• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading back to Israel today following yesterday’s meeting with President Donald Trump. More below.
• The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is holding its confirmation hearing for Jeremy Carl to be assistant secretary of state for international organizations. Carl, who was born to a Jewish family and now identifies as Christian, has expressed a range of derogatory views about Jews, including in a 2024 interview in which he said that “Jews have often loved to play the victim rather than accept that they are participants in history.” Read Jewish Insider’s past reporting on Carl’s comments here.
• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is meeting today with Zach Shemper, president of Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Miss., which suffered significant damage in an arson attack last month. The two are expected to discuss the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which provided the congregation with security cameras that helped catch the perpetrator, and the Pray Safe Act.
• In Los Angeles, Sinai Temple and Fabric are co-hosting a daylong summit focused on building bridges within the sports community. Lisa Leslie, Eddy Curry and Tamir Goodman are among those slated to appear at the gathering.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S LAHAV HARKOV

At first glance, President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nearly three-hour meeting at the White House on Wednesday appeared to end without any clear accomplishments.

Instead of the freewheeling question-and-answer sessions with media in the Oval Office and formal press conferences that followed most of Trump and Netanyahu’s previous six meetings since Trump returned to the White House, came a laconic statement from Netanyahu’s office about Israel’s security needs and a Truth Social post from Trump that was staid by the president’s standards. 

Trump wrote that he “insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a deal can be consummated. If I can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference.” However, the president warned that last time Iran decided against making a deal, “that did not work out well for them,” and the U.S. struck the country’s nuclear sites.

However, Trump and Netanyahu were similarly silent about their meeting in April 2025 — their last in-person meeting before the joint strike in Iran two months later.

Behind the scenes, the main topic of conversation between the two leaders yesterday appeared to focus on options for action if Iran does not agree to a deal. 

The lack of press around the meeting was because Netanyahu wanted to keep a relatively low profile and show deference to Trump, since a strike on Iran — should one occur — would be led by the U.S., an Israeli source said.

The Israeli side is very skeptical that any deal can be reached between the U.S. and Iran, with Trump saying publicly that a good deal would mean “no nuclear weapons, no ballistic missiles,” and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying the ballistic missile issue is a nonstarter for Tehran. 

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

Open Season: In The Free Press, 92nd Street Y CEO Seth Pinsky, reflecting on protests last week targeting the venue’s State of World Jewry address, calls on officials in New York City and state to take additional steps to protect the Jewish community. “The protesters outside illustrated one of the challenges plainly: In today’s New York City, Jewish conversations — on any topic — are treated as legitimate targets for protest and disruption. More disturbing still, the hostility was not confined to the event’s attendees. Families arriving from birthday parties were harassed, as were New Yorkers simply using our gym. Even a neighboring store was targeted, with one protester explaining that it “had Zionists inside.” In other words, merely being present in and around a Jewish space was now enough to make someone fair game. … [W]hat we need from our progressive leaders is to demand the same clarity and consistency from their allies when it comes to Jews and Israel that they and their allies regularly demand of the MAGA right on a host of other topics.” [FreePress]

Bridge Over Troubled Water: In The Wall Street Journal, Henry Louis Gates Jr., who recently released a four-part docuseries on Black-Jewish relations, makes the case for strengthened ties between the two communities. “Two streams run beneath the floorboards of Western culture: antisemitism, our civilization’s oldest hatred, and antiblack racism. Whenever people search for a scapegoat, they lift up those floorboards and reach down. … Neither community speaks with a single voice. Each contains a range of convictions, anxieties, loyalties and values. Any durable partnership has to make room for that internal plurality. Coalitions fail when they demand unanimity, when they turn disagreement into disqualification. What sustains a shared project is the harder work of staying in relationship across difference, arguing without rupture, and protecting common interests even amid unresolved tensions. We often talk about community as if it were a mood. But it’s a practice. It means renouncing the cheap satisfactions of applause from your own side and the ease of a story with only heroes and villains.” [WSJ]

The Gaza Fantasy: In The Atlantic, Hussein Ibish reflects on what he calls the “profoundly unserious” proposal from the Trump administration to reconstruct Gaza. “It promises industrial parks, educational centers, residential zones, and beach resorts, likely inspired by cities such as Dubai and Singapore. But those cities evolved through decades of careful urban planning. Gaza is, at the moment, a rubbled wasteland. Approximately 80 percent of all structures have been badly damaged or destroyed, and Gazans have nowhere to live except in squalid tents or the ruins of former homes. … The fantasy is beguiling, and its realization would be a magnificent accomplishment — if it weren’t so unimaginably absurd. Trump’s master plan treats Gaza as if it were a greenfield site rather than a partitioned pile of wreckage populated by destitute, hungry, unsheltered people.” [TheAtlantic]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally joined the Trump administration’s Board of Peace during his meeting on Wednesday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio…

A group of Senate Democrats, including Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Warner (D-VA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Alex Padilla (D-CA), urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to halt further deportations of asylum seekers to Iran…

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the Financial Times that efforts to broaden U.S.-Iran talks beyond the nuclear issue would risk “nothing but another war”…

More Democratic lawmakers condemned the Israeli Cabinet’s recent moves to expand control over the West Bank, with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) saying the move constituted a “green light for unilateral annexation of the West Bank” that violates the Oslo Accords and “threatens Israel’s security,” and House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Greg Meeks (D-NY) calling the decision “de facto annexation’ and “deeply troubling” and saying  it may “irreversibly erode” the possibility of a two-state solution…

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced legislation to gain more transparency into the U.S.’ handling of hundreds of millions of dollars in Venezuelan oil proceeds, which are currently being held in an offshore account in Qatar…

Harlem’s Tsion Cafe, the only Ethiopian-Israeli restaurant in New York City, ended its regular dining service, with owner Beejhy Barhany citing a changed environment for Israeli restaurants in the city since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks and over the course of the ensuing war in Gaza among the reasons she’s switching to a cultural events-only model… 

Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square revealed a $2 billion stake in Meta, with the hedge fund manager reportedly being drawn to the tech company’s focus on AI…

The EU approved Google/Alphabet’s $32 billion acquisition of Israeli cloud-security startup Wiz, avoiding a lengthy inquiry as the companies seek to move forward on the sale…

France is calling on Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, to resign over comments she made at the Al Jazeera Forum in Doha, Qatar, last week, in which she claimed that all of humanity “now has a common enemy” in Israel…

The Sydney Morning Herald reports on Hamas documents that allege that Mohammed al-Halabi, the former Gaza director of the World Vision, worked for Hamas while employed by the charity and used his role to obtain information about Israeli court proceedings…

Takamitsu Muraoka, an expert in Semitic languages and a former chair of Hebrew, Israelite Antiquities, and Ugaritic at Leiden University in the Netherlands, died at 88…

Israeli President Isaac Herzog (left) met on Wednesday with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra. Herzog will travel back to Israel today after a four-day visit, which also included stops in Melbourne and Sydney, that was marred by widescale protests targeting the president.

Best-selling author, known for children’s and young adult fiction, Judy Sussman Blume turns 88…

Commercial director in the Inglewood and Beverly Hills offices of Keller Williams Realty, he is also a principal at Westside Realty Advisors, Gary Aminoff turns 89… Physician and public intellectual, he is a dean at Shalem College in Jerusalem and professor emeritus at the University of Chicago, Leon Richard Kass turns 87… Former prime minister of Israel, Ehud Barak turns 84… Periodontist in Newark, Del., Barry S. Kayne, DDS… Economist, physicist, legal scholar and libertarian theorist, his father was Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman, David D. Friedman turns 81… Computer genius, author, inventor and futurist, Ray Kurzweil turns 78… Grandmother of Aryeh, Gabby, Alex and Daniella, among others, Esther Dickman… Member of the Knesset for the Likud party, Eti Hava Atiya turns 66… Former president of Disney-ABC Television Group, Ben Sherwood turns 62… President of U.S. affairs at Combat Antisemitism Movement, Alyza Lewin… Associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Brett M. Kavanaugh turns 61… Film director, producer and screenwriter, Darren Aronofsky turns 57… Comic book author and illustrator, Judd Winick turns 56… Actress known for her voice work in animation, websites and video games, Tara Lyn Charendoff Strong turns 53… Member of the board of directors for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics committee, Chad Tyler Brownstein turns 53… Comedian, actor, podcaster, writer and producer, Ari Shaffir turns 52…

Principal deputy national security advisor throughout the Biden administration, now a distinguished senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, Jonathan Finer turns 50… Deputy director for external affairs and communications at the Troy, Mich.-based Kresge Foundation, Christine M. Jacobs… Former MLB player, he is now the program director and owner of London, Ontario-based Centrefield Sports, Adam Stern turns 46… Former columnist for The Wall Street Journal for 17 years, Rachel Feintzeig… Deputy solicitor general of New Jersey, he previously clerked for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Michael Zuckerman… New York regional director for the American Jewish Committee, Joshua Kramer… Israeli actress, best known as ADA Samantha Maroun on “Law & Order,” Odelya Halevi turns 37… Syndicated political columnist and senior editor-at-large for Newsweek, Josh Hammer turns 37… Senior advisor in the Bureau of Global Public Affairs at the State Department during the Biden administration, Megan Apper… Counsel in the international trade group at Crowell & Moring, Jeremy Iloulian… PR and communications manager at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Anna Behar…

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The IDF announced this morning it had identified the remains of the final deceased hostage, Ran Gvili, in Gaza and is returning them to Israel for burial, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports, marking the end of the hostage crisis that had gripped Israel and world Jewry for nearly 850 days in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.

Beyond the hostages taken on Oct. 7, Gvili’s return means that no Israelis — living or deceased — are being held by terror groups in Gaza for the first time since 2014.

While the IDF uncovered Gvili’s body in a Muslim cemetery where Hamas had buried it, President Donald Trump told Axios that the terror group “worked very hard to get the body back. They were working with Israel on it. You can imagine how hard it was.” 

“Now we have to disarm Hamas like they promised,” Trump continued, as the parties move into Phase 2 of his peace deal. For its part, Israel announced it will reopen the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza in a “limited” capacity later this week.

Remarking on Gvili’s return, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt added at a press conference this afternoon that “more than 20 new, additional countries have also signed up to join the newly established Board of Peace,” without naming the additions…

The New York Times lays out the latest developments in U.S.-Iran tensions, as American military assets reach the region and Iranian officials, as well as Iranian proxy terror groups, intensify their threats against the U.S. and Israel. 

Joe Kent, the director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, has warned Iraqi officials that if Iranian-backed militias in Iraq were to strike U.S. troops, the U.S. would retaliate, according to the Times…

Trump told Axios that the situation in regards to Iran is “in flux” but that the U.S. has “a big armada next to Iran. Bigger than Venezuela.” Still, the president left the possibility of diplomacy with Tehran open: “They want to make a deal. I know so. They called on numerous occasions. They want to talk”…

Despite the ongoing tensions, the Trump administration deported about a dozen Iranians back to Tehran yesterday, CNN reports. It’s the third such deportation flight to Iran during Trump’s second term, and the first since the regime began its violent crackdown on protesters…

Elsewhere in the region, Israeli and Lebanese officials were hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Jordan over the weekend to discuss “steps needed for a more peaceful and prosperous region,” according to the U.S. Embassy in Beirut…

Several leading Jewish and pro-Israel advocacy groups are expressing concerns about the impact of the recent rise in antisemitic and Islamist messaging out of Saudi Arabia, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports, as the Gulf kingdom’s rhetoric is increasingly raising questions about its standing as a reliable U.S. ally in the region.

Among other groups, the Anti-Defamation League said in a sharply worded social media statement last week that it was “alarmed by the increasing frequency and volume of prominent Saudi voices — analysts, journalists and preachers — using openly antisemitic dog whistles and aggressively pushing anti-Abraham Accords rhetoric, often while peddling conspiracy theories about ‘Zionist plots’”…

Turning to the U.S., progressive operative Waleed Shahid announced today that he will assume the newly created role of deputy communications director of economic justice in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office, JI’s Will Bredderman, joining us to cover New York City Hall, reports.

Shahid, the former spokesperson for Justice Democrats, was also a leader in the 2024 Uncommitted movement, which sought to deny support to former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris over the Biden administration’s support for Israel following the Oct. 7 attacks, and served as an advisor to former Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY)…

After the fatal shooting of a man by ICE officers in Minneapolis this weekend, Gov. Tim Walz compared immigration enforcement activities in Minnesota to Anne Frank’s persecution by the Nazis, drawing condemnation from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Many of us grew up reading that story of Anne Frank. Someone’s going to write that children’s story about Minnesota,” Walz said at a press conference yesterday.

Without referencing Walz or ICE, the USHMM responded in a statement today: “Anne Frank was targeted and murdered solely because she was Jewish. Leaders making false equivalencies to her experience for political purposes is never acceptable. Despite tensions in Minneapolis, exploiting the Holocaust is deeply offensive, especially as antisemitism surges”…

Israeli comedian Guy Hochman, whose New York City show was canceled last week amid protests by pro-Hamas groups, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about becoming an “international flashpoint” after his subsequent show in Beverly Hills, Calif., was also canceled and his visa to perform in Canada was revoked. 

“I’m not a politician. I’m a comedian. A very Zionist comedian. But it’s terrible to see it happening. But I am not giving up and I’m not giving in. I will not give them the pleasure. But I am getting a lot of threats on my life. I know there’s a big difference between us, but I don’t want to be the Israeli Charlie Kirk,” Hochman said…

Rapper Kanye West took out a full-page ad in today’s print edition of The Wall Street Journal apologizing for his erratic, and often antisemitic, behavior in recent years, claiming his actions stemmed from a brain injury sustained years ago that amplified his bipolar disorder. 

“In that fractured state, I gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, and even sold T-shirts bearing it,” West wrote in the ad. “I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change. It does not excuse what I did though. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people”…

The Washington Post reportedly informed its staff on a Zoom call today that up to half of employees will be laid off, with the biggest cuts to its foreign and sports desks…

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 Deni Avdija, the Israeli NBA star making his triumphant return to Washington tomorrow as his current team, the Portland Trail Blazers, takes on his former team, the Wizards, during their Jewish Heritage Night game.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s new memoir, Where We Keep the Light, is out tomorrow. We’ll be taking a look at how Shapiro discusses Israel and Judaism in its pages, as the swing-state governor potentially seeks the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.

Marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, representatives of the U.S. and Israel will speak at the United Nations, and the Trump-Kennedy Center in Washington will host “Enduring Music: Compositions from the Holocaust,” a concert of music composed in ghettos and death camps.

Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli’s International Conference on Combating Antisemitism will continue with remarks from Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama (who addressed the Knesset today), former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, former New York City Mayor Eric Adams, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and more.

In Berlin, Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat will deliver remarks at the WELT Economic Summit, the annual European business and political confab organized by media conglomerate Axel Springer.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Before officials departed from Davos, Switzerland, today, the Trump administration undertook a big task: laying out its complete vision for the demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.

Jared Kushner, speaking after President Donald Trump’s remarks at his founding ceremony for the Board of Peace, presented the administration’s “demilitarization principles” meant to be implemented in the next 100 days, including the destruction of “heavy weapons, tunnels, military infrastructure, weapons production facilities and munitions.” 

The ultimate vision sees a completely overhauled Gaza including a port and a tourism zone along the Mediterranean coast, as well as large residential areas and industrial complexes, while retaining the IDF security perimeter. 

But “this deal only happened because … we all worked together to make this happen,” Kushner said, urging countries, including Israel, to put aside their differences to bring the plan to fruition. “I see people criticizing Israel, or Israel criticizing Turkey and Qatar. Just calm down and work together for 30 days”…

Meanwhile, several of the highest-profile attendees of the Board of Peace ceremony hustled to a private lunch, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports, including Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. Princess Reema Bandar Al Saud and Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who both spoke hopefully about the future of the Abraham Accords.

Also in the room: Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell and more…

The Wall Street Journal lays out the concerns of the Board of Peace holdouts — including China, Russia, France and Britain, who are wary of joining a body where they don’t hold a permanent veto and that seeks to replace the one where they do, at the U.N. Security Council. There’s also the issue of its broad mandate: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said today that European leaders could work with the board “if we narrow it down to Gaza like it was meant to be”…

The U.S. is weighing a complete withdrawal of its troops from Syria, the Journal also reports, shortly after Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s forces carried out a campaign against the Kurdish-led and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, ultimately ordering it to disband.

The U.S. has around 1,000 troops in the country, many of whom are co-located with the SDF, where they carry out missions against ISIS (SDF forces were in charge of guarding ISIS prisoners until last weekend). Recent events have led the U.S. to question the viability of its mission in Syria, American officials told the Journal…

Elsewhere in the region, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a stark warning to the U.S. and Israel, even as Trump said this morning that he’s open to diplomatic dialogue with Tehran. 

The IRGC and Iran “have their finger on the trigger, more prepared than ever, ready to carry out the orders and measures of” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “a leader dearer than their own lives,” Mohammad Pakpour said, as Iran issued its first official death toll of the protests, putting the number killed at 3,117…

Stateside, California state Sen. Scott Wiener, who is running for retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) seat, announced today that he is stepping down from his role as one of the co-chairs of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports, capping off nearly two weeks of controversy and frustration among Jewish leaders in the state after the San Francisco Democrat declared Israel’s actions in Gaza to be a genocide. 

Wiener said in a statement, which was obtained by JI, that the decision was prompted in part by the fallout of his genocide comments. “My campaign is accelerating, and my recent statements on Israel and Gaza have led to significant controversy in the Jewish community. The time to transition has arrived,” Wiener said. He will remain in the role until Feb. 15.

In an interview with Politico this week, Wiener said he’s heard from unhappy Jewish voters and leaders in the days after his comments, but asked them to remember his record. “If you’re mad at me, if you feel betrayed, I respect and honor that. But just also remember how many times I’ve gone to the mat for this community, and the bullets I’ve taken for this community,” Wiener said…

In a new ad released today, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), facing a serious primary challenge from his right, calls “radical Islam” a “bloodthirsty ideology” that has influenced recent terror attacks targeting Jews, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports.

“It fueled the unspeakable crimes on Oct. 7,” Cornyn says in the 30-second ad, called “Evil Face,” before citing the mass shooting last month during a Hanukkah gathering in Australia that was allegedly motivated by ISIS. “It showed its evil face again at Bondi Beach.”

The ad comes as Cornyn’s opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, has also made combating “radical Islamist terrorist groups” a priority, as he engages in a lawsuit with the Council on American-Islamic Relations…

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro further clarified the questions he was asked by Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign as he was vetted to be her running mate, in an interview airing this weekend on “CBS Sunday Morning.” “They actually asked if I was an agent [of the Israeli government] and if I had ever spoken to an undercover agent of the Israeli government,” he said, to which he pointed out that he wouldn’t necessarily be aware if he had spoken to someone undercover. 

“I think it went beyond just checking a box on a questionnaire,” Shapiro said of his perception of the questioning. “I can tell you that it landed on me in an offensive way. I have dedicated my entire adult life to serving this country. … For someone to question my loyalty, particularly as someone who is as open about his faith as he is, was offensive to me”…

The Department of Homeland Security said Columbia University graduate student and protest leader Mahmoud Khalil could be deported to Algeria, JI’s Haley Cohen reports, shortly after a federal appeals court ruled Khalil could be rearrested.

Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, said on NewsNation yesterday, “it looks like he’ll go to Algeria. That’s what the thought is right now. It’s a reminder for those who are in this country on a visa or on a green card. You are a guest in this country — act like it. It is a privilege, not a right, to be in this country to live or to study.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement that Khalil “is a New Yorker. He should remain in New York City.” He called the “attack” on Khalil “part of a larger attack on the freedom of speech that is especially pronounced when it comes to the use of that speech to stand up for Palestinian human rights. I will make that clear to everyone. He deserves to be in the city just like any other New Yorker”…

Australia’s main opposition coalition, composed of the Liberal and National parties, split yesterday — during the country’s day of mourning for the Hanukkah Bondi Beach massacre — over a disagreement about the government’s proposed hate speech laws, which were introduced as a response to the attack. The Liberal party voted with the government to adopt the reforms, which increase penalties for hate speech and ban groups who promote it, while the Nationals were opposed, citing concerns around free speech…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a rundown of the state of the race in Illinois’ 8th Congressional District, where former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL) is fending off far-left Israel detractors.

Over the weekend, the Trump administration’s focus will shift back from Gaza to Russia and Ukraine, as the countries hold trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, UAE, tomorrow and Saturday. White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and advisor Jared Kushner headed from the Board of Peace ceremony to Moscow earlier today. 

Diplomats and Jewish leaders will head to Jerusalem for the 2nd annual International Conference on Combating Antisemitism, hosted by Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, which kicks off Monday evening. Last year’s inaugural conference was mired in controversy over the inclusion of far-right European politicians, causing several leading Jewish figures to cancel their appearances (many of whom similarly do not appear on this year’s agenda).

We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat Shalom!

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

After their bilateral meeting in the Oval Office today, President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced progress on a U.S.-Saudi defense pact and revealed details about Riyadh’s purchase of F-35 fighter jets, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.

Trump said the F-35s being sold to Riyadh are “going to be pretty similar” to the advanced F-35I Adir model that Israel flies. “This [Saudi Arabia] is a great ally, and Israel’s a great ally. I know they’d like you [MBS] to get planes of reduced caliber, but I don’t think that makes you too happy. … As far as I’m concerned, [both countries are] at a level where they should get top of the line.”

The U.S. has granted Israel customization rights and operational freedoms with the F-35 that other countries do not have, which contribute to its qualitative military edge. With Saudi Arabia now the only other country in the Middle East besides Israel to obtain the fighter jet, questions remain around which model and allowances Riyadh will receive.

Trump also announced the two countries have “reached an agreement” on a defense pact, without offering further details, and said he expects them to reach a civil nuclear agreement as well…

MBS’ meeting with a bipartisan group of senators on Capitol Hill tomorrow has been canceled, Punchbowl News reports, after the Saudis were reportedly very selective about which senators could attend. His meeting with House lawmakers is still on the books, and he may still meet with individual senators…

The deals keep coming: Humain, the artificial intelligence company backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, is set to announce a “slew” of agreements with U.S. businesses tomorrow, Semafor scooped, including data center construction in collaboration with Amazon, AMD, xAI and GlobalAI…

Elsewhere in Washington, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) upped the ante in his public dispute with Tucker Carlson, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports, telling the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly this morning that calling out antisemitism from Carlson and his Republican allies is necessary to defend American values.

Cruz warned that many people are not fully grasping the scope of the problem, describing a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this year where, he said, Netanyahu tried to push back on the idea that right-wing antisemitism was a threat. 

“I’ll tell you, he actually was a little dismissive of that. He said, ‘No, no, no, that’s Qatar, that’s Iran, that’s bots,’” Cruz said. “My response: ‘Mr. Prime Minister, yes, but no. Yes, that’s happening. Yes, there are millions of dollars being spent to spread this poison. Yes, that’s happening online. But it is real and organic’”…

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott designated the Muslim Brotherhood and Council on American-Islamic Relations as foreign terrorist groups and transnational criminal organizations today, JI’s Marc Rod reports, prohibiting them from buying land in Texas and allowing the AG’s office to sue to shut them down.

Efforts to designate the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR have seen little public progress at the federal level, both in Congress and in the executive branch. But Abbott’s move may end up fueling momentum for similar legislative moves out of Washington, and could also provide a model to other like-minded governors in key states…

The Department of Education signed agreements with six other federal agencies to take over aspects of its work, marking one of the largest moves to dismantle the department to date, USA Today reports.

The Departments of the Interior, Health and Human Services and State are all taking a piece of the pie, though the Education Department has not determined the future of its Office for Civil Rights…

Cornell University Provost Kavita Bala took the unusual step of disclosing details about a discrimination case against Eric Cheyfitz, a professor who was placed on leave after he attempted to exclude an Israeli student from participating in his course on Gaza, due to misinformation circulating about the case. The professor recently retired to avoid further investigation by the university.

“After [the] third class, the faculty member talked to the student and explicitly told the student that he was not welcome in the class because ‘he was an Israeli citizen supporting an Israeli stance in Gaza.’ Those are the faculty member’s words,” Bala said at a recent Faculty Senate meeting. “This is not a case of academic freedom. This is a case of discrimination based on national origin”…

In an op-ed titled, “Why I Became a Socialist,” Chi Ossé, the New York City councilman mounting a primary challenge to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), explains his recent decision to join the Democratic Socialists of America and touts his support for Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani as critical to his victory. 

Though Ossé appears to be capitalizing on his partnership with the incoming mayor to elevate his profile, Mamdani has discouraged Ossé on several occasions from running against the top House Democrat at a time when he’ll need support and funds from Washington…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for a dispatch from the conservative National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism’s first summit following its split with the Heritage Foundation.

Tomorrow, the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum will take place at the Kennedy Center, featuring discussions on energy policy, AI, financial services, urban development, biotechnology, aerospace and defense and more. A special address is on the agenda, though neither President Donald Trump nor Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s attendance has been confirmed.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Tammy Bruce, currently the State Department spokesperson, to be deputy U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

The Endowment for Middle East Truth is holding its 16th annual Rays of Light in the Darkness awards dinner in Washington, honoring Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), Justice Department senior counsel Leo Terrell, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, Hungarian Ambassador to the U.S. Szabolcs Takács and journalist Anila Ali.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Washington is preparing for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit tomorrow, where he’ll meet President Donald Trump at the White House and be hosted for dinner with administration officials, members of Congress and business leaders. On Wednesday, MBS is expected to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Punchbowl News reports, and the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum will take place at the Kennedy Center.

Trump confirmed to reporters in the Oval Office this afternoon that the U.S. will sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, without offering details of the deal… 

In a blurring of the lines between the political and the personal, the president may have more than just defense deals on his mind: The Trump Organization is in talks to bring a Trump property to one of Saudi Arabia’s largest government-owned real estate developments, The New York Times reports…

The U.N. Security Council just adopted the U.S.-sponsored resolution backing Trump’s 20-point peace plan, including the creation of an international stabilization force in the Gaza Strip, with 13 votes in favor and Russia and China abstaining. The resolution contains language on “a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood”…

The Journal also reports on Hamas’ rising popularity inside Gaza since the start of the ceasefire with Israel, as Gazans see the terror group as capable of restoring order and preventing lawlessness, which may pose an issue to the implementation of the ceasefire that requires Hamas to disarm…

In the latest fallout at the Heritage Foundation over its president’s defense of Tucker Carlson after his friendly interview with neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes, Robert George, a prominent board member, resigned today, citing the lack of a “full retraction” by Heritage President Kevin Roberts of the video defending Carlson, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.

George’s decision to step down indicates that Roberts is likely safe in his role, for now, as its board remains split about his future, according to a former Heritage staffer familiar with internal discussions…

Trump weighed in on the Carlson controversy over the weekend, saying when asked by reporters what role Carlson should play in the conservative movement after his interview with Fuentes, “I found [Carlson] to be good. I mean, he said good things about me over the years. I think he’s good. We’ve had some good interviews.”

“You can’t tell him who to interview. I mean, if he wants to interview Nick Fuentes, I don’t know much about him, but if he wants to do it, get the word out. People have to decide. Ultimately, people have to decide. … Meeting people, talking to people for somebody like Tucker, that’s what they do. You know, people are controversial. Some are, some aren’t. I’m not controversial, so I like it that way”…

Also evoking backlash, a producer for former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) weeknight show on the right-wing One America News Network has reportedly been fired after he shared a vehemently antisemitic social media post depicting Jews as cockroaches, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports.

Vish Burra, who was a booker and script writer for Gaetz, had drawn widespread backlash for posting an AI-generated animated video last week showing him entering a “scheming room” with Stars of David on the door to find a group of cockroaches counting money, who scurry away upon his arrival. The post has since been deleted.

Burra also defended Roberts in a separate post, writing, “I will expose the vermin in the venomous coalition and their transgression against MAGA, America First, and Kevin Roberts at The Heritage Foundation. It all starts with Susan Lebovitz-Edelman,” referring to a Jewish trustee at the conservative Manhattan Institute who is married to hedge fund manager Joseph Edelman…

Political alliances are developing in the Democratic primary to replace New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill in a special election for the state’s 11th Congressional District: Gov. Phil Murphy announced he’s backing Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, his former campaign manager and a front-runner in the race, while Tahesha Way, his lieutenant governor, is expected to launch a campaign shortly.

The field of nine other Democrats also includes former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), who represented the neighboring district until 2023 and today received the endorsement of Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ), in an apparent act of reciprocity — Malinowski supported Kim in his bid for Senate in 2024 against the governor’s wife, Tammy Murphy. The primary is expected to take place in late January-early February…

In nearby New York, pro-Israel Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) drew a primary challenger today: Chuck Park, who served as a foreign service officer until 2019 and as chief of staff to New York City Councilman Shekar Krishnan, an ally of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, announced an anti-establishment bid for the Queens district…

Now that he is about to assume leadership of the largest city in the U.S., Mamdani will need to receive top-level security clearance from the Trump administration, marking the first test of the new mayor’s relationship with Washington, Politico reports. Trump told reporters on Sunday that Mamdani “would like to come to Washington and meet and we’ll work something out” and “we want to see everything work out well for New York”…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for a deep dive into the shifting anti-Israel dynamics on the far right. 

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s White House visit will begin tomorrow with an arrival ceremony on the South Lawn and a greeting on the South Portico, before an Oval Office bilateral meeting and signing and lunch in the Cabinet Room. A formal dinner, hosted by First Lady Melania Trump, will take place in the evening in the East Room.

The American Jewish Committee will hold a webinar, “Unpacking the Saudi White House Visit,” tomorrow afternoon with Jason Isaacson, AJC’s chief policy and political affairs officer; Anne Dreazen, vice president of AJC’s Center for a New Middle East; and Michael Ratney, former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

The National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, a project that was closely affiliated with the Heritage Foundation until earlier this month when it broke with the conservative think tank over Heritage President Kevin Roberts’ defense of Tucker Carlson, is hosting a summit in Washington tomorrow in response to the recent developments. The gathering, “Exposing and Countering Extremism and Antisemitism on the Political Right,” will feature remarks from task force co-chairs Luke Moon, Pastor Mario Bramnick and Ellie Cohanim; U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee; Ralph Reed, president of the Faith and Freedom Coalition; and Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. Discussion topics will include “replacement theology,” the path ahead for Gen Z and “overcoming the Woke Right.”

The Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly wraps up tomorrow in Washington. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is slated to speak and JI’s Lahav Harkov will moderate a panel on the Middle East in a post-Oct. 7 world.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz will deliver remarks with pop diva Nicki Minaj tomorrow on the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post that Israel “prefer[s] that Turkey not receive F-35s from the U.S.,” breaking with Washington over the move that President Donald Trump indicated he was open to during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in September. 

But Leiter dismissed concerns around Saudi Arabia potentially acquiring F-35s, which is currently under negotiation ahead of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the White House next week. “There’s no indication that Israel’s qualitative edge will be compromised,” he said. Leiter has recently become Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s main conduit in Washington after the resignation of Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer…

Israel is seeking a new 20-year memorandum of understanding with the U.S. when the current one expires in 2028, U.S. and Israeli officials told Axios, double the length of past agreements.

New Israeli propositions, including redirecting some of the funds towards joint U.S.-Israeli R&D rather than direct military aid, are reportedly designed to make the lengthy deal more attractive to Trump as well as the GOP, which has grown weary of foreign aid…

Trump told MBS in a phone call last month that he expects to see progress made on Israel-Saudi normalization now that the ceasefire in Gaza is in force, U.S. officials also told Axios, which MBS said he was “willing to work on”…

Israel and White House advisor Jared Kushner are preparing contingency plans in case Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan doesn’t come to fruition, Israeli media reports. The IDF’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, told Israeli Security Cabinet officials that the IDF will soon present its alternative…

Meanwhile in the U.S., the Democratic primary for the seat of retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) in New York’s 12th Congressional District, which has one of the largest Jewish constituencies in the country, gets more crowded by the day. 

Shortly after the entry of JFK’s grandson, Jack Schlossberg, into the race, Erik Bottcher, a Democratic city councilman and LGBTQ activist, told The New York Times he’s jumping in (and that he supports Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state). There are rumors that Lincoln Project co-founder George Conway is eyeing a bid, as well. 

Among the many other candidates are longtime Nadler aide Micah Lasher, who today got the endorsement of Comptroller-elect Mark Levine; state Assemblyman Alex Bores; and gun control activist Cameron Kasky, who posted yesterday on social media, “If you are a Democrat running in 2026 and do not fully support an arms embargo to the State of Israel … Stop wasting everybody’s time”…

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell conceded to his opponent, socialist Katie Wilson, today after last night’s ballot drop made it mathematically impossible for him to prevail.

Though the moderate Harrell led in the polls for the week following Election Day, Wilson eventually gained ground and now leads him by a 0.7% margin — just shy of 2,000 votes. With only several hundred votes left to be counted, The Seattle Times said the race is “on pace to be the closest in modern Seattle politics.”

Wilson joins New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, as well as progressive challengers who prevailed in several Seattle City Council races, as evidence of the far left’s growing popularity in major U.S. cities. However, their small (or razor thin, in Wilson’s case) margins of victory and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s win over his DSA-aligned opponent are proof the fringe still lacks a mandate in the Democratic Party…

Former Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA) announced raising more than $500,000 in the first 24 hours after the launch of her comeback bid for her seat in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District.

The Jewish, pro-Israel Navy veteran sent out a fundraising email this afternoon with the subject line “Chutzpah,” saying the “Yiddish term that means guts or courage … runs in my family” and she’s “not afraid of a little mishigas”…

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) was hospitalized today after suffering a “ventricular fibrillation flare-up” and subsequent fall and face injuries, but is doing well, his spokesperson reported. His scheduled discussion this evening with UJA-Federation of New York about his new book has been cancelled…

The New York Times profiles Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts and his path from leading a small Catholic college to helming the prominent think tank and sparking controversy among conservatives over his embrace of Tucker Carlson. 

Roberts claimed as part of his defense over releasing the controversial video during a staff meeting last week, “I actually don’t have time to consume a lot of news. I consume a lot of sports,” and “I didn’t know much about this [Nick] Fuentes guy. I still don’t.” 

“‘Who could believe that the head of a think tank doesn’t think?’ said Charles Jacobs, the president of the Jewish Leadership Project, which resigned from a Heritage Foundation task force meant to fight antisemitism after Mr. Roberts’ video was released”…

Joining the list of Heritage resignations, Adam Mossoff, a law professor at George Mason’s Scalia Law School and a prominent pro-Israel advocate, announced he is resigning as a Heritage visiting fellow today “based on [his] considered judgment” of Roberts’ video and “subsequent commentary”…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for a preview of President Donald Trump’s meeting next week with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is traveling to Israel tomorrow for a five-day trip where he plans to meet with government officials and economic development and high-tech leaders.

The Texas Tribune Festival, taking place this week in Austin, continues tomorrow with speakers including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Democratic Texas Senate candidates James Talarico and Rep. Colin Allred, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), comedian John Mulaney, former Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV), venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale and former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. On Saturday, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) are slated to speak.

MSNBC is launching its rebrand on Saturday as MS NOW, part of its separation from NBCUniversal, with dozens of veteran journalists recruited as part of its expanded newsroom.

On Sunday, the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust will present its fourth annual New York Jewish Book Festival. 

Sunday evening, the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly kicks off in Washington, with an opening plenary including former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, authors Sarah Hurwitz and Micah Goodman, CNN contributor Scott Jennings and Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, senior rabbi at Central Synagogue in New York City.

We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat Shalom!

• The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is holding a hearing this morning on religious freedom in Syria during the country’s transition out of dictatorship.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S Josh Kraushaar

So much of the conversation about the rise of right-wing antisemitism has been focused on the supply side of the equation — the growing number of online commentators and podcasters, led by Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, who are mainlining anti-Jewish tropes, conspiracy theories and Holocaust revisionism to their sizable audiences.

Less scrutinized is the demand-side part of the equation: Why are so many people in the independent podcasting ecosystem mimicking the same antisemitic arguments and hosting the same extremist guests? Is there really a significant audience for this nonsense?  

On paper, there’s no constituency for this type of extremism. As an example: Carlson’s public sympathizing towards Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, for instance, is about as politically toxic as you can get with the American public. A recent NBC News poll found just 3% of Americans view Putin favorably, while a whopping 84% view him negatively. 

But in the world of social media, a small but passionate audience of superfans — even if they’re extremists — can be more lucrative than a much broader audience of mainstream news consumers. The problem is that the perception of influence, fueled by these social media platforms, can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

We saw this pattern play out on the left in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election, when politically toxic views about policing, immigration, race and gender identity received outsized attention on Twitter, were enforced by a small number of online influencers and quickly became conventional wisdom in institutional liberal circles. The shift was so profound that most of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates embraced left-wing positions that they later ended up regretting.

With Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter (now X), the platform’s algorithm now incentivizes far-right discourse, creating a marketplace for bigoted and antisemitic influencers. It’s what’s creating a demand for the conspiratorial content of Carlson, Owens and others, and it also explains why more-mainstream figures in the “independent” media space, like Megyn Kelly, are increasingly flirting with these extremist narratives.

“It’s not lost on me that there was a great celebration on the right when Elon Musk bought Twitter — and now it looks like one of the worst things for the right in a long time. The algorithms on X really promote the worst excesses of the post-liberal right,” said one former official at a conservative policy institution granted anonymity to discuss concerns. “Tucker and Megyn are in the business of monetizing the algorithm more than building an audience.”

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

Can Vance Save the Right?: Following on his Substack article lamenting the rise of “new radicalism” among Gen Zers on the political right, conservative author Rod Dreher posits in The Free Press that the one person who can “save the right, and America, from this rising extremism” is Vice President JD Vance. “Vance is — or could be — the answer to the problem of [Nick] Fuentes and the nihilistic culture that spawned his popularity. Vance lived out a grim version of the chaos that so many men of the generation just below his own are living — and triumphed over it. As a veteran who turned against the Iraq War in which he served, he knows all too well about the failures of American institutions. … Vance should not try to reason with the Groypers, to talk them into the tent. They only want to mock, destroy, and humiliate. Aside from hating Jews, Israel, blacks, and women, they have no program or vision. The best way — the only way — to counter their malignant influence is to condemn them, straight up, but without dismissing the legitimacy of the despair that drives young men into their ranks. … Then, Vance and his team must develop concrete solutions to the economic precarity in which the Zoomers live. … Third, Vance should lean hard into his Christian faith, which is deep and authentic. … Finally, Vance’s biography is an asset that none of his would-be rivals has.” [FreePress]

Antisemites in Their Midst: David Drucker warns in Bloomberg that rising antisemitism on the right could be what “unravels” the GOP’s coalition. “Yet many traditional Republicans remain reluctant to criticize [Tucker] Carlson. The former Fox News host is popular on the populist right and his podcast is among the country’s most influential media platforms. Others fear alienating the populists, concerned Republicans cannot defeat Democrats in national elections without them. … In the four decades from Reagan to Trump, Republicans generally fought the Democrats using ideas as weapons; and conservative media personalities used whatever ideological authority they possessed to enforce party dogma. But during Obama’s presidency, Republicans and their media allies got it into their heads that the US was on the brink of an irreversible collapse that could only be prevented by permanently blocking the Democrats from power. Ideology became secondary — if that — to defeating the left. With that in mind, it’s only logical that, as long as their votes are on offer, some Republicans are willing to tolerate antisemites in their midst.” [Bloomberg]

Libel Lessons: Adam Louis-Klein, founder of the Movement Against Antizionism, argues in The Free Press that New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s win must be understood in the frame of what he calls “the libel-cycle: a recurring civilizational pattern in which anti-Jewish libels spread through society, generate moral hysteria, and rapidly recode entire ideological systems into engines of anti-Jewish meaning. … [Mamdani’s victory] is not just a local event or a mere function of economic populism. It signals a broader cultural shift — one in which opposition to Jewish peoplehood has become a mark of moral virtue. And it marks something larger still: a recurring civilizational pattern — the cycle of libel — to which the only adequate response is historical consciousness and the courage to forge a new paradigm.” [FreePress]

U.S. and Saudi officials are working to finalize a defense pact between the two countries ahead of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Washington next week, Axios reports. Riyadh is also reportedly looking to purchase a large weapons package from the U.S., including F-35 fighter jets…

Venture capital investor Alex Moore is exploring laser warfare startups and sea-cruising drone technology that could capture a portion of the hundreds of billions of dollars MBS promises to spend in the U.S. Moore, an early protégé of Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel, heads the defense portfolio at Austin, Texas-based 8VC and traveled to Israel last week to assess new investment prospects and sat down for an interview with The Circuit’s Jonathan Ferziger…

After a spate of violent attacks by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters there is “some concern about events in the West Bank spilling over and creating an effect that could undermine what we’re doing in Gaza”…

In the latest incident overnight, a mosque in a Palestinian village in the West Bank was torched and defaced with anti-Islamic graffiti…

The Treasury Department issued sanctions against 32 individuals and entities based in countries including Iran, China, the UAE and India that contribute to Iran’s ballistic missile and drone production…

Emirati officials have expressed concerns about the roles of Qatar and Turkey in the plan for postwar Gaza, The Jerusalem Post reports…

Former Vice President Kamala Harris told pro-Palestinian hecklers at a speaking event this week that the Biden administration “should’ve spoken publicly about our criticism of the way that Netanyahu and his government were executing this war. … But let’s be very clear, that the inhuman nature of what has happened to the Palestinian people in Gaza, the innocent civilians, the extent of hunger, famine, suffering, death, is something that we must acknowledge”…

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has a meeting scheduled with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Politico reports, in a sign that he will follow through with his pledge to keep her in the role…. 

After a group of rabbis in the Bronx issued a statement calling congressional candidate Michael Blake’s use of a video of anti-Israel activist Guy Christensen “deeply offensive,” the former assemblyman apologized and denounced the murder of two Israeli Embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in May, which Christensen had celebrated. “I apologize for any pain our campaign video caused any member of the Jewish community by including someone who condoned this horrific event,” Blake, who is challenging Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) in the Democratic primary, said…

In his memoir released this week, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) details his falling out with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, accusing him of being driven by “optics and fear”…

Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, asked the board of the University of Virginia to refrain from choosing a replacement for its former president, James Ryan, until she takes office, saying she is “deeply concerned” about the board’s failure to push back against the Trump administration’s ouster of Ryan…

The Republican Jewish Coalition announced on Wednesday that it had elected to its board of directors Dan Conston, the former president of the Congressional Leadership Fund; Charlie Spies, a veteran elections attorney; and philanthropist David Gemunder, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports… 

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen, akin to its city council, passed a nonbinding resolution calling on the city’s retirement system to divest from companies involved in Israel and its war in Gaza, including Boeing, a significant employer in the region, after a heated debate…

IDF Arabic-language spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee is set to retire soon after 20 years of service. He is likely to be replaced by Maj. Ella Waweya, one of the most senior female Arab Muslim officers in the IDF…

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel toured sites and communities attacked by Hamas in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, including a visit to the home of Amir Tibon, Haaretz journalist and author of The Gates of Gaza, a book about the attack on his kibbutz, Nahal Oz. Merkel was in Israel to receive an honorary doctorate from the Weizmann Institute of Science…

The New York Times chronicles the distrust in the Five Eyes — the intelligence alliance comprising the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand — with FBI Director Kash Patel, over his personnel decisions, inexperience in intelligence matters, partisanship and interpersonal interactions…

An Israeli-founded AI cybersecurity company, Tenzai, founded just six months ago, came out of stealth yesterday with a $75 million seed round, with support from major venture capital firms including Greylock Partners, Lux Capital and Battery Ventures…

Actor and Israel advocate Michael Rapaport (right) led a conversation with Daniel Goldstein, a 33-year-old IDF reservist, licensed social worker and trauma survivor, at the American Friends of NATAL’s 20th anniversary gala in New York on Monday evening. Rapaport hosted the gala, which aimed to raise funds for trauma care and spotlight the mental health crisis Israel is facing.

Former relief pitcher in the Colorado Rockies organization, he pitched for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, now an EMT in Los Angeles, Troy Neiman turns 35…

Former president and COO of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, who serves on the boards of many Jewish organizations and founded the Jewish Future Promise, Mike Leven turns 88… Israeli industrialist with holdings in energy, real estate and automobile distributorships, Gad Zeevi turns 86… Shmuel Harlap… Chief rabbi of Rome, Rabbi Dr. Shmuel Riccardo Di Segni turns 76… Publisher of the independent “Political Junkie” blog and podcast, Kenneth Rudin… U.S. attorney general throughout the Biden administration, Merrick Garland turns 73… Israeli businessman Nochi Dankner turns 71… Managing director of the Jewish Education Innovation Challenge, Sharon Freundel… Former president of the D.C. Board of Education, Ruth Wattenberg… Former editor-in-chief of British Vogue for 25 years, she is a strategic advisor to Atterley, an Edinburgh, Scotland-based fashion marketplace, Alexandra Shulman turns 68… U.S. senator (R-AK), Dan Sullivan turns 61… Producer and writer, he has written for 10 television shows, Matt Weitzman turns 58… San Jose, Calif., resident, Katherine (Katya) Palkin… Somali-born activist who has served in the Dutch parliament, she is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, Ayaan Hirsi Ali turns 56… Former Israeli government minister for the Shas party, he has served as minister of communications and then minister of sousing, Ariel Atias turns 55… Founder of Pailet Financial Services, a predecessor agency of what is now the Dallas office of Marsh & McLennan, Kevin Pailet… Rabbi Andrea Dobrick Haney… President and CEO at the U.S. Travel Association, Geoffrey Freeman… Member of the Knesset for the Yesh Atid party, Meirav Ben-Ari turns 50… Television journalist employed by Hearst Television, Jeff Rossen turns 49… President of baseball operations for MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers, Andrew Friedman turns 49… Israeli rapper and record producer, generally known by his stage name “Subliminal,” Yaakov (Kobi) Shimoni turns 46… CEO of the JCC of Greater Baltimore, Paul M. Lurie… Judoka who won three national titles (2000, 2002 and 2004), she competed for the U.S. at the Athens Olympics in 2004, Charlee Minkin turns 44… Senior director of policy and communications at Christians United For Israel, Ari Morgenstern… Political communications consultant, Jared Goldberg-Leopold… PR and communications consultant, Mark Botnick… Professional soccer player, then a soccer coach and now a sales account executive at Les Friedland Associates, Jarryd Goldberg turns 40… Michael Schwab… Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (R-OH), one of four Jewish Republican congressmen, Max Leonard Miller turns 37… Staff attorney for the ACLU’s voting rights project, Jonathan Topaz… Israeli film, television and stage actor and model, Bar Brimer turns 28… J.D. candidate at University of Houston Law Center, Cole Deutch… VP of Israel and global philanthropy and director of Christian Friends of the Jewish Agency for Israel, Danielle Mor…

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

U.S. and Saudi officials are working to finalize a defense pact between the two countries ahead of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Washington next week, Axios reports. The agreement would reportedly contain similar guarantees to those Qatar received from the U.S. last month, with the Saudis also looking to purchase a weapons package that would include F-35 fighter jets. 

The Trump administration also told the Saudis that it would like to see progress made on Saudi-Israel normalization, U.S. officials said. The negotiations on these deals quietly brought White House advisor Jared Kushner to Riyadh over the weekend and the Saudi defense minister to the U.S. earlier this week…

Jordan Wood, a former congressional aide and Democratic candidate for Senate in Maine, announced that he is switching his candidacy to now run for the House in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, where Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) has said he will not seek reelection. 

Wood joined his fellow Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner in vowing not to accept support from AIPAC, saying in an interview last week, “There’s a tremendous amount of distrust right now among Democratic primary voters that the money that AIPAC has put into our political system has affected our priorities when it comes to foreign aid to Israel”…

Another shifting race is New York’s 17th Congressional District, where Jessica Reinmann, a Democratic nonprofit executive who was challenging Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), dropped out of the Democratic primary today and endorsed Cait Conley.

An Army veteran with extensive counterterrorism experience in the Middle East, Conley told Jewish Insider in April about her commitment to Israel’s security and concerns around threats posed by Iran.

With her background in national security, Conley is viewed as having the strongest profile to win back the swing seat for the party, according to Democratic sources familiar with the race.…

The Wall Street Journal reports on financial gains made by U.S. businesses over the two-year Israel-Hamas war; out of the $32 billion of military-related sales the U.S. has greenlit to Israel since October 2023, $19.3 billion is through contracts with Boeing, Lockheed Martin has secured $743 million, Caterpillar secured $295 million, and more…

An Israeli-founded AI cybersecurity company, Tenzai, founded just six months ago, came out of stealth yesterday with a $75 million seed round. Its technology, which finds hackable vulnerabilities in code, drew support from major venture capital firms including Greylock Partners, Lux Capital and Battery Ventures…

Israel reopened the Zikim border crossing into Gaza today to facilitate increased food and humanitarian aid flow, as part of its compliance with the ongoing ceasefire agreement with Hamas…

After being heckled by anti-Israel protesters at a podcast taping earlier this week, former Vice President Kamala Harris paused the conversation to tell the audience: “A lot of what this process has been for me has been about reflection. Look, we should’ve done more as an administration. We should’ve spoken publicly about our criticism of the way that Netanyahu and his government were executing this war.”

“We had more levers in terms of leverage that we did not use. … But let’s be very clear, that the inhuman nature of what has happened to the Palestinian people in Gaza, the innocent civilians, the extent of hunger, famine, suffering, death, is something that we must acknowledge,” Harris continued…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reporting on the status of the Muslim Brotherhood under Israeli law.

The U.S. House is expected to approve a spending package to reopen the government this evening, which would fund the government through Jan. 30.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is holding a hearing tomorrow morning on religious freedom in Syria during the country’s transition out of dictatorship.

The DP World Tour golf championship kicks off in Dubai, UAE, tomorrow.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed sidestepped a question about Israel’s right to exist during an interview with the anti-Israel media outlet Zeteo last week, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. 

Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan asked El-Sayed how he would respond if and when he faces questions on the campaign trail about whether he supports Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. Pressed after initially dodging the question, El-Sayed said, “Israel exists. Palestine doesn’t. And so I always wonder why nobody asks me why Palestine doesn’t have a right to exist.”

El-Sayed also dismissed AIPAC donors as “MAGA billionaires throwing their money around to try to dictate the outcome for a Democratic primary,” though AIPAC has not yet endorsed a candidate in the Michigan Senate race…

Chi Ossé, a far-left Gen Z New York City councilman, is planning to launch a primary challenge to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), The New York Times reports, despite discouragement from his ideological ally, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who clinched Jeffries’ endorsement shortly before the general election. Ossé’s insistence on running reportedly caused him to be disinvited from Mamdani’s election night party… 

Elsewhere in New York, Bruce Blakeman, the first Jewish executive of Nassau County who just won reelection last week, is considering mounting a bid for governor, he told Politico, where he would face off against Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) in the GOP primary. Both are allies of President Donald Trump; Blakeman said he “told [Trump] that I was interested, and he didn’t discourage me. And I think he’s had the same conversation with Elise. I think the president is going to play it out and see what happens at the convention”…

Also throwing her hat in the ring, former Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA), a moderate Jewish Democrat with a strong pro-Israel record, plans to launch a comeback campaign tomorrow, Punchbowl reports. Luria would likely be the front-runner in the already crowded Democratic primary to win back Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District from Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA), who defeated her in 2022…

Ron Dermer, Israel’s minister of strategic affairs and longtime advisor and confidante to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, resigned from his post today after three years in the role, JI’s Tamara Zieve reports. “This government will be remembered both for the October 7 attack and for its management of the two-year, seven-front war that followed,” Dermer wrote in his resignation letter. Israeli media had reported for months that Dermer’s departure was expected.

Dermer has led Israel’s ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations since February and is expected to stay on as Netanyahu’s envoy to continue handling the future of the Gaza portfolio, political sources recently told JI… 

The State Department denied reports today that White House advisor Jared Kushner met with Gaza militia leader Yasser Abu Shabab to discuss ceasefire issues including dozens of Hamas terrorists still “stuck” in tunnels on the Israeli side of the ceasefire lines, though U.S. officials told Axios Kushner did speak with Netanyahu about the issue during their meeting in Jerusalem yesterday, and is eager to resolve it without impact on the next phase of the deal…

Saudi Arabia is set to host a U.S.-Saudi investment summit in Washington next Wednesday, a day after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the White House. An invite obtained by CBS News shows the event taking place at the Kennedy Center, co-hosted by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment and the U.S.-Saudi Business Council…

An undated letter from Houthi Chief of Staff Yusuf Hassan al-Madani to Hamas’ Al Qassam Brigades indicates that the Yemeni terror group has halted its attacks on Israel and ships in the Red Sea amid the ongoing ceasefire: “We are closely monitoring developments and declare that if the enemy resumes its aggression against Gaza, we will return to our military operations deep inside the Zionist entity, and we will reinstate the ban on Israeli navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas,” the letter reads…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for an analysis on congressional redistricting efforts and additional reporting on Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s Washington meetings.

The International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries kicks off tomorrow, drawing 6,200 rabbis from 111 countries to New York City.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama will appear at Washington’s Sixth & I Synagogue tomorrow evening to discuss her forthcoming book, The Look.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Despite the historic nature of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s White House visit today, his meeting with President Donald Trump was kept a relatively low-key affair. Al-Sharaa entered through a back door and didn’t receive the usual greeting photo op with Trump, and the meeting was closed to the press.

The two leaders made news nonetheless: Syria is now set to join the U.S.-led campaign against ISIS, Trump and al-Sharaa discussed reopening respective embassies in Damascus and Washington and the Treasury Department issued a new order extending the suspension of U.S. sanctions on Syria for six months. 

Ibrahim Olabi, Syria’s U.N. ambassador, said the two leaders also discussed a prospective Israel-Syria security agreement. “The term used frequently during the meeting by President Trump and Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio was ‘let’s get this done,’” Olabi said…

Trump has encouraged lawmakers to fully lift the congressionally mandated U.S. sanctions on Syria, but Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), a Trump ally and the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, did not commit to supporting sanctions relief when he held his own meeting with al-Sharaa yesterday, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Mast and al-Sharaa “had a long and serious conversation about how to build a future for the people of Syria free of war, ISIS, and extremism,” Mast said in a statement, but offered no words of praise for the Syrian leader…

Sergio Gor was sworn in as U.S. ambassador to India today to unusual fanfare — he and Trump were joined in the Oval Office by Rubio; Vice President JD Vance; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent; Attorney General Pam Bondi; U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro; Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Jim Risch (R-ID); Katie Britt (R-AL) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL); Erika Kirk and Fox News host Laura Ingraham, among others. 

Swearing in Gor, who used to serve as the head of the Presidential Personnel Office where he wielded significant influence in assuring political hires shared his skepticism of American engagement abroad, Vance said, “We have such a crowd here, you’d think we were swearing in a vice president”…

Laura Loomer, a right-wing Trump advisor who has historically maintained pro-Israel stances, wrote on social media today that, after spending “an incredible week” in Israel, she has “reached a firm conclusion: Israel must end its dependence on U.S. aid and the U.S. must end all aid to Israel.”

“I truly hope by the end of the Trump administration and by the beginning of a new administration in 2028 that we see zero aid flowing to Israel,” she wrote, calling it a “win-win” for the U.S., which will no longer be a “global baby sitter,” and for Israel, which will be free to conduct its wars as it wishes.

In response, Democratic Majority for Israel accused Loomer of continuing “a troubling pattern on the Right — embracing anti-Israel policies & undermining our allies,” in the vein of Tucker Carlson and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)…

Christine Pelosi, daughter of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who was thought to be considering a run for her mother’s seat as she retires, announced today that she is not running for Congress. Instead, Pelosi is launching a campaign for the state Senate seat currently held by Scott Wiener, who is running for her mother’s San Francisco congressional district…

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani named two of his top advisors today: Dean Fuleihan to be first deputy mayor and Elle Bisgaard-Church as his chief of staff. 

Bisgaard-Church is a democratic socialist who was part of Mamdani’s campaign inner circle. Fuleihan, on the other hand, is a city and state government veteran; he previously served in the same role under former Mayor Bill de Blasio and as his budget director, as well as a budget expert in the state Legislature, among other roles. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), who was at times at odds with Mamdani during his campaign, called Fuleihan’s appointment “exceptional … in more ways than one”…  

Danielle Sassoon, the former interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York who resigned her post rather than drop a case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams at the request of the Trump administration, has joined the law office of Clement & Murphy, The New York Times reports. The conservative boutique firm is known for its “longstanding opposition to executive branch overreach”…

The Wall Street Journal reports on Yale’s attempt to stay out of the line of fire in Trump’s crusade against higher education, including President Maurie McInnis’ increased government lobbying expenditures and a student forum where classmates encouraged each other to refrain from disruptive anti-Israel protests: “‘The only thing continuing to protest will do is to take education and opportunities away from the rest of us,’ said one post [on the forum]. ‘Ppl need to stop being stupid and selfish and realize they will gain no ground under this administration on the Israel issue’”…

Palantir CEO Alex Karp defended his support of Israel in an interview with WIRED, released today, saying, “Israel is a country with a GDP smaller than Switzerland, and it’s under massive attack. Some critiques are legitimate, but others are aggressive in attacking Israel. My reaction is, well, then I’m just going to defend them.” 

“When people are fair to Israel and treat it like any other nation, which I don’t think they do, I will be much more willing to express in public the things I express in private to Israelis”…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reporting on veteran journalists Bianna Golodryga and Yonit Levi’s new book, Don’t Feed the Lion, which they will launch at Temple Emanu-El in New York City tomorrow night, joined in conversation by comedian Elon Gold.

This evening, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa will appear on Fox News’ “Special Report” with Bret Baier.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The Abraham Accords is expected to gain another participant this evening, though in a first, the country is not joining as a show of peace with Israel — since the new addition, the Muslim-majority central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, has had full diplomatic relations with Israel since 1992.

Kazakhstan’s president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, is expected to announce the move at a meeting with President Donald Trump later today, where they will also hold a joint phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump administration officials told Axios that the White House wants to “build momentum” for the Abraham Accords ahead of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Washington on Nov. 18.

As far as Kazakhstan’s motivation, the former Soviet nation has long lobbied Washington to cancel a Cold War-era law that has hindered its access to American markets, and could benefit from currying favor with the Trump administration.

Leading Jewish organizations have worked with Kazakhstan’s Jewish community and government for over a decade to lobby Congress to repeal the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, and told Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov and Danielle Cohen-Kanik that they are highly supportive of the country’s inclusion in the Accords…

Ahead of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s own visit to the White House on Monday, the U.N. Security Council voted in favor of a U.S.-sponsored resolution to lift sanctions on the former Al-Qaida leader turned president…

Also getting an Oval Office welcome, Israeli media reported today that Trump invited the 20 Israeli hostages released from Gaza last month to visit the White House in two weeks…

On the Hill, members of the Senate Armed Services Committee from both parties voiced concerns with Elbridge Colby, under secretary of defense for policy, and his office at the Pentagon at a committee hearing today — for the second time this week, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

“Many of this committee have serious concerns about the Pentagon’s policy office and how it is serving the president of the United States and the Congress,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the chairman of the committee, said in his opening statement. “In many of these conversations, we hear that the Pentagon policy office seems to be doing what it pleases without coordinating, even inside the U.S. executive branch”…

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced this morning that she will retire at the end of her term in 2027, after serving 39 years in Congress where she made history as the first female speaker of the House. 

For most of her illustrious career, Pelosi has been a reliable ally of Israel and, as Democratic leader, generally managed to keep her caucus united around support for the Jewish state. But, like many Democrats, she leaned in a more critical direction during the war in Gaza, at one point supporting a call to suspend weapons transfers to Israel. Read JI’s interview with Scott Wiener, the state senator from California seeking to win her seat…

The IDF is beginning to demobilize thousands of reservists called up for duty, some of whom have served hundreds of days in the past two years, announcing that the country is transitioning from war into a period of “enhanced border security” as the ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza largely endures…

The Treasury Department announced sanctions today against members of Hezbollah’s “finance team” who “oversee the movement of funds from Iran” in an effort to support the Lebanese government’s moves to disarm the terror group. The department revealed that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has already transferred over $1 billion to Hezbollah this year…

Author Jamie Kirchick argues in The Washington Post that the “inevitable fracturing of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement is in sight, the instigator of its rupture that most narcissistic and destructive of media personalities: Tucker Carlson.” 

Kirchick admonishes Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts for failing to outright condemn Carlson’s platforming of neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes: “Stalinists and Holocaust deniers like Fuentes are perfectly entitled to spew their nonsense on street corners, through self-published manifestos or in online livestreams. What they are not entitled to is the imprimatur of purportedly respectable institutions whose reputations hinge upon the voices they choose to amplify”…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for an interview with former Minnesota Sen. Rudy Boschwitz, who will be celebrating his 95th birthday.

On Sunday, the Zionist Organization of America will hold its annual gala, where it will present awards to Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY); Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter; Leo Terrell, head of the Department of Justice’s antisemitism task force; Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon; and philanthropists Irit and Jonathan Tratt. 

We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat Shalom!