Stevens highlighted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criticisms of her earlier on Tuesday amid attacks by primary rival Abdul El-Sayed over AIPAC support
Andrew Roth/Sipa USA
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party Endorsement Convention in Detroit, Mich., on April 19, 2026.
Add JewishInsider on GoogleRep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) continued a war of words with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as she faced a barrage of attacks from her primary opponent, former public health official Abdul El-Sayed, at a debate on Tuesday in Michigan.
Netanyahu, in a CNN interview earlier on Tuesday, criticized Stevens for saying that his actions and government had made the Jewish community less safe and placed Jews in an “uncomfortable position.”
“It’s made her uncomfortable because she can’t stand up for the truth. She’s trying to, probably, excuse antisemitism,” Netanyahu said in response to a question from CNN host Dana Bash.
Asked about the war in Iran, Stevens criticized both President Donald Trump and Netanyahu.
“We need long-term peace. Donald Trump has failed us. The prime minister of Israel has failed in that regard, and he was just coming after me on this today,” Stevens said. “Look, I am unafraid. Michigan, you are my North Star, and no illegal wars, no unilateral wars at our expense.”
She doubled down on those criticisms later in the debate.
“It is very clear that Mr. Netanyahu has not made us safer, has not brought us closer to peace, and he’s endangered Jews here in America and around the world,” Stevens said. “This is why he was just trashing me today on CNN. I am not afraid of bullies. I am not afraid to stand up, and I continue to stand up for humanitarian aid, for the U.S. to work with the countries in the region and get aid into Gaza.”
She also highlighted her work with the families of Israeli hostages formerly held in Gaza.
Stevens accused El-Sayed of opposing a two-state solution, alluding to his repeated refusal to say directly whether he believes Israel has a right to exist.
“The difference between my opponent and myself on this issue is that I believe in a two-state solution,” Stevens said. “I can say that Israel has a right to peacefully exist alongside the people of Palestine and in Gaza.”
El-Sayed argued that Netanyahu and AIPAC’s support for U.S. politicians are the primary reasons the U.S. entered the war, and emphasized that an AIPAC-linked super PAC has been attacking him and supporting Stevens.
“So long as our politicians continue to be bought off by AIPAC, do not be surprised when we fight wars that are in their best interest to … annex Lebanon or to do genocide in Gaza,” he continued.
He also argued that U.S. support for Israel, which he described as a “rogue state,” has foreclosed the possibility of a two-state solution, calling for an end to U.S. aid to Israel and “blank checks” to other Middle Eastern countries including Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
In response to repeated attacks over her support from AIPAC, Stevens pivoted to discussing other issues including her record in Michigan, GOP support for El-Sayed’s campaign and El-Sayed’s failure to release his tax returns, among other issues.
Responding to multiple questions from viewers and the debate moderator about the leftward shift of the Democratic Party, both candidates largely sidestepped the issue, though El-Sayed suggested he’s supportive of a shift in the party.
“I’ll tell you this: it won’t shift if we continue to elect leaders who take money from the same corporations who have broken with the interests of the American public,” El-Sayed said. “[Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer (D-NY) desperately wants one of us to be the next senator, and it’s not me. So, if you want your politics dictated by AIPAC or Chuck Schumer, then I’m not your guy.”
Stevens, meanwhile, emphasized her record in office as a “workhorse” for the state. “This has always been about Michigan,” she said, when asked whether the race was a battle over the future direction of the Democratic Party.
El-Sayed ultimately offered a similar answer, saying, “I’m not doing this because of some direction of a party. I’m doing this because of the Michiganders that I’ve gotten to see.”
The AIPAC-affiliated super PAC is touting Stevens’ record fighting for the auto industry, opposing Medicare cuts and working to cap insulin prices in Congress
Andrew Roth/Sipa USA
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party Endorsement Convention in Detroit, Mich., on April 19, 2026.
United Democracy Project, the super PAC affiliated with AIPAC, is spending $2 million on an initial ad buy this week to boost Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the Democratic primary for Michigan’s open Senate seat, a UDP spokesperson confirmed to Jewish Insider on Tuesday.
The new TV ad, which calls Stevens “a proven fighter for Michigan,” touts her past role as chief of staff to President Barack Obama’s auto task force, support for capping insulin prices and efforts “fighting back against” President Donald Trump’s “Medicare cuts.”
“She’s a fighter for Michigan families on affordability and jobs,” Patrick Dorton, a spokesperson for UDP, said of Stevens, a moderate pro-Israel Democrat. “We are going to show that on these ads,” he said in a statement to JI.
UDP is also spending $300,000 on radio and mail ads, Dorton said of the group’s first investment in the race. He was unable to share how much UDP intends to spend in the primary, which takes place on Aug. 4.
The spending comes as AIPAC is viewed as a lightning rod in Michigan’s closely contested Democratic Senate primary, where one of Stevens’ top rivals, Abdul El-Sayed, a vocal far-left critic of Israel, has accused her of being beholden to donors from the pro-Israel group. Mallory McMorrow, a state senator, has also vowed to reject campaign contributions from AIPAC.
In contrast with other races where UDP has relied on shell PACs that allow it to shield its involvement until after a primary has concluded, the group is spending under its own name in Michigan, which is home to a sizable Jewish community.
Meanwhile, Rep. Haley Stevens avoided a question about receiving support from pro-Israel donors, while Abdul El-Sayed blamed rising antisemitism on white supremacy
Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Mallory McMorrow, a candidate for U.S. Senate, campaigns at the Michigan Democratic Nominating Convention
State Sen. Mallory McMorrow offered a straightforward answer when asked at a debate on Thursday, alongside the other two Democrats vying for an open Senate seat in Michigan, whether there is an antisemitism problem in the Democratic Party.
“There is,” said McMorrow. She told the story of an attendee at last month’s Democratic Party convention in Detroit who yelled an antisemitic slur at her Jewish husband, in front of their young daughter.
“That is terrifying. We need to be able to state very clearly that what the Netanyahu government is doing is wrong, that the violence needs to end, that we need to bring about long-term peace and security for Palestinians and for Israelis, and that turning that into not an anti-Netanyahu, but an anti-American Jewish message is dangerous,” McMorrow said, earning applause from the room.
The other two candidates — Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and former public health official Abdul El-Sayed — did not directly address the question about Democrats.
Stevens condemned “rising political violence and extremism,” including the attack at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, in her district, which she said was carried out by a “homegrown terrorist.” She described herself as a lawmaker who is “leading on combating antisemitism in a bipartisan way. That does not have to be a partisan thing.”
El-Sayed said he understands discrimination because he has faced it himself. He blamed antisemitism in the U.S. on white supremacy.
“I know that antisemitism and Islamophobia tend to go hand in hand, and the real issue when it comes to either of them is the scourge of white supremacy,” he said, while arguing that respecting American Jews does not require supporting Israel.
The Democratic primary for the open Senate seat in Michigan is one of the most contentious in the country, and antisemitism has become a major issue, alongside U.S. foreign policy and support for Israel. It is perhaps the most high-profile seat where debates about the role of AIPAC might actually have an impact on the outcome.
Stevens, a longtime ally of the pro-Israel group, was the early frontrunner in the race but has faced attacks from her opponents for not criticizing AIPAC.
Presented with an opportunity on Thursday in a primary debate to help voters understand why she continues to receive support from the pro-Israel advocacy group, Stevens chose not to speak about the group at all.
“You take money from AIPAC. Walk us through what that money means and what it buys, and maybe what it doesn’t,” one of the debate’s moderators asked Stevens, as part of a question about how much influence individual donors have over their decisions.
“Michiganders are frustrated because we have not done comprehensive campaign finance reform. Mike Rogers will not vote for comprehensive campaign finance reform like I have in the House of Representatives,” Stevens said, referring to former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), the expected GOP nominee for Senate. “We squarely need to put people at the front of our agenda.”
She also said she is “deeply proud to have grassroots support coming from grocery clerk workers to retired teachers to factory workers and the like,” and named some of the politicians who have endorsed her, including former Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), former Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and former Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
When asked about her views on foreign policy, Stevens attacked President Donald Trump for the “harmful and ridiculous” steps he took to pare back U.S. humanitarian aid abroad, and pledged to focus on peace.
“We need to see the United States work with our allies to achieve lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine, between the people of Israel and Palestine and of course between China and Taiwan,” said Stevens. “But when you remove the tools from our tool kit, you fail this country and you fail us, to allow us to work alongside our allies.”
Both McMorrow and El-Sayed used Thursday’s debate to remind voters that they do not accept donations from AIPAC. (AIPAC has not made an endorsement in the Senate race, but it has encouraged its supporters to donate to Stevens’ campaign.)
“I have not taken a dime of corporate PAC donations. I have not taken a dime of AIPAC donations,” said McMorrow, who is endorsed by the progressive Israel advocacy group J Street.
El-Sayed, who regularly accuses Israel of genocide and has said he struggles with the question of whether Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state, slammed Stevens for taking AIPAC supporters’ donations.
“Let me tell you what absolutely would not shape my perception [of foreign policy]: it’s AIPAC money,” said El-Sayed.
Plus, Israel-Ukraine relations face grain of contention
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)
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The gunman who attacked the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night, Cole Tomas Allen, was arraigned in Washington this afternoon. He is being charged with transportation of a firearm between states, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and attempting to assassinate the president of the United States, which carries a potential life sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jocelyn Ballantine said Allen, 31, had “a 12-gauge, pump-action shotgun, a .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol and … three knives and other dangerous paraphernalia” during the attack. He will remain in detention with another hearing scheduled for Thursday…
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump met with his national security team this morning where they discussed Iran’s latest proposal to end the war, which reportedly includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz but postponing talks on the country’s nuclear program…
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the U.S. is “being humiliated” by Iranian leaders after negotiations between the two countries this weekend were called off.
“The Iranians are obviously very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skillful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result,” Merz told a group of students. The result is “an entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards,” he added…
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised how “courageously and heroically the people of Iran are fighting for their independence” in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi today in St. Petersburg. Araghchi thanked Russia for standing by its side and said the countries will continue their “strategic partnership”…
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said today that the terror group will not disarm, despite the Lebanese government’s intent to remove the group from power in the south of the country under the terms of the ongoing ceasefire with Israel. Hezbollah and Israel have continued to exchange fire throughout the ceasefire, including a wave of Israeli airstrikes today in response to Hezbollah’s deadly drone attack that killed an IDF soldier and wounded six yesterday…
New Department of Homeland Security training materials allow green card applicants to be denied for antisemitic and anti-Israel social media posts and activism, as well as anti-American activism, The New York Times reports. The documents, distributed to immigration officers last month, cite “as an example of questionable speech a social media post that declares, ‘Stop Israeli Terror in Palestine’ and shows the Israeli flag crossed out”…
Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha summoned Israel’s ambassador to the country to protest the arrival of a ship allegedly carrying grain taken from Russian-occupied Ukraine at Israel’s Haifa Port, Sybiha said on X. Sybiha also denounced Israel’s “lack of appropriate response to Ukraine’s legitimate request” regarding a similar vessel that docked in Haifa last week.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar slammed Sybiha for his announcement: “Diplomatic relations, especially between friendly nations, are not conducted on Twitter or in the media,” Sa’ar wrote. He said that “evidence substantiating [Ukraine’s] allegations have yet to be provided” and that “the matter will be examined”…
Several pro-Israel House Democrats in Florida could lose their seats after Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a new congressional map that eliminates their districts — state lawmakers are expected to approve the map for use in this year’s midterm elections at a special session of the state Legislature tomorrow.
The new map could give the GOP up to four additional House seats by redrawing Democratic-leaning districts, including those of Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Darren Soto (D-FL)…
Claims by New Jersey congressional candidate Adam Hamawy that the Gazan hospital where he volunteered as a trauma surgeon in 2024 during Israel’s war with Hamas was a “completely benign civilian hospital with no tunnels underneath it” are false, The Washington Free Beacon reports.
While Hamawy claimed in an interview shortly after he returned that “there were definitely no tunnels underground and no command base there,” Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed a year later “in a tunnel directly under the hospital emergency department, where he was leading a high-level meeting with senior Hamas terrorists,” the Free Beacon writes…
All five of Pennsylvania’s living former governors, both Democrats and Republicans, released a statement today calling on state officials to prioritize the safety and security of Gov. Josh Shapiro, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
The letter came days after state Treasurer Stacy Garrity — Shapiro’s leading Republican opponent in this year’s gubernatorial race — said the state will not pay for security upgrades made to Shapiro’s privately owned family residence, done after the state-owned governor’s mansion was targeted in an antisemitic arson attack last spring…
The New York Times chronicles Google co-founder Sergey Brin’s turn away from the Democratic Party and increasing political involvement, including against the proposed “billionaire tax” in his home state of California.
“I fled socialism with my family in 1979 and know the devastating, oppressive society it created in the Soviet Union. I don’t want California to end up in the same place,” Brin told the Times. Brin, who is Jewish, has also been disturbed by the Democratic Party’s leftward shift on Israel policy…
Toronto-based Jewish advocate Adam Hummel argues in the “Boundless Insights” Substack that “anti-Zionism” is an obsolete position, given the 78-year-old existence of the State of Israel.
“Israelis don’t owe anyone an argument for their existence. … The debate is over, not because one side won, but because the thing itself came into being. They are a people. They speak a language. They live on a piece of land and have mortgages. That is what peoples do. The Greeks do it. The Poles do it. The Québécois do it. The arguments about whether they should are, at this point, a leisure activity for people who live elsewhere”…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a profile of Keith Sonderling, the acting secretary of labor, who is Jewish and the grandson of Holocaust survivors, following the resignation of Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
The Zionist Rabbinic Coalition will present its first “Pillar of Zion” award to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) at the organization’s fifth annual National Conference in Washington. Other speakers at the three-day conference will include Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter; State Department antisemitism envoy Yehuda Kaploun; Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon; and Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
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REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
Hiding under a table at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
‘Two thoughts ran through my head. The main one: I’m getting married in six days. I can’t die now. The second: I can’t believe this is happening to me again’
FOLLOW THE MONEY
Abdul El-Sayed brings in campaign cash from head of Hamas-cheering group
The Michigan Senate contender accepted $7k from the chair of Al-Awda/PRRC — and hired her son
Plus, half of young Americans view Israel as a burden
Iranian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delivers a speech on April 19, 2026.
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Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Talks between Israel and Lebanon, which are currently underway, were moved from the State Department to the White House. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were spotted arriving there together this afternoon, and a White House official told Jewish Insider that President Donald Trump would greet the participants at the opening of the discussion…
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who returned to Washington in order to participate in the talks, also stopped by Capitol Hill where he met with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)…
While the bombing campaign in Iran is on pause, the battle at sea continues: U.S. forces boarded another vessel carrying Iranian oil in the Indian Ocean this morning and Trump said he had ordered the U.S. Navy to “shoot and kill any boat” placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz — just as a third U.S. aircraft carrier arrived in the region…
Trump also said Iran is “having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is,” indicating the regime may still be struggling to present the U.S. with a unified proposal. “The infighting is between the ‘Hardliners,’ who have been losing BADLY on the battlefield, and the ‘Moderates,’ who are not very moderate at all (but gaining respect!),” he claimed.
In response, Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and President Masoud Pezeshkian, both considered relative moderates, issued nearly identical statements on X pledging “complete obedience to the Supreme Leader”…
Iranian officials tell The New York Times their new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is alive but injured, and so far ruling differently than his late father; the younger Khamenei is relying on Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commanders to provide him advice to make decisions “as though he is the director of the board.”
Khamenei’s injuries are extensive and he is largely inaccessible in person: “One leg was operated on three times, and he is awaiting a prosthetic. He had surgery on one hand and is slowly regaining function. His face and lips have been burned severely, making it difficult for him to speak, the officials said, adding that, eventually, he will need plastic surgery”…
U.S. officials are expressing concern over the military’s ability to defend Taiwan from China in the near future should the need arise, given that the U.S. has burned through more than 1,000 Tomahawk missiles and more than 1,500 air-defense missiles in the course of the war with Iran so far, supplies that could take up to six years to replace…
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar named Israel’s first Christian ambassador, George Deek, as the country’s special envoy to the Christian world, JI’s Lahav Harkov reports, after several recent controversies in Israel relating to Christians. Deek is part of the Arab Orthodox Christian community in Jaffa…
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) joined other Michigan Democrats in denouncing Amir Makled, a Democratic nominee for regent of the University of Michigan, over Makled’s past comments expressing antisemitic sentiments and support for terrorism.
“I’m going to have a problem with any candidate — Democrat, Republican or independent — who shares antisemitic and hateful posts on social media. Especially when they refuse to disavow those comments or show remorse,” Slotkin said in a statement to JI’s Marc Rod, in response to a question about Makled…
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not give advance notice to senior Republican senators before announcing yesterday that he was firing Navy Secretary John Phelan, causing surprise and confusion on Capitol Hill. “I found out about it the way everybody else did,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told JI’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod of the Pentagon’s announcement on social media of Phelan’s dismissal.
Trump praised Phelan in a post on Truth Social this afternoon and said he’d “certainly like to have him back within the Trump Administration sometime in the future” — Phelan had reportedly bumped heads with Hegseth but had a close relationship with the president…
Nearly half of young American adults view Israel as a burden to the United States, according to a new Harvard Youth Poll of 18- to 29-year-olds. The survey found that 46% of young Americans consider Israel to be mostly a burden to the U.S., compared to just 16% who say Israel is mostly a benefit, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports.
In addition, Ukraine, which has also received U.S. support in its lengthy war with Russia, was also determined to be more of a burden by young Americans — 31% of respondents said Ukraine is mostly a burden, while 21% said it is mostly a benefit…
The Wall Street Journal‘s Matthew Hennessey issued a defense of Elliot Kaufman, a member of the Journal‘s editorial board, after Trump slammed him on Truth Social as an “idiot” and a “moron.”
“What triggered the president’s ire was an op-ed under Mr. Kaufman’s byline headlined ‘The Iranians Take Trump for a Sucker.’ That’s a provocative title, yes, but the piece delivers on the provocation. Mr. Kaufman wasn’t calling Mr. Trump a sucker; he was merely pointing out that the Iranians are acting like they think he is one. The piece offers plenty of recent evidence to support that claim,” Hennessey wrote…
American journalist Shelly Kittleson details in The Atlantic her experience being kidnapped and held hostage by the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah terror group in Iraq for nine days earlier this month…
Former Disney CEO Bob Iger, who stepped down last month, is returning to Joshua Kushner’s venture firm, Thrive Capital, in an advisory role…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for an interview with Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) as he introduces a buffer zone bill in Congress, which follows legislation under consideration in New York and elsewhere, aiming to protect attendees at houses of worship.
Washington is abuzz ahead of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, being held at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night. The event will be headlined by American Israeli mentalist Oz Pearlman and attended by Trump for his first time as president, alongside celebrities (including Trump fan Nicki Minaj), politicians and media figures. Politicos and reporters will schmooze at events beginning this evening through Sunday morning.
We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat Shalom!
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SHAPIRO SPOTLIGHT
Josh Shapiro supports U.S. aid to Israel, but calls to use it as leverage
In an interview with JI, Shapiro said he ‘[hasn’t] really thought about’ whether he would appear on Hasan Piker’s stream but that he hasn’t been invited
DEFINITION DEBATE
Mamdani won’t set definition of antisemitism after repealing IHRA, his antisemitism czar says
In testimony before the City Council’s antisemitism task force, an NYPD official said Mamdani played no role in a controversial change in reporting data from hate crimes
Plus, Dems concerned over fraying Israel-Europe ties
Gage Skidmore
Elizabeth Warren
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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt maintained this afternoon that President Donald Trump is “generously offering a bit of flexibility” to Iranian leaders and has not given them a “firm deadline” to provide a proposal to the U.S., contrary to reports that said Trump only intended to wait a few days before ending the ceasefire that he extended yesterday.
Leavitt also said the president did not view Iran’s seizure of two ships near the Strait of Hormuz today as a violation of the ceasefire: “These were not U.S. ships. These were not Israeli ships,” she said — a change in tone for Trump, who has taken a hardline against Tehran’s escalatory actions in the key waterway.
Meanwhile, mediating countries are reportedly working to get Tehran and Washington back to the negotiating table, with a meeting possibly on Friday. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran “has welcomed dialogue and agreement and continues to do so,” but that “breach of commitments, blockade and threats are the main obstacles” to continuing talks…
Even as negotiations to end the war are still in flux, Trump thanked Iran for granting his request not to execute eight women who were reportedly due to be killed by the regime tonight, instead releasing four of them and holding the other four in jail for one month…
The Financial Times profiles Pakistani army chief Asim Munir as he emerges as an unexpected key mediator between the U.S. and Iran, utilizing his ties to Tehran’s security establishment — including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — and personal rapport with Trump to help secure a comprehensive deal…
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is keeping the door open to a possible 2028 presidential run, saying “only the good Lord knows” what comes next as he continues to reestablish himself in the private sector and policy world after serving in the first Trump administration.
In a wide-ranging interview with Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs, Pompeo also praised Columbia University, where he now teaches at the School of International and Public Affairs, for “beg[inning] to get back the correct leadership … in a way where more voices can be heard”…
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack stood by his comments that drew criticism over the weekend in which he repeatedly criticized Israel and praised Turkey, saying he was merely “stating the obvious.”
“When I described the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire as a ‘time out’ and said that ‘everybody has been equally untrustworthy,’ I was simply stating the obvious reality on the ground. This is realism, not criticism of any side,” Barrack told Fox News Digital. He also reaffirmed his comments that the goal in Lebanon is “not killing Hezbollah,” and that Turkey should be readmitted to the F-35 fighter jet program…
A group of Jewish District of Columbia residents gathered at the city’s municipal building today for a scheduled meeting with Janeese Lewis George, a D.C. councilmember and one of the leading candidates in this year’s mayoral race, but she never showed, two people who were in the meeting told JI’s Gabby Deutch.
A staff member for Lewis George told attendees at the start of the meeting that she was having a busy morning, and they should begin the conversation without her. At the end of the meeting, when Lewis George still had not arrived, the staff member apologized that she could not attend…
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin warned this morning that if Mayor Zohran Mamdani vetoes the council’s legislation intended to regulate protests at religious and educational sites, the city will face “more divisiveness,” calling the decision a critical test for the mayor, JI’s Haley Cohen reports.
Menin, New York City Comptroller Mark Levine and Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, speaking at 92NY on the future of Jewry in New York, beseeched the Jewish community not to flee despite tensions with the mayor. “This is not a time to lose hope. Hopefully the three of us here can embody the future of the commitment to fighting antisemitism, the commitment to supporting the Jewish community,” Menin said…
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) is set to introduce a federal buffer zone bill, similar to that of the New York City Council, alongside Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt on Friday, as Suozzi seeks reelection to his swing-district seat on Long Island…
Democratic lawmakers and strategists are expressing concern over the rising popularity of far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, fearing that if he clinches the Democratic nomination, he would lose in a general election to former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), the GOP front-runner, Semafor reports. Democrats must retain the Michigan Senate seat to have any hope of taking back the chamber in the midterm elections.
Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI), who is backing Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the race, told the outlet that “all three candidates are qualified, but dinged El-Sayed for campaigning with [Hasan] Piker and said ‘we are continuing to see consistent polling that suggests that Haley is the only one that can win in a general election’”…
Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner said he would not support keeping Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as the party’s leader in the chamber, naming as potential replacements Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Chris Murphy (D-CT) or Brian Schatz (D-HI). He also said he would oppose a ban on semiautomatic assault weapons, a priority policy for much of the Democratic caucus…
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) dismissed criticism of Platner after campaigning with him in Maine last weekend: Asked on CNBC about her comment that Platner is “my kind of man” given his past incendiary rhetoric and actions including his Nazi chest tattoo, Warren said, “He has apologized, he’s out meeting with the people of Maine every single day so they can evaluate not who Graham Platner was but who Graham Platner is today.”
Warren sidestepped a question specifically about Platner’s 2014 praise of Hamas tactics during an attack on Israeli soldiers, as reported by JI: “You guys want to be the party of inclusivity, right?” host Sara Eisen asked regarding the report. “I want to be the party that stands up for hardworking people,” Warren answered…
Schumer dodged a question yesterday asking if he is on the wrong side of his party after most Democratic senators voted in favor of blocking arms sales to Israel — a measure he opposed. “Our caucus is united and focused on ending the war in Iran,” he said, and touted Democrats’ war powers resolutions before walking away…
Rep. David Scott (D-GA) died today at 80. Scott, who voted on the House floor last night, had been running for reelection for his 13th term…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for the results of this afternoon’s war powers resolution vote in the Senate, which is expected to be blocked by Republicans as the previous four were.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh will meet at the State Department tomorrow for the second round of direct talks between the two countries. Lebanon is reportedly seeking a one-month extension to the ongoing ceasefire, which is set to expire on Sunday; Hezbollah, which has said it is not bound by the agreement, has continued to fire rockets and a drone at Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison will host an exclusive dinner honoring President Donald Trump and CBS News’ White House correspondents at the recently renamed Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace. Ellison is currently seeking regulatory approval of Paramount’s deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.
The Jewish Democratic Council of America will host a candidate forum for New York’s 17th Congressional District featuring leading candidates Beth Davidson, a Rockland County legislator, and Cait Conley, a national security veteran.
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Stevens said that by associating with Piker, El-Sayed is ‘choosing to campaign with someone who has a history of antisemitic rhetoric’
Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, DC, on March 18, 2026.
Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing criticism from some prominent Michigan Democrats — including Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), who is running against him in the Democratic primary — for his decision to host campaign rallies with Hasan Piker, the far-left political streamer with a history of antisemitic remarks.
“That’s the exact opposite of someone I’d be campaigning with,” Stevens told Jewish Insider on Wednesday. “We have to be serious here about who’s going to be the best general election candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan to beat [Republican] Mike Rogers, and someone who’s campaigning with someone like that is not going to win in Michigan.”
El-Sayed will host two rallies with Piker and Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University on April 7.
Piker has millions of followers on the streaming platform Twitch. He has said that “Hamas is a thousand times better” than Israel, and has described Orthodox Jews as “inbred.” He has also praised terrorists and said America deserved 9/11.
Stevens said that by associating with Piker, El-Sayed is “choosing to campaign with someone who has a history of antisemitic rhetoric.”
Slotkin told JI that she is not familiar with much of Piker’s language but that what she knows of his rhetoric raises concerns for her.
“Any equating of all Jews or American Jews with Israel and the Israeli government is a problem right off the bat, and then it sounds like, from there, a cascading set of antisemitic tropes and just the kind of rhetoric that is — I want to read for myself, but sounds deeply antisemitic, consistently, and therefore not someone that should be helping anybody out in the Michigan political environment,” said Slotkin.
The announcement of Piker’s upcoming campaign visits to Michigan comes two weeks after an attempted terrorist attack at Temple Israel, a Reform synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Mich.
A new poll conducted by the campaign of Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, the third major Democrat running alongside Stevens and Piker, shows McMorrow leading the race with 30%. El-Sayed is behind her at 25%, and Stevens follows at 23%, with 21% undecided. Other polling ahead of the August primary has shown Stevens with a small lead.
Stevens, who is running as the mainstream Democrat in the race, welcomed support this week from the group Democratic Majority for Israel
DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images
Michigan Rep. Haley Stevens speaks at a rally featuring First Lady Dr. Jill Biden during a 2024 campaign event supporting Vice President Kamala Harris in Clawson, MI, during the 2024 presidential election, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024.
As two Democratic Michigan Senate candidates compete for the votes of anti-Israel voters with accusations of genocide against the Jewish state, Abdul El-Sayed, is going after state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, as insufficiently and inauthentically critical of Israel.
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), meanwhile, is solidifying her support for Israel, receiving an endorsement this week from Democratic Majority for Israel and calling herself a “proud pro-Israel Democrat [who] believe[s] America is stronger when we stand with our democratic allies, confront antisemitism and extremism, and keep our promises to our friends abroad and our working families here at home.”
With significant Arab and Muslim and Jewish constituencies, Israel policy issues are poised to play a significant role in Michigan’s Democratic primary next year.
El-Sayed entered the race as a vocal critic of Israel, while McMorrow, in recent months, has joined him in describing the war in Gaza as a genocide, as well as saying she would support efforts to cut off offensive weapons shipments to Israel.
El-Sayed, in a recent event at Michigan State University, criticized McMorrow for not taking that position sooner, describing allegations of genocide in Gaza as a matter of clear and incontrovertible fact. Video of the comments was published by the Michigan Advance.
He compared McMorrow’s position to someone taking months to decide that the sky is blue and saying, “let me give you five caveats about why it might not be blue.”
El-Sayed also suggested that McMorrow’s positions changed because she was seeking support from AIPAC, and only took a more critical stance on Israel after the group declined to support her. The far-left publication Drop Site alleged that McMorrow had been seeking an AIPAC endorsement earlier in the year and had authored a pro-Israel position paper.
McMorrow’s campaign has denied that she completed a questionnaire for AIPAC and McMorrow said last month she would not accept the group’s support. AIPAC has previously endorsed Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), who has maintained her position on Israel, in House races, but has not weighed in on the Senate race.
“When there’s 20,000 kids who died, that’s a genocide,” El-Sayed said in his remarks at Michigan State. “When people who are from the very country that committed — whose government committed that genocide say it’s a genocide, at some point you kind of just gotta be like, ‘Oh it’s a f***ing genocide.’ … “I don’t pretend that when 20,000 babies are murdered by our tax dollars, that there’s hemming and hawing about saying because it’s the truth.” El-Sayed was referring to numbers from the Hamas-run Ministry of Health indicating that almost 20,000 children and teenagers were killed in the war.
He suggested that McMorrow is trying to “package” herself as a progressive changemaker while the “substance” of her policies is “the same old politics.”
Asked last month whether the war in Gaza is a genocide, McMorrow said that it is.
“We have [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu trying to tell us what we’ve been seeing with our own eyes is not true,” McMorrow said. “It is true. And two things can be true at once. … The position of the United States should not be that we support Netanyahu with no check and balances.”
Asked about El-Sayed’s criticisms, McMorrow’s campaign referred Jewish Insider to those remarks.
The pro-Israel Democratic group also backed Chris Pappas and Roy Cooper in their battleground Senate races
Carlos Osorio/AP
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) speaks Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, at an election night party in Birmingham, Mich.
Democratic Majority for Israel on Thursday announced its endorsements of Reps. Haley Stevens (D-MI), Angie Craig (D-MN) and Chris Pappas (D-NH) and former Gov. Roy Cooper as they seek the Senate seats in their respective states.
Stevens faces a particularly competitive primary against state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and former Wayne County health director Abdul El-Sayed, both of whom have sided with the far left on Israel issues and publicly rejected pro-Israel backing. El-Sayed has attacked Stevens over her pro-Israel stance.
DMFI’s endorsement marks the first formal involvement by a pro-Israel group in the race. AIPAC’s PAC and super PAC, which have previously provided significant support for Stevens, have not yet issued an endorsement.
Craig, another moderate pro-Israel Democrat, also faces a left-wing opponent critical of Israel in Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanangan. Cooper and Pappas, both moderates who have been supportive of Israel, are seen as the clear frontrunners in their primaries.
“Chris Pappas, Haley Stevens, Angie Craig, and Roy Cooper are battle-tested leaders who know how to win tough races, hold the Trump administration accountable, and deliver real results for working families. They’ve stood firm against extremism, antisemitism, and efforts to undermine America’s alliances,” DMFI PAC Chair Brian Romick said in a statement.
“Each is a champion of the U.S.-Israel relationship and a clear-eyed advocate for Israel’s security and the region’s long-term stability.”
“DMFI PAC is proud to support these exceptional candidates, and we’re firmly committed to helping them win their races,” he added.
Stevens, in a statement thanked DMFI for its support.
“I’m honored to have DMFI PAC’s endorsement in this race. As a proud pro-Israel Democrat, I believe America is stronger when we stand with our democratic allies, confront antisemitism and extremism, and keep our promises to our friends abroad and our working families here at home,” Stevens said in a statement. “In the Senate, I’ll keep fighting to protect our democracy, support Israel’s security, ensure the ceasefire holds in Gaza, and deliver for Michiganders in every corner of our state.”
Mallory McMorrow, Haley Stevens and Mike Rogers condemned the attack; Abdul El-Sayed didn’t respond
JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images
Anti-Israel demonstrators set up a mock trial against the University of Michigan's Board of Regents on the university's campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on April 21, 2025.
Two of the leading Democratic hopefuls looking to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) condemned anti-Israel protesters for harassing University of Michigan Regent Sarah Hubbard over the weekend.
Protesters could be heard in video of the incident, which began circulating on social media on Sunday evening, shouting at Hubbard that she had “blood on [her] hands” along with other insults as she was guided away by a uniformed police officer. “Your money has gone to kill Palestinian children. Your money has killed our families. We are your students, you answer to us,” one protester shouted as they filmed Hubbard.
In response, Hubbard wrote on X that, “I remain steadfast in my commitment to make our campus a safe place for all our students and will not be intimidated by protestors.”
The incident prompted quick statements of condemnation from Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, two of the Democratic Senate candidates looking to replace Peters. Abdul El-Sayed, a Bernie Sanders-endorsed progressive candidate, did not issue a statement and did not respond to Jewish Insider’s request for comment.
“The harassment and antisemitism we’ve seen against University of Michigan regents in recent months is wrong, plain and simple. Regent Hubbard should be able to walk to her car without a police escort. And Regent [Jordan] Acker’s family was terrorized in their own home when vandals threw jars of urine through their windows and spray painted graffiti on their car,” McMorrow told JI in a statement.
“The attacks and intimidation need to stop now,” McMorrow, who launched her campaign earlier this month, added.
A spokesperson for Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), who announced her candidacy on Tuesday, told JI in a statement, “Rep. Stevens has been clear that violence and vandalism have no place in our communities and will continue to make sure all Michiganders are safe in their daily lives.”
Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), who is also running to replace Peters, similarly denounced the harassment in a statement.
“These activists’ criminal actions toward university leaders at their homes cannot be tolerated. I stand with Sarah Hubbard and the Michigan Regents as they continue to stand up to hate and antisemitism in their efforts to make the campus safe for all students,” Rogers told JI.
Jewish Insider’s senior congressional correspondent Marc Rod contributed to this report.
Stevens is hoping to parlay her record in tough races and pro-Israel record in Congress into broad support in a crowded field
Sarah Rice/Getty Images
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) speaks before Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at a rally at the Crofoot Ballroom on November 6, 2022 in Pontiac, Michigan.
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) announced on Tuesday morning that she’s entering the Democratic primary for Michigan’s open Senate seat, setting up an intraparty showdown in one of the most consequential battleground states in the country.
Stevens is a leading contender for the seat of retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI). She will be facing state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Abdul El-Sayed, who led the Wayne County Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services. Former Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate, a former NFL player, is also seriously considering a run.
Stevens represents a district in the Detroit suburbs and has made supporting local manufacturing a centerpiece of her time in Congress, as well as her work in the Obama administration in supporting the auto industry recovery.
That work took center stage in Stevens’ campaign announcement video, where she also attacked President Donald Trump, accusing him of endangering Michigan jobs and driving up prices with tariffs and other policies.
“I remember being handed the keys to my first car. I’m Haley Stevens and I bet you do too,” Stevens said in her launch video, which prominently features footage of Michigan factories. “That used Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, it meant more to me than just freedom. It meant I had a piece of Michigan. You know, the Michigan that helped build this country. The Michigan that shaped me. It’s not just what I sound like, it’s who I am.”
In a statement, Stevens’ campaign also went after White House advisor Elon Musk, accusing him and Trump of undermining essential services and endangering citizens’ private data.
Stevens is a favorite within the state’s Jewish community for her outspoken support for Israel and condemnation of high-profile antisemitic incidents at a time when many Michigan Democrats have pandered to anti-Israel activists.
She represents a sizable Jewish community in the Detroit suburbs with which she forged a strong relationship in part during her successful primary campaign against then-Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI).
But pro-Israel groups also view McMorrow as a reliable ally, and are more concerned with blocking the candidacy of El-Sayed, a Bernie Sanders-endorsed progressive who supports cutting off aid to Israel.
Because of that dynamic, outside pro-Israel groups may not formally endorse a favorite in the Democratic primary — even as Stevens will likely benefit from widespread support from Jewish voters in the early stage of the campaign.
AIPAC and the affiliated United Democracy Project super PAC have been rumored to be planning to spend in support of Stevens despite not usually intervening in statewide races.
“Although we have not yet made a decision in this race, Rep. Stevens has emerged as a pro-Israel stalwart during her tenure in the House of Representatives,” AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann told Jewish Insider.
Stevens also boasts an electoral record that demonstrates she can win over swing voters — her district was a battleground when she was first elected in 2018 before redistricting made it more safely Democratic — along with ousting Levin, an anti-Israel Democratic incumbent, in a member-on-member primary.
McMorrow has demonstrated a knack for earning glowing national media attention — at first through a state Senate speech in which she pushed back against accusations against her by a GOP colleague of grooming and sexualizing children and her outspoken support for abortion rights after Roe v. Wade was overturned — even though she’s only been serving as a state senator in Michigan.
In a sign of McMorrow’s attentiveness to the Jewish community, she’s returned policy papers to at least one Democratic pro-Israel group underscoring her support for Israel’s security, according to a source familiar with her outreach. She also has personal ties to the Jewish community — while she’s Catholic, her husband is Jewish and they are raising their children in a mixed-faith home.
One of McMorrow’s top advisors is Lis Smith, who engineered Pete Buttigieg’s out-of-nowhere 2020 presidential campaign and who has been a prominent critic of the party’s left-wing activist class.
Adrian Hemond, a Michigan political strategist, told JI he views Stevens as holding significant institutional advantages in the hotly-contested primary.
Hemond noted that Stevens has been a strong fundraiser in her congressional seat and has proven her ability to win close elections, which Hemond said will be “paramount” to Democratic primary voters. Stevens also boasts a strong relationship with organized labor and Black voters in her district, Hemond added.
He acknowledged that McMorrow is “trying to position herself as somewhat more moderate” but argued that her base and brand remains strongest among progressives — and El-Sayed, with Sanders’ endorsement, is playing in the left-wing lane.
Hemond said that El-Sayed did not prove to be a strong fundraiser in his 2018 gubernatorial race and failed to build support statewide, only winning 30% of the vote in the primary contest. But he’s well-positioned to do well with Arab-American voters in the state, and other single-issue, anti-Israel voters.
On the Republican side, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) has already declared his second run for the seat after losing by less than 20,000 votes to Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) in 2024. He won Trump’s endorsement, giving him a critical edge against any potential GOP challengers.
Jordan Acker's law office in Southfield vandalized: 'I believe this was a message to be sent to the Jewish community'
Courtesy Jordan Acker
Vandals scrawled antisemitic and anti-Israel messages early Monday morning at the law office of University of Michigan regent Jordan Acker in Southfield, a heavily Jewish suburb of Detroit.
The exterior of University of Michigan Board of Regents member Jordan Acker’s law office was vandalized overnight on Monday with the phrases “FREE PALESTINE,” “DIVEST NOW,” “FUCK YOU ACKER” and “UM KILLS” scrawled on the walls, walkway and front window. The incident is the second time during the Israel-Hamas war that Acker, who is Jewish, has been targeted by anti-Israel demonstrators.
“It’s a disgusting escalation and pure antisemitism,” Acker, who is a former Obama administration official and has sat on the school’s Board of Regents since 2018, told Jewish Insider. “This has nothing to do with Palestine. I am one of eight [regents] and I was the only person targeted. I believe that’s because I’m Jewish. I believe this was a message to be sent to the Jewish community.”
According to video footage obtained by the Goodman Acker personal injury law firm, which is located in a heavily Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Southfield — about 30 minutes away from the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor — the incident occurred at approximately 2 a.m. when four masked individuals splattered the front walkway, the sign over the door and the building’s walls with red and black spray paint and the antisemitic and anti-Israel messages.
Southfield police told local newspaper Deadline Detroit that the department responded to a 911 call Monday morning and is investigating the matter. “The investigation is in its infancy,” Lt. Mo Bzeih said. “We want to gather the preliminary facts before we put out a statement. We’re canvassing the area.”
“The vandalism that occurred at Regent Jordan Acker’s place of business is shocking and unacceptable,” University of Michigan’s president, Santa Ono, said in a statement. “Singling out this dedicated public servant and defacing his workplace in the middle of the night is an act of antisemitic cowardice that Southfield police have indicated is being investigated as a hate crime. Such harassment and attempts to intimidate have no place in a civil society and certainly no place in our university community.”
Many Michigan lawmakers and candidates for office expressed support for Acker and condemned the incident. Republican Senate candidate and former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) tagged the incident as antisemitic, while his Democratic opponent, Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) called it “intimidation related to the Middle East conflict.”
“We have yet another instance of the use of intimidation related to the Middle East conflict. If your ‘protest’ tactics include vandalism and violent language, you’re not protesting — you’re breaking the law and discrediting your cause at the same time,” Slotkin said in a statement. “And anyone carrying that out should be held legally accountable.”
Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) said in a statement to JI, “Vandalism and acts of violence and hate against anyone for any reason are completely unacceptable. I condemn these actions in the strongest terms. Hate is being normalized in too many communities, and we must stand up to hate wherever and whenever we see it.”
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) wrote on X, “Jordan Acker and the Goodman Acker law firm have my love and support… so many drive by his place of work every day and it’s painful to see this attack on a place of business. Today and everyday, I denounce Jewish hate with every fiber in my being.”
Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) told JI in a statement, “I condemn today’s antisemitic attack on University of Michigan Regent Jordan Acker’s Office in Southfield. While everyone has a right to express their views, there is absolutely no place for vandalism or violent rhetoric of any kind of in our state. It’s up to all of us to call out these attacks targeting Michiganders for who they are or their religion.”
Last month, as Acker, his wife and three daughters were asleep, his doorbell app obtained footage of a stranger wearing a red keffiyeh over his face walking up to the family’s front door. He stood there for several moments, placed papers on the door and took photographs before leaving. The incident occurred in the wake of University of Michigan police breaking up an anti-Israel illegal encampment on the Diag, the main quad, that engulfed the campus for nearly a month. One of the papers, a list of demands for the leadership of the University of Michigan, was signed: “In liberation, the UMich Gaza Solidarity Encampment.”
Jewish Insider congressional correspondent Emily Jacobs and senior national correspondent Gabby Deutch contributed reporting.
Bipartisan letter argued that not removing the presidents from their positions would constitute an ‘endorsement’ and ‘act of complicity’ in the presidents’ ‘antisemitic posture’
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University and Liz Magill, president of University of Pennsylvania, testify before the House Education and Workforce Committee at the Rayburn House Office Building on December 05, 2023, in Washington, D.C.
Seventy-four House lawmakers wrote to the boards of Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania on Friday demanding that they immediately fire their presidents in response to widely criticized congressional testimony they delivered on antisemitism on their campuses earlier this week.
The presidents of the three schools have come under increasing scrutiny this week amid growing speculation that their jobs could be on the line following their refusal to say earlier this week that calls for Jewish genocide would violate their schools’ codes of conduct.
“Testimony provided by presidents of your institutions showed a complete absence of moral clarity and illuminated the problematic double standards and dehumanization of the Jewish communities that your university presidents enabled,” the letter reads. “Given this moment of crisis, we demand that your boards immediately remove each of these presidents from their positions and that you provide an actionable plan” to ensure the safety of the Jewish community on campus.
“Anything less,” than the steps they requested, the lawmakers continued, “will be seen as your endorsement… and an act of complicity in their antisemitic posture.”
The letter was led by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who questioned the presidents on the genocide issue, and Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL). Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) is the only other Democrat who signed the letter; the rest are Republicans.
The lawmakers said that the testimony makes it “hard to imagine” any Jewish or Israeli person feeling safe on their campuses when the presidents “could not say that calls for the genocide of Jews would have clear consequences on your campus.”
It adds that subsequent social media statements seeking to clarify or walk back those comments “offered little clarification on your campus’ true commitment to protecting vulnerable students in this moment of crisis,” describing them instead as “desperate attempts to try and save their jobs” and “too little too late.”
Shortly before the Stefanik-Moskowitz letter was released, a group of thirteen House Democrats wrote to the boards of the three schools urging them to re-examine their codes of conduct to make clear that calls for the genocide of Jews are not acceptable.
This second letter, led by Reps. Kathy Manning (D-NC), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) and Susan Wild (D-PA), includes similar language to the bipartisan letter regarding the presidents’ testimony and how it would make Jewish campus members feel unsafe, but stops short of directly calling for the presidents to be fired.
The lawmakers wrote that they felt “compelled to ask” if the presidents’ responses “align with the values and policies of your respective institutions.”
“The presidents’ unwillingness to answer questions clearly or fully acknowledge appalling and unacceptable behavior — behavior that would not have been tolerated against other groups — illuminated the problematic double standards and dehumanization of the Jewish communities at your universities,” the letter continues. “The lack of moral clarity these presidents displayed is simply unacceptable.”
The lawmakers requested that the schools update their policies to “ensure that they protect students from hate” and describe their plans for protecting Jewish and Israeli community members.
“There is no context in which calls for the genocide of Jews is acceptable rhetoric,” the letter reads. “While Harvard and Penn subsequently issued clarifying statements which were appreciated, their failure to unequivocally condemn calls for the systematic murder of Jews during the public hearing is deeply alarming and stands in stark contrast to the principles we expect leaders of top academic institutions to uphold.”
The letter notes that federal civil rights law prohibits discrimination against Jews on campus, and that criminal law bans hate crimes, violence and incitement to violence.
“Students and faculty who threaten, harass, or incite violence towards Jews must be held accountable for their actions,” the lawmakers wrote. “If calls for genocide of the Jewish people are not in violation of your universities’ policies, then it is time for you to reexamine your policies and codes of conduct.”
Signatories to the Democratic letter include Manning, Wild, Auchincloss, Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Greg Landsman (D-OH), Grace Meng (D-NY), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Dan Goldman (D-NY), Donald Norcross (D-NJ), Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).
All of the signatories to the Democratic letter are either Jewish or deeply involved with Jewish community issues on the Hill.
Earlier this week, a third letter by six House Republicans from Pennsylvania — Reps. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), alongside Congressmen John Joyce, M.D. (R-PA), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Dan Meuser (R-PA) — called for University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill specifically to be fired.
Rep. Ritchie Torres, their Democratic House colleague, called the lawmakers’ views ‘repulsive’ and ‘reprehensible’
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) attends the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, March 29, 2023.
Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Cori Bush (D-MO) blamed U.S. military aid to Israel for contributing to the massive Hamas terror attack on Israel yesterday, which has left more than 700 Israelis dead. Tlaib also described Hamas’ actions as “resistance” to Israeli “apartheid.”
The comments come as most U.S. lawmakers have offered strong support to Israel in the conflict, without many of the typical calls for cease-fires and de-escalation by both sides in the hours following the onset of the attack. The exception to this has been members of the far-left Squad and a handful of other lawmakers aligned with them.
“I am determined as ever to fight for a just future where everyone can live in peace, without fear and with true freedom, equal rights, and human dignity,” Tlaib said in a statement on Sunday. “The path to that future must include lifting the blockade, ending the occupation and dismantling the apartheid system that creates the suffocating, dehumanizing conditions that can lead to resistance.”
Tlaib added that “as long as our country provides billions in unconditional funding to support the apartheid government, this heartbreaking cycle of violence will continue.”
Bush, in a similar statement on Saturday, said she was “heartbroken” by the violence and loss of life, “following attacks by Hamas militants on Israeli border towns and Israeli military bombardment of Gaza.”
“As part of achieving a just and lasting peace, we must do our part to stop this violence and trauma by ending U.S. government support for Israeli military occupation and apartheid,” Bush continued.
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) condemned the comments by his colleagues.
“U.S. aid to Israel is and should be unconditional, and never more so than in this moment of critical need,” Torres told Jewish Insider in a statement. “Shame on anyone who glorifies as ‘resistance’ the largest single-day mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust. It is reprehensible and repulsive.”
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) highlighted the barbarism committed by Hamas terrorists in his own response.
“Two of my colleagues called for America to end assistance to Israel, despite the countless images of Israeli children, women, men, and elderly, including Americans, murdered by radical Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists,” Gottheimer told JI. “It sickens me that while Israelis clean the blood of their family members shot in their homes, they believe Congress should strip U.S. funding to our democratic ally and allow innocent civilians to suffer.”
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), who serves in the Michigan delegation with Tlaib, distanced herself from Tlaib’s comments in a statement to JI.
“We must continue to come together as a Congress and a country to disavow terrorism and support the Jewish state, our democratic ally, Israel,” Stevens said. “Israel has a right to exist and defend herself.”
None of the other Democratic members of Michigan’s House delegation responded to requests for comment.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog responded directly to Tlaib, in an impassioned statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“How much more blood needs to be spilled for you to overcome your prejudice and unequivocally condemn Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror organization?” Herzog wrote. “Hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians massacred in cold blood on a holy day. Babies kidnapped from their mother’s arms and taken to Gaza. An 85-year-old woman in a wheelchair and a Holocaust survivor taken hostage. Is that not enough, @RashidaTlaib?”
At the same time, a number of New York Democrats condemned a Democratic Socialists of America rally on Sunday in New York’s Times Square expressing “solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to resist 75 years of occupation and apartheid.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called the rally “ill-timed” and “cold-hearted.”
“We’ve seen unprecedented viciousness coming from Hamas aimed at innocent families and children,” Schumer said. “Everyone — no matter your views — should condemn this brutal act.”
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) said, “The NYC-DSA is revealing itself for what it truly is — a deep rot of antisemitism.”
He added, “There is a special place in hell for those who glorify the cold blooded murder of civilians and children… The DSA should be universally condemned for its genocidal celebration of Israel’s destruction.”
Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) called the rally “an absolute disgrace” and “blatant antisemitism.”
“These actions are an insult to the memories of the innocent men, women, and children brutally murdered,” Ryan continued.
Through a spokesperson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) also condemned the rally.
“Leader Hakeem Jeffries strongly and unequivocally condemns the hate-filled rally held by the DSA in [NYC] and any effort to support the barbaric, inhumane and despicable terrorist attack by Hamas on the State of Israel and its citizens,” spokesperson Andy Eichar said.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the rally was “abhorrent and morally repugnant.”
Former Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY), who is currently running for a House seat in the New York City suburbs, said that “no one should support terrorist attacks against Israel” and that “today’s rally by the NYC DSA is despicable.” He added that “Hamas alone is responsible for this heinous violence.”
Brad Lander, the left-wing NYC comptroller who has in the past called for conditioning U.S. aid to Israel — and is affiliated with the DSA — disavowed the group’s rally.
“Today’s DSA rally — which effectively celebrated Hamas’ murder & kidnapping of hundreds of Israeli civilians, including children & grandparents — was abominable,” Lander said. “There is no place for glorifying terror, left, center, or right.”
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