Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today ordered the IDF to “immediately carry out forceful strikes in the Gaza Strip” after Hamas terrorists opened fire on Israeli troops in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Hamas, in response, said it is postponing the release of a hostage body meant to be turned over to Israel today. Yesterday, Hamas staged the recovery of hostage remains that it reburied before handing to the Red Cross, caught on film by the IDF, which turned out to be partial remains belonging to a hostage who was already recovered by the Israeli army in 2023. Netanyahu said the act “constitute[d] a clear violation of the [ceasefire] agreement.”

Israeli officials told Axios that Netanyahu initially sought approval for action against Hamas from President Donald Trump, who is currently traveling in Asia, before moving forward, but there’s “no indication” the two leaders spoke before Netanyahu’s announcement on today’s strikes…

A senior Israeli official told Israel Hayom that Saudi Arabia has scaled back its participation in ceasefire talks after far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich made a disparaging comment last week on Saudi-Israel normalization, if it were to require the establishment of a Palestinian state. The statement (“No thank you, keep riding camels in the desert”) prompted blowback and he apologized shortly after.

“It’s not only because of Smotrich, but his comments certainly pushed [the Saudis] in that direction,” the official told the outlet. “Israel is now dealing with a bloc that includes Turkey, Qatar and Egypt — countries interested in preserving Hamas’ role in Gaza to varying degrees and refusing to pressure it to disarm”…

The Wall Street Journal traveled to an IDF outpost on the “yellow line” demarcating where Israeli troops have pulled back in Gaza. Israel is working on building water and electricity infrastructure and new aid hubs in the area and believes the entire line, which sits on high ground by design, is defensible from Hamas, Israeli officials told the Journal…

With a week to go until Election Day in the New York City mayoral race, new video has surfaced of Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani invoking antisemitic rhetoric shortly before the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks. 

Speaking at a Democratic Socialists of America convention in August 2023, Mamdani said, “For anyone to care about these issues, we have to make them hyper local. We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF.” The idea that police brutality in the United States is caused by law enforcement training or coordination with Israel is a modern antisemitic trope.

Mamdani continued, “We are in a country where those connections abound, especially in New York City. You have so many opportunities to make clear the ways in which that struggle over there [Israel], is tied to capitalist interests over here”…

Meanwhile, The New York Times reports on the super PACs backing former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for mayor, which have raised him more than $40 million over the course of the election — compared to $10 million raised by super PACs for Mamdani and $1 million for Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee.

“The donors to the pro-Cuomo super PACs have included Michael R. Bloomberg, the former mayor; William Lauder, the chair of the Estée Lauder Companies; Ronald Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress; Bill Ackman, the investor; Steve Wynn, the casino investor; Daniel Loeb, the hedge fund manager; Barry Diller, the chairman of IAC; and Joe Gebbia, the co-founder of Airbnb,” the Times reports.

Bloomberg, who spent at least $8 million attempting to defeat Mamdani in the Democratic primary, met with him last month after he clinched the party’s nomination. Bloomberg was careful to note it was not an endorsement meeting, but rather a discussion on policy and staffing if Mamdani is elected mayor…

On the Hill, the nomination of Amer Ghalib, the mayor of Hamtramck, Mich., to be U.S. ambassador to Kuwait is facing what appear to be insurmountable odds as opposition to his confirmation grows among Senate Republicans, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.

Senators on both sides of the aisle had privately expressed reservations about Ghalib’s nomination prior to his rocky confirmation hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week, but his attempts to evade responsibility for his support of antisemitic positions prompted several Republicans on the committee to go public. 

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) announced at the end of Ghalib’s hearing last Thursday that he would not be able to support moving his nomination out of committee to the Senate floor. Sens. John Curtis (R-UT), John Cornyn (R-TX) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) have since followed suit. Others on the panel, including Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE), have said they plan to raise their concerns about Ghalib with the committee chairman, Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), and the White House…

Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) will introduce a resolution this week affirming Israel’s sovereignty over the Temple Mount and demanding equal freedom of worship for all, JI’s Emily Jacobs scooped. 

The resolution, if adopted, would put the House of Representatives on record as affirming “the inalienable right of the Jewish people to full access [of] the Temple Mount and the right to pray and worship on the Temple Mount, consistent with the principles of religious freedom.”

The current Israeli position, however, that Netanyahu has consistently affirmed, is to maintain the status quo at the holy site, which restricts Jewish prayer…

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who led the the memorable questioning of university presidents at a House Education Committee hearing in December 2023, is coming out with a new book, titled Poisoned Ivies: The Inside Account of the Academic and Moral Rot at America’s Elite Universities, on April 7, 2026…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reaction in Washington to Israel’s latest strikes in Gaza in response to Hamas’ ceasefire violations.

Tomorrow, the Future Investment Initiative continues its ninth annual conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

In the evening, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington is hosting its 2025 annual gala. Honorees include former Rep. David Trone (D-MD) and his wife, June, who is a JCRC board member; Behnam Dayanim, attorney and JCRC vice president; and Eva Davis, a realtor and co-chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington’s Network Council.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said today that Israel’s airstrike in Gaza over the weekend, which the IDF said targeted a Palestinian Islamic Jihad member who was planning a terror attack, did not violate the ongoing ceasefire with Hamas. 

Rubio, who visited Jerusalem last week, told reporters standing next to President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One, “Israel didn’t surrender its right to self-defense. … We don’t view that as a violation of the ceasefire. They have a right — if there’s an imminent threat to Israel — and all the mediators agree to that”…

On the campaign trail, Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) became the first elected Democrat to call for Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner to drop out of the race to replace Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), saying he finds the candidate’s conduct “personally disqualifying,” Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.

“This is a man who criticized and mocked police, rural Americans, and then put a Nazi tattoo on his body,” Auchincloss said. He expressed dissatisfaction with Platner’s defenses, in which the progressive candidate has claimed his actions aren’t a “liability.”

“I think it’s a liability, and I think we should have high standards for United States senators and one of them is: you don’t have a Nazi tattoo on your body,” Auchincloss continued…

Kevin Brown, the campaign manager for Platner, is stepping down after starting the job just last week, Axios scooped today. Brown told the outlet, “I started this campaign Tuesday but found out Friday we have a baby on the way. Graham deserves someone who is 100% in on his race and we want to lean into this new experience as a family”…

More than 160,000 New Yorkers submitted their ballot for New York City mayor with the start of early voting over the weekend, five times higher than the first weekend of early voting in 2021, according to Gothamist. Voters over 55 made up the majority of ballots cast, in contrast with the Democratic primary when voters ages 25-34 were first to the polls…

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who also ran in the mayoral Democratic primary and has been backing nominee Zohran Mamdani, is advancing plans to challenge Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) for his congressional seat, City & State New York reports. 

“I’m very focused on helping Zohran win next Tuesday, and I’ll focus on after that, after that,” Lander told the outlet. At a rally for Mamdani over the weekend, Lander said “it’s more important than ever that we have leaders who understand this moment and will be partners to Zohran” in “the halls of Congress,” potentially hinting at his desire to run. Read JI’s reporting last month of the dynamics of a possible Lander-Goldman matchup…

Former Sen. John E. Sununu (R-NH), the former New Hampshire senator and part of an influential Granite State political family, officially launched his bid last week to take over the Senate seat of retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). 

Sununu’s candidacy ensures a hotly contested GOP primary against former Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), who served as ambassador to New Zealand during the first Trump administration. Brown, who announced his candidacy in June, served a partial term representing Massachusetts in the Senate from 2010-2012, only holding the seat for two years before being bested by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

Brown and Sununu, both of whom had pro-Israel records when they served in the Senate, will battle it out before taking on Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH), the expected Democratic nominee with a history of winning in a swing district…

In an interview with The New York Times, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said that he still believes the U.S. could elect a Jewish president in his lifetime, even in the face of frequent antisemitic violence like the Passover arson attack on his residence. 

“Being open about my faith has opened me up to be able to have a deeper relationship with the people of Pennsylvania, allowed them to share their stories … We’re doing that in this ultimate swing state,” Shapiro, seen as a 2028 presidential contender, said…

Semafor reports on a new survey of hundreds of thousands of voters, conducted by a new center-left group called Welcome, that finds that 70% of voters think the Democratic Party over-prioritizes cultural issues. The report urges Democrats “to abandon some of the progressive language about race, abortion, and LGBTQ issues that Democrats began using after the 2012 election — and recommends the nomination of more candidates willing to vote with Republicans on conservative immigration and crime bills”…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reporting on Fairfax County Public Schools’ reaction to glorifications of violence by local Muslim Student Association chapters.

Tomorrow afternoon, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution will hold a hearing on “Politically Violent Attacks: A Threat to Our Constitutional Order.”

Jewish Federations of North America will hold a briefing tomorrow on how the deal that split off ownership of TikTok’s U.S. business may impact the social media platform’s treatment of antisemitic content.

The 39th World Zionist Congress kicks off in Jerusalem tomorrow with the largest U.S. delegation in history, made up of 155 delegates and approximately 100 alternates. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will address a luncheon hosted by the American Zionist Movement ahead of the Congress’ opening.