Plus, El-Sayed's physician creds called into question
Mario Tama/Getty Images
An attendee wears a jacket at an Iowa caucus watch party organized by Metro D.C. Democratic Socialists of America, on February 3, 2020 in Washington, DC.
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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.
Stories You May Have Missed
DEMOCRATIC FAULT LINES
Race to replace Pelosi offers early test of whether progressive Jews welcomed on the left
State Sen. Scott Wiener has called Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide and is open to conditions on offensive aid to the Jewish state, but is still derided as a ‘Zionist’
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Israel’s business leaders see opportunity amid war, political shifts
‘I’m not an investment advisor, but you can see that if you were not in Israel in the past two years, you probably missed out, if Israel was not part of your portfolio,’ Seffy Zinger, chair of the Israel Securities Authority, told JI
State Sen. Scott Wiener has called Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide and is open to conditions on offensive aid to the Jewish state, but is still derided as a ‘Zionist’
ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) attends a press conference with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on October 15, 2025.
A solemn California state Sen. Scott Wiener looked directly into the camera.
He was recording a video to “clarify” whether he believed Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. Four days earlier, he wavered on that question in front of a live audience during a candidate forum for the race to fill the seat of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in California’s 11th Congressional District.
Both of his opponents had quickly answered “yes,” that Israel had committed genocide. Wiener did not answer “yes” or “no,” drawing loud jeers.
“For many Jews, associating the word genocide with the Jewish State of Israel is deeply painful and frankly traumatic,” Wiener said in the follow-up video. Wiener grew up in a Conservative family in New Jersey, supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has long been a critic of the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We all have eyes,” he continued, “and we see the absolute devastation and catastrophic death toll in Gaza.”
Referring also to what he described as “genocidal statements” from Israeli officials, he said the Israeli government had “tried to destroy Gaza and to push Palestinians out. That qualifies as a genocide.”
The striking about-face, which drew swift rebukes from mainstream Jewish organizations in the Bay Area, was indicative of the immense pressure on Wiener, a gay, progressive Jew who has often been assailed as a “Zionist” by the far left in San Francisco, but who is also harshly critical of the Israeli government’s policies.
One of Wiener’s top challengers for the San Francisco seat, Saikat Chakrabarti, is running a well-funded campaign closely aligned with the anti-Israel left, embracing some of the most extreme voices in that camp.
The race has become somewhat of a proxy battle in the war for the identity of the Democratic Party, where describing Israel’s war in Gaza as a genocide, supporting arms embargoes to Israel and attacking Zionism as a racist ideology have become much more common since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza. The outcome of the race to succeed Pelosi will help answer an important question: Can a progressive candidate still win in a deep-blue district like San Francisco without fully embracing the politics of the anti-Zionist left?
The race is by most accounts a three-way contest between Wiener, Connie Chan, a progressive member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors who has the backing of major labor organizations but has struggled to compete in fundraising, and Chakrabarti, a wealthy tech entrepreneur who entered progressive politics working for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) during his 2016 presidential bid and later served as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) chief of staff.
Chakrabarti has attacked Wiener for being too supportive of Israel, describing him as “horrible on Palestinian rights” in an interview with Zeteo’s Mehdi Hasan.
Wiener had already been sharply critical of Israel’s tactics in Gaza prior to the controversy in January. He had called for a ceasefire early in the conflict, and has described Israel’s actions as a “moral stain” and “indefensible.”
Amid the controversy of his embrace of the term genocide and the ensuing fallout with mainstream Jewish community organizations in the Bay Area, Wiener stepped down as co-chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus.
Chakrabarti, for his part, has raced to the left of Wiener and embraced far-left streamer Hasan Piker as a prominent campaign supporter, appearing on Piker’s stream and inviting Piker to campaign with him at a rally in San Francisco last week.
Earlier this spring, in a video the Chakrabarti campaign published on social media, the candidate and Piker sat down for dinner in San Francisco so Chakrabarti could make his pitch to Piker’s audience of millions of mostly young viewers. Behind them sat a poster showing the outline of the map of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza — the entire map filled in with the colors of the Palestinian flag.
“There’s this massive change moment. There’s a bunch of popular outrage,” Chakrabarti said in between bites of food. “We could channel that into an actual political revolution.”
As a wealthy former tech entrepreneur who has poured millions into his own campaign, Chakrabarti might seem like an unusual candidate for that role. But he is banking on enthusiasm from the progressive left in an insurgent campaign for a seat that has not been vacant for a generation.
He is described as a “centimillionaire” in the local press and was an early employee at Stripe, the payment processing company. But his campaign has touted his progressive bona fides as a co-founder of Justice Democrats, the organization built to recruit and elect progressives.
Ocasio-Cortez has repeatedly declined to endorse her former top staffer, dealing a blow to his efforts to consolidate the left behind his campaign.
Jewish community leaders have at times described the race in stark terms, painting Chakrabarti as a threat.
Speaking about what he called the “extreme story” that Chakrabarti is telling voters, Tyler Gregory, CEO of the local Jewish Community Relations Council, said, “this is more than a policy difference [in the] race at this point. There is someone scary, who is actually going to undermine Jewish safety if elected.”
The Chakrabarti campaign did not respond to an emailed list of concerns raised by Jewish groups.
Polling shows Chakrabarti making inroads but lagging behind Wiener. An EMC Research poll conducted in early May and commissioned by a pro-Wiener super PAC showed Wiener at 38%, Chan at 22% and Chakrabarti at 21%. Polls sponsored by Chakrabarti’s campaign, however, show a much slimmer margin; one conducted in early April by Data for Progress had Wiener only leading Chakrabarti by five points, 33-28%.
The top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will move to a runoff in November, meaning the race is unlikely to be decided until the general election.
Close observers of San Francisco politics say the race reflects political divides that have long been salient in the city, but have intensified in recent years amid widespread dissatisfaction on issues such as street crime, public drug use, homelessness and disorder more broadly.
Chakrabarti is “running against the establishment, when people feel like it’s not working for them,” said Gregory. “San Francisco has been tacking to the middle in recent cycles,” Gregory added, pointing to the 2024 election of Daniel Lurie to be the city’s mayor and the 2022 recall of progressive prosecutor Chesa Boudin.
“Are we in an anti-establishment cycle, or are we in a moderate cycle?” Gregory said. “We’ll find out.”
Chakrabarti’s campaign has decisively outspent his opponents, according to the most recently available campaign filings, though Wiener has also raised millions of dollars. As of the most recent filing deadline, the Chakrabarti campaign raised about $5.2 million, of which $4.82 million came via a loan from the candidate himself. Wiener’s campaign had raised about $3.5 million as of the last filing deadline, but had only spent around $900,000 relative to Chakrabarti’s nearly $5 million. Chan’s campaign was lagging with just $459,000 in money raised.
Chakrabarti opposes all U.S. military funding to Israel, including for the Iron Dome missile-defense system, and said during a candidate forum that he supports “breaking the Israel lobby’s hold on our government.” For his part, Wiener said he supports funding for Iron Dome but also would support congressional efforts to block the sale of offensive weapons to Israel.
Chakrabarti also opposes a new California law aimed at combating antisemitism in K-12 schools that critics, including anti-Zionist activists, say infringes on the free speech of teachers. Chakrabarti has attacked Wiener for being an outspoken supporter of the measure, describing it as a Trump-like effort to tamp down on pro-Palestinian speech.
Wiener called AB 715, which establishes a statewide antisemitism prevention coordinator and seeks to curb teacher activism in the classroom after the proliferation of anti-Israel material across California, “a big step for the Jewish community.”
Raising concerns among Jewish community groups, Chakrabarti enthusiastically accepted an endorsement from the Arab Resource and Organizing Center Action, the political arm of the city’s most prominent anti-Zionist activist group, which helps organize rowdy anti-Israel protests in the Bay Area.
“In Congress, I look forward to working with AROC Action as we fight to end our country’s complicity in genocide and apartheid and pursue a just future for all,” Chakrabarti’s campaign wrote on Instagram last month.
Mail-in voting has already begun for the open primary, which takes place on June 2.
Among Wiener’s campaign supporters are wealthy tech and venture capital figures including Garry Tan, CEO of the prestigious VC firm Y Combinator, Yelp co-founder Jeremy Stoppelman and tech investor Chris Larsen.
Political insiders in the city say that Wiener will almost certainly be among the top two vote getters and advance to the general. Chan is popular with a number of established progressive institutions. Chakrabarti’s success will depend in part on whether he is able to get out voters who have not consistently participated in midterm elections.
Wiener “has a very strong base of frequent voters, in the LGBTQ community, in the YIMBY community, and with the majority of moderate — by San Francisco standards — voters in the city,” said Sam Lauter, a political strategist with BMWL public affairs and a Democratic activist who sits on the board of the Democratic Majority for Israel.
“Connie Chan has a passionate base within the politically engaged progressive community,” he added. “The unions, for example.” He added that he expects Chan to have considerable support from the Chinese American community.
Chakrabarti’s support “seems to be coming from people who haven’t, to date, frequently turned out to vote. Progressives who aren’t in tune with the established progressive community,” he said.
“Having said that, he certainly has increased his name recognition significantly with his personal spending,” Lauter added. “I think he has a very good shot of being in the final two.”
Among Chakrabarti’s top aides is the consultant and activist Nadia Rahman, an outspoken anti-Zionist who serves as the campaign’s political director. Rahman, who publishes a stream of harsh critiques of Israel, Zionism and Zionists on her social media feeds, attributed the Democrats’ loss in the 2024 presidential election to what she described as the party’s refusal to “break from genocide, militarism and imperialism.” She recently reposted an X post stating that “Zionism is racism,” and in another post criticized how “entrenched Zionist ideology is in many California state legislators.”
Wiener is endorsed by the state’s Democratic Party and has been a fixture in San Francisco city politics since his election to the city Board of Supervisors in 2010. Still, he has not won the endorsement of Pelosi, who appeared at a Chan fundraiser but has declined to endorse anyone.
On Jewish support after Wiener’s genocide statement, Gregory said donors fell into three camps. Some continued to back Wiener without hesitation. Others “needed to take a beat and process what happened.” The third group “hasn’t come around,” but Gregory added, “I’m becoming more and more confident they are going to come home” to Wiener.
Gregory added of Chakrabarti, considering the tendency for left-wing candidates to turn out low-propensity voters, “Our community would be foolish to underestimate him.”
Plus, Jew hatred pushes Pa. justice out of Dem Party
Aaron Schwartz/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images
President Donald Trump speaks during a maternal healthcare event in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, May 11, 2026.
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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.
Stories You May Have Missed
HISTORY LESSONS
Minnesota Vikings owner Mark Wilf leads players, high school students on Holocaust Museum trip
The players also toured the National Museum of African American History as part of the D.C. visit
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
Defense attorneys alleged DA Jeff Rosen had a conflict of interest due to his use of the case against Stanford student protesters on a campaign website
Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen speaks during a charge announcement to the participants of the 2024 Anti-Israel-Palestine war break-in and vandalism at Stanford University, in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, April 10, 2025.
A judge in Santa Clara County ordered a Jewish prosecutor to recuse himself from a case against anti-Israel student protesters at Stanford University after the prosecutor described the incident as antisemitic in campaign literature.
District Attorney Jeff Rosen “is allowed to take a strong stance against crime in the community, against antisemitism. But caution and care need to be taken when utilizing active litigation in campaign communication,” Judge Kelley Paul said last week from the bench.
Rosen’s case against five anti-Israel protesters who occupied Stanford President Richard Saller’s office in June 2024 ended in a mistrial in February following a hung jury. He quickly announced plans for a retrial.
But the defendants’ attorneys alleged that Rosen had a conflict of interest, which included utilizing the case on a campaign page titled “fighting antisemitism” and using the website — which includes a video of Rosen giving a speech at San Jose Hillel claiming “antisemitism is anti-American” — in a December fundraising email blast, The Stanford Daily reported. Rosen is seeking reelection to the district attorney’s office this November.
Referencing that video, Paul said that the lawsuit “is not a hate crime” and that Rosen had overstepped when framing it as such.
The protesters, who barricaded themselves in a university building to demand divestment from companies linked to the Israel-Hamas war, face felony vandalism and conspiracy charges following the break-in that caused an estimated $300,000 in damages. They do not face hate crimes charges.
Plus, Colorado firebomber gets life in prison
Mark Makela/Getty Images
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) addresses the press on Nov. 6, 2022, in Washington Crossing, Pa.
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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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DOHA DYNAMICS
Iran’s attacks on Qatar could prompt regional realignment, experts say
They said, however, it’s unlikely the rift with Tehran will engender any goodwill towards Israel
PROTEST POLITICS
New York Democrats condemn Park East demonstrators’ rhetoric as Mamdani doubles down
The mayor again condemned the Israeli real estate event while the governor, attorney general and council speaker ripped protesters’ extremist behavior
Plus, mohel madness continues in Belgium
Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images
A sign for Georgetown Law School, in front of the McDonough building in Washington, DC.
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📡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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MISSION TO WRAP
How Yossi Farro, the 22-year-old tefillin wrapper, chases influential Jews from coast to coast
The Chabad-raised New Yorker has been wrapping tefillin with tech founders, financiers and celebrities on the sidelines of the elite Milken Conference in L.A.
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
Plus, Adam Hamawy defends terror ties
Selçuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images
Anti-Israel demonstrators gather at 'No Settlers on Stolen Land' protest against a Nefesh b'Nefesh event at the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan in November 2025.
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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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RAHM UNBOUND
How Rahm Emanuel is recalibrating on Israel ahead of 2028
In an interview with Jewish Insider, Emanuel outlines his views amid changing winds in a Democratic Party increasingly antagonistic to the pro-Israel perspective that had long been central to his identity
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
Plus, NYC Jews ring alarm bells after vandalism
Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images
Vessels are pictured anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on May 5, 2026.
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 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
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’
Plus, Keir Starmer vows protection for British Jews
Daryn Slover/Portland Press Herald via AP
Senate candidate Graham Platner acknowledges the large crowd that attended Platner's town hall, Sept. 25, 2025, at Bunker Brewing in Portland, Maine.
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
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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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
Plus, Trump rejects latest Iran proposal
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 21, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Delegates, politicians, and Democratic Party supporters are in Chicago for the convention, concluding with current Vice President Kamala Harris accepting her party's presidential nomination.
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.
Stories You May Have Missed
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
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
Plus, Georgia goes after foreign funding of K-12 schools
Ryan Lim / AFP via Getty Images
ADNOC Gas, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, facility in Abu Dhabi on March 3, 2026.
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.
Stories You May Have Missed
NORTH STAR
Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling guided by Holocaust survivor grandparents
‘My interest in protecting all Americans’ rights in the workplace is undoubtedly shaped by my grandparents,’ said Sonderling, who assumed leadership of the agency last week after Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s resignation
BOOKSHELF
Adeena Sussman’s new cookbook spotlights simple cooking for complicated times
‘I had this concept that I put forth for myself, everything should have 12 or fewer ingredients, and I wanted to use very minimal pots and pans,’ Sussman told JI of her book, ‘Zariz: 100 Easy, Breezy, Tel Aviv-y Recipes’
Publisher of Drop Site News pushes conspiracy theory about a California Jewish family-owned business
In a social media post, Nika Soon-Shiong, citing unverified online claims that the U.S. and Israel had targeted pistachio warehouses in Iran, singled out Stewart and Lynda Resnick, owners of the Wonderful Company
Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile for Web Summit via Getty Images
Dropsite News founder and publisher Nika Soon-Shiong spoke at the New Media Summit during day one of Web Summit 2025 at the MEO Arena in Lisbon, Portugal.
Nika Soon-Shiong, the publisher of Drop Site News who is also the daughter of Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, is circulating conspiracy theories seeking to tie a California-based Jewish couple behind a major pistachio processor to the recent U.S.-Israeli military strikes in Iran.
In a recent social media post that drew more than 1 million views, Soon-Shiong, citing unverified online claims that the United States and Israel had targeted pistachio warehouses in Iran this month, singled out Stewart and Lynda Resnick, the billionaire owners of the Wonderful Company, which grows and processes a large percentage of California’s pistachios as well as other products including almonds and mandarin oranges.
“The Resnick family’s Beverly Hills-based pistachio empire stands to gain,” she said of the alleged attack on Iranian pistachio warehouses. “You won’t believe the backstory,” she added, linking to the teaser for a recently released documentary she helped distribute called “The Pistachio Wars,” which seeks to implicate the Resnicks’ business interests, ties to hawkish think tanks and pro-Israel philanthropy in a shadowy effort to drive American hostility toward Iran and isolate its pistachio market.
There is little dispute that U.S. trade embargoes as well as steep tariffs on Iran — once a major pistachio producer — helped American competitors dominate the market after the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis. But the documentary has faced skepticism for overstating cherry-picked evidence to support a narrowly tailored argument suggesting that U.S. pistachio growers hold blame for American hostility toward Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
In addition to promoting the documentary on X, Soon-Shiong, a fierce critic of Israel, also pointed to the Resnicks’ contributions to what she called “Israeli military-linked groups from 2015–2022,” well before the current war began in February, while highlighting their donations to progressive causes, in keeping with their record of contributions primarily to Democrats.
She concluded by referring to their widely scrutinized use of California’s water supply, claiming they “stole” the scarce resource “in a series of secretive meetings two decades ago.”
In a separate post last year, she said the Resnicks’ pistachio business “underpins the California water crisis, the IDF and the propaganda war against Iran.”
Soon-Shiong, whose father is a biotech billionaire who took control of The Los Angeles Times in 2018, has also been outspoken in her criticism of other American companies with ties to the Jewish state.
In the 2024 presidential election, she disclosed in a statement, refuted by the Times, that she personally intervened in order to block the paper’s endorsement of former Vice President Kamala Harris — a decision she said had been motivated by her opposition to the Biden administration’s support for Israel and “openly financing genocide” in its war with Hamas in Gaza.
Late last year, Soon-Shiong shared the stage as a speaker at the Doha Forum in Qatar with Neil Patel, the co-founder and CEO of the Tucker Carlson Network, during a panel discussion focusing on “Media Power and the Search for Truth.”
Soon-Shiong, 33, became the publisher of Drop Site News, a media startup that regularly features hostile coverage of Israel and sympathetic interviews with Hamas leadership, in September 2025, voicing admiration of its Gaza coverage.
“For media institutions that downplayed genocide, ignored apartheid and fail to cover America’s role in foreign wars,” she explained at the time, “the verdict of history will be merciless.”
Drop Site launched in July 2024 with an 8,000-word interview with two senior Hamas leaders in an article described as an “exclusive” conversation with officials from the terrorist group about “their motivations, political objectives and the human costs of their armed uprising against Israel.” Since then, the outlet has gained a reputation of credulously reporting on Hamas’ claims and repeating the group’s propaganda.
More recently, the site has faced scrutiny for publishing a Palestinian journalist in Ireland who called for violence against Israelis and an Irish pro-Israel commentator in particular, among other controversial claims.
The pro-Israel Democratic group warns that nominating far-left candidates will cost the party winnable seats against GOP incumbents
Daniel Knighton/Getty Images
City of San Diego Councilmember Marni von Wilpert rides in the Port of San Diego Holiday Bowl Parade on December 28, 2022 in San Diego, California.
As Democratic Majority for Israel prepares for the midterms amid growing divisions in the party over Middle East policy, the pro-Israel group is now focusing much of its energy on three under-the-radar House races for swing seats in California and Colorado that could be key to the party’s chances of reclaiming the majority in Congress.
In those primaries, DMFI’s political arm recently endorsed a trio of relatively moderate, pro-Israel Democrats facing opponents whom, the group feels, have demonstrated anti-Israel records or questionable positions on Middle East policy — qualities that could hamper their odds of winning Republican-held districts in the November election.
“These definitely rank high on our list of priorities,” Brian Romick, DMFI’s president and the chair of its super PAC, said in an interview with Jewish Insider on Tuesday. “These are all strong places where this matters.”
DMFI’s political arm is backing Marni von Wilpert, a San Diego councilwoman seeking the nomination in California’s 48th Congressional District; Jasmeet Bains, a California assemblywoman and a physician competing in the state’s 22nd District; and Shannon Bird, a former Colorado legislator running to unseat a vulnerable freshman Republican in the state’s 8th District. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has ranked each of the races as “toss-ups” in its election forecast.
“We think all three of these candidates are strongly pro-Israel and have great relationships and records with the community,” Romick noted, calling them “the kind of candidates we need who can win both primaries and generals” and “hold these seats over the long term.”
DMFI’s efforts underscore how the organization is choosing to highlight consequential races in which the interests of Democratic Party leaders converge with its own, a notable alignment during a moment when Israel — and outside spending from pro-Israel groups — has emerged as one of the most polarizing sources of internal conflict in reliably blue districts.
One of DMFI’s “major goals” this cycle, Romick explained, is to “both elect pro-Israel candidates and help Democrats take back the House,” citing Republicans’ narrow three-seat majority as partly motivating its calculus. “If we win these three seats, then Democrats are in the majority with pro-Israel candidates.”
“I don’t think that anyone else is in that lane, and I think that’s an important distinction for us,” he told JI.
Romick declined to share if DMFI PAC plans to invest in the three primaries, following election cycles in which the group has spent heavily to help unseat vocally anti-Israel Democrats in deep blue House districts. “Possibly,” he hinted. “But I don’t want to show my hand.”
Here’s a rundown on the state of play in those races:
San Diego showdown
In California’s 48th District, redrawn last year to give Democrats an edge, von Wilpert is running in a crowded open primary to replace Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who has long been a fixture in state and national politics. Her top opponent in the June race, Ammar Campa-Najjar, twice unsuccessfully competed for the seat in 2018 and 2020 — and is familiar to voters as a perennial candidate in a district covering the San Diego area.
Campa-Najjar outraised the field in the last quarter of 2025 and has claimed endorsements from a range of House members — including his girlfriend, Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA).
During his race against Issa in 2020, Campa-Najjar, who is of mixed Palestinian and Mexican-American descent, stressed support for Israel as an important strategic partner, broadly aligning with mainstream Democratic sentiment regarding Middle East policy. He said in a candidate questionnaire solicited by JI at the time, for instance, he believed the U.S. should maintain foreign aid to Israel.
In a statement to JI on Tuesday, Campa-Najjar said his “Middle East foreign policy remains consistent,” arguing that the “United States must help broker a lasting peace to end the bloodshed between Israelis and Palestinians.”
“As a new member of Congress, I’ll put forward a meaningful agenda for the day after that promotes a stable, secure, and prosperous future for both Israel and Palestine,” he continued. “That future is only possible with new leadership, with Palestinians no longer under Hamas rule and the Israelis no longer burdened by Netanyahu’s failures,” he added, in a reference to the right-wing Israeli prime minister.
Still, Romick echoed other critics of Campa-Najjar in noting that the candidate had previously changed his positions on key issues as part of a conservative makeover in his last election, raising questions over his commitment to upholding support for Israel as a lawmaker.
“He’s on record as anti-Trump. He’s on record as pro-Trump,” Romick said. “You never know what you’re going to get and that’s obviously dangerous when people shift a lot on Israel.”
Andrew Lachman, the political committee chair of California Jewish Democrats, said his organization reviewed questionnaires from both candidates and concluded that von Wilpert’s record in backing Jewish community causes was more substantive. The group gave von Wilpert a rating of “strong support” and is “neutral” on Campa-Najjar.
“Campa-Najjar seems interested in building a relationship with the Jewish community, but with respect to a record of resolutions and legislation to support the Jewish community, von Wilpert had a voting record and a record of supporting the Jewish community that was much more clearly defined,” he told JI.
For her part, von Wilpert said in a statement to JI that she “strongly” supports “Israel’s right to exist as a secure, Jewish democratic state and defend itself from the real threats it faces.”
“To me, ensuring Israel’s security and building peace for all in the region, including getting the two-state solution back on track, are inseparable, and U.S. leadership is indispensable to achieving both outcomes,” she added. “Only when a nation feels safe and secure, can it take the necessary steps to make peace.”
Both von Wilpert and Campa-Najjar are endorsed by J Street, the progressive Israel advocacy group.
Last week, Jim Desmond, a Republican member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, also filed to run for the seat that is now being vacated by Issa.
Under the newly drawn district lines, former Vice President Kamala Harris would have narrowly defeated President Donald Trump by three points.
Bakersfield battle
In a GOP-held district hours north of San Diego that includes part of Bakersfield, Bains is facing off against a progressive rival, school board trustee Randy Villegas, to challenge Rep. David Valadao (R-CA), who took office in 2021 but is now confronting a difficult national environment for Republicans. .
Villegas has gained endorsements from some of the most prominent Israel critics in Congress, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) as well as Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Ro Khanna (D-CA), along with the virulently anti-Israel AIPAC Tracker, which said in a social media post that Villegas had signed on to a January 2024 letter pressing for “an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and to end the weaponization of antisemitism claims against Israel’s critics.”
“In Congress, Randy will fight to end the flow of unconditional military aid to Israel that fuels the ongoing genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank,” AIPAC Tracker said in its January endorsement. “He is ready to champion a foreign policy that centers human rights over militarism.”
Villegas’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment about his foreign policy views concerning Israel.
Speaking with JI, Romick characterized Villegas as “the most obvious” source of concern for pro-Israel Democrats among the three primaries that DMFI is now eyeing, referring in part to his early demand for a ceasefire just a few months after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. “He consistently has an anti-Israel record,” Romick said.
Lachman, meanwhile, said his group had not yet weighed in on the primary. “I do know that Bains has a reputation as a fighter for progressive values, but one who can build coalitions in order to sustain them,” he told JI. “Whereas, I don’t think Villegas is known for that.”
In a statement shared with JI on Tuesday, Bains said she believes “in Israel’s right to exist, defend itself and live in peace as a secure nation.”
“As a doctor,” she pledged, “my priority will always be protecting all human life and for that we must ensure advancing lasting peace. That’s why I believe a two-state solution is a necessary path forward to ensure long-term security and the dignity of people across the region.”
Valadao, for his part, is backed by AIPAC, which calls the congressman “a steadfast supporter of the U.S.-Israel alliance throughout his six terms representing the Golden State’s Central Valley.”
Colorado clash
Meanwhile, in a Colorado House race to take on Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO), two Democrats are vying for their party’s nomination with differing records of public commentary on Israel as well as the rise of antisemitism.
Bird, who resigned from the Colorado legislature in January to focus on her congressional bid, has long been vocal in her support for Israel and opposition to antisemitism, which she recently called a “global cancer” after the terror attack targeting the Jewish community in Bondi Beach, Australia late last year.
During the war in Gaza, she frequently highlighted the plight of hostages on social media while issuing statements standing with Israel. “Lessons learned from history make clear that the world must stand with and protect Israel,” she wrote in one X post in 2024. Bird’s campaign did not return a request for comment from JI.
By contrast, her chief rival in the June primary, Manny Rutinel, a progressive state representative, has condemned recent instances of antisemitism — but does not appear to have clarified his stances on key issues regarding Israel.
While he has garnered endorsements from some pro-Israel House members such as Reps. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) and Rob Menendez (D-NJ), his past record of activism has raised some concerns among pro-Israel Democrats who privately worry he will assume a hostile approach to Israel if he is elected. Republicans have indicated that they are eager to run against him in the general election.
As an undergraduate at the University of Florida, for example, Rutinel attended a demonstration in 2014 that was co-organized by Students for Justice in Palestine, the extreme anti-Israel group that has recently expressed alignment with Hamas, according to a local news story covering the event at the time.
The campus demonstration was “aimed to raise awareness for police brutality in Ferguson, Mo., and military oppression in Palestine,” the article noted.
In a statement to JI, however, a spokesperson for Rutinel said he “has never affiliated with Students for Justice in Palestine.”
“While in college at the time of the Ferguson protests, he attended a demonstration to protest police brutality in the United States,” the campaign spokesperson explained. “Manny supports Israel’s right to exist and supports a two-state solution with secure borders to bring peace.”
Rutinel also “supports U.S. security assistance to Israel in line with the Obama administration’s 2016 memorandum of understanding,” the spokesperson added, when asked about his views on conditioning aid to Israel, which has become a litmus test of sorts for left-wing candidates.
Evans, an Army veteran endorsed by AIPAC, has cited his service in the Middle East as motivating his staunch support for Israel and opposition to a nuclear Iran. The first-term congressman is viewed as one of the most vulnerable House Republicans seeking reelection in a district north of Denver.
Plus, Tehran attacks Azerbaijan
Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Entertainment Industry Foundation
Governor Gavin Newsom attends a pep rally to celebrate the second year of the Roybal Film and Television Production School on October 13, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
👋 Good Thursday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on yesterday’s failed war powers resolution vote in the Senate and preview a similar vote in the House today. We take a closer look at the leftward shifts on Israel by both California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) as both men gear up for potential 2028 presidential bids, and spotlight a series of recent public opinion polls in Israel and the U.S. about attitudes toward the war in Iran. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Ahmad Vahidi.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- The House is slated to vote on a war powers resolution today, a day after a similar effort was blocked by Senate Republicans. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), an isolationist-leaning lawmaker, said he plans to vote with most Democrats in support of the resolution, joining Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). A few Democrats are expected to oppose the resolution. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), a moderate House Democrat, said he will also support the resolution. With razor-thin margins in the House, the ultimate outcome could come down to the number of Democratic defections, and potential absences, though Republicans have expressed confidence that the vote will fail.
- The House will separately vote on a Republican-led resolution affirming that Iran remains the leading state sponsor of terrorism.
- Elbridge Colby, the Trump administration’s under secretary of defense for policy, is testifying this morning on the U.S. National Defense Strategy before the House Armed Services Committee.
- The House Foreign Affairs Committee is holding a hearing this morning with Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers.
- Elsewhere on the Hill, the Muslim World League is hosting an interfaith iftar gathering later today.
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom is slated to be interviewed by anti-Israel podcaster Jack Cocchiarella in New Hampshire today for a conversation that is expected to heavily focus on Israel. More below on Newsom’s sharp left turn on Israel in recent months.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S LAHAV HARKOV AND TAMARA ZIEVE
More than 80% of Israelis support the war against Iran, polls by two major Israeli research institutions found this week, while several U.S. polls found that a majority of Americans oppose it.
The Israel Democracy Institute found that 82% of Israelis — 93% of Jewish Israelis and 26% of Israeli Arabs — support the war with Iran. Among Jewish Israelis, the war has strong support across the political spectrum, with 76% of respondents on the left backing it, 93% of voters from the center and 97% from the right.
Similarly, the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University found that 81% of Israelis back the war against Iran, and 63% support continuing military efforts until the Iranian regime falls. Among Jewish Israelis, support for the war was at 92%, while only 38% of Israeli Arabs support it. About half (49%) of Israeli Arabs oppose the war, while the rest said they did not know.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., a CNN poll, conducted by SSRS shortly after the war began on Saturday, found that nearly 41% of Americans approve of the U.S. military action in Iran, with a sharp divide between Republicans, Democrats and independents — 77% of Republicans approve of the launch of the operation, compared to 32% of independents and 18% of Democrats. The poll found that 59% of Americans disapprove of the U.S. decision to strike.
Similarly, an NBC poll found that 41% of American registered voters approve of President Donald Trump’s approach to Iran, while 54% disapprove and 5% aren’t sure. Just 8% of Democrats approve of the president’s handling of the situation, while 79% of Republicans and 28% of independents approve of it. In addition, the poll found that 52% oppose the current U.S. military operation. A sizable majority of Republicans (77%) agree with the U.S. decision to strike Iran, while 89% of Democrats and 58% of independents disagree.
There is a further divide between self-identified MAGA-aligned Republicans and other Republicans, the poll found: 90% of the former back the strikes, while 54% of the latter support them. The CNN poll found that MAGA Republicans are 30 points more likely than non-MAGA Republicans to strongly approve of the decision to take military action.
MILITARY UPDATE
Day 6: Repatriation flights briefly delayed in the air as Iran shoots missiles at Israel
Some of the first repatriation flights carrying Israelis who had been stranded abroad were briefly held mid-flight on Thursday morning as Iranian missiles were fired at central Israel. El Al, Arkia, Israir and Air Haifa repatriation flights began departing for Israel on Wednesday evening from dozens of destinations in Europe, the U.S. and Thailand, and began landing Thursday morning. Several flights needed to briefly detour while en route to Ben Gurion Airport after Iran shot missiles toward central Israel. The flights are expected to continue through the weekend, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Developments: Iran also attacked Azerbaijan for the first time Thursday morning, launching drones that injured two at Nakhchivan International Airport. Shortly after, Baku vowed to respond to the attack. Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands said they would send naval vessels to Cyprus, after an Iranian UAV struck a British base on the island state. The IDF has been preparing for the possibility that the Houthis will begin striking Israel as they have done sporadically since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, Israeli media reported. The Houthis have threatened to fire at Gulf States if they attack Iran, and Saudi Arabia increased security for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in case of a Houthi attack, according to Israeli public broadcaster KAN.
FINGER IN THE WIND
Gavin Newsom shifts hard left on Israel policy amid presidential primary considerations
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday night on a popular liberal podcast that the U.S. should reconsider its military support for Israel, a marked evolution for a politician who traveled to Israel less than two weeks after the Oct. 7 terror attacks in 2023 and who said in an October interview that he would not consider eliminating U.S. military aid to Israel, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. Asked by Jon Favreau, the co-host of “Pod Save America,” if the U.S. should, in the future, rethink its military support for Israel, Newsom responded, “It breaks my heart because the current leadership in Israel is walking us down that path where I don’t think you have a choice.”
Zoom out: Newsom’s move away from military support for Israel is a shift even from his recent positions. In October, during an interview with the “Higher Learning” podcast, Newsom said he would not support ending U.S. military aid to Israel. He touted his decision in December 2023 to send humanitarian aid to Gaza, while also defending Israel’s right to exist. Newsom is widely considered a 2028 presidential contender, and he has been shifting his public stances on Israel to the left in recent months in response to questions from progressive interviewers.
Bonus: The Free Press’ Peter Savodnik writes that Newsom “seems congenitally incapable of rising above his tribe and conceiving of the war [in Iran] as anything other than yet another opportunity for politicking, for taking a few shots, scoring some points.”
ABOUT FACE
Ruben Gallego transforms from pro-Israel moderate to face of antiwar opposition
With a series of pugnacious tweets and media appearances, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) has made himself a face of the Democratic opposition to the war in Iran, issuing one of the first comments from a U.S. lawmaker opposing the effort in the early hours of Saturday morning. Gallego’s outspoken commentary, which has repeatedly pinned blame for the operation on Israel — a notion that colleagues on both sides of the aisle have disputed — also coincide with Gallego’s endorsement of Graham Platner, the progressive Maine Senate candidate who has faced a series of scandals related to antisemitism, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Current messaging: The high-profile moves come as Gallego, who claimed victory in Arizona in 2024 even as President Donald Trump won the state, is seen by political observers as positioning himself for a 2028 presidential campaign — and as anti-Israel policies have become a litmus test for the progressive left. “So Netanyahu now decides when we go to war? So much for America First,” Gallego said earlier this week, in response to comments by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that seemed to suggest that the timing of the war was dictated by Israel. “What the f*** happened to America First?” Gallego wrote in another post, adding that the U.S. should have left Israel to go ahead with the operation alone.
VOTED DOWN
Senate defeats resolution to halt Iran war, largely along party lines
With the U.S.-Israel operation against Iran widening, the Senate voted 53-47 on Wednesday afternoon — largely along party lines — to block a procedural vote on a war powers resolution that would have forced the immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from combat with Iran, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What happened: Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and John Fetterman (D-PA) broke with their respective parties as expected, with Paul voting for and Fetterman voting against the motion, with all other lawmakers voting along party lines. The vote showcased how the Iran war has quickly become a partisan issue, despite lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressing long-standing concerns about the threat from Iran and its malign activities and some Democrats offering a degree of positive commentary about the U.S. strikes. Though widely expected to fail, Democrats view the resolution, and a similar one up for a vote in the House tomorrow, as a critical avenue to go on record with their opposition to the Trump administration’s military offensive.
STEERING CLEAR
Lawmakers keep arm’s length from WH’s reported Kurdish insurgency push in Iran
Lawmakers are largely keeping an arm’s length from the administration’s reported discussions with Kurdish leaders in Iraq about supporting an armed offensive against the Iranian regime, as an on-the-ground force aligned with U.S. interests in the ongoing American and Israeli air campaign, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What they’re saying: Many Republican senators indicated Wednesday that they knew little about the effort. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) told JI he couldn’t comment on the subject due to classification issues, but said generally that “the Kurds know how to fight — you don’t want to tangle with the Kurds.” Some seemed broadly supportive, while not commenting on the specifics of the reported moves. Democrats are generally skeptical of the reported plan. “I am struck by the hypocrisy of pulling the rug out from under the Kurds in Syria and then asking them to fight again for Iran. Kurds deserve better,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said.
NOT CONVINCED
Iran ‘catastrophically’ miscalculated in striking Arab countries, experts say
Leading Middle East foreign policy experts warned that Iran’s decision to expand its response to the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign by striking neighboring Arab states could prove to be a major strategic miscalculation — one that risks isolating Tehran further and potentially drawing Gulf countries to take action, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. In the days following the launch of the campaign, Iran carried out widespread drone and missile strikes at multiple Arab nations, striking all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — as well as Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Oman.
Tehran ‘encircled’: Alexander Gray, a former National Security Council chief of staff under President Donald Trump and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told JI that Iran’s decision to attack Arab countries was an “extraordinary strategic miscalculation.” Gray said, “Not only has Iran forced the region’s Arab states to openly support the U.S. and Israeli operation, but it has encircled itself far more effectively than any American diplomacy could have accomplished.” Michael Koplow, chief policy officer at Israel Policy Forum, called the action a “risky move at best.”
Ankara angle: Iran and Turkey moved to de-escalate tensions between them in the immediate aftermath of the downing of an Iranian missile over Turkey on Wednesday, but the development signals dangerous potential if the conflict heats up between them, experts told JI’s Lahav Harkov.
Worthy Reads
A New Middle East: In Semafor, Jason Greenblatt, who served as White House Middle East envoy in the first Trump administration, posits that shifting regional dynamics have created an environment for a new power structure in the Middle East. “For the first time in decades, there is a convergence of strength in the Middle East: A US president willing to confront threats directly; an Israel capable of degrading proxy networks and striking hard at Iran’s military infrastructure; and Arab leaders who have built dynamic economies focused on modernization and long-term competitiveness. Working together, they can isolate the Iranian regime diplomatically, dismantle much of its proxy infrastructure, severely degrade its military reach, and strip it of the intimidation it has used to dominate the region.” [Semafor]
Why America Went to War: In The Free Press, Haviv Rettig Gur considers the broader global geopolitics at play amid debates in the U.S. over the main drivers of the war with Iran. “There is a regional chessboard, on which Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the other Gulf states all play. Iran’s proxies, its drones and ballistic missiles, its nuclear ambitions, its funding of Hezbollah and the Houthis: All of that belongs primarily to this smaller game. … But there is a second chessboard, vastly larger, on which the United States and China are the primary players. … America went to war in Iran because Iran made itself a Chinese weapon. It didn’t need to do this, to invest so much of the administration’s political capital and of the military’s firepower, just to shore up a second-run Israeli operation.” [FreePress]
Lonely is the Head…: In The Wall Street Journal, RealEye CEO Kevin Cohen looks at Israel’s strategy of targeting the top echelon of Iranian leadership. “The logic is straightforward. Authoritarian systems recover from shocks by quickly re-establishing hierarchy. If that re-establishment becomes dangerous, decision-makers hesitate. Hesitation spreads uncertainty through the entire structure. A regime can survive sanctions. It can survive airstrikes. It can even survive the death of a supreme leader. What it struggles to survive is doubt about who holds authority next. That doubt ripples outward. Commanders delay orders until legitimacy is confirmed. Rival factions position themselves cautiously. Security services turn inward, searching for infiltration. Decision cycles lengthen. Under pressure, elongated decision cycles become fragility. This strategy depends on intelligence rather than brute force.” [WSJ]
Word on the Street
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the accomplishment of several key objectives, including that “the leader of the unit” responsible for the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in November 2024 “has been hunted down and killed,” Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports…
Seventy-five retired U.S. generals and military officials signed onto an open letter from the Jewish Institute for National Security of America supporting the U.S. and Israeli strikes in Iran…
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, and Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI), the top Democrat on the Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee, expressed concerns about reports that the FBI had fired staff involved in countering threats from Iran in retaliation for their involvement in investigating President Donald Trump…
First in JI: Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) endorsed James Leuschen, a former staffer for Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) running for Congress in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District. “Americans are getting squeezed by high grocery prices, health care, child care, rent, and utility bills,” Gottheimer said in a statement. “They want results, not rhetoric. James Leuschen knows that serving the district where he was born and raised means working with anyone to lower costs and deliver real solutions — and to stop Donald Trump’s chaos”…
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) dropped his reelection bid hours before the deadline to file in Montana; Daines endorsed U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Kurt Alme, who filed to run for the seat shortly after Daines withdrew from the ballot…
Far-left Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam conceded to Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC) in the Democratic primary in North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District after falling short in her second bid for the seat…
Former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) is expected to step down as inspector general of the Labor Department as soon as today and announce a comeback bid for the Long Island House seat he lost to Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY) in 2024…
A federal judge in Florida ruled that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ move to declare the Council on American-Islamic Relations a terrorist group was unconstitutional and violated the group’s First Amendment rights…
A New York State Supreme Court justice who also serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s law school dismissed the punishments — including expulsions, degree revocations and suspensions — of Columbia students who participated in the takeover of the school’s Hamilton Hall in 2024 to protest Israel’s war in Gaza, determining that the school could not use sealed arrest records as evidence in disciplinary proceedings; the ruling came as a result of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s decision to drop criminal charges against the students, thereby sealing their records…
Florida International University is conducting a criminal investigation into a group chat of students associated with Miami-Dade County’s Republican Party in Florida where participants repeatedly used racial slurs, praised Nazi ideology and discussed violent acts against Black people…
Jewish leaders in Chicago are calling on Mayor Brandon Johnson to follow the recommendation of the city’s Commission on Human Relations and create an antisemitism task force…
A local Democratic candidate in Northern Virginia’s Prince William County is under fire for recently unearthed racist and antisemitic social media posts from 2012 and 2015…
The U.K. is undertaking an official review into antisemitism at British schools and universities, following a report from the Community Security Trust that showed that school-related antisemitic incidents had doubled since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks…
Poland repatriated more than 90 artifacts from Greece’s Jewish community that had been looted by the Nazis’ Rosenberg Taskforce during Germany’s occupation of the country during World War II…
The New York Times reports on how the Australian Jewish community, and specifically the Sydney Jewish Museum, is memorializing the victims of the December terror attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach…
Ahmad Vahidi, a key suspect in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was named the new head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps…
The Wall Street Journal looks at how Iran’s decision to build underground “missile cities” to store munitions has backfired, with U.S. and Israeli jets poised to strike missile launchers as they emerge from the underground caverns…
Pic of the Day
A delegation of the American Jewish Committee, led by CEO Ted Deutch (center) and President Bobby Lapin, met Tuesday with Paraguayan President Santiago Peña (far left) in the group’s first-ever visit to Paraguay.
Birthdays
Actor and screenwriter, Jason Isaac Fuchs turns 40…
Particle physicist and astrophysicist, he is a professor emeritus at the University of Michigan, Carl William Akerlof turns 88… Retired university counsel for California State University, Donald A. Newman… Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, he is an associate fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Roy Gutman turns 82… Retired partner of Los Angeles law firm, Gordon, Edelstein, Krepack, Grant, Felton & Goldstein, LLP, Mark Edelstein… President of Los Angeles PR firm Robin Gerber & Associates, Robin Gerber Carnesale… Managing partner at Lerer Hippeau, a NYC-based VC firm, he co-founded Huffington Post and was the longtime chair of BuzzFeed, Kenneth B. Lerer turns 74… Political philosopher and professor at Harvard Law School, Michael Joseph Sandel turns 73… Founder and retired CEO of the DC-based News Literacy Project, Alan C. Miller… Author of Judaism: A Way of Being and former professor of computer science at Yale University, David Hillel Gelernter turns 71… Maryland state senator since 2019, Benjamin F. Kramer turns 69… Actor, screenwriter and film producer, he has been a contestant on three seasons of CBS’ “Survivor,” Jonathan Penner turns 64… Retired tennis player, she won 10 doubles tournaments, Elise Burgin turns 64… Former senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former NPR reporter, Sarah Chayes turns 64… Professor at Université de Montréal, most noted for his work on artificial neural networks and deep learning, Yoshua Bengio turns 62… Chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, former president and board chair of AIPAC, Betsy Berns Korn turns 58… President and founder of West End Strategy Team, Matt Dorf turns 56… Los Angeles-area builder and developer, Michael Reinis… Renewable energy executive, Michael N. Kruger… Recording music industry executive, best known for his association with the game show “Jeopardy!,” Austin David “Buzzy” Cohen turns 41… Chief communications officer at Jenner & Block, Daniel S. Schwarz… Managing director at Portage Point Partners, Steven Shenker… Disgraced and jailed founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried turns 34… Manager of operations support at TEKsystems, Andrew Leiferman… Singer and influencer, her career started with a song she performed at her own bat mitzvah, Madison Elle Beer turns 27…
The California governor said Tuesday the U.S. should reconsider its military support for Israel just months after having supported continuing U.S. aid
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images
Governor Gavin Newsom criticizes U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iran during a press conference in Hayward, California, United States, on March 2, 2026.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday night on a popular liberal podcast that the U.S. should reconsider its military support for Israel, a marked evolution for a politician who traveled to Israel less than two weeks after the Oct. 7 terror attacks in 2023 and who said in an October interview that he would not consider eliminating U.S. military aid to Israel.
“Do you think, looking down the road, that the United States should consider maybe rethinking our military support for Israel?” Jon Favreau, the co-host of “Pod Save America,” asked Newsom during an event promoting the Democratic governor’s new book.
“It breaks my heart because the current leadership in Israel is walking us down that path where I don’t think you have a choice,” Newsom said in response. He also said in the conversation with Favreau and co-host Tommy Vietor, which came amid the joint U.S.-Israeli operation against Iran, that Israel could “appropriately” be described as an apartheid state.
The “Pod Save” hosts have been some of the leading voices in the Democratic Party hostile to Israel and pro-Israel groups, boosting progressive primary candidates including Graham Platner in Maine and Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, who made criticism of Israel central to their campaigns.
Further, Newsom seemed to make the argument that military support for Israel comes at the expense of social welfare programs in the U.S.
“To say this is in America’s interest at a time when affordability is at crisis levels, where you have an administration who literally got elected saying this is exactly the opposite of what they would ever consider doing, the fact that we are in this now regional war, all these proxies,” Newsom said, before trailing off into a conversation about corruption in the Trump administration.
On Thursday, Newsom will appear in Portsmouth, N.H., for another book talk — a location sure to raise eyebrows because of the state’s importance in the presidential primary contest. He’ll be interviewed by Jack Cocchiarella, a self-described “progressive political YouTuber” who also frequently bashes Israel. Cocchiarella said in a post on X promoting the event that they will be discussing Israel. Earlier this week, the podcast host called Israel “a terrorist state that threatens and kill [sic] Americans.”
Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for Newsom, told The New York Timeson Wednesday that he “believes in Israel’s right to exist — and its right to defend itself. Period.”
Newsom “is calling out a difficult truth,” added Gardon, saying that President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are “taking Israel down a course that threatens the safety of Israel — a democracy and America’s closest Middle East ally — as well as Israelis and American Jews.” Gardon declined to comment further to JI.
Newsom’s move away from military support for Israel is a shift even from his recent positions. In October, during an interview with the “Higher Learning” podcast, Newsom said he would not support ending U.S. military aid to Israel.
“No, I’m not prepared to say that I would support a blanket exemption for military support of Israel. That said, I’ve been very vocal in my opposition to Bibi Netanyahu,” said Newsom.
He touted his decision in December 2023 to send humanitarian aid to Gaza, while also defending Israel’s right to exist.
“I am sitting here on your behalf, you’re a taxpayer,” Newsom said on the podcast, “as the only governor in the United States that sent a field hospital to Gaza and got it in through a third party country, and is disgusted by what’s happened in Gaza as a human being, as a father, who sees these children and how this war has been perpetuated by Bibi Netanyahu. I also have deep respect for the right of the State of Israel to exist and defend itself. And I thought the attack by Hamas was a terrorist attack, and we have to be clear about that as well.”
Newsom is widely considered a 2028 presidential contender, and he has been shifting his public stances on Israel to the left in recent months in response to questions from progressive interviewers.
In the days immediately after Oct. 7, Newsom lit the state capital in blue and white and unequivocally condemned Hamas’ actions. Less than two weeks later, he added a one-day visit to Israel onto a pre-planned trip to Asia.
“Despite the horror, what I saw and heard from the people of Israel was a profound sense of resilience. A commitment to community and common purpose, especially in these most difficult of times,” Newsom said afterward. He first traveled to Israel in 2008, the first sitting mayor of San Francisco to do so, on a trip organized by the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation.
Jewish allies of Newsom’s in California told Jewish Insider they disagreed with his choice of using the word “apartheid” but said his comments reflected sentiments familiar to those held by many pro-Israel Democrats who disagree with Netanyahu’s actions.
“I heard what he was saying as sort of a frustration, as, ‘I don’t want it to go there,’ but I’m hearing a lot of concerns and frustrations when he’s saying ‘it breaks my heart,’” said Andrew Lachman, a Culver City school board member and the former president of California Jewish Democrats.
Sam Lauter, a Democratic donor and activist in San Francisco, said he “would have preferred [Newsom] not use those words.”
“I don’t want the word apartheid to come up. I don’t want someone to position themselves as being open to the idea of cutting off military aid to Israel,” Lauter said. “I wouldn’t say that his position has changed or evolved. I think it’s just that the more that folks see Netanyahu and the Netanyahu government proceed down the path that they have proceeded down, the more you’re going to hear people say, this is where he’s put us.”
During his October interview with the “Higher Learning” podcast, Newsom was asked to discuss his views on AIPAC after Van Lathan, the show’s host, said he would not vote for any candidate who accepted money from the pro-Israel lobby. At the time, Newsom appeared flummoxed and did not give a substantive answer.
“It’s interesting. I haven’t thought about AIPAC. And it’s interesting, you’re, like, the first to bring up AIPAC in years, which is interesting. It’s not relevant to my day to day life,” Newsom said.
Two months later, he was asked a similar question by Cocchiarella.
“I’ve never received a dollar from them in my entire political career. So that’s sort of absolute. So I’ve had an opinion on that going back decades now,” said Newsom.
AIPAC only started spending in political races in 2022, and they have never donated to state candidates, only to congressional campaigns. But Newsom doubled down and compared AIPAC to other groups deemed politically toxic to Democrats.
“I don’t take tobacco money, oil money. I’ve never taken AIPAC money. I mean, there’s certain absolutes that are the lines that have been drawn for decades for me,” he said.
Lauter, who used to be involved with AIPAC and now sits on the board of Democratic Majority for Israel, called Newsom’s comments on AIPAC “immensely unfortunate.”
“I’m disappointed that AIPAC has become such an easy target, even for folks that we should consider friends,” Lauter told JI on Wednesday.
Most of the leading candidates attended the candidate forum hosted by Jewish California, with the exceptions of former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and Rep. Katie Porter
Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Tom Steyer speaks during Jewish California Governor 2026 Candidate Forum at Skirball Cultural Center on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA.
As California’s gubernatorial race heats up, five leading candidates said at a forum on Thursday that they are committed to deepening the state’s partnership with Israel and fighting efforts to boycott the Jewish state.
The candidates — Democrats Antonio Villaraigosa, a former state lawmaker and Los Angeles mayor; Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA); Tom Steyer, a billionaire businessman and former presidential candidate; and Matt Mahan, a tech entrepreneur and mayor of San Jose; along with Republican Steve Hilton, a conservative commentator who was once an advisor to former British Prime Minister David Cameron — appeared together Thursday night at a Los Angeles candidate forum hosted by Jewish California (formerly JPAC), the Bay Area Jewish Community Relations Council, the Los Angeles Jewish Federation and the Skirball Cultural Center.
“I’ve been to Israel half a dozen times. I’ve been all over the region. I’ve seen the innovation in energy. I’ve seen the innovation in water technology, and of course, California should partner with Israel to meet our own energy and water needs,” Swalwell, who represents a Bay Area district, said. “I will bring back as many values and technologies from Israel that can help Californians. That’s the job of the next governor.”
Hilton praised the business relationship between California and Israel, and said “that foundation of prosperity and cooperation is how we build a stronger future for Israel and for us here in California.”
Villaraigosa also outlined his many past trips to Israel. “I’ve been to Israel half a dozen times, including the last time three years ago, when I wasn’t in office anymore. As governor of this state, I will work with the State of Israel,” he said.
Mahan called California’s relationship with Israel “an important one for our country and for our state.”
“In Silicon Valley,” he continued, “I’ve lost count of how many brilliant entrepreneurs [and] investors I’ve met from Israel who have brought incredible innovation to our state. And that exchange is something we need to continue to invest in.”
Steyer, like the other Democrats on stage, drew a line between the Israeli people and the Israeli government.
“Are we talking about the people of Israel? Or are you talking about the administration that runs the State of Israel? As far as I can tell, Mr. Netanyahu is quite a close confidant, ally and co-believer with our president. There’s nothing about our president, literally, that I agree with,” said Steyer. “How do I feel about the people of Israel, a scrappy group of people trying to build a country, build their families, build businesses? That’s a completely different question.”
A recent Public Policy Institute of California poll showed a crowded, closely contested race, with five candidates neck-and-neck in the all-party primary, each with 10-14% of the vote.
Hilton led the pack with 14%, followed by former Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) with 13%, and then Republican Chad Bianco, sheriff of Riverside County, with 12%. Swalwell was at 11%, with Steyer at 10%. The top two finishers face off in the November general election.
A spokesperson for Porter told Jewish Insider she could not attend due to a scheduling conflict.
“Rep. Porter spoke to Jewish California last year about her vision to address the many issues facing California as Governor, including the increase in antisemitism, and she looks forward to continuing the conversation,” the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for Bianco did not respond to a request for comment, but SF JCRC CEO Tyler Gregory told JI he also had a scheduling conflict. Democrat Xavier Becerra, the former secretary of Health and Human Services, also did not participate.
All five candidates at the forum on Thursday said they oppose the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Hilton and Mahan, citing the state’s anti-BDS law, said they would push back on efforts by municipalities to boycott or divest from Israel.
“They’re illegal. I will make sure that, as governor, my attorney general, sues these cities to stop them breaking the law,” said Hilton.
“We should push against any attempt to unwind our prohibition of it,” Mahan said of the BDS movement.
Each of the candidates also criticized how public universities in the state responded to anti-Israel and antisemitic protesters during the spring 2024 encampments.
“I’m a proud graduate of UCLA, but I’ll tell you something, I’ve never been so embarrassed and ashamed about what I saw happen on a UC campus, and as governor, we will not tolerate that,” Villaraigosa said. “The fact that it took so long to extricate these people that tried to intimidate people and wouldn’t allow them to go to class, wear their yarmulke, was absolutely unacceptable.”
Mahan criticized a questionnaire from a union representing thousands of professors and lecturers in the California State University system that asked candidates last year to say they would refuse donations from AIPAC and JPAC.
“That tells you how bad it has gotten. As governor I will actively call that out,” said Mahan. “One of the most powerful things the governor has is the bully pulpit, and it’s important as governor to speak directly to that divisiveness and call it out and explain that it is wrong and that we will not tolerate it in our public institutions. We also have to talk about curriculum.”
Steyer called freedom to protest “one of the hallmarks of higher education” in the U.S., but said “when protest moves into discriminating against other students, that’s when protest is no longer acceptable.”
Swalwell recounted a recent conversation with a friend who said his daughter had taken some schools off her college list because of fears about antisemitism.
“A metric of success for me is that Jewish California students feel safe in every California university and college,” said Swalwell. “Yes, California and our colleges have always led some of the best movements in our history. However, that does not give you license to hate, discriminate, to commit violence.”
Hilton described visiting UCLA after the encampments to speak to Jewish students and called on the other candidates in the room to bring their messaging of fighting antisemitism to other audiences, not just Jewish ones.
“It’s still going on, this sense of fear and intimidation, and we’ve got to take a stronger stance,” Hilton said. “Our elected leaders in this state aren’t quite as clear on some of these issues, and give succor to the hate and the ideology that’s causing this fear among our Jewish population. So I would like them to speak with the same strength and clarity against this ideology everywhere, not just in this audience.”
Other questions touched on immigration, homelessness, affordability and the impact of artificial intelligence. The state’s gubernatorial primary will take place on June 2, and the top two vote-getters, irrespective of party, will advance to the general election.
The suit highlights several complaints from Jewish parents and children statewide, in school districts including Berkeley, Los Angeles, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Campbell Union, Fremont, Etiwanda and Oakland
Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Members of the Oakland Unified School District School Board during a public school board meeting in Oakland, California Wednesday August 24, 2022.
Jewish legal groups filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the State of California over an alleged failure to address antisemitism — some of which is stemming from teachers’ unions — in K-12 public schools across the state.
Filed by the Louis D. Brandeis Center For Human Rights Under Law and StandWithUs, with outside counsel from veteran California plaintiffs’ attorney Michael Sherman, the suit also names the California State Board of Education, the State Department of Education and Superintendent Tony Thurmond.
It highlights several complaints from Jewish parents and children statewide, in school districts including Berkeley, Los Angeles, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Campbell Union, Fremont, Etiwanda and Oakland.
In the Berkeley Unified School District, which has been a hotbed for antisemitic incidents since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, a ninth grader said his art teacher displayed a Star of David with a fist punching through it. The same teacher promoted a walkout filled with chants that included, “F*ck the Jews,” according to the complaint, which states that when the student’s mother reported the teacher’s conduct, the school’s solution was to separate the Jewish student from his class in the library and health center.
The lawsuit comes two months after the House Committee on Education and Workforce opened an investigation into three school districts around the country, including BUSD, which has 9,400 students and had already been placed under federal investigation for an alleged failure to address antisemitism since Oct. 7.
The Brandeis Center also previously filed a Title VI complaint in 2024 with the Justice Department’s Office for Civil Rights that stated that Berkeley administrators had ignored parent reports, including a letter signed by 1,370 Berkeley community members to the district’s superintendent and Board of Education, while knowingly allowing its public schools to become hostile environments for Jewish and Israeli students.
The Oakland Unified School District, meanwhile, saw at least 30 Jewish families move their children to neighboring school districts in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks because of “systemic” antisemitism, eJewishPhilanthropy reported in 2024.
The lawsuit also spotlights multiple instances in which teachers or unions allegedly facilitated the spread of antisemitism into California classrooms. Members of the Oakland Education Association created an unapproved curriculum that recycles “antisemitic propaganda and age-old antisemitic tropes,” the suit states.
The curriculum featured, among other things, a children’s book for Oakland’s transitional kindergarten through third grade students that proclaims, “I is for Intifada,” a word defined benignly as “rising up for what’s right.” Another one of the materials asks children to draw a picture of “The Zionist leaders of Israel receiv[ing] money and support to conduct” a “two-tiered (unfair) system where Palestinians are mistreated and attacked.”
Last October, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 715, a law aimed at combating antisemitism in K-12 schools by establishing state prevention coordinators, adding to anti-discrimination policies and addressing the surge in incidents.
Local Jewish leaders expressed support for the lawsuit, claiming that existing laws have not been adequately enforced.
“California has some of the strongest laws and policies aimed at protecting Jewish residents from antisemitism, yet enforcement remains sparse, inconsistent and lacks accountability,” Robert Trestan, vice president of Anti-Defamation League West, said in a statement. “Jewish students are increasingly targeted because of their identity and exposed to lesson plans containing antisemitism and anti-Israel narratives. It is time for California officials to deliver on their promise of schools and classrooms that are free of hate. Our children cannot afford to wait any longer.”
More than half a million students attend LA public schools, including 50,000 Jewish children. Rabbi Noah Farkas, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation Los Angeles, said that “rising antisemitism in our classrooms is leaving some students unsafe and unprotected. California already has strong laws to prevent hate and discrimination — now they must be enforced consistently so every child can learn in safety with dignity. When any child experiences hate unchecked, it threatens the safety and moral integrity of our entire public education system.”
The state’s universities are similarly facing antisemitism allegations.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a suit against the University of California system, alleging that its Los Angeles campus failed to protect Jewish and Israeli faculty and staff in accordance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination.
The congressional candidate faced blowback from state Jewish leaders after flip-flopping on his genocide accusation, a word that he previously opted not to use
Yalonda M. James/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
California state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) on Tuesday, November 18, 2025.
California state Sen. Scott Wiener announced on Thursday that he is stepping down from his role as one of the co-chairs of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, capping off nearly two weeks of controversy and frustration among Jewish leaders in the state after the San Francisco Democrat declared Israel’s actions in Gaza to be a genocide.
Wiener said in a statement, which was obtained by Jewish Insider, that the decision was prompted in part by the fallout of his genocide comments.
“My campaign is accelerating, and my recent statements on Israel and Gaza have led to significant controversy in the Jewish community. The time to transition has arrived,” Wiener said. He will remain in the role until Feb. 15.
Wiener, who is running for Congress in a competitive Democratic primary to fill the seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), has long declared himself a progressive Zionist while also criticizing the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s actions in Gaza.
But after a candidate forum this month where his two competitors were quick to say Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, Wiener faced pressure from his left to use the word himself, and released a video a few days later changing his stance.
“I’ve stopped short of calling it genocide, but I can’t anymore,” Wiener said. A coalition of local and statewide Jewish advocacy groups responded with a statement saying his position “is both incorrect and lacks moral clarity.”
Wiener said Thursday that the American Jewish community “is navigating an extremely difficult moment in time,” and called for more dialogue.
“As we move through this moment, it is even more important for Jews here and globally to foster open dialogue and acceptance of disagreement, even on the hardest of issues,” Wiener said. “Since I stated my view that the Netanyahu government committed a genocide in Gaza, I have had many in-depth conversations with members of the Jewish community with a range of perspectives. While many in the community strongly disagree with my view, I am grateful for their willingness to engage with me and hear my perspective, showing once again the deep respect for difference in our community.”
In an interview with Politico this week, Wiener said he had avoided using the word “genocide” until now because of the harm and hurt it would cause the Jewish community.
“Until now, I have not used the word genocide really for two reasons: First of all, it is an extremely sensitive issue in the Jewish community,” Wiener said. “And [second] particularly because the word genocide has been weaponized against Israel and against Jews for a long time. There are people who think Israel’s mere existence is genocide.”
He said he’s heard from Jewish voters and leaders in the days since who are unhappy with his statement, but asked them to remember his record.
“If you’re mad at me, if you feel betrayed, I respect and honor that. But just also remember how many times I’ve gone to the mat for this community, and the bullets I’ve taken for this community,” Wiener said.
One local activist told JI Wiener faced pressure from his own campaign staff to change his position
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California State Senator Scott Wiener addresses the SF Chronicle Editorial Board on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018 in San Francisco, Calif.
California state Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat running in a crowded primary to replace retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), has spent the last week navigating the political fallout of a Gaza-related exchange at a candidate forum that lasted no more than 30 seconds but has since gone viral in progressive Bay Area political circles.
All three candidates who appeared at the forum last week — Wiener, San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Connie Chan, and Saikat Chakrabarti, former chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) — were asked if they believed Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, by lifting a “yes” or “no” placard. The other two said yes; Wiener did not answer at all.
In the days that followed, Wiener was slammed by far-left activists. He posted, then deleted, a message on X saying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “demands more discussion and certainly more time.” Finally, four days later, he released a video on Sunday where he somberly explained that he has changed his position and now does believe Israel’s actions amount to genocide.
“I’ve stopped short of calling it genocide, but I can’t anymore,” the post said.
“For many Jews, associating the word genocide with the Jewish state of Israel is deeply painful and frankly traumatic,” Wiener said in the video. “But despite that pain and that trauma, we all have eyes and we see the absolute devastation and catastrophic death toll in Gaza inflicted by the Israeli government.”
It was a shocking about-face for one of the most prominent Jewish lawmakers in the state, a progressive who has sharply criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza but who has reiterated his support for the U.S.-Israel relationship as the co-chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. He took a delegation of lawmakers to visit Israel in 2024.
Hours before he posted the video, The Atlantic published a lengthy interview with Wiener where he declined to use the term “genocide” to describe Israel’s actions — and where he said such rhetorical purity tests sort Jews into “good” and “bad.”
“If you’re not willing to use the exact language that we want you to use, then you’re a bad Jew,” Wiener said in the Atlantic interview, describing the tactics of those seeking ideological purity.
The geopolitical reality in Gaza and Israel did not change in the four days between the candidate forum and Wiener’s video. What changed, according to two political activists in the Bay Area, was politics.
Wiener took a great deal of flack from the anti-Zionist left over his refusal to distance himself from the Jewish state, even though he has called Israel’s actions in Gaza “indefensible” and has been a staunch critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But as Wiener runs for Congress, the political stakes have only increased.
“Scott was faced with this reality that he was actually, literally losing supporters over this position,” one Jewish Democratic activist in San Francisco told Jewish Insider. The people turning away from his campaign were not the hard-left activists who have been agitating against Wiener since soon after the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks that sparked the war in Gaza. Instead, they were progressive activists who supported Wiener for his stances on the LGBTQ community and housing, but who use the word “genocide” as a litmus test, the activist said.
“Folks have been talking to me, saying this was a gut punch, to see Scott do this,” said the activist. “And I said, ‘Well, for me, it’s more of a gut punch that it’s actually politically necessary for him to do this.’”
Wiener was also facing pressure from his own campaign staff, according to the activist.
After Wiener posted the video on Sunday, his communications director, Erik Mebust, re-posted it to his own personal Instagram account.
“Israel has committed genocide in Gaza and must be stopped,” Mebust wrote in a post on his private Instagram story, a screenshot of which was obtained by JI. “[Sen.] Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and [Rep.] Becca Balint (D-VT) are the only two Jewish members of Congress with the courage to say that. Scott Wiener joins them today.” Mebust did not respond to a request for comment.
Several California Jewish organizations, including the Bay Area JCRC and JPAC, a lobbying org that represents Jewish communities across the state, released a joint statement slamming Wiener’s rhetorical shift.
“Senator Wiener’s newly stated position is both incorrect and lacks moral clarity,” the organizations said. “The diminishment and weaponization of the term ‘genocide’ in this context has been deeply painful for our community, given our own historical experiences with the Holocaust.”
JCRC CEO Tyler Gregory told JI that Wiener’s new stance is “deeply disappointing and disheartening.”
“I don’t believe that he believes this. I believe he felt he had to do this,” Gregory said. “I don’t believe in burning bridges. We’re in the community relations business and relationships matter, and he still has a great shot of winning this seat, and we’re going to need to figure out how to work with him and repair [the relationship] if he wins. But this is also deeply damaging to the Jewish community, and words matter, and it’s not a genocide.”
The California congressman, an outspoken critic of Israel, praised moderate Govs. Andy Beshear and Josh Shapiro as ‘offering a vision of how we move forward’
Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) speaks during the press conference on the Epstein Files Transparency Act with the Epstein abuse survivors at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on November 18, 2025.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who has repeatedly made headlines for his sharpening criticism of Israel’s operations in Gaza while bashing pro-Israel groups, addressed two synagogues in his district this weekend about Israel policy and antisemitism, fielding questions from congregants.
Khanna, considered to be a 2028 presidential contender, addressed Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos after Friday evening Shabbat services, and Congregation Emanu-El in San Jose on Saturday. Khanna’s office shared excerpts of both events with Jewish Insider.
Though Khanna is co-sponsoring a resolution describing the war in Gaza as a genocide, he gave a somewhat equivocal response on the issue at Congregation Beth Am, saying that there is significant disagreement on the use of the term, even within his own family, and acknowledging that its usage is “emotionally charged.”
“I believe that people of good faith can disagree on what to call it. I have said that I would defer to the international bodies and that the United States should follow international law,” Khanna continued. “What I do know is that what happened, in my view, was not right. Even though Israel was attacked and Oct. 7 was a terrorist attack, I think [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s response was disproportionate.”
Asked about former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir’s famous maxim, “If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel,” Khanna said that the “history is so complex.”
He said that both Israelis and Palestinians have strong claims to the land, while acknowledging that Israel had previously agreed to a partition of the state while the Palestinians rejected the existence of Israel.
“Obviously it’s a complex situation,” Khanna said. “All I can say is, now it seems to be the best chance for peace — is for both people to have a state basically under a 1967 framework with some adjustments as the way forward. … I don’t think the cycle of violence can continue. I think we have to try.”
He said that would require backing from regional powers in the Arab League and Palestinian guarantees of Israeli security, as well as the removal of Hamas from power. But he also acknowledged that Israelis “don’t trust the idea, even the left, of giving Palestinians a state because of what happened on Oct. 7.”
He emphasized that he believes that Israel “should exist as a Jewish and democratic state,” emphasizing that others on the left disagree with him on that point.
Khanna argued that he had “initially defended for a few months [after Oct. 7] Israel’s right to self-defense” and faced protests for doing so, “but by December, when Netanyahu had destroyed about eight out of 10 of the Hamas battalions and when President [Joe] Biden had the first deal for hostages, I thought that the military solution to the war was over. I did not think they would achieve more militarily.”
He added that he does not think that it is possible to remove Hamas from power in Gaza by military means, and that the “cost of human life was way too high [in the war] … that this was not advancing peace and it was not a proportionate response in terms of achieving a better outcome for people in Gaza or Israel.”
He said he did not think the U.S. should have continued providing offensive weapons to Israel while the war was ongoing.
Khanna said he has told Netanyahu that he may have won the battle against Israel’s terrorist enemies but is “losing the war. You’re losing every American under 50 and you need the United States.”
Khanna asserted that there is a significant generational divide among Jewish Americans and Americans on Israel and Gaza — “one of the starkest generational divides that I’ve seen, not just among the Jewish-American community, but in general.”
He suggested that New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s outspoken anti-Israel stance was a major reason the democratic socialist won the mayoral race, and that a “staggering amount” of young Jewish Americans supported Mamdani.
Polling has shown that a majority of Jewish New Yorkers voted against the mayor-elect and that a strong majority of Jews of all ages remain strongly connected to Israel.
Khanna said that he’s also seeing a similar trend among young Republicans, citing a conversation with a Republican friend, whose son told Khanna that Israel is the only issue on which he agrees with the congressman.
Asked about the future of Israelis living beyond the Green Line in the West Bank, Khanna — who has been pushing for the United States to unilaterally recognize Palestinian statehood — said that issue would have to be negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians.
“Some of them, they probably would have to leave, like they did when [former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon vacated Gaza,” Khanna said. “Some, if they stayed, there probably has to be some negotiation or compensation for that.”
Some critics, including fellow Democrats, of Khanna’s statehood recognition proposal say that outstanding issues such as Israeli and Palestinian borders, which must be resolved in negotiations, are one reason not to recognize Palestinian statehood at this point.
Khanna said that there can be “zero tolerance for antisemitism” and that political leaders need to call it out, regardless of which side of the aisle it comes from. “It can’t become a political football,” he added.
The California congressman himself has on multiple occasions faced criticism for associating with known antisemites — including appearing at an anti-Israel conference alongside speakers who defended terrorism and posting on social media a clip that included a prominent antisemitic conspiracy theorist — backpedaling on those associations after the fact.
Khanna said he created a point of contact in his office for individuals facing antisemitic discrimination to report their experiences. Many who have contacted him, he said, have been young people — Jewish clubs unable to bring speakers to campus, students uncomfortable in their classrooms — as well as a Jewish person feeling uncomfortable at their place of employment.
“I have, in a number of instances, reached out and said I don’t think that that’s acceptable,” Khanna said. “We need to make sure that this community is accept[ing] and open to people of all different backgrounds.”
He also said that more education about the Holocaust is critical and that the Department of Justice must have the resources it needs to protect Jewish communities and prosecute antisemitic hate crimes and threats.
Khanna also spoke about what he views as the future of the Democratic Party — notably offering support for two moderate Democratic governors while implicitly distancing himself from his home state’s governor.
“The last thing we need is the pundits for the party picking who the next leader should be,” Khanna said. “We need people to go earn it. … Go campaign, go work hard, share your vision with people, see if it resonates, have a primary of 10, 15 thoughtful people sharing the vision for the country, and don’t anoint who the next leader should be. That will be a colossal mistake.”
He praised Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro — both of whom are more moderate than Khanna — as “offering a vision of how we move forward.”
But he said he “completely reject[s]” those in the party who push for fighting “fire with fire” — an implicit dig at California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has adopted a Trumpian posture on social media to criticize the president and Republicans.
Khanna said he wants to pursue a “positive vision” to “heal this country” and “move this nation forward,” focusing on a “unifying economic message” — ”I call it economic patriotism as a new national purpose. Americans working together to build up every town so that every family has a chance of success in a modern economy, and so we can be a cohesive, multiracial democracy that leads the world.”
Though he has said he believes that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) should step down from his leadership position and called for “the old guard to make way” and let a “new generation of leadership” take charge, he said that he would support House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) as speaker of the House if the Democrats retake the chamber.
Fairfax County, Berkeley and Philadelphia schools face congressional investigations over alleged failures to protect Jewish students as complaints over classroom materials, walkouts and staff conduct mount
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Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) attends the House Education and Workforce Committee hearing on "The State of American Education" in the Ryaburn House Office Building on Wednesday, February 5, 2025.
The public school systems in Fairfax County, Va.; Berkeley, Calif.; and Philadelphia became the latest targets of the federal government’s crackdown on antisemitism in the classroom when the House Committee on Education and the Workforce announced on Monday it would open investigations into the districts.
Jewish leaders and parents in all three cities welcomed the probes with cautious optimism and said that they were long overdue, referencing high-profile incidents that have roiled each district, especially in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza. While much of the federal government’s attention has been on the historic levels of antisemitism on college campuses, focus has recently shifted to addressing anti-Israel sentiments creeping into the classrooms at some public K-12 schools.
All three districts under investigation have ties to the “Teaching Palestine” curriculum, which was created by textbook publisher Rethinking Schools. “There are fair-minded ways to look at complicated problems in the Middle East. Rethinking Schools materials aren’t that,” said Clifford Smith, government affairs director of the North American Values Institute, which published a report exposing anti-Israel bias within Rethinking Schools. “They are propaganda masquerading as educational resources,” Smith told Jewish Insider. He called on Congress to “take a hard look at the role groups like Rethinking Schools are playing in the recent explosion of antisemitism.”
Letters to the three school districts from the House committee’s chairman, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), warned that failing to “end any harassment, eliminate any hostile environment and its effects, and prevent any harassment from recurring” against Jewish students and staff would violate Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and could jeopardize their federal funding. The committee requested “an anonymized chart of all complaints” of antisemitic incidents, along with any documents, communications, or contracts related to “Jews, Judaism, Israel, Palestine, Zionism, or antisemitism” to be sent to the government by Dec. 8.
Fairfax County Public Schools, which is located outside of Washington and serves over 180,000 students, most recently faced scrutiny after two of its high schools’ Muslim Student Association chapters last month published social media videos that imitate hostage-taking and depict violence as part of a recruitment pitch to attract participants to their programming. Several of the participating students were suspended. Guila Franklin Siegel, the COO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, told JI at the time that the school system’s response to several recent antisemitic incidents was “slow and nontransparent,” and urged FCPS to “do more to properly address such behavior.”
The district has also faced anti-Israel walkouts on campuses. Several FCPS MSA chapters planned “Keffiyeh Week” protests timed to the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks, in which students encouraged classmates to wear the scarf associated with the Palestinian movement. The House committee’s letter also references incidents in the district that occurred before the Oct. 7 attacks, alleging that one school “for years allegedly refused to remove a hallway display that included painted tiles, 40 percent of which featured swastikas and Nazi flags [and that] just prior to the October 7th attacks, one high school’s Muslim Student Association hosted a speaker who had made grotesque antisemitic statements. For example, he had tweeted, ‘I’m not racist I love everyone. Except the yahood [Jews],’ and ‘Never met a Jew who didn’t have a huge nose.'”
“Members of Congress are in a unique position to not just condemn antisemitism, but also to provide schools with the necessary resources and support to fight it,” Franklin Siegel told JI on Tuesday.
“That’s the approach JCRC has taken in our yearslong effort to push Fairfax County officials to confront their long and troubling history of school-based antisemitism. We have partnered with FCPS on extensive teacher trainings, Holocaust speaker events and opportunities for Jewish students to share their personal stories with their school communities,” continued Franklin Siegel. “FCPS’ recent swift response to a series of disturbing videos made by students on school property demonstrates their ongoing commitment to getting this right. If FCPS continues building on these meaningful strides, all Jewish children will ultimately have the safe learning environment they need to thrive.”
A spokesperson for FCPS told JI that it “has received a letter from Congressman Walberg requesting information about potential antisemitic incidents occurring within FCPS schools since 2022. FCPS intends to fully cooperate with Congressman Walberg’s inquiry. FCPS continues to partner with all families to provide a safe, supportive, and inclusive school environment for all students and staff members.”
The Berkeley Unified School District in California, which has 9,400 students, has already previously been placed under federal investigation for an alleged failure to address antisemitism. The House committee wrote on Monday that “since October 7th, BUSD teachers, staff, and administrators have allegedly urged students to join walkouts and demonstrations during school hours that isolate and alienate Jewish students. At one such walkout, students were allegedly chanting ‘Kill the Jews.’ Antisemitism has also infected the classroom, with a teacher at Berkeley High School displaying an image of a fist destroying the Star of David and allegedly describing it as ‘standing up for social justice.'”
In February 2024, the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and the Anti-Defamation League jointly filed a Title VI complaint with the Office for Civil Rights that states Berkeley administrators have ignored parent reports, including a letter signed by 1,370 Berkeley community members to the Berkeley superintendent and Board of Education, while knowingly allowing its public schools to become hostile environments for Jewish and Israeli students.
A spokesperson for BUSD told JI that Monday’s letter from the House committee “concerns allegations raised almost 18 months ago, which our superintendent addressed when she appeared before Congress in May of 2024. The information sought in the current letter from the committee concerns those old allegations. The district will, of course, respond appropriately to the committee’s letter.”
“I feel gratified that this is getting proper attention,” Yossi Fendel, the parent of an 11th grader in the BUSD who is currently suing the school district over antisemitism in classroom materials, told JI.
“It shouldn’t be surprising that Congress is taking steps to intervene,” Fendel continued. “When Superintendent [Enikia] Ford Morthel got up before Congress, she was the only one there who was unwilling to acknowledge the depth of the problem. Other superintendents acknowledged they have a problem.”
In the House committee’s letter to the School District of Philadelphia, which has nearly 200,000 students, lawmakers said the district employs “numerous educators who allegedly promote antisemitic content in their classrooms.”
“SDP employs a senior administrator — its director of social studies curriculum — who has been widely condemned by Jewish advocacy groups in light of his ‘pattern of denying the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel, refusing to speak about peace or coexistence, and downplaying the lived experiences of Jewish people in the face of violence,’” the letter states. “In a recent example, after the murder of two Israeli embassy workers and the antisemitic firebombing attack in Colorado, the senior administrator wrote, ‘The groups who align themselves with American savageness should not be surprised when the savageness is turned on you[.]'”
In addition to “failing to exercise oversight of antisemitic materials in the classroom,” the letter continues, “SDP’s partnerships with external organizations raise concerns about whether antisemitic ideology is being taught in Philadelphia schools.”
“For example, in August, the Council on American Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) Philadelphia chapter announced that it would be partnering with Philadelphia schools. CAIR Philadelphia’s website promoted a workshop that invoked the antisemitic trope of Jewish ‘political power,’ promising to study ‘the controversial topic if [sic] Jewish political power in the U.S,’” the letter states.
The ADL also filed a Title VI complaint against SDP in 2024, which was settled in December. SDP agreed to undertake a series of initiatives to ensure its compliance with Title VI when responding to allegations of harassment based on shared ancestry.
“Since Oct. 7, 2023, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia has received numerous reports indicating that the School District of Philadelphia may have allowed conditions that create a hostile environment for Jewish students and educators,” Jason Holtzman, chief of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, told JI.
“These reports include, but are not limited to, antisemitic bullying of Jewish students; drawings of swastikas and other hateful graffiti; and public social media posts by staff that appear to justify the violence of Oct. 7 or promote antisemitic rhetoric,” Holtzman continued. “For nearly two years, the Jewish federation and its partners have engaged the district in good faith, offering education, resources and clear recommendations. Despite this outreach, meaningful action has largely not materialized.”
Holtzman expressed hope that the House investigation “will prompt the district to take immediate, concrete steps to ensure Jewish students and educators are protected, that all incidents are addressed with transparency, and that staff who espouse violence or extremist views are held fully accountable.”
SDP did not respond to a request for comment from JI.
On Tuesday, the ADL called the House committee investigations “an important step in exposing and confronting the rising tide of antisemitic harassment, intimidation and exclusion that Jewish students face in our nation’s classrooms.”
Weiner, a longtime California state senator, could face a crowded field of Democrats if Pelosi retires — including AOC’s former chief of staff
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California State Senator Scott Wiener addresses the SF Chronicle Editorial Board on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018 in San Francisco, Calif.
Scott Wiener, a veteran California state senator from San Francisco, has long coupled his lifelong support for Israel with vocal opposition to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and far-right members of his governing coalition.
Now, the 55-year-old Jewish Democrat finds himself navigating delicate political terrain as he balances those competing views while mounting a new campaign to replace Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in the Bay Area congressional seat that she has held for nearly four decades.
With Pelosi rumored to soon announce she will retire at the end of her current term, Wiener has been fielding attacks from a far-left primary rival, Saikat Chakrabarti, as Israel and Gaza emerge as a source of division in the nascent race that is already shaping up to be among the more bitterly contested Democratic battles of the upcoming election cycle.
Chakrabarti, 39, a former chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), is a fierce critic of Israel who has called its war in Gaza a genocide and pushed for ending all military funding to the Jewish state. He has also backed a controversial House bill, called the Block the Bombs Act, that aims to impose severe restrictions on U.S. weapons sales to Israel — and is needling Wiener for so far declining to clarify his own position on the measure, which is not likely to pass.
In an interview with Jewish Insider earlier this week, Wiener continued to deflect when asked for his stance on the matter, saying only that, if elected next year, “there will be new bills introduced” when he serves in the House. Despite treading cautiously around the legislation, however, Wiener confirmed that he is broadly in favor of withholding offensive arms to the current Israeli government that, in his view, “is not committed to peace or democracy.”
The U.S.-Israel alliance, Wiener emphasized, “is incredibly important, and the U.S. should continue to support Israel’s defense,” such as funding for its Iron Dome missile-interception system. But he said he could no longer justify sending weapons to Israel because of his increasing disgust with Netanyahu’s government.
“I have been very clear and consistent for years, going back before Oct. 7, that I think the current government of Israel is horrific,” he said. “It’s an extremist, messianic government that, in addition to destroying Gaza and upending the West Bank, is harming Israel by upending Israel’s standing in the world and undermining democracy in the country — and it’s very troubling to me.”
Even as he endorsed a measure that represents a red line for many pro-Israel advocates, Wiener has continued to show his support for the Jewish state, co-leading a legislative delegation to Israel last year, where he visited sites targeted by Hamas in the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks and met with Israeli leaders, including President Isaac Herzog.
His evolving views on the Middle East policy underscore a broader shift within the Democratic Party in the wake of the war in Gaza, as a growing number of candidates and elected officials embrace efforts to impose conditions on military aid to Israel that, until recently, had seen more narrow support among anti-Israel detractors on the far left.
“I pray the ceasefire holds and we can move toward a more durable peace,” Wiener told JI. “But we also have a situation where you have Netanyahu and his government, and you have Hamas, so the situation is being driven by extremes. I hope that changes.”
In a heavily progressive city like San Francisco, Wiener’s more pointed views on Israel are hardly unusual — even if his approach is unlikely to satisfy the hard-line activists who, in the months after Oct. 7, frequently accosted him in public and accused him of supporting genocide.
Wiener, who co-chairs the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, believes much of the rhetoric that he faced was antisemitic and that protestors failed to recognize he had voiced support for an end to the fighting, as well as the release of all hostages, going back to the fall of 2023. “For some people, it’s never going to be good enough, unless you call for Israel’s elimination,” he said.
“I pray the ceasefire holds and we can move toward a more durable peace,” Wiener told JI. “But we also have a situation where you have Netanyahu and his government, and you have Hamas, so the situation is being driven by extremes. I hope that changes.”
“Without judgement, I don’t think that he’s in a different place than a lot of his would-be colleagues, and that is something the Jewish community has to grapple with,” Tyler Gregory, who leads the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area, told JI, referring to changing attitudes toward Israel among Democrats.
Tyler Gregory, who leads the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area, described Wiener as “the Jewish community’s champion” and said that “he has taken so many hits” that Jewish community members feel “a protective instinct” and “a strong sense of loyalty to him and what he has represented since Oct. 7.”
He called Wiener “firmly pro-Israel,” even if “a lot of people in our community may not be fully aligned with his politics.”
“Without judgement, I don’t think that he’s in a different place than a lot of his would-be colleagues, and that is something the Jewish community has to grapple with,” Gregory told JI, referring to changing attitudes toward Israel among Democrats.
Wiener said he has not yet engaged in discussions with pro-Israel groups like AIPAC — as Democratic candidates have faced pressure to swear off donations from the lobbying organization over its support for the Israeli government. “Obviously I have some disagreements with AIPAC,” Wiener told JI. “I’ll leave it at that.”
While he has been seen as a progressive leader in the state for his advocacy on such issues as LGBTQ rights and criminal justice reform, Wiener, who has said he moved to San Francisco nearly 30 years ago so that he could live more openly as a gay man, has faced local backlash from the left over his efforts to promote increased real estate development, fueling attacks that he is aligned with corporate interests.
But as the city’s voters have recently shown an appetite for more measured local representation, Wiener could find a more receptive audience than his chief opponent, Chakrabarti, who is running an insurgent campaign to push Pelosi into retirement.
Asked to comment on a recent social media post in which Chakrabarti said that “legislators continue to give Israel a blank check because of money from the Israel lobby,” Wiener said “that kind of rhetoric can tip into antisemitism.”
“There are times when some of those criticisms basically are like attacks on people for accepting contributions from Jewish community leaders,” he told JI, citing a recent questionnaire distributed by the California Faculty Association asking political candidates if they had ever accepted money from AIPAC or the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California.
“I have a real criticism of what the government of Israel is doing today, and I do not believe our government should be complicit in it,” Chakrabarti said in a statement to JI. “I have a criticism of lobbying groups that spend huge amounts of money in our elections to influence our foreign policy. And it is precisely because we have a real issue with antisemitism today that I hope Sen. Wiener does not use this campaign to conflate a criticism of Israel with antisemitism to score political points.”
Such instances, Wiener argued, “can very quickly bleed out into attacking candidates because they have support in the Jewish community and receive contributions from respective leaders in the Jewish community — and then that gets lumped in as, ‘Oh, that’s the Israel lobby,’ and that can be antisemitic.”
“I hope this doesn’t go there,” he said of the race. “But we will see.”
In a statement to JI on Wednesday, Chakrabarti said that he “will always call out antisemitism no matter where I hear it, and I would hope we can all agree that we should never target any group with hate. This should be a basic American value.”
“I have a real criticism of what the government of Israel is doing today, and I do not believe our government should be complicit in it,” he added. “I have a criticism of lobbying groups that spend huge amounts of money in our elections to influence our foreign policy. And it is precisely because we have a real issue with antisemitism today that I hope Sen. Wiener does not use this campaign to conflate a criticism of Israel with antisemitism to score political points.”
Wiener, who says he raised $730,000 in the 24 hours after launching his campaign last week, has long been interested in running for Pelosi’s seat and created an exploratory committee two years ago to plant a marker in the district as he waited for her to retire.
But he moved forward with his bid rather than deferring to Pelosi’s schedule after Chakrabarti, a wealthy former tech entrepreneur, entered the race last February and drew national attention.
Wiener’s top priorities include housing, healthcare, clean energy and “always standing up for the Jewish community” amid a rise in antisemitism “across the political spectrum,” he said.
Pelosi, who is expected to announce her plans for the coming election cycle early next month, “is fully focused on her mission” to pass a state redistricting measure in the Nov. 4 election, a spokesperson told JI.
Her daughter, Christine Pelosi, is among other potential primary candidates viewed as eyeing the House seat.
“We’re ready to go,” Wiener said of his fledgling campaign. “I’ve been in this community, working in this community, representing this community, for a long time. I feel great about our support.”
It was just one of several examples of influential state and national teachers’ unions presenting a roadblock against efforts to fight antisemitism in public schools
Holmes/Getty Images for National Urban League
A view of the California state capitol building.
Over the weekend, the California State Assembly passed a bill that is intended to address what Jewish community advocates describe as crisis levels of antisemitism in the state’s K-12 schools.
The bill passed despite the objections of the powerful California Teachers Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, which had stalled the legislation in July, claiming that efforts to combat antisemitism could impinge on teachers’ academic freedom when it came to discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
It was just one of several examples of influential state and national teachers’ unions presenting a roadblock against efforts to fight antisemitism in public schools, where discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students has skyrocketed over the past two years — even though many of those efforts have broad support from within the Jewish community, and from outside it, too.
In California, the CTA and anti-Israel groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations were on one side of the issue, facing a diverse coalition of the bill’s backers that included the legislature’s Jewish, Black, Latino and Asian American and Pacific Islander caucuses. In an effort to appease the CTA during negotiations, some parts of the bill were removed, including language that would’ve defined what constituted an antisemitic learning environment.
But the union never changed course.
The CTA debacle began in July, just days after the representative body of the National Education Association — the national union to which CTA belongs — voted to cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League, a move that shocked many Jewish educators. And last December, an American Jewish Committee report accused the Massachusetts Teachers Association of promoting anti-Israel educational materials to its members. These developments have come amid a steady trickle of news reports over the last two years showcasing educators bringing controversial and at times antisemitic views into the classroom.
All of which raises an uncomfortable question for many Jewish parents: Why are unions that are committed to equity and representation often resistant to incorporating protections that Jewish families say will keep their kids safe and supported at school?
In California, the CTA said that a bill focusing only on antisemitism “might be seen as prioritizing one form of discrimination over others, potentially alienating groups facing other forms of systemic discrimination, such as Islamophobia, ableism or xenophobia.” But a companion bill passed by the legislature this weekend that takes aim at racism, gender discrimination, religious discrimination and homophobia in schools should render that argument moot. A CTA spokesperson declined to comment last week.
So far, though, the teachers unions have not been successful in their efforts to marginalize Jewish organizations and counter antisemitism measures.
The NEA’s top leadership quickly backtracked on the anti-ADL resolution (although they took a swipe at the organization in the process). In Massachusetts, a statewide antisemitism committee said in August that K-12 schools should implement the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism. In California, the 300,000-member CTA was not able to muster the political capital to quash the antisemitism bill. Gov. Gavin Newsom now has a month to decide whether to sign it.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” the ADL’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, told Jewish Insider in July, to ensure “our community is respected for who we are.”
A section that defined antisemitism and provided examples of an ‘antisemitic learning environment’ were stripped out before passage
Holmes/Getty Images for National Urban League
A view of the California state capitol building.
A key California Senate committee voted on Wednesday to advance an amended bill targeting antisemitism in K-12 schools, following two months of closed-door negotiations that came after the state’s largest teachers’ union announced its opposition to the bill and stalled its passage.
The version of the bill that came before the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday night was markedly different from an earlier version that had been approved unanimously by the State Assembly in May. But when the 300,000-member California Teachers Association came out against the bill in July, arguing that its targeting of antisemitism could affect teachers’ “academic freedom,” lawmakers scrapped a planned hearing in order to take time to try to assuage the powerful union.
The CTA never withdrew its opposition to the bill, and the group’s chief lobbyist urged senators to vote against it at a Wednesday hearing that saw more than 500 people testify about the legislation. Tyler Gregory, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Bay Area, said the union had been “negotiating in bad faith.” A CTA spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
“I am disappointed that they’re still opposing the bill so aggressively. We’ve worked so hard to address their concerns,” state Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat who chairs the Legislative Jewish Caucus, told Jewish Insider. “It’s a narrower and more focused bill than it was before, but it’s still quite impactful and it sets some clear standards, and creates an antisemitism coordinator, so it’s a good bill.”
The bill would create a statewide Office of Civil Rights, where a new antisemitism prevention coordinator would be located. If the bill passes, that office will track antisemitism in California schools and provide antisemitism education to California teachers and administrators to help prevent and combat discrimination.
Although the legislation would provide educational materials about antisemitism to school personnel, the biggest change from the prior draft was the removal of a section that defined antisemitism and provided examples of what would constitute an “antisemitic learning environment.”
These examples included “assertions of dual loyalty directed at Jewish individuals or communities,” “equating Jews or Israelis with Nazis or Nazi Germany,” “denial, erasure, or distortion of Jewish history, ancestry, identity, or culture” and “language or images directly or indirectly denying the right of Israel to exist, demonizing Jewish people, or saying that Jewish people do not belong in a country or community.”
Instead, the plan endorsed a 2024 antisemitism strategy authored by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the 2023 plan released by the Biden White House.
“There was a lot of discussion about how antisemitism should be defined, and ultimately there wasn’t sufficient consensus for that to be a part of the bill,” said Robert Trestan, vice president of the Anti-Defamation League’s western division. “There are sufficient effective provisions of the bill that will make a difference for Jewish students in California, and if we didn’t think it’s going to be effective, we wouldn’t support it.”
A CTA board member wrote in an August op-ed that the bill’s sponsors “are trying to bring right-wing, Trump-style censorship to California schools while undermining legitimate efforts to fight antisemitism.”
Wiener said Trump’s heavy-handed approach to antisemitism at U.S. universities has complicated efforts for California lawmakers to address the issues.
“It’s made our lives harder. I understand the sensitivity given the current political environment,” said Wiener. “That said, when you have a large number of Jews, including Jewish parents and Jewish students, coming forward and saying, ‘We have a problem and we need to solve it,’ you shouldn’t just dismiss that or say, ‘Oh, well, it’s too harsh because of academic freedom.’”
He suggested there’s a double standard at play when it comes to arguments about academic freedom and its connection to antisemitism.
“If a teacher started teaching that there were good sides of slavery, I am confident that the school would shut that down immediately and that no one would argue,” Wiener said. “But when it comes to Jews, well, then it’s about academic freedom.”
The Senate Education Committee voted the bill out of committee unanimously, and it was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday night. It still needs to be passed by the full state Senate and then go back to the Assembly, all by the end of the week, when the legislative session ends, in order to make it to Newsom’s desk for his signature. A spokesperson for Newsom declined to comment.
AP Photo/Abbie Parr
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, left, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, right, arrive at a press conference ahead of the U.S. Gymnastics Olympic Trials Monday, June 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Good Tuesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on House Minority Whip Katherine Clark’s walkback of her previous comment that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and spotlight the Democratic primary in California’s 32nd District, where Rep. Brad Sherman is facing challenges from two millennial political neophytes. We talk to Gaza Humanitarian Foundation head Johnnie Moore about recent threats made against him by anti-Israel activists, and report on a campaign to boycott Israel within the American Association of Geographers. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Rabbi Berel Wein, Santa Ono and Pierre Poilievre.
What We’re Watching
- We’re keeping an eye on ceasefire efforts in Cairo, following Hamas’ acceptance of a Qatari- and Egypt-proposed deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Monday night to move forward with plans to take over Gaza City, saying that “enormous pressure” had pushed Hamas to accept the partial-ceasefire proposal.
- In a post to his Truth Social site on Monday, President Donald Trump said that “we will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed.”
- Today marks the first yahrzeit, or Hebrew anniversary, of the deaths of six hostages in Gaza, including Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose family is holding a memorial this evening in Jerusalem.
- With the House and Senate out for the August recess, a number of legislators are making trips abroad. Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), as well as Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), are among the legislators in Jordan this week. The delegation met with King Abdullah II yesterday in Amman.
- U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is holding a virtual briefing at noon ET today with the American Jewish Congress.
- In Washington, the Hudson Institute is hosting the White House’s Seb Gorka for a conversation about counterterrorism and the U.S.’ approach to addressing global terrorist threats.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR
If there is one word to describe the political mood in dealing with rising antisemitism, it would be apathy. Even the most jaw-dropping displays of anti-Jewish hatred — from abject Holocaust denial on far-right podcasts to support for Hamas’ atrocities on the extreme left — are increasingly responded to with shrugs from mainstream political leaders.
The most recent example of obvious antisemitism being ignored by a party’s political class came out of Minnesota, where we reported about Minneapolis Democratic mayoral candidate Omar Fateh — running as a democratic socialist against sitting Mayor Jacob Frey — hiring top staff who celebrated Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks.
In normal times, a candidate would be ashamed to be associated with extremists, and would immediately cut ties with the offending staffers. Not long ago, having ties to that type of extremist rhetoric would be disqualifying for the candidate as well.
But these are not normal times. Not only has Fateh, a state senator, ignored the controversy entirely, but the local and national media has been uninterested in following up on Jewish Insider’s reporting about the radical operatives on Fateh’s team.
Even more shocking: Two of Frey’s most prominent backers, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — have remained silent when asked about their thoughts about the antisemitism stemming from an endorsee’s political rival. It’s a sign that many mainstream Democrats fear that speaking out against antisemitism or anti-Israel extremism could lead to a backlash from other grassroots supporters.
At best, it’s a sign that speaking out against hate carries few political benefits these days.
CLARK’S CLARIFICATION
AIPAC stands by Katherine Clark as she walks back ‘genocide’ comment
After a video surfaced last week of Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA), the House minority whip, referring to Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide, Clark walked back the remark on Monday — and maintained her endorsement from AIPAC amid the controversy, a spokesperson for the group told Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch. “Last week, while attending an event in my district, I repeated the word ‘genocide’ in response to a question,” Clark told the Jewish News Syndicate on Monday. “I want to be clear that I am not accusing Israel of genocide. … We all need to work with urgency to bring the remaining hostages home, surge aid to Palestinians and oppose their involuntary relocation, remove Hamas from power and end the war.”
Sticking by her: AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann told JI on Monday that the organization will stick by Clark, the No. 2 Democrat in the House. “We appreciate that the congresswoman clarified her remarks, as Israel is fighting a just and moral war against a barbaric terrorist enemy. Our endorsement is unchanged and based upon her long standing support for the U.S.-Israel relationship,” Wittmann said.
CALIFORNIA COMPETITION
Brad Sherman keeps a wary eye on younger primary opposition
When Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) was first elected to Congress in 1996, his two opponents in the current race, Democrats Jake Rakov and Jake Levine, were 8 and 12 years old, respectively. Both candidates are making a generational appeal: They argue that California’s 32nd Congressional District, which encompasses several tony neighborhoods on the west side of Los Angeles, including Malibu and the Pacific Palisades, as well as much of the San Fernando Valley, needs bold new representation to respond to the challenges of the moment. Neither Rakov, 37, nor Levine, 41, has held elected office before, and both have spent the past several years away from Los Angeles. They will each face a tough, drawn-out fight if they hope to have a chance against a battle-tested incumbent in a primary election that’s still more than nine months away, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Primary pressure: The San Fernando Valley district is solidly blue, but it’s also an affluent constituency that isn’t all that enamored with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. That doesn’t mean Sherman, who is 70, is automatically safe from an upstart candidate who might excite the base in his district. “At this point, he’s pretty much become background noise. There’s no animosity against him. His constituents are perfectly content to continue sending him back to Congress, and most of them believe that he does a perfectly serviceable job,” said Dan Schnur, a political analyst in L.A. who teaches at both the University of Southern California and the University of California, Berkeley. “But that’s exactly the type of incumbent that’s vulnerable to a generational challenge in this landscape.”
VIOLENT DISSENT
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation head Johnnie Moore facing death threats, vandalism at Northern Virginia home
Rev. Johnnie Moore, executive chairman of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has spent the past two weeks under “24/7 protection while evil wants to kill me,” he told attendees of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute’s annual National Jewish Retreat, held last week at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington. Moore was referring to some 50 anti-Israel demonstrators who have protested outside of his Northern Virginia home multiple times in recent weeks — making death threats and painting graffiti. Moore told Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen he has received “two credible death threats,” which are currently under investigation, adding that police have “done an extraordinary job taking it seriously” and made one arrest for destruction of property.
Opposite effect: As well as demonstrating outside Moore’s home, the Palestinian Youth Movement has also protested outside the nearby home of John Acree, the interim executive director of the GHF. “I never thought that it would be so life-threatening to do something so obviously right,” Moore told supporters of JLI, an educational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch, at a VIP reception Thursday night, referring to his work with GHF. “If they’re doing this to try and force us to quit, in fact it’s going to have the exact opposite effect because every attack, every threat, every lie is only more proof that what we’re doing is right and it’s essential,” Moore, a member of President Donald Trump’s evangelical advisory committee, told JI.
SCOOP
American Association of Geographers wants to take Israel off the map
The Association of American Geographers became the latest professional association to face pressure to adopt a boycott of Israel after a recent member petition urged the association “to endorse the campaign for an academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions,” Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
On the agenda: The campaign also calls for “financial disclosure and divestment of any AAG funds invested in corporations or state institutions profiting from the ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people.” A special member meeting is scheduled for Oct. 3 to move toward a vote on the resolution after the group behind the petition succeeded in reaching the required 10% of member signatures. An AAG spokesperson told JI that the organization has “no statement or resolution about Israel-Palestine.” AAG did not respond to a follow-up inquiry asking which Israeli institutions the association currently invests in.
NEW GIG
Santa Ono to become inaugural director of Ellison Institute of Technology
Santo Ono, the former president of the University of Michigan, is set to become the inaugural director of the Ellison Institute of Technology, a research and development center, he announced on Monday. “I am humbled to share that I’ve been appointed Global President of the Ellison Institutes of Technology (EIT), reporting directly to its founder and chairman, Larry Ellison,” Ono wrote in a social media post. Ellison is also the founder and chairman of the software company Oracle and a major donor to Jewish and Israeli causes, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Background: The appointment comes two months after Ono was rejected by the Florida Board of Governors as the University of Florida’s next president. At a board meeting in June, Ono, who resigned from his position at the University of Michigan in May, was questioned by the board, which oversees the state’s 12 public universities, about an anti-Israel encampment last year that remained on the Michigan campus for a month. Board members also scrutinized his response to antisemitism on campus after the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, which some called inadequate.
BARUCH DAYAN EMET
Rabbi Berel Wein, lawyer, scholar and lecturer who was ‘constantly doing and thinking and writing and reinventing,’ dies at 91
Rabbi Berel Wein, the influential Orthodox rabbi, historian and “Voice of Jewish History,” died Saturday in Jerusalem at 91, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Jay Deitcher reports. Born in Chicago in 1934, Wein descended from seven generations of Lithuanian rabbis. He was educated in both secular studies and religious studies, receiving a bachelor’s degree from Roosevelt University and a law degree from DePaul University while completing his rabbinic ordination at Hebrew Theological College. After moving to New York City, Wein began his journey of constant reinvention, first serving as executive vice president of the organization now known as the Orthodox Union. Then he became rabbinic administrator of OU Kosher and founded Congregation Bais Torah and Yeshiva Shaarei Torah in Monsey, N.Y.
Life-shaping moment: As a boy studying at a Chicago yeshiva in 1946, Wein heard Rabbi Isaac Herzog, then the Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate of Palestine, recount a plea he had made to the pope to help retrieve the thousands of Jewish children who had been hidden in Catholic institutions as a way to protect them from the Nazis. The pope refused saying the children had already been baptized. After telling his story, Herzog, his eyes still wet with tears, looked into the crowd of nearly 250 people. “I cannot do anything more for those 10,000 children,” Wein recalled Herzog saying. “But what are you going to do to build the Jewish people?” In the years that followed, Wein became a lawyer, rabbi, historian, dean, producer and writer whose lectures have been purchased on tape, CD and streaming platforms over 1 million times worldwide.
Read the full obituary here and sign up for eJewishPhilanthropy’s Your Daily Phil newsletter here.
Paying respects: Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the grandson of Rabbi Herzog, attended the shiva for Wein.
Worthy Reads
How Would Mamdani Govern?: The Atlantic’s Michael Powell considers what strain of socialist governance New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani would, if elected, bring to City Hall. “Mamdani, 33, conveys that he is a man prepared to work with the organs of capitalist democracy to progressive ends and not to demand ideological litmus tests. But the Mamdani who takes great pride in his identity as a member of Democratic Socialists of America and who told ‘Meet the Press’ in late June that ‘I don’t think we should have billionaires’ — to the alarm of Wall Street donors — has hardly disappeared. By his own account, his political journey from state assemblyman to mayoral nominee owes almost entirely to his umbilical connection with DSA. … The political left from which Mamdani emerges is a collection of disorderly tribes, sheltering self-styled revolutionaries alongside those who prize compromise and electoral victory, and those who want to sand the edges off capitalism alongside those who want to replace it altogether.” [TheAtlantic]
Still On Guard: Bloomberg’s Golnar Motevalli looks at how Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has become “more critical” to Tehran’s survival following the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June. “The Guard comprises a navy, ground troops, aerospace, an elite unit called the Quds Force and the Basij volunteer paramilitaries. It also has its own intelligence organization that’s known to directly compete with — and sometimes work against — the government’s Ministry of Intelligence. … Now, the galvanizing impact of Israel’s attacks on nationalist sentiment in Iran may have already helped improve public support for the IRGC, according to Narges Bajoghli, associate professor of Middle East Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University. ‘People are angry at them, but they also realize that there is no other force in the country,’ she said. ‘What they’re committed to today, is about sovereign independence and the idea of resistance to Western and Israeli imperialism.’” [Bloomberg]
Ending Hostage Diplomacy: In The Washington Post, Diane Foley, whose son James Foley was killed in Syria by ISIS after two years in captivity, suggests how the U.S. government can more forcefully address the taking of American hostages by rogue and enemy regimes. “The Trump administration should swiftly exercise this new authority to signal that engaging in hostage diplomacy has consequences. Designated states could face visa restrictions, sanctions, controls on U.S. exports, reductions or elimination of foreign assistance, and asset seizures. … Eleven years after Jim’s murder, the use of Americans as political leverage remains a tragic feature of international relations. A coordinated effort to deter and prevent unjust captivity abroad is the necessary next step to ensure that our government not only never again abandons its citizens, but also places their safety and security at the forefront of U.S. foreign policy.” [WashPost]
Word on the Street
President Donald Trump said on Monday afternoon that he had begun making arrangements for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, following his meeting with Zelensky and foreign heads of state in Washington earlier in the day…
The State Department pulled the visas of some 6,000 foreign students, the majority of whom had overstayed their visas or committed crimes while in the U.S.; between 200-300 of the visas revoked were due to terror ties, including fundraising for U.S.-designated terrorist groups…
Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ) is mulling joining the state’s 2026 gubernatorial race, potentially setting up a high-stakes contest in the state’s purple 1st Congressional District, where five Democrats have already entered the race…
Soho House reached a $2.7 billion deal in which it will be taken private by a group of New York-based investors led by MCR Hotels; as part of the deal, Apollo Global Management, led by partner Reed Rayman, will contribute $800 million in debt and equity financing…
CBS News spotlights the Chicago chapter of “Lox & Loaded,” a group that trains members of the Jewish community and allies on firearm use, amid a rise in antisemitic attacks and concerns about personal safety among community members…
George Washington University suspended its campus chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace through May 2026, following a series of complaints over misconduct, harassment and Title VI violations by the group; a member of the JVP chapter told GWU’s Hatchet that the group planned to disaffiliate from the university over the multiple clashes with the school’s administration in recent years…
Canadian Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre won a byelection to a rural Alberta-based House of Commons seat, four months after losing his seat in an Ottawa-area district; Poilievre won the seat, which was vacated by Conservative MP Damien Kurek so that Poilievre could run, with 80% of the vote…
Norges, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, sold off six Israeli companies in addition to the half dozen it had previously announced divesting last month; Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg told reporters that “there might be more exclusions to come” as Oslo’s central bank makes more referrals to the fund’s external ethics council…
Former U.K. Labour MP Zarah Sultana said that Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader who was ousted over the party’s handling of antisemitism and formed a new party with Sultana last month, had made a “serious mistake” in “capitulating” to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism…
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation unveiled a pilot program that will allow Palestinian families to reserve food parcels in advance, in an effort to increase order at the distribution sites, which have faced crowding, violence and supply issues…
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who is also serving as Syria envoy, called on Israel to comply with a phased plan to end its military operations in Lebanon in exchange for the disarmament of Hezbollah by the end of the year…
Israel’s Foreign Ministry revoked the visas of Australian diplomats to the Palestinian Authority, who live in Israel, following Canberra’s decision last week to cancel the visa of hard-right MK Simcha Rothman…
South Sudanese officials privately confirmed talks with Israel regarding the potential resettlement of Palestinians in Gaza in the East African nation, despite public denials that talks are taking place…
Qatar Airways plans to open its first exclusive lounge in the U.S. in John F. Kennedy Airport’s new international terminal; the 15,000-square-foot lounge will be built in the airport’s new Terminal 1…
Bloomberg looks at the logistical, financial and construction challenges facing Saudi Arabia’s Trojena ski resort project, located within the country’s broader Neom project, as Riyadh works to have the resort constructed in time to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games…
Graphic designer Joe Caroff, whose most famous works included James Bond’s 007 logo and the posters for “West Side Story” and “Cabaret,” died at 103…
Linguist Robin Lakoff, who focused on gender and language, died at 82…
Pic of the Day
Israeli President Isaac Herzog (second from right) and Israeli First Lady Michal Herzog (center) met this week with IsraAid CEO Yotam Polizer (left); Ruthie Rousso, the head of World Central Kitchen’s Israel operations (second from left); and World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés during Andrés’ trip to Israel and Gaza.
Birthdays
Actress and producer, known for her role as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson in the 109 episodes of the TNT crime drama “The Closer,” Kyra Sedgwick turns 60…
One of the earliest Silicon Valley venture capital investors with positions in firms like Intel and Apple, Arthur Rock turns 99… Ventura County, Calif., resident, Jerry Epstein… Past member of both houses of the South Dakota Legislature, Stanford “Stan” M. Adelstein turns 94… Retired president of Ono Academic College in Israel, she was Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations from 2008 to 2010, Gabriela Shalev turns 84… Photographer and director of television programs and movies, Neal Slavin… Professor emeritus of religion and philosophy at the University of Toronto, he is the author of 16 books, David Novak turns 84… 42nd president of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton turns 79… Retired reading teacher for the NYC Department of Education, she co-founded the kosher pantry at Bethesda Hospital in Boynton Beach, Fla., Miriam Baum Benkoe… Actor and director, Adam Arkin turns 69… Gavriel Benavraham… Managing partner at Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz, Mark C. Rifkin… Co-founder and CEO of Apollo Global Management, he is the board chairman of the UJA-Federation of New York, Marc J. Rowan turns 63… Chairman of the FCC in the Obama administration, he is now a senior advisor at the Carlyle Group, Julius Genachowski turns 63… Executive editor of The New York Times, Joseph Kahn turns 61… Managing partner and talent agent at William Morris Endeavor, he is active in the contemporary art world as a collector, Dan Aloni turns 61… Former member of Knesset, he is the son of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Omri Sharon turns 61… Executive administrator of the Ventura, Calif., accounting firm, Morgan, Daggett & Wotman, Carolynn Wotman… District attorney of Queens, N.Y., Melinda R. Katz turns 60… Founder and CEO of The Friedlander Group, Ezra Friedlander… Private equity financier and a founding partner of Searchlight Capital Partners, he recently joined the board of Estee Lauder, Eric Louis Zinterhofer turns 54… Chair of the Orthodox Union and past chair of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, Yehuda L. Neuberger… Contributing editor for The Daily Beast and the author of three books, Molly Jong-Fast turns 47… Businessman and investor, Brett Icahn turns 46… Managing partner of Handmade Capital, Ross Hinkle… Laser radial sailor, she represented Israel at the 2008 (Beijing) and 2012 (London) Olympics, Nufar Edelman turns 43… Founder and principal at Aron’s Kissena Farms and Cedar Market, Aaron Yechiel Hirtz… President at Kansas City-based Eighteen Capital Group, Isaac Gortenburg… Rapper, singer and songwriter, known by his stage name Hoodie Allen, Steven Adam Markowitz turns 37… Team manager at HubSpot, Cassandra Federbusz…One of the earliest Silicon Valley venture capital investors with positions in firms like Intel and Apple, Arthur Rock turns 99… Ventura County, Calif., resident, Jerry Epstein… Past member of both houses of the South Dakota Legislature, Stanford “Stan” M. Adelstein turns 94… Retired president of Ono Academic College in Israel, she was Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations from 2008 to 2010, Gabriela Shalev turns 84… Photographer and director of television programs and movies, Neal Slavin… Professor emeritus of religion and philosophy at the University of Toronto, he is the author of 16 books, David Novak turns 84… 42nd president of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton turns 79… Retired reading teacher for the NYC Department of Education, she co-founded the kosher pantry at Bethesda Hospital in Boynton Beach, Fla., Miriam Baum Benkoe… Actor and director, Adam Arkin turns 69… Gavriel Benavraham… Managing partner at Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz, Mark C. Rifkin… Co-founder and CEO of Apollo Global Management, he is the board chairman of the UJA-Federation of New York, Marc J. Rowan turns 63… Chairman of the FCC in the Obama administration, he is now a senior advisor at the Carlyle Group, Julius Genachowski turns 63… Executive editor of The New York Times, Joseph Kahn turns 61… Managing partner and talent agent at William Morris Endeavor, he is active in the contemporary art world as a collector, Dan Aloni turns 61… Former member of Knesset, he is the son of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Omri Sharon turns 61… Executive administrator of the Ventura, Calif., accounting firm, Morgan, Daggett & Wotman, Carolynn Wotman… District attorney of Queens, N.Y., Melinda R. Katz turns 60… Founder and CEO of The Friedlander Group, Ezra Friedlander… Private equity financier and a founding partner of Searchlight Capital Partners, he recently joined the board of Estee Lauder, Eric Louis Zinterhofer turns 54… Chair of the Orthodox Union and past chair of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, Yehuda L. Neuberger… Contributing editor for The Daily Beast and the author of three books, Molly Jong-Fast turns 47… Businessman and investor, Brett Icahn turns 46… Managing partner of Handmade Capital, Ross Hinkle… Laser radial sailor, she represented Israel at the 2008 (Beijing) and 2012 (London) Olympics, Nufar Edelman turns 43… Founder and principal at Aron’s Kissena Farms and Cedar Market, Aaron Yechiel Hirtz… President at Kansas City-based Eighteen Capital Group, Isaac Gortenburg… Rapper, singer and songwriter, known by his stage name Hoodie Allen, Steven Adam Markowitz turns 37… Team manager at HubSpot, Cassandra Federbusz…
Sherman, a stalwart pro-Israel Democrat, is facing several politically connected Democratic challengers in next year’s primary
Paul Morigi
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) speaks at a Brookings Institution panel discussion.
When Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) was first elected to Congress in 1996, his two opponents in the current race, Democrats Jake Rakov and Jake Levine, were 8 and 12 years old, respectively.
Both candidates are making a generational appeal: They argue that California’s 32nd Congressional District, which encompasses several tony neighborhoods on the west side of Los Angeles, including Malibu and the Pacific Palisades, as well as much of the San Fernando Valley, needs bold new representation to respond to the challenges of the moment.
Neither Rakov, 37, nor Levine, 41, has held elected office before, and both have spent the past several years away from Los Angeles — Levine as a senior climate advisor in the Biden administration, and Rakov as a roving campaign staffer in Connecticut, Texas and New York. They will each face a tough, drawn-out fight if they hope to have a chance against a battle-tested incumbent in a primary election that’s still more than nine months away.
The San Fernando Valley district is solidly blue, but it’s also an affluent constituency that isn’t all that enamored with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. That doesn’t mean Sherman, who is 70, is automatically safe from an upstart candidate who might excite the base in his district.
“At this point, he’s pretty much become background noise. There’s no animosity against him. His constituents are perfectly content to continue sending him back to Congress, and most of them believe that he does a perfectly serviceable job,” said Dan Schnur, a political analyst in L.A. who teaches at both the University of Southern California and the University of California, Berkeley. “But that’s exactly the type of incumbent that’s vulnerable to a generational challenge in this landscape.”
Sherman enters the campaign cycle with a healthy fundraising advantage, with $4 million on hand at the end of June. He has raised $477,000 so far this year. Rakov has raised $82,000 in three months. Levine’s campaign said he raised $250,000 in the first 24 hours after announcing his candidacy.
One Democratic political official in the Valley, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about a race in which they know all three candidates, said Sherman would be wise to take the challengers seriously — but that neither entered the race with any momentum.
“I don’t think anybody in the San Fernando Valley knows who the two guys are. And what I’ve seen from most of the insiders is sort of a collective shrug about both of them, to the extent that they’ve heard that they’re running,” said the Valley politico. “This is a part of a national phenomenon, and voters are obviously cranky about a lot of different things. But Brad Sherman works really hard. He is absolutely everywhere. And he’s been very present in this district for a long time.”
The district is heavily Jewish, and Sherman, who has been endorsed by AIPAC, told Jewish Insider on Monday that he intends to make his pro-Israel bona fides a selling point for him as the race picks up.
“I think that the main thing is going to be, ‘What did you do last year or the year before?’ I don’t think that you can come in and say, ‘I’ve done nothing. I’ve said nothing when Israel faced the greatest attack ever. But I’m young and energetic, so count on [me] — and I’ve now adopted the positions that my pollster tells me to adopt, so vote for me,’” Sherman said in an interview. “If you weren’t there on Oct. 7 of 2023, who’s going to be there for you in November?”
Rakov told JI in an interview in April that while he thinks Sherman is out of touch with what voters want, he is generally aligned with Sherman on Middle East policy. “I’m a strong supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship,” said Rakov, a onetime staffer for Sherman whose campaign experience includes communications roles with Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer. Rakov is not Jewish, but his husband is.
Levine, who did not respond to requests for comment from JI, served as the senior director for climate and energy at the National Security Council until the end of last year. Before that, as the chief climate officer at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, Levine was responsible for investing federal funds in the Palestinian private sector through the Middle East Partnership for Peace Act, a widely supported 2020 bill that appropriated money to build grassroots ties between Israelis and Palestinians.
Otherwise, Levine, who is Jewish, has publicly said little about Israel. His father, Mel Levine, served in Congress from 1983 to 1993, and his stepmother is New Yorker staff writer Connie Bruck.
So far, Rakov and Levine have shared little in the way of policy proposals. Levine’s pitch is more optimistic, while Rakov is taking direct aim at Sherman.
“The politicians running Washington are burning it all down, but here in L.A., we understand that what’s much harder and much more important is the work of building something new,” Levine said in a two-minute launch video. “To solve today’s problems, we need more, not less. More housing, more energy, more leaders who will actually show up when it counts.”
One question mark hanging over the race is California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s redistricting play, which could affect the boundaries of the seat. But barring any major changes, the main question is whether two first-time candidates will be able to find the momentum needed to credibly take on Sherman — and if one of them drops out before the June 2026 primary. It’s possible that Sherman and another Democrat both advance to the general election. (In California, the top two finishers in the primary election, regardless of party, move on to face each other in the general election.)
“The best thing for Brad Sherman would be no millennial opponents. The next best thing for him is two,” said Schnur. “If either of the two Jakes were running one-on-one against Sherman, they very well could have the same type of opportunity that a lot of other young Democrats have tapped into around the country over the last few election cycles. But the best thing for Sherman is it appears that they could end up cannibalizing each other.”
After the state’s largest teachers’ union opposed the bill, Democratic leadership said they will be working to amend the legislation
Holmes/Getty Images for National Urban League
A view of the California state capitol building.
California’s state Senate has delayed consideration of a bipartisan bill meant to strengthen statewide protections against antisemitism, four key senators announced on Tuesday, days after the state’s largest teachers’ union announced its opposition to the legislation.
The bumpy road for the bill, which is focused on countering antisemitism in K-12 education, stands in contrast to its earlier passage in the state Assembly. In May, the body voted unanimously to pass the legislation.
It was slated to be debated by the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday in a hearing that has now been postponed indefinitely.
“Antisemitism must never be normalized, and we must put a stop to it in our schools,” wrote Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire; Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, the education committee chair; and Sen. Scott Wiener and Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, co-chairs of the Legislative Jewish Caucus. All are Democrats. “We are committed to doing so and will be working overtime with a broad coalition over the summer to send an antisemitism bill to the governor by the end of this year’s legislative session in September.”
Wiener told Jewish Insider on Tuesday that the delay is “good news for the bill.”
“We just need more time, and now we have it,” said Wiener, who represents San Francisco. “I’m optimistic we’ll pass a strong antisemitism bill this year to protect Jewish students in our schools.”
The Senate has until Sept. 12 to pass the bill and send it to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. It is not expected to be considered again until mid-August, after a monthlong summer recess.
A spokesperson for the California Teachers Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Leading Jewish communal groups in California sharply criticized the CTA on Monday and pledged to lobby hard for the bill’s passage.
David Bocarsly, executive director of Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California — the umbrella group leading Jewish advocacy efforts for the bill — said the fact that the leader of the Senate and the chair of the education committee signed onto the statement signals that Democratic leadership is taking the bill seriously, though he acknowledged that passage is not guaranteed.
“We lose a little bit of the tangible reassurance, but we’ve gained some significant commitments from Senate leadership, which might be even more important,” Bocarsly told JI.
Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, a Los Angeles Democrat and the bill’s co-sponsor, said the delay will also allow the Legislature to consider concerns from some in the Jewish community that the measure does not go far enough in actually addressing “the kinds of harm, ostracism and incidents that are actually occurring in the schools.”
Navigating the competing concerns of the teachers’ unions and the Jewish community has already been a balancing act for the bill’s authors. When asked if he thinks the bill can pass without the support of the CTA, Zbur did not offer a firm answer.
“I think we are committed to doing what we need to do to get the bill passed,” he told JI. “It can’t wait another year and I think we’ve got the entire Jewish caucus — this is our highest priority, and we’re determined to get this bill passed, and that means doing everything we can to help everyone understand that this is a problem and that there are things that we need to do to try to rectify it.”
Jewish advocates said board members at the meeting expressed ‘classic antisemitic tropes’ before unanimously voting to renew
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Students in a classroom
A yearslong debate in a California school district over ethnic studies education culminated on Wednesday night with a unanimous vote to renew a contract with a controversial consultant whose curriculum has sparked antisemitism allegations among local Jewish leaders.
The move has fueled concern by some of those leaders that the vote could potentially lay the groundwork for other school districts to follow suit.
The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees voted 7-0 in favor of returning to Community Responsive Education (CRE) as the vendor to provide consultation on teaching ethnic studies in the district, which is near Santa Cruz. “CRE has produced some frameworks that have [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel] in the curriculum, with no balance about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” David Bocarsly, executive director of the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California, told Jewish Insider.
Several local Jewish leaders pushed the district for months to secure a more inclusive ethnic studies training provider — and three of them gave public testimony at Wednesday’s board meeting.
Roz Shorenstein, a retired physician whose grandchildren are students in the district, was one of those advocates. She told JI that some of the board members used “classic antisemitic tropes” at the vote. This included an accusation that the Jewish community is not using their “privilege and power” to help underprivileged communities, according to video footage obtained by JI.
Another school board member said that they were “a little taken aback by the lack of acknowledgement of the economic power historically held by the Jewish community that the community of Black and brown people don’t have … there is that economic power that really does exist.”
Shorenstein told JI: “We’ll still be active in the field of fighting antisemitism and liberated ethnic studies. Our experience giving testimony has brought out some significant antisemitic behavior in the community.”
Marc Levine, the Anti-Defamation League’s Central Pacific regional director, echoed the sentiment that there was “raw antisemitism” on display at the board meeting.
“Most disturbing was that the rhetoric came from elected board members,” Levine said in a statement. “What does that say about their willingness to allow ethnic studies to be used as a gateway for antisemitism to seep into their classrooms?”
In 2021, California became the first state in the country to pass a law that high school students must take at least one semester of ethnic studies to graduate. The intent, according to the state’s California Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum, “is to encourage cultural understanding of the struggles of equality, equity, justice, racism, ethnicity, and bigotry that have been prevalent throughout the history of America.”
The bill, AB101, allows school districts to either adopt the state’s ethnic studies curriculum — without the need for an outside consultant — or develop their own.
That same year, the Pajaro Valley school board approved a contract with CRE, a for-profit consulting firm founded by San Francisco State University professor Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, to offer guidelines for ethnic studies curricula at the district’s three high schools. CRE is marketed as a Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum, or simply “Liberated.”
The contract was canceled after two years due to pushback from the Jewish community, including the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which alleged the firm was promoting anti-Israel and antisemitic content in its curriculum. A push from the board to renew CRE’s contract soon followed.
Four local rabbis opposed using CRE’s curriculum in an October open letter to Pajaro Valley district leadership. “We strongly support the inclusive model of Ethnic Studies that focuses on the history of minorities and celebrates their contributions to our country. In contrast, Community Responsive Education led by its co-founder, Allyson Titiangco-Cubales, espouses a ‘Liberated Ethnic Studies’ model,” the rabbis wrote, adding that “based on CRE’s public statements and past performances, we do not believe that the CRE approach to Ethnic Studies is appropriate to train your educators.”
The rabbis voiced concern about the first draft of the California Ethnic Studies Curriculum, which Titiangco-Cubales co-authored. CRE was formed by supporters of that draft, which was rejected by Gov. Gavin Newsom “and a large number of community organizations as being offensive, biased and antisemitic,” according to the letter, which was signed by Rabbi Eli Cohen, who leads Chadesh Yameinu Jewish Renewal of Santa Cruz; Rabbi Paula Marcus, senior rabbi of Temple Beth El; Rabbi Rick Litvak, rabbi emeritus of Temple Beth El; and Rabbi Debbie Israel, community rabbi of Santa Cruz County.
CRE has bid for contracts in districts across California, including with the Fresno Unified School District, one of the largest districts in the state. At least two of those bids have been rejected. Bocarsly called the situation in Pajaro Valley “unprecedented,” especially because there was a successful effort earlier this year to oust sitting school board members who opposed CRE, he said.
Since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel and ensuing war with Hamas, K-12 classrooms have seen a rise in the use of antisemitic materials — with several of the most serious incidents concentrated in California school districts. In February, Santa Ana Unified School District became the first in the state to cite antisemitism as its reason to stop teaching ethnic studies after settling a lawsuit that claimed course material used by the district was rooted in antisemitic rhetoric.
Pajaro Valley is a small district among the more than 900 public school districts in California. Still, Bocarsly expressed concern that the vote signals a wider problem.
“We know that there are ongoing efforts in many different ways amongst the liberated ethnic studies community to try to get their harmful content into the classrooms,” he said, adding that “we’ve got our eye on dozens of districts across the state.”
Part of that effort includes a statewide bill JPAC is currently working on that would create standards and frameworks to advise school districts what should not be taught in the classrooms to prevent harm to Jewish students, including transparency requirements in ethnic studies.
“If done right, ethnic studies can help build empathy and understanding, and that’s good for Jews,” Bocarsly said. “If done wrong, it’s quite unfortunate to see a lesson meant to alleviate bias in fact create bias against the Jewish community.”
‘Israel has gone even beyond Canada and Mexico and our closest friends in terms of not only wanting to help, but not wanting to be reimbursed for it,’ Rep. Brad Sherman said
Mario Tama/Getty Images
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 08: The Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center burns shortly after sunrise during the Eaton Fire on January 08, 2025 in Pasadena, California. Over 1,000 structures have burned, with two people dead, in wildfires fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds across L.A. County.
The Israeli government has offered to send aid to California to assist with the response to the wildfires in the Los Angeles area, which have destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least two dozen people, and said it would pay all expenses associated with that assistance, according to a letter obtained by Jewish Insider.
“In light of the deep, long-standing friendship and alliance between our nations, which in recent years has proved itself stronger than ever, we would like to extend our support and help our friends in their time of need,” Raful Engel, the director general of the Israeli Ministry of Public Security said in a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The Israeli official offered to send a delegation of “expert firefighters who specialize in fire and rescue operations to help combat these fires and share their experience in order to minimize the damage inflicted on property and more importantly on human lives.”
Newsom’s director of communications, Izzy Gardon, said in a statement, “We’re grateful to Israel and many other nations in offering their support to California. Emergency Officials are currently working with our international partners on planning and mobilization.”
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), who represents the area affected by the Pacific Palisades fire, explained that U.S. jurisdictions have existing mutual aid agreements with various countries and other jurisdictions for such emergencies. He said that Israel’s offer to pay all expenses associated with its offered aid is a step above and beyond what those agreements usually entail.
“Israel has offered us help that I very much appreciate, and now they’ve gone one step further and said that they would absorb the entire cost,” Sherman said. “Obviously this fire has lots of moving parts, but Israel has gone even beyond Canada and Mexico and our closest friends in terms of not only wanting to help, but not wanting to be reimbursed for it.”
Sherman added that he believes the Israeli firefighters would be able to bring “skills that I think we need,” and said he’d personally raised the offer with Newsom.
Sherman said the California government has so far accepted assistance offers from Mexico and Canada, partners it has worked most closely with in the past.
Fire crews from surrounding states are also assisting the response in California.
Lt. Col. Shay Levy, head of the Research and Wildfire Branch at The Israeli National Fire and Rescue Authority, told JI on Wednesday that a delegation of expert firefighters in fire and rescue operations was set to leave for California on Wednesday night to assist the forces there. “We will be glad to help with anything we can, we see great importance in helping to save lives and advance fire safety,” Levy said.
The Israeli NGO SmartAid also said it would dispatch resources to help with the fire response. In addition, IsraAid is offering support, and plans to send personnel to assist.
Sherman described Israel’s offer as particularly generous in the context of the ongoing Houthi attacks, the response to which might require similar resources.
And he said that Israel’s willingness to offer these resources reflects confidence in its security situation and the diminished threat it faces from Hezbollah compared to the pre-Oct. 7 period.
Some anti-Israel activists in the U.S. and the Iranian state-owned outlet Press TV have sought to connect the fires to the war in Gaza, claiming that U.S. aid for Israel is depriving resources from the emergency response, or even that the war is contributing to global warming through increased carbon emissions.
JI Israel Editor Tamara Zieve contributed to this report.
The meeting took place as the White House distances itself from the Muslim advocacy organization over its leader’s defense of the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to union workers and volunteers on election day at the IBEW Local 6 union hall on September 14, 2021 in San Francisco, California. (Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom met in December with representatives from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an advocacy organization that has faced scrutiny in recent months for its executive director’s controversial statements celebrating the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel.
The Dec. 16 hour-long Zoom meeting, which was organized by CAIR’s California chapter and included roughly 15 Muslim leaders from across the state, was meant to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza, according to a CAIR press release. The participants also urged Newsom to call for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, now entering its fourth month.
On Oct. 7, CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush tweeted a prayer for Allah to “grant relief, freedom, and victory to the people of Gaza.” Three days later, he called the attack “our Warsaw Uprising moment” and linked to an Al Jazeera article praising the attack.
Newsom’s office declined to comment.
“The administration is actively engaging with Muslim and Jewish community leaders across the state to support the safety and security of California’s diverse communities,” a spokesperson for Newsom told the publication CalMatters in December after the meeting.
CAIR’s executive director, Nihad Awad, said in November that he was “happy to see” the Oct. 7 attack, which he described as “self-defense.” The White House condemned “these shocking, antisemitic statements in the strongest terms,” a spokesperson told Jewish Insider in December.
The White House pledged not to include CAIR in discussions around the White House national Islamophobia strategy, which is underway.
In 2021, CAIR San Francisco executive director Zahra Billoo came under fire from Jewish leaders after delivering a speech in which she called Jewish organizations that support Israel, including synagogues, Hillels and Jewish federations, “enemies.”
Newsom traveled to Israel in October less than two weeks after the attacks, which killed more than 1,200 people. Since then, he has directed the shipment of humanitarian aid to both Israel and Gaza.
This story was updated at 9:48 p.m. on 1/4/2024.
Jewish California politicos praised Gov. Gavin Newsom’s selection of the state's secretary of state
Rich Pedroncelli/AP
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla talks during a news conference Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif.
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla will serve out the final two years of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’s Senate term, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday.
Padilla, the son of Mexican immigrants, grew up in Los Angeles and earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After a brief career in aerospace, he entered politics, winning a seat on the Los Angeles City Council in 1999 at age 26. Two years later, he became the body’s first Latino leader and youngest president. He subsequently served in the California State Senate from 2006 to 2014, and was elected secretary of state in 2014.
“I think it’s an excellent choice,” Zev Yaroslavsky, a former member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, told Jewish Insider. “He’s very smart. He’s an adult, in a world of political figures that are increasingly falling short of adulthood. He’s a progressive who believes in paying his bills. He’s a center left person.”
“I think he will become an instant player in the Senate and increasingly on the national scene,” Yaroslavsky added.
Padilla has a “very close relationship” with California’s Jewish community, Yaroslavsky noted. He has visited Israel at least twice, Richard Hirschhaut, the head of the American Jewish Committee in Los Angeles, told JI.
“I know just in speaking with friends and colleagues that he has had a particular affinity and fondness for the State of Israel,” Hirschhaut said, recounting that Padilla visited the Israeli consulate in 2016 to pay his respects after the death of former Prime Minister Shimon Peres. “I think it spoke volumes of his genuine affection for the Jewish community and the State of Israel.”
California Assembly Majority Whip Jesse Gabriel, the newly elected chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, described Padilla as a “good friend and ally to our community” and said that Jewish and pro-Israel leaders became excited when it became public that Padilla was under consideration to replace Harris.
“There’s a lot of warmth and affection for him in our community,” Gabriel said. “Alex Padilla is a huge mensch. I think that as more and more folks in the national Jewish community get to meet him and interact with him and work with him on issues important to our community, I think more people are going to share that assessment.”
Padilla, who will be the first Latino senator to represent the Golden State in the Senate, has long been seen as a top candidate for the seat. Gabriel said the announcement did not surprise him.
According to Sam Lauter, a California political consultant and longtime Newsom associate, the governor’s choice was likely influenced by his strong relationship with Padilla, as well as a desire to recognize the state’s Latino community — which makes up 40% of the state population — and Padilla’s track record in office.
The pick also gave Newsom the opportunity to select a secretary of state to replace Padilla, Lauter added. Newsom announced Tuesday night that he chose Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, the first Black woman to ever hold the position.
Some California Democrats have expressed concerns about Newsom’s decision to replace the only Black woman in the Senate with a non-Black man. A significant lobbying campaign had emerged in the weeks prior to the announcement for Newsom to appoint either Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) or Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), both Black women, to the seat.
Yaroslavsky argued that, given the large Latino population in the state, it would have been “unthinkable not to select a member of that community to represent the state of California.”
Lauter noted that, given the wide field of potential candidates, many of whom had strong qualifications, “no matter what, he was going to pick someone that disappointed an important community.” He said that there were concerted lobbying campaigns not only from the Black community, but also the Latino and Asian-American communities.
“The governor was in a tough situation because there are a lot of different perspectives, obviously, in a state with 40 million people in a lot of different communities. Different folks from different ethnic [groups] and communities who wanted to see themselves represented in the Senate,” Gabriel concurred. “But there’s broad consensus that Secretary Padilla was the leading candidate and very well qualified.”
“For a lot of people this is a really strong choice,” Gabriel added. “Even though there are folks who are disappointed, I think there’s a lot more folks who are excited by the pick.”
Padilla will face California voters in 2022 to secure a full six-year term in the Senate, though he is likely to encounter some resistance from warring factions within the Democratic Party.
But observers say he has a strong shot at maintaining the seat, particularly given his previous statewide electoral victories.
Gabriel said he expects Padilla to “cruise” to reelection in two years.
Lauter was less sanguine, emphasizing that Padilla will certainly face challengers, some of whom have a “significant head start” in terms of fundraising and organizing for a potential Senate run.
He acknowledged however, that it is “longshot” that Padilla would lose, even if he does face a difficult race.
There has also been speculation that Newsom could end up naming a replacement to succeed California’s other senator, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) — who is 87 years old and is facing questions about her health and memory — should she choose to step down before her term ends in 2024. Should that position open up, Newsom will once again have a wide field to choose from.
Sara Jacobs
On Tuesday, 16 candidates will battle to appear on the November ballot to fill an open seat in California’s 53rd congressional district. Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA), who has represented the San Diego-area district since 2001, announced in September that she would not seek reelection.
The candidates: Frontrunners include San Diego City Council President Georgette Gomez and Sara Jacobs — a former Hillary Clinton campaign aide and State Department contractor. Jacobs, who ran in the nearby 49th district in 2018, is the granddaughter of billionaire Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs. California’s “jungle primary” means that only the top two candidates — regardless of party — will advance to the general election.
What to expect on Tuesday: It’s “really a two-way race” between Jacobs and Gomez, Thad Kousser, a political science professor at the University of California San Diego, told Jewish Insider. “But right now [Gomez] looks like the underdog” to Jacobs, who has benefited from a large budget and name recognition from her previous run. A strong Republican challenger could capitalize on a split Democratic field to snag a general election spot, but the party has not united around one candidate, Kousser said, adding that Tuesday’s results will likely be a strong predictor of the general election.
Fundraising: Jacobs has raised more than $2 million — over $500,000 of it self-funded. Gomez comes in second, with over $660,000, followed by Marine veteran, activist and public policy consultant Janessa Goldbeck, who has raised approximately $248,500 — more than double what the next competitor has pulled in.
Jacobs’ Foggy Bottom experience: “I felt like it was important we had someone who’d had the experience that I’ve had making and implementing public policy at the federal level representing us,” Jacobs said in an interview with Jewish Insider. In Congress, Jacobs, a supporter of Medicare for All, said she would prioritize gun violence and lowering the high cost of living in San Diego.
Learning tikkun olam: “I was taught from a young age that it was my personal responsibility to do everything that I could to repair the world, and that’s really something that has informed and guided my career decisions,” Jacobs said.
When it comes to Israel: “I understand from a very personal level, the need for a safe and secure Israel and, personally, I think that the biggest threat to Israel’s security long term is the lack of a negotiated settlement,” Jacobs, who has family in the country and has visited on multiple occasions, told JI.
Gomez’s priorities: Gomez hopes to “go to D.C. to bring more money to our region so we can address some of the inequalities we’re facing,” she said at a recent candidate forum, listing housing and the climate crisis among her core issues.
Working toward peace: “Achieving a two-state solution, something I strongly support, means the U.S. playing a central role in working towards peace, safety, and self-determination for both peoples,” Gomez wrote in an op-ed for the San Diego Jewish World, which also addressed conditioning aid to the Jewish state. “Threatening to withold aid from Israel, or the Palestinian Authority… jeopardizes Israel’s ability to defend its security, promotes instability and extremism, and undermines U.S. credibility,” she said, adding that she opposes the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
Goldbeck’s candidacy: “I believe that San Diego deserves a representative in Washington who has a proven track record of getting things done on Capitol Hill, and has the courage to stand up to corruption and special interests in Washington,” Goldbeck told Jewish Insider. She’s prioritizing the climate, gun violence and healthcare — she prefers a “Medicare for All Who Want It” public option.
Shared values: In a statement to JI, Goldbeck praised Israel’s standing as a U.S. ally. “Israel is a beacon of shared interests and values in a critically strategic region,” Goldbeck said. “She embodies the American values of democracy, pluralism, and the rule of law.”
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