Adrian Boafo, the recipient of AIPAC’s support, said he agrees with the senator ‘that big money has no place in politics’ and that he would work with Van Hollen in Congress to ‘end Citizens United once and for all’
Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) speaks during a rally around the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on September 19, 2025.
Add JewishInsider on GoogleSen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) on Thursday called out recent AIPAC and crypto-linked spending in the crowded Democratic House primary in Maryland to replace retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), accusing “outside groups” of “trying to buy this congressional seat.”
“I think voters need to be aware that these outside groups do not have the voters’ interests at heart,” he said during a press conference.
His comments came days after AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, invested more than $1 million in a television ad buy to boost Adrian Boafo, a Maryland state delegate endorsed by Hoyer as well as other prominent Democrats in the state.
In a statement to Jewish Insider, Patrick Dorton, a spokesperson for UDP, shot back at the senator, an outspoken critic of Israel who in March called AIPAC anti-American in an address to the progressive Israel advocacy group J Street. “Once again, Chris Van Hollen is deliberately misrepresenting our views and discriminating against millions of pro-Israel Democrats who are members of AIPAC,” Dorton said.
Van Hollen, who is seen as a possible presidential contender in 2028, has not issued an endorsement in the June 23 primary to represent Maryland’s 5th Congressional District — making him a high-profile holdout among state leaders who have thrown their support behind Boafo, including Gov. Wes Moore and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD).
Dorton called Boafo, viewed as a favorite to win the nomination, “a strong and principled Democratic fighter,” and said UDP is “proud to stand with leaders like Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks and Congressman Steny Hoyer to help get him elected.”
Boafo, for his part, said he agreed with Van Hollen “that big money has no place in politics” and vowed to “work with him in Congress to end Citizens United once and for all,” referring to the Supreme Court decision that struck down limits on independent political spending by corporations.
“My campaign has been laser focused on the issues of affordability, health care and standing up to this president who has destroyed our economy, including our federal workforce,” Boafo said in a statement to JI shared by a campaign spokesperson, adding that his “coalition is focused on delivering results to the people of Maryland’s 5th District.”
The packed primary also includes Rushern Baker, a former Prince George’s County executive; state Sen. Arthur Ellis; Quincy Bareebe, who challenged Hoyer in 2024; and Harry Dunn, the former Capitol police officer who ran for a separate House seat in Maryland last cycle and drew outside attacks from UDP that are fueling his renewed criticism of its engagement in his current race.
In a recent statement denouncing the group, Dunn accused Boafo of “benefiting from the MAGA donors who fund AIPAC.”
Boafo, 32, is also backed by Democratic Majority for Israel’s super PAC — which is led by Brian Romick, a former chief of staff to Hoyer.
“We support Adrian Boafo and believe he’s the best candidate for the district,” Romick said in a statement to JI. “We hope Sen. Van Hollen will vocally and specifically oppose all super PAC spending, and not just the spending he disagrees with.”
In his remarks on Thursday, Van Hollen suggested candidates who accept AIPAC’s financial backing are not aligned with prevailing Democratic sentiment on Middle East policy.
“I don’t think it’s any secret that voters do not support unconditional votes in support of the conduct of the government of Israel,” he said, while adding, “For a long time AIPAC has had a pretty free hand.”
Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Chris Murphy (D-CT), as well as Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), have been among the party’s most prominent critics of Israel on Capitol Hill amid a marked decline in Democratic support for the Jewish state
Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) speaks during a rally around the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on September 19, 2025.
As the 2028 presidential campaign season nears, a handful of prospective candidates from the Democratic Party’s left flank are raising their profiles with efforts to shape a more critical approach to U.S. policy toward Israel.
Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Chris Murphy (D-CT), as well as Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), all of whom are seen as potential presidential prospects, have been among the party’s most prominent critics of Israel on Capitol Hill amid a marked decline in Democratic support for the Jewish state.
Recent moves suggest they are each testing voter appetite for a possible White House campaign. Even as they are not considered top-tier contenders in what is likely to be a crowded primary field, history has shown they could be positioning themselves for a Cabinet role — particularly if they prove successful in driving the national conversation on the debate stage and other forums.
Murphy, for instance, released a book last month, Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America, of the sort that typically presages a bid for higher office. The senator has otherwise continued to promote what he terms a “forward-looking foreign policy,” which has included an increasingly antagonistic assessment of Israel and its relationship with the United States.
Van Hollen, meanwhile, published a deeply disputed op-ed in The New York Times last week that argued for wholly jettisoning the Democratic Party’s “unconditional support to Israeli governments” that, he warned, has “increasingly undermined American interests and values.” He also proposed several steps that the next Democratic president should take with respect to Israel — such as recognizing a Palestinian state “subject to clear benchmarks” and ending U.S. “taxpayer-funded support to Israel,” which has also recently been championed by more moderate voices such as former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
In a noteworthy aside at the end of his essay, Van Hollen, who, like Murphy, sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated that voters “won’t trust any Democratic presidential candidate who does not have a record of moral and strategic clarity on these issues” — a possible advertisement for his own 2028 ambitions.
The senator also insisted that voters will not be open to a presidential “candidate who plans to re-enlist the senior Democratic decision makers who whitewashed the truth during the Biden administration and refuse to acknowledge their complicity.”
Left unmentioned was that Van Hollen’s dictates could reasonably be seen as planting the seeds for a possible post in a future administration, including secretary of state or another top foreign policy role.
Khanna, long seen as harboring presidential ambitions, has for his part moved swiftly to the far left on Israel policy in recent years, while giving his endorsement to a range of Israel critics running for House and Senate this cycle that have helped him to build a progressive imprint throughout the country.
None of the three lawmakers, however media-savvy, possesses the name recognition or national profile of other prominent Democrats who are more frequently cited as presidential prospects, such as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro from the moderate wing of the Democratic Party and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on the left.
But if they do choose to mount what would likely be long-shot presidential bids, each has the potential to become a more significant player in national politics, as previous presidential contests have demonstrated.
During the 2020 primary, for instance, Andrew Yang rose to prominence as a Democratic outsider thanks in part to his calls for unconventional policies such as universal basic income. And Pete Buttigieg channeled his short-lived primary surge from small-town mayor in Indiana to leading the Transportation Department under former President Joe Biden.
With intraparty conflict over Israel poised to inflect the 2028 presidential race, it would not be surprising if Khanna, Murphy or Van Hollen seized the national spotlight while championing Middle East policy positions that had once been considered off-limits for a viable campaign.
Kenneth Baer, a former Obama administration official who now leads a communications firm, voiced concerns about the possibility, albeit hypothetical, of a lawmaker like Van Hollen helming the State Department, say, in a future administration.
“The only thing more menacing to a strong U.S.-Israel relationship than Van Hollen as SFRC chair is him as secretary of state,” Baer, a constituent of the senator, told Jewish Insider. “It’s a sad commentary about the state of our party that more than a few presidential hopefuls would seriously consider him for that role.”
The group ranges from pro-Israel Democrats like Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand to anti-Israel members like Sen. Chris Van Hollen
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) speaks at a news conference following a closed-door lunch meeting with Senate Democrats at the U.S. Capitol on October 31, 2023, in Washington, D.C.
A group of six additional Senate Democrats plan to file new war powers resolutions this week to halt the war in Iran, a move that would allow Democrats to continue forcing votes on the war for the foreseeable future.
Previously, a different group of six Democrats introduced similar resolutions, and Democrats have called up two of them thus far, with plans to call up a third this week. So far, the resolutions have all failed along mostly party lines, with all senators remaining consistent in their votes.
The latest group of lawmakers includes Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Andy Kim (D-NJ).
The array of lawmakers involved in the latest effort spans from staunch progressives and critics of Israel to generally more pro-Israel members.
“President Trump chose to start a war knowing it was going to raise gas prices on Americans already struggling to get by,” Gillibrand said in a statement. “The president, and his party, just don’t care about anyone other than themselves. They lie, cheat and steal to enrich themselves and leave regular folks with the bill. It is long past time for Republicans in Congress to stand up and do their job.”
House Democrats also plan to call up a war powers resolution this week, which may pass given that some Democrats who previously opposed a war powers effort and a handful of Republicans have indicated they plan to change their votes.
The latest set of six resolutions will not be eligible for floor votes immediately, but Democrats can call up the other four resolutions introduced previously at will. Senate Democrats are also likely to force votes on matters related to the Iran war during the upcoming reconciliation process, which Republicans aim to use to fund immigration enforcement and other priorities.
The votes may draw increased Democratic support amid party criticism of the war with Iran
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), joined by fellow senator Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) (R), speaks at a news conference on restricting arms sales to Israel at the U.S. Capitol on November 19, 2024 in Washington, DC.
The Senate is set to hold another round of votes on blocking U.S. arms transfers to Israel, as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) filed three new joint resolutions of disapproval against $658.8 million in sales of 500- and 1,000-pound bombs to Israel and “defense articles” for 250-pound bombs.
“Given the horrific destruction that Israel’s extremist government has wrought on Gaza, Iran and Lebanon, the last thing in the world that American taxpayers need to do right now is to provide 22,000 new bombs to the Netanyahu government,” Sanders said. “No more weapons to support an illegal war.”
The effort is being co-sponsored by Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Peter Welch (D-VT).
Sanders emphasized that the administration had sidestepped normal congressional review procedures using emergency authorities in advancing the arms sales earlier this month.
Sanders and other progressive Democrats have forced votes on similar efforts to block arms sales to Israel on three previous occasions since the war in Gaza began, with a majority of the Democratic caucus — 27 lawmakers — voting to block at least one arms sale in July of last year, a significant jump in support from similar efforts in November 2024 and April 2025.
Israel’s standing among Democrats has worsened since last July, with even some Democrats who supported continued arms sales at that time blaming Israel for dragging the U.S. into the war in Iran. Polls show registered voters now see Israel more negatively than positively.
Some senators have argued the U.S. should have threatened to cut off military support to prevent an Israeli attack on Iran.
Van Hollen, Merkley and Welch, in statements, all framed the bomb sales as proxy votes on the war in Iran, and a vote to block the sales as a step toward ending the war. Senate Democrats have voted nearly unanimously as recently as yesterday to bring an immediate end to the war in Iran.
“With the bombs already provided to Israel by American taxpayers, Israeli forces are unleashing a campaign of total war in Iran with the clear and deliberate intention to eviscerate Iran’s economy and society,” Welch said in a statement. “I support these joint resolutions to make sure that we do not send another 20,000 bombs to Israel that will result in further destruction in Iran and Lebanon. We must end this war, and we must not send these bombs.”
On the other hand, some Democrats who had voted in favor of previous arms sales flipped in the July 2025 vote to express frustration with the ongoing war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
With the war in Gaza now in a ceasefire, humanitarian aid restored and efforts toward reconstruction slowly starting, that motivation for blocking arms sales may no longer be salient for some Democrats.
‘AIPAC may call itself pro-American. They may call themselves pro-Israel. But they are neither,’ the Maryland senator said
Eric Lee for The Washington Post via Getty Images
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) speaks during an Election Night party at in Baltimore, Maryland on November 8, 2022.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) took aim at the pro-Israel advocacy group AIPAC during an address on Sunday morning at the opening plenary of J Street’s convention in Washington and accused it of being un-American.
Van Hollen elicited a loud chorus of boos in response to his description of AIPAC’s opposition to legislation he had sponsored seeking to place conditions on U.S. military assistance to Israel.
“I put forward months and months ago a proposal that said, with respect to any country, any country that receives U.S. military assistance — has to agree to, No. 1, comply by American law and by international law. You know who came out against that? AIPAC came out against that,” Van Hollen said.
“AIPAC came out against a proposal that says American taxpayer dollars that are used for military assistance — it’s OK to give them to any country in the world, even if that country doesn’t agree to abide by American law or international law,” said Van Hollen. “I will tell you that AIPAC may call itself pro-American. They may call themselves pro-Israel. But they are neither.”
Van Hollen accused Israel of violating American and international law during its war against Hamas in Gaza, and earned cheers for saying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions should be reined in.
“There can’t be a continuing blank check when the Netanyahu government is operating in violation of American law, which they have repeatedly, or in violation of international law,” he said.
Van Hollen has emerged as one of Israel’s staunchest critics in Congress over the course of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza in response to the terror group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. In his speech, he gave a shout-out to his wife, Katherine Wilkens, a longtime liberal analyst on the Middle East at think tanks in Washington.
“I’m also very pleased to be joined here today by the real expert in the Van Hollen family on the Middle East, and that’s my wife and partner, Katherine,” he said.
Van Hollen used his speech to tie the U.S. strikes against Iran that began early Saturday morning to President Donald Trump’s “lawless” actions domestically.
“What we see is this lawlessness and attack on freedoms here at home also infecting our foreign policy,” said Van Hollen. “It is a gross violation of international law just to go all off and attack another country. It’s not a preemptive strike … It also is a gross violation of your constitution. This isn’t a close call.”
Van Hollen criticized Trump’s stated goal of regime change in Iran, and said the president’s actions will harm civilians in Iran.
“Yes, we hate the Iranian regime. It’s been brutal against its own people,” said Van Hollen. “But I don’t think you’re going to help the Iranian people by watching bombs that kill civilians. We’ve seen over 140 school kids killed in one of the very first attacks of the war. That is not a way to bring solidarity and support from the people of Iran.”
Iranian forces said more than 150 people were killed after a strike hit a school in the county’s south, but the Israeli military said it was “not aware” of any IDF operations in that area. A CENTCOM spokesperson told The New York Times it is “aware of reports concerning civilian harm resulting from ongoing military operations. We take these reports seriously and are looking into them.”
Van Hollen was the only member of Congress to speak at J Street’s opening session. Other congressional speakers slated to address the conference on Monday include Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), as well as Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sean Casten (D-IL), Madeleine Dean (D-PA) and Sara Jacobs (D-CA).
Plus, Tucker Carlson and associates dominate Doha Forum
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
A law enforcement vehicle sits near the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue on January 16, 2022 in Colleyville, Texas.
👋 Good Friday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we preview this weekend’s Doha Forum and its lineup of speakers who are sharply critical of Israel, and report on the backlash from the Jewish community to recent comments by Sen. Chris Van Hollen attacking the head of the Washington JCRC as an “apologist” for the Israeli government. We cover the legislative push for “buffer zones” outside of places of worship following recent incidents in New York and Los Angeles, and spotlight Benjamin Landa, the Trump administration’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Hungary. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Mitchell Silk, Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun and Cornelia Foss.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve with an assist from Danielle Cohen-Kanik. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- President Donald Trump will attend the World Cup draw this morning in Washington. Also attending is the head of Iran’s national team, which previously said it would boycott the draw over the U.S.’ refusal to grant visas to some members of the team.
- The two-day Reagan National Defense Forum kicks off today at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. This year’s speakers include Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, Sens. Jim Banks (R-IN), Chris Coons (D-DE), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Rick Scott (R-FL); Reps. Ken Calvert (R-CA), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Adam Smith (D-WA) and Rob Wittman (R-VA); JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, 8VC’s Joe Lonsdale, Palantir’s Mike Gallagher (formerly a Republican congressman from Wisconsin), former National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster; former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and former Deputy National Security Advisor Alex Wong.
- The Doha Forum begins tomorrow morning in Qatar. More below on the two-day confab’s speakers, including the recent addition of Tucker Carlson.
- Israeli President Isaac Herzog is traveling to the U.S. this weekend for a series of events taking place over the next week. On Sunday, he’ll be honored at Yeshiva University’s 101st Annual Hanukkah Dinner in New York. He’s also slated to attend the American Zionist Movement’s Biennial National Assembly, which is taking place this weekend in New York City.
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will arrive in Israel this weekend for meetings with senior officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Merz’s trip, his first official visit since becoming chancellor in May, will also include a visit to Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem and a meeting with Herzog before the president heads to the U.S.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S GABBY DEUTCH
As the holiday season gets underway, Jewish Washington is abuzz with a bipartisan tradition: gossiping about who got invited to the White House Hanukkah party — and how those who did not make the list can still score an invitation.
This year, there’s another conversation as well, in group chats of people who were invited to a Hanukkah party at the Naval Observatory, hosted by Vice President JD Vance: What’s with the Christmas branding on the invitation?
The top of the green-and-gold virtual invitation reads, “The Golden Noel: Celebrating 50 years of Christmas at the Vice President’s residence.” The invitation to President Donald Trump’s White House Hanukkah party, in contrast, looks, well, like a Hanukkah invitation — royal blue background, with white text.
“Would I have preferred something to be a little more Hanukkah-like? Perhaps, but I don’t see it as a very big deal,” said Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad). Shemtov oversees kashrut at the White House Hanukkah celebration, whether it is hosted by a Democrat or a Republican.
Several people who received the invitation told Jewish Insider they found the decoration puzzling. Ultimately, though, they aren’t concerned. Many Jewish Republicans are pleased that Vance is hosting a Hanukkah celebration at all.
“Noticed that as well, but haven’t heard any complaints,” said one Republican who was invited to the party. “I’m happy he’s having one.”
Marquee Moment
Doha Forum embracing Tucker Carlson and his associates
Among the most high-profile speakers at this weekend’s Doha Forum in the Qatari capital are Tucker Carlson, his business partner Neil Patel and investor Omeed Malik — a lineup raising eyebrows given Carlson’s recent track record of credulously hosting antisemitic and Holocaust-denying guests on his right-wing podcast. The conference, which is co-sponsored by a panoply of elite institutions from CNN to the Atlantic Council, will bring together Trump administration officials, ambassadors, politicians and philanthropists alongside figures who hold fringe or hostile views of Israel and U.S. Middle East policy, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
What this means: The forum’s layout elevates voices aligned with Doha’s regional agenda while pairing them with Western political, philanthropic and corporate leaders — a mix that lends legitimacy to speakers with out-of-the-mainstream views. Carlson’s interview on the Doha Forum stage on Sunday will take place in conversation with the Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, an indication of his prominence at the confab.
COMMUNITY CONCERN
Jewish leaders scramble to protect synagogues amid threatening anti-Israel protests
As anti-Israel demonstrators increasingly target synagogues in protests that have turned violent and used antisemitic rhetoric, some Jewish leaders and state lawmakers are now calling for more expansive legislative safeguards to help bolster protections for houses of worship. The new efforts have come in the wake of threatening behavior outside synagogues in New York City and Los Angeles that drew forceful condemnation from elected officials and raised concerns among Jewish leaders who fear that such incidents will normalize antisemitic harassment disguised as anti-Zionism, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Legislative steps: In New York, state lawmakers this week introduced a new bill to ban protests directly outside houses of worship. The legislation seeks to amend the existing state penal law by establishing a 25-foot buffer zone around religious sanctuaries to insulate congregants from facing intimidation and potential clashes with demonstrators that have occurred more regularly in recent years.
Standing together: More than 1,000 New Yorkers braved the frigid temperatures on Thursday night, stretching across Lexington Avenue on the Upper East Side outside of the historic Park East Synagogue, surrounded by heavy police presence and voicing a unifying message: “We are proud New Yorkers, proud Jews and proud Zionists,” JI’s Haley Cohen reports.
SPEAKING AS ONE
Jewish groups rally around Maryland Jewish leader after Sen. Van Hollen team’s attack
Several major Jewish organizations rallied around Ron Halber, the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, after a spokesperson for Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) attacked Halber as an “apologist for the Netanyahu government” and unrepresentative of his community. The Van Hollen spokesperson’s comments came in response to remarks by Halber to reporters in which Halber said that many in the Maryland Jewish community feel “betrayed” by the senator and that he has failed to show empathy for Israel and the Jewish people, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Board backing: The JCRC’s Board of Directors, in a statement late Thursday, offered Halber, who has led the group for nearly three decades, its full support, and applauded his work. “We are deeply disappointed that Sen. Van Hollen chose instead to malign Ron and our organization, but we are heartened by the outpouring of support from so many partners and friends. They know what we know: Ron and the JCRC support not only Jewish families, but the millions of people who live in the DMV.”
BY THE NUMBERS
New survey finds the spread of antisemitism slowing, but still elevated
Antisemitism in America has plateaued after a sharp rise in anti-Jewish hate incidents in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel — yet fewer Americans are pushing back against it, according to a survey released Thursday by the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Findings: About 25% of the population has consistently held antisemitic attitudes since June 2024, the 2025 Antisemitism Landscape Survey reported. That’s a notable rise from the recent past, but the survey found that the growth of antisemitic views has slowed significantly. The survey, which has been conducted twice a year since June 2023, polled 7,028 American adults from Aug. 1-Sept. 30. It found that 58% of respondents think antisemitism is a minor problem or not a problem at all, a sizable majority, though one that has remained fairly steady for the past two years.
The road less traveled
A Mandarin-speaking Hasidic Jew walks into Washington…
To the business community in Asia and to his former colleagues at the Department of Treasury, Mitchell Silk was usually called Mitch. To his friends and family in the Jewish community he is, always, Moyshe. However those who know him refer to him, Silk in 2020 became the first Hasidic Jew to serve in a government role that required Senate confirmation. In a conversation with Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch last month, Silk reflected on an unlikely career path that began with a high school job at a Chinese restaurant, and later took him from studying abroad in Taiwan to conducting business deals in Hong Kong and then advising former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on trade with Asia.
Divine providence: “If I were to do a backward run for you of where I ended up and am at now, to each stage and link in the progression and the trajectory, I could do it only in a manner that highlights exactly how much hashgacha pratis, how much divine providence, factored into where I am today,” Silk told JI, using a Hebrew term. “I cannot explain it in any other way than how much I had a divine hand guiding me.”
BUDAPEST BEAT
The Orthodox Jewish philanthropist vying to be U.S. ambassador to Hungary
Benjamin Landa, a New York businessman and the son of a Holocaust survivor, was nominated in October to be the U.S. ambassador to Hungary — a delicate assignment given tensions over the U.S.’ relationship with the country. Landa, 69, is a yeshiva graduate and well-known philanthropist supporting Jewish, Israeli and other causes, including as founder of the Chabad of Port Washington. He’s also been a prominent donor to Republican political causes, and met in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump and advisor Roger Stone earlier this year, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Background: His father, Yehoshua Boruch Landa, served as a rabbi in prewar Czechoslovakia and survived the Nazi regime, but most of his family, who resided in Hungary, were killed in the Holocaust, according to Newsday. “My father, despite all the horrors he went through, he never lost his humanity, he never lost his sense of humor,” Landa told the New York Post. “It taught me the idea of resilience and starting from scratch – starting all over from the depths of hell to rise like a phoenix and that was my father – he never gave up.”
Worthy Reads
Conserving Conservatism: In The Washington Post, Princeton University professor Robert George cautions against the embrace of far-right figures, including Nick Fuentes, by some elements of the conservative movement. “A plea to my fellow conservatives to draw a bright line against bigotry is not a call to ‘cancellation.’ Individuals who hold extremist or bigoted views possess the same right to express their opinions as everyone else has. I would fight — indeed, I have fought — to protect their free speech rights despite my profound rejection of their beliefs. What I am doing is reminding conservatives that we stand for certain things. Therefore, not everything is up for grabs or negotiable. Nor is everyone, irrespective of their beliefs, welcome in the conservative movement. Unless you share conservatism’s core values, then you are not with us in standing for what our movement exists to conserve.” [WashPost]
Sanctuary City: Commentary’s Seth Mandel reflects on recently introduced legislation that would create a “buffer zone” protecting places of worship from protesters, following a demonstration outside Manhattan’s Park East Synagogue last month. “Indeed, the mere introduction of such legislation is an admission that incoming mayor Zohran Mamdani has already inaugurated bleaker times for the city and, perhaps, for the nation. … It should be noted that it is a violation of civil-rights law to prevent people from entering a house of worship. That is because such behavior is a direct assault on the First Amendment. Though Mamdani has exacerbated the problem, he did not create it. Even before his lies about ‘international law,’ the protest itself shattered civic norms. The result is a proposed law on top of a law. And that law might pass and it might make going to shul safer. But what kind of society needs such a law?” [Commentary]
Word on the Street
In an interview with NBC News, Vice President JD Vance complimented Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, while downplaying the degree of rising antisemitism in the Republican Party…
Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the Trump administration’s nominee to be the State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, is expected to come before the full Senate for a confirmation vote before the end of the year, two sources familiar with the situation confirmed to Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod…
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso announced his bid for the House seat being vacated by Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), covering portions of Brooklyn and Queens…
Netflix entered into exclusive negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery amid concerns from David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance that Warner Bros. “appears to have abandoned the semblance and reality of a fair transaction process” and that the selection of Netflix was predetermined by Warner Bros. management…
UCLA’s library finalized the processing and digitization of extensive archives — including interviews, membership directories and yearbooks — from the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center; the century-old synagogue’s campus and much of its paper records were destroyed in the Altadena wildfires earlier this year…
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission began the claims process for Jewish students and faculty at Columbia University who reported having experienced antisemitism on the campus between Oct. 7, 2023, and July 2025; the payments will come from a $21 million class claims fund established by the university as part of its $221 million settlement with the Trump administration reached earlier this year…
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by a Jewish Harvard Business School graduate who claimed the school violated his civil rights in its decision not to discipline two student-employees involved in an incident at an anti-Israel protest on campus in October 2023…
The New York Times spotlights artist Cornelia Foss, whose new exhibit, “Little Red,” was inspired by her childhood escape from Nazi Germany in 1939…
Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Slovenia pulled out of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest after the European Broadcasting Union determined on Thursday that Israel will be allowed to compete…
A Lithuanian court fined the leader of the country’s populist Dawn of Nemunas party €5,000 after finding him guilty of inciting antisemitism and downplaying the Holocaust; among the comments made by Remigijus Žemaitaitis, whose party is in a coalition with the ruling Social Democrats, was a social media post blaming Jews for the “destruction of our nation”…
A new report from the office of Israel’s public defender found that treatment of Palestinians in Israeli prisons rapidly deteriorated following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks…
Israeli media reported the death of Gazan clan leader Yasser Abu Shabab, who led one of the main groups opposing Hamas rule in the enclave and had been targeted for assassination by the terror group…
The Israeli cabinet approved the defense budget for 2026 at 112 billion shekels ($34.63 billion), a 22 billion shekel increase from a previously presented draft budget…
The Wall Street Journal reports on European interest in Israeli military technology amid concerns about Russian aggression across the Continent…
Israeli series “Tehran” will return for its third season on Jan. 9 after delays related to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack and ensuing war; filming for the fourth season is already underway…
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi extended an invitation to his Lebanese counterpart to visit Iran to discuss bilateral ties between Tehran and Beirut…
Pic of the Day
An Instagram post from the account of Sheikh Mansour bin Jabor bin Jassim Al Thani, the head of Qatar’s Government Communications Office, featured an image of a drone show marking the end of The Wall Street Journal’s Tech Live conference in Doha. Read more about the Journal‘s expanded ties with Qatar here.
Birthdays
Former manager of the Israel national baseball team including at the 2020 Olympics, Eric Holtz turns 60…
FRIDAY: Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist, emeritus professor at Harvard and professor at Boston University, Sheldon Lee Glashow turns 93… St. Louis-based luxury senior living developer, Charles J. Deutsch turns 76… Professor in the school of journalism at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Stuart Neil Brotman turns 73… Former U.S. ambassador to France and Monaco, she was a co-owner and CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Jamie Luskin McCourt turns 72… Mediator and arbitrator for JAMSand J Street board member, Michael D. Young… Golfer on the PGA Tour and later a golf teaching professional, Anthony Irvin (Tony) Sills turns 70… Professor of Jewish history at Ben-Gurion University, she is focused on Sephardic heritage, Haviva Pedaya turns 68… Venture capitalist, speaker and investment advisor, Pascal Norman Levensohn turns 65… NYC-based author and clinical psychologist with specialties in aging and cancer, Mindy Greenstein, Ph.D…. Film, television and theater actress, Ilana Levine turns 62… Professor at the University of Chicago Law School, Eric A. Posner turns 60… Professor and dean emeritus of Columbia Law School, he served as CEO of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and was once a law clerk for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David M. Schizer turns 57… Urologist in Westchester County, N.Y., Judd Boczko, M.D…. Ontario-born supermodel and actress, Shalom Harlow turns 52… President of The LS Group and political fundraiser, Lisa Spies… Co-founder and CEO of Axios, Roy Schwartz… Emmy Award-winning author and reporter, he is the chief national correspondent for ABC News, Matthew A. Gutman turns 48… Israeli-born, acclaimed video game developer, Neil Druckmann turns 47… Musical songwriting and producing duo, identical twins Ryan and Dan Kowarsky turn 46… Communications and marketing consultant, Adam S. Rosenberg… Senior managing director at Liberty Strategic Capital, Eli H. Miller… Emmy Award-winning senior personal technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal, Joanna Stern turns 41… Media correspondent for The New York Times, Michael Mendel Grynbaum… Israeli film and television music composer based in Los Angeles, Naama “Nami” Melumad turns 37… Reporter on the obituary desk of The New York Times, Alexander E. Traub… Chess master and commentator, his YouTube page has 5.7 million subscribers and over 3 billion views, Levy Rozman turns 30… Principal at Envision Strategy, Jonathan Shabshaikhes… Israeli model, Adar Gandelsman turns 28…
SATURDAY: Moshe Hochenberg… Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for 20 years until 2014 and active in a range of Jewish organizations, Lawrence S. Bergman turns 85… Renowned artist whose sculpture, photography, neon and video works appear in museums worldwide, Bruce Nauman turns 84… Israeli-born art collector and producer of over 130 full-length films, Arnon Milchan turns 81… Founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure (named after her late sister), she also served as U.S. ambassador to Hungary and chief of protocol of the U.S., Nancy Goodman Brinker turns 79… Professor emeritus of Talmudic culture at the University of California, Berkeley, Daniel Boyarin turns 79… Senior U.S. district judge for the Northern District of Ohio, he has served as a trustee of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, Judge Dan Aaron Polster turns 74… Cell and molecular biologist, he is a professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, David L. Spector turns 73… Founder of Craigslist, Craig Newmark turns 73… Film, stage and television actress, Gina Hecht turns 72… Faculty member at Harvard Law School since 1981, she served as dean from 2009-2017, Martha Minow turns 71… Author of a bestselling novel, Memoirs of a Geisha, with over 4 million copies sold, Arthur Sulzberger Golden turns 69… SVP and general counsel at United Airlines, Robert S. Rivkin turns 65… Former EVP and COO of the Inter-American Development Bank, Julie T. Katzman turns 64… Emmy Award-winning producer, writer, director, actor and comedian, Judd Apatow turns 58… Israel’s minister of education, he was a fighter pilot for the IDF and then a civilian pilot for El Al before entering politics, Yoav Kisch turns 57… Professor of economics at the University of Chicago, he previously served as the chief economist for President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors, Michael Greenstone turns 57… Professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, he is a son and grandson of rabbis, Julian E. Zelizer turns 56… Editor-in-chief of J. The Jewish News of Northern California, Chanan Tigay turns 50… Communications advisor at nexos.ai and host of the “The Dejargonizer” podcast, Amir Mizroch turns 50… Managing director in the NYC office of PR firm BerlinRosen, Dan Levitan… Editor-in-chief at The Air Current, Jon Ostrower… Venture capitalist in Israel, Ilan Regenbaum… Licensed community association manager in South Florida, now a regional associate at Bozzuto, Beth Argaman… Assistant professor in international relations and global politics at the American University of Rome, Andrea Dessì… Joe Blumenthal…
SUNDAY: Linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, political activist and professor emeritus at MIT, Noam Chomsky turns 97… Author or editor of 40 books including The New York Times best-selling Chicken Soup for the Jewish Soul, Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins turns 88… Actor, director and producer, Larry Hankin turns 88… Hedge fund manager, he is the co-founder of Taglit-Birthright Israel and the founder of Hebrew language charter schools in NYC, Michael Steinhardt turns 85… Professor of mathematics at Princeton University, Nicholas Michael Katz turns 82… Novelist, essayist and screenwriter, Susan Isaacs turns 82… Former Israeli Foreign Ministry legal advisor and then Israeli ambassador to Canada, now at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Ambassador Alan Baker turns 78… Chair emeritus of the Longmeadow, Mass., Democratic Town Committee, Candy Glazer… Director and vice chairman of Simon Property Group, Richard S. Sokolov turns 76… Past board chair and president of AIPAC, Lillian Pinkus turns 74… U.S. senator (R-ME), Susan Collins turns 73… Chairman of Loews Hotels and co-owner of the NFL’s New York Giants, Jonathan M. Tisch turns 72… Haifa-born composer and professor of music at Harvard, Chaya Czernowin turns 68… Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention throughout most of the Obama administration, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden turns 65… Teacher in the Elko County School District in northeast Nevada and leader of the local Jewish community there, Shawn Welton-Lowe… Provost and interim dean of the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at The Jewish Theological Seminary, Dr. Jeffrey Kress turns 57… Co-founder of Laurel Strategies, a CEO advisory firm based in Washington, Dafna Tapiero… Director, producer, writer, actor and comedian, best known as the director of “Modern Family,” Jason Winer turns 53… President of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs, Jed Hoyer turns 52… Leading actress in multiple television series including “Roswell” and “Unreal,” Shiri Appleby turns 47… Managing partner of NYC-based Capitol Consulting, he was previously at the UJA-Federation of New York and at the Orthodox Union, Jeffrey Leb… Food critic for The New Yorker, she received a 2024 James Beard Award, Hannah Goldfield… Co-author of Union: A Republican, a Democrat, and a Search for Common Ground, he is the managing partner at America’s Frontier Fund, Jordan Blashek… Executive director at NYC’s Mission Staffing, Jaime Leiman… Founder and CEO of Go Dash Dot, an active wear accessories brand, Hannah Fastov… Physician practicing in the U.K., Carine Moezinia… Freelance content creator and social media manager, Hannah Vilinsky… VP and head of the startup division at the Israel Innovation Authority, Hanan Brand… Jeff Blum… Toby Lerner…
William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents, to Van Hollen: ‘Labeling American Jews as apologists when they challenge you is not discourse. It is a smear’
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Rabbi Susan Shankman (L) hugs Ron Halber, the Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, as they gather together at the Washington Hebrew Congregation during a vigil for Israel on October 09, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Several major Jewish organizations rallied around Ron Halber, the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, after a spokesperson for Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) attacked Halber as an “apologist for the Netanyahu government” and unrepresentative of his community.
The Van Hollen spokesperson’s comments came in response to remarks by Halber to reporters in which Halber said that many in the Maryland Jewish community feel “betrayed” by the senator and that he has failed to show empathy for Israel and the Jewish people.
The JCRC’s Board of Directors, in a statement late Thursday, offered Halber, who has led the group for nearly three decades, its full support, and applauded his work.
“Recent personal attacks leveled against [Ron] by Sen. Chris Van Hollen are undignified, unwarranted, and untrue. Ron and his leadership team have our full backing and support,” the board said in a statement. “In a time marked by division and discord, political leaders should model respectful behavior and discourse. We are deeply disappointed that Sen. Van Hollen chose instead to malign Ron and our organization, but we are heartened by the outpouring of support from so many partners and friends. They know what we know: Ron and the JCRC support not only Jewish families, but the millions of people who live in the DMV.”
William Daroff, the CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said he’s known, worked with and respected both Halber and Van Hollen for decades, and that Van Hollen has been his representative for much of that time.
“That is why I am stunned, offended, and frankly angry at Senator Van Hollen’s personal attack on Ron,” Daroff said on X. “Ron is a respected communal leader who has spent decades serving Maryland Jews, advocating for security, and giving voice to a community that is anxious and afraid in this moment of rising hostility.”
He said that Halber’s criticism was “not partisan” and was at its core a call for empathy for Israeli lives, Israel’s security dilemmas and the “vulnerability so many Maryland Jews feel today,” but was “met instead with derision.”
“We can disagree about Israeli policy. We can debate strategy and tone. But labeling American Jews as apologists when they challenge you is not discourse. It is a smear. It cheapens the conversation at a time when Jewish anxiety is real and rising, and when we need leaders who hear us rather than dismiss us,” Daroff said. “Our community deserves respect. We deserve empathy. We deserve partnership grounded in good faith. We will speak up for those expectations.”
The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, another major D.C.-area Jewish umbrella organization, also offered support for “the vital role Ron Halber and the JCRC of Greater Washington play in advocating for Israel, Jewish safety, belonging, and connection across Greater Washington.”
“Ron has worked tirelessly for years to build a stronger Jewish community and Greater Washington region,” the organization continued. “At a time of extreme divisiveness in our society, our public officials should not be contributing to these divides through personal attacks.”
AIPAC said the statement by Van Hollen’s team was “shameful.”
“Disagreeing with you, Senator, doesn’t make American Jews apologists for a foreign leader,” the group said on X. “Resorting to this tired and toxic trope only reflects the shallowness of the Senator’s arguments.”
The Jewish Federations of North America, the umbrella group that represents hundreds of Jewish communities and groups around the country, said in a statement that it “stand[s] with our esteemed colleague Ron Halber … following the deeply troubling personal attack leveled against him.”
“Ron and [the JCRC of Greater Washington] understand and speak for their community, and their well-documented concerns should be listened to and addressed on the merits,” JFNA continued. “We are grateful to all the public officials in the Greater Washington DC area who are engaged in productive conversations and collaborations with the Jewish community.”
Yehuda Kurtzer, the president of the Shalom Hartman Institute, called the statement “unconscionable” and said Halber deserves an apology from Van Hollen.
“Politicians need to have thicker skins in responding to criticism, especially when it is directed at them by respected representatives of minority communities. That’s part of the job,” Kurtzer said on Facebook. “Van Hollen has the right to cut off contact with the organized Jewish community even though I think that’s a toxic political choice. But he should not respond publicly like this.”
He added that, “to characterize a pro-Israel view as an apologetic for a foreign government is to evoke unfounded suspicion of foreign interference and to cast the[m] as therefore ‘un-American.’ This is dangerous stuff and politicians shouldn’t do it.”
Halber’s counterparts in other parts of the country have also rallied to his defense. “The contempt with which [Sen. Van Hollen] showed for Ron, the DC JCRC, and the Jewish community is unacceptable. He needs to apologize,” Tyler Gregory, the CEO of the Bay Area JCRC, said.
Jeremy Burton, the CEO of the Boston JCRC said that “Labeling American Jews as ‘apologists’ just because you disagree with them & their (our) attachment to the Israeli people is unacceptable” and also called on Van Hollen to apologize.
Amy Spitalnick, who leads the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, lamented both Van Hollen’s attack on Halber as well as New York Jewish figures’ criticisms of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
“We can’t even engage without resorting to ad hominem attacks. A Senator’s office calls a respected Jewish community professional an ‘apologist for Netanyahu.’ Multiple leaders call the Mayor-elect an ‘enemy of the Jewish people,’” Spitalnick said. “Countering antisemitism and hate, protecting democracy, advancing peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians all require us to engage — not disparage and smear — even and especially when we disagree. This is all so dangerous.”
Rabbi Yaakov Menken, executive vice president of the Coalition for Jewish Values, said that “This was a display of bigotry unbecoming a US senator. [Van Hollen] owes the entire community, and especially [Halber], an apology.
Though he did not address the situation or the senator directly, Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore — who addressed a JCRC legislative breakfast the same day as Halber and Van Hollen’s comments and offered praise and thanks to Halber — also reaffirmed his partnership with the D.C. JCRC in an X post on Thursday.
“There’s no higher goal for me than ensuring people feel safe where they live, work, and worship. That’s why our administration is fully committed to combating antisemitism in all its forms, and why I’m proud to announce that my upcoming budget proposal will preserve historic funding for hate crime protection grants,” Moore said, alongside a photograph from his speech in front of a JCRC banner. “Thank you to @JCRCgw for your partnership in this work.”
Eileen Filler-Corn, the Jewish and Democratic former speaker of the Virginia House, said on Facebook that she’s “offended by the personal attack directed at Ronald Halber,” describing him as a “respected leader in our Jewish community” and an “essential” advocate for the community.
“We can and should have healthy debates about the Israeli government and disagreement is part of a vibrant democracy, but labeling American Jews as ‘apologists’ for Netanyahu simply because they express support for the State of Israel is unacceptable, unproductive and entirely out of line,” Filler-Corn said. “Our community is hurting. We are being targeted and antisemitism is surging. At a moment like this, personal attacks on those who advocate for our safety and dignity do nothing but deepen the pain.”
Van Hollen does have some defenders in the Jewish community. Hadar Suskind, the CEO of the left-wing Israel advocacy group New Jewish Narrative, praised Van Hollen’s engagement since the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks and with the war in Gaza.
“Chris has always been there for his Jewish constituents and in support of the people of Israel,” Susskind said on X. “But you know what, like the majority of Marylanders, including Jewish Marylanders, he disagrees with many of the policies and actions of the Netanyahu government. And he is 100% right to do so and to say so.”
“As American Jews who care about Israel we should want all of our elected officials [to] do what Senator Van Hollen is doing, speak the difficult truths that need to be told and support a better future for Israelis and Palestinians,” he continued. “The days of demanding that elected officials ‘pick a side’ and show loyalty to ‘one team’ are over.”
Halber, at a JCRC breakfast, had lamented the Maryland senator’s worsening relationship with his Jewish constituents
Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) speaks during a rally around the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on September 19, 2025.
A spokesperson for Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) attacked Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington CEO Ron Halber by name, accusing the Jewish leader of being an “apologist for the Netanyahu government” in response to Halber’s own criticisms of the Maryland senator to reporters earlier Wednesday.
In his role, Halber works to build bridges between the Jewish community in the Washington area and local elected officials. The comments reflect a remarkable breach between a leading representative of the D.C.-area Jewish community and a senator whom Halber said had once been an ally on a range of issues.
“Sen. Van Hollen, I think, has dramatically lost his way with support for Israel. He’s become the leading senator agitating against Israel in the United States Senate,” Halber told reporters at a JCRC breakfast event in Washington’s Maryland suburbs. “His social media is filled with a lack of empathy for Jewish suffering. It’s filled with a lack of empathy for Israel’s strategic position. It’s almost like [he] cannot wait for the next opportunity to jump down Israel’s throat.”
Halber said that the situation with Van Hollen is a “shame” because Van Hollen and the JCRC have worked together on a range of issues in the past, including funding for Jewish institutions and various domestic policy issues.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) and Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Glenn Ivey (D-MD) and April McClain Delaney (D-MD) were all in attendance at the breakfast, along with numerous local officials.
“I’m very upset about it, and so are many people in this room, because that’s not the Sen. Van Hollen that so many people in this room worked hard to get elected,” Halber continued. “On the issue of Israel, I would say the overwhelming majority of the Jewish community feels betrayed by the senator.”
The Van Hollen spokesperson fired back, accusing Halber of running cover for the Israeli government and failing to represent the range of viewpoints in Maryland’s Jewish community.
“Senator Van Hollen is committed to a values-based foreign policy that holds our friends and our adversaries to the same standards. That’s why he continues to support the people of Israel, but the actions of the Netanyahu Government have increasingly not aligned with our values,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“The Senator often speaks with Marylanders who hold varying perspectives here and has met on many occasions with families of hostages and victims of the heinous Hamas attacks of October 7th. Instead of representing the diversity of views that, in the Senator’s experience, are held by the Jewish community of Maryland, Ron Halber has become an apologist for the Netanyahu government.”
Halber said he’d had a two-hour meeting with Van Hollen a year ago, asking the senator to moderate his rhetoric by showing a greater level of “empathy” and “understanding” of the situation Israel and its people are facing — recommendations Halber said the senator had failed to implement, making Halber “angrier.”
“I think it’s very easy to stand with Israel when you’re crying over Jewish victims, but it’s harder to stand up with Israel when she’s doing the right thing,” Halber continued. “And I think the senator has shown a lack of strategic understanding of Israel’s dilemma. And I’m not saying he’s got to be Israel’s cheerleader, but it would be nice if he had more balance in his remarks.”
He said that many people have delivered a similar message to Van Hollen, asking him to offer greater acknowledgement of Israel’s struggles, but have instead received a “consistent, one-sided narrative.”
“The hard thing is to show up when your friends need you, and right now, we’ve needed him, and he hasn’t been there,” Halber concluded.
Responding to the Van Hollen spokesperson’s accusation that Halber’s views are unrepresentative of the Jewish community, the JCRC head emphasized that more than 60 elected officials joined the breakfast event, with similar participation expected at upcoming Virginia and D.C.-focused breakfasts, and that a diverse array of Jewish organizations — religiously and politically — participate in the JCRC and the gatherings.
“Our job is to articulate a representation that represents the broad swath and mainstream of the Jewish community, which I believe we successfully do, and I’m proud of our record,” Halber said. “[JCRC member organizations] all know that JCRC represents the community with dignity and with the greatest broadest consensus and inclusivity as possible. … I’m very proud of the ability of the JCRC to bring such a diverse Jewish community under one tent where they all feel comfortable and represented.”
At the JCRC breakfast, Halber won plaudits from Moore, Maryland’s Democratic governor, who praised him as a dependable sounding board and advisor on difficult issues.
“When you’re debating, when you’re trying to understand the moment, when you’re trying to remember how we need to respond, when we are watching walls collapse among us, and who can help you get that clarity, even when I have to call him [Halber] at 11 o’clock at night,” Moore said. “By the end of the conversation, I’m lifted up.”
The resolution was led by Sen. Jeff Merkley and comes in conjunction with plans by several U.S. allies to recognize a Palestinian state and alongside a similar push from progressive House lawmakers
(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) talk to reporters about their seven-day trip to the Middle East during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on September 11, 2025 in Washington, DC.
A group of seven Senate Democrats introduced a resolution on Thursday calling for the U.S. to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.
The resolution was led by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and co-sponsored by Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Peter Welch (D-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI).
The resolution came in conjunction with plans by several U.S. allies to recognize a Palestinian state and alongside a similar push from progressive House lawmakers. Merkley and Van Hollen recently traveled to Israel and released a scathing report accusing Israel of deliberate ethnic cleansing and collective punishment.
“Recognition of a Palestinian state is not only a practical step the United States can take to help build a future where Palestinians and Israelis can live in freedom, dignity, and security, but it is the right thing to do. America has a responsibility to lead, and the time to act is now,” Merkley said in a statement. “The goal of a Palestinian state can’t be put off any longer if we want the next generation to avoid suffering from the same insecurity and affliction.”
The resolution’s sponsors claimed that it constitutes a reaffirmation of long-standing U.S. support for a two-state solution.
The legislation highlights that “administrations of both political parties in the United States have long affirmed that a negotiated two-state solution is the only viable path to an enduring peace in the region” — but does not acknowledge that policymakers have traditionally seen unilateral recognition as contrary to that principle of a solution negotiated between the Israelis and Palestinians.
Kaine said that the Israeli government’s rejection of a two-state solution should cause the U.S. to change its own policies.
“Since July 2024 when the Israeli Knesset voted to deny a path to Palestinian statehood and made clear that Israel would not accept Palestinian autonomy, I have believed the U.S. should no longer condition recognition on Israeli assent but rather on Palestinian willingness to live in peace with its neighbors,” Kaine said. “We must redouble our efforts to work toward a future where Israelis and Palestinians alike can live in peace, security, and dignity.”
Welch said in a statement that “recognizing a two-state solution is long overdue and the only way forward — something Republican and Democratic Administrations have agreed on for decade. … This resolution signals Congress’ continued commitment for an enduring two-state solution for peace for the people of Israel and Palestine.”
Though the U.S. has supported a two-state solution, no previous administration has backed unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.
Van Hollen said in a statement that Congress should assert its own stance on the issue because “the Netanyahu government has obstructed that goal [of a two-state solution] and the Trump Administration has abandoned it.”
The resolution condemns the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7 and the group’s rejection of Israel’s right to exist and calls for Palestinian elections, as well as noting that some Arab states have conditioned normalization with Israel on a path to a Palestinian state.
“Failure to advance a two-state solution risks entrenching an unacceptable permanent occupation, further destabilizing the region, and undermining United States interests and values,” the legislation states.
It calls on Hamas to surrender and release the hostages and on Israel to end the war in Gaza.
J Street supported the resolution.
The Maryland senator has emerged as an outspoken critic of Israel in the Senate. A presidential campaign would give him a larger platform for his views
Nathan Howard/Getty Images
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) speaks at a campaign rally for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore at Bowie State University on November 7, 2022 in Bowie, Maryland.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), one of the most strident critics of the Israeli government in the Senate, is set to deliver the keynote speech next month at an Iowa Democratic Party fundraiser that’s a frequent stop for high-profile Democrats and presidential hopefuls.
The Polk County Steak Fry in Des Moines is a highly watched annual event for Democratic politicos, and Van Hollen’s appearance is a sign of the senator’s ambitions for higher office.
Van Hollen has become a leading voice of the party’s left wing on foreign affairs, and was an early critic of Israel for its war against Hamas in Gaza. He has also asserted himself as a prominent figure in the party on other issues, including pushing for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who the Trump administration deported for several months to a high-security prison in El Salvador.
A Van Hollen campaign spokesperson told JI the senator is “looking forward to the opportunity to speak to Iowans about the future of the Democratic party as we confront a lawless president and chart a new course.”
Polk County Democrats Chair Bill Brauch told the Baltimore Banner that the party seeks out Democrats with national appeal and that they saw him as a “big get.”
“Throughout his career, he has been a tireless advocate for equal rights, justice, and opportunity, fighting to create good jobs, strengthen small businesses, and expand access to education and job training for all,” the group said in its announcement. “In Congress, Senator Van Hollen has defended Social Security and Medicare, worked across party lines to protect the Chesapeake Bay, expand medical research, fight childhood cancer, and pass the ABLE Act to help families with children with disabilities.”
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker — also seen as a potential presidential contender in 2028 — headlined the event last year, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was the headliner in 2023. Barack Obama delivered the keynote in 2007.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg have made stop-overs in the Hawkeye State in recent months — which may be restored to its first-in-the-nation status in the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination process.
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