WINDY CITY WEDGE

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson targets top Jewish Democratic donor amid rocky road to reelection

Jewish leaders in Chicago say Johnson's attack on Michael Sacks and AIPAC invokes tropes about Jewish influence — and point out that AIPAC isn't even in the race

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Mayor of Chicago Brandon Johnson delivers remarks at the stage unveiling ahead of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center on August 15, 2024 in Chicago.

By

Matthew Kassel

September 16, 2026

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is facing a long list of challengers in his reelection campaign next year — not to mention dismal job approval ratings and paltry fundraising. He kicked off his bid for a second term at an event on Sunday, however, directly targeting AIPAC as well as a Jewish Democratic donor who has contributed both to the pro-Israel group and, more recently, a top rival of Johnson’s.

“When you hear that someone wants to be your mayor and they claim to be progressive but they take money from AIPAC and Michael Sacks and corporate interests and shell PACs,” Johnson said at a rally over the weekend, “you know who has the power. It’s not you.”

The embattled mayor was likely making a thinly veiled reference to Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, the front-runner in a race that has so far drawn over a dozen candidates. Sacks, an asset manager and longtime ally of former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, has given $500,000 to Giannoulias’ campaign.

But Johnson’s statement, which has faced criticism from local Jewish leaders for espousing what they decry as antisemitic tropes about Jewish influence, was misleading, as AIPAC is not involved in his race. Sacks himself has no formal ties to the organization aside from donations to its super PAC and affiliated groups that drew scrutiny for engagement in a series of Illinois Democratic congressional primaries earlier this election cycle.

Debra Silverstein, the only Jewish alderman on the Chicago City Council and a Democratic critic of Johnson’s, told JI that she believed the mayor had targeted Sacks simply “because he’s Jewish,” noting there are “many large donors” who are involved in the election.

She called Johnson’s speech part of a “pattern of disrespect to the Jewish community” while in office. “We have been feeling alienated and disrespected for a very long time,” she explained to Jewish Insider, “and this is his latest attempt.”

In a March opinion piece, Sacks argued that growing efforts to demonize AIPAC’s political engagement are part of a more sinister plan to make pro-Israel Jewish Democrats feel unwelcome in their party — including in Chicago, which is home to the third-largest Jewish community in the country.

Perhaps exemplifying that point, Johnson’s rhetoric on Sunday underscored the degree to which AIPAC has increasingly emerged as a shibboleth on the far left, which regularly invokes the group as a stand-in for a set of broader systemic problems in the United States and abroad — raising concerns among Jewish leaders who worry that the singular focus is creating a hostile political environment.

Even as AIPAC only engages in federal races to support allied candidates, the pro-Israel group has become a source of tension in both city and state races where it is not involved. Recently, for instance, Alma Hernandez, a pro-Israel Jewish state legislator in Arizona, drew attacks from a far-left primary rival who claimed she was “bankrolled” by AIPAC, among other charges she denounced as fueling antisemitism.

Yet Johnson’s attack line was unique for its highly personal target in a prominent setting, even as the mayor and his allies frequently take aim at Sacks — who has helped fund a local group that has run ads opposing his administration. Johnson doubled down after the rally, dismissing Sacks as a “source of pain” for Chicago families because of his close connections to Emanuel’s mayoral tenure, which has long been a target of criticism on the left.

In a statement, Sacks called Johnson’s remarks “a disingenuous campaign of defamation and lies” and said the mayor “needs some better dance moves.”

Frank Calabrese, a political consultant in Chicago, said that he was surprised by Johnson’s comments — not only because “AIPAC has nothing to do with local mayor elections.”

“His comments could be interpreted as equating AIPAC money with a Jewish billionaire,” Calabrese told JI on Tuesday. “Obviously, that’s a road that politicians should avoid.”

Daniel Goldwin, the chief public affairs officer of the Jewish United Fund, Chicago’s Jewish federation, denounced Johnson’s recent rhetoric in a statement. “Singling out Jewish people or Jewish organizations as symbols of political influence or control carries a dangerous history that should be understood and rejected — not repurposed as a political rally and cry,” he told JI on Tuesday.

The Jewish community “cannot remain silent when rhetoric from the city’s highest elected official singles out Jewish individuals or organizations in ways that invoke long-standing stereotypes about Jewish power and influence,” he added. “All Chicagoans deserve to know that their mayor will not use their identity as a political weapon.”

Johnson’s team did not respond to JI’s request for comment on Tuesday. A spokesperson for AIPAC declined to comment.

Despite backlash from some of the city’s leading Jewish officials, Johnson’s recent tactics have been met with silence from top Democrats in the state. A spokesperson for Gov. JB Pritzker, a former AIPAC contributor who has said he lost faith in the group’s commitment to bipartisanship, did not respond to a request for comment.

Pritzker previously defended Sacks’ support for AIPAC in March, saying that it was “very unfair for people” to attack a fellow Democrat whom he praised as a “decent, honorable human being” dedicated to values shared across the party.

On Tuesday, The Chicago Tribune, the city’s largest daily paper, published a scathing editorial accusing Johnson of using divisive methods to distract from an unimpressive record of achievement. “We get the hardball nature of Chicago politics,” the board wrote, “but inserting AIPAC into a race in which it is not participating, never mind the antisemitic implication of demonizing Sacks and AIPAC, is unseemly even for this city.”

“A sitting Chicago mayor should not stoop this low even in a political campaign,” the editorial added.

Manny Houle, a Democratic strategist and former AIPAC staffer who has worked in Chicago, said that Johnson’s approach represents a broader trend on the far left in which activists, candidates and elected officials use AIPAC “as a catch-all for problems they don’t want to address.”

“Blaming AIPAC or using it as the big scary political bogeyman is not only irresponsible, it’s dangerous,” he told JI on Tuesday. “It doesn’t address the actual problems voters are facing, and inflames feelings on issues many struggle to understand.”

PEOPLE OVER PARTY

Local Democratic official endorses Lawler, citing record on antisemitism, Israel

New Castle Town Councilmember Ally Chemtob said her endorsement of Lawler is ‘something bigger than party labels and partisan politics’

Rep. Mike Lawler/X

New Castle Town Councilwoman Ally Chemtob endorses Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) on Sept. 15, 2026.

By

Marc Rod

September 15, 2026

Ally Chemtob, a Democratic member of the New Castle, N.Y., Town Council, on Monday endorsed Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) for reelection, citing his relationship with the Jewish community and record on antisemitism and Middle East policy.

Lawler’s heavily Jewish district, one of the few represented by a House Republican that Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024, is one of the Democratic Party’s top targets this November. Democrats nominated Cait Conley, a moderate military and national security veteran to the critical swing district. New Castle is located in Westchester County.

Chemtob said at a press conference that, given the rise of antisemitism, she saw her cross-party endorsement of Lawler as “something important, something bigger than party labels and partisan politics.”

She added that she was supporting Lawler as a reliable ally of the Jewish community who she can trust and who she knows cares about the community’s safety, including that of her three children.

“We have faced an explosion of antisemitism in all aspects of our lives. … We have also watched many we thought were our allies abandon us. But we have also been reminded of who our true friends are, who is willing to stand with us,” Chemtob said. “And it is with respect to this last category — true, genuine friendship to the Jewish community, a qualification that transcends partisan concerns — that I am here today to announce that I am supporting Mike Lawler.”

Conley’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Chemtob said that the Jewish community needs elected leaders who will stand up against antisemitism regardless of its origin, and said that Lawler has done so, highlighting his leadership of the Antisemitism Awareness Act, one of several bills related to antisemitism that he is sponsoring, as well as his work to support Israel and on other Middle East policy issues.

She said she’s been “horrified daily” by the Democratic Party’s embrace of “fringe, anti-American and antisemitic [Democratic Socialists of America] candidates and their sympathizers.”

Chemtob also highlighted Lawler’s bipartisan record and his work on bringing home funding for various local projects and assisting constituents.

“I don’t have to agree with Mike on every issue. Neither do you. But I’m asking you to consider the individual, look at his record, recognize his character and his courage,” Chemtob said. “We shouldn’t write off a candidate based off of the letter in front of his name. … I am putting the interest of my community ahead of party loyalty, and I hope we can agree that our loyalty should ultimately be to our values, our community and our conscience.”

Lawler said that he would “always stand with the Jewish community throughout my district and throughout our country” and that he prides himself on his bipartisan work and efforts to find compromise, highlighting his recent work on the Jewish American Security Act.

The House Republican also noted that Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) is his “best friend in Congress,” and that they’ve frequently worked together on issues relating to the U.S.-Israel relationship and combating antisemitism.

“We will continue to stand tall in the face of Jew hatred, in the face of antisemitism, and call it out and root it out wherever it exists, whether it’s on the right with people like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, or on the left with people like Hasan Piker, or the mayor of New York City,” Lawler said. “We cannot and must not let this become the new normal, where Jewish Americans are subjected to the same hate that they endured during the Holocaust. We are at a pivotal moment in our nation’s history, and it requires leadership.”

The New Castle Democratic Committee distanced itself from Chemtob following her endorsement.

“Ally Chemtob may be an elected member of the New Castle Town Board, but she is not a member of the New Castle Democratic Committee,” the Democratic Committee said on Facebook, reiterating its endorsement of Conley. “It is important that there be no confusion: she does not represent, speak for, or hold membership in the New Castle Democratic Committee.”

The New Castle Democratic Committee also emphasized Conley’s own support for Israel, adding, “In Cait Conley, we don’t have to choose between a candidate who will stand up to antisemitism and a candidate who will fight to lower costs and end the corruption and dysfunction in Washington.”

OCEAN STATE OF PLAY

Antisemitism roils Providence mayoral race

Mayor Brett Smiley, who converted to Judaism while in office, faces a Bernie Sanders-backed democratic socialist in Wednesday's Rhode Island primary, with an anti-Israel divestment referendum looming over the race

(Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley answers questions during a press conference at the Providence Public Safety Complex on December 16, 2025.

By

Matthew Kassel

September 8, 2026

In the upcoming Democratic mayoral primary in Providence, R.I., on Wednesday, Israel and antisemitism have claimed prominence as unusually divisive sources of debate for a municipal race, raising concerns among Jewish leaders who worry the focus on Middle East policy in particular will only contribute to further polarization on a sensitive issue.

The election is pitting Mayor Brett Smiley, 47, a first-term incumbent who converted to Judaism while in office in 2024, against state Rep. David Morales, a 27-year-old democratic socialist backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and leading progressive groups including the Working Families Party.

One of the top subjects of debate is a controversial ballot initiative up for a vote in November that — if passed — would require Providence to refrain from investments in “foreign countries conducting ethnic cleansing, apartheid, illegal military occupation or genocide.”

Even as the ballot measure does not name Israel, unlike recent efforts explicitly targeting the Jewish state in Pittsburgh as well as Somerville, Mass., the referendum was driven by local anti-Israel activists, leaving Jewish leaders now rallying to oppose it with little doubt over its subtext. Smiley, a vocal supporter of Israel, has opposed the referendum, saying it could run afoul of state law, while Morales has been among its key defenders, framing the effort as a moral cause.

In a statement shared with Jewish Insider, Smiley noted “the city’s legal department has determined that this ordinance is both unenforceable and likely in violation of existing state law,” while adding the effort “is consuming resources that should be spent protecting the integrity of our elections.” He called the referendum “unproductive” and “burdensome to our election officials,” warning that it “will harm the finances of our city.”

Morales, in an interview with JI on Friday, said he believed the successful effort to secure ballot access for the referendum was a step toward ensuring “that in no way, shape or form is Providence contributing to” what he described as “apartheid, illegal military occupation or genocide.”

“The fact that we are actively having this type of conversation, I think, speaks to the broader question of who do we want representing us? Who do we want making decisions out of City Hall, the Statehouse or to the walls of Congress?” Morales added, pledging to use his “platform as mayor of Providence” to push for federal opposition to “unconditional military aid” for Israel.

The heated atmosphere of the election underscores the degree to which rising Democratic divisions over Israel are now shaping even local races for roles with no direct ability to influence foreign policy outcomes. In another demonstration of how such elections have gained a more nationalized valence, Morales has also won praise from Track AIPAC, an extreme anti-Israel account, even as AIPAC itself does not engage in city or state races.

As leftist candidates have increasingly linked their opposition to the war in Gaza to a broader suite of social justice causes on the domestic front, Israel is emerging as a significant issue animating an activist base that has helped fuel a growing number of major upsets at both the state and federal levels this cycle.

While there is no independent public polling on the race, a survey released last week and commissioned by a group tied to a supporter of Morales showed the Democratic insurgent leading by 10 points, with 48% of the vote.

A spokesperson for Smiley declined to share internal polling but expressed skepticism of the recent survey, noting that it was commissioned by a group affiliated with Jorge Elorza, a former Providence mayor who is backing Morales.

Morales, who has sought to channel the energy of Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for mayor of New York City — where the state legislator hosted a fundraiser in July — has also notably denounced his opponent’s attendance at a conference sponsored by the Combat Antisemitism Movement, where Smiley is chair of the mayoral advisory board.

The conference, Morales argued in December, is organized by “outside donors pushing a national agenda,” which he claimed was “designed to chill political speech” and to crack down on “expressing solidarity with Palestine.” The mayor, who has also faced protests outside his home over a trip to Israel, has rejected that characterization, while pointing to what he casts as a “double standard” for supporters of the Jewish state.

“In my darkest days as mayor,” Smiley told JI last week, “I have found strength and resilience through my faith and my community, and I will continue to work every day to ensure that Providence Jews are able to gather, worship and celebrate safely and free from hatred and discrimination.”

“That’s why I have spoken out against antisemitism” and joined “conferences focused on understanding and combating antisemitism — conferences that my opponent has repeatedly condemned,” he said in the written comments.

Against the backdrop of such tensions, some of Smiley’s campaign signs were recently defaced by antisemitic imagery — including devil horns and a Hitler mustache — in an incident that turned up the temperature of an already contentious race.

“While campaigns can often get heated, there is no excuse for targeted attacks and hate speech in our political dialogue,” Smiley wrote in the statement to JI. “Actions like this are about more than one person — they send a message to an entire community that they are not safe or welcome here. That is not how we treat our neighbors in Providence, and it’s incumbent on all of us to disavow hate speech in all its forms.”

Speaking more broadly, Smiley said antisemitism “is on the rise around the country, and our community is feeling that here in Providence,” which is home to an estimated 15,000 Jewish residents.

“No one should ever have to ask if it’s safe to put a mezuzah on their door or display a menorah in their window, and yet these conversations are happening more and more often in our city,” the mayor told JI.

Morales, for his part, condemned the vandalism last month, while urging residents to oppose “all forms of bigotry,” a sentiment he reiterated to JI on Friday.

Despite concerns among local Jewish leaders who feel his rhetoric against Israel is sowing unneeded tensions, Morales vowed to engage proactively with community members who do not share his stances.

“When I talk about building a Providence for all, it’s not just about building a city for people I agree with,” he clarified in the interview. “It’s about engaging with neighbors from all walks of life and all backgrounds, and so I will certainly be engaging directly with our Jewish community, and ensuring that they feel safe and welcomed.”

Morales has faced attacks from the mayor over his past support for defunding the police, a position he has said he no longer holds. He emphasized to JI that as mayor, “when there is a need for additional police details for gatherings and events” at synagogues and other institutions, he will be “ready to deploy those additional forms of security measures and support.”

Providence, RI – April 12: Representative David Morales, a Providence Democrat, poses in Providence, RI on April 12, 2021. (Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Still, Jewish leaders indicated they were far from reassured by such promises, largely citing Morales’ vocal support for the ballot initiative they view as a thinly disguised effort to institutionalize the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel at the municipal level.

“Providence’s investment decisions should be driven by what’s best for Providence residents,” said Steven Baker, president and CEO of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, “not by divisive political tests that make our community more polarized and less united.”

Avi Nevel, the founder and CEO of the Rhode Island-Israel Collaborative, said he was “extremely concerned about what we are seeing in this race, and I think what has happened was totally uncalled for.”

“I definitely feel that there is a wave of anti-Israel sentiment that is also coinciding with antisemitism. Unfortunately, past experience has taught us that the two can often overlap, and I believe we need to take this very seriously,” he told JI last week.

Ken Schneider, the president of the Rhode Island Coalition for Israel, said the “mayoral race is of great importance to the Jewish community in Providence.” He called the ballot referendum both “anti-Israel and anti-Jewish” and said the city “should not insert itself in international politics.”

“The community has mobilized against this,” he told JI last week, while vowing that members of his group “will be at the polls” on Primary Day “to point out the major differences between Smiley and Morales.”

The winner on Wednesday will face Republican candidate Dave Talan as the prohibitive favorite in November. Providence has not elected a GOP mayor in nearly half a century.

Tony Affigne, a professor of political science at Providence College, said debates over Israel “aren’t the concerns that animate most Providence voters,” noting that “a critical shortage of affordable housing, school funding and effectiveness, anxiety about local ICE actions, property tax rates and community safety are top of mind for our local electorate.”

He framed the race as a fight for generational change, describing Morales as “an energetic, insurgent young candidate” who is “promising a focus on affordability and a clean break with the past.” He called the mayor a “well-connected, well-financed incumbent,” saying Smiley has been both “administratively experienced and policy oriented — if somewhat uninspiring on a personal level.”

“Either could win based on their relative strengths, depending somewhat on turnout for this and the other races on the ballot this year,” Affigne told JI.

PRESSURE CAMPAIGN

Rep. Jared Moskowitz: Pro-Israel Democrats are being ‘ostracized’ in the Democratic Party

He attributed much of the shift on Israel policy among his Democratic colleagues to bullying, harassment and threats from the anti-Israel camp

Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) speaks at a press conference on Capitol Hill on Sept. 8, 2025.

By

Marc Rod

September 8, 2026

For Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), the Democratic caucus has become an increasingly lonely place for those who remain staunchly pro-Israel, with what he described as bullying, harassment and threats from the anti-Israel camp contributing to the shift away from Israel among Democratic lawmakers.

“What is it like to be in the caucus? It’s become lonely,” Moskowitz said during a wide-ranging interview with Jewish Insider in his Capitol Hill office last week. “None of my colleagues are mean to me, but it is an ostracizing feeling. There’s no doubt that the Democrats that are super pro-Israel, in general, feel somewhat ostracized, and how could you not?”

He said that the “mushy middle” of the party is being pushed left, explaining that he has had colleagues tell him that consultants have told them that, in order to win reelection, they’ll need to reject AIPAC or vote against pro-Israel legislation or express opposition to Israeli missile-defense systems.

“No one really loves family infighting,” he said. “For me, I’m fighting for what I believe in. For me, it’s not about the polling. I’ll go down on this issue. Ultimately, I’m not interested in moderating to try to win my election.”

He also attributed some of the shift to harassment and threats of violence targeting members, including Moskowitz being the target of an assassination attempt in 2024. Standing up for Israel, at this point, puts members’ families at risk, he said, and with that pressure coming exclusively from the anti-Israel side, it’s no surprise that some members are caving.

“I talk to members. They’re scared from all of this stuff. Not only are they scared, their spouses are scared, and do not underestimate the spouse in this congressional relationship,” he said. “The bullying is only happening one way. Members are getting bullied online. They’re getting bullied in the hallways. They come down the steps [from the House chamber], cameras get put in their face on this issue.”

Moskowitz said that, because he has refused to cave on this issue, he now needs armed security and police protecting him in his district — as do other outspoken members. He said that it’s important for members who have been outspoken, on both sides of the aisle, to be reelected.

“If you look at what’s happened to the Jewish community in two years, where are we in five? Where are we in five years? Are we going to lose an entire political party?” he asked.

And Moskowitz warned that he sees similar issues on the horizon in the Republican Party. “The Tucker [Carlson] wing of the [Republican] Party is ready to pounce. The only thing that’s keeping them at bay is Trump. … The fight you’re seeing that we’re having now, they are going to have on the right.”

The Florida congressman, asked about the upcoming Israeli elections, said that he believes that some of his Democratic colleagues have “backed themselves into a corner” by focusing their criticism on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“A lot of my colleagues, when they voted to cut off aid to Israel, both in the Senate and in the House, said, ‘Well, it was all about Netanyahu,’” he recounted. “My argument to them was, ‘At some point, he won’t be there. How are you going to go back to those voters who you’ve now courted because you cut off aid and go back to them saying, ‘Well I’m going to let the aid flow now because Netanyahu is gone?’”

As a result, he predicted that a loss for Netanyahu would do little to change Democratic discourse on Israel, noting that anti-Israel voices online have already begun to target other Israeli leaders as polling has suggested that Netanyahu may lose.

Moskowitz said that the recent outrage, from both progressive commentators and some of his colleagues, over his appointment as ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Middle East and North Africa subcommittee has been disproportionate to the position itself, and tinged with “veiled antisemitism.”

At the same time, Moskowitz argued that the appointment shows that pro-Israel Jews remain part of the Democratic “big tent” — at least for Democratic House leaders. He also noted that anyone on the committee — which includes several vocal critics of Israel — could have objected to the appointment, but chose not to.

“For me, this isn’t game theory. This is real,” Moskowitz said, emphasizing that his relatives fled the Holocaust in Europe. “Tough economic times in a country, wealth inequality — the Jews. It’s not a new playbook that’s being run on the community.”

“Not only does the big tent include pro-Israel Jews but we’re going to give them leadership spots on that issue,” he said.

He said that he sees criticisms of “Zionists” and of Israel as barely disguised attacks on the Jewish people as a whole — with the vast majority of American Jews being Zionists — drawing on historic tropes and patterns.

“For me, this isn’t game theory. This is real,” Moskowitz said, emphasizing that his relatives fled the Holocaust in Europe. “Tough economic times in a country, wealth inequality — the Jews. It’s not a new playbook that’s being run on the community.”

“If we don’t fix the affordability issue, antisemitism is going to continue to get worse,” he added. “For me, it’s intricately linked. It’s not our fault, but we are being made the scapegoat for all of these things. Flock cameras? Jews. AI? Jews. Can’t afford your groceries? Jews. If we don’t start fixing problems here, we’re going to be on the short side of that stick.”

His children, he said, will grow up in a different and more hostile America than he did, after the Jewish community had believed it was assimilated and safe.

“We assimilated in Spain. We assimilated in Germany. Never thought what could happen could happen, and we were expelled and exterminated in both of those countries,” he said.

He credited much of the rise in antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment to malign foreign influence, particularly through coordinated bot campaigns on social media. He said that, if the Nazis had a tool like social media on their side during World War II, they likely would have won.

“Congrats to China and our foreign adversaries, who took an 80-20 issue and turned it into a 20-80 issue as an experiment in a petri dish that they can apply to Taiwan in the future,” Moskowitz said. “We’re just letting foreign adversaries decide how the American people are going to think on everything.”

He described social media platforms as deliberately blind to the problem — until similar tactics were applied to the issue of data centers, which could impact their bottom lines.

“When it comes to Israel, I want to see them treated like any other ally,” he continued. “If the idea is that the majority of our members want to cut off aid to Israel, then we’re going to have to look at all our other allies’ humanitarian records, and we’re going to have to treat them all the same. I look at that as calling balls and strikes, and getting into reality off of the internet.”

Moskowitz is favored to be chairman of the Middle East subcommittee next year if Democrats take the House, but he said he would still need to rally support on the committee to secure the seat. He said that ultimately House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Greg Meeks (D-NY) would set the agenda for Democrats, but that he sees opportunities to use the post to strengthen U.S. ties with the Gulf and Mideast allies.

He called the decision to allow a Saudi nuclear energy deal to proceed without Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords a “missed opportunity” and said it’s important to ensure that Gulf allies don’t try to appease Iran “because the Iran war now has gone south.”

“When it comes to Israel, I want to see them treated like any other ally,” he continued. “If the idea is that the majority of our members want to cut off aid to Israel, then we’re going to have to look at all our other allies’ humanitarian records, and we’re going to have to treat them all the same. I look at that as calling balls and strikes, and getting into reality off of the internet.”

The congressman also blasted those who blame Israel alone for the war in Iran, explaining that in conversations with ambassadors from the Gulf countries, “they were all supportive of this — all of them,” but are now “upset about the marketing and the branding of the war” and hiding from responsibility.

Moskowitz supported the administration’s 2025 strikes on Iran’s nuclear program, and opposed war powers efforts to block a U.S. attack on Iran before the war began earlier this year. But he has supported war powers resolutions since the war started, arguing that Congress must preserve its constitutional role in making war.

“I think the president made a mistake in hindsight. Think about it this way: In an alternative reality, had he come to Congress in the very beginning, it probably would have passed,” he said, “and then we would have owned it with him. He owns it all on his own.”

He said the administration underestimated Iran’s willingness to take the Strait of Hormuz hostage and to expand the war to attack Gulf allies, and overestimated the fragility of the Iranian regime.

Moskowitz also said that the administration has shifted and scaled back its goals, noting that Trump no longer emphasizes the need to remove enriched nuclear material from Iran, now focusing primarily on the Strait of Hormuz.

“We didn’t succeed on the terms he told people of why we were going. And so I think it was a completely failed strategy on prosecuting the war,” Moskowitz said, even as he said he’s glad that former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead, Iran’s navy has been destroyed and the Iranian nuclear program has been set back.

He said he does not want the war to become a long-term problem, but also said that he still does not want to see a deal that would provide Iran with substantial financial relief. “That has to be still the North Star. They cannot have a nuclear weapon. But mistakes that we have made to try to achieve that now could have long-term repercussions.”

Since beating Democratic Socialists of America member Oliver Larkin by nearly 30 points in his primary race, Moskowitz has gone on the offensive against the DSA and the surging socialist wing of the Democratic Party.

He said that he thinks mainstream Democrats need to recognize income inequality and other economic struggles that are driving young people toward the DSA, but also need to realize that the DSA is “awash in antisemitism” and a range of other unpopular and fringe ideas.

“There will be members here from the DSA, but they’ll be 5% of the caucus,” Moskowitz said. “What we can’t do is what the Republicans did with [former House Speaker] Kevin McCarthy. We can’t go make a deal with the DSA because then that deal will be held over the entire caucus for the next two years while we’re in power.”

He said that, despite being targeted with what he described as the “whole DSA apparatus” in his primary, he decided not to engage directly with his opponent, to not run negative ads and to try to keep the race local.

“I was going to deny these viral moments for them,” he said, arguing that other Democrats had erred by getting in direct fights with DSA opponents. “It was my belief that the voters would reject it without me having to spend a ton of money explaining to them why it was bad, and that’s what happened.”

He said his polling showed that Larkin’s stances were turning off voters and argued that his strategies “blew up in their face,” alienating older voters, Jewish voters and Hispanic voters.

“This is not a place that the DSA can win in, and they shouldn’t have done it because it made them look stupid,” Moskowitz said.

Moskowitz noted that he now enters the general election with $2 million, a substantial cash advantage over his Republican opponent, former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer, who is also Jewish.

He argued that his brand of politics and his past ties to former Gov. Ron DeSantis will help him win over independent voters in the general election, and highlighted his appeal with Jewish voters, among whom he vastly outperformed former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. He noted that he doesn’t have to calibrate stances on the U.S.-Israel relationship in his district, but can instead express his honest views in a way that other Democrats can’t.

“This election between me and [Singer], on [Israel and antisemitism] in particular, is the difference between a vote versus a voice,” Moskowitz continued. “He’ll be a vote on pro-Israel. I’m not going to deny that. He will be a vote, but he won’t be a voice.”

PAPPAS UNDER PRESSURE

Pappas leads, but faces an unexpectedly competitive race in New Hampshire Senate primary

The pro-Israel moderate has been recalibrating his foreign policy views under pressure from a far-left anti-Israel opponent

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH), Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, talks with voters on August 16, 2026.

By

Marc Rod

September 6, 2026

Moderate Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) remains favored to win the New Hampshire Democratic Senate primary, but the race is shaping up to be more competitive than expected, both in the Democratic primary and in the general election.

In the primary, Pappas’ progressive challenger, Karishma Manzur, has been gaining ground against him, and leveling attacks related to Pappas’ past support from AIPAC and backing of the U.S.-Israel relationship. Pappas has subtly recalibrated his foreign policy views during the primary.

An Aug. 20-24 poll by the University of New Hampshire showed Pappas’ lead had shrunk to 13 percentage points — though other surveys have shown Pappas with a more significant lead, including a mid-August St. Anselm poll that put him up 31 points and an internal campaign poll that showed him with a 56-point lead.

Pappas has been a pro-Israel moderate in the House, though he voted “present” on the recent amendment by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to cut off U.S. aid to Israel and, with most Democrats, against a college campus anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions bill. He was endorsed by AIPAC in his House races, but the group has not yet made any endorsements in the Senate race.

Manzur, who accuses Israel of genocide, has made attacks on Pappas for past support from AIPAC a central element of her campaign, going after him for “tak[ing] money from corporate PACs, super PACs, AIPAC, foreign lobbyists” (foreign political donations are illegal) while stating she only takes donations from “regular American folks,” a comment that the New Hampshire Jewish Federation has described as offensive.

She has also accused Pappas of taking a “payoff” from AIPAC in exchange for voting “against humanitarian aid to starving children.”

Her campaign has rented a billboard in Pappas’ home city attacking him over his ties to AIPAC.

Manzur, in a statement to Jewish Insider on Friday, said that Pappas was “unwilling to answer a simple question about AIPAC’s endorsement” and accused him of “hypocrisy.”

“Pappas is a shill for AIPAC and corporations supporting the war machine, so it’s no surprise that special interests are pouring in millions to buy this seat,” she said. That’s exactly why I’m surging in the polls: people are sick and tired of business-as-usual politicians like Pappas who serve their wealthy donors instead of the people they represent. Granite Staters deserve leaders with honesty, integrity, and accountability. I am honest, un-bought, and the people’s candidate, fighting every day to improve people’s lives. That’s why I will win this primary.”

Pappas, for his part, has toned down his past support for the Jewish state, saying after the vote on the Massie amendment, “I cannot support this amendment as written, but also cannot support the disproportionate, extreme policies of the Netanyahu government” and calling for a “reset” of the U.S.-Israel relationship.

Despite appearing at an AIPAC summit earlier this year, and recording a video in front of an AIPAC backdrop expressing support for the U.S.-Israel relationship, he has more recently downplayed that appearance as a meeting with local constituents, rather than with AIPAC as an organization.

Asked recently on CNN about his past support from AIPAC, he downplayed his relationship with the group, saying, “I appreciate the support I have from individuals out there” and said he’s working to change campaign finance laws, as well as emphasized his criticisms of the Israeli government and efforts to push for a two-state solution.

Andrew Smith, the director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, attributed Manzur’s growing share of the vote to left-wing energy in the party. New Hampshire Democrats, he explained, have traditionally put forward “people who are kind of middle of the road, not flashy, somewhat boring as candidates … who [aren’t] going to be the most dynamic campaigners,” including Pappas.

“That I think is the biggest problem that Pappas has right now. He’s seen as part of that old guard of the Democratic Party here, even though he’s pretty young,” he continued. “He’s not really, I think, reflecting the energy and anger that you’re seeing from the progressive left of the party.”

That said, he predicted that Pappas is still favored to be the nominee, given the strong support he receives from older voters. Younger voters, who are Manzur’s base, are less likely to turn out on Election Day.

General election polling is also pointing to a competitive race for Pappas in November. A UNH poll in late August showed former Sen. John Sununu (R-NH), the likely GOP nominee, with a narrow lead over Pappas, a result matched by a GOP-sponsored Fabrizio, Lee & Associates poll last week. The nonpartisan elections handicapper Inside Elections shifted the race to a toss-up on Thursday.

A St. Anselm College poll in mid-August had shown Pappas with a seven-point lead over Sununu.

Smith said that Pappas, assuming he’s the nominee, would face a competitive race in the general election, despite the environment otherwise favoring Democrats. Sununu’s family name is well-known throughout the state, he was popular during his time in office and his brother Chris Sununu was a popular recent governor, Smith explained.

“He’s getting more support from more moderate voters and more independent voters who either don’t know Pappas or maybe they are just looking for somebody different,” Smith said. “Sununu is maybe the underdog, but … he knows how to run,” is very sharp and is a strong debater.

Sununu’s biggest challenge will be to distance himself enough from President Donald Trump to win over moderate voters without angering Trump voters in the GOP base.

daily kickoff

Doha losing a lot of dough

Plus, the donors behind Bilzerian’s hate campaign

Mahmud HAMS / AFP via Getty Images

Motorists drive past a plume of smoke rising from a reported Iranian strike in the industrial district of Doha on March 1, 2026.

By

JI Staff

August 27, 2026

Good Thursday morning.

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we spotlight Rep. Hillary Scholten, one of the few Democratic lawmakers in Michigan taking a public stance against the rhetoric of Hasan Piker and Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, and look at the anti-Israel donors who contributed to far-right antisemitic candidates ahead of last week’s primaries in Florida. We report on new U.S. sanctions targeting the U.K.-based Palestine Action group, and cover the 96% drop in liquefied natural gas exports out of Qatar since the start of the Iran war. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Rabbi Shmuel Silber, Matt Little and Dana Nessel.

Curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss, with an assist from Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

Today’s Agenda

The Milken Institute Hamptons Dialogues kicks off today and runs through Sunday.

Elsewhere in New York, Israeli singer Ishay Ribo is slated to perform tonight with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra at Radio City Music Hall.

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani is in Iran today, the latest senior official from the region to travel to the Islamic Republic this week, following Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir’s trip on Monday and Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi’s visit the following day.

Iran and Oman have reached a potential agreement that, according to Iran’s deputy foreign minister, would forbid military ships from transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. The news comes amid reports of a run on supplies inside Iran, where mounting economic pressure sunk the rial to a new record low earlier this week.

In Washington, a group of Senate Democrats led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) is expected to introduce a resolution forcing the Trump administration to provide an accounting of Israeli human rights practices in the West Bank.

ARM'S LENGTH

El-Sayed avoids naming Piker as he tries to distance himself from antisemitic remarks

The Michigan Democratic Senate nominee didn't address Piker's role in promoting his campaign or his attack on congressional nominee Jeremy Moss

(JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP via Getty Images)

Abdul El-Sayed addresses supporters at his election night event at The Majestic Theatre in Detroit, Michigan, on August 4, 2026

By

Marc Rod

August 24, 2026

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed distanced himself, to a degree, from antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker, who has been a prominent surrogate of his campaign, after Piker attacked Democratic state Sen. Jeremy Moss and argued that Jews are inciting antisemitic violence against themselves by supporting Israel.

But, in the statement — posted on X under the heading, “My statement on Hasan Piker’s comments regarding Jeremy Moss” — El-Sayed didn’t name Piker or Moss, and didn’t directly address Piker’s comments.

“I believe all Americans deserve the right to advocate what they believe without fear of violence,” El-Sayed said. “This is particularly true for communities that have been intimidated for their beliefs in the past.”

Amid ongoing attacks on him for his association with Piker, El-Sayed also insisted that “nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople.”

He went on to downplay Piker as “a Twitch streamer” who will not define the race or his own campaign. He did not say whether his or his campaign’s relationship with Piker will change going forward.

“My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own daughters,” El-Sayed added. “Antisemitism is a scourge and we need to address it in all its forms. And I stand against any rhetoric that puts the community at risk.”

Despite the title of the statement addressing Moss, the statement itself did not directly address El-Sayed’s fellow Michigan Democrat or Moss’ allegations that opponents are spreading fabricated audio of him promoting antisemitic tropes.

Republican nominee former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) blasted El-Sayed’s comments as insufficient.

“Hasan Piker’s call for violence against the Jewish Community, specifically against Jeremy Moss, must be condemned by every single Michigan Democrat. But Conman Abdul El-Sayed doesn’t have the guts to disavow his running mate,” Rogers said. “Abdul’s attempt at distancing himself from this violent and hateful rhetoric now that he and Hasan won the primary is the epitome of what a conman does — says one thing when it serves him and another when it doesn’t.”

Rogers added, “His rhetoric is causing fear in Michigan communities, is unAmerican, and makes him unfit to represent our state.”

Moss said in a statement later on Monday that he and El-Sayed, whom Moss has not yet endorsed, are in ongoing conversations about their shared goals, safety for Jews and Arabs and co-existence among Michigan communities.

“These important conversations do not fit neatly in the confines of a tweet or a reel, like so many want them to. I’m grateful that Abdul and I are having them,” Moss said. “There is still work ahead to unite our ticket despite our differences. It won’t happen overnight, nor should it. It will require continuing outreach that is credible and authentic.”

But Moss made clear that despite his disagreements with El-Sayed, he will not support Rogers, as some other leaders in the Jewish community plan to.

Moss also lambasted Piker, without naming him individually.

“Provocatuers are exploiting this moment to create further divisions. I will not be lectured by a California podcaster about what Oakland County, Michigan’s Jewish community should and shouldn’t believe,” Moss continued. “And we certainly won’t be gaslit that we’re responsible for the antisemitic harm upon us. The attempted murder of Jewish children in West Bloomfield has no justification,” he said, referencing the violent attack on Temple Israel earlier this year.

Piker has so far shrugged off criticisms of his comments, including those from another Michigan Democrat, Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI). In a response, Piker called Scholten “an israel 1st congresswoman,” and said she’s “vying for the spotlight by actively defaming a prominent antizionist voice to harm the dem senate majority chances over a 90/10 issue,” while referencing unverified rumors about Scholten’s personal life.

northern exposure

Peltola campaign mum about whether she stands by her pro-Israel record in the House

The Alaska Senate race is pitting a moderate Democrat against a Republican with a record as a national security hawk

Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) speaks during a ceremony for the lighting of the Capitol Christmas tree in Washington, DC on December 3, 2024.

By

Marc Rod

August 21, 2026

Alaska’s closely watched Senate race, which will help determine the balance of power in the Senate, is set to pit a consistent — if rarely prominent — Democratic supporter of Israel against a prominent Republican national security hawk. Unlike in some other battleground races, the issue of Israel has rarely come up in the campaign.

Peltola was not a leader on Middle East policy issues during her time in the House and did not highlight it as a priority, but was generally a reliable vote in support of Israel, breaking on numerous occasions with the majority of her party on the issue.

Peltola’s campaign did not provide comment in response to repeated inquiries from Jewish Insider about whether her stance has changed since leaving the House. But she has said she opposes the Iran war, and would have voted with nearly all other Democrats for war powers measures that sought to force a halt to the war.

“Dan Sullivan voted for the Iran war 12 times,” Peltola said on X on Thursday, highlighting the impact the war has had on rural Alaska communities. “Alaskans are suffering because Dan Sullivan continues to rubber stamp an unpopular foreign war that’s causing energy prices to skyrocket. We need change.”

Peltola was one of just 46 House Democrats who voted in February 2024 in favor of a stand-alone Israel aid package — separate from the bipartisan package that also provided aid for Ukraine and Taiwan — and one of just 16 who voted for a measure that would have forced the Biden administration to proceed with arms sales to Israel that had been withheld.

Peltola also voted for various measures imposing strengthened sanctions on Iran and severely limiting the Biden administration’s ability to lift such sanctions, some of which were opposed by a majority of Democrats. She also was in favor of imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court.

She voted for a resolution describing anti-Zionism as antisemitic, for a measure calling for the firing of university presidents for their testimony on campus antisemitism, for the Antisemitism Awareness Act and for a resolution describing the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” as antisemitic — though she voted against censuring Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for using the phrase.

Peltola also voted against a measure — that became increasingly unpopular among Democrats — which would have allowed the Treasury Department to unilaterally revoke the tax-exempt status of nonprofits it deemed to be supporting terrorism.

Sullivan, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has been more deeply involved in national security issues, and has been a prominent supporter of Israel and a hawk on Iran.

Sullivan has been a frequent leader on legislation and other efforts to support Israel, including serving as a lead co-sponsor in 2025 of the U.S.-Israel Defense Partnership Act, to expand and increase funding for cooperative defense programs and the Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025, targeting parties involved in the Iranian oil trade.

Among other policies, Sullivan has distinguished himself with yearslong calls, in both interviews and hearings with senior military officials, for the U.S. to retaliate against the Iranian military directly for Houthi attacks on American and commercial shipping, dating back at least to mid-2024.

“My view is, at this juncture, the only way to deter the Houthis is to make Iran pay the price. We should sink all their spy ships who probably helped with this attack,” Sullivan told JI at the time. “We should tell them we’ll sink your whole Navy if you continue this. We have the capacity to sink the Iranian Navy [within] two hours, and we just let the Houthis attack us, attack Israel.”

He has traveled to Israel and the Middle East repeatedly, including at least three times since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. He joined a bipartisan delegation to Saudi Arabia and Israel weeks after the attacks, which aimed to salvage progress toward the Abraham Accords.

Sullivan has proven willing to press Trump administration officials at times, having delivered a particularly tough grilling of Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby during his 2025 confirmation hearing over Colby’s past accommodationist rhetoric on Iran.

Though he ultimately supported Colby’s confirmation, Sullivan, joining other Senate Republicans, later accused Colby of avoiding the congressional communication and collaboration he had promised during his confirmation proceedings. But he and other senators have said the situation has improved since they aired their concerns publicly.

Sullivan supported the 2024 supplemental aid package for Israel, Ukraine and other U.S. allies.

BLAME GAME

Brooklyn Democratic leader who promoted infamous antisemitic tract rips ‘Zionists’ in new video

After pushing Henry Ford’s The International Jew, Democratic district leader Carmella Charrington said her ongoing housing dispute is the ‘same thing they’re doing in the West Bank’

Instagram/Screenshot

Brooklyn Democratic district leader Carmella Charrington speaks to Egyptian podcaster Rahma Zein.

By

Will Bredderman

August 18, 2026

A Brooklyn Democratic politician and housing activist with a history of pushing century-old antisemitic conspiracy theories blamed the property dispute that launched her to prominence on “Zionists” in a recent interview with an Egyptian social media personality.

The comments came from Carmella Charrington, who was elected in June to the unpaid but important role of Democratic district leader, a position that helps pick the party’s influential chairperson and judicial nominees — and who last fall shared on Instagram a video promoting Henry Ford’s notorious 1920s pamphlet series The International Jew.

Charrington gained fame amid a legal fight for control of her family’s brownstone home in the fast-gentrifying Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, which she has labeled a case of deed theft but which New York state Attorney General Letitia James’ office determined was simply an inheritance dispute.

Sitting down with Egyptian podcaster Rahma Zein, Charrington raged against the Jewish investors who had acquired the building and suggested a vague but insidious link to the Jewish state.

“They’re Zionists that basically did this. Same thing that they’re doing in the West Bank, it’s the same thing. There’s a connection,” the politician said, name-dropping Joseph and Elliot Ambalo and Daniel Gazal, who acquired stakes in the property from a conservator for Charrington’s elderly father. “But they are connected, the same people that’s doing it in the West Bank. I didn’t believe it at first. I just was like, who? Like, they’re like, it’s the people in Brooklyn, not just anything like in the U.S. It’s the connection straight to Brooklyn. And then they’re so bold, they come here and do it and show it.”

Charrington did not say what the exact “connection” was in the interview, which Zein posted last week to her Instagram and YouTube channels, and did not respond to calls and text messages for this story. Publicly posted biographies indicate that Gazal was born in Israel, but that the Ambalo brothers are natives of New York.

Charrington shared a still from the interview on her own Instagram account, set to the song “Jamaica Love” by the artist Busy Signal.

“It must stop displacement for all!!!!#dad #brooklyn #nyc #lovers #ceo,” she wrote in the caption.

The fight over Charrington’s home earned her the attention of the most prominent members of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America — including Councilman Chi Osse, who was arrested protesting in her defense at the property, and the incident inspired Mayor Zohran Mamdani to establish a new office of deed theft prevention. Two other DSA members, State Sen. Jabari Brisport and Assembly candidate Eon Huntley, lent her bid to become district leader ballot access and campaign support.

Osse, Brisport and Huntley all denounced Charrington’s sharing of the International Jew Instagram video last November, which blamed Jewish people for everything from slavery to gay rights to the sale of alcohol and drugs. Despite yelling “get your rabbi” repeatedly at a JI reporter over the phone and railing against the house’s Jewish buyers and against the Jewish judge who sent her to Rikers Island on a contempt of court charge, Charrington apologized for the post in a subsequent interview with The New York Times.

Brisport and Huntley did not respond to requests for comment, and have not called for Charrington to renounce her party post. The Brooklyn Democratic Party is in the midst of a power struggle, as left-leaning forces seek to oust the present centrist leader, Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte.

Bichotte’s key rival, activist Julio Peña, ran on a slate with Charrington. Peña did not respond to questions about whether he considered Charrington’s views disqualifying, or whether he would accept her support to become chairman.

Days after the original JI story ran, the New York City Sheriff’s Department took custody of Charrington’s father, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, and returned him to Georgia, where a court had made him a ward of the state.

analysis

For 2028’s Jewish hopefuls, Israel is the test that decides who’s the ‘right’ kind of Jew

A clear divide is emerging in the prospective 2028 presidential field over the issues of the U.S.-Israel relationship and dealing with rising antisemitism

Israel Hadari

Rahm Emanuel speaks at Tel Aviv University on July 8, 2026.

By

Melissa Weiss

August 14, 2026

A quarter century ago, when the late Sen. Joe Lieberman was tapped by Al Gore, the Democratic nominee for president, to be his running mate on the 2000 ticket, the question around many a Shabbat table was, “Is he too Jewish to be in the White House?”

There’s a different question being asked, largely in Democratic circles, of today’s Jewish presidential candidates: “Is he the ‘right’ kind of Jewish candidate to be president?” — a question that is almost entirely centered around a candidate’s position on Israel and how openly he identifies with his religious faith.

A long list of Jewish candidates are considering a presidential campaign or are being touted as credible contenders, ranging from moderates like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to progressives like Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and those who straddle the ideological divide, like Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA).

In both 2026 and 2028, the debate over Israel is on the ballot: Congressional primaries are pitting pro-Israel candidates against those who don’t acknowledge Israel’s right to exist as a
Jewish state, and already a clear divide is emerging in the prospective 2028 presidential field over the issues of the U.S.-Israel relationship and dealing with rising antisemitism.

Even in races where Israel policy is not front-and-center, invoking AIPAC has become something of a catch-all slur for progressives attacking the role of outside money in Democratic primaries. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a likely 2028 hopeful, proudly proclaimed in February that he’d never taken AIPAC money — which of course he hasn’t, given that AIPAC and its affiliated super PAC historically focus on federal, not state, races.

Since soft-launching his presidential campaign last month (in Tel Aviv, no less), former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has made the Jewish state — and its relationship with the U.S. — one of his top issues in speeches and interviews. Even when his views are well within the mainstream, his signaling that he’s talking tough against Israel is a sign he recognizes his long-standing pro-Israel record is a vulnerability in a Democratic presidential primary.

A week after his Tel Aviv speech, Emanuel appeared on the Council on Foreign Relations’ “The Spillover” podcast in an episode titled “Rahm Emanuel Talks Israel, Midterm Elections, and the Democratic Party.” Two days later, The New Yorker’s “Radio Hour” podcast aired an interview with Emanuel in conversation with David Remnick titled, “Rahm Emanuel Says Israel’s Path Is ‘Not Sustainable Politically.’” Earlier this week, Emanuel appeared on the podcast of anti-Zionist Peter Beinart for a conversation largely focused on Israel.

The polling reality is that despite his lengthy and impressive resume — a former U.S. ambassador, congressman, Chicago mayor and White House chief of staff — Emanuel’s record is out of step with the ascendant progressivism that’s taken hold within the party. (He is currently polling at 0% in most 2028 Democratic primary polls.)

Emanuel could be using his skill as a straight-talking political operative to push his party to the center on antisemitism and Israel, akin to the way former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie used his anti-Trump bromides against the MAGA-aligned candidates during the 2024 presidential debates. But Emanuel’s candidacy has thus far been an opportunity to push the party leftward on Israel — in essence, kashering an increasingly unfriendly approach to the U.S.-Israel relationship — and throw jabs at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom Emanuel has a long and less-than-amicable history.

Both Emanuel and Newsom’s approaches reflect what they see as a political reality as the 2028 race comes into view: criticizing Israel might garner some support, while backing it is a losing argument.

Other leading Jewish Democrats who are considering 2028 bids are opting not to make Israel — and the future of its relationship with the U.S. — a cornerstone of their campaigns. Some, such as Shapiro, attempt to pivot when pressed on Israel questions, focusing instead on the domestic impact of the war with Iran or on U.S. national security. And when they do talk about Israel, criticism is largely focused on Israel’s government and not the country as a whole.

Shapiro, whose Israel stance was reportedly one reason former Vice President Kamala Harris opted against selecting him as her running mate in 2024, has frequently criticized Netanyahu while also legitimizing Israeli security concerns.

“I don’t think that if you are critical of Benjamin Netanyahu, you’re an antisemite,” Shapiro said on the “Higher Learning” podcast earlier this year. “By the way, I’m critical of Benjamin Netanyahu. And I have been for years and years and years, even predating Oct. 7. I think his approach has made Israel less safe.”

Pritzker has similarly kept the message — largely — focused on Netanyahu. In an in-depth New York Times interview in March, Pritzker said he felt Israelis had erred in selecting Netanyahu, saying that his leadership has led the country into “additional wars” and caused excess death and destruction in Gaza. On AIPAC, the Illinois Democrat, who previously supported the group, explained to The Times that his efforts to distance himself from the group were because it had become increasingly partisan and “pro-Trump,” rather than because of Israeli policy itself.

And then there’s Ossoff , who has always held positions on Israel that fall to the left of the others. We wrote last month that many Peach State Jews find themselves in a political no-win situation as Ossoff, who has voted to block weapons shipments to Israel, defends his seat against Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), who has a history of inflammatory right-wing rhetoric — and a son-in-law who openly espouses white nationalist, antisemitic propaganda.

While all four have tacked left on Israel, they have done so to varying degrees — for example, Shapiro has expressed support for some aid to Israel to be conditioned, while Ossoff has voted to block weapons sales to Israel and Emanuel has called to immediately end all military aid to Israel.

2028 candidates rightfully sense that the party is shifting, not just on Israel but on a range of policies. When Lieberman was on the ticket a quarter century ago, the question was whether Americans were ready to elect a Jewish president (or vice president). Now, the question facing potential Jewish 2028 contenders is different: What do they have to say about Israel to persuade primary voters they are the “right” kind of Jew to become president?

ISRAEL ANGLE

Democratic primary for Craig’s House seat in Minnesota showcases Israel divide within party

The leading candidate, former state Sen. Matt Little, is calling for a full arms embargo on Israel

(Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)

Matt Little answers a question during a Congressional Candidate Forum at Minnesota Farmfest in Morgan, Minn., on Tuesday, August 4, 2026.

By

Marc Rod

August 10, 2026

The three major Democratic candidates vying to replace Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) are charting distinct lanes on Israel policy but only one of them, at a recent debate, offered support for Israel. The front-runner, former state Sen. Matt Little, is the Democrat positioning himself as most hostile to Israel in the race.

Little’s views are at odds with Craig, who was one of 98 House Democrats who declined to support an amendment by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) that would have cut off $3.3 billion in military aid to Israel in 2027. (Craig is running for the Senate in a closely contested primary against a left-wing challenger.)

At a July 19 debate, Little called not only for the U.S. to stop sending military aid to Israel but also to impose an arms embargo “on the sale of all weapons to Israel,” preventing Israel from buying U.S. military systems — its primary source of armaments — with its own funds.

He said he would have voted for the Massie amendment and would have offered it himself if he had the opportunity.

“This is an issue I’ve been speaking out about for over a year, ever since we started the campaign. I think that is a big difference in this race,” Little said. “I’m the first person in this race to call it a genocide because that is exactly what it is.”

State Sen. Matt Klein, running as a moderate and seen as most closely aligned with Craig’s own record, was the only one of the three candidates who did not express support for the Massie amendment at the debate. Klein additionally did not name the war in Gaza as a genocide and described Israel as an ally and friend of the United States.

“As a father and as a physician, I know that what is occurring in Gaza is a humanitarian disaster, and it is our obligation as an ally and a friend of the State of Israel to try to end that and come to a peaceful solution, a two-state solution that provides dignity and safety for peoples of that entire region,” Klein said.

“I am a supporter of our alliance with the State of Israel, just as I am a patriotic American who has deep difficulties with Donald Trump’s leadership,” Klein continued. “I am a supporter of our friendship with Israel, who deeply objects to the way [Prime Minister] Netanyahu has prosecuted this war.”

State Rep. Kaela Berg charted out something of a middle position, but she is still calling for a complete halt to U.S. taxpayer funding to Israel.

“That was an ill-written piece of legislation. It was political gamesmanship from the Republicans meant to divide, and it did,” Berg said of the Massie amendment. “We shouldn’t send one more tax dollar to Israel. We cannot be responsible for funding the genocide in Gaza. … Benjamin Netanyahu’s government should not be funded by the United States.”

She also described Netanyahu as “largely responsible” for the U.S. war in Iran.

Little repeatedly accused both Klein and Berg during the debate of being funded or supported by AIPAC, which both candidates denied. The group has not been involved in the race.

Little has been endorsed by the anti-Israel group A New Policy, and the anti-Israel super PAC American Priorities has spent $64,000 supporting him. Berg has been “primary approved” by J Street, and Klein is supported by Democratic Majority for Israel.

The little publicly available polling in the race has shown Little in the lead. A mid-May poll by Little’s campaign showed him with a wide lead at 41%, followed by Berg at 13% and Klein at 11%. A late May poll by Klein’s campaign showed Little with a narrower lead at 26%, followed by Klein at 19% and Berg at 16%.

Little also won the state party endorsement at a convention in May and is supported by state Attorney General Keith Ellison and former Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).

Little and Berg have both been leaning into appealing to the progressive party base, while Klein has argued that he’s more electable in a potentially competitive general election against GOP state Sen. Eric Pratt. The district was competitive in the past and was long held by Republicans prior to Craig, but is rated by the Cook Political Report as likely Democratic.

Klein’s campaign holds the lead in fundraising at $1.2 million, followed by Little at $923,000, with Berg trailing well behind at $391,000. The super PAC 314 Action Fund, which supports Democratic doctors and scientists running for office, has intervened aggressively to support Klein, spending nearly $2.5 million in the district.

Berg has been backed by EMILYs List and Our Revolution, a progressive campaign group founded by alumni of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) presidential campaign.

Klein’s campaign has come under scrutiny, and he was required to pay a $540 fine, after having been found to have bet on the outcome of the primary election on the prediction market Kalshi. Klein said he’d bet $50 that he would win the race.

Gopher Broke

The latest Senate showdown between the center and the left set in Minnesota

Left-wing Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s anti-Israel message is being complicated by her outreach to AIPAC earlier in the campaign

(AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., left, and Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan participate in a forum for U.S. Senate candidates at Farmfest Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in Morgan, Minn.

By

Matthew Kassel

August 10, 2026

The outcome of Michigan’s bruising Democratic Senate primary last week, where Abdul El-Sayed claimed a narrow victory over Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in an upset championed by the anti-Israel left, is looming over the next intraparty showdown being held in Minnesota on Tuesday — the latest in a series of proxy battles between the party’s mainstream and left-wing flanks.

In an echo of Michigan, the bitter Democratic primary for an open Senate seat in battleground Minnesota this week is pitting a moderate House member with a long-standing pro-Israel record, Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), against an outspoken progressive, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, whose attack lines have frequently centered on AIPAC, which spent over $30 million in its unsuccessful effort to help Stevens.

The Minnesota primary is, in the closing stretch, likewise revolving around questions of electability for Democrats in the must-win November contest. Craig has pointed to controversies amid Flanagan’s tenure in government as vulnerabilities Republicans are eager to exploit — most notably including the welfare fraud scandal that prompted Democratic Gov. Tim Walz to abandon his reelection campaign for a third term earlier this year.

Flanagan, in addition to her anti-AIPAC messaging, has hammered Craig over what she has described as a “disqualifying” vote approving the Laken Riley Act — legislation requiring the detention of unauthorized migrants charged with certain crimes — the optics of which have been damaging in the wake of President Donald Trump’s protracted immigration crackdown in Minnesota. Craig has expressed regret for her vote.

But unlike Michigan, where El-Sayed claimed the nomination by less than one point after polls had suggested a double-digit blowout, the Minnesota matchup has been seen as neck-and-neck, the outcome of which is hard to predict, experts say. Recent independent surveys have shown a statistical dead heat in the final weeks of the primary, with each candidate garnering around 40% of the vote.

The candidates’ equivocations over AIPAC and individual ties to the group have also emerged as fault lines in recent weeks, complicating the ideological divisions that have shaped other primaries in which Israel and Middle East policy have featured prominently.

In a reflection of the extent to which AIPAC is now viewed as a liability in Democratic primaries, Craig has distanced herself from the group, which has not officially made an endorsement in the race even as its donor network has contributed to her campaign. The congresswoman, who is backed by several pro-Israel lawmakers including Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), has said she is not accepting contributions from AIPAC’s political arm in her current campaign.

During a recent debate, Flanagan said AIPAC had been Craig’s “biggest funder throughout her entire political career,” while claiming her own “values do not align with” the group. Flanagan has cast AIPAC as part of “a band of super villains” in the race now trying to “buy this election,” language some Jewish leaders say they have found unsettling amid rising antisemitism.

Flanagan, however, acknowledged last month she had met privately with AIPAC after The Minnesota Star Tribune obtained a video recording of remarks to Jewish community members — also reviewed by Jewish Insider — in which she said the outreach was “important” for her “to make sure that we’re building that relationship.”

Flanagan claims that AIPAC turned against her and came to regard her as a “threat” when she confirmed her support last year for Senate resolutions to block arms sales to Israel. She has since endorsed a House amendment to end aid to Israel, which Craig rejected, further illustrating her policy disagreements with the group.

Craig, for her part, has sharply dismissed the lieutenant governor as “completely disingenuous about her soliciting support from AIPAC,” claiming that she “has been very hypocritical” because of her efforts to demonize the group.

While Flanagan has insisted she was not seeking an endorsement in her outreach to AIPAC officials, she did write an Israel position paper that she submitted to the group as part of their discussions, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Manny Houle, a pro-Israel Democratic consultant in Minnesota, confirmed to JI that Flanagan presented a Middle East policy paper to AIPAC and said that he had personally reviewed the document. He said he no longer had a copy, which JI was unable to obtain, but he recalled that she “was open to conditioning aid” to Israel and said she “put a lot of pressure and fault on Israel and occupation,” among other “key factors” he characterized as distinguishing Flanagan from Craig.

Houle, a former director of progressive outreach for AIPAC in the Midwest, said his impression had been that Flanagan wrote the paper and sought the group’s feedback early in her campaign last year because she viewed it as part of a broader process. The lieutenant governor “would have been open to engaging within the network of donors” affiliated with AIPAC, Houle claimed, “but when she realized that wasn’t going to be the case,” she pivoted to a more hostile position.

“Many key advisors to Peggy are anti-AIPAC, so it’s hard for me to think she’d ever honestly in good faith engage with the organization,” Houle explained to JI. “I’ve had conversations with her throughout the race trying to get her to tone down her rhetoric” on Israel issues, he added, “but to no avail.”

A spokesperson for AIPAC did not return a request for comment.

Alexandra Fetisoff, a spokesperson for Flanagan’s campaign, did not directly address the AIPAC paper in a statement responding to a request for comment. “Flanagan disagrees with AIPAC’s deeply unpopular political agenda and the catastrophic actions of” the government led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Fetisoff told JI on Friday.

“Flanagan believes what has happened in Gaza is genocide, a position in line with the United Nations,” Fetisoff said. “Flanagan has consistently condemned antisemitism, and will continue standing with Jewish Minnesotans against hate.”

Last week, American Priorities, a new super PAC created to counter AIPAC’s influence in Democratic primaries, began spending in the race to help boost Flanagan, spending over $50,000 on an ad calling her a “fighter” who would “stand up to Trump” while touting her support from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

Flanagan also claims backing from the state Democratic Party and retiring Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), whom she is vying to succeed, along with leading progressive critics of Israel such as Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

Doug Rossinow, a professor of history at Metro State University in St. Paul, who has tracked divisions over Israel in the state Democratic Party, said the “AIPAC issue flew under the radar until pretty recently” in the election. “The Flanagan-Craig contest is, compared to Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary race, a classic case of Minnesota understatement and even passive aggression,” he told JI.

“Flanagan lately has made an issue of Craig’s history of support from AIPAC,” he noted, “but Craig, unlike Haley Stevens, doesn’t want to own that or talk about Israel.” Meanwhile, Flanagan has stated “little about her own position on Israel” and the region, he added, “unlike El-Sayed in Michigan,” a fierce critic of Israel who has refused to acknowledge its right to exist as a Jewish state.

One state party activist described the race as “a little bit less black and white than Michigan,” while noting the contrasts between Craig and Flanagan are not as drastic. “I see it as a toss-up,” he said of the primary.

Joe Radinovich, a Democratic consultant based in Minneapolis, added that while the national political mood has favored populist progressives, he believes there is reason to interpret the closer-than-expected finish in Michigan as a relatively promising omen for Craig, who flipped a GOP-held swing district in 2018.

“The dominant narrative has belonged to the further left wing of the party, populist candidates and people decrying AIPAC and Israel,” Radinovich, who said he is supporting Craig but is not involved in the primary, told JI in an interview on Friday. “But if I’m on the Craig campaign and looking at the results of the election in Michigan, I’m feeling some wind in my sails.”

Mara Kunin, Craig’s campaign manager, projected confidence in a statement on Friday. “National and state Republicans are making a serious play for this Senate seat and primary voters understand that we can’t risk putting up a weak candidate in the general election,” she said, adding Craig “is positioned to win this race on Tuesday and seal the deal in November.”

The Democratic nominee is expected to face Michele Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter who is heavily favored to win the Republican primary, in November. The GOP’s Senate campaign arm has indicated that it views Minnesota among four pickup opportunities as the party seeks to retain its majority in the chamber.

“It is very saturated, very ugly and very negative,” another state party activist said about the primary, which has otherwise seen a flood of outside spending from opposing groups. “I think that AIPAC will have an impact in the race, but social services fraud could be more important,” he told JI. “Whoever wins, it will sort of say which issue” carries the most weight.

TEXAS TALK

Talarico reaffirms support for conditioning aid to Israel

The Texas Democratic Senate nominee said on 'The Breakfast Club' that he ‘would not vote to send weapons to the Netanyahu government’

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Democratic Texas State Rep. James Talarico speaks during a campaign launch rally on September 09, 2025 in Round Rock, Texas.

By

Marc Rod

August 9, 2026

James Talarico, the Democratic Senate nominee in Texas, said he would not vote to send further military aid to an Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and that aid beyond that should be conditioned on Israeli policies in Gaza and the West Bank.

He also condemned AIPAC, saying it silences criticisms of Netanyahu and Israel.

“I would not vote to send weapons to the Netanyahu government,” Talarico said in an appearance on “The Breakfast Club” podcast last week, adding later in the interview that he wants to stop weapons sales as well.

Pressed on military aid to Israel in general, Talarico said, “I think all of that needs to be conditioned on ending the death and the destruction in Gaza and the West Bank.”

But he continued to decline to describe the war in Gaza as a genocide, citing the ongoing legal case on the subject at the International Court of Justice. He said, however, that there is “certainly evidence to bring those charges” and that the U.S. should “abide by whatever ruling that the court comes to.”

“As a U.S. senator, my job would be to take action,” he continued. “My job would not be to litigate what terms are used. My job would be to stop what’s happening. And that’s why I’ve said I would use every bit of our nation’s diplomatic and financial leverage to protect the lives of Palestinians.”

Talarico has made similar comments regarding aid to Israel earlier in the race, which prompted some Jewish Texans to turn away from him in the primary.

He suggested in the interview that politicians face pressure from AIPAC to not criticize Netanyahu — though even AIPAC-supported Democrats have been highly critical of the Israeli leader.

“The influence of AIPAC in our elections has a chilling effect and people don’t feel like they can speak their minds because they’re worried AIPAC is going to drop hundreds of millions of dollars of money in their race — usually not even talking about the issue of Israel or issues that Jewish Americans face,” he said, referring to AIPAC’s strategy of highlighting issues other than Israel in ads in Democratic districts.

In a statement, Talarico campaign manager Seth Krasne said, “James believes every human life is sacred. His longstanding record combating antisemitism, defending Jewish students on the floor of the Texas House, and supporting Israel’s right to exist demonstrate his steadfast commitment to Jewish safety.”

“He will continue to speak out against Prime Minister Netanyahu’s unacceptable actions that threaten civilians in Gaza — this moral clarity should never be misconstrued as opposition to the safety and security of Israeli civilians and Jewish people around the world,” Krasne continued. “In the coming months, James looks forward to working with Jewish leaders to continue the important work of eradicating hate wherever it rears its ugly head.”

CASE STUDY

Generational challenge threatens Ed Case in Hawaii’s under-the-radar primary

A 42-year-old progressive state senator has quietly closed the gap on the 73-year-old pro-Israel incumbent, with internal polls showing a tightening race before Saturday's vote

Alex Brandon/AP

Rep. Ed Case (D-HI) questions Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at a House Appropriations subcommittee budget hearing for the Department of Defense, Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Washington.

By

Matthew Kassel

August 6, 2026

Rep. Ed Case (D-HI), a moderate pro-Israel Democrat in Hawaii who was first elected to the House in 2002, has not drawn a serious primary threat in several years.

Now, as he prepares to defend his seat in a primary on Saturday that has largely flown under the radar, some Democrats are warning that Case, 73, could be at risk of losing to a younger challenger capitalizing on a national political environment that has proven unfavorable to Democratic incumbents amid broader calls for generational change from the party’s activist base.

“It’s one of those sleeper races where there’s definitely an upset brewing,” said a Democratic operative who worked on the Case campaign until a few months ago, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid professional reprisals. “Ed is running a poor race,” the former staffer told Jewish Insider, echoing other observers who described a sluggish approach in which Case has largely foregone campaign events and avoided debates with his opposition.

While the contest has not centered around Israel or AIPAC, which has officially endorsed Case but is not involved in the race, it reflects a trend seen in several recent Democratic primaries, where well-established pro-Israel incumbents were unseated by increasingly competitive challenges from an emboldened far left.

Jarrett Keohokalole, a 42-year-old progressive state senator, has instead argued that his opponent is not meeting “the urgency of the moment,” to which Case has countered that “seniority matters” in Congress — where he sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

Keohokalole’s message is resonating, experts in the state and recent polling suggest, particularly after a separate challenger dropped out of the race in May, effectively narrowing the contest to what is viewed as a one-on-one matchup in Hawaii’s safely Democratic 1st District, anchored by the state capital of Honolulu on Oahu.

One Democratic strategist in Honolulu who is not involved in the primary told JI that Keohokalole “is making this closer than” Case “would like to see” in the final stretch of the race. “There’s really not much of any excitement around him,” he said of the veteran lawmaker.

“I think it’s going to be closer than anyone would have predicted back in the beginning and may come down to a single-digit difference,” another Honolulu strategist who is not working in the primary told JI.

“Jarrett has closed the gap” and run a “very effective campaign,” the strategist added, noting that Case had stepped up his digital advertising and texting, “which he hasn’t ever done before.”

Polling from Keohokalole’s campaign conducted in early July and obtained by JI had Case leading by eight points, 33-25%, with 42% undecided. A more recent internal tracking poll from July 24 showed Keohokalole leading Case by seven points.

Martin Hamburger, a veteran Democratic ad maker who is serving as a media consultant to Keohokalole, said he was feeling optimistic. “Our first poll showed us that there was a big name ID gap, but Case wasn’t breaking 50 percent,” he told JI, noting that he cut an introductory ad with a jingle about how to pronounce Keohokalole’s name based on a tune preschoolers in Hawaii learn.

“I think we have a very, very good shot, as good a shot as all the work I’ve done in Hawaii,” Hamburger told JI this week. “There are a lot of trade winds that are blowing in a ‘throw the bums out’ sort of mood.”

Hamburger’s firm has also been working for Future Progress, a new super PAC that recently entered the primary to boost Keohokalole and whose donors have yet to be disclosed. But he said he was not personally involved in the effort and that his firm had instituted a firewall between the campaign and the super PAC.

In contrast with other races where Middle East policy had featured prominently, “Israel has barely come up at all,” Hamburger told JI. He described Keohokalole as more closely aligned with J Street, the progressive Israel advocacy organization. Hamburger, who called himself pro-Israel and an AIPAC supporter, said that he wrote Keohokalole’s Israel position paper but was unable to share the final draft with JI.

Keohokalole, backed by groups critical of Israel such as Our Revolution and Peace Action, has appeared to avoid more divisive rhetoric on Israel used by the far left, including claims of genocide. But he has still positioned himself well to the left of Case on Middle East policy, recently confirming he would have voted in favor of an amendment to end aid to Israel that drew support from more than 100 House Democrats. Case opposed the measure.

To the extent Middle East policy has emerged as a salient issue in the primary, it has come in relation to the Iran war and rising gas prices that have provoked broader debates about affordability.

“I haven’t read or heard Ed Case say ‘I opposed the war in Iran and we need to stop the fighting now,’” Keohokalole said recently. “I haven’t heard him say, ‘Not one more taxpayer dollar’ toward extending this conflict. It needs to end now.”

He has also criticized Case for taking contributions from AIPAC and defense contractors, but the group has not been a major source of attention in the race, even as it has grown increasingly toxic in other Democratic primaries. Keohokalole has not actively sought to draw attention to Israel during the race, observers say.

A spokesperson for AIPAC declined to comment on the primary.

While experts say that Case is likely vulnerable, a low-turnout election combined with Keohokalole’s relative lack of name ID remain as obstacles in a state where it is notoriously difficult to unseat incumbents.

John Hart, a professor of communications at Hawaii Pacific University, called speculation that Case is in trouble “wishful thinking,” while also acknowledging that “the progressive end of the party and some of the Hawaii party leadership” is “not happy with some of his votes.”

“However, it is incredibly difficult if not impossible to take out an incumbent Democrat at the federal level in this state,” Hart told JI, adding that Case “simply hasn’t made the major kind of mistake either in his personal, financial or policy choices that would result in this stunning of an upset.”

Neither campaign returned requests for comment from JI.

Whatever the outcome, the former Case campaign staffer said the race more broadly demonstrates how progressive challengers to AIPAC-backed incumbents can mount an opposition without fixating on Israel.

“While Israel is obviously playing a large factor nationally,” the former campaign staffer told JI this week, the Hawaii contest “shows there is a pathway for progressives to win without making the whole race about AIPAC.”

WITHHOLDING SUPPORT

Moderate Michigan Rep. Hillary Scholten does not offer endorsement of El-Sayed

Other centrist Senate Democrats also sounded reticent about embracing their Michigan Senate nominee

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) speaks during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on March 26, 2026.

By

Marc Rod

Matthew Shea

August 5, 2026

Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI), a moderate Michigan lawmaker representing a swing district, broke with most other Democratic members of the Michigan congressional delegation in declining to offer an explicit endorsement of Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed as of Wednesday afternoon, after offering strident criticism of him during the primary campaign.

“Congratulations to everyone who participated in Michigan’s hard-fought primary elections last night, and thank you to every voter who made your voice heard. In these close elections, we want you to know — you are HEARD,” Scholten said in a statement that did not mention El-Sayed. “Now our focus turns forward. I’ve always said I’ll work with anyone committed to lowering costs, expanding affordable health care, creating more opportunity, and fighting corruption. I mean that.”

A Scholten spokesperson did not respond to a request for clarification on whether this constituted an endorsement of El-Sayed.

Scholten said that she is a “proud, commonsense Democrat” and said that she’s focused on helping to elect “similar candidates around the country.”

During the campaign, as a vocal supporter of Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), Scholten suggested she might struggle to support El-Sayed in the general election.

“I will not stand beside someone who has allowed distinctly anti-American sentiment to enter our public dialogue,” she said in one interview.

In another, she criticized El-Sayed for campaigning with antisemitic and anti-Israel influencer Hasan Piker.

“To campaign with Hasan Piker, who said America deserved Sept. 11 — sure, he went on to disavow those comments, but I’m telling you, nobody on my team would ever, you know, come even close to making a comment like that,” she said. “I think that condoning behavior like this from candidates like Abdul El-Sayed is taking us in a direction that we don’t want to go as a party.”

Other Democratic moderates, with the exception of maverick Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), are largely keeping their heads down following the election, with several contacted by JI declining to comment or not responding to requests.

Other Democrats are backing El-Sayed.

“He worked hard. People in Michigan had their word last night, and I imagine he’s going to work really hard over the next 90 days to win this race, and it’s obviously a critical one,” Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) said. “If we’re going to fix some of the problems created by this president, we’ve got to win back the Senate.”

Asked whether he believes the narrow margin of victory for El-Sayed might imperil his chances in November, Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), who had supported Stevens in the primary, offered a short response: “Yeah, he could win. Definitely.”

Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) said he hasn’t met El-Sayed but noted that Stevens had endorsed him and “my sense is that whatever divisiveness there might have been because of the primary, they’re … past it.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) declined to comment on El-Sayed’s history or his decision to campaign with Piker, and said that he doesn’t think “generalizations are possible from one race” about the direction of the party, “whether it’s in Brooklyn or Michigan.”

RECENT NEWS

on the hill

Shaheen holding up $2.8 billion arms sale to Israel

partnership pitch

Somaliland president discusses expanded military cooperation with U.S. officials

DIPLOMACY DIARIES

AJC plans ‘diplomatic marathon’ amid U.N. General Assembly in New York

QUESTIONABLE COMPANY

Democratic nominee Chris Rabb photographed with Code Pink leader

POLICY PIPELINE

Deborah Lipstadt launches Emory institute to train the next generation of policymakers fighting antisemitism

TAKING HEAT

Colby back in Capitol’s crosshairs

CROSSING THE AISLE

Biden envoy Amos Hochstein defends Trump admin’s nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia

RIPPING ON RIYADH

Trump’s pick for Saudi ambassador once suggested kingdom is not a ‘true ally’

ON ALERT

NYPD braced for ‘multiple protests every day’ around U.N. summit

NUCLEAR NEWS

House Democrats introduce resolution to block Saudi nuclear deal

Today’s Agenda

One Thing To Know

analysis

The Big Reads

standing firm

terror tag

gas pains

The Rundown

in it to win it

on the hill

germany’s ghosts

On Our Radar

Worthy Reads

Picture of the Day

Birthdays

Subscribe now to the Daily Kickoff

Subscribe now to
the Daily Kickoff