In chatting with plugged-in Democratic strategists currently working on congressional campaigns, I was shocked — but not all that surprised — at the acceptance that the party has been all but dominated by the socialist faction, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), that has gotten more radical since his presidential campaign in 2016 and has played a key role in many Democratic primaries across the country. 

Two Democratic operatives involved in Michigan and other targeted races bluntly told JI that left-wing candidates endorsed by Sanders and his band of far-left allies can now expect to win about one-third of the primary vote from the start if given the Sanders seal of approval. And far from being contained to deep-blue urban districts in New York, the trend is spreading into swing-district primaries and statewide nomination fights. 

That’s certainly shaping up to be the case in Michigan’s 7th District, one of the biggest battleground districts in the country long held by now-Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI). Despite two candidates with cross-partisan credentials running — former Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam and former Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink — the Sanders-endorsed socialist activist William Lawrence is the front-runner, according to new polling conducted in the race. 

And the socialist wave is building in statewide races in two of the biggest Midwestern battlegrounds, with Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed Francesca Hong running away with the Democratic nomination for Wisconsin’s governorship, despite her recent embrace of politically toxic views like supporting funding cuts to the police.  

And as we’ve extensively covered in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed’s virulently anti-Israel and left-wing platform in the Senate race doesn’t appear to be stunting his primary campaign against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), even with popular Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s endorsement of Stevens.

There will be exceptions in certain moderate constituencies, especially those with sizable Jewish populations — like Army veteran Cait Conley’s success in the Westchester County district of Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) or former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett, who’s running against Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) in the northern New Jersey suburbs. 

But even in the affluent suburban districts that were once immune to progressives, candidates running with Sanders’ backing are proving they can prevail, especially as anti-Trump sentiment has metastasized in an acceptance of extreme views. Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-NJ), who was embraced as a close Sanders ally, easily won an affluent suburban seat filled with white-collar professionals. 

The only constituency who defected en masse to her relatively moderate GOP opponent were the Jewish voters in the district. “People underestimate the radicalization of high-propensity Democratic primary voters,” Michigan Democratic labor activist (and a former DSA leader) Jake Altman wrote on X. 

If El-Sayed, Hong and Lawrence (among others) win their primaries next week, the last line of defense for the political mainstream will be in the November general election. Unlike the earlier primaries where DSA-aligned candidates prevailed, these contests are still taking place in competitive battlegrounds.  

But even general election polls suggest that partisanship runs so deeply these days that even positions that once made candidates unelectable aren’t the vulnerabilities they used to be. November may end up being the biggest test of the socialists’ staying power — and the last chance for moderating, independent-minded voices to prove they still wield political power.

ASPEN, Colo. — Joel Rubin, a former State Department official who led Jewish outreach for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) 2020 presidential campaign, is now excoriating his former boss and the movement he has built for elevating stridently anti-Israel candidates — most notably former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner.

The anti-Israel and antisemitic wave that’s taken hold on the left as a result of the efforts of Sanders and his allies, Rubin said, is bad for the Jewish community and politically unwise for the Democratic Party and for the U.S.’ own strategic interests.

“I think what Sanders and the Sanders operation have done is shove into our system the most categorically anti-Israel, antisemitic candidates that we’ve seen in a generation — if ever, certainly within the Democratic Party — and it’s by design,” Rubin said in an interview with Jewish Insider last week on the sidelines of the Aspen Security Forum. “It’s not by accident, and it’s very disruptive intentionally. The goal is to undermine Democratic unity and even rationality on Israel at this stage.”

He said that Sanders and his allies have directed anger and frustration toward Israel into a “highly unproductive debate about whether or not Israel should exist and whether or not we should support it or have any relationship” — rather than a “constructive” discussion of how the U.S. can work to resolve issues with a longtime ally and partner that plays an important role in American national security. 

Sanders, Rubin said, has become an “outright hostile actor.”

Sanders did not respond to a request for comment.

Rubin has been particularly critical of Sanders and progressive strategists for the “creation” and promotion of Platner, whom Rubin called a manufactured “fake test tube [candidate]” out of “central casting for the left.”

He said that he’s angry with Sanders, as well as other Platner backers including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), for continuing to promote Platner even through a litany of controversies, starting with his Nazi tattoo.

Khanna declined to comment.

Rubin said Sanders and his allies, and the candidates they have promoted, have taken a similar approach in campaigns around the country, counting on a backlash toward Israel and the pro-Israel Jewish community to launch them into office.

“I’m extremely disappointed. I feel like it violates the goals of promoting peace in the Middle East and the two-state solution, and I believe that it exacerbates the pain and distress that the American Jewish community is experiencing right now in Israel policy,” Rubin said. “I had higher hopes for a senator who is Jewish, and his team who knows very well what’s out there.”

He said that the American left is now following the model of former Labour party leader in Britain, Jeremy Corbyn — who faced a damning Equality and Human Rights Commission finding of antisemitism within the party under his leadership — and the movement is “no longer progressive — it’s something much darker.”

“It’s a hate-based narrative they’re promoting,” Rubin said. He said that Sanders and others on the left are on a mission to break the Democratic Party’s ties to the Jewish state and the U.S.-Israel relationship, with no argument for how that would produce a positive outcome. 

When he worked for Sanders’ 2020 campaign, Rubin said that he was “given latitude to communicate messages about him and his views on Israel and peace and antisemitism that were positive,” with a focus on solving issues and creating solutions, while disassociating from “the most hateful voices.”

“That’s no longer the case. I don’t know what’s going on inside that operation. There is no line. There is no bottom. There is no low,” Rubin said. “And what it’s doing now is gutting American Jewish confidence in the Democratic Party, which is not a way to win elections, and it’s unethical as well, considering American Jews have been a bedrock community supporting the Democratic Party.”

He said the party should be pushing for policies that move toward peace, which is “not what these people are advocating for.” He said that the effort is also playing into the hands of conservatives, allowing them to frame themselves as the only ones taking action against antisemitism.

“We need leadership, and the progressive community needs to stop scapegoating Jews for all problems in the world,” Rubin said.

Progressives like congressional candidates Scott Wiener in California and Brad Lander in New York as well as Khanna are “desperately afraid of saying anything somewhat rational about Jews and Israel for fear of being attacked” — but are facing attacks anyway, discovering that it’s impossible to satisfy far-left voices while they are pushed to take ever more extreme positions.

Rubin argued that policymakers and advocacy groups like J Street, for which he was the founding political director, have a responsibility to lead and to set boundaries of what is and is not acceptable discourse on Israel, to stand up to the extremes and to strongly reject antisemitism. “Right now, nobody’s stepping up,” Rubin said.

J Street did not respond to a request for comment. 

Rubin said that President Barack Obama, under whom he served, understood the importance of continuing the U.S.-Israel relationship and of treating pro-Israel American Jews as patriotic and leaders within the Democratic Party, even as he supported policies like diplomacy with Iran. He said that level of nuance and respect has vanished.

Rubin has never been aligned with AIPAC, and was critical of its strategies in this year’s primaries, but said that the left is targeting American Jews and supporters of Israel writ large through attacks on AIPAC — a phenomenon he has personally experienced. He compared it to the targeting and marginalization of Jews in a variety of professional sectors over the past three years.

“Any person who’s Jewish who expresses any level of support [for Israel], no matter where on the spectrum, is now a Jewish person who needs to be targeted for harassment, and is described as an AIPAC [supporter] trying to insidiously control the American political system for a foreign power,” Rubin said.

“The American Jewish community doesn’t deserve this,” Rubin continued. “The Jewish American community on the Democratic side has been a foundational funder, organizer, elected leader, organizational leader, powerful leading voice of infrastructure in the liberal openness of American life in the last 50, 60 years, and now we’re getting beaten up as if we were the opponent. It’s totally offensive and it’s politically dangerous for the Democratic Party to do that as well.”

Speaking to JI as the House was voting on an amendment to cut $3.3 billion in U.S. aid to Israel, Rubin warned of the “moral hazard” of the vote, arguing that many Democrats in safe blue seats would vote in favor of the amendment for political signaling purposes — “pandering to the base” that is “very much moving into a hostile position” — knowing that the amendment was going to fail.

Rubin predicted, correctly, that moderate Democrats in purple districts, “the majority-makers,” would take a more nuanced view focused on the impacts of the policy and oppose the amendment.

He praised House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) for opposing the amendment, but said that the Democratic Party is now in the midst of an “existential fight” over Israel as a result of Sanders and progressive activists making the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a “top-level issue” for the party and the left.

Rubin — who lives in Maryland — was also strongly critical of Van Hollen, saying the senator had “turned his back on the Maryland Jewish community,” despite its strong support for him in the past, particularly in his 2016 Senate race.

“The Jews of Montgomery County — our lane, our world, East Kensington — were his foundation of political and financial support,” Rubin said. “I can’t find a person who isn’t upset about what he’s done to turn his back on us.”

A Van Hollen spokesperson said in a statement, “Our office has heard from constituents from the Jewish community of Maryland who hold a wide array of views – including many that share the Senator’s concerns about the actions of the Netanyahu government. The Senator appreciates the diversity of opinions his constituents hold on these and other issues and will always respect and support their right to express their views and have a dialogue.”

Looking ahead to the 2028 election, Rubin said he’s seeing a shift in the Democratic Party. While candidates used to travel to Israel to show their support for Israel and the Jewish community, he said that candidates are going to Israel for “stunts” and for the purpose of “castigating the Israelis to curry favor with the base,” referring to recent visits by Khanna and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and predicted that other candidates would take a similar approach.

But he warned that this pandering to the Democratic base won’t win Democrats the presidency. 

“If we have a candidate that only talks to the base of the party, we are not going to win the middle ground states in the upper Midwest,” Rubin said, arguing that a candidate like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who has been criticized by the left for his support for Israel and Jewish identity, is far better positioned to win the White House.

Rubin also said that the U.S. should and must maintain its relationship with Israel going forward, calling it “our best ally in the Middle East” on a range of issues including fighting shared enemies, intelligence sharing and joint development of weapons systems — in addition to a range of economic and non-military benefits that are often overlooked.

He said that Democrats can be leaders in highlighting the non-military benefits of the relationship, from climate technology to a potential trade corridor through the Middle East and broader regional normalization and integration efforts.

He said that a Democratic president should harness those opportunities and move toward a similar relationship that the U.S. has with other allies like France or Japan, “a rich, diverse, legislatively supported, strong relationship that does include military-to-military cooperation, coordination and sales, but that is not the the whole relationship.”

But Rubin said that the left and the Democratic base don’t seem to have the appetite for any of that, and “that’s bad for the United States.”

A decade ago, Center for American Progress CEO Neera Tanden spent her time arguing with leftists on Twitter. 

Her life doesn’t look too different today: After four years holding senior roles in the Biden administration, Tanden is back at CAP and once again arguing with the far left on Twitter, now called X. 

Though she faced a torrent of online hate from the so-called “Bernies Bros” in 2016, Tanden was not alone among Democrats in staking out a line against the more insurgent, left-wing vision for the party promoted by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) during his unsuccessful primary campaign that year against Hillary Clinton. (Tanden, a longtime Hillary Clinton aide, held a senior role in Clinton’s unsuccessful 2008 primary campaign.) The Clinton wing, of which Tanden was a proud member, won the ideological war within the party, at least at the time. 

Tanden now finds herself fighting a much more solitary battle against the ascendant left flank of the party. She has called out far-left candidates challenging incumbent Democratic lawmakers for taking positions well outside the party’s mainstream. And at a time when some in the party are calling to make the Democratic tent so wide that it includes even activists and candidates who have flirted with antisemitism, she has taken to X to push back. 

“Sorry if I think it’s important to state out loud on here my disagreements with a guy who says it’s ok to murder people, Jews are inbred, America was responsible for 9/11 and Russia was right to invade Crimea, amongst other insane things,” Tanden wrote on X in April after “Pod Save America” interviewed Hasan Piker, the far-left, antisemitic political streamer who has in recent months campaigned with several Democrats, including Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Chris Rabb, who last month won the nomination in Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District. 

After The New York Times reported on Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s history of abusive relationships in early June, Tanden took to X to attack those who described the reporting as a hit job by pro-Israel activists who opposed Platner. “People who create Israel conspiracies around a Maine Senate race are no different in their antisemitism than Republicans who blame Jewish space lasers for the weather,” Tanden wrote. 

Yet aside from several tweets criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his close ties to President Donald Trump, Tanden has largely stayed quiet on the question of U.S. support for Israel. At CAP’s Ideas Conference last month, which was billed as a convening of “the broad center-left’s leading thinkers and doers,” Israel was not discussed at either of the event’s two conversations about foreign policy. 

During Joe Biden’s presidency, CAP was run by Patrick Gaspard, a former U.S. ambassador to South Africa and aide to President Barack Obama. In the 18 months after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, Gaspard became increasingly critical of American support for Israel. In May 2024, he published a set of guiding principles on Israel and Gaza that reflected his growing frustration with the status quo and Biden’s continued military support for Israel. The document sharply criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza and called for U.S. arms transfers to Israel to be paused. 

Tanden did not respond to requests for comment, and a spokesperson for CAP declined to say whether the Israel principles authored by Gaspard still represent the position of the organization. 

Institutionally, at least since Tanden’s return last year, CAP has avoided getting involved in the thorny debates about U.S. aid to Israel that are now causing turmoil among Democrats. The group is seeking to help chart the future of the party — the who’s who of big-name Democrats attended last month’s gathering, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger — while leaving intra-party bickering over Israel aside. 

More than a decade ago, Tanden hosted Netanyahu for a conversation at CAP. The 2015 event, which followed Netanyahu’s monthslong campaign against Obama’s Iran nuclear deal, earned Tanden significant pushback from the progressive wing of the party, including some of her own employees. She weathered the storm and stood by the decision; she continues to defend it in the face of occasional criticism on X, even as she tweeted recently that she “would like Netanyahu to lose his next election.”

While Tanden and CAP may be staying out of the Israel fracas, Tanden’s social media posts reflect a penchant for the more pragmatic wing of the party, and an aversion to far-left candidates — including those who take a hard line against Israel. 

A critic of the Democratic Socialists of America, Tanden recently weighed in on a slate of contentious Democratic primaries where DSA was hoping to elect aligned candidates.

She expressed support for Washington, D.C., mayoral candidate Kenyan McDuffie before he lost to his democratic socialist competitor, Janeese Lewis George, and called on New Yorkers to “get it together” instead of voting for Darializa Avila Chevalier, an anti-Israel student activist who ousted Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY). 

Both of Tanden’s preferred candidates lost. But whether her vision for the party — comprising the “broad center-left” — wins out will not be clear until Democrats pick their next presidential candidate.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is set to join a rally in New York City next Thursday with Mayor Zohran Mamdani and a trio of candidates he is backing in closely watched House races, The New York Times reports.

The event, which will be held five days before the June 23 primary at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, will lend a jolt of momentum to Mamdani’s preferred slate of far-left congressional candidates — including democratic socialists Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, and Brad Lander, a former New York City comptroller who also ran for mayor last election cycle.

Sanders, who is seen as a godfather of the modern left, most recently appeared with Mamdani in April at a rally to mark the mayor’s first 100 days in office. The Vermont independent also swore Mamdani in at his inauguration in January.

The senator’s decision to appear at the rally next week, however, is notable in part because he will be aiding Mamdani in his efforts to unseat two Democratic incumbents, Reps. Dan Goldman (D-NY) and Ariano Espaillat (D-NY), who have drawn backlash from the left over their support for Israel and ties to the pro-Israel group AIPAC, a chief source of criticism in the races.

Several House progressive leaders, prominently including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), have remained neutral in the primaries to unseat Goldman, who is defending his seat against Lander, and Espaillat, who is facing Avila Chevalier. Polling has indicated Goldman is in serious trouble, with Espaillat bracing for a closer race than he and his allies had expected. 

Sanders, one of the most vocal critics of Israel in the Senate, has not officially backed Chevalier, even though his appearance in his home borough of Brooklyn next week is all but tantamount to an endorsement. The anti-Israel activist, backed by the Democratic Socialists of America’s New York City chapter, has drawn scrutiny in recent days over past inflammatory online posts — including one accusing Sanders of promoting “liberal Zionism.”

Espaillat, a five-term congressman, has garnered support from some influential House progressives, including Reps. Greg Casar (D-TX), who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Maxwell Frost (D-FL).

Mamdani had reportedly promised to endorse Espaillat before he announced his support for Avila Chevalier late last month. He has continued to stand by her amid blowback over her old posts that are now featuring in attack ads.

Sanders has already endorsed Lander as well as Valdez, a DSA-backed state assemblymember now leaning into her opposition to Israel in campaign ads she has released during the closing stretch of her race against Antonio Reynoso, the Brooklyn borough president backed by retiring Rep. Nydia Velasquez (D-NY). Reynoso, a more traditional progressive, has described himself as an “underdog” in the primary, due to Mamdani’s high-profile support for Valdez.

Valdez shared a post on X Friday featuring a raised eyes emoji in response to news of the Sanders rally.

In a statement shared Friday with the Times, which cited sources familiar with the rally, Mamdani called the three primaries a “fight for the city we can afford” and “a Democratic Party driven by big ideas, not big money.”

Mamdani appeared alongside Chevalier, Lander and Valdez in a widely viewed TV ad that aired last week shortly after the Knicks had won the first game of the NBA finals.

Lander, who left the DSA over its promotion of an Oct. 8 Times Square rally celebrating Hamas’ terror attacks on Israel in 2023, insisted this week that his own appearance in the ad was not an endorsement of Avila Chevalier, who had joined that demonstration.

“I’m not supporting any other congressional candidates in New York City,” Lander told Jewish Insider, arguing that “different members of a team” he said was led by Mamdani “play different roles.”

His planned appearance with Avila Chevalier next week, however, is likely to draw further scrutiny to that explanation.

Lander did not respond to a request for comment about the rally.

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📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

UJA-Federation of New York has tapped longtime Jewish educator Michael Kay as its next CEO, the country’s largest Jewish federation shared exclusively with Nira Dayanim for Jewish Insider, marking a generational change that signals the growing importance of day schools on the Jewish communal agenda.

Kay, 46, currently serves as head of school at The Leffell School in Westchester County, N.Y., and will step into his new role on Oct. 5, succeeding Eric Goldstein, 66, a former Wall Street lawyer who will step down after 12 years in the role…

President Donald Trump continued to hedge today on resuming military action in Iran while keeping open diplomatic options: “We’re either going to make a deal or they’re going to be decimated,” he said of Iran while departing for his state visit to China. “So one way or the other, we win.”

Earlier in the day, Trump told the “Sid & Friends in the Morning” radio show that he’s anticipating Iran’s economic collapse due to the U.S. blockade of its ports. “It’s just a question of time, we don’t have to rush anything,” the president said…

Kuwait accused Iran of attempting to invade its Bubiyan Island today, claiming six members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps attacked soldiers on the strategic piece of Kuwaiti territory where the Gulf state, with assistance from China, is building a large port…

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) expressed frustration with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing as they declined to comment on a report that Pakistan harbored Iranian military aircraft from U.S. strikes.

Asked, if the report were to be accurate, if the U.S. should reconsider Pakistan’s role as mediator between the U.S. and Iran, Hegseth and Caine said they “didn’t want to get in the middle of ongoing negotiations.” Graham replied, “Well I do! I want to get in the middle of these negotiations. I don’t trust Pakistan as far as I can throw them … No wonder this damn thing is going nowhere”…

Jay Hurst, the Pentagon’s comptroller, testified that the cost of the war has risen to $29 billion — up from the $25 billion figure the Pentagon cited just two weeks ago…

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem wrote in a letter to terror group operatives that a deal between the U.S. and Iran is “the strongest card” for “stopping [Israel’s] aggression” in Lebanon, while slamming the Lebanese government for engaging in direct talks with Jerusalem, the third round of which are slated to take place this week in Washington…

Asked at the Politico Security Summit in Washington if she still calls herself a Zionist, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) said, “I believe in a Jewish State of Israel, yes. And that to me isn’t a radical thing to say and I always have. I can say that in the same breath that I criticize the military policy of Bibi Netanyahu.”

Slotkin said that “as someone who served three tours in Iraq” she has “concerns with the way the Israelis are organizing military policy right now. … What I can’t accept, though, is collective punishment that comes from saying, ‘well, I don’t like Bibi Netanyahu’s military policy so Jews in America’s synagogues should be attacked,’” she continued…

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told the Washington Examiner he’s open to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to wind down U.S. aid to Israel over the next decade: The proposal “has been sort of a given, I think, in our foreign aid budget” for “a long time,” he said, “but if that’s how the Israeli leader feels about it — feels like they’re able to deal with their national security threats with their own resources — then I guess I would listen to what he has to say”…

Two weeks ahead of the Texas Senate Republican primary runoff, Thune said he “still [doesn’t] know where [Trump] is headed” in his intent to endorse either Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) or Attorney General Ken Paxton, but “someone would clearly benefit from it.”

Cornyn, meanwhile, told reporters he doesn’t expect Trump to make an endorsement at all. “We can’t wait, and we’re not waiting. We’re getting prepared, and we are optimistic,” he said. (Still, in what may be a last-ditch effort to secure the president’s support, Cornyn introduced a bill yesterday to rename U.S. Route 287 as Interstate 47 in honor of Trump, the country’s 47th president)…

Politico cast doubt on Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s claim and campaign talking point that he is a practicing physician, finding that “there’s overwhelming evidence that he’s had no experience as a licensed medical doctor.”

While El-Sayed did attend prestigious medical schools and served as executive director of the Detroit Health Department, he was never granted a medical license in either Michigan or New York, where he says he has practiced, and appears not to have treated patients since his schooling days, despite claiming repeatedly in campaign pitches that he is a physician…

AIPAC denied accusations by El-Sayed and others that it is behind the Center for Democratic Priorities super PAC, a new group supporting Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the Michigan Senate Democratic primary, and also noted it “isn’t funding any group’s efforts” in Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District, where critics have alleged the pro-Israel group is behind efforts to support candidate Ala Stanford…

Speaking on a webinar with other Washington-area Jewish leaders today, Ron Halber, the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, excoriated the Democratic Socialists of America as an “evil” organization committed to driving Jews out of society, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

“I think they’re a fringe, radical, antisemitic organization,” Halber said, adding that the group wants to make Jews feel “isolated” and force them to “renounce Zionism” and their connection to Israel in order to participate in the political process…

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released his city budget proposal this afternoon, which includes $26 million annually for the Office to Prevent Hate Crimes, a significant increase from its current budget of around $3 million…

Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg hosted a lunch at the State Department with officials from Gulf Cooperation Council countries as well as Jordan to discuss technology supply chains and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for coverage of tonight’s forum of New York 12th Congressional District Democratic candidates moderated by JI Editor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar.

The Israeli Embassy in Washington will host its belated Yom Ha’Atzmaut reception.

The Jewish Democratic Council of America’s conference in Washington continues, with speakers including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, diplomat Dennis Ross, The Washington Institute’s Dana Stroul and former national security officials Jake Sullivan, Jeremy Bash and Jon Finer.

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This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump sounded a pessimistic note today about the state of the ceasefire with Iran, telling reporters in the Oval Office it’s “unbelievably weak” and on “massive life support” while calling Iran’s proposal to end the war, which he rejected yesterday, a “piece of garbage.”

The president was set to meet this afternoon with his national security team to discuss next steps with Iran, including a potential return to military action and resumption of Project Freedom in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Axios.

A number of hawkish Republican lawmakers are encouraging the president to resume military operations, including Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI)…

The UAE has secretly carried out military attacks on Iran during the course of the war, The Wall Street Journal reports, after being on the receiving end of the majority of Iran’s ballistic missile and drone attacks. Abu Dhabi’s targets have included an Iranian oil refinery, struck in early April as Trump was announcing the ceasefire…

Graham called for a potential “complete reevaluation” of Pakistan’s role as mediator between the U.S. and Iran following a CBS News report that Islamabad had permitted Iran to shelter some of its military aircraft from U.S. strikes in Iran. “Given some of the prior statements by Pakistani defense officials towards Israel, I would not be shocked if this were true,” Graham said…

Democratic Majority for Israel PAC is mounting a six-figure mail campaign to boost Bexar County sheriff’s deputy Johnny Garcia in his Democratic primary runoff against activist and conspiracy theorist Maureen Galindo. The campaign is slated to start tomorrow, exactly two weeks from primary day in Texas’ newly redrawn 35th Congressional District…

Axios spotlights the increasingly heated primary between Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Navy veteran Ed Gallrein, who is backed by Trump. The race, scheduled for May 19, has already seen $25.6 million in outside spending — including an ad from a pro-Massie group featuring antisemitic tropes targeting Jewish GOP donor Paul Singer — making it the most expensive U.S. House primary in history…

The New York Times highlights Nebraska’s contentious Senate race, where several candidates have been accused of acting as “plants” intending to siphon votes for the other party (and one candidate isn’t intending to run for Senate at all), as Democrats largely line up behind independent Dan Osborn, realizing their party brand has been tainted in the Midwest…

A new poll by New Jersey congressional candidate Adam Hamawy, who has made criticism of Israel a centerpiece of his campaign, found him leading the crowded Democratic primary field for the 12th District with 19% of likely voters, up from a March poll by his campaign that found him winning just 5%. His surge coincided with a spending blitz by the anti-Israel super PAC American Priorities, which poured $1 million into pro-Hamawy ads in the district…

New York state Assemblymember Alex Bores released his first ad of the Democratic primary for New York’s 12th Congressional District, highlighting his advocacy for AI regulation and involvement in workers’ rights as positioning him to take on Trump. Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY), citing Bores’ AI focus, endorsed the former Palantir employee today…

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice David Wecht announced today that he is changing his party registration from Democrat to independent, citing increasing antisemitism in the Democratic Party. In his statement, Wecht said Democrats have changed since he served as vice chair of the state party 25 years ago: “Nazi tattoos, jihadist chants, intimidation and attacks at synagogues, and other hateful anti-Jewish invective and actions are minimized, ignored, and even coddled,” he said.

“Acquiescence to Jew-hatred is now disturbingly common among activists, leaders and even many elected officials in the Democratic Party. I can no longer abide this. So, I won’t,” he wrote…

Israeli Diaspora Minister Amichai Chickli prohibited anti-Israel influencer Tyler Oliveira from entering the country as he landed in Ben Gurion Airport today; Chikli told right-wing influencer Laura Loomer that Israel “has strong immigration policies, and if you come to Israel with the intent on inciting violence and hatred against Jewish people, you will not be allowed entry into our country.”

Oliveira has recently released videos purporting to expose welfare fraud among ultra-Orthodox communities in Kiryas Joel, N.Y., and Lakewood, N.J., widely denounced as antisemitic, which he discussed at length on Tucker Carlson’s podcast last week while again invoking antisemitic conspiracy theories…

Trump tapped Kari Lake, former far-right Arizona gubernatorial candidate and short-lived head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, as ambassador to Jamaica, seen as a step down for the one-time close Trump ally. He also named far-right Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano as ambassador to Slovakia…

Trump has invited several business leaders to join him on his trip later this week to China, including Elon Musk, outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Meta’s Dina Powell McCormick, Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon, Citi’s Jane Fraser and Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, among others…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at the race to succeed Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), where state Sen. Scott Wiener is testing whether progressive Jews can still win among the Democratic left.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine will testify before the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee as well as the Senate Appropriations Committee for Pentagon budget hearings. Later, FBI Director Kash Patel is also scheduled to appear before Senate Appropriations for a separate budget hearing.

Politico will host its Security Summit in Washington — speakers at the confab will include exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi; former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Reps. Adam Smith (D-WA), Jim Himes (D-CT) and Mike Turner (R-OH).

Elsewhere in Washington, the Anti-Defamation League will hold a reception to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month.

In New York, the funeral for longtime ADL head and storied Jewish leader Abe Foxman, who died on Sunday at 86, will be held at Park Avenue Synagogue.

Democratic primary candidates for New York’s 12th Congressional District including Bores, George Conway and Micah Lasher will take part in a forum at West Side Institutional Synagogue moderated by JI Editor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar.

Across the river, Democratic candidates seeking to unseat Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District — including Rebecca Bennett, Michael Roth, Tina Shah and Brian Varela — will participate in a debate moderated by the New Jersey Globe.

Israeli singer Noam Bettan will represent the Jewish state in Vienna for the first semifinal of the international singing competition Eurovision; Israel’s participation in the contest has been marked by protests and boycotts of several European countries, as well as accusations of Israel’s meddling in voting processes that have been dismissed by Eurovision organizers.

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HISTORY LESSONS

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RACE TO WATCH

In America’s largest Jewish district, Democratic candidates split over Israel, antisemitic protests

As Alex Bores and Jack Schlossberg woo the left, Micah Lasher emerges as favorite among Jewish voters

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📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have lifted restrictions on the U.S.’ use of their military bases and airspace after a series of tense calls between President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The administration is now seeking to restart Project Freedom and assist commercial ships in transiting the Strait of Hormuz, an effort Trump said he paused on Tuesday at the request of Pakistan “and other countries.” The renewed effort could begin as soon as this week…

Meanwhile, Iranian state media reported several explosions along the country’s coast in recent hours; an American official told Axios and Fox News that the U.S. attacked Iranian targets in the area, but claimed it did not constitute a return to war…

Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI), who represents a Lansing-based swing district, introduced today the first authorization for use of military force (AUMF) that would limit the length and scope of U.S. military operations in Iran, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. A group of Senate Republicans is working on a similar effort, amid concerns that the war could be a political liability for the GOP in the midterm elections.

Barrett claimed that U.S. operations in Iran “are ongoing,” despite the administration’s notification to Congress that they had concluded as of May 1; the proposed authorization would expire on July 30 and would ban “sustained ground combat operations,” seizing or holding any territory and “nation-building” operations in Iran…

The Trump administration issued sanctions against actors involved in exploiting Iraq’s oil sector to fund Iranian terror activities, including Iraqi Deputy Minister of Oil Ali Maarij Al-Bahadly…

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and her presumptive opponent, Democrat Graham Platner, released their first ads of the general election Senate race since Gov. Janet Mills dropped her Democratic primary bid. 

Collins’ ad highlights her work in restoring a Maine infrastructure project without addressing Platner, while Platner’s ad slams Collins for “selling us out” to the “Epstein class” and for supporting the Iran war (Collins is one of the only Republicans who has supported a war powers resolution to end U.S. operations in Iran)…

Our Revolution, an advocacy group spun off of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) 2016 presidential campaign, today endorsed New York state Assemblymember Alex Bores in the competitive Democratic primary for the state’s 12th Congressional District, JI’s Will Bredderman reports. 

Following Sanders, Our Revolution has aligned with student anti-Israel protesters and advocated against military aid to the Jewish state. Its endorsement of Bores emphasized the former Palantir employee’s signature issue — regulating artificial intelligence — and didn’t mention Israel policy…

A new Emerson College poll of likely Democratic primary voters in Massachusetts found Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) leading his challenger, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), 37-32%, ahead of the Sept. 1 primary. Nearly 30% of respondents, however, are still undecided if they want to support their incumbent senator or Moulton, 32 years Markey’s junior, who is positioning himself as a generational change.

Markey has been hostile to Israel and Jewish communal measures in Congress, particularly in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza; Moulton had been known as more moderate, but shifted to the left on Israel issues after announcing his Senate run, including denouncing his previous affiliation with AIPAC…

State Department officials confirmed to several outlets that Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh are expected to hold talks in Washington next Thursday and Friday to discuss the ongoing ceasefire, even as Israel and Hezbollah continued trading fire this week…

The federal Board of Immigration Appeals reopened deportation proceedings against Columbia University protest leader Mohsen Mahdawi, after a judge dropped the case in February. The Department of Homeland Security has characterized Mahdawi, who has not been charged with a crime, as a “ringleader” in anti-Israel protests at Columbia and claimed he admitted to being involved in and supporting terrorist violence…

Mohamed Soliman, the man accused of firebombing an Israeli hostage awareness march in Boulder, Colo., last June, was sentenced to life in prison today after pleading guilty to all 101 charges filed against him, including one count of murder for an 82-year-old victim who died of her wounds…

Religious leaders gathered at the White House this afternoon for an event marking the National Day of Prayer, including Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad); Nathan Diament, executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center; and Rabbi A.D. Motzen, national director of government affairs at Agudath Israel. Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Lee Zeldin, who is Jewish, was among those who delivered remarks…

The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche yesterday requesting that the Justice Department launch an investigation into whether Georgetown University must register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, following a Washington Free Beacon report that the university agreed to consult the Qatari government on speakers and themes for its Islamophobia initiative, for which Qatar provided a grant…

The Israeli Health Ministry said there are currently no hantavirus patients in Israel, Hebrew media reported. One individual reportedly returned to Israel with a strain of hantavirus from Eastern Europe last year, but that strain, passed from rodents to humans, is a “different virus altogether” from the strain that spreads between humans that has been identified on a cruise ship en route to Spain, an infectious disease expert told The Times of Israel… 

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye out in eJewishPhilanthropy for an interview with Rabbi Mike Uram, incoming chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary.

The Capital Jewish Museum in Washington is hosting an after-hours party this evening to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month.

UJA-Federation of New York will host a Shabbat dinner tomorrow for young Wall Street professionals.

The Altneu Synagogue in New York City will host its second annual gala on Sunday, including a performance and awards show.

We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat Shalom!

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PROTEST POLITICS

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A left-wing group aligned with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and fiercely critical of Israel has backed Assemblymember Alex Bores in the race to succeed Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) in a heavily Jewish Manhattan district.

Our Revolution, an advocacy group spun off Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, endorsed Bores on Wednesday, news first reported by Politico and subsequently shared on both Bores’ and Our Revolution’s social media pages. Following Sanders, Our Revolution has aligned with student anti-Israel protesters and advocated against military aid to the Jewish state.

The group’s endorsement of Bores emphasized his signature issue: regulating artificial intelligence.

“While billionaire-backed tech interests spend millions trying to block oversight and accountability, Alex is actually taking them on,” Our Revolution wrote on X. “He’s leading the fight for some of the strongest AI regulations in the country and is running on taking on corporate power, political corruption, and concentrated wealth — not empty personality politics.”

AI firms have poured massive sums into opposing Bores, a former employee of Palantir whose wife works in the AI division of Microsoft. 

Nadler’s district is heavily Democratic and liberal, but many of its synagogues and social organizations have strong ties to Israel, and particularly to Labor Zionism. Far-left activist Cameron Kasky, who has put criticism of Israel at the center of his online persona, dropped out of the race for the congressional seat after failing to gain traction.

As a result, a left-wing lane in the race has opened up, and observers suggested Bores has sought to shift into it. However, influencer and Kennedy heir Jack Schlossberg — who has led in most polls to date — has taken a harder line on Israel than Bores. 

At a candidate forum Wednesday night at Manhattan’s Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, Schlossberg endorsed Sanders’ effort to limit further U.S. military assistance to the country. Candidates George Conway and Micah Lasher both said they oppose halting military aid. Bores was slated to appear at the forum, but withdrew the day prior, citing a schedule conflict in Washington.

While Bores has not commented directly on Sanders’ measure, he said in a questionnaire for the Working Families Party about another legislative effort to condition arms sales to Israel, “I think the strategy of determining foreign policy through legislation that targets individual countries has overall not been beneficial for achieving universal rights. If changes of US aid policy are needed, it should be through broad pieces of legislation that tighten our requirements around governmental aid to all countries.”

This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump continues to send mixed signals about the direction of the Iran war, writing this morning on Truth Social that, “assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to,” he will end the war as well as the blockade of Iranian ports. If Tehran does not agree (to what has apparently already been agreed to), “the bombing starts” at a “much higher level and intensity than it was before”…

Iran has struck over 200 U.S. military structures or pieces of equipment across the Middle East since the war began, according to a Washington Post analysis, including hangars, barracks, fuel depots, aircraft and radar, communications and air defense equipment…

White House official Seb Gorka announced while unveiling Trump’s U.S. counterterrorism strategy today that U.S. officials will meet with representatives from several foreign governments this week to ask for assistance in combating terrorism emanating from Iran and elsewhere, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.

The strategy highlights the Muslim Brotherhood as “the root of all modern Islamist terrorism” and says the U.S. will turn increased attention to Africa, as “straggler” ISIS terrorists from Syria and Iran migrate there in search of “ungoverned space” to take over…

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he held “a constructive meeting” in Beijing with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, where Wang affirmed “Iran’s right to uphold national sovereignty and national dignity”…

The Board of Peace, whose leaders met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem yesterday, will not expect Israel to abide by the terms of the Gaza ceasefire if Hamas does not disarm, according to a document sent by Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov and advisor Aryeh Lightstone to the Palestinian technocratic committee governing Gaza, The Times of Israel reports. 

“Failure by Hamas to accept the framework within a reasonable timeframe … shall render such commitments null and void,” the officials wrote, saying Israel will not be expected to refrain from military action or ensure humanitarian aid reaches the enclave…

Lebanese media reported the third round of Lebanon-Israel ambassador-level talks will take place in Washington next week. 

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, meanwhile, called talk of a meeting directly between him and Netanyahu “premature,” despite Trump’s repeated claims that he was inviting the two leaders to the White House. “Lebanon is not seeking normalization with Israel, but rather peace,” Salam told reporters…

Belgium has indicted three mohels, Jewish religious authorities who conduct ritual circumcision, on criminal charges, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced. The men were initially arrested in a raid last year for practicing medicine without a license, sparking outcry from the Jewish community.

Sa’ar called the move a “scarlet letter on Belgian society” and said the country has joined a “short and short and shameful list … of countries that use criminal law to prosecute Jews for practicing Judaism.” U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White, who has also been outspoken on the issue, called it a “shameful stain on Belgium” that “is wrong and won’t be tolerated” by the U.S…

Israel will provide jet fuel to Germany, the Israeli energy ministry said, after Germany requested assistance in addressing its fuel shortage due to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz…

Former Northwestern University President Morton Schapiro withdrew as Georgetown University Law Center’s commencement speaker after learning that several students had raised objections to his selection — due to pro-Israel opinion articles the Jewish academic had authored after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, JI’s Haley Cohen reports.

The school replaced Schapiro with David Cole, a professor who criticized congressional hearings on campus antisemitism as a form of “McCarthyism” aimed at chilling free speech and defended “antisemitic advocacy” as a First Amendment right…

Meanwhile, Rutgers University’s School of Engineering has canceled a commencement speech by alum and entrepreneur Rami Elghandour after students raised concerns about his social media activity, which is dedicated overwhelmingly to criticism of Israel. 

Elghandour — who was an executive producer of the film “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” about a young Palestinian girl who died during the Israel-Hamas war — has consistently accused Israel of genocide, apartheid and police brutality and torture of Palestinians, and repeatedly praised the professor who made an unsanctioned jab at Israel at the University of Michigan’s recent commencement ceremony…

Rep. Mike Lawler’s (R-NY) political consulting firm was paid more than $72,000 by advocacy and political groups he controlled, Politico reports, in a scheme that watchdogs say is not illegal but raises conflict of interest concerns. 

And a hacker stole over $3,000 of campaign funds from Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)…

Ted Turner, the founder of CNN who pioneered the 24-hour news cycle, died at 87…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at how New York Democrats are responding to yesterday’s threatening protest outside an Israeli real estate event at Park East Synagogue in Manhattan.

President Donald Trump will host Brazilian President Lula da Silva at the White House for talks on economic and security issues, despite Trump’s at-times acrimonious relationship with the left-wing South American leader.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican following weeks of escalating attacks by Trump on the pontiff, including on Monday when Trump told Hugh Hewitt that the pope is “endangering a lot of Catholics” by being critical of the Iran war. Rubio is also set to meet on Friday with Italian officials including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whom Trump has also clashed with since the beginning of the war.

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy will hold the keynote dinner of its annual Founders Conference — this year’s being focused on the Iran war — in Washington.

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FRONT LINES

Jewish leaders warn of new front in anti-Israel campus activity: targeting Hillels

Efforts to delegitimize Hillels tell Jewish students ‘that their identity is suspect and that their safety and belonging is up to the vote of their fellow students,’ AJC’s Laura Shaw Frank said

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📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted at a press conference this morning that the ceasefire with Iran is not over, despite repeated violations by both sides in recent days. “Ultimately, this is a separate and distinct project,” Hegseth said of the new U.S. mission to escort commercial shipping vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, “and we expected there would be some churn at the beginning.”

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine said similarly that even though Iran has fired on commercial vessels nine times, seized two container ships and attacked U.S. forces more than 10 times since the ceasefire began, that is all “below the threshold of restarting major combat operations”…

Can there be a ceasefire without a war? Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed at his own press conference in the afternoon that Operation Epic Fury, as the Iran war was called, is finished, and the U.S. has moved onto Project Freedom in the strait, only hitting Iranian targets in response to attacks from Tehran.

President Donald Trump similarly downplayed the war effort, calling it a “skirmish” and telling reporters in the Oval Office that Iran still “wants to make a deal.” Meanwhile, Iran shot ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones at the UAE for the second day in a row, the Emirati Defense Ministry said…

A majority of Israelis believe that ending the war with Iran under the current conditions would undermine the country’s security, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports: 64% of Jewish Israelis said ending the war in its current state is “only slightly or not at all aligned” with Israel’s security interests, in a new poll by the Israel Democracy Institute. Nearly half of Arab Israelis (48.5%) said the same…

Incoming Israeli Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Omer Tischler, who assumed his role today, said at his handover ceremony that the IAF is “closely monitoring what is happening in Iran, and are prepared to take the entire Air Force eastward, if we are required to do so”…

Thirty House Democrats sent a letter to the Trump administration urging it to publicly acknowledge Israel’s nuclear weapons program, which neither Israeli nor U.S. officials have ever confirmed publicly. 

The lawmakers, led by Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), a vocal Israel critic, said the threat of nuclear warfare has escalated amid the Iran war: “The risks of miscalculation, escalation, and nuclear use in this environment are not theoretical,” they wrote. “Congress has a constitutional responsibility to be fully informed about the nuclear balance in the Middle East, the risk of escalation by any party to this conflict, and the administration’s planning and contingencies for such scenarios”…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov in Jerusalem today, along with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Board of Peace advisor Aryeh Lightstone, Netanyahu advisors Caroline Glick and Ophir Falk, venture capitalist Michael Eisenberg and tech entrepreneur Liran Tancman.

Mladenov said in a statement that the discussion was “positive and substantive” and the parties “reaffirmed our commitment to the full implementation” of the 20-point Gaza peace plan…

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, convening an emergency summit with Jewish, business, education and government leaders at 10 Downing St., called for a whole-of-society approach to combating antisemitism as the country’s Jewish community has been repeatedly targeted by violent attacks.

Starmer said officials are investigating whether Iran is behind the recent events, announced universities will be required to produce reports on antisemitism on campus and called for the government’s Arts Council to “claw back” funding from organizations that engage in antisemitism…

Tonight, the radical PAL-Awda group is planning a protest outside Park East Synagogue in Manhattan to disrupt a reported Israeli real estate event — Jewish New Yorkers will be watching to see how the protest is handled by city leaders as opposed to the group’s last demonstration outside the same synagogue in November, when protesters harassed attendees and chanted “death to the IDF” and “globalize the intifada.” 

Similar to his stance on November’s protest, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s spokesperson told far-left Drop Site News the mayor is “deeply opposed” to the real estate event, which he said is promoting settlements that are “illegal under international law and deeply tied to the ongoing displacement of Palestinians.” Still, Mamdani’s administration said it has “also been clear that we are committed to ensuring safe entry and exit from any house of worship.”

Assemblymember Micah Lasher, who is running for New York’s 12th Congressional District, condemned the planned protest, saying its purpose is “to create fear in the hearts of Jewish New Yorkers,” while expressing optimism that the NYPD will “make sure that a protest does not turn into a gauntlet of hate through which Jews must pass”…

New Jersey congressional candidate Adam Hamawy, a trauma surgeon who has made criticism of Israel central to his campaign, defended his yearslong relationship with the “Blind Sheikh,” who was convicted of terrorism for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing: Hamawy’s campaign told Politico that reporting on the candidate’s testimony in defense of Omar Abdel-Rahman at his trial are “guilt-by-association attacks on Muslim and Arab candidates”…

A new poll of the Texas GOP Senate runoff from the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs found the race neck-and-neck just three weeks from Election Day: Attorney General Ken Paxton polled with a three-point lead over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), with 7% of likely runoff voters still undecided…

The Washingtonian released its list of Washington’s 500 most influential people of 2026, including: AIPAC’s Elliot Brandt, J Street’s Jeremy Ben-Ami, the Hudson Institute’s Michael Doran, the Center for International Policy’s Matt Duss, the Anti-Defamation League’s Aykan Erdemir, the Washington Post’s David Ignatius, Qatar lobbyist Jim Moran, the Quincy Institute’s Trita Parsi, the American Jewish Committee’s Julie Fishman Rayman, the Washington Institute’s Dennis Ross, New Jewish Narrative’s Hadar Susskind and SKDK’s Jill Zuckman…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at the latest front in the campus anti-Israel movement: student activists targeting Hillel, the world’s largest Jewish campus organization.

The Manhattan Institute will host its Alexander Hamilton Award Dinner, honoring former Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), who is suffering from terminal pancreatic cancer, and Jeff Yass, founding partner of Susquehanna International Group.

The Stephen Wise Free Synagogue will host a Democratic candidate forum for New York’s 12th Congressional District featuring Alex Bores, Micah Lasher, Jack Schlossberg and George Conway.

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FAMILIAR FACE

Direction of Dem policy group raises red flags after hiring of new leader with history of anti-Israel activism

National Security Action named Maher Bitar, a former Biden official and Students for Justice in Palestine student activist, as its new leader

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📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran appears to be on its last legs: Iran opened fire on U.S. warships and commercial vessels today, CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper said, and shot several missiles and drones at the UAE for the first time since early April — some missiles were reportedly intercepted by the Iron Dome system Israel deployed to the country at the beginning of the war, while one drone sparked a fire at the Fujairah oil complex. 

The UAE also condemned an Iranian drone attack on an oil tanker affiliated with the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in the Strait of Hormuz, calling it an “act of piracy”…

Signaling a possible return to hostilities, President Donald Trump told Fox News Iran will be “blown off the face of the earth” if it fires on ships being escorted through the strait by the U.S. as part of “Project Freedom” (which he said on Truth Social this afternoon has already happened).

CENTCOM, meanwhile, announced it had assisted two U.S.-flagged merchant ships in successfully transiting the Strait of Hormuz as of this morning…

Trump’s allies largely continue to stand behind the war effort: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called for “big, strong and short” strikes on Iran in defense of the UAE, while Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman called the war “a very good one” that will resolve shortly with “a resolution that is going to be very, very favorable.”

Asked about the impact on investing in the region, Ackman told CNBC the Middle East “has been reset in a very positive way,” with an expansion of the Abraham Accords and a “peace dividend” likely to come…

A small group of Senate Republicans are working on an Authorization for the Use of Military Force to receive a vote in Congress if military operations in Iran do pick back up, Semafor reports, as many lawmakers agree that Trump has run out the 60-day clock for a war launched without congressional approval (some Republicans believe the clock has been paused during the ceasefire). The AUMF would “likely limit ground troops and provide for a finite period of conflict,” according to the outlet… 

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added eight more candidates to its “Red to Blue” program, a move that could offer additional resources to the campaigns, including several in competitive Democratic primaries, as the party seeks to shore up its strongest candidates and flip the House amid a poor national environment for Republicans. 

The new recruits include union leader Bob Brooks in Pennsylvania’s 7th District as well as Bexar County sheriff’s deputy Johnny Garcia in Texas’ 35th — Garcia is facing Maureen Galindo, who has espoused a range of antisemitic conspiracy theories, in a runoff later this month…

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) endorsed Rep. Al Green (D-TX) in his runoff later this month against Rep. Christian Menefee (D-TX), Green announced today. Jewish leaders have been optimistic about unseating Green in the member-on-member race — a consequence of Texas’ redistricting process — as Green has grown increasingly hostile to Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks. 

The reported endorsement marks an improvement in the lawmakers’ relationship: Green and Pelosi had clashed during her time as House speaker over Green’s effort to impeach Trump…

Members of the Democratic National Committee are considering ways to limit Chair Ken Martin’s influence, The Bulwark reports, after his appearance on the “Pod Save America” podcast last week where he defended his decision not to release the “autopsy” report of the 2024 election and as members worry the organization is struggling to remain relevant and fiscally sound… 

Politico details the Republican campaign to persuade Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) to switch party affiliations and help keep Democrats from retaking the Senate in the midterm elections — despite Fetterman’s insistence that he will never renounce the Democratic Party…

Multiple Jewish homes, a synagogue and a Jewish center in Queens — which contains a preschool — were vandalized with swastikas and other antisemitic graffiti overnight, leaving Jewish residents questioning their safety amid a spate of antisemitic incidents, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. The NYPD is searching for at least four individuals responsible for the vandalism, according to New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin.  

“I have a Jewish community that is seriously questioning whether it is still welcome in this city,” said Democratic state Assemblymember Sam Berger. Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, said, “This is not normal and we need city leaders to act now”…

New York magazine spotlights the race for New York’s 12th District and the personas of its four front-runners — social media guru Jack Schlossberg, establishment operative Micah Lasher, AI critic Alex Bores and reformed Republican George Conway — as each seeks to represent one of the wealthiest, oldest, most educated and most densely populated congressional districts in the country…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for comments from U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz on Iran and the Board of Peace, as JI’s Gabby Deutch spoke with him on the sidelines of the Milken Conference in Los Angeles. 

Trump announced Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine will hold a press briefing in the morning, amid cracks in the ceasefire with Iran.

The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, which advocates for American hostages and journalists abroad, will honor Bar Ben Yaakov and Matan Sivek of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum as well as Qatari minister Mohammed Al-Khulaifi at its annual Freedom Award gala at the National Press Club in Washington, hosted by CBS’ Margaret Brennan.

The Manhattan Jewish Historical Initiative will induct honorees into its Jewish Hall of Fame in a ceremony at Bryant Park: Inductees include Ari Ackerman, philanthropist and co-owner of the Miami Marlins; New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin; singer-songwriter Melissa Manchester; and Ariel Zwang, CEO of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. 

CNN will hold a primary debate for California’s crowded gubernatorial race including Republicans Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton and Democrats Xavier Becerra, Matt Mahan, Katie Porter, Tom Steyer and Antonio Villaraigosa.

Vice President JD Vance is expected to appear at a campaign event for Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA) in Iowa after several postponements — the event, which had been dubbed “Top Nunn” in reference to the “Top Gun” movies, had originally been scheduled for mid-March but drew criticism when several servicemembers from Nunn’s district were killed in the U.S. war with Iran.

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RESOLUTION REJECTED

New School rejects student government vote to cut ties, defund Hillel

Hillel called the vote ‘deeply painful and antisemitic’; the New School said it would ensure the student government ‘acts within its actual purview’ moving forward

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CAMPAIGN CONTROVERSY

Far-left Pa. candidate pushed Bondi Beach conspiracy theory

Chris Rabb, the DSA-endorsed House candidate in a Philadelphia congressional race, blamed the Sydney Hanukkah attack on ‘Zionists’

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📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Maine Gov. Janet Mills, citing financial constraints, dropped her campaign for U.S. Senate this morning, leaving oyster farmer Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee to face off against Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in the general election, Jewish Insider‘s Matthew Kassel reports.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chair, praised Mills and said they will “work with” Platner to defeat Collins — a tepid endorsement that underscores Democratic leadership’s uncomfortable relationship with the far-left nominee in a state that they have targeted as one of their best pick-up opportunities this cycle…

The Senate rejected Democrats’ sixth war powers effort to force the Trump administration to end the war in Iran. The latest resolution, sponsored by Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Schumer, failed by a 50-47 vote, with Collins flipping her vote to side with Democrats for the first time…

In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed the 60-day timeline for the administration to seek congressional authorization to continue the war in Iran has been “paused” during the ongoing ceasefire. The White House said separately it is in “active conversations” with lawmakers about the deadline which, under a traditional calendar, is set to occur tomorrow…

President Donald Trump announced the U.S. is “studying and reviewing the possible reduction of troops in Germany,” days after Chancellor Friedrich Merz claimed the U.S. is being “humiliated” by Iranian leadership. 

Merz “should spend more time … fixing his broken country … and less time on interfering with those getting rid of the Iran Nuclear threat,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Germany currently hosts the largest U.S. air base in Europe as well as tens of thousands of U.S. troops…

The House passed a bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, ending the monthslong shutdown a day before the department was set to run out of emergency funds to pay employees. 

The bill funds agencies including the Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency and Transportation Security Administration and includes $300 million in funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, an increase over the $274.5 million allocated for the program last year but still short of requests from the Jewish community of up to $1 billion. Republicans will now attempt to fund immigration enforcement through a separate budget reconciliation process…

Following the stabbing of two Jewish men in a London suburb yesterday, the latest in a series of attacks against London’s Jewish community, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivered an address pledging policy changes and a shift in government attitudes toward antisemitic antagonism, JI’s Haley Cohen reports.

Among other policies, Starmer called to prosecute the use of the phrase “globalize the intifada”; introduce legislation to shut down charities that promote antisemitic extremism; prevent “hate preachers” from entering the country and speaking on college campuses; and work to hasten sentencing of perpetrators of antisemitic attacks…

Evanston, Ill., Mayor Daniel Biss, the Democratic nominee for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, urged the state’s Legislature to reverse a policy he had once supported as a member of the General Assembly — a ban on investing in companies that engage in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. Biss vowed that if elected to Congress, as expected in the deep-blue district, he will oppose similar policies that seek to counteract the BDS movement.

“Whether or not you believe in boycotting Israel or Israeli products from the occupied West Bank, or in boycotts in general, we should all be able to agree that our government must not be wielded to stop people from using their economic agency to advocate for their values,” Biss wrote on Substack…

Former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer, a Republican, has shifted his congressional bid from Florida’s 23rd Congressional District to the newly drawn 25th District. The seat is currently by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) but is much more Republican-friendly under the new lines, one of several eliminated districts represented by pro-Israel Democrats. Singer told JI when he was attempting to unseat Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) in the 23rd that his alignment with the GOP has been shaped by his Jewish faith…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at where British Jews stand as their government signals it will take more seriously the spate of violent attacks targeting their community.

The McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum kicks off in Arizona, with speakers including Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Peter Welch (D-VT), Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE), Jason Crow (D-CO) and Mike Lawler (R-NY), Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, Munich Security Council CEO Benedikt Franke, outgoing World Food Program head Cindy McCain, AFRICOM Commander Gen. Dagvin Anderson, former NATO Ambassador Kurt Volker and Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill. 

Former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) will join far-left influencer Hasan Piker’s Twitch stream in her effort to win back her seat from Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO).

We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat Shalom!

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SPECIAL ELECTION SIGNALS

Mamdani bruised but not beaten after City Council candidate loss

The result of the special election signals Council Speaker Julie Menin’s growing political clout, but doesn’t guarantee an override of Mamdani’s veto of her buffer zone legislation

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WAR WEARY

GOP senators express uncertainty about authorizing extension of Iran war

Under the War Powers Resolution, a president cannot sustain military operations for more than 60 days without congressional approval or requesting a 30-day extension

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This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Two Jewish men in a heavily Jewish suburb of London were stabbed this morning in what police have deemed a terrorist incident, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. The victims — one in his 70s and one in his 30s — remain hospitalized in stable condition, according to the Metropolitan Police, after the attack shortly before noon in Golders Green.

The suspect, a 45-year-old man who also attempted to stab law enforcement, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. The man had “a history of serious violence and mental health issues,” Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said. It’s the latest in a string of violent attacks against Jewish individuals and sites around London in recent months… 

President Donald Trump said he is rejecting Iran’s latest proposal to end the war, which included opening the Strait of Hormuz and postponing talks on its nuclear program, telling Axios that he will maintain the U.S.’ naval blockade until Tehran agrees to address its nuclear ambitions.

“The blockade is somewhat more effective than the bombing. They are choking like a stuffed pig,” the president said. Still, CENTCOM has planned a “short and powerful” wave of strikes on Iran to spur progress in negotiations, sources told the outlet…

In a heated and lengthy House Armed Services Committee hearing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth repeatedly defended the execution of the Iran war, including the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the cost to American taxpayers, and stood by the ouster of several top defense officials under questioning from both Democrats and Republicans. The Pentagon’s chief financial officer, Jules Hurst III, said the Iran war has cost the U.S. “about $25 billion” already, most of it being spent on munitions…

Even as Trump intends to keep the pressure on Iran, the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier will reportedly leave the Middle East and sail back to Virginia in the coming days after having been deployed for a record 10 months at sea. Two other aircraft carriers are still operating nearby in the Arabian Sea to enforce the blockade…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denied Hebrew media reports that he was planning a visit to the U.S. next week, saying “no such plans are currently in place.” Trump has said he intends to invite Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the White House in the near future…

Michigan Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow deleted thousands of old social media posts in which she disparaged the state of Michigan and expressed a range of progressive views, including comparing Trump and his supporters to Nazis, according to a CNN investigation. The state senator is now positioning herself as a more pragmatic candidate…

Two-thirds of Michigan Democratic Party delegates voted for Amir Makled, an attorney who has expressed support for Hezbollah, among other anti-Israel stances, as one of the Democratic nominees for University of Michigan regent at the state party convention earlier this month, according to internal voting records obtained by The Detroit News. 

The widespread support for Makled included far-left Jewish attorney general nominee Eli Savit and United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, but the majority of members of Congress and the state Legislature in attendance voted for unseated Jewish regent Jordan Acker over Makled…

Elected Jewish Democrats are speaking out on the antisemitic vitriol they face on a regular basis: It’s “excruciating and agonizing,” Michigan state Rep. Noah Arbit told The New York Times. “We have never seen anything like this in my lifetime in public office,” Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) said.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel shared, “I rarely, if ever, get threats for being gay or for being a woman. They have been fast and furious and nearly always about me being Jewish,” including regularly being called an “AIPAC whore.” Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) added, “There are times when it feels like people don’t want you as part of the political system at all”…

Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg has released his first paid ad in his run for New York’s 12th Congressional District, spotlighting one of his highest-profile endorsees — former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Even as Schlossberg narrowly leads in several polls of the crowded Democratic primary, the ad is emblematic of the political newcomer’s challenge in the race as he seeks to prove he’s experienced enough to represent the district…

The State Department issued a report to Congress finding that the Palestinian Authority has continued to issue payments and benefits to terrorists and their families in its “pay-for-slay” program “through new mechanisms and under a different name,” despite PA President Mahmoud Abbas having pledged to end the program. PA officials also “continue to fail to publicly condemn acts of violence against U.S. and Israeli citizens in violation of the Taylor Force Act,” the report says…

The Supreme Court issued a ruling today in a Louisiana gerrymandering case weakening a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, limiting when states can draw majority-minority congressional districts. Amid a flurry of mid-decade redistricting already underway, the decision could prompt new map changes and legal challenges ahead of November’s midterm elections and the 2028 cycle…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at how Senate Republicans are approaching the impending 60-day deadline laid out in the War Powers Act for President Donald Trump to seek congressional approval for the war in Iran. 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine will face further questioning at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on the Pentagon’s 2027 budget, after a similar hearing in the House today.

The Department of Justice will host this year’s federal interagency Holocaust remembrance program, featuring remarks from Holocaust survivor Frank Cohn, U.S. Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues Ellen Germain, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon and Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg.

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NON-NEGOTIABLE VALUES

Politico owner Axel Springer doubles down on corporate principles

‘Nobody should work for Axel Springer despite the essentials or in disagreement with one of the essentials,’ the company’s CEO told Politico staff on Monday

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CLAIM OF ANTISEMITISM

Mallory McMorrow reveals Michigan Democratic activist accosted her husband with antisemitic slur

The Senate candidate shared that her husband, who is Jewish, was verbally attacked in front of their 5-year-old daughter

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This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The UAE announced it will leave OPEC effective May 1, in a significant blow to the international body largely led by Saudi Arabia that coordinates production among petroleum exporting countries. Abu Dhabi — which joined OPEC nearly 60 years ago — said it will pursue a new independent strategy, including increasing its oil output, amid the Iran war’s disruption of global energy markets…

Iran, meanwhile, is trying to avoid shutting down its own oil production and wait out the U.S. blockade by finding new ways to store and ship its crude oil, including using improvised containers and transport routes to China over land. Analysts predict Tehran will fill its remaining storage capacity in less than three weeks.

President Donald Trump claimed this morning that Iran informed the U.S. “they are in a ‘State of Collapse’” and “want us to ‘Open the Hormuz Strait,’ as soon as possible, as they try to figure out their leadership situation”…

Just as King Charles III is enjoying a state visit to Washington, including delivering his first address to a joint session of Congress this afternoon, remarks made by U.K. Ambassador to the U.S. Sir Christian Turner have resurfaced: Turner alleged in a discussion with British students in Washington in February that the U.S.’ only “special relationship” is “probably Israel” and not the U.K., according to audio obtained by the Financial Times…

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) predicted more Democrats, and some Republicans, will join his efforts to block arm sales to Israel, which he intends to continue, after the majority of the Democratic caucus voted in favor of his most recent Joint Resolutions of Disapproval. “The problem for the Democrats is that AIPAC is enormously powerful … but [Democrats are] increasingly choosing to support what the people back home want,” he told Politico.

Sanders also agreed with characterizations that he might be considered the new Democratic leader over Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), given that more of the caucus voted with him than with Schumer, who opposed the measure…

Democratic Majority for Israel’s PAC had placed an ad buy in support of nonprofit leader Denise Powell in the Democratic primary for Nebraska’s swing 2nd Congressional District, but pulled it after the group New Democrat Majority increased its spending in support of Powell, Punchbowl News reports…

Politico surveys the state of Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, where Navy veteran Ed Gallrein is locked in a dead heat with incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) ahead of the May 19 primary, despite Gallrein’s endorsement from Trump and millions of dollars in anti-Massie spending, including from pro-Israel groups, as Massie maintains a loyal following…

Education Secretary Linda McMahon claimed today that she’s trying to rebuild and expand the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, even as the administration pushes for tens of millions in funding cuts this year, Jewish Insider‘s Marc Rod reports.

At a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing, McMahon claimed that the 2027 budget submitted by the Trump administration contains more funding to hire lawyers at OCR, refusing to acknowledge, to lawmakers’ bewilderment, that the administration’s budget calls for a 35% funding cut to the office…

Following a report spotlighting Qatari funding in Georgia public schools, the state’s General Assembly became the first in the country to pass legislation requiring the disclosure of foreign funding in statewide K-12 schools, JI’s Haley Cohen reports.

The Foreign Funding Transparency and Accountability Act requires public school districts, public universities and technical colleges to report funding of $10,000 or more from foreign countries or entities, naming specifically Qatar and Saudi Arabia — the two largest foreign funders of American universities…

California is now considering changing state law after the secretary of state’s office mailed an official voter guide to all registered voters last week that contained a statement by a fringe gubernatorial candidate that listed extreme antisemitic conspiracy theories, including that Israel assassinated Charlie Kirk, carried out the 9/11 attacks and plans to “enslave” the “goyim.” 

The secretary of state’s office told The Times of Israel today that it is working with the state Legislature to make clear “content that is not permitted” in candidate statements “while preserving the ability of candidates to present their qualifications to voters”…

Citadel CEO Ken Griffin is escalating the hedge fund’s feud with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to Gov. Kathy Hochul, announcing he’ll meet with her on Thursday to discuss the future of the city after Mamdani used Griffin’s Manhattan penthouse to promote a new tax on luxury second homes. Citadel has threatened not to move forward with its plans for a massive 62-story Midtown development after what Griffin denounced as the “personal attack” and New York’s need to “put their fiscal house in order”…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at the results of a New York City Council special election, which will be an early signal of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s political capital.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine will testify before the House Armed Services Committee; while the hearing is focused on the Pentagon’s 2027 budget request, lawmakers are expected to press the defense officials about the Iran war in their first appearance before the committee since the war began.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) took the unusual step of inviting the press to participate in a closed-door meeting of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee with Education Secretary Linda McMahon about the Trump administration’s planned cuts to the department. 

The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on “U.S. accountability at the United Nations” with witnesses including the American Enterprise Institute’s Brett Schaefer as well as Eugene Kontorovich, who recently departed the Heritage Foundation and has joined Mike Pence’s Advancing American Freedom organization.

The House Committee on Education and Workforce will hold a hearing on the First Amendment in higher education.

The Lawfare Project will host the Unite Against Extremism summit in New York City with remarks from the Justice Department’s Leo Terrell; Anila Ali, a Pakistani Muslim interfaith leader; Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies; and Ari Ackerman, co-owner of the Miami Marlins.

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Sens. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who both voted for the first time last week in favor of blocking some U.S. arms sales to Israel, said that their future positions on such votes would be made on a case-by-case basis, determined by the specific sales in question and the circumstances surrounding the votes.

The two were somewhat surprising votes in favor of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) effort to block U.S. arms sales, having generally maintained pro-Israel records while in Congress.

“I was, and am, strongly opposed to the war in Iran, and I couldn’t justify voting against our own supplemental funding bills, which I plan to, and supporting funding for the same war in a JRD,” Schiff told Jewish Insider, referring to the Joint Resolutions of Disapproval to block specific arms sales to Israel. “I’ll evaluate each circumstance as they come.”

Kelly disputed the notion that his vote had flipped, saying, “I make these decisions based on what is the current situation, and what is the vote on — I don’t make these [decisions] in a vacuum.”

“This isn’t ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in any given moment, I’m always going to be looking out for Israel,” Kelly said. “And I think Israel is weaker, and the Israeli people are at further risk because of the current prime minister of Israel. He’s made a lot of mistakes, and he’s not operating in accordance with our values — but nor is our president. So I’ll look at every one of these [votes] based on what it is and what the current situation is.”

Asked whether his calculus would change if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were to lose the next election, he said that the decision is up to the Israeli people, “but I do not think Netanyahu has done Israel as a nation any favors.”

Most of the Democrats in the Senate — 40 in total, including some traditionally pro-Israel lawmakers — voted on Wednesday evening for a measure led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) that aimed to block sales of bulldozers to Israel, with 36 of them also voting to advance a second Sanders-backed resolution to block sales of thousands of 1,000-pound bombs.

The votes are a striking statement of the extent to which anti-Israel sentiment has become mainstream in the Democratic Party. Just seven members of the Democratic caucus voted against both measures.

Twenty-seven Democrats supported at least one of two similar measures in July 2025, which was a record at that time.

After having opposed previous similar efforts, Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Mark Warner (D-VA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) all flipped and voted in favor of Sanders’ latest resolutions.

Warner and Peters, along with Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), voted to advance the resolution to block the bulldozer sale but against advancing the one on bombs.

Sens. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Peter Welch (D-VT), all of whom had supported at least one past effort to block arms sales, voted for both measures on Wednesday.

Every Senate Democrat rumored to have presidential ambitions voted to block both arms sales.

Kelly, a moderate Democrat and potential presidential candidate, insisted in a Senate floor speech that he “cannot and will not abandon Israel,” which is “one of our closest partners. They have a right to defend themselves, and I will always support Israel’s right to exist as a successful and prosperous nation.”

But, he said, “Supporting a partner doesn’t mean that we don’t ask tough questions. It doesn’t mean that we always agree. Our support for our allies must always be about what makes us stronger and safer, and we can look at what’s happening in the region right now and understand that this is not business as usual, and it is not making us safer,” referring to the war in Iran, Israel’s war against Hezbollah in Lebanon and violence in the West Bank.

He said that the weapons sales will not “bring us closer to peace and security,” but that he remains “confident” that Israel has the ability to protect its people and that “we’ll be able to do so in the future with our partnership and I will always support that.”

Schiff, who is Jewish and generally a reliable supporter of Israel, and Padilla released a joint statement saying that they voted for the resolutions “to oppose the U.S. sale of specific weapons and equipment to Israel which might be used in Iran or to facilitate further settlement activity, which we believe undermine Israel’s long-term security and our own.”

“We strongly support Israel’s right to defend itself and the right of the people of Israel to live in peace and prosperity in a Jewish state,” they said. “We oppose actions that further deepen the United States in an unauthorized conflict in Iran — one with no clear strategy, no legal authority, and no defined end.”

They said they also intend to oppose any supplemental funding for the war.

Slotkin said she would “continue to assess U.S.-funded offensive weapons to Israel on a case-by-case basis” but would continue to support missile-defense systems. She said that she had “struggled with these [measures] as much as any vote since I joined Congress.”

“My entire life, I have been — and continue to be — a strong supporter of a Jewish and democratic State of Israel,” she said. “The people of Israel, like all people throughout the region, deserve long-term security and peace. But being pro-Israel today is not about simply supporting the political or military agenda of Prime Minister Netanyahu, just like being pro-American should not be equated with loyalty to President Trump.”

Slotkin said she is also “deeply skeptical” of providing additional funding for the war in Iran.

Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told Jewish Insider in a statement that he did not want to provide equipment to enable displacements of Palestinians in the West Bank or “escalatory military actions in southern Lebanon,” which he called contrary to both Israel and the United States’ interests.

“The United States can and must hold two truths at once: we can stand firmly with Israel’s security while also speaking out against actions that jeopardize peace and stability in the region,” Warner said. “Israel has an unequivocal right to defend itself, but it does not have the right to unilaterally displace Palestinians in the West Bank and torpedo any chance of ever achieving a two-state solution.”

“The United States should ensure that Israel has the tools it needs to protect its people and deter its adversaries while opposing transfers of equipment that are used to demolish homes, expand settlements, and further entrench a reality that weakens the already fragile prospects for a durable peace,” he continued.

Sanders, who has called for the U.S. to “end US military aid to the extremist Netanyahu government,” had described these votes as a referendum on the war in Iran, as well as Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon and violence by settlers and Israeli military forces in the West Bank.

J Street, the progressive Israel advocacy group that last week called for the U.S. to end financial support for Israel’s missile-defense systems after the current U.S.-Israel memorandum of understanding expires in 2028, supported the Sanders-led resolutions.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA) and Chris Coons (D-DE) were the only Democrats to oppose both resolutions.

Gillibrand, who this week introduced a war powers resolution to halt the war in Iran, told JI on Wednesday morning that she sees the resolutions on weapons sales to Israel and the resolutions on the Iran war “very differently.”

“I oppose the war in Iran, but I do not believe we should leave an ally [Israel] who is being attacked without support,” Gillibrand said during a press conference.

AIPAC said in a statement, “We appreciate the senators who opposed these misguided and dangerous resolutions. Letting our democratic ally buy American-made equipment to protect its families from Iran and terrorist groups is clearly in America’s national interest. Congress must continue to stand with Israel as it confronts multiple ongoing threats.”

The Senate is set to hold another round of votes on blocking U.S. arms transfers to Israel, as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) filed three new joint resolutions of disapproval against $658.8 million in sales of 500- and 1,000-pound bombs to Israel and “defense articles” for 250-pound bombs.

“Given the horrific destruction that Israel’s extremist government has wrought on Gaza, Iran and Lebanon, the last thing in the world that American taxpayers need to do right now is to provide 22,000 new bombs to the Netanyahu government,” Sanders said. “No more weapons to support an illegal war.”

The effort is being co-sponsored by Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Peter Welch (D-VT).

Sanders emphasized that the administration had sidestepped normal congressional review procedures using emergency authorities in advancing the arms sales earlier this month.

Sanders and other progressive Democrats have forced votes on similar efforts to block arms sales to Israel on three previous occasions since the war in Gaza began, with a majority of the Democratic caucus — 27 lawmakers — voting to block at least one arms sale in July of last year, a significant jump in support from similar efforts in November 2024 and April 2025.

Israel’s standing among Democrats has worsened since last July, with even some Democrats who supported continued arms sales at that time blaming Israel for dragging the U.S. into the war in Iran. Polls show registered voters now see Israel more negatively than positively.

Some senators have argued the U.S. should have threatened to cut off military support to prevent an Israeli attack on Iran.

Van Hollen, Merkley and Welch, in statements, all framed the bomb sales as proxy votes on the war in Iran, and a vote to block the sales as a step toward ending the war. Senate Democrats have voted nearly unanimously as recently as yesterday to bring an immediate end to the war in Iran.

“With the bombs already provided to Israel by American taxpayers, Israeli forces are unleashing a campaign of total war in Iran with the clear and deliberate intention to eviscerate Iran’s economy and society,” Welch said in a statement. “I support these joint resolutions to make sure that we do not send another 20,000 bombs to Israel that will result in further destruction in Iran and Lebanon. We must end this war, and we must not send these bombs.”

On the other hand, some Democrats who had voted in favor of previous arms sales flipped in the July 2025 vote to express frustration with the ongoing war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

With the war in Gaza now in a ceasefire, humanitarian aid restored and efforts toward reconstruction slowly starting, that motivation for blocking arms sales may no longer be salient for some Democrats.

Several Trump appointees to the board of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum are pushing for the ouster of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), alleging that he has rarely attended meetings and that his accusations of genocide against Israel run counter to the museum’s mission.

Sanders has served on the council for nearly two decades.

The board, formally known as the Holocaust Memorial Council, is mostly made up of presidential appointees who serve for five-year terms, joined by a handful of members from the House and Senate chosen by congressional leadership. Sanders was appointed in 2007. Lawmakers are technically subject to the same five-year term limits but in practice have often served until a successor is appointed or they leave office.

Jonathan Burkan, who was appointed to the council twice by President Donald Trump, said he’s never seen Sanders at any meetings of the council — which he said has not been the case for other lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans.

“Everything that’s happened after Oct. 7, everything that has been going on with antisemitism, with the Holocaust — I do feel that if someone is a Jewish elected official, they should at least attend one meeting in over a 20-year period of time,” Burkan said. “They should find someone else besides Bernie just to be on the council.”

Each of the council members who spoke to Jewish Insider spoke in their personal capacities, not as representatives of the council as a whole.

Burkan added that “Bernie Sanders accusing Israel of genocide downplays the Holocaust, which actually hurts the museum which he serves.”

Stuart Eizenstat, the chair of the council, has pushed back on accusations of genocide against Israel and has argued that extreme anti-Israel rhetoric is fueling violent antisemitism. The museum’s director has also condemned comparisons between the war in Gaza and the Holocaust.

Daniel Huff, who was appointed to the board during Trump’s first administration, said that it’s “important that the museum be a bipartisan effort,” emphasizing that other Democratic lawmakers on the council have been frequent and active participants in its meetings.

“That’s the type of representation that we want,” Huff said. “My observation, simply, is that Sanders has not shown up to any meeting, as far as I can tell.”

“The problem is that he’s publicly out there advocating positions that are really at odds with some of the fundamental things that the museum does, and one of them is making sure that the word ‘genocide’ is carefully safeguarded, and deployed only when necessary, so as not to diminish the memory of those who died in the Holocaust,” Huff said.

Huff argued that, in a time of rising antisemitism, the Holocaust Museum has an important role to play, and it’s “important that everybody who’s in a leadership position there is focused on the importance of the moment, the urgency of the moment.”

“We’re living in a dangerous moment and everyone ought to be paying attention,” Huff said. “We need people who understand the fierce urgency of the moment we’re in, and the need to act wisely and decisively.”

He said that there are many Democrats who would be strong candidates and members of the board, but that Sanders does not fit that bill.

“It’s not a political statement … the ask is just, find someone who’s aligned and involved — that’s it, very simple,” Huff said.

Rob Garson, the president of the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, who was recently appointed to the board for the first time, said that he was surprised to find out that Sanders was a member.

“It’s not as if they have that many [meetings] in any given year, and it’s not as if it’s in an inconvenient place for him to come to. He clearly just either doesn’t care or doesn’t want to care,” Garson said.

He added that Sanders’ public rhetoric is “diametrically opposed to the message of the Holocaust Memorial Council.”

“It should be people that actually are aligned with what the Holocaust Museum stands for, and Sanders just isn’t that,” Garson said. 

Tila Falic, another recent Trump appointee, said that people selected for the board “represent Holocaust education, and it represents combating antisemitism for Jews and for non-Jews in the United States … people that are appointed should take their job seriously by, first of all, showing up.”

If Sanders is unable to attend or is not aligned with the Museum’s mission, “then he should be removed and give that seat to somebody who wants to take an active role and make a difference.”

Sanders did not respond to a request for comment. Nor did Eizenstat, the chair of the council. The museum also did not provide comment on the effort to remove Sanders or confirm how many meetings the senator has attended during his tenure.

Trump stirred controversy early this year when he removed a slew of Biden appointees from the board, replacing them with several of his own picks.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, after Netanyahu linked the terror attack in which 15 people were killed at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia, to Canberra’s support for a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu highlighted in a speech on Sunday that he had warned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that Canberra’s recognition of a Palestinian state was fueling antisemitism and endangering Australian Jews. Netanyahu further accused Albanese of failing to take action against antisemitism.

Sanders issued a statement in response on Tuesday: “No, Mr. Netanyahu. Speaking out on behalf of the Palestinian people is not antisemitic. Opposing the disgraceful policies of your extremist government is not antisemitic. Condemning your genocidal war, which has killed more than 70,000 people — mostly women and children — is not antisemitic. Demanding that your government stop bombing hospitals and starving children is not antisemitic.”

He said that “we must continue to oppose antisemitism and all forms of racism and bigotry. At the same time, we must demand a world in which international law and human rights are respected by all governments, without exception.”

Sanders opted against signing onto a joint statement issued Monday by Jewish Senate Democrats condemning the Sydney attack. Asked about his decision not to join the collective statement from Jewish Senate Democrats, a Sanders spokesperson pointed JI to Sanders’ comment on Sunday mourning the attack, in which the Vermont senator called antisemitism “a disgusting and cowardly ideology” that is “growing worldwide” and added, “we must be equally committed to fighting all forms of” bigotry. 

Democratic lawmakers who have been stridently critical of Israel and its operations in Gaza offered tepid support for the ceasefire and hostage-release deal, the first phase of which was signed on Thursday, while reiterating their criticisms of Israel and the U.S.’ support for the Jewish state. Few offered any words of support for the Israeli hostages who have been held by Hamas for over two years. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who has led a series of efforts to block arms transfers to Israel, didn’t explicitly praise the deal negotiated by President Donald Trump, but said he hopes the deal would lead to the end of a “horrific war.” He made no mention of the Israeli hostages set to be released, but asserted one-tenth of the Gazan population was killed or injured during the war. 

“As of today something like 10% of the Palestinian people in Gaza have been killed or wounded, mostly women, children and the elderly. The United States has put tens of billions of dollars into an effort which has led to mass destruction,” Sanders told Jewish Insider. “So I hope — and I’m sure everybody else does — that this horrific war can end as soon as possible.”

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) said on X that the ceasefire is a “hopeful step” but quickly pivoted to expressing unvarnished opposition to Israel. She also made no mention of the Israeli hostages expected to be freed from their Hamas captors.

“For the sake of humanity, let’s hope this will be a lasting and permanent ceasefire,” Omar said. “While this is a hopeful step, we must demand accountability for every war crime committed during this genocide and continue to call for an end to the occupation.”

Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL), the lead sponsor of legislation that aims to place strict conditions on critical arms sales to Israel, said on X she plans to continue to pursue that legislation.

“Immediately after October 7, I called for a ceasefire and for a path that honors our shared humanity. It is unfortunate that it took this long. However, I am hopeful that today’s ceasefire agreement will bring the hostages and prisoners home and end the bombing and starvation of the Palestinian people,” Ramirez said. “We must save Palestinian lives and pursue an end to U.S. complicity in Israel’s war crimes, atrocities, and genocide.  I will continue to work to Block the Bombs, as we pursue a future of self-determination for the Palestinian people and a just and lasting peace for all residents of the region.”

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), tamping down on enthusiasm for the deal, reposted an X post suggesting that Israel may violate the deal.

“There is certainly some hope that the Gaza deal will hold but it’s important to remember that the last ceasefire agreement collapsed in March before ever reaching phase 2 when Israel reimposed a blockade on Gaza and bombings on the strip resumed,” the post, from an NBC News correspondent, reads.

Other prominent critics, particularly on the far-left, have remained unusually mum about the deal.

Squad members Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) and Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) did not respond to requests for comment and did not comment publicly.

Some other lawmakers who have been vocally critical of Israel’s operations in Gaza offered more fulsome praise for the deal.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said in a statement that the deal is “the first hopeful moment in a long time,” noting both the release of hostages and the surge of aid into Gaza. He credited U.S. pressure on Israel, however, rather than the reported increased pressure from Qatar, Turkey and Egypt on Hamas, for the breakthrough.

“Pressure from the U.S. and others has always been necessary to reach this moment — something that could have been achieved much earlier and prevented the staggering loss of civilian life, starvation, and devastation in Gaza,” Van Hollen said. “U.S. leadership will be essential to enforce this plan and convert this moment into real progress toward lasting peace — which can only be achieved by sidelining the extremists on all sides and committing to security, dignity, human rights, and justice for all.” 

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who led an effort calling for the U.S. to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state, also praised the deal and led with the return of the Israeli hostages in his comments.

“It’s obviously very welcome news. Finally, the hostages are going to come home. The bombing hopefully is going to stop. Israel is going to withdraw,” Khanna said on Fox Business. “Everything I have read seems that this is a welcome development. And I’m really glad that after two years of a war, this seems to be finally coming to a resolution.”

“Now, we need to work for 2 states & ensure the bombing does not resume later in the year,” he added on X.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) told JI, “For the sake of humanity, I pray this holds. It is so far past time to end this genocide, free the hostages, and surge food, water, and baby formula to starving families in Gaza.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) declined to comment, saying she had not reviewed the deal.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is slated to appear with Graham Platner, a Democrat running to unseat Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), at a rally in Portland, Maine, on Labor Day, as the progressive leader from Vermont steps up his efforts to boost left-wing candidates who have been outspoken in their criticism of Israel and its ongoing war in Gaza.

Platner, a first-time candidate and Marine veteran who launched his campaign last week, has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and backed Sanders’ recent resolutions to block arms sales to Israel. Platner’s rhetoric has faced criticism from Collins, a moderate Republican seeking her sixth term.

Sanders, who announced the rally on Monday, has not officially endorsed Platner, a 40-year-old oyster farmer whose past social media activity indicates he is a longtime admirer of Vermont’s democratic socialist senator. 

The Portland event on Sept. 1, the next stop on Sanders’ nationwide “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, follows a rally in Michigan on Saturday at which the senator sought to boost Abdul El-Sayed, a staunch critic of Israel who is vying to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) in a crowded primary next year. 

In remarks over the weekend, Sanders, an early backer of El-Sayed’s campaign for the Democratic nomination, highlighted his efforts to restrict U.S. military aid to Israel and spoke out against the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, claiming that Washington is “way out of touch with where the American people are” on what he called “clearly a moral issue.”

“We are paying for the starvation of children in Gaza,” Sanders said to the crowd gathered at the Miller Auditorium at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. 

El-Sayed, for his part, echoed those remarks, saying that party leadership “is still pulling its punch on the fact that we are subsidizing a genocide in Gaza.”

“Maybe we should be using our taxpayer dollars, I don’t know, to build schools for our kids, rather than sending blank checks to foreign militaries who drop bombs on other kids,” El-Sayed said in his speech last weekend.

El-Sayed, a former health director in Michigan, is facing progressive state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), a leading pro-Israel voice in the House who is favored by party leaders.

Former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is set to make a bid to return to the Senate in 2026, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. 

Brown, who lost his 2024 reelection race by four points to Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), will challenge Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH), who was appointed earlier this year to fill Vice President JD Vance’s seat. President Donald Trump carried the state by more than 11 points in 2024.

The progressive Brown remained relatively popular in the state even as it has trended increasingly red in recent years, and maintained strong ties with the state’s large Jewish community. He had also been floated as a potential gubernatorial candidate in 2026, but was strongly courted by Senate Democrats to make a comeback bid.

In late 2024, Brown voted against Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) first efforts to block certain U.S. arms transfers to Israel.

“Senator Brown strongly believes that Israel has a clear and undeniable right to defend itself against Hamas’ brutal terrorism and voted to send military aid to Israel, along with much-needed humanitarian aid to Gaza,” a Brown spokesperson said prior to the vote. “Ultimately, Senator Brown believes that Israel and Hamas must agree to a ceasefire that ends the war, frees the hostages, and delivers desperately needed humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people.”

Numerous Democrats have since shifted their position on the issue, citing the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza.

In 2022, Brown said that he believed that support for Israel was a majority position in both parties, and that those who opposed the Jewish state were a small group of “outliers,” rejecting the notion that “progressive values” were incompatible with support for Israel.

The former Ohio senator, then the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, took a relatively hawkish position on Iran last year, pressing the administration, after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks, to re-freeze Iranian funds previously released under a deal to free Americans held hostage in Iran.

Brown also called on the Biden administration, in early 2024, to re-impose a Foreign Terrorist Organization designation on the Houthis.

Husted has generally been seen as a moderate and has maintained a pro-Israel record in office, opposing efforts to block weapons transfers to Israel, joining with nearly all other Senate Republicans in demanding full dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program, supporting American and Israeli strikes on Iran and backing legislation to increase sanctions on Iran.

Speaking at a Senate hearing on campus antisemitism, Husted said that the disruptions in the days after the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks appeared coordinated.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement on Thursday that Israel plans to take control of additional parts of the Gaza Strip before handing it over to an unspecified Arab governing authority is being met with hesitation from even some of Israel’s most stalwart defenders. The Security Cabinet voted early this morning to take control of Gaza City, stopping short of the full occupation previously discussed.

Throughout much of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, the Israeli public broadly supported the military effort, even as progressive lawmakers such as Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) painted the war as “Netanyahu’s war,” and the Israeli prime minister as the bogeyman-in-chief. 

But in recent months, public sentiment in Israel has shifted noticeably. With most of Hamas’ senior military leadership eliminated, growing numbers of Israelis have begun to question the feasibility of Netanyahu’s goal of “total victory” over Hamas, given the terror group’s hold on the Gazan population and a lack of clarity on what’s left to accomplish militarily. Instead, polling shows that a large majority of Israelis prefer prioritizing a diplomatic resolution that secures the release of the remaining hostages, rather than expanding the military occupation of Gaza in hopes of complete surrender.

Netanyahu’s plan this week to occupy more of Gaza has begun to sap Israel’s political capital even among some of its closest allies on Capitol Hill, not to mention the isolation the Jewish state is facing from less-friendly European capitals. Even within the American Jewish community, as the war drags on into its 23rd month and with mounting IDF fatalities and no living hostages having been released since May, splits have emerged over the wisdom of Netanyahu’s double-down strategy.

Indeed, while the official Israeli position on its war against Hamas in Gaza has hardened, the approach in the Diaspora, both from Jewish groups and leaders and elected officials, has also shifted — in the opposite direction.

Meanwhile, the families of hostages, whose desperation has been deepened by recent videos and images of emaciated captives, have escalated their efforts, taking to the sea in a flotilla that sailed toward Gaza on Thursday in an effort to raise awareness about the plight of their loved ones.

Netanyahu, still mired in legal issues, finds himself in a bind of his own making amid mounting global pressure to end the war and let aid flow freely into Gaza — which contrasts sharply with right-wing members of his coalition who loudly call for the opposite, even as top IDF brass opposes a full Gaza takeover. Speaking from the Temple Mount/Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem earlier this week, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on Israel to “conquer all of Gaza, declare sovereignty over the entire Strip, eliminate every Hamas member, and encourage voluntary emigration.”

On Capitol Hill, Israel’s traditional allies in the Democratic caucus — including some who have given Netanyahu leeway to press forward in Gaza in the past, even when it meant butting heads with the Biden administration — are beginning to shift. 

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod that Israel is ultimately responsible for making its own decisions, but said he’d advise the Israeli government to seek an end to the war once the remaining 50 hostages are freed.

“The war fatigue and post-traumatic stress in Israeli civil society and in the Israeli military — as well as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza — have become unbearable,” Torres said. “Israel has degraded Hamas. And so once Israel has secured the release of the hostages, it should declare victory, end the war and focus on expanding the Abraham Accords to include relations with the likes of Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.” More reactions from Torres and other Democratic lawmakers here.

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) said in a statement on Thursday that “Netanyahu’s personal and political interests are guiding Israel’s actions” and slammed the prime minister’s “ineffective military operation in Gaza,” which, he added, “has only led to more unnecessary deaths.”

Earlier this week, Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC) – who in 2022 was one of the first major recipients of support from AIPAC’s super PAC— announced she was signing onto legislation to ban offensive arms sales to Israel.

The New York Times’ Bret Stephens warned this week, “If Netanyahu makes the colossal mistake of trying to reoccupy Gaza for the long term, then no thoughtful person can be pro-Israel without also being against him.”

The new shift in tone — exacerbated by mounting concerns about humanitarian aid in Gaza and bolstered by Netanyahu’s recent efforts to prolong the war in Gaza — extends beyond Washington and the media elite to some of the leading Jewish communal organizations, figures and philanthropists, dozens of whom signed onto a letter to Netanyahu this week, condemning his government’s policies and rhetoric for causing “lasting damage” to Israel and Diaspora Jewry and calling for an end to the Israel-Hamas war. Read more in eJewishPhilanthropy here.

Mainstream groups and officials, such as the American Jewish Committee and U.K. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, have in recent days expressed deep concern about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the prosecution of the war.

Israel finds itself, 22 months after Hamas’ attacks, at war at home and abroad. Hamas’ attack didn’t resolve the issues that had caused divisions in Israeli society in the months leading up to Oct. 7, 2023. The national cohesion following the horrific attacks has dissipated, and now segments of Israeli society are again at odds with each other, as Israel finds itself needing to win back invaluable political capital even as its leadership is taking it for granted. 

Maryland Jewish leaders are expressing disappointment over Sen. Angela Alsobrooks’ (D-MD) decision to support both of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) resolutions blocking U.S. arms sales to Israel despite vowing to oppose such efforts when she campaigned for the Senate last year.

Alsobrooks and 26 of her Democratic colleagues voted on Wednesday evening to block U.S. shipments of automatic weapons that Sanders and others claimed were destined for police units controlled by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right official in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. She also joined 23 Democrats in supporting a second resolution relating to U.S. bombs and bomb guidance kits. 

In a statement on her decision, the Maryland senator said she was joining the “voices of so many who feel the moral imperative to demand change. To witness the inhumanity of starving children and say nothing is not just a dereliction of duty but of conscience.”

“Netanyahu and his government must immediately change course. I remain committed to the U.S.-Israel relationship and my belief that the people of Israel have a right to defend themselves. In this moment, we must all do everything in our power as a global community to get desperately needed aid to the people of Gaza,” Alsobrooks said. 

The votes marked a change in position for Alsobrooks, who campaigned last year in the general election contest for her seat on the promise to not support cutting off aid to Israel and subsequently told Jewish leaders after winning the race that she planned to maintain that vow. It was also a shift from her votes against Sanders’ prior resolutions blocking aid this past spring. 

During the contested Democratic primary, however, she pledged to vote against future arms sales to Israel if the IDF invaded Rafah (an operation that later happened) and agreed with the Biden administration’s threat to withhold offensive weaponry.

In the general election, she moderated her position, and distanced herself from Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s (D-MD) antagonistic record toward the Jewish state, which has alienated much of Maryland’s Jewish community. 

Now, many Jewish leaders in Maryland fear she’s aligning herself more closely with Van Hollen on Israel and Middle East policy.

A spokesperson for Alsobrooks told JI in a statement that, “As the Senator made explicit in her statement following the vote, she remains firmly committed to the U.S.-Israel relationship and her support for the security of the Israeli people. This vote was in direct response to the worsening humanitarian crisis in the region and her desire to see the delivery of desperately-needed aid. She will continue to support the people of Israel as well as the people of Gaza while remaining laser focused on eradicating the threat of Hamas and the return of the hostages.”

Ron Halber, the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, said that the JCRC planned to request a meeting with Alsobrooks to “try and figure out what her thoughts were on this matter and express our concern” about her votes on Wednesday. 

Halber predicted that Alsobrooks was “probably swayed by the humanitarian disaster that has unfolded” in Gaza, pointing out her comments during the campaign and her votes against the April resolutions. He also noted that Alsobrooks was “speaking publicly at JCRC forums and speaking as recently as our legislative breakfast in December of last year” about her support for continued aid to Israel. 

That record, he argued, was as relevant as Wednesday’s votes. 

“Sen. Alsobrooks made it clear during her campaign that she would be a supporter of Israel, and I do not believe that this one vote takes her out of the pro-Israel camp,” Halber told Jewish Insider. “To me, one vote does not constitute a pattern. One vote does not constitute a dramatic shift in her support for Israel, but it’s certainly something we want to speak to her about and let her know that we are troubled by.”

“The concern is that for the Jewish community, Israel’s ability to defend itself is a holy grail, and that includes the ability to defend itself both defensively and offensively,” he continued.

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, a Jewish philanthropist and Democratic activist in Maryland, said she sympathized with arguments from Democrats and others about the humanitarian situation in Gaza while defending Alsobrooks’ pivot from her prior position on Israel aid. 

“There has been an evolution of facts between the campaign and now, and the situation with the suffering of innocent children in Gaza is highly problematic,” Mizrahi told JI. 

Mizrahi dismissed the notion that Alsobrooks’s vote constituted a broken campaign promise, noting that several other Democratic senators had made similar statements to her and her team during the 2024 cycle that had since come out in support of blocking aid, including Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI). 

“Politicians evolve when facts evolve, particularly when they’re bright people. Angela Alsobrooks is an incredibly bright person, of course, and she cares a lot. What I would like to know is her motivation for the vote,” she explained.

Despite this, Mizrahi said she hoped to see Alsobrooks return to supporting Israel aid and to “see her step up more significantly about hate crimes and about antisemitism, because we’re seeing quite a lot of it.”

“I hope that Sen. Alsobrooks will change her vote and will change her tone back to her earlier tone once the ship has righted in terms of the humanitarian situation for innocent people in Gaza,” Mizrahi said, later adding that she wanted to know “whether she feels that if things get better, that she will change her mind again, and that she will enthusiastically support weapons sales to the only democratic ally that America has in the Middle East,” Mizrahi said.

“I’m not going to hold this one vote [against her] until I know more about what her motivation was and what she’s hoping to achieve,” she added.

Bobby Zirkin, a Jewish former Maryland state senator who led an effort to urge Democrats to support former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, over Alsobrooks in their 2024 Senate contest, said that uncertainties over Alsobrooks’s commitment to Israel was a motivating factor behind his decision to back Hogan. 

“There was a reason that I stepped out during the campaign for Gov. Hogan. … My concern was always that she would follow the craziest, most fringe [parts of the] left-wing, which has become Chris Van Hollen in our party,” Zirkin said of Alsobrooks. “She made promises to many people in the Jewish community during the campaign and she has absolutely broken them.”

“You’ve gotta give the Alsobrooks campaign people credit for changing the subject and misrepresenting what she was going to do and all the rest. And by credit, I mean that they hoodwinked people,” he continued. “She pulled the wool over the eyes of a lot of people, and now we’re living with that.”

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) said Thursday that she supported two resolutions led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to cut off shipments of assault rifles and bombs and bomb guidance kits to Israel, in a pivot from her previous stances.

Slotkin missed the votes on the resolutions which occurred Wednesday, having spent part of the day taping an episode of “The Late Show with Steven Colbert.” Slotkin’s support brings the total number of Democrats supporting the two resolutions to 28 and 25, respectively. Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, a potential future colleague of Slotkin in Michigan’s Senate delegation, also voiced support Wednesday for cutting off offensive weapons to Israel.

“I have struggled with this Joint Resolution of Disapproval more than any previous votes in the nearly two years since Hamas initiated the attacks of October 7,” Slotkin said in a statement. “Had I made it back for the vote yesterday, I would have voted yes to block offensive weapons to Israel based on my concerns over lack of food and medicine getting to civilians in Gaza.”

She said she remains a “strong supporter of the Jewish State of Israel … But despite the fact that Hamas began this bloody round of conflict — and refuses to release the hostages — the images of emaciated children are hard to turn away from. As are the calls from Michiganders who have friends and family trying to survive in Gaza.”

The senator called the resolution votes “a bad way to do foreign policy” and said that it’s the role of the executive branch to set foreign policy and negotiate with other countries, but that the Israeli government believes “there are no limits to what they can do while still receiving U.S. support. And so, I believe a message has to be sent.”

She said her support for future similar resolutions would be determined “on a case-by-case basis,” pending changes to the humanitarian situation. She said she “continue[s] to support the U.S.-Israel security relationship” and defensive weapons sales including missile defense systems.

“While the leaders of Hamas deserve what they’re getting in response to October 7, and Israel — like any other country in the world — has the right to defend itself, that doesn’t include letting children go hungry,” Slotkin continued in the statement. “That is despite Hamas’ sick refusal to relent, prevent further destruction, negotiate in good faith and release the hostages.”

She also argued that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions endanger Israel because they “threaten the longstanding bipartisan consensus that have helped keep Israel safe since its inception,” describing her position as one based on “deep concern and conviction for Israel’s long-term security” and the threats Israel has faced since the day it was founded.

McMorrow, a Democratic Senate candidate running for the seat of retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), said on the campaign trail on Wednesday that she supports stopping offensive weapons transfers to Israel.

“The United States has to stop providing Netanyahu with offensive weapons that do nothing but continue to extend this war,” she said.

McMorrow said that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is “indefensible” and that “we cannot let [Netanyahu] tell us that what we are seeing with our own eyes is not what is actually happening.”

She also demanded that Hamas release all of the hostages and disarm and that the parties must reach a permanent ceasefire.

“It feels like we’ve lost the humanity in this issue and what is true is that Palestinians deserve security and peace. Israelis deserve security and peace,” McMorrow said. “And the United States, as the most powerful nation in the world, has to do everything in our power and our influence to make it all happen.”

The other Democratic candidates in the race, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), a longtime vocal supporter of Israel, and Abdul El-Sayed, an Israel critic, haven’t responded to requests for comment on the prospect of blocking offensive weapons sales to Israel.

The two other Senate Democrats who missed Wednesday’s votes, Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), both said they would have voted against both resolutions.

Twenty-seven Senate Democrats, a majority of the caucus, voted Wednesday night for at least one of two resolutions to block shipments of U.S. aid to Israel.

The votes are a signal of the depth of Democratic outrage with the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the breadth of the anti-Israel shift within the party. Previous efforts, also led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), to advance such resolutions, picked up 19 and 15 votes, in November 2024 and April 2025, respectively.

Twenty-seven Democrats voted for the first of the two resolutions, which addressed automatic weapons that supporters said were destined for police units controlled by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right official in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

They included Sanders and Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jack Reed (D-RI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Peter Welch (D-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ed Markey (D-MA), Angus King (I-ME), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Patty Murray (D-WA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM).

Reed — the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Murray — the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, Blunt Rochester, Baldwin, Klobuchar, Duckworth, Alsobrooks and Whitehouse have not supported past efforts to cut off aid to Israel.

Ossoff, Warnock, Shaheen and King voted for some or all of the first round of resolutions Sanders introduced to block arms for Israel in November, but opposed a second round in April.

Twenty-four Democrats voted for the second resolution on Wednesday, regarding bombs and bomb guidance kits. Reed, Whitehouse and Ossoff flipped on the second vote, opposing freezing that tranche of aid.

Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) — who on Tuesday said she would consider cutting off offensive weapons for Israel — were not present for either vote. Both Kelly and Gallego were present for votes earlier in the day on Wednesday. Slotkin spent part of the day taping an interview on Stephen Colbert’s late night television show.

A Kelly spokesperson said he missed the votes due to a “previously planned visit to Cape Canaveral to support his friend and former Astronaut classmate Mike Fincke as he launches into space. Senator Kelly has been pushing the Israeli government and the Trump administration to get desperately needed food into Gaza to prevent the starvation of innocent Palestinians. He also has been consistent about supporting Israel in their self defense.” 

Kelly’s office said that he would have voted against both resolutions.

A source familiar with the situation said Gallego, who is a new father, was absent because of family duties, and that the last-minute notice for the votes made scheduling difficult. The source said Gallego would have voted against the resolutions.

Ossoff said in a statement that he voted for the first resolution because he “do[es] not believe the United States Senate should acquiesce without objection to the extreme mass deprivation of civilians in Gaza, including the intolerable starvation of children, that have resulted from the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Furthermore, these weapons would likely have been allocated to police forces under the control of Itamar Ben-Gvir.”

He said he voted against the second resolution because, “[d]espite my opposition to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s conduct of the war in Gaza, I believe the United States must continue to support the Israeli people, who face the persistent threat of rocket and missile attack and have been subjected to intense aerial bombardment from Iran, Lebanon, and Yemen. Israel’s capacity to strike those who would launch missiles and rockets at Israeli civilians depends upon the deterrence provided by the Israeli Air Force.”

Up for reelection in 2026, Ossoff faced significant backlash for his previous votes against U.S. aid to Israel, but had been working to repair relations with the Jewish community — though that’s been a rocky process.

Alsobrooks, whose views on Israel policy came under close scrutiny from Maryland’s sizable Jewish community during the 2024 election cycle, characterized this as a history-defining moment.

“There are moments in history where our silence will not only be remembered — it will be judged,” she said. “I joined the voices of so many who feel the moral imperative to demand change. To witness the inhumanity of starving children and say nothing is not just a dereliction of duty but of conscience.”

She said that she remains “committed to the U.S.-Israel relationship and my belief that the people of Israel have a right to defend themselves.”

Duckworth had previously rejected the idea of voting for resolutions to cut off U.S. aid to Israel, arguing that the legislation was “symbolic,” would not produce a resolution to the conflict and would disincentivize Hamas and Hezbollah from agreeing to ceasefires, as well as endanger U.S. forces in the region.

On this vote, Duckworth said in a statement that the Israeli government has ignored pressure from her to take steps to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and that her votes were intended to reflect “deep frustration” with the Israeli government and “send a message” to the Trump administration.

“Israel’s unacceptable choice to restrict humanitarian and food aid from entering Gaza — for months — is now causing innocent civilians, including young children, to starve to death. Ending this famine is not only a moral imperative, it is also in the best interests of both Israel’s and our own country’s long-term national security,” Duckworth said. “While I have always supported Israel’s right to defend itself and protect the Israeli people, these dire circumstances must end.”

Murray said she voted for the resolutions to “send a message” that the Israeli government cannot continue its current strategy.

“This legislative tool is not perfect, but frankly it is time to say enough to the suffering of innocent young children and families,” Murray said. “Israel has a right to defend itself and Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization that should be eliminated, but the level of suffering and loss of life we are seeing in Gaza must come to an end.”

She put the onus on the American and Israeli governments to secure a diplomatic solution to the conflict and accused Netanyahu of dragging the war out to remain in power.

Blunt Rochester said in a statement that “until Israel significantly shifts its military posture to end the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank, I cannot in good conscience support further military aid and arms sales to Israel.”

She cited a range of concerns including the “seemingly deliberate bombing of civilian infrastructure, the alleged killing of Gazan civilians seeking food aid, the man-made famine among the Palestinian people, the increased presence of illegal settlers and violence in the West Bank, the killing of an American citizen without an impartial investigation, and the continued refusal to responsibly work toward a two-state solution.”

Warnock said that the Israeli government is committing a “moral atrocity that cannot abide the conscience of those who believe in human dignity, freedom and human thriving” and that “the Netanyahu administration must change course.”

Esther Panitch, a Jewish Georgia state legislator, responded by condemning Warnock for failing to mention Hamas’ role in the situation and the United Nations’ failure to distribute aid inside Gaza, adding “it’s becoming increasingly untenable to be a pro-Israel Democrat when the U.S. Senate empowers Hamas.”

Shaheen, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that Israel “has not conducted its military operations in Gaza with the necessary care required by international humanitarian law” or allowed sufficient humanitarian aid into Gaza. “I will also continue to support Israel’s right to defend itself, but I cannot in good conscience vote in support of weapons until the human anguish in Gaza comes to an end,” Shaheen continued.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) reiterated his opposition to the Sanders efforts, saying in a statement, “I have long held that security assistance to Israel is not about any one government but about our support for the Israeli people. For that reason, I voted no on the resolutions of disapproval on aid to Israel.”

One pro-Israel Democratic strategist lamented the state of discourse about Israel policy within the Democratic Party.

“There is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and Netanyahu’s strategy has failed. Yet the alacrity — and even glee — one saw among Democratic officials and commentators to believe and amplify every smear against the Jewish state has been bracing,” the strategist told JI. “When you give no agency to Hamas, Qatar, or the U.N. and reflexively set up Bibi as the devil, there is a word for it — and Jews have seen this movie many times before.”

All Republicans present voted against the resolutions.

Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called the resolutions “misguided” and said that the conflict and the situation in Gaza is “the fault of Hamas.”

“These are not good people, and it is in the interest of America and the world to see this terrorist group destroyed,” Risch said. “And I couldn’t agree more with my colleagues who want an end to this war. We all want to see an end to this war, an immediate ceasefire, and for the hunger crisis in Gaza to end. But the solution to all of this isn’t to deprive Israel of the weapons it needs. The solution is in the hands of Hamas” if the terror group surrenders and gives up its arms.

Jewish Insider’s congressional correspondent Emily Jacobs contributed reporting.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced a joint resolution of disapproval on Monday to block an arms transfer to Israel, setting up another Senate floor battle on Wednesday over U.S. aid to Israel — the third since November of last year.

The resolution comes as criticism of Israel has reached new heights among Senate Democrats over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, a state of affairs that could generate increased support for Sanders’ latest effort.

A Sanders spokesperson said that the resolution would block the sale of $1 million worth of assault rifles to “to the police force overseen by extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has long advocated for the forcible expulsion of Palestinians from the region, has been convicted by an Israeli court of racist incitement and supporting the Kahanist terror organization, and has been distributing weapons to violent settlers in the West Bank.”

“At a time when Israeli soldiers are shooting civilians trying to get food aid on a near-daily basis, the United States should not be providing more weapons to Israeli security forces,” the Sanders spokesperson said.  

Sanders is forcing a vote on Wednesday on this new resolution as well as one relating to bombs and bomb guidance kits for Israel that he introduced months ago but had not previously called up for a vote.

The spokesperson did not say whether Sanders will force a vote on the resolution, but  if he does, it would likely not happen until September, with the Senate expected to depart for its August recess at the end of the week.

“American taxpayer dollars are being used to starve children, bomb civilians and support the cruelty of Netanyahu and his criminal ministers. … The White House and Congress must immediately act to end this war using the full scope of American influence,” Sanders said in a statement last week. “No more military aid to the Netanyahu government. History will condemn those who fail to act in the face of this horror.”

The Vermont senator accused Israel of “using mass starvation to engineer the ethnic cleansing of Gaza” and described the Israeli- and American-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s aid distribution sites as “death traps for Palestinian civilians, with near-daily massacres.”

In November, the first time Sanders forced votes on aid to Israel, 19 Senate Democrats voted for at least one of three resolutions that came up for consideration. In April, 15 voted for a pair of similar measures.

At least one lawmaker, Sen. Angus King (I-ME), who voted for the first set of resolutions but against the second, would likely flip back to support a new effort to block aid.

“I am through supporting the actions of the current Israeli government and will advocate—and vote — for an end to any United States support whatsoever until there is a demonstrable change in the direction of Israeli policy,” King said in a statement earlier this week. “My litmus test will be simple: no aid of any kind as long as there are starving children in Gaza due to the action or inaction of the Israeli government.”

Connecting Ben-Gvir, a highly controversial figure, to the arms sales could also make some Senate Democrats who’ve opposed other Sanders-led efforts — like those to block the sale of bomb guidance kits — more open to supporting this one.

The arrest on Monday of a Palestinian student at Columbia University who helped organize campus anti-Israel demonstrations was the latest front in the Trump administration’s closely scrutinized crackdown on foreign activists who have expressed sympathy for Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups. 

Mohsen Mahdawi, a 34-year-old green card holder born and raised in the West Bank, was arrested and detained by federal immigration officers on Monday after he appeared at a U.S. citizenship interview in Vermont, where he resides.

Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, said in an email to Jewish Insider on Tuesday that Mahdawi “was a ringleader in the Columbia protests,” sharing a New York Post article citing anonymous State Department sources claiming that he had used “threatening rhetoric and intimidation” against Jewish students.

“Due to privacy and other considerations, and visa confidentiality, we generally will not comment on Department actions with respect to specific cases,” a State Department spokesperson told JI on Tuesday.

Mahdawi’s lawyers filed a habeas corpus petition on Monday calling his detention unlawful. “This case concerns the government’s retaliatory and targeted detention and attempted removal of Mr. Mahdawi for his constitutionally protected speech,” the petition said.    

Representatives for Columbia declined to comment on Mahdawi’s arrest, citing federal student privacy law.

Like Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian green card holder and recent Columbia University graduate arrested by federal immigration agents last month, Mahdawi has not yet been charged with a crime. Instead, he appears to have been detained on a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act cited by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to justify expelling foreigners who are seen as a threat to U.S. foreign policy and national security, which the petition also challenges.

Last week, a federal judge in Louisiana ordered that Khalil can be deported, determining such arguments are sufficient grounds for his removal, in a decision that is expected to face further challenges.

A federal judge in Vermont ruled on Monday that Mahdawi must be held in the state and cannot be removed from the country for now. 

Mahdawi’s legal team did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.    

Mahdawi had been a key organizer of anti-Israel protests at Columbia that roiled the campus after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. He helped to found Columbia University Apartheid Divest and was a member of the university’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, which has expressed pro-Hamas rhetoric, among other student anti-Israel groups. 

For his part, Mahdawi, who moved to the U.S. from a refugee camp in the West Bank in 2014, called Hamas a “product of the Israeli occupation” shortly after the attacks and reportedly helped to write a statement released by Columbia student groups on Oct. 14, 2023, claiming that the “Palestinian struggle for freedom is rooted in international law, under which occupied peoples have the right to resist the occupation of their land.”

He also appeared at a rally a month after the attack alongside Nerdeen Kiswani of Within Our Lifetime, a radical group that advocates for armed resistance against Israel. 

In an interview on “60 Minutes” in December 2023, Mahdawi voiced sympathy for Hamas’ terror attacks.

“I did not say that I justify what Hamas has done. I said I can empathize,” he said. “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.”

On his Instagram page in August, meanwhile, Mahdawi posted photos commemorating what he called the “martyrdom” of his “cousin,” Maysara Masharqa, a field commander in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the armed wing of Fatah, describing him as a “fierce resistance fighter,” according to The Washington Free Beacon. 

“Here is Mesra who offers his soul as a sacrifice for the homeland and for the blood of the martyrs as a gift for the victory of Gaza and in defense of the dignity of his homeland and his people against the vicious Israeli occupation in the West Bank,” Mahdawi wrote.

While the petition filed by his legal team notes that he stepped back from such activism in March 2024, Mahdawi’s public statements drew intense scrutiny from several antisemitism watchdog groups that are pushing the Trump administration to target campus protest leaders.

Mahdawi, who was an undergraduate at Columbia University, was planning to pursue a master’s degree in the fall, according to the petition.

His arrest drew criticism on Monday from Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Peter Welch (D-VT) and Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT), who said in a statement that “he must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention.” 

LOS ANGELES — As the House Education and Workforce Committee prepares to hold its third major hearing on campus antisemitism later this month, the corresponding Senate committee — chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) — has yet to hold any special hearings about rising antisemitism at American universities. 

Sens. James Lankford (R-OK) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV), the co-chairs of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, have been asking Sanders to call a hearing on the matter. As of last week, they hadn’t heard back from the Vermont progressive.

But in a conversation with Jewish Insider on Monday at the Milken Institute Global Conference, Lankford said that Sanders has now weighed in on the matter, telling Lankford that he intends to call a hearing with a focus that is “broader and not just on antisemitism. He wants to really focus on increasing Islamophobia, and a very different direction on it.”  

“I have no issue with trying to be able to say no one should be discriminated against, but we want to  be really clear what’s actually happening,” Lankford added. He and Rosen have sought stronger Senate action on campus antisemitism for two or three years, he said, so the issue is deeper than just the current spike.

“No one really took it seriously at that point. They are now. People do see it now,” said Lankford. “This is a bigger issue than what we thought was happening on campus. So we’re trying to just be really clear that this is not a knee jerk to October the seventh. This has grown for a while and we feel it’s important to be able to set that context.” 

Lankford declined to say if he expects Sanders to come around to his view on the issue. But he pointed out that even a Senate hearing would not fix the problem of inaction by university administrators. 

“Ultimately, I’m trying to figure out, how do we actually get administrations — how do we get people to engage, to enforce their own code of conduct on their own campus, just to be consistent? That’s doable. Many campuses have done that,” said Lankford. “We’re going to protect free speech, but we’re not going to allow people to be intimidated on their own campus.” (A Sanders spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.) 

Lankford called for the Senate to take up the Antisemitism Awareness Act that passed the House with bipartisan support next week, but he said he has not yet spoken to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) about when the Senate might consider the legislation. The bill’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism drew some pushback from both the right — among Christians who falsely claimed that the bill would criminalize statements that the Jews are responsible for Jesus’s death — and the left, where anti-Israel voices worry that the law would impinge on their ability to criticize Israel. 

“It starts this whole big stir that the IHRA definition is suddenly going to outlaw the Bible and the New Testament is going to cause people to be arrested,” Lankford said. “The IHRA definition in the Antisemitism Awareness Act doesn’t take away free speech. It notifies a campus if you’re discriminating in this way, then that’s discrimination, the same as it would be for a Black student or Hispanic students or whatever it may be. That’s discrimination. Your federal funding would be at risk, as it would be or any other type of discrimination on your campus. So just don’t discriminate.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans penned a letter to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) on Thursday to request that he hold a hearing on how the uptick in antisemitism on college campuses is violating the civil rights of Jewish students. 

The letter was led by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the top Republican on the committee, and signed by every Republican who serves on the panel, including Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Josh Hawley (R-MO), John Kennedy (R-LA), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). They urged Durbin, who chairs the committee, to convene a hearing “on the civil rights violations of Jewish students” and “the proliferation of terrorist ideology — two issues that fall squarely within this Committee’s purview.”

“With this current state of inaction, it is incumbent upon this Committee to shed light on these civil rights violations,” the group wrote. “This Committee owes it to Jewish students, and all students who attend universities with modest hope of having a safe learning environment, to examine these civil rights violations.”

“Our committee should examine why more is not being done to protect the civil rights of innocent students across America,” they added. “We must also examine the threat to national security posed by the proliferation of radical Islamist ideology in the academy. These pressing issues demand our immediate attention.”

A spokesperson for Durbin did not immediately respond to JI’s request for comment on the letter, which came the same day as a missive from Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) requesting a similar hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. 

Cassidy, the top Republican on the Senate HELP Committee, sent a letter to Sanders on Thursday urging him to convene a hearing in his capacity as committee chairman on the uptick in antisemitism on college campuses. 

Cassidy’s letter, first obtained by Jewish Insider, marks the second time in six months that the Louisiana senator has written to Sanders requesting that he allow for a full committee hearing “on ensuring safe learning environments for Jewish students, as required by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.” Cassidy released a statement last week re-upping his call for a hearing, though he told JI that effort got no response.

“It is our duty to ensure federal officials are doing everything in their power to uphold the law and ensure students are not excluded from participation, denied the benefits of, or subject to discrimination at school based on race, color, or national origin,” Cassidy wrote to Sanders. “In the six months since my last letter requesting a hearing, the situation has only gotten worse.”

While Republicans have generally been more vocal about their concerns on the issue of antisemitism on college campuses, there have been bipartisan calls for action in the upper chamber. 

Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and James Lankford (R-OK) have also asked Sanders to hold a hearing on antisemitism on college campuses in his capacity as HELP chairman. Similar to Cassidy, they have also not heard back from the Vermont senator. 

Separately, Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) requested a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser’s response to protests at The George Washington University’s campus this week. 

The duo penned a letter on Thursday to Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), who chairs the committee, requesting he bring in Bowser and D.C. Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith to testify on their respective responses to university requests to bring DCMP onto campus to clear out an anti-Israel encampment, requests Bowser denied. 

On the House side, where Republicans are in the majority, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) launched a chamber-wide effort to address all elements of the campus unrest. 

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), who chairs the Education and Workforce Committee, revealed that in addition to her ongoing probes, she will have the presidents of three other schools testify next month on their responses to protests and instances of antisemitism on their campuses. The presidents of the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of Michigan; and Yale University will be brought in to testify before Foxx’s committee on May 23. 

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, noted that her panel “oversees agencies that dole out massive amounts of taxpayer funded research grants… We will be increasing our oversight of institutions that have received public funding and cracking down on those who are in violation of the Civil Rights Act.”

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) said that his panel was reaching out to the State Department and Homeland Security Department to find out “how many students on a visa have engaged in the radical activity we’ve seen now day after day on college campuses.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) suffered another setback in his bid to become the Democratic nominee for president on Tuesday, losing badly to former Vice President Joe Biden in the states of Florida, Illinois and Arizona, with 441 combined delegates at stake. 

Delegate count: Biden now has an estimated 1,147 pledged delegates of the 1,991 needed, compared to Sanders’s 861. Biden’s lead will grow in the coming days as more delegates are allocated based on state districts. 

Graceful exit: On MSNBC, former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) called on the Vermont senator to withdraw from the presidential race, stressing that he has achieved his goal of assuming a healthy amount of delegates to gain leverage over the drafting process of the Democratic National Committee platform in July. “Bernie’s going to have plenty of delegates and power to influence the platform because we all want to come together,” McCaskill posited. Bakari Sellers also called on Sanders to drop out and help “proceed to the mission at hand, beating Trump.”

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) endorsed Biden yesterday, citing his support for Israel and commitment to peace, among others. “Having served over 23 years on the Foreign Affairs Committee, I know that Joe Biden will have Israel’s back,” Sherman proclaimed. 

Bernie’s strategy: Sanders didn’t address supporters after polls closed, and there was no indication that he would end his White House bid. Politico reported earlier this week, citing his supporters, that Sanders is banking on the upcoming primaries to receive enough delegates to satisfy his movement.  

Why it matters: Most members of the platform committee are expected to be appointed in accordance with how many pledged delegates each candidate brings to the convention. If Sanders picks up a sizable number of delegates in the upcoming contests, he would increase his chances to appoint more supporters to the remaining slots on the committee, opening the door for more progressive proposals to be adopted or at least debated by the full committee. Last week, after losing a handful of primary states, Sanders maintained that he is winning the debate about the issues that are important for the future of the country.

For several years, then-Congressmen Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Peter Deutsch (D-FL) had lockers side-by-side at the House of Representatives gym in the basement of the Rayburn House Office Building. 

“I actually know him reasonably well,” Deutsch told Jewish Insider about the 2020 hopeful in a recent interview in his Ra’anana home. “I served with him for many years — his locker in the gym was actually next to mine and we both worked out a lot. And we’re both sort of New York Jews, so I was always very friendly with him.” 

In fact, when Sanders ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, Deutsch said he and his entire family voted for the Vermont senator. That decision, he said, was in part because “no one thought he had any chance,” and also because he viewed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as deeply “inauthentic” and “incredibly transactional.” 

The last time Deutsch saw Sanders — approximately two years ago — the two men embraced, although Deutsch was quick to add “he’s not a huggy kind of guy.” Deutsch recalls telling Sanders, “‘listen, my whole family voted for you in the primary,’ and Sanders, in all seriousness, said to me: ‘Well, next time you better have a bigger family.’”

Fast forward just a few years, and Deutsch doesn’t take the chance of Sanders winning the presidential nomination as lightly. “Sanders would just be absolutely horrific for the world,” he said. “As a person, he’s a lovely person,” Deutsch said, though he’s “just as ornery as he always seems.” 

But the senator, he warned, “is not a socialist. He’s a Trotskyite… I think his agenda is actually to have a confederation of the United States, China and Russia, so there won’t be any wars.” If Sanders were elected president, Deutsch predicted, he would stop not just aid to Israel, but even “spare parts,” and demand Israel open its borders with Gaza and the West Bank.

Deutsch, who left Congress 15 years ago after losing his bid to win the Democratic nomination for Senate in Florida, says he is only nominally active in politics these days. But several months ago, he reached out to the Michael Bloomberg campaign to offer his support, telling JI, “I could not live with myself if I didn’t do something to try to prevent Bernie Sanders from being the nominee.”

Today, Deutsch, 62, lives a very different existence from the 12 years he spent serving in the House of Representatives. The former congressman spends about half his time living in Israel with his wife and children, while frequently travelling back and forth to Florida. 

Clad in a black suede yarmulke, jeans and a hooded sweatshirt, Deutsch is casual and relaxed in his modern, air-filled apartment on the 13th floor of a Ra’anana skyrise. His wife, Lori, and their son, Jonathan, pop in and out of the kitchen, chiming in with memories of his time in politics and their more recent adventures in Israel. His demeanor on a recent Sunday morning seems worlds away from the reputation he gained in office as aggressive, ambitious and brash. After all, he’s close to 6,000 miles away from his former life in Washington.  

For the past 14 years, Deutsch has essentially split his time between south Florida and Ra’anana, while his immediate family is largely based in Israel. Neither he or his wife have become Israeli citizens, but his children both made aliya, and his first grandchild is a proud sabra.

“I don’t have a set schedule,” he says of his constant travels. “I try not to be away [from Israel] more than two Shabboses.”

Rep. Peter Deutsch announces his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in Fort Lauderdale in 2004.

A native of the Bronx, Deutsch was elected at age 36 to Congress, representing Florida’s 20th congressional district, in 1992, after a 10-year stint in the Florida House of Representatives. While in office, he distinguished himself during the investigation of the Enron scandal, through efforts to improve human rights in Cuba and a strong push for a recount in Florida following the 2000 presidential election. In 2004, Deutsch ran for the open U.S. Senate seat in Florida. After a bitter campaign, he lost the Democratic primary race to Betty Castor, who went on to lose the general election to Republican Mel Martinez.

Deutsch was replaced in Congress by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), who began her political career as an aide to Deutsch when he was a state legislator. At Deutsch’s urging, she ran for his vacated seat in the Florida House of Representatives in 1992 and won, then later followed in his footsteps again into Congress.

“We’re in touch occasionally,” Deutsch said of Wasserman Schultz. “She’s actually served in Congress longer than me at this point. She is having a very distinguished career.”

But Deutsch is largely uninvolved in politics today. He spends the bulk of his professional work, while in both Florida and Israel, working on the network of Hebrew charter schools, Ben Gamla, that he founded in 2007. The school system — which now includes five elementary schools and one high school — is public, strictly non-religious and government-funded, but teaches Hebrew, Jewish history and culture to approximately 2,000 students of all backgrounds and religions in south Florida.

“What we’re doing is incredible, and the impact on kids is amazing,” Deutsch said of the schools, where he serves as a pro bono attorney. During the recent holiday of Purim, Deutsch noted, there was “some sort of celebration — not in a religious way, but in a cultural-historical way” in the Ben Gamla schools. “And it’s possible those will be the only public schools in America where there’s any acknowledgment of that.” 

After 13 years in operation, Deutsch said the schools are still “very much in the startup phase,” but they’re discussing and planning how to scale up, and whether there is a market nationwide for additional Hebrew charter high schools.  

Students participate in activities at the Ben Gamla Hebrew charter school in Hollywood, Florida.

With his focus almost entirely on the Ben Gamla schools, Deutsch said that, “in the last 14 years, I really only got involved in one issue politically” — his lobbying efforts in 2015 against the Iran nuclear deal, as a member of Citizens for a Nuclear Free Iran. 

And, just a couple of weeks ago, Deutsch did something he said he hadn’t done in 14 years. “I did a fundraiser for a political person,” freshman Rep. Max Rose (D-NY) in Florida: “I think he’s the real deal, I think he’s a good guy.” 

Deutsch said he reached out to Rose’s office last year, after he was troubled when Congress watered down a bill intended to condemn antisemitism, ultimately condemning “hateful expressions of intolerance.”

During that period, just a few months into Rose’s first term, Deutsch found the young congressman’s comments to be “probably the most insightful statements of any member of that time.” During a trip to Washington soon after, he reached out to Rose’s office and asked to sit down with the congressman — and ended up “having dinner for a couple hours.” Both men, Deutsch said, were at one point the youngest Jewish members of Congress, and both captains of their high school wrestling teams at rival New York City prep schools.

As for the other Deut(s)ch in Congress from Florida, Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), they’re not related, but Deutsch jokes that “he owes all his success to me.” However, their similar names and home states have led to a fair share of confusion. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Deutsch said, still purportedly calls Ted Deutch, “Peter.” And approximately a year and a half ago, Peter Deutsch’s phone rang — it was former Vice President Joe Biden, thinking he had reached Ted Deutch. When Peter realized the error, he passed along Ted’s cellphone number to Biden. 

During his dozen years in Congress, Deutsch was an outspoken supporter of the close relationship between Jerusalem and Washington. And while he’s critical of and concerned by President Donald Trump’s “erratic nature,” he notes that the president “has done some amazing things for Israel.” It was therefore disappointing, he said, to see the reaction from fellow Democrats following the administration’s decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Deutsch said he was invited to the embassy opening by Ambassador David Friedman, and wanted to attend, but had to be out of the country at the time. “Had I gone, I would have been the only [former or current] Democratic elected official there,” he noted. 

Deutsch says the recent Trump peace plan is more realistic than most people want to admit. “At the end of the day, if there were a settlement, it would sort of look like this,” he said. “There might be a few changes… but, here’s reality. If you don’t want reality, that’s fine. But this is reality.” 

Israel has demonstrated for many years, he says, that it can operate without a final-status agreement in place. “Israel can live with the ambiguity of not having final-status,” Deutsch said. “Israel has thrived in the last 14 years.” But, he warned, it’s still politically risky — “if someone like Bernie Sanders gets elected president” — and the BDS movement gains influence within the United States. 

“It’s not outside the realm of possibility that the United States, at some point in time, could join the boycott of Israel. It could happen in a nanosecond, who else would stop it? And then where would Israel be — economically and socially?”

Constantly on the go between Israel and the United States, Deutsch considers himself uniquely positioned to fight for the future of Jewish continuity. 

“Most Jews in America, at this point in time, choose to be on the outside” of the Jewish community, he noted. “And that’s why the community is in the state that it’s in. But I don’t feel like I’m on the outside. I feel like I’m in the movie… and everyone has that choice,” he said. “I’m pretty blessed.”

Democratic frontrunner Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) would beat President Donald Trump 65-30% among Jewish voters, according to a new poll of 1,001 American Jews conducted by Garin-Hart-Yang Research Associates for the non-partisan Jewish Electorate Institute (JEI). 

Not close: While Trump hits 30% against the remaining candidates, the poll shows he would receive only 28% of the Jewish vote in a hypothetical match-up against Michael Bloomberg, who — like Joe Biden — would receive 67%. 

Not well liked: 52% of American Jews have a favorable view of Sanders, compared to 45% who view him as unfavorable, the survey shows. Sanders enjoys higher support among young Jews, ages 18-39. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is not far off with a 54/40% favorable/unfavorable rating.

Rating Trump: The poll, conducted February 18-24, showed that 68% of American Jews disapprove of Trump’s job performance. Nonetheless on issues related to Israel, more Jews approve of Trump’s handling of the issue than disapprove. Of those polled, 51% approve of his handling of U.S.-Israel relations, compared to 39% who disapprove. Surprisingly, a plurality — 44-40% — back Trump’s decision to support Israel annexing the West Bank, following a mapping process. 

Firing up the base: Among Jewish Republicans, Trump received 81% approval. 

Gold medal: Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg received the highest favorability rating (60%-28%) of all of the Democratic 2020 hopefuls. The survey projects he would receive the highest support among Jewish voters in a general election against Trump (69%-31%). 

Read the full polling data here.

Conclusions: Pollster Frederick Yang said in a statement, “While Jewish voters have differing opinions about the major Democratic candidates, the poll demonstrates that they will overwhelmingly support any of the current Democratic candidates over President Trump at nearly equal levels, and that Israel is not driving the Jewish vote.”

Spin: Halie Soifer, executive director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, said in a statement, “This non-partisan poll makes it clear that the top priority of Jewish American voters is defeating Donald Trump and electing Democrats who share our values. Jews will support any of the Democratic candidates by a two-to-one margin over Donald Trump because Jews want to elect a president who shares our values in November.”

Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, tells JI, “These results are consistent with what we’ve been saying since the start of this campaign that President Trump will significantly increase the share of the Jewish vote from where he was in 2016. It was only a few months ago when many pundits in the Jewish community were projecting that Trump would get the lowest share of the Jewish vote of any president in history, and now multiple polls are showing that he’s going to get one of the highest percentages of the Jewish vote in modern elections.”

Matt Duss, a foreign policy advisor to Sen. Bernie Sanders, discussed the 2020 frontrunner’s views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and relations with Israel during the Quincy Institute leadership forum, held in conjunction with Foreign Policy, in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.

Vocal and critical: “Senator Sanders has been clear about the principles that he supports and the goal and it’s a goal that is shared by — I think — a clear majority of Americans,” Duss said. “I think he’s been willing to be more critical of [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu in particular, as he has been more vocal and critical about right-wing nationalists around the world, recognizing that is a global trend that is very problematic for those of us who support human rights and democracy. At the end of the day, the Israeli government is full of professionals who understand Israel’s security needs. There are longstanding relationships at various levels between the U.S. and Israel. And we don’t think we’ll have a problem moving forward in trying — trying at least — and probably finding very quickly some common ground.”

Jerusalem reaction: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted on Wednesday to Sanders’s constant attacks against him, most recently calling him a “reactionary racist” during Tuesday night’s debate in South Carolina. “What I think about this matter is that he is definitely wrong,” Netanyahu said during an interview with Army Radio. “No question about it.” Netanyahu pointed out that the reason he withstood pressure from the Obama administration for eight years was because he was able to influence U.S. public opinion, “and if we will be pressured into doing dangerous things, I will know how to oppose that — and I am not afraid of a showdown.” 

Bonus: Jeremy Burton, head of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, tells Washington Post reporter Michelle Boorstein that the common theme he’s hearing is anxiety among American Jews about having a Jewish nominee or president, whether the person is Bernie Sanders or Michael Bloomberg. “At the end of the day, Jews know antisemitism is part of the DNA of Western civilization,” he explained. 

HOUSTON — At long last, the Democratic presidential primary debate is scheduled to be just a one-night affair. But with 10 candidates taking the stage in Houston for three full hours, it may seem much longer to viewers.

The criteria imposed by the Democratic National Committee have thinned the herd for the third debate. A number of candidates with serious resumes — including a purple-state senator, a red-state governor and the mayor of the largest city in the nation — will not be on stage. But, finally, all of the top-tier candidates will be together in one room, instead of spread out over two nights during the first two debates. 

Tonight the leading candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, will take the stage flanked by his two strongest rivals, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT). The three top-tier candidates will be joined by South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) at center stage, bringing together the five candidates who have consistently polled above the five percent mark since the spring.

Further out, businessman Andrew Yang, who has mounted an astonishing campaign to achieve national relevance, will appear along with two candidates formerly hyped as potential front-runners, Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and former Congressman Beto O’Rourke (D-TX). At the far edges of the stage, former HUD secretary Julian Castro and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) will vie for the moderators’ attention.

Will the debate’s contours change now that many of the lower-tier candidates have been weeded out? The first two debates featured moderate candidates who polled at roughly the margin of error taking wild jabs at leading contenders. But the moderate at the edge of the stage in this debate isn’t former governor John Hickenlooper or former Congressman John Delaney (D-MD) — it’s Klobuchar, a three-term senator who is still in a far stronger position than either of those two candidates were over the summer.

Some things, however, will stay the same. Biden will remain at center stage and still have a target on his back. Although the former vice president has been bloodied in past debates — most notably when Kamala Harris attacked his past opposition to busing — he has not sustained any lasting damage. The question for those seeking to take him down is whether the third debate will finally be the charm.

The debate will air on ABC from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. EDT on Thursday.