Joe Kent, who resigned earlier this week from his role as director of the National Counterterrorism Center over his opposition to the war in Iran, offered a litany of baseless accusations about Israel while defending the Iranian regime in an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s program on Wednesday.

Kent doubled down in the interview on an allegation made in his resignation statement that Israel coerced the U.S. into the war for its own benefit. As evidence, Kent and Carlson — a friend of Kent’s and a leading critic of the Trump administration’s approach to Iran in the conservative movement — pointed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying earlier this month that the “imminent threat” that prompted the U.S. to take action was the foreknowledge that Israel was going to strike, likely resulting in retaliation against American targets by the Iranian regime. 

“So, the imminent threat that the secretary of state is describing is not from Iran,” Carlson mused. “It’s from Israel.”

“Exactly,” Kent replied. “And I think this speaks to the broader issue, who is in charge of our policy in the Middle East? Who’s in charge of when we decide to go to war or not?”

Kent argued that the Israelis “felt emboldened that no matter what they did, no matter what situation they put us in, they could go ahead and take this action and we just have to react.”

He suggested that the U.S. could have threatened to cut off Israel’s military aid, including defensive weapons, in order to prevent them from attacking Iran. 

“We could have said to the Israelis: ‘No, you will not and if you do, we will take something away from you,'” Kent told Carlson. “It’s fine that we offer defense to Israel but when we’re providing the means for their defense, we get to dictate the terms of when they go on the offensive.”

Kent also raised questions during the interview about possible foreign ties to the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk last fall. He told Carlson he tried to investigate Kirk’s killing, at a Turning Point USA event at a Utah college, last fall because of the pressure Kirk was facing over backsliding GOP support for Israel, but was blocked by the Justice Department and FBI. Kent said that the last time he saw Kirk was last summer at the White House, and claimed that the final message Kirk gave him was to “stop us from getting into a war with Iran.”

“One of President [Donald] Trump’s closest advisors was vocally advocating for us to not go to war with Iran and for us to rethink, at least, our relationship with the Israelis. And then he’s suddenly publicly assassinated and we’re not allowed to ask any questions about that?” Kent said. “The investigation that I was a part of [with] the National Counterterrorism Center, we were stopped from continuing to investigate. And the FBI will say that they stopped it because they wanted to have everything turned over to the Utah state authorities. Everything is going to trial, it’s very sensitive. But there was still a lot for us to look into that I can’t really get into. There were still linkages for us to investigate that we needed to run down.”

Kent said that while he was “not making any conclusions … Charlie was under a lot of pressure from a lot of pro-Israel donors. And again, we know, because of the text messages that have been made public, that Charlie was advocating to President Trump against this war with Iran.”

On Iran, Kent alleged that the regime and assassinated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were not interested in acquiring a nuclear weapon, while acknowledging that Iran’s strategy had been “to not completely abandon the nuclear program.”

He cited Khamenei’s 2003 fatwa on the production or use of nuclear weapons, arguing that there is “zero U.S. intelligence suggesting it’s been lifted or ignored in a way that changes the posture. Iran knows what happens when you openly pursue or acquire nukes or even give them up.”

Kent went on to claim, despite reports to the contrary, that Khamenei was working to keep the regime from becoming a nuclear power.

“I’m no fan of the former supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, however, he was moderating their nuclear program. He was preventing them from getting a nuclear weapon,” Kent said. “If you take him out, if you kill him aggressively, people are going to rally around that regime.”

The former Trump administration official later told Carlson that “a good deal of key decision-makers were not allowed to come and express their opinion” to Trump prior to the start of joint U.S. and Israeli military operations targeting Iran.

“In the lead-up to this last iteration, a good deal of key decision-makers were not allowed to come and express their opinion to the president,” Kent said, arguing that this was a contrast from the “robust debate” that took place ahead of Trump’s decision to strike Iranian nuclear sites last June. 

Kent said that efforts by the intelligence community to offer the president a “sanity check” during briefings “were largely stifled in this second iteration.” 

“They had that discussion behind closed doors, and there wasn’t a chance for any dissenting voices to come,” Kent said.

Asked about his resignation, Kent told Carlson that he spoke to Trump prior to announcing his decision publicly and said he believes they “departed personally on good terms.”

“I spoke with him before I departed the administration,” Kent said. “It went great. I mean, not the best conversation ever. I told him why I was leaving. He heard me out.”

Kent’s appearance on Carlson’s show came as sources told Semafor that the FBI began investigating Kent weeks ago for allegedly leaking classified information. 

The WH and FBI declined to comment when reached by Jewish Insider. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.

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LONE STAR LIABILITY

Israel conspiracies threaten Democratic hopes in Texas runoff race

Bexar County sheriff’s deputy Johnny Garcia is facing off against Maureen Galindo, who has made antisemitic conspiracy theories a key feature in her campaign

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HORSESHOE POLITICS

Onetime Democratic critics elevate Joe Kent’s conspiratorial resignation letter

Democrats previously slammed Kent as an untrustworthy extremist in opposing his nomination. Now, amid his anti-Israel accusations, some argue he has a point

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Reports of the demise of AIPAC’s political clout in Democratic primaries, it turned out, were greatly exaggerated.

Pro-Israel candidates who received backing from AIPAC or AIPAC-aligned groups won two of the four targeted Democratic primaries in Illinois — and helped block all the Squad-aligned far-left candidates from winning nominations in all of the races. 

It was a respectable, if not dominant showing, but one consistent with making an impact with the $22 million pro-Israel groups spent in the four open congressional races.  

Former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL) held off a credible challenge from anti-Israel activist and businessman Junaid Ahmed, and looks like a lock to hold onto the suburban district as long as she wants.

Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, who benefited from about $4.5 million in outside spending from a pro-Israel group, comfortably outdistanced former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) by a double-digit margin (41-29%) — even though Jackson entered the race as the favorite. The anti-Israel candidate in the field, state Sen. Robert Peters, finished in a distant third place, with only 12% of the vote. 

AIPAC’s biggest setback came in the affluent Chicago lakefront seat of retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), where Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss prevailed over pro-Israel state Sen. Laura Fine despite facing a barrage of attacks from an AIPAC-aligned group. But pro-Israel voters also dodged the worst-case outcome, with anti-Israel social media influencer Kat Abughazaleh finishing in second, and trailing badly in the district’s suburban precincts.

All told, Biss won with 30% of the vote, Abughazaleh finished with 26%, and Fine tallied 20%. 

And despite AIPAC’s super PAC spending nearly $5 million in positive ads to boost Chicago city Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, state Rep. La Shawn Ford narrowly prevailed in the crowded primary, 24-20%. Ford was backed by retiring Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), with the congressman’s political machine ultimately making a bigger difference than the money spent on behalf of Conyears-Ervin.

Anthony Driver, Jr. and Kina Collins, the two candidates running on anti-Israel platforms, lagged well behind in third and fourth place, tallying a combined 20% of the vote. 

AIPAC managed to block all six of the far-left candidates it viewed as potential Squad-aligned lawmakers, which a source close to AIPAC told JI was the group’s top goal in the home stretch of the campaign — once it backed off of anti-Biss attacks that failed to dislodge him as the front-runner and Abughazaleh closed in in second place. AIPAC is treating that as a win as well.

One way of looking at the Illinois results from a pro-Israel perspective is to consider whether the representation of any of the seats will be more or less favorable as a result of Tuesday’s results. 

Biss is a self-described “progressive Zionist” in the mold of Schakowsky, another Jewish left-winger who gradually evolved into a reliable critic of Israel as progressive politics surrounding the Middle East shifted. Both Schakowsky and Biss have been embraced by J Street. Call it a wash. 

The retiring Danny Davis had a fairly rocky relationship with Chicago’s Jewish community, and supported placing restrictions on aid to Israel. If his handpicked successor Ford follows in his footsteps (and he said he wouldn’t commit to unconditional Israel aid), there won’t be any change in representation — for better or worse. (J Street also endorsed Ford’s candidacy.)

But in Illinois’ 2nd District, Miller will likely be a decidedly more favorable vote than Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL), who campaigned as the candidate in the state’s Democratic primary most critical of Israel. That counts as a likely upgrade for pro-Israel forces in Chicago.

And Bean was one of the most moderate Democrats during her first stint in Congress, compiling a reliably pro-Israel record. She’s likely to maintain the same mainstream voting record that Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) held during his House tenure.

So all told, the Illinois delegation is likely to be slightly more pro-Israel next year as a result of this year’s primaries. Given the tough headwinds AIPAC is facing, that’s not a small accomplishment — aided by the successful fundraising of its super PAC.

And even though pro-Israel groups didn’t weigh in on the Illinois Senate race, AIPAC sounded a positive note on Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton’s victory over Kelly, whose recent actions, it said, “undermined the U.S.-Israel alliance.” Stratton’s leading opponent was Krishnamoorthi, whose record was viewed as the most pro-Israel of the three leading candidates.

Given that outgoing Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) has become a vocal critic of Israel, if Stratton is more aligned with AIPAC, that would also be an improvement for pro-Israel advocates in the state, or at minimum a wash.

Stratton’s win was also a big victory for Gov. JB Pritzker, who spent significant political and financial capital on behalf of his running mate in preparation for a potential presidential campaign — and came out a winner.

In the end, pro-Israel forces can be reassured that they held their own despite the rough political environment, defeated all of the most virulently anti-Israel candidates, and began to repair their image from the New Jersey blunder that set the cycle on a down note. Five states down, 45 to go. 

U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian production sites during the ongoing war have destroyed the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile production capabilities, the IDF told Jewish Insider on Wednesday.

”Right now, they are unable, during this war, to produce ballistic missiles … due to steps we and the Americans took,” IDF Lt.-Col. Nadav Shoshani, the IDF’s international spokesperson, said in response to a query from JI. 

The elimination of production facilities and stores of material for manufacturing the missiles means that Iran has a finite number of ballistic missiles that they produce domestically. The Islamic Republic has been burning through its ballistic missile stockpile daily, shooting at Israel and others in the region.

Shoshani noted that ahead of the war, Iran engaged in the “hyper-production” of ballistic missiles, and suggested that the Islamic Republic could restart production after the war, as it did after last year’s 12-day June war.

”But right now, as they’re fighting and desperate, they are unable to produce more missiles,” he added.

The White House said in an X post on Saturday that “Iran’s ballistic missile capacity is functionally destroyed.” 

Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told JI that stopping Iran’s ballistic missile production “is a major achievement for both Israel and the United States. It’s a both a sign of tremendous intelligence collection and the ability to act on that intelligence.”

“The regime now has roughly 500 to 1,000 ballistic missiles,” Schanzer added. “Every time they fire one, their arsenal thins out. This is good news for Israelis who are tired of running to shelter.”

Overnight, an Iranian missile strike killed a husband and wife in their 70s in their home in Ramat Gan, a city adjacent to Tel Aviv. Israel’s Home Front Command confirmed that the missile carried cluster munitions; the strike also caused damage in the nearby city of Bnei Brak.

Naftali Halberstadt, an EMT with emergency service Magen David Adam, said that in Ramat Gan he “saw heavy smoke and destruction in a residential building. There was shattered glass and scattered items. During searches inside the apartment, two casualties were found unconscious, without a pulse and not breathing, with severe injuries … They showed no signs of life and we had to pronounce them dead.” 

An eyewitness told Kann, Israel’s public broadcaster, that there was a direct hit on the top floor of the building where the couple lived, and their balcony fell to the ground. A neighbor told ynet that the man used a walker.

On Wednesday morning, a 71-year-old man who lost consciousness on his way to a shelter in Rishon Lezion was taken to a hospital in critical condition. People at the scene attempted to resuscitate him with a defibrillator before MDA reached the site.

Since the start of hostilities last month, MDA has reported 263 casualties from missile fire, including 14 fatalities. In addition, nearly 800 people were injured while making their way to shelter. 

A day after announcing the elimination of the Iranian regime’s most senior security official, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani, and commander of the Basij paramilitary force Gholamreza Soleimani, the IDF continued to strike sites in Iran.

A day after announcing the elimination of the Iranian regime’s most senior security official, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani, and commander of the Basij paramilitary force Gholamreza Soleimani, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that Israel killed Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib.

Khatib “was responsible for the Iranian regime’s internal system of murder and oppression and on advancing external threats,” Katz said. “Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and I authorized the IDF to eliminate any senior Iranian figure … without additional authorization. We will continue to eliminate and hunt down all of them.”

The IDF said it eliminated over 10 Basij posts in Tehran on Tuesday. The Basij had begun operations “from posts embedded within public areas in the heart of Tehran,” the IDF stated. One of the sites was previously used as a soccer club.

The IDF also continued its strikes and “forward defensive operations” by ground troops on Lebanon, the military spokesperson’s office said.

”The IDF will not allow any harm to the residents of Israel,” IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin said. “We are striking Hezbollah with determination at this very moment and will continue to target anyone who threatens our security.”

The Israeli Air Force struck dozens of Hezbollah infrastructure sites in three areas of Lebanon — Beirut, the Beqaa Valley and southern Lebanon — on Tuesday. Among the targets was an underground site used to store weapons, including cruise missiles and rockets, and Hezbollah’s stores of cash.

Israeli troops on the ground in southern Lebanon targeted 80 Hezbollah infrastructure sites, the IDF said Wednesday morning.

The IDF warned on Tuesday that Hezbollah was preparing to shoot a large barrage of rockets at Israel’s north, and later said that its efforts “reduced the scope of fire towards Israel.” While the Lebanese terrorist group did launch rockets into Israel, no casualties were reported. 

Ten months after his daughter, Israeli Embassy employee Sarah Milgrim, was shot dead alongside her boyfriend and colleague, Yaron Lischinsky, outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, Bob Milgrim said he feels a “deeper connection to the Jewish community [than] we ever felt before.” 

On Tuesday evening, at the conclusion of the Anti-Defamation League’s Never is Now conference in Manhattan, Milgrim was joined in conversation with his wife, Nancy Milgrim, and CBS News reporter Jonah Kaplan. In June, Kaplan conducted the family’s first interview after Sarah was killed.

The support from the Jewish community since Sarah’s death, when she was shot by a gunman who allegedly shouted “Free Palestine” while leaving an event for young diplomats and Jewish professionals hosted by the American Jewish Committee last May, has been “totally overwhelming in a positive way,” said Bob Milgrim. 

The Milgrims spoke days after another Jewish community was rocked by an antisemitic attack last week, in which an assailant drove a truck filled with explosives into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Mich., one of the largest Reform synagogues in the country, while 140 children were inside. Security guards prevented any casualties in the attempted terrorist attack. 

Two months earlier, an antisemitic arsonist heavily damaged Beth Israel Congregation, the only synagogue in Jackson, Miss.   

“It’s very easy to lose hope with what’s happening, especially with what happened at Temple Israel … and Mississippi,” said Milgrim. “There’s no end to it. But when you have hope you have to act. Even when you don’t have hope, you have to act.” 

Addressing high school and college students in the audience, Milgrim said Sarah was one of only about 15 Jewish students at the high school she attended in Kansas. Drawing on Sarah’s involvement in the Jewish student union while in high school, he said, “you’ve got to be out there and let them know we’re no different from anybody else and we all want to coexist in peace.” 

Milgrim reflected on an incident during Sarah’s senior year when swastikas were painted on the school building. When interviewed by a TV reporter, who asked her what the punishment for the perpetrator should be, Sarah said they “should be told to be more tolerant and nicer.” 

“She didn’t want revenge, she saw the good in all people,” said Milgrim. 

“Sarah was very proud to be Jewish and she didn’t shy away from letting people know she was Jewish,” added Nancy Milgrim. “I encourage you all to try to feel proud of who you are and let people know all the good of being Jewish.”

As the Milgrims continue to say the mourner’s prayer of Kaddish every morning, when the weather permits, while watching the sun rise at a park in their neighborhood —- alongside Sarah’s dog, Andy, and a virtual minyan —- Bob Milgrim said he “knows that we have family everywhere.” 

“It’s more than a connection, it’s family. And that’s a beautiful experience that’s helped us get through this.”

Sarah’s work, which included a stint at Teach2Peace, an organization dedicated to building peace between Palestinians and Israelis, should inspire others “to do the things she was doing, reaching out to others who are not like you, inviting the stranger into your home, learning about other cultures and sharing your Jewish culture with them,” said Nancy. “If you can choose to do one thing to make the world a better place, you will be doing something to honor Sarah.”  

Some Senate Republicans suggested on Tuesday that Israel’s killing of senior Iranian regime official Ali Larijani could help pave the way toward resistance and uprising by the Iranian people.

“They’re part of a terror state, and whatever they’re doing internally to go after their own people is something that none of us should simply stand by,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) told Jewish Insider. “They’ve been a part of it for a long time. At some stage of the game, the people there will have had enough. We just want to make sure that this regime is weakened enough to where, when the people of Iran decide that they want a change in leadership, that it is a possibility of success for them.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who has been a vocal advocate for regime change in Iran, said that Larijani’s death will further weaken the Islamic Republic.

“The killing of notorious security chief, Ali Larijani, is the biggest blow to the regime since the death of the ayatollah,” Graham said on X. “Larijani was truly one of the key leaders of the regime’s security apparatus that is being used to terrorize the people of Iran and the region. His demise puts further pressure on the regime as they continue to lose their first and second layer of leadership. This was an amazing military operation by all those involved. Well done.”

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) described Larijani’s death as a necessary action to protect Americans.

“As much as you hate to see death, in this case, these are individuals trying to kill Americans. So unfortunately it’s what has to be done,” Scott told JI.

On the Democratic side, two pro-Israel Democrats said that while they’re critical of the Trump administration’s decision to enter the war without congressional authority, they’re not shedding tears for Larijani.

“Iran’s number one export is terror, whether it’s ISIS, Hamas, the Houthis — go ahead and name them all,” Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) told JI. “No one is sad because what they’ve done — not only to their own people but to people in the region and around the world — is unconscionable. So I’m not sad about that.”

“But,” she continued, “before we put any more Americans in harm’s way, it is the president’s constitutional duty to come to Congress.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said that Larijani “had a lot of blood on his hands, and he was a highly appropriate target for Israel,” though he criticized the U.S.’ decision-making in entering the war.

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DOMESTIC FRONT

As war wages in Iran, Justice Dept. reaches ceasefire with Tehran-backed network in Manhattan

Eighteen-year legal fight over the Iran-tied Alavi Foundation ends with a new group with similar leadership taking over its assets — and NYC skyscraper

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NAMING NAMES

Jonathan Greenblatt calls out Chris Van Hollen, Ro Khanna at ADL’s national conference

The ADL’s annual summit comes amid high-profile antisemitic attacks during the Iran war

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As the Iran war continues, major U.S. airlines have extended suspensions of direct flights to Tel Aviv, upending travel plans for thousands hoping to visit Israel for Passover, when the country typically sees a surge in visitors, and beyond. 

As of Tuesday, United Airlines’ website shows direct flights from the New York region’s Newark Liberty International Airport to Israel, a route that usually operates multiple times daily, are unavailable through June 16. The only available flights from Newark to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport are operated by Lufthansa, United’s partner, and require a layover in Frankfurt. 

Lufthansa has suspended its flights to Israel through April 9.

United’s direct flights from Israel to Chicago O’Hare and Washington Dulles International Airport, which typically each run a few times a week, are also suspended.  

The first available direct New York to Tel Aviv flight on Delta Airlines website is available June 1. When the Iran conflict initially began, Delta said it would suspend flights from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport until at least April 1. The airline had been planning to restart its Atlanta-Tel Aviv flights in April for the first time since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, but now has postponed those plans until Aug. 4. 

American Airlines, which has not flown directly to Israel since Oct. 7, has delayed the resumption of its service to Tel Aviv until April 23, a spokesperson for the airline told Jewish Insider on Tuesday. It also suspended operations to and from Doha, Qatar, through May 7 due to tension in the region. 

Before the conflict with Iran began, American Airlines announced plans to resume direct flights to Ben Gurion from John F. Kennedy starting on March 28, just days ahead of the Passover holiday. Tickets went on sale in October. The announcement, which made American the last of the major U.S. carriers to resume flights to Israel after Oct. 7, came weeks after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in the Gaza war. 

Throughout much of the war, the Israeli carrier El Al was the only reliable option for direct travel to and from the U.S., leading to a shortage of flights to meet travelers’ demands amid soaring ticket prices. 

United and Delta both briefly resumed service between Israel and the New York area for short periods in 2024 after suspending all flights on Oct. 7. Both airlines fully reinstated flights earlier this year until the Iran war started.

Some congressional Democrats who previously criticized Joe Kent, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, for his extremist history are now elevating his conspiratorial resignation statement in which he blamed Israel for bringing the U.S. into the war with Iran, as well as a series of other Middle East conflicts.

Meanwhile, Republicans who supported Kent during his nomination process are now criticizing the former administration official.

Kent said in his resignation letter that Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said during Kent’s confirmation process that Kent had a “consistent pattern of questionable judgment and false statements” and willful ignorance to evidence that conflicted with his preexisting political biases and that he had “aligned himself with political violence, promoted falsehoods that undermine our democracy and tried to twist intelligence to serve a political agenda.”

On Tuesday, however, Warner echoed Kent’s comments that Iran posed no imminent threat to the U.S.

“On this point, he is right: there was no credible evidence of an imminent threat from Iran that would justify rushing the United States into another war of choice in the Middle East,” Warner said. “Ignoring the facts to pursue a predetermined war puts American lives at risk and undermines our national security. The United States cannot be led into conflict on the basis of politics, impulse, or a president’s desire for confrontation. We have seen where this road leads before.”

At the same time, Warner also maintained that Kent’s record is “deeply troubling” and that he should not have been confirmed.

Every Senate Democrat opposed Kent’s confirmation last year.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) went further, explicitly endorsing Kent’s view that the war began as a result of pressure from Israel and pro-Israel advocacy groups.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), from Kent’s home state where he previously ran for Congress, called Kent a “radical, unqualified conspiracy theorist” during his confirmation proceedings, and said that “just about everything we know about Joe Kent is disqualifying for this role and alarming.”

On Tuesday, Murray said, “A top national security official resigns and confirms that Iran posed no imminent threat. Good riddance to Joe Kent, a disgraceful white supremacist, but that’s a major public admission that there was NO justification for this war.”

Two Jewish Democrats who spoke to Jewish Insider agreed with Kent that there was no imminent threat to the United States from Iran that would have allowed the administration to take unilateral action were accurate, but dismissed his contention that Israel, rather than President Donald Trump himself, bears the blame for the war.

“[Kent] should know, and he does know, that there was no imminent threat by any definition of imminent. It’s a war of choice, and I expect there’ll be other resignations,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) told JI.

But, he continued, “I don’t buy the narrative that Israel tricked or persuaded America to go to war. I think Trump acted on a whim. It’s a war of impulse, even more than a war of choice.”

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) told JI, “Donald Trump and his Cabinet entered into this war, and they call it a war. … Men and women have died. Some are injured. They entered this without doing their full research, without coming to Congress, and they still have shown us no reason, no reason at all for going there.”

But Rosen emphasized that the blame for the war lies with Trump, not Israel, as Kent suggested. “This is Trump’s war. It’s 100% on him. He did not come as he was supposed to. If he’s going to enter into a war, Congress, only Congress can declare war. There has been no proof of imminent threat to the United States, and they still refuse to come and talk to us. … They certainly have not shown us any justification, at least as far as I’m concerned.”

Some other Democrats have taken a harder line toward Kent.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) called Kent’s effort to blame Israel for the war “as predictable as it is unserious,” as well as antisemitic.

“Scapegoating Israel isn’t just a tired antisemitic trope — it’s anti-American,” Gottheimer said. “This is a guy with ties to white supremacists and has ‘PANZER’ tattooed on his arm, referring to a Nazi tank infamously used in crimes against Jews. Kent’s reduction of Iran to ‘Israel’s fault’ isn’t leadership, it’s bigoted deflection.”

Amos Hochstein, a top official in the Biden administration, said on X, “Whether you support the war or oppose it, Joe Kent is a well known neo nazi racist. No one should be taking anything he says seriously — even if you happen to agree with some elements.”

Democratic Majority for Israel said in a statement that Kent’s letter was “deeply antisemitic” and reflects that he “traffics in conspiracy theories and was unfit for any government position.” The group said it shows that he was “unfit for any government position.”

Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, which has vigorously opposed the war, said that only Trump is responsible for it.

“Don’t try pinning the blame solely on Israel and a powerful lobby. That only echoes the worst of antisemitic tropes — of course, far too common on the hard-right of the political map,” Ben Ami continued.

Republicans, meanwhile, mostly condemned Kent on Tuesday, after backing his confirmation last year.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), who sits on both the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, told JI that the information he has seen affirmed that the administration made the right decision in attacking Iran.

“[Trump] had the opportunity to address a growing threat and it was growing at a significant pace. The Iranians were not only increasing their offensive capabilities, but they were rebuilding their defensive capabilities. He saw that. We’ve seen that in the intel reports,” Rounds said.

“If Mr. Kent had a problem with the issue of ‘imminent,’ I think I would disagree. I think it was an imminent threat, and I’d rather take them out when we have fewer of our young men and women at risk,” Rounds continued

“Joe Kent and his family have sacrificed greatly for our nation, and I thank him for his service,” said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, which oversaw Kent’s confirmation process. “But I disagree with his misguided assessment. Iran’s vast missile arsenal and support for terrorism posed a grave and growing threat to America. … President Trump recognized this threat and made the right call to eliminate it.”

Every Senate Republican — except for Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) — supported Kent’s confirmation.

“The resignation of Joe Kent as the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center could not have come at a better time,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), said, accusing Kent of “echoing the Democratic talking points, which are devoid of fact or evidence.”

Taking one of the hardest lines toward Kent, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) accused him of antisemitism.

“The virulent anti-Semitism of his resignation letter makes it clear that Mr. Kent is incapable of upholding these pledges, and those who mistake its baseless and incendiary conspiracies for brave truth-telling are only fooling themselves,” McConnell said. “Isolationists and anti-Semites have no place in either party, and certainly do not deserve places of trust in our government.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was the only Senate Republican to immediately come to Kent’s defense.

“Voices like his that cautioned against being overly involved in the wars in the Middle East were good voices to have,” Paul said. “I think he was America First from the very beginning, and still is.”

A handful of House Republicans also trashed Kent.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said that Kent’s assessment of the threat posed by Iran was incorrect based on the briefings he received, and that it’s “clearly wrong” that the U.S. was putting Israel’s interests over its own.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) said that Kent “was never fit for the job.”

“He was a leaker who spent more time undermining our foreign policy than doing his job. Now he’s out the door and blaming Jews on his way out,” Lawler said. “Good riddance.”

Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) called Kent, “Example 1A of why failed congressional candidates should not be elevated to senior roles within administrations. When the going gets tough the first instinct is to call it quits. Let me be clear…the U.S. is not the bad guy here!”

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) also said “good riddance” to Kent, adding, “Anti-Semitism is an evil I detest, and we surely don’t want it in our government.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani took the occasion of St. Patrick’s Day and the presence of former Irish President Mary Robinson in New York to talk Middle East politics and praise Robinson’s controversial tenure as the United Nations’ high commissioner for human rights.

Speaking at a breakfast at Gracie Mansion, Mamdani acknowledged Robinson from the lectern and lauded her record of advocacy, particularly singling out her stance on Israel. The Irish presidency is a largely ceremonial role. 

“I think also of how she stood steadfast alongside the people of Palestine,” the mayor said in listing Robinson’s accomplishments. “I say this as over the past few years as we’ve witnessed a genocide unfold before our eyes, there has been deafening silence from so many. For those who have long cared about universal human rights and the extension of them to Palestinians, silence, however, is nothing new. For Palestinians are so often left to weep alone. Yet former President Robinson has never been silent.”

During her tenure at the U.N., Robinson chaired a preparatory meeting for the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia gathering in Tehran that blocked the participation of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and representatives from the persecuted Baha’i faith. Robinson blamed the obstruction on “procedural and technical” issues, though she voiced support for the general right of such groups to take part.

The eventual conference, held in Durban, South Africa, was a notoriously disorganized fiasco that led to the end of Robinson’s commissionership. The conference saw the withdrawal of American and Israeli delegations over draft document language from Arab governments attempting to reinstate a repealed U.N. resolution that declared Zionism to be a form of racism and to compare Israeli policy to the Holocaust. 

She was a founding member of The Elders, a group of veteran global leaders promoting “peace, justice, human rights and a sustainable planet,” and became the group’s chair in 2018. In 2014, she co-authored a Foreign Policy opinion piece with former President Jimmy Carter amid the 2014 Israel-Gaza war that called for “recognizing Hamas as a legitimate political actor.”

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned from his role on Tuesday over opposition to the war in Iran, baselessly alleging that Israel had coerced the United States into what he characterized as a misguided military conflict.

In a letter to President Donald Trump shared on social media, Kent, a former Green Beret who had reported to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, wrote that he “cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” claiming that the Islamic Republic “posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”

Kent, a hard-right former congressional candidate in Washington State who has pushed an isolationist foreign policy vision, has previously drawn scrutiny for promoting conspiracy theories, echoing pro-Russia messaging and associating with white supremacists and neo-Nazis, among other controversies.

During a failed House bid in 2022, Kent also said that accepting donations from pro-Israel lobbying groups like AIPAC puts Israel’s “interests ahead of ours” — invoking an antisemitic trope about foreign influence over American politics that is increasingly common on the far right.

Kent’s wife, Heather Kaiser, is a military veteran who has written for The Grayzone, an extremist outlet, authoring articles with its founder Max Blumenthal, a prominent conspiracy theorist who has published sympathetic coverage of Iran and spread misinformation about the Hamas terror attacks of Oct. 7, 2023.  

In his letter, Kent claimed that Trump had been tricked into striking Iran by “high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media” who “deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined” the president’s “America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage war with Iran.”

“This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory,” Kent wrote to the president. “This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women. We cannot make this mistake again.”

Kent, who served in Iraq, also claimed his first wife, Shannon Kent, a military cryptologist who died in an ISIS suicide bombing in Syria in 2019, had been killed “in a war manufactured by Israel.” Israel was not a member of the U.S.-led coalition combating ISIS at the time.

“I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for,” he concluded, telling the president that he can “reverse course and chart a new path for our nation” or “allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos.”

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, rejected Kent’s account. “As President Trump has clearly and explicitly stated, he had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first,” she wrote in a lengthy social media post.

She called Kent’s claim that Israel had duped Trump into joining the war “an absurd allegation” that “is both insulting and laughable,” arguing that “Trump has been remarkably consistent and has said for DECADES that Iran can NEVER possess a nuclear weapon.”

Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said it was a “good thing” that Kent had resigned, calling him “very weak on security.”  

“He said that Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat. Every country realized what a threat Iran was. The question is whether or not they wanted to do something about it,” Trump added. “So when somebody is working with us that says they didn’t think Iran was the threat, we don’t want those people.”

Kent’s comments, which underscored deepening divisions in Trump’s MAGA coalition over the war, also drew criticism from Republican lawmakers. 

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), a leading moderate voice in the House, accused Kent of fueling antisemitism. “Good riddance,” he said of Kent’s departure on social media. “Iran has murdered more than a thousand Americans. Their EFP land mines were the deadliest in Iraq. Anti-Semitism is an evil I detest, and we surely don’t want it in our government.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said Kent’s claims about Israeli influence were “clearly wrong” and that “there was clearly an imminent threat” to the United States.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) also criticized Kent’s letter and said they were glad to see him leave the administration — Lawler called him “a leaker who spent more time undermining our foreign policy than doing his job,” while Graham said, based on his claims, Kent “clearly … did not go to work enough.” 

On the other side of the aisle, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that Kent had been “right” to point out “there was no credible evidence of an imminent threat from Iran that would justify” an attack — even as he called Kent’s “record deeply troubling” and believed he “never should have been confirmed” to lead the counterterrorism office.

Meanwhile, Tucker Carlson, a close ally of Kent, praised his decision to resign. “Joe is the bravest man I know, and he can’t be dismissed as a nut,” Carlson told The New York Times on Tuesday.

Israel has a long history of conflict and military operations in Lebanon, and the IDF is now preparing for a broader ground incursion against Hezbollah.

What started with Operation Peace in the Galilee in 1982 to eliminate Palestinian Liberation Organization terrorist cells attacking Israel’s north turned into an 18-year military occupation of southern Lebanon. It ended with a retreat under public pressure and a return to power for the enemy — Hezbollah, which was founded soon after the war began. Six years later, Hezbollah abducted two Israeli soldiers, leading to the Second Lebanon War, and the terrorists attacked Israelis in Israel and abroad periodically over the subsequent 17 years.

After Hezbollah joined Hamas in attacking Israel a day after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, Israel launched a ground invasion into southern Lebanon and airstrikes against Hezbollah targets throughout the country, most famously killing the terrorist organization’s then-leader Hassan Nasrallah, and conducting its exploding pager operation in the fall of 2024. But a few months after taking out the group’s entire leadership, leaving in place an uncharismatic and apparently flailing Naim Qassem in charge, Israel, at the behest of the Biden administration, reached a ceasefire with Lebanon in November 2024.

According to that ceasefire, the Lebanese government and military were meant to disarm Hezbollah and ensure it stays out of the area south of the Litani River, some 17 miles north of the border with Israel. Late last year, Israel started to voice concerns that Beirut was not keeping its commitments and that Hezbollah was regrouping.

Now, Israelis are experiencing deja vu: Once again, Hezbollah joined an attack on Israel a day later — this time, from its main patron, Iran — and has frequently launched rockets and missiles at Israel’s north. Israel started out with airstrikes in response, then, over a week later, began limited ground incursions into southern Lebanon. The Lebanese government said a million residents — 20% of the country’s population — have been evacuated; the IDF has acknowledged about half that number. Israelis have not been evacuated from Israel’s north — the 2023-2024 policy was unpopular and many residents have not returned — but they are living under constant attack.

The IDF said on Monday that it is planning for “continued limited, targeted operations,” but there are clear signs that something more expansive is on the way. The IDF announced on Tuesday morning that Division 36 forces have joined the expansion of ground operations in southern Lebanon.

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said he is sending “additional troops in order to strengthen the forward defensive posture, deepen the damage to Hezbollah and push the threat away from the communities in the north.” According to Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, “hundreds of thousands of Shi’ite residents of southern Lebanon … will not return to their homes south of the Litani until the safety of residents of [northern Israel] is ensured.” Katz said Israel will “destroy terrorist infrastructure in the villages abutting the border,” comparing the effort to the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Tal Beeri, head of research for the Alma Center, a think tank focused on Israel’s northern border, and himself a resident of Israel’s north, told Jewish Insider, “We can’t have another [military] campaign every few months or two years. There’s a whole region of Israel that can’t be dragged into war again and again. The blow that Hezbollah must receive right now must be strong enough.” 

At the same time, Beeri said he is not under illusions that Israel can eliminate Hezbollah: “Hezbollah is here to stay. It won’t disappear, even if the Iranian regime falls. … It will be much weaker, but it will exist. Therefore, Israel must continue a policy of strategically weakening Hezbollah. … Israel must be prepared to act to stop Hezbollah at any moment in the future.”

Based on the assumption that Hezbollah will survive, but must be kept “small and weak,” Beeri co-wrote Alma Center recommendations that would require long-term Israeli involvement in Lebanon, but less intense and ground-based than the quagmire Israelis remember from the 80s and 90s.

“There needs to be a buffer zone of at least 10 km [6.2 miles] from the border … with no civilian presence, because we learned … the villages become human shields for Hezbollah bases,” Beeri said. “The Lebanese government can’t maintain it.”

Still, he said, while the IDF must retain its current five positions on the Lebanese side of the border, a buffer zone “doesn’t require the permanent, physical presence of the IDF. It requires control that can be remote … with intelligence and observation points. ‘Presence’ doesn’t have to mean one thing; it can be flexible.” 

That flexibility should depend on how much responsibility the Lebanese government is able to take for southern Lebanon, once Hezbollah has been disarmed, though Beeri was skeptical that Beirut is able or even will want to do that in the short term — or ever.

For now, Beeri said, “Israel is expanding the [buffer zone] to distance the immediate threat from the north. … It will take time, one way or another.” 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a recent cable encouraged American diplomats to work with local Israeli embassies on messaging efforts to encourage foreign governments to collaborate with the U.S. in its war against Iran, ABC News reported on Monday.

“At post’s discretion, advocacy efforts should be coordinated with Israeli diplomatic counterparts,” a leaked diplomatic cable stated, according to ABC.

In the cable titled “Elevated Concern of [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] Activity,” Rubio noted that there is an “elevated risk of attack” from Iran, and told diplomats to encourage the governments where they were posted to “move expeditiously to diminish the capabilities of Iran and Iran-aligned terrorist groups from attacking our respective nations and citizens.”

“We assess that the Iranian regime is more sensitive to collective action than unilateral action, and that joint pressure is more likely to compel behavior change by the regime than unilateral actions alone,” the cable reportedly stated. “We must act while international attention is focused now to end the Iranian campaign of terror in the Middle East and globally. Do not allow this critical movement to pass.”

The report comes as President Donald Trump pushes for other countries to join U.S. efforts to prevent Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz, the point through which oil can be transported out of the Gulf to the open sea.

Rubio also directed diplomats in countries that have not declared the IRGC and Hezbollah to be terrorist organizations to relay the message that they should do so “swiftly,” because “such a designation will intensify the pressure on the Iranian regime and limit its ability to sponsor terror activities across the globe that jeopardizes the safety and security of your populations.” 

The cable reportedly noted that the IRGC plans and carries out terrorist attacks on foreign soil and directs espionage and influence operations, which are “intentional acts designed to intimidate populations and inflict harm on your civilians.” 

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that Ali Larijani, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, had been killed in overnight strikes in the Islamic Republic.

Also killed in the wave of strikes, according to the IDF, was Gholamreza Soleiman, the commander of the paramilitary Basij forces, who had led the elite unit for the past six years.

Larijani, a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander who rose through the regime’s ranks, was designated in January by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — who was killed on the first day of the war last month — to ensure the regime’s survival. 

Iran has not confirmed the claims.

This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.

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Antisemitism meets America’s ‘thoughts and prayers’ ritual

Democrats began calling out those who traffic in antisemitic rhetoric when they offered platitudes after an attack on a Michigan synagogue

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As Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro eyes a 2028 presidential run, he is using a series of big-name podcast interviews to refine and test out his messaging on Israel — and taking aim at California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential rival, in the process. 

In interviews with the “Pod Save America” and “Higher Learning” podcasts that dropped in recent days, Shapiro put himself in the line of fire from interviewers with more left-wing views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than he holds. In response, he made the case that, as the starting point for any public political conversation about Israel, the fact of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state must be respected.

“I think what is dangerous here, and I’m not accusing you of this by any stretch, is for those who think Israel doesn’t have a right to exist in [the] conversation. That to me is a recipe for permanent war,” Shapiro told “Higher Learning” host Van Lathan, who said a national conversation about Israel is needed. (“Higher Learning” is part of a podcast network from the digital media company The Ringer.) 

The point of the discussion seemed to be to demonstrate a kind of modeling — that Shapiro, a Jewish Democrat who has long been both a supporter of Israel and a critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, can show Democrats how to have a difficult yet transparent and empathetic conversation amid deep disagreements over Israel’s actions in Gaza. 

Shapiro is making clear that if he runs for president, he does not intend to sidestep the party’s most fraught foreign policy debate. He intends to shape it.

In the “Higher Learning” interview, Shapiro laid out his views on Israel while taking flack from Lathan, who called Israel “one of the worst human rights violators” and said he is worried that in describing Israel as an “apartheid state,” people will think he is saying he hates Jews. 

“I fundamentally disagree with your viewpoint, but I don’t think you’re an antisemite. I think that you are learning and struggling and grappling with issues that are really, really tough, and you formed an opinion, one that I disagree with, that you seemingly hold very honestly,” said Shapiro. “I don’t think that you’ve got hate in your heart toward someone because they’re Jewish. I think you’ve got different views, say, than I do about Israel or about the Middle East.”

Shapiro drilled down into the conversation he said often plays out about Israel, and drew a red line that he believes should not be crossed.

“Usually the conversation starts around the idea of does Israel have the right to exist, right? And exist as a Jewish state,” he said. “Peace to me are two nations, Israel and a Palestinian country, living side by side in peace with full recognition for one another, an acknowledgment that both have a right to exist and an acknowledgment that the goal of each country is not to wipe out the other … I think if one doesn’t recognize Israel’s right to exist, then you’re — not you, then one is in effect for really just permanent war, because you’re effectively saying Israel’s got to go, and Israel’s not going anywhere.” 

Shapiro’s podcast tour came amid a similar media blitz for Newsom. Both governors recently published memoirs outlining their political origin story, a move widely seen as a first step for politicians with national ambitions. 

At an event earlier this month, Newsom said that Israel could “appropriately” be described as an apartheid state. 

In response to a question about Newsom’s comment from “Pod Save America” co-host Jon Lovett, Shapiro castigated the California governor — without invoking his name — for using inflammatory language.

“If we really want peace, and I believe you want that, then we’ve also got to be acknowledging that language matters here, that words matter. And that we’ve got to use words that are actually rooted in reality and are able to bring the temperature down to create a space for that peace,” Shapiro told Lovett.

“I just think we’ve got to be really thoughtful and careful and not just look for buzzwords and not just sort of follow what’s going to get maybe some likes on Twitter,” Shapiro added. “But we’ve got to be thoughtful about a debate that is really, really hard to have, and we’ve got to have it.”

On “Higher Learning,” he more directly took on the apartheid allegation.

“You use the word ‘apartheid.’ Take a look in Israel. Someone who would identify as Muslim, someone who would identify as a Palestinian Christian. They live in a society with all of the same rights and legal responsibilities as Israelis,” said Shapiro. “They get elected to the Knesset, which is their parliament. They pay taxes. They can serve in the military. They are citizens in the world in a way that a true apartheid state would not allow for.”  

Public opinion polling has shown declining support for Israel among Democrats. As Shapiro’s national profile has grown, he has not shied away from his Jewish background or his support for Israel, both of which he discussed at length in his memoir, Where We Keep the Light. 

The interviews with two major progressive podcasts suggest that Shapiro wants to proactively share his views on the Middle East with potential future voters — and that he does not view his position as something to hide from a Democratic base that may be less amenable to those views than in the past. 

In both interviews, he outlined his staunch opposition to the policies of Netanyahu and President Donald Trump on Israel. He criticized Israel’s actions in the West Bank and the violence by some Israeli settlers targeting Palestinians. He also sought to make clear that although he is a supporter of Israel, his main goal is advancing America’s interests in the region.

“I don’t think that if you are critical of Benjamin Netanyahu, you’re an antisemite. By the way, I’m critical of Benjamin Netanyahu. And I have been for years and years and years, even predating Oct. 7. I think his approach has made Israel less safe. I think it’s undermined U.S. national security interests, which is my primary concern,” Shapiro said on “Higher Learning.” 

On “Pod Save America,” Shapiro called for the Trump administration to investigate the death of Nasrallah Abu Siyam, a Palestinian-American teenager from Philadelphia who was killed in the West Bank last month, reportedly by Israeli settlers, and he said Netanyahu must take the threat of settler violence more seriously. But when Lovett asked what to do about these challenges beyond “calling for [Trump and Netanyahu] to become different people,” Shapiro responded with an argument about democracy.

“These are the leaders that each country has chosen. I’m not going to speak to what the people in Israel chose. They’ll have an election. They’ll figure that out,” he said. “Here in the United States of America, we need to have more of a check on this administration.”

The ongoing war in Iran is highlighting a widening gulf between center and center-left voters in Israel and Democrats in the United States. While Democrats in the United States are mostly opposed to the war, Israelis are overwhelmingly supportive of the effort.

Recent polling from Israel has shown that 92.5% of Jewish Israelis and 81% of Israelis overall support the war

The divide was particularly evident in an exchange on X this week between Yair Zivan, a centrist and top advisor to Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, and Matt Duss, a foreign policy advisor to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and a former confidante of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), whose post prompted the exchange. 

Sanders, on X, condemned the Israeli operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying, “The U.S. cannot continue to be complicit in [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s wars.”

Zivan said in response that he was writing from a bomb shelter and that Israel “is under attack by fanatical terrorists who want to murder us,” arguing that Sanders’ “humanity never seems to extend to Israeli lives.”

Duss responded that Israelis are under fire “because your fanatical prime minister and my president launched a reckless and unnecessary war. Bernie is trying to stop it. What’s your boss doing?”

Zivan, who also edited a book on centrism, responded that the blame for the attacks lies with the “fanatical regime in Iran” and “fanatical terrorist organization in Lebanon sworn to our destruction (yours too if they could get to you),” rather than with Netanyahu.

He followed up later saying that war “should be a last resort” but is “sometimes … just and necessary.”

Zivan told Jewish Insider that most Israelis agree about the need to take on Iran.

“For us Israelis, this war is just and necessary. The vast majority of Israelis (left, right and center) understand the absolute necessity of removing the Iranian threat which is hanging over us,” Zivan said. After Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, “no one should expect us to wait until it’s too late to defend ourselves from terror. I think most of our friends in the U.S., on both sides of the aisle, understand the importance of what’s happening for Israel’s national security.”

Ilan Goldenberg, the senior vice president of J Street, which has strongly opposed the war in Iran, acknowledged the divide between Israelis and the American left in an op-ed last week — but argued that Israelis are mistaken in their outlook on the war.

“Just because the Israeli public supports the war doesn’t mean it’s a good idea or in Israel’s interest. [Seventy-two] percent of Americans supported invading Iraq in 2003. That didn’t make it a wise decision,” Goldenberg said. “Americans and Israelis see this conflict through very different strategic lenses. … because American and Israeli interests and perspectives are not perfectly aligned.”

Israelis, Goldenberg continued, see Iran as their primary geopolitical enemy and as the primary threat to their homeland, which is not the case for Americans. He argued that “aggressive” Israeli views are also being driven by the “trauma” of the Oct. 7 attacks, and that the set of acceptable outcomes from the war are different for Israel than for the U.S., for strategic reasons.

Over two weeks into the war with Iran, American and Israeli leaders’ public statements about the effort and their goals remain largely in sync, with President Donald Trump praising Israel on Sunday for helping secure the Strait of Hormuz, while other countries with greater oil interests in the region have yet to offer to help.

However, the populations of the two countries have markedly different views of the war, which is popular in Israel while most Americans oppose it, which likely puts Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on different timelines. That, in turn, could impact the level of cooperation moving forward.

Assaf Orion, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, said that “it’s clear that even though this is a joint operation embarked on together, there are significant differences. In the end, it depends on Trump.”

Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, said that “it is our sense [in Israel] that Trump is on the same page about staying the course” with goals including “the complete neutering and elimination of the ballistic and nuclear programs as we’ve known them, but also to locate and get rid of the 440 kilograms of highly enriched uranium,” as well as to “assist the regime to collapse and change.”

”Without regime change, this is all for naught,” Diker added. “[Israel] simply can’t live with this messianic, jihadist regime. This is our opportunity.” 

The U.S. and Israel are cooperating more closely than ever before, Diker noted. “It’s a real partnership,” he explained. “We haven’t had that since the founding of the State [of Israel]. It had been a client, an ally, the little brother, not a full-fledged partner. [Secretary of Defense Pete] Hegseth said the only amazing air forces in the world are the U.S. and Israel — that’s quite a statement.” 

“American and Israeli leaders are on the phone every single day — the president and prime minister, joint chiefs of staff, the defense ministers — it’s incredibly tightly coordinated, because we can’t afford surprises,” he added.

That close coordination has “a great deterrent effect … it scares the living daylights out of the Iranian regime. It encourages the [Iranian] people who are still at home in Iran” to rise up against the regime, Diker posited.

Orion noted that different goals between the U.S. and Israel may include the U.S.’ aim to destroy Iran’s navy, something Israel has not mentioned, and the types of missiles they are most concerned about. Israel seeks to destroy long-range missiles that can reach its shores, while U.S. forces in the Gulf are threatened by short-range missiles.

“Within those goals, there can be differences in the level of achievement, the understanding of how much is enough,” he said. “Iran is Israel’s number one priority. For the U.S., the number one priority is China. Iran is an existential threat to Israel, but is far from it for the U.S.”

“Israel is willing to take greater risks because of that threat assessment, while the U.S. has to explain why it’s taking this risk,” Orion added.

While one may think the U.S. could endure a longer war because of its larger size and economy, and because Israelis are the ones running for shelter multiple times a day, while Americans are not, Orion said that does not appear to be the case.

“In Israel, [leaders are] saying it will take as long as it takes, expressing a kind of patience, while the U.S. government speaks out against ‘forever wars.’ They can continue, but they are less forgiving of long wars than Israel at this time. … Though the Israeli population is under fire and U.S. troops are under fire, Israel is more willing to absorb losses because of the sense that it is being threatened,” he said.

Diker said the differences between the U.S. and Israel are mostly in their political timelines: “President Trump has midterms [in November] and Israel has national elections,” set for the end of October, but may be held earlier. “Both men understand the existential nature of the moment. … Both men know their legacies can be built on destroying the world’s most dangerous regime.”

Still, Diker said, “public opinion in Israel backs the prime minister on this war and public opinion in the U.S. is deeply divided on the war … and have over 50% of the public saying they don’t know what this war is about. … That gives Netanyahu more breathing room to finish what needs to be finished even if it takes more time. … [Israel] wants to make sure this regime is destroyed however long it takes.”

Trump, however, has to “withstand political pressure from home with regard to the more isolationist wing of the MAGA movement and the Republican Party as a whole. He has to tie things up in the coming few weeks,” Diker said. 

In addition, the “real challenge” in the U.S. is “the economic war, a soft spot in American political culture. People are nervous about the stock market, the price of oil and have become very impatient.”

Looking at how the war may continue, Orion said that while the public does not know what targets remain in Iran, the IDF has said there are enough targets left to require three additional weeks — or more — of warfare.

At the same time, Israel and the U.S. have to “manage their inventory of bombs and interceptors,” Orion said. “Israel also has the Lebanese arena. [Americans] talk about how whatever they use in the Middle East can’t be used in [East] Asia.”

Diker noted that the U.S. started striking Kharg Island over the weekend, which has the potential to cut off 90% of Iran’s oil revenue. After that, he posited, there will need to be some boots on the ground, likely from the U.S., to locate and destroy Iran’s enriched uranium. If that is achieved, he said, the American role in the war will likely end.

Israel, in the meantime, will “help topple this regime in Iran. What we’ve accomplished is severe unprecedented degradation of the regime’s capabilities.” In addition, Israel will likely continue fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Orion posited that it is unlikely that Israel would continue the war in Iran after the U.S. pulls out.

”The reason the U.S. would stop would be to open the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on oil interests. If Israel continues [bombing Iran], Iran will continue [to attack oil interests],” he said. “However, if the U.S. stops in Iran, Israel may continue in Lebanon with American approval.”

Diker said he thinks it is unlikely that the U.S. would “just pack up and go home.”

”They have to get this uranium out,” he said. “Trump has to be convinced that [Iran] cannot build a nuclear weapon, and he is not convinced of that yet. They still have the uranium and the regime is still operating, somehow.” 

After months of an increasingly bitter campaign characterized by tens of millions in outside spending and increasingly heated debate over Israel policy, Democrats in the Chicagoland area head to the polls on Tuesday, with the outcome of the primaries potentially reshaping the political landscape in Chicago, one of the most Jewish cities in the country. 

The races are also set to be a test of AIPAC and the pro-Israel community’s political strategy and heft. There are four House races that pro-Israel groups are reportedly engaged in, and their success rate in those primaries will be an early indicator of whether resources can overcome the shifting winds in a party that is becoming increasingly hostile to the Jewish state. 

Broadly, a source close to AIPAC said, the group’s main goal in the primaries is to prevent six candidates — state Sen. Robert Peters in the 2nd District, activist Kina Collins in the 7th, activist Junaid Ahmed and Hanover Park Trustee Yasmeen Bankole in the 8th and influencer Kat Abughazaleh and Skokie School Board member Bushra Amiwala in the 9th —  from being elected, as it believes those candidates would be aligned with the far-left ‘Squad’ on Israel policy issues if elected to Congress.

That’s an apparent change in strategy from the recent special election in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, where spending by the AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project against a relative moderate who had expressed an openness to conditioning aid to Israel helped elect a far-left candidate with more hostile views.

Here’s what we’re watching, and where the races stand.

Illinois Senate

This race appears to be effectively a two-way contest between Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL), who has been carving out the left-most lane (including on Israel policy), has been trailing further behind in most polling and will have the hardest climb to victory, despite backing from the Congressional Black Caucus.

Krishnamoorthi, who has taken the most moderate and most pro-Israel posture, would likely benefit most from Stratton and Kelly splitting the Black and progressive Democratic vote in the state. A super PAC backing Krishnamoorthi has taken to promoting both him and Kelly while attacking Stratton.

Some recent polling has shown Stratton, who has been trying to balance criticism of Israel while also maintaining support within the Jewish community, closing in on Krishnamoorthi in the final stretch of the race.

Though Krishnamoorthi has been the most prolific fundraiser in the race, Stratton has benefited from more than $13 million in spending by the Illinois Future PAC, backed by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his family, Stratton’s main political backer.

Stratton has hit Krishnamoorthi as overly supportive of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in part by pointing to his vote in support of a resolution condemning the attack on an Israeli hostage awareness march in Boulder, Colo., last year, which also included language thanking ICE.

Krishnamoorthi also took a hit last week with a story that described him as mistreating employees as he amassed his war chest for this Senate run. Meanwhile, Stratton’s campaign is touting what it says is a deathbed endorsement by Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died last month.

2nd Congressional District

Despite poor fundraising as compared to others in the field and a term in prison for a corruption scandal, former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) has long been the favorite to win the 2nd Congressional District seat, an effort likely aided by national attention over his father’s death.

Affordable Chicago Now, a new super PAC reported to be supported by pro-Israel backers, has been boosting Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, putting $4.3 million behind her campaign.

An AI industry-linked super PAC has stepped in to help boost Jackson’s chances. Miller has also faced attacks from the Working Families Party for receiving pro-Israel support.

Peters has been trying to carve out the far-left lane in the district, including by taking a strongly critical line toward Israel and AIPAC, though Jewish Insider reported that he had previously reached out to the group early in his campaign, offering a very different set of policy priorities. 

7th Congressional District

The AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project and a cryptocurrency industry group have been supporting Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin in the race, helping push her toward the top of the field. UDP has spent more than $5 million in the race. Conyears-Ervin has also received support from the Chicago Teachers’ Union, which has been hostile toward Israel.

Other notable candidates include state Rep. LaShawn Ford, who is Rep. Danny Davis’ (D-IL) preferred successor, and has taken significant heat from the crypto-backed Fairshake. 

The progressive Collins, who has long held hostile stances toward Israel, is making her third run at the seat, but attention from progressive and anti-Israel interests has also turned toward Anthony Driver Jr., a union organizer who has seen support from outside spending by an SEIU-linked group, among other progressive candidates. That group has spent more than $550,000 hitting Conyears-Ervin, in part for receiving pro-Israel support.

Jason Friedman, a Jewish real estate developer and longtime Jewish federation leader who has taken a largely pro-Israel stance, has led the field in fundraising, but it’s unclear how he might fare in a historically Black district. UDP’s ads have also directly responded to Friedman’s criticism of Conyears-Ervin’s past corruption issues, attacking Friedman.

8th Congressional District

Former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL) is seen as the strong front-runner in the race, and is the most likely victory for pro-Israel voters in the Chicagoland House primaries.

By contrast, Ahmed has consolidated support among the progressive left and has staked out an anti-Israel stance on the trail. A poll released Sunday showed Bean in the lead, but Ahmed closing in, just five points behind.

Bean has been backed by pro-Israel groups, the AI industry and cryptocurrency advocates. Meanwhile, Justice Democrats and the anti-Israel IMEU Policy Project have been spending in the district in an attempt to undercut Bean and boost Ahmed. 

Chicago Progressive Partnership, a group rumored to be linked to AIPAC, has recently been hitting Ahmed from the left, putting $664,000 behind that effort.

Other candidates in the race include Bankole, Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison and entrepreneur Neil Khot. Khot has led the field in fundraising with around $2 million, though a majority of that has been self-funded.

9th Congressional District

The 9th District seat has become the most watched and most bitter of the four House primaries in the Chicago area — with Middle East policy and pro-Israel funding becoming one of the most contentious issues, to the extent that those issues dominated a recent televised debate.

The top tier of candidates includes Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, far-left activist and influencer Abughazaleh and state Sen. Laura Fine. Fine has charted out the most moderate and pro-Israel stance of the three, while Biss has leaned toward a progressive posture critical of Israel and Abughazaleh has taken an even harder anti-Israel line.

Though Biss and Fine at one point appeared to be the top candidates, recent polling has shown Fine falling behind and Abughazaleh closing the gap with Biss, who has consistently led in polling.

Abughazaleh finished out the race as the top fundraiser, pulling in $3.4 million, followed by Fine and Biss neck-and-neck at $2.6 and $2.5 million, respectively.

Elect Chicago Women, reportedly backed by pro-Israel donors, has put $5.8 million into supporting Fine and attacking Biss, but pro-Israel groups appear to have shifted their strategy in the final weeks of the campaign amid Abughazaleh’s surge.

Attacks on Biss have tapered off, while Chicago Progressive Partnership has been hammering Abughazaleh with more than $1.2 million in spending in just a few weeks. Most recently, the group has also been boosting Skokie School Board member Bushra Amiwala, in an apparent attempt to siphon off some of Abughazaleh’s base.

Meanwhile, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and actor and anti-Israel activist Mark Ruffalo offered endorsements for Abughazaleh over the weekend.

Though the pro-Israel community’s strategy in this race has been different than the one it took in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, where attacks on a liberal candidate helped elect another candidate from the far-left, there’s been longstanding fear among some in the local Jewish community that outside groups’ concerted anti-Biss attacks could end up electing the far-left Abughazaleh.

JI found that Biss reached out to AIPAC before formally announcing his campaign, and that his stances on Israel policy have also evolved significantly since he entered the race, including supporting efforts to cut off weapons transfers to the Jewish state. 

Biss also faced grilling from the House Education Committee over his decision to withhold police support when Northwestern University sought to clear an anti-Israel encampment on campus in 2024.

J Street has spent around $150,000 boosting Biss.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) has become one of the harshest critics of Israel in the House, in recent months associating with some of the leading anti-Israel figures within the Democratic Party — at one point proudly declaring his ties to a far-left antisemitic podcaster.

In his pushback to the U.S. war against Iran, he has caricatured those supportive of taking military action against the Islamic Republic as part the “Epstein class” — which critics have accused of being an antisemitic trope — while defending right-wing commentator Pat Buchanan from past charges of antisemitism. 

As a result, he is facing a primary challenge from tech entrepreneur Ethan Agarwal, who is accusing the congressman of embracing far-left views to seek national attention for a potential presidential campaign — at the expense of focusing on constituents back home in the Silicon Valley-based district.

“The district is being represented by a guy who could not care less about the people in the district, and that’s frustrating because I supported Ro when he first ran back in 2012,” Agarwal told Jewish Insider on Friday. “He’s completely [turned around] on basically everything that he said to his supporters.”

Agarwal said he sees Khanna’s activities, including his opposition to the Iran war and outspokenness against Israel, as plays for national attention, rather than representing the district that elected him.

Khanna “just totally does not give a s*** about the district. He’s running for president, and he wants to run to the left on every issue,” Agarwal alleged. “The district needs a representative that’s focused on the district itself, and that’s why I’m running for Congress.”

Those allegations of political opportunism were echoed in a recent Washington Post column by writer James Kirchick, who reported that Khanna professed to being a strong ally of Israel and the Jewish community earlier in his career when he was seeking a role in the Obama administration. The op-ed framed Khanna as a relentless self-promoter willing to change his views for attention and career advancement.

Khanna, in response to the allegations that he’s lost focus on his district back home, told JI he was “proud of my record representing California’s 17th district,” pointing to his work to secure $13.5 million in funding this year for projects including affordable housing, veteran housing, safe routes for children to get to school, clean water and transportation. He added that he has held nearly 80 town halls, is regularly meeting with local community leaders and is in touch with anti-ICE activists, and touted his constituent services and endorsements from local leaders and groups. 

“And I’m willing to take on powerful people when accountability is needed. When I called for the release of the Epstein files, many dismissed it and said no one in the district would care. They were wrong. Constituents raise it with me regularly because they want transparency and justice for survivors,” Khanna added.

Agarwal’s criticisms go beyond hitting Khanna for putting national issues ahead of local ones. He accused the congressman of engaging in shoot-from-the-hip social media commentary that has inflamed antisemitism at a time of heightened fears within the Jewish community. 

“Even if you weren’t running for Congress or trying to run for president — what is wrong with you?” Agarwal said. “If the congressperson of the district is advocating these kinds of things publicly, it stokes and it inflames the culture on the ground.”

“He thinks being racist against Jewish people is going to help him win the American left,” Agarwal added. “I don’t care if he’s right. I just think it’s unethical and immoral.”

Khanna responded that he has “consistently condemned antisemitism in all forms,” including speaking out specifically against various recent incidents, that he has been “been clear in my support for Israel as a Jewish and democratic state,” that he has worked with Jewish leaders and visited synagogues within the district. 

“This issue is personal for me. My nieces and nephews are Jewish through my brother’s marriage, which has deepened my understanding of why it is so important to speak out against antisemitism in any form,” Khanna continued.

Defending his affiliation with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner and far-left influencer Hasan Piker, Khanna said, “I do believe like Franklin Roosevelt and President Obama that we need to build a big tent, and Mayor Mamdani and Graham Platner are part of that. I also engage with media across the political spectrum, from Hasan Piker to Shawn Ryan to Theo Von to Sean Hannity, because we shouldn’t shy away from debates or discussions with people with different ideologies. We must engage.”

Agarwal has publicly linked Khanna’s rhetoric to an assault on two people speaking Hebrew in a San Jose restaurant earlier this week. The attack took place within Khanna’s district.

“It doesn’t take a genius to draw a line between those two things,” Agarwal said.

“We MUST capture and punish the perpetrators. Beyond that, we HAVE to turn down the dial of anti-Israeli rhetoric. [Khanna] acknowledge your role in this, and apologize for inflaming tensions,” he urged the congressman on X last week. “Take responsibility for creating the environment that enables these lunatics.”

In response, Khanna called the assault “horrific” and said it has “no place in our community,” adding that he had “unequivocally condemned” the attack and pushed for the attackers to be prosecuted.

“I’ve taken concrete steps to confront antisemitism locally. I’ve held multiple town halls and meetings with members of the Jewish community across the district to hear directly about their concerns and make sure they feel safe,” Khanna said.

He also highlighted his move two years ago to appoint a staffer in his office to serve as a point of contact for community members on antisemitism and a recent town hall he held with a local Jewish Democratic group. 

“My focus has been making sure that when antisemitism occurs, our community knows it will be taken seriously and addressed immediately,” Khanna continued.

While he didn’t weigh in on the broader strategic goals of the U.S. operation in Iran, Agarwal has argued that it’s an unequivocal good for the Iranian people and the world that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the joint U.S.-Israel operation, is dead, and criticized Khanna for trying to prevent or stop the U.S. operation against Iran.

“I am in support of the murder of Ali Khamenei because he was a brutal dictator and 20,000 Iranian Americans in [this] district — I spoke to many of them — agree with that,” Agarwal said. “I don’t know what happens from here. I think there’s open questions. I think there’s a good path, and there’s mistakes that can be made, but what I do know is that Iran is better off without him, and I think America is better off without him being alive.”

Khanna stood behind his advocacy for the war powers resolution, emphasizing the support it received among House Democrats, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and two moderate Jewish Democrats who initially opposed it. He said that the issue is a matter of constitutional authority. 

“I have been clear that the Iranian regime is brutal and destabilizing, as we have seen in its repression of its own people and the killing of thousands of protestors. But launching a war of choice in the Middle East without fully understanding the risks to our servicemembers or the potential for wider escalation has been reckless,” Khanna said. “People in my district understand the cost of these endless wars and oppose them. They expect their representative to stand up for the Constitution and to ensure that decisions are made carefully and with accountability.”

Agarwal has also blasted Khanna for his comments linking the Iran war to the Epstein case.

“What does [Jeffrey] Epstein have to do with the war in Iran? … aside from these being two topics he thinks are going to help him get elected president,” Agarwal said, adding that he believes that Khanna is using “Epstein class” as a broad pejorative to smear his political enemies, Israelis and the Jewish people.

Khanna told JI, “The ‘Epstein class’ refers to a group of wealthy and powerful elites who use their wealth and connections to operate as if they are above the law and not subject to the same accountability as everyone else. The phrase reflects the reality that Jeffrey Epstein and the people around him were able to operate for years without consequences,” and said “many prominent Jewish Americans” including Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and columnist Bill Kristol “have used the phrase after I coined it.”

“Attempts to twist the meaning of that phrase into something else is an empty political attack to distract from the real issue, which is accountability for powerful people who believe the rules do not apply to them, including rules of war,” Khanna said.

Agarwal also didn’t expound at length on Israel policy — emphasizing that his first responsibility in Congress would be on local issues in his district. He did say, however, that he believes that Israel is “our strongest ally in the Middle East” and that a stronger relationship between the two countries is good for the U.S., the U.S. economy and the district.

With a nearly decade-long record in Congress, a prominent profile and $15.5 million in donations on hand as of the end of the year, Khanna is strongly favored to win re-election. In the previous election, Khanna picked up 63% of the vote in the all-party primary, rising to 68% in the general election against a Republican challenger.

But with some prominent figures in Silicon Valley’s tech scene getting behind Agarwal, he might have a chance at making Khanna work harder for his re-election.

Agarwal argues that Khanna is also taking the election for granted, and that his alleged lack of attention to local issues will backfire on him, as well as his support for a wealth tax and his breaks with the local Israeli, Jewish, Iranian and other immigrant communities.

“I’m going to win this election by listening to the people in the district and being their advocate, as opposed to focusing on my national profile,” he said, pointing to Khanna’s national travel to 2028 presidential primary states.

The anti-Israel campus protest movement is facing “fear and exhaustion” amid the Trump administration’s crackdown, Mahmoud Khalil, who led demonstrations against Israel on Columbia University’s campus in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks and the ensuing war in Gaza, said on Sunday at the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas.

“With the Biden administration, you protest because you feel you can move the needle a little bit,” said Khalil. “But with Trump, it’s like plain tyranny. They would not listen.” 

Khalil, who spoke three days after an attempted terrorist attack at a synagogue in Michigan, noted that “antisemitism is real in this country” and condemned “violence against civilians.” 

At the same time, he argued that “claims of antisemitism are being weaponized to silence any critique of the U.S. support to Israel.” 

“All mainstream Jewish organizations in this country are disregarding real antisemitism in the Republican Party and just protecting Israel,” continued Khalil. He spoke in an hourlong conversation “on the cost of dissent,” with The Guardian editor Betsy Reed and Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center For Constitutional Rights who was a lawyer for Khalil in his ongoing deportation proceedings.

SXSW, a weeklong festival that convenes around 300,000 guests, including film and media professionals, executives and politicians to discuss culture, technology and innovation, faced scrutiny from some Jewish leaders over its decision to platform Khalil. 

Greg Rosenbaum, SXSW senior vice president of programming, told the Austin American-Statesman that hosting the discussion does not mean the festival endorses Khalil’s views.

“While many people, including us, may strongly disagree with some of the views, the reality is that expressing some of those views in a country with free speech protections led him to be imprisoned,” said Rosenbaum. “That doesn’t mean we support what he says, but it does mean that there’s a broader conversation that’s worth having about speech, disagreement and the consequences people face for expressing controversial ideas.”

Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, expressed dismay at this justification. “But platforms amplify voices — that’s the point,” he wrote on X prior to Khalil’s appearance. “Giving him this platform is a mistake.

Khalil was a key organizer of Columbia University’s anti-Israel encampment in April 2024, a two-week demonstration in the center of campus during Israel’s war in Gaza. The demonstration included several incidents of assault on Jewish students. Protesters used threatening and antisemitic slogans, including, “Go back to Poland”; signs with the Hamas symbol and the words “I’m with them”; and chants calling for Hamas attacks on Tel Aviv. 

Khalil later described the Oct. 7 attacks as “a desperate attempt to tell the world that Palestinians are here. That was my interpretation of why Hamas did the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel,” he said in a New York Times interview.  

A former Columbia graduate student who grew up in Syria but is of Palestinian descent, Khalil was released in June from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Louisiana, where he had been held for three months pending deportation proceedings. A federal appeals court ruled in January that Khalil could be rearrested. 

Asked on Sunday by Reed about his repeated refusal to denounce Hamas in a CNN interview shortly after being released from detention, Khalil still did not condemn the terrorist organization. Instead, he said he “would never answer such a question in a 20-second sound bite,” and argued that it was a “double standard” to be asked the question in the first place.   

“When Palestinians get asked this question, they are not interested in my views,” he said. “That question was asked a month after my release. If you say yes, maybe you are worth listening to and if not, then you’re discredited. That’s why I refused to answer that question. 

“You can never justify violence and Oct. 7 but to them you can never contextualize Oct. 7, [yet] Oct. 7 justifies everything that happened after. To me that’s a double standard. These are all deliberate attempts to silence people.”  

An Iranian missile struck northern Israel early Friday, injuring 58 residents and damaging 300 homes in Zarzir, a Bedouin town near Nazareth.

A woman in her 30s was moderately injured by shrapnel in her back, and the rest of the injuries were minor, according to Magen David Adom emergency services.

Zarzir Mayor Ataf Grifat described to Israeli media at the site “great destruction. … I heard the explosion from my house and I thought it was flying, even though I live hundreds of [yards] from the scene.” 

“One house was totally destroyed. About 300 homes were damaged from the blast that hit windows, doors and roofs. Whoever was in a safe room was saved, and those who were outside were injured,” Grifat added.

Many of the missiles Iran has lobbed at Israel had cluster munitions attached to them, which break into pieces when they explode, such that there are more impact sites. 

Soon after the attack, President Donald Trump issued a threat to Iran: “Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today.” 

“They’ve been killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years, and now I, as the 47th president of the United States of America, am killing them. What a great honor it is to do so!” the president wrote on Truth Social.

Iranian state TV said that new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei released his first statement since being named to the position earlier this week, after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the initial strikes of the ongoing war with Iran, which began on Feb. 28. In the statement, Khamenei vowed that Iran “will not neglect avenging the blood of [the] martyrs.” 

The remarks were read by a TV presenter. Khamenei has yet to appear in public since ascending to the leadership, and was reportedly injured in airstrikes.

”The popular demand is to continue our effective defense and make the enemy regret,” the statement attributed to Khamenei said. “The lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must continue to be used.”

The Strait of Hormuz is the sole maritime artery through which oil can be exported from the Gulf to the open sea. While the U.S. has destroyed large Iranian vessels that could block the strait, smaller Iranian boats were laced with explosives and others are thought to have set mines in the area.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a press conference on Thursday that “the new tyrant, Mojtaba, the puppet of the Revolutionary Guards, cannot show his face in public.” 

Israel and the U.S. “have achieved enormous accomplishments that are changing the balance of power in the Middle East and beyond … establishing Israel’s status as a power that is stronger than ever,” Netanyahu stated. “We are crushing the nuclear infrastructure, the missile and launcher array, the headquarters of oppression, the regime’s power centers, and many more targets.” 

Netanyahu said that the timing of the war was important because Iran was taking “accelerated action to restore the nuclear and missile programs … If we had not acted immediately, within a few months Iran’s death industry would have been immune to any strike.” 

Netanyahu also called again for the Iranian people to rise up against their leaders: “The moment when you can embark on a new path of freedom … is approaching. We stand by you, we are helping you. But at the end of the day, it depends on you. It is in your hands.” 

The Israeli prime minister also hinted at budding relations with other countries in the Middle East, “alliances that until a few weeks ago would have seemed unimaginable,” he said.

The press conference was Netanyahu’s first since the war with Iran began, with reporters asking questions via video link, amid restrictions on gatherings due to the security situation. 

Since the beginning of Operation Lion’s Roar, Magen David Adom has treated 854 people with physical injuries resulting from missile fire, including 12 fatalities and 628 who were injured en route to shelter.

As the military conflict between the U.S., Israel and Iran continues, Turkish elites have reportedly begun circulating claims that Israel could turn its military attention toward Ankara should Iran emerge from the war depleted — a belief analysts say reflects growing mistrust and conspiratorial thinking in Turkey rather than any actual Israeli intent.

“I have started hearing from inside of Turkey suggesting that there’s a not unsizable position of governing elite circles which do believe that Israel will turn its attention next onto Turkey, militarily or some derivative thereof, after its finished with Iran,” Sinan Ciddi, director of the Turkey program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said during a livestreamed webinar on Thursday.

Steven Cook, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, called Turkey’s perception of Israel’s intentions as “ridiculous.” 

“I’m surprised that even the sophisticated are deep in this idea that the Israelis are going to take on Turkey next,” said Cook. “All I’m getting from Israeli professional security and diplomatic channels is that ‘we want to find a way to de-conflict with Turkey.’ The fact that the Turkish political elite and government think that this is what the Israelis are going to do is a fundamental misreading.”  

Cook suggested that Turkish officials and elites could be spreading those claims for “political purposes,” arguing that Ankara could be “whipping up anti-Zionist, antisemitic fury.”

“It is very easy for people in Turkey to make up all these conspiracy theories,” Henri Barkey, a senior adjunct fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said. He noted that while there is a “great deal of dislike” between Ankara and Jerusalem, there would be “positive aspects” should the two work together for the betterment of the region following the conflict with Iran.

“Turkey and Israel actually have a great deal of trade, over $5 billion a year, and it would make much more sense for Israel to work with Turkey and maybe invest in Iran together,” Barkey said. 

But, he said,  Jerusalem has instead become a “convenient enemy” for Ankara. “We have an Israel that clearly is much more capable than most people expected and is now willing to take on Iran, not once, but twice, so that is a very useful and convenient enemy [for Turkey].”

At the same time, experts said the two countries appear to have sharply different preferences regarding the outcome of the war with Iran.

“I think Turkey desires for the existence of a weakened Islamic Republic with the Islamic regime in charge,” Ciddi said. “But it really does not seek the emergence of a Democratic or ‘free Iran.’”

“Turkey could potentially continue to cooperate and work with a weakened Iran, because a weakened Iran would essentially be able to continue working with its proxy networks to destabilize what Turkey identifies its adversaries in the region, such as Israel, but it will also allow Turkey to grow into the region as this new hegemonic power,” he added.

Cook echoed those sentiments, calling a “greatly weakened Islamic Republic” the best outcome for Ankara. He said a diminished Iranian regime is more likely to “seek help” from Turkey. 

“A weakened Iran will be much more at the beck and call of Turkey on a variety of issues,” Barkey said. “Turkey will be able to exercise much more leverage and get what it wants from Iran.”

Meanwhile, Cook noted that Israel is seeking a much different outcome.

“If something emerges from this conflict that’s called the Islamic Republic of Iran, it is a strategic defeat for Israel,” Cook said. “The Israelis have spent a lot of time and effort trying to create a pathway for the Iranian people to overthrow this regime. It’s a defeat for Israel if that doesn’t happen, and that’s good for Turkey during their current adversarial relationship.”

However, Cook cautioned that such an outcome could also backfire on Turkish ambitions for a more stable region, cautioning to “be careful what you wish for.”

“We’re right that some kind of smaller Islamic Republic that’s IRGC-dominated is the best possible outcome for Turkey, but this is still a potent and dangerous, wounded state,” Cook said. “It’s not great for the region, because if you take the Turks at their word that they want regional stability, they’re not going to get it with some rump version of the Islamic State.”

Despite a recent escalation in Iranian missile attacks targeting Israel, experts remain confident that Tehran’s military capabilities have been significantly degraded by the U.S. and Israel. 

U.S. and Israeli officials have touted that Iran’s missile capabilities have been severely reduced, with CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper saying Wednesday that Iran’s ballistic missile attacks have “dropped drastically.” 

That may not feel like the reality for Israelis — after four consecutive days of declining missile fire, Iran briefly increased its launches to 46 missiles on Wednesday, a roughly 70 percent increase from the 27 missiles fired the previous day. That included a seemingly coordinated operation between Iran and Hezbollah, as well as a missile barrage directed toward the Old City of Jerusalem on Thursday that caused prayer at holy sites to be suspended. 

But the data shows and analysts remain confident that Iran’s stockpiles are being degraded. 

Ari Cicurel, the associate director of foreign policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, told Jewish Insider that the escalated attacks might actually be a “reflection of Iran’s degrading capabilities.” 

“[Iran is] launching more attacks throughout the day, but the overall size of the attacks, the number of missiles they’re launching, is substantially down from the first day of the war,” Cicurel said. “What I see them doing is trying to use all of their resources to fight a psychological war against Israel and to keep the Israelis under constant fire for as long as they can without as many missile launchers because the U.S. and Israel have degraded their launcher capabilities.”

Since the beginning of the war, Iran has launched 1,158 ballistic missiles and 28 cruise missiles across the region. As of March 12, at least 80 percent of Iran’s capacity to launch missiles at Israel has been eliminated, a mark officials expect could rise to 95 percent “within a week.”

“Instead [Iran is] firing more frequent attacks. They’re timing their attacks overnight, but fewer missiles per launch, because they have lost those capabilities,” he added.

Cicurel said it “tracks with the U.S. and Israeli claims that their launch capacity is substantially down,” adding that Wednesday night’s supposedly coordinated strikes on Israel from Iran and Hezbollah is also evidence of this, arguing it is a sign that “as Iran continues to lose its own capabilities, it is going to have to increasingly rely on proxies.” Experts stressed that Hezbollah’s arsenal is different from Iran’s and that the terrorist group “has its own supply.” 

“Iran loses capacity, Hezbollah is weakened, and so that’s why you see them joining the war,” Cicurel said. “Iran really has a few main proxies left. Hezbollah, despite Israel severely degrading it over the past few years, still remains a threat with rockets and missiles, but [Iran is] relying on Hezbollah to launch the mass amount of fire, and then Iran is sending a handful of missiles alongside that.”

Dan Shapiro, a deputy assistant secretary of defense under the Biden administration, U.S. ambassador to Israel under the Obama administration and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told JI that the latest wave of attacks from Iran and Hezbollah was “not unexpected.” He said the attacks, however, could suggest that Hezbollah “has been able to rebuild and recover, maybe more than had been understood,” adding that it is possible that Iran’s remaining capabilities could be slightly underestimated.

“It’s definitely possible,” Shapiro said. “I’m sure there has been success in eliminating and degrading significant portions of the Iranian missile attack capability, both in terms of missiles in storage and launchers, but I would be cautious about triumphal claims that the threat has been nearly eliminated, because it’s very likely Iran retains some capability and will continue to be able to use it if the war continues.”

Shapiro, however, agreed that Iran’s stockpile and launching of missiles has appeared to decline. He suggested Iran will likely conduct reduced attacks moving forward, referencing Israeli claims that 70 to 75 percent of Iranian launchers have been eliminated. “If that’s true, the degradation of the launcher inventory is important, and that reduces the ability of the Iranians to fire as many missiles as they did in the early days of the war.”

“I think the likelihood is that they [Iran] will continue to fire at lower levels than they did in the early days of the war, both because of reduced capacity and in order to preserve their remaining capability, but be able to sustain some attack presence on any given day,” Shapiro added. “That’s the most likely trend, if the war continues — sustained fire at reduced levels from the early days.”

Both experts expressed that, while it is unlikely that the U.S. and Israel will completely deplete Iran’s missile arsenal, Washington and Jerusalem could still maintain a successful operation should Tehran’s capabilities be severely degraded.

“They [the U.S. and Israel] may not fully remove all Iranian capabilities and capacity in this war, but the amount of degradation they’ve done to Iran and the lost capabilities could leave it in a bad enough position that the regime no longer has the capacity to launch a massive effort,” Cicurel said. “It also puts the regime in a place where internal dynamics take over and that leads to internal regime collapse. I think that’s the main effort.”

Cicurel also said that while the U.S. and Israel were initially focusing their attacks on military sites and missile launchers, both partners have “shifted” to going after Iran’s stockpiles of missiles and production capabilities.

“I think part of the objective is to severely degrade their [Iran’s] ability over the long term so you don’t see a situation like after the 12-day war, where Israel severely degraded Iran’s missile stockpile and then it was quickly rebuilt back to pre-war levels when this current war started.” 

Cicurel added that Iran has “very little capability to be rebuilding” its stockpiles during the ongoing conflict; however, he cautioned that Iran could be attempting to “seek Russian or Chinese support over the long term.”

“Ultimately, [the U.S. and Israel] have to contain the threat during the war and then reach a stable endpoint to the war … and then, when the fighting stops, you have to have a diplomatic strategy to put guardrails around any rebuild of the program,” Shapiro said. “I don’t think there is such a thing as removing the threat completely, but it has to be reduced and it has to be defeated.”

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POLITICAL TIGHTROPE

Pro-Israel Democrats walking a fine line on U.S. operation in Iran

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said she would likely have voted to authorize force against Iran if the administration had approached Congress properly before launching the war

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FEELING THE HEAT

UAE, more than Israel, absorbing bulk of Iranian strikes in war’s early weeks

Republican senators argued to JI that the war will ultimately be to the Gulf’s benefit, even if they’re feeling the pain now

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Israel continued extensive strikes on Lebanon on Thursday morning, after Hezbollah shot about 200 projectiles at northern Israel the night before.

About 120 of the rockets and missiles crossed from Lebanon into Israel during the Wednesday night barrage, with those not intercepted mostly striking Israel’s north.

The Magen David Adom emergency service treated two individuals with mild injuries following the missile fire from Lebanon. 

A home, with the exception of its safe room, was destroyed, and two others were damaged in Moshav Haniel in Emek Hefer, a region of Israel 70 miles from the Lebanon border.

Soon after, Iran launched missiles at Israel, a move officials said likely indicated that the two Wednesday night barrages were coordinated between Tehran and Beirut.

A senior Israeli official briefed the media on Thursday morning that a significant expansion of operations in Lebanon would soon take place, but did not say whether that would include a broad ground invasion. 

Shortly after Wednesday night’s barrage began, the IDF announced “a large-scale wave of strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure in the Dahieh area of Beirut” while “interception efforts [were] ongoing.”

As part of that wave, the IDF struck 10 Hezbollah sites within 30 minutes, including an intelligence base and headquarters of the elite Radwan unit. On Thursday morning, the IDF reported launching 200 munitions from air and sea at 70 Hezbollah targets in Beirut.

“The Hezbollah terrorist organization has embedded its terrorist infrastructure in the heart of Beirut under the cover of the civilian population,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Office said.

IDF Spokesperson in Arabic Avichay Adraee posted evacuation warnings on social media throughout the night and morning. Over half a million residents of Lebanon have evacuated since Hezbollah joined the war on Iran’s side last week.

In addition, troops of the IDF’s Mountain Brigade operated in Lebanon near the border with Israel to locate and destroy rocket launchers and weapons storage facilities.

The IDF reported “a wide-scale wave of strikes in Iran” on Thursday. In addition, according to Israeli and other Middle Eastern media, Israeli drones have been striking checkpoints manned by Iranian paramilitary militia Basij. The checkpoints had been set up on central arteries throughout Iran to try to suppress an uprising and limit movement. 

The IDF intercepted Iranian missiles headed for Jerusalem on Thursday.

In addition to the two mild injuries from Lebanese missiles, Magen David Adom treated 45 people who were injured on their way to shelters or suffered from anxiety on Wednesday.

Since the start of Operation Lion’s Roar, MDA reported 759 physical casualties, of which 169 were caused by missile fire, including 12 fatalities.

Iran struck an oil tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, the sixth such ship targeted in the Gulf over two days, after attacking two vessels in Iraqi waters overnight, killing one. Iranian drones struck an oil facility in Bahrain, an airport in Kuwait, an Italian military base in Iraqi Kurdistan and a tower in Dubai on Thursday morning. The Saudi Defense Ministry said it intercepted a UAV targeting an oil field. 

Also Thursday, Israeli Education Minister Yoav Kisch said that schools in northern Israel and the coastal strip, including Tel Aviv, are not expected to reopen in the coming days, while in other areas, school may reopen gradually, starting Monday.

Clay Fuller, a veteran and district attorney, is expected to succeed former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in the House, bringing a pro-Israel voice to replace one of the House’s most anti-Israel Republicans.

Fuller led all Republicans on the all-party primary ballot in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, winning 35% of the vote. Even though he finished narrowly behind Democrat Shawn Harris, a military veteran, the Republican vote is likely to consolidate behind Fuller in next month’s runoff election. 

Fuller has expressed support for Israel and for the U.S. strikes on Iran.

“President Trump tried the peace route with Iran not once, not twice, but THREE separate times — and they refused. He’s the peace President, but you can’t negotiate with a death cult,” Fuller said in a post on X last month, emphasizing he had supported operations against Iran during his time in the military and that the regime and its proxies had killed many Americans. He added, “This mission is not in vain. Victory through strength.”

Fuller’s Air Force career included work on counterterrorism operations, and he was deployed in 2024 to the Al Udeid airbase in Qatar supporting U.S. Central Command operations.

The day after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, Fuller blasted the Biden administration for unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian funds as part of an earlier hostage deal, highlighting Iran’s support to Hamas.

In 2024, he praised Israel and the IDF for eliminating senior Hezbollah official Ibrahim Aqil, pointing to Aqil’s involvement in the attack on the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut in 1983.

AIPAC congratulated Fuller on Tuesday’s results.

“AIPAC also congratulates Clay Fuller for advancing to the April runoff to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene, who worked throughout her tenure to weaken the U.S.-Israel relationship,” the group said in a statement. “Voters in Georgia’s heavily Republican 14th District now have the opportunity to elect a representative who reflects the values of thousands of pro-Israel Georgians and who understans the importance of the U.S.-Israel partnership.”

Harris has his own history with Israel — he served as defense attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Israel starting in May 2021, at the rank of brigadier general, according to his National Guard biography and a Facebook post by the Georgia National Guard.

But that hasn’t stopped him from taking a hostile stance toward Israel and its supporters.

“I’m not taking AIPAC money. I’m not taking money from outside groups trying to buy influence in this race,” he said on X on Wednesday, responding to AIPAC’s statement on Fuller. “No strings. No special favors. No backroom agendas. My loyalty is to the voters of Northwest Georgia. Always.”

The post was accompanied by a graphic reading “in case anyone was wondering… AIPAC is supporting Clay Fuller.”

Harris has also described the war in Gaza as a genocide, though he expressed support for the “people of the region, both in Israel and Palestine, who want to work hard and live their lives in peace, and deserve better from their leaders.”

“I am one of the very few candidates or currently serving Members of Congress who have lived in the region and worked on extraordinarily complex issues within Israel and the Middle East,” he continued.

Harris said previously he would not accept support from AIPAC or the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

His tone has changed significantly since Oct. 7, 2023, when Harris said, “Just as America has the right to defend itself, we must always support Israel’s right to defend itself, and we also must continue working to achieve a stable and just peace in the Middle East.”

He has also criticized the U.S. operations in Iran, citing the need for a “clearly defined mission and end goal” as well as consultation with Congress, and questioning whether the operation has “an achievable objective.”

Remarks by pro-Israel stalwarts Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Brad Schneider (D-IL) on a Jewish Democratic Council of America webinar on Wednesday highlighted the delicate line that some pro-Israel Democratic lawmakers are walking on the war in Iran.

Wasserman Schultz and Schneider, along with some of their Democratic colleagues, are longtime Iran hawks and have previously supported many of the stated aims of the war, but express deep skepticism of how the Trump administration is handling the operation and its decision not to seek congressional authorization. 

Both Democrats voted for a war powers resolution last week that sought to bring an immediate halt to the war.

Wasserman Schultz said that, in addition to legal and constitutional concerns, Trump made a “colossally stupid” decision in not coming to Congress because some lawmakers, including her, might have voted to support an operation against Iran if presented with the proper intelligence and a clear plan.

“I can tell you assuredly: had I been presented with an Authorization for Use of Military Force, that made sense, and that we were properly briefed, and there was a demonstrative, imminent threat — which we have really yet to be shown — I am someone on our side of the aisle that likely would have voted for an AUMF if all of those things were in place,” Wasserman Schultz said. “Instead, [President Donald Trump] has blown an opportunity to go in in the most prepared way.”

By sidestepping Congress, the administration left the U.S. unprepared for the implications and blowback from the war, Wasserman Schultz said, highlighting, among other issues, the administration’s failure to evacuate American citizens from the region before the war started.

“I am so frustrated because I think everyone on this call knows how dangerous, deeply evil Iran is as a regime,” Wasserman Schultz said. “I have been careful about just blanket-ly condemning everything [Trump is] doing here, but most certainly, the way that we got into this was really unacceptable, and my constituents are very concerned.”

While Wasserman Schultz said she supported diplomacy with Iran, she also expressed skepticism about its chances for success, explaining that the Iranian regime would likely have sought to string the U.S. along until Trump left office, buying time to continue building its nuclear and missile programs.

Schneider said he believes strongly that the U.S. needs to address the threat from Iran, as well “help the people of Iran free themselves” from the regime, but added that “the Constitution is clear” that only Congress can declare war, and the administration has still not clearly identified an imminent threat that would have allowed it to legally take action unilaterally. He also said he does not trust the administration to properly carry through the mission without oversight.

“We can agree on the objectives in confronting Iran. We have no idea what the goals of this war are, or the strategy for achieving those goals, or the endgame that is trying to be ultimately accomplished that would bring the war to an end,” Schneider said. “My biggest fear is Trump … declares victory and goes home with Iran’s regime still in place, the nuclear program not completely defeated, [the] ballistic missile program damaged but not eliminated.”

He said that he’s afraid that, if the administration doesn’t set clear objectives, it will stop the war prematurely and ultimately leave the Iranian regime “more entrenched, feeling more powerful.”

The Illinois congressman speculated that Iranian leadership, by gathering in one central location, could have “present[ed] an opportunity that was too good to pass up” in launching the war but said that the administration still hasn’t properly articulated to lawmakers its thinking and strategy, so he does not know if that is the case.

Schneider said that an ideal outcome would require removing Iran’s enriched uranium from the country, which would necessitate international inspectors and a diplomatic settlement.

“There is no military solution to get us where we ultimately need to be. It has to be a political solution,” he said. “The military action always needed to be on the table to help us achieve that political solution. But with this President, I think it’s more ready, fire, aim, as opposed to ready, aim, fire.”

Schneider also called for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to be removed from his job, saying Hegseth has failed to prepare for easily anticipated Iranian responses like mining the Strait of Hormuz, or to ensure proper oversight to prevent civilian casualties.

Wasserman Schultz said that she would consider a supplemental funding request if and when the administration presents one, emphasizing that she wants to ensure U.S. troops have the resources they need because “it’s not their choice to be there,” even if she doesn’t fully agree with the administration’s approach.

Wasserman Schultz added that she’s concerned that the war is “compromising our ability” to protect the U.S. from Russia and China.

Asked about a supplemental request, Schneider emphasized that U.S. servicemembers have his strong support and are “doing their job, they’re succeeding, and we should all pray for the success of their mission and their safe return.”

But he said he’s disappointed with the political leadership in the administration, particularly its distribution of online videos intermixing footage from the war with movie clips and video games, even as U.S. servicemembers have been killed and injured. “No one should take glee in the killing of the enemy. It is a necessary act that is advancing our interests.”

JDCA itself also seems to be striking a delicate balance.

The group’s CEO Halie Soifer said JDCA agrees with the need to stop Iran’s missile and nuclear programs, but emphasized that Trump is going around Congress and that, while some Democrats might “support, perhaps, some of the short-term tactical gains” some also “believe the administration is lacking a long-term strategy for success in Iran.”

Schneider and Wasserman Schultz were also critical of comments by Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggesting that Israel had effectively dragged the U.S. into the war. Rubio has said those comments were mischaracterized. Both criticized that framing of the conflict as incorrect and as potential fodder for increased antisemitism.

“The president said it himself: He was not compelled, he may have compelled Israel,” Schneider said. 

But he added, “in the end, it doesn’t really matter,” predicting a similar rise in antisemitism as occurred around the 1973 Yom Kippur War — launched by Egypt — when people in the U.S. blamed Jews and Israel for rising gas prices.

“Because this administration did not have that conversation with Congress and, through Congress, with the American people, people are going to look for scapegoats,” he said. “And when folks are looking for scapegoats, Jews are almost always one of those targets.”

Wasserman Schultz said that Rubio’s comments were “unbelievable” and “dangerous.”

“It is incredibly dangerous for Jews worldwide, and … unacceptable for him to have basically set it up that, ‘Well, we had to do this because it’s the Jews’ fault,’” Wasserman Schultz said. “Once it’s said, the impact — it remains.”

Speaking broadly, she said that the picture presented to lawmakers in a classified setting was “more subtle.”

As Iran retaliates against the U.S. and Israel’s joint military campaign, findings have revealed that the United Arab Emirates — not Israel — has thus far faced the majority of Tehran’s missile and drone attacks.

Since the launch of the war on Feb. 28, Tehran has responded with widespread drone and missile attacks across the region, but it has been the UAE that has borne the brunt of the attacks. As of March 11, the UAE’s Ministry of Defense reported that its air defenses had “engaged” 268 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,514 UAVs.

Iranian strikes have targeted American assets in the country, such as the U.S. consulate in Dubai, but also a range of civilian targets, including Dubai International Airport, where a drone attack wounded four people. Reports have indicated that Abu Dhabi has faced more than three times the number of Iranian drones and missiles launched toward Israel. The attacks come as Gulf allies are running short on missile interceptors. 

Two Senate Republicans argued to Jewish Insider on Wednesday that, ultimately, the U.S. campaign against Iran will be to the benefit of the UAE and other Gulf allies, even if they’re feeling pain in the short term.

“It’s always something that we need to be aware of, and it is not an item to be ignored, but at the same time, you have to measure it with what Iran has left, and whether our offensive capabilities will continue to degrade their ability to actually inflict damage in that region,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) said, referring to the attacks on UAE and other allies and their reportedly dwindling interceptor stocks.

Iran’s offensive weapons “have limits as well,” Rounds continued, “and we’ve just got to do a better job of making sure that we go after their offensive capabilities.”

“Unfortunately we’re in the middle of a battle [that will decide if] the area [is] going to be safe or not,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said, adding that he believes the U.S.’ allies are supportive of the action the U.S. is taking. “Everybody would like to make sure Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapon and they’re sick and tired of Iran’s antics. So I think it’s part of what you have to go through.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) pointed to the attacks on Gulf states as an argument against the war in general.

“These countries have limited interceptor stocks. This could get even uglier very quickly. Like everyone (except the White House) knew it would,” Murphy said on X.

Experts told JI that the UAE’s proximity to Iran, combined with its role as a global financial and commercial hub, makes it a particularly attractive target for Tehran. Even limited strikes can rattle international markets, disrupt tourism and investment and raise the economic stakes for countries aligned with Washington and pressure it to end the war.

“Iran is deliberately and disproportionately targeting the UAE partially because it is easy, given the UAE’s proximity to Iran, and more importantly, because it is an easy target that Iran knows will exact a global cost financially, and a military cost for the United States and the region,” Rachel Brandenburg, a senior policy analyst at the Israel Policy Forum, said. 

“The UAE is home to significant global financial capital flows, international corporations, and tourists from far and wide,” she said. “Hitting the UAE is a relatively easy way for Iran to show that it can harm not only American and Israeli interests and assets, but also global interests.” 

Brandenburg said that the UAE had been “counting on its diplomatic and economic relationship with Iran to insulate it from any retaliation against American or Israeli strikes” but “that, in fact, was not the case.”

Jonathan Ruhe, a fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, said that Tehran’s strategy is not only to broaden the conflict, but to interfere with the “Emirates’ success as a safe haven for economic activity,” in hopes that the UAE and other Arab countries “will pressure Trump to end the war as soon as possible.” 

“Ironically, the UAE did such a good job creating a safe haven that now even the threat of a few drones can shock and scare away tourists, investors and shippers.”

Ruhe also noted that the UAE is an “easier military target” compared to Israel. 

“Its [the UAE’s] air defenses are less battle-tested, and have less time to react to incoming projectiles than those in Israel, and, unlike Israel, it’s within reach of Iran’s short-range missiles,” Ruhe said. “Israel has already adapted to two-plus years of grueling conflict, so missiles and drones cause less disruption to normal life.”

However, experts noted that Tehran’s strategy could backfire, exposing the military promise of Gulf allies while potentially pushing them closer to defense cooperation with the U.S. and Israel. David May, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, said that the missile defense systems of Arab allies have “performed admirably in real-world conditions.”

“While Iran might have hoped that Gulf countries would beg the Americans to end the war, the opposite has happened,” May said. “The Gulf countries have condemned Iran and intercepted most of the drones and missiles, and the shared experience of being subjected to Iranian aggression has reminded them of the need for a regional defense architecture in line with the Abraham Accords.”

Ruhe also argued that Iran’s strategy “has backfired,” and echoed sentiments that it could create the conditions for cooperation that were not present prior to the start of the conflict. 

“However and whenever this conflict ends, it’s creating new opportunities that, frankly, didn’t exist until Iran attacked the entire neighborhood,” Ruhe said. 

This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.

PRIMARY PRESSURE

DMFI focusing ire on anti-Israel Democrats running in swing districts

The pro-Israel Democratic group warns that nominating far-left candidates will cost the party winnable seats against GOP incumbents

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DEMOCRATIC DIVIDE

John Fetterman again offers scathing criticism of his own party’s foreign policy views

The Pennsylvania senator told JI about the U.S. military operation’s successes: ‘Why can’t a single Democrat agree that this is a good thing for the world and the region?’

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Despite Qatar’s anger with Iran over the regime’s continued attacks on its territory and civilian infrastructure, experts are divided over whether the conflict will ultimately force Doha to reconsider its long-standing policy of hosting Iranian-backed Hamas officials.

Qatar has hosted Hamas’ political office and leadership, who have been reported to live lavishly and amass significant wealth, since 2012. Doha previously agreed to expel Hamas officials during hostage negotiations with Israel, but ultimately did not follow through. 

Some experts told Jewish Insider that shifting regional dynamics amid the U.S. and Israeli conflict with Iran could be sufficient to change Qatar’s calculus. In the days following the launch of the joint U.S. and Israeli military operation against Iran, Tehran has launched widespread drone and missile strikes at multiple Arab nations, including Qatar.  

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani condemned the Iranian strikes last week as a “flagrant violation” of Doha’s sovereignty in a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and “categorically rejected” Tehran’s claims that the strikes were directed only at American interests and not intended to target the Gulf state.

Hamas — which has received significant funding, training, arms and intelligence from Tehran for decades — has not denounced the Iranian strikes, instead placing the blame on the U.S. and Israel. 

Anne Dreazen, vice president of the American Jewish Committee’s Center for a New Middle East, told JI that while Doha has raised the possibility of expelling Hamas leadership in the past, the recent attacks and the group’s lack of condemnation of the Iranian strikes signals that “the situation is a little bit different now.”

“These Iranian attacks across the Gulf have really forced many regional governments to reassess how much space they want to give the Iranian regime-aligned groups,” Dreazen said. “I think Qatar probably perceives that Hamas is siding with the Iranian regime, and so that could create some additional pressure on Qatar to act.”

Edmond Fitton-Brown, a former British diplomat and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, echoed those sentiments, telling JI that the current conflict between the U.S. and Israel and Iran could challenge Qatar’s long-standing balancing act between Islamist movements and Western allies.

“Before the current Iran war, it [Qatar] was pursuing a business model that had it as international mediator, media superpower, host of a U.S. military base and sponsor of the Muslim Brotherhood’s global ambitions,” Fitton-Brown told JI. “It was a tightrope act, reliant on neither Iran objecting to the U.S. military base nor the U.S. objecting to the Muslim Brotherhood angle.”

However, Fitton-Brown said “the extent of the betrayal in the face of Iranian military aggression is on a different level from previous issues. “The comment made by Qatar about ‘everything being ruined’ strikes me as an acknowledgement that a return to the status quo ante is unlikely,” he added.

Fitton-Brown said that Qatar “looks unlikely to offer a stable haven” for Hamas leadership, adding that the group could find itself “sandwiched between U.S. allies on both sides of the Gulf.” 

Meanwhile, other experts and former White House officials remained more skeptical that current hostilities would push Qatar to finally expel Hamas.

“I will believe it when I see it,” Steven Cook, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told JI.  Cook noted that while the “Qataris are angry about Iranian strikes on their territory,” it would likely not change the dynamics of their relationship with Hamas. He added that “hosting Hamas has become an instrument of Qatar’s regional power and global influence.

“Qatar has been playing both sides for decades — supporting Islamist groups including terrorist groups like Hamas, while housing the Al-Udeid base and spending billions in the U.S. to buy political protection,” Elliott Abrams, the former U.S. special representative for Iran during the first Trump administration, said. 

Abrams said it is “possible that this war has awakened them to the inherent contradictions in this game, where they protect Hamas — but Hamas doesn’t side with them,” however, he also expressed skepticism that such a move would ultimately be carried out.

Abrams said Qatar is “too used” to their current posture of playing both sides, adding that Doha receives “too many benefits from it.”

Richard Goldberg, a former Trump administration official, also said he will “believe it when I see it.” He noted that Qatar “appears to have intentionally shut down their liquified natural gas  exports and hyped the market … as a favor to Tehran and an attempt to pressure President Trump into backing down.” 

Earlier this month, Qatar halted liquefied natural gas production — which accounts for roughly 20% of global supply — after Iranian drone attacks targeted key operating facilities and infrastructure.

If the conflict does push Qatar to expel Hamas leaders, experts said Turkey could serve as a potential refuge.

“Turkey is the obvious refuge for Hamas: a powerful and self-confident Sunni Islamist state that also functions as the headquarters in the region for the International Organization of the Muslim Brotherhood,” Fitton-Brown added. “The Hamas leaders may move there soon, or may wait until the U.S.-Israel-Iran outcome is clear.”

“It would not be the end of Hamas” if they were expelled from Doha, Dreazen said. “Hamas has extensive operational infrastructure still in Gaza, and it has networks throughout several countries, Turkey being one of them. In terms of Hamas’ ability to carry out operations in Gaza, I think the impact would actually probably be limited.”

Columbia University anti-Israel protest leader Mahmoud Khalil is scheduled to speak at this week’s annual South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas.

Khalil will participate on Sunday in a conversation “on the cost of dissent,” with The Guardian Editor Betsy Reed and Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center For Constitutional Rights who was a lawyer for Khalil in his deportation proceedings, according to the SXSW schedule. The weeklong festival each March convenes around 300,000 guests, including film and media professionals, executives and politicians to discuss culture, technology and innovation.

“Khalil joins The Guardian for an unflinching conversation on his ordeal, the system that tried to silence him, and the personal and political stakes of resistance,” SXSW’s website states. 

At Columbia, Khalil was a key organizer of the anti-Israel encampment in April 2024, a two-week demonstration in the center of campus during Israel’s war in Gaza. The demonstration included several incidents of assault on Jewish students. Protesters used threatening and antisemitic slogans, including, “Go back to Poland”; signs with the Hamas symbol and the words “I’m with them”; and chants calling for Hamas attacks on Tel Aviv. 

Khalil was a lead negotiator with the administration in negotiating to end the encampment, where he demanded the university sever ties with Israeli institutions and grant amnesty for students involved in the encampment.

A former Columbia graduate student who grew up in Syria but is of Palestinian descent, Khalil was released in June from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Louisiana, where he had been held for three months pending deportation proceedings. A federal appeals court ruled in January that Khalil could be rearrested. One month after his release, Khalil repeatedly declined to condemn Hamas in a CNN interview.

Earlier this week, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani faced criticism from Jewish groups for hosting Khalil at his official residence. 

SXSW did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Jewish Insider about its decision to host Khalil.

When Israel and the U.S. launched their first strikes on Iran, Ron Dermer was in Australia, about as far as one could get from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem or the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. He soon found himself, like many other Israelis wanting to get home from abroad, on a plane to Taba, Egypt, from which point he would cross back into Israel, where airspace remains restricted.

Since November, when he resigned from his official post as strategic affairs minister, Dermer has spent most of his time traveling for speaking engagements. But now, two sources with knowledge of the matter confirmed to Jewish Insider, Dermer is back again in public service. 

He may not have an official title, but he is doing what he has done for the previous three years — serving as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest and most trusted advisor. Israel’s Walla News quoted a source in the Prime Minister’s Office who said Dermer was reporting for “reserve duty,” like over 100,000 other Israelis since the outset of the war with Iran.

Netanyahu and Dermer’s relationship has been so close for the past 26 years that Dermer has been called the prime minister’s third son and nicknamed “Bibi’s brain.” With a very small inner circle and few advisors whom he truly trusts, Netanyahu views Dermer as a critical asset to his team at a time when the U.S. and Israel are making decisions that will determine the future of the Middle East for years to come.

Dermer is also known as having a good relationship with the Trump administration, and has reportedly been taking part in Netanyahu’s nightly calls with President Donald Trump. 

Those relationships have served Dermer well. When Trump presented his 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza last September, he repeatedly said, “Right, Ron?” addressing his remarks to Dermer, who was sitting in the front row.

Trump and Netanyahu have been remarkably in sync since the war began on Feb. 28. But some cracks are beginning to show: After the IDF bombed an Iranian fuel depot earlier this week, Trump administration sources leaked that they thought Israel went too far. 

Trump has sent mixed messages about the expected duration of the war, saying on Monday that it is “very complete,” but also “could go further,” while Netanyahu said on Saturday night, “We are continuing with full force.” 

Dermer may well be the point person tasked to smooth over the differences that are likely to come up between the leaders. Netanyahu is counting on it.

With one week to go until the hotly contested Democratic primary in Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, a new, well-funded super PAC is spending big on an ad campaign against Kat Abughazaleh, a far-left social media influencer who has staked out strong anti-Israel stances.

The group, Chicago Progressive Partnership, has reportedly spent around $1 million since its campaign against Abughazaleh began last week. A new television ad appears designed to sow doubt about her progressive credentials, referencing her writings from high school, when she backed Marco Rubio, then a senator, in the 2016 presidential primary and expressed conservative views on Social Security.

Other ads from the group accused her of taking donations from billionaires, Republicans and Trump supporters, an issue that has become a major point of attack in the race, primarily targeting moderate state Sen. Laura Fine.

“Who is the real Kat Abughazaleh? We don’t really know,” one ad states.

Abughazaleh has largely brushed off the attacks in a pair of mocking YouTube videos.

“AIPAC is so scared I’m going to beat them next week, and they should be,” she said in one of the videos.

Recent reporting from the district suggests that Chicago Progressive Partnership is tied to Elect Chicago Women, another new super PAC rumored to be backed by Israel supporters, which has spent millions supporting Fine and attacking Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, also an Israel critic.

All told, the focus on attacking Abughazaleh — who would likely be the most hostile of the three candidates toward Israel — suggests a shift in tactics from reportedly pro-Israel groups, which until this week have mainly focused on hitting Biss while boosting Fine.

A new public poll of the primary shows Biss narrowly leading Abughazaleh, 24-20%, with Fine lagging behind in third place with 14% support. The poll also showed Abughazaleh gaining support and Fine losing support over the last several weeks. 

Last month, the AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project super PAC inadvertently helped boost the far-left Analilia Mejia in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District as it focused its spending against former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), and the new spending against Abughazaleh may be aimed at preventing a repeat of such an outcome.

Elect Chicago Women filed with the Federal Election Commission notice of its most recent pro-Fine expenditures on March 6, and its last anti-Biss expenditures on March 3. The group has spent more than $1 million opposing Biss.

Some in the area had warned that focusing attacks on Biss could replicate a similar outcome as in New Jersey, pushing progressive voters away from him and toward Abughazaleh, though the Elect Chicago Women spending initially focused on boosting Fine, something UDP never did for its favored candidate in New Jersey.

Abughazaleh herself has attributed the influx of spending against her to such concerns, saying in a YouTube video, “I think they’re realizing that they might get another NJ-11 here.”

Meanwhile, in other Chicago-area districts, anti-Israel groups are going on the offensive.

The Justice Democrats and IMEU Policy Project, an anti-Israel group that has been increasingly active politically this cycle, are spending at least $100,000 to attack former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL) in Illinois’ 8th Congressional District. Bean is a pro-Israel moderate, and favored to win the race.

And in Chicago’s 2nd District, County Commissioner Donna Miller is facing attacks from the Working Families Party in ad accusing Miller of taking “MAGA billionaires’ money,” citing the alleged pro-Israel outside spending in Chicago, and accusing her of collaborating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The WFP ad offers support for state Sen. Robert Peters, highlighting his record of opposing ICE and his endorsement from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and others. The group has spent at least $100,000 on the ads.

So far, Elect Chicago Women has spent $3.8 million supporting Bean; Affordable Chicago Now, another group rumored to be backed by Israel supporters, has spent $3.3 million supporting Miller; and UDP has spent $3.3 million supporting Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin in the 7th Congressional District.

A host of other outside groups, including those affiliated with the AI and cryptocurrency industries, have also spent millions across the four open Chicago House races.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is criticizing his fellow Democrats over their opposition to President Donald Trump’s decision to launch the U.S. war in Iran, arguing that his party should celebrate efforts to bring down the Iranian regime and its military and nuclear capabilities as a “positive development.” 

Fetterman, the most vocal pro-Israel Democrat in the Senate, has been one of the leading advocates for striking Iran directly since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. He backed Trump’s decision to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities amid the 12-day war with Israel last year, criticizing Democrats at the time for speaking out against the operation, and has since emerged as one of the staunchest Iran hawks in the Democratic Party.

The Pennsylvania senator said, since leading Democrats have long argued that Iran should never have the ability to get a nuclear weapon, criticism from the party of the joint U.S.-Israel efforts to degrade their military capabilities is hypocritical.

“First, let’s get to history. Every single Democratic presidential candidate or Democratic president all agreed, we can never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb. Everyone has run the gamut: sanctions, treaties, proxies, other kinds of negotiations. It never worked,” Fetterman told Jewish Insider in an interview on Tuesday. “But you know what it actually produced? Nine hundred pounds of just pure, weapons-grade uranium.”

“When the country that wants death to America and wants to destroy Israel could have been months away from developing a nuclear weapon, and every single Democratic candidate for president all agreed we can never allow them [to do so], why can’t we just acknowledge what’s happened?” he asked. “It’s a profound development. I don’t get it. I know what the [Democratic] base demands right now: condemn and criticize.”

He said that Democrats should be able and willing to praise the operation for degrading Iran’s regime and its capabilities.

“Why can’t a Democrat call this a positive development given everything that Iran is responsible for and what their ambitions are?” Fetterman said. “This is effectively us destroying the Nazi regime and Hitler before they could’ve even begun. So, to your readers, whether in Israel or here, I ask: Why is that a problem?”

Fetterman also said that the media and fellow Democrats are ignoring what he characterized as the apparent successes and effectiveness of the U.S.-Israel strikes.

“Iran’s capabilities have been effectively ended. Right now, the missile strikes are down by 90 percent. Their Navy is gone. They can’t even project any force at this point,” Fetterman said. “Why do The New York Times and other left-wing media keep making it seem that the region is on fire when this is the breaking free of Iran? Why can’t a single Democrat agree that this is a good thing for the world and the region?”

Fetterman also blasted recent comments from former Vice President Kamala Harris and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, potential 2028 Democratic presidential contenders, criticizing Trump’s decision to launch the U.S. war in Iran and questioning the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship. The Pennsylvania senator said he was not surprised by the mainstreaming of opposition to Israel within the Democratic Party, predicting that the shift away from supporting Israel would continue.

“I expect at the end that our party is going to continue to back away from the moral clarity of Israel. If you are describing Israel as an apartheid state, or you have people in leadership [doing so], that’s profoundly disappointing but unsurprising,” Fetterman said.

Two of New York’s largest Jewish community groups voiced consternation Tuesday night over New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s recent fraternizing with activists who had defended and even advocated violence against Israel.

The criticism from the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and the UJA-Federation of New York came after Mamdani shared a photo on social media Monday night of himself and his wife hosting Columbia University campus activist Mahmoud Khalil at Gracie Mansion — and after reports that Abdullah Akl, the stridently anti-Israel political director of the Muslim American Society of New York, had introduced the mayor at an event in Staten Island. 

JCRC CEO Mark Treyger highlighted federal findings that the protests that Khalil helped lead created a hostile environment for Jewish students at Columbia. He acknowledged Khalil’s legal fight to avoid deportation, but urged the mayor to also open Gracie Mansion to those subjected to harassment on the Ivy League campus.

“If our democracy affords Mahmoud Khalil due process rights, as it should, then those same democratic principles must also extend to the civil rights of students and staff to study and work in an environment free from hate, intimidation, and harassment. We cannot be selective about whose rights we defend,” Treyger, a former city councilmember, wrote on X. “Their stories deserve to be heard so that no student, in any educational setting, is ever forced to endure hate and intimidation again.”

The UJA-Federation statement noted that Khalil had rationalized the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks as a means of preventing Israeli-Saudi normalization, and that Akl had led a chant in 2024 calling for attacks on Tel Aviv and lauding now-deceased Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida.

“His decision in the last few days alone to share a stage on Staten Island with an individual who publicly called to ‘strike, strike Tel Aviv,’ and then host an Iftar meal at Gracie Mansion with a man who justified the Oct. 7 atrocities, raises deep concerns in our community,” the UJA-Federation statement said, contrasting the actions with the mayor’s pledges of inclusivity when he entered office. 

“This is an important moment for Mayor Mamdani to live up to his own rhetoric and reaffirm his commitment to confronting antisemitism and keeping every New Yorker safe.”

Akl’s organization had its funding from the City Council frozen earlier this year after it held a craft fair hawking merchandise celebrating Hamas, Hezbollah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and featuring the slogans “Let’s go bomb Tel Aviv” and “Death to the IDF.”

The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and did not answer questions from Jewish Insider about how his team vets the people he participates in events with.  

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