Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Election Day is underway, and voters are breaking turnout records in New York City. Already by noon today, more people had voted in the mayoral race than had voted in the entirety of the 2021 NYC mayor’s race. By 3 p.m., more than 1.4 million New Yorkers had voted in the race — more than in any NYC mayoral election since 2001, according to The New York Times — with several more hours before the polls close at 9 p.m. 

President Donald Trump chimed in last night, urging New Yorkers to vote for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job,” he wrote on social media. Trump added in another post, “Any Jewish person that votes for Zohran Mamdani, a proven and self professed JEW HATER, is a stupid person!!!”…

One party leader not weighing in: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who has officially made it through the mayoral race without issuing an endorsement. He had said throughout the election that he had held “conversations” with Mamdani but resisted calls to either endorse his party’s candidate or to denounce his anti-Israel views. At a press conference in the Capitol this afternoon, Schumer told reporters he himself had voted and “look[s] forward to working with the next mayor” but would not reveal who got his vote…

Leading right-wing figures continue to contend with the normalization of antisemitism within the GOP: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) joined the list of Republicans who have publicly admonished Tucker Carlson for platforming neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes on his podcast, saying today, “Some of the things [Fuentes has] said are just blatantly antisemitic, racist and anti-American. Anti-Christian, for that matter. I think we have to call out antisemitism wherever it is. Whether it’s Tucker or anybody else, I don’t think we should be giving a platform to that kind of speech. He has a First Amendment right, but we shouldn’t ever amplify it. That’s my view.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) also denounced antisemitism on the right in comments today, though without naming Carlson or Fuentes. “Well, there are lots of voices, obviously, out there, but I don’t think there ought to be any — there just should be no room at all whatsoever for antisemitism or other forms of discrimination. That’s certainly not what our party is about,” Thune said…

Backlash against the Heritage Foundation for defending Carlson also continues; the National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, a conservative coalition aligned with Heritage, changed its tune today in an email to President Kevin Roberts, a day after the task force said it would stand by the organization. 

In today’s email, obtained by Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch, the NTFCA co-chairs made several demands of Roberts, including removing his controversial video defending Carlson; an apology “to those Christians and Jews who are steadfast members of the conservative movement and believe that Israel has a special role to play both biblically and politically;” a conference hosted by Heritage on the boundaries of the conservative movement; hiring a visiting fellow “who shares mainstream conservative views on Israel, Jews and Christian Zionists” to win over Gen Zers; and to host Shabbat dinners with Heritage’s interns and junior staff members to educate them about Judaism.

The task force co-chairs said in the email that if an agreement is not reached soon, their relationship with Heritage “will be irrevocably harmed.” Co-chair Luke Moon told JI, “If the terms aren’t met, we will take the NTFCA elsewhere”…

Several Jewish organizations have cut ties with the NTFCA already over the incident, including the Zionist Organization of America and Young Jewish Conservatives; today, the Coalition for Jewish Values and Combat Antisemitism Movement did so as well.

“We cannot grant legitimacy to an effort to combat antisemitism operated by the Heritage Foundation while Heritage is validating antisemitism and giving it a platform,” CJV wrote. “Although our target” on the task force “was and remains primarily a left-wing cause, ‘no enemies on the right’ was always liable to be proven false.”

CAM, in its resignation letter to Roberts, affirmed its support of free speech and specified that “the genesis of this letter is our deep concern with how you, Mr. Roberts, on behalf of the Heritage Foundation, have chosen to exercise your rights” [emphasis original]…

Bipartisan lawmakers expressed frustration with the Pentagon for not properly briefing them on national security issues at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a new rule last month requiring all Pentagon staffers to get approval before interacting with members of Congress.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) called out Elbridge Colby, under secretary of defense for policy, specifically, saying it was even harder to contact him than Hegseth or Trump. “Man, I can’t even get a response, and we’re on your team,” Sullivan said…

The Trump administration is pushing Congress to repeal the Caesar Act sanctions on Syria ahead of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s first visit to the White House on Monday, urging lawmakers to include it in the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. The Senate already approved the repeal in its version of the NDAA last month, but the House version does not include a similar provision…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for an interview with Republican Kentucky Senate candidate Nate Morris, who is seeking to take the seat of retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and for a reflection on the late Vice President Dick Cheney’s legacy.

Tomorrow afternoon, the ADL will host a post-election briefing on the New York City mayoral race with its CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, and Hindy Poupko, senior vice president of community strategy and external relations at UJA-Federation of New York.

Former Israeli hostage Emily Damari will appear at Temple Emanu-El in New York City tomorrow evening  for her first public speaking engagement in the U.S., joined by author Noa Tishby.

• Former Vice President Dick Cheney, a towering figure in Republican politics who led the “war on terror,” died last night, his family said in a statement. Cheney, who was vice president for both of President George W. Bush’s terms, previously served as White House chief of staff, congressman representing Wyoming and secretary of defense. He was 84.
• It’s Election Day in a number of states and cities around the country. In New York City, voters head to the polls today to cast their ballots for mayor and city council. We’re also watching the gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the redistricting ballot initiative in California and the mayoral races in Minneapolis and Seattle. More below on the races to watch.
• In New York City, the World Zionist Organization and Temple Emanu-El are holding an event marking the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Rabin’s grandson Jonathan Benartzi, Shalom Hartman Institute President Yehuda Kurtzer, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, Jewish Council for Public Affairs CEO Amy Spitalnick and peace activist Alana Zeitchik are slated to speak.
• Elsewhere in New York, the La’Aretz Foundation is holding its third annual benefit to support Israeli families in crisis. Israel’s consul general in New York, Ambassador Ofir Akunis, is slated to give remarks at the event, which will include food by Eyal Shani and will include Israeli “spokeskid” Ben Carasso and a performance by an IDF soldier in an elite unit who is known only as “M.”

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S Josh Kraushaar

The stakes for Jewish voters are high for today’s off-year elections. All the major contests — in New York City, New Jersey, Virginia and California — are taking place in parts of the country where Jews make up a significant constituency. At a time when both parties are facing rising antisemitism in their own midst, we will be keeping a close eye on the results for trends affecting the Jewish community.

Here’s what we’ll be watching most closely:

New York City mayor: Polls consistently show Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani with a comfortable lead, but there’s less consensus on how decisive his winning margin will be. Most polls show Mamdani under 50%, though a few show him hitting a majority. Some show the combined anti-Mamdani vote — represented by former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa — outpacing Mamdani’s share. 

Whether Mamdani surpasses a 50% majority will go a long way in determining how big his mandate will be. A narrower victory would mean that downballot Democrats — from members of Congress to local city council members — would have less to fear in response to the Mamdani movement.

President Donald Trump’s last-minute endorsement of Cuomo on Monday night could help the former Democratic governor pick off some Republican voters that had been leaning toward Sliwa. But for Cuomo to score an upset victory, he’d need to win over the vast majority of those Sliwa voters.

Pay close attention to the results in Rep. Jerry Nadler’s (D-NY) heavily Jewish Manhattan district for signs of where the progressive-minded Jewish vote ends up landing. Cuomo won the first round of balloting over Mamdani in the district (37-33%), which includes the Upper East and Upper West Sides, but Mamdani narrowly prevailed in the final round of ranked-choice voting. Nadler notably backed Mamdani after his victory in the primary, but his district featured a significant share of backers for Brad Lander, the progressive city comptroller, as well. Cuomo will need a solid showing in Nadler’s district to do well.

New Jersey governor: The race between Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and Republican Jack Ciattarelli is competitive, though Democrats hold a small edge, according to public polls. The county we’ll be watching closely as a bellwether is Bergen County in north Jersey, which has one of the largest Jewish constituencies in the state and saw a significant pro-Trump swing from 2020 to 2024.

It’s also home to Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), the pro-Israel stalwart in Congress who carried the county in the Democratic gubernatorial primary and campaigned with Sherrill at a Jewish event in his home base last month.

Former President Joe Biden won 57% of the vote in Bergen, while former Vice President Kamala Harris barely won a majority (51%). New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, won 53% of the Bergen County vote in his narrow victory over Ciattarelli in 2021. Ciattarelli would probably need an outright win in suburban Bergen to secure a victory.

Read the rest of ‘What You Should Know’ here.

Hamas’ Miscalculation: In The Wall Street Journal, Ophir Falk, who was a member of Israel’s hostage negotiation delegation, posits that Hamas’ decision to take hostages on Oct. 7, 2023, was ultimately what led the terror group to agree last month to a ceasefire that demands its disarmament. “The hostage-taking prevented the conflict from dissolving into the traditional false narratives about ‘occupation,’ ‘resistance’ and ‘apartheid.’ Despite strenuous efforts to turn reality on its head, including through bogus international lawfare, many saw the truth — innocent people being held hostage by a genocidal terrorist organization committed to murdering Jews. Even Israel’s harshest critics struggled to argue that a nation should abandon its captive citizens. The hostage-taking provided what decades of legitimate Israeli grievances couldn’t: a broadly recognized imperative that eventually overcame the propaganda. The Palestinians’ greatest weapon — the ability to manipulate international sympathy — turned against them.” [WSJ]

What BDS is Really About: In Real Clear Policy, John Finley, the senior managing director and chief legal officer of Blackstone, argues that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement has reached an “inflection point” in the U.S. “The goals of BDS, in addition to seeking an end to the ‘occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall,’ are often cloaked in terms of either support for an undefined Palestinian liberation or Palestinian’s inalienable rights such as equality and an inclusive democracy that celebrates diversity. … The acceptance of Israel as a Jewish state is foundational to peace in the region because the rationale for Israel’s existence is inseparable from it being a Jewish state. There is no Israel without Zionism and there is no Zionism without Israel.” [RealClearPolicy]

Israel at a Crossroads: The New York Times’ David Halbfinger does a temperature check on the national mood in Israel, which just marked the 30th anniversary of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination. “In conversations with ordinary Israelis, there is a palpable sense that the nation is at a crossroads — and not just over what to do about Gaza. Tens of thousands more people emigrated from Israel over the past year than immigrated to the country. Many Israelis across the political spectrum say they believe the election to be held sometime in the coming year will be climactic and decisive, with its outcome determining the future character of the country and whether more citizens will choose to stay or leave. … Much will hinge on what Mr. Netanyahu decides in the coming months: what he is pressured into doing or accepting, what he prioritizes above all else and what, at 76, he wants his legacy to be.” [NYTimes]

The U.S. is circulating a draft U.N. Security Council resolution calling for the establishment of an international security force in Gaza that would operate in the enclave through the end of 2027…

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard met with senior Israeli military officials during a surprise two-day visit to the country earlier this week…

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) blasted the New Jersey Education Association over plans for an anti-Israel “Teaching Palestine” session scheduled during the union’s conference taking place this week, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…

Former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz discussed a wide range of security challenges facing Israel, outlining his long-term vision for confronting Iran, expanding regional defense cooperation and managing Gaza’s postwar recovery. Speaking at a web event hosted by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Gantz called Iran a “global challenge and threat to the State of Israel” and proposed a five-point plan to ensure Iran’s abandonment of its nuclear ambitions by 2028, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports… 

In a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Reps. Andy Barr (R-TN) and Jefferson Shreve (R-IN) called for the U.S. government to designate the Palestinian Conference for Palestinians Abroad, also known as the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad, as an affiliate of Hamas and a Specially Designated Terrorist group, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…

Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL) said yesterday he would not seek reelection next year; Garcia’s chief of staff, Patty Garcia, filed paperwork to run for the seat hours before the Monday filing deadline, in what critics said was an effort to deny voters in the Illinois district a fair open primary…

A new poll released Monday by the Democratic Majority for Israel finds Democrats broadly support the ceasefire and hostage-release deal reached between Israel and Hamas and a majority of them think President Donald Trump played at least a “somewhat important role” in reaching the agreement, Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports…

The Atlanta Braves named Walt Weiss as the team’s new manager, while the Miami Marlins promoted Gabe Kapler to become the team’s new general manager…

Far-right activist Laura Loomer, who is visiting Israel this week, received Pentagon press credentials, after the Defense Department instituted new, more stringent policies regarding press access…

The Washington Post reviews Jane Eisner’s biography of Carole King, which does a deep dive into the singer’s Jewish upbringing…

The World Zionist Congress reached a new tentative power-sharing deal that would see an even split between the center-left and center-right blocs in the control of the World Zionist Organization and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross reports…

Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, said that 5 million of the approximately 6 million Jews killed during the Holocaust have now been identified by name…

The Washington Post looks at the disagreement between Israel and the U.S. over Turkey’s potential role in post-war Gaza…

Israel released the bodies of 45 Palestinians on Monday following Hamas’ repatriation of the bodies of three Israeli soldiers who were killed on Oct. 7, 2023…

The Wall Street Journal spotlights Abdulmalik Al-Houthi, who has led Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen for more than a decade as he has evaded multiple assassination attempts and directed the terror group’s destabilizing activity across the region…

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that nuclear negotiations with the U.S. would not be possible as long as Washington supports Israel and maintains military bases across the region…

Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel addressed attendees at the opening VIP reception at the Nova Music Festival exhibition in Chicago last night. The traveling exhibition, which has run in New York, Washington, Boston, Los Angeles and Tel Aviv, opens to the public today.

Professor at UCSF and winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in medicine, David Jay Julius turns 70… 

Professor emeritus of Talmud at Bar-Ilan University, Daniel Sperber turns 85… Vice-chairman emeritus of AllianceBernstein, he is a former chairman of the Tikvah Fund, Roger Hertog turns 84… Political scientist who has published works on grand strategy, military history and international relations, Edward Luttwak turns 83… Member of Congress and chair of the House Budget Committee until 2023, he was Kentucky’s first Jewish congressman, John Yarmuth turns 78… Former chief of the general staff of the IDF, then minister of defense and member of Knesset for Kadima, Shaul Mofaz turns 77… Uruguayan biologist, he served as mayor of Montevideo and then as a national cabinet minister, Ricardo Ehrlich turns 77… Professor of medicine at England’s University of Birmingham and a leading British authority on organ donation and transplantation, James Max Neuberger turns 76… Board member of Jewish Funders Network and a member of the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency, Dorothy Tananbaum… Marketing and communications consultant focused on Israel advocacy and the Jewish community, Robert L. Kern… U.K. politician who served as a Conservative party MP and cabinet minister, he was chairman of the Conservative Friends of Israel, Baron Richard Irwin Harrington turns 68… Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives since 2013, Kenneth I. Gordon turns 66… Ombudsman at CBS and Japan chair at the Hudson Institute, Kenneth R. “Ken” Weinstein turns 64… Author of five books, comedic actress and television host, Annabelle Gurwitch turns 64… Professor of philosophy at Texas A&M University, she is known for her expertise on feminist theory and modern Jewish thought, Claire Elise Katz turns 61… CEO and Chairman of RXR Realty, he also serves on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Board of Directors, Scott Rechler turns 58… Israeli screenwriter and film director, Eran Kolirin turns 52… Partner at Paragon Strategic Insights, a consulting firm for non-profits, Jeremy Chwat… Co-founder of Semafor, Benjamin Eli “Ben” Smith turns 49… MLB pitcher who appeared in 506 games over his nine-year career, John William Grabow turns 47… Global head of strategic communications at McKinsey & Company, Max Gleischman… Opinion columnist at The Washington Post, she is also a commentator for CNN and a correspondent for the “PBS NewsHour,” Catherine Chelsea Rampell turns 41… Heavily favored to be elected to Congress tomorrow from New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District, Maggie Goodlander turns 39… Founder and CEO at Denver-based Fresh Tape Media, Jared Kleinstein… Founder and CEO of a health organization working for early detection and prevention of cancer, Yael Cohen Braun turns 39… Acting general counsel at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Addar Weintraub Levi… Senior coordinator for management at the Office of Management and Budget, she is a White House nominee as a CFTC commissioner, Julie Brinn Siegel turns 38… Former White House special representative for international negotiations, Avi Berkowitz… Recording artist, songwriter and entertainer known as Yoni Z, Yoni Zigelboum turns 34… Israeli professional stock car racing driver, he is the first Israeli to compete in one of NASCAR’s top three touring series, Alon Day turns 34… Founding editor of Healthcare Brew, a vertical of Morning Brew, Amanda E. Eisenberg… Bob Rubin…

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

It’s Election Day across the country tomorrow, and we’ll be watching several key races. 

Front of mind is the New York City mayoral race where Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani is expected to prevail, though it remains to be seen if he’ll claim an absolute majority.

All candidates are still vying for the Jewish vote: Over the weekend, divisions emerged in the anti-Zionist Satmar Hasidic community after one of its political leaders issued an endorsement of Mamdani — some leaders publicly broke ranks to reject the move and instead endorse his rival, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. 

Meanwhile, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Ohel in Queens (and recalled a blessing he received from Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson decades ago which Sliwa claimed “saved my life”)…

In nearby New Jersey, gubernatorial candidates Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and Jack Ciattarelli are doing the same. We’ve covered Sherrill’s recent outreach efforts to the state’s sizable Jewish community; on the GOP side, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday urging “ALL of my supporters in the Orthodox community in Lakewood [N.J.] and its surrounding towns to vote in HUGE numbers for Jack Ciattarelli,” naming in particular “all the Yeshiva students who turned out to vote for me last year.” Trump won around 88% of the heavily Jewish township’s vote in the 2024 presidential election…

And in Virginia, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) is likely to win the governor’s mansion against the state’s current lieutenant governor, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears, in a race set to make Old Dominion history — either way, the state will elect its first female governor. 

Also on the Virginia ballot: Ghazala Hashmi, the Democratic state senator running for lieutenant governor, who has elicited concern from the state’s Jewish community over her past involvement in anti-Israel activism and her record on combating antisemitism. 

In a brief interview today, Jewish Insider’s Editor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar asked Hashmi how big of a challenge she thinks antisemitism is in Virginia. Hashmi replied: “I think we see growing challenges on so many levels of bigotry, and we have to be united in our efforts. I’m facing a great deal of Islamophobic attacks, as you probably have seen, so we have to respond to everything.” Pressed on what she thought about antisemitism specifically, Hashmi cut the interview short…

The fallout from the Heritage Foundation’s embrace of Tucker Carlson and refusal to disavow Nick Fuentes continues, as right-wing figures publicly declare themselves aligned with or opposed to the move. Orthodox conservative influencer Ben Shapiro said about Carlson, Fuentes and their ilk in a lengthy video statement today: “These people aren’t to my right. They’re not attached in any way to the fundamental principles of conservatism. And these people have already declared themselves my enemies. I’d be a fool not to take them seriously.”

Ryan Neuhaus, who served as Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts’ chief of staff until Friday, resigned after reposting numerous social media posts in defense of Roberts, including one saying that Heritage employees opposed to his statement were “virtue signaling” and calling for them to resign…

A new poll released today by the Democratic Majority for Israel finds that Democrats overwhelmingly support the ceasefire deal reached between Israel and Hamas and a majority of them think Trump played at least a “somewhat important role” in reaching the agreement, JI’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports.

A majority of those polled (56%) said they believe that the U.S. should keep its alliance with Israel, though only 32% felt so “strongly.” Three-quarters (75%) said they support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish homeland, with 12% saying they don’t believe Israel has a right to exist…

The Wall Street Journal documents the rise and sustained popularity of Abdulmalik Al-Houthi, the reclusive commander of the Houthis in Yemen, who has continued to resist pressure by officials from Arab states to cease the terror group’s attacks on Israel and ships in the Red Sea, “and go back to being a relatively small-time player in the region’s conflicts.” 

“‘They genuinely believe in this jihad to remove Israel from that land,’ said April Longley Alley, a former United Nations diplomat who has engaged with the Houthi leadership. ‘And they’re going to keep pushing’”…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the dispatch of a humanitarian and medical aid delegation from Israel to Jamaica today, to assist in relief efforts after Hurricane Melissa tore through the country earlier this week…

Sudanese refugees in Israel told The Times of Israel about the compounded pain and fear they experienced as the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and the civil war in Sudan unfolded in parallel, decrying the lack of media coverage of Sudan while the world focused on Gaza…

Yad Vashem announced today that the museum has identified the names of 5 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, and hopes to use artificial intelligence to name at least 250,000 more…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for the backstory surrounding Massachusetts Senate candidate Rep. Seth Moulton’s (D-MA) attacks against AIPAC.

Tomorrow, the World Zionist Organization and Temple Emanu-El are holding a memorial event in New York City for slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on the 30th anniversary of his assassination. Speakers will include Rabin’s grandson, Jonathan Benartzi; Yehuda Kurtzer, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute; former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro; Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs; and Israeli American peace advocate Alana Zeitchik.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced today that President Donald Trump invited him to the White House on Sept. 29, after the prime minister’s Sept. 26 speech at the U.N. General Assembly in New York. This will be Netanyahu’s fourth visit to the White House during Trump’s second term…

At the same press conference, Netanyahu attempted to walk back comments he made yesterday about Israel needing to look towards a self-sufficient, or “autarkic,” economy after the Israeli market reacted negatively, saying that it was a “misunderstanding.” 

Netanyahu pointed out the performance of the Israeli stock market and the shekel, unemployment numbers and foreign investment into the country as signs of economic strength, and said he had specifically been speaking about the Israeli defense industry, which has been impacted by western European arms embargoes…

As the IDF begins its takeover of Gaza City, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF’s chief of staff, responded to concerns about the safety of the remaining hostages, many of whom are thought to be held in the city, in a statement on the operation, saying, “I want to emphasize: the return of our hostages is a war aim and a national and moral commitment.”

Noa Argamani, a former hostage whose boyfriend, Avinatan Or, remains held in Gaza after they were kidnapped together on Oct. 7 from the Nova Music Festival, said on X, “I cannot breathe watching the fighting inside Gaza City. As a former hostage, I know exactly what these moments feel like. The booming blasts, the gunfire, the walls shaking, the helplessness and despair that take over. The emotions come rushing back all at once, and it is unbearable. Right now, I fear deeply for Avinatan’s life”…

In a view from the U.S., former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro said that as of May 2024, concessions that the U.S. would make to Saudi Arabia in exchange for Saudi-Israel normalization were “all but finished,” having continued to be negotiated even during the Israel-Hamas war, but that the deal cannot be finalized until the war ends.

Speaking at a briefing hosted by the Democratic Majority for Israel, he characterized Netanyahu’s “autarky” comments as the opposite of the goal of the Abraham Accords and regional integration.

Shapiro also called Hamas leaders in Doha “legitimate targets” and said it’s “appropriate” for Israel to eliminate them, but that the “who and the how and the where matters” and the Israeli strike in Doha has “backfired” for Israel.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), who spoke after Shapiro, encouraged Israel to let Western press into Gaza to see that the issue with humanitarian aid is the U.N.’s failure to distribute it, rather than a lack of it. Shapiro said the humanitarian situation is “not nearly as dire” now as a few months ago but that international reporting hasn’t reflected that…

On the domestic front, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in an address at the Eradicate Hate Global Summit today in Pittsburgh that “we need to create more opportunities for peaceful and respectful dialogue, respecting each other’s fundamental rights as Americans.”

He invoked the Priestly Blessing, sent to him by a chaplain of a local fire department after his residence was attacked by an arsonist last Passover, which he said he recites to his children every night. “Those are words of healing, words of hopefulness to me. They are also words that again remind us of our shared humanity.” 

After his address, Shapiro, who is seen as a Democratic contender for the 2028 presidential election, answered questions from reporters about Israel’s campaign in Gaza City, saying, “I’ve been very outspoken about the fact that these children in Gaza need to be fed, that the violence needs to end, the hostages need to come home, and this war needs to be over.”

“I’ve also been very clear that I think Benjamin Netanyahu is taking Israel down a very dark and dangerous path, isolating Israel in the world even more than they were before, which I think threatens Israel’s security,” Shapiro continued, following on comments he made last month calling Netanyahu’s claim that there is no starvation in Gaza “quite abhorrent”…

Meanwhile in New York, Carl Heastie, the Democratic speaker of the New York State Assembly, is expected to endorse New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani this week, The New York Times reports, one of several state leaders in the party who have thus far resisted doing so. Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, is reportedly also set to do so on Monday…

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) introduced a bill that would “prohibit state and local law enforcement from arresting foreign nationals within the United States” solely based on warrants from the International Criminal Court, as Mamdani has threatened to do to Netanyahu…

After selling Paramount to Skydance Media, Shari Redstone has taken on a new venture: The media mogul was named chair of the Israeli production company Sipur, which she called a “hands-on investment” to build a “global production powerhouse”…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for an analysis of a new poll of Gen Z conservatives’ views on Israel and antisemitism.

This evening, Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) will join Fox News’ “Special Report” to discuss political civility.

Tomorrow morning, the House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a markup of bills aimed at reorganizing and reforming the State Department. Read JI’s breakdown of the legislation here.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will vote to advance a series of nominees out of committee — including Michel Issa to be ambassador to Lebanon; Richard Buchan to be ambassador to Morocco; Ben Black to lead the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation; and a second vote on the nomination of Mike Waltz, the former national security advisor, to be U.S. ambassador to the U.N., in order to prevent a procedural challenge from Democrats.

Also on the Hill, the U.S. Helsinki Commission will hold a briefing on “conspiracy theories, antisemitism and democratic decline.”

The annual Defense of Freedom-Federalist Society Education, Law & Policy Conference begins in D.C. tomorrow, including featured speakers Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Brandeis Center Chairman Ken Marcus. 

• The Israel Defense Forces launched a major ground operation in Gaza City on Tuesday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the military announced, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
• Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro will be delivering a speech this morning on political violence in America at the Eradicate Hate Global Summit in Pittsburgh. 
• The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing this morning on oversight of the FBI with FBI Director Kash Patel.
• Democratic Majority for Israel is hosting a live briefing with Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro on Gottheimer’s recent trip to Israel, next steps for the Abraham Accords and the latest in the Israel-Hamas war.
• The Center for a New American Security is holding a live fireside chat with Adam Boehler, the U.S. special envoy for hostage response.
• Alan Dershowitz, a former Harvard Law School professor and prominent defense attorney and Israel advocate, is speaking at the JFK Jr. forum at Harvard at the first “Middle East Dialogues” event of the academic year, hosted by professor Tarek Masoud, who invites polarizing speakers to debate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
• In the evening, American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) will host its Lamplighter Awards at D.C.’s Union Station. This year’s honoree is Palantir CEO Alex Karp, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) will receive a leadership award.
• Magen David Adom will host its 2025 New York City Gala in Manhattan, where political commentator Meghan McCain will receive its Champion of Israel Award. 

A QUICK WORD WITH jI’S MATTHEW KASSEL

As Zohran Mamdani wins support from a growing number of Democratic leaders in his bid for mayor of New York City, he has notably walked back some of his most polarizing views on several key issues — with one major exception: Israel.

In recent days, the Democratic nominee, who has long been an outspoken critic of Israel and its war in Gaza, has doubled down on his campaign vow to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if elected, even as legal experts cautioned such a move could be illegal. 

Mamdani, a vocal supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, also said that he would seek to divest city holdings in Israel bonds and terminate a program established by Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, to foster business partnerships between companies in Israel and New York City.

Meanwhile, Mamdani has refused invitations to explicitly condemn calls to “globalize the intifada,” even as he has acknowledged concerns from Jewish voters who see the phrase as provoking antisemitic violence. He has said he will instead discourage use of the slogan, which he himself has not used publicly.

The 33-year-old democratic socialist and Queens assemblyman has otherwise declined to denounce Hasan Piker, a far-left streamer who has said that “America deserved 9/11” and has used antisemitic rhetoric in commenting on Israel. Mamdani sat for a lengthy interview with Piker during the primary.

Mamdani’s unyielding approach to opposing Israel underscores just how central the issue is to his self-conception as an activist and an elected official long involved in such causes. “This is something that I will never stray from for the rest of my life,” he explained in a Zoom discussion in 2020 with a pro-Palestinian advocacy group. “This is kind of, in many ways, the founding battle for justice that I’ve had.”

Read the rest of  ‘What You Should Know’ here.

Charlie Kirk and the Debate on Israel: Semafor Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith writes about what the right-wing debate over Charlie Kirk’s views on Israel say about the future of the MAGA movement. “Future historians will puzzle over why the conflict between Israel and Palestine has been the issue, above all others, to split both US political parties in the 2020s. But one thing the feuding MAGA factions agree on is that there isn’t really another prominent figure like Kirk — a big voice who was focused on smoothing over his movement’s fractures, not hashing them out in public for clout. The only other one, in fact, is Donald Trump, who has proven — in his transactional way — a master of holding together disparate Republican factions. But so far, Trump has firmly chosen Israel’s side in the intraparty dispute. And now it’s not clear who remains to try to smooth over the generational divide, or who would even want to try.” [Semafor]

The Social Media Curse: Jewish Journal Editor-in-Chief David Suissa applauds Gov. Spencer Cox’s statement that “Social media is a cancer on our society right now,” and call for people to “log off, turn off, touch grass,” a message Cox conveyed as he announced the arrest of the suspect in the killing of Charlie Kirk. “We’ll hear plenty of sermons during the upcoming Holy Days, but I can’t help wishing that every rabbi finds a way to squeeze in that message. Why? Because our country has gone off the deep end. The reactions to the murder of Charlie Kirk have brought out our worst. The poor guy can’t die in peace without becoming a lightning rod for our societal dysfunctions. Unlike the old days before social media, today this toxic ugliness is front and center and screeching loud. Indeed the minute Kirk died, armies of social media soldiers put on their uniforms and let fly their predictable bullets. When Cox called social media a ‘cancer on our society,’ he might have added that it’s also an addiction.” [JewishJournal]

The Clock is Tik(Tok)ing: Carrie Filipetti, executive director of the Vandenberg Coalition, calls for the Trump administration to enforce the ban on TikTok in The Washington Post ahead of the Sept. 17 deadline for the company to be acquired by an American company or face a ban, calling it “critical to heading off a military confrontation and, if necessary winning one” against the Chinese Communist Party. “Imagine the following scenario. China decides to attack Taiwan, and, fearing the United States will come to Taiwan’s aid, launches preemptive strikes against American targets overseas. In the United States, Chinese operators launch drone attacks from secret bases located on more than 380,000 acres of farmland China has purchased. As the government considers its options, the 170 million American TikTok users open their feeds to thousands of bots disguised as people, rattling off anti-American propaganda; encouraging young students desperate for meaning to fight their own government; and spreading disinformation at such a rapid rate that it is impossible to discern fact from fiction.” [WashPost]

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called Israel’s war in Gaza “horrific” in an interview with The New York Times on Monday and called for an immediate end to its military operations. “There is no doubt that the people of New York and the nation see the continued carnage that is happening and are deeply, deeply disturbed and want it over, and believe it has gone on way too long,” he said…

An independent United Nations inquiry has concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza and that top Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, have incited genocide, in a 72-page report released today. Israel said it “categorically rejects this distorted and false report and calls for the immediate abolition of this Commission of Inquiry.” …

Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah said she was fired from the paper on Monday over her social media posts reacting to the Charlie Kirk assassination. Attiah, a far-left commentator, retweeted social media messages justifying the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel as it was taking place… 

The Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act, which aims to ensure that Jewish World War I and II veterans receive the proper grave markers reflecting their religion, passed the House. “This bill is an important step to allow for the research necessary to correct these errors and ensure there are resources for that work,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), who is leading the bill with Rep. Max Miller (R-OH), said. “This will make it possible for these brave Jewish servicemembers’ descendants to know that their loved one’s military service, life and religious heritage are properly honored”…

Micah Lasher, a New York state assemblyman and former aide to Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), launched his campaign for his former mentor’s congressional seat on Monday…

Former Sen. Joe Manchin’s (I-WV) new book, Dead Center, comes out today, detailing his departure from the Democratic Party to become an independent, featuring scathing remarks for his former Democratic colleagues…

The New York Times investigates a series of trade and business dealings over the UAE’s access to AI chips that appear to be connected with cryptocurrency windfalls for the Witkoff and Trump families…

U.S. and Chinese negotiators have reached a framework deal for switching ownership of TikTok, in an effort to avert a threatened shutdown of the app…

HBO Max acquired the rights to a new series, “One Day in October,” the first scripted portrayal of the Oct. 7 attacks, filmed on location in Israel and based on real accounts. The show will premiere Oct. 7, 2025, the two-year anniversary of the attacks…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview clip that accusations that he’s prolonging the war in Gaza for his own political purposes are “malicious and false.” The interview with Israel’s Channel 13, a rarity for Netanyahu, will air in full today… 

Tzachi Braverman, Netanyahu’s chief of staff and close confidant, was approved to serve as Israel’s ambassador to the U.K., replacing Tzipi Hotovely at the end of her five-year term, though he likely won’t be posted to London for several months…

The Heritage Foundation released a report yesterday marking the fifth anniversary of the Abraham Accords, “looking back at all the Accords achieved and looking forward to the fulfillment of their tremendous potential.” …

UJA-Federation of New York announced new grants totaling approximately $7.8 million to expand support for Israel’s recovery and long-term rebuilding efforts, including recovery in Israel’s north and south and support for families including those of reservists, wounded soldiers and hostages, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross reports…

Sotheby’s is launching its new flagship at the Breuer Building in Manhattan in November by staging a major auction featuring the late Leonard Lauder’s $400 million art collection —including Gustav Klimt masterpieces —and an estimated $80 million group of artworks from the estate of Jay and Marian Pritzker… 

The Monuments Men and Women Foundation stopped the auction of two Nazi-looted oil paintings from the collection of more than 300 works seized from Adolphe Schloss during World War II…

The New York Times announced a new weekly newsletter on religion and spirituality, hosted by the Times’ Lauren Jackson…

Lynn Forester de Rothschild is exploring a sale of a minority stake in the parent company of The Economist magazine, according to Bloomberg, which would mark the publication’s first ownership shakeup in over a decade…

Secretary of State Marco Rubio attended the inauguration yesterday of the Pilgrimage Road archaeological site in the City of David, Jerusalem, calling the site “an enduring cultural and historical bond between the United States and Israel” and “a powerful reminder of the Judeo-Christian values that inspired America’s Founding Fathers.”

Israeli windsurfer, he won bronze in Atlanta 1996 and gold in Athens 2004, Israel’s first Olympic gold medalist, Gal Fridman turns 50…

Argentinian physician, author of books on gender relations, Esther Katzen Vilar turns 90… Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives for multiple terms, in 2015 she became the president of Plaza Health Network, Elaine Bloom turns 88… NYC-based real estate investor and the founder of Cammeby’s International Group, Rubin “Rubie” Schron turns 87… Defense policy advisor to Presidents Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 and member of a number of D.C. based think tanks, Richard Perle turns 84… Montebello, Calif., resident, Jon Olesen… Pompano Beach, Fla., resident, Shari Goldberg… Israeli playwright and screenwriter, Motti Lerner turns 76… Sheriff of Nantucket County, Mass., James A. Perelman turns 75… Founder and CEO of OurCrowd, Jonathan Medved turns 70… Media sales consultant, Fern Wallach… Award winning illusionist, who has sold tens of millions of tickets to his shows worldwide, known professionally as David Copperfield, David Seth Kotkin turns 69… Anthropology professor at Cornell, his work centers on Jewish communities and culture, Jonathan Boyarin turns 69… Director of stakeholder engagement at the National Council of Jewish Women, he is a nephew of former U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, Dan Kohl turns 60… President and rabbinic head of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School in Riverdale, N.Y., Rabbi Dov Linzer turns 59… Writer-at-large for The New York Times Magazine, Jason Zengerle… Mayor of Kiryat Motzkin, a city in the Haifa suburbs, Tzvi (Tziki) Avisar turns 47… VP of public affairs and corporate marketing at Meta / Facebook, Josh Ginsberg… President of basketball operations for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, Koby Altman turns 43… National field director at the Israel on Campus Coalition, Lauren Morgan Suriel… VP of customer success at SimpliFed, Suzy Goldenkranz… Actor, best known for starring in “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” Daren Maxwell Kagasoff turns 38… NYC-based economics and wealth reporter at The Wall Street Journal, Rachel Louise Ensign… Israeli actress who played the lead role in Apple TV’s spy thriller “Tehran,” Niv Sultan turns 33… Winner of an Olympic bronze medal for Israel in Taekwondo at the 2020 Games in Paris, Avishag Semberg turns 24…

Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service, an office within the General Services Administration, Joshua Z. Gruenbaum turned 40 on Monday…

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu predicted that Israel will have to become increasingly self-reliant as countries call for embargoes and sanctions against the Jewish state. Speaking at a Finance Ministry conference in Jerusalem today, Netanyahu said, “We will increasingly need to adapt to an economy with autarkic characteristics.”

“I am a believer in the free market, but we may find ourselves in a situation where our arms industries are blocked. We will need to develop arms industries here — not only research and development, but also the ability to produce what we need,” the Israeli PM said…

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem today, where they gave remarks on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Abraham Accords. “Imagine, despite the difficulties the region has confronted over the last few years, how much more difficult it would have been had the Abraham Accords not been in place,” Rubio said…

Elsewhere in the region, after an emergency summit of Arab states convened in Qatar to discuss last week’s Israeli strike in Doha, the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries today directed the GCC defense ministers to hold an “urgent meeting” to “assess the defense situation of the Council states.”

The countries also issued a communique calling on states to “review diplomatic and economic relations” and “initiate legal proceedings” against Israel…

At the International Atomic Energy Agency’s annual conference happening now in Vienna, Iran is circulating a resolution to censure the U.S. and Israel over their strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June. Iran was unexpectedly elected by other Middle Eastern countries to serve as vice president of the gathering.

Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said in an interview that “if [participating countries] want to obey the law of the jungle and the rule of coercion and force” by blocking the motion, “it’ll end in chaos”…

Stateside, Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) announced he will not be endorsing Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor, on the heels of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s announcement that she’s supporting the candidate.

Suozzi, who represents a swing district on Long Island, said that, “While I share [Mamdani’s] concern about the issue of affordability, I fundamentally disagree with his proposed solutions. Like the voters I represent, I believe socialism has consistently failed to deliver real, sustainable progress.”

On Hochul, Suozzi said that he did not discuss his decision with her and is “not in a position to give the Governor political advice considering the fact that when I ran against her she beat me soundly”…

In another high-profile New York race, Micah Lasher, a state assemblyman and former aide to Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), officially launched his campaign for his former mentor’s congressional seat today, joining a Democratic primary that’s likely to become crowded in the heavily Jewish Manhattan district. Nadler is expected to offer Lasher his support, a key endorsement in the race…

The New York Times investigates a series of trade and business dealings over the UAE’s access to AI chips that appear to be connected with cryptocurrency windfalls for the Witkoff and Trump families.

When David Feith, then senior director for technology on the National Security Council, attempted to change AI chip policy, which would have inhibited that access, he was fired by President Donald Trump, after a conversation with his influential advisor Laura Loomer…

The fallout from Charlie Kirk’s killing continues: Semafor’s Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith writes about Kirk’s legacy on Israel within the GOP and how both the isolationist and pro-Israel camps of the party are now claiming him as their own.

“A bereft White House official told me that Kirk functioned as something like a Republican chairman and Rush Limbaugh ‘rolled into one.’ Clips of his speeches and debates are everywhere, but movement-building is a subtler thing, and Kirk’s public statements, friends said, often reflected attempts at intraparty diplomacy,” Smith wrote…

Karen Attiah, an opinion columnist at The Washington Post who regularly espoused anti-Israel views, was fired from the paper over her posts on social media about Kirk’s death, including mischaracterizing some of his positions and positing that her “journalistic and moral values” prevented her from “engaging in excessive, false mourning” for Kirk.

Attiah, the Post’s founding Global Opinions editor, retweeted social media messages justifying the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel as they were taking place and wrote a piece on Oct. 13, less than a week after the attacks, headlined, “We cannot stand by and watch Israel commit atrocities”…

Also in the media, Jewish influencer Hen Mazzig reacts to Jewish actress Hannah Einbinder’s pro-Palestinian commentary at the Emmys last night in The Hollywood Reporter: “Hannah should know there is no such thing as a ‘good Jew’ who can launder antisemitism. The ‘good Jews’ trope — the ones who sign boycott pledges or reassure progressives that this isn’t about hatred — are always used as cover. They are never enough. And at the end of the day, the people demanding ‘good Jews’ don’t actually believe there is anything good about being Jewish”…

After the Vuelta a Espana bike race in Madrid was called off during its finale on Sunday due to anti-Israel protests on the route, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called today for Israel to be banned from sports events due to its military campaign in Gaza, despite the team being protested, Israel-Premier Tech, not being an official Israeli team. 

The international union of cyclists voiced its disapproval of Sánchez’s stance, saying in a statement that it “strongly condemns the exploitation of sport for political purposes in general, and especially coming from a government”…

Lynn Forester de Rothschild is exploring a sale of a minority stake in the parent company of The Economist magazine, according to Bloomberg, which would mark the publication’s first ownership shake-up in over a decade…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for an interview with Yaakov Katz, former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post, on his new book about Oct. 7 and an interview with Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA), a rising national security voice on Capitol Hill.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro will deliver a major address on political violence at the Eradicate Hate Global Summit in Pittsburgh tomorrow, nearly a week after the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk and several months after the firebombing of Shapiro’s residence over Passover. 

Also speaking at the summit will be KIND Snacks founder and former CEO Daniel Lubetzky alongside Lonnie Ali, founder of the Muhammad Ali Center with her eponymous late husband. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow morning on oversight of the FBI with FBI Director Kash Patel.

Democratic Majority for Israel will host a live briefing tomorrow with Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro on Gottheimer’s recent trip to Israel, next steps for the Abraham Accords and the latest in the Israel-Hamas war.

The Center for a New American Security will hold a live fireside chat tomorrow with Adam Boehler, the U.S. special envoy for hostage response.

Alan Dershowitz, a former Harvard Law School professor and prominent defense attorney and Israel advocate, will speak tomorrow at the JFK Jr. forum at Harvard at the first “Middle East Dialogues” event of the academic year, hosted by professor Tarek Masoud, who invites polarizing speakers to debate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In the evening, American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) will host its Lamplighter Awards at D.C.’s Union Station. This year’s honoree is Palantir CEO Alex Karp, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) will receive a leadership award.

Magen David Adom will host its 2025 New York City Gala in Manhattan, where political commentator Meghan McCain will receive its Champion of Israel Award. 

• President Donald Trump is in The Hague, Netherlands, today for the NATO Summit. He’ll return to the U.S. tonight, following a press conference at 3 p.m. local time, 9 a.m. ET. More below on Trump’s comments at the gathering earlier today.
• This morning, Attorney General Pam Bondi is testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee on the Justice Department’s FY2026 budget, while U.S. Agency for Global Media Senior Advisor Kari Lake is slated to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
• Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the Jewish Federations of North America are holding a two-day leadership mission to Washington, with conversations with lawmakers expected to focus on domestic antisemitism and the Israel-Iran war.
• Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will deliver a speech at the Institute of Politics in New Hampshire today on the U.S. and Israel’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear program and “rebuilding American strength and deterrence in a dangerous world.”
• The Jewish Democratic Council of America is hosting an event this afternoon looking at the U.S. role during wartime in Israel. Dana Stroul, who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East during the Biden administration, and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro are slated to speak.
• The Aspen Ideas Festival kicks off this evening in Colorado. Walter Isaacson and Fareed Zakaria are set to take the stage in tonight’s opening session for a conversation about global current events.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MATTHEW KASSEL

Zohran Mamdani’s presumed victory over Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s Democratic primary for mayor on Tuesday evening marks an extraordinary upset that until recently seemed all but unthinkable for the far-left state assemblyman from Queens who entered the race last October with virtually no name recognition. 

The stunning rise of the 33-year-old democratic socialist with a long history of anti-Israel activism sent shockwaves through New York City’s political establishment and is already reverberating beyond the Big Apple, raising questions over the ideological direction of the Democratic Party as it has struggled to land on a cohesive messaging strategy to counter President Donald Trump. 

With the midterms looming, Trump’s allies are already reportedly preparing to link Mamdani’s radical politics to the broader Democratic brand.

Meanwhile, in a place home to the largest Jewish population of any city in the world, Mamdani’s path to the nomination is also contributing to a growing sense of political homelessness among Jewish Democrats who voiced discomfort with his strident criticism of Israel and refusal to condemn extreme rhetoric such as “globalize the intifada,” a slogan that critics interpret as fueling antisemitism.

Mamdani’s insurgent victory five months into Trump’s second term was reminiscent of then-upstart Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s  (D-NY) upset primary victory over then-Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) in the spring of 2018, one of the seminal moments that year of the political backlash to Trump. It was an early signal that the party, even as it elected a number of moderate lawmakers in that year’s Democratic wave, was moving inexorably leftward in reaction to a Trump White House.

Read the rest of ‘What You Should Know’ here.

Remember Beirut: In The Free Press, Albert Eisenberg, whose grandfather was killed in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, reflects on the recent assassinations of senior Iranian officials, including the July 2024 targeted strike against mastermind of the embassy bombing. “My grandfather was not an invading conqueror. He was a civilian employee of the U.S. government whose desire was to help build up other countries. He was murdered in 1983 by a regime that considers anyone they don’t like an enemy to be enslaved, tortured, or killed. This is not a regime that should ever be trusted with nuclear weapons, and our country’s involvement this weekend in preventing that from happening is justified. In any conflict, if there is one side deliberately targeting civilians — as Iran has done to its own people and to countless Americans since the ayatollahs came to power in 1979 — we should know that this is the side to oppose.” [FreePress]

Military Die is Cast: In The New York Times, former Secretary of State Tony Blinken suggests that, despite his opposition to the Trump administration’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, he hopes they were successful. The Biden administration’s “deployments, deterrence and active defense of Israel when Iran directly attacked it for the first time allowed Israel to degrade Iran’s proxies and its air defenses without a wider war. In so doing, we set the table for Mr. Trump to negotiate the new nuclear deal he pledged years ago to work toward — or to strike. I wish that he had played out the diplomatic hand we left him. Now that the military die has been cast, I can only hope that we inflicted maximum damage — damage that gives the president the leverage he needs to finally deliver the deal he has so far failed to achieve.” [NYTimes]

What’s in a Slogan?: The Atlantic’s Jonathan Chait acknowledges concerns over New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani’s defense of the “globalize the intifada” slogan, understood by many, including Jewish voters, to be a call for violence against Jews around the world. “The ambiguity of the slogan is not a point in its defense but a point against it. The dual meanings allow the movement to contain both peaceful and militant wings, without the former having to take responsibility for the latter. If activists refused to employ slogans that double as a form of violent incitement, it would insulate them from any association with the harassment and violence that has tainted their protests. Their failure to do so reveals an unwillingness to draw lines, as does Mamdani’s reluctance to allow any daylight between him and their rhetoric.” [TheAtlantic]

The White House is restaffing its National Security Council, weeks after mass purges following the removal of Mike Waltz as national security advisor that significantly downsized the office; Bloomberg reports that some of the ousted staffers have been asked to return to the NSC… 

The FBI is returning counterterrorism staffers who had been reassigned to immigration cases amid concerns about potential domestic terror threats from Iran…

Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) sent a letter to European Union officials raising concerns about proposals to downgrade or suspend the EU’s Association Agreement with Israel…

Congressional Democrats reacted with outrage to the postponement of scheduled classified briefings on the U.S. strikes on Iran, accusing the administration of attempting to hide the truth from lawmakers…

A majority of House Democrats — 128 — voted with Republicans to kill an effort led by Rep. Al Green (D-TX) to impeach President Donald Trump for striking Iran without congressional authorization; 79 members voted to move the effort forward…

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) suggested in an X post that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated over his opposition to Israel’s nuclear program…

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine defeated NYC Councilmember Justin Brannan in the city’s comptroller race; in Brooklyn, Maya Kornberg failed to oust Councilmember Shahana Hanif in the Park Slope district; former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) fell short in his city council bid, coming in fourth in a five-person race to represent parts of lower Manhattan…

A prominent member of Qatar’s royal family boosted Zohran Mamdani, a far-left Queens state assemblyman, in his campaign for mayor of New York City, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports…

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is expected to announce his bid for a third term on Thursday…

The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law filed suit in federal court in Massachusetts on Wednesday on behalf of two Jewish students, alleging that the university and a tenured professor violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including harassment on social media and in mass emails, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports… 

Oliver Darcy reports in his Substack that Skydance Media CEO David Ellison met with Bari Weiss last year in an effort to recruit the Free Press founder to CBS’ news division…

The Washington Post profiles NFL reporter Jordan Schultz, the son of former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and self-described “new breed of sports journalist,” who has leveraged personal ties and relationships to break news…

U.S. immigration authorities arrested 11 Iranian nationals, including one believed to be a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps member with ties to Hezbollah…

The Board of Deputies of British Jews suspended five of the 36 members who signed on to an open letter earlier this year criticizing the Israeli government for its actions in Gaza…

Seven IDF soldiers were killed when a bomb planted on their armored vehicle exploded in the southern Gaza Strip…

Chinese officials are reportedly reconsidering a plan to build an oil pipeline between China and Russia as Beijing looks to alternatives to Middle East oil and gas in the wake of the Israel-Iran war…

Iran executed three prisoners in its Urmia Prison who were accused of spying for Israel and bringing “assassination equipment” into the country…

Photographer Marcia Resnick died at 74…

Former hostage Iair Horn (right) met in Washington on Tuesday with Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) as part of a delegation of former hostages and hostage families to lobby for the release of the remaining 50 hostages.

Founder and CEO of The Agency, Mauricio Umansky turns 55… 

Music publicist in the 1970s and 1980s for Prince, Billy Joel and Styx, later an author on human behavior, Howard Bloom turns 82… Founder and CEO of Bel Air Partners, a financial advisory firm for automotive retailers, Sheldon J. Sandler turns 81… Real estate developer in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Las Vegas and Miami and founder of The Continuum Company, Ian Bruce Eichner turns 80… Florida resident, Joseph C. Goldberg… Southern California-based mentor, coach and consultant for business executives through Vistage International, Gary Brennglass… Associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice Sonia Sotomayor turns 71… Former member of the Knesset for the Meretz party, Michal Rozin turns 56… Managing director of A-Street, an investment fund focused on seeding and scaling innovative K-12 student learning, Mora Segal… Senior media and PR specialist at Hadassah, Helen Chernikoff… Israeli philosopher, writer and publicist, he teaches at Yeshivat Har Etzion and Midreshet Lindenbaum, Rabbi Chaim Navon turns 52… Founder and director of The Biblical Museum of Natural History in Beit Shemesh, known as the “Zoo Rabbi,” Natan Slifkin turns 50… Former fashion model and television presenter, Michele Merkin turns 50… Deputy director of government relations at Bread for the World, Zachary Silberman… President of Gratz College in Melrose Park, Pa., Zev Eleff turns 40… One-half of the husband-and-wife duo known for their YouTube channel h3h3Productions with more than 1.3 billion views, Ethan Edward Klein… Manager of strategic content at Leidos until a few months ago, Isaac Snyder… VP of strategy at Saint Paul Commodities and co-founder of Veriflux, Daniel “Dani” Charles turns 38… Medical resident at Temple University School of Medicine, Avital Mintz-Morgenthau, MD… Senior producer covering the White House for CNN, Betsy Klein… Center fielder in the San Francisco Giants organization, he was the 10th overall pick in the 2019 MLB draft, Hunter David Bishop turns 27…