Plus, Vance alleges Israeli influence campaign to extend Iran war
Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images
The sun sets behind the U.S. Capitol Building on July 8, 2026 in Washington, D.C.
Add JewishInsider on GoogleGood Wednesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
More than 100 House Democrats, about half of the caucus, voted in favorof Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-KY) amendment to strip all U.S. aid to Israel out of the State Department appropriations bill this afternoon, including several leaders of the caucus such as Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA), the No. 2 House Democrat, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
While the amendment was overwhelmingly defeated, 314-104, the large segment of Democrats supporting the measure indicates a growing shift away from the party’s historic support for Israel…
Vice President JD Vance, in an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” released today, stated repeatedly that Israeli actors are engaged in a “very discreet, very well-funded” influence campaign to extend the war in Iran: “There are some people within their system we know beyond a shadow of a doubt who are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely. Again, not towards any objective, but just indefinitely,” he alleged.
Vance also said that the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein “clearly had connections to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence” and to “elements of the Israeli deep state that were left of center”…
The U.S., Israel and Lebanon, wrapping up talks in Rome this week, agreed on the structure and guidelines for implementing the two pilot zones the parties agreed to create in southern Lebanon, a State Department official said today, without specifying a timeline for the IDF’s withdrawal. The parties will now engage in expanded technical talks to implement the trilateral agreement reached in the last round of negotiations…
CENTCOM began another round of strikes against Iran this afternoon; coming after strikes earlier in the day, the pace of the operations appears to be gaining momentum. President Donald Trump is reportedly considering expanding U.S. military efforts to include more airstrikes, utilizing ground forces and targeting nuclear sites again, according to The Wall Street Journal…
Three senior U.S. officials connected to the Board of Peace, the Trump-led body created to resolve the conflict in Gaza, have been meeting with congressional offices this week to request $200 million for the International Stabilization Force, two people with knowledge of the meetings told Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch. The meetings mark the first time that Board of Peace representatives have approached Congress with a funding request…
Ahead of today’s deadline, candidates have begun releasing their fundraising reports for the second quarter. In Georgia, where some in the Jewish community have felt torn between two less-than-ideal options in Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and his opponent, Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), Ossoff holds a commanding fundraising advantage: The senator reported raising$20 million this quarter with $42 million in the bank, while Collins raised $2.1 million, leaving him with $2.2 million in cash on hand…
Meanwhile, Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed released his 2025 tax returns, which he is not legally obligated to do but was pressured to do by his opponent in the Democratic primary, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI). El-Sayed’s reported total income was over $680,000, nearly $300,000 of which was unspecified as to its source…
The anti-Israel American Priorities super PAC made an initial investment of $375,000 to boost El-Sayed in the race; El-Sayed has repeatedly railed against super PAC involvement in politics — particularly that of AIPAC’s United Democracy Project, which is spending heavily in favor of Stevens…
Rep. Hilary Scholten (D-MI), speaking to Semafor about electability concerns in the Democratic Party, criticized progressives who “prop up other candidates who have said really problematic things.” The moderate congresswoman added that El-Sayed, who has been criticized for comments about Stevens seen as misogynistic, “has a problematic record with women”…
A new Quinnipiac poll of Pennsylvania voters found Gov. Josh Shapiro leading his Republican opponent in his reelection race by 13 points, 53-40%, with a 56% overall approval rating. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) had a 77% approval rating among Republicans, but only 19% among voters in his own party. Nearly half (49%) of voters said the Democratic Party has moved too far to the left, while 42% said the Republican Party has moved too far to the right…
Former White House senior official Brett McGurk is releasing a book, Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7 Hostages, on his role leading U.S. efforts under former President Joe Biden to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, due out on Oct. 6 to coincide with the third anniversary of the attacks…
The New York Times examines the role that Hollywood superagent Ari Emanuel could play in the potential presidential run of his brother, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, as politicians increasingly seek access to media as part of their campaigns; among those close to Ari Emanuel are the UFC’s Dana White, commentator Joe Rogan, pundit Stephen A. Smith as well as Elon Musk…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at what this afternoon’s vote on Massie‘s amendment to cut all U.S. aid to Israel means for the future of Israel policy in the Democratic Party.
At least eight Democratic candidates vying to replace former nominee Graham Platner on the ballotfor U.S. Senate in Maine will take the debate stage tomorrow evening in their first chance to pitch themselves to voters, ahead of the state Democratic Party’s nominating convention later this month.
President Donald Trump will give an address to the nation in the evening, which he has said will largely focus on American election security.
The American Federation of Teachers’ annual convention will kick off in Washington. The second largest teachers’ union in the U.S., the AFT has previously featured anti-Israel resolutions at its gatherings.
The Aspen Security Forum continues with several panels on the Middle East, including speakers such as Akif Çağatay Kılıç, top advisor to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan; Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s foreign minister; Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT); Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee; Dan Shapiro, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel; Rahm Emanuel; Anne Neuberger, former deputy national security advisor; and Salam Fayyad, former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority.
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Plus, Dem leaders split on Israel aid
Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) questions U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth as he testifies before the House Armed Services Committee April 29, 2026.
Good Tuesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning to Iranian leaders, as military hostilities escalate between Iran and the U.S.: “Do not count on there being calm if you attack us,” Netanyahu addressed Tehran, while speaking today at a conference in southern Israel. “Do not expect a repeat of what happened before, because there will be no repeat. … Any further attempt to harm us will be met with a different response — far more powerful”…
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump walked back his announcement that the U.S. would institute a 20% toll on all cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz, saying in a post on Truth Social that Middle East leaders had agreed to additional trade and investment deals with the U.S. to replace the fee…
CENTCOM announced it began launching an additional round of strikes against Iran this afternoon “to continue degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping” in the strait, and officially reinstated a blockade on Iranian ports. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched missile and drone attacks in retaliation against bases in Kuwait and Bahrain…
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said he would oppose an amendment led by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to strip all aid to Israel out of the 2027 State Department appropriations bill, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. But Jeffries also argued for “urgent change” to the U.S.-Israel relationship, including suggesting that direct U.S. military aid to Israel should end when the current memorandum of understanding expires.
Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), on the other hand, said he plans to vote yes on Massie’s amendment, writing in a “Dear Colleague” letter that the “American people are crying out for an end to US tax dollars subsidizing Israel’s military”…
Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev announced today that the U.S. will only be permitted to station 20 military refueling aircraft at Ben Gurion Airport, while the rest must be parked at Israeli Air Force bases, in order to facilitate commercial travel for Israelis over the summer…
U.N. official Ramiz Alakbarov accused Hamas forces of interfering at a humanitarian aid distribution site in Gaza, saying armed men had entered a warehouse and “endangered humanitarian personnel,” leading the organization to suspend its operations at the site. “These incidents are not isolated. They are completely unacceptable and reflect an increasingly dangerous pattern of intimidation, violence and obstruction,” Alakbarov said…
Trump asked Netanyahu in a phone call last week to pull IDF forces back from Syria and Lebanon, Axios reports; the Prime Minister’s Office said Netanyahu in turn emphasized Israel’s need for security zones along its borders…
The Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area issued a statement today on Rep. Ro Khanna’s (D-CA) recent encounter in the West Bank, where he claims he was detained by violent settlers as well as the IDF. The group said it has “conveyed our concerns to the Congressman in how he is representing the district and our community on foreign policy issues” and called on Khanna “to exercise the same urgency he has brought to criticizing Israel to address the hostile climate many Jewish Americans face every day”…
Pressed repeatedly by writers with the Hamas-sympathetic outlet Drop Site News to offer support for the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks and Palestinians’ “right to kill Israeli soldiers,” Khanna said he is “not for violence in any way”…
Asked about legislation imposing sanctions on Russia that was championed by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Trump said in the Oval Office today that lawmakers “may be adding Iran to it … They may add Hezbollah, too.” He said there’s a “good chance” it will pass “in honor of Lindsey”…
White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were spotted in the Senate chamber during the swearing-in this afternoon of Darline Graham Nordone to fill Graham’s seat…
The AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project super PAC sent direct mail to voters in Michigan highlighting far-left Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s refusal to condemn extreme rhetoric from antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker and El-Sayed’s efforts to “rationalize” the attack on Michigan’s Temple Israel earlier this year…
Columbia University anti-Israel protest leader Mahmoud Khalil filed a civil rights lawsuit against Trump administration officials, the Heritage Foundation and pro-Israel groups Canary Mission and Betar, alleging they “sought to terrorize” him to “intimidate and silence the growing movement for Palestinian rights”…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with Avi Loeb, the Israeli Harvard scientist leading Trump’s search for answers that may be out of this world.
Trump will headline the last day of Sen. Dave McCormick’s (R-PA) Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit at the U.S. Army War College, with additional remarks from Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
The Aspen Security Forum in Colorado will feature fireside chats with former Navy Secretary John Phelan and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Also on tomorrow’s agenda: a live taping of the “What the Hell is Going On?” podcast hosted by the American Enterprise Institute’s Danielle Pletka and Marc Thiessen, in conversation with former National Security Advisors Stephen Hadley and Robert O’Brien as well as Michèle Flournoy, former under secretary of defense for policy.
Jay Clayton will appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee for his confirmation hearing to be director of national intelligence, after Trump abruptly canceled his hearing originally scheduled for last month.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) will speak at the Hudson Institute on the future of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East..
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Shady Alassar/Anadolu via Getty Images
Commercial vessels and oil tankers preparing to transit through the Strait of Hormuz maintain their wait in the Gulf of Oman, on June 17, 2026.
Good Monday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump declared today that the U.S. will take control of the Strait of Hormuz and will institute a 20% fee on all cargo passing through the waterway “for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World,” Jewish Insider’s Christina Sher reports. The move comes after Trump and his administration insisted for months that no country is permitted to charge fees to transiting ships…
Trump also announced he is reinstating a blockade of Iranian ports, which was lifted when the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding last month. CENTCOM said the blockade will resume tomorrow at 4 p.m. ET and will be enforced “against vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas.”
CENTCOM also revealed that it successfully deployed sea drones in combat operations for the first time yesterday, using the unmanned vessels to strike an Iranian submarine at the Bandar Abbas Naval Base…
Trump notified Congress on Friday that fighting with Iran officially resumed last week, further stoking tensions between the executive and legislative branches as lawmakers already approved a war powers resolution calling for an end to American operations in Iran.
Trump’s letter to congressional leadership said U.S. “ground forces are not involved in these strikes” — which he described as “limited, measured, planned, and executed in a manner designed to minimize civilian casualties” — and said he is acting “pursuant to [his] constitutional authority as Commander in Chief”…
The Mossad spent years grooming former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as an intelligence asset to be installed as Iran’s leader after a post-Khamenei regime change, including paying for his housing and travel and arranging a meeting with then-Mossad chief David Barnea under cover of a climate conference in Budapest in 2024, American and Iranian officials told The New York Times.
As the Iran war broke out on Feb. 28, Mossad operatives rescued Ahmadinejad from an Israeli airstrike on his Tehran compound and took him to a safe house, but he balked and left — Ahmadinejad is now reportedly under house arrest by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps…
The Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of bombing Yemen’s international airport today, with a spokesperson saying the action “will not go unanswered,” threatening a tenuous truce enacted several years ago between the terror group and the Saudis. A spokesperson for the internationally recognized Yemeni government, which is backed by Riyadh, said the Houthis subsequently fired ballistic missiles into Saudi Arabia…
U.K. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced on Monday that the country designated the IRGC as a terror organization, with those found guilty of supporting the group facing up to 14 years in prison. The government also banned the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right, which No. 10 Downing St. said was behind a number of attacks on British Jewish sites…
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced at a press conference this afternoon that he is appointing Darline Graham Nordone, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) sister, to serve out the rest of Graham’s term. Trump had voiced his support for Nordone, who shared an exceptionally close bond with her brother, as “a fabulous tribute to Lindsey.” Fox Newsreported that Nordone could be sworn in as soon as Wednesday…
The Trump administration plans to launch a major diplomatic offensive against the International Criminal Court, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced today, the latest move in the White House’s longtime battle against the international organization.
The push appears to be rooted in concerns that the ICC will seek to prosecute American servicemembers, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports. Such actions would not only be “a grave overreach of its purported authorities,” Rubio wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, “it would mean the death of the U.S. as a sovereign and independent nation”…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani vowed that he would maintain ties with Morris Katz, the controversial political operative behind Mamdani’s own victory as well as the imploded campaign of former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, JI’s Will Bredderman reports, despite calls from members of the Democratic Socialists of America to boycott the consultant’s services…
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), a member of the Squad and a vocal detractor of Israel, endorsed far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed today, joining fellow Squad members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Summer Lee (D-PA) and Delia Ramirez (D-IL) in backing him less than a month before the primary…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at the surging anti-Israel candidate in the Democratic primary for Michigan‘s swing 7th Congressional District.
The sixth round of talks between Israel and Lebanon are slated to begin tomorrow in Rome, despite Beirut’s reported threat not to attend if the IDF did not vacate two pilot zones in southern Lebanon before the discussions. Israeli media reported that this week’s talks will focus on the timeline for the withdrawal.
The Aspen Security Forum, the high-profile annual gathering of national security leaders, policymakers and foreign policy experts, begins tomorrow afternoon in Colorado. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper and former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker will speak on a panel on the “state of the world.”
The two-day Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit, hosted by Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA), will kick off at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., with a keynote address from Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine.
Some House Republicans were invited to a dinner tomorrow night with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to Punchbowl News, as the Trump administration is seeking more than $67 billion for the Pentagon in its supplemental funding request.
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Israeli Ministry of Defense/Anadolu via Getty Images
Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz holds a security situation assessment meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other senior commanders in Tel Aviv, Israel, on March 07, 2026.
Good Thursday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Appearing on CNN this morning, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said Jerusalem is “supportive of the position of the United States” regarding renewed strikes on Iran, and said Israel would “fly alongside U.S. aircraft” if called on to do so.
He added that Iran had violated its “only obligation” under the memorandum of understanding — to keep the Strait of Hormuz open — and that if the Iranians “persist in their malign intentions,” the war could resume “in full swing”…
Israeli military leaders are also hinting at potential Israeli involvement: At an Israeli Air Force graduation ceremony, Defense Minister Israel Katz said the IDF is prepared to carry out independent strikes “to remove threats” in Iran. Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF’s chief of staff, told the graduates that “new plans” are “on the drawing board” and that “major operations are still expected to lie ahead of us. Be prepared”…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he spoke with President Donald Trump today and was updated by the president “on American moves in the Gulf.” According to a statement from the PMO, Netanyahu again raised the issue of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan‘s hostile rhetoric toward Israel…
The Wall Street Journal examines the “root of the dispute” over the Strait of Hormuz — the “poorly worded” fifth article in the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding that says Tehran will “make arrangements” to restore shipping in the waterway and then work with Oman on a plan to administer it going forward.
“Notably, the paragraph says nothing about the U.S. making arrangements for the safe passage of vessels, which Iran has seized on to attack ships that use a U.S.-coordinated route,” a U.S. official told the outlet…
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) is in Israel and the West Bank this week while Congress is in recess, according to two individuals with knowledge of the trip. Khanna has not posted publicly about his visit, which is scheduled to conclude tonight, JI’s Melissa Weiss reports…
While wrapping up his trip, Khanna, who was one of Senate candidate Graham Platner’s most vociferous defenders until a rape allegation was made against the Maine Democrat earlier this week, told MS NOW that he’s endorsing former state Sen. Troy Jackson to take Platner’s place on the ballot. Jackson, who previously ran for governor, is a progressive seen as aligned with Platner…
But Platner’s potential replacements will have to wait a few more days: The candidate told campaign staff he intends to wait until the very last day — Monday — to officially file his paperwork to drop out of the race, Axios reports…
The Journal profiles Cheyenne Hunt, the progressive influencer and activist who played a key role in bringing to light the sexual assault and misconduct allegations that ultimately saw the ouster of Platner and the resignation of former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA)…
Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) withdrew as co-chair of the Congressional Friends of Spain Caucus due to what he called Madrid’s “escalating, hostile crusade” against Israel…
Andy Burnham, widely expected to become Britain’s next prime minister, told The Guardian that the response of his Labour party to Israel’s military actions in Gaza “has too often not been good enough” and that the U.K. has “got to do more to put pressure on the Israeli government,” including sanctions and potentially banning trade in goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Burnham also said there is “increasing evidence” that Israel committed war crimes, though he did not use the word genocide, and said the determination should be left to international courts. His comments mark a shift to the left of Labour’s outgoing leader, Keir Starmer, who was slower than other European leaders to back a ceasefire and recognize Palestinian statehood…
Among those speaking at the closed-door Allen & Company retreat in Sun Valley, Idaho, today were Jared Kushner, UAE Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) as well as Ken Griffin, the hedge fund manager and GOP megadonor.
Asked whether he would support Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the 2028 presidential election, Griffin said he’d be inclined to back Rubio…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at Platner’s potential replacements, as a handful of Maine Democrats are already jockeying for the position less than 24 hours after Platner announced he intends to drop out of the race for U.S. Senate.
We’ll be watching to see if U.S. and Iranian strikes continue into the weekend, or if the current flare-up has run its course. Prior to the outbreak in hostilities, Saudi media had reported that talks between Washington and Iran would restart on July 11, after the dayslong funeral of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wraps up today. Trump said this morning that the Iranians had called and “want to make a deal so badly,” but it’s unclear whether the two sides intend to meet.
We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat shalom!
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The ambassador announced that the next round of Israel-Lebanon negotiations will take place next week in Rome
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter
Jerusalem and Beirut see their trilateral agreement signed with the U.S. last month as “superseding” the memorandum of understanding signed between the U.S. and Iran, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said on Monday.
“Whether the United States does, you’ll have to ask the administration spokesman,” he added, speaking at an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.
Leiter specifically referenced the first clause of the MOU, to which Israel and Lebanon were not parties, which called for an end in hostilities around the region, including Israel’s war against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Leiter acknowledged that Iran — as well as mediating countries Pakistan and Qatar — views the MOU differently and believes it overrides the Israel-Lebanon framework deal.
The next round of talks between Israel and Lebanon will take place on July 14 and 15 in Rome, Leiter said, and revealed that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on July 21.
Leiter described the MOU as primarily a mechanism to reopen the Strait of Hormuz rather than a broad peace deal, and urged a “wait and see” approach to future negotiations regarding long-term limits on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
The deal is “clearly an agreement to get the strait open. This is not an agreement to end the nuclear weaponization of Iran,” he said.
“We have to wait and see what that looks like when it’s done, whether that’s 60 days, 90 days or after the midterms,” he continued. “I’m quite sure the administration didn’t go to war to go back into a situation where Iran has a pathway to once again try and produce nuclear weapons [and] ballistic missiles.”
Leiter added that Trump has said any deal with Iran would have to curtail its support for proxies and its ballistic missile program, though such issues were not mentioned in the MOU. He also warned against U.S. sanctions relief that could fund Tehran’s proxies.
“All we can do is weigh in,” Leiter said of Israel’s role in U.S.-Iran negotiations. “We can’t be part of that decision-making process. That’s too big for us. We know our size.”
Leiter dismissed as exaggerated reports of a rupture in Israel-U.S. relations.
“Media loves drama. So, if the president and the prime minister have 100 conversations that are pleasant, and then there are two conversations in which the president is having a bad day, is a little irritable and makes that known — that becomes the tenor of the relationship between the two men,” he said.
“I’ve been in all those conversations, all the meetings … arguments happen among people who are close. The relationship is good, the relationship is solid. There are differences along the way, and those are legitimate,” Leiter said, pointing to Israel’s opposition to the proposed U.S. sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey. Leiter said that Israel has made its position clear and that the U.S. has the right to decide how it wants to proceed.
He rejected claims that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dragged the U.S. into the war with Iran, dismissing such accusations as “sheer stupidity” rooted in antisemitic conspiracy theories.
“We presented our case as any self-respecting country does and it’s up to the United States to make a decision whether or not to embark on a war,” said Leiter. “It doesn’t do that because of AIPAC or other diabolical Jews.”
Leiter also dismissed a recent claim from Vice President JD Vance that Trump is the only world leader sympathetic to Israel. “It’s just not true. We just had an invitation to India. The relations we have with the United Arab Emirates have never been stronger. We have wonderful relations with Azerbaijan … our relations with Armenia now are quite good … and Somaliland.”
Alongside navigating divisions over Israel, the Democratic Party is currently grappling with “the Mamdani effect,” said Leiter, referring to a string of primary victories by progressive and democratic socialist candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
“Israel is part of a much larger social metamorphosis,” he said.
‘The main discussion is about Lebanon and Hezbollah — not about the extent to which Iran can restrain Hezbollah. That is not Iran’s role,’ the Israeli envoy said of Tehran’s involvement in the conflict in Lebanon
Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images
Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter speaks to reporters after a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese delegations hosted by the United States at the State Department in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2026.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter criticized the Trump administration on Tuesday for agreeing to establish a “deconfliction cell” to end military operations in Lebanon without Israel’s involvement as part of the ongoing peace talks with Iran, the first public statement from Jerusalem denouncing the move.
Leiter released a pair of statements in English and Hebrew at the start of the fifth round of multi-day diplomatic talks at the U.S. State Department between Israel and Lebanon, in which he warned that both parties were “heading towards a train wreck.”
The ambassador said that while the Israelis “support President Trump’s vision of ensuring that Iran no longer has nuclear capabilities, ballistic missiles or the ability to funnel money to its proxies to threaten its neighbors and maintain its regional hegemony,” he worried “that the concept of ‘deconfliction’ is misplaced.”
“Israel is not in conflict with Lebanon. Therefore, deconfliction is not the issue. All that is needed is coordination with Lebanon. The only issue is Hezbollah,” Leiter said.
In his Hebrew statement, he added that “the basic premise” of the talks out the outset “was that Iran was not involved, and the main discussion is about Lebanon and Hezbollah — not about the extent to which Iran can restrain Hezbollah. That is not Iran’s role. Its role is to get out of Lebanon.”
He went on to pose a series of questions, without specifically directing them toward the Trump administration or his Lebanese counterparts, about the aim of Israeli-Lebanese peace talks. “We agreed to a ceasefire that was conditional on Hezbollah withdrawing north. Is this agreement still binding?” he asked, referencing the parties’ agreement reached at the end of the last round of talks earlier this month. “We cannot afford commitments that fade away. And it is important to be clear: Israel will act against immediate and evolving threats to its citizens and soldiers.”
Leiter also pointed to the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, asking how to assure that the funds Iran will gain access to “do not find their way to Hezbollah? If we cannot guarantee that, then all the words we agree to here will make no difference, because Hezbollah will simply rebuild itself.”
Leiter’s statements came as Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back on the notion that U.S. peace talks with Iran were tied to Israeli-Lebanese normalization efforts.
“That process is separate,” the secretary of state said while arriving in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday when asked about the two efforts. “It’s separate because Lebanon is a sovereign country.”
“When it comes to Lebanon and what’s happening inside of Lebanon, we’re going to negotiate a deal directly with the Lebanese government,” he continued, making no mention of Israel.
Leiter: ‘The tent, as we call it, should be wide and as inclusive as possible, but it cannot be inclusive to those who are contributing to the efforts of those seeking to collapse the tent’
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter
A week after describing J Street as “a cancer within the Jewish community” for calling for the United States to restrict aid to Israel, Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s envoy to Washington, doubled down on his critique of the organization, stating that the liberal advocacy group’s recent actions are “decidedly not pro-Israel.”
The remarks came during Leiter’s broader address on Thursday at the Re-Charging Reform Judaism conference on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, during which he argued to the audience of over 300 Reform rabbis, lay leaders and teachers that American Jews need to respond to rising anti-Zionism and post-Oct. 7 hostility toward Israel with a stronger, more unapologetic form of Zionism and Jewish solidarity.
“J Street does incalculable amount of damage to the interests of Israel,” Israeli Amb. Yechiel Leiter said at the Re-Charging Reform Judaism conference, expanding on his previous critique of the liberal advocacy group.”
— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) May 27, 2026
Watch more of what he said below or read our full story: https://ji.news/55×33
While Leiter expanded on his critique of J Street, receiving applause and a standing ovation at the end of his speech, his remarks were more measured than in previous appearances, focusing on what he described as the group’s role in supporting arms embargoes and amplifying accusations against Israel, rather than attacking the organization wholesale. His past comments — including describing J Street as “duplicitous” and “two-faced” — drew ire from many progressive Jews.
“I believe the tent, as we call it, should be wide and as inclusive as possible, but it cannot be inclusive to those who are contributing to the efforts of those seeking to collapse the tent. J Street does incalculable amount of damage to the interests of Israel,” he said.
He continued, arguing that support for arms embargoes against Israel “endanger Israel” and that “supporting such embargoes is not pro-Israel,” He also denounced the organization’s call for Leiter to investigate the allegations of sexual abuse of Palestinians outlined in a controversial opinion piece by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof earlier this month.
“It is certainly not pro-Israel to push the canards peddled by Nick Kristof in The New York Times. Jewish dogs don’t commit rape. That was the last straw for me….It’s perfectly fine to have a different vision than the majority of Israelis as to what that peace should look like… but it’s unethical to undermine Israel’s democratically elected government. Friends, please understand, I did not call out J Street because I disagree with their vision of Israel. I call them out because their actions are endangering Israel,” he said.
Leiter also said that senators he meets with on Capitol Hill have accused Israel of “genocide and starvation” and said lawmakers cite J Street as a source for those claims.
“Ask anyone in the know in Washington who is lobbying alongside [Sen.] Bernie Sanders [I-VT], who is responsible for 40 of 47 Democratic senators voting in favor of the arms embargo in Israel,” Leiter said. “They will tell you J Street.”
The appointment of Deek, the country's first Christian ambassador, comes following several controversies in Israel relating to Christians
Courtesy
Former Israeli Ambassador to Azerbaijan George Deek (left) and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar
Israel’s first Christian ambassador, George Deek, has a new job after his return to Israel from his most recent posting as Israeli ambassador to Azerbaijan: special envoy to the Christian world.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar named Deek to the role on Thursday, with the ministry saying that the move was “intended to deepen Israel’s ties with Christian communities around the world.”
Deek, who joined the Foreign Ministry in 2008 and has been posted to Norway and Nigeria, received the Foreign Ministry Director General’s Award for Excellence in 2021. He is part of the Arab Orthodox Christian community in Jaffa, and his father, Youssef Deek, was chairman of the community for many years.
Deek came to international prominence as Israel’s chargé d’affaires in Oslo after giving a speech about his family’s background and his decision to represent Israel around the world. In the speech, video of which has gone viral, he spoke about his grandparents’ departure from Jaffa during Israel’s War of Independence and choice to return and build their lives in the fledgling Jewish state.
Sa’ar said that “the State of Israel attaches great importance to its relations with the Christian world and with its Christian friends around the world. I am confident that George, a respected and experienced diplomat, will greatly contribute to the friendship and strengthening of the ties between the State of Israel and the Christian world.”
Deek’s appointment was announced soon after several controversies in Israel relating to Christians. Most recently, an IDF soldier who broke a statue of Jesus in a southern Lebanese Christian town was removed from combat duty and given 30 days in prison.
On Palm Sunday, with the war in Iran still raging, police officers barred Cardinal Pierbatista Pizzaballa from accessing the Church of the Holy Sepulcher because it did not have proper protection from missiles. After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intervened, Pizzaballa was given more access to the church.
In an interview with JI, Amb. Reuven Azar says joint manufacturing ‘means that, during times of need, we can supply things to each other, unlike what happened [with other countries] during the war’
PRAKASH SINGH/AFP via Getty Images
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pose for photographers after Netanyahu arrived at the Air Force Station in New Delhi on January 14, 2018.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to arrive in Israel on Wednesday to address the Knesset and head an innovation event in Jerusalem, as part of what Israeli Ambassador to India Reuven Azar told Jewish Insider is an “upgrade” in relations between the countries “to a new, strategic level.”
The visit of the head of the world’s most populous nation, whose relations with Israel have grown stronger since Modi became prime minister in 2014, has important implications for the Jewish state’s security, geopolitics and trade, Azar said.
Modi last visited Israel eight years ago. At the time, a photo of the Indian leader and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wading barefoot in the Mediterranean Sea during a visit to a desalination plant went viral.
His trip this week, during which he will address Israel’s Knesset, comes amid rising tensions across the Middle East — and as Israelis prepare for a potential attack from Iran.
India has been the Israeli defense industry’s largest customer in recent years, with arms sales totaling $20.5 billion during 2020-2024. The countries have reportedly closed deals worth $8.6 billion since the beginning of 2026.
During his visit, Modi plans to sign an “updated security agreement to allow the private sector to work on more sensitive products when it comes to joining production,” Azar, who has been Israel’s envoy to India since September 2024, said. “The updated protocols will allow us to work on more sensitive technology. It will create a lot of action.”
Netanyahu and leading Israeli defense figures have spoken about moving toward greater self-sufficiency in arms manufacturing. Delhi has long had a “Make in India” campaign to increase local production, requiring Israeli arms companies to open production lines in India in order to sell to the country, and the agreement means that joint production “will get a significant upgrade, because we are expanding both the scope and range of technologies we can apply,” Azar said.
“Both Israel and India want to be more independent and self-reliant when it comes to production and less reliant on foreign supply. Producing things together means that, during times of need, we can supply things to each other, unlike what happened during the war [in Gaza] … in which we had interruptions in supply from different countries,” Azar said.
Economically, Israel and India are working on a free-trade agreement, and hope to expand their cooperation on emerging technologies, as well as large infrastructure projects. Azar said that he worked to bring Indian companies to bid on tenders relating to the ongoing Tel Aviv Metro subway project, and that 15 have already applied.
The U.S. has long expressed concern about security risks related to Chinese companies working on major infrastructure projects in Israel. Companies from India, which views China as an adversary, have been considered as a potential competitive alternative.
Though Azar, a former deputy national security advisor for foreign policy, served as head of the Israel-U.S.-China Internal Task Force Israel’s Foreign Ministry at the beginning of the decade, he declined to comment on that aspect, preferring to focus on Israel-India bilateral relations.
With regard to the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), a trade route meant to pass through Israel, among other countries in the region, and compete with China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Azar said that “we need to wait for the right geopolitical moment to make it happen. … It needs to happen, but evidently, it won’t now.”
“Currently, there is some movement of merchandise, but to see it become massive, we need some change in Saudi Arabia,” Azar said.
Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E., both points on the IMEC route, are facing increased tensions between them. Riyadh has pointed some of its ire at Jerusalem, and has been growing closer to India’s historic foe, Pakistan.
Azar was enthusiastic about an Israeli Cabinet decision approved on Sunday in which Israel plans to allocate over $48 million to cooperation with India in a variety of spheres. Half of the funds come from individual government ministries seeking the cooperation, and the other half was specially allocated by the Finance Ministry.
“The most important is upgrading research and development with funds from the Israel Innovation Authority, and academic cooperation. Israeli universities are all over India now, getting into agreements to exchange students and transfer technology and innovation offices. They feel very welcome in India,” he said.
Asked if that means India has become an alternative to much of the West, where Israeli academics have faced hostility in recent years, Azar said that India and Israel “don’t have challenges in this realm and continue working together to discover the joint resilience so needed in times of war.”
At the same time, he added, “it’s important for any country to diversify. We feel we have so much in common with India, which is a rising force in the world. It’s natural, and it’s not only Israel. Last week, 20 heads of state and 50 foreign ministers went to an AI summit in India. … Everybody is chasing India now.”
Though India-Israel relations were worse before Modi’s rise, Azar said they have the potential for longevity.
“We are now building the pillars of relations that are going to last,” he said. “We are trying to get bipartisan support. There is a lot of support for Israel, not just in [Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party]. The general public feels it, and we have a high appreciation of that. There are some parties, like the communists, that are more critical, but I think this relationship is going to last.”
Plus, an interview with Israel's ambassador to Japan
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on January 13, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Good Friday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we interview Israeli Ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen about Tokyo’s approach to Palestinian statehood, and report on a resolution by seven Senate Democrats calling for the U.S. to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. We cover a meeting between Senate and House lawmakers with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and report on House Foreign Affairs Committee votes rejecting conditions on aid to Israel. We cover Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter’s remarks at the embassy’s Rosh Hashanah reception in Washington last night and report on the New York Democratic Party chair’s decision not to endorse Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Jonathan Greenblatt, Rep. Elise Stefanik and Erika Kirk.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Israel Editor Tamara Zieve and U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik with an assist from Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent Jewish Insider and eJewishPhilanthropy stories, including: New York Jewish leaders reckon with a potential Mamdani win; Palantir’s Alex Karp says Jews need to ‘leave their comfort zone’ to defend community; and Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen talks covert missions, Oct. 7 failures in new book. Print the latest edition here.
What We’re Watching
- In New York today, an event on “Breaking the Chain: Global Action Against Hostage-Taking” will feature the first public remarks from former Israeli hostage Na’ama Levy. Also speaking are a Yazidi survivor of ISIS captivity; Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the U.N.; Dorothy Shea, acting U.S. representative to the U.N.; and Ibrahim Olabi, Syria’s ambassador to the U.N.; among others.
- Chabad at Vanderbilt University will honor Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier with Chabad’s Lamplighter award tomorrow. Read JI’s interview with Diermeier and Washington University in St. Louis Chancellor Andrew Martin here.
- On Saturday, the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream is opening with its flagship exhibition, the “American Dream Experience,” in Washington.
- On Sunday, Charlie Kirk’s memorial will be held at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., where speakers will include President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and far-right podcast host Tucker Carlson, who has advanced conspiracy theories in the aftermath of Kirk’s murder claiming the conservative activist was being pressured by Israel.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S GABBY DEUTCH
In Washington, whether a public official or their spokesperson is speaking honestly is usually not fully known until much later. Take Israel’s attack on Qatar last week: the Trump administration claimed not to have known about it ahead of time, but Israeli officials told Axios that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had given President Donald Trump a heads-up.
When a president leaves office, his former staffers tend to get rather loose-lipped — an opportunity for them to rehabilitate their reputation and, perhaps, tell the truth about their views (or at least the narrative they’d like to put forward on their own terms, not those of their boss).
The past few months have provided such an opportunity to the three architects of President Joe Biden’s Middle East policy team: Secretary of State Tony Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Brett McGurk, Biden’s coordinator for the Middle East at the White House. All of them played a crucial role in shaping American policy toward Israel and Gaza after Oct. 7. Each has in recent months written op-eds and made lengthy appearances on podcasts and cable news to comment on developments in the Middle East.
Looking at where Blinken, Sullivan and McGurk have positioned themselves publicly, without the constraints of government service, is a sign of the options available to Democrats right now, at a moment when the party’s future is up for grabs — with an ascendant anti-Israel wing that is exerting stronger influence than ever, though it remains in the minority.
TOKYO TALK
Israeli ambassador to Japan: Tokyo undecided on Palestinian statehood recognition
As reports swirl that Japan indicated it is no longer considering recognizing a Palestinian state at the United National General Assembly on Monday, Israeli Ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen remains wary, but hopeful, he told Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen in a wide-ranging interview on Friday in Tokyo. “Japan hasn’t decided yet. There is no official statement yet by Japan,” said Cohen, adding that he expects a decision will be finalized over the weekend.
Envoy’s efforts: “A recognition of a Palestinian state would be a reward to Hamas after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, would not contribute to peace and would not build on the trust of Israelis in the future,” he continued. In recent weeks, Cohen relayed that message to Japanese ministers as the country weighed recognizing a Palestinian state as several governments, including those in Britain, France, Australia and Canada, have announced plans to do at UNGA.
STATEHOOD PUSH
Seven Senate Dems call for recognition of a Palestinian state
A group of seven Senate Democrats introduced a resolution on Thursday calling for the U.S. to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. The resolution was led by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and co-sponsored by Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Peter Welch (D-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI).
Merkley’s mission: Merkley and Van Hollen recently traveled to Israel and released a scathing report accusing Israel of deliberate ethnic cleansing and collective punishment. “Recognition of a Palestinian state is not only a practical step the United States can take to help build a future where Palestinians and Israelis can live in freedom, dignity, and security, but it is the right thing to do. America has a responsibility to lead, and the time to act is now,” Merkley said in a statement. “The goal of a Palestinian state can’t be put off any longer if we want the next generation to avoid suffering from the same insecurity and affliction.”
ON THE HILL
Lawmakers meet with Syrian foreign minister on Capitol Hill
Senate and House lawmakers met Thursday with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, in the first trip by a Syrian government official to Congress in decades. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said that their meeting was “very encouraging and constructive,” Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Takeaways: “I think we are on a path to eliminate sanctions in a way that safeguards interests of other nations in the region, and at the same time, provides for reconstruction in Syria, in a way that negates the influence of Iran and Russia,” Blumenthal said. He said there was broad, but inconclusive, discussion about talks between the Syrian and Israeli governments. Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ), who worked on Syria and Middle East issues at the State Department, called the trip “historic.” This was his first meeting with officials from the new Syrian government. “He very much expressed a deep interest in being able to work as partners with us to stand up against ISIS, to stop Iranian reach and meddling throughout the Middle East, to push back on Russian interference,” Kim said.
In the room: Along with Kim and Blumenthal, Sens. Jim Risch (R-ID), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Chris Coons (D-DE), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Reps. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) met with al-Shaibani.
Reporter’s notebook: Times of Israel Editor in-Chief David Horovitz spent 48 hours in Damascus, accompanying a U.S. Jewish group to holy sites and meetings with Syrian government officials.
VOTED DOWN
House Foreign Affairs Committee overwhelmingly rejects conditions on aid to Israel
The House Foreign Affairs Committee, during a marathon markup of legislation to reform and reorganize the State Department, resoundingly rejected amendments seeking to condition U.S. aid to Israel on a bipartisan basis, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. The committee also engaged in vigorous debate over the U.S. relationship with Turkey and the future of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
Key votes: By two votes of 45-5, the committee rejected a pair of amendments by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) that would have added new conditions to $1 billion of the $3.3 billion in direct military funding the U.S. provides to Israel each year. Jayapal and Reps. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) and Madeleine Dean (D-PA) voted in favor of the amendments.
Coming soon: The world’s first laser-based missile defense system, known as “Iron Beam,” will be delivered to the IDF by the end of 2025, the Israeli Defense Ministry and arms manufacturer Rafael announced on Wednesday, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
JUSTICE FOR ALL
ADL files suit on behalf of U.S. victims of Oct. 7 against Iran, Syria, North Korea
The Anti-Defamation League filed a new federal lawsuit on Thursday on behalf of more than 140 U.S. victims of the Oct. 7 attacks alleging that several different terrorist groups carried out the attacks with material support from U.S.-designated state sponsors of terror: Iran, Syria and North Korea. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, comes a year after a similar federal suit by the ADL targeting Iran, Syria and North Korea, but it relies on an additional statute to seek compensation for the American victims of the attacks, which left 1,200 people dead. The suit also includes more plaintiffs than the original case, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Seeking justice: The new case names the terror groups — Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement, Hezbollah and the Popular Resistance Committees — and invokes two American laws that provide civil remedies to victims of international terrorism. “The victims of the October 7 massacre deserve justice, accountability and redress,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “This lawsuit seeks to do that by holding those responsible for the carnage accountable, from the state sponsors who provided the funding, weapons and training to the terrorist organizations who carried out these unspeakable atrocities.”
Exclusive: ADL and the Community Security Initiative of New York are partnering to launch a national threat monitoring and assessment network, following a year marked by two deadly attacks on North American Jewry, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim reports.
BREAKING RANK
New York Democratic Party chair says he won’t endorse Mamdani
Jay Jacobs, the chairman of the New York Democratic Party, said on Thursday he will not endorse Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City, notably breaking with Gov. Kathy Hochul, who recently announced her support for the Democratic nominee. In a statement, Jacobs said he had a “positive conversation” with Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist and Queens assemblyman, soon after the primary, and dismissed what he called “the fear-mongering around him and his candidacy” as “wrong and a gross over-reaction,” Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
But: While Jacobs said he shared Mamdani’s belief that “America’s greatest problem is the continued growth in income disparity in our nation,” the state party chair noted they “fundamentally disagree” on “how to address it.” Jacobs, who is Jewish, also cited Mamdani’s staunch opposition to Israel, an issue on which the nominee has recently indicated he has no intention of budging, as a major source of contention. “Furthermore, as I expressed to him directly, I strongly disagree with his views on the State of Israel, along with certain key policy positions,” Jacobs said of Mamdani, who has vowed, if elected, to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said he would move to terminate a city program to foster partnerships between companies in Israel and New York City, among other positions that have raised concerns among Jewish leaders.
AAA push: Citing Mamdani’s stated plans to revoke the city’s use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) called on Thursday for the House to pass the long-stalled Antisemitism Awareness Act, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Worthy Reads
Green Light for Annexation?: Philip Gordon, former national security advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris, argues in The New York Times that the international community must pressure Israel to stop any expansion in the West Bank due to the Trump administration’s permissiveness. “The Trump administration has not officially given its blessing to Israeli annexation of the West Bank. But it appears to be doing nothing to stand in Israel’s way. … Given America’s apparent acquiescence, only international action can prevent a coming disaster. It was encouraging that the United Arab Emirates said earlier this month that Israeli annexation in the West Bank would be a “red line,” jeopardizing Israel’s prized relationship with Abu Dhabi. A conference sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia at the U. N. General Assembly next week on the Palestinian issue will be another chance for the international community to put down a marker that most of the world objects to this Israeli government’s agenda. The government of Mr. Netanyahu should know that it can have flourishing relations with the rest of the world, or total control of the West Bank — but not both.” [NYT]
Ellison’s Empire: Former Wall Street banker and founding partner of the Puck media company William Cohan suggests in The New York Times that Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison’s rising profile as a “media magnate,” along with his friendship with President Donald Trump, threatens to reshape American journalism into a more partisan landscape. “Along with his son, David, [Ellison] could soon end up controlling a powerful social media platform, an iconic Hollywood movie studio and one of the largest content streaming services, as well as two of the country’s largest news organizations. Given Mr. Ellison’s friendship with, and affinity for, Donald Trump, an increasingly emboldened president could be getting an extraordinarily powerful media ally — in other words, the very last thing our country needs right now. … No matter their motives, two independent journalistic voices, CBS News and CNN, could soon be combined into something potentially almost unrecognizable, something way too close to what is served up on a daily basis by the Murdochs. And that will put yet another chink in the fragile armor that is America’s democracy.” [NYT]
Word on the Street
President Donald Trump said at a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday that the recognition of a Palestinian state, which the U.K. plans to do this weekend, is “one of [the] few disagreements” between the two leaders. “We want [the war] to end. We have to have the hostages back immediately. That’s what the people of Israel want, they want them back. And we want the fighting to stop,” the president continued…
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to talk today, their second conversation in Trump’s second term, about trade and the framework deal to save TikTok in the U.S…
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa told reporters on Wednesday that Syria and Israel could reach a security agreement “within days”…
Saudi Arabia signed a defense pact with Pakistan on Wednesday, as its leaders are reportedly angry with Washington over Israel’s recent strike against Hamas leaders in Qatar and are seeking alternative defense relationships…
Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Joni Ernst (R-IA), John Barrasso (R-WY), Rick Scott (R-FL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Ashley Moody (R-FL) reintroduced the SEVER Act, which would bar sanctioned Iranian officials from entering the U.S. to visit the United Nations…
French President Emmanuel Macron told Israel’s Channel 12 that, despite European attempts to negotiate with Iran over its nuclear program, U.N. Security Council snapback sanctions will be implemented at the end of the month, likely on Sept. 27…
Israel’s i24 News reports it has obtained recent audio of Macron speaking to former French parliament member Meyer Habib where Macron is heard saying, “I will not recognize a Palestinian state without the release of the hostages,” contrary to his reported plan to do so next week…
Two Israeli soldiers were killed yesterday at the Allenby Crossing between Jordan and the West Bank by an assailant driving a truck of humanitarian aid destined for the Gaza Strip…
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting that she investigate the organization Doctors Without Borders for terrorism, saying it had proliferated “propaganda continuously pushed by Hamas”…
Former Vice President Kamala Harris reflects on her decision-making in choosing a vice president to run on her presidential ticket in the 2024 campaign in her forthcoming book, 107 Days; she was concerned that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro seemed to be more interested in being VP than in helping her win, according to Politico’s review of the memoir….
After several headlines positioned former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo as shifting away from his previously full-throated support of Israel, Cuomo told the Forward on Wednesday that his position “hasn’t shifted one iota. I said we want three things: We want killing to stop, because it’s a matter of humanity. We want the hostages returned, and Hamas eliminated. If you don’t eliminate Hamas, you accomplish nothing. This will happen again and again”…
After her endorsement of New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has “pledged to anxious private sector leaders that she will use her power to act as a check on Mamdani’s agenda,” Politico reports…
A man in Texas was arrested for making death threats towards Mamdani over the phone and in writing, including saying in a message, “I’d love to see an IDF bullet go through your skull”…
Trump told reporters he is working to regain control of the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, which is now under Taliban control since the U.S. withdrawal in 2021…
The Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs in Canada released a joint statement urging their respective governments to reconsider their plans to recognize a Palestinian state next week…
Former President Barack Obama said that the firing of Karen Attiah — the anti-Israel Washington Post columnist who justified the Oct. 7 attacks and was let go from the Post earlier this week over social media posts on Charlie Kirk’s killing — is “precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent”…
The board of directors of Turning Point USA, the organization Kirk founded, unanimously named Erika Kirk, his widow, as its new CEO and board chair…
Pic of the Day
Speaking at a Rosh Hashanah reception at the Israeli Embassy in Washington yesterday, Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., compared congressional efforts to block U.S. weapons transfers to Israel to the antisemitic “blood libel” and he took aim at Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for leading the charge, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Birthdays
Author, theater producer, television personality and philanthropist, Candy Spelling turns 80 on Saturday…
FRIDAY: Professor of Jewish history and literature at Yeshiva University, he is the only son of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Haym Soloveitchik turns 88… Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives until 2022, he has served as synagogue president, Jeffrey Colman Salloway turns 84… Professor at Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law and director of the Innocence Project, Barry Scheck turns 76… Distinguished senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, after a 28-year Pentagon career as a Middle East expert, Harold Rhode turns 76… Freelance reporter, he was a writing instructor at Montana State University Billings, Bruce Alpert… Archaeologist and professor of early Judaism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Jodi Magness turns 69… Stockton, Calif.-based physician at The Pacific Sleep Disorders Center, Ronald Kass M.D…. Producer of over 40 films in his career and executive producer of the television series Monk, David Elliot Hoberman turns 73… Rabbi emeritus of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, he is the inaugural rabbinic fellow at the ADL, David J. Wolpe turns 67… Boston-based attorney focused upon Section 529 college savings plans, Mark A. Chapleau… Chairman and CEO of NYC’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, John Nathan “Janno” Lieber turns 64… Bow tie-clad field reporter for Fox Major League Baseball since 2005, he is also a senior baseball writer for The Athletic, Ken Rosenthal turns 63… Inspector general of the Federal Reserve Board and the CFPB, Michael Evan Horowitz turns 63… U.S. senator (R-SC), he chairs the Senate Banking Committee, Tim Scott turns 60… CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, Ron Halber… Author of eight popular business books, former small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal, Mike Michalowicz… Founder and managing director at Two Lanterns Venture Partners, he is also the founder of MassChallenge, John Harthorne… Pole vaulter, she competed for the U.S. in the 2004 Olympics and for Israel in the 2012 Olympics, now an associate brand manager at Kraft Heinz, Jillian Schwartz Dickinson turns 46… CEO of Enduring Cause Strategies, Neal Urwitz… Former MLB player for nine seasons, he was on Team Israel for the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Danny Valencia turns 41… Public affairs director at Elliott Investment Management, Joe Kristol… Singer-songwriter and producer, he frequently wears a Magen David pendant when performing, Charlie Burg turns 29… Former NFL placekicker, his college teammates nicknamed him the “Kosher Cannon,” Sam Sloman turns 28…
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In an interview with JI, Ambassador Gilad Cohen discusses his push to persuade Japan not to recognize a Palestinian state at the UNGA
Courtesy Gilad Cohen
Israeli Ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen
TOKYO — As Japan decided against recognizing a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, Israeli Ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen told Jewish Insider in a wide-ranging interview in Tokyo that he is appreciative of Japan, “an important factor of the international community.”
On Friday evening, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya called his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa’ar, to update him that after weeks of deliberation, Japan decided it will not recognize a Palestinian state at the UNGA.
“Sa’ar appreciated [the] decision and briefed [Iwaya] about Israel’s actions against Hamas chiefs in Qatar and IDF operations in Gaza,” Cohen told JI. “I join my foreign minister in appreciating Japan, a member of the G7, and an important factor of the international community, and for the deep friendship of our nations.”
“A recognition of a Palestinian state would be a reward to Hamas after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, would not contribute to peace and would not build on the trust of Israelis in the future,” he said. In recent weeks, Cohen relayed that message to Japanese ministers as the country weighed recognizing a Palestinian state as several governments, including those in Britain, France, Australia and Canada, have announced plans to do at the UNGA.
“This recognition is null and void because when you acknowledge a state there have to be conditions — what are the boundaries? Do you have effective control of the population? Nothing about that works with the Palestinians,” Cohen told JI. “Are they going to dismantle Hamas? Are they going to continue paying salaries for families of suicide bombers? Are they going to continue to have pacts with Iran against Israel? Is there going to be a repetition of Oct. 7 because they have a state? We are the Jewish people, we always have to be concerned and worried.”
For Cohen, who assumed office as ambassador of Israel to Japan in October 2021 following a stint as deputy director general for Asia and Pacific division in the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan’s consideration of recognizing a Palestinian state has been one of only a few disagreements he’s held with local politicians since arriving in Tokyo. In the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks, “the Japanese government stood by Israel, called for an immediate and unconditional release of our hostages and said publicly that Hamas should be dismantled,” Cohen said.
“I thank the Japanese for acknowledging that Hamas is a terrorist organization and for saying that Iran is the number one destabilizer of the region. I want to thank the Japanese government for standing on the right side of history.”
When war broke out between Israel and Hamas soon after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, Japan, as a member of the U.N. Security Council, “was trying to influence the release of the hostages and not to [attack] Israel. They were not mediating, but there were messages Japan was trying to deliver for both sides in order to bring our hostages back,” Cohen recalled.
Looking ahead to the postwar period, Cohen suggested that Japan will contribute to rebuilding the Palestinian economy. “We will welcome any kind of investment in the Palestinian economy to revive it,” he said. “Economy is a major part of the vision of Palestinians living side by side with Israelis in peace and security.”
While tourism from Japan to Israel has seen a decline amid the war, Cohen said that joint business ventures between the two countries have increased over the past two years, as Israeli tech companies engage with Japan’s industrial giants and venture capital networks.
“Investments from Japanese companies in Israel were much higher in 2024 than 2023, including in AI and technology,” he said. “There is a saying that Israel can do things from zero to one and Japanese can take them from one to 10. Israeli innovation and startups can be combined with Japanese wisdom, experience and production ability that Israel doesn’t have.”
When it comes to creating cars, for example, an area that Japan is a global leader in, “Israel should focus on the brain of the car, systems that prevent accidents such as Waze and Mobileye,” said Cohen. “The synergy that we can learn from Japan — and we can share our experience with them — I see a lot of potential in economic relations. Japanese companies are looking at Israeli startups with great interest. In the last two and a half years, there have been direct flights from Israel to Japan, which is important because businessmen and investors do not have time to waste. This is an engine for connecting the people of Israel and Japan.”
Israel is among the handful of countries that Japan has a free trade deal with, an agreement signed by Cohen in March 2023. It allows 200 Israelis to come to Japan annually on a visa for one year of work, study and travel. At the same time, 200 Japanese citizens can come to Israel for one year to do the same.
Cohen sees himself not only as an ambassador of Israel “but also as representing the Jewish people in Japan,” he said, describing a small but vibrant community. Tokyo is home to two Chabad houses and a Jewish community center, which runs a pluralistic synagogue. The cities of Kyoto and Kobe also each have a Chabad. All five centers primarily cater to tourists.
It can be a challenge to navigate Holocaust education and antisemitism awareness in a country with limited historical exposure to those issues, Cohen said, recommending that all Japanese visit the Holocaust Education Center in Fukuyama City, near Hiroshima.
“The Japanese government comes to commemorate our Holocaust memorial days,” Cohen told JI. “They give thanks to [Chiune] Sugihara,” he said, referring to the Japanese diplomat who, while posted in Lithuania, saved thousands of Jews during the Holocaust. “We are participating in ceremonies to commemorate him. In Japan, he became a hero.”
“I see a lot of potential in the future when things calm down in the region,” continued Cohen. “I would like to have future agreements signed with Japan to boost the economy on both sides. I have many things on my agenda, but this will be after Rosh Hashanah.”
Leiter compared Israel’s campaign against Hamas to the U.S. pursuing the perpetrators of 9/11
Martin H. Simon/AJC
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter speaks at AJC's Abraham Accords 5th Anniversary Commemoration on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 10, 2025.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter offered a strong defense of Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, as the Israeli government doubled down on the strategy in the face of strong pushback from the Trump administration.
Speaking at an American Jewish Committee event on Capitol Hill, Leiter argued that, in carrying out the strike, Israel was only doing what it and other countries have always done in the past: hunting down terrorists who perpetrate attacks on them wherever they may be.
He made repeated reference to Jordan’s King Hussein’s Black September campaign against Palestinian terrorists in Jordan, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir pursuing those responsible for the 1972 Munich Olympics attack and the U.S. launching wars to hunt down those responsible for the 9/11 attacks.
“Israel acted in the context of what any normal country does, it pursues terrorists and eliminates them, like King Hussein, like Golda Meir, like the United States of America,” Leiter said.
Leiter also highlighted U.N. Security Council Resolution 1373, presented by the U.S. and passed weeks after the 9/11 attacks, which “obligates states to prevent and suppress the financing and support of terrorism, including the harboring of terrorists.”
“Now what is Qatar doing if not financing and supporting terrorism by playing host to Hamas, the very people who sent the terrorists who murdered six people sitting at a bus stop in Jerusalem, waiting to go about their business?” Leiter said, referencing a Hamas-linked attack days before the Israeli strike in Doha.
“Who sent them? The terrorists we targeted in Doha. They celebrated the murder of these six innocents the same way they celebrated, on camera, the slaughter of 1,200 innocents on Oct. 7,” Leiter added.
Leiter said that, in striking Hamas leaders in Doha, “We are acting in the context of the U.N. charter, of international law, in the cause of sanity and morality.”
He noted that the campaigns by both Jordan against Palestinian terrorists and the United States against terrorist groups in Iraq could also have been considered “disproportionate,” a criticism that some in the international community have leveled over Israel’s operations in Gaza.
Leiter also argued that Israel’s ongoing military operations in the Middle East increase, rather than hurt, the prospects for expanded normalization, “because we are empowering the moderate elements within Islam.” The AJC event was a celebration of the fifth anniversary of the Abraham Accords.
Addressing criticisms that Israel has failed to properly plan for the day after the war in Gaza, Leiter insisted that those plans are in place — but can’t be safely discussed in public.
“We’re preparing for the day after. The day after is going to be brilliant and for it to succeed, we can’t talk too much about it, and it certainly can’t be an Israel-sponsored day after to enjoy success,” Leiter said.
‘It’s a very partisan atmosphere in Washington right now. Strong support for Israel in the [Trump] administration almost drives the Democratic opposition into opposing very close support for Israel,’ the ambassador said
Israeli Embassy
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter arrived at his post in January as Israel was more than a year into its war with Hamas in Gaza and facing declining American support for the Jewish state.
The Trump administration has been much friendlier to the government in Jerusalem than its predecessor, supporting the Israeli war effort in Gaza with no limitations on arms shipments. Yet, the broader political atmosphere is more hostile to Israel than it has been in decades.
The turn away from Israel was reflected in a recent Senate vote in which a majority of Democrats supported blocking some arms sales to Israel, as well as in the growth of the isolationist wing of the Republican Party, the rise of influential media figures who peddle antisemitism and public opinion about Israel in decline.
Leiter spoke with Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov and the executive director of the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, Asher Fredman, on the “Misgav Mideast Horizons” podcast this week about his efforts to engage members of both parties, the future of the U.S.-Israel alliance, what is next in the war in Gaza and more.
Amid these concerning political trends, Leiter said that the U.S. and Israel have started to discuss what will happen after the Obama-era 10-year Memorandum of Understanding between the countries, which currently commits $3.8 billion a year in American defense aid to Israel annually, expires in 2028.
While Israel’s official position favors continuing aid, some in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party and others on the Israeli right have been advocating for moving from a model of aid to one of collaboration on joint projects.
“Maybe we’ll change the nature [of the MOU], where there will be greater [joint] research and development between our two countries, rather than relying on American weapons,” Leiter said.
Leiter emphasized that the defense relationship between Israel and the U.S. benefits both countries.
“Recently, there was a podcast with [Rep.] Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in which she said, ‘Why are we giving $3.8 billion to Israel when people in the United States don’t have health care?’” he said. “What she neglected to mention is that the vast majority of the $3.8 billion is spent in the United States and actually is providing jobs — and health care — for American workers. It’s all American weapons … purchased with American aid. So it’s a win-win situation.”
Leiter also quoted Gen. George Keegan who once told journalist Wolf Blitzer that the value of Israeli intelligence is worth five CIAs.
“You know how much that would cost [to replace]? The level of cooperation we have at this point between our intelligence communities is very, very, very deep and wide. We provide a tremendous service to the United States’ interests in the Middle East,” he said.
The U.S. and Israel will have to evaluate “a paradigm shift” in the region when working on the next MOU, Leiter said.
“I think we have to start from a broader view of things in terms of the geostrategic realities that are developing in the Middle East. … The ramifications of [the strikes on Iran in] Operation Rising Lion and Midnight Hammer, but really the ramifications of the war against Iranian proxies over the past almost two years now since Oct. 7, [2023], is a changing Middle East,” Leiter said.
“We’ve seen all of the proxies degraded. We’re about to completely destroy Hamas. Hezbollah is dramatically degraded to the point where the Lebanese government is actually moving towards disarming them. We have the fall of the Assad regime in Syria. Nobody could have imagined that would have happened. And the Houthis are being degraded … There’s a new Middle East out there,” he added.
In Leiter’s view, the result of the last two years is that moderate Muslim states face fewer threats from Iran and other radical Islamists, increasing the chances of what he termed “an Abraham Accords 2.0.”
“That enables the United States to rely more on a collective between Israel and its neighbors, and have less of an American footprint in the Middle East,” he said.
“Therefore,” the ambassador added, “the nature of any MOU or collaborative effort is going to change.”
Leiter spoke to JI before a day of meetings on Capitol Hill, in which he planned to meet with Democrats and Republicans. He has made sure to meet with critics of Israel in addition to friendly members of Congress.
“I will always divide my day [between the parties] and make it as much of a bipartisan effort as I possibly can,” he said. “Not only for tactical political reasons — the Democrats can take control of Congress in a year and a half and if we haven’t paid them the proper respect and attention, we’re going to pay a very serious price — but beyond the tactical political plane, I believe that Israel is a bipartisan issue and should remain so.”
Leiter said that some of Israel’s critics are reflexively critical: “It’s a very partisan atmosphere in Washington right now, which makes it very complicated. You can see this in issues that are not related to Israel … If the administration is saying one thing, the Democratic opposition believes it’s got to say something else. There’s strong support for Israel in the [Trump] administration, so that almost drives the Democratic opposition into opposing very close support for Israel.”
The ambassador emphasized that “in the Trump administration, we’ve seen a level of collaboration between Israel and the United States that we’ve never had [before],” citing the joint strikes on Iran’s nuclear program in June. “There’s never been this kind of cooperation at this level. We’re very close on the one hand. On the other hand, there are dramatic and very intense challenges to this relationship.”
In addition to “the woke left, which has distanced itself from Israel, because we’re perceived as … the white men that have dominated and written history,” Leiter lamented the “conspiratorial, isolationist” right.
“Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens’ orbit is not America First, it’s Israel and Jews last,” he said. “America First is fine. We don’t have an issue with that. We put Israel first, America puts America first … I think it’s obvious and elemental. With the isolationist and conspiratorial right, Israel is always wrong and the Jews are always behind everything that’s wrong.”
Still, Leiter said he has not found that anti-Israel view in the halls of the White House, State Department or Pentagon.
“There are legitimate strategic positions that the U.S. should put more focus on the far East rather than the Middle East. … I think that actually may be advantageous to Israel and the Middle East as a whole if that’s going to happen in a gradual and careful way as we move into the future,” he added.
About the ongoing war against Hamas, Leiter said, “There’s no public in the world that wants to end the war more than we [Israelis] do. No one has suffered as much as we do. Since the day Israel was founded, we haven’t experienced one day of peace. Not a day. We want to end this war and we can’t do it unless we have defeated this enemy. … The ultimate goal is going to be a complete demilitarization of Gaza,” he said.
Leiter pushed back against accusations that Israel plans to force residents out of Gaza with backing from the Trump administration.
“The president of the United States didn’t talk about forcing anybody, but talked about giving them the option … Why not allow these people the opportunity to choose? That’s all we’re suggesting.”
The ambassador noted that Israel has facilitated the exit of 40,000 people from Gaza who have visas to receive medical care in other countries, and they left through Israel, not Egypt, which would charge them tens of thousands of dollars to transit through their country.
“Why wouldn’t Egypt just open the border and let people go through?” he asked.
Leiter also spoke out against a Palestinian state, saying that very few Israelis still support the proposition.
“Even the left-of-center realize that the bandwidth for another state west of the Jordan River is untenable and unacceptable. Since Oct. 7, that bandwidth has narrowed further, and it’s about a hair’s breadth now … Everybody’s got to get used to that and stop talking about this two-state solution,” he said.
“There will be far more normalization and peaceful relations with our Palestinian neighbors once we get beyond this red herring of the two-state solution,” the ambassador added.
Leiter said that there are alternatives to a Palestinian state, including “autonomous zones … total autonomy,” while “security and overall foreign relations are going to remain in Israel’s hands.”
He spoke about possible dramatic economic growth benefiting Palestinians in the West Bank, which could come as a result of planned infrastructure corridors crossing from the Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea.
The ambassador expressed hope about an “Abraham Accords 2.0,” in which Israel normalizes relations with Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia and several Central Asian Muslim countries.
“Once that happens, the whole issue of saying everything is based on Palestinian centrality goes away,” he said.
With a dozen countries planning to recognize a Palestinian state in the coming weeks, in an effort led by France and Saudi Arabia, Leiter accused Europe of attempting “a cleansing process, because if you can condemn Israel for genocide … that means that what Europe was guilty of 80 years ago is not unique.”
In addition, the ambassador argued that European leaders are concerned about getting the votes of growing Muslim populations in their countries.
“They couldn’t care less about Palestinians. If they really cared, they’d issue some visas. I mean, France could issue 150,000 visas and give people a new opportunity at life, but that’s the last thing they want to do. They don’t want to allow in more Muslims. …It’s a tragedy that we’re paying the price for this,” he added.
Recognizing a Palestinian state is “prolonging the war,” Leiter said. “Basically what the French are doing is declaring Oct. 7 Palestine Independence Day. Brilliant, right? Let’s reward these people for slaughter and massacre.”
“It’s an outrage. It’s immoral. And we have to stay the course. We are ultimately going to be vindicated. I have no doubt about it,” he said.
Leiter’s son, Moshe, a physician and father of six, was killed in battle in Gaza on Nov. 10, 2023.
Leiter said his son was “a very committed Jew and Zionist and he knew what he was fighting for … for the right of the Jewish people to live in their homeland in peace and security.”
“I carry him on my back every day, and it gives me the power, the energy, the ability to go forward,” he said. “You really have to make a decision when you lose someone that you love so much and you’re so close to and fills your life with meaning and purpose. He’s the reason why it’s so hard to get up in the morning, and he’s also the reason why I do, because you have to make that choice and move forward.”
Israeli ambassador tells Jewish leaders, senators that U.S. strikes ‘destroyed’ Iran’s nuclear sites
Leiter also said that the U.S. and Israel had been discussing the strikes for months, and insisted that Iran must stop trying to destroy Israel as a precondition for a potential U.S. deal
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter leaves after meeting with Republican lawmakers to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill" at the U.S. Capitol on June 25, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter told a gathering of American Jewish leaders on Wednesday that the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz had “destroyed” the sites.
Leiter also laid out the timeline of U.S. and Israeli coordination on the strikes, which he said stretched back to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington in February, though he said it only became clear in the days before Israel began its strikes in Iran that the U.S. was likely to participate. And he argued that any deal with Iran must include, as a precondition, that Iran no longer seek the elimination of the Jewish state.
“There’s this little debate out there, you get into the etymology of the English language,” Leiter quipped, addressing ongoing questions about the extent of the success of U.S. operations and by how long they had delayed Iran’s nuclear program. “What is the difference between ‘elimination’ and ‘obliteration,’ ‘setting them back for years’ [and] ‘destruction.’”
Leiter did not delve into specifics of his assessment or what it was based on.
The comments, at a gathering organized by the Jewish Federations of North America and Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, came after the leak of a preliminary, reportedly low-confidence Defense Intelligence Agency assessment indicating that the strikes had only set back Iran’s nuclear program by a matter of months. Other reports indicated that some of Iran’s nuclear material and centrifuges may have survived the operations.
The Trump administration forcefully denounced the DIA assessment, insisted that the nuclear program has been fully destroyed and published an Israeli assessment indicating that the Iranian program had been set back further.
Leiter addressed the Senate Republican Conference over lunch on Wednesday, and delivered a similar assessment.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), the No. 2 Senate Republican, told Jewish Insider that Leiter said the attacks had been “very successful.”
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) told reporters that Leiter said the operations had set Iran’s nuclear program back by “years.”
Leiter also told the audience of Jewish leaders that Netanyahu had presented Israeli plans to President Donald Trump in the Oval Office during his first visit in February. Subsequent reports had indicated that Trump vetoed the plan, at the time.
The Israeli envoy said, “We laid out in front of the administration what the possibilities were. We did not ask for a green light. We made it very clear that this is existential, that this is 1938. The only difference is that in 1938, we were dependent. We were helpless.”
Leiter said Israeli officials had presented Israel’s capabilities and plans, and the potential options for working with the U.S.
“We moved ahead, first with minimal planning together, then with extensive planning together,” Leiter said. “It wasn’t until a few days before we launched Operation Rising Lion that it was clear that the president was moving in the direction of making sure that this strike to eliminate the annihilationist threat to the State of Israel was something the United States would participate in, in full.”
The Israeli ambassador also said that Israel was at the “cusp of the possibility of taking out the Iranian regime” but said, “we’re not in the business of regime change. Regime change has to come bottom-up, not top-down. We can’t force it.”
He said that, if the U.S. and Iran agree to a deal going forward, there should be “an elemental demand that Iran first say it is not going to pursue the annihilation of the State of Israel, the Jewish people.”
Leiter said he would also be meeting on Wednesday with a group of six Democrats who had supported efforts to withhold arms from Israel.
“I tell them, ‘Look, I’ll go into the lion’s den. Just invite me. You want to talk? I’ll talk,’” Leiter explained. “I know that I’m going in front of the firing squad. But that’s my job. I’m going to make the case because I know that our case is the most justified case in the annals of human history.”
Looking at the Middle East broadly, Leiter said Israel has “changed history” after Oct. 7, 2023, having degraded Hamas and Hezbollah and helped to bring about the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.
“We have someone now [in Syria] who’s at least saying the right things, who’s playing the right music,” Leiter said, a notable turn from the Israeli government’s initial skepticism and hostility toward the government led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former jihadist. “We don’t know where it’s going to go, we have to be cautious, but it’s moving in the right direction.”
Addressing the murder of two Israeli Embassy staffers at the Capital Jewish Museum, Leiter emphasized the intrinsic ties between the Jewish people and Israel, and said, “at the core of this murderous, annihilationist antisemitism is the rejection of the very right of the Jewish people to have a right to sovereignty. You cannot fight antisemitism without fighting anti-Zionism.”
He said that the Jewish community cannot let antisemites — “Candace Owens or somebody from the other side, whatever it is” — dictate to them what Judaism is or “disembowel Judaism from Zionism.”
“Don’t go down the slippery slope. Don’t go down. We are not an apartheid state. We are not genocidal murderers,” Leiter said. “My son would be alive today if what they’re accusing us of doing, we do. We don’t starve people and we don’t do ethnic cleansing, and we’ve lost countless soldiers because of the approach we take to warfare.”
Leiter’s son died in combat in Gaza.
In an interview with independent Iranian media outlet Iran International, Leiter said Israel is ‘not in the position to make a long-term strategy for another country. Our long-term strategy is to stay alive’
Mo Broushaky
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter speaks at an event with Iran International on June 24, 2025.
When Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter agreed last week to a major interview with Iran International, the biggest independent Iranian news outlet in the world, the geopolitical status of the region looked very different than it did when Leiter sat down with anchor Fardad Farahzad on Tuesday morning at the National Press Club in Washington.
What was billed as a candid conversation with Leiter, where he would answer questions directly from Iranians curious about Israel’s approach to military strikes in Iran, turned into a newsy postmortem on the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, which had shakily come to a close just hours earlier with a ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump and the Qataris.
Leiter touted Israel’s military victories but did not offer a full endorsement of the ceasefire — and asked whether he was surprised by Trump’s announcement on Tuesday night, he demurred: “I came to Washington on Jan. 27, and there hasn’t been one day where I haven’t been surprised,” Leiter quipped.
“I think we saw it coming, because we accomplished the vast majority of our goals, our military goals, and that’s diminishing to the point of elimination the path to a nuclear bomb and proliferation of ballistic missiles,” said Leiter.
In 12 days, Israel had “decimated [Iran’s] capacity to inflict tremendous damage on Israel,” Leiter continued. When pressed by Farahzad whether that meant Israel had eliminated Iran’s nuclear program, Leiter’s message was less straightforward.
“Eliminated is a big word. Obliterated is a big word. We can’t get into … what, exactly, ‘obliterated’ means,” said Leiter. (Trump said in a Truth Social post on Sunday that “obliteration is an accurate word.”)
While the details of how thoroughly Israel had damaged Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs are still somewhat uncertain, the fact that Israel had achieved great military success in Iran in less than two weeks was not disputed.
Instead, much of the conversation featured Leiter grappling with the limits of Israel’s capabilities in Iran. As barbaric and evil as Israel finds Iran’s regime, Leiter reiterated that regime change is not on the table for Israel.
“There are few things that unite Israelis, but change in Iran is one of them,” said Leiter. “We want regime change. We’re certainly going to support it in every way we can. But militarily? No. War cannot bring regime change. It doesn’t work.”
Farahzad read questions that had been sent in by Iranian viewers and called on several Iranians in the audience. Almost every one of them asked some version of the same question: Now that there is a ceasefire, Iranians are afraid of what will come next for them. The mullahs remain in power, weakened and wounded. What will they do to the people of Iran? How can the U.S. and Israel leave the Iranian people on their own and walk away?
“Please help assuage the people of Iran’s mindset that the world leaders are saying stuff from both sides of their mouths, but they’re not taking into consideration that if the mullahs are left in power, it will do much more damage to the people of Iran,” one audience member pleaded with Leiter.
He acknowledged the precarity of this moment for the Iranian people, and their frustration at Israel’s inability to help them reach the outcome that many of them want. Instead, Leiter said he hoped Israel’s brief incursion into Iran, helped by the U.S., could spur Iranians who want a change in their country’s leadership to overcome their fears and bring about that change.
“I don’t think I have an answer that’s fully going to satisfy you,” said Leiter. “The bandwidth in the United States right now for anything that even smacks of regime change — very small bandwidth. The ability for Israel to act [by] itself for regime change is extremely limited. What we are doing is, I think, advancing the cause of liberty to a great degree. In our efforts to secure ourselves, we are moving the region into a greater effort of liberty. It takes time.”
Leiter presented a vision of a forward-looking Middle East, where the arc of history bends toward justice for the Iranian people, even if that arc is not a straight line.
“Based on history, I think we are moving towards an era of greater freedom, of greater people sovereignty. I think that that’s been helped, facilitated, by what we’ve done,” said Leiter. “We’re not in the position to make a long-term strategy for another country. Our long-term strategy is to stay alive.”
Iranians now worry that they may be left paying a price for Israel’s victory, as the country’s hard-line rulers lash out. Leiter acknowledged that, but countered that it is not only Israel who can help the Iranian people. He called for Europe to step up.
“We’re not the only democracy in the world. Why is it that the chancellor of Germany says Israel is doing the dirty work for all of us? We’re a tiny, little country. Where’s Germany? Where’s England? England has a huge stake,” said Leiter. “Are we the world’s policeman? Please. I would say to the chancellor of Germany, ‘You’re absolutely right. We’re doing the dirty work for the world, but it’s about time that you helped us.’ And if they did, it would be a lot easier for the people of Iran.”
The interview will air several times this week on primetime in Iran, and to Iranian diasporas around the world.
Photo credit: Embassy of Israel
Historian Michael Oren, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. and Knesset Member in the 20th Knesset, discussed the lesser-known story of the U.S. the Balfour Declaration in a new podcast from The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Hosted by David Makovsky, the think tank’s Ziegler distinguished fellow and director of the project on Arab-Israel relations, “Decision Points,” a series of ten episodes, is the first podcast focused on the history of the U.S.-Israel relationship since the creation of the Jewish State. It features 30-minute conversations with key scholars and book authors.
Oren: “[Former President] Woodrow Wilson was — if you read his memoirs, his remarks, those of his wife Edith in particular — sort of what you call a garden-variety antisemite. And yet… he went against the advice of all of his senior counselors, including his Secretary of State Robert Lansing, his personal political adviser Col. Edward House, who were adamantly opposed to Zionism… But it was Wilson’s restorationist worldview, which at this precise moment in history… met up with a peculiar geostrategic situation that [was] obtained in 1917,” pointing to the Communist revolution in Russia and the fear that the Germans would issue a similar declaration.
Key relationship: The relationship between President Wilson and Louis Dembitz Brandeis, whom he respected when Wilson was governor of New Jersey, was key in persuading the U.S. to throw its support behind Arthur Balfour’s declaration when he visited the U.S. in 1917, Oren explains in detail. “Balfour was convinced that if he can get Wilson to sign on to this idea it will persuade the British government because they so need America in the [first World] War and he’s not getting anywhere with Wilson’s advisors. He needs to actually get into the Oval Office, he’s not getting there. He turns to Brandeis… Brandeis says to Balfour, ‘Don’t worry, I got it.’ He goes into the Oval Office, has maybe a half-an-hour meeting and walks out with Wilson’s approval of what would later become the Balfour Declaration. A pivotal moment in Middle Eastern history, Jewish history, and Israel history certainly, that short meeting between Brandeis and Wilson.”
The audience: Makovsky tells Jewish Insider that people are now consuming information differently than in the past — the number of podcast listeners has increased sharply in 2019, according to a recent survey — “and I think it’s very important for those of us who care about U.S.-Israel relations to basically meet people where they are through new media. The idea of interviewing authors who have written about different periods of the U.S.-Israel relationship is that by the end of ten episodes, people will feel they have a better grasp of the trajectory, the arc of history when it comes to this relationship.”
Essential alliance: Talking about the Balfour Declaration, Makovsky said those events are a reminder of the idea of alliances: “We are at a time where people are saying that we could withdraw from the Middle East. We don’t really need allies. But you know, we saw this with al-Baghdadi too, that it ultimately takes a village, so to speak, of allies that made the capture possible. Zionism always believed in two ideas and did not see it as a contradiction. It believed in the idea of self-reliance, but also making sure that you have very good ties with the leading countries of the time, which [in 1917] are Britain and the United States. I think that was the key to Zionism’s success. And I think that is also good advice for the United States today that we need allies. We need the multipliers and having allies are critical or American influence in the Middle East and beyond.”
State Department photo by Michael Gross
Ron Dermer in May 2019 (Michael Gross/State Department)
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer suggested on Wednesday that Israeli political and defense leaders are now united in opposing the terms of the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal.
In a conversation with Ambassador Dennis Ross at the United Against Nuclear Iran annual summit in New York, Dermer stressed that while some former high-level government and security officials expressed support for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), “today you cannot find security and intelligence officials in Israel — I’m not aware of any of them — that would go back to the exact same deal.”
“The United States has got enormous leverage, and I think the idea of going back into the same deal with Iran, it gives them a clear path to nuclear weapons,” he explained.
Asked if Israel’s position on Iran would change if a national unity government is formed following last week’s redo election, Dermer said that “any new government” would continue to support Israel’s longstanding opposition to the JCPOA and be in favor of economic pressure on Iran “to ensure that: A, that Iran never gets nuclear weapons, and B, that everything is done to roll back Iran’s aggression.”
Dermer also noted that Blue and White leader Benny Gantz said earlier this year at the Munich security conference that there was no difference between him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the topic of Iran.
During the election, Netanyahu slammed his chief rival for “supporting the Iran nuclear deal” in 2015.
Dermer said that Israel “could live with” a new nuclear deal negotiated by the U.S. — but only if it addressed the sunset clause. “The one problem that you have to address is you have to prevent Iran from ever being a military nuclear power,” he stated. “And if you have a sunset clause, that’s a date certain for when you want to would be a military nuclear power, and that has enormous consequences for our region.”
Not the start of a joke. Rather, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Senator Cory Booker, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer all went out to eat at the famed Eli’s kosher restaurant in Northwest DC. Dermer and Booker were both presidents of Boteach’s Oxford L’Chaim society. Senator Booker in 1993 and Ambassador Dermer in 1996.
Enjoying dinner with two former students and Oxford L’Chaim Presidents @CoryBooker @AmbDermer Joined by @TulsiPress pic.twitter.com/RufkXC6Yi3
— Rabbi Shmuley (@RabbiShmuley) November 21, 2013
Group Shot! @CoryBooker @AmbDermer @TulsiPress pic.twitter.com/aucrSaSr5A
— Rabbi Shmuley (@RabbiShmuley) November 21, 2013
Enjoying dinner with two former students and Oxford L’Chaim Presidents @CoryBooker @AmbDermer Joined by @TulsiPress pic.twitter.com/9gOEpvnVh2
— Rabbi Shmuley (@RabbiShmuley) November 21, 2013
senator @corybooker was r oxford l’chaim president in ’93. israel ambassador @ambdermer was president in ’96 pic.twitter.com/yNiO3cgXcH
— Rabbi Shmuley (@RabbiShmuley) November 21, 2013
proud to see 2 of our former student presidents @corybooker and @ambdermer as devoted and respected public servants pic.twitter.com/MV2DmpGujH
— Rabbi Shmuley (@RabbiShmuley) November 21, 2013
@RabbiShmuley It was great meeting you the other night with @CoryBooker – I look forward to visiting again soon!
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) November 22, 2013
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