamer’s allies and supporters have been quiet so far.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who has previously appeared on Piker’s show and said he was “proud” to do so, rejected the streamer’s comments about pro-Israel American Jews in a statement to Jewish Insider on Monday.
“Antisemitism is a centuries-old, ugly bigotry. It must be condemned unequivocally. Jews are not the cause of it. Neither are people who support Israel. Antisemites are to blame. That’s it,” Khanna said.
“The only one inciting violence against American Jews is Piker and his rhetoric,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) said on Sunday. “For the future of our party, Democrats have to call out his hate and condemn these dangerous views. Anyone campaigning with him is part of the problem.”
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) said Piker is a “threat to America.”
“A rich, entitled piece of sh*t who promotes socialism but doesn’t practice it,” Lawler said. “He believes America deserved 9/11, mocks a public assassination [of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk], and believes Jews should be killed. Anyone who supports him is unfit for public office.”
Paul Sancya/AP
Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers speaks before President Donald Trump at an event at the General Motors Proving Ground Monday, July 27, 2026, in Milford, Mich.
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.
AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, spent about $32 million in the Democratic primary to try to defeat El-Sayed, and there’s little doubt its money — in the absence of any moderate group willing to spend similar resources to stop a far-left candidate like El-Sayed from winning — made the race more competitive than it otherwise would have been. But it also gave El-Sayed a talking point in attacking outside money in the race that diluted the impact of the aggressive advertising campaign, especially at a time when support for Israel itself is diminishing within the Democratic Party.
Both the Rogers campaign and AIPAC see El-Sayed as uniquely vulnerable, with polls showing the race statistically tied despite the overall favorable environment for Democrats in the swing state. But beyond focusing on winning the race, both sides have slightly different tactical imperatives: AIPAC, after coming close to defeating El-Sayed in the primary, wants credit for helping finish the job in the general election. Rogers, meanwhile, is trying to turn the tables on El-Sayed, using his endless primary campaign attacks on Israel as a way to underscore he’s more obsessed about the Middle East than the issues critical to Michigan voters.
On one hand, support for Israel is decidedly higher among the general electorate than it was among primary voters — and likely is a winning issue for Rogers, especially given El-Sayed’s radicalism on the subject. But populist concerns about foreign aid and engagement abroad still resonate across party lines, with 44% of Michigan voters in a recent Fox News survey saying they favor continued military aid to Israel, while 55% oppose such aid.
The Rogers campaign believes that making the race about Middle East policy would be shortsighted, especially given that El-Sayed’s record and background makes him vulnerable to the charge that he’s the candidate more consumed with international affairs than improving the lives of Michiganders.
Furthermore, unlike in the Democratic primary, there will be no shortage of money available for the Rogers campaign and its allies in the general election. Rogers has been a solid fundraiser, and the deep pockets of both the Senate Leadership Fund GOP super PAC and a separate pro-Rogers super PAC should offer more than enough resources to run a full-fledged campaign. Rogers’ campaign would prefer donations get directed — and spent — under the Republican Party umbrella.
There’s a reason AIPAC’s super PAC hardly ever spends in general elections — most competitive races are already saturated with cash, so its involvement (or that of any outside nonpartisan super PAC) wouldn’t make much of a difference anyway.
AIPAC’s concerns are understandable as well, and I have heard them echoed by several senior GOP strategists involved with the race. El-Sayed’s ties to extremists and inability to forthrightly condemn antisemitism in his home state is a major reason why he’s vulnerable in the first place. Diluting or downplaying that argument takes one of the campaign’s strongest angles off the table.
It’s one thing to debate about whether advertisements would be best aired under the GOP banner or the UDP banner. It’s another issue to be concerned that the Rogers’ campaign, in its desire to universalize the race, isn’t taking full advantage of winning over the many Democratic-friendly Jewish voters who view El-Sayed’s record as intolerable. Asking AIPAC’s chair to stand down its ad campaign, as reported in the Axios story, might have been a tactical dispute, but it risks coming across as downplaying the importance of the pro-Israel and Jewish communities in the state.
Ultimately, the goals of the two sides are the same: winning the race. If the differences between the Rogers’ campaign and AIPAC are tactical, that’s understandable in a lengthy campaign. But if it’s a dispute about who gets credit for taking down El-Sayed, the argument seems a bit frivolous when the stakes in the race are so high.
Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a Gaza native who lost 33 family members in Israeli airstrikes, argues in his new book that Hamas bears primary blame for Palestinian suffering and political stagnation
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.
On Friday, Alkhatib spoke with Jewish Insider about his new book, his experiences growing up in Gaza and his outspoken criticism of Hamas. He also discussed the backlash he has faced from within his own community and why he believes that, ultimately, the terrorist group will have no role in the enclave’s future.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Jewish Insider: What inspired you to write Hamas and Its Two Million Hostages, and what does your book add to public debate on this issue that isn’t already out there?
Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib: I wanted to weave in elements of my personal story with Gaza’s contemporary history, and add a human dimension to what I felt was Hamas’ devastating impact on the Palestinian people, their destructive role in setting back the Palestinian national project and the radicalization of the society.
I felt that there’s a consistent gap in the discourse from a Palestinian self-interested point of view. Even though many Palestinians and Arabs and Muslims will tell you privately how devastating Hamas is, there’s a disconnect in the discourse outside of Gaza versus inside Gaza — where you’ll find a ton more willingness to speak out, not just because of the consequences of Oct. 7, but because of the totality of the last 20 years of their rule.
One of the things that’s really frustrating is how there is this persistent narrative that Gazans are all Hamas, Gazans support Hamas. It’s very difficult for the other side, for the Israelis and the pro-Israel folks, to see the humanity of Palestinians because they so fundamentally believe that Gaza is inseparable from Hamas. Nevertheless, I argue and maintain that directly and indirectly, Hamas has taken Gaza captive and is holding 2 million people as hostages.
For the pro-Palestine folks, the goal is to burst the bubble of Hamas, which has been getting normalized since Oct. 7, getting called “resistance” or at best receiving token critique. It’s like a check the box: “Oh, I’m not with Hamas, but let’s keep going on Israel, and Israel this and everything is Israel’s fault.” At its worst, it’s actually been lionizing Hamas — refusing to call for the release of hostages, refusing to acknowledge the pain and suffering they’ve caused for the Palestinian people … Hamas has been a disaster. It has destroyed the seams of the Palestinian society and the fabric, and it’s been part of this devolution.
I also made it a short book deliberately for the average casual reader … I wanted to target a lot of younger audiences … because with the avalanche of new entrants to the scene since [Oct. 7], you have people that quite simply don’t know about Hamas, about the Palestinian people or about Gaza. I believe the theme of this book is that within the imbalance of power dynamics between Israel up here and the Palestinians down here, believe it or not, there is plenty of space for Palestinian agency, responsibility and accountability. That’s not blaming the victims or self-hatred — that’s actually the first step to empowering the Palestinians.
JI: You reflect in the book on your own experiences and those of your family in Gaza. How did these experiences shape the way you approach this book, and how did they shape your understanding of Hamas? Did you find that other Gazans shared your sentiments?
AFA: Well, in some ways, my lived experiences are very central to where I’ve arrived. My family are very devout Muslims and committed Palestinians. My family grew up in a Gaza context, and they were not immune to some of the broader trends. So on one hand the family context was helpful and relevant, and on the other hand it was not necessarily responsible for where I’m at right now because my family was kind of an average lower middle class that engaged in this topic. Very educated, but also not the most politically engaged. Very independent, very willing to stay clear and interested in staying clear from Fatah, from Hamas, from all the other different factions, and I think that was very key.
I remember the hope and optimism of the tail end of the Oslo [Accords] years in the ’90s — flying into Gaza’s airport, these shiny new Palestinian passports, the Palestinian airlines, the cell phones, the industrial zone, the kind of renaissance and the sense of hope and optimism and the march toward statehood. In the midst of all of that, Hamas’ counter-narrative was, “Oh no, the Palestinian Authority and the [Palestine Liberation Organization] sold out, they gave up 78% of historic Palestine, and we are going to bring you something better.”
And I just remember being like, “What’s there that’s better than the opportunity to travel freely, an airport, an incoming seaport, the beginning of the symbol of sovereignty and statehood?” On top of all of that, Hamas said, “We’re going to bring you the whole of Palestine from the river to the sea,” but then said, “Oh, by the way, we need to take this detour so let’s go burn a bar that has liquor, let’s control how women dress, let’s make the society more Islamist.” I distinctly remember [saying to] my parents and my uncles, “This is a detour that has nothing to do with negotiating a better outcome or achieving better results for the Palestinians.”
I tell the story of one time going to a summer camp that turned out to be a Hamas summer camp, and neither my family nor I knew that. I must have been 11, and I just remember being like,
“What is any of this?”
There was a very robust pushback against Hamas and against this trend, but parts of the society ultimately either acquiesced or essentially had no option but to go along because Hamas moved the Overton window — including for the moderate and secular Palestinian Authority and [former PLO and PA leader Yasser] Arafat, who had to accommodate Hamas and incorporate elements of Islamism and resistance culture. That is the theme I try to convey: Hamas slowly and gradually shifted the Overton window of what’s acceptable discourse, not just for itself, but for the entirety of Palestinian society, its national project and its political atmosphere.
JI: You talked to CNN earlier this week about what you described as the “troubling persistence of support” for Hamas among some Palestinian activists and diaspora communities, noting that 44% of American Muslims told Pew Research that they support Hamas. Why does support for Hamas persist in these activist circles, and how do you reverse that trend?
AFA: There are many Palestinians, Palestinian Americans, Muslim Americans and Arab Americans who, when you speak to [them] privately, will tell you that Hamas is a gift to the far right in Israel, that Hamas is gross, that Hamas is disgusting. They don’t want to live under a regime that resembles Hamas — they want to live a normal life. But when you step back in a communal dynamic — whether it be the clergy, elements of the community in academia or parents who are guilt-ridden — you have sociological factors and identity crises that contribute to this trend.
Then there is a much more sinister element: elements of academia, journalism and the “social justice” far left who are not Palestinian or Arab or Muslim, who have concocted a variety of frameworks for how you see these conflicts. They want to map out Israel and Palestine to existing frameworks in domestic discourse around immigration, abortion rights, LGBT issues and Black Lives Matter.
You have modern-day anti-Zionism regularly devolving into antisemitism, and a departure from the broad framework of two peoples, two states. Right now, it is very much so a “river-to-the-sea” eliminationist discourse. Israel is seen as an extension of the United States — whether due to the presence of Ashkenazi Jews that are white-presenting, even though half of Israel are Mizrahi Jews of essentially brown origin and darker origin from Arab lands and from the Middle East, whether it be Israel’s founding being considered a purely European Zionist-led colonial project and not something that has anything to do with Jewish peoplehood and heritage and connection to the land, and so there are just these overly simplistic narratives that are not conducive to productive dialogue.
Part of this support for Hamas is an overcorrection to what people felt was an effort by parts of the pro-Israel community to suppress legitimate critique of Israeli actions. But when the pendulum swung, it didn’t swing toward narrow, targeted advocacy for Palestinian freedom and self-determination next to a safe, secure, recognized Jewish Israel. It swung to, “No, actually, we need resistance to eliminate the Zionist entity.”
Hamas very much so cared about the public relations war and narrative warfare because it thought this level of activism would not only delegitimize Israel, but also coerce Israel into stopping the war. Neither happened. Palestinian suffering was irrelevant to a lot of these communities, because they didn’t react when I and many others in Gaza were saying what was necessary for this suffering to end: closing the page on Hamas taking 2 million people as hostages in its suicidal jihadi nihilism.
JI: Have you faced criticism from within your community for placing so much attention on Hamas in your book rather than Israel, and how are you navigating that?
AFA: It is very frequently that I face critique. People say that I’m obsessed with Hamas, that I’m a nutjob, I’m a Zionist, I’m paid by Israel. Now they’ve shifted to saying that I’m a traitor and a sellout.
I see no shortage of people talking about what Israel has done and what Israel is doing right now in Gaza — including Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, whom I acknowledge potentially worsened this situation through direct support for Hamas via Qatari funding. I have no illusions about the fact that Israel bears responsibility in worsening multiple aspects of the discourse, whether it be not empowering the Palestinian Authority, the aggressive expansion of settlements or the recent activities under the current coalition.
My goal is not to simply repeat what people who are even smarter than I am are out there talking about, often speaking in circles to their own choirs. I want to address a gap — and a significant one at that. That gap is that my family and tens of thousands of Palestinians would still be alive had Hamas simply kept its terrorists at home on Oct. 7.
Hamas is treated as an extra on a movie set when it needs to be one of the main antagonists in this whole film. Hamas is a central player in this whole devastation that has befallen Gaza. I see the rightward shift in Israeli society that everybody talks about all the time as inseparable from Hamas and what it did in Gaza and the suicide bombings and what it did to radicalize the Palestinian people in Gaza and in the West Bank.
JI: What do you believe Hamas will look like in the years ahead? Do you believe it is possible for Gaza to have a future without Hamas — and one that is different for both sides of this conflict?
AFA: I don’t believe there can be any coexistence with Hamas. I think they need to be effectively banned from the scene. When people say Hamas can’t be defeated, it absolutely can be defeated. I don’t care about Hamas’ ideology per se. The Nazi ideology lives on all these years. Al-Qaida is alive and well after [Osama] bin Laden. ISIS is alive and well, even though they don’t theoretically control mass territories like they once did.
What I care about is three metrics through which you can judge and assess Hamas’ ability to remain relevant and be defeated: Do they control territory? Do they have an executive force on the ground that can have a monopoly on violence and force and act as an administrative body? And do they control resources — financial, taxation, access to aid and incoming resources, or smuggling? In those three metrics, Hamas has been significantly rolled back.
More likely than not, it is my belief that Hamas is going to be largely irrelevant in Gaza. Hamas is not going to govern like it once did. The days of Hamas reigning supreme and controlling Gaza are over. Hamas may try to remanufacture itself as a political body, as a political entity, but in terms of controlling Gaza like it once did, I see that as incredibly unlikely. Their inventory of weapons and arsenal is very finite. They’re not smuggling weapons like they once did, and a lot of their supplies, workshops and spaces have been destroyed and rolled back. Whether it be through disarmament, Israeli elimination or decay — I think Hamas’ arsenal is going to recede to where it not only no longer constitutes a threat to Israel, but it no longer is adequate to entirely rule the Gaza Strip.
My concern is that Hamas is moving to Turkey. The Turks might be trying to help them reinvent themselves as a political organization. If they enter Palestinian elections, will they then further ruin democratic life? Will they evolve their so-called armed resistance narrative into something that can introduce political stalemate?
Right now, largely speaking, Hamas, Israel, the Board of Peace, the Trump administration and regional and international partners are in agreement over the next steps as far as disarmament, which is a prerequisite to get any kind of withdrawal or reconstruction happening in Gaza. However, now we’re in a space where the disarmament issue is actually logistical in nature. Logistics can make or break a war, a campaign or an effort, and right now, logistically, the disarmament plan is just — it’s not there. It’s not there. That’s what concerns me.
Piker: ‘I don’t know how people don’t recognize how dangerous this predicament is, how dangerous this is for Jews’
Sam Barnes/Web Summit via Sportsfile via Getty Images
Hasan Piker during day two of Web Summit Vancouver 2026 at Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver, Canada.
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.”
“People don’t f*** with Israel any longer,” Piker said two hours into his nearly seven-hour stream on Thursday. “If Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone’s going to come around and take action, not against the State of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews.”
“I don’t know how people don’t recognize how dangerous this predicament is, how dangerous this is for Jews,” Piker continued. “You’re running around basically tying your entire identity to a country that inevitably will be seen as Jewish ISIS and you’re saying, as Jews, this is all we care about. You’re making antisemitism worse.”
Piker has a long-standing history of antisemitic rhetoric — including justifying Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks and calling Orthodox Jews “inbred,” a comment he recently defended in an interview with the far-left outlet Zeteo: “I have a policy of using pejoratives when describing any kind of like ethno, racial supremacist groups,” he said. He has also stated that he would “vote for Hamas over Israel every single time,” describing Hamas as “a thousand times better than a fascist settler colonial apartheid state.”
Despite the long record of extremism, the far-left streamer has been invited to speak recently at several high-profile events, including the College Democrats of America’s convention last month.
Piker emerged as one of Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s most prominent surrogates in the race, appearing alongside him in the campaign’s closing days as the primary neared. El-Sayed has come under fire for his refusal to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist and comments that appeared to justify an attempted terrorist attack at a Detroit synagogue earlier this year.
A lesson plan on the background and history of antisemitism meaningfully reduced students’ belief in the trope that Jews are more loyal to Israel than the U.S., among others
Getty Images
Students in a classroom
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.
The lesson also drove a 16-point drop in students’ endorsement of the trope that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the U.S., and they were also less likely to believe in other tropes involving Jewish control and media influence. They were also 14% less likely to minimize antisemitism as a problem.
In a separate online study of 5,005 U.S. high school students conducted by the ADL, a single lesson was found to cut down stereotype agreement. This drop reportedly happened even in students who usually hold firm views.
Teachers without prior training taught the lesson designed by the multimedia curriculum program Echoes & Reflections. The lesson explores what antisemitism means, how it has appeared in the past and today, how stereotypes and conspiracy beliefs are cyclical and how they harm both Jewish communities and society as a whole.
The study comes amid reports of political activists increasingly seeking to push antisemitic content and extremist perspectives in K-12 classrooms across the country.
“This research is significant in that it features evidence from real classrooms,” said Matt Williams, vice president of the ADL Center for Antisemitism Research. “We now have data showing that a single, well-designed lesson, taught by educators with no special training, can measurably shift how teens think about antisemitism. That’s a solvable problem for schools. Based on our research, districts don’t need a semester-long unit or a major new investment to make progress, they need the right 45 minutes, and now we’re closer to knowing what that looks like.”
Plus, Baltimore's Orthodox Jews get a day at the races
Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, left, and Kathy Hochul, governor of New York, during a news conference on 2026 FIFA World Cup transportation at the MTA Rail Control Center in New York, US, on Thursday, June 4, 2026.
Good Thursday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Stefany Shaheen, the daughter of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and a candidate for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, launched a TV ad this week hitting her primary opponent, military veteran Maura Sullivan, for receiving $300,000 in donations “bundled from AIPAC donors,” Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
The donations referenced in the ad appear to be from individual donors who have previously contributed to AIPAC, but the pro-Israel group itself has made no endorsement and has not been directly involved in the race…
Michigan Democratic congressional nominee Jeremy Moss declined to endorse his party’s Senate nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, in an interview with Slate: “Abdul’s going to have to demonstrate some serious outreach to Oakland County’s Jewish community,” Moss said. The two candidates have “had an ongoing dialogue,” Moss added, as he said Democrats must ensure that “the liberal Jewish community is not politically homeless”…
Rabbi Asher Lopatin, director of community relations at the Ann Arbor Jewish federation who has been outspoken about the threat he believes El-Sayed poses to the Jewish community, appeared at a “Democrats for Rogers” press conference in Detroit today where he said, “I usually vote Democrat, but I’m gonna be voting for Mike Rogers … I’m sad to say this, that Abdul El-Sayed has made one thing very clear: We cannot let him anywhere near the U.S. Senate”…
A new poll commissioned by AARP found El-Sayed leading Rogers by one percentage point, 48-47%, but voters ages 50 and up were 16 points more likely than younger voters to say they were motivated to participate in the general election — a population that swings heavily towards Rogers. Voters ages 50-64 favored Rogers over El-Sayed 51-46%, and voters above 65 favored the Republican by 13 points (54-41%)…
Asked in a New York Times interview about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s call for the federal government to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he arrives in the city for the U.N. General Assembly next month, Gov. Kathy Hochul advised the mayor, “Let’s focus on the blocking and tackling of city government. That is where I believe the main focus should be”…
The Trump administration, meanwhile, is weighing in on another official’s appearance at the UNGA: The White House intends to prevent Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas from attending for the second year in a row, a U.S. official told The Times of Israel…
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained on CNBC today that in order to implement the new U.S. economic campaign against Iran, the Trump administration will approach “all of our allies” and tell them, “You are either with us or against us.”
“If you insist on doing business with [Iran] — either transferring money, buying their oil, doing seaborne ship transfers — then the U.S. Treasury and the U.S. government will put its full might and force toward enforcing against you,” he added…
The NYT looks at which countries do the most business with Iran and could therefore be hardest hit by the new measures, including China, India and several Middle East nations…
Georgia state Rep. Esther Panitch, the only Jewish member of the state’s Legislature, denounced the Georgia branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations for featuring extremist anti-Israel voices including Zahra Billoo, Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur as keynote speakers at its gala next month.
CAIR-GA has “dropped the mask at this point,” Panitch told the Jerusalem News Syndicate. “This is actual straight-out, Nazi-level Protocols of the Elders of Zion kind of antisemitism. They’re doing it, and they can’t say they didn’t know”…
For more than 150 years, Baltimore’s Orthodox Jews have walked to synagogue on Preakness Saturday and listened to the roar of the crowd from Pimlico Race Course less than a mile away, never able to join it. That changes in 2027, when the second jewel in horse racing’s Triple Crown — following the Kentucky Derby and preceding the Belmont Stakes — moves from Saturday to Sunday, finally opening the gates at Pimlico to the local Shabbat-observant community for the first time since the race started in 1873, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at the growing divide between the United States and Israel over how to approach post-Assad Syria.
Despite her recent debate stage snafu, which has led GOP operatives to question her chances in next week’s special runoff election, Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) is still enjoying the support of the party: Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), the Senate majority whip, is in South Carolina today to support her race, and President Donald Trump will join her in Myrtle Beach for a rally tomorrow.
We’ll be back with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat shalom!
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GOING LOCAL
A Brookings Institution study found that of the 104 Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates running for state legislature, nearly 75% have won their primaries
COLD TURKEY
Alleged straw-donor masterminds are selling tickets to an event with the Montana Republican — who says he’s not attending
Plus, ICE detains Jewish bridal shop owner
Sarah Rice/Getty Images
Senate candidate Mike Rogers greets supporters at his election watch party with the MIGOP on November 5, 2024 in Novi, Michigan.
Good Wednesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Jewish leaders in Michigan are circulating an open letter, obtained by Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel, urging Jewish Democrats and independents in the battleground state to sign their names in support of former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) as he faces Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed in the race for U.S. Senate.
If El-Sayed were to claim victory in the general election, the authors say, “we fear the far-left and anti-Jewish elements in the Democratic party would become dominant … We cannot allow him to become the Democratic standard-bearer or Michigan’s senator”…
California state Sen. Aisha Wahab still holds a narrow lead as of this afternoon over former Dublin, Calif., Mayor Melissa Hernandez in the special election runoff for an East Bay House seat that drew a late surge of outside spending from AIPAC.
With 62% of the vote counted in yesterday’s election, Wahab had 51%, leading Hernandez by two percentage points or 1,356 votes, according to the unofficial initial returns. “We made a race that wasn’t close when we started into a nail-biter,” Patrick Dorton, a spokesperson for AIPAC’s United Democracy Project super PAC, told JI’s Matthew Kassel…
ICE detained a Jewish bridal shop owner and his mother living in Englewood, N.J., a local elected official confirmed today to JI’s Haley Cohen: Ari Ladino and his mother, Chava, who are originally from Bogotá, Colombia, run Luana Rose Modestly in Teaneck — a dress shop specializing in modest special occasion gowns popular among local Orthodox Jewish women. The reason for their arrest remains unclear…
In an interview with The Jerusalem Post today, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack doubled down on his criticism of Israeli strikes on a Syrian air base earlier in the week, which Israel said had been prompted by Turkish involvement at the base. “Turkish forces were not aware that the Israeli aircraft were en route to that specific Syrian base … [and] could potentially have been inclined to scramble their own jets in the belief that they themselves were under attack,” Barrack said.
He announced that the U.S. is looking to relaunch a deconfliction cell between Israel and Syria, with potential Turkish participation, and downplayed reported Israeli concerns over a specific Turkish radar system said to be deployed at the base. “We remain convinced that this technical requirement need not pose a security concern, and that further conversations can help clarify the matter to everyone’s satisfaction,” Barrack said…
Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF’s chief of staff, visited Israeli troops in southern Syria today, where he said Israel is “monitoring the changes on the Syrian front” and “know[s] how to use our power precisely where it is needed and when it is needed”…
The IDF announced it is opening an investigation into the killing of 5-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza in January 2024 after finding that troops had indeed fired at her family’s vehicle as it was traveling opposite the direction of an evacuation route. The military had previously denied responsibility for the incident, which drew global attention and inspired an Oscar-nominated film titled “The Voice of Hind Rajab.”
The IDF will also investigate the killing of 15 rescue workers traveling in emergency vehicles in March 2025, and closed investigations into a strike on a World Central Kitchen convoy and into the deaths of several Doctors Without Borders members, finding that troops’ actions in those incidents did not rise to the level of criminal offenses…
The New York Times examines CENTCOM’s efforts to keep oil traffic flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, including utilizing air- and water-based assets to intercept Iranian drones and missiles targeting commercial traffic.
Beyond protecting tankers loaded with oil, the U.S. military has also reportedly established its own corridor to help empty ships enter the strait, load up and exit largely undetected…
The New York State Department of Financial Services issued a notice warning Holocaust survivors and their families about potential fraud by an organization calling itself the “Jewish Holocaust Claims Center” that is contacting such individuals about their eligibility for compensation…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how Sen. Darline Graham‘s (R-SC) debate stage flub on national security may impact her chances in next week’s South Carolina special runoff election for Senate.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and his primary opponent, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), will face off in their final debate before the election. Moulton, 47, is mounting a generational challenge to the 80-year-old Markey and has taken an increasingly critical stance against Israel and AIPAC on the campaign trail, while Markey has long staked out staunchly anti-Israel positions.
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Angie Nixon, who called Israel’s war against Hamas a genocide and campaigned with Rep. Rashida Tlaib, will be the party’s candidate against GOP Sen. Ashley Moody
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The study shows how unions are turning away from advocating for higher wages and using their institutions to foment attacks against Israel
Plus, Central Synagogue attacker faces federal charges
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) speaks during the House Administration Committee hearing on June 10, 2026.
Good Tuesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social this morning that “There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” directly contradicting a statement from Jared Kushner yesterday that dialogue between the White House and “different areas of the Iranian government” is “probably more robust than it’s maybe ever been”…
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who also serves as special envoy for Syria and Iraq, said on X this morning that he’s “deeply concerned” over what he called “confirmed Israeli airstrikes” on Syria’s Abu al-Duhur Airbase overnight, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the strikes.
“The United States has in the past, and will continue in the future, to host discussions to encourage diplomatic cadence over kinetic frustration for both nations,” Barrack said, calling the incident an “unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.” Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), who has been a pro-Israel stalwart, also condemned what he called “one-sided aggression”…
U.N. inspectors visited some nuclear sites tied to the deposed Assad regime in Syria this week, the first time that International Atomic Energy Agency officials have been given full access to the sites. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said at a press conference with IAEA head Rafael Grossi that nuclear material found at the locations, including several tons of uranium, will be placed “under IAEA safeguards”…
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions today against Tomoko Akane, president of the International Criminal Court, and Abdoulaye Seye, a senior trial lawyer, as part of the Trump administration’s recently announced campaign to target the body.
Rubio said the two individuals “have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction,” likely in reference to Israeli leaders…
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, claimed today that the Trump administration’s probes into campus antisemitism were “fake” and that schools found to have violated federal civil rights law were effectively framed, pointing to whistleblower reports that claimed the administration had manipulated evidence to show violations of law despite lacking sufficient evidence.
Raskin announced that he is launching an investigation of the alleged “misconduct” of the Department of Justice and intends to assess potential changes to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act “in light of this Administration’s shockingly reckless and unethical actions,” JI’s Marc Rod reports…
The DOJ charged a New York man, Larry Montes, with two federal hate crimes charges and one count of destruction of religious property for disrupting Shabbat services at Central Synagogue in Manhattan over the weekend, where he struck a congregant, damaged synagogue property and spat on and headbutted a security guard. Montes has already been charged with hate crimes by local prosecutors…
The DOJ also charged 17 members of the Mabna Institute — an Iran-based company that federal prosecutors say ran a state-sponsored cyber campaign on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps since at least 2013 — with hacking 144 U.S. and 178 foreign universities, dozens of private companies and several U.S. government agencies to steal research, academic data and intellectual property…
The Department of Defense instructed 30 U.S. academic institutions to conduct reviews of their ties with “foreign entities of concern,” threatening future Pentagon funding for research projects if they fail to do so and terminate “problematic partnerships”…
Michigan state Sen. Jeremy Moss, the Democratic nominee in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District, pushed back today against what he alleged was a doctored audio clip circulating online designed to portray him as more loyal to Israel than the United States, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
“There is a manipulated and unsourced audio, with things I never did and never would say, that is nothing more than political disinformation intended to portray me as anti-American,” Moss, who is Jewish, said on X…
Rebecca Weininger, senior regional director of Anti-Defamation League Midwest, called out the Chicago branch of the Democratic Socialists of America’s “fixation on Israel” after the group’s 2027 city council endorsement questionnaire asked local candidates to explain whether they consider themselves anti-Zionists and if they support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
The group’s outsized focus on the Jewish state, Weininger said, is “not only far removed from the responsibilities and priorities of an alderman, but also risks fueling anti-Jewish sentiment, harassment, and ultimately, violence against Chicago’s Jewish community”…
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) suggested in an interview with The Washington Post that he believes Democrats can still win the Senate even if far-left Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, whom Schumer has endorsed, loses in November, JI’s Marc Rod reports. “A path to winning back the Senate clearly goes through Michigan, but we have a whole bunch of different paths,” Schumer said.
The Senate Majority PAC, a Democratic super PAC, is spending $3 million on a new ad campaign to defeat Republican nominee Mike Rogers, portraying him as a career politician who enriched himself while in Washington…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for results from today’s key races in Florida and California. Polls close in the Sunshine State at 7 p.m. ET, and in the Golden State at 11 p.m. ET.
Hannan Lis, Brian Hermelin and Rob Orley, three prominent Jewish Democratic bundlers in Michigan, are hosting a fundraiser tonight for the state’s Republican Senate nominee, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), as some Jewish Democrats in the Wolverine State consider flipping their votes against Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed. Read Lis’ comments to JI here.
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) will face off in a debate tonight hosted by the South Carolina GOP, a week ahead of their runoff election.
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The ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee announced an investigation into the DOJ’s ‘misconduct’ and said he will assess potential changes to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) speaks during the House Administration Committee hearing on June 10, 2026.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, claimed on Tuesday that the Trump administration’s probes into campus antisemitism were “fake” and that schools found to have violated federal civil rights law were effectively framed, pointing to whistleblower reports that claimed the administration had manipulated evidence to show violations of law despite lacking sufficient evidence.
Raskin announced that he is launching an investigation of the alleged “misconduct” of the Department of Justice and would assess potential changes to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act “in light of this Administration’s shockingly reckless and unethical actions.”
The effort by Raskin, who is in line to chair the Judiciary Committee next year if Democrats retake the lower chamber, previews potential efforts by congressional Democrats to push back on Trump administration efforts to combat antisemitism in the next Congress. Other Democrats have suggested plans to probe the settlements reached between the administration and colleges over antisemitism if they take the majority.
Raskin expressed his intent to investigate in a letter to Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon on Tuesday, asserting that Dhillon’s investigation into antisemitism — particularly at Harvard, Columbia and Brown universities — “was fake, a pre-baked frame-up operation thoroughly political in nature.”
The probes, Raskin continued, were “designed to harass professors and administrators at major universities, to curtail their freedom of speech and academic freedom, and to strip targeted institutions of hundreds of millions of dollars in grants that they had already been awarded on the merits of their applications.”
Raskin called the investigation a “sham” and a “shameful stain” on the DOJ that “represents a clear and present danger to American academic preeminence in the world.” But he also acknowledged that “antisemitism at American universities and medical schools is real” and “needs to be addressed seriously.”
He accused the administration of attacking constitutionally protected speech and of punishing universities “because it disagrees with the politics of its faculty or staff.”
He said that Dhillon may have “deliberately orchestrated a scheme to attack universities, their faculties, and their administrators for political purposes while defrauding the American people and the courts” and demanded she appear for an interview before the Judiciary Committee before Sept. 1, as well as turn over various communications and documents related to the investigations.
In a whistleblower letter to various congressional leaders on Monday that prompted Raskin’s letter, Haley Van Erem, a former career attorney in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, and other former DOJ attorneys alleged that the administration mishandled its investigations of antisemitic discrimination at Columbia, Brown and Harvard.
A Department of Justice spokesperson said in a statement, “While at the DOJ, Ms. Haley Van Erem did not work on university investigations. And for all matters, the Department stands behind the integrity of these investigations.”
The whistleblowers claimed that they were forced to work on shortened timelines that “compromised the ability to ensure that findings were justified and accurate” and were obligated to open investigations with “little to no factual predicate to justify opening them,” which led them to believe “that certain enforcement outcomes had been determined before the relevant evidence was collected and evaluated.”
The disclosure claimed that investigators found that Brown had not violated the Civil Rights Act, but officials still sought a settlement. At Columbia, the whistleblowers claimed the administration relied on unsupported allegations and First Amendment-protected activity to support findings that the school had violated civil rights law.
The whistleblowers also claimed that, at Harvard, the funding freezes the administration implemented were carried out in advance of any findings of violations and “without a demonstrated connection between the proposed remedies and substantiated findings of unlawful discrimination.”
They also claimed that the administration purposely sought to force the schools into litigation and to impose financial penalties, targeted Muslim professors and attempted to sidestep the Constitution.
Anti-Jewish hate crimes also constituted the second-largest category of reported hate crimes of any kind in 2025
Emily Elconin/Getty Images
Members of Hatzalah of Michigan, a Jewish volunteer emergency medical service survey the area near Temple Israel following reports of an active shooter on March 12, 2026 in West Bloomfield, Michigan.
Anti-Jewish hate crimes constituted nearly two-thirds of all religious hate crimes in the country last year, according to FBI data released last week: Out of the 2,408 religiously motivated hate crimes reported across the country, 1,528 were targeted against Jews.
Anti-Jewish hate crimes also constituted the second-largest category of reported hate crimes of any kind in 2025, behind only anti-Black or African American hate crimes.
Jews remained the most-targeted religious group in the country. The total number of anti-Jewish hate crimes declined by 20% from 2024, when 1,938 anti-Jewish hate crimes were reported, and 1,832 incidents in 2023, making 2025 the third worst year on record for anti-Jewish hate crimes.
According to the FBI, anti-Jewish hate crimes in 2025 included three incidents of murder or non-negligent manslaughter; one incident of rape; 50 incidents of aggravated assault; 112
incidents of simple assault; 505 incidents of intimidation; 920 incidents of destruction, damage or vandalism; 68 incidents of theft, burglary and robbery of various kinds; and six incidents of arson.
A total of 1,685 anti-Jewish offenses were recorded in 2025, impacting 1,746 victims, committed by 866 perpetrators.
The FBI reported that overall hate crime incidents decreased 7% year-over-year.
“Year after year, we’ve seen alarming rates of antisemitic harassment and violence in this country,” Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and James Lankford (R-OK), who co-chair the Senate Antisemitism Task Force, said in a joint statement.
The two senators noted that antisemitic hate crimes remain higher than they were prior to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.
“This report shows the dark reality for Jewish Americans: antisemitic attacks make up more than 62 percent of religiously-motivated hate crimes in the United States, more than double all other kinds of religiously-motivated hate crimes combined,” Rosen and Lankford continued. “We’re faced with nothing less than a crisis, and we need collective action.”
They said that the data highlights the need to pass the Jewish American Security Act to respond and protect the Jewish community.
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt emphasized in a statement that, “Behind every one of these numbers is a person who was targeted simply for being Jewish, whether through vandalism, intimidation, or violence.”
“We cannot allow a modest yet positive decline in the topline domestic numbers to obscure the reality that antisemitism remains one of the most persistent and dangerous forms of hate in this country and beyond,” Greenblatt continued, emphasizing that 2025 was the deadliest year for antisemitic attacks outside of Israel in more than 30 years.
In a release, the ADL noted that the data was consistent with its own findings that 2025 was the third-highest year on record for reported antisemitic incidents. The ADL’s data includes both criminal and non-criminal incidents.
Jewish Council for Public Affairs CEO Amy Spitalnick said, “Once again, the FBI’s data confirms what Jewish communities across this country already feel: the rising tide of hate means that we remain the most-targeted religious community in America,” noting that Jews constitute just 2% of the population but two-thirds of religious-based hate crimes.
Spitalnick also emphasized rising hate against other groups, arguing that “Jewish safety and the safety of our neighbors are inextricably linked — which is why we will never accept a strategy that protects one community by demonizing or ignoring another.”
She said that the slight decline in overall hate crimes is “welcome” but does not constitute safety and argued that a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to fighting hate remains necessary. She also emphasized that around 5% of the U.S. population was not covered by the data and that some local law enforcement agencies reported no hate crimes in areas where hate crimes are known to have occurred.
In 2025, 85.9% of all law enforcement agencies in the country submitted hate crimes data to the FBI — an optional program — covering 95.3% of the U.S. population. In some past years, reporting had been significantly hampered by non-participation by local law enforcement agencies, leading to what advocates said was an under-counting of hate crimes.
“The deeper problem is that we keep treating this crisis as a security problem to be managed rather than building resiliency to hate and extremism in the first place,” Spitalnick said, calling increased security funding necessary but “not a remedy” to hate.
“This new data tells us two things,” Spitalnick said. “Hate crimes remain far too high, and our national response is failing. We need the federal government to return its focus to protecting communities and building an inclusive, pluralistic democracy that is more resistant to hate in the first place.”
Reps. Byron Donalds and Randy Fine are favored to win their races, but the margins for their extreme challengers could signal how far right the GOP base has drifted
Prodip Guha/Getty Images
Dan Bilzerian on Sept. 13, 2019 in Mumbai, India.
Florida’s Republican primaries on Tuesday will be a critical test for far-right candidates who have built their campaigns on open antisemitism, providing hard data on how popular those views have become in the GOP.
Neither gubernatorial candidate James Fishback nor Dan Bilzerian, who is challenging Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) in Florida’s 6th Congressional District, are expected to win. But the extent of the support they’re able to pick up will be instructive.
Polling has shown that Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) is likely to easily win the gubernatorial primary — and therefore the governorship — with the backing of President Donald Trump. But Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and Fishback will be competing for the second-place slot.
Fishback has embraced and celebrated neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes and his “groyper” followers and leaned into a variety of antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories. He has also vowed to cut ties with Israel and suggested he would scale back state efforts to combat antisemitism.
He has also run a racist campaign, including repeatedly referring to Donalds, who is Black, as a “slave,” telling a Black Floridian they should be lynched and invoking other bigoted tropes.
Fishback’s campaign has attracted attention from younger GOP voters in particular, with some polls showing him far outpacing Donalds among voters under 35 — as well as support from donors who have backed far-left anti-Israel Democrats.
Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist in Florida, said that the extent of Donalds’ victory is the key question at the moment. He predicted that Fishback could pick up more than 10% of the vote, and potentially outperform Collins.
“It’s more of a testament to Byron running away with it and everyone knowing it,” O’Connell said, explaining his prediction of a poor performance by Collins. Trump’s endorsement of Donalds — which the president has frequently highlighted — should push Donalds to a commanding victory, he continued.
At the same time, “the one thing that Fishback has shown himself to be good at is garnering media attention. … I think this is about gaining name ID, gaining attention,” O’Connell continued.
He suggested that Fishback’s gubernatorial run might be a bid to gain public attention as a pretext for a future race for a lower political office. “We don’t know what his ultimate goal is. Is he going to run for another office?”
O’Connell also predicted a poor performance by Bilzerian, who has garnered bipartisan criticism in recent days over a blatantly antisemitic and pro-Hitler advertisement targeting Fine posted by Bilzerian on social media.
He predicted that Bilzerian’s final margin will amount to a “statistical anomaly” and that another candidate, Aaron Baker, who is also challenging Fine, may outperform Bilzerian. Baker has also been critical of Israel including opposing aid for its offensive weapons and calling for conditions on U.S. aid.
Bilzerian has put $1 million of his own money into the race, raising an additional $240,000, trailing far behind Fine, who raised more than $4 million. Baker has only raised $109,000.
Collins, the lieutenant governor, endorsed a third candidate in the primary, Charles Gambaro, a local official.
Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) might be in the most danger of any incumbent Florida Republican, having been dogged for months by a growing series of scandals and investigations related to alleged domestic violence and harassment, financial misconduct, sexual misconduct, stolen valor and alleged use of his office for his own financial gain. Mills has denied any wrongdoing.
Mills’ wedding was also officiated by a radical imam who was believed to be a key fundraiser for Hamas and listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, who also expressed antisemitic and anti-American sentiments in his sermons. Mills denied any knowledge of the imam’s affiliations.
O’Connell predicted that Mills is likely to lose to Ryan Elijah, a former local TV anchor, consistent with a recent poll showing Elijah opening up a commanding lead over Mills ahead of primary day.
“The allegations might have caught up to Cory in terms of winning there. So that looks like an uphill climb for Cory in Florida[‘s 7th Congressional District], based on all the numbers I’ve seen,” O’Connell said. “He would need a hefty Election Day turnout. It’s not unheard of, but it’s just highly unlikely that he’s going to win.”
Both Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have backed away from Mills in recent weeks in light of the scandals and declined to intervene in support of him. O’Connell described Mills as “trying to cling to an endorsement” from Trump that largely predated the scrutiny into his scandals.
O’Connell predicted that Republicans would be able to hold the seat even if Mills wins the primary election, though Democrats have seen Mills as potentially a ripe target if he’s renominated.
Plus, Trump puts Oman in the crosshairs
Shalev Shalom
Israeli President Isaac Herzog meets with Jared Kushner at the President's Residence in Jerusalem on Aug. 17, 2026.
Good Monday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump confirmed to Fox News this morning that the White House is communicating directly with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and said that Tehran should “raise the white flag of surrender,” as the 60-day memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran — which was intended to lead to the creation of a permanent peace agreement but was quickly deemed moot by both parties — officially expired today without a deal in sight.
Jared Kushner separately told Fox News about the status of talks with Iran that Trump is “focused on economic pressure” but is still open to reaching an agreement, adding that dialogue between the White House and “different areas of the Iranian government” is “probably more robust than it’s maybe ever been” and that the conversations are “positive”…
Trump also threatened in his interview to “bomb the sh*t out of” Oman if the country “gets in the way,” amid Muscat’s negotiations with Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking later to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he doesn’t think Oman “behave[s] very well” and that the U.S. would “handle them very easily.” He also reaffirmed his recent claim that he intends to declare the strait a U.S. territory, saying he “think[s] it’s a great idea”…
Responding to Trump’s threat, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) announced he intends to introduce a war powers resolution when the Senate returns from recess to prohibit U.S. military action against Oman…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had “deep and constructive discussions” with Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov and Kushner in Jerusalem today, where the parties agreed to establish two working groups: one on the “disarmament and demilitarization of Gaza,” which they agreed should happen before “any reconstruction,” and a second on sanitation and public health concerns in the enclave.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also met with the group and said he was “impressed that Israel’s security interests are an important and central element of their plan”…
After the meetings, Kushner told Fox News that he predicts there will be progress in starting to demilitarize Gaza “in as little as 30 days” and beginning to fill in Hamas’ terror tunnels “in the next 60 to 90 days.”
Despite Trump stating in his interview that Israel should not be conducting any more strikes in Gaza, Kushner said the Board of Peace would “not restrict Israel’s right to defend itself” and that if Hamas doesn’t follow through on its commitments, Israel will “have a lot more support from the U.S.” to “finish the job.” He called his Sunday meeting with Hamas leaders “cordial” and said they “said all the right things” but that they are “hard to trust”…
Trump said today it’s “most appropriate” that he “stay out of” Israel’s upcoming elections but added that he “may endorse somebody” anyway….
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi disputed claims by Masrour Barzani, prime minister of the region of Kurdistan, that his office was attacked by Iranian drones: “Kurdish friends should be vigilant against false-flag ploys to sow discord between neighbors,” Araghchi said on X, claiming that Iran has historically “protected” the Kurds. It was a striking characterization given that Iran has repeatedly struck Kurdish opposition bases in Iraqi Kurdistan, including during the current war, and has a decades-long history of suppressing its own Kurdish population…
New York City leaders are condemning a series of inflammatory posters opposing a new housing development in Chelsea that use antisemitic, racist and homophobic language, including a call to “stop Zionist occupation of Manhattan,” tying the project to “foreign wealth dirty zionist money” and claiming that “Talmudists are trained to cheat.”
City Hall called the posters “vile” and claimed the rhetoric “has absolutely no place in our city’s political discourse,” while Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, said, “Disagreement over housing policy is legitimate. Dehumanizing your neighbors is not”…
Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Dan Goldman (D-NY) continued to spar this week over the University of Washington’s decision to cancel a planned speech by antisemitic influencer Hasan Piker, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
After Goldman argued initially against Jayapal’s denunciation of the school, the congresswoman said she “completely disagree[s] with [Goldman’s] analysis of free speech”; Goldman responded that students have ample access to “Piker’s racist and anti-American views,” but the university has a responsibility to prevent discriminatory conduct or a hostile environment for Jewish students that could interfere in their ability to participate on campus…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at AIPAC’s involvement in tomorrow’s special election in California’s 14th Congressional District, where state Sen. Aisha Wahab is facing off against former Dublin, Calif., Mayor Melissa Hernandez, who is backed by the pro-Israel group.
Florida will also hold its primary elections tomorrow, where several pro-Israel and Jewish candidates are facing off against far-right and far-left extremists. Read more on the races and their implications here.
The Sephardic Rabbinical Conference will conclude in New York with speakers including Israeli Consul General Ofir Akunis; Daniel Rosenthal, vice president for government relations at UJA-Federation of New York; Rabbi Elie Buechler, director of programs at the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center; and rabbis from around the world.
Stories You May Have Missed
SENATOR SITDOWN
The senator told JI he was worried that fringe ideas could gain momentum if Republicans don’t aggressively push back
SEPHARDIC SUMMIT
The second annual Sephardic Rabbinic Conference, backed by the Orthodox Union and UJA-Federation, will bring together around 150 participants from a dozen countries to address leadership gaps and Diaspora institution-building
Goldman said that Piker’s appearance could ‘foment harassment, discrimination or potentially violence against a class of students’
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) walks down the House steps after a series of votes at the U.S. Capitol on July 22, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Dan Goldman (D-NY) continued to spar this week over the University of Washington’s decision to cancel a planned speech by antisemitic influencer Hasan Piker on the campus.
Jayapal last week criticized the public Seattle university for canceling the speech, which was scheduled for early 2027, and urged student groups that want to host him to engage with the school. Goldman, who chairs the House antisemitism task force and recently lost his reelection bid, suggested in response that allowing Piker on campus could create a hostile environment for Jewish students, in violation of federal law.
Jayapal responded on Sunday that she “completely disagree[s] with [Goldman’s] analysis of free speech.” The two members both sit on the House Judiciary Committee.
“UW has had speakers from a wide range of views — including those whom I completely disagree with,” Jayapal said. “The First Amendment protection of freedom of speech should never be negotiable — and that is something I know the majority of my constituents value as well. I have respected UW’s commitment to free speech in the past and expect that to continue.”
Goldman responded by suggesting that Piker’s speech could “foment harassment, discrimination or potentially violence against a class of students.”
He said that students have ample access to “Piker’s racist and anti-American views,” but the university has a responsibility to prevent discriminatory conduct or a hostile environment for Jewish students that could interfere in their ability to participate on campus.
“While many people may want to create a fictional divide between ‘Israel’ and ‘Jews,’ the dramatic and continued escalation of violence against American Jews — purportedly in the name of opposition to Israel — renders that academic distinction irrelevant and completely untethered to reality,” Goldman continued.
A number of extremist candidates — on both the left and right — are challenging incumbents across the Sunshine State
Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), a member of the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump, speaks to the press after touring the shooting site at the Butler Farm Show Grounds on August 26, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Tuesday’s Florida primaries are shaping up to be the starkest test yet of how widespread the scourge of antisemitism and extreme anti-Israel views are within both parties.
On the Democratic side, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), one of the remaining pro-Israel stalwarts within his party, and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), a pragmatic Jewish lawmaker who is running in a new district after GOP redistricting chopped up her old seat, are both facing serious primary threats from their left flank.
Moskowitz is facing the more direct threat, going up against a Democratic Socialists of America-backed challenger in Oliver Larkin, who is running as a far-left candidate hostile to the U.S.-Israel relationship in a GOP-leaning district with one of the biggest Jewish constituencies in the country.
Larkin’s decision to run on a platform hostile to the district’s Jewish voters would typically be politically problematic. Deciding to campaign with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) during the primary’s final stretch is a curious campaign choice, to put it mildly. The blowback was intense enough that several Fort Lauderdale venues declined to host the socialist shindig.
But if there is a surge of left-wing, anti-establishment anger — and latent anti-Israel sentiment from the district’s non-Jewish Democratic voters — it’s worth keeping a close eye on the election results. Even a respectable 40-45% Larkin showing, short of victory, would raise eyebrows about how widespread the far-left ideology has penetrated the party.
After all, Moskowitz’s newly drawn district backed President Donald Trump, and his mainstream record is what’s allowing Democrats to have a good chance at holding the seat. Picking a DSA candidate like Larkin would all but guarantee Republicans pick up a seat that’s not currently at the top of their list.
Republicans will also be nominating their standard-bearer against Moskowitz, with polls suggesting former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer holding the edge against business owner Dan Franzese and former state Rep. George Moraitis.
In Florida’s neighboring 20th District, Wasserman Schultz is contending with a changed constituency after she chose to run in a new district with a larger Black population that’s a notch more progressive than her old one. But because multiple Black candidates are splitting the anti-incumbent vote, Wasserman Schultz looks favored to win renomination, though she may do so with a much smaller vote share than usual.
Progressive activist Elijah Manley, who is gay and converted to Judaism, is running in the left-wing lane and attended Tlaib’s socialist rally on Friday. He’s the most credible challenger against Wasserman Schultz, and given that he’s only 27, may end up running again even if comes up short (as analysts expect).
On the Republican side, we’re closely watching how much support two fringe candidates running on openly antisemitic platforms end up receiving in primary races for governor and against Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), one of only four Jewish Republicans in Congress.
In the governor’s primary, Trump-endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), vying to become the state’s first Black governor, is heavily favored to win the nomination, and likely by a comfortable margin. But the candidacy of openly racist and antisemitic James Fishback has drawn outsized attention on social media. The results will serve as a barometer of whether there’s any real constituency for Fishback’s type of extreme bigotry with the GOP electorate.
The primary polling has been inconclusive in breaking down Fishback’s level of support, with one recent poll showing him only winning 4% of the electorate, with another showing him hitting double-digits. Even as he’s headed towards a decisive defeat, his precise vote total will be watched closely by Republicans eyeing the level of beyond-the-pale racism in their own party.
The other openly racist candidate running is Jew-hating conspiracy theorist and podcaster Dan Bilzerian, who’s challenging Fine. About one-third of Bilzerian’s campaign messages are explicitly antisemitic, according to a study from the Combat Antisemitism Movement, and he’s lent his campaign over $1 million to amplify his message. This year, Israel’s Diaspora Ministry ranked Bilzerian the world’s leading antisemitic influencer for 2025.
Fine is expected to be renominated handily, but as with Fishback, the level of support a neo-Nazi extremist gets in the primary will be an indicator of how widespread this sickness has spread within the Republican Party.
Young activists are divided over Israel and America First, leaving GOP politicians trying to reestablish a common set of facts
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) arrives for a news conference in the U.S. Capitol on developments regarding Cuba on Wednesday, May 20, 2026.
TAMPA, Fla. – The crosswinds buffeting the Republican Party and conservative media ecosystem over Israel and antisemitism blew through Tampa earlier this month at the National College Republicans convention, and both the politicians who addressed the gathering and the young Republicans themselves had their collars turned up.
Gubernatorial candidate Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) warned the crowd: Don’t let social media think for you.
It is too easy, he said, to “go down rabbit trails” and follow personalities instead of facts.
Donalds then turned to why he believes more and more young conservatives have become skeptical of Israel. “Social media, propaganda,” he said.
Foreign governments, Donalds added, “would love nothing more for the United States to be destabilized.”
But he also drew a distinction between criticism of Israeli policy and antisemitism. “If you are having an issue with public policy … have that issue,” Donalds said. But blaming Israel or Jews “with no real facts, no real evidence, just because that’s what you heard” should not be tolerated.
Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL), who also spoke at the conference, was even more explicit about the problem. For her, the argument over Israel begins before foreign policy: Republicans first have to agree on what constitutes a fact.
“You can’t even begin to have an honest conversation about how we ensure the security of our country, let alone our allies, until people understand what basic facts are,” Cammack said.
The exchanges between lawmakers and student activists captured a broader tension within the Republican Party that was on display throughout the Aug. 8 convention, which focused on recruiting, building chapters, training leaders and working on campaigns. But lawmakers and students kept coming back to a simpler question: where do young Republicans get their news, and whom do they trust?
University of Florida senior Justin Giacomelli said the debate over Israel has become one of the biggest fault lines among younger conservatives raised on social media.
“A lot of younger people, in particular, have grown up on social media where they’ve been bombarded by misinformation and lies about our relationship with Israel,” Giacomelli told Jewish Insider. “They’ve been brainwashed into thinking that Israel is evil, while countries like Iran are not, and they don’t understand the role we have with Israel, our mutual relationship, where we get critical intelligence from them.”
Giacomelli said X is his preferred platform for news because it puts competing arguments in the same feed. He also values the chance to test those arguments in real time by joining the debate himself. He admires Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s approach to Israel, Cuba and Venezuela, and disagrees with far-right, isolationist voices such as Tucker Carlson.
“I have learned that those policies don’t work,” Giacomelli said. “It’s dangerous to turn on your allies and become sympathetic toward your enemies, like Russia, China and Iran. You reach a point where you realize those policies don’t benefit America. They are not America First.”
Ian Lares-Chacin, the incoming chairman of the National Federation of College Republicans, said foreign policy is important to younger Republicans but remains secondary to affordability, particularly homeownership.
“As much as people care about foreign policy and that sort of thing, it’s second. Right now people are just kind of stressed out,” he said.
Still, Lares-Chacin described a “pretty split divide” over Israel among younger conservatives and said the debate had become toxic in some corners. His goal as chairman, he said, is to keep factions cooperating even when they disagree.
“At the end of the day, we’re all conservatives, even if we don’t agree 100% on every issue,” Lares-Chacin said. “I don’t think one or two issues should be the cause of a civil war.”
He said Israel could become a wedge issue, though he did not think it should.
Ephraim Asher, a University of South Florida junior who interned for Rubio when he was a senator, said most of his news comes from YouTube because he prefers extendedlong-form material to clipped excerpts.
“I get most of my information from YouTube, more like long-form content,” Asher said. “One thing I’ve seen is people clipping stuff, and I’m like, just watch the whole thing. So I’d rather watch the whole thing, see what they said, go through the sources and everything else.”
He said he checks Bloomberg, follows hosts with varying viewpoints and uses articles and AI tools to compare arguments. Like Giacomelli, he named Rubio as a model for the party’s future, citing his foreign policy and his ability to disagree without being divisive.
Moses Jinu, an FSU freshman, has a different routine.
“I’m kind of old-fashioned,” Jinu said. “I read the newspaper with my grandpa and then independently research news topics on Google.”
Asked what being a Republican means in 2026, Jinu pointed to “individual freedoms, liberty, and everyone’s right to speech, religion, the First Amendment.” Darren Valens, a Valencia College freshman, emphasized consent of the governed and the idea that rights come from God rather than government.
Scott Johnson, an advisor to the Osceola Young Republicans, said the defining challenge for a generation raised on social media is “figuring out what’s real and what’s not real.”
Cammack, the Florida congresswoman, recalled talking to a young man who believed American politicians were funded by foreign governments, a claim Cammack told him was not true. To her, the exchange showed how much the media landscape has changed. Younger conservatives are less likely to rely on Fox News or the New York Post and more likely to move between podcasts, X accounts and YouTube livestreams.
“There’s no editorial control, no reviews, there’s no accountability,” Cammack said. “There’s no, ‘Oh, I have sources, I have this.’ There’s none of that.”
The COVID-19 pandemic, she said, accelerated a collapse of trust, when many conservatives began questioning institutions and legacy media. That gave an opening for independent journalists and commentators.
She added that “there is a beauty” in the rise of independent media, “but now we’ve seen the abuse of that, and how people can just say whatever the hell they want, and they don’t have to back it up.”
Cammack said she has seen friends share material she believed was created by the Chinese Communist Party while assuming it came from American users. “We are in a full-blown cognitive war with China, with Russia, with Iran,” she said. “People don’t know it.”
Her prescription to the students was not a return to one set of legacy outlets, but more skepticism toward everything they encounter — including content they already agree with.
Cammack encouraged students to check claims before posting them and decide if the sources are credible. Distrust in established institutions makes personal judgment even more important.
“You want to be known as someone who is a beacon of truth, who can be counted on to share the truth,” she told the students, “who has the integrity and the intelligence to go do your own dang research, and you know what is fact and what is fiction.”
Among students, the divide was less abstract.
Conservative influencer Gates Garcia said the right has been too reluctant to confront antisemitism within its own ranks, while also warning against branding every criticism of Israel as antisemitic.
“We have a First Amendment right to criticize anyone,” Garcia said. “But what becomes antisemitic is when we hold Israel to a different set of standards than other people and other countries. And that’s what a lot of people in the conservative movement are falling victim to.”
The senator told JI he was worried that fringe ideas could gain momentum if Republicans don’t aggressively push back
Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) talks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on July 23, 2026.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) expressed confidence ahead of Florida’s primary elections on Tuesday that voters will reject the Republican candidates who have embraced blatantly antisemitic messages as part of their campaigns.
In an interview on Friday with Jewish Insider, the Florida senator specifically called out James Fishback, who is running against Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins (R-FL) in the gubernatorial primary to replace term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), and Dan Bilzerian, who is challenging Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) for the GOP nomination for Florida’s 6th Congressional District.
“I’m very optimistic that Byron will win the primary. He’s got to win,” Scott told JI. “We’ve got an antisemite in the race, James Fishback, and so unfortunately, we have to keep fighting this antisemitism around the country. But Byron’s running a good race. He’s worked hard.”
Scott said that he campaigned with Donalds on Thursday near Tallahassee and noted that the House lawmaker “had a big turnout and he did a great job, so we’ve just got to get people out to vote.”
Asked what he’s heard from Florida Republican voters in response to Fishback and Bilzerian’s antisemitic campaign messaging, Scott told JI, “Most people are focused on their job, their kids’ education, public safety, but when you ask about it [Fishback, Bilzerian or other fringe figures in the GOP], they’ll say it’s disgusting. They know it’s wrong.”
“Often in life, if it doesn’t impact you, you don’t think about it, so what we’ve got to say to that is: Hatred impacts all of us somehow,” the Florida senator said. “First, they’re going to attack Jews. I don’t know for what godforsaken reason people have decided it’s okay to attack Jews, but they’re not going to stop there.”
Fishback, who ran an investment firm before entering the gubernatorial race last year, has run a blatantly racist and antisemitic primary campaign. He has repeatedly taunted Donalds, who is Black, over his race, referring to him as “DEI Donalds,” nicknaming him “By’rone” and calling him a “slave” to corporations and the donor class.
As a candidate, Fishback has also defended neo-Nazi podcaster Nick Fuentes and his “groyper” movement.
Bilzerian is a social media influencer with more than 28 million Instagram followers. He gained notoriety in the 2010s for his extravagant lifestyle and has emerged in recent years as a far-right commentator who openly supports Adolf Hitler and calls for “ending the existence” of Israel. He boasts about his record of engaging in Holocaust denial and continues to claim Jews were involved in the 9/11 attacks.
Bilzerian is among the most openly antisemitic candidates to run for federal office in recent memory, launching his campaign by describing Fine, one of the few Jewish Republicans in Congress, as a “fat Jew” and asserting that “Jewish supremacy is the biggest threat to the world today.” He also calls Judaism a “terrible” religion and has expressed a desire to murder “evil” Israelis.
“Everyone wants to complain about the left: They’re antisemitic, they’re anti-Israel, all that,” Scott said. “But we have people in the Republican Party who are [antisemitic and anti-Israel] — people like James Fishback or the guy that’s running against Congressman Randy Fine — so we’ve got to call it out.”
“Antisemitism is not acceptable anywhere,” Scott continued. “If there’s antisemitism [in the GOP], I’ll be glad to call those people out, because it is despicable, it’s disgraceful, it’s un-American, and whether it’s the left that is doing it or people on the right who are doing it, it is wrong.”
Scott was one of several prominent Republicans to condemn Bilzeran over the weekend after the candidate posted an AI-generated video suggesting Hitler’s opinions should be “revisited” and calling Fine a “Jewish [supremacist]” and “Satan’s creepy little [minion]” over imagery of Fine hugging a bag of money. The narrator in the video also referred to Fine as a “satanic whore” as horns were shown growing out of the House lawmaker’s head, and suggested that Fine rapes children.
Bilzerian also faced criticism for posting another AI video accusing Fine of staging an incident last week in which an unknown individual spray-painted a swastika on a Fine campaign sign outside of an early voting site.
“This guy is an actual Republican on the ballot. It’s so disgusting. Every single Republican needs to condemn this evil, and every single news outlet needs to expose how bad and antisemitic he is,” Scott wrote on X on Friday of Bilzerian.
While Scott maintained confidence that Donalds and Fine would beat their fringe primary rivals on Tuesday, he expressed concern that Fishback and Bilzerian’s ideas could become mainstreamed in American politics if he and other Republicans fail to push back on them.
“The more this happens, the more that people will think: Well, that’s okay. So with people like these, you have to say, ‘I don’t want those people in my party,’” Scott told JI. “The Republican Party is a broad coalition of people that care about this country, but we’re not going to allow antisemites into our party, period. They belong in the Democrat Party, which embraces them.”
“Our party is not run by antisemites and will never be run by antisemites as long as I have any power to stop it,” he continued. “We have to fight, fight, fight.”
Fine, who has been vocal about his Jewish identity, has come under intense scrutiny from the left in recent years for his aggressive approach to his advocacy for Israel and against antisemitism.
In February, he faced a wave of condemnations and accusations of Islamophobia from his Democratic colleagues, including 22 Jewish lawmakers and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), for suggesting in a social media post that he would choose dogs over Muslims.
Progressive lawmakers pushed to have Fine censured and urged House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to revoke his committee assignments in response, but were unsuccessful.
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