Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The fallout from a rape allegation made against Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner intensified today as Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) — some of the Democrat’s most prominent progressive backers — rescinded their support of Platner and called on him to drop out. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who shares a top consultant with Platner, also advised the candidate to drop his bid.

Platner’s campaign has canceled all in-person fundraising events scheduled for the coming days and put holds on its social media ads, according to Politico. The candidate reportedly told his campaign staff in a call last night that a decision on the future of his race is forthcoming…

Several prominent Maine Democrats have begun to signal interest in replacing Platner on the general election ballot, should he withdraw by the deadline of July 13. Among those hinting at a run are Troy Jackson, a former state Senate president who has already filed with the Federal Election Commission to explore a bid; former U.S. House candidate Jordan Wood; former gubernatorial candidate Nirav Shah; and Platner’s former primary opponent David Costello.

Maine Democratic Party officials are considering holding a pop-up convention around July 25 or holding a statewide caucus to choose Platner’s replacement, sources told The New York Times…

As the heated Democratic Senate primary in Michigan enters its final stretch, far-left candidate Abdul El-Sayed told CNN this week that he does not believe that a politician’s support for Israel could be about anything other than money, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. “Not if you’re a Democrat and you believe in human rights,” El-Sayed told CNN when asked about such a distinction…

The Treasury Department revoked the waiver it issued last month lifting sanctions on Iranian oil, after Iran reportedly struck another vessel in the Strait of Hormuz today, marking the third such attack in the last 24 hours.

“As President [Donald] Trump and the administration have repeatedly affirmed, the [memorandum of understanding] in effect with Iran is entirely performance-based. Iran will only reap benefits if they exhibit good behavior,” a U.S. official told JI’s Matthew Shea. “Iran’s actions in the Strait were wholly unacceptable to the United States and will be met with consequences. Our negotiators continue to work in good faith towards a final deal”…

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry summoned Iran’s deputy ambassador in the Gulf stateto express its “strong condemnation and denunciation” of Tehran’s strike yesterday on a Qatari tanker, after Doha sent a delegation of officials to the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an apparent diplomatic olive branch…

Saudi Arabia is considering increasing the capacity of its East-West oil pipeline in order to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and facilitate oil exports out of the Red Sea, Reuters reports…

Trump announced today that his administration is preparing to lift congressionally mandated sanctions on Turkey as he weighs moving forward with the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Ankara, JI’s Matthew Shea reports.

“It’s time to do that. We don’t want to sanction friends,” the president said. Defense experts and lawmakers previously told JI that Turkey still maintains the Russian air-defense system that prompted the sanctions in 2020, which makes lifting the sanctions legally complicated…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again voiced his opposition to Trump’s overtures to Ankara, telling CNN that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is “not exactly a model ally of the United States” as he “threatens to destroy my country, the one and only Jewish state.”

Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli went further in his rhetoric, calling Erdoğan a “grotesque hybrid of Hitler and [late Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar” and a “pathetic blood-soaked zero” in a post on X yesterday…

The Israeli Consulate in New York was evacuated from its Midtown Manhattan building after a nearby high-rise building under construction showed signs of collapsing, prompting evacuations across the area…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for coverage of tonight’s debate between Michigan Senate Democratic primary candidates Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), with less than a month to go until the election.

The NATO summit in Ankara will conclude with the main working session of all 32 member states as well as a press conference from NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers is set to attend a dinner tonight on the sidelines of the summit with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel will deliver a speech at Tel Aviv University, where he is set to lay out his vision for the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship as he prepares for a potential 2028 presidential run. Emanuel met today with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum.

The Contemporary Antisemitism conference will continue at the University of Haifa.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

A woman who dated Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner alleged in a series of interviews with Politico that the Democrat sexually assaulted her in 2021, an account the outlet backed up with her correspondence and other interviews.The woman, Jenny Racicot, said Platner came into her home uninvited while intoxicated and forced himself on her despite her repeated objections.

In a video statement, Platner denied the accusation outright but said he’s “mindful of the political reality it will inflict” and would be “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love,” a different tone than Platner has struck in the aftermath of his previous controversies. The Maine Democratic Party can only choose a replacement nominee for the general election ballot if Platner voluntarily withdraws by July 13…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced opposition today to the Trump administration’s sale of jet engines and potential sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, hours before President Donald Trump was set to depart for the NATO summit in Ankara, Jewish Insider’s Christina Sher reports.

Netanyahu suggested on “Fox & Friends” that such moves “will upset the power balance in the Middle East, which is ultimately guaranteed by Israeli air superiority” and U.S. posture in the region. Axios reports that Netanyahu relayed the same message directly to Trump in a phone call last week and asked him to help address Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan‘s escalating anti-Israel rhetoric…

The percentage of Jewish Israelis who believe Israel’s security is a central consideration for Trump has reached a record low of 26%, according to a new survey from the Israel Democracy Institute, JI’s Matthew Shea reports. The figure marks a 15-point decrease from a month ago, during which time the Trump administration signed its memorandum of understanding with Iran…

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem announced at a press conference in Gaza today that the terror group’s Emergency Committee — the administrative body that has governed the enclave for more than two decades — is dissolving and that its civil servants, who will remain in their roles, stand ready to work under the new technocratic government established by the Board of Peace.

The BoP expressed skepticism about the announcement, JI’s Emily Jacobs and Matthew Shea report, saying its “assessment will be guided by actions, not promises” and calling for a “genuine transfer of authority” and for Hamas to disarm. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar dismissed the move outright, calling it a “trick … designed to prevent [Hamas’] own disarmament”…

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said both Israel and Lebanon see the agreement signed between Jerusalem, Beirut and Washington earlier this month as “superseding” the first clause of the U.S.-Iran MOU, which calls for the end of hostilities on all fronts. “Whether or not the United States does, you’ll have to ask an administration spokesman,” Leiter said at an event with the Council on Foreign Relations.

Leiter also said he “can’t imagine that any ultimate agreement with Iran would be absent a clause limiting the development of ballistic missiles,” though the MOU did not mention Iran’s ballistic missile program…

In a preview obtained by Politico of the speech former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel is set to deliver at Tel Aviv University on Wednesday, the prospective 2028 presidential candidate is set to say that the U.S. has spent too long “averting its eyes” from what he views as Israel’s misadventures, calling for “significant changes and a new direction” in the bilateral relationship.

“Going forward, Emanuel plans to say, Israelis should regard U.S. support as expressly contingent: On reviving a serious commitment to Palestinian sovereignty; On rejecting dreams of asserting dominion beyond official borders in pursuit of ‘Greater Israel’; On abandoning a security strategy that emphasizes brutally effective military force with scant attention to diplomacy or credible what-next plans in Gaza and Iran,” the outlet reported…

French President Emmanuel Macron became the first major Western head of state to visit Syria since the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2024, landing in Damascus today for meetings with Syrian leaders. Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa is also expected to meet with Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey this week…

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

The two-day NATO summit begins in Turkey tomorrow with leaders of all 32 NATO countries expected to attend, as well as a congressional delegation comprised of Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Chris Coons (D-DE) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH). At the top of the agenda are increasing defense investments, as Trump continues to press NATO allies to shoulder a greater share of the alliance’s defense burden and threatens to draw down U.S. troops from Europe, and continuing to support Ukraine in its war with Russia.

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Abdul El-Sayed, now the only remaining candidates in Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary, will participate in a televised debate on local news tomorrow night, their first head-to-head matchup since state Sen. Mallory McMorrow suspended her campaign yesterday.

The annual Contemporary Antisemitism conference, which bills itself as the largest annual academic conference on contemporary antisemitism, will kick off tomorrow at the University of Haifa. The three-day summit will feature hundreds of academics and experts, with a keynote speech tomorrow from former State Department antisemitism envoy Deborah Lipstadt and a lifetime achievement award presented to Tel Aviv University professor emerita Dina Porat.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

In their indirect talks in Doha this week, the U.S. offered Iran access to some of its$100 billion in frozen funds in exchange for Tehran not instituting a toll on the Strait of Hormuz, but Iranian officials have continued to signal they plan to proceed with the move. Continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon also caused tension during the discussions, The Wall Street Journal reports…

U.S. officials told The New York Times that Washington believed Israel was plotting to assassinate Iran’s top negotiators — Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf — as they were engaged in recent talks with the U.S. over the memorandum of understanding…

Arizona Jewish and pro-Israel leaders told Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel that they feel misled by Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ), whom they supported in her contested 2024 primary but who has since turned away from the pro-Israel views she espoused during the campaign — including now rejecting support from Democratic Majority for Israel, which backed her with a surge of spending in 2024…

The AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project super PAC is up with its first negative ad against far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, JI’s Marc Rod reports, hitting the Democrat in the initial $2 million ad buy for his “long history of disrespecting women.” Meanwhile, El-Sayed picked up a high-profile endorsement today from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), her first in a contested Senate race this cycle.

UDP also made $400,000 in advertising reservations to support Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO) as he faces a comeback primary challenge from former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), whom UDP helped Bell defeat in 2024…

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, the Democratic nominee for governor, criticized his party’s socialist congressional nominee, Melat Kiros, for her refusal to describe the deadly firebombing of a Boulder, Colo., hostage awareness march last year as an act of antisemitism, JI’s Marc Rod reports…

New York City congressional nominee Brad Lander published a response to Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove’s letter earlier this week in which Cosgrove predicted that Lander’s hostility to Israel would not be enough to protect him from being targeted by the far left. Lander argued in his response that criticism of Israel — including describing its war in Gaza as a genocide — is consistent with Jewish values and that excluding anti-Zionist Jews weakens the Jewish community…

New polling data shows that a sizable majority of Jewish voters disapprove of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s job performance and fear he is pushing the Democratic Party too far to the left, in contrast with non-Jewish voters who hold a largely favorable view of the democratic socialist, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports…

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers, led by Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Brad Sherman (D-CA), wrote to President Donald Trump today to “express deep concern about any effort” to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, JI’s Marc Rod reports, after Trump and Vice President JD Vance indicated they were looking into it last week…

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), the founder of the Republican Israel Caucus and a reliable ally of the Jewish state, called Israel’s “continuing aggressive operations” in Syria “deeply disturbing,” “counterproductive” and “irresponsible.” Wilson accused Israel of “taking Syrian land and attacking Syrian cities,” saying the operations “need to end immediately”…

Wilson, along with Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), also sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging the administration to remove Syriafrom the State Sponsor of Terrorism list…

Israel marked 1,000 days today since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, with memorials and protests taking place around the country…

Far-right commentator Tucker Carlson told the Columbia Journalism Review that he plans to help start a new political party — after saying last month he was renouncing the Republican Party — but does not plan to run as a candidate. He repeatedly railed against Israel in the interview and accused it of “taking over my political system and destroying my country”…

Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin hosted his annual White Party at his Hamptons estate yesterday featuring a host of high-profile attendees, including Ivanka Trump, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, former quarterback Tom Brady, actor Leonardo di Caprio and more…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s (D-FL) contentious primary race in Florida’s 20th Congressional District.

Fourth of July celebrations in the nation’s capital are kicking off with a bang (literally — the fireworks show on the National Mall could break world records). President Donald Trump is slated to give a speech on the Mall ahead of the fireworks show on Saturday night, followed by a military flyover debuting the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet.

Iran is slated to hold a massive, dayslong funeral procession for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei beginning on Saturday in Tehran and including cities across Iran and Iraq. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a top mediator between the U.S. and Iran, will attend the memorial, alongside officials from dozens of other countries.

Christians United for Israel’s annual summit in Washington will begin on Sunday. Speakers over the three-day confab include State Department antisemitism envoy Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun; former Auburn University basketball coach Bruce Pearl; Malcolm Hoenlein, vice chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; Georgia state Rep. Esther Panitch; and former Israeli hostage Yair Horn.

We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat shalom and happy Fourth of July weekend!

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Talks in Doha about the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding have concluded, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi announced, with the countries agreeing to create a communication channel “by tomorrow” in order to address MOU violations.

The U.S. and Iran also agreed to “keep things quiet for the coming week,” a U.S. official told Axios, while Washington is reportedly continuing to press Tehran to abandon its plan to charge tolls in the Strait of Hormuz and “think bigger” on a nuclear deal. The sums Iran could generate from freely selling oil without sanctions under such a deal “would be 100 times more valuable to them,” the official said…

New York Times/Siena polls of the six Senate battleground states — Alaska, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas — found that Democrats have a path, albeit an uphill one, to retake the chamber in November. All of the races are within the margin of error except in North Carolina, where former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper leads Michael Whatley, former chair of the Republican National Committee, with the largest margin of seven points…

Poetica Coffee, the Brooklyn cafe that banned Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) last week over his support of Israel, claimed in an Instagram post today that Goldman intentionally “smear[ed]” the business in talking about his experience “possibly for election-eve media exposure”…

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, told CNN yesterday that some democratic socialist candidates have views that are “vastly more radical” than where the “Democratic coalition” stands, saying their support for communism, open borders and defunding the police represents “a fundamental attack on America itself”…

Asked about Republicans viewing him as easier to beat in a general election than his more-moderate primary opponents, far-left Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed told Semafor, “The number of times I’m gonna define and redefine Mike Rogers!” referring to the GOP Senate front-runner and former Michigan representative. “By the time I’m done, his best friends are gonna look at him and think what I think, say what I say. I’m gonna define him into eternity”…

The National Education Association adopted new policies ahead of its convening this weekend in Denver after its Jewish Affairs Caucus and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs advocated for such changes, JCPA said, in response to last year’s assembly which grew contentious over antisemitism issues. The new changes include stronger conduct enforcement for delegates, electronic voting to reduce shouting on the floor during resolution votes, de-escalation training for NEA staff and repeated public reminders of the rules…

Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji was sentenced to one year in jail and two years of probation yesterday after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter and battery in the death of Paul Kessler, a 69-year-old Jewish man who died after Alnaji struck him with a megaphone at a protest in California shortly after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. The Anti-Defamation League’s California regional offices decried the sentence as “little more than a slap on the wrist” and expressed concern at the judge’s dismissive demeanor during sentencing…

A New York woman was arrested yesterday by the FBI for allegedly providing material support to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, including over $30,000 in cryptocurrency. The woman is a leader of an extremist organization called the Direct Action Movement for Palestinian Liberation, according to the FBI, and had communicated with a person claiming to be a PIJ fighter in Gaza, whom she told she “wish[es] every day were October 7th”…

Speaking at the Herzliya Conference in Israel, Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram, director general of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, addressed Israeli public criticism of the U.S.’ foreign policy, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports: “What some in Israel perceive as weakness or folly, an apparent disregard for every warning sign on the ground, is viewed in Washington as cold, calculated and clear-eyed risk management in an era of shifting global attention.”

“For us, Iran is an existential threat; for the United States, it is a chronic regional challenge,” Baram said of the countries’ differing priorities. “We think Tehran, they think Taiwan”…

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar held a ceremony to sign the lease for the permanent new complex of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem; Huckabee handed Sa’ar a $1 bill as symbolic payment for the 99-year lease…

The New York Times looks at President Donald Trump’s insistence that Syria take over fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon from Israel, an idea that has been shot down by Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and raised alarm across the Middle East…

CENTCOM hosted a regional security dialogue alongside the Bahrain Defense Force with participation from Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the UAE and Yemen — “the first time military leaders from Syria and Lebanon participated in a regional defense conference led by the United States,” CENTCOM said…

The U.S. Navy is searching for a missing aircrew member after a Sea Hawk helicopter made an emergency water landing in the Arabian Sea, with three of the four crew members rescued in stable condition. There’s no indication any hostile action was involved, the Navy’s 5th Fleet said…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how Jewish leaders are approaching America’s 250th birthday — and why many see the milestone, coming at a fraught moment, as a chance to reaffirm both their Jewish identity and their faith in the American experiment.

The Maccabiah Games, which kicked off today in Jerusalem with a grand opening ceremony, begin in earnest tomorrow as about 5,000 athletes — including 900 from the U.S. — compete in more than 30 sports over the next two weeks.

• Technical delegations from the U.S. and Iran are meeting separately with Qatari and Pakistani mediators in Doha, but have no plans to meet directly. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that the focus of ‌the discussions is the release of Tehran’s frozen funds and the Strait of Hormuz, while President Donald Trump indicated on Monday that the negotiations would focus on Iran’s nuclear program.
• The Wall Street Journal reveals that after Saudi Arabia blocked U.S. military access needed for Project Freedom — Trump’s operation to crack open the Strait of Hormuz — and prompted the White House to threaten to withhold missile interceptors from the kingdom, the confrontation triggered a widening rift in the U.S.-Saudi relationship, with the U.S. now considering reducing its military footprint in the kingdom. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the Gulf last week but skipped a visit to Saudi Arabia; the week before, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman declined an invitation to attend the G7 summit in France, reportedly in protest of the U.S.’ handling of the war with Iran.
• Some of the most prominent figures in U.S.-Israel diplomacy, Israeli national security and the American Jewish community are gathering at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel, to help train a new generation of leaders confronting Israel’s evolving strategic challenges, as part of a pilot program that ends on Thursday. Among the faculty is former Ambassador Dennis Ross, the veteran Middle East negotiator who advised four U.S. presidents; Howard Kohr, the former longtime executive director of AIPAC; and Malcolm Hoenlein, who for decades served as executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Read more in eJewishPhilanthropy.
• The Herzliya Conference wraps up today in Israel: Among the many top national security and political officials speaking are former Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid; former Israeli Ambassadors to the U.S. Danny Ayalon and Michael Herzog; former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro; EU Ambassador to Israel Michael Mann; Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot; Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Avigdor Liberman; Democrats party leader Yair Golan; Ra’am party leader Mansour Abbas; and Nadav Tamir, executive director of J Street Israel.
• And the Aspen Ideas Festival concludes today in Colorado. Jeff Flake, the former U.S. senator and former U.S. ambassador to Turkey; the Atlantic Council’s Ian Brzezinski; and the Stimson Center’s Emma Ashford will speak on a panel about the “next chapter of the trans-Atlantic relationship.”

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR

Progressives in Colorado scored a number of key victories Tuesday night, including Democratic Socialists of America-aligned candidate Melat Kiros’ defeat of Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) in the state’s 1st Congressional District.

The Colorado results suggest that, far from being contained to a few scattered congressional districts in New York City, the momentum for far-left, anti-Israel candidates is only growing within the Democratic Party, especially within urban population centers.

Kiros, a 29-year-old doctoral student, campaigned on her hostility to Israel and faced scrutiny when she declined to call the firebombing attack on a hostage awareness march in Boulder, Colo., antisemitic. DeGette, despite a long-standing progressive record in Congress, struggled to satisfy a critical mass of Democratic voters who preferred a more radical choice, especially when it came to opposing Israel.

Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) survived a scare from a little-known socialist challenger, state Sen. Julie Gonzales, but only won renomination with less than 60% of the Democratic vote. Even in the vote-rich Denver suburbs, the far-left challenger came within striking distance of the state’s well-known senator and former governor.

Former state Rep. Shannon Bird, a moderate championed by Democratic Majority for Israel, lost badly to state Rep. Manny Rutinel for the Democratic nomination in Colorado’s swing 8th District, currently held by Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO). With most votes counted, Rutinel holds a 28-point lead over Bird, 62-34%.

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

When the DSA Came for Lander: Park Avenue Synagogue Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove penned a letter dated two years from now, published in the New York Daily News, to New York Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander, predicting that he will be ousted by a Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidate in the next primary. “They told you it was never about being a Jew — only about being a Zionist — as if the two could be peeled apart, as if your Jewishness had nothing to do with the nation they demanded you disown. There’s an old teaching about the man who thinks he can ride the tiger and dismount whenever he likes. You didn’t tame the coalition you joined. You were, for one term, useful — until the moment it decided to disown you. You could renounce the policy, the lobby, even Zionism, but you could not renounce being a Jew.” [Daily News]

Drone Prone: Foreign Policy’s John Haltiwanger unpacks Israel’s “Hezbollah drone problem.” “After the fighting resumed in March, it wasn’t long before explosive drones were a leading cause of battlefield deaths for Israel in Lebanon. As a result, Netanyahu established a team of experts to address the issue and pledged to give the IDF an unlimited budget to address the Hezbollah drone threat. But there are no simple solutions. … In ancient Rome, gladiators used nets to entangle opponents before moving in for the kill. Today, Israeli troops are using the same primitive tool to defend against drones and intercept them before they reach their targets. The situation is indicative of how militaries have struggled to find countermeasures to drones and have been forced to adapt, particularly as the technology evolves at such a rapid pace.” [FP]

Separate But Equal: Hannah Rosenthal, former special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism under the Obama administration, argues in the Jewish Telegraphic Agency against the proposal of combining the role of the antisemitism envoy with that of the special envoy on Holocaust issues. “The office of special envoy on antisemitism and the special envoy on the Holocaust are complementary, but not duplicative. The former works to address contemporary antisemitism, hate crimes, extremism and government policy around the world. The latter focuses on historical justice, restitution, remembrance, archives and Holocaust-era accountability. The United States deliberately created separate offices because both missions are full time responsibilities.” [JTA]

Jews Turning on Israel: Actor and Jewish commentator Jonah Platt argues in a post on X against the trope of the young, “self-hating” Jew in an essay on X. “It’s maddening. It’s dangerous. It’s irresponsible. It’s shameful. But it isn’t nefarious. It isn’t Jew-hatred, it isn’t self-hatred, and honestly, it isn’t that hard to understand. These are disconnected, uneducated people, surrounded by like-minded peers, all reinforcing one another in a disconnected, uneducated worldview — one they’re not especially invested in anyway, and focus on only because progressive society says they’re supposed to.” [X]

President Donald Trump is considering returning to a full-scale military conflict with Iran and has discussed the idea with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine in recent days, The Wall Street Journal reports, but has decided to continue on the diplomatic track for now…

In an analysis of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies found that the Trump administration is “evidently not applying [the 2015 Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act’s] requirements and restrictions to the MOU, apparently on the basis of an opinion from the Department of Justice,” but the White House and DOJ “have apparently not shared this surprising opinion, or its arguments, with either Congress or the public”…

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said on Monday that he did a “happy dance,” after Iran was knocked out of the FIFA World Cup, telling reporters that Iranian officials tried to bring into the U.S. individuals with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and that accommodating the team while protecting national security had demanded incomparable attention…

The Terrorist Financing Targeting Center — a coalition comprised of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the U.S. — announced joint sanctions against five entities and 16 individuals tied to Hezbollah’s financial network…

Oman has submitted a proposal to the U.S. for Muscat and Tehran to collect service fees from shipping companies seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz, according to The New York Times. One of Iran’s deputy foreign ministers, Kazem Gharibabadi, said on Monday if Iran was unable to come to an arrangement with Oman it would move forward on its own…

A person close to the anti-Israel American Priorities super PAC told CNN many of its contributors weren’t very politically active until New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign victory, which was the “moment that inspired them and brought them into the fold”…

Former Vice President Kamala Harris called Mamdani last week, and is holding lengthy, closed-door meetings with Palestinian activists in the run-up to a possible presidential campaign, Axios reports…

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper, warned of the “tremendous danger and fear” for American Jews as they are being “dehumanized” and antisemitism is “becoming normalized”…

Phylisa Wisdom, the liberal activist appointed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as executive director of his Office to Combat Antisemitism, got a harsh reception at a Holocaust memorial event in Brooklyn on Sunday. Video from the event shows a small group of hecklers booing, calling Wisdom a “kapo” and shouting that she was supportive of Adolf Hitler, JI’s Will Bredderman reports…

Far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed dismissed a question on CNN about the Democratic Party’s “embrace” of antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker as a “ridiculous way to think about politics”…

Adam Jentleson, former chief of staff to Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) who went on to found the center-left Searchlight Institute think tank, urged Democrats to “just say no to AIPAC,” arguing the pro-Israel organization has “evolved from a group to a ‘Group,’” in the pejorative sense…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited southern Lebanon on Tuesday for the first time since the U.S.-brokered security agreement was signed last Friday. Netanyahu told IDF troops, “We will not leave southern Lebanon until the threat is removed”…

“Pod Save America” co-host Jon Lovett said the harassment of California state Sen. Scott Wiener at a transgender pride march last week was “as pure antisemitism as you can see”…

The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case of Daniel Grand, an Orthodox Jewish man from Ohio who was barred from holding Shabbat prayer meetings in his home without a “special use permit” and later faced harassment from city officials who encouraged neighbors to watch his home for signs of religious activity…

Haaretz tracks the carbon footprint of FIFA President Gianni Infantino as he has traveled between World Cup matches across North America on a Qatari private jet, racking up 47,337 kilometers (29,000 miles) from the tournament’s opening days through the first knockout match, after championing the body’s sustainability strategy…

Ellie Gottheimer and Larra Mullin, the children of Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, are releasing Shmoo & Ozzie Go to Washington today, a children’s book on bipartisanship. Proceeds from the book will go to support homeless children…

Mark Isakowitz, Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA)’s chief of staff, is set to release a book in January about his personal journey following the loss of his father, who immigrated to America after surviving Auschwitz, and Isakowitz’s daily practice of reciting the mourner’s prayer at a synagogue in Washington, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports…

Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner tapped Carolin Hulshoff Pol to serve as CEO of Telegraph Media Group following the German media company’s completion of its £575 million acquisition of the British publisher, ending a three-year ownership transition…

Former Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. (res.) Amikam Norkin is a leading candidate to head Anduril’s operations in Israel, as the American defense tech company explores a major expansion into the Israeli market, Calcalist reports…

The Iranian regime plans to take over St. Peter Evangelical Church, the oldest Protestant church in Iran, and evict the 20 families living there, The Free Press reports. The theocratic regime had thus far left it alone in fear of the U.S.’ retaliation, according to the outlet…

The Washington State Democratic Party adopted into its platform during its June convention an amendment blaming the “dramatic resurgence in antisemitism … in part [on] actions taken by the Israeli government,” Jewish News Syndicate reports…

Pentagon official Jason Olson has departed his position as the director of deradicalization for the Gaza Board of Peace, an official from the body told The Times of Israel, as the BoP is convening for discussions in Cyprus…

Tuesday marked the end of Steffen Seibert‘s four-year term as German ambassador to Israel. In a farewell social media video, he paid tribute to the country by listing 25 things he will miss. Seibert is succeeded by Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, who most recently served as the German Ambassador to Moscow…

Judah Gribetz, who as a top aide to Gov. Hugh Carey helped negotiate New York City‘s rescue from financial collapse in the 1970s and later devised a distribution plan for $1.25 billion in restitution to Holocaust survivors in a landmark class-action suit against Swiss banks, died Friday at 97…

Comedian Judy Gold spoke at an event hosted by the Israeli Embassy in Washington, “A Zionist LGBTQ+ Celebration,” at Adas Israel Congregation on Tuesday — a night of solidarity in memory of Sarah Milgrim, the embassy staffer murdered alongside her partner, Yaron Lischinsky, outside the Capital Jewish Museum in May 2025. Milgrim spent her time at the embassy building bridges between Israel and marginalized communities, including D.C.’s LGBTQ+ Jewish community.

Television, film and theater actor, including early career roles in Yiddish theater, Michael Burstein turns 81…

Applied mathematician, statistician and physicist, professor emeritus at both MIT and Harvard, Herman Chernoff turns 103… Former U.S. assistant secretary of education and former research professor at NYU, Diane Silvers Ravitch turns 88… Nobel laureate in economics for 1997 and co-creator of the Black-Scholes model for valuing options and other derivatives, Myron Scholes turns 85… Noted British art dealer and founder of an eponymous London art gallery, Victoria Marion Miro turns 81… Born in a DP Camp to her Holocaust survivor parents, she was the first Jewish woman to serve on the Canadian Supreme Court, Rosalie Silberman Abella turns 80… Israeli-Russian businessman, with holdings in energy and international real estate development, Shalva Chigirinsky turns 77… Partner in the Encino, Calif.-based law firm of Nolan Heimann, Douglas E. Mirell… Campaign, communications and fundraising consultant, Robert Kaplan turns 69… Hall of Fame player and coach in the WNBA and now an NBA broadcaster, Nancy Lieberman turns 68… Attorney and longtime Democratic activist in Pittsburgh, he is a regional chair of the ADL, Steven D. Irwin turns 67… Senior columnist at The Forward and former CEO of the A-Mark Foundation, Rob Eshman… President emeritus of the Orthodox Union and a retired partner at Ropes & Gray, Mark “Moishe” Bane… Under secretary of state for political affairs during most of the Biden administration, Victoria Jane Nuland (family name was Nudelman) turns 65… Journalist, filmmaker and educator, he is the co-founder of Aish[dot]com, Shraga Simmons turns 65… Professor of Jewish thought at Hebrew University, Benjamin Brown turns 60… Member of the Virginia House of Delegates since 2014, Marcus Bertram Simon turns 56… U.S. senator (R-IA), Joni Ernst turns 56… Screenwriter, producer and film director known for romantic comedy films, Marc Silverstein turns 55… Los Angeles resident, Adam B. Siegel… NASA astronaut, on her 2019 trip to the International Space Station she took novelty socks with Stars of David and menorahs, Jessica Meir turns 49… Co-founder of Edgeline Films, Elyse Steinberg… Hasidic musician mixing elements of dancehall, reggae, hip-hop and R&B, known by his stage name DeScribe, Shneur Hasofer turns 44…

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Nearly all House Democrats voted in favor of a war powers resolution this afternoon that aimed to block U.S. support for Israeli operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports, though the legislation failed to secure a House majority, with nearly all Republicans and 22 Democrats voting against the measure…

White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are in Doha, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari confirmed, where they were set to meet with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and other mediators, but did not hold talks with Iranian officials. It’s a step back from the direct negotiations that took place in Switzerland just a week ago…

Al-Ansari said further that the $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets has not yet been released to Tehran. “Whether the funds are transferred depends on the agreement of both parties and the progress of negotiations, which has not yet occurred,” he announced at a press briefing today…

Meanwhile, Oman has submitted a proposal to the U.S. for Muscat and Tehran to collect service fees from shipping companies seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz, The New York Times reports. One of Iran’s deputy foreign ministers, Kazem Gharibabadi, said yesterday if Iran was unable to come to an arrangement with Oman it would move forward on its own…

A small group of House Republicans, led by Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), is threatening not to support the Trump administration’s $88 billion Iran war supplemental funding request unless the White House replaces more than 4,000 U.S. troops who were pulled out of Poland last month, Politico reports. The effort could hold up the supplemental, already expected to face a tough fight, given the GOP’s razor-thin majority in the chamber…

A 20-year-old U.S. citizen living in Jerusalem is set to be charged by Israeli prosecutors for spying on Iran’s behalf. The suspect, arrested earlier this month, was allegedly paid to take pictures and videos of “sensitive sites” in Israel over several months…

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad today as both countries prepare for a “mass funeral” for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Araghchi said, after Khamenei was killed in February in a joint U.S.-Israeli operation…

The Israeli Ministry of Defense and defense manufacturer Rafael completed a successful test integrating the Iron Beam laser system into the Iron Dome missile-defense array, marking a “major breakthrough,” Rafael announced…

Ellie Cohanim, who served as deputy special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism in President Donald Trump’s first term, recently joined his administration as a senior policy advisor to U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz, Waltz announced today…

A New York Times/Siena poll of the race for U.S. Senate in Texas found Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton and Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in a dead heat, 47-47%, among likely voters. The seat, once considered a long shot for Democrats in the deep-red state, has emerged as a top-tier pickup opportunity, given Paxton’s ethical and legal baggage…

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin — the first Jewish person to hold her role — slammed a newly elected Brooklyn Democrat’s promotion of antisemitic conspiracy theories, but declined to call her commentary disqualifying, JI’s Will Bredderman reports…

After a monthslong unexplained absence from Congress, Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) returned to the House floor today to disclose that he had been hospitalized for depression. Kean faces a competitive reelection race against Democratic nominee Rebecca Bennett in a key battleground district in Democrats’ bid to retake the House…

Prominent pro-Israel activist Arsen Ostrovsky, who was injured in the Bondi Beach Hanukkah shooting in Sydney last year, testified before Australia’s Royal Commission on Antisemitism about how he faced “relentless” and “vicious” harassment online after the attack, including AI-altered images of his injuries and accusations that he was a crisis actor…

In a series of high-profiledecisions today, the Supreme Court sided with Vice President JD Vance in a case he brought as a Senate candidate, along with other plaintiffs, and lifted federal limits on coordinated spending between political parties and candidates.

The court also struck down Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship — a move that garnered praise from Jewish groups including the American Jewish Committee, the Union for Reform Judaism and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at Democrats’ ongoing divisions over an effort to cut aid to Israel led by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY).

Technical delegations from the U.S. and Iran are expected to meet separately with Qatari and Pakistani mediators in Doha — still with no direct talks planned.

Hard-line Republicans upended business on the House floor for the second week in a row, blocking the procedural measure that would have teed up consideration of the 2027 State Department funding bill and the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act. After a final vote this evening, the House will head to recess early, until July 13.

The Herzliya Conference continues in Israel: Among the many top national security and political officials speaking are former Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid; former Israeli Ambassadors to the U.S. Danny Ayalon and Michael Herzog; former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro; EU Ambassador to Israel Michael Mann; Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot; Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Avigdor Liberman; Democrats party leader Yair Golan; Ra’am party leader Mansour Abbas; and Nadav Tamir, executive director of J Street Israel.

President Donald Trump is set to take his first trip on the jumbo jet gifted to him by Qatar as he travels to an event in North Dakota.

• White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Qatar to represent the U.S. in talks with Iran, as the status of the negotiations remains unclear. The technical talks on the memorandum of understanding meant to be taking place separately are also up in the air — Iran’s foreign ministry said an Iranian technical delegation will be in Doha this week but will not be meeting with American officials. More below.
• Representatives of President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace are meeting this week in Cyprus as they seek to advance plans for a committee of Palestinian technocrats to replace Hamas in governing the Gaza Strip, The Times of Israel reports. Former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, who sits on the Board of Peace’s executive board and has recently taken on a larger role in the organization, is set to participate in the “strategic workshop” being held from Tuesday to Thursday.
• Colorado voters will head to the polls in today’s Democratic primaries, where moderate candidates are fearing a far-left wave. More below.
• Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, will testify before the House Appropriations Committee where he is expected to address the White House’s $88 billion supplemental funding request for the war with Iran and FY2027 budget request.
• The Israeli Embassy in Washington will hold a “Zionist LGBTQ+ celebration” on the last day of Pride Month in memory of slain embassy staffer Sarah Milgrim’s allyship.
• In Israel, Reichman University’s Herzliya Conference kicks off, focusing this year on national security and national resilience. Israeli President Isaac Herzog will address the confab, as well as U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee; Amos Hochstein, who served as a Middle East envoy under former President Joe Biden; former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo; former Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi; journalist Barak Ravid; and Aliyah Minister Ofir Sofer.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR

Colorado is a state famous for its moderation, with its governor (Jared Polis) and two senators (Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper) among the most pragmatic figures in Democratic politics. So if a far-left, anti-Israel wave sweeps over the Democratic Party in tonight’s statewide primaries, it will be a true wake-up call for those downplaying the rise of the socialist left.

The biggest race we’re tracking — and the one where a Democratic incumbent looks most vulnerable — is the primary between longtime Rep. Diana DeGette, 68, an influential progressive who has left an imprint on major legislation in Congress, and Democratic Socialists of America-affiliated 29-year-old doctoral student Melat Kiros, whose deep-seated antagonism against Israel is a top focus of her campaign.  

Kiros is the latest example of how radical candidates running for office on their hostility toward Israel are also indulgent of the rising antisemitism around them. Her political awakening came after she was fired from the law firm Sidley Austin for writing a public letter denouncing the hundreds of law firms that signed a petition calling on law schools to do a better job addressing antisemitism on their campuses.

Kiros was angered that the law firms considered those calling for the elimination of Israel as antisemitic. In the last week, she also refused to call the firebombing of a hostage awareness march in Boulder, Colo., antisemitic. Sense a pattern?

As JI’s Marc Rod reported, Kiros’ extreme views have done little to dent her support in a progressive Denver-area district that DeGette has easily held for the last three decades. In March, DeGette barely won the 30% of the vote from party activists necessary to qualify for the primary ballot — in what could be a foreshadowing of the primary results tonight.

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The U.S. and Iran offered conflicting reports about whether talks will be heldthis week as the countries attempt to deescalate after a weekend exchange of military strikes: President Donald Trump claimed today that Iran had requested a meeting that would take place in Qatar on Tuesday, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports, while Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei denied any scheduled meetings with the U.S…

White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed Congress this afternoon on the memorandum of understanding signed with Iran earlier this month, in the first member-wide update on the agreement…

CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper met with Lebanese Armed Forces chief Gen. Rodolphe Haykal in Beirut today to discuss “implementing the security annex” to the Israel–Lebanon framework agreement signed on Friday, the LAF said in a statement. CENTCOM said Cooper also met with “senior civilian and military leaders” in Israel…

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles joined Vice President JD Vance in initially voicing skepticism to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pitch to Trump in February 2025 that the U.S. join Israel in striking Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to a new book by New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan. Wiles feared that any involvement from the U.S. military could “spiral into an Israeli regime-change war,” the authors write…

The IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate and Southern Command told Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF chief of staff, that Hamas is reconstitutingin order to resume war against Israel, according to Israeli media. The report indicates the IDF is urging a return to its campaign against the terror group, but the U.S. is opposed as it seeks to move forward with Trump’s Board of Peace…

Nika Soon-Shiong, the publisher of the Hamas-sympathetic outlet Drop Site News, claimed she was removed from the board of the Committee to Protect Journalists, sharing a letter she had written to the board objecting to CPJ’s announcement that it would audit its database of members of the media killed during the Israel-Hamas war. The move was undertaken after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad identified individuals CPJ listed as journalists as members of the terrorist groups…

In the lead-up to this summer’s primary elections, endorsement season is in full swing: In its first-ever endorsement, Jewish Voice for Peace Action, the political arm of the anti-Israel advocacy group, is backing far-left Abdul El-Sayed in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan. The Detroit Free Press, Michigan’s largest newspaper, endorsed one of his opponents, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow.

In Minnesota, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is backing Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) for U.S. Senate against her more-progressive primary opponent, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, and in Massachusetts, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) endorsed Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) as he fends off a generational primary challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA)…

A new New York Times/Portland Press Herald/Siena poll shows Democratic candidate Graham Platner and Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a statistical tie, 49-47%, among likely voters in the Maine Senate race. The close margin reflects Platner’s struggles to consolidate Democratic support — 10% of voters who say they want Democrats to control the Senate indicated they plan to vote for Collins anyway.

Platner and the Democratic National Committee sent a joint fundraising email today, after Democratic leadership had hesitated to support him during the primary…

New York state Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs acknowledged to The New York Post that the “Israel-Palestinian issue had an impact” in the state’s recent primary elections, where several socialist candidates prevailed. “It hurt establishment Democrats,” he said, including “people who may have voted against [Democratic incumbent Reps. Adriano] Espaillat and [Dan] Goldman because of it”…

Yair Rosenberg, a longtime journalist and commentator on American Jewry, is joining The New York Timesas a reporter covering Jewish American life, the Times announced today, amid criticism over the outlet’s alleged bias in covering antisemitism and Israel.

In the latest such incident, noted by Gabe Stutman, the former editor of J. The Jewish News of Northern California, the Times’ reporting on antisemitic harassment targeting California state Sen. Scott Wiener failed to mention Wiener is Jewish…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how California politicians are responding to the repeated harassment targeting Wiener, who is running to replace retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in Congress.

Witkoff and Jared Kushner are headed to Qatar in order to represent the U.S. in talks with Iran, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Fox News, as the status of the negotiations remains unclear.

The technical talks on the memorandum of understanding meant to be taking place separately are also up in the air — Iran’s Baghaei said an Iranian technical delegation will be in Doha this week but will not be meeting with American officials.

Colorado voters will head to the polls in tomorrow’s Democratic primaries, where moderate incumbents are fearing a far-left sweep similar to that of New York City’s primaries earlier this month. Internal polling from the campaigns of longtime state Democratic leaders Sen. Michael Bennet — who is running for governor — and Rep. Diana DeGette shows much tighter races than expected for the established politicians.

Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, will testify before the House Appropriations Committee where he is expected to address the White House’s $88 billion supplemental funding request for the war with Iran and FY2027 budget request.

The Israeli Embassy in Washington will hold a “Zionist LGBTQ+ celebration” on the last day of Pride Month in memory of slain embassy staffer Sarah Milgrim’s allyship.

Reichman University’s Herzliya Conference kicks off in Israel, focusing this year on national security and national resilience. Israeli President Isaac Herzog will address the confab, as well as U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee; Amos Hochstein, who served as a Middle East envoy under former President Joe Biden; former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo; former Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi; journalist Barak Ravid; and Aliyah Minister Ofir Sofer.

• We’re keeping a close eye on the situation in the Gulf, following Iran’s targeting of commercial vessels last week and retaliatory U.S. strikes on Iranian military infrastructure. Earlier today, Iranian state media published comments from President Masoud Pezeshkian calling the agreement with the U.S. — which will include the unfreezing of some $6 billion in Iranian funds — “a great victory for the Iranian people.”
• It’s the final day of campaigning ahead of Colorado’s primaries on Tuesday. More below on the top races we’re watching.
• Elsewhere in Colorado, the Aspen Ideas Festival continues today. This afternoon, Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) will sit for a conversation about the role of government in the cryptocurrency market, followed by a conversation between Kim Ghattas, Karim Sadjadpour and Mark Dubowitz about Iran.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MELISSA WEISS

As tensions run high in the Gulf following exchanges of fire between the U.S. and Iran over the weekend, a vastly different security situation is taking shape in Lebanon, with the Trump administration’s top officials — Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — taking responsibility for the respective outcomes.

Vance, who led last week’s negotiations with Iran in Switzerland, said upon his departure from the talks that a “good foundation” had been established between the countries. But that foundation displayed its first cracks just three days later, when Iranian drones fired on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting the U.S. to strike Iranian military infrastructure.

The vice president’s tone changed by the weekend, when he said that if Iran had “disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence.” The Iranians skipped technical talks slated for Sunday, saying that the U.S. had not fulfilled the condition of the MOU that would release billions in frozen funds.

Now, officials say that the U.S. and Iranian delegations have agreed to hold fire and will meet in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday to discuss the status of the Strait of Hormuz.

In Washington, officials are meanwhile celebrating the signing of a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon that would see Israel scale back its presence in southern Lebanon, creating two “pilot zones” for the Lebanese Armed Forces to administer.

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

Perks for Pakistan: The Financial Times’ Humza Jilani spotlights Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir’s efforts to position Islamabad to financially benefit from a deal between the U.S. and Iran. “The larger hope is to ensure the country remains sufficiently relevant to its key partners in the U.S. and the Gulf to guarantee steady support and wean the country off a mountain of external debt, analysts and officials say. The relationship with the Trump administration helped position ‘Pakistan as a long-term stakeholder in West Asian security and stability, and provides a major opportunity to reap the economic dividends that will come with the role,’ said Kamran Bokhari, senior resident fellow with the Middle East Policy Council in Washington.” [FT]

Lesson From Louisiana: In The Wall Street Journal, Peter Kovacs, the former editor of New Orleans’ Times-Picayune, contrasts Democrats’ embrace of Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, whose tattoo of a Nazi totenkopf has drawn widespread scrutiny, with Republicans’ rejection of former KKK leader David Duke, the party’s candidate in Louisiana’s 1991 gubernatorial runoff. “Republicans gave up the Louisiana governorship, but they achieved something more important: David Duke faded from the scene, though he kept running for office until 2016, when he finished seventh in a U.S. Senate jungle primary. … Democrats may wish they had followed the GOP’s 1991 example. Mr. Platner could win, but Republicans and their media supporters will make [Sens. Bernie] Sanders and [Chuck] Schumer — and their party’s presidential nominees — wear that tattoo for years.” [WSJ]

Slip, Sliding Away: The New York Times’ David Halbfinger talks to Israeli officials and analysts about Washington’s slipping support for the country following the latest wave of Democratic Socialists of America primary wins. “[Asaf] Zamir, the Tel Aviv deputy mayor, said, ‘I’m waking up and hearing that we’re “genocidal” and “apartheid.” I’m a left wing, two-state, pro-peace Israeli, but I’m not blind or crazy,’ he added. ‘I know what the situation in Israel is, and we’re not those things we’re being called. And yet, more and more Americans are buying into and voting on those grounds. That troubles me.’” [NYTimes]

Bondi and Beyond: In The New Yorker, Oscar Schwartz looks at how last year’s terror attack at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney ignited a political debate in Australia that goes beyond the events at Bondi Beach. “In the immediate fallout of the mass shooting, Australia’s political discourse was dominated by two topics, gun control and antisemitism, with some casting the issues in oppositional terms. … The political backlash to the shooting at Bondi can be seen as a product of fear stoked by the attack, of course, but beneath that a deeper anxiety about the transformations occurring in Australian society can be detected.” [NewYorker]

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani declined to express support for Israel as a Jewish state in an interview with ABC News aired Sunday, saying, “Any state that privileges one religion over the other is one that I can’t tell you I support, whether it be Israel or Saudi Arabia or anywhere else”…

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz posted a photo from Saturday’s Argentina-Jordan World Cup match alongside his wife, former Homeland Security Advisor Julia Nesheiwat — whose parents immigrated from Jordan — and the Jordanian royal family, writing, “Only in America!”…

The Washington Post does a deep dive into the “extraordinary feud” between leading Senate Republicans and Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s under secretary of defense for policy; the Post also reports that Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is continuing to block the nominations of Colby acolytes Alex Velez-Green and Austin Dahmer…

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) raised concerns about Qatar‘s relationship with Iran and role as an intermediary in U.S.-Iran talks, telling “Fox News Sunday” that Doha is “not our friend”…

Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced a resolution requesting information on Israel’s human rights practices in its campaign in Lebanon and whether Israel has used U.S.-provided equipment in such activities…

Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced a bill to expand the BARD program, which supports joint U.S.-Israel agricultural cooperation, to support mid-stage research…

U.C. Berkeley announced the planned launch of the Nancy Pelosi Institute for Representative Democracy, a nonpartisan institute named after the former House speaker that will focus on civic engagement…

The Committee to Protect Journalists said it is conducting a review of its database of journalists killed during the Israel-Hamas war after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad posted obituaries for combatants who had been listed by CPJ as journalists in Gaza…

Montgomery County, Md., Councilmember Will Jawondo on Friday declared victory in the race for county executive, having secured 40% of the tallied vote; County Councilmember Andrew Friedson, who had 34% of the vote, conceded on Sunday…

The New York Times Magazine profiles comic Robby Hoffman about the “Hacks” star’s religious upbringing in Crown Heights and career trajectory…

The head of Venezuela’s largest Ashkenazi congregation said that three members of the country’s 5,000-strong Jewish community were confirmed to have been killed in the dual earthquakes that rocked the country last week…

Whole Foods, Sprouts Farmers Market and H-E-B will begin selling products from plant-based meat company Chunk Foods as the Israeli company, founded by Amos Golan, continues its U.S. expansion…

More than two dozen people were killed in clashes along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border after Pakistani forces launched strikes and a ground operation it said targeted militant hideouts; Afghan officials said women and children were killed and injured in the attack…

Israel‘s government unanimously voted on Sunday to recognize the Armenian Genocide, a move expected to deepen already strained ties with Turkey, which rejects the genocide label. The vote came a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared that Zionism is a “genocidal, occupying, expansionist ideology” that “threatens everyone”…

The Israeli government approved a NIS 100 million ($33.4 million) budget, which will be matched by philanthropic donations, to support Jewish day school education in the United States and Canada through the Jewish Federations of North America, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross reports…

The Financial Times spotlights U.S. efforts to modernize the production of its military arsenal and shift from expensive and time-intensive weapons to artillery that can be quickly mass-produced… 

The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen are reportedly using the recent calm in the region to conduct missile tests in preparation for potential future conflict with Israel…

The U.K.’s Times reports that Qatar provided all-expenses-paid trips to the World Cup for 1,000 “fake” fans to support the Gulf team at its matches…

The Jewish War Veterans Department of Michigan, alongside the leaders of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich., held a ceremony on Sunday honoring the first responders to the March terror attack at the synagogue by a Hezbollah sympathizer.

Screenwriter, director and producer, he has won nine Emmy Awards for his work on AMC’s “Mad Men” and HBO’s “The Sopranos,” Matthew Hoffman Weiner turns 61…

Baltimore-area gastroenterologist, he is an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Marshall S. Bedine, M.D…. Chairman of Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise ship operator (includes Carnival, Cunard, Holland America and others), and owner of the NBA’s Miami Heat, Micky Arison turns 77… Rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Brisk in Jerusalem, Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Soloveitchik turns 77… Former assistant surgeon general of the U.S. and deputy assistant secretary of HHS for women’s health, Susan Jane Blumenthal, M.D. turns 74… Former SVP and counsel at Columbus, Ohio-based L Brands for almost 30 years, now a consultant, Bruce A. Soll… CEO of two firms including Aliya Marketing Group, Joshua Karlin… Israeli actor, screenwriter, playwright and film director, Hanna Azoulay-Hasfari turns 66… Founder and president of Medallion Financial Corp., Andrew Murstein turns 62… Senior rabbi of Toronto’s Beth Tzedec Congregation, Rabbi Steven C. Wernick turns 59… Theater, film and television screenwriter, his credits include the 2017 film “Wonder Woman,” Allan Heinberg turns 59… Israeli political consultant and former chief of staff to Prime Minister Netanyahu, Ari Harow turns 53… Consultant, facilitator, trainer and coach, Nanette Rochelle Fridman… Rabbi of The Young Israel of Bal Harbour (Fla.), Gidon Moskovitz… Film and television director and writer, she is known for writing and directing the films “Obvious Child” and “Landline,” Gillian Robespierre turns 48… Former member of the U.K. Parliament for the Labour party, she is now a member of the House of Lords, Baroness Ruth Smeeth turns 47… Israeli actor and model, Yehuda Levi turns 47… President and dean of Phoenix-based Valley Beit Midrash and author of 30 books, Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz… Partner at FGS Global, Andrew Duberstein… Pitcher for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, he then played in the Mexican League, Charles Irvin “Bubby” Rossman turns 34… Campaign finance consultant, who has raised money for Hillary Clinton and the DNC, David Wolf… Steven Kohn… Sara Sansone… Fred Gruber…

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Vice President JD Vance said in an interview released todaythat U.S. military officials are going to “hang out” with representatives of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a U.S.-designated terror organization, in Qatar in an effort to establish a conflict-reduction mechanism, Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports.

“[Iran was] like, ‘OK, fine, we’ll send somebody from the IRGC to go hang out in Doha with somebody from CENTCOM,’ and that’s how we’re going to settle a lot of these disputes,” Vance said. He added that officials from the UAE — “by far the most hawkish, by far the most pro-Israel country in the [Gulf Cooperation Council]” — are also in touch directly with the IRGC…

Meanwhile, the IRGC reportedly attacked a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz today after issuing a warning to commercial vessels “to strictly refrain from any movement outside the designated routes.”

Iranian officials are further considering a plan to charge for security and environmental services in the strait that would generate $40 billion a year, sources told The Wall Street Journal. Tehran is seeking buy-in from other countries bordering the waterway and offering to share the revenue…

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters in Bahrain as he wrapped up his Middle East tour today, said that U.S., Israeli and Lebanese representatives meeting for their last day of negotiations in Washington were “very close in our hopes of getting a commitment of intent” — a formal document typically used to outline preliminary terms between parties…

Rubio also spoke at a meeting of GCC foreign ministers where he vowed that Washington would not strike a deal with Iran that undermines “the security, the stability or the prosperity of any of our partners in the Gulf region”…

Iranian parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf denied President Donald Trump’s claim that the funds received by Iran under the memorandum of understanding will be used to buy American agricultural products. “The only crop we’re harvesting is what you planted: decades of mistrust,” Ghalibaf wrote on X, adding, “apparently the US only exports GMO soybeans, broken promises and trash talks”…

A new Quinnipiac University poll released yesterday found 48% of American voters say the U.S. is too supportive of Israel — the highest level since the survey started posing the question in 2017 — including 66% of Democrats and 20% of Republicans.

Fifty-nine percent of voters said they are “not so confident” or “not confident at all” that Trump’s deal with Iran will work, while 37% said they are “very” or “somewhat” confident…

The New York Times reports on a February meeting between Carl Heastie, speaker of the New York State Assembly, and officials from the New York City Democratic Socialists of America chapter, where Heastie reiterated his request that the group stop targeting incumbent Democrats.

“We told him then, and we’ll tell him now: That’s not something we can do. We have to continue to grow our numbers and grow our influence, and that means challenging incumbents,” recalled Grace Mausser, an NYC-DSA co-chair…

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the long-shot GOP candidate for New York governor, lashed out at congressional candidate Brad Lander on Wednesday night, telling Newsmax that the Jewish nominee is “antisemitic” and “would be a camp guard in the concentration camp if he could.” Blakeman, who is also Jewish, dialed back his remarks somewhat in a subsequent statement, saying, “Maybe camp guard was too strong, but certainly collaborator.”

Lander responded, “We named our son after Marek Edelman, a leader of the Warsaw ghetto uprising. That’s how seriously I take the legacy of Jews who fought Nazis”…

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) became the second senator to endorsefar-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed today, after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) became an early backer of the physician’s campaign. El-Sayed, who has drawn criticism for his heated anti-Israel rhetoric and campaigning with antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker, has previously advocated for Van Hollen to replace Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as the Democratic leader in the Senate, due to Schumer’s continued support for U.S. aid to Israel…

Andy Burnham, the presumptive next prime minister of the U.K., has tapped as his chief of staff James Purnell, a former member of Parliament and lobbying executive who previously served as head of Labour Friends of Israel more than 20 years ago. Purnell also served as a Cabinet minister under former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is now leading efforts on the Board of Peace for Gaza…

MIT professor Yossi Sheffi talks to the NYT about his forthcoming book on antisemitism at the elite school in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks: Unsafe at M.I.T.: A Chronicle of a Campus War on the Jews. Sheffi said his book takes the place of an official study and report on campus antisemitism, which many universities undertook after the disruptive student protests of 2023-2024, but MIT did not…

Some Texas Jewish leaders are objecting to proposals under consideration by the State Board of Education that would require public school students to read Bible passages in class, saying they misrepresent Jewish tradition, despite their supporters touting the promotion of “Judeo-Christian” values…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with David Harris, the longtime former CEO of the American Jewish Committee, about his book, Antisemitism: What Everyone Needs to Know.

Harris’ view: “Every Jewish organization looking for a Democrat from Washington lines up to invite Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA). If he’s not available, they’re all baffled as to who else to invite from the contingent of Democrats in the U.S. Senate.”

Amid gridlock on the House floor driven by some Republicans’ frustration with the Senate’s failure to pass President Donald Trump’s signature voter ID bill, the House canceled many of its expected votes this week, including those on the 2027 State Department budget and an effort to cut U.S. aid to Israel. The chamber will return next week with plans to work on the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act.

The Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado continues, including a session on higher education with Princeton University President Chris Eisgruber and a live recording of “The Long Game” with former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and his deputy Jon Finer, the podcast’s co-hosts, with Brookings senior fellow Robert Kagan.

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Moderate House Democrats were shaken by the success of several Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates in New York City primaries last night, and particularly the ouster of two incumbents by their left-wing challengers. “People who do not support the DSA wring their hands at cocktail parties, while the DSA is organizing,” Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) told Axios. “You can’t win with these guys by playing patty cake,” another centrist House Democrat said…

Jewish leaders also expressed dismay at the election results: Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch of the Reform Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, an outspoken critic of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, told The New York Times that “a lot of American Jews” woke up today to “a sense of sadness, a sense that we’re losing something important.”

Rabbi Andy Bachman, a former rabbi at Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn, said the “most disturbing” thing about the election results was that “if you declare genocide in Gaza, despite a distinct lack of experience compared to people that you’re running against, it can win you an election”…

Fresh off his election night victories, Mamdani announced today he would be meeting with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.

Jeffries said earlier that he and Mamdani “agree to strongly disagree about some of his endorsements,” after the mayor helped unseat two New York City Democrats: Reps. Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat. “He’s got work to do in terms of the conversations that he’s going to have with members of Congress moving forward,” Jeffries said of Mamdani…

After blindsiding lawmakers today when he abruptly canceled a bill signing for a widely supported bipartisan housing bill, President Donald Trump attended a tense GOP Senate luncheon where he railed against the Senate’s passage of an Iran war powers resolution yesterday and got into a shouting match with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who voted in favor.

When Trump asked why any Republican would have supported the measure, Cassidy, who was recently defeated by a Trump-backed challenger, recalled, “I stood and said, ‘You have not told the American people what’s going on’”…

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi this morning, where Rubio said he “thanked the UAE leadership for their unparalleled support, praised their courage and resilience in the face of Iran’s attacks, and reaffirmed our commitment to Emirati security”…

Pictured sitting next to the secretary of state in a working lunch with MBZ was Michael Boulos, Trump’s son-in-law whose father serves as a senior advisor to the president on the Middle East. Rubio said later that his “good friend” Boulos was not involved in the policy discussions…

Rubio then traveled to Kuwait, where he told reporters that technical talks with Iran are slated to resume next week and dismissed speculation that Israel is attempting to undermine the memorandum of understanding: “The Israelis exactly know what we’re working on. All of our partners in the region know what we’re working on”…

Yesterday’s discussions between Israeli and Lebanese representatives for their fifth round of negotiations at the State Department ended without progress and at some points became “ugly,” Axios reports, as military officials from both countries presented conflicting plans for the IDF’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Rubio told reporters that Jerusalem and Beirut are still working to establish pilot zones under the control of the Lebanese Armed Forces where the IDF will pull back, saying, “The more of that area that the LAF is able to secure, the less of it is in Hezbollah’s control, the less Israel will be in Lebanon.” But Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated today that the IDF will not withdraw from southern Lebanon “even if there is an American demand”…

Rubio also presided over the official reopening of the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait City after it was shuttered for security reasons several months ago amid the Iran war…

Iranian parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf called the agreement signed with the U.S. “a declaration of America’s defeat,” saying at a conference in Azerbaijan that it was reached as a “result of the resistance and authority” of Iran…

The Trump administration is planning to approve the sale of dozens of jet engines worth more than $700 million to Turkey, according to Reuters, ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara next month. The move comes despite reported security concerns from Congress…

FBI Director Kash Patel met with Qatari Interior Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al-Thani in Washington…

CENTCOM announced that the U.S. killed senior ISIS leader Ali Husayn al-‘Ulaywi in an airstrike in northwest Syria on Friday…

Iranian negotiators are consulting Trump’s book, The Art of the Deal, and psychologists in order to navigate the president’s shifting tone in negotiations, sources told The Wall Street Journal…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) avoided a similar fate to his pro-Israel House colleagues who were ousted from their seats as he overwhelmingly defeated a left-wing challenger who made Torres’ support for Israel central to his attacks.

The House Committee on Education and Workforce will mark up Rep. Randy Fine’s (R-FL) No Antisemitism in Education Act.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin will testify at an oversight hearing in the House Appropriations Committee.

The State Department will begin its two-day Pax Silica Summit at the U.S. Institute of Peace, hosted by Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg, focused on strengthening cooperation in AI supply chains, critical minerals, energy and more. The event will be attended by representatives from the Pax Silica signatory countries — which include Israel, Qatar, the UAE, India, Germany and the U.K., among others — and senior business executives.

The Texas Democratic State Convention begins tomorrow, featuring remarks over the three-day event from Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Texas U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin. Activists will consider close to 20 resolutions critical of Israel — some of which condemn AIPAC and DMFI — introduced by seven individuals at a party convention in June.

The annual Aspen Ideas Festival will kick off in Colorado, bringing together leading figures from politics, business, media and academia for a week of discussions on global challenges including AI, economic policy and national security.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The U.S. and Iran continued to offer conflicting accounts of the agreement reached over the weekend: President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social this morning that Iran “fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future,” without which “there would be no further negotiations.” But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said it was untrue and that the parties had not discussed any nuclear issues.

About Tehran’s denial, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. “know[s] what [Iran] agreed to do, and now they’ll either do it or they won’t. And if they do, the process moves forward. And if they don’t, the president will have some decisions to make”…

Trump also said in his post that the funds received by Iran through the deal will go “into escrow, controlled by the U.S.A., and will be used for the purchase of food and medical supplies.” Yet the Treasury Department’s waiver of Iranian oil sanctions contains no such language and the text of the memorandum of understanding says unfrozen Iranian assets “shall be made fully usable” for “any ultimate beneficiary designated by the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran”…

Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were in Muscat speaking with Omani leaders about the Strait of Hormuz: In a joint statement, the parties said their foreign ministries will work towards an agreement on the “future administration” of the strait, the “services that will be provided in this regard and the costs associated with them,” as the Trump administration has repeatedly stated it will not accept any tolls placed on transit through the key waterway…

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was also abroad, meeting in Islamabad with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, where Pezeshkian said Iran’s ballistic missile program “will never be” up for negotiation with the U.S…

Jerusalem is publicly expressing concern about the Lebanon deconfliction mechanism established by the U.S. and Iran for the first time, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports: At the opening of Israel and Lebanon’s fifth round of direct talks taking place in Washington today, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter claimed the parties are “heading towards a train wreck.”

Leiter said he’s “concerned the concept of deconfliction is misplaced” because “Israel is not in conflict with Lebanon,” and that Israel had assumed “the central issue was Lebanon and Hezbollah — not the extent to which Iran could restrain Hezbollah. That is not Iran’s role”…

Rubio, arriving in Abu Dhabi, said the U.S.-Iran and Israel-Lebanon tracks “are separate because Lebanon is a sovereign country,” and that the U.S. is “going to negotiate a deal directly with the Lebanese government,” without mentioning Israel.

Rubio also made clear that Iran is responsible for much of the terror activity in the Middle East, striking a different tone than that of Vice President JD Vance, JI’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports, after Vance said yesterday the U.S. is counting on Iran to “rein in” Hezbollah…

The Senate passed a war powers resolution this afternoon directing the administration to withdraw U.S. forces from Iran, 50-48, with GOP Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) voting in favor with Democrats,JI’s Marc Rod reports.

The resolution, now passed by both chambers, came as a concurrent resolution — meaning it will not be submitted to the president and, based on past court precedent, is not seen as carrying the force of law…

A manifesto allegedly left by the gunman behind yesterday’s rampage in Côte-des-Neiges, a heavily Jewish neighborhood in Montreal, repeatedly targeted Jews and Zionists, specifically identifying “influential Zionists” among his intended victims, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…

New York City First Lady Rama Duwaji posted an Instagram story today flashing an “I Voted” sticker and encouraging her followers to support two congressional candidates endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America: Assemblymember Claire Valdez and doctoral candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier. Not receiving a mention was the only Jewish congressional candidate endorsed by her husband: former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, JI’s Will Bredderman reports…

Ammar Campa-Najjar, a DSA-backed candidate who was recently defeated in his run for a California congressional seat, launched a new PAC called Democratic Majority for America — a counter to Democratic Majority for Israel, which organized against him in the June primary — to support progressive candidates who want to end aid to Israel, Politico reports.

The PAC, which Campa-Najjar said has about $100,000 in cash on hand, has already endorsed California congressional candidate Randy Villegas and far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed…

AIPAC’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project, has spent more than $38 million backing candidates this election cycle so far through direct and indirect spending, according to Politico, surpassing the $26 million it spent on the 2022 midterms…

The Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, headed by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, announced the formation of its inaugural advisory board, including Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, Dentons CEO Kate Barton, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for primary results from key races in New York and Maryland, as well as a postmortem on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s ability to wield his political capital in the three congressional races where he endorsed progressive candidates.

President Donald Trump is expected to attend a GOP Senate luncheon as he remains at odds with his party over several legislative efforts and as some Republicans speak out against his efforts to curb Israeli operations against Hezbollah.

In the afternoon, Trump will hold a rally on the National Mall to kick off his Great American State Fair in the lead-up to the country’s 250th anniversary.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is slated to brief House Republicans tomorrow as the Pentagon gears up for a contentious fight over an expected $80 billion supplemental funding request tied largely to the Iran war.

The House Appropriations Committee will mark up the 2027 defense spending bill.

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) will speak in conversation with Jewish Council for Public Affairs CEO Amy Spitalnick as well as leaders from other religious groups, including the Union for Reform Judaism and Orthodox Union, about the Jewish American Security Act.

• Voters in Maryland, New York and Utah are heading to the polls for their primaries today. The biggest races to watch are in New York, where New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has endorsed three far-left, anti-Israel candidates running against Reps. Dan Goldman (D-NY), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. We’re also closely watching the hotly contested Democratic primary to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), in a Manhattan district with the largest Jewish constituency in the country. 
• In Maryland, we’re keeping a close eye on the race to replace former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), where state Del. Adrian Boafo, endorsed by the outgoing congressman and a strong ally of Israel, has emerged as the favorite. See more below. 
• Israeli and Lebanese representatives are expected to begin multiday talks in Washington in a continuation of the countries’ direct negotiations, starting with a joint military and political session, days after the U.S. and Iran said they had established a “deconfliction cell” to end military operations in Lebanon without Israel’s involvement. 
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted multiple times on Monday that the IDF retains the right to act against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon if necessary, as Axios reported that the Israeli government fears the U.S. is limiting its freedom of action through its negotiations with Iran. On Tuesday morning, the IDF said it struck armed terrorists operating close to Israeli soldiers in Ali al-Taher Ridge area in southern Lebanon.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio is departing for a three-day trip to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain to discuss issues including the memorandum of understanding with Iran and transit through the Strait of Hormuz. 
• Orthodox Union Advocacy will hold its annual lobbying day on the Hill, including a luncheon with senators from both parties.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S matthew kassel

As Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) prepares to step down at the end of his current term, the former Democratic House majority leader is staking his pro-Israel legacy on a little-known candidate who he hopes will uphold his long-standing commitment to maintaining a close relationship with the Jewish state.

In throwing his support behind Adrian Boafo, a 32-year-old Maryland state delegate who is among two dozen Democratic candidates running in Maryland’s 5th Congressional District primary on Tuesday, Hoyer, 87, is using his connections to establishment party leaders and ties with pro-Israel groups to boost his hand-picked choice to the nomination for a safely blue seat.

United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s super PAC, has emerged as the biggest spender in the race, investing more than $5.7 million as part of an aggressive effort to promote Boafo launched by Hoyer and his allies. 

The well-funded foray is a useful illustration of the degree to which planning and organization helped put Boafo in contention for the seat Hoyer has held for 45 years, in contrast with recent primaries where UDP and other pro-Israel advocacy groups have been relatively cautious with their engagement while being outflanked by the far left.

A UDP source, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the race, said polling showed Boafo was not in the lead when Hoyer endorsed him in January. “It’s a super close race that could go either way,” the source told Jewish Insider on Monday, stressing a high level of undecided primary voters. “Many candidates are in contention.”

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