NEW CHAPTER

High Line Publishing launches with fanfare to counter barriers for Jewish authors

J.K. Rowling’s agent Neil Blair, who helped launch the firm, said he saw writers struggle to get published because ‘their last name was Jewish or Israeli’

Alex S.K. Brown

Neil Blair addresses the crowd at High Line launch event.

By

Haley Cohen

October 21, 2026

A new publishing house made its New York City debut Tuesday night with a pitch for a different kind of literary establishment: one where Jewish and Israeli writers don’t have to worry that their identities or perspectives will keep their books off the shelves.

High Line Publishing Studio is the latest in a growing number of publishing ventures seeking to create space for Jewish voices amid concerns about how those writers are treated by the mainstream industry.

High Line made its American launch at chef Eyal Shani’s Port Sa’id restaurant, following its U.K. debut last month. The new venture features two distinct imprints: Antidote Books and Odessa Editions. The latter, led by London-based editor Jacky Klein, plans to publish Jewish and Israeli fiction and nonfiction on subjects ranging from Jewish history and antisemitism to philosophy, food and culture, with a global reach through distributor Hachette.

“We’re not aiming to be a [marginalized] publisher — both in our books or in our distribution,” Klein told Jewish Insider ahead of the launch, adding that the imprint is open to Arab Israeli writers and non-Jewish authors whose work engages meaningfully with Jewish culture, history or ideas.

Antidote Books, led by Joel Simons, formerly of HarperCollins UK, is a nonfiction imprint looking to publish stories on technology, ethics, democracy, identity and power.

High Line is launched by J.K. Rowling’s longtime literary agent, Neil Blair. Also helping to steer the venture’s two imprints are High Line CEO Oliver Malcolm, Senior Vice President Lindsay Gordon and Executive Chair Adam Cannon. The studio is backed by long-term investment from a coalition of publishing, media and philanthropic investors, including Blair, but operates independently of Blair’s literary and entertainment agency, The Blair Partnership.

Speaking to an invite-only crowd of journalists, philanthropists and authors — both prospective and established — Blair explained that his own frustration had inspired the venture.

“For quite some time, I’ve sensed that something wasn’t right in the field of publishing,” Blair said, describing what he sees as a growing tendency for publishing houses in New York and London to favor authors whose perspectives align with conventional narratives. He said he had watched writers struggle to get published “not because of the quality of their writing or lack of original thinking,” but because their views did not conform to those narratives — “or perhaps their last name was Jewish or Israeli.”

Blair, who is Jewish and a self-described Zionist, said the issue got worse after the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, and cited HarperCollins’ efforts to halt publication of a book by former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, as well as his difficulty finding a British publisher for released hostage Eli Sharabi’s memoir about being held captive in Gaza, even as the book found a U.S. publisher and sold hundreds of thousands of copies, he said.

High Line’s first book published in London will be Dara Horn’s The Final Solution to the Jewish Question: A Love Story for the Living, Blair announced, describing the book’s message — that “we don’t bow to tyrants” — as aligned with the mission behind the new venture. In attendance at Tuesday’s launch was Horn, an award-winning American Jewish author whose work explores Jewish history and antisemitism.

From left to right: Lindsay Gordon, Dara Horn and Debbie Lechtman attend the High Line launch event.

The launch drew a who’s who of the literary world, with publishing executives, editors and writers mingling over Shani’s signature Mediterranean dishes and toasting to the new venture with cocktails named for each imprint. In addition to Horn, spotted in the crowd was Naomi Firestone-Teeter, CEO of the Jewish Book Council; Yael Bar Tur, co-host of the “Chosen People Problems” podcast; Jewish literary consultant Erika Dreifus; and Rebbetzin Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt, a journalist and co-founder of Altneu.

The launch comes amid a broader wave of Jewish-focused publishing ventures, including Meg Keene Books, a new fiction imprint at Wicked Son Press and Canary Publishing, a literary venture focused on Jewish and Israeli authors. The founders say they hope to address what they view as an industry-wide reluctance to publish Jewish stories, particularly those involving Israel, in the wake of Oct. 7.

There is no reliable industry-wide figure showing what percentage of Zionist or Jewish authors have been dropped, although author Meg Keene has collected data specifically on Jewish fiction publishing, which found that between 2023 and 2024, there was a 76% decline in fiction deal announcements to large presses that mentioned Jews, Judaism or Israel.

The name of the industry’s newest company serves as a fitting metaphor for Blair’s ambitions: The launch party took place just blocks from Manhattan’s High Line, the elevated park that inspired the name. “When you walk it, you see the city from a totally different point of view,” Blair said, adding that’s the perspective High Line Publishing hopes to bring to its authors’ stories.

REGGIO REGRETS

Reggio Emilia mayor walks back anti-Israel litmus test for preschool educators

The mayor said a statement which asked the teachers to condemn Israel’s actions in Gaza were meant as an ‘open document,’ rather than a requirement to visit the city

Marco BERTORELLO / POOL / AFP via Getty Images

Princess of Wales speaks with the mayor of Reggio Emilia, Marco Massari at Reggio Emilia's town hall as part of a two-day visit in Italy, on May 13, 2026.

By

Haley Cohen

October 14, 2026

The mayor of Reggio Emilia, Italy, defended the city’s handling of a controversy where Israeli and American Jewish preschool teachers were asked to condemn Israel’s actions in Gaza before being permitted to join a trip to his town, denying that the pledge was a requirement to attend.

Marco Massari, speaking to the city council on Monday, said the city’s Charter for Democratic and Participatory Education, a document associated with Reggio Emilia’s early childhood education approach, was intended to be open for discussion, not a requirement that visitors sign on to a particular position.

Massari’s remarks came after more than 70 educators from Jewish schools canceled a planned visit after being asked to sign a statement declaring, “I distance myself from the occupation of Gaza and the violation of children’s and human beings’ rights in the occupied territories as well as in every places [sic] in the world,” according to a screenshot obtained by Jewish Insider.

The mayor’s clarification also came following outreach from the State Department, as noted by Ambassador Yehuda Kaploun, the U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, who said on Wednesday that he welcomes “Massari’s reaffirmation that American Jewish educators are welcome in his city, regardless of their identity or beliefs, and his expressed desire to resume the educational exchange.”

“We appreciate the strong cooperation with local law enforcement to help ensure visiting educators can participate safely, free from intimidation or political pressure,” said Kaploun.

The educators — members of the U.S.-based Paradigm Project — were scheduled to travel to Reggio Emilia, Italy, from Oct. 11–16. Their goal was to study the Reggio Emilia Approach to early childhood education, a method long embraced by Jewish preschools, and bring those insights back to their classrooms.

Massari said that there may have been a misunderstanding with the teachers of the Jewish schools who chose to postpone the trip, adding that “we will clarify it, but Reggio has not asked and does not ask those who work in schools around the world to undergo political or religious examinations.”

The document, he added, is “not a closed charter, therefore, not a take-it-or-leave-it approach, but an open document, a starting point that places children’s rights, the true, forgotten protagonists of this story, at its core.” He said the city welcomed a different delegation of Israeli educators this week.

But Massari also reiterated the city’s longstanding criticism of Israel’s government and called its war in Gaza a genocide.

“Reggio Emilia has long been critical of the Israeli government’s policies, condemning the ongoing genocide in Palestine,” he said.

GOING GLOBAL

Israeli, Lebanese leaders expressed interest in Michigan Senate race, Sen. Lankford says

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri made an offhand comment that there was an ‘extension of [his] party,’ which is allied with Hezbollah, in Michigan

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill on May 1, 2024 in Washington, DC.

By

Marc Rod

October 12, 2026

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) told reporters on Monday that Lebanese and Israeli leaders both expressed to him strong interest in the Michigan Senate race, where pro-Israel Republican Mike Rogers faces Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, while he was on a trip to the Middle East last week.

Lankford’s visit to the region included meetings with President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana in Israel.

Berri, he said, made an offhand comment that there was an “extension of [his] party in Michigan that he just initiated.” Berri leads the Amal Movement, a Shia political faction allied with Hezbollah. Michigan hosts one of the largest Lebanese diaspora populations in the United States.

Lankford said that the comment came during a discussion on political dynamics in Lebanon, where Berri was laying out differences between the Amal Movement and Hezbollah, and Berri did not elaborate further. “But quite frankly, myself and my team, when we walked out, we all looked at each other and said, ‘Did I hear that correctly?’” Lankford recounted.

He said that his team agreed that they had heard the same thing.

In Israel, he said that leaders were closely monitoring the midterms, seeing them as having direct impacts on Israel and peace in the Middle East, but had special interest in the Michigan race.

“At the end of the meeting, they would quietly say to me, ‘Tell me what’s going to happen in the Michigan Senate race.’ And it was very interesting that several Israeli leaders were attentively watching that particular Senate race,” Lankford said.

The Oklahoma senator said that Israeli leaders are focused on long-term security relations and maintaining Israel’s relationship with the United States.

“There is a sense that if America pulls away from that long-term relationship with Israel, it hurts both Israeli security and American security [and] empowers Iran,” Lankford said. “That partnership helps everyone in the region and brings stability long term to the region. They’re keenly aware of that.”

Lankford said all three Lebanese leaders with whom Lankford met reaffirmed the need for centralized state power in the Lebanese Armed Forces and police force, and said that they are working toward the “long-term goal” of disarmament of Hezbollah.

“The Lebanese leaders were very clear that they are taking specific actions towards disarmament of Hezbollah as well in displacing them as the military that they are in Lebanon,” he said. Lankford explained that Aoun was able to provide specific examples of locations and operations — specific homes, bunkers and weapons caches — where Lebanese forces have moved in and seized weapons.

“They are actively working through this, but trying to do it at a pace and at a method that they can actually try to get it done without Lebanon going back into civil war, which wouldn’t help anyone in the region — most certainly not the Lebanese people,” Lankford said.

Some Lebanese officials and even certain U.S. government envoys have offered excuses for why forcible disarmament of Hezbollah is not practical or even possible.

But Lankford said that there is a long way to go in the “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon where the Israeli military has begun turning over control to the LAF, including determining what third party will verify Hezbollah’s disarmament and how that process will work. Lankford said that the parties are working to identify a third-country willing to carry out verification.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is set to end its mission at the end of the year.

Asked about the path forward beyond UNIFIL and the potential third-party verification force, Lankford said that it’s clear to him that UNIFIL was not fulfilling its designated mission, given Hezbollah’s ability to arm and build tunnels under the body’s supposed supervision. He said UNIFIL equipment and bases should be transferred to the LAF.

Within Lebanon, he said that opinions were split on whether UNIFIL should leave or remain, but said that Israeli officials were unanimous UNIFIL had failed and should be removed.

He also described the direct military-to-military dialogue between Israel and Lebanon, being facilitated by the U.S., as an “optimistic” step amid broader talks toward a settled border, Hezbollah’s disarmament and stability inside Lebanon. But he said that there was no discussion of the potential for Israeli-Lebanese normalization.

“At this point in time, there’s a lot of finger-pointing, but at least they’re talking to each other while they’re finger-pointing,” Lankford said.

Israeli leaders, he added, emphasized that they have no territorial ambitions inside Lebanon in the long term.

He highlighted the significant ways that Israeli ground operations inside Lebanon have changed the landscape, including finding weapons caches and identifying and destroying sophisticated tunnel systems. He said Israeli officials have also been pressing the Lebanese government and UNIFIL on how such tunnels were constructed without any intervention.

Lankford said he left the region ahead of the deadly Houthi attack on a Saudi airport over the weekend, but had broad conversations with Israeli leaders about confronting the threat from the Houthis and stabilizing Yemen — but not specifically about Israeli support for Riyadh.

Lankford, along with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), introduced legislation to provide expanded security and reconstruction funding for the LAF and Lebanon, but acknowledged that the bill is not likely to pass this year. He said that supporters are looking toward a longer-term horizon for the effort.

Mayor Unmoved

Mamdani brushes off pro-Hamas heckling at Oct. 7 vigil

Zohran Mamdani declined to criticize demonstrators who shouted down a commemoration ceremony he attended for Oct. 7 victims

CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (C-R) attends vigil for Oct. 7 victims on October 7, 2026.

By

Will Bredderman

October 8, 2026

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday shrugged off the protest — which featured jeers of “traitor” at the democratic socialist leader, and chants of “long live Hamas” — that sought to drown out an event he attended the night prior memorializing the victims of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.

The mayor, who rose to power as a fierce critic of the Jewish state, declined at a press conference to denounce or even meaningfully engage with the presence of hecklers who massed in Union Square Wednesday night against a vigil organized by the liberal group Israelis for Peace. Protesters used drums and megaphones to berate the mayor and drown out remarks from speakers.

Mamdani’s statement earlier on Wednesday, which devoted greater space to the death toll in the Gaza Strip than to the atrocities on Oct. 7 that triggered Israeli military action, infuriated mainstream Jewish leaders and drew bipartisan rebuke.

Even so, the statement prompted a wave of far-left outrage online for its condemnation of Hamas, as did his participation in the commemoration.

“I was proud to attend last night’s vigil, as I did last year, to listen to testimonies from family members of those who were killed on Oct. 7, and those who’ve been killed in the three years since, and all of whom united in a vision for peace and an end to the genocide in Gaza,” Mamdani told journalists after an unrelated event in Brooklyn. “As for those protesting me, I am the mayor of New York City, and this is what I signed up for.”

Mamdani shrugged off protests — featuring jeers of “traitor” and chants of “long live Hamas” — that sought to drown out an event he attended last night memorializing the victims of Oct. 7. Read more: https://t.co/IsxYgVBc5N https://t.co/ynDyWiz2q8
— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) October 8, 2026

The mayor remained noncommittal when reporters pressed about city approval for a proposed memorial to the nearly 1,200 killed and 251 taken hostage during the assault, and would not answer why he did not dedicate a polished video on official city channels to the tragedy, as he has repeatedly done for the Palestinian cause. He also did not respond to a question about whether he considered the hecklers to be good-faith actors.

“I think that the statement, the attendance, the meeting, it all speaks to a reckoning with horror and a horror that devastated the lives of New Yorkers three years ago, and it also continues to devastate New Yorkers today,” he said.

ON THE HILL

Republicans squabble over pro-Israel provision in NDAA

Critics falsely assert the provision would merge the U.S. and Israeli militaries or otherwise compromise U.S. sovereignty and control of the U.S. military

Kevin Carter/Getty Images

U.S. Capitol building on July 12, 2026 in Washington, DC.

By

Marc Rod

Emily Jacobs

October 8, 2026

A provision in the draft 2027 National Defense Authorization Act that aims to coordinate and enhance cooperation between the U.S. and Israeli militaries has proven to be a significant source of controversy among Democrats, with even some senior lawmakers who defended the provision on its merits flipping against it under pressure.

And, as Congress will have only months to pass the NDAA when it returns from recess after the November elections, the provision may face some resistance from Republican lawmakers as well — an indication of skepticism of the U.S.-Israel partnership building among the GOP base as part of the debate between hawks and isolationists.

“There’s nobody here who’s more of an ardent supporter of Israel’s right to exist and ability to defend themselves, but I don’t think we should integrate our military with anybody, not even the Bahamas,” Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) told the far-left outlet Drop Site News earlier this year. His office has declined to provide further comment.

Critics falsely assert the provision would merge the U.S. and Israeli militaries or otherwise compromise U.S. sovereignty and control of the U.S. military.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) also expressed opposition to the provision, and claimed that the White House and Pentagon wanted the provision removed from the bill. Neither have expressed such a view publicly, but did not respond to requests for comment.

Some in the far-right online sphere have previously criticized the provision.

Two other senators aligned with the restrictionist foreign policy wing of the party, Sens. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) — who have also generally been strong supporters of Israel — were also noncommittal.

“I know there was a House version that was a little more controversial, but we’ll take a look,” Schmitt told Jewish Insider in late July. His office did not respond when asked if his stance has changed since then.

“Let’s see what happens with the NDAA. That’s going to be a long wait, I think,” Hawley told JI in early August. “I don’t know what version is going to come to us.”

Yet Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN), who has sought a “middle path” on foreign policy between internationalism and restrictionism, while urging Republicans not to label each other “isolationists,” expressed strong support for the provision.

“I think [the concerns are] overblown. That cooperation is important. It’s cooperation that’s always existed,” Banks told JI. “I’m sure we’ll have a thorough debate on that one when it gets to the floor, but having served myself, I know how important that relationship is. Strengthening that relationship is more important than ever.”

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, told JI in August he has not been concerned about Republican opposition to the provision. “I haven’t been worried about that, no,” Wicker said at the time. He declined to answer additional questions on the subject, and his office did not respond to follow-up questions.

FAMILY TRAGEDY

Israeli ambassador’s son seriously wounded in West Bank car-ramming attack

Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said his son ‘needs a miracle’; Neria Leiter’s older brother was killed fighting in Gaza in 2023

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.

By

AJ Rodriguez

September 23, 2026

Neria Leiter, the son of Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, was seriously wounded in a car-ramming terror attack at a West Bank checkpoint on Wednesday, the ambassador confirmed.

Leiter, an IDF reservist in his 30s, was stationed at the Maccabim checkpoint on Route 443 when an assailant accelerated toward a police cruiser and ran over Leiter, according to Israeli police. IDF troops at the scene opened fire and killed the driver.

The assailant was identified as a 29-year-old Palestinian from the nearby West Bank village of Beit Ur al-Tahta.

Leiter was evacuated to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem in serious condition. He was unconscious when emergency responders treated him at the scene, according to Magen David Adom.

The ambassador said following the attack that doctors were “fighting for the life” of his son, who he said “needs a miracle.”

“Neria continued to serve in the reserves after losing his older brother, Moshe Yedidya Leiter, of blessed memory, and has served hundreds of days in the reserves on various fronts since October 7,” the ambassador said.

Neria’s older brother, Maj. (res.) Moshe Yedidya Leiter, 39, was killed alongside three other Israeli reservists in northern Gaza on Nov. 10, 2023. The four soldiers were killed by a blast from a booby-trapped tunnel shaft in the Beit Hanoun area.

A father of six, Moshe was a company commander in the IDF reserves and served as a paramedic. He was studying medicine and was due to begin a hospital training placement.

DIPLOMACY DIARIES

AJC plans ‘diplomatic marathon’ amid U.N. General Assembly in New York

The group plans to discuss a range of subjects including U.S. allies’ decision to sanction Israel

Aryeh Schwartz/AJC

Ted Deutch

By

Marc Rod

September 18, 2026

This week’s upcoming United Nations General Assembly gathering in New York City will serve as the backdrop for a “diplomatic marathon” by the American Jewish Committee’s leadership to meet with representatives and leaders of more than 50 countries — a tradition the AJC has carried on for decades.

On the agenda are a range of subjects, including confronting close U.S. allies that have recently decided to impose sanctions on what they deem to be Israeli-occupied territories, including West Bank settlements as well as east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.

“This is an opportunity to have really meaningful conversations with friends who are standing firmly with us and understand the challenges that Israel faces and are supportive,” AJC CEO Ted Deutch said in an interview at the group’s offices in Washington. “And then we’ll have conversations with countries who have been taking challenging positions, and we have very frank conversations as we will this year in particular when we meet with our friends from the U.K. and Canada and Australia and France.”

He argued that those conversations are critical to discuss the countries’ decisions to impose sanctions on what they deem to be occupied territories, a move he said “damages the prospects for peace” and “plays into the hands of extremists who wish to drive a wedge between Israel and her democratic allies.”

“Democratic allies should be coming together, not drifting apart. Israel is a democratic ally of these countries that plays a critical role in the Middle East’s stability,” Deutch said.

He said AJC had similar “difficult conversation[s]” around U.S. allies’ decision to recognize a Palestinian state. “That’s not just meant to be critical, but actually, to help them understand why this is a bad decision.”

In meetings with Germany and other European allies, Deutch said he also plans to discuss the rise of the far-right AfD party and the risk that “rising extremism” across Europe poses to the Jewish community. More broadly, AJC will discuss antisemitism and efforts to fight it and foster Jewish life around the world.

He said that every country that has a Jewish community has a role in making sure that Jewish communities can gather together without fear, but also that the responsibility extends beyond governments alone.

“We also think it’s important for countries to recognize that this is not something that governments can do on their own, that across the country there are roles for each part of society to play in combating antisemitism in ways that don’t just protect Jews but strengthen everyone’s ability to fully participate in those societies … because it’s consistent with who these countries are in maintaining pluralistic democracies,” Deutch added.

He said conversations with global leaders will also touch on issues within the United Nations itself and its bias against Israel. He said that Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories who has faced repeated accusations of antisemitism from various nations, “makes a mockery of the system as a whole.”

He said AJC also plans to press countries to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its proxies as terrorist organizations, and to continue to support both international and country-by-country sanctions on Iran.

“Let’s also continue to remember what Iran represents and why the world should stand against it, and come together around all of the ways that it can,” Deutch said. “While [it is] appropriate for Congress to have that debate [about military action], Iran is a threat and continues to be a threat, we need to continue to remind people of that.”

Deutch said AJC will have “frank conversations” with countries about the situation in Gaza, while also emphasizing that Hamas has not fulfilled its obligation to disarm under the U.S.’ 20-point peace plan, which is a mandatory step for the peace process to move forward.

“We have to shift the focus back to how to make that happen, and it does start with disarming Hamas,” he said. “It shouldn’t be difficult for the world to rally around the idea that this terrorist group that committed the Oct. 7 attacks should no longer be allowed to be an armed organization that poses a threat. We’ve seen what happens when that was allowed in the past.”

But he said it’s also important to provide support and encouragement and express appreciation to those countries that have continued to stand with Israel and the Jewish community. The week will include meetings with various countries across South America, where AJC is working to promote ties with Israel as well as opportunities for expanding and deepening the Abraham Accords.

Deutch said that AJC will be engaging with some states that could join the Abraham Accords, and will emphasize that they face a shared threat from Iran, as has been demonstrated in recent days by the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.

“The Abraham Accords represents the alternative to that, and represents an opportunity for greater security and greater economic integration and more and better opportunities for the people of the region,” Deutch said.

During the UNGA, AJC will also discuss both internally and externally efforts to engage more deeply with Africa, working to provide opportunities for African countries to experience Israeli innovation and technology and see Israel for themselves.

Deutch and AJC additionally plan to push to strengthen the transatlantic alliance and support Ukraine’s defense. AJC will also host a reception with Jewish community members and diplomats, where the group will award Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative of Gaza for the Board of Peace, with the Madeline and Bruce M. Ramer Award for Diplomatic Excellence.

Both at home and abroad, Deutch said that leaders need to understand and call out efforts to deny Israel’s right to exist, and to understand that such rhetoric “put[s] the Jewish community at risk” and that “engaging in age-old antisemitic conspiracy theories” must be confronted.

Efforts by some political actors to bar Jews and supporters of Israel from the “political mainstream … aren’t just calls that affect the Jewish community, that threaten the Jewish community,” but also “undermine our democracy.”

Standing up to that rhetoric “matters to the future and security of democracies around the world,” well beyond the Jewish community itself, he said.

He called on members of Congress and other leaders to show greater courage and leadership in the face of harassment, bullying and threats that have been directed at supporters of Israel in Washington, and which some members say have led their colleagues to soften their support for the Jewish state.

“That’s what the Jewish community has been facing, and for the Jewish community and for supporters of Israel, the response is not to cower. That’s what the antisemites want. What the anti-Israel forces want,” Deutch said.

“For our leaders — I get it. I was a member of Congress. I dealt with people chasing me around with bullhorns, yelling names at me. I understand what that’s like, and I get that there are threats. That should embolden them, embolden members, embolden leaders to stand up against that,” he said. “Members of Congress aren’t mushy about anything, and they shouldn’t be mushy when it comes to standing up against antisemitism and efforts to undermine Israel’s right to exist.”

analysis

Netanyahu’s U.N. visit presents test for Mamdani and NYPD

The Israeli prime minister’s trip could spark protests and ‘a perfect storm’ of political and logistical complications for Zohran Mamdani and Jessica Tisch

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses world leaders during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on September 26, 2025 in New York City.

By

Will Bredderman

September 14, 2026

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to New York City for the U.N. General Assembly later this month is expected to set up political and logistical challenges for Mayor Zohran Mamdani, one of Netanyahu’s foremost U.S. critics, experts tell Jewish Insider — a challenge that protests, which Mamdani has tacitly encouraged, may only exacerbate.

The Israeli leader is scheduled to arrive in New York on Sept. 23 and address the global gathering the following day, during which time the NYPD’s dignitary protection detail will help ensure Netanyahu’s personal protection, its intelligence and counterterrorism teams will work to secure the gathering as a whole and an array of its officers will manage the Manhattan streets. The department reports to the mayor’s office.

The various law enforcement veterans who spoke to JI all underscored the scale of the department’s annual efforts to head off potential threats to the diplomatic summit, even without this year’s furor around Netanyahu’s attendance, the ongoing conflict with Iran and the proximity to both the Jewish High Holy Days and the 25th anniversary of 9/11.

“It’s a perfect storm of high-intensity events,” said Mitchell Silber, the former NYPD director of intelligence analysis who now serves as CEO of the Community Security Initiative, which helps address safety concerns for Jewish groups in the New York metro area. “At the same time, [the] NYPD is trying to bend over backwards to make sure that freedom of speech is allowed and robust.”

Silber noted that the struggle between the U.S., Israel and Iran has already spawned an alleged bomb plot against a New York synagogue from one of Tehran’s proxies. If recent remarks from Mamdani draw out larger than normal demonstrations, Silber warned such a scenario could create additional issues for both the department and the city’s Jewish institutions.

“They do have a possibility of reverberating, and have a chance of turning those forces and their ire against the Jewish community,” warned Silber, though he added that there was no specific threat. “It’s just going to make the NYPD’s job harder.”

Retired NYPD detective and John Jay College of Criminal Justice adjunct professor Michael Alcazar, meanwhile, recalled a March incident in which dueling pro- and anti-Mamdani demonstrations at Gracie Mansion saw an alleged ISIS acolyte hurl improvised explosives — an example, he said, of the kind of security risks a protest can present. He predicted a beefed-up presence of uniformed officers in the streets following remarks from Mamdani earlier this year, on top of standard security protocols.

“I’m sure the NYPD is expecting a lot more protests because of what the mayor said in support of protesting against Netanyahu,” said Alcazar. “You know his supporters are reading between the lines.”

Mamdani, for his part, has recently stepped up outreach to the Jewish community and vowed to “work tirelessly” for their security, though he has not backed away from his criticism of Israel. Asked in an August interview how he planned to host Netanyahu, he told commentator Joy Reid the city was readying “in the manner that we prepare every year.”

When JI asked the NYPD what special precautions it would take around Netanyahu’s visit, including around houses of worship, the agency provided only a general statement.

“As we do every year, the NYPD works with the Secret Service, the State Department, and other federal agencies to provide protection to foreign dignitaries traveling to New York City based on the level of threat assessed,” the public affairs office wrote in an email to JI.

New York has already seen, however, the result of tensions between a mayor’s political sympathies and executive duties.

In 2014, his first year in office, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio — whom Mamdani has cited as a role model — seemed a rising progressive star, having ascended to office on a platform of law enforcement reform, a cause many Democrats had hesitated to champion. Then Eric Garner, a Black man from Staten Island, died after an NYPD officer placed him in a banned chokehold, and thousands took to the streets. De Blasio was expected to stand with the protesters, but he also ran the police department that was policing them.

The demonstrations swelled into a national spectacle and saw violent altercations between protesters and police, followed by the killings of two officers and cops turning their backs on the mayor during the patrolmen’s funerals. As the situation spiraled, the mayor sought to align himself more with his politically moderate police commissioner, Bill Bratton. But this cost de Blasio much of his credibility on the left, both in New York and nationwide.

De Blasio went on to win reelection, but he lost much of his ability to project political power. His subsequent efforts to influence the direction of the Democratic Party across the state and nation ended in embarrassment.

Mamdani too captured the left’s affections, and ultimately Gracie Mansion, by embracing a scorching political issue his co-partisans had avoided: Israel and its military campaign in Gaza. As a candidate he pledged to arrest Netanyahu, and continued to float the notion long after city lawyers told him it lay outside his power. When he finally acknowledged he lacked the authority to do so, he made the comments in a viral video with the caption, “Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal,” in which he accused the Israeli leader of being a mass murderer responsible for the “maiming” of Palestinian children.

Pressed as to what opponents of the Israeli leader should do about his impending visit to New York, the mayor signaled his support for street demonstrations.

“One of the bedrocks of our city is protest,” the mayor said. “This is a city where, if anyone feels a level of frustration or opposition, protest is something that we will always respect. I leave it to New Yorkers themselves to make that decision.”

What made 2014 “a year of chaos,” according to John Jay lecturer Jillian Snider, was a large number of unpermitted protests with no central organization that drew large crowds and at times escalated into vandalism and violence. She warned that if similar “pop-up” demonstrations broke out during the U.N. General Assembly, it could complicate the work of the department.

“I would hope that a political figure would not encourage these large demonstrations, especially these undocumented events where we don’t have advance notice,” said Snider, who managed protests as an NYPD officer. “Members of the public often are influenced by city leaders. If they really, really, support that leader, they are going to do what that person supports.”

Veteran political consultant Chris Coffey, who counted the city’s largest police union among his clients during the de Blasio administration, noted that Mamdani is a far more agile politician than his progressive predecessor. Further, he argued Mamdani learned from de Blasio’s experience that he cannot alienate the department or allow the appearance of public disorder.

Yet Netanyahu’s visit could prove an exception.

“The one place where it’s a little bit unclear is that the Israel stuff is so personal to him that it might trump that philosophy,” Coffey said. “Or they’ve just decided they can do both, ‘we can condemn Netanyahu, we can encourage protest, and the police department can handle it.’”

But short of “something horrific” occurring during the General Assembly, Coffey argued that intense political polarization around Israel and Mamdani’s fervent personal following would likely allow the mayor to escape any political fallout. He also pointed out that NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch is a strong Israel supporter, and that the mayor has granted her broad latitude in her role as the city’s top cop.

Alcazar and Snider agreed, both lauding Tisch’s independence — with Snider even comparing Mamdani favorably with former Mayor Eric Adams, an ex-police captain who she complained excessively inserted himself into NYPD policy. Both predicted Mamdani’s views on Israel would have little influence on her handling of the U.N. event.

Silber, for his part, urged Jewish New Yorkers not to allow tension around Netanyahu’s visit or General Assembly security to interfere with their participation in religious and civic life.

“Keep calm and carry on,” he advised.

Daily Overtime

Jewish publisher writes off Ossoff

Plus, Josh Kushner and Bob Iger ball out

Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Breakthrough T1D)

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) questions witnesses during a hearing held to examine a future without Type 1 Diabetes with a focus on accelerating breakthroughs and creating hope at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on July 09, 2025 in Washington, DC.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

August 12, 2026

Good 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

A State Department official pushed back on Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz’s comments in southern Lebanon today, where he said the IDF would remain deployed in a security zone, contrary to the agreement signed between Washington, Jerusalem and Beirut.

“The United States expects all parties to act in a manner consistent with the Framework they agreed to, and Israel clearly stated that it has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon. A permanent military presence in South Lebanon is not consistent with the commitments made in the Framework, or the long-term peace and security of both states,” the official told Axios…

Sources told Reuters that Israel and Lebanon have agreed that countries including Britain, Italy, Switzerland and Indonesia could contribute troops to an international force meant to oversee Hezbollah’s disarmament; an Israeli official denied any decisions had been made on the issue…

President Donald Trump continued to boast about the success of the U.S. campaign against Iran, stating again in a post on Truth Social today that the U.S. “has total control over the Strait of Hormuz” and that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is “decimated and fleeing.”

Meanwhile, out of the 166 ships that have transited the strait so far this month — a significant decrease from the average before the war — only two are known to have used the U.S.- and Oman-backed route, according to The Wall Street Journal…

In a rare interview with Western media, top IRGC advisor Mohammad Reza Naqdi told “PBS News Hour” that Iran is prepared to continue hostilities through the end of Trump’s term and accused the U.S. of waging a “war without strategy”…

The New York Times documents the efforts being made by Gulf countries to construct routes to move oil out of the region that do not rely on the Strait of Hormuz…

Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov denied in a post in Hebrew today that there is any financial agreement between the board and Hamas, refuting a report by Israeli public broadcaster Kan that the board would cover Hamas’ debts up to $400 million.

The disarmament roadmap states that the new Palestinian technocratic government will “assess the legitimate commitments to suppliers, contractors and other parties — up to a total amount of no more than $400M — and address them”; Mladenov said in his post that such processes “are not channeled through Hamas” and that “all accounts are open to full scrutiny by the donor governments”…

The publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times, Michael Morris, penned an open letter to Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) today pressing the senator over his repeated votes to block U.S. military sales to Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

“I apologize for being blunt, but please, stop lying to me and your constituents. I hear you claim, over and over again, that you support Israel — that your support is ‘ironclad.’ It is not,” Morris wrote…

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) denied today that the more than $30 million of support she received from AIPAC’s super PAC in her failed run for U.S. Senate backfired, saying on CNN that those who criticize AIPAC “maybe don’t understand what the group is” and that she’s “proud of the friendships and the relationships I have there [and] the really good Americans” who make up its membership…

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is stepping away from her role at the end of the month, Trump announced today, in order to spend more time with her family. The president said Leavitt will now serve as “one of my top outside advisors”…

Josh Kushner, managing partner of the venture capital firm Thrive Capital, and former Disney CEO Bob Iger have agreed to purchase a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Lakers for a record-breaking price of $12.5 billion, JI’s Matthew Shea reports…

⏩ 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 local Jewish political organizing efforts in major cities across the country.

The Hudson Institute will hold an event examining the state of the ongoing conflicts in the Gulf with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Behnam Ben Taleblu and Hudson’s Michael Doran, Ludo Hood and Zineb Riboua.

Stories You May Have Missed

TRUST, BUT VERIFY

Rabbis hope ‘open, honest dialogue’ with Mamdani brings belated change in Israel rhetoric

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a food distribution center on July 27, 2026 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

Mamdani’s antisemitism czar invited a cross-section of rabbis and Jewish leaders broadly sympathetic to the mayor for the candid conversation

Read more

two roads diverged

Netanyahu-Trump daylight over Hamas disarmament reflects diverging interests, election pressures

'At the end of the day, the Board of Peace is a game for Washington, and life or death to Israel,' Danielle Pletka, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told JI

Prime Minister's Office

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on July 28, 2026.

By

Melissa Weiss

August 10, 2026

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said Jerusalem “does not accept the 15-point document” agreed to last month by the U.S.-led Board of Peace and Hamas that would see the eventual disarmament of the terror group and withdrawal of the IDF from the Gaza Strip — a rare public break with the White House, which has touted the plan since it was announced.

In comments to his Cabinet on Sunday, Netanyahu said Israel “would not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed.”

The White House and Jerusalem have largely been in lockstep on issues related to Gaza. The rupture over Hamas’ disarmament is one of the more significant policy breaks between President Donald Trump and Netanyahu.

Trump announced in late July what he described on his Truth Social site as a “HISTORIC” agreement, saying that the parties, through mediation by Qatar, Turkey and Egypt, had achieved a “critical step towards Gaza finally being governed by a new Palestinian government that will work closely with the Board of Peace to help the Palestinian people.”

Jonathan Conricus, a former IDF spokesperson who is now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told JI that the mediating countries benefit from Hamas’ continued rule in the Gaza Strip and have no urgency to press for the terror group’s disarmament.

That lack of seriousness, he added, makes it unlikely that Hamas will take the necessary steps to disarm. “It’s all a show, it’s a charade, a spectacle,” Conricus said. “The only way that Hamas really ceases to control the Gaza Strip is if all of their weapons are handed in — not stored, not temporarily safeguarded somewhere else, but actually handed in, and if that is verified. As long as we won’t see that happening, I don’t think that Israel is going to agree with any charade.”

The agreement released by the Board of Peace states that none of Hamas’ weapons “shall be transferred or handed to Israel or non-Palestinian parties” and they will instead “be decommissioned and stored” by the Palestinian technocratic government in Gaza.

Conricus described the dynamic as “a very unfortunate diplomatic situation” in which Israel is being “presented as the side that is turning down the 15-point deal, [at the same time as] Hamas appears to be getting away with not implementing the deal.”

But Netanyahu’s response, Conricus said, “reeks of petty Israeli politics” and was “much more political posturing for local politics than anything else.”

Danielle Pletka, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told JI that the break between Trump and Netanyahu was “inevitable” — and that Jerusalem and Washington have differing approaches to the future of the Gaza Strip.

“U.S. policy in the region is a circus, with grifters, diplomats, terrorists and a few well-intentioned bit players all making occasional appearances,” she said. “At the end of the day, the Board of Peace is a game for Washington, and life or death to Israel.”

Similarly to Iran, Pletka continued, “Israel is in it to win it. The Trump administration’s intentions are less clear. As a result, there are going to be public breaks, reconciliations and more breaks. Each country will pursue its interests as it sees them. That’s the way it has always been, and it isn’t going to change.”

Netanyahu is also running up against the deadline of the Oct. 27 election in Israel, walking a political tightrope as he aims to preserve his close public ties with the White House while running a reelection campaign.

The Israeli leader, Israel Policy Forum senior analyst Dan Rothem told JI, “is carefully maneuvering between Trump and the constraints of Israeli politics.

“The sequencing in the 15-point roadmap on withdrawal and disarmament does not directly contradict the 20-point plan [Netanyahu] endorsed in October 2025, and Israel was briefed throughout the negotiations,” Rothem said. “Yet three years of a ‘total victory’ narrative, combined with the political pride taken in the IDF’s control of roughly 60% of Gaza, has sharply narrowed his room to maneuver. Publicly rejecting the document lets him signal toughness to his base ahead of elections while still keeping channels open with Washington.”

Rothem added that the on-the-ground reality will matter more than election-season rhetoric. “The public rejection [by Netanyahu] serves clear electoral needs,” he said, noting that Israel had scaled back its attacks in Gaza in recent days following a meeting between Netanyahu and Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov, and that the Israeli Cabinet signed off on the framework for the Board of Peace’s International Stabilization Force.

Daily Kickoff

High stakes in the Great Lakes

Plus, NYPD says antisemitism surged under Mamdani

(Robin Buckson/Detroit News via AP, Pool)

Senate candidates Abdul El-Sayed, left, and Rep. Haley Stevens participate in a televised debate moderated by Roop Raj, Monday, July 27, 2026, in Southfield, Mich.

By

JI Staff

August 4, 2026

Good Tuesday morning.

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover former Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer’s observations on the U.S.-Israel relationship, and report on new statistics from the NYPD that indicate a rise in antisemitic hate crimes since New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani took office at the beginning of the year. We look at the challenges facing Sen. Darline Graham in the GOP primary as she makes a bid for a full Senate term, and cover the more than $1.3 billion in security aid requested by nonprofits in 2026. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Zach Dell, Iranian Chief Rabbi Yehuda Gerami and Christina Paxson.

We also have a new on-demand Live Briefing that you can access throughout the day via our new app (on Apple and Android) and on our website.

Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.

What We’re Watching

It’s primary day in Michigan, Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington state.
In Michigan, Democrats will head to the polls to cast their ballots in the heated Senate race between Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Abdul El-Sayed that has become the latest flashpoint in the party’s debate over its ideological future.
Among the House primaries we’re watching in Michigan: Rep. Shri Thanedar’s (D-MI) effort to hold onto his seat amid a formidable primary challenge from far-left former state Rep. Donavan McKinney; the Democratic primary to take on Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI) in which a leading candidate said it was a “moral necessity” to end aid to Israel; and the race for Stevens’ House seat that has been marred by allegations of antisemitism.
In Missouri, Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO) is facing a rematch against former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), whom he unseated two years ago. Read more about the race here.
Israeli and Lebanese officials are meeting today in Rome for the latest round of U.S.-brokered talks aimed at calming tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border and demilitarizing Hezbollah as the Iran-backed group continues to operate in southern Lebanon.
Iran and Oman are reportedly nearing an agreement on administering the Strait of Hormuz that would see Iran have control over incoming traffic and be able to charge vessels a “service fee” to be split between Tehran and Muscat.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is slated to vote this morning on Todd Blanche‘s nomination to be U.S. attorney general after Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) dropped their opposition following an announcement Sunday night from Blanche terminating the administration’s controversial anti-weaponization fund that had raised some GOP concerns.
The Israel on Campus Coalition’s annual National Leadership Summit concludes this afternoon in Washington. Justice Department Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) are slated to speak today. More below.

What You Should Know

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR

One of the unsettling realities that American Jews have been learning throughout this election cycle is that antisemitic behavior and virulently anti-Israel rhetoric has become so normalized that it doesn’t register all that much politically anymore.

The early tell was discovering that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s involvement throughout his life in extreme anti-Israel activism didn’t impact his ability to win an election in the city with the largest Jewish population in the world.

Then we learned that disgraced former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s Nazi tattoo — which he later covered up — made very little difference in his political standing in the battleground Senate race. It wasn’t until he was accused of rape that rank-and-file Democrats began to reconsider their support of him.

And today we’re grappling with the possibility that Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who won’t acknowledge Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state (like Mamdani before him), could prevail in a Democratic primary in a swing state.

Jews find themselves in the news often these days, and for that reason it makes sense to want to dwell on the extreme, often-antisemitic positions that these radical candidates have espoused.

But as we head into a general election where several far-left candidates will be testing their political viability in competitive states and districts against strong Republican challengers, it’s important to remember that their biggest vulnerabilities are on issues that don’t directly impact the Jewish community.

The reality is that these candidates are politically problematic to the overall public for reasons that go far beyond their views on Jews or Israel. The same Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) platform that rejects a Jewish state and condones terrorism also is one that envisions abolishing prisons and defunding the police and backs open borders.

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

CONFERENCE CIRCUIT

Interests, not values, drive U.S.-Israel alliance, Ron Dermer says

Ron Dermer, Israel’s former minister of strategic affairs, speaks at the Israel on Campus Coalition’s conference in Washington, August 3, 2026 (Courtesy ICC)

Israel’s relationship with the U.S. depends on mutual interests, not shared values, Ron Dermer, Israel’s former minister of strategic affairs, said on Monday at the Israel on Campus Coalition’s conference in Washington. “The problem people have is they romanticize the U.S.-Israel relationship. People think the U.S. has always been a strategic ally from day one,” Dermer said, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.

What he said: “Don’t get me wrong, Israel has shared values with the United States. But that’s not what drives relations between states,” said Dermer. “So you ask me, ‘What’s going to be with the U.S.-Israel alliance long-term?’ Values is not what drives the alliance — It’s actually the interests that make the difference,” Dermer said.

Read the full story here.

SURVEY SAYS

Israeli faith in Trump continues to erode, new poll shows

The INSS survey found that only 14% of Israelis now believe the country’s security interests are a top concern for the U.S. president — down 12 points since earlier this month

AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images

A photograph shows a banner depicting US President Donald Trump with the slogan "The Deliverer" in Jerusalem on April 20, 2026. Iran is not currently planning to attend talks with the United States, state media said, after the US president ordered US negotiators to travel to Pakistan on April 20, just days before a ceasefire in the Middle East expires.

By

Matthew Shea

July 30, 2026

The share of Israelis who believe President Donald Trump is “highly committed” to protecting Israel’s security interests has dropped to a new low, according to a new survey from Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies.

The organization’s July 2026 National Security Survey found that only 14% of Israelis believe the country’s security interests are a top concern for Trump, representing a significant drop from the 35% recorded in March. This continues a downward trend observed as the conflict with Iran drags on, following an Israel Democracy Institute poll released earlier this month that found just 26% of Jewish Israelis believed Israel’s security was a key consideration for Trump – another record low at the time.

The results reflected a broader decline in Israeli faith in Trump, with 60% of respondents indicating that they believe Trump only supports Israel when it serves his own interests, while 23% view him as unpredictable and unreliable on security matters.

The survey also highlighted deep divisions over whether Israel should launch another offensive military campaign against Iran, with 42% of respondents favoring such a move and 46% opposing it.

Public optimism that another military offensive would achieve key strategic objectives remains low.

A majority of respondents, 64%, believed another campaign against Iran would only partially dismantle its nuclear program or fail to do so at all, compared to a combined 29% who believed it would fully or mostly dismantle the program.

Similarly, 65% of respondents said another offensive would yield only partial or negligible results against Iran’s ballistic missile program, while 72% stated that renewed military action would be unlikely to trigger the full collapse of the Iranian regime.

The results represent a major shift from the start of the Iran war, when a large majority of respondents indicated a strong belief that military action would fulfill those objectives. At the onset, 63% of Israelis said they believed Iran’s nuclear program would be significantly damaged or fully dismantled, and 73% held the belief that Iran’s missile program would be severely damaged or taken apart.

LEADER LIAISON

Netanyahu to meet with Trump at White House on Tuesday

The Israeli prime minister, who will travel to Washington on Monday, is also set to attend Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral while in the U.S.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago club on December 29, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida.

By

Haley Cohen

July 24, 2026

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will fly to Washington on Monday, where he will meet with President Donald Trump and attend the funeral of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), his office announced on Friday.

Slated for Tuesday, the Oval Office meeting — Trump and Netanyahu’s first in-person sitdown since the start of the Iran war in late February — comes amid escalating U.S.-Iran hostilities and heightened Israeli readiness for potential strikes from Tehran.

Trump told Axios on Thursday that he’s considering restarting major combat operations in Iran — including strikes larger than those carried out by the U.S. and Israel against Iran before the ceasefire began in early April.

Netanyahu said that “Israel lost one of its greatest friends” after Graham died suddenly on July 11. The South Carolina senator’s funeral is scheduled for Tuesday at the National Cathedral in Washington.

SPACE MAN

The Israeli scientist at the center of Trump’s search for answers on UFOs

Harvard professor Avi Loeb believes his research, which propelled him to the White House, could usher in a ‘new messianic era’

Ilan Fisher

Avi Loeb at the CISO summit at 1440 Multiversity, June 17, 2024

By

Gabby Deutch

July 15, 2026

President Donald Trump has a border czar, a government official leading the crackdown on undocumented immigrants — whom the White House calls “illegal aliens” — crossing the southern border. The president, who likes to go big, now also has a UFO czar, a Harvard astrophysicist who is scanning the cosmos in search of aliens of the science-fiction variety.

It’s a stunning if improbable career highlight for Avi Loeb, the grandson of a Holocaust survivor who fled Nazi Germany and settled in a moshav, a cooperative agricultural community, in central Israel. As a child, Loeb had a lot of time alone with his thoughts — walking around to collect eggs from the chickens, or driving a tractor to the surrounding hills, where he would sit and read philosophy books.

“I was deeply interested in the most fundamental questions of our existence,” Loeb told Jewish Insider in a recent interview.

Loeb still studies life’s big questions, but from a different perspective. A series of small but ultimately life-changing pivots led him to study astronomy instead of philosophy, setting him on the path toward becoming one of America’s best known, and most controversial, scientists.

He now has a new benefactor supporting his quest to discover whether intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe: Trump, who tapped him in June to lead the White House’s new effort on the issue.

“That’s why I’m doing astrophysics, because I was offered things that I couldn’t decline, but at the end of the process it’s like an arranged marriage, and I realized that I’m married to my true love,” Loeb said. “Because in astrophysics we can ask fundamental questions about the universe, which was pretty much what I was aiming to do in philosophy. But I can address it with the scientific method.”

Decades before Loeb would be tapped to lead the Trump administration’s unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) science advisory council — an updated scientific term for what are colloquially known as unidentified flying objects, or UFOs — he got his start in the Israeli military.

Loeb served in the Israel Defense Forces’ elite Talpiot unit, where he pursued a doctorate in astrophysics in order to advance Israel’s scientific research and development needs. After earning his doctorate at Hebrew University, a project he pursued in the 1980s through his military service led him on a trip to Washington, where he met someone who helped him get a job at Princeton. A position at Harvard opened up a few years later. He has been there for 34 years.

At Harvard, Loeb was granted tenure after just three years and spent more than two decades researching major cosmological questions, seeking to understand the formation of the universe and early stars and galaxies. He was named to a Time magazine list of the 25 most influential people in space in 2012. Loeb chaired Harvard’s astronomy department for nine years.

The last decade of Loeb’s career has been less straightforward. His public appearances skyrocketed, even as other astronomers sought to keep him closer to earth. In 2017, an interstellar object — meaning an object that was believed to have come from another solar system — was captured on astronomers’ telescopes for the first time. It had an unusual shape and exhibited motion unlike asteroids or comets. No one seemed able to explain what the object was or where it had come from.

One year later, Loeb and a Harvard colleague argued in a scientific journal that the object was “humanity’s first contact with an artifact of extraterrestrial intelligence.”

Loeb believed the interstellar object was likely an alien craft, a UFO of the science-fiction variety. Except he argued that it was real — or, at least, it could be. The argument he has honed over the past decade, which has now launched him into the president’s orbit, is that astronomers have a duty to explore the possibility that extraterrestrial life might exist, and that scientists should not preemptively shut down the debate. Many other astronomers say he’s tilting at windmills, pursuing a quixotic quest for answers when no evidence exists for his attention-grabbing claims.

“I get attacked from both sides, from people who are skeptics who say we don’t want to look at the data, because there is nothing there. They ridicule the actual dealing with the anomalies that the government talks about,” said Loeb. “Then you have people on the other side who say, ‘We already know the answer, he’s wasting his time, and how dare he even consider other possibilities other than we are being visited by aliens.’”

After decades of silence from the federal government on extraterrestrial matters, Congress held a hearing on UAP in 2022. It came after the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a report that found that UAP posed a risk to national security.

At the hearing, lawmakers explored whether the unidentified objects were drones or weapons from adversaries like Russia or China; whether they were the result of American pilots observing other American technology they did not know about; whether the UAP were really just glitches on radar or camera screens; and, lastly, whether the UAP were extraterrestrial in nature. Scientists have not seen any evidence of aliens.

Whether life exists outside of earth has long been one of the most energizing and heretofore unanswerable questions facing scientists. It has spurred movies and TV shows and books and Reddit rabbit holes. And it has captured Trump’s attention. Earlier this year, he directed the government to release files related to the unexplained objects that have been spotted by military craft.

Loeb thinks that the advisory body he now leads, composed mostly of his Harvard colleagues, stands the best chance of definitively identifying the UAP once and for all. He sees two options: either the group determines that the UAP are a national security threat, which would further American interests — or the body finds that UAP are evidence of an alien civilization. Loeb is not modest about the stakes.

“Altogether I think the partnership between science and government is a blessing. It will bring us to a better place: either improve national security in this context of UAP, or reveal the most important discovery ever made,” he told JI. “This may be a naive expectation, but it could bring cooperation among all humans on earth, and in that sense it will reflect the new messianic era of more peace on earth, but the messiah will not arrive from earth. It will arrive from another star.”

Loeb’s dramatic claims may put him at odds with many of his peers in academia. But he says their immediate skepticism toward his conclusions is “not in tune” with the interests of the public, which he sees as just one area of many where he believes academia is failing the American people. He has also been frustrated to see Harvard tilt towards “a particular political direction,” which he thinks is a mistake. And after the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks in Israel, Loeb watched the university “allow protests to disrupt scholarship,” some of which were antisemitic in nature.

“Definitely something is wrong within academia,” said Loeb.

Despite his frustrations, Loeb remains at Harvard. He publishes fewer academic papers now, and focuses more on blog posts on Medium, but his research has not slowed down. He oversees the Galileo Project, which searches for evidence of extraterrestrial technology. His work has made its way to the highest reaches of the American government.

Next month, he’ll face his biggest audience yet: a Major League Baseball game. He’ll be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at a Houston Astros game in Space City, U.S.A.

DISARMAMENT DOUBTS

American and Israeli officials skeptical as Hamas pledges to hand over governing authority

Officials and analysts warned that Hamas is seeking to cede administrative control of Gaza while retaining its weapons and remaining the dominant force in the enclave

Photo by Moiz Salhi/Anadolu via Getty Images

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem and Director of the Government Media Office in Gaza Ismail Al-Thawabta deliver a press statement following the announcement that the head of the Government Emergency Committee had resigned and the committee had been dissolved as part of the transfer of governance in the Gaza Strip to the National Gaza Administration Committee, on July 6, 2026.

By

Emily Jacobs

Matthew Shea

July 6, 2026

American and Israeli officials expressed skepticism on Monday that Hamas would follow through with its pledge to dissolve its governing body that has ruled Gaza for over two decades.

Hamas announced the dissolution of the “Emergency Committee,” the terrorist organization’s governing body, and the resignation of Mohammed al-Farra as the committee’s chief on Monday. The terrorist group said that it was prepared to transfer authority to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), the technocratic committee established under President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan and overseen by the Trump administration’s Board of Peace.

The announcement did not address whether the terrorist group would disarm, a key facet of the Gaza peace plan. Hamas’ announcement came after the Board of Peace convened a series of meetings last week to advance plans for the NCAG to take over the governance of Gaza.

The Board of Peace said that it was withholding judgment on the announcement, instead vowing to assess Hamas’ “actions, not promises, to meet the critical needs of the people of Gaza.”

“Decisions must be comprehensive with respect to the requirements as set out in the Roadmap for advancing governance, security, and transition in Gaza,” the board said in a statement. “We look forward to the successful conclusion of discussions on this Roadmap, including on the implementation mechanisms necessary to enable the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza to assume full governing authority.”

The board’s statement also noted that the “core principle” of the ongoing peace efforts in Gaza “remains one authority, one law and one weapon,” and reiterated its position that Hamas must disarm. “A genuine transfer of authority must enable the NCAG to exercise its mandate independently, including taking the administrative and governance decisions entrusted to it.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar dismissed the move outright, saying that Hamas had agreed to give up governing control of the Gaza Strip in a largely symbolic overture while sidestepping disarmament calls.

“Hamas’s trick is simple. Hamas’s apparent willingness to ‘make room’ for a technocratic government is designed to prevent its own disarmament,” Sa’ar wrote on X. “Hamas seeks to replicate the ‘Hezbollah model’ in Gaza: a technocratic administration would be responsible for garbage collection and other municipal services, while Hamas would remain the dominant military force.”

“As long as Hamas retains its weapons, any civilian government will of course operate as Hamas dictates,” he continued. “This would allow Hamas to continue oppressing the Palestinian people in Gaza, while pursuing its jihadist war against Israel.”

Sa’ar went on to note that Israel “insists on the full implementation of the Trump plan, with its core principles being the disarmament of Hamas and all other terrorist organizations, and the complete demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.”

Elliott Abrams, who served as Iran envoy under the first Trump administration, similarly expressed doubt about the prospect of Hamas giving up its weapons and influence in Gaza.

“In my view, this is Hamas trying to become Hezbollah,” Abrams told Jewish Insider. “Hamas used to run everything, up to and including garbage collection. They were the government of Gaza. Hezbollah uses a different mode: there is a Lebanese government providing public services, so Hezbollah can just concentrate on being an army and a terrorist group.”

“This offer by Hamas does not suggest that they will disarm, and as Board of Peace chairman [Nickolay] Mladenov has said, without Hamas disarmament there will be zero progress,” he continued.

Steven Cook, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said that he believes Hamas is seeking to retain power and authority in Gaza without having to govern or be held accountable for the new government’s potential shortcomings.

“[Hamas] will cede governing to technocrats who represent no one but will retain its arms to ensure that Hamas remains the center of power and authority in Gaza,” Cook said.

Analysts argued that unless Hamas disarms, the group will remain in power and progress on the president’s Gaza plan will remain stalled. Jonathan Ruhe, a fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, called the announcement from Hamas “fairly meaningless” without disarmament.

“Hamas can proclaim it’s ceding administrative authority to technocrats, but it will retain de facto power in its slice of Gaza as long as it still has a monopoly on violence there,” Ruhe said. “Until and unless Hamas actually disarms, voluntarily or otherwise, anything else the group says or does is fairly meaningless in terms of the peace plan’s vision for stabilization, reconstruction, and new governance in Gaza.”

Ruhe also suggested that Hamas made the announcement in an effort to shift the pressure toward Israel without fulfilling its own commitments.

“The group’s official line is telling. Hamas cynically frames this step as removing the pretext for Israel’s ‘occupation’ of Gaza, even though it knows full well that demilitarization is a two-sided commitment, not a unilateral obligation on Israel,” Ruhe said. “This shows how Hamas wants to cherry pick parts of the Gaza peace plan, in order to put pressure on Israel, but without fulfilling its own commitments to disarm under that same plan.”

Neomi Neumann, an adjunct fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, similarly argued that Hamas is seeking to put the “blame game into an Israel area.”

“I think their [Hamas] message is: ‘We have given up the government in Gaza, and now Israel is on the side of preventing the progress,’” Neumann said. “For Hamas, they understand that if they will stay with the same position. [At] the end of the day, Mladenov will declare [Hamas] as a rejectionist organization, so as a result I think that Hamas is trying to frame the move … in order to survive.”

Neumann expressed skepticism that Hamas would give up its weapons in addition to governance in Gaza, adding that there is a “very low” chance that Hamas changes its mind. However, she said, “you can never say never.”

“We also thought that [Hamas] will never bring back the hostages,” Neumann said. “I think that if the United States and Turkey and Qatar will push Hamas very hard and put pressure on Hamas, they will say they are willing to give up the heavy weapons, but they won’t find it easy to say they are willing to give up their guns because everybody can kill them and in the end of the day they know they need to continue to control the Gaza Strip with weapons.”

Still, she noted that the situation remains a “disaster” from the Israeli perspective.

“From Israel’s point of view, I think it will be a disaster, because they [Hamas] just will get stronger.” Neumann said. “Iran will continue now to give much more money to Hamas. They [Hamas] won’t let any other power to emerge and to get strong, and it will be very complicated.”

LOSING FAITH

Israeli confidence in Trump drops to new low amid Iran negotiations

Trust in Trump dropped 15 points among Jewish Israelis in the last month, though a majority still see tensions between Washington and Jerusalem as temporary

Jack GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images

A billboard depicting an image of President Donald Trump with a message thanking him, is displayed on the side of a building in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv on March 12, 2026.

By

Matthew Shea

July 6, 2026

The number of Israelis who believe President Donald Trump views Israel’s security as a central consideration has continued to fall to record lows after Washington signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran, according to a new survey from the Israel Democracy Institute.

The June 2026 Israeli Voice Index, conducted between June 28 and July 1, found that 28% of respondents — including 26% of Jewish Israelis and 36% of Arab Israelis — believe Israel’s security is a key consideration for Trump.

Among Jewish Israelis, the figure dropped 15 percentage points from a month ago, when 41% of respondents said they felt Israeli security was a key consideration for Trump as his administration engaged in negotiations with Tehran. At the time, those findings marked the lowest levels of Israeli trust in Trump since the research center began tracking the metric when he was elected to a second term in November 2024.

Despite declining confidence in Trump, a majority of Israelis continue to view current tensions between Washington and Jerusalem as temporary rather than indicative of a meaningful deterioration in bilateral ties. Among Jewish Israelis, 54% said current disagreements represent a temporary crisis that will not harm the relationship, while 34% said they mark a longer-term shift for the worse.

Respondents were more divided when asked whether Israel’s strategic security situation was better or worse than it was before the Iran war. Thirty-six percent said Israel’s security situation is now worse, an increase of eight percentage points from April. Meanwhile, 38% said it is better, down six percentage points over the same period.

The survey also found strong support for maintaining an Israeli security zone in southern Lebanon, even if doing so conflicts with U.S. interests. Overall, 72% of respondents backed a permanent security zone in the area. Support was especially high among Jewish Israelis, at 80%, while a majority of Arab Israelis (58%) opposed maintaining a permanent Israeli presence in southern Lebanon.

Beyond military and diplomatic issues, the poll found that rising antisemitism and attacks targeting Israelis abroad were influencing travel decisions. Fifty-six percent of respondents said the threat environment has affected their travel plans, with 41% saying it has impacted where they choose to travel and 15% saying they plan to avoid traveling abroad altogether because of security concerns.

FRIENDLY FISSURE

Israeli Defense Ministry head urges Israelis to understand U.S. perspective amid MOU negotiations

‘We think Tehran, they think Taiwan,’ Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram said of diverging U.S.-Israeli foreign policy at the Herzliya Conference at Reichman University

Israeli Ministry of Defense/LinkedIn

Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram, director general of Israel’s Ministry of Defense, speaks at the Herzliya Conference at Reichman University on July 1, 2026.

By

Matthew Shea

July 1, 2026

The director general of Israel’s Ministry of Defense, Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram, urged Israelis on Wednesday to understand Washington’s perspective as the U.S. and Israel negotiate the next memorandum of understanding, cautioning against judging American policy through a purely “provincial lens.”

“What some in Israel perceive as weakness or folly, an apparent disregard for every warning sign on the ground, is viewed in Washington as cold, calculated and clear-eyed risk management in an era of shifting global attention,” he said at the annual Herzliya Conference at Reichman University.

The divergence between the two allies, he concluded, is not a misunderstanding of the fundamental threat, but rather a byproduct of different national security priorities.

“For us, Iran is an existential threat; for the United States, it is a chronic regional challenge, while China and the Indo-Pacific theater remain the core concern,” Baram said. “We think Tehran, they think Taiwan.”

“At the same time, based on my deep familiarity with the range of views within the American system, if there is one thing Americans hate more than this war that has dragged on for them, it is losing a campaign they have already won,” he added of the conflict with Iran.

Ultimately, Baram asserted that as Washington increasingly operates under an “America First” framework, the historic bilateral relationship must pivot toward concrete, mutually beneficial strategic dividends.

“Our partnership cannot rest on shared values alone. It must also rest on hard interests: a strong, independent, and proactive Israel that stabilizes the Middle East is the very asset that allows the United States to redirect resources toward Asia,” Baram stated. “This is the foundation of the next memorandum of understanding on security cooperation now being formulated. The agreement will need to generate security, economic, and strategic benefits for both countries for years to come.”

The director general also noted that he understands the differing strategic realities in Washington, including a growing American desire to avoid prolonged Middle East entanglements while prioritizing competing global theaters.

“From the Pentagon’s perspective, with American munitions stretched between supporting current wars and preparing for a potential confrontation in the Taiwan Strait, a prolonged war in the Middle East runs counter to America’s global posture,” Baram observed.

Baram emphasized that the war with Iran has fundamentally transformed Jerusalem’s strategic military calculus, warning that an escalating Iranian threat necessitates a sweeping, expanded regional security alliance.

“The war has sharpened, for every actor in the region, the price of Iran’s military buildup,” Baram said. “It has created a shared interest in forging a broader alliance, from India through the UAE to Greece and Cyprus. Israel’s strengths in technology, proven operational experience, and defense innovation, combined with the Gulf’s financial power, could enable a new security-economic front.”

Baram said that building these alternative multilateral partnerships is “not a substitute” for Israel’s bedrock security relationship with the United States. Rather, he argued, the strategy allows Israel to “broaden its room to maneuver and its standing on the international stage, and allow us to diversify our strategic footing.”

TESTING THE WATERS

Van Hollen says he’s considering presidential bid, wants Israel to be 2028 litmus test

The Maryland senator also praised Graham Platner’s Senate candidacy, even as other leading Democrats have kept their distance

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) speaks at a campaign event for Maryland Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

By

Marc Rod

June 20, 2026

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a leading critic of Israel in the Senate, publicly confirmed for the first time this week, after visits to key primary states, that he is considering a 2028 presidential bid — and argued that criticism of Israel should be a key litmus test for the emerging field.

Van Hollen has become an increasingly outspoken and virulent voice against Israel in the Senate and taken trips to states that will play a pivotal role in the 2028 presidential primary, fueling speculation that he is scoping out a presidential run.

“I went to New Hampshire because I was invited, but I would say kind of kicking the tires a little bit,” Van Hollen said on the “On NOTUS” podcast this week.

Asked whether he thinks any Democratic presidential candidate will be viable without criticizing Israel and supporting conditioning aid to the Jewish state, Van Hollen responded, “I think a Democratic presidential candidate should believe in the United States’ foreign policy based on advancing our values and our interests. And if you want to advance our values, you cannot apply one set of standards just to our adversaries and another to our friends and be taken seriously in the world about it.”

“I think any credible Democratic presidential candidate has to be willing to hold the government of Israel accountable when it’s violating human rights and violating international law and violating US interests because the Israeli-Palestinian issue, conflict goes to the heart of so much of the instability that we’ve encountered and paid for in the United States over decades,” Van Hollen continued.

He also argued that any Biden-era officials who don’t “plainly acknowledge how wrong they were and make it clear that lessons have been learned and that they would follow a very different approach” toward Israel should not be able to serve in any future Democratic administration.

Van Hollen also defended Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee who has drawn controversy for his Nazi tattoo, far-left views and numerous scandals and controversies, as “the candidate in that race who is fighting for working people” and “somebody who’s going to shape things up and actually respond to the pocketbook issues of the people of Maine.”

HAIFA HEAT

‘Nobody in the Western world is willing to fight,’ Israeli security expert argues after Trump’s Iran deal

Dan Schueftan said that the agreement has surpassed Obama’s ‘high bar’ for bad diplomatic deals with Iran — undermining Israel and emboldening its enemies in the process

ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images

Explosions erupt following strikes at Tehran Oil Refinery in Tehran on March 7, 2026.

By

Haley Cohen

June 18, 2026

Israeli national security expert Dan Schueftan said on Monday that President Donald Trump’s memorandum of understanding with Iran “proves nobody in the Western world is willing to fight. If we need to get permission from countries like Iran in order to use international waterways then we are in very deep trouble.”

The one exception, according to Schueftan, is Israel, which he called the “only one power in the Middle East that can contain the radicals … the only real power in this region that is committed to fighting the radicals and will fight the radicals.”

Schueftan, the chairman of the National Security Studies Center at the University of Haifa, made the comments while appearing on British journalist Jonathan Sacerdoti’s YouTube show.

Trump “built up the spirit of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Iranians, the Houthis,” Schueftan asserted. The president’s proposal that the terrorist groups disarm was “ridiculous,” continued Schueftan, who said the agreement with Iran has surpassed former President Barack Obama’s “high bar” for bad diplomatic deals with Iran — undermining Israel and emboldening its enemies in the process.

Schueftan’s comments came shortly after the U.S. and Iran reached a tentative agreement to end the recent fighting and enter into talks. The White House shared in a call with reporters on Wednesday the official text of the memorandum of understanding, to establish a ceasefire with Iran, permanently end Israel’s war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, reopen the Strait of Hormuz while ending the U.S. naval blockade and kickstart a 60-day negotiation period on the future of Iran’s nuclear program and the possibility of lifting U.S. sanctions on Tehran.

On Wednesday morning, Trump said that the U.S. would resume military activity against Iran if he did not like the MOU.

The deal could lead to confrontation between Israel and the U.S., Schueftan said. “If Israel responds in Lebanon, we have a major problem with the president of the United States,” he said.

“I don’t believe this will remain because Israel cannot afford tension with the only friend it has on the international arena … this is the worst that can happen from an Israeli point of view,” he continued. “But it will not stop Israel from doing what is vital for the existence of Israel.”

Schueftan further asserted that Trump betrayed and “abandoned” the Iranian people by failing to deliver on his promise that “help is on the way.”

“Israel will survive it, but they were reduced,” Schueftan said. He noted achievements in destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities over the past year and policies adopted after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks.

At the same time, he said, “the challenge now is more serious, therefore Israeli actions will have to be more serious, and I don’t believe Trump will go as far as trying to break Israel.”

From an American perspective, Schueftan continued, such a move would be a strategic error; the U.S., he said, needs to shift its focus away from the Middle East and toward countering China. “Israel should be in a position where it can substitute the United States. When the U.S. leaves the Middle East, you can’t leave the Middle East alone,” said Schueftan.

Exclusive

Ron Dermer to launch strategic advisory firm

The Dermer Consulting Group will work with clients with a focus on the U.S., Israel and the Middle East

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) is joined by Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and other officials for a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon on July 09, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia.

By

Melissa Weiss

June 17, 2026

Former Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer is launching the Dermer Consulting Group (DCG), a Jerusalem-based strategic advisory firm focusing on the U.S., Israel and the Middle East, Jewish Insider has learned.

Dermer, who has long been a part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inner circle, officially departed the Israeli government in November, after twice extending his tenure. He returned earlier this year for what one official in the Prime Minister’s Office described as “reserve duty” amid the renewed fighting between Israel and Iran that began in late February.

Dermer previously served as Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., leaving the posting in 2021 after eight years. He was named strategic affairs minister the following year.

Yarden Golan, who previously served as Dermer’s chief of staff, is a cofounder of the firm and will serve as managing director. Golan, who is based in New York, has his own consulting firm, Golan Consulting, and joined deep-tech investment firm Deep33 Ventures as a venture partner earlier this year.

TOP HONOR

Amir Tibon wins Sami Rohr Prize for dramatic chronicle of Oct. 7

The book details the Tibon family’s experiences on Oct. 7 and examines the history of Israel’s Gaza policy

courtesy

Amir Tibon/The Gates of Gaza

By

Christina Sher

June 16, 2026

Israeli journalist Amir Tibon was awarded the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature on Tuesday for The Gates of Gaza: A Story of Betrayal, Survival, and Hope in Israel’s Borderlands, his harrowing account of survival on Oct. 7.

The Gates of Gaza is Tibon’s first-person account of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks and Israel’s Gaza policies as a resident of the border’s region. On the day of the attack, he, along with his wife and their two young daughters, spent 10 hours hiding in the safe room of their home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, less than a mile from Gaza, as terrorists rampaged through the community.

In the book, Tibon details efforts by his father, a retired major general in the IDF, traveled from Tel Aviv by car to rescue the family, stopping numerous times along the war to assist others and fight groups of terrorists. The Gates of Gaza intersperses Tibon’s accounting of the day, his parents’ experiences and Israeli government policy regarding Gaza over the years.

“The mission of the Rohr Prize has never been more important,” Tibon, a reporter for Haaretz, said, “as we confront a rising tide of antisemitism around the globe and its unique ripples within the world of books and literature.”

The book also received the 2024 National Jewish Book Award, the Wingate Prize and the Bernstein Prize.

After evacuating the kibbutz, Tibon and his family have lived in northern Israel since the attacks.

The awards ceremony, to be held at the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem on July 28, will mark the 20-year anniversary of the prize, which comes with a $100,000 award.

The Rohr Prize honors emerging contemporary writers whose work shows promising continuing contribution to literature in the Jewish sphere. The award annually alternates between fiction and nonfiction.

Nonfiction authors Laura Hobson Faure, Shaul Kelner and Jordan Salama were on the shortlist of finalists for this year’s prize. Winners from previous years include Sasha Vasilyuk for her novel Your Presence is Mandatory, and Oren Kessler for his Palestine 1936.

Conditional Calm

Netanyahu emphasizes Israeli right to self-defense while halting strikes on Iran

The Israeli prime minister said that Israel had finished retaliating against Iran, but would defend itself against further attacks

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on April 7, 2025 in Washington, DC.

By

JI Staff

June 8, 2026

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that, though Israel is “holding its fire” against Iran, Jerusalem has “a full right to self-defense” and is “exercising it to the extent necessary.”

The prime minister warned that if Iran resumes its attacks on Israel, the IDF would respond with “overwhelming force.”

Netanyahu’s statement follows a series of tit-for-tat exchanges between Israel and Iran and its proxies that began with Hezbollah’s fire on northern Israel on Sunday. After Israel struck Hezbollah targets in Beirut, Iran fired a wave of ballistic missiles at Israel, prompting the IDF to strike military targets, as well as a petrochemical facility, in Iran.

Netanyahu also suggested he had pushed back on President Donald Trump’s request for Israel to not respond to Iranian strikes on Sunday. He said he had relayed to the White House the message about Israel’s right to self-defense “with appreciation and respect in my good conversations with my friend President Trump.”

Trump asked Netanyahu on Sunday to keep Israel’s strikes against Iran limited to prevent escalation, once it became clear that Israel would not stand down, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. On Monday, Netanyahu agreed to a second request from Trump to halt Israel’s attacks, sources told the outlet.

FOUNDER NATION

Israeli startup founders receive warm reception at New York Tech Week

Airwallex and Andreessen Horowitz brought 12 Israeli founders to New York to build relationships, pitch investors and learn from their American counterparts

Courtesy

Fusion hosts a New York Tech Week 2026 event.

By

Haley Cohen

June 8, 2026

There’s a mantra in the Israeli startup world that its founders are months behind their American counterparts. New York Tech Week gave them a chance to close that gap, according to investors who descended on Manhattan last week.

Michael Morgenstern, head of startups at financial technology platform Airwallex, which teamed up with Andreessen Horowitz — one of the world’s leading venture capital firms — to bring a delegation of Israeli founders to tech week for the first time, told Jewish Insider that VCs are looking to see more AI products come out of Israel, which historically has been security focused.

“It would be interesting to see an AI lab out of Israel,” he said. “Why haven’t we seen an OpenAI or Claude, something of that status, coming out of the Israeli ecosystem? It makes me wonder if we are stagnating as an ecosystem. So exposing the Israeli market to what’s going on on the ground gives Israeli entrepreneurs the chance to get months ahead.”

“The mantra in the Israeli startup market right now is that Israeli founders and entrepreneurs are nine months behind the Americans,” he continued. “So if we can fly them here, make sure that people with low budgets — that will soon have high budgets — come to the U.S. and get on the ground, they’re going to get back to Israel with a whole new set of insights that are going to prepare them and be on par with the American companies versus the ones in Tel Aviv.”

“So it’s a very strategic play for them to come, get the experience and do the pitches. Ultimately, the U.S. is the ultimate market for most Israeli founders so if we can be the corridor at Airwallex and I can be the shepherd, it’s a delight to do so,” he said.

The 12 Israeli founders included in the delegation said they felt widely embraced at last week’s New York Tech Week, overwhelmingly saying that they felt no need to hide their roots.

“I feel I can be openly Israeli in the U.S. — specifically at tech week,” Aviv Shamny, founder of Limy AI, an Israeli startup that helps brands and products show up on AI search engines, told JI. “I didn’t feel any antisemitism at all at tech week.”

Shamny, who recently moved to the U.S. from Israel to grow his company — and served in combat following the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks — said the idea for his startup “came to me in the trenches of war.” For the past year, Limy has been part of A16Z Speedrun, an elite, highly competitive 12-week startup accelerator program operated by Andreessen Horowitz.

“People are really hustling,” said Morgenstern. “Last week was Boston tech week, next week is London. New York is the primo one. People are enjoying it. It’s decentralized as there’s what feels like thousands of events all over the city for every stage and profile.”

Morgenstern led several events throughout the week, including taking founders who recently moved to New York in a helicopter to give them their first tour of Manhattan. “We did a pitch in the air called ‘Up in the Air with Airwallex,’” he said, adding that amid historic rates of antisemitism, “I’ve only heard positive things from Israelis meeting with non-Israelis.”

The Israeli delegation consisted of entrepreneurs launching new startups — many of whom declined to speak with JI due to their companies’ stealth status.

“It was a very selective process,” said Morgenstern. “There were hundreds, if not thousands, of applications. Andreessen Horowitz picked the founders, and we’re strategic partners with them. We’re the ones supporting the founders with their banking and corporate operations. This is the first time we’ve done this and we plan on doing it again.”

Much of the A16Z delegation is composed of deeper infrastructure companies, working on AI tools, cybercompanies, fintech and defensetech.

“Historically, cyber is what Israelis have been known for, but it’s interesting to see the early-stages people try to zig when everyone’s zagging and look a little different to stand out,” said Morgenstern. “So an Israeli founder doing a consumer company, selling to individuals is very unique. Healthcare and fintech also. We’re also seeing some big rounds happening. A lot of Israeli teams are raising $10, $20, $30 million-plus out of stealth mode. It’s interesting they don’t want anyone to know what they’re doing, but at the same time they’re raising a lot of money and growing their balance sheet. From my seat in the VC land, I see an incredible demand and the resilience of Israelis right now is showing why they’re such an investable asset.”

“Generally, Andreessen Horowitz has a unique stance,” said Shamny, who was not part of the A16Z delegation since the firm has already invested in his company.

“On one hand, they don’t take sides, they take the side of innovation. They see Israel as one of the main innovation hubs and are really doubling down on it. We’ve been getting positive feedback from the firm. I do think this contributes to us being able to position ourselves as still the startup nation, regardless of all the antisemitism going on in the world. I think the war — regardless of what is wrong and what is right — has been impactful on Israel’s presence and what people think about us as Israelis. Andressen’s push toward Israeli innovation has been helpful in positioning ourselves.”

“As Israelis we are very proud to take part in this unique group of people and companies. It’s fun to be a part of.”

Yair Vardi, an Israeli American venture capitalist and founding partner of Fusion, Israel’s leading pre-seed fund, produced several events during tech week.

“I didn’t see reluctance to work with Israelis this week,” Vardi told JI. “On the contrary, New York is the home to over 400 Israeli startups. In the last few years, New York has become even more attractive for Israeli startups. I don’t see that changing even with politics. New York is home for the stock exchange and many Fortune 500 companies and a big Jewish community. [Israelis] aren’t happy with the new mayor [Zohran Mamdani], but I don’t think it pushes them not to come. This week we saw the numerous delegations coming out of Israel [including the one from] A16Z. I’ve attended a dozen events with Israeli entrepreneurs, from cybersecurity to legal and finance,” said Vardi.

A jam-packed week of networking ended with a Friday night Shabbat dinner organized by Brex and Tech Tribe, a New York-based community for Jews in tech and digital media, part of the Chabad Young Professionals network, founded by Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone.

“We try to create a Jewish community for people who work in startups and try to give them the tools and skills they need for what they create,” Lightstone told JI. “We constantly have conversations around the intersection of technology and Judaism; can you ask halachic questions to ChatGPT instead of a rabbi, those types of things.”

“New York Tech Week is something that has grown over the past couple years in general,” he said. “The city is booming with excitement and energy, much more than previous years.”

“Jews in tech have woken up and realized they have to really represent it, to go out there and say I’m Jewish, I have Jewish values and I’m proud of it. In the past three years we’ve seen a lot of that, and this week has been an expression of that,” said Lightstone, who hosted the first Tech Week Shabbat dinner just weeks after the Oct. 7 attacks. “At the time, it was a very cathartic experience for everybody to be together and feel comfortable when people were very on edge and felt they couldn’t speak in the workplace,” he said.

“There have been incidents of antisemitism in tech since Oct. 7, especially in the big companies. They didn’t always handle antisemitism well. They’re very careful with [diversity, equity and inclusion], but when it came to Jews [they] were lacking,” continued Lightstone.

About 100 VCs and founders attended the Shabbat in downtown Manhattan, which Lightstone called an opportunity for an “un-networking experience to connect and unwind from the week.” Guests were served arak and whiskey made by the Israeli startup Verstill, which utilizes AI technology in its spirits creation and maturation process, and Israel’s Jezreel Winery sponsored the wine. American Friends of Reichman University co-sponsored the meal.

Ahead of the dinner, Noga Sapir, the founder of a mental health startup called Reflect, who came from Israel for her first New York Tech Week, told JI the week was “great.”

“I’m fundraising right now so I’ve been looking at the events where founders and fundraisers meet,” she said. “I did have concerns [coming as an Israeli] but I was completely embraced. There has not been one person that when I told I’m Israeli didn’t say that’s amazing and awesome. I think because Israel is such a powerhouse for tech companies, people in the startup environment have come to expect an Israeli presence.”

ANALYSIS

Netanyahu’s inner security circle faces transition at pivotal wartime moment

The departures of key security advisors have left the longest-serving prime minister in the country’s history arguably more alone than ever

POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives for a press conference in Jerusalem on March 19, 2026.

By

Gili Cohen

May 29, 2026

For years, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has relied on a small, passionately loyal inner circle of advisors — Ron Dermer foremost among them — to provide a sounding board on some of the country’s thorniest security matters.

Now, with Dermer (mostly) gone, new elections looming and Israel fighting a multifront war and isolated on the world stage, that inner circle is nearly empty. And the departures of key security advisors have left the longest-serving prime minister in the country’s history arguably more alone than ever.

The position of head of Israel’s National Security Council has been unfilled on a permanent basis since October 2025, when Netanyahu dismissed Tzachi Hanegbi from the role. It is currently held in an acting capacity by Gil Reich, a former senior official at the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission, who will move to a different role within the defense establishment on Monday.

Just a day later, the director of the Mossad, David Barnea, will also step down after completing a full five-year term. He is set to be replaced by Netanyahu’s military secretary, Gen. Roman Gofman.

However, in the Israel of 2026, nothing is straightforward. High Court justices must soon rule on whether Gofman’s sensitive appointment for the Mossad will be approved. This comes after the head of the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee — the Israeli version of a Senate hearing for high-ranking civil service roles — opined that Gofman’s appointment was flawed on ethical grounds.

Netanyahu believes Gofman has been wronged, and that right now, amid a “seven-front war,” as he noted in a recent press release, this appointment is critical.

But Gofman’s departure will mark a farewell to one of Netanyahu’s closest advisors and currently the most influential security figure in his orbit — and at a time when Netanyahu’s post-Oct. 7 relationship with the military echelon remains exceptionally complex.

”The role of the national security advisor and head of the NSC is critical and central for shaping, planning and overseeing the execution of Israel’s national security policy,” Eyal Hulata, who served as head of Israel’s NSC from 2021-2023, told Jewish Insider.

“The fact that the prime minister is not appointing a replacement for this role is, unfortunately, yet another example of a disregard for organized staff work and another blow to the professionalism required when working with the defense establishment,” Hulata continued. Sources close to the prime minister told JI that Netanyahu intends to fill these soon-to-be-empty positions shortly.

So, who are the candidates for head of the Israeli NSC? According to sources familiar with the matter, there are two front-runners: Reuven Azar, Israel’s ambassador to India, and Col. (res.) Gabi Siboni, a hawkish commentator on military strategy.

Azar, who previously served as Netanyahu’s foreign policy advisor, was involved in the brokering of the Abraham Accords and is considered a highly professional diplomat. As President Donald Trump has made a priority of advancing the Abraham Accords 2.0, now with additional countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Azar’s experience could be an asset to the NSC.

Siboni is a military strategy expert who frequently provides commentary in the Israeli media, and is known for his hawkish views. He has a significant vulnerability, however: He is close friends with former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, who is running against Netanyahu in the upcoming elections.

An Israeli source who worked for the current government claimed that while Netanyahu has other candidates in mind to be the next NSA, they don’t stand a real chance. “There are a little over three months left until the elections in Israel. Stepping into such a role when you know your tenure is about to end simply makes no sense,” the source told JI. “Moreover, Netanyahu is deeply suspicious when it comes to choosing the people he lets into his inner circle.”

Until recently, Netanyahu could rely on his loyal confidant Ron Dermer to serve as a de facto national security advisor, even though he held the title of minister of strategic affairs. Dermer left the role this year after an exhausting stretch of public service, but Netanyahu continues to invite him to security briefings, including highly classified ones.

While the Prime Minister’s Office promises that the vacant positions will be filled soon, Netanyahu likely won’t be looking for another trusted figure like Dermer. Instead, he will be seeking someone like the Israeli version of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, an official who can juggle multiple roles at the same time without causing the boss any political headaches.

ON THE HILL

House hearing spotlights antisemitism from healthcare unions

A cardiology fellow lamented that his union is engaging in systemic discrimination against Jews and Israelis, while he’s forced by federal law to help fund it

SCREENSHOT

Dr. Jacob Agronin speaks at the House Education & Workforce subcommittee hearing on May 20, 2026.

By

Marc Rod

May 21, 2026

Speaking at a House Education & Workforce subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, a doctor accused his union of engaging in systemic discrimination against Jewish and Israeli health providers, supporting terrorist sympathizers and making “its obsession with a single geopolitical conflict a defining future of its identity” — all while he’ll be forced by federal law to fund it.

Dr. Jacob Agronin, a cardiology fellow at a major medical institution in Philadelphia, testified alongside several other experts on antisemitism at a hearing focused on anti-Jewish hate in the medical field — which both Jewish medical providers and patients report as a growing problem since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.

The hearing focused in particular on the role of healthcare worker unions, such as the Committee of Interns and Residents, of which Agronin is set to be a member, in spreading antisemitism and their failures to stand up for Jewish union members.

CIR has adopted a series of resolutions condemning Israel for genocide and calling for divestment from Israel, including “human capital.” The organization has also offered its institutional support for a physician who expressed support for Hezbollah and for anti-Israel Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil.

“CIR has formally recommended that hospitals exclude my Israeli colleagues from employment, and then compels dues from those same colleagues to fund that position,” Agronin said. “If any employer in this country adopted that policy, we would call it what it is: discrimination.”

He said that members of the union feel afraid to speak out. Agronin also emphasized that his salary, which will help fund the union, comes in part from Medicare graduate medical education funding.

Eveline Shekhman, the CEO of the American Jewish Medical Association, said that her organization is encountering a new era in which “Jew hatred hides behind the guise of anti-Zionism.”

“We are seeing calls to fire Jewish doctors, the praising of terrorist groups in and outside of clinical settings, the refusal to treat patients because of their faith, national origin or Zionist identity, and the demand that Jewish colleagues renounce Israel as a condition of workplace acceptance,” Shekhman said. “This is antisemitism, this is discrimination, and it is a distraction. It has no place in medicine.”

Any disruption to the clinical environment can impact patient care, she said.

She added that employees should be able to rely on their unions to support them when their employers fail to do so in such an environment, but that many unions themselves “have created an environment where Jewish professionals no longer feel welcome” and where they are forced to fund such activities with which they disagree.

In addition to CIR, Shekhman said the National Nurses Union has also been advancing anti-Israel activity, including providing a guide for members to bring anti-Zionism into the clinical setting, where Shekhman argued such activity is irrelevant and has no place.

Deena Margolies, an attorney for the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, said that efforts like these from healthcare unions place Jewish and Israeli professionals “in an impossible position: The union that is supposed to represent them is also helping to create the hostile work environment they must endure.”

“Antisemitism can be dressed as labor solidarity or political language, but the effect is the same. Jewish and Israeli healthcare professionals and patients are treated as morally suspect and unable to participate fully yet equally in clinical settings,” she continued.

Agronin told Jewish Insider after the hearing that there is a “fairly silent majority” that opposes the actions the union is taking but is afraid of backlash if they speak out.

Shekhman told JI that she appreciated that all of the lawmakers expressed concern about the trend of antisemitism in healthcare, and said that that is a promising sign of possibilities for progress going forward.

She said that lawmakers’ support can be helpful when working with institutions to address these issues, and said that the hearing can be the first of “a lot more conversations that need to be had.”

Agronin emphasized that “it’s not just a Jewish issue. This is really an issue that affects all Americans.”

“This is discrimination, as it would be for any other group of people by race, sexual orientation, national origin, anything,” he said. “None of us want to be forced to pay even a single dollar to this organization, especially when it … certainly doesn’t serve our interests — actually quite the opposite. So, I’d hope that there’s some solution to have an option for those that want nothing to do with unions.”

Throughout the hearing, Democrats questioned the motivation of the inquiry, accusing Republicans of weaponizing antisemitism as a cudgel against union organizing generally.

“It is irresponsible and unproductive to take the words and actions of a few and broadly categorize labor unions as fostering discrimination,” Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), the ranking member of the subcommittee, said.

Jamie Beran, the CEO of the progressive Jewish group Bend the Arc, testified that antisemitism in the healthcare setting is “heartbreaking” and “leaves many Jews feeling isolated and unsure who to trust.” But she also attacked the Trump administration and descriptions of labor unions as institutionally antisemitic.

“The Trump administration is using Jewish safety as a pretext for policies that endanger our neighbors and our democracy, and as a Jewish leader, that angers me,” she continued. “Unions and professional organizations are engaged in the same debates happening across America. These disagreements are not inherently illegal antisemitism or harassment. … [T]o smear the institutions themselves as antisemitic because of what some members say is politically motivated. It’s gross governmental overreach to constitutionally protected speech among adults.”

Beran also condemned the administration for cutting funding for the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights, and for restricting abortion access.

Shekhman and Agronin insisted to JI after the hearing that the issue should be a nonpartisan one, and that they’re not targeting unions broadly. Shekhman emphasized that it’s a “patient care crisis issue” that impacts all Americans, regardless of their background. And Agronin said he did not believe that similar behavior would be tolerated if other groups were being targeted.

Shekhman said she did not have the opportunity during the hearing to emphasize the “true impact of BDS on healthcare overall” — including a loss of access to research, technology and collaboration across a range of different areas, as well as losing the support of Israeli physicians.

She said that lawmakers and the public may not understand the scope and volume of the problem: in the past two weeks AJMA received 26 incidents of various natures, from a car being vandalized with a swastika in a hospital parking lot to a kippah being knocked off. And, she continued, most of the victims are afraid to discuss the issue publicly.

Agronin said that CIR’s protestations that it is anti-Zionist rather than antisemitic are a ruse, and that “anti-Zionism is 1940s Jew hatred that’s rebranded for the 21st century.”

DIPLOMACY DIARIES

Israeli, Lebanese officials to continue peace talks at State Department

The parties concluded all-day talks on Thursday with no further developments and plan to reconvene on Friday

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2nd-R), accompanied by U.S. State Department Counselor Michael Needham (C), and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (R), speaks as they begin working-level peace talks with Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter at the U.S. State Department on April 14, 2026 in Washington, DC.

By

Emily Jacobs

May 14, 2026

Senior Israeli and Lebanese officials will reconvene on Friday at the State Department to continue peace talks, a State Department official said, after the parties concluded the first day of negotiations in the third round of the U.S.-led talks on Thursday with no further agreements secured.

The official said in a statement, “We had a full day of productive and positive talks that lasted from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. We look forward to continuing this tomorrow and hope to have more to share then.”

Israeli and Lebanese officials did not speak to the media on their way out of the Harry S. Truman Building, though all parties are expected back at the State Department headquarters at 9 a.m. ET on Friday to resume talks.

The talks come three days before the three-week ceasefire which was extended during the second round of talks late last month is set to expire.

Participants on Thursday included U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee; Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter; Brig. Gen. Amichai Levin, the IDF’s chief of strategy; Brig. Gen. Erik Ben-Dov, the acting Israeli military attaché in the U.S.; Yossi Draznin, Israel’s deputy national security advisor; U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa; Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadah; Simon Karam, Lebanon’s former top envoy to Washington; and Brig. Gen. Oliver Hakmeh, Lebanon’s military attaché in Washington. U.S. State Department Counselor Michael Needham, a close Rubio advisor, was also present, as were other senior Israeli military representatives.

Ahead of Thursday’s talks, Lebanese officials told the Associated Press that their main objective was to get their Israeli counterparts to agree to a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of IDF forces from Lebanese territory, and that they would address the domestic political issues in Lebanon surrounding Hezbollah’s disarmament after that.

Israeli officials, on the other hand, have described disarming Hezbollah as a necessity to furthering an agreement with Lebanon.

As was the case with prior rounds of talks, representatives for Hezbollah were not invited to participate. The terrorist organization has condemned the Lebanese government for engaging directly with Israel and refused to participate in the U.S.-led ceasefire.

President Donald Trump said while announcing the three-week ceasefire extension that he would not prevent the Israelis from responding if under threat by Hezbollah, and the parties have continued to exchange fire regularly throughout the ceasefire.

The president also expressed his hope that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun would meet in person during that three-week period, a prospect which Aoun has thus far continued to reject.

CROSSED WIRES

Netanyahu made secret wartime visit to the UAE

The prime minister’s office said Netanyahu’s meeting with MBZ ‘resulted in a historic breakthrough’; the UAE called the report ‘entirely unfounded’

POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives for a press conference in Jerusalem on March 19, 2026.

By

Matthew Shea

May 13, 2026

The United Arab Emirates denied a report by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Wednesday that the Israeli leader secretly traveled to the UAE during the war with Iran to meet with Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed, which would have marked the first known meeting between the two leaders since the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020.

The Prime Minister’s Office said that the meeting “resulted in a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.” However, the UAE’s ministry of foreign affairs released a statement hours later calling the claims “entirely unfounded.”

“The United Arab Emirates denies reports circulating regarding an alleged visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the UAE, or receiving any Israeli military delegation in the country,” the statement read. “The UAE reaffirms that its relations with Israel are public and conducted within the framework of the well-known and officially declared Abraham Accords, and are not based on non-transparent or unofficial arrangements.”

According to Ziv Agnon, who was Netanyahu’s chief of staff until early April, bin Zayed picked Netanyahu up in his own car and drove him to the palace.

During the conflict in Iran, Israel and the UAE have seen a marked increase in military and intelligence cooperation. Mossad chief David Barnea also quietly visited the UAE at least twice over the course of the war with Iran to directly coordinate regional security strategies, sources told The Wall Street Journal.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed this week that Jerusalem dispatched an Iron Dome missile-defense battery to the UAE along with Israeli military personnel to operate it in order to shield the Gulf nation from Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks.

Two Israeli jets landed in the city of Al-Ain in Abu Dhabi in late March, according to flight radars, and headed back to Israel after an apparent four-hour visit.

The Israeli and Emirati leaders also reportedly met in secret in 2018, two years prior to the signing of the Abraham Accords.

HEATED BACKLASH

Israeli officials, AJC slam Nick Kristof’s NYT column as modern-day ‘blood libel’

Kristof, citing testimonies from victims, alleged that Israeli security forces and settlers committed sexual abuse against Palestinian prisoners; critics argue he relied on Hamas propaganda

Victor Boyko/Getty Images for Aurora Humanitarian Initiative

Nicholas Kristof speaks at the "Global Pulse Check" during the Humanitarian Summit and 2025 Human Rights and Humanitarian Forum at the UCLA Luskin Conference Center on May 07, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.

By

Matthew Kassel

May 13, 2026

Nicholas Kristof’s New York Times column alleging widespread Israeli sexual violence against Palestinian prisoners was certain to generate intense debate and scrutiny, given the sensitivities involved in covering such a highly charged subject.

But after it was published on Monday, his opinion piece, headlined “The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians,” has faced particularly heated backlash, including accusations of antisemitism and claims Kristof relied on discredited sources to advance his message.

Kristof, a veteran Times opinion columnist who has frequently reported on atrocities in far-flung locales, argued that Israeli leaders have ignored what he calls a well-documented pattern of sexual violence against Palestinians, even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “rightly” beseeched “civilized leaders” to “speak up” after Hamas was found to have engaged in a campaign of gender-based rape and brutalization targeting women during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

Citing recent interviews with 14 Palestinian victims, including men and women, some of whose accounts he says he corroborated, Kristof relays a number of graphically detailed stories implicating members of the Israeli security forces and settlers whom he claims have escaped accountability.

Despite the direct testimonies he presented, critics have countered with a range of rebuttals, claiming that he drew a false equivalence between Israel and Hamas, that his column overstated the existence of alleged misconduct and that his broader assessment rests on questionable data and sources that weaken his central thesis.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who was quoted in the column as saying he was not surprised to hear about accounts of sexual violence, also wrote in a statement to the Times obtained by the journalist Eli Lake that “the positioning” of his comments “after pages of such allegations misrepresents my views.”

Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Ministry, in a social media post on Monday, dismissed Kristof’s column as “one of the worst blood libels ever to appear in the modern press,” saying it “will fight these lies with the truth.”

On Tuesday, echoing others who took issue with the column, the ministry said that Kristof had referenced a report by a Geneva-based NGO, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, whose founder “has documented ties to senior Hamas leaders,” raising questions about the accuracy of its conclusion that Israel uses “systematic sexual violence” that is “widely practiced as part of an organized state policy.”

The American Jewish Committee also expressed concerns about Kristof’s decision to cite allegations that Israel had trained police dogs to rape Palestinian prisoners, a claim that critics have rejected as a thinly sourced conspiracy theory. The AJC, for its part, said the allegation represented “a modern-day blood libel in the ‘paper of record.’”

“Allegations of abuse toward Palestinians deserve serious, rigorous investigation,” the organization wrote in a social media post on Tuesday. “Yet this piece, while opinion, appeared to be presented as an investigative report and fell alarmingly short of that standard while amplifying inflammatory narratives that have real-world consequences in a time of surging hatred toward Israelis and Jews worldwide.”

Kristof, who has defended his column in several social media posts, questioned “those who say that canine rape is impossible, despite the many Palestinians who have described it.”

“I’d note that at least three different medical journal articles discuss rectal injuries in humans from anal penetration by dogs,” he wrote on Tuesday. “Sigh.”

In a separate post after publication, Kristof voiced appreciation for “the intense interest in” his column. “For skeptics, why not agree on Red Cross and lawyer visits for the 9,000 Palestinian ‘security’ prisoners?” he replied. “If you think these abuse allegations are false, such monitoring visits would be protective. So why not?”

He also dismissed a viral but unverified social media post alleging Times discussions about “retracting” the column as “completely untrue,” a response backed up by the newspaper itself.

“There is no truth to this at all,” a spokesperson for the Times said in a statement posted to social media, adding that Kristof “traveled to the region to report firsthand on the stories of Palestinians who suffered abuse, and his article collects accounts in the victims’ own words, backed by independent studies.”

The Times did not respond to a request for comment from Jewish Insider regarding other reactions to the column and how or if it is now weighing the criticism.

Haviv Rettig Gur, an Israeli journalist, criticized the column as “obvious propaganda,” but acknowledged that “there really is abuse” that Israel must confront.

“The problem is real,” he said in a lengthy post. “It’s far smaller than they claim, but real nonetheless. And when discipline and morality break down, it can only get worse. We either crack down now or we watch it fester and grow.”

He also noted that the column had overshadowed a comprehensive new report, released on Tuesday by an independent Israeli group, concluding that Hamas had committed “systematic” and “widespread” sexual violence on Oct. 7 as part of a “calculated strategy.”

The Times spokesperson said in a statement that the report “had no bearing on” Kristof’s “opinion column or its publication timing.”

Michael Cohen, a pro-Israel political commentator based in New York City, argued in social media post that “two things can be true at the same time.”

“Kristof’s piece properly highlighted the horrible prison conditions for Palestinian detainees in Israel (which are well documented) while also leaning into arguments (the dogs’ story in particular) that are based on weak evidence from unreliable sources,” he wrote on Tuesday. “Lots of people are focusing on the latter and ignoring the former — and vice versa.”

“I know it’s verboten on this website (or elsewhere) to suggest nuance in anything related to” Israelis and Palestinians, Cohen added, “but that’s usually where the truth lies.”

ON THE RECORD

Iran war is ‘not over,’ Netanyahu tells ’60 Minutes’

‘We've degraded a lot of it. But all that is still there, and there's work to be done,’ the Israeli prime minister told CBS

Screenshot

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in CBS “60 Minutes” interview with Major Garrett

By

Marc Rod

May 11, 2026

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a CBS “60 Minutes” interview on Sunday that the war against Iran is not yet over, in spite of the weekslong ceasefire and assertions by the U.S. administration that the operations that began in February have concluded.

In the interview with Major Garrett, Netanyahu also reiterated his call to end direct U.S. financial aid for Israel over the next 10 years.

Netanyahu said that, while the joint U.S. and Israeli operations in Iran accomplished much, the war is “not over,” with nuclear material still in Iran, and certain Iranian enrichment sites, proxies and ballistic missile efforts surviving.

“We’ve degraded a lot of it. But all that is still there, and there’s work to be done,” he said, adding that any diplomatic agreement with Iran should address all of those areas. Netanyahu said that he would be happy to see an agreement, if it covers those areas, but that both Israel and the United States are prepared to re-engage militarily if it does not.

The Islamic Republic regime, he added, is at its “weakest point” but “it’s not over.” Asked whether there is anyone on the Iranian side capable of negotiating a durable deal, Netanyahu declined to disclose his views publicly, but said he had shared his opinion with Trump.

Netanyahu denied reports that he had assured Trump prior to the beginning of the war that the Iranian regime would fall.

“[We] both agreed that there was both uncertainty and risk involved,” Netanyahu said. “And I remember … I said, and he said that there’s danger in action, in taking action. But there’s greater danger in not taking action.”

Addressing a question about the physical condition and influence of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who was reportedly seriously wounded at the beginning of the war and has made no public appearances since, Netanyahu said, “I think he is alive.”

“What his condition is, it’s hard to say,” Netanyahu said. “You know, he’s holed up in some bunker or in some secret place and he’s, I think he’s trying to exert his authority. I don’t think he has the same authority that his father had … that’s also creating the disruptions in the regime.”

Asked whether the U.S. and Israel had underestimated the likelihood that Iran would close the Strait of Hormuz, he said that they came to understand the issue over the course of the war. But he argued that Tehran’s decision to close the Strait has proven costly for Iran, in light of the U.S.-imposed blockade.

He also declared that Iran would have had a nuclear weapon now, or within two months, if Israel and the U.S. had not carried out their operations in 2025 and 2026.

“The most pointed success is knocking out 20 top nuclear scientists who were working on the atomic bombs to be used against Israel, America and anyone else,” Netanyahu said.

🇮🇷WATCH: Iran might already have a nuclear bomb, had Israel not launched its two military operations, Israeli PM Netanyahu said on his "60 Minutes" CBS interview.

Read more here: https://t.co/ABBvkCPGHp pic.twitter.com/chDlNiYKeB
— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) May 11, 2026

“I think taking out that amount of know-how — it doesn’t eliminate the know-how but it sets them back,” he continued. “Does it mean that they can’t produce a device? No. But it means that if they planned this arsenal of nuclear atomic bombs that they thought they’d have by now — that’s gone, that’s been pushed back, and it’s important they don’t have an atomic arsenal. But they would have had it and we would have faced certain death. So the greatest accomplishment is we’re alive.”

Netanyahu recounted conversations in 2016 and 2024 with Trump in which Trump expressed concern about Iran’s nuclear program. Asked why the U.S. had not acted militarily until 2025, Netanyahu said that Trump had been hopeful that sanctions imposed in his first administration would stop Iran’s nuclear program, but they did not fully do so.

Netanyahu reiterated his call to draw down and ultimately end direct U.S. financial support for Israel over the next decade — despite tensions that his stance has caused with supporters of Israel on both sides of the aisle. He also said he wants to begin drawing down financial support now, rather than waiting for the next Congress, adding that “it could go down very fast.”

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu: "I want to draw down the American support to Israel to zero."

In a "60 Minutes" CBS interview, Netanyahu reiterated his call to end direct U.S. financial aid for Israel over the next 10 years.

Read more here: https://t.co/4AXZP3RyUc pic.twitter.com/3NI5nWNW47
— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) May 11, 2026

He said that the future of the relationship should be focused on joint projects equally funded by both Israel and the United States, from which the two countries would share equally. Such a system is how missile defense funding is currently provided, among other projects, but that funding has also come under attack by some in the U.S.

Netanyahu blamed social media, and the manipulation of American social media users by hostile foreign actors using bot farms, for cratering support for Israel among the American people.

“While they’re attacking us with the equivalent of F-35, we’re trying to fight them with a Polish cavalry,” Netanyahu said. “So I think we have to engage on that front, not by censorship but by finding ways that are applicable to democracies. … We have a problem. I recognize it. And we have to get our act together.”

Asked about Gaza, Netanyahu said that Hamas still must be disarmed, demilitarized and deradicalized, and that he has asked the U.S. to provide names of countries that are willing to send in their own troops to carry out that effort, given that Hamas has reneged on its ceasefire obligations. He suggested that Israel may ultimately need to carry out that mission itself.

“If it comes down to us, then we’ll have to do it, but we’ll choose the time and the circumstances in which to do it because we’ve got a few other things,” he said. “But we are not going to let Hamas ever threaten Israel again.”

The Israeli prime minister said that Israel had destroyed more than 90% of Hezbollah’s missile and rocket stockpile, but that the group still maintains thousands of such weapons. He said that an invasion of Lebanon was necessary to prevent a repeat of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas incursions into Israel from Israel’s north.

Asked about Russian and Chinese support for Iran during the current war, Netanyahu largely dodged the question. He argued that an emboldened Iran is not in China’s best interests, and said that Russian military support to Iran has “not been a big issue” — while declining to comment on intelligence support, which Moscow has reportedly provided Tehran in the form of targeting data for missile and drone attacks throughout the region.

Jewish Insider’s Israel editor Tamara Zieve contributed to this report.

Oval Office diplomacy

Trump takes over Israel-Lebanon talks, announces three-week ceasefire extension

Trump said Hezbollah’s refusals to disarm and cease attacks on Israel and its forces were main topics during the talks, and noted that he would not prevent the Israelis from responding if hit by Hezbollah

Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

(L-R) US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Israeli Ambassador to US Yechiel Leiter, US Vice President JD Vance, US President Donald Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad and US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa listen to questions from the media during a meeting with Lebanese Ambassador to the US and Israeli Ambassador to the US, at the White House in Washington, DC on April 23, 2026.

By

Emily Jacobs

April 24, 2026

President Donald Trump convened senior U.S., Israeli and Lebanese officials at the White House on Thursday for the second round of Israeli-Lebanese peace talks, during which the parties agreed to a three-week extension of the ongoing ceasefire.

The talks were originally slated to be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department, but the president had the summit moved to the Oval Office in order to participate and lead the negotiations. Trump and Rubio were joined at the meeting by Vice President JD Vance, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadah Mouwad. U.S. State Department Counselor Michael Needham was also in the room.

Trump announced the ceasefire extension in a post on his Truth Social platform at the conclusion of the talks. “The Meeting went very well! The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah,” Trump wrote on the platform. “I look forward in the near future to hosting the Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, and the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun. It was a Great Honor to be a participant at this very Historic Meeting!”

Speaking afterward to press alongside Vance, Rubio and the four ambassadors, the president expressed his hope that Israeli and Lebanese leaders would meet during the ceasefire, ideally at the White House.

Vance and Rubio both credited Trump as the catalyst for securing the ceasefire extension at the meeting, with each asserting that the president’s direct participation pushed all sides to want to leave with deliverables. “The president wanted to be personally involved, and I’m glad he was because it made it possible to get this extension,” Rubio said.

Trump said that Hezbollah’s refusals to disarm and cease attacks on Israel and its forces were main topics during the talks, and noted that he would not prevent the Israelis from responding if hit by Hezbollah. Still, he said, Israel’s overall approach to the war against Hezbollah would shift to a more “surgical” approach.

“Israel is going to have to defend itself if they’re shot at, and they will. I would never say that they can’t,” Trump said. “It’d be nice if they wouldn’t have to bother with that, but if something happens, they’re going to have to defend themselves, as you know, but they’re going to do it carefully and they’re going to be surgical as opposed to beyond surgical. There’s a lot they can do, but Israel is going to have to defend itself.”

Despite the ceasefire announcement, Israel and Hezbollah have continued to exchange fire in both southern Lebanon and northern Israel, with Hezbollah taking credit for an attack on Shtula, a border community in northern Israel as officials gathered at the White House for peace talks. On Friday morning, the IDF said that in response to those rockets, it struck Hezbollah military structures used to plan and carry out terror attacks in the areas of Kherbet Selem and Touline in southern Lebanon.

Leiter praised the Trump administration’s efforts to reach a diplomatic solution and improve relations between Israel and Lebanon, though he noted that such a goal could not be achieved without making the defeat of Hezbollah a core focus.

“To put the emphasis repeatedly in our talks on Israeli withdrawal is to fall into the trap, once again, of putting the emphasis in the wrong place. If we continue down that path, we are doomed to failure, and failure, friends, is not an option,” Leiter said. “If, on the other hand, we put the focus on the root problem, Hezbollah and its murderous intentions with regard to Israel, I have no doubt that we will succeed in eliminating the Hezbollah menace and achieving peace between our two countries.”

The president insisted the Iranian leaders would need to cut off its funding for Hezbollah to secure a peace deal to end the U.S. war in Iran, responding affirmatively when asked if that was “a must” for him.

Trump also said he would “make sure” that Lebanese laws criminalizing official communications with Israel were “ended very quickly,” criticizing the policy as “crazy.”

“I think we’ll have to end that. That’s something we’re gonna have to end,” Trump told reporters after being asked about the laws. “That’s a good start. It’s a crime to talk with Israel? Well, I’m pretty sure that that will be ended very quickly, OK? I’ll make sure of that. And I know Lebanon doesn’t want that. We’ll end it. Will you work on that please, everybody? That’s crazy.”

Rubio touted the ceasefire extension in Lebanon as a win for all parties involved, arguing that the pause in fighting “gives everybody time to continue to work on what’s going to be a permanent peace between two countries who want to be at peace.” Still, he warned that Hezbollah remained a significant barrier to achieving that aim.

Israel and Lebanon, Rubio argued, “are victimized by the same terrorist organization, a terrorist organization that no doubt has victimized Israel, but has also victimized the people of Lebanon. The people of Lebanon deserve to live in a country that’s peaceful and prosperous. They have an opportunity to do that. They have a history of that, and what’s standing in the way is a terrorist organization that operates within their national territory. That threat needs to be eliminated.”

CAMPUS CONTROVERSY

UCLA student government condemned Hillel event featuring former hostage Omer Shem Tov

Shem Tov was kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7 and held captive in Gaza for 505 days

Getty Images

Royce Hall building on University of California (UCLA) campus in Los Angeles, California, USA - May 28, 2023.

By

Haley Cohen

April 21, 2026

UCLA’s student government condemned a recent campus event featuring former Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov, labeling the speaker selection as “selective platforming of narratives that obscure the broader reality of ongoing state violence” and “a troubling disregard for Palestinian life.”

In an undated letter to UCLA administration, as well as the organizers of the event — UCLA Hillel and the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies — and “affiliated campus stakeholders,” the UCLA Undergraduate Students Association Council wrote that it “condemns” the April 14 event, held on Yom HaShoah, which was titled “505 Days in Captivity: Omer Shem Tov’s Testimony of Resilience.”

The council represents over 29,000 undergraduates at UCLA.

“While we affirm the humanity of all people impacted by violence, we reject the selective platforming of narratives that obscure the broader reality of ongoing state violence. Israel is currently continuing to carry out what has been widely identified by human rights advocates as a genocide in Gaza, while also expanding its illegal military campaign into Lebanon. In this context, elevating a single narrative, absent of critical political and humanitarian framing, serves to legitimize and normalize these ongoing atrocities,” the letter states.

“Institutional sponsorship of this event reflects a troubling disregard for Palestinian life … Universities must not be complicit in the production or amplification of one-sided narratives that erase systems of oppression and occupation,” the letter continued. “USAC calls on UCLA to immediately reconsider its role in sponsoring future programming that advances incomplete and harmful representations of ongoing violence.”

“Hillel at UCLA would like to apologize for absolutely nothing,” the group’s executive director, Daniel Gold, told Jewish Insider.

“Members of UCLA student government have once again shown they are anti-dialogue, anti-learning, anti-truth, anti-student, and anti-Jewish in condemning our beautiful event last week with Omer Shem Tov,” Gold said.

Shem Tov was kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7, 2023, and held captive in Gaza for 505 days.

A spokesperson for UCLA told JI, “The event’s message was one of resilience and respect for human rights and dignity — a message we support. We stand by UCLA Hillel, UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies and the UCLA Chapter of Students Supporting Israel’s invitation to have this very important dialogue.”

“We will review the process by which this letter was issued. The condemnation of such a peaceful event to share a story of resilience in the face of extreme suffering is antithetical to the values of our Bruin community,” the spokesperson said.

UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk spoke at the event, introducing Shem Tov.

The federal government has been in a monthslong legal battle with UCLA, including a February lawsuit alleging that the campus failed to protect Jewish and Israeli faculty and staff in accordance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination.

Daily Kickoff

Bernie’s bloc to block bulldozers builds to 40 Dems

Plus, when Graham Platner praised Hamas

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on April 03, 2024 in Washington.

By

JI Staff

April 16, 2026

👋 Good Thursday morning!

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we have the scoop on Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s praise for a violent 2014 Hamas attack on an Israeli military base, and report on last night’s failedSenate votes on weapons sales restrictions to Israel, which garnered the support of most Senate Democrats. We cover Meta’s defense of its content moderation policies following an Anti-Defamation League report that found that the platform failed to remove the vast majority of reported extremist and hateful content, and look at how Israel is preparing for a potential future Houthi ground assault. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Ken Marcus, Avi Issacharoff and Matt Brooks.

Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.

What We’re Watching

President Donald Trump suggested yesterday that a call between Israeli and Lebanese leaders could take place today, following a State Department summit on Tuesday between the ambassadors from the two countries. Israeli Science and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel, a member of Israel’s security cabinet, said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun were slated to speak, while a Lebanese government official told Reuters earlier today that Beirut was “not aware” of any upcoming contact with Israeli officials.
Pakistani army chief Asim Munir is in Tehran today for meetings with senior Iranian officials aimed at convening a second round of U.S.-Iran talks in Islamabad. Yesterday, Munir met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The meetings come as Pakistani Prime ‌Minister Shehbaz Sharif conducts a multicountry trip through the weekend, traveling to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey. In Jeddah yesterday, Sharif met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Voters in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District are heading to the polls today for the election to succeed now-Gov. Mikie Sherrill. Progressive organizer Analilia Mejia, who since the primary has gotten the backing of top Garden State Democrats, is the favorite to win in the blue district against Republican Joe Hathaway.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is holding a confirmation hearing for several positions: NTIA Deputy Administrator Adam Cassady to be ambassador at large for cyberspace and digital policy, attorney Todd Steggerda to be U.S. representative to the U.N. in Geneva and the State Department’s Preston Wells Griffith III to be U.S. representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The House Appropriations Committee is holding a series of budget hearings over the course of the day. Committee members will hear this afternoon from Karen Evans, the acting administrator of FEMA, which administers the Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
Harvard University is hosting a landmark public conference on antisemitism and civil rights today, one of the terms of a legal settlement between the school and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law. More below.
The Shalom Hartman Institute’s Yehuda Kurtzer and The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg will sit in conversation at an event this evening at the Capital Jewish Museum focused on “Jewish America at 250” ahead of the U.S. Semiquincentennial.
Semafor’s World Economy summit in Washington continues today. Speakers today include Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Sens. James Lankford (R-OK), Mark Warner (D-VA), Steve Daines (R-MT), Todd Young (R-IN) and Susan Collins (R-ME), Steve Bannon, former Biden administration official Amos Hochstein and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin.

What You Should Know

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR

There’s been a lot of debate lately over whether President Donald Trump is losing some of his grip on the Republican Party, amid growing economic concerns and the ongoing military operations in Iran.

While the media coverage has been amplifying any sign of intraparty discontent — to the point that former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is getting strange new respect from some Democrats and mainstream press — polls continue to show Trump with widespread backing from within his own party, and especially within the MAGA faction of the GOP.

Ultimately, election results are the best reality check. And you couldn’t draw up a better test on the degree of Trump’s impact on the Republican Party than examining the results from four states holding highly consequential primaries next month that will be a benchmark of the president’s power.

Key races in Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana and Texas will speak volumes about the president’s ability to shape the GOP agenda for the remainder of his second term — and most consequentially, whether he will be able to maintain a unified front with his party on continuing to pursue military action against Iran.

The biggest intraparty showdown, especially when it comes to foreign policy, is the May 19 primary between Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and military veteran Ed Gallrein. Massie, one of the few anti-Israel Republicans in Congress, is being opposed by Trump but also has a solid base of grassroots support in the northern Kentucky district, which has thus far supported his anti-establishment brand of politics. But Gallrein has proven to be a credible challenger, raising millions and giving Massie the biggest political test of his career.

Trump has spent some valuable political capital to boost Gallrein, including appearing at a recent rally in Massie’s district to promote his challenger. He’s been joined by the Republican Jewish Coalition, which has poured $3.5 million into the race, airing five ads underscoring Massie’s record of breaking with Trump. (Further drawing Trump’s ire: Massie also joined with Democrats in championing the release of the Epstein files.)

It’s never easy to beat a sitting incumbent, but Trump also has an imposing record of winning primaries in which he chooses to engage. If Massie pulls out a victory despite breaking so flagrantly with Trump on a number of key issues, it will be a sign of the president’s diminished political clout.

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

SCOOP

‘I dig it’: Graham Platner praised Hamas tactics in 2014 graphic video of killings of Israeli soldiers

Senate candidate from Maine Graham Platner speaks at a town hall at the Leavitt Theater on October 22, 2025 in Ogunquit, Maine. (Sophie Park/Getty Images)

Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner repeatedly praised the tactics used by Hamas terrorists in comments made about a graphic video of a Hamas raid into Israel in 2014, in which terrorists killed at least five Israeli soldiers, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

What he said: “Looks like an all around well executed and successful small unit raid to me,” Platner wrote in 2014 on the Reddit forum r/CombatFootage, a discussion board for footage and photographs of past and current armed conflicts. “Pragmatically I have little problem with killing an enemy combatant who you attempt to capture but for whatever reason cannot. From a strictly professional standpoint, this was a damn fine looking and successful raid against a superior opponent, I dig it,” he added, in response to another user.

Read the full story here.

FEELING THE BERN

Following Bernie Sanders’ lead, 40 Senate Democrats vote against arms sales to Israel

(L-R) Senate Democratic leadership, Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Mark Warner (D-VA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Chris Murphy (D-CT), pose for a group photo in the U.S. Capitol on December 3, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Most of the Democrats in the Senate — 40 in total, including some traditionally pro-Israel lawmakers — voted on Wednesday evening for a measure led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) that aimed to block sales of bulldozers to Israel, with 36 of them also voting to advance a second Sanders-backed resolution to block sales of thousands of 1,000-pound bombs, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Newcomers: After having opposed previous similar efforts, Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Mark Warner (D-VA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) all flipped and voted in favor of Sanders’ latest resolutions. Warner and Peters, along with Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), voted to advance the resolution to block the bulldozer sale but against advancing the one on bombs.

Read the full story here.

Also on the Hill: An effort by Senate Democrats to force an end to the war in Iran was again blocked by Republicans on Wednesday, the fourth such failed attempt mounted by Senate Democrats since the war began in late February.

META-MORPHISIS

Meta defends content moderation policies, touts usage of AI to track Holocaust denial

Ben Good, Meta’s director of content policy, speaks at the 2026 Hack the Hate summit in Manhattan. (Shahar Azran/WJC)

Amid accusations that Meta’s moderation policies enable antisemitic content to circulate on its platforms, a Meta leader on Tuesday highlighted efforts to combat online Jew-hatred, including restrictions on Holocaust denial, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.

Pushing back: “We remove Holocaust distortion and denial, not because it’s false, which it is, but because it’s antisemitic. It is hate speech against Jewish people, so we’ve drawn a clear line against it,” said Ben Good, director of content policy at Meta, the parent company of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. Good spoke at “Hack the Hate NYC 2026,” an event at the Yeshiva University Museum in Manhattan spotlighting Israeli tech experts and Jewish leaders working to combat digital antisemitism. But even as Meta has made strides in addressing Holocaust denial, the Anti-Defamation League released a new report on Tuesday, just hours before the event, revealing that Instagram failed to remove 93% of reported extremist and hateful content, tying the trend directly to Meta’s efforts to roll back content moderation last year.

Read the full story here.

CAPITAL CONTEST

D.C. mayoral candidate Kenyan McDuffie courts Jewish voters as DSA-endorsed rival Lewis George faces communal backlash

Council member Kenyan R. McDuffie (I-At Large) is seen before Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) testifies to the DC City Council outlining the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget in Washington, D.C., on April 03, 2024. (CRAIG HUDSON FOR THE WASHINGTON POST VIA GETTY IMAGES)

As voters in Washington, D.C., get ready to elect their first new mayor in more than a decade, the two leading candidates — former colleagues on the Council of the District of Columbia — are proposing drastically different visions for the city’s future: political moderation or democratic socialism. In an interview with Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutchthis week at his campaign headquarters in Northeast Washington, former Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie drew a direct contrast between his campaign and that of his Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed rival, Janeese Lewis George.

DSA direction: “I didn’t seek, nor would I accept, the endorsement of Democratic Socialists of America, or any organization, for that matter, that requires some sort of divisive pledge to exclude people that are a part of the fabric of the community of the District of Columbia,” McDuffie said. He was referring to a DSA endorsement questionnaire that asked candidates not to engage with “the Israeli government or Zionist lobby groups.” Lewis George, a longtime DSA member, vowed not to attend events that promote Zionism when she filled out the questionnaire, which earned her the DSA endorsement.

Read the full interview here.

CONTINGENCY PLANS

Iran’s ‘Houthi card’: Israel prepares for possibility of ground assault if war resumes

Supporters of the Iran-backed Houthi movement brandish their weapons as they rally in solidarity with Iran and Lebanon in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on April 10, 2026. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP via Getty Images)

Like a desperate poker player holding an ace in the hole, Iran has a “strategic reserve” if the ceasefire in the war with Israel and the U.S. collapses and fighting resumes: the Houthis, the Tehran-backed Yemeni terrorist group. How Iran plays the Houthi card has been the subject of concern in Israel, with analysts telling Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov that everything from a ground invasion from the east — with echoes of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, rampage in southern Israel — to making good on the threat to block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to further choke off international shipping remains in play.

Seeking revenge: Yoni Ben-Menachem, a senior Middle East analyst at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, told JI that the Houthis planned “to take revenge and bring back their honor” since Israel killed much of their leadership in August 2025. “They see that Israel’s air defenses are strong, and it’s hard for them to reach military achievements with missiles and drones. They want to surprise Israel, so they are looking at ways to do it on the ground,” he said.

Read the full story here.

Cautious optimism: The first round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon has been received positively by diplomats, pro-Israel lawmakers and experts, who see it as a sign of Hezbollah’s waning influence in Lebanon. But despite the optimism surrounding the discussions, experts caution that disarming the terrorist group remains a daunting obstacle that stands in the way of any meaningful change, JI’s Matthew Shea reports.

CAMPUS CONVERSATION

Brandeis Center convenes inaugural conference on antisemitism at Harvard

The Widener Library on the Harvard Campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (Cassandra Klos/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

A Jewish legal group will convene its inaugural conference on antisemitism and civil rights law at Harvard University on Thursday, an event that was born out of last year’s settlement of a Title VI lawsuit against the school and framed around the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.

On the agenda: “We’re very excited to have a mix of federal, high-level leadership, prominent scholars, Jewish communal leaders, high-powered litigators and experts in the field,” Ken Marcus, founder and chairman of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, the group hosting the conference, told JI. The daylong event is slated to open with an address from Marcus and benediction from Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi, who leads Harvard Chabad. Held as America prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary this summer, Marcus said the headline session will focus “on how we define antisemitism as lawyers and professionals, and why a proper definition of antisemitism matters for America at this point in time.”

Read the full story here.

Cambridge chatter: Federal prosecutors filed a 160-page brief calling on a circuit court to reinstate the Trump administration’s multibillion-dollar freeze on Harvard’s research funding.

Worthy Reads

The Problem with Piker: The Free Press’ Peter Savodnik looks at Democrats’ continued embrace of Hasan Piker, despite the far-left streamer’s extensive history of praising terrorists and antisemitic and anti-American rhetoric. “The truth is they’re afraid of challenging Piker because they don’t want to alienate his next-gen Bernie Bro audience — a fear that is greatly exacerbated by their hand-wringing about not being on ‘the right side of history,’ down with the kids. … There’s a deeper problem here, one that is more cognitive, even spiritual: Too few Democrats can see that Piker is obviously, deeply wrong, that he lacks imagination, that he’s ignorant, that he camouflages his ignorance with just enough lingo to make his highly unoriginal neo-Marxist riffs and rants sound incisive.” [FreePress]

The Future of Warfare: In The Wall Street Journal, former CIA Director David Petraeus posits that despite the U.S.’ military successes in Iran, the war in Ukraine is more instructive as to the future of warfare. “War is increasingly defined by unmanned systems, artificial intelligence and mass precision. The Gulf offers useful insights, but Ukraine is the more demanding laboratory. There, the true challenges of unmanned systems at scale and the rapid emergence of autonomous capabilities are already on display. … The Gulf conflict demonstrates what American forces can achieve from a position of strength. Ukraine has shown what war looks like from a more vulnerable position, when that strength is contested at scale.” [WSJ]

Word on the Street

At Semafor’s World Economy summit in Washington on Wednesday, Chuck Robbins, CEO of the tech giant Cisco, spoke about his decision a decade ago to acquire Leaba Semiconductor, an Israeli company, before it had even developed a product, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports…

UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem Al Hashimy, speaking at the confab, called for the Strait of Hormuz to be an international passageway that is not under the control of any one country…

Also speaking at the summit yesterday, “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil, speaking to David Rubenstein, talked about documentarian Ken Burns‘ July 4 tradition of reading the Declaration of Independence out loud with his family, calling it “a Seder for America”…

A second U.S.-sanctioned supertanker entered the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, despite the U.S.’ maritime blockade of the waterway…

The Wall Street Journal looks at how growing economic distress in Iran could push Tehran back to negotiations with the U.S. as it seeks much-needed sanctions relief…

Seb Gorka, a deputy assistant to President Donald Trump, is reportedly looking to be named the head of the National Counterterrorism Center, following Joe Kent’s resignation last month…

The Financial Times spotlights Paolo Zampolli, a close personal friend of President Donald Trump and the U.S. special representative for global partnerships, as he conducts multibillion-dollar deals on behalf of the White House…

The Wall Street Journal reports on the hurdles facing Kevin Warsh ahead of his confirmation hearing to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve…

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), appearing on “Pod Save America,” praised former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) — once a vocal Omar foe who called for the congresswoman’s deportation while they were both in the House — and far-right influencer Candace Owens over the pair’s break with Trump, JI’s Marc Rod reports…

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a challenge Wednesday to those seeking to challenge her plan to penalize protesters who get too close to religious institutions — “Bring it on.” Announcing new state programs to provide support and security for organizations deemed “vulnerable to hate crimes,” the governor, a Democrat, took questions regarding her proposal to bar demonstrations of more than two people from occurring within 25 feet of a house of worship, JI’s Will Bredderman reports…

Rama Duwaji, the wife of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, apologized for using racist language in social media posts as a teenager, but fell short of addressing more recent comments in which she suggested that Tel Aviv “shouldn’t exist in the first place,” and celebrated “freedom fighters of Palestine”…

A new report from Yale University’s Committee on Trust in Higher Education found that universities themselves cultivated significant public distrust of higher education, citing soaring tuition costs, unclear admissions processes and the uneven applications of standards and rules…

Kent Syverud, who earlier this year had been tapped as the next chancellor of the University of Michigan, announced that he has been diagnosed with brain cancer and will not assume the position in Ann Arbor; the school’s Board of Regents said it will begin a new search process in the coming days…

Duke University suspended its Students for Justice in Palestine chapter on Tuesday, one month after students began submitting complaints about an antisemitic Instagram post from the group, which depicted the U.S. and Israel as pigs frothing at the mouth, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…

Hebrew Union College President Andrew Rehfeld told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Jay Deitcher that the school was “deeply disappointed” by a decision by the Ohio Attorney General’s office to file a lawsuit to block the institution’s plans to shutter its Cincinnati rabbinical programs…

Apple TV released the trailer for the upcoming Israeli thriller series “Unconditional,” which stars Liraz Chamami and Talia Lynne Ronn as a mother-daughter pair stranded in Russia and at the mercy of Moscow crime rings following Ronn’s character’s arrest on drug-smuggling charges…

“Fauda” co-creator Avi Issacharoff shared a sneak peek of the show’s upcoming fifth season, which takes place in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks…

Police in the U.K. arrested two people following an attempted arson attack at a synagogue in North London…

U.K. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called for the deportation of foreigners who engage in antisemitism…

Immanuel College, one of London’s only private Jewish secondary schools, is set to close at the end of this year, citing financial challenges…

Kanye West postponed an upcoming show in Marseille, France, after government officials, as well as the mayor of Marseille, suggested the rapper would not be welcome in the country; the decision comes days after U.K. authorities revoked West’s visa ahead of a summer festival he was set to headline in the country…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed into law legislation levying criminal penalties — including fines and prison sentences — against individuals convicted of antisemitic offenses…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hungary Prime Minister-elect Peter Magyar spoke by phone on Wednesday, with a readout from the Prime Minister’s Office saying that the incoming Hungarian leader invited Netanyahu to the country for the 70-year commemoration of the Hungarian Uprising…

LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil denied reports that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was planning to pull its financial support for the league, weeks before its first scheduled U.S. tournament of the season, slated to take place next month at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia…

Front Office Sports reports that a multiyear deal between Michael Rubin‘s Fanatics and Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority is on the verge of collapse…

Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks is joining Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck as a senior strategic advisor; Brooks will continue in his position at the RJC, in addition to his role leading the Jewish Policy Center…

Israel Malachi was named the new director general of Israel’s Finance Ministry after serving for nearly four years as the ministry’s deputy director general…

Amy Marks is joining JCC Association of North America as the organization’s chief advancement officer…

Former “All Things Considered” host Ari Shapiro is joining CNN as a contributor, where he’ll co-host a new podcast focused on digital trends with his former NPR colleague Audie Cornish…

Author and TV producer Barbara Gordon, whose memoir about her addiction to Valium and mental health challenges became a bestseller, died at 90…

Pic of the Day

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (center right), cut the ribbon at the official launch on Wednesday of ARC Landing Boston, a joint initiative between Healey’s administration and Israel’s Sheba Medical Center. Joining Healey for the ribbon-cutting were New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Sheba Director General Yitshak Kreiss and ARC Innovation Founder and Director Eyal Zimlichman.

Birthdays

Ellen Barkin poses at the closing performance of “Alan Cumming is NOT Acting his Age!” on Broadway at Studio 54 on March 25, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Glikas/WireImage)

Emmy- and Tony Award-winning actress and movie producer, Ellen Barkin turns 72…

CEO and president of American Express in the 1990s, he now serves on many corporate and charitable boards, Harvey Golub turns 87… Chasidic singer, known by his stage name Mordechai Ben David or MBD, Mordechai Werdyger turns 75… Olympic track-and-field athlete, and survivor of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, Esther Roth-Shachamorov turns 74… Cofounder of Jordan Company LP, a New York private equity firm, David Wayne Zalaznick turns 72… Physician and venture capitalist focused on biotechnology and life-sciences industries, Lindsay Rosenwald turns 71… Professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University, Aaron Louis Friedberg, Ph.D. turns 70… Filmmaker, he directed the 2011 documentary “Paul Williams Still Alive” and the 1997 slapstick comedy “Vegas Vacation” starring Chevy Chase, Stephen Kessler turns 66… Former dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School and former director of the Congressional Budget Office, Douglas Elmendorf turns 64… Former secretary of state of the United States under the Biden administration, Antony John “Tony” Blinken turns 64… Emmy Award-winning television producer and writer, he co-created and produced “Will & Grace” and “Boston Common,” David Sanford Kohan turns 62… Long Island native, he is a Los Angeles pharmacist, Jeffrey D. Marcus… U.S. ambassador to Egypt during the Trump 45 administration, Jonathan Raphael Cohen turns 62… Former mayor of Hoboken, N.J., Dawn Zimmer turns 58… Israel’s former ambassador to the U.S. and minister of strategic affairs, Ron Dermer turns 55… Canada’s minister of the environment, climate change and nature, Julie Dabrusin turns 55… Celebrity plastic surgeon, he is active on social media as “Dr. Miami” and has been on reality TV about his practice, Michael Salzhauer, M.D. turns 54… Board member of Jewish Community High School of the Bay in San Francisco, Ellen K. Finestone… Founder and president of Glass Ceiling Strategies, she is also a managing director for communications at Climate Power, Alex Glass… Founder of Jewish Fashion Council and journalist at Fabologie, Adi Heyman… Former pitcher in the Washington Nationals organization, he played for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Richard Sidney Bleier turns 39… Attorney who has served as a law clerk to three Maryland judges, now a VP at JPMorgan Chase, Geoffrey S. Middleberg… Lead product manager at Anthropic, Uriel Kejsefman… Singer, pianist and composer, he is best known as half of the folk-rock duo the Portnoy Brothers, Mendy Portnoy turns 34… Climate and energy transition investor, he was a White House staffer in 2017, Matthew Saunders… Senior client strategy and success manager at Grow Progress, Adam Gotbaum… First baseman and free agent, he played for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Matthew Jared “Mash” Mervis turns 28… Josh Goldstein… Sarah Wolfson…

COMFORT FOOD

From trauma to table: An Israeli duo uses food therapy and song to foster connection

A traveling program called ‘Soul and Roll’ by singer Hananel Edri and Foodish CEO Merav Oren tells the Jewish story through an immersive culinary and musical experience

Haley Cohen

Israeli singer Hananel Edri presents “Soul and Roll” at an event held at the Washington home of documentary filmmaker Aviva Kempner.

By

Haley Cohen

April 13, 2026

Israeli singer Hananel Edri discovered his love for food and his family’s Moroccan traditions in his grandmother’s kitchen, where he found solace after the trauma of a rocket strike on his family home in Kiryat Shmona, near Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, at age 10.

Meanwhile, Merav Oren — founder and CEO of Foodish, the culinary department of Tel Aviv’s Anu Museum of the Jewish People — grew up between Atlanta and Israel, rooted in a different culinary tradition: Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine.

This year, the two brought their worlds together to form “Soul and Roll,” a new immersive culinary and musical experience designed by Oren and Edri — a self-proclaimed “foodie” and singer who has performed on some of Israel’s most prestigious stages including Habima National Theatre. “We talk, Hananel sings and at the end people do a hands-on experience making ma’amoul,” a traditional Middle Eastern pastry often served at Mimouna, the Moroccan-Jewish celebration to mark the end of Passover, Oren told Jewish Insider on Sunday at an event to launch Foodish’s international expansion.

Held at the Washington home of documentary filmmaker Aviva Kempner, some two dozen attendees got a taste of a Soul and Roll show, including Edri’s rendition of “Jerusalem of Gold” and a Moroccan song dedicated to his grandmother, followed by a lesson in making date-filled ma’amoul pastries to bring home. The invitation-only event also featured remarks from Israeli chef and food writer Vered Guttman and Jewish cookbook author Joan Nathan.

“Anu strengthens the Jewish belonging through history and art. We at Foodish do that through food — we tell the story of the Jewish people through food, through events and festivals,” said Oren.

Merav Oren, founder and CEO of Foodish, the culinary department of Tel Aviv’s ANU Museum of the Jewish People, presents “Soul and Roll” at an event held at the Washington home of documentary filmmaker Aviva Kempner. (Haley Cohen)

Edri and Oren, both of whom reside in Tel Aviv, met during a visit to Warsaw, Poland, working with Jewish communities through food and music, just days before the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks. After Hamas’ massacre, the pair reunited to lead food therapy workshops.

“Just after Oct. 7 we went down to the south where evacuees were staying and started doing culinary workshops with them,” Oren recalled on Sunday. One moment that still stands out to her, she said, was when she began doing dishes after the workshop and an evacuee insisted on helping because what she missed most about home was “the basic stuff like washing dishes, baking or cooking.”

Also in the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7, Foodish ran a pop-up exhibition with 14 of the leading chefs in Israel, including Eyal Shani, pairing each with a famous Israeli artist. Each illustrator designed artwork for a chef coat based on the chef’s personal story, which was then sold in an exhibition. Funds raised went towards expanding the food therapy workshops.

Foodish has since launched several other programs, including one that invites high school students to taste cultural, and sometimes unpopular foods like chopped liver, “that are kind of disgusting, but through that we tell the story of specific communities,” said Oren.

Another program designed to alleviate loneliness among the elderly sends volunteers to their homes and to document their history as they cook together. “Then we have an event where they invite their families, go onstage and tell their stories. The food helps them tell their stories, which otherwise probably no one would have asked them about,” said Oren.

The newest projects, which Oren said are “going global,” include Soul and Roll, as well as one designed for schools that focuses on teenagers and young adults to assist them in documenting their family’s food stories, both online and in print.

“All of these are examples that explain to us food is not just food, it’s so much more engaging. We deal with Jewish identity through food,” said Oren. “We want to take what we do to Jewish communities all over the world.”

Noting Israel’s war with Iran and the countless hours they have spent in Tel Aviv bomb shelters over the past month, both Oren and Edri said that the launch of Foodish’s latest programs comes amid a challenging period.

“This is a difficult time for us. Growing up, the rocket situation was my reality,” said Edri. “Today, I live in Tel Aviv and we are facing the same reality. Doing what we do, and to be able to come here and share our stories with you, is even more important [than ever] for me because we are strong only if we stay together. Our existence really depends on each other,” he told the American Jewish audience.

Although the war forced the cancellation of two of their three scheduled shows in Israel, Edri told JI that Soul and Roll is persevering, adding, “It’s difficult, but we’re getting it out there.” The pair’s trip to the U.S. also included a Mimouna show in New York.

“My background is mainly onstage and I’m a big foodie,” continued Edri, adding that what draws him to the program is the combination of “kitchen, memories, Jewish identity brought all together with music and what Anu does, and people leaving with cookies, music they can sing to and memories.”

Edri, who runs his own culinary-musical web series called “Cooking with Hananel,” shared the reason each Soul and Roll show begins with the same song, “Jerusalem of Gold,” the iconic Israeli tune written by Naomi Shemer in 1967: “Merav’s family came from Poland, my family came from Morocco,” he said. “Our grandmothers were in very different situations and settings, but they all prayed and longed for the same place, which is Jerusalem.”

analysis

Deal or detonation: Clock ticks down for Washington and Tehran to reach an agreement

The president paired threats with optimism, leaning into the current debate with a mix of tough talk and hopes of an 11th-hour diplomatic breakthrough.

SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump speaks with the media as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (R) and special envoy Steve Witkoff (C) look on aboard Air Force One during a flight from Dover, Delaware, to Miami, Florida, on March 7, 2026.

By

Melissa Weiss

April 6, 2026

As the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran extends into its sixth week, the next 36 hours may be some of the most pivotal, offering clarity as to whether an end is in sight — or whether an escalation is imminent.

On the table now, according to Axios, is a proposed two-phased ceasefire deal, lasting 45 days, that would immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz and give negotiators two to three weeks to reach a broader agreement to end the war. As a signal that the U.S. is open to the agreement, President Donald Trump extended by 24 hours the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait, setting a new deadline of Tuesday night ET.

The core issues remain: Tehran’s closure of the key waterway, and the fate of the country’s enriched uranium. But a deal between Washington and Tehran would include broader issues, including potential sanctions relief in exchange for Tehran’s promise that it will not pursue nuclear weapons. Iran has signaled that it will not reopen the Strait for a temporary ceasefire and is seeking a more permanent resolution.

The president paired threats with optimism, leaning into the current debate with a mix of tough talk — warning yesterday that strikes targeting Iran’s power plants and bridges would take place on Tuesday in the absence of a deal — and hopes of an 11th-hour diplomatic breakthrough.

Trump doubled down on both sentiments yesterday in a flurry of interviews with reporters. “If they don’t make a deal, and fast, I am considering blowing everything up and taking over the oil,” Trump told Fox News’ Trey Yingst on Sunday morning. Yet the president said there was a “good chance” that a deal would be reached today — even as he posted “Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!” on his Truth Social site, a reminder of the new deadline he had set for the Islamic Republic to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

In comments to The Wall Street Journal, the president said that if the Iranians “don’t come through, if they want to keep it closed, they’re going to lose every power plant and every other plant they have in the whole country.”

Trump made the comments on the heels of the daring weekend rescue of an American weapons system operator who had been shot down inside Iran — the details of which the president is expected to share at an afternoon press conference today alongside senior military officials.

A diplomatic agreement would see a winding down of the war that would likely allow Iran to retain some of its ballistic missile capabilities — a compromise that is unlikely to sit well in Israel, which continues to face fire from Iranian forces.

On the other hand, Trump’s threatened destruction of key Iranian infrastructure could further deteriorate conditions in the Islamic Republic, where a regime-imposed internet blackout has ensured minimal on-the-ground reporting on weeks of war. And as always, the president has one eye on the markets, which will open today after the holiday weekend.

The U.S. and Israel have already made serious strategic strides by killing dozens of members of Iran’s senior leadership and severely crippling Tehran’s nuclear program. The question now is whether that will be enough for Trump to declare victory in accordance with the rough timeline he’s given for U.S. operations in Iran — or whether the U.S. will double down on its military operations.

NEWS TO ME

Jewish comic Modi drops out of ‘Downtown Seder’ after learning of Mamdani’s attendance

Modi Rosenfeld’s manager said the Orthodox comedian was ‘blindsided’ with news of the mayor’s participation in the benefit with David Broza and Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie

John Lamparski/Getty Images

Modi Rosenfeld speaks at 92NY on October 22, 2025 in New York City.

By

Will Bredderman

March 30, 2026

Israeli-American comedian Modi Rosenfeld, known simply as “Modi,” pulled out of a Passover-themed benefit Monday after his manager revealed that the entertainer had been “blindsided” with the news that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani would participate in the Lower Manhattan event.

Quoting Jewish Insider’s initial report on the mayor’s scheduled involvement in the 33rd Annual “Downtown Seder” at impresario Michael Dorf’s venue City Winery, Rosenfeld’s official Instagram account announced the Tel Aviv-born, Long Island-reared performer had withdrawn from the event.

“We were not told Mamdani was participating in this event until today,” the post read. “Modi will no longer be attending.”

Reached by phone, Rosenfeld’s manager told JI that they had committed to featuring in the festivities months ago — and said the venue should have notified them earlier that the mayor, whose political initiation began with anti-Israel campus activism, would be part of the program as well.

“It’s just inappropriate to be blindsided with that information the day of the event, regardless of anyone’s political feelings,” said Leo Veiga, who is also Rosenfeld’s husband. “That’s a very polarizing thing right now, so it’s not appropriate for us to be attending.”

Veiga declined to elaborate further on his and Rosenfeld’s feelings toward the mayor and the event, and expressed hope that any controversy provoked would “die down.”

Still set to appear alongside Mamdani is Israeli musician David Broza, while Israeli-American Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie will participate via a livestream from Israel. Broza and Lau-Lavie are both well-known liberals and peace activists, while Rosenfeld is known for performing to religious audiences.

“The Seder is about asking urgent questions — about freedom, responsibility, and how we care for one another,” said Dorf in the initial press release announcing the event. “Each year, we bring together voices who challenge, inspire, and reflect the world as it is — and as it could be.”

Dorf, who previously hosted then-candidate Mamdani for a Yom Kippur event last year, has criticized IDF policy in Gaza — but has rejected allegations that Israel has committed “genocide,” a claim the mayor makes frequently.

Net proceeds from the already sold-out tickets will go toward Seeds of Peace, an organization known for hosting Israel and Arab youth at dialogue forums in Maine, the press release said.

Other celebrities on the bill include Freakonomics co-author Stephen Dubner, news anchor Don Lemon, musician Meg Okura and comedienne Olga Namer.

EARLY ELECTION AVERTED

Israel passes 2026 budget, avoiding early election

Netanyahu’s coalition promised Haredi parties to effectively bring back the draft exemption as IDF warns of dangerously low manpower

Yonatan Sindel/Flash90

A vote on the state budget at the auditorium in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, during the war with Iran and Hezbollah, March 29, 2026.

By

Lahav Harkov

March 30, 2026

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition narrowly beat a deadline that would have led to an early election, passing the 2026 state budget early Monday morning, a day before the March 31 deadline.

The budget passed after the coalition granted NIS 800 million ($255 million) in benefits to Haredi institutions, and promised Shas and United Torah Judaism that the government would pass a law that, in effect, would continue yeshiva students’ exemption from military service, even as Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF chief of staff, raised “10 red flags” about insufficient military manpower.

According to Israeli law, state budgets are meant to be passed by the end of the previous fiscal year, on December 31, but an extension is permitted to the end of March. If no budget is passed by the final deadline, the Knesset is automatically dissolved and an election is called for three months later.

This government had used that extension amid disputes over legislation reducing the penalties on Haredi yeshivas and young men who do not enlist in the IDF such that it would effectively continue their blanket exemption from military service. The matter remained unresolved, with Haredi parties threatening to vote against the budget, as the war with Iran began at the end of February.

Two weeks into the war, Netanyahu and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that the coalition would set aside legislation under dispute, including Haredi conscription, in order to pass the budget.

As part of the conditions for Haredi parties Shas and United Torah Judaism to drop their demand to pass the conscription exemption bill, the budget included an increase of over NIS 1 billion (approximately $319 million) for Haredi yeshivas and other institutions. The funding would offset much of the sanctions on Haredi individuals and institutions in recent years, after the High Court of Justice struck down their exemption from IDF service.

Israeli Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara had blocked most of the funds from being included in the draft of the budget that went to a vote, because it was meant to circumvent the law, but the coalition voted it in soon after midnight Sunday as an amendment to the budget bill.

In addition, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth, of Netanyahu’s Likud Party, said last week that the Haredi IDF exemption bill would be back on the Knesset agenda in two weeks, after Passover — meeting another demand by the Haredi parties that the exemption from the IDF be legislated as soon as possible after the budget.

Bismuth’s remarks about the return of the Haredi exemption bill came on the same day as a report on Israel’s Channel 13 that Zamir warned in a Security Cabinet meeting that the “IDF is going to collapse in on itself” if it does not increase its ranks.

In addition to the likelihood of Haredim no longer facing penalties for failing to serve, a law reducing mandatory IDF service from 36 months to 30 months is set to go into effect in January 2027. Zamir asked the government earlier this year to revert to the previous length of mandatory service.

”I am raising 10 red flags,” Zamir reportedly said. “The IDF needs a [Haredi] conscription law, a reserve duty [extension] law and a law to extend mandatory service. Before long, the IDF will not be ready for its routine missions and the reserve system will not last.”

The 2026 budget is the largest in Israel’s history, reaching NIS 850.6 billion ($271 billion), with an unprecedented NIS 143 billion ($45.8 billion) for the defense budget alone, amid the war with Iran and Hezbollah and continued operations in Gaza.

All other ministries were cut by 3% to fund the extra wartime spending.

The budget was passed in a final vote after over 13 hours of opposition filibustering, as well as repeated missile sirens stopping the proceedings, during which lawmakers voted from a fortified room, as opposed to the regular Knesset plenum.

👋 Good Friday morning!

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on an AI-generated Instagram account of an Orthodox-looking rabbi that is pushing antisemitic conspiracy theories, and look at the discrepancy between Israeli estimates of Iran’s remaining ballistic missile launchers and ongoing fire from the Islamic Republic. We report on Michigan Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow’s condemnation of rival Abdul El-Sayed for campaigning with far-left activist Hasan Piker, and look at what the diversion of global attention and resources to Iran has meant for Hamas’ control in Gaza. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: David Sacks, Sheryl Sandberg and Nadav Lapid.

Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.

What We’re Watching

President Donald Trump will give the closing speech this afternoon at FII PRIORITY in Miami. The president’s address caps off the final day of panels and speakers at the three-day, Saudi-backed confab, and will be preceded by separate sessions with White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Paramount Skydance’s David Ellison, as well as a speech by FIFA head Gianni Infantino.
Trump’s appearance in Miami comes a day after he announced a 10-day delay in potential plans to strike Iran’s energy infrastructure to allow for continued talks. More below.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is heading to France today for a G7 meeting. One person who will be absent from the Paris gathering is South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who was uninvited from the summit following pressure from the U.S. Speaking to reporters before departing for France, Rubio said that “countries that care about international law … should be doing something about” Iran’s efforts to disrupt shipping routes.
UJA-Federation of New York and the Jewish Community Relations Council-New York are holding a rally this morning in Manhattan to celebrate the City Council’s passage yesterday of two pieces of legislation establishing buffer zones around schools and places of worship.
The two bills now head to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for his signature. Mamdani has not indicated if he will sign either bill, one of which — the legislation mandating a perimeter around synagogues — passed with a veto-proof majority. Read more from JI’s Will Bredderman here.

What You Should Know

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S LAHAV HARKOV

Days after launching the war against Iran last month, Israel and the U.S. began signaling that they were quickly degrading the Iranian ballistic missile threat. Two weeks into the war, the White House posted on X that “Iran’s entire ballistic missile capacity [was] functionally destroyed.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a press conference last week that “Iran’s missile and drone arsenal is being massively degraded and will be destroyed.” The IDF has repeatedly sent updates over the past month about having destroyed the majority of Iran’s ballistic missiles and launchers.

So why are missile barrages and rushing to the bomb shelters still a part of most Israelis’ daily lives?

Sirens sounded 10 times in Israel’s center on Thursday. In the last week, about 1,000 alerts were sent out to different parts of Israel due to Iranian missiles. Israelis from Eilat to the Golan have spent many hours in shelters since the war began. Two fatalities were reported in recent days, but nearly 300 people have been injured since the beginning of this week, according to the spokesperson for Magen David Adom emergency services.

Jonathan Schanzer, executive director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Jewish Insider that “this is a war, and wars have tides that come in and out … [they] require a certain amount of adjustment and patience. You’re not going to get everything you want in a linear fashion.”

Yaakov Katz, a military expert and author of While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East, argued to JI that missile launcher destruction is the wrong way of looking at the war, meant to “create a narrative of accomplishment,” when there is still much work to be done.

While Katz said that he doesn’t “diminish from the value of taking a threat, degrading it and having more time to live in a place of security,” he does not view that as a victory, because the threat will return. He pointed to how rapidly Iran was able to produce new ballistic missiles after last year’s 12-day war: “They’re going to rebuild everything.”

“Just saying they destroyed 70-80% of missile launchers … If that’s your measure of success, you’re basically confirming there will be another war in the future,” he added.

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

SCOOP

McMorrow slams El-Sayed for campaigning with Hasan Piker, compares Piker to Nick Fuentes

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, a Democrat from Michigan speaks during the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, United States on August 19, 2024. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who is running in a tight three-way Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, slammed one of her opponents, Abdul El-Sayed, for his decision to campaign with the far-left political streamer Hasan Piker, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports from Royal Oak, Mich. Piker, who has a history of antisemitic and pro-Hamas remarks, is slated to appear at two campaign rallies with El-Sayed and Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) in April.

What she said: “It is somebody who says extremely offensive things in order to generate clicks and views and followers, which is not entirely different from somebody like Nick Fuentes,” McMorrow told JI in an interview Thursday, referring to the neo-Nazi podcaster. “[Piker] is a provocateur, to put it lightly, who says things that are misogynistic and antisemitic, and said that the United States deserved 9/11. That is not somebody that you should be campaigning with at a moment when there is clearly a lot of pain and trauma across our state.”

Read the full story here.

TOXIC TECHNOLOGY

New report highlights fake AI rabbis spreading antisemitism on Instagram

The Instagram logo is being displayed on a smartphone among other social media networks in this photo illustration in Brussels, Belgium, on January 22, 2024. (Illustration by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

An AI-generated Instagram account portraying an Orthodox-looking rabbi is pushing antisemitic conspiracy theories to its more than 1.4 million followers, and it’s not the only one, a study published this week about antisemitic content on the social media platform has found, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.

Findings: An account called “Rabbi Goldman” “uses fake, AI-created authority figures to spread hate” in “a troubling and growing tactic,” according to the report, published on Wednesday by the Combat Antisemitism Movement. The 12-page report documents 100 posts that researchers described as antisemitic, pushed directly to Instagram accounts over a 96-hour period from March 19-22. These posts, actively suggested by the platform’s recommendation systems, generated more than 5.3 million likes and 3.8 million shares, with an estimated reach of 150 to 280 million users, according to the report.

Read the full story here.

EXCLUSIVE

Social media is the main source of current antisemitic wave, AJC concludes

AJC CEO Ted Deutch on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on April 30, 2025. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

A new report by the American Jewish Committee, released on Friday, found that 73% of American Jews saw or heard antisemitism online in the last year and 21% said that the antisemitism they witnessed made them feel physically threatened, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Getting to the root: Top officials at the group say that this pervasive antisemitism online is the fundamental root of the current wave of antisemitic sentiment society-wide, including violent extremist attacks on Jewish communities in the U.S. and globally, and that protecting the Jewish community requires making real progress in tackling that problem. The group’s CEO, Ted Deutch, told JI in an interview on Thursday that the report further finds that those pushing antisemitic content have found an “alarming number of ways” to avoid rules on various platforms to safeguard against hate.

Read the full story here.

Piker problem: Deutch also said that Democratic lawmakers and candidates should not associate with far-left streamer Hasan Piker, who has a record of antisemitism and support for terrorism, drawing parallels between Piker on the far left and white supremacist influencer Nick Fuentes on the far right. “In both cases, each party should make clear that voices that aren’t representative of their parties have no place in an official campaign setting — shouldn’t be welcomed, shouldn’t be welcomed in to share their views,” Deutch said.

RIPPLE EFFECT?

As the Iran war rages, who’s watching Gaza?

Members of Palestinian Hamas’ Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades and Islamic Jihad’s Quds Brigades are deployed at intersections in Gaza City on March 20, 2026. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP via Getty Images)

As the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran nears the one-month mark, experts say the war has diverted diplomatic and military attention away from Gaza, creating a mixed picture: Hamas has used the pause in sustained Israeli military pressure to reassert control in areas it still governs, while the degradation of Iran’s capabilities could ultimately leave the group weaker and more isolated once the conflict subsides, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.

State of play: Matthew Levitt, director of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s program on counterterrorism and intelligence, said that while Hamas’ retrenchment in the enclave may cause concern, “the reality is [Hamas is] not able to expand beyond the less than half [of the enclave] that it controls.” He also noted that the current conflict in Iran may actually create the conditions to further weaken, pressure and isolate the terrorist group when the war subsides.

Read the full story here.

Fog of war: President Donald Trump announced on Thursday afternoon that he would extend his pause on plans to strike Iran’s energy infrastructure, “per Iranian government request,” for an additional 10 days amid ongoing diplomatic negotiations to end the war, JI’s Emily Jacobs reports.

GOP GAPS

Signs of GOP friction over Iran war are slowly growing

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) walks through the Capitol on March 23, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

Republican lawmakers are growing frustrated with the war in Iran and with the administration’s frequently shifting rhetoric about it — including from some otherwise-hawkish lawmakers, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who previously called for an end to the war, told Bloomberg on Thursday that she’s working on a potential authorization for use of military force in Iran, to limit the scope of the U.S. operation and prevent the deployment of ground troops.

Cracks showing: “I don’t know what else to do,” Murkowski told the outlet. “I’m worried we get out of town and the president goes in with ground troops aiming for a full takeover.” The Senate is scheduled to be in recess for the next two weeks. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), who has generally been supportive of the war effort, told NOTUS on Thursday after a House Armed Services Committee briefing the day prior that he was unclear on the U.S.’ plans and goals in the war. “What is the end-state goal? What is the mission? I think clarity there would be helpful,” Bacon said.

Read the full story here for additional comments from Reps. Rob Wittmann (R-VA), Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Nancy Mace (R-SC).

Tehran talks: Jared Kushner, an informal Middle East envoy to the White House, said Thursday that Iran had not been serious about reaching a nuclear deal with the United States before President Donald Trump, his father-in-law, chose to attack the country in a joint military operation with Israel, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports.

PLAYING DEFENSE

After backlash, Janeese Lewis George vows to both combat antisemitism, back Palestinians

D.C. City Councilmember Janeese Lewis George speaks at a “Lox and Legislators” breakfast held by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington on Dec. 18, 2025. (Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington)

After Janeese Lewis George met last week with Washington rabbis and other local Jewish leaders who were concerned about her views on Israel and antisemitism, the Washington, D.C., mayoral candidate released a statement pledging to stand firm in both her opposition to antisemitism and her support for the Palestinian cause, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.

Statement: “Those two things are not in conflict,” Lewis George, who is endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, wrote in a statement that was posted to her campaign website on Wednesday. “To the Jewish community in DC: I will not be a mayor who includes or excludes you based on your opinions or feelings on matters here and across the world. I will always protect your freedom, safety, and sense of belonging,” Lewis George, a D.C. councilmember, wrote in the statement. Lewis George also noted that she was one of the first councilmembers in the District to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and that she met with students at George Washington University who were advocating for a ceasefire.

Read the full story here.

Worthy Reads

Blind Spot on Hate: In The Free Press, former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair examines what he considers to be the unwillingness of Western leaders to fight the ideologies that breed antisemitism. “The problem is that, under pressure from party activists and parts of the Muslim community, many progressive politicians who do sincerely reject antisemitism are not making these arguments, and failing to take head-on this literally ‘unholy alliance’ between parts of the left and Islamists in our own societies whose ideology leads inexorably to antisemitism. Because failure to do so creates the climate in which, even if antisemitism is not explicitly condoned, it flourishes.” [FreePress]

The 1930s Redux: The Wall Street Journal’s Natasha Dangoor looks at Jewish communal concerns about rising antisemitism in the West as “Jews the world over” become targets amid increasingly violent antisemitism tied to Israel’s wars in Gaza and Iran. “While the attacks gain global media attention, it is daily life that has gotten less comfortable for many Jews who participate in communal life. Outside synagogues and Jewish schools, concrete barriers, high walls and security personnel are a constant reminder of the threats they face. … ‘It feels like the 1930s,’ said Ralph Pais, a 45-year-old real-estate investor who splits his time between Antwerp and Brussels.” [WSJ]

The Brotherhood’s New Turf: In The Washington Post, Tareq Alotaiba, a fellow at the Belfer Center at Harvard University, considers why the Muslim Brotherhood has proliferated across Europe. “The modus operandi of the Brotherhood is patience — it waits until it is confident in its strength, then moves against the established state structure. … One challenge in addressing the threat lies in the group’s approach to its Islamist agenda. Although its ideology has inspired much terrorism, its methods have seldom been violent. The Brotherhood’s strategy is to slowly indoctrinate youth until the organization can leverage its societal influence into political control.” [WashPost]

Word on the Street

Vice President JD Vance, who Axios reports is increasingly taking on the Trump administration’s Iran negotiation efforts, met yesterday in Washington with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani…

The Pentagon is mulling sending an additional 10,000 troops to the Middle East, after calling up thousands of paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division earlier this week…

The potential move comes as Israel, reportedly concerned that the U.S. could potentially wind down the war against Iran, increasingly targets the Islamic Republic’s military infrastructure in an effort to hobble the regime’s arms-production abilities…

Iran is indicating to the U.N. that it will enforce a kind of “toll” for vessels to access the Strait of Hormuz, as it maintains control of the vital waterway…

The New York Times does a deep dive into Binance’s failure to stop the transmission of $1.7 billion in cryptocurrency to Iran-linked groups in violation of U.S. sanctions…

David Sacks departed his role as the White House’s AI and crypto czar after hitting the 130-day limit as a special government employee; Sacks will continue to serve as co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology…

The State Department is sending $1.25 billion to the Board of Peace, the majority of which was taken from funds ear marked for international disaster assistance…

The Senate approved by unanimous consent a proposal to fund most of the programs under the Department of Homeland Security; Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol were omitted from the late-night deal…

Sens. Ted Budd (R-NC) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced the Abraham Accords Defense Cooperation Act, which requires the administration to establish a cooperation initiative with Abraham Accords countries and creates a funding avenue for such cooperative efforts…

The selection committee in Columbia University’s history department recommended the school hire Rosie Bsheer, who was removed from her leadership role at Harvard’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies over the center’s imbalanced programming on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, for the New York school’s next Edward Said Professorship in Modern Arab Studies and Literature…

The Free Press spotlights the political trajectory of far-left activist Calla Walsh, the former Democratic organizer who interned for Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) before becoming more aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, serving jail time for anti-Israel vandalism and eventually relocating to a Hezbollah stronghold in Lebanon, where the 21-year-old now lives…

The Jewish Federation of Detroit condemned “recent remarks from prominent individuals praising U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hezbollah and downplaying the attack on Temple Israel,” following Detroit News interviews with prominent Arab American activists in the Detroit area, including the publisher of the Arab American News, expressing support for the terror group…

Lean In, the nonprofit founded by Sheryl Sandberg, has lost approximately a quarter of its staff as the Sandberg Goldberg Bernthal Family Foundation scales up its efforts to combat the “manosphere” and “tradwife” movements gaining traction among young people…

The New York Times reviews “Yes,” writer-director Nadav Lapid’s latest satirical film, which takes place in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and spotlights a fictional couple who tries to ingratiate themselves with the country’s powerbrokers…

A judge in Montreal dropped charges against a woman who made a Nazi salute at pro-Israel demonstrators and repeatedly threatened that they would be targeted with a “final solution”…

Authorities in London announced charges against a Palestinian British doctor with a history of making antisemitic comments online of having invited support for Hamas on multiple occasions…

Two British men arrested in connection with an arson attack on Hatzola ambulances in London’s Golders Green suburb were released on bail…

Israeli-born professor Edna Foa, who pioneered the use of prolonged exposure therapy to treat PTSD, died at 88…

Pic of the Day

Former Israeli hostage Bar Kupershtein released the music video for his song, “The Last War,” which recounts his time in captivity in Gaza and recovery after his release in October. The music video includes clips of Kupershtein with his father, Tal, who relearned to talk after surviving a stroke in order to advocate for his son’s release.

Birthdays

Endeavor CEO Ari Emmanuel during the UFC 324 event at T-Mobile Arena on January 24, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Hollywood mogul, CEO of Endeavor and CEO and executive chairman of TKO Group Holdings, which owns the UFC and WWE, Ariel Zev “Ari” Emanuel turns 65 on Sunday…

FRIDAY: Composer and violinist, he has been active in the presentation of new music and dance since the early 1960s, Malcolm Goldstein turns 90… President for 28 years at the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, he is now its executive vice chairman, Steven B. Nasatir turns 81… Principal technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal until 2013, then the executive editor of The Verge and editor-at-large of Recode, he is now retired, Walter S. Mossberg turns 79… Executive director at Milwaukee’s Grand Avenue Club (a mental health center), Rachel Forman… Chairman and CEO of First International Resources in Fort Lee, N.J., Zev Furst turns 78… Sports agent who has represented the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft eight times, he is the real-life inspiration of the sports agent in the film “Jerry Maguire” in 1996, Leigh Steinberg turns 77… Retired host of the “Matty in the Morning Show,” which ran for 41 years in Massachusetts on KISS 108, Matt Siegel turns 76… Deputy director of leadership giving at Baruch College, Linda Altshuler… Former member of the Knesset, he resigned in January 2026 to become deputy communications minister, Yisrael Eichler turns 71… Moral philosopher, she is the director of the Einstein Forum in Potsdam, Germany, Susan Neiman turns 71… Former NFL linebacker, now president of Performance Coaching (training real estate agents), he was a captain of the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII (1983), Steven Mark Shull turns 68… Economist and banker in Latvia, Valerijs Kargins turns 65… Smooth jazz saxophonist, he has been recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Dave Koz turns 63… Actress and producer, now serving as senior VP at the Youth Renewal Fund, Sabrina Wachtel Kurzman turns 62… Managing director of Maimonides Fund, he is a 1994 graduate of Columbia Law School, Daniel Gamulka… CEO since 2004 of BBYO, an organization launched almost 100 years ago (formerly B’nai B’rith Youth Organization), Matthew Grossman turns 55… President of NYC’s Tenement Museum, Dr. Annie Polland… Founder and CEO of the Movement Vision Lab, a grassroots think tank, she is a political commentator and community organizer, Sally Kohn turns 49… Associate professor at Columbia University School of the Arts, she is the author of six full-length collections of poetry, Dorothea Lasky turns 48… Human rights attorney and head of the Sydney office of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, Arsen Ostrovsky turns 46… Senior political reporter at MS NOW, Jacob Hirsch Soboroff turns 43… Hitting coach in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, he played for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic and the 2020 Olympics, Blake Shane Gailen turns 41… Former professional ice hockey player, he played on Israel’s national team and in the U.S., Canada and Japan, now a partner at McKinsey & Company, Oren Eizenman turns 41… VP at SignalFlare.ai, he is a former associate director in the NYC area for AIPAC, Adam B. Engel… Assistant principal at Snowden Farm Elementary School in Clarksburg, Md., Kayla Brameyer… Communications and social media specialist, Daniella Greenbaum Davis… Son of Jared and Ivanka, Theodore James Kushner turns 10…

SATURDAY: Professor emeritus of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in physics, Jerome Isaac Friedman turns 96… Chairman and CEO of the Hartz Group and Hartz Mountain Corporation, a leading seller of pet supplies, Leonard Norman Stern turns 88… Israeli electrical engineer and business executive, he was the founder and first general manager of Intel Israel and the inventor of the EPROM chip, Dov Frohman turns 87… Expert on the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, and wife of the late U.S. Sen. and VPOTUS candidate Joe Lieberman, Hadassah Lieberman turns 78… Glenview, Ill., resident, Genie Kutchins… Iranian-born CEO of Los Angeles-based toy company MGA Entertainment (maker of Little Tikes and Bratz and Lalaloopsy dolls), Isaac Larian turns 72… Former member of the Knesset for 13 years, she served as the leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Shelly Yachimovich turns 66… Special envoy and coordinator for the U.S. Department of State’s Global Engagement Center during the Biden administration, James Phillip Rubin turns 66… One of four hostages held at gunpoint for 11 hours at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, in January 2022, Jeffrey R. Cohen… Former rhythmic gymnast, now teaching yoga in Connecticut, she represented the U.S. at the 1984 Summer Olympics, Valerie Le Zimring-Schneiderman turns 61… “Lexington” columnist at The Economist, he is the younger brother of U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), James Douglas Bennet turns 60… Presidential historian and Jewish liaison in the Bush 43 administration, he is now a senior scholar at Yeshiva University and a senior fellow at the Ronald Reagan Institute, Tevi Troy turns 59… President and CEO of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, Adam Lehman turns 59… Film producer, entertainment executive and director of movies, music videos and television programs, Brett Ratner turns 57… Journalist, crime writer and blogger who has spent most of his career in Japan, he assisted the U.S. State Department’s investigation into human trafficking in Japan, Jake Adelstein turns 57… Israeli journalist, she is both a television and radio news presenter, Keren Neubach turns 56… Novelist, television producer and journalist, one of her novels was made into a major motion picture, Jennifer Weiner turns 56… U.S. senator (R-FL), she was appointed last year to the seat vacated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Ashley Moody turns 51… Author of eight best-selling novels including in 2003 The Devil Wears Prada, based upon the author’s time as an assistant to Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, Lauren Weisberger turns 49… Member of the Knesset since 2015 for the Likud party, now serving as the minister of culture and sports, Makhlouf “Miki” Zohar turns 46… Benjy Spiro… Los Angeles-based, Israeli-born fashion designer, Yotam Solomon turns 39… Retired MLB outfielder for the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs, now a real estate developer in Bali, Indonesia, Ryan Kalish turns 38… VP at Tradepoint Atlantic, a 3,300-acre global logistics center near Baltimore, Michael Hurwitz… SVP of asset management at Hackman Capital Partners, Zachary David Sokoloff… Quarterback for the Tulane University Green Wave football team, Jake Retzlaff turns 24…

SUNDAY: Israeli chemist, professor emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and at UCLA, winner of the 1974 Israel Prize and the 1988 Wolf Prize in Chemistry, Raphael David Levine turns 88… Organizer of the annual morning minyan services since 1983 for runners in the NYC Marathon, Peter Berkowsky turns 84… Attorney, New York Times best-selling author and sports agent for many athletes including Cal Ripken, Jim Palmer, Brooks Robinson, Kirby Puckett and Eddie Murray, Ronald M. Shapiro turns 83… Houston-based labor law, employment law and personal injury attorney, active in Jewish organizations, Carol Cohen Nelkin… University of Chicago professor and winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in economics, Roger Myerson turns 75… Investor, computer scientist and founder of D. E. Shaw & Co., a hedge fund based upon high-speed quantitative trading, David Elliot Shaw turns 75… Economist, professor emeritus at NYU and chairman and CEO of consulting firm Roubini Macro Associates, Nouriel Roubini turns 68… Miami businesswoman, JoAnne Papir… U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, he was the co-founder and co-CEO of Cerberus Capital Management, Stephen Andrew Feinberg turns 66… U.S. senator (D-NV), Catherine Cortez Masto turns 62… Director of the Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency, David Barnea turns 61… French film director and writer, best known for his 2011 film “The Artist,” which won five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Michel Hazanavicius turns 59… Budget secretary for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Uri Z. Monson turns 57… Vice president and senior advisor at The Rockefeller Foundation and adjunct fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Eric Pelofsky… Founder of Leopard Strategies, Liz Jaff… White House staff secretary in the Trump administration, Will Scharf turns 40… Communications director for Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), David A. Bergstein… Associate director at Power Insights, Annie Rosen Pai… Director of business development at Logical Buildings, Alex Zafran…

ANALYSIS

Current, former U.S. and Israeli officials reject Trump claim that U.S. ‘knew nothing’ about Israeli strike on South Pars gas field

Trump made the remarks in a Truth Social post, in which he threatened that the U.S. would bomb the South Pars gas field if Iran does not stop attacking Qatar

Alex Wong/Getty Images

President Donald Trump speaks during the annual Friends of Ireland Luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on March 17, 2026 in Washington, DC.

By

Lahav Harkov

March 19, 2026

Current and former Israeli and U.S. officials suggested that an Israeli strike on an Iranian gas field on Wednesday that prompted the Islamic Republic to strike Qatar was coordinated with the White House, despite President Donald Trump’s claim that the U.S. “knew nothing about this particular attack.”

Trump made the remarks in a Truth Social post, in which he threatened that the U.S. would bomb the South Pars gas field, the Iranian portion of the larger field shared with Qatar, if Iran does not stop attacking Qatar.

“The United States knew nothing about this particular attack, and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape or form involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen. Unfortunately, Iran did not know this … and unjustifiably and unfairly attacked a portion of Qatar’s [liquid natural gas] facility,” the president wrote.

If “Iran unwisely decides to attack a very innocent, in this case, Qatar,” he added, the U.S., “with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before.”

An Israeli official told Kan News, Israel’s public broadcaster, that the attack on the South Pars gas field was coordinated with the U.S.

Dan Shapiro, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Pentagon official in the Biden administration, wrote on X, “Trump can post whatever he likes. But there is zero, I mean zero, chance the IDF would conduct a strike in that location without giving CENTCOM full visibility.”

“Trump knew (and approved),” Shapiro added. “Now he realizes it caused a major escalation with Iran’s (entirely unjustified) attacks on Gulf energy targets.”

Shapiro later clarified that the Israeli strike “could not have been carried [out] without U.S. knowledge and explicit or implicit approval.”

“It was predictable that strikes on Iranian energy facilities (by US or Israel) would lead to Iranian strikes on Gulf energy facilities,” he wrote. “There is a narrow window following the Israeli and Iranian strikes, and Trump’s Truth Social Post (untrue, but possibly useful in this context), to de-escalate away from further strikes on energy industry targets in either direction. That will still leave a very challenging situation to unwind, but [it] would be the best near-term development.”

Gilad Erdan, a former Israeli ambassador to Washington and a former member of Israel’s Security Cabinet, told Jewish Insider that it was highly likely the U.S. knew about the strike, saying that Trump did not criticize Israel in his post, and “in the same breath” as saying the U.S. was unaware, “[Trump] himself threatened to erase the [gas] field.”

Erdan noted that the South Pars gas field is “used for Iran’s domestic energy needs [and] doesn’t harm the international energy market.”

“Israel took upon itself to be at the front [of the situation] in my estimation because the field is also Qatari,” Erdan, who is also a senior fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security, said. “Someone had to send the deterrent message about the energy field to the Iranians, that if they continue, then all options are open against them and they will be hurt badly.” (The writer is a senior fellow at the Misgav Institute and cohosts its podcast.)

Yaakov Katz, an Israeli military expert and author of While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East, told JI that he agreed with Shapiro’s assessment. “There is no way Israel would attack such a strategic facility [without coordination] because they know it would draw the Iranians to attack the Gulf states,” he said.

Katz pointed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s behavior since the war with Iran began late last month as further indication that Israel was unlikely to make such a move without coordinating with the U.S.:“Why would Netanyahu who behaved so carefully all throughout the war, coordinating with Trump to not upset him so he keeps the war going … do something that would anger Trump and potentially lead him to do something brash and declare the war is over?”

“It was coordinated, and now Trump is saying what he’s saying to distance himself, but it was done to send a message to the Iranians,” Katz added.

Also Thursday, Saudi Arabia released a statement with the foreign ministers from Azerbaijan, Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain, Pakistan, Turkey, Syria, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon and Egypt urging Iran to stop its attacks.

“The participants held Iran fully responsible for the losses and called on Iran to immediately and unconditionally cease its aggression and to comply with UN Security Council resolutions. The meeting also emphasized the dangers of supporting militias and destabilizing security, stressing that Iran must seriously reconsider its miscalculations,” the statement read.

If Iran continues, the foreign ministers stated, there will be “serious consequences for Iran and the security of the region, and will exact a heavy price, casting a shadow over its relations with the countries and peoples of the region, who will not stand idly by in the face of threats to their capabilities.”

INTEL ASSESSMENT

Iranian regime is ‘intact but largely degraded’ amid strikes, DNI Tulsi Gabbard says

Gabbard also said Tehran has the ‘intention to rebuild’ its nuclear capabilities that were ‘obliterated’ in last summer’s strikes

Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Tulsi Gabbard, director of National Intelligence, speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.

By

Marc Rod

March 18, 2026

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said that the U.S. and Israeli operations against Iran have largely destroyed Tehran’s “power projection capabilities” in the region, but that the regime remains standing, if weakened.

“The [intelligence community] assesses that Operation Epic Fury is advancing fundamental change in the region that began with Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and continued with the 12-day war last year, resulting in weakening Iran and its proxies,” Gabbard said at a hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee on worldwide threats on Wednesday.

“The IC assesses the regime in Iran appears to be intact but largely degraded due to attacks on its leadership and military capabilities,” she continued. “Its conventional military power projection capabilities have largely been destroyed, leaving limited options. Iran’s strategic position has been significantly degraded.”

If the Iranian regime survives the current war, Gabbard said that it would “seek to begin a yearslong effort to rebuild its military, missiles and UAV forces.”

She further said that, if the regime remains standing, internal tensions and resistance to the regime inside Iran are likely to increase as the country’s economy continues to struggle under U.S. and international sanctions.

Gabbard said in her opening statement that Iran “was trying to recover from the severe damage to its nuclear infrastructure sustained during the 12-day war, and continued to refuse to comply with its nuclear obligations” to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Democratic senators pressed her throughout the hearing on apparent differences between those comments and her written remarks provided to the committee before the hearing, in which Gabbard said that Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was “obliterated” and that it had made “no efforts since then to try to rebuild” its enrichment capacity.

Under questioning, Gabbard affirmed that stance, but said Iran “maintained the intention to rebuild” its nuclear capabilities. She said she had omitted those remarks from her oral testimony for time reasons.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe throughout the hearing appeared to take a more aggressive and assertive stance on Iran than Gabbard, an isolationist and longtime opponent of war with Iran, offering a clear explanation and justification for the U.S. strikes.

Ratcliffe said that Iran was continuing its nuclear and ballistic missile development, and that he disagreed with an assessment by former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent that Iran did not pose an imminent threat, which Kent alleged in his resignation letter.

“I think Iran has been a constant threat to the United States for an extended period of time, and posed an immediate threat at this time,” Ratcliffe said.

Ratcliffe said that the U.S. operation was “detailed” and “thoughtful” with specific goals to address a long-running and growing threat.

He said that Iran was continuing to build and develop missiles “at alarming rates” such that its offensive capabilities were on track to outpace and overwhelm the U.S.’ ability to build defensive weaponry.

At the same time, Ratcliffe said the U.S. strikes last summer were a “wild success” and that Iran was “unwillinging and incapable” of enriching uranium to 60% purity since those strikes.

Gabbard, meanwhile, repeatedly declined to say whether the intelligence community had assessed Iran to be an imminent threat to the United States, asserting that only the president has the ability to determine whether any threat is imminent, to the frustration of committee Democrats.

In her opening statement, Gabbard also said that Iran’s space launch capabilities would allow it to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile by 2035, if Iran decided to pursue that, though that assessment is pending updates after U.S. military operations.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), the chair of the Intelligence Committee, suggested in his question that the timeline was much shorter, and that Iran actually could have had an ICBM that could threaten the homeland in six months.

Ratcliffe did not explicitly confirm that timeline, but emphasized that Iran’s missile program was a present and growing threat, which “if left unimpeded … would have the ability to range missiles to the continental U.S.”

“It’s one of the reasons why degrading Iran’s missile production capabilities that is taking place right now in Operation Epic Fury is so important to our national security,” Ratcliffe continued.

Pressed repeatedly by Democrats on whether the intelligence community had warned the President Donald Trump of the likelihood — as previously assessed by intelligence officials — that Iran would attack Gulf states and close the Strait of Hormuz in the event of a war, Gabbard and Ratcliffe both emphasized that the administration was aware of and had taken steps to prepare for those threats, despite comments by Trump that such moves by Iran were unanticipated.

Gabbard also described “the spread of Islamist ideology, in some cases, led by individuals and organizations associated with the Muslim Brotherhood” as “a fundamental threat to freedom and the foundational principles that underpin Western civilization.”

She said that Islamists are using such ideologies to recruit and solicit financial support for terrorism globally, and that such activity has been increasing in Europe.

Gabbard called the Trump administration’s designation of certain Muslim Brotherhood branches as terrorist organizations, “a mechanism to secure Americans.”

Ratcliffe said the CIA is “very focused” on counterterrorism, including the Muslim Brotherhood, and that the administration has had significant success, which he could share further in a classified setting.

Daily Overtime

Mamdani jabs Israel over … St. Patty’s Day?

Plus, airlines push back direct flights to TLV

TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP via Getty Images

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (2L), New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch (2R) and Cardinal Timothy Dolan (R) participate in annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York on March 17, 2026.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

March 17, 2026

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

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned from his role today over opposition to the war in Iran, baselessly alleging that Israel had coerced the United States into what he characterized as a misguided military conflict, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.

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

Kent, a hard-right former congressional candidate with isolationist foreign policy leanings, has previously promoted conspiracy theories, echoed pro-Russia messaging and associated with white supremacists and neo-Nazis, among other controversies. He’s now expected to appear on the podcast of his ally and friend Tucker Carlson…

After being largely rejected by foreign leaders on his repeated calls to assist in the war with Iran, Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social that, “Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! … WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!”

Asked about the timeline of the war by reporters in the Oval Office this afternoon, Trump said, “We’re not ready to leave yet, but we will be leaving in the … very near future”…

Reports indicate Iran’s security forces, despite being badly battered by the U.S. and Israel, are conducting renewed crackdowns on the Iranian public and potential dissenters. At least 500 people have been arrested since the start of the war, and new security checkpoints are being deployed for regime oversight…

Major U.S. airlines have extended their suspensions of direct flights to Tel Aviv as the war continues, JI’s Haley Cohen reports, with both United and Delta airlines not offering any direct flights until June.

The first direct flight on United Airlines between Newark Liberty International Airport and Ben Gurion Airport is available on June 16, while the first direct New York to Tel Aviv flight on Delta Airlines is available June 1. United’s direct flights from Israel to Chicago O’Hare and Washington Dulles International Airport are also suspended…

U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack denied reports that the U.S. is encouraging Syria to deploy forces into eastern Lebanon to help disarm Hezbollah, as the IDF begins to carry out ground incursions in the south of the country…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to post “proof of life” videos on social media amid internet conspiracy theories that he has been killed and replaced by a look-alike…

Trump’s decision to withhold his endorsement in the Texas Senate GOP runoff all but guarantees that Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will both appear on the May 26 runoff ballot, as neither have dropped out of the race ahead of this evening’s deadline…

Maine Gov. Janet Mills released her first attack ad against her Democratic primary rival in the race for U.S. Senate, oyster farmer Graham Platner, highlighting social media comments he made about sexual assault that have marred his campaign. In the ad, several women read disparaging comments made by Platner on Reddit over a decade ago relating to rape, and a picture of Platner’s Nazi tattoo — which he has since had covered — is displayed under a magnifying glass. “The closer you look, the worse it gets,” the ad’s narrator says…

The Wall Street Journal spotlights the gamble being made by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker as he expends political capital (and actual capital) backing his lieutenant governor, Juliana Stratton, in the state’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate taking place today. Pritzker’s involvement has drawn the ire of the Congressional Black Caucus, which is backing Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL), even though both Stratton and Kelly are Black. The race is seen as a test of Pritzker’s political clout in his home state…

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani took the occasion of St. Patrick’s Day and the presence of former Irish President Mary Robinson in New York to accuse Israel of committing genocide and to praise Robinson’s controversial tenure as the United Nations’ high commissioner for human rights, JI’s Will Bredderman reports.

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

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a rundown of the results of Illinois’ Democratic primaries, where polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is expected to face questions over the departure of her deputy, Joe Kent, at the Senate Intelligence Committee’s hearing on worldwide threats, where she will testify alongside other intelligence agency heads. Gabbard said today after Kent’s resignation that, as commander-in-chief, Trump “concluded that … Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion,” but did not say whether she agrees herself in that assessment, something she is likely to be pressed on tomorrow.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will receive a classified briefing on the war in Iran from State Department intelligence officials.

The Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a nomination hearing for Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) to be secretary of homeland security after Trump’s ouster of Secretary Kristi Noem.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom will hold a hearing on rising antisemitism abroad.

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DOMESTIC FRONT

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

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Daily Overtime

Shapiro tests out presidential pro-Israel message

And Europe to Trump: Iran is 'not our war'

Peter W. Stevenson/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro sits for an interview at the Pennsylvania State Capitol on June 11, 2025.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

March 16, 2026

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

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

European countries are largely rebuffing President Donald Trump’s calls to join the war with Iran and help secure the largely impassable Strait of Hormuz. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said today, “This is not our war; we did not start it,” while the French foreign ministry said, “Posture has not changed: defensive it is.” Poland, the U.K. and Italy similarly made clear they would not be participating in an offensive capacity…

On potential negotiations with Iran, Trump told reporters, “We don’t even know their leaders. We have people wanting to negotiate. We have no idea who they are.” He said new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “badly disfigured” and noted it’s “unusual” he hasn’t recently been seen in public.

Khamenei narrowly survived an airstrike on his compound on Feb. 28 as he briefly stepped outside, according to leaked audio obtained by The Telegraph, which reportedly contains remarks by an official in the office of deceased Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to senior clerics…

IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani denied reports that Israel is running low on missile interceptors, saying there is no “urgent problem” and that the military re-equips its supplies “in real time”…

Debris and missile fragments from Iranian attacks fell in the Old City of Jerusalem near several sensitive sites including the Western Wall Plaza and feet away from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre…

Twenty-three Democratic members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee wrote to Trump requesting a public hearing with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to understand their role in “lead[ing] diplomatic engagement with Iran”…

Representatives of the U.S.-led Board of Peace met with Hamas officials over the weekend in Cairo, Egypt, Reuters reports, in an effort to keep ceasefire negotiations on track even as the war with Iran proceeds. Aryeh Lightstone, an aide to Witkoff, reportedly represented the U.S. delegation, with more meetings expected this week…

Times of Israel reporter Emanuel Fabian chronicles his experience receiving death threats from users of the prediction market platform Polymarket over his reporting on a recent Iranian missile strike in the city of Beit Shemesh…

Trump announced that Susie Wiles, his White House chief of staff, has been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and will receive treatment while remaining in her post…

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a potential 2028 presidential contender, tested out his measured, pro-Israel messaging in a series of recent podcast interviews, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. In his appearances on “Pod Save America” and “Higher Learning,” Shapiro made the case that, as the starting point for any public political conversation about Israel, the fact of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state must be respected.

“I think what is dangerous here … is for those who think Israel doesn’t have a right to exist in [the] conversation. That to me is a recipe for permanent war,” Shapiro told “Higher Learning” host Van Lathan. He also pushed back on California Gov. Gavin Newsom, his potential 2028 opponent, for saying Israel could be described as an apartheid state…

Rep. Mike Lawler’s (R-NY) reelection campaign is employing a community activist, Darrell Davis, who has criticized Democratic politicians, including Rep. George Latimer (D-NY) and a county executive, for taking money from pro-Israel groups and traveling to Israel, Politico reports.

Davis accused Latimer of being on the receiving end of a “Jewish organized spending spree” and taking “about $30 million to buy a congressional seat, to represent the interests of Israel,” which he called “a horrific threat to democracy.” About Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins’ trip to Israel, Davis wrote, “Why are they in Israel?? What more proof do people need that black Dems don’t give a sh*t about you. They are up for sale”…

The day before her primary election in Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, far-left social media influencer Kat Abughazaleh removed language from her campaign website claiming “There is no acceptable scenario that leaves Hamas in charge of the Gaza Strip,” after she had faced criticism from the Hamas-friendly outlet Drop Site News over its inclusion. Her site says that the earlier language on the page “did not accurately reflect Kat’s views or the values of this campaign”…

And the closing drama in the Illinois Senate Democratic primary is Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton’s claim that she received a deathbed endorsement from civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, which the Jackson family said today he had never finalized. The late reverend’s support is seen as meaningful in the race, which includes multiple prominent Black candidates, as well as Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL)…

The Atlantic spotlights one of the main obstacles facing Maine Gov. Janet Mills in her Democratic primary for U.S. Senate against oyster farmer Graham Platner: her age. Mills, 78, “does not have a dicey Reddit history or a recently covered-over Nazi tattoo” but is still trailing in the polls, even as Platner continues to be plagued by scandals. “One likely factor: If she is elected, Mills would be the oldest freshman senator in history”…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at the tense runoff in the Democratic primary for Texas’ 35th Congressional District, where a fringe conspiracy theorist eked out a narrow victory over a sheriff’s deputy backed by the pro-Israel establishment.

All eyes will be on the Prairie State tomorrow, as several high-profile Democratic primaries will be decided across Illinois. Read JI’s coverage of the races to watch.

On the Hill, the House Intelligence Committee will hold its annual hearing on worldwide threats, with testimony from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, FBI Director Kash Patel, NSA Acting Director William Hartman and DIA Director James Adams.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on reforming U.S. defense sales.

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BREAKING POINT

Antisemitism meets America’s ‘thoughts and prayers’ ritual

A vigil is held near the scene of a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois.

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

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ON PRINCIPLE

Josh Shapiro tests measured, pro-Israel message in progressive podcast tour

In preparing for a potential 2028 presidential run, the Pennsylvania governor said the Democratic Party must first agree that Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state

Peter W. Stevenson/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro sits for an interview at the Pennsylvania State Capitol on June 11, 2025.

By

Gabby Deutch

March 16, 2026

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Daily Overtime

‘We are safe’: Michigan synagogue shooting rattles Jewish community

Plus, Ro Khanna defends Hasan Piker amid Mich. attack

Emily Elconin/Getty Images

Law enforcement respond near Temple Israel following reports of an active shooter on March 12, 2026 in West Bloomfield, Mich.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

March 12, 2026

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

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

A suspect was killed during an active shooter and car ramming incident at Temple Israel in the heavily Jewish Detroit suburb of West Bloomfield Township, Mich., this afternoon, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.

Armed synagogue security engaged the suspect with gunfire, and a security guard who was knocked unconscious is expected to recover. A preschool that was in session at the time of the incident was evacuated safely. Authorities are continuing to investigate the suspect’s identity and motive.

“Everyone is safe. All 140 students in our Susan and Harold Loss Early Childhood Center, our amazing staff, our courageous teachers, and our heroic security personnel are all accounted for and safe,” the synagogue wrote on social media. “This note is coming to you before we know anything about our future programming or services, or any investigation. We wanted you to know we are safe, and we love you all”…

Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader, issued his first public statement today that indicates he’s as hard-line as his late father: Khamenei demanded the U.S. shut all its military bases in the Gulf immediately and said he’ll continue to target the Strait of Hormuz in order to “pressure the enemy.” His statement was read on state media indirectly by a presenter, as reports indicate the 56-year-old was injured in an Israeli strike and he has not been seen in public since.

President Donald Trump did not seem dissuaded — he posted on Truth Social, “when oil prices go up” the U.S. makes “a lot of money,” but “of far greater importance to me, as President, is stopping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons”…

Following a Republican convening this week focused on combating right-wing antisemitism, the center-left think tank Third Way urged fellow Democrats to follow the lead of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in calling out antisemitism within their own party.

“We certainly believe that Cruz was right and our side has a real antisemitism problem too that too many Democrats are failing to face squarely,” Matt Bennett, the group’s executive vice president for public affairs, told JI’s Gabby Deutch.

Similar comments from Third Way staff sparked a public clash with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who defended controversial left-wing figures including antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker and said the true issue lies with the “neocons” in the party…

Less than a week until primary election day in Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, outside spending in the race is approaching $9 million, the majority of which is aimed at boosting state Sen. Laura Fine, a pro-Israel Democrat. Nearly half of all outside spending has come from the Elect Chicago Women super PAC, widely rumored to be connected to pro-Israel groups.

Another PAC rumored to be connected to AIPAC, Chicago Progressive Partnership, has spent over $1 million attacking anti-Israel social media influencer Kat Abughazaleh, including a new ad that spotlights her support from James “Fergie” Cox Chambers Jr., a communist political activist and scion of the billionaire Cox family often involved in radical-left causes…

A new poll commissioned by the far-left advocacy group Justice Democrats finds Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) in a competitive race for his seat — he’s now neck-and-neck with his primary opponent, state Rep. Justin Pearson. Pearson, a progressive legislator, gained public attention for being expelled from the Statehouse in 2023 for participating in a gun control protest on the floor…

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed Assemblyman Micah Lasher, his former staffer, in the hotly contested primary race for New York’s 12th Congressional District today, calling him “a key part of our team in City Hall.” Bloomberg plans to spend “millions of dollars” on a super PAC and ad campaign to boost Lasher, The New York Times reports, a notable effort by the popular former mayor to elevate Lasher among the pack…

Trump has delayed endorsing Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in the Texas Senate runoff against Attorney General Ken Paxton, which Trump implied last week he would do imminently, instead using the potential endorsement to pressure Senate Republicans to change filibuster rules and pass his voter-ID bill. Paxton raised the stakes by saying he might drop out if the bill passes, a move that forced Cornyn to shift his stance on the filibuster…

The Boston Globe looks at Rep. Seth Moulton’s (D-MA) efforts to get on the Democratic primary ballot in his race against Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), which will require him to receive support from 15% of delegates at the state Democratic Party’s upcoming convention. Moulton is attempting to recruit unregistered voters to become delegates in order to boost his chances, which observers are split on…

Politico uncovers the past political stances and writings of Morris Katz, the Democratic operative and anti-Israel whisperer now behind several high-profile progressive campaigns, when he lauded former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and derided progressive icon Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)…

Shortly after the organization elevated a new political director who is closely tied to neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes, College Republicans of America’s chapter at Georgetown University came under investigation by the school for a social media post in which it claimed “Muslims have no place in American society”…

The Wall Street Journal spotlights Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, as he “stay[s] out of the politics of the war” in Iran “and remains focused on waging it”…

The Treasury Department issued sanctions against four “sham charity” groups in Turkey and Indonesia that it said are funneling money and resources to Hamas’ military wing, JI’s Marc Rod reports…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for reaction to today’s attack on Michigan’s Temple Israel from Jewish leaders and leading lawmakers.

The South by Southwest festival will hold its annual #openShabbat experience for Jews in tech, film and music tomorrow in Austin, Texas.

A Saturday fundraiser for Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA) with an appearance by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Nunn’s home district in Iowa has been canceled; the event, called “Top Nunn” in reference to the “Top Gun” movies, had drawn scrutiny after several soldiers who had been stationed in Nunn’s district were killed in the course of the war with Iran.

The Jewish Funders Network international conference starts Sunday in San Diego.

HaZamir: The International Jewish Teen Choir performs at Lincoln Center in New York City on Sunday evening.

The Zionist Organization of America will host its Florida Superstar Gala Sunday evening, where it will honor Pastor John Hagee, founder of Christians United for Israel; Justice Department official Leo Terrell; and Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), among others.

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

Stories You May Have Missed

POLITICAL TIGHTROPE

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

Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), during a news conference in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, May 22, 2025.

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

Read more

Daily Overtime

Ben Rhodes calls for Dem purity test over Iran

Plus, Israel considers building Somaliland base

Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Ben Rhodes, then-deputy national security advisor to President Barack Obama, participates in an interview with press at the White House in on Wednesday, December 14, 2016.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

March 11, 2026

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

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The Strait of Hormuz continues to be a key site of conflict in the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran — a spokesperson for the Iranian Armed Forces said in a video statement that the regime “will never allow even a single liter of oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz for the benefit of America, the Zionists or their partners,” shortly after several ships were struck by missiles while passing through or near the strait…

The International Energy Agency announced its member countries will release 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves in order to blunt the impacts of the war, the largest emergency release in history…

President Donald Trump told Axios that the war will end “soon” because there’s “practically nothing left to target” in Iran. U.S. and Israeli officials are reportedly preparing for at least two more weeks of hostilities…

Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea speaks to experts and former Trump administration officials about Qatar’s potentially changing calculus on hosting Iranian-backed Hamas leaders as Tehran continues to attack the Gulf state…

A preliminary U.S. military investigation has found the deadly strike on a school in Iran was caused by the U.S. as it was targeting a nearby Iranian base, sources told The New York Times…

The FBI recently warned California police departments that Iran may launch a drone attack in the state, ABC News reports. As of last month, “Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United State Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the U.S. conducted strikes against Iran,” the bureau’s alert read…

Israel is considering building a base in Somaliland, which it recently recognized as an independent country, in order to combat the threat of the Houthis, which are based in Yemen just across the Gulf of Aden…

Iran will not participate in the 2026 World Cup after the U.S. “assassinated our leader,” Iran’s sports minister told state media, shortly after Trump said he would still “welcome” the team’s participation. Iran’s national men’s soccer team was set to compete in June in Los Angeles and Seattle; several athletes from the country’s women’s team recently defected to Australia after playing in a match there…

Spain permanently withdrew its ambassador to Israel, as the countries’ already tense relations worsen over Madrid’s opposition to the war in Iran…

House Republican leadership discussed ways to incorporate an expected emergency supplemental for the U.S. military into the budget reconciliation process, Politico reports, rather than attempting to rally support from Senate Democrats for the 60-vote threshold that would otherwise be required in the Senate on a stand-alone vote. The move would also sidestep a vote that could be politically challenging for some House Republicans…

Former Obama administration official Ben Rhodes, a leading Israel critic on the left, said on an episode of his “Pod Save the World” podcast that Democrats who vote in favor of funding for the war with Iran “should be primaried. I don’t want you in the Democratic Party.”

Rhodes and co-host Tommy Vietor referenced the four Democrats who voted against a war powers resolution in the House as ripe for primary challenges. Left unsaid: Three of the four — Reps. Greg Landsman (D-OH), Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and Jared Golden (D-ME) — represent GOP-leaning seats that would likely flip with a more progressive Democratic candidate…

In a sign of the political gulfs between the Israeli and American left, Yair Zivan, who is an advisor to Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, pushed back on Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) after the senator criticized Israeli operations in Lebanon.

“Senator, I work for the Leader of the Opposition in Israel and I’m writing this from a bomb shelter with my children. Israel is under attack by fanatical terrorists who want to murder us. It never ceases to amaze that your humanity never seems to extend to Israeli lives,” Zivan wrote on X…

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he called New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to “check in on him and his wife to make sure they’re doing okay” after the attempted terror attack outside Mamdani’s official residence over the weekend. “As someone who’s had to deal with political violence, I know it can take a toll,” Shapiro said. The governor previously spoke with Mamdani after his win in November to express concerns over his rhetoric about Israel…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at the far-right ties of the new political director of College Republicans of America.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing on foreign influence in American higher education, including testimony from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Craig Singleton.

The annual weeklong South by Southwest festival kicks off tomorrow in Austin, Texas. Appearing at the summit, whose 300,000 attendees include many film and media professionals, is anti-Israel protest leader Mahmoud Khalil, who will speak about “the system that tried to silence him, and the personal and political stakes of resistance.”

Stories You May Have Missed

PRIMARY PRESSURE

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

City of San Diego Councilmember Marni von Wilpert rides in the Port of San Diego Holiday Bowl Parade on December 28, 2022 in San Diego, California.

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

Read more

POLICE PROBE

San Jose police investigating attack on Israeli Americans as hate crime

The two victims said they were approached by three assailants while speaking Hebrew

JCRC Bay Area/X

Video shows assailants attacking two Israeli-Americans in San Fransisco on March 9, 2026.

By

Gabby Deutch

March 10, 2026

Police in San Jose, Calif., are investigating a violent attack against two adult men outside an upscale restaurant as an antisemitic hate crime, a spokesperson for the police department confirmed on Tuesday.

On Sunday afternoon, three assailants approached the two victims outside Augustine, a restaurant and cafe located in the Santana Row shopping mall. The two men — Israeli Americans — were speaking Hebrew when the attackers allegedly overheard them, according to the San Francisco Jewish Community Relations Council.

“The victims alleged that the suspects used antisemitic language during the altercation. The incident is currently being investigated by the Assaults Unit as a possible hate crime,” a spokesperson for the San Jose Police Department told Jewish Insider.

A video shows the three young men repeatedly punching and kicking the victims directly in front of other diners and as bystanders walked past. The assailants then fled before police arrived.

Tali Klima, a spokesperson for the grassroots advocacy group Bay Area Jewish Coalition, urged elected officials in the Silicon Valley community to speak out against the attack.

“We call on our local elected officials to finally take a strong stand against this hatred using not only their words but also concrete actions. It is time to take threats to the Jewish community seriously,” Klima said on Tuesday.

A HOUSE DIVIDED

House narrowly defeats war powers resolution to end operations in Iran

Four Democrats and two Republicans broke with their parties to oppose and support the resolution, respectively

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

U.S. Capitol on March 05, 2026 in Washington, DC.

By

Marc Rod

Matthew Shea

March 5, 2026

A day after Republican senators blocked a vote to end the U.S.-Israeli operations in Iran, the House voted 219-212 to defeat a similar war powers resolution, with four Democrats breaking with their party to oppose an immediate end to the war, and two Republicans voting with other Democrats to oppose military action.

Reps. Greg Landsman (D-OH), Jared Golden (D-ME), Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and Juan Vargas (D-CA) were ultimately the only Democrats to vote against the resolution, which was led by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY). Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), who said they would oppose the resolution before the war began, ultimately voted in favor.

On the Republican side, Massie and Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), both of whom have isolationist leanings, were the only members of the GOP to support the resolution.

Moskowitz had argued before the war that voting preemptively on the resolution would remove U.S. leverage in negotiations, but argued that the situation has since changed and that the U.S. is now in a full-scale war.

“I didn’t flip at all,” Moskowitz told Jewish Insider. “Circumstances have changed since my first statement two weeks ago.”

In a statement, he condemned Iran and its regime, saying he is “happy that [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] is no longer able to reign terror on his country,” but added, “Regardless of how one feels about this war, or this President, Congress’s constitutional role in any declaration of war is a completely separate issue,” expressing concern at the erosion of congressional war powers over the past year.

“We must reestablish our Article I authority which grants Congress all legislative powers,” Moskowitz said, adding that he did not believe the resolution would prevent continued efforts to protect U.S. bases and personnel nor intelligence sharing with allies.

Gottheimer emphasized in a statement that the U.S. “simply can’t afford to get this wrong — we must win and crush” the Iranian regime’s military capabilities, emphasizing that he is not, in principle, opposed to military action against Iran and that the regime “deserves the punishment they’re receiving.

“With the defeat of the War Powers Resolution in the Senate, the vote in the House today shifted from an unacceptable call that could put our troops in harm’s way to a clear call for this Administration to articulate the goals for the mission, the end game, and their plan to avoid a protracted conflict,” Gottheimer continued — suggesting that he voted for the resolution because it was, in essence, symbolic given that it did not pass the Senate.

“Unlike some of my colleagues who are opposed to combatting the Iranian regime, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror, I’m supporting this resolution to send a clear message to the Administration: the American people deserve a coherent explanation of what precipitated this war, what success looks like, and how we will know when the mission has been achieved,” he continued, criticizing “shifting justifications and objectives” from the administration. “I’m not opposed to taking action against Iran. I believe that steps to address the persistent threats are merited and necessary to protect our broader national security interests.”

He pledged to make sure the military has sufficient resources, signaling that he may support supplemental funding for the mission if and when requested.

The beginning of combat operations, the loss of some American soldiers and the administration’s inconsistent messaging and strategy — as well as an aggressive push from Democratic leadership — likely helped Democrats close ranks on the war powers resolution.

After the vote, Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that he would call up another war powers resolution 60 days from the start of the war, the limit under which an administration can conduct military operations without congressional authorization under the War Powers Act.

“Members who voted against today’s WPR on the assumption that Trump’s war will be swift or limited will not have that excuse once we’ve entered the third month of open-ended hostilities,” Meeks said.

Like Moskowitz and Gottheimer, a handful of other Democrats who have offered a degree of support for the U.S. operations in Iran ultimately voted for the resolution. Some have pointed to concerns about constitutional process and the administration’s failure to seek congressional approval for the war, rather than opposition to the war in general.

“I will vote for the war powers resolution because I cannot support unchecked authority for the administration to engage, indefinitely, in an already deadly war with unknown size and scope, especially considering Secretary [of Defense Pete] Hegseth’s suggestion that he is willing to” use ground troops in the operation, Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), a moderate House Democrat, said.

At the same time, Suozzi said that “Iran is weaker and the regime’s leadership has been decimated — those are good things. If these operations make the region more secure and America safer, those would also be good things.” He added that the war powers resolution would not prevent Congress from authorizing the use of force in Iran “if necessary and properly presented to Congress.”

Davidson, one of the two Republicans who voted for the resolution. said on the House floor on Wednesday that operations against Iran were just, and potentially necessary, but unconstitutional.

“For some this debate will be about whether we should even be fighting in Iran. For me, the debate is more fundamental: is the president of the United States, regardless of the person holding the office, empowered to do whatever he wants?” Davidson said. “That’s not what our Constitution says. … I rise in support of this war powers resolution today because the moral hazard posed by a government no longer constrained by our Constitution is a grave threat.”

Davidson argued that his Republican colleagues were ignoring the clear definition of what constitutes a war, and repudiating Trump’s campaign promises.

The House resolution, unlike the Senate version, included no specific protections to allow for continued U.S. intelligence sharing with Israel and other allies, and defensive operations to protect allies like Israel and U.S. forces.

Earlier this week, Gottheimer, Landsman, Suozzi, Cuellar, Golden and Reps. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) and Adam Gray (D-CA) had introduced an alternative resolution that would give the administration 30 days from the start of the war to wind down operations in Iran, rather than demanding an immediate halt, while banning any ground operations.

Gottheimer said in his statement he plans to call up his resolution during the week of March 23, but he hopes that, “Between now and then, I hope either the conflict has reached its objectives or the Administration has made a strong case to Congress and the American people for why this mission must continue.”

But most ultimately voted for the Massie-Khanna resolution.

Suozzi said that the Gottheimer resolution “would prevent a reckless and potentially unsafe removal of our forces and allow us to continue to protect American troops and our allies in the region during this perilous time,” a seeming indictment of the war powers resolution he nevertheless supported.

Top lawmakers supporting the war powers resolution have largely failed to articulate what the implications of immediately ending operations would be, with some claiming, in spite of the resolution’s language, that U.S. forces would be allowed to finish their mission and wind down.

Some former Democratic officials argued that Gottheimer’s alternative effort would be a more prudent path, with U.S. forces and embassies under fire from Iran, and that any realistic and safe withdrawal would take time. One also argued that the resolution, if brought to a vote, might pick up enough Republican support to pass.

Daniel Silverberg, a former advisor to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), emphasized that a similar effort to cut off the U.S.’ Libya operations led by “one of the most ardent anti-war activists in the House,” then-Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), included a 15-day wind-down provision.

“The Massie-Khanna resolution lacks it. The notion that Democrats would not, at a minimum, support that amendment to allow for a responsible withdrawal of forces is problematic from a national security perspective and from a messaging perspective,” Silverberg said.

Jeremy Bash, a former chief of staff at the Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency under the Obama administration, told JI that the Khanna-Massie resolution “requires [a] very strange outcome” that would be “dangerous for our troops” and that it was not “credible” because it lacked any buffer period.

CAMPAIGN CURVEBALLS

Iran war complicates Democratic primaries as Election Day approaches

The military engagement could energize the party’s activist base in a number of primaries, with races in North Carolina and Illinois serving as early tests

Wikimedia Commons

Nida Allam and Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC)

By

Matthew Kassel

March 3, 2026

The joint U.S.-Israeli military operation targeting Iran is already changing the dynamics of Democratic congressional primaries in which Middle East policy and the role of pro-Israel spending have featured prominently — as some progressive candidates seek to capitalize on the conflict to bolster their anti-Israel messaging.

In hotly contested House races in North Carolina and Illinois, for instance, the widening war is now emerging as a closing topic of conversation, providing some early signs of how it could reshape the leading issues in the run-up to this year’s midterm elections.

Nida Allam, a far-left Democrat and antagonist of Israel, who is challenging Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC), released a closing message focused on her opposition to the Iran war, linking her rival to defense contractors and pro-Israel backers.

In a direct-to-camera message, Allam denounced the strikes for “killing over 100 elementary school children,” a claim yet to be confirmed by the United States or Israel, and accused Foushee’s campaign of accepting contributions from defense contractors and a super PAC linked to the artificial intelligence firm Anthropic, whose technology was reportedly used to aid the attacks.

“I have opposed these ‘forever wars’ my entire career,” Allam said in the ad. “If you believe we need to do things differently, and you, like me, are praying for peace and demanding accountability, please consider voting for me.”

Foushee, who was elected to Congress in 2022 with support from the pro-Israel advocacy group AIPAC — backing she has since walked away from — disputed Allam’s criticism, and echoed other congressional colleagues in casting the strikes as an “illegal” overreach by President Donald Trump.

“I do not support Trump’s illegal war with Iran and will do everything I can in Congress to support War Powers Resolutions to stop it,” she said in an X post Saturday. “The American people are tired of endless wars and we cannot put our servicemembers at risk — period.”

But political observers said the Iran war could give a final jolt of momentum to Allam, who is seeking the nomination in a left-leaning district where her rhetoric might appeal to activist-minded voters who are increasingly wary of new foreign entanglements in the Middle East and beyond.

“Given the leftward lean of the 4th Congressional District and Allam’s positioning to the left of Foushee — particularly on Middle East policy — it could very well make a difference,” Chris Cooper, a political scientist at Western Carolina University, told Jewish Insider on Monday. “Thousands of votes have already been cast, but for late deciders, this is exactly the kind of issue that could help tilt a voter to one side or the other. It’s hard to get more salient than war.”

Meanwhile, in a crowded open-seat primary for a progressive House seat in the Chicago suburbs, one candidate, Kat Abughazaleh, is likewise indicating that she intends to highlight her opposition to the ongoing Iran strikes as the March 17 race enters its final stretch, saying she “will be talking about it very vocally and often because this is very much a topic on people’s minds.”

One of Abughazaleh’s top primary opponents in Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, Laura Fine, a pro-Israel Democrat who voiced support for Israel’s June 2025 bombing of Iran, also came out strongly against the new strikes, but framed her criticism as a response to Trump’s executive overreach and called for his impeachment.

“Donald Trump is leading us into another military conflict to distract from his own failures that puts American lives at risk and threatens to send the Middle East into further chaos,” Fine, a moderate state senator supported by pro-Israel voters, wrote on social media over the weekend. “He simply cannot be trusted and must be impeached. Congress needs to do its job and rein in Trump’s corruption and abuses of power.”

Frank Calabrese, a political strategist in Chicago, questioned the sincerity of Fine’s new rhetoric on Iran. “The reason why she’s doing that is because that’s what the polls are saying,” he told JI Monday.

The conflict “raises Middle East issues much more so than previously” in the race, he said, speculating that it would likely benefit Abughazaleh’s campaign “because she’s staked out a position that makes her different” than Daniel Biss, the mayor of Evanston and another leading primary rival who is sharply critical of Israel.

The Iran war “generally benefits progressives or liberals,” Calabrese said, “because people on the left end of the spectrum don’t like Donald Trump acting aggressively.”

For pro-Israel Democrats who have long criticized Iran, the war poses some unique complications, as the party tries to take advantage of widespread discomfort with Trump’s unilateral decision to pursue the strike without first having sought authorization from Congress. Other top pro-Israel candidates in congressional races in New York and Michigan, where Middle East policy has been a prominent source of debate, have made sure to distance themselves from the conflict, even if they are likely relieved the ayatollah is no longer in power.

For example, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), facing a primary challenge from a progressive Israel critic, former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, wrote in a statement that Trump “is defying our Constitution to spend billions of dollars overseas while working families struggle to make ends meet at home.”

While he called Iran “a treacherous regime that represents a direct threat to the democratic world order and our own national security,” he said that “recent history has taught us that toppling Middle East dictators in the name of regime change is the beginning — not the end — of a process that too often results in expensive and deadly forever wars.”

Lander, for his part, was more forceful in his own comments, calling the strikes “an illegal war being waged by a sociopathic president whose goal is to distract people from his failing administration.”

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), the pro-Israel moderate in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, said that Trump had “once again put Americans in harm’s way without consulting Congress — the latest in a series of grave violations of our Constitution by this administration.”

She acknowledged, however, that “Iran’s state sponsorship of terror across the globe has led to chaos and unchecked violence.”

“We cannot ignore that an armed and nuclear Iran would bring even more violence and chaos to the Middle East and the entire world,” Stevens said in her statement. “We also cannot ignore the imperative to achieve freedom for the people of Iran, who have bravely spoken out through protest in recent weeks.”

Political strategists who spoke with JI said that the war, which early polling has shown is unpopular with voters, could help to broadly elevate progressives in key races — if the conflict remains a salient topic of conversation in the coming weeks and months.

Adrian Hemond, a political consultant in Michigan, said much depends on whether the war ends quickly or grows into a “protracted military effort” involving more American casualties. As of Monday afternoon, the U.S. had lost six servicemembers.

“That’s a horse of a different color,” he told JI. “If we’re still talking about this months from now, then it will have a huge impact on the primary and will probably benefit” Abdul El-Sayed, a far-left Senate candidate in Michigan campaigning on a stridently anti-Israel platform.

In a statement on the strikes, El-Sayed called Trump “a failed president” who is now “committing us to spending billions of our taxpayer dollars in yet another war with no aim.”

Chris Coffey, a Democratic strategist in New York City, cautioned it was too early to predict how the war could shape the primaries or general election.

Still, he suggested that the conflict, which has also faced blowback from influential right-wing figures, “could have negative consequences” for Republicans in the midterms, particularly if it “drags on” and more American servicemembers are killed or oil prices continue to spike before November.

“It’s too soon to tell,” Coffey told JI on Monday. “If you open up a Pandora’s box, you don’t know what’s going to come out of it.”

PRESIDENT'S POV

Trump signals diplomatic opening with Iran but warns war could last weeks

The president predicted a four to five week timeline for the military campaign against Iran in several interviews over the weekend

Daniel Torok/White House via Getty Images

President Donald Trump oversees "Operation Epic Fury" at Mar-a-Lago on February 28, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida.

By

Emily Jacobs

March 2, 2026

President Donald Trump said over the weekend that Iran’s new leadership has made overtures to restart diplomatic negotiations with the U.S. — which he plans to accept — after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed during Israeli and U.S. strikes in the country.

Still, the president warned that strikes would continue until their objectives had been achieved.

Trump made the comments while speaking to The Atlantic on Sunday morning, one of a series of interviews he gave after launching a joint military operation against Iran alongside Israel on Saturday. The president has been touting Operation Epic Fury to journalists as an immediate success, arguing that the removal of Khamenei and 47 others in senior Iranian leadership has provided a window for diplomacy as the U.S. military operation swiftly advances.

“They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them,” Trump told The Atlantic. “They should have done it sooner. They should have given what was very practical and easy to do sooner. They waited too long.”

The commander-in-chief declined to say when he plans to begin engaging with the Iranians, instead noting that most of the Iranians involved in past negotiations with the U.S. are now deceased.

“Most of those people are gone. Some of the people we were dealing with are gone, because that was a big — that was a big hit,” Trump said. “They should have done it sooner. They could have made a deal. They should’ve done it sooner. They played too cute.”

Asked if he was willing to extend the bombing campaign in order to support a popular uprising in Iran, should it unfold, the president was similarly coy, telling the outlet: “I have to look at the situation at the time it happens … You can’t give an answer to that question.”

In a video posted to his Truth Social platform on Sunday afternoon, however, Trump spoke directly to the protesters, calling upon “all Iranian patriots who yearn for freedom to seize this moment, to be brave, be bold, be heroic and take back your country. America is with you. I made a promise to you, and I fulfilled that promise. The rest will be up to you, but we’ll be there to help.”

Further illuminating his thinking, Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday shortly after the killing of Khamenei, “We are hearing that many of their IRGC, Military, and other Security and Police Forces, no longer want to fight, and are looking for Immunity from us … Hopefully, the IRGC and Police will peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots, and work together as a unit to bring back the Country to the Greatness it deserves. That process should soon be starting.”

“The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective” of world peace, he wrote.

In an interview on Saturday evening with CBS News’ Robert Costa, Trump said he believes that the joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran that killed Khamenei made diplomacy “much easier now than it was a day ago, obviously, because they are getting beat up badly.”

As for the military operation itself, Trump suggested in subsequent conversations on Sunday with The Daily Mail and The New York Times that the U.S. could be involved for another four to five weeks.

“It’s always been a four-week process. We figured it will be four weeks or so,” Trump told the U.K. tabloid. “It’s always been about a four week process so — as strong as it is, it’s a big country, it’ll take four weeks or less.”

He repeated the four to five week timeline in interviews with Axios’ Barak Ravid on Saturday and The New York Times on Sunday.

“I can go long and take over the whole thing,” Trump told Ravid by phone, “or end it in two or three days and tell the Iranians: ‘See you again in a few years if you start rebuilding [your nuclear and missile programs].’”

Trump later predicted to Ravid that, “In any case, it will take them several years to recover from this attack.”

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton (R-AR) echoed the president’s predictions, telling CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that Trump has “no plan for any kind of large-scale ground force inside Iran.”

“The president has been clear that what we should expect to see is an extended air and naval campaign that’s designed not only to continue to set back Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but most importantly, to destroy its vast missile arsenal, many more missiles than the United States and Israel have air defenses combined, as well as the missile launchers and its missile manufacturing capability,” said Cotton, one of the president’s more hawkish GOP allies on Capitol Hill.

“Now obviously one risk of that kind of campaign is that an aircraft could be shot down, and the president would never leave a pilot behind,” he continued. “So no doubt we have combat search and rescue assets in the region that are prepared to go in and extract any downed pilot. But barring that kind of unusual circumstance, the president has no plan for any kind of large-scale ground force inside of Iran.”

IRAN WAR UPDATE

At least 12 killed in Iranian missile strikes in Israel since start of war

A missile hit in Beit Shemesh killed at least nine people on Sunday; two died in Tel Aviv late Saturday

Amir Levy/Getty Images

Israeli emergency and rescue personnel recover casualties from an Iranian missile site on March 1, 2026 in Beit Shemesh, Israel.

By

Lahav Harkov

March 1, 2026

At least nine people were killed in an Iranian missile strike on a residential neighborhood in Beit Shemesh, about 35 miles west of Jerusalem, the Israeli emergency medical service, Magen David Adom, reported on Sunday, bringing the Israeli death toll from the war with Iran launched a day earlier to 12.

Another 28 people, including young children, were injured, with two in serious condition.

The missile barrage on the mostly Orthodox Jerusalem suburb directly struck a public bomb shelter under a synagogue, among other sites.

Yehuda Shlomo, an MDA EMT, said that when he arrived on the scene, he saw “heavy structural damage, smoke in the air and a great deal of chaos with dozens of frightened casualties emerging from the damaged buildings.”

Another EMT, Tzvi David, said that he rescued a woman in her 60s trapped under a slab of concrete and that firefighters extricated three children from a locked room.

Photos and videos taken by MDA show buildings destroyed to their foundations, others heavily damaged, and burned-out cars.

IDF International Media Spokesperson Lt.-Col. Nadav Shoshani posted on X that “since the beginning of Operation ‘Roaring Lion’ the Iranian regime has been targeting civilians, we know that this is their strategy. In their recent attack they killed many civilians in the community of Beit Shemesh. The Iranian regime is a terror regime.”

“I send my deepest condolences to the families. We will continue to do everything we can to remove these capabilities from this bloodthirsty terror regime,” Shoshani stated.

Late Saturday night, a missile strike in the Tel Aviv area killed two women, one a Filipina caregiver aged 32 and the other aged 68 who died of respiratory issues while moving to a shelter, and injured 121 people.

A 102-year-old man in Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv, also died after falling down the stairs on his way to a protected space during an incoming missile siren, Ichilov Hospital announced Sunday.

About 40 buildings in Tel Aviv sustained damage from the missile strikes, with one deemed uninhabitable, the municipality stated. Over 200 residents were evacuated to hotels in the city.

The most heavily damaged building did not have its own safe room and most residents had evacuated to a public bomb shelter, Israel’s Home Front Command said.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited the impact site in Tel Aviv and called on the people of Israel and the region to “stay strong.”

“This is a historic effort to change the trajectory in the Middle East to a different future — a future of peace,” Herzog said. “We’ve been confronted by an empire of evil for a generation.”

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whom Israel killed on Saturday, “spent a whole generation taking his people’s resources and directing them towards terror, bloodshed, pain and horror. And what we are doing here, together, all the allies, the United States, leading this effort … towards a vision of peace in the region,” Herzog said.

ON BRAND

Mamdani attacks U.S. and Israel for ‘illegal war’ without mentioning Iranian atrocities

Meanwhile, security tightens in NYC as NYPD and Gov. Hochul boost presence around Jewish and Iranian institutions

Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani

By

Will Bredderman

February 28, 2026

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani slammed joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran in a statement Saturday — without placing fault with Tehran in his reaction.

Mamdani released a statement that reiterated his police department’s earlier pledge to boost local security, and also attacked Israel and the United States for “an illegal war of aggression.” But unlike other Democrats who have spoken out against the air campaign, he mentioned neither the atrocities committed by the Iranian regime against its own citizens, nor President Donald Trump, with whom he met just days ago.

“Today’s military strikes on Iran — carried out by the United States and Israel — mark a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression. Bombing cities. Killing civilians. Opening a new theater of war,” he wrote. “Americans do not want this. They do not want another war in pursuit of regime change. They want relief from the affordability crisis. They want peace.”

The NYPD declared Saturday morning it was “closely monitoring” the situation in the Middle East and working with federal and international law enforcement. It further promised pre-emptive steps to increase security at potential targets, though it did not indicate whether it was aware of any specific threat.

“As is our protocol and out of an abundance of caution, we will be enhancing patrols to sensitive locations throughout the city, including diplomatic, cultural, religious, and other relevant sites,” the department tweeted.

The NYPD did not respond to queries about specific actions, but videos on social media showed members of the department’s Counter-Terrorism Task Force at Manhattan’s iconic Temple Emanu-El as well as outside the Iranian consulate.

Gov. Kathy Hochul similarly vowed that she would deploy state troopers to guard vulnerable sites, even as she said “there were no specific, credible threats to New York.” She noted the impending start of Purim Monday night as cause to coordinate with the leaders of the Jewish community.

“State Police are increasing their presence at religious, diplomatic, and cultural sites statewide in coordination with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners,” the Democrat wrote in a statement. “Additionally, in advance of the Jewish holiday of Purim, State Police remain alert and have already begun outreach to religious organizations to offer support.”

Meanwhile, organizations affiliated with China-based left-wing tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham — known for promoting geopolitical narratives favorable to Beijing and its allies in Moscow and Tehran — including the People’s Forum and CODE PINK kicked off a protest against the strikes in Times Square on Saturday afternoon.

Joining them, according to promotional materials, are the Democratic Socialists of America, the Palestinian Youth Movement, and the National Iranian American Council, known as the country’s de facto lobbying group in the United States.

TEAM EFFORT

U.S., Israel worked for months on Iran strikes with ‘unprecedented cooperation,’ IDF chief of staff says

Netanyahu: Attacks were Israeli Air Force’s largest flyover in history

Mahsa / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

A plume of smoke rises over Tehran after a reported explosion on February 28, 2026.

By

Lahav Harkov

February 28, 2026

The U.S. and Israeli militaries planned attacks on Iran for months, marking “unprecedented cooperation,” Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF’s chief of staff, said on Saturday, hours after the launch of what Israel has called Operation Roaring Lion and the U.S. has called Operation Epic Fury.

“In recent months, under the direction of the political leadership, I have led — in coordination with my counterparts, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the commander of CENTCOM — a deep and comprehensive joint operational planning process. This reflects unprecedented cooperation between the IDF and the United States military,” Zamir said.

An IDF official speaking on condition of anonymity said that the two militaries “worked for thousands of hours” to increase its target bank “by hundreds of percent.”

The plan centered on “an intelligence effort … to identify an operational opportunity at the moment when senior regime officials would convene,” the official said. The IDF struck three such gatherings simultaneously and killed “several senior figures.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed in a video statement that one of those targets was Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, saying that the IDF likely killed him.

“Today, in a surprise attack, we destroyed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s compound in the heart of Tehran,” he said. “For three and a half decades, this tyrant sent terror throughout the world, immiserated his nation and worked all the time on his plan to destroy Israel.”

“That plan is gone and there are many signs that the tyrant is gone,” Netanyahu said. President Donald Trump later confirmed the news.

Netanyahu said that Israel plans to hit “1,000 terror sites” in the coming days.

Directing his remarks at the people of Iran, Netanyahu said, “Soon your moment will come in which you must go out on the streets … Help has arrived and now the time has come for you to unite for a historic mission … to bring down the regime and ensure your future.”

The strikes on Iran’s missile array and air-defense systems by 200 fighter jets were the Israeli Air Force’s largest-ever flyover, the IDF Spokesperson’s office said.

The IAF fighter jets struck 500 targets throughout western and central Iran, such as one in Tabriz, which was used for Iran’s surface-to-surface missiles. Another strike targeted an advanced SA-65 aerial-defense system near Kermanshah in western Iran, the IDF said.

The IDF sent warnings via social media to Iranian civilians living near weapons production and military infrastructure facilities: “Dear citizens, for your safety and well-being, we urge you to immediately evacuate these areas and remain outside of them until further notice. Your presence in these locations puts your lives at risk.”

Iran launched missiles and attack drones at Israeli population centers throughout the day, including ones that include cluster munitions, the IDF said.

“Cluster weapons are designed to disperse over a large area and maximize the chances of a harmful strike. Iran goes to great lengths in trying to maximize harm to Israeli civilians,” Nadav Shoshani, the IDF international media spokesperson, stated.

Zamir said that Operation Roaring Lion is “a significant, decisive, and unprecedented operation, to dismantle the capabilities of the Iranian terrorist regime — capabilities that constitute an ongoing existential threat to the security of the State of Israel. This is an operation to secure our existence and our future here, in the land of our forefathers, for generations to come.”

Since last year’s Operation Rising Lion, as the IDF called the 12-day war with Iran, “the radical Iranian terrorist regime has not abandoned its vision or its hostile intentions to advance its plan to destroy Israel. It has continued to promote its nuclear project, restore and accelerate ballistic missile production, and destabilize the region through the funding and arming of terrorist proxies,” Zamir said.

The IDF chief of staff also tied the operation to the holiday of Purim, which begins on Monday night, and celebrates the Jews of the Persian empire overcoming an attempted genocide.

“The Book of Esther teaches us that responsibility for our destiny rests first and foremost in our own hands — in courage, initiative, unity and the willingness to fight for our right to live here in freedom and in peace,” Zamir said. “Soldiers and commanders of the IDF… carry with you the vision of our forefathers.”

Shoshani wrote in a blog post that the timing of the operation was due to “a dangerous acceleration in [Iran’s] capabilities,” including long-range missile production and continued proxy funding.

“Israel reached a point where the threat was no longer ‘developing,’” Shoshani wrote. “The threat was direct and imminent.”

The objective of the strike, Shoshani said, was to “fundamentally reduce and degrade Iranian terrorist regime capabilities, eliminating long-term existential threats to the state of Israel.”

The IDF also called up 70,000 reservists to serve on Israel’s borders, the West Bank and Gaza to stop any infiltration attempts, as well as search and rescue forces prepared to go to the site of any Iranian missile strikes.

Israelis throughout the country spent the day going in and out of safe rooms and bomb shelters at the sound of air raid sirens, which blared more frequently in Israel’s densely populated center, reflecting the area Iran targeted.

IDF Home Front Commander Maj.-Gen. Shay Kleper said that “past experiences prove that the public’s strict following of protocol has saved many lives. The grit and responsibility of everyone is a key element in countering the threat.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar spoke about Israel’s decision to strike Iran and the operation’s objectives with 17 of his counterparts, in phone calls to Argentina, Austria, Germany, India, Italy, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Latvia, the European Union, France, Canada, Australia, Ecuador, Greece, Ethiopia, Singapore and North Macedonia.

AYATOLLAH ASSASSINATED

Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed in Israeli strike in Tehran

President Donald Trump confirmed the news, calling Khamenei ‘one of the most evil people in history’

Iranian Leader Press Office / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei makes remarks in Tehran, Iran, on May 20, 2025.

By

Tamara Zieve

February 28, 2026

President Donald Trump confirmed on Saturday that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran and the country’s highest political and religious authority, was killed during Israeli and U.S. strikes in the country.

“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead. This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS,” Trump wrote.

Israeli media reported he was killed in an Israeli strike on his compound in Tehran. He was 86.

Khamenei had led Iran since 1989, succeeding Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who took over the country as part of his Islamic Revolution in 1979. Over more than three decades in power, he oversaw major shifts in Iran’s domestic politics, military posture and regional strategy, moves that resulted in the Islamic Republic becoming the world’s leading exporter of terrorism through proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

As supreme leader, Khamenei exercised ultimate authority over the armed forces, judiciary, state broadcasting and key political appointments. He maintained final say over defense and foreign policy, including Iran’s nuclear program, and appointed top commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The IRGC became the primary instrument of Khamenei’s rule. He cultivated and empowered it for decades, and the IRGC in turn underwrote his domestic authority and Iran’s regional ambitions across Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Gaza through what he called the “Axis of Resistance.”

His foreign policy was defined by two poles of opposition: the United States, which he called Iran’s “No. 1 enemy,” and Israel, whose destruction he repeatedly called for in rhetoric that mixed geopolitical calculation with antisemitic tropes. Under his leadership, Iran became what the U.S. State Department designated the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism.

No successor has been publicly named, and with much of the IRGC’s senior leadership also reported killed in Saturday’s strikes, the question of who fills the vacuum left by Khamenei will mark a pivotal moment in Iran’s history.

AFRICA CALLING

U.S., African, Israeli officials hold trilateral summit on expanding cooperation

The Kigali summit represents ‘shared security interests, innovation and moral clarity in a complex and evolving world,’ Sen. Ted Cruz said

From left: Daniel Vajdich, president of Yorktown Solutions, Saul Singer, Israel Bimpe, CEO of Irembo and Wendy Singer at the Kigali Security Summit

By

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

February 19, 2026

American, Israeli and African officials gathered with little fanfare but big plans on Wednesday, coming together in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city, for a trilateral summit on issues including technology, innovation and national security.

The Kigali Security Summit was the first of its kind, one participant told Jewish Insider, a historic strategic dialogue and “opportunity for government and nongovernment officials to talk about key issues that frame this trilateral relationship.”

Hosted by the International Security Conference on Africa, a Rwanda-based think tank, participants included officials from 10 African countries — including Kenya, Ethiopia, Morocco and Togo — as well as Israeli Ambassador to Rwanda Einat Weiss, local Christian faith leaders and representatives of Washington-based think tanks including the Atlantic Council, Hudson Institute, AIPAC and American Foreign Policy Council.

Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) provided prerecorded remarks, as did former National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien.

“This conference represents something powerful: a strategic alignment rooted in shared security interests, innovation and moral clarity in a complex and evolving world,” Cruz said in his remarks, calling Africa “vital to our national interests” as it’s at the forefront of U.S. competition with China. Part of the U.S. strategy on the continent, he added, “should include our Israeli allies, which are central to Africa’s integration and success.”

Cruz said the U.S.-Israel-Africa trilateral relationship “offers a powerful framework for development. For the United States, it strengthens trusted partnerships and advances our values. For Israel, it develops strategic relationships and expands its global contributions. And for African nations, it expands access to cutting edge technology, defense collaboration, agricultural innovation and investment capital, while protecting the sovereignty and dignity of African nations.”

“Today’s summit is bringing together the United States and countries in Africa and the Middle East to advance cooperative and sustainable partnerships in the areas of energy security, water infrastructure, cybersecurity and ever-important emerging technologies. In doing so, we can strengthen the bonds between Israel and the rest of the world, boosting security for America’s No. 1 ally in the region,” Rosen said.

Also participating in the summit were Saul Singer, co-author of Start-up Nation, and his wife, Wendy Singer, the founding executive director of Startup Nation Central, who also previously led AIPAC’s Israel office. Speaking on a panel, the two discussed the potential for cooperation between Israel and Rwanda through deepening tech and innovation partnerships.

Shiri Fein-Grossman, CEO of the Israel-Africa Relations Institute, an Israel-based think tank, told JI, “At a time of growing geopolitical fragmentation, the strategic partnership between Israel and African nations is not peripheral, it is central to building a more stable and values-based international order.”

Israel and Rwanda have “profound similarities,” she said. “Both are small nations in complex neighborhoods, both have faced existential threats, both carry the living memory of genocide, and both understand the imperative of strong border defense and antional resilience. That experience creates not only empathy, but strategic clarity. Security is not theoretical for us, it is foundational.”

Senior congressional correspondent Marc Rod contributed reporting.

TRIP TALK

Netanyahu to head to Washington as Trump praises Iran talks

‘The Prime Minister believes any negotiations must include limitations on ballistic missiles and a halting of the support for the Iranian axis,’ Netanyahu’s office says

Avi Ohayon (GPO) / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes statements at Ben Gurion Airport ahead of his visit to Washington DC, where he will meet with US President Donald Trump in Tel Aviv, Israel on February 02, 2025.

By

Lahav Harkov

February 8, 2026

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced a last-minute trip to Washington on Wednesday to discuss talks between the U.S. and Iran, a day after President Donald Trump praised the negotiations with Tehran.

“The Prime Minister believes any negotiations must include limitations on ballistic missiles and a halting of the support for the Iranian axis,” the statement, sent Saturday night, read.

White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oman on Friday.

Later Friday, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that the talks had been “very good.”

“Iran looks like it wants to make a deal very badly,” he said. “We have to see what that deal is, but I think Iran wants to make a deal very badly, like they should. Last time, they didn’t want to make a deal, but I think this time they feel differently.”

Asked about Iran’s demand that the talks only be about nuclear weapons, Trump said, “That would be acceptable. One thing, right up front, no nuclear weapons. … They weren’t willing to do that [last year]; now they are willing to do much more.”

The president also said that he is in “no rush” in the negotiations, adding, “If you remember in Venezuela, we waited around for a while.”

Trump indicated that the military threat to Iran still stands: “We have a big armada, a big fleet heading in that direction that will be there soon, so we’ll see how that works out. … If they don’t make a deal, the consequences are very steep.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) expressed skepticism that the negotiations would bring about an acceptable agreement, and called for Congressional review and approval, which the 2015 Iran nuclear deal lacked.

“I hope it can meet our national security objectives and the needs of the people of Iran through diplomacy,” Graham wrote on X. “Given Iran’s behavior regarding deals, it could be a tough sell. However, I am open-minded, understanding [that] any agreement with the Islamic Republic and the United States must come to Congress for review and a vote.”

Meanwhile, in Iran, videos and photos were posted online of Iranians once again protesting the regime using methods other than mass demonstrations, The Wall Street Journal reported, including shouting slogans at funerals, doctors condemning the arrest of colleagues for treating wounded protesters, hosting memorials for wounded protesters and more.

HOOP DREAMS

Deni Avdija becomes first Israeli to be selected for NBA All-Star Game

Avdija was one of 14 players to be named a reserve and one of seven from the Western Conference

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Deni Avdija #8 of the Portland Trail Blazers dribbles the ball up court against the Sacramento Kings in the second half of a NBA basketball game at Golden 1 Center on January 18, 2026 in Sacramento, California.

By

Matthew Shea

February 2, 2026

Israeli basketball sensation Deni Avdija has been selected as a Western Conference reserve for the NBA All-Star Game, becoming the first Israeli-born player to earn an appearance in the league’s marquee midseason showcase.

The reserve selections were revealed on Sunday evening following the announcement of the starters on Jan. 19. Avdija was one of 14 players to be named a reserve and one of seven from the Western Conference, joining a star-studded group that includes Anthony Edwards, Jamal Murray, Chet Holmgren, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and LeBron James.

Avdija is now the 17th player in Trail Blazers’ franchise history to be named to the NBA All-Star game and the first since Damian Lillard made an appearance in 2023.

Already the only Israeli-born player to record a triple-double and having surpassed Omri Casspi as Israel’s all-time leading NBA scorer – Avdija now adds another historic milestone to his six-year career. The selection also marks a significant moment for Israeli representation on one of the NBA’s biggest stages.

Following the announcement, the Trail Blazers posted a photo on social media of Avdija with “All Star” written on the back of his jersey and the caption: “DENI AVDIJA. ALL STAR.”

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter also celebrated the announcement, congratulating Avdija in a post on X on Sunday evening.

“Congratulations Deni Avdija, on becoming the first Israeli ever voted into the NBA All-Star Game,” Leiter wrote. “We’re excited to watch your career grow and will be cheering you on every step of the way.”

Avdija has seen a significant jump in his stats and playing time this season, notching a career year and setting both Israeli and franchise records. Averaging 25.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game, he ranks top 15 in the league in total points (11th) and total assists (13th) and has entered discussions for the league’s Most Improved Player award.

Responding to some of the hate he has received over his nationality, Avdija has called on the critics to become “more educated” on the Middle East, telling The Athletic last month that fans should respect him “as a basketball player.”

“Why does it matter if I’m from Israel, or wherever in the world, or what my race is?” Avdija said. “You don’t have to love what I stand for or how I look, but if I’m a good player, give props.”

Throughout the season, Avdija has received praise from prominent and seasoned players around the league. The Israeli sensation has been called a “star” by Durant, and was the topic of conversation on James’ “Mind the Game” podcast with NBA legend Steve Nash.

Now, Avdija will follow in their footsteps, taking a step no Israeli player has before and donning the NBA All-Star threads for the first time in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 15, at 5 p.m. ET.

Daily Kickoff

Pastor running for Congress alleged Israeli ‘apartheid’ on Oct. 8

Plus, can Saudi keep its $1 trillion pledge to Trump?

LM Otero/Associated Press

Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III speaks to reporters on Feb. 1, 2024, in Dallas, Texas

By

JI Staff

January 29, 2026

👋 Good Thursday morning!

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on a sermon blasting Israeli “apartheid” given the day after the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks by a Texas pastor now running for Congress, and talk to former Rep. Elaine Luria about her bid for her old Virginia congressional seat. We have the scoop on a call from a bipartisan group of senators for Secretary of State Marco Rubio to “surge resources” to restore internet access in Iran, and look at how Saudi Arabia’s economic challenges are sowing doubt that it can maintain its fiscal commitments to the U.S. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Masih Alinejad, Amir Tibon and Carl Kaplan.

Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.

What We’re Watching

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman is in Washington today and tomorrow to meet with senior Trump administration officials as the White House weighs strikes on Iran. Earlier this week, White House officials met with Israeli military intelligence chief Gen. Shlomi Binder in Washington, who briefed the administration on intelligence regarding Iran.
The Hudson Institute is hosting a briefing with Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg on the Trump administration’s AI-focused Pax Silica initiative. During Helberg’s trip to the Middle East earlier this month, he participated in signing ceremonies with officials from Israel, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which have all joined the pact in recent months.
Elsewhere in Washington, Gov. Josh Shapiro is speaking about his new memoir, Where We Keep the Light, at the Sixth and I Synagogue.
More than two dozen European foreign ministers are meeting today in Brussels to discuss the potential designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terror organization, as well as to move forward with the implementation of sanctions on Iranian entities in response to the Islamic Republic’s crackdowns on protesters in recent weeks. France, which had previously expressed reluctance to designate the IRGC, yesterday reversed its opposition to the designation — which will require a unanimous vote to be implemented.
Ahead of the meeting, Reps. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) and Brad Sherman (D-CA) led a bipartisan group of legislators urging the EU to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.

What You Should Know

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S GABBY DEUTCH

A week after President Donald Trump took office for the first time in 2017, the White House ignited a political and media firestorm by releasing a statement commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day that failed to mention Jews.

The omission was covered in major media outlets including CNN and Politico; the Anti-Defamation League called it “puzzling and troubling.”

Nearly a decade later, Trump released another Holocaust Remembrance Day post this week, with a far more specific message: “Today, we pay respect to the blessed memories of the millions of Jewish people, who were murdered at the hands of the Nazi Regime and its collaborators during the Holocaust,” the statement read, “as well as the Slavs and the Roma, people with disabilities, religious leaders, persons targeted based on their sexual orientation, and political prisoners who were also targeted for systematic slaughter.”

Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance’s post commemorating the day, which marks the anniversary of the 1945 liberation of Auschwitz by Allied Forces, did not mention Jews or antisemitism, leading political rivals on the left to pounce. (Democratic Majority for Israel called it “indefensible.”)

But despite the visibility of Vance’s tweet — which his defenders pointed out included pictures of him and his wife at Dachau, standing in front of a sign that said “Never again” in Yiddish — he was far from the only politician that failed to mention the fact that the Holocaust targeted Jews. Among them were: Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA), both of whom pledged to remember the victims of the Holocaust without referring to Nazis’ targeting of Jews.

Multiple presenters at the U.K.’s BBC also failed to mention Jews in their coverage of Holocaust Remembrance Day — drawing backlash and a subsequent apology from the national broadcaster.

Does it matter that these politicians or media don’t reference Jews if they are still highlighting the significance of the Holocaust? It’s possible to argue that, definitionally, the Holocaust was about Jews, so one could assume that any reference to the Holocaust is itself a reference to the killing of Jews and the antisemitism that led to it.

“If I talk about the potato famine, do I have to say Irish? How many other potato famines were there?” asked Deborah Lipstadt, a Holocaust historian who served as President Joe Biden’s antisemitism envoy. “But this is part of a greater whole in an age of rising antisemitism.”

For years, Americans’ knowledge of basic facts about the Holocaust has been declining, particularly as fewer Holocaust survivors are alive each year to share their stories. A 2023 survey conducted by the Claims Conference found that 21% of Americans believed that 2 million Jews or fewer were killed. Eight percent of Americans, and 15% of 18- to 29-year-olds, said the number of Jews who were killed during the Holocaust has been greatly exaggerated.

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

RAMMING ATTACK

Driver repeatedly crashes car into Chabad Lubavitch HQ; no injuries reported

A car drives into an entryway of the Chabad Lubavitch world headquarters on Jan. 28, 2026 (X/@ChabadLubavitch)

A man drove a Honda Accord sedan “intentionally and repeatedly” into an entryway of the Chabad Lubavitch world headquarters in Brooklyn on Wednesday night, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani confirmed. The NYPD responded to an 8:46 911 call on Wednesday at 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights, the home and center of leadership of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, now a major spiritual, symbolic and organizational hub for Chabad. No persons were injured in the incident, captured on video, and police took the driver into custody, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.

Under investigation: “We’re grateful to the Almighty that no one was hurt,” said Rabbi Motti Seligson, a spokesman for Chabad, adding that damage initially appeared limited. “It houses one of the most significant synagogues in the Jewish world.” Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch went to the scene in the hours following the incident, and a Chabad source told JI that the White House reached out and reported that it was monitoring the situation. Tisch said at a press conference outside 770 later Wednesday night that the incident is being investigated as a hate crime and that the NYPD bomb squad had searched the vehicle, finding no explosive devices. Chabad’s social media editor, Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone, whose son was in the synagogue at the time of the incident, said, “Antisemitism does not appear to be a factor in this.”

Read the full story here.

PATOR’S POLEMIC

Contender to succeed Jasmine Crockett blasted Israeli ‘apartheid’ in sermon on Oct. 8

Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III speaks to reporters on Feb. 1, 2024, in Dallas, Texas (LM Otero/Associated Press)

Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III, the longtime pastor at the Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas who is running to replace Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) in her Dallas-area House seat, delivered an anti-Israel polemic from the pulpit on Oct. 8, 2023, the day after Hamas’ attack on Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports, and has a record of other anti-Israel comments since then.

Notable quotable: “The Palestinians, who don’t have the weaponry of Israel, the Palestinians don’t have the financial backing from the United States that Israel has, and so they throw their rocks and shoot their arrows, and Israel is able to bomb them and kill them,” Haynes said. “Watch in the news a disparity between Palestinians being killed and Israelis being killed,” he continued. “It is totally unfair, but this country is going to stand on the side of apartheid because that’s its track record. It stood by apartheid in South Africa, because it created apartheid in this country.”

Read the full story here.

COMEBACK BID

Moderate Democrat faces off against anti-Israel challengers in suburban Chicago battleground

Rep. Elaine Luria speaks onstage during the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights’ 2023 Ripple of Hope Gala on December 06, 2023 in New York City. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights)

As she launches a bid to reclaim her seat in the House, former Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA) said that she wants to help lead the effort to push back against anti-Israel voices in the Democratic Party, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

What she’s saying: “Having more people like me who are willing to speak up on that issue, in support of maintaining security assistance through the memorandum of understanding and continuing to maintain a strong relationship with Israel is important,” Luria said, adding that she wants to be a “leader” among new members and former colleagues “to show that the support [for Israel] remains strong.” Luria also said that she’d support any action necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, but warned that the administration had overstated the efficacy of its strikes last summer.

Read the full story here.

exclusive

Senators urge Rubio to ‘surge resources’ to support Iranian internet freedom

Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Venezuela, in Washington, DC, United States on January 28, 2026. (Senators urge Rubio to ‘surge resources’ to support Iranian internet freedom)

A bipartisan group of senators wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday urging him to “surge resources to quickly enable critical internet freedom support” to protesters in Iran, noting funding cuts that have stretched resources for such programs thin, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Notable quotable: “Today, many of the NGOs and technology providers that maintain these tools are facing closure due to funding cuts and more importantly, fewer Iranian citizens can share their videos and messages with the world and each other,” the letter warns. “Without the continuous operation of internet freedom programming carried out by the State Department and Open Technology Fund, millions of Iranians will lose their last secure window and voice to the outside world.”

Read the full story here.

State of play: Rubio said at a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday that the Iranian regime is historically weak due to serious economic troubles, but also said that Tehran’s violent crackdown on protesters has appeared to have successfully quelled the demonstrations that have swept the country in recent weeks.

CASH CRUNCH

Saudi Arabia’s economic challenges raise doubts about commitments to U.S.

President Donald Trump (R) meets with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on November 18, 2025. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia’s growing economic struggles have raised doubts among foreign policy experts about whether Riyadh can fulfill its sweeping monetary commitments to the United States. During Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the White House last November, the crown prince pledged to increase his country’s investments in the U.S. to nearly $1 trillion, committing funds to projects spanning artificial intelligence, energy, defense and infrastructure. But the kingdom is now facing significant financial strain, driven by persistently low oil prices and the immense funding demands of its domestic development agenda, including Saudi Vision 2030, a major government initiative taken on a decade ago to diversify Saudi’s economy, society and culture, which has since been downsized, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.

Oil issue: “It’s an economic challenge, and frankly, crisis is a word which works for it,” said Simon Henderson, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “The Saudi economy requires $100 barrels of oil, and although the price of oil has gone up a bit in recent days, it’s still low and way short of $100.” Henderson emphasized that while Saudi Arabia remains a wealthy country due to its hydrocarbon reserves, declining revenue has forced the government to scale back or cancel marquee projects.

Read the full story here.

Bonus: Former Masters’ champion Patrick Reed announced he is departing the Saudi-backed LIV Golf and rejoining the PGA Tour, following formerly top-ranked golfer Brooks Koepka, who is returning to the PGA Tour following his departure from LIV earlier this month. The Saudi-backed golf league is now planning to sell minority stakes in its teams.

ON THE AGENDA

White House religious liberty commission to hold first antisemitism hearing next month

President Donald Trump speaks at the Museum of the Bible September 8, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The White House’s Religious Liberty Commission, which was formed by President Donald Trump last spring, plans to hold its first hearing focused specifically on antisemitism next month. The daylong public hearing will be held on Feb. 9 at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, and members of the public are able to testify, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.

In the room: Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, an Orthodox rabbi from New York, is the only Jewish member of the commission, but its advisory board includes four other rabbis, all of whom are Orthodox: Tikvah Fund CEO Rabbi Mark Gottlieb; Rabbi Yaakov Menken, the Coalition for Jewish Values’ executive vice president; Princeton Chabad Rabbi Eitan Webb; and Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, executive vice president of Agudath Israel. Alyza Lewin, president of U.S. affairs at the Combat Antisemitism Movement, is a legal advisor to the commission. The commission is chaired by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican.

Read the full story here.

IHRA adopted: The Chicago City Council unanimously voted to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism into the city’s declaration of human rights this week, an effort spearheaded by two local university students with no prior political experience, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.

Worthy Reads

Ran’s Home, Grief Lingers: In The Free Press, Rachel Goldberg-Polin reflects on the repatriation of the body of Ran Gvili as she continues to mourn the death of her son, Hersh, who was killed by Hamas in 2024. “On Day 843, Ran Gvili’s body was returned to his family. In a bag. I know the experience of having a child returned that way. For me, when Hersh came home, it was not a happy day. At all. It changed the rest of my life forever, and every day is sodden with grief and pain. So it was confusing for me yesterday to receive many messages telling me how happy I must be. But as more and more texts and emails swam to me, I began to understand the messages were because this specific agonizing mission, to get every hostage home, has concluded. … But for us bereaved families, the eternal hurdle is figuring out how to wake up each morning with part of our souls elsewhere. It is doable, because millions of people around the world do it every day. But sadly, this lazy-eight infinity symbol does not end for us; it keeps looping.” [FreePress]

Past is Prologue: In The Washington Post, photographer David Burnett, who covered the 1979 revolution in Iran, reflects on the Islamic Republic’s “full-circle” moment as those who led the fall of the shah nearly half a century ago now find themselves the targets of the country’s anti-government protests. “The protesters of the revolution have become the regime. But the street terror is the same. During the revolution, long before the internet and cellphones, demonstrators and the military alike relied on telephones and the occasional radio to spread word amid the chaos. In the 2020s, word of a protest can spread instantly — unless the internet is cut and the cell network has been shut down. … Now, almost a half-century later, a volatile and angry country ponders where things go from here. The revolutionaries have turned gray, but judging by the deadly serious way they are reacting to the uprising of a new generation, I imagine they still recognize the approach of change when they see it.” [WashPost]

New Regional Rivalry: In Foreign Policy, Firas Maksad posits that two new regional alliances are forming in the Middle East: a moderate grouping led by Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and an Islamic coalition led by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and Pakistan. “Tehran is no longer a principal actor shaping the region’s strategic trajectory. Instead, the Middle East is entering a new phase defined by competition between two emerging blocs: an Abrahamic and an Islamic coalition. How this rivalry evolves—rather than Iran’s next move—will do more to determine the region’s future and the U.S. role in it.” [FP]

Qatar on the Quad: In The Wall Street Journal, Ken Marcus, the founder of the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, raises concerns about the degree to which Qatari influence is playing a role in hiring decisions at American universities, citing a recent lawsuit by Jewish student Yael Canaan at Carnegie Mellon University that alleged she was the target of antisemitism. “Qatari interests in particular contributed to the salary of Elizabeth Rosemeyer, the university’s assistant vice provost for DEI and Title IX coordinator. In light of Qatari investments, Carnegie Mellon was required to ‘consult’ with the Qatar Foundation before hiring her. … At least three other DEI-related officials at Carnegie Mellon involved in Ms. Canaan’s complaints of antisemitism had work-related visits to Qatar, according to the December court order. These included Wanda Heading-Grant, the chief diversity officer, who invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when she was asked about Ms. Canaan’s complaint. Ms. Arscott also worked in Qatar for a time and received funding from Qatar.” [WSJ]

Word on the Street

The White House is continuing to weigh the possibility of military strikes targeting Iran, as Tehran threatened to hit the “heart of Tel Aviv” if the U.S. were to mount an attack…

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is speaking in Saudi Arabia this week at the Real Estate Future Forum, met on Wednesday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh…

The Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, whose campus was destroyed in last January’s Eaton fires, is suing Southern California Edison, alleging the utility company’s negligence failed to follow security protocols that would have mitigated the spread of the fire…

A Brooklyn man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in an assassination plot targeting Iranian dissident and activist Masih Alinejad…

Gamma co-founder Larry Jackson met with Black and Jewish employees of the record label prior to signing Kanye West, also known as Ye, to discuss the rapper’s history of antisemitic and racist comments…

Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Moscow on Wednesday with Rabbi Berel Lazar, the chief rabbi of Russia, and Rabbi Alexander Borodaon, president of the Federation of Communities…

A new report published by UNESCO found that three-quarters of the more than 2,000 teachers in the European Union who responded to a survey from the agency said that they had encountered antisemitism in the classroom, including 61% of respondents who said that Holocaust denial or distortion had been present among students…

A day after International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Pope Leo XIV, speaking to a group of Italian visitors to the Holy See, called for “a world without any more antisemitism, prejudice, oppression or persecution of any human being”…

The Palestinian Authority reportedly paid $200 million in salaries in 2025 to terrorists who committed attacks against Israelis, as well as their families, despite a pledge from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas last year to end the PA’s “pay-for-slay” program…

Israel’s Knesset approved the first of three readings of the government’s 2026 budget; if the budget is not passed by the end of March, the Knesset will dissolve, sending the country to elections…

Israeli journalist Amir Tibon was awarded this year’s Wingate Prize for his book, The Gates of Gaza, which recounts his family’s experiences surviving the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks…

The IDF accepted Hamas’ estimate that approximately 71,000 people were killed in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war…

Airlines operating under the Lufthansa group are extending their cancellation of night flights to and from Israel through Feb. 3 due to ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran…

Bloomberg spotlights the “sprawling investment empire” of Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of and possible successor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose business dealings are conducted by Iranian businessman Ali Ansari…

The Wall Street Journal looks at the split in Washington over the White House’s support for Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa following his takeover of Kurdish-held areas of the country, where the U.S.-backed Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces had been a key component of the U.S.’ strategy to counter ISIS…

Deann Forman was named the executive director of the JCC Association of America’s Center for Innovation and Impact…

Carl Kaplan, the founder and managing director of Koret Israel Economic Development Funds, is retiring more than three decades after founding the organization…

Pic of the Day

(Photo by Chaim Goldberg / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Shira Gvili mourned at the casket of her brother, slain IDF soldier Ran Gvili, at his funeral in Meitar, Israel, yesterday, two days after his body was recovered by the IDF in a cemetery in the Gaza Strip. Gvili was killed in battle on Oct. 7, 2023, and his body was brought to the enclave, where it remained after every other living and dead hostage was repatriated to Israel.

Birthdays

Johnny Goldstein at the Sona Warrior Awards at Skirball Center on October 12, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by C Polk/Variety via Getty Images)

Israeli multi-platinum record producer and songwriter specializing in pop, hip-hop, dance and electronic music, Yonatan “Johnny” Goldstein turns 35…

Rabbi, mohel and public speaker, he is the author of the best-selling Maggid series, Rabbi Paysach Krohn turns 81… Author and first woman ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Sandy Eisenberg Sasso turns 79… Singer-songwriter, he is a two-time gold medal winner in the Maccabiah Games (1985 and 1989) in fast-pitch softball, Steve March-Tormé turns 73… Regional director in Houston for the American Jewish Committee, Randall Czarlinsky… Louisiana resident, Jerry Keller… CEO of the Westchester Jewish Council, Elliot Forchheimer… Senior writer for JCCs of North America, a.k.a. Jane the Writer, Jane E. Herman… Actress known for her role as Amy MacDougall-Barone on the TV sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond,” Monica Horan turns 63… Former member of the Knesset for Likud and Kadima between 2003 and 2013, Ruhama Avraham turns 62… Physician and an author of four New York Times best-selling books, he is a professor of medicine and engineering at USC, as well as a CBS News contributor, Dr. David Agus turns 61… Former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (R-WI), Paul Ryan turns 56… Robyn Cooke Bash… Writer and occasional Bollywood film actor, he is known for his writing of the popular Jewish children’s comic book series “Mendy and the Golem,” Matt Brandstein turns 54… Israeli documentary filmmaker, photojournalist and film producer, winner of two Emmy Awards, Oren Rosenfeld turns 50… Chief impact officer at The Conduit, Denielle Sachs… Former president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, now a D.C.-based philanthropic consultant, Kari Dunn Saratovsky… Israeli actress, model and television host, Yael Bar Zohar turns 46… Former chair of the American Institute in Taiwan, Laura Rosenberger turns 46… Ethiopian-born Israeli fashion model and actress, Esti Mamo turns 43… Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, Yasha Moz… U.S. Representative (D-MA) since 2021, Jacob Daniel “Jake” Auchincloss turns 38… Mayor of Holyoke, Mass., for nine years starting at age 22, he is now the town manager of Provincetown, Alex Morse turns 37… Associate software engineer at BlackRock, Martha Baumgarten… Swimmer for Israel at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics, Andrea “Andi” Murez turns 34…

closed chapter

IDF secures return of Ran Gvili, the final deceased hostage, from Gaza

With Gvili’s return, no Israeli hostage — living or deceased — is being held in the enclave for the first time since 2014

Amir Levy/Getty Images

Israeli tanks stationed near the border with the Gaza Strip on September 17, 2025 in southern Israel.

By

Matthew Shea

January 26, 2026

The IDF announced on Monday that it had uncovered the remains of deceased hostage Ran Gvili at a Muslim cemetery in eastern Gaza City and would be bringing them back to Israel for burial — recovering the final hostage of the Gaza war and marking the first time since 2014 that no Israeli captive, alive or deceased, is being held in the enclave.

Gvili, a 24-year-old member of the Israeli Police Special Forces, died in combat while protecting Kibbutz Alumim in southern Israel during the morning of the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks. His body was then abducted by Hamas and taken into the Gaza Strip where he was buried by the terrorist group.

Dentists and forensic experts deployed to the cemetery were able to identify Gvili’s remains after the IDF had tested hundreds of bodies, according to The Times of Israel. In return, Israel is prepared to hand over at least 15 Palestinian bodies to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

“Following the completion of the identification process by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, in cooperation with the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate, IDF representatives informed the family of the deceased hostage Sergeant First Class Ran Gvili, that their loved one has been identified and will be returned for burial,” the IDF said in a statement.

Addressing members of the Knesset on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, “My friends, members of the Knesset, a short while ago we returned Ran Gvili, a hero of Israel. I commend the commanders and soldiers of the IDF and the ISA [Shin Bet intelligence agency] for the perfect execution of this sacred mission … We all wore the [hostage] pin, and now that the mission is complete, the time has come to remove it.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog also thanked those “involved in the operation,” adding that the people of Israel are “moved to tears” and removed his own yellow hostage pin in a video.

“Finally, Ran has been returned home to his family in Israel,” said Herzog. “After many difficult years, for the first time since 2014, there are no Israeli hostages in Gaza. An entire nation prayed and waited for this moment.”

Hamas had held several Israeli hostages for over a decade, including Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who crossed into the Gaza Strip in 2014 and 2015, respectively, and were held alive by the terror group, as well as the remains of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were killed during the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas. All four were returned to Israel in the aftermath of Oct. 7, either through hostage-release deals or recovery efforts by the IDF.

Prior to Gvili’s return, Hamas had been accused of intentionally delaying the release of the Israeli hostages in order to prolong its survival and gain leverage. However, Trump told Axios that the terrorist group helped locate Gvili’s remains.

“[Hamas] worked very hard to get the body back,” Trump said in an interview on Monday. “They were working with Israel on it. You can imagine how hard it was.”

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said that the recovery of the final hostage body proves the group is committed to the terms of the Gaza ceasefire.

“The discovery of the body of the last Israeli captive in Gaza confirms Hamas’s commitment to all the requirements of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, including the prisoner exchange,” Qassem said in a statement. “Hamas will continue to adhere to all aspects of the agreement, including facilitating the work of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza and ensuring its success.”

White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff announced earlier this month that President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan is moving into Phase 2, a shift from a ceasefire and hostage release to the demilitarization of Hamas and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip — a pivot that could be accelerated by the recovery of the last hostage.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a statement to Jewish Insider, “At long last, after 843 days, the body of Ran Gvili, the last Israeli hostage held by Hamas, is home. It has taken far too long, but finally, all those who fought of the release of hostages can breathe a sigh of relief.”

“I will never forget meeting with the hostage families for the first time in Israel just days after Oct. 7. They have fought bravely and tirelessly for the return of hostages and did not give up until every single hostage was brought home. Today my heart is with all of the hostages, their families, and those who advocated for their return who can finally begin on the path to recovery and healing,” Schumer continued.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also expressed relief for Gvili’s return on social media, noting that the former policeman “epitomizes the heart and soul of Israel.”

“It is with joy and deep sadness that the body of Ran Gvili has been recovered by the Israeli government, allowing him to go home and receive a dignified burial,” Graham wrote. “He fought like a tiger and to the death, taking terrorists down with him. His love for Israel, the one and only Jewish state, consumed his being, and he made the ultimate sacrifice.”

Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, also welcomed Gvili’s return in a post on X, adding that “healing can begin.”

“This is the moment we’ve prayed and fought for over the last agonizing 843 days,” Deutch wrote. “I’ve come to know so many families of the hostages over the past two years and I hold them all in my heart today.”

NO LAUGHING MATTER

Manhattan comedy club cancels Israeli comedian amid protest by pro-Hamas groups

Comedian Guy Hochman performed an alternative show outside in freezing cold weather

Noam Galai/Getty Images

Guy Hochman speaks at the IAC National Summit 2026 at The Diplomat Beach Resort on January 17, 2026 in Hollywood, Florida.

By

Haley Cohen

January 21, 2026

A Manhattan comedy club canceled Israeli comedian Guy Hochman’s show on Tuesday night after pro-Hamas groups protested outside of the venue.

“The owner of the place was afraid and canceled the show,” Hochman told Jewish Insider, referring to Broadway Comedy Club, located near Times Square. “So, I did an alternative show for my audience outside freezing to death.”

“We are not giving up,” Hochman continued, adding that “another, big show” was planned for Wednesday evening. He did not disclose the location of the rescheduled show. “We are the Jewish people and we want to live and laugh,” said Hochman.

The owner of the venue, Carolyn Martin, did not respond to a request for comment from JI.

City College of New York’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter was among the groups promoting the Tuesday demonstration on social media. It shared a post from the New York City chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement that said “victory” was achieved by the cancellation. CCNY SJP, which remains a registered student group, also participated in this month’s pro-Hamas protest in Queens that caused nearby schools and a synagogue to close early.

Outside the comedy venue, masked demonstrators banged on drums, chanted and held signs that read “clean up the trash,” “death to the IDF” and “no war criminals in our city.” A heavy NYPD presence was called to monitor the protest.

Hochman was reportedly detained at the airport for six hours of questioning on Monday when he arrived in Toronto after the anti-Israel group Hind Rijab Foundation filed a complaint about his service in the IDF. He was released after intervention from the Israeli consulate.

PEACE BOARD PROTEST

Netanyahu comes out against Board of Peace for Gaza as Turkey, Qatar get seats

A Trump administration source characterized Netanyahu's statement to JI as a minor issue that would likely be smoothed out within days

Taylor Hill/Getty Images

Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on September 26, 2025 in New York City.

By

Lahav Harkov

January 17, 2026

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the composition of the executive board meant to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza, his office said on Saturday.

“The announcement regarding the composition of the Gaza Executive Board, which is subordinate to the Board of Peace, was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy,” the Prime Minister’s Office stated. “The Prime Minister has instructed the Foreign Affairs Minister to contact the U.S. Secretary of State on this matter.”

Netanyahu emphasized his objection in a speech to the Knesset on Monday, saying that “there will be no Turkish or Qatari soldiers in Gaza. We are currently in a dispute with the U.S. over the makeup of the advisory council for Gaza.”

Though Netanyahu said the board was not coordinated with Israel, he spoke with President Donald Trump twice in recent days, and Mossad Chief David Barnea met with White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday. The calls and meetings were reportedly about Iran.

The White House announced on Friday that several committees to govern Gaza and oversee its reconstruction and administration had been formed, including the Gaza Executive Board.

The Gaza Executive Board is meant to support the office of the high representative for Gaza and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, which is made up of Palestinian technocrats. It includes Witkoff, Jared Kushner, former U.K. Prime Minister U.K. Tony Blair, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, Israeli-Cypriot businessman Yakir Gabay, head of Egyptian intelligence General Hassan Rashad, UAE Minister for International Cooperation Reem Al-Hashimy, U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Sigrid Kaag, and the previous holder of that position, Nickolay Mladenov, who will serve as the high representative for Gaza.

The board also includes Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi. Israeli officials have previously spoken out against Turkish involvement in Gaza’s reconstruction. Qatar has funded Gaza reconstruction in the past, with significant funding and dual-use materials reaching Hamas; the terrorist group’s leaders have also resided in Doha.

A Trump administration source characterized Netanyahu’s statement to Jewish Insider as a minor issue that would likely be smoothed out within days.

The source noted that Turkish and Qatari representatives were key to negotiating the ceasefire in Gaza, which took effect in October, and that they call Witkoff and Kushner daily, and therefore have an influence on the process regardless of the titles they are given. He also added that Netanyahu has a direct line to Trump.

“It’s all based on whether Hamas demilitarizes or not,” he added. “If Hamas demilitarizes, that is what’s most important [above the composition of the board]. If Hamas doesn’t demilitarize, none of this matters. … The prime minister has a commitment from the president that Hamas will demilitarize.”

Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said that “Netanyahu is allowing Turkey and Qatar into Gaza. That endangers Israel’s security. That is not what our brave soldiers fought for for two years.

“Instead of releasing panicky statements of protest, Israel should offer a clear alternative, for Egypt to administer Gaza for the next 15 years, for Hamas to be disarmed, and work with American partners to strengthen Israel’s border,” Lapid added.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that he supports Netanyahu’s “important message.”

“Gaza does not need an ‘executive board’ that will supervise its ‘rehabilitation,’ it needs to be cleaned of Hamas terrorists who should be destroyed, along with encouraging massive voluntary emigration, in accordance with President Trump’s original plan,” Ben-Gvir said. “I call on the prime minister to instruct the IDF to prepare to go back to war in Gaza using great force in order to achieve the central goal of the war, the destruction of Hamas.”

The White House also announced the members of the founding executive board of the Trump-chaired Board of Peace, whose purview is not limited to Gaza. Netanyahu told the Knesset on Monday that the board is meant to serve as an alternative to the United Nations, 66 of whose organizations the U.S. left earlier this month. The board is composed of Secretary of State Marc Rubio, Witkoff, Kushner, Blair, Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga and Deputy National Security Advisor Robert Gabriel.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Argentinian President Javier Milei also accepted invitations from Trump to join the board, while Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had yet to respond. French President Emmanuel Macron declined to join. Netanyahu was invited to join or send an Israeli representative, according to Ynet. Russian President Vladimir Putin was invited, as was President Alyaksandr Lukashenka of Belarus; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky received an invitation on Tuesday, Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Kornichuk told JI. China, Germany, Australia, Albania, Jordan, Egypt and Bahrain reportedly received invitations, as well.

Membership on the Board of Peace is for three years; Trump asked countries to pay $1 billion for a permanent seat, Bloomberg reported.

Trump appointed Aryeh Lightstone and Josh Gruenbaum, members of Witkoff’s team, to be special advisors to the Board of Peace, “leading day-to-day strategy and operations, and translating the Board’s mandate and diplomatic priorities into disciplined execution,” the White House stated.

SA'AR IN SOMALILAND

Israeli FM Gideon Sa’ar makes historic first visit to Somaliland to strengthen ties

The two nations said they would cooperate on security, trade, investment and regional stability

Shlomi Amsalem, GPO

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar meets with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi in Hargeisa, Somaliland, Jan 6, 2026

By

Matthew Shea

January 7, 2026

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar made a historic diplomatic visit to Somaliland on Tuesday, marking the first official trip by an Israeli Cabinet minister to the territory and the latest move to strengthen bilateral ties following Israel’s recognition of Somaliland’s independence last month.

In the capital city of Hargeisa, Sa’ar met with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, with both sides pledging to open embassies in the near future. Somaliland’s foreign ministry said the two delegations held “constructive discussions on strengthening bilateral relations,” focusing on cooperation in diplomacy, security, trade and investment, as well as regional peace and stability.

Sa’ar’s visit came after Israel became the first country to formally recognize Somaliland since it announced its independence from Somalia in 1991, a move that elevated long-standing quiet engagement into an open diplomatic partnership. No other U.N. member state has formally recognized Somaliland as an independent country, despite its functioning as a de facto state with its own government, elections and security forces for more than three decades.

The trip also drew criticism from regional and international actors, particularly Somalia, which considers Somaliland an integral part of its sovereign territory and rejects its independence. Somalia’s foreign ministry condemned Sa’ar’s visit in a statement released Tuesday, calling it an “unauthorized entry.”

Somalia’s Foreign Minister Abdisalam Dhaay also convened what he described as an “emergency virtual session” of the African Union Peace and Security Council to address what he called “developments affecting Somalia’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” while rejecting what the government characterized as “external interference.”

Israel’s recognition of Somaliland has also stirred unease across parts of the Arab and Muslim world. Qatar and 21 other countries in the region, including Jordan, Egypt and Iran, issued a joint statement last month expressing their “unequivocal rejection” of the move.

Supporters of recognition argue that Somaliland’s stability and democratic governance distinguish it from other states and its positioning would provide key benefits for pro-Western countries in a volatile region — including strategic access to the Gulf of Aden, which sits across parts of Yemen controlled by the Houthis.

In a post on X on Monday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said recognition of Somaliland “isn’t charity.”

“It aligns with America’s security interests and the ‘America First’ doctrine by strengthening an ally that shares our values in a region vital to global trade and counterterrorism,” Cruz wrote.

However, President Donald Trump has thus far downplayed the prospect of the United States following Israel’s lead.

“Somaliland has every moral and legal claim to nationhood status as the successor state to British Somaliland, which was granted independence in 1960 and has functioned as a de facto independent democracy since 1991,” said Edmund Fitton-Brown, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, in a brief released Tuesday.

“The truth is that Turkey, Egypt, and a coalition of Sunni Muslim countries will always corral global Islamist opposition to anything that benefits Israel,” Fitton-Brown added. “These voices should be ignored, and the United States should itself recognize Somaliland.”

COMMENT CLEAN-UP

Netanyahu does damage control after saying Israel to be like ‘super-Sparta,’ ‘autarky’

Trump, Netanyahu to meet in White House in two weeks after Israeli prime minister’s U.N. speech

Screenshot

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a press conference on the Israeli economy on Sept. 16, 2025.

By

Lahav Harkov

September 16, 2025

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarified his remarks that Israel’s economy may “need to adapt to … autarkic characteristics” on Tuesday, after a dip in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Netanyahu made his original comments at a conference held by the Israeli Finance Ministry on Monday, where he said that “Israel is in a sort of isolation,” and that he hates the idea that Israel will have to behave like an autarky, or self-reliant economy.

“I believe in the free market, but we may find ourselves in a situation where our arms industries are blocked. We will need to develop arms industries here — not only research and development, but also the ability to produce what we need … There’s no choice,” he said, adding that Israel will need to be “Athens and super-Sparta.”

Israeli markets dropped in response, and business and industry leaders came out against Netanyahu’s remarks, saying that “an autarkic economy will be a disaster for Israel,” and “this vision … will make it hard for us to survive in a developing globalized world.”

A day later, Netanyahu called a press conference to do damage control amid the widespread concern in Israel, clarifying that his comments were specific to the Israeli defense industry.

In the defense industry, he said “there are limitations that are not economic, but political.”

“If there’s one lesson from this war, it is that we want to be in a situation where we are not limited. We want to defend ourselves by ourselves and with our own weapons,” Netanyahu stated. “We are going to produce an independent arms industry that is very strong that can withstand any political constraints.”

Israel will “build a defense industry that will match the best in the world,” he added. “You saw some — not even all — of it in the 12-day war with Iran.”

The prime minister also talked about Israel working on technology for underground warfare.

Netanyahu said western European countries implementing arms embargoes against Israel are “pressured by minorities in which some are very extreme,” as well as “advanced propaganda against us.”

Netanyahu said that his intention in the speech at the Finance Ministry was to tell its workers that “we are aiming for security independence and I asked them to cut bureaucracy.”

“Within that [speech], there was a misunderstanding,” he said.

“A concentrated, closed market is not what I usually like,” he said. “I turn to the markets. But we are using all of the means needed to create a strong defense industry.”

Netanyahu expressed “full faith in Israel’s economy.”

“Israel’s economy is very strong,” he said. “It has amazed the whole world in recent decades and more than amazed the world in the last two years, in which we are fighting a war. … Against all predictions, the shekel is stronger than it was before the war … Unemployment is at a historic low. In recent months, there is a large flow of investors in the Israeli economy.”

Netanyahu presented graphs showing the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange rising at a higher rate than the S&P, that the shekel is strong against the dollar and GDP per capita is rising, that Israel’s debt to GDP rate is lower than that of the U.S. and the average for advanced economies, and that Israel is second in the world — after the U.S. — in receiving foreign investments for research and development.

“I don’t underestimate the attempts to economically isolate us, but the world wants the products that Israel makes,” he added, mentioning artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. “This is the health, the vibrancy of Israel’s economy. This is a very powerful economy, an economy of 10 million people, but very gifted people.”

In the press conference, Netanyahu also said he had spoken on the phone with President Donald Trump several times since Israel’s strike aimed at Hamas leaders in Qatar last week, including one in which the president invited him to the White House.

Netanyahu said he will be meeting with Trump in Washington on Sept. 29.

Following the press conference, Yair Lapid, Israel’s opposition leader, said that Netanyahu “lost contact with reality.”

“You cannot run a market when there is no trust in the government and no trust in the prime minister,” Lapid said. “On Netanyahu’s watch and that of the current government, Israel’s credit rating was lowered for the first time in history, and then it happened again. There is a sharp reduction in Israeli exports. There is a sharp decrease in investment from abroad. High-tech, the engine of the market, is in an unprecedented crisis.”

Matt Duss, a foreign policy advisor to Sen. Bernie Sanders, discussed the 2020 frontrunner’s views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and relations with Israel during the Quincy Institute leadership forum, held in conjunction with Foreign Policy, in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.

Vocal and critical: “Senator Sanders has been clear about the principles that he supports and the goal and it’s a goal that is shared by — I think — a clear majority of Americans,” Duss said. “I think he’s been willing to be more critical of [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu in particular, as he has been more vocal and critical about right-wing nationalists around the world, recognizing that is a global trend that is very problematic for those of us who support human rights and democracy. At the end of the day, the Israeli government is full of professionals who understand Israel’s security needs. There are longstanding relationships at various levels between the U.S. and Israel. And we don’t think we’ll have a problem moving forward in trying — trying at least — and probably finding very quickly some common ground.”

Jerusalem reaction: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted on Wednesday to Sanders’s constant attacks against him, most recently calling him a “reactionary racist” during Tuesday night’s debate in South Carolina. “What I think about this matter is that he is definitely wrong,” Netanyahu said during an interview with Army Radio. “No question about it.” Netanyahu pointed out that the reason he withstood pressure from the Obama administration for eight years was because he was able to influence U.S. public opinion, “and if we will be pressured into doing dangerous things, I will know how to oppose that — and I am not afraid of a showdown.”

Bonus: Jeremy Burton, head of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, tells Washington Post reporter Michelle Boorstein that the common theme he’s hearing is anxiety among American Jews about having a Jewish nominee or president, whether the person is Bernie Sanders or Michael Bloomberg. “At the end of the day, Jews know antisemitism is part of the DNA of Western civilization,” he explained.

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.”

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