A majority of the Democratic candidates running in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, a key swing seat that Democrats hope to flip in November, said at a candidate forum hosted by the Nebraska Young Democrats last week that they would reject support from pro-Israel groups, according to video of the event obtained by Jewish Insider.

The incumbent, Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), who is retiring at the end of his current term, is an outspoken supporter of Israel and has also been active in combating antisemitism as a co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism. Bacon, a moderate, has repeatedly managed to fend off Democratic challengers in recent elections, but the Cook Political Report rates the seat as “Lean Democratic.”

Asked whether they would accept support from AIPAC or Democratic Majority for Israel, state Sen. John Cavanaugh committed to not taking any funding from either group, while activist Denise Powell said that she would not accept any funding from any special interest groups.

Navy veteran Kishla Askins offered a less definitive answer, saying she is “right now … not taking” funding from J Street, AIPAC or DMFI, while also noting that she had been to Israel and served alongside the IDF while she was in the military and understands how dangerous the region is.

“For me, every decision I make is about values and the rule of law, those two things. I do not align myself with anyone that breaks the law, nor aligns with Nebraskan values,” she said, describing the situation in Gaza as a humanitarian crisis. “Hamas is a terrorist group, and we need to all align around ridding this world of terrorism. Hamas is a terrorist group funded by Iran.”

She said she would “make decisions based on values and the rule of law.”

James Leuschen, a longtime former senior staffer for Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) — a staunch Israel supporter who previously served in House Democratic leadership — was the only candidate to definitively say he would not commit to turning down support from the groups.

“Part of the reason why is I think that we, as Democrats, need to not unilaterally disarm when it comes to elections with Republicans that would be willing to do basically anything to win, right?” Leuschen explained. “The idea that we can win elections by pushing people away from us is, I think, wrongheaded, right? I think we need to be able to talk to folks in all communities. We need to be able to hear the concerns of folks who feel like, you know, maybe the things that happened on Oct. 7 weren’t quite the best thing in the world.”

He said that he wants to see the ceasefire agreement in Gaza hold, to pursue a two-state solution and to ensure that both Hamas and Israel abide by the terms of the deal reached last October.

“But at the same time, I think we have to acknowledge that the incident, the terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, were a tragedy in themselves and the situation we find ourselves in today — while not ideal — is progress toward that lasting peace and that two-state solution that I think we’re all going to get to,” he said. “It can’t be accomplished with coercion; it has to happen with both sides to get there on their own.”

Another prominent candidate, Douglas County district court clerk Crystal Rhoades, did not attend the forum. Rhoades has publicly expressed staunch support for Israel, saying in an op-ed published in The Jewish Press in Omaha, “no one will fight harder to strengthen the U.S.–Israel relationship than I will. My support for Israel isn’t political, it’s moral. It’s grounded in my values and in what I’ve seen firsthand about the importance of dignity, freedom and memory.”

In response to a later question, Leuschen also said he would have voted for a recent State Department funding package that included $3.3 billion in aid to Israel, maintained a block on funding for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency and contained provisions aimed at blocking Palestinian actions against Israel at the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.

Askins and Cavanaugh both said they couldn’t weigh in on the legislation without having fully analyzed what was in it, though Cavanaugh added that he “would not be in support of defunding refugee services.”

Powell said that she hadn’t reviewed the bill but said that she was “a big believer that the U.S. needs to be doing more to support the Palestinian people in this moment. So I’m not sure what it all is in there. I’d love to read it. I don’t — from what you have said, it doesn’t feel like something I’d be super comfortable voting on. But I don’t have all the details on the bill.”

In a follow-up statement shared with Jewish Insider, Powell said that her answer at the forum did not fully capture her stance on the U.S.-Israel relationship.

“I have always unequivocally supported Israel’s right to exist and its right to defend itself. The question that was asked at a recent forum centered around a bill that would strip humanitarian aid to Gaza,” Powell said. 

“My position is clear: I fully support providing aid to Israel and believe that we should ensure humanitarian aid reaches those in need,” the statement continued. “In order for the region to rebuild, it is imperative that we center our efforts around a two-state solution that both ensures Israel’s security and gives the Palestinian people the resources they need to reestablish their lives.”

Previously, Cavanaugh — who leads in polling of the race and hails from an established political dynasty in the state — has received pushback from pro-Israel voters for being one of 10 state senators who declined to sign onto a resolution supporting Israel and condemning Hamas on the first anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. He’s endorsed by progressive lawmakers including Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD), as well as the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC.

Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, one of the leading Democrats running for the vacant 11th Congressional District seat in New Jersey, told Jewish Insider he would be a strong supporter of Israel and the continued U.S.-Israel relationship, while also expressing concerns about the current Israeli government.

The race, which features a parade of Democratic candidates that also includes former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), will determine who will fill the remainder of Gov.  Mikie Sherrill’s term in the House. An AIPAC-affiliated super PAC is spending money on ads against Malinowski, amid reports that the pro-Israel group favors former lieutenant governor Tahesha Way in the race. 

Gill — a longtime New Jersey political hand who has previously worked as a staffer for or on the campaigns of Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), former Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and former Reps. Steve Rothman (D-NJ) and Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) — said his time working with each of those lawmakers, all strong supporters of Israel, has served as his “North Star” for his policy toward the U.S.-Israel relationship.

Gill also previously worked for former Gov. Phil Murphy, who has endorsed his congressional bid.

“I very much believe that we absolutely can respect the ability to disagree with decisions that are made by an elected government that we might not agree with, but still at the same time never waver on Israel’s right to exist, never waver on protecting the strategic partnership in that region of the world that the United States has enjoyed with the only democracy that exists, to continue to aid Israel in ways that are both important to its own protection and, by extension, the protection of our own national interests,” he said.

Gill added that he personally disagrees with and has concerns about decisions made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — mentioning the 2022 judicial reform effort in particular — but said he remains committed to protecting Israel’s right to exist and defend itself, as well as supporting democratic institutions in Israel.

Gill visited Israel in July 2024 with a local Jewish federation, visiting the Nova music festival site and meeting the family of Israeli American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin — who was killed by Hamas the following month — and with various Israeli leaders.

“That trip was incredibly impactful for me in terms of how I think about the relationship between the United States and Israel,” Gill said. 

In a position paper shared with JI, Gill said he supported the current memorandum of understanding with Israel and would back continuing it, “governed by existing laws on American aid, not additional restrictions.” He also said that he would work to build and maintain bipartisanship in support of Israel.

Gill said in his interview with JI that he wants to continue U.S. aid to Israel, though he would “be open to conversations around requirements to receive that aid. But I would start in a place … that I would not have an issue on continuation of aid to Israel and allowing Israel to defend itself.”

Pressed on the sort of “requirements” he might support, Gill said he would begin by listening directly to Israeli leaders about what the Jewish state needs to defend itself, adding that he finds the distinction some lawmakers have drawn between offensive and defensive weapons “very difficult to discern.”

Asked about the potential discrepancy between the paper and the position expressed to JI, Gill spokesperson Toral Patel told JI that Gill’s position is as expressed in the paper, and that he does not support additional restrictions. “He would be open to discussions that are fully agreed upon between the US and Israel to modify aid, but still does not believe the US should unilaterally restrict aid in any way to our ally,” Patel said, when pressed on what Gill meant by “requirements.”

“My starting point has been, and continues to be, that we should absolutely be able to support Israel in the ways that we have in the past, and at the same time, start these conversations around, what does this aid look like in the future,” Gill reiterated in his interview with JI, noting Netanyahu’s own recent comments about phasing out U.S. aid in the next decade.

In his position paper, Gill said he would “work to ensure that the United States strengthens its unwavering support for Israel’s security while helping to shape a post-Hamas Gaza that is stable, demilitarized, and incapable of threatening the Israeli people,” highlighting the need to keep putting pressure on Hamas to disarm.

“My stance in Congress will be clear and unwavering: Israel has the absolute right to defend itself, and the United States should be its partner in ensuring it has the ability to do so. Removing Hamas from power is not only essential for Israel’s security, but it is also the only path to a better future for Palestinians as well,” he said.

He blamed Hamas for “the suffering of both Israelis and Palestinians” in its attack on Israel, its theft of aid intended for Gazan civilians and its use of Gazan civilians as human shields through the use of tunnels.

Gill said that Americans “are deeply concerned by the conduct, duration, cost, and human toll of” Israel’s war in Gaza and, to maintain popular support for Israel, “we must demonstrate that our engagement is principled, strategic, and ultimately aimed at a lasting resolution that works for all peace-loving people involved.”

In the long term, Gill also expressed support for a “two-state (or more) solution,” also making reference to a “multi-state solution.” He said achieving that goal will require a viable postwar governance plan for Gaza, ongoing U.S. support for Israel’s qualitative military edge and a credible and uncorrupted multilateral reconstruction and deradicalization effort in Gaza.

The AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project super PAC recently launched a $500,000 ad campaign opposing Malinowski, with a spokesperson for UDP telling JI that the group views multiple other candidates in the race as more pro-Israel than Malinowski.

But local reporting indicates that UDP favors Way in the race over Gill and other pro-Israel candidates. Other candidates in the race have also expressed more openly anti-Israel views than Malinowski. 

Gill said in his interview with JI that he supported the U.S. strikes against Iran’s nuclear program last year. Going forward, he said that the U.S. must continue to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. 

He said he also wants to see U.S. lawmakers “speaking out, and louder, about the atrocities that are happening right now” against the anti-regime protesters in Iran, and to “find both in word [and] deed” ways to support the Iranian protests, while also ensuring proper congressional oversight of any potential military action.

At home in the U.S., Gill emphasized that the issue of rising antisemitism is “very, very real” and “not abstract” for him, with the Garden State having a high rate of antisemitic incidents per-capita and the 11th District having seen a series of alarming incidents, including a firebombing of a synagogue, fake blood thrown at children, the destruction of Israeli flags and an attempted plot to kill Jews.

“You need to speak out and be vocal immediately,” Gill said, arguing that, unlike some of his competitors, he has the local connections and experience to respond to such incidents — both in words and by working to help secure additional security resources — and has done so in his current role.

“This is an ongoing challenge that we have right now and a serious problem,” Gill said. “Our leaders need to acknowledge that — and not only acknowledge it, make sure that they’re advancing policies that help push back and fight against it and protect the Jewish community.”

He highlighted his ties to a variety of local Jewish leaders and elected officials, whom he said he would lean on as he considers issues relevant to the Jewish community.

He added that the federal government needs to provide sufficient funding through the Department of Education for educational programs on antisemitism, as well as funding for local law enforcement to ensure security.

Asked about the Trump administration’s policies that aimed to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses, including revoking federal funding to colleges and attempting to deport anti-Israel activists, Gill said it’s critical to address campus antisemitism but also to be “balanced about how you use the levers of power in order to execute that.”

“I support policies that go directly to dealing with the issue of antisemitism on college campuses. I do not support the way that, more broadly speaking, the Trump administration has utilized governmental policy in a[n] unethical, unconstitutional and corrupt way to force policy and outcomes in any space,” he said.

He said that there’s a difference between working to protect Jewish students and “telling an institution of higher learning or a health care institution that ‘they better do X, Y or Z, or their funding is going to be completely cut off.’ That’s extortion.”

In his position paper, Gill said that antisemitism is a problem on both sides of the political aisle that leaders must address, and accused some Republicans of ignoring “rampant hatred in their own ranks in an effort to score cheap political points” and of “purposeful conflation of disagreement with antisemitism,” which he said undermined the fight against antisemitism.

“I believe strongly in protecting the right to peaceful protest and free expression while drawing a clear line against threats, harassment and discrimination,” Gill said.

Gill told JI he supports legislation in New Jersey to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism into state law, which was recently blocked by state Democratic leaders who feared political backlash, and expressed support for formally adopting the IHRA definition in his position paper.

Asked about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s record on antisemitism, Gill told JI that he “definitely [has] some concerns regarding, not necessarily statements that he has made, but statements that have been made by people that are part of his administration.”

In general, Gill said he’s going to “wait and see in terms of how he actually executes his role as mayor.”

Outside of antisemitism policy, Gill noted that “there are many aspects of [Mamdani’s] affordability agenda that I do think are important, that resonate with large portions of our Democratic base.”

In the race generally, Gill is highlighting both his local roots — he’s the son of a Montclair public school teacher and raised his own family in the township — and his experience working for members of Congress. 

He argued that that experience gives him the “full skill set” other candidates don’t have and that he’s been “doing this work in the communities that I’m seeking to represent.”

That’s seemingly a dig at Malinowski, another likely front-runner, who previously represented a neighboring district. Gill targeted Malinowski in his first TV ads of the campaign, which began airing this week. “I think what helps you be the most effective member of Congress is understanding, having the relationships with the communities that make up your district, understanding the differences we have,” Gill said.

Gill argued that the numerous endorsements he’s received from local officials and from organized labor attest to his strengths.

He said he’s running for Congress because he sees the opportunities he had to pursue the American Dream slipping away from his own teenage children, and because he’s concerned about the “threat” he believes the Trump administration and its supporters pose to democratic norms and the Constitution.

“Because of both my Washington experience, the experience that I’ve had on the ground representing many of these communities — either as an Essex County Commissioner or doing the work with other federal officials — I think I have the right skill set to fight Donald Trump at this time, to fight MAGA Republicans, and also to deliver for the communities that I live in, that I work in, and that I’ve represented for many years,” Gill said.

Gill plans to focus on the “affordability crisis in this region,” highlighting issues like healthcare, transportation, infrastructure and the environment.

He said immigration is also a personal issue to him — his wife, a state assemblywoman, is Colombian American and his children are Latino. “These are not abstract issues right now for what’s going on in our country,” he said.

Two Democratic candidates running in the crowded special election to replace New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill, including the state’s current secretary of state and lieutenant governor, criticized the state Assembly for failing to pass legislation codifying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism.

Their comments came during a virtual forum hosted by the Jewish Democratic Council of America on Tuesday evening with most of the candidates in the race for the northern New Jersey House district, though some including Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, the likely front-runner, were missing; Gill was expected to join but organizers said he had unexpected family obligations.

“I, too, take offense that my own state did not adopt IHRA, and I will definitely move this forward as your congresswoman,” New Jersey’s lieutenant governor and secretary of state, Tahesha Way, said.

Multiple sources blamed the state’s governor and other senior Democratic officials for killing the bill due to concerns about political blowback from progressives targeting Democratic lawmakers who would vote for it.

Way issued a statement expressing similar support last week after the legislation failed to move forward in the legislature. “As we witness an alarming rise in antisemitism across our country, we must be unequivocal: hate has no place in our society. I will always stand by the Jewish community, and I support legislation adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism in the New Jersey Assembly and will wholeheartedly support similar federal legislation if elected to Congress.”

Candidate Jeff Grayzel, the deputy mayor of Morris Township and a local Jewish leader who testified before the New Jersey Assembly in support of the bill, also expressed frustration that the legislation had failed, when similar legislation has passed in a majority of states.

“It is pathetic that in the state with the fourth largest Jewish population in the United States, we don’t have that,” Grayzel said.

In addition to her comments on the IHRA legislation, Way also emphasized her work with the New Jersey-Israel Commission, which falls under her purview as secretary of state, to address campus antisemitism, and said she would back efforts to “streamline access” to Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding.

She said that her trip with an American Jewish Committee delegation to Israel in 2019 “really underscored … the strong alliance between the U.S. and Israel,” and emphasized the need to rebuild Gaza without Hamas and to expand the Abraham Accords, as well as pursue a two-state solution.

Former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), viewed as another top contender in the field, said that leaders need to police antisemitism on their own sides, while arguing that the far left “hates our leadership” and that the far right leads the GOP. He also called for proper resources and funding to combat domestic extremism, an effort he said is being undermined by shifting federal resources to immigration enforcement, and called for regulation of social media.

He said that he had a “perfect pro-Israel voting record in Congress as a pro-Israel Democrat,” while accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of dragging the war in Gaza out for his own interests, and calling for more pressure on both sides to continue the ceasefire agreement.

Grayzel, in his opening statement, described himself as a “proud Jew and a proud Zionist” and declared unequivocally that “anti-Zionism is antisemitism,” adding that he is running for Congress in part to stand up for the Jewish people. 

He pushed back on suggestions from a fellow candidate that Israel is depriving members of its Arab population of equal rights, and emphasized his support for unconditional aid to the Jewish state.

Passaic County Commissioner John Bartlett noted that he had spent a year living in Israel studying at Hebrew University, experiencing the daily security threats that Israelis face. He said that he supports the continued U.S.-Israel relationship and rejected “arbitrary distinctions between offensive and defensive weapons.”

“I recognize the relationship between the United States and Israel as fundamental and rooted in shared democratic values. I’ve also heard loud and clear from you, your kids and your rabbis that families need to feel safe right here in New Jersey again. You can count on me to be a consistent and outspoken ally in Congress,” Bartlett said.

He also condemned those who are targeting the Jewish community over political differences with Israel, and said that he supports the IHRA working definition and the Antisemitism Awareness Act.

Army veteran and venture capitalist Zach Beecher noted that his wife is Jewish and they are raising their son Jewish, and highlighting his experience in combat in the Middle East. He called for expanded NSGP funding and greater Holocaust education.

He said he “categorically support[s] security assistance and the right of Israel to defend itself” following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.

Other candidates took a more hesitant stance toward support for Israel while expressing support for its right to exist.

Analilia Mejia, who leads a progressive advocacy group, said, “Israel has the responsibility to ensure freedom for all those who live within it,” and said U.S. funding should go “towards peace” and defensive systems “and not bombs.”

Community advocate Anna Lee Williams said, “I’m someone who really promotes peacebuilding and long-term diplomatic strategies so that we can properly support that. I think that’s the main thing — I just want to move forward in terms of, how do we use our partnership to value human rights and make sure that we are holding the Israeli government accountable when they are hurting people.”

Attorney J-L Cauvin, who has gone viral for his impersonations of President Donald Trump, said Netanyahu is “something of a monster,” and had “spit in the face of Joe Biden and is dragging America’s moral authority through the gutter.” Cauvin said that he wants to see less U.S. aid flowing to Israel.

On antisemitism, Cauvin highlighted his own experience with discrimination as the son of an immigrant and as a mixed-race person, arguing that he knows “how to fight it probably better than most people in this race.” He said that he had personally broken with a friend over his “disgusting” reaction to Oct. 7. He largely blamed Trump for the rise in antisemitism, saying he had given a “license to discriminate and speak horribly.”

Williams said her longtime partner is Jewish, and that they have had conversations about the fear that the Jewish community is feeling. She called for steps to make the Jewish community feel safe, to combat antisemitism online and in AI and to improve education.

Throughout the event, several of the candidates described the Trump administration’s policies, particularly its deportation efforts, as fascist and drew comparisons to the Nazi regime.

Grayzel said that the Jewish community “knows where fascism leads. We have an experience of what happened in Germany, and what happened in Minnesota last week is the next step in that fascist process,” referring to the killing of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.

“We all know how the Nazis terrorized Jews in Germany, and ICE is now terrorizing our immigrants here in this country,” Grayzel said. “But I am so scared, so, so scared as a Jew of where this country is headed and how ICE is treating people and terrorizing them. It absolutely needs to stop.”

Malinowski agreed, describing the ICE arrests as “proto-fascist operations that we’re seeing on our street.”

Williams said, of recent ICE raids, “For those of us who are part of the Jewish community, and for anyone who studies history, alarm bells should be going off.”

Beecher alleged that a slogan displayed behind Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a news event this week echoed SS rhetoric, a characterization disputed by historians.