The New Jersey GOP gubernatorial nominee was honored at the Muslims 4 Jack event alongside Ibrar Nadeem
Mark Kauzlarich/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Jack Ciattarelli, Republican candidate for governor of New Jersey, speaks during an election night event in Bridgewater Township, N.J. on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021.
Add JewishInsider on GoogleIbrar Nadeem, a Muslim affairs advisor to New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, bragged that he wasn’t taking money from Jews at a campaign event last weekend organized by a group called Muslims 4 Jack.
Ciattarelli, the Republican nominee, appeared alongside Nadeem on Saturday evening at the event, held in Piscataway, N.J, where he called Nadeem one of his closest advisors. At the event, Nadeem alleged some Muslims in his community had accused him of “taking money from Jews” to support Ciattarelli, which he pointedly denied.
An invitation to the event, which described the gathering as a “community dinner honoring” the GOP gubernatorial hopeful, listed Nadeem’s official title as “executive director” of “New Jersey – Muslim relations.”
“Every time I got tired, people from my community — when I was blamed that — somebody said ‘You are taking money from Jews.’ I said, ‘I check my bank account every day, brother, it is not there,’” Nadeem told the crowd, after also having made remarks against same-sex marriage.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), the state’s Democratic nominee for governor, criticized Ciattarelli in a social media post on Monday for not condemning Nadeem’s comments at the event.
“This blatant antisemitism is coming from a member of Jack’s inner circle. Jack could have condemned it but instead sang his praises. Absolutely disgraceful,” Sherrill wrote.
Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Ciattarelli’s campaign referred Jewish Insider to a post by Ciattarelli on X explaining Nadeem’s remarks and attacking Sherrill for her refusal to weigh in on the New York City mayoral race against Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani.
“Do you ever get tired of lying @MikieSherrill? You know I support same sex marriage,” Ciattarelli wrote on X on Monday night. “You also know the full clip of Dr. Nadeem’s remarks are clear: He was talking about the grief he gets from some BECAUSE of my unwavering support for the Jewish community and Israel and his own efforts to build bridges between Muslim and non-Muslim communities.”
Nadeem defended his support of Ciattarelli’s candidacy during his remarks on Saturday, arguing that an embrace of his campaign could ensure that the Muslim community could have “a seat at the table” if he were elected.
“We want to have a seat at the table. We want to be in those rooms where decisions will be made. I do not necessarily mean me,” Nadeem explained, adding that he planned to collect resumes from some attendees in the room to recommend for positions in Ciattarelli’s potential administration. Nadeem also noted that he “wants to have a ban on same-sex marriage” in New Jersey.
In remarks delivered shortly after Nadeem’s speech, Ciattarelli embraced the local Arab leader as a close confidante without condemning his comments about Jews.
“Dr. Ibrar Nadeem: Just once, I wish you would say what’s exactly on your mind,” Ciattarelli said, prompting laughter from the crowd. The gubernatorial nominee went on to call for a round of applause for Nadeem to thank him for his political engagement.
“I am the first [Republican] gubernatorial candidate in history that has a Muslim as part of his inner circle of advisors, and that advisor is Dr. Ibrar Nadeem,” he later added.
Ciattarelli then detailed how he and Nadeem, whom he described as a “very, very impressive man,” were first introduced in February. “He said to me, eight months ago, ‘I am going to help you be the next governor of New Jersey,’ and that man hasn’t let me down one day since that very day,” Ciattarelli said of Nadeem.
Ciattarelli posted about the event on Sunday, writing on Instagram alongside several photos that featured Nadeem that it was “great to be in Piscataway last night for a Meet & Greet with members of New Jersey’s thriving Muslim community. Our state is built on respect for all faiths and traditions, and I remain committed to being a Governor for every New Jerseyan — ensuring every voice is heard and every family feels welcome.”
Plus, an interview with Jack Ciattarelli
CNN
South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg moderated by Chris Cuomo. CNN Democratic Presidential Town Hall: The Climate Crisis New York, NY 2019
Good Friday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at leading Democrats’ leftward shifts on Israel and talk to New Jersey Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli about his outreach to the Garden State’s Jewish community ahead of the November election. We report on the Toronto International Film Festival’s decision to reinstate the screening of a documentary about the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, and talk to House legislators who recently returned from Israel about their meetings with senior officials. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Michael Eisenberg, Rep. Dan Goldman and Dan Raviv.
For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent Jewish Insider and eJewishPhilanthropy stories, including: Jay Schottenstein has great genes; Mountain minyan: An unorthodox experiment in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains; and After quietly supporting Gaza relief work since early 2024, IsraAid CEO opens up and warns: ‘We are reaching an extreme humanitarian situation’. Print the latest edition here.
What We’re Watching
- Today marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are slated to meet today in Alaska for talks aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
- The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute’s National Jewish Retreat wraps up this weekend in Washington. Weekend speakers include journalist Dan Raviv, Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and Amb. Stuart Eizenstat.
- An anti-Israel protest slated to take place in New York City tomorrow is expected to draw thousands of participants, the largest protest of its kind in the city in months.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR
Watching several nationally ambitious Democrats, under pressure from the activist left, shift away from their measured support of Israel is reminiscent of watching the party’s 2020 presidential candidates rush to embrace a panoply of hard-left positions that turned politically costly in the long run.
The biggest flip-flop under pressure came from former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who, in a recent appearance on the “Pod Save America” podcast, tried to maintain some support for the U.S.-Israel alliance while criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for being responsible for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
That nuanced, largely-critical-of-Israel reaction, nonetheless, drew widespread opprobrium from the loudest anti-Israel voices within the party, including the former Obama administration operatives who host the show.
Within days, Buttigieg backtracked in favor of embracing a more hostile view towards the Jewish state. He came out against re-upping another long-term agreement to secure military aid to Israel — the type of deal that former President Barack Obama last secured before leaving office in 2016. He said he would have supported anti-Israel resolutions championed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to cut off some military aid to Israel. And he called for recognition of a Palestinian state, a position held by only the furthest-left Democratic lawmakers in Congress.
Buttigieg’s rapid reversal does him little good in advancing his national political interests. As a presidential candidate whose appeal was centered in his thoughtful pragmatism, his rush to pander to the far flank of his party threatens to undermine his more-moderate brand.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), to a lesser extent, is feeling similar pressure from the base as he hints at an interest in presidential politics. The swing-state senator, who has been critical of his party’s far-left, came out squarely against Sanders’ anti-Israel resolutions. But as anti-Israel activists aired an ad in Iowa targeting his position (he missed the actual vote in the Senate), he responded by saying his view on Israel is “evolving.”
And it wasn’t lost on the pro-Israel community that among the 26 Senate Democrats who voted with Sanders on the anti-Israel resolution was Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), a pragmatic Democrat who nonetheless is watching the radical strains within the party grow in influence within her state. Klobuchar is also expected to consider another presidential campaign, after experiencing surprising success in her first run — running as a centrist.
LEFTWARD SWERVE
Buttigieg’s about-face on Israel signals possible shift in Democratic politics
A senior Biden official expressed concerns about Pete Buttigieg’s about-face on Israel and its wider implications about Democratic politics, in comments to Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch following the former transportation secretary’s recent remarks on military support for the Jewish state and his support for recognizing a Palestinian state.
Notable quotable: “Pete Buttigieg is a viable president of the United States. He won the Iowa caucus. He was the transportation secretary. And his words really matter,” the official told JI. “The fact that he so quickly got wobbly and said his comments about the 10-year MOU suggests that those who still believe in standing strong really need to stand up right now, because we’re seeing a trend that’s extremely disturbing.”
NEW JERSEY JOUST
Ciattarelli focuses on Jewish voters as he seeks an upset in the N.J. governor’s race
Ever since President Donald Trump ran surprisingly close to Vice President Kamala Harris in New Jersey during last year’s presidential race, Republicans have been looking at the state’s gubernatorial race as a chance to capitalize on the party’s momentum in the blue state. Jack Ciattarelli, the GOP’s nominee for governor, also came tantalizingly close to defeating Gov. Phil Murphy in the state’s last gubernatorial race. He’s running again, and hoping to get over the finish line against Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), in part, by courting the state’s sizable Jewish community, which has swung a bit to the right in recent elections. “People now know, because of the closeness of my race, that we can win. There’s just an attitude change because they feel like the Democrats have really failed them on a number of issues, and antisemitism is one of them,” Ciattarelli told Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs in an interview ahead of his visit to Israel this week.
Trade goals: Ciattarelli organized his five-day visit to Israel in a show of solidarity. He also spent time on his visit pursuing opportunities for economic investment from leading Israeli companies in the technology and medical sectors. He told JI that one of his goals with the visit was to boost the state’s economy “by forging a closer economic relationship with a number of nations” that are close U.S. allies. “Israel is first and foremost on the list, but as governor, I will certainly look to Canada, Mexico and India as well to increase our bilateral trade,” Ciattarelli said.
REVERSING COURSE
Toronto film festival reverses decision, will air Oct. 7 documentary
The Toronto International Film Festival reversed course on Thursday, deciding to screen “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue,” a documentary about the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, at its upcoming festival. TIFF had faced serious backlash from Jewish organizations and Canadian politicians over its initial decision to cancel the screening due to the film’s usage of Hamas footage from the attacks, saying the terror organization had not approved them for use, Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports.
Back and bigger: TIFF board member John Ruffolo told the Toronto SunToronto Sun that the organization decided at a board meeting Thursday that the movie “will be exhibited as planned and even bigger than originally.” Another source told the Sun that TIFF President Cameron Bailey and Barry Avrich, the film’s director, were essential to the decision, along with input from philanthropist Heather Reisman and entrepreneur Henry Wolfond, both influential Jewish Canadians.
ISRAEL INSIGHTS
Freshman House Republicans discuss their recent trip to Israel
Returning from a trip to Israel, two first-term House Republicans blasted European nations and others that have recently hardened their positions against Israel, saying that those decisions had set back efforts to free the hostages and end the war, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Discussion: One of the lawmakers who visited Israel with the AIPAC-affiliated American Israel Education Foundation also indicated that she had not heard in meetings with Israeli leaders a concrete plan for bringing the war to an end. “Europe’s actions definitely set back the … negotiations for Hamas releasing the existing hostages — potentially resulting in them dying,” Rep. Julie Fedorchak (R-ND) said. “It’s maddening that these countries that should know better, or should take the time to find out better, are taking these very unhelpful positions.” Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) said it was crucial to “stand up to these countries like France and the U.K. and Canada and Australia that have fully embraced Muslim terror and want to reward it.”
Q&A
Michael Eisenberg on Israel’s ‘defining generation’ and the future of a region rewired by AI
American-Israeli venture capitalist Michael Eisenberg isn’t just watching Israel’s transformation — he’s trying to shape it. As cofounder of the prominent investment fund Aleph, early backer of companies including Lemonade and WeWork, and a longtime thought leader in the intersection of Judaism, economics and technology, Eisenberg has become an influential voice in Israel’s public discourse. In a wide-ranging conversation on the Misgav Mideast Horizons podcast, co-hosted by Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov, Eisenberg discussed the impact of the war in Gaza on Israeli society and the tech sector, what the government must do to turn postwar recovery into long-term renewal and why he sees young Israelis as a “defining generation.”
Faith in the youth: “Part of what makes me optimistic is the youth of Israel,” Eisenberg said. “Two years into this war that nobody wanted, two years into a war that saw hundreds of thousands of people called up to reserves — [I have] sons, sons-in-law who have probably done more than 1,500 days of reserve duty in Gaza or mandatory service in Gaza. We currently have two kids in the army right now. These kids have proven to be what I called already in November 2023 the ‘defining generation.’” Eisenberg also made the case for an ambitious AI-powered regional alliance between Israel and its Abraham Accords partners — and warned that Israel’s political dysfunction could squander the opportunity.
Worthy Reads
Classroom Conversation: In The Wall Street Journal, Claremont Consortium professors Jon Shields and Yuval Avnur reflect on the results of their recent study demonstrating anti-Israel biases in academia. “We also looked at the most assigned texts that narrowly focus on the history of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. We found that the most commonly assigned works were sharply critical of Israel. Those that show sympathy for Zionism are less popular and rarely paired with more critical texts. … More of us should follow the minority of professors who teach the real controversy — not only the dominant texts but also work that is critical of them. Doing so is good for developing citizens and for maintaining the public trust of the university. It’s hard for us to see a path toward restoring public confidence in the university that doesn’t involve curricular reform. If we shut out the views of half or more of the population, we shouldn’t be surprised when the democratic process leads to the diminution of our subsidies and other privileges.” [WSJ]
All Politics is Local: The Atlantic’s David Frum considers the domestic political motivations behind the recent decisions by French, British, Canadian and Australian leaders, whom he describes as “centrist politicians” who “regard themselves as strong friends of Israel,” to recognize Palestinian statehood. “If they’re investing their prestige in a seemingly futile gesture, they must have good reason. They do. All four men lead political coalitions that are fast turning against Israel. Pressure is building on the leaders to vent their supporters’ anger, and embracing the French initiative creates a useful appearance of action. … Now here we are again, after another failed Palestinian terror campaign, and there is only one idea energizing Western foreign ministries: That thing that failed before? Let’s try it one more time. But this time, the hope is not to bring peace to the Middle East. They hope instead to bring peace to their own streets.” [TheAtlantic]
Taiwan Talk: In The Washington Post, Vincent Chen spotlights what he calls the “hypocrisy” of Western recognition of a Palestinian state while denying Taiwan the same recognition. “Many Western democracies lining up to recognize a Palestinian state are in the process of conferring legitimacy on something that, legally speaking, doesn’t yet exist. Meanwhile, an economically crucial and politically functional democratic state that Western leaders have vowed to aid in case of outside aggression — Taiwan — remains unrecognized. This kind of hypocrisy invites trouble. Those trying to will a Palestinian state into being are doing so to constrain Israel’s ability to intervene. And yet no such moves are being contemplated on Taiwan’s behalf vis-à-vis China. By recognizing one entity and not the other, Western leaders are signaling to Beijing that its commitments to Taipei should not be taken too seriously. Tragic miscalculations are likely to follow.” [WashPost]
A Time to Choose: In Sapir, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren reflects on the “chosenness” of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. “Today’s anti-Zionists, much like the Jew-haters of the past, adduce our wholesale demonization as proof of our inherent wickedness. After all, those countless keffiyeh-clad college students chanting ‘from the river to the sea’ can’t be all wrong. In response, Israelis could assert, as our ancestors did, that the world’s hatred of us is a sign of our chosenness — that accusations of genocide, like the earlier ones of deicide, indicate that we remain, even as a secular state still yearning for normalcy, chosen. … Whether on the battlefield or in the Israeli streets where opposing protests sometimes clash, it is a status we must always strive for and a title we must relentlessly earn. Israel, built by the chosen people on the chosen land, must prove it is chosen not by suffering and enduring hate, but by showing strength, seeking justice, and embracing peace. Not only to the world but to ourselves, Israelis must affirm that chosenness is, in fact, our normal.” [Sapir]
Word on the Street
President Donald Trump said he would “like to see” Israel grant access to foreign journalists to enter Gaza…
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) is holding off on making an endorsement in the New York City mayoral race, saying he “what actions and concrete steps [Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani] takes to address the significant concerns of the 1.3 million Jews in New York City who are justifiably and understandably very afraid given the most recent hate crime statistics that came out”…
A Massachusetts man who pleaded guilty to making threats against area synagogues and Jewish community members, as well as placing dozens of menacing calls to the Israeli Consulate in Boston, was sentenced to 26 months in prison…
Israel’s Foreign Ministry funded a trip to Israel for MAGA-aligned social media influencers in an effort to bolster GOP support amid party divisions over the war in Gaza and the U.S.-Israel relationship…
The New York Times reports on the surge in settler attacks on Palestinian communities in the West Bank since the beginning of the year…
Mossad head David Barnea met in Doha yesterday with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani for the highest-level talks in weeks aimed at reaching a ceasefire and hostage-release deal…
The Financial Times looks at how Israel has become “increasingly criticised, sanctioned and isolated” over its war against Hamas in Gaza…
Recent Western intelligence reportedly indicates that Beijing may be preparing to assist Iran in rebuilding its ballistic-missile program…
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Cairo was moving forward with plans, in partnership with Jordan, to train thousands of Palestinian police officers in preparation for administration in a post-war Gaza Strip…
The defense ministers of Turkey and Syria signed an agreement this week for Ankara to send weapons and other military equipment to Syria…
Pic of the Day
Thousands of people attended the second annual Nova Healing Concert last night in Tel Aviv’s HaYarkon Park to remember and commemorate 22 months since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led massacre at the Nova music festival in Re’im.
Birthdays
Pennsylvania’s two U.S. senators, John Fetterman (D-PA) and David Harold McCormick (R-PA), celebrate their birthdays this weekend. Fetterman turns 56 today, and McCormick turns 60 on Sunday.
FRIDAY: Philadelphia resident, Irvin Farber… Retired associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice Stephen Breyer turns 87… Investment banker, businessman, Republican politician, economist and historian, Lewis Lehrman turns 87… Former CFO of The Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg turns 78… Founder and chairman of the Executive Committee of Limmud FSU, he has also served as treasurer of the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization, Chaim Chesler turns 76… Economist, CPA, investment advisor and founding member of wealth advisor RVW Investing LLC, Selwyn Gerber… Colorado resident, he is an artist and avid mountain biker, William Crary (“Bill”) Weidman… Chairman of Benj. E. Sherman & Sons, he is the chair of Israel Policy Forum, David A. Sherman turns 65… Orthopedic and trauma surgeon in Rome, Dr. Dario Perugia turns 63… Co-founding rabbi of Congregation Or Hadash in Sandy Springs, Ga. (he made aliyah in 2020), Rabbi Mario Karpuj… Emmy Award-winning actress, she played Grace Adler on the 11-season sitcom “Will & Grace,” Debra Messing turns 57… Chief development officer for the Birthright Israel Foundation, Margot (Atlas) Ettlinger… Board chair of Holocaust Museum Houston, Elyse Spector Kalmans turns 56… Co-CEO and chairman of the entertainment production company Propagate, Benjamin Noah Silverman turns 55… Associate justice of the California Supreme Court since 2019, Joshua Paul Groban turns 52… Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (D-VA) for four years ending in 2023, Elaine Goodman Luria turns 50… Real estate and business law attorney in the Baltimore law firm of Rosen Neuberger Lehmann, Meir Neuberger… Senior director at Teva Pharmaceuticals, he was an international model for Armani and appeared in the Israeli versions of “The Amazing Race” and “Dancing with the Stars,” Raz Meirman-Baruch turns 48… National college football reporter for ESPN, Adam Rittenberg turns 44… Former executive director of New York’s Transit Innovation Partnership, now chief of staff at Los Angeles-based Bedrock, Rachel Sterne Haot turns 42… Computer scientist at MIT and podcaster with 867 million YouTube views, Lex Fridman turns 42… Career counselor, Rachel Spekman… Member of the Alaska House of Representatives until 2023, now mayor of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Grier Hayden Hopkins turns 42… VP of global brand and communications at AI-powered data security platform Cyera, Yael Wissner-Levy… Contemporary jazz and classical recorder player, vocalist, composer and educator, Tali Rubinstein turns 41… Co-founder of Irenic Capital Management, Adam Jason Katz… Freelance designer, Talia Siegel… MLB pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds in 2015 and 2016, he played for Team Israel in the 2020 Summer Olympics, he is now an associate for a private equity firm, Jon Moscot turns 34… VP of technology policy at Retail Industry Leaders Association, Justin Goldberger… Founder and managing partner at Ezra Venture Group, Ezra Mosseri… Joe Farry… David Summer…
SATURDAY: Solicitor general of New York State, Barbara Dale Underwood turns 81… Member of Congress (R-NJ) from 1991 to 1997, Richard Alan “Dick” Zimmer turns 81… Retired judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, she is currently of counsel at Boies Schiller Flexner, Shira Ann Scheindlin turns 79… Sportscaster who is known as the “Voice of the Dallas Cowboys,” Brad Sham turns 76… President and CEO of the Business Roundtable, he was previously the White House chief of staff in the Bush 43 administration, Josh Bolten turns 71… Secretary of the Maryland Department of Aging from 2015 until 2023, Rona E. Kramer turns 71… Gerald Platt… Media consultant, Sol Levine… Former commander of the Israeli Air Force and later CEO of El Al, Eliezer Shkedi turns 68… Senior partner in the Denver office of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck and an AIPAC board member, Steven C. Demby… Founder of Value Retail Plc and co-owner of the NHL’s New York Islanders, his sister is married to Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Scott David Malkin turns 67… Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the Associated Press, Martha Mendoza turns 59… Founder of Walk Swiftly Productions, she spent 17 years on-air at ESPN/ABC and CBS covering the Super Bowl, NBA playoffs and MLB playoffs, Bonnie Bernstein turns 55… Johannesburg-born model, actress and singer-songwriter living in NYC, Caron Bernstein turns 55… Senior staff writer for Politico Magazine and editor-at-large of The Agenda, Michael Grunwald… Lieutenant governor of Vermont until this past January, David E. Zuckerman turns 54… Member of the Knesset for the Yesh Atid party, Vladimir Beliak turns 52… Mayor of Ramat Gan, he served as a member of the Knesset and as Israel’s ambassador to the OECD, UNESCO and the Council of Europe, Carmel Shama-HaCohen turns 52… Board member of the Torah School of Greater Washington, Kami Troy… Chairwoman of Profitero and board member of Campbell Soup Company, Sarah Hofstetter… Co-founder and co-CEO of The Creative Counsel, South Africa’s largest advertising agency, Gil Oved turns 50… Political and public relations consultant based in Albuquerque, Jonathan Lipshutz… Emmy Award winner in 2016 and 2018, he is a supervising producer at CBS, Matthew J. Silverstein… Chief political analyst for “The Upshot” at The New York Times, Nathan David “Nate” Cohn turns 37… VP at BlackRock, Julian Olidort… Studio manager at Barre3 Bethesda and founder of Atom, LLC, Anna Dubinsky… Founder and CEO at Project Healthy Minds, Phillip Schermer… Argentine professional tennis player, he has ranked as high as 8th in the world, Diego Schwartzman turns 33… Rachel Berman… Associate in the D.C. office of Eversheds Sutherland, Katherine Dolgenos O’Donnell… Member of AJR, an indie pop multi-instrumentalist trio, together with his two brothers, Jack Metzger turns 28… Managing director and head of the London office of Tier One Rankings, she was the executive assistant to the ambassador at the Embassy of Israel in Washington, Galit Tassi Imbo… Director of public affairs at J Street, Cooper Boyar… Ellen Weissfeld… Marshall Cohen… Dave Jacobsen…
SUNDAY: Leader of the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, Rabbi Baruch Dov (Berel) Povarsky turns 94… Former U.S. ambassador to Hungary, David B. Cornstein turns 87… Co-founder of Oracle Corporation, Larry Ellison turns 81… Head of Drexler Ventures and 16-year board member of Apple until 2015, Millard “Mickey” S. Drexler turns 81… Former U.S. senator from Minnesota, his family name was originally Goldman, Norm Coleman turns 76… Partner in Katten Muchin Rosenman, he represented Jonathan Pollard, Eliot Lauer… Audiologist and disability activist in the Boston area, Louise Citron… Senior U.S. District court judge for the southern district of California, Barry Ted Moskowitz turns 75… Retired special education teacher with an interest in Holocaust studies and human rights education, Sharon Taksler… Former chairman, president and CEO of Continental Airlines and then United Airlines, Jeffery Alan “Jeff” Smisek turns 71… Associate justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey until 2024, Lee A. Solomon turns 71… Founder and managing partner of SBNY, he is a past president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Buffalo, Jordan Levy… Co-owner and founding partner of The Jackal Group, a television and film production firm, Gail Berman turns 69… Communications coordinator at Temple Beth El in Longmeadow, Mass., Deborah Kessner Peskin… Former member of Knesset for the Zionist Union and Labor parties, she is a leading Israeli criminal defense attorney, Revital Swid turns 58… Former MLB baseball player, now an insurance advisor in Baltimore, Brian Kowitz turns 56… Arab affairs correspondent on Israel’s i24 News, Zvi Yehezkeli turns 55… Emmy Award-winning documentary film director and producer, Judd Milo Ehrlich turns 54… Special assistant for baseball operations at Major League Baseball, Glen Caplin… Partner in the white collar and securities litigation groups at Proskauer Rose, Hadassa Robyn Waxman… Former Obama White House staffer, now a podcaster and comedian, Jon Lovett turns 43… Chief impact officer at Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez, Elyse Cohen… Comedian, writer, producer and actor, Raphael “Raizin” Bob-Waksberg turns 41… Technology reporter at Punchbowl News, Ben Brody… One of the Sprout Brothers from Great Barrington, Mass., Ari Meyerowitz… VP of government affairs at the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, Aaron Taxy… Project manager of real estate at BDT & MSD Partners, Amanda Horwitz Langer… Israeli marathon and half marathon runner who represented Israel at the 2016, 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics, Marhu Teferi turns 33… Eli Diamond… Gabriel Berger… John Kohan…
The GOP nominee said one key to victory is winning over independents and moderate Dems in Rep. Josh Gottheimer’s home base of Bergen County
Mark Kauzlarich/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Jack Ciattarelli, Republican candidate for governor of New Jersey, speaks during an election night event in Bridgewater Township, N.J. on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021.
Ever since President Donald Trump ran surprisingly close to Vice President Kamala Harris in New Jersey during last year’s presidential race, Republicans have been looking at the state’s gubernatorial race as a chance to capitalize on the party’s momentum in the blue state.
Jack Ciattarelli, the GOP’s nominee for governor, also came tantalizingly close to defeating Gov. Phil Murphy in the state’s last gubernatorial race. He’s running again, and hoping to get over the finish line against Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), in part by courting the state’s sizable Jewish community, which has swung to the right in recent elections.
“People now know, because of the closeness of my race, that we can win. There’s just an attitude change because they feel like the Democrats have really failed them on a number of issues, and antisemitism is one of them,” Ciattarelli told Jewish Insider in an interview ahead of his visit to Israel this week.
Ciattarelli, 63, who built two medical publishing companies in New Jersey while serving as a state lawmaker, said, “I see myself not so much as a politician, but a successful CEO who is looking to be the CEO hands-on governor that we need.”
As part of his Jewish communal outreach, Ciattarelli traveled to Israel on Sunday for a five-day visit, which he organized in a show of solidarity. He also spent time on his visit pursuing opportunities for economic investment from leading Israeli companies in the technology and medical sectors.
“Any students in violation of university policy, I think, should be expelled. Any student that’s broken the law should be arrested, and any student here on an academic visa from another country should be sent back to where they came from if they’re going to engage in that kind of behavior,” Ciattarelli said. “I will pressure our college and university presidents to be working in partnership with me to make sure that kind of behavior isn’t tolerated.”
He told JI that one of his goals with the visit was to boost the state’s economy “by forging a closer economic relationship with a number of nations” that are close U.S. allies. “Israel is first and foremost on the list, but as governor, I will certainly look to Canada, Mexico and India as well to increase our bilateral trade,” Ciattarelli said.
Fighting antisemitism, Ciattarelli said, will be a priority of his if he’s elected. Ciattarelli said he has “made very, very clear” that he supports codifying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism into state law, will “appoint an attorney general and a superintendent of state police that are both sensitive to the needs and worries of New Jersey’s Jewish community” and will establish an Advisory Council on Jewish Relations to guide him on ways to the best support the community.
“Any students in violation of university policy, I think, should be expelled. Any student that’s broken the law should be arrested, and any student here on an academic visa from another country should be sent back to where they came from if they’re going to engage in that kind of behavior,” Ciattarelli said. “I will pressure our college and university presidents to be working in partnership with me to make sure that kind of behavior isn’t tolerated.”
Ciattarelli described the December 2023 House Education and Workforce Committee hearing, where the presidents of Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology declined to say that calling for the genocide of Jews qualified as bullying and harrassment, as a “watershed moment” that brought the issue of antisemitism to the forefront of Jewish voters’ minds.
“I will do what others have done, including Democratic leaders, and that’s condemning Mamdani, condemning his candidacy, and doing all they can to make sure that a threat to communities such as this is not elected,” Ciattarelli told JI. “There is no space for someone like this in the public sphere, let alone in public office, and I’m going to do everything in my power to protect all 9.3 million citizens here in New Jersey, and particularly members of the Jewish community who feel threatened by a person such as this.”
“They want to see a governor who’s going to demonstrate zero tolerance for antisemitism and call it out for what it is when we see it and hear it,” Ciattarelli said of Jewish voters in the Garden State.
The New Jersey Republican has also sought to tie Sherrill to Zohran Mamdani, the far-left Democratic nominee in New York City’s mayoral race who has resisted condemning “globalize the intifada” rhetoric. Ciattarelli’s campaign cut a digital ad highlighting Sherrill’s nationally televised indecision on whether she would support Mamdani’s mayoral campaign.
“I will do what others have done, including Democratic leaders, and that’s condemning Mamdani, condemning his candidacy, and doing all they can to make sure that a threat to communities such as this is not elected,” Ciattarelli told JI. “There is no space for someone like this in the public sphere, let alone in public office, and I’m going to do everything in my power to protect all 9.3 million citizens here in New Jersey, and particularly members of the Jewish community who feel threatened by a person such as this.”
The race is competitive, with Jewish voters (who make up about 6% of the state’s population) potentially emerging as a swing voting bloc.
“This race is shaping up to be fairly tight, with both candidates making notable outreach efforts to the Jewish community. Jack’s visit to Israel and his strong support for IHRA have had a particularly positive impact,” one Jewish leader in the state told JI.
“Mikie has also engaged significantly, and that effort has been noticed, but concerns remain based on her support of Mamdani in the city and the way she recently framed the call for a ceasefire in Gaza. She still retains goodwill within the Jewish community, but has a long way to go in strengthening trust and confidence,” the leader explained.
A Jewish community leader in Central Jersey, also granted anonymity to speak freely, offered a similar take.
“It’s definitely a race that’s very closely watched in the Jewish community, more than any time in the past, I would say. I think seeing Jack going to Israel, out of all places, just three months before the general election, I think that shows you how important the Jewish vote is going to be this time around, and Jack is losing no time and trying to get the Jewish vote on his side,” the source said.
“I often say that in New Jersey, you have to run for governor as though you’re running for mayor,” Ciattarelli said, adding of his outreach to Democratic and unaffiliated voters, “The biggest compliment I get is when I can come down off a platform or stage, if somebody comes up to me and says, ‘Are you Republican? Are you Democrat?’”
Ciattarelli told JI that he views Bergen County, the state’s most populous county, as a must-win area for his campaign, making the support of Democratic and independent voters necessary in his path to victory. The area, which is represented by Gottheimer in Congress, is also home to around 100,000 Jewish residents, a majority of whom are registered Democrats or independents.
“Bergen County has a greater population than eight states and it’s the key to winning a statewide election. I did very well, just coming a little short in ‘21, but I do sense a change amongst a great number of people who may not have considered me last time, may not have voted last time that are looking to make a change here in New Jersey,” Ciattarelli said.
“I often say that in New Jersey, you have to run for governor as though you’re running for mayor,” he continued, adding of his outreach to Democratic and unaffiliated voters, “The biggest compliment I get is when I can come down off a platform or stage, if somebody comes up to me and says, ‘Are you Republican? Are you Democrat?’”
Since narrowly losing his first campaign for governor, Ciattarelli worked hard to unify the party around his repeat bid, making particular effort to secure support from the MAGA wing of the Republican Party. His efforts paid off in the primary, which he won without much serious GOP opposition.
For her part, Sherrill handily defeated five other Democrats, including Gottheimer, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka,and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, in the Democratic primary.
With that backdrop, both parties are watching the November gubernatorial contest closely to see if the rightward shift in the Garden State has held since Trump took office in January. For his part, Ciattarelli says that while the issues animating New Jersey voters have not changed since his 2021 race, he believes “what is different is the political landscape.”
“The issues I was talking about in ‘21, including antisemitism, have now come to a complete boil. They were simmering back then,” Ciattarelli told JI. “I’m not competing with a pandemic this time around. It’s not easy to campaign when there’s a shelter-in-place order. I’m not running against an incumbent. There’s a lot less indifference.”
As part of his strategy to encourage voters to hit the polls in November, he said he was focusing his messaging around “four issues across the state that are raging that apply to all people”: the affordability crisis, affecting housing and energy costs; public education; public safety; and the overdevelopment of the interior of the state, where suburbs without the infrastructure to become a city are being overinvested in at the expense of New Jersey’s cities.
Regardless of which community he’s engaging with, the New Jersey Republican says the voters he’s spoken to have been more concerned with “how it is I go about solving issues” than national political matters.
“People get excited by ideas. They don’t want to hear the use of polarizing rhetoric. I think they find it a breath of fresh air when somebody stands up and is speaking to the issues and how they’re going to solve them,” Ciattarelli explained, describing this approach as “the secret to the sauce for me in the seven elections I won prior to November ‘21.”
Both parties are also investing heavily as the race emerges as one of the most competitive statewide elections of 2025.
The Democratic National Committee said earlier this month that it would provide more than $1.5 million for Sherrill’s campaign to devote to field staffing and ground game efforts. Greater Garden State, a super PAC connected to the Democratic Governors Association, announced plans in July to spend $20 million on ads for Sherrill. That dollar amount is greater than Murphy and outside groups supporting him spent on ad buys during the entire 2021 general election.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, visited North Jersey earlier this month for a series of fundraising events for Ciattarelli that brought in $1 million.
Plus, Ciattarelli stumps in Israel
Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images/Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Reps. Valerie Foushee (NC-D) and Maxine Dexter (D-OR)
Good Monday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on Israel’s new war plan following its adoption by Israel’s Security Cabinet, and the backlash Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing. We have the scoop on New Jersey GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli’s trip to Israel this week, and report on the condemnation of recent anti-Israel rhetoric from a top Virginia lawmaker by Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Ghazala Hashmi. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper, Tal Shalev and Jonathan Greenblatt.
What We’re Watching
- Palantir cofounder and CEO Alex Karp is slated to address House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) two-day donor retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyo., which kicks off today.
- In Washington, President Donald Trump is holding a press conference this morning on crime in the nation’s capital.
- The deputy head of the International Atomic Energy Agency is in Tehran today for meetings with Iranian officials aimed at restarting the nuclear watchdog’s inspections in the country. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that no inspections would take place during this week’s visit, the first after the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH ji’s josh kraushaar
One of the biggest slurs coming from anti-Israel influencers and other crankish extremists is that outside pro-Israel advocacy groups, such as AIPAC, somehow play an inordinate role in the reason so many lawmakers support a close U.S.-Israel alliance.
Their misguided belief is that the donations from pro-Israel donors drive lawmakers’ behavior. The reality is that such financial support has reflected the strong public support Israel has long enjoyed — within both parties.
But as that public support drops within the Democratic Party (and to a lesser extent, among independents), all the resources in the world won’t be able to prevent progressive-minded elected officials from putting their finger in the wind and reneging on their past backing for the Jewish state.
We’re already seeing the consequences of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to expand the war in Gaza by taking control of Gaza City — a decision that has limited support in Israel, and has been drawing criticism even from some of Israel’s stalwart Democratic party supporters at home.
But what should be doubly concerning to the Jewish state and its supporters is that several of the Democrats championed by AIPAC’s super PAC in the last two congressional elections — Reps. Valerie Foushee (D-NC), Maxine Dexter (D-OR), and Robert Garcia (D-CA) — have lately become more hostile to Israel, with the former two calling for a cutoff in military aid.
And as we documented last Friday, Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL), whose initial candidacy was boosted by commitments he made to Jewish leaders amid skepticism about his record on Israel, is now reneging on many of those promises, joining a handful of progressives in calling for a Palestinian state.
Some important context: All these Democrats represent some of the most progressive turf in the country, with deep-blue constituencies in Portland, Ore.; Durham, N.C.; and Long Beach, Calif. AIPAC’s engagement in these primaries, electing more mainstream Democratic candidates, was a key marker of the group’s success, given the sizable anti-Israel constituency in all these districts.
But ultimately, the overall progressive turn against Israel proved more consequential than these lawmakers’ relationships with AIPAC or the amount of financial support they received in their primaries. It’s hard enough for mainstream Democrats to run against the left-wing tide that’s been gaining ground in their party. In these activist-minded districts, it’s become nearly impossible.
GAZA GAMBIT
Facing criticism from all sides, Netanyahu claims new Gaza plan will ‘end the war speedily
Israel’s decision to take control of Gaza City is meant to prevent further prolonging the war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday. The prime minister’s comments come as elements of the Israeli right and nearly all of the left have railed against the decision, further destabilizing the prime minister’s hold on Israel’s leadership. In a video statement on Saturday night, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he had “lost trust that the prime minister can and wants to lead the IDF to a decisive victory.” At the same time, tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv to protest against the Cabinet’s decision, calling for an immediate hostage deal, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Defending the decision: Speaking Sunday at a press conference for foreign media in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said that “Hamas still has thousands of terrorists in Gaza … Hamas is refusing to lay down its arms, so Israel has no choice but to finish the job. Contrary to false claims,” the prime minister argued, “this is the best way to end the war and to end it speedily.” As to whether Israel’s new plan puts hostages in further danger, Netanyahu said that “the option of just doing a war of attrition from a defensive position has not proved itself. It won’t bring [the hostages] out … [It will lead to a] protracted conflict that won’t bring the war to an end.”
POLICY FLIP
Two AIPAC-backed Dems announce support for ban on offensive weapons for Israel
Reps. Maxine Dexter (D-OR) and Valerie Foushee (D-NC), two House Democrats who received significant backing from the AIPAC-aligned United Democracy Project super PAC in their primary races against far-left opponents, announced this week that they would support efforts to block offensive weapons to Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
State of play: They join a third UDP-supported Democrat, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), who indicated his support for such a policy more than a year ago. The latest moves highlight the growing anger among Democrats with Israel’s continued war operations in Gaza — and the limited efficacy in advocating for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship towards liberals at a time when public support for the Jewish state within the Democratic party is declining.
BREAKING WITH BIBI
Growing number of pro-Israel Democrats voice opposition to Israel’s Gaza City plan
Additional pro-Israel Democrats joined colleagues on Friday in criticizing Israel’s plans to take over Gaza City, which were approved Friday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel intends to take over Gaza City as part of an expanded military operation. It’s a further sign that Israel’s ongoing war plans are causing growing gaps between the Jewish state and some of the country’s most critical left-of-center allies in Washington, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Words of warning: Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), a co-chair of the House Jewish caucus and pro-Israel stalwart who is currently visiting Israel, said in a statement that the plan to take over Gaza City “is tactically questionable and strategically self-defeating.” Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) noted in a statement that Israeli military officials oppose the Gaza occupation effort and warned that it “could extend [the war] for years, will only result in further loss of life among the hostages, Palestinian civilians, and the members of the IDF required to undertake such a calamitous task. The situation in Gaza is unendurable; this will make it worse. This war must end, not escalate.”
Read the full story here with additional comments from Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ).
Friendly concern: The American Jewish Committee expressed its “deep apprehension” over the Israeli Security Cabinet’s vote to move forward with a military takeover of Gaza City, in a statement released by the organization on Friday, Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports.
SCOOP
Ciattarelli traveling to Israel this weekend to show solidarity with N.J. Jewish community
Former New Jersey state Rep. Jack Ciattarelli, the Garden State’s Republican nominee for governor, traveled to Israel on Sunday for his first visit during the campaign, his campaign revealed to Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs. Ciattarelli is running against Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) in the race to succeed New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who is term-limited. He was New Jersey’s GOP gubernatorial nominee in 2021 against Murphy, narrowly losing to the sitting governor.
Trip talk: Speaking to JI in an interview ahead of his trip, the New Jersey Republican said he expects to have “five very, very productive days in Israel.” Ciattarelli said that the goal of the visit was to find opportunities for economic investment in New Jersey from leading Israeli companies in the technology and medical sectors and to show his solidarity with the Garden State’s Jewish community. New Jersey has the second-largest Jewish population in the country.
CANDIDATE COMMITMENTS
Sherrill, Ciattarelli discuss plans to combat antisemitism at Jewish business event
The Democratic and Republican nominees for governor of New Jersey spoke last week at an event organized by the New Jersey Jewish Business Alliance about their plans to combat antisemitism across the Garden State, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What they’re saying: “I vow to be an ally in the governor’s office. I’ll put the full force of law behind combating antisemitism and making sure that everyone can thrive here in the Garden State,” Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) said. Republican Jack Ciattarelli said that his entire administration “will be sensitive to the needs and worries of the Jewish community across this state,” and that he’d launch a Jewish advisory council. “It’s not complicated. Anybody who’s violating university policy should be expelled. Anybody who’s broken the law should be arrested, and anybody here on academic visa that’s done either those two things should go back to where the hell they came from,” he continued.
SPEAKING OUT
Virginia LG nominee rebukes antisemitic comments from top state Democratic lawmaker
Virginia state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, on Thursday became the latest Virginia politician to weigh in on antisemitic comments by state lawmaker Sam Rasoul. Without naming Rasoul directly, Hashmi appeared to criticize his language, which has been described as antisemitic by several leading Jewish organizations in the state, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
What she said: “The rise in antisemitism has created real fear in communities across Virginia — and it cannot be ignored or dismissed; instead it must be condemned clearly, consistently and without caveat,” Hashmi wrote in a post on X on Thursday. “As a Muslim, I know what it feels like when an entire community is scapegoated for the actions of a few. No group should be vilified, targeted, or dehumanized. Antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism and all forms of hate have no place in our communities — they are an affront to our shared values.”
Worthy Reads
Churchill’s Legacy: In The Wall Street Journal, Winston Churchill biographer Andrew Roberts considers why the wartime British leader is reviled by far-right, revisionist podcasters who have engaged in historical revisionism around Churchill’s legacy. “So why is the ultraright targeting Churchill? In the simplest terms, it is because his practical aims and principles as a leader of the West were directly opposed to the new strain of isolationism in America and Britain. Today’s revisionists project their views about Iraq, Afghanistan and now Iran backward through history and denounce the leading global interventionists of yesteryear. They blame Churchill (along with Franklin Roosevelt) for ‘escalating’ the conflict with Hitler and thus associate him with any effort to confront today’s aggressive tyrants.” [WSJ]
Cyber Conflict: The Financial Times’ James Shotter and Bita Ghaffari look at the ongoing cyberconflict between Israel and Iran that preceded the 12-day June war and remains ongoing. “But while physical fighting ended after 12 days, the digital warfare has not. ‘It heated up after the start of the war, and it’s still going on,’ one Israeli official said of the texts. ‘I’m still getting them.’ Since the ceasefire, for example, Iranian-aligned groups have attempted to use a vulnerability recently identified in a global breach of Microsoft server software to attack Israeli companies, according to Boaz Dolev, chief executive of the Israeli cyber threat intelligence company ClearSky. ‘Although there is a ceasefire in the physical world, in the cyber arena, [the attacks] did not stop,’ Dolev said.” [FT]
Word on the Street
White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met on Saturday in Ibiza, Spain with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani to discuss a potential ceasefire and hostage-release deal that would end the war…
Former CENTCOM head Gen. Erik Kurilla departed his posting over the weekend; Kurilla is being succeeded by Adm. Brad Cooper, who served as Kurilla’s deputy…
In a feisty interview with The New York Times’ Lula Garcia-Navarro, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt explains why he considers much of anti-Zionism to be antisemitism, saying, “Let me tell you what anti-Zionism doesn’t mean to me but what it results in: It’s a lunatic trying to burn down the governor’s mansion with his family sleeping in it because of his, quote, position on Palestine. It is, again, firebombing elderly people because you want to “end all Zionists”…
Police in Montreal are investigating an attack on a Jewish man in the city’s Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension neighborhood; Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called the incident “an appalling act of violence”…
German Ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert expounded on Berlin’s decision last week to halt offensive weapons sales to Israel in light of Israel’s plan to expand operations in Gaza, listing Germany’s priorities as “hostage release, ceasefire, humanitarian aid and no future role for Hamas,” and saying it was “[u]nclear how intensified military op’s will help achieve them”…
The New York Times looks at the conversations and meetings that led British, French and German leaders to take more critical approaches to Israel…
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Canberra would recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly next month…
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee slammed U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s recent comments opposing Israel’s planned offensive in Gaza City, suggesting that England would have lost World War II under Starmer’s leadership…
More than 450 people were arrested in London during a demonstration in support of the Palestine Action group, which the U.K. last month proscribed as a terror group…
Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a former senior Iranian official who had been teaching at Princeton since 2010, retired from the school, where he taught in the Program on Science and Global Security at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs…
Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service launched its services to the general public in Israel…
Al Jazeera said five of its staffers were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza City; Israel said Anas Al-Sharif, who was killed in the strike, was a Hamas cell leader…
Former Israeli hostage Shlomi Ziv, who spent nearly 250 in captivity in Gaza, responded to the report of Al-Sharif’s death, saying, “I was held by a journalist in captivity and his father was a Doctor!!!!!!!!”…
A section of the Western Wall near the site’s egalitarian section was vandalized with graffiti reading, “There is a Holocaust in Gaza”…
A Holocaust survivor who was injured in an Iranian ballistic missile strike in June died on Saturday at her home in Rehovot…
Iran’s judiciary said that authorities had arrested 20 people in recent months alleged to have been working with Israel’s Mossad…
In an excerpt from their upcoming book, The Wall Street Journal’s Drew Hinshaw and Joe Parkinson detail an effort to free Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison in February 2024, noting that discussions to free Navalny began with a meeting in Tel Aviv between Russian-Israeli businessman Roman Abramovich and former U.S. hostage envoy Roger Carstens…
Tal Shalev is now an Israel correspondent for CNN…
Max Eden is joining the America First Policy Institute as director of federal education policy…
Dancer and Martha Graham protogee Linda Hodes, who spent 13 years teaching at Israel’s Batsheva Music Company and whose daughters were held hostage during a PFLP hijacking in 1970, died at 94…
Texas businessman Morton Meyerson, who advised Ross Perot on his 1992 presidential campaign, died at 87…
Boxing promoter Don Elbaum, who worked with Don King, Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammed Ali, died at 84…
Pic of the Day
Shir Siegel (center), the daughter of former hostages Keith and Aviva Siegel (pictured), married Yuval Bar On on Thursday, after having postponed their wedding until after both of her parents were freed from captivity.
Birthdays
Co-founder and partner of MizMaa Ventures and wine columnist for Jewish Insider, Isaac “Yitz” Applbaum…
Longtime Democratic Party activist in N.Y.’s Orange and Rockland Counties, Doris Feder turns 93… Architect best known for the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin and the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., Peter David Eisenman turns 93… Former member of the House of Representatives, she also served as Brooklyn DA and NYC comptroller, Elizabeth Holtzman turns 84… Principal of Investors Research Group based in Los Angeles, Jacob S. Segal… Former SVP for international affairs at the Jewish Federation Los Angeles, Lois Weinsaft… Co-founder of The Carlyle Group, in 2024 he became the principal owner of MLB’s Baltimore Orioles, David Rubenstein turns 76… U.S. trade representative during the Clinton administration, she retired in 2021 as the chair of the international trade group at WilmerHale, Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky turns 75… Senior counsel for benefits and employment at the Wagner Law Group, Linda E. Rosenzweig… Lenore Solomon… Artistic director and choreographer of an eponymous dance company based in Union, N.J., Carolyn Dorfman… CEO, chairman and major shareholder of the Russian gas company Novatek, Leonid Mikhelson turns 70… Board member emeritus of AIPAC, Jeffrey Snyder… Former member of the Massachusetts Senate, he is the founder of Cape Air (an airline started on Cape Cod but that now has 37 domestic and international destinations), Daniel A. “Dan” Wolf turns 68… Publisher of Yated Ne’eman, Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz turns 67… Member of Knesset since 2015 for the Likud party, he serves as minister of regional cooperation, David “Dudi” Amsalem turns 65… Chairman at Duty Free Americas, he owns Israel’s Psagot Winery, Simon Falic… Former chief of the Shin Bet, Nadav Argaman turns 65… Political, cultural and social science commentator for The New York Times, David Brooks turns 64… Host of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” one of the most popular podcasts in the world with 6.1 billion views on YouTube, Joe Rogan turns 58… Senior advisor for communications and engagement at The Aspen Institute, Ilana Marcus Drimmer… Clarinetist who performs internationally as a soloist, Sharon Kam turns 54… MLB pitcher for seven teams, he has also been the pitching coach for Team Israel, Andrew Lorraine turns 53… NFL offensive lineman for four seasons, he is now the managing partner of Oakland-based North Venture Partners, Alex Bernstein turns 50… Co-founder and CEO of Israeli interactive video firm Eko, Yoni Bloch turns 44… Chief investment officer and CEO of Toronto-based investment firm Murchinson, Marc Bistricer… NFL punter for seven seasons with the Jaguars and Bears, he was then a broker in the Jacksonville office of Merrill Lynch, Adam Podlesh turns 42… Reporter for Mishpacha Magazine, known as Jake Turx, Avraham Yaakov Tarkieltaub turns 39… Ukrainian-born and San Francisco-raised journalist and copywriter, Yelena Shuster… Complex general surgical oncology fellow at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Sara Ginzberg, M.D…. Daniel Weitz…
It’s the GOP gubernatorial nominee’s second trip to the Jewish state
Mark Kauzlarich/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Jack Ciattarelli, Republican candidate for governor of New Jersey
Former New Jersey state Rep. Jack Ciattarelli, the Garden State’s Republican nominee for governor, will travel to Israel on Sunday for his first visit during the campaign, his campaign revealed to Jewish Insider.
Ciattarelli is running against Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) in the race to succeed New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who is term-limited. He was New Jersey’s GOP gubernatorial nominee in 2021 against Murphy, narrowly losing to the sitting governor.
Speaking to JI in an interview ahead of his trip, the New Jersey Republican said he expects to have “five very, very productive days in Israel.”
Ciattarelli said that the goal of the visit was to find opportunities for economic investment in New Jersey from leading Israeli companies in the technology and medical sectors and to show his solidarity with the Garden State’s Jewish community.
New Jersey has the second-largest Jewish population in the country.
“One of my objectives as governor is to grow our economy, and one of the ways that we achieve that objective is by forging a closer economic relationship with a number of nations, one of which is certainly Israel. They have technology companies, medical device companies, pharmaceutical companies, and a number of other industries that are looking to expand internationally. And when they do, we certainly want them to do that in New Jersey,” Ciattarelli said.
Ciattarelli added that the trip, his second time visiting the Jewish state, “also has great significance for New Jersey’s Jewish community,” because it signifies his commitment to a strong U.S.-Israel relationship.
“I’ve always been a big supporter of Israel. And as we know, antisemitism is at an all-time high in New Jersey, across the nation and the globe. As governor, antisemitism will not be tolerated. And so again, by going to Israel, we demonstrate a very close relationship between New Jersey and this very important ally in the Middle East and, of course, in the world,” he explained.
Ciattarelli previously traveled to the Jewish state during his 2021 gubernatorial run, one month before the general election. The trip, which Ciattarelli described to JI at the time as a “life-changing experience,” was his first visit to Israel.
“My goal was to let civic leaders, business leaders and religious leaders know that Israel will have a strong ally in New Jersey when I’m governor. From an economic development perspective, Israel does more than $14 billion a year in bilateral trade with New York. It does only $1 billion with New Jersey. That shouldn’t be the case,” Ciattarelli said after his 2021 visit.
“So I made clear during my trip and meeting with all leaders, that New Jersey is going to strengthen its cultural, religious and economic ties with the State of Israel. And we will stand with her in defending its people,” he continued.
He again mentioned the trade deficit while speaking to JI on Friday about his upcoming visit.
“Israel does $14 billion a year in bilateral trade with New York, less than $2 billion a year with New Jersey. There’s nothing New York has that New Jersey doesn’t. So we want to make sure that Israeli companies, when they invest in the United States, they do so right in New Jersey,” Ciattarelli said.