With Janeese Lewis George’s victory in last week’s Democratic primary, Washington, D.C., is expected to become the third major city in the country, after Seattle and New York, with a democratic socialist serving as mayor. 

Now, Jewish Washingtonians who were unsettled by Lewis George’s stance on Zionism, as articulated in a Democratic Socialists of America endorsement questionnaire in which she said she would reject the “Zionist lobby,” are grappling with how to approach her tenure as mayor. 

Mainstream Jewish organizations tasked with local lobbying and advocacy efforts appear to be taking a wait-and-see approach, while cautioning Lewis George that they will be monitoring her tenure in office to make sure she does not assume positions that exclude segments of the city — including Jewish supporters of Israel.

“We hope to work with her, and we will work with her,” Ron Halber, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, told Jewish Insider on Friday. “But at the same time we’re also going to be watching to make sure that she lives up to her promises to make this an inclusive city, where all feel they can participate equally, and that all people, regardless of their backgrounds, are welcomed — Zionists as well.” (In February, Halber called DSA’s requirements for backing local candidates “an antisemitic manifesto.”) 

Anti-Defamation League Washington regional director Tali Cohen expressed a similar sentiment.

“We look forward to continuing our work with local leaders,” Cohen said in a post on X, “while also holding them accountable to combat antisemitism and ensure Jewish voices are included in our nation’s capital.” 

Lewis George, who has served on the D.C. Council since 2020, defeated Kenyan McDuffie by a double-digit margin, 54%-36%, in last week’s primary. During the campaign, she presented a proudly progressive vision for the city, leaning into an affordability message and offering proposals for universal childcare and housing construction that were described as unrealistic by her opponent. 

Lewis George’s campaign was powered largely by labor unions, but also by activists with DSA, of which Lewis George has been a member for years. The group’s endorsement questionnaire included a lengthy section on Israel. “I will refrain from going on any political junkets to Israel. I will also not attend events focused on obfuscating the realities of occupation or promoting Zionism and apartheid,” Lewis George wrote. In a candidate forum hosted by the JCRC in May, she declined to answer when asked to clarify her views on Zionism. 

McDuffie’s strategy included campaigning within the Jewish community and contrasting himself to Lewis George by saying he would have shunned an endorsement from DSA and that he would be a mayor “for all D.C.” The issue of Israel never rose to a major focus for the campaign, and instead the candidates’ approaches to the city’s economic challenges — and its complicated relationship with President Donald Trump and federal oversight — proved to be driving factors in the race. 

Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld served for nearly 20 years as the rabbi at Ohev Sholom Congregation, an Orthodox synagogue in Lewis George’s ward. He now runs a small yeshiva in the area, and told JI he is concerned about her election as mayor.

“We need to be on guard. We need to be ready to challenge her, and [these are] concerning times,” said Herzfeld, who told JI he never heard back from her office when he reached out after she was elected to the D.C. Council in 2020. “She’s clearly surrounded herself with people who are anti-Zionists.”

After the Associated Press called the race for her on Thursday, Lewis George hosted a press conference at Busboys and Poets, a Washington bookstore and restaurant that regularly hosts speakers with an anti-Israel bent. (Its 14th Street location, where Lewis George spoke, has a mural painted on the wall showing a group of left-wing leaders and activists sitting at a table together; one of the legs of the table has the words “Long Live the Intifada” painted on top of it, and another says “From the River to the Sea, free Palestine.”)

Lewis George touted “the broad coalition I was able to build,” and specifically mentioned Jews United for Justice, a left-wing Jewish group that supported her campaign. 

“So many different people came into the JUFJ campaign fund because they were excited about Janeese, and I think that really speaks to something special about this election,” JUFJ’s D.C. director, Yael Shafritz, told JI. Shafritz said JUFJ does not take foreign policy issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into account when supporting candidates, but that its members felt Lewis George had taken a strong position on antisemitism.

“All the candidates we endorsed actually gave incredible answers about how they would support the Jewish community around fighting antisemitism,” Shafritz said. After Lewis George met with Washington rabbis in March following the release of the DSA endorsement questionnaire, she released a statement saying it is not a conflict to support “Palestinian human rights” and to “stand firm in my commitment against antisemitism.” 

Lewis George represents Ward Four, which encompasses several neighborhoods in the northernmost part of Washington, including Petworth, Brightwood, Fort Totten, Sixteenth Street Heights and Shepherd Park. The district includes two synagogues — the Orthodox Ohev Sholom and the Conservative Tifereth Israel Congregation — and Milton Gottesman Jewish Day school, a pluralistic pre-K-8 school. 

“There’s a lot of very progressive Jews in Ward Four, and they seem to support her and not have antisemitism as a central campaign issue,” said one of Lewis George’s Ward Four constituents, who requested anonymity because her job does not allow her to speak to the media. “I think there’s an equal amount of Jews like me who want to support her on social policies because we think they’ll make D.C. better, but antisemitism was my number one campaign issue, and how you handle antisemitism. I don’t feel confident that she’ll do much to battle it.” 

Voters in Washington, D.C., appeared poised to select Councilmember Janeese Lewis George to be their Democratic nominee for mayor, all but guaranteeing that she will be elected in November to replace Mayor Muriel Bowser, who is not seeking another term after 12 years in office. The race has not been called, but Lewis George leads by more than 15,000 votes with 64% of the votes counted.

Lewis George, a 38-year-old member of the Democratic Socialists of America, ran a campaign powered by local labor unions that was focused on cost-of-living issues and countering President Donald Trump. She is on track to defeat Kenyan McDuffie, a former councilmember who ran on a more pragmatic platform that eschewed DSA’s brand of radical politics. 

The candidates’ views on Israel did not define the race, but they were a throughline in the background. Lewis George filled out a DSA endorsement questionnaire early in the campaign in which she pledged to avoid engaging with “the Israeli government or Zionist lobby groups.” Later, she promised to stand firm in fighting antisemitism while also supporting Palestinian human rights. McDuffie tried to use the comments to appeal to anti-DSA voters and Jewish Washingtonians. 

Lewis George will represent a shift from Bowser, a moderate Democrat who in 2019 led a trade mission to Israel and who regularly addressed the annual AIPAC policy conference in Washington before AIPAC canceled the event after 2020. 

Elsewhere in Washington, Councilmember Robert White was elected in the Democratic primary to serve as Washington’s delegate to Congress, a nonvoting role. He’ll succeed Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, who is retiring after 35 years. 

Aparna Raj, a DSA-backed candidate for D.C. Council, appeared likely to win the Democratic primary for Ward 1, a district that includes the neighborhoods of Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights. She told the D.C. Jewish Community Relations Council in a voter guide released last month that she “will not work with AIPAC or organizations whose mission is to lobby for pro-Israel policies.” 

Meanwhile, it was a short night in Georgia, where Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) quickly claimed victory over former college football coach Derek Dooley in a Senate primary runoff. Collins picked up a last-minute endorsement from President Donald Trump, while Dooley’s backing by Gov. Brian Kemp wasn’t enough to push him to victory.

Collins ultimately finished the race around 10 points ahead of Dooley, a similar margin as in the primary election earlier this year. Dooley dominated in Atlanta and Athens, Ga., home of the University of Georgia, while Collins led around the rest of the state.

Dooley was widely seen as the more moderate and more electable of the two Republicans, as compared to Collins, who has been trailed by a series of scandals. Republicans may struggle to reclaim the seat from Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) with Collins as their standard-bearer in the race.

The race may also present a difficult choice for Jewish voters in the state, many of whom have been frustrated by Ossoff’s leftward turn on Israel issues and repeated votes to block arms sales. Some Jewish Ossoff donors sought, earlier in the cycle, to recruit Kemp to run for the seat.

But Collins might not be a palatable alternative for some Jewish voters, having endorsed a post by an antisemitic X account attacking a reporter for being Jewish. His current chief of staff was also recently revealed to be part of a group chat with several white nationalists, where he discussed his efforts to use his congressional influence to free a Holocaust denying far-right activist from prison. He also opposed the Antisemitism Awareness Act.

Many prominent Jewish conservatives supported Dooley in the primary, but could line up behind Collins for the general, given his consistently pro-Israel voting record in the House.

Already, some commentators are discussing the possibility that a decisive victory by Ossoff in the critical swing state could massively boost the rising Democratic star’s chances in the 2028 presidential primary, should he decide to throw his hat in the ring.

The highest-paid staffer on Washington, D.C., mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George’s campaign has a social media history showing deep-seated hostility toward Israel and adherence to far left views on the Middle East, according to a review of the staffer’s public posts.

Makia Green, Lewis George’s political director, posts frequently on Instagram, often a mix of photos or videos of herself alongside TikTok videos that she downloads and shares to her own profile. Green is a local activist who founded a nonprofit called Harriet’s Wildest Dreams that advocates for prison abolition. 

In the months after the Oct 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel, Green’s posts on Instagram, where she has 6,400 followers, regularly centered on anti-Israel advocacy.

One video she shared in Dec. 2023 called Israel an “imaginary state.” Another post that month featured a video with someone saying “Israel is a bitch, so evil.”

In November, weeks after the Oct. 7 attacks, Green shared a video of a woman who called it “sickening” that Israeli actress Gal Gadot was screening footage of Hamas’ atrocities.

At least two posts featured videos that appeared to defend the Houthis, an Iran-backed militia in Yemen that began attacking Israel and commercial vessels in the Red Sea after Oct. 7. One, from Jan. 2024, showed an Irish parliamentarian criticizing the European Union for its concern about the Houthis’ attacks on global shipping. 

A Dec. 2023 post included a video with a woman who said that “Yemen is the only nation militarily backing the people of Palestine.” The caption to the post expressed support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. 

The captions to many of Green’s posts in late 2023 and 2024 called on her followers to advocate for the Palestinian cause. In Jan. 2024, she wrote “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” alongside a video showing pro-Palestinian protesters with bullhorns outside the home of Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), shouting that his wife should be “ashamed.” 

Green’s posts reveal a deep commitment to BDS, including calls to boycott Starbucks because of its support for “genocide.” (Starbucks was the target of anti-Israel activists in the fall of 2023 because of its posture toward pro-Palestinian members of its union.) 

“My views are my own,” Green’s Instagram bio states. She did not respond to a request for comment. 

Green’s posts have come under scrutiny as Lewis George continues to face questions about her own views on Israel.   

At a candidate forum hosted by the Jewish Community Relations Council on Thursday, Lewis George was asked to specify her views on Zionism — an issue that has become a flashpoint in the race after she said in a Democratic Socialists of America endorsement questionnaire that she would reject the “Zionist lobby.” 

Lewis George said at the event that she would not exclude any segment of the Jewish community but avoided sharing her opinion about Zionism. She is a member of the Metro DC DSA chapter and earned the group’s endorsement in the mayoral race. 

“I will refrain from going on any political junkets to Israel. I will also not attend events focused on obfuscating the realities of occupation or promoting Zionism and apartheid,” Lewis George wrote in the DSA questionnaire. 

Asked whether she supports BDS, Lewis George did not answer, but said she supports “the right of all people, including Palestinians, to use nonviolent strategies like boycotts and calls for divestment to build a more just world.” 

A spokesperson for Lewis George’s campaign did not respond to multiple inquiries seeking comment about whether Green advises Lewis George on Israeli-Palestinian matters or if their views align. 

In her anti-Israel messages, Green also regularly took aim at Democrats. One video she shared in Dec. 2023 showed a man describing both Donald Trump and Joe Biden as “horrible choices.” In a post several months later, Green shared a video encouraging Democrats to support the Uncommitted movement to protest Biden’s support for Israel. She routinely highlighted anti-Israel protests at events hosted by Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. 

In one post with a “ceasefire” caption, from Jan. 2024, Green boosted a video that escalated from criticism of the president to the entire country. 

“F*** the United States government and every member that belongs to that shit,” a woman said in the video. 

Washington, D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George raised eyebrows among Jewish Washingtonians earlier this year for answering in the affirmative to a Democratic Socialists of America candidate questionnaire that asked her to pledge to reject the “Zionist lobby.” 

Now, in a new voter guide from the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington that featured answers from the candidates on a series of questions, Lewis George pledged that if elected, she would not seek to exclude anyone based on their political beliefs.

“I want to use this questionnaire to be clear, I will not be a mayor who includes or excludes you based on your opinions or feelings on matters here and across the world,” said Lewis George, a D.C. councilmember who earned DSA’s endorsement in next month’s Democratic primary. 

Lewis George pledged to stand against antisemitism, and though she did not address her past comments about Zionism, she made note of the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel.

“I hear the concerns people have about rising antisemitism. I know the pain that Jews around the country and in D.C. felt on October 7,” Lewis George said. “When two staff members from the Israeli Embassy were shot and killed at the Capital Jewish Museum in downtown DC, I made clear that such horrific acts of violence are sickening and have no place in our community.”

She said that she will support security funding for Jewish institutions, a position she said she adopted as a councilmember, and that she will make sure city agencies work to address antisemitic threats.

“I will ensure D.C.’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency has a plan to protect Jewish schools and synagogues, be transparent about its efforts, and DPW’s graffiti team will remove any antisemitic marks within 24 hours of a report,” said Lewis George. “I have also pushed to ensure our schools address antisemitism and have education around it.”

She did not discuss her views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, after saying in the past that she will remain committed to both “Palestinian human rights” and fighting antisemitism. The only candidate for local office who told JCRC they will avoid certain constituencies is Aparna Raj, a DSA-endorsed candidate for Ward 1 on the D.C. Council, who said she “​​will not work with AIPAC or organizations whose mission is to lobby for pro-Israel policies.” 

Kenyan McDuffie, a former councilmember and Lewis George’s main competitor, has said throughout the campaign that he would reject any organization that requires candidates to make a “divisive pledge” to earn its endorsement. 

“I will never yield to pressure to exclude Jewish community partners from civic life based on their political or deeply-held beliefs,” he said in the JCRC questionnaire. “As Mayor, I will engage with the full breadth of DC’s Jewish community on the issues that affect daily life in the District.”

Both McDuffie and Lewis George will appear in separate virtual candidate forums hosted by the JCRC on Thursday. 

Trayon White, a member of the Washington, D.C. Council with a history of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories, was expelled from the Council last year as he faced federal bribery charges before being voted back in months later. 

Now, weeks before a heavily contested mayoral election in Washington, White is hitting the campaign trail with Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, a leading Democratic mayoral candidate who voted with the rest of her colleagues on the Council to expel White.

“We don’t agree on everything, but we agree on most things,” White said at a weekend event with Lewis George, video of which was shared on social media. He encouraged his supporters to vote for her in the Democratic primary on June 16, which will all but decide the election in the heavily blue city.

Lewis George spoke highly of White in her speech, saying that when she first joined the Council in 2021, White offered to mentor her.

“You’re somebody who deserves to be shown love for the love that you give to everybody else,” Lewis George said at a weekend event with White. “D.C. loves you. I love you.” 

White posted a video on his Facebook page in 2018 attributing a recent snowstorm to “the Rothschilds controlling the climate to create natural disasters” and made similar comments at a municipal planning meeting, prompting an uproar from fellow councilmembers and the local Jewish community.

He said that he did not know that such language about the Rothschilds was an antisemitic conspiracy theory, and he attempted to make amends with the Jewish community by attending a Passover Seder, meeting with community leaders for bagels and going on a tour of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. But White left the museum tour early, without explanation, driving further criticism. 

Soon after, it also came to light that White donated $500 from a local fund, earmarked for Ward 8 constituents, to an event in Illinois featuring the antisemitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. 

White was arrested in 2024 for allegedly taking more than $150,000 in bribes in order to boost certain companies in their bid for city contracts. On Monday, a federal judge denied his request to dismiss the case, which is set to go to trial in September. 

A spokesperson for Lewis George did not respond to a request for comment.

Lewis George has had her own dust-ups with the Washington Jewish community in the course of the mayoral race this year. She responded in the affirmative to an endorsement questionnaire from the Democratic Socialists of America’s Metro DC chapter that asked local candidates to reject the “Zionist lobby,” and vowed to avoid events that “promote Zionism.” Lewis George, herself a DSA member, earned the group’s backing. 

In a meeting with local rabbis, Lewis George privately apologized for her answers to the questionnaire, but did not say the same publicly. 

The open race for mayor of Washington, D.C., has been largely uneventful ahead of next month’s primary — so much so that the first TV ads run by the leading candidates, Kenyan McDuffie and Janeese Lewis George, sound nearly identical. Both candidates tout affordability and safety on the campaign trail, with promises to build more housing and stand up against President Donald Trump. 

But if elected, Lewis George’s victory would mark a significant shift away from the centrist brand of politics espoused by outgoing Mayor Muriel Bowser over the last 12 years, and would instead hand a major win to Washington’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter, of which Lewis George has been a member for years. 

Lewis George has faced criticism throughout the campaign from some in the Jewish community for comments she made on a DSA endorsement questionnaire pledging to boycott events that “promote Zionism” and criticizing Jewish activists’ approach to combating antisemitism. Ron Halber, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, on Tuesday called DSA an “evil” organization that seeks “to make being Jewish unacceptable in polite society.” 

DSA has activated its small but growing membership to knock on doors for Lewis George, a member of the D.C. Council, tapping into a grassroots energy that they hope translates into success at the ballot box. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), one of two DSA members currently serving in Congress, attended a recent DC DSA rally alongside Lewis George. 

DSA’s Metro DC chapter is relatively small. Yet its current roster of roughly 3,400 members represents a massive increase from its pre-2016 nadir of just 200 members — and mirrors DSA’s growing clout nationally. 

“For most of the ‘80s and ‘90s and 2000s, DSA was a small organization with maybe 5,000 or 8,000 people at the most. I would say the average age was probably over 60, maybe higher than that,” said Peter Dreier, an emeritus professor of politics at Occidental College in Los Angeles. “Then Bernie [Sanders] ran for president in 2016 and started talking about democratic socialism in a way that made sense to, particularly, a lot of young people, and he kind of opened the door to people to be in DSA.” 

Overall, DSA is still a small organization on the fringes of Democratic politics. Even the highest membership counts — adding up DSA’s local chapters — don’t top 100,000. But the unexpected popularity of Sanders’ 2016 presidential run sparked a resurgence of interest in democratic socialism not seen in generations, and that has continued well past his two campaigns. A 2025 Gallup poll found that 42% of Democrats have a positive image of capitalism, down from 54% a decade ago, while 66% have a positive view of socialism.  

“If [young people] don’t remember the Cold War, then what do they think when they hear the word socialism? There’s still a battle over that, but they’re more likely to think, ‘Oh, countries that have more equality, or students that get free or almost free higher education, everybody has access to healthcare,’” said Dreier. 

“We are going to raise money and develop a plan over the course of the next few months to try to make them toxic, to make it unacceptable for major figures in the party or anybody actually running for office to be affiliated with the DSA, the way it should be unacceptable to be affiliated with [neo-Nazi influencer] Nick Fuentes if you’re running as Republican,” Third Way’s senior vice president for public affairs, Matt Bennett, said. 

The key question now facing capital-D Democrats — one they sound unsure of how to answer, or perhaps unwilling — is how to handle an insurgent faction that has galvanized people over its straightforward messaging on corporations (bad), taxing the rich (good) and Medicare for All (necessary), while at the same time promoting far-left positions like prison and police abolition that are nowhere near the Democratic mainstream. The group has long promoted the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, as well as calling for an arms embargo on Israel, and its members passed a resolution last year affirming their commitment to anti-Zionism. On Oct. 7, 2023, DSA released a statement holding Israel accountable for the Hamas attacks and calling on members to take to the streets to protest U.S. support for Israel. 

The centrist Democratic group Third Way plans to launch a major PR campaign against DSA in the coming months, one of the group’s executives told JI, arguing that its far-left positions and incendiary brand of politics will be harmful for the party’s electoral prospects. 

“We are going to raise money and develop a plan over the course of the next few months to try to make them toxic, to make it unacceptable for major figures in the party or anybody actually running for office to be affiliated with the DSA, the way it should be unacceptable to be affiliated with [neo-Nazi influencer] Nick Fuentes if you’re running as Republican,” Third Way’s senior vice president for public affairs, Matt Bennett, said. 

In the decade since Sanders’ 2016 campaign, DSA has had an outsized impact on national politics. The 2018 congressional victory of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a DSA member, raised the group’s profile. A steady stream of more than 200 DSA-aligned candidates have been elected to state and local offices since, culminating with the election of DSA member Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City last year. 

“To the degree that people need to pay attention to DSA, it’s because they built this kind of political machine,” said Micah Sifry, a journalist focused on left-wing political organizing. “In a time when people are, for the most part, not very organized, the ability of any small group, relatively speaking, to punch above its weight grows.” 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, New York has the largest bench of DSA-affiliated state lawmakers. The group has slowly but steadily been gaining electoral power in state and local offices in some unexpected places, too, like Minnesota, Colorado, Delaware and Wisconsin. The group’s largest foothold is in city council races, where a small but committed cadre of volunteers can swing elections in low-turnout races. 

National Democratic leaders are divided about how to treat the small but vocal socialist minority in the party. 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) declined to support Mamdani in the primary election but ultimately endorsed him ahead of the general election last year. Weeks later, Jeffries voted in favor of a Republican-led resolution condemning socialism. He has been skeptical of the left-wing ideology throughout his political career: “There will never be a moment where I bend the knee to hard-left democratic socialism,” he said in 2021. A spokesperson for Jeffries declined to comment this week when asked if he believes Democrats should be welcoming socialists into the party. 

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin has been more open-minded about socialists. Asked by Fox News last year whether progressives like Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez make his job harder, he said no. 

“The party is a big tent. But just like we have to believe it’s a big tent, the DSA also has to believe it’s a big tent, and I’m not sure they do,” Brian Romick, CEO of Democratic Majority for Israel, said. “Democratic leaders want to win elections, and that means a big tent, and that means that Democratic base voters and pro-Israel voters and moderate people who maybe voted for [Donald] Trump sometimes because they’re concerned about prices have to be in the tent.” 

“I don’t think they make it difficult at all,” Martin said in August 2025. “The difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party is that we’re a big tent. We have lots of people in that tent from all of the different ideological wings, from conservative Democrats, to centrists, to progressives, to these new leftists.” A DNC spokesperson did not respond to multiple requests for comment this week.

Brian Romick, CEO of Democratic Majority for Israel, told Jewish Insider this week that he is concerned about the inroads DSA is making in the party. He agreed with Martin that the Democratic Party should be a big tent, but noted that DSA members — who are at times intent on putting litmus tests even on would-be allies — don’t extend the same understanding to more moderate members of the party.

“The party is a big tent. But just like we have to believe it’s a big tent, the DSA also has to believe it’s a big tent, and I’m not sure they do,” Romick said. “Democratic leaders want to win elections, and that means a big tent, and that means that Democratic base voters and pro-Israel voters and moderate people who maybe voted for [Donald] Trump sometimes because they’re concerned about prices have to be in the tent.” 

The questionnaire Lewis George filled out in Washington to earn DSA’s endorsement reveals how important hard-line opposition to Israel is to the organization, which requires even candidates for local offices with no connection to foreign policy to all but disavow the Jewish state. Most voters who support DSA-aligned candidates likely are not drawn to them because of their views on the Middle East; Mamdani’s message was first and foremost about affordability. But DSA’s growing reach among Democrats gave a foothold to anti-Israel views that may have once been rare, though global attention on the war in Gaza also contributed to shifting Democratic orthodoxy on the conflict. (Other far-left groups like Justice Democrats have played a role, too.)

Zach Shartiag, a Jewish Democratic campaign operative from Chicago, told JI that Democrats he has talked to who support DSA candidates generally do not do so because of DSA’s stance on Israel, even if the activists are themselves critical of Israel.   

“People might be very anti-Israel now, but at the same time, it’s like, what does that have to do with local politics?” said Shartiag, who is currently working on a congressional campaign in Hawaii. “I’ve talked to a lot of people, just in general, normal humans, and it’s like, ‘Yeah, I might be against what Israel’s doing, but what does that have to do with the local and the city and the state?’” 

The full picture of DSA’s influence in the party will not be known until all the votes are tallied at the end of this year’s midterm elections. A number of DSA-affiliated candidates are gaining ground in congressional primaries, such as Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb, who has garnered progressive endorsements in a Philadelphia-area open seat, and New York state Assemblymember Claire Valdez, who has Mamdani’s backing for her congressional campaign. 

Still, the election outcomes in states across the country this year will present only a partial picture of where the Democratic Party is moving. In the same year that Mamdani won in New York City, for instance, Democratic moderates Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill won gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, respectively. 

The only certainty, then, is that the battle between centrists and socialists will continue into 2028. 

“I think you’re going to have a real mixed verdict, with us yelling about our side and the left yelling about their side,” Third Way’s Bennett acknowledged. “So what that means is, unsurprisingly, we’re going to go into the presidential primary season with the two camps demanding that they are right.” 

Amid the rise of a DSA-aligned mayoral candidate in the city, a senior Jewish community leader in Washington, D.C., excoriated the Democratic Socialists of America as an “evil” organization committed to driving Jews out of society.

Speaking on a webinar with other Washington-area Jewish leaders on Tuesday, Ron Halber, the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, stridently criticized the far-left group.

“I think they’re a fringe, radical, antisemitic organization, and I happen to even think they’re evil,” Halber said. “They are trying to do in America what [the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement] seems to do internationally, which is to make being Jewish unacceptable in polite society.”

He said that the group wants to make Jews feel “isolated” and force them to “renounce Zionism” and their connection to Israel in order to participate in the political process. Antisemitism is “core to their belief,” he continued.

Halber described the activist group as emboldened and energized during the second Trump administration — as numerous DSA-aligned candidates make gains in local and national elections — and said that the Jewish community “should view DSA with alarm, because they are having a radical impact.”

And, he added, the Jewish community should be “very, very wary of political candidates who go out and seek their endorsement and who wish to affiliate.”

The Metro DC DSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Halber said it’s the responsibility of Jewish organizations to come together with allies to expose the DSA as “the fringe of American society that most people in America would be repulsed by.”

Tali Cohen, the Anti-Defamation League’s Washington regional director, said on the webinar that she has been “astonished by the rhetoric coming out of the D.C. DSA chapter.” 

Cohen said the group is attempting to “isolat[e] the Jewish community through exclusionary policies” — requiring endorsees to cut ties with “the overwhelming majority of organized Jewish community institutions” — and has “embrace[d] antisemitism as an organizational orthodoxy” through its embrace of anti-Zionism.

“If you read DSA’s platform, they have disproportionately and overwhelmingly chosen to focus on the world’s only Jewish state,” she continued. “The selective focus can suggest that something else is at work beyond just policy concerns.”

Cohen also raised concerns about the group’s opposition to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and its efforts to defund the D.C. police, a project she said endangers the Jewish community.

The event comes following a high-profile clash between Jewish communal groups and the Washington DSA chapter over its endorsement questionnaire for the city’s mayoral race that required candidates to pledge to refrain from engaging with “Zionist lobby groups.”

Mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George, a DSA member endorsed by the group, said in response to the questionnaire that she would not attend events “promoting Zionism and apartheid.”

Alan Ronkin, the regional director of the American Jewish Committee in Washington, and ADL experts also spoke on the webinar.

This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — 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 gunman who attacked the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night, Cole Tomas Allen, was arraigned in Washington this afternoon. He is being charged with transportation of a firearm between states, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and attempting to assassinate the president of the United States, which carries a potential life sentence. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jocelyn Ballantine said Allen, 31, had “a 12-gauge, pump-action shotgun, a .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol and … three knives and other dangerous paraphernalia” during the attack. He will remain in detention with another hearing scheduled for Thursday…

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump met with his national security team this morning where they discussed Iran’s latest proposal to end the war, which reportedly includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz but postponing talks on the country’s nuclear program…

German Chancellor ‌Friedrich Merz said the U.S. is “being humiliated” by Iranian leaders after negotiations between the two countries this weekend were called off.

“The Iranians are obviously very skilled ⁠at negotiating, or rather, very skillful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result,” Merz told a group of students. The result is “an entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards,” he added…

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised how “courageously and heroically the people of Iran are fighting for their independence” in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi today in St. Petersburg. Araghchi thanked Russia for standing by its side and said the countries will continue their “strategic partnership”…

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said today that the terror group will not disarm, despite the Lebanese government’s intent to remove the group from power in the south of the country under the terms of the ongoing ceasefire with Israel. Hezbollah and Israel have continued to exchange fire throughout the ceasefire, including a wave of Israeli airstrikes today in response to Hezbollah’s deadly drone attack that killed an IDF soldier and wounded six yesterday… 

New Department of Homeland Security training materials allow green card applicants to be denied for antisemitic and anti-Israel social media posts and activism, as well as anti-American activism, The New York Times reports. The documents, distributed to immigration officers last month, cite “as an example of questionable speech a social media post that declares, ‘Stop Israeli Terror in Palestine’ and shows the Israeli flag crossed out”…

Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha summoned Israel’s ambassador to the country to protest the arrival of a ship allegedly carrying grain taken from Russian-occupied Ukraine at Israel’s Haifa Port, Sybiha said on X. Sybiha also denounced Israel’s “lack of appropriate response to Ukraine’s legitimate request” regarding a similar vessel that docked in Haifa last week.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar slammed Sybiha for his announcement: “Diplomatic relations, especially between friendly nations, are not conducted on Twitter or in the media,” Sa’ar wrote. He said that “evidence substantiating [Ukraine’s] allegations have yet to be provided” and that “the matter will be examined”…

Several pro-Israel House Democrats in Florida could lose their seats after Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a new congressional map that eliminates their districts — state lawmakers are expected to approve the map for use in this year’s midterm elections at a special session of the state Legislature tomorrow.

The new map could give the GOP up to four additional House seats by redrawing Democratic-leaning districts, including those of Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Darren Soto (D-FL)…

Claims by New Jersey congressional candidate Adam Hamawy that the Gazan hospital where he volunteered as a trauma surgeon in 2024 during Israel’s war with Hamas was a “completely benign civilian hospital with no tunnels underneath it” are false, The Washington Free Beacon reports.

While Hamawy claimed in an interview shortly after he returned that “there were definitely no tunnels underground and no command base there,” Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed a year later “in a tunnel directly under the hospital emergency department, where he was leading a high-level meeting with senior Hamas terrorists,” the Free Beacon writes…

All five of Pennsylvania’s living former governors, both Democrats and Republicans, released a statement today calling on state officials to prioritize the safety and security of Gov. Josh Shapiro, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.

The letter came days after state Treasurer Stacy Garrity — Shapiro’s leading Republican opponent in this year’s gubernatorial race — said the state will not pay for security upgrades made to Shapiro’s privately owned family residence, done after the state-owned governor’s mansion was targeted in an antisemitic arson attack last spring…

The New York Times chronicles Google co-founder Sergey Brin’s turn away from the Democratic Party and increasing political involvement, including against the proposed “billionaire tax” in his home state of California.

“I fled socialism with my family in 1979 and know the devastating, oppressive society it created in the Soviet Union. I don’t want California to end up in the same place,” Brin told the Times. Brin, who is Jewish, has also been disturbed by the Democratic Party’s leftward shift on Israel policy…

Toronto-based Jewish advocate Adam Hummel argues in the “Boundless Insights” Substack that “anti-Zionism” is an obsolete position, given the 78-year-old existence of the State of Israel. 

“Israelis don’t owe anyone an argument for their existence. …  The debate is over, not because one side won, but because the thing itself came into being. They are a people. They speak a language. They live on a piece of land and have mortgages. That is what peoples do. The Greeks do it. The Poles do it. The Québécois do it. The arguments about whether they should are, at this point, a leisure activity for people who live elsewhere”…

⏩ 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 profile of Keith Sonderling, the acting secretary of labor, who is Jewish and the grandson of Holocaust survivors, following the resignation of Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

The Zionist Rabbinic Coalition will present its first “Pillar of Zion” award to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) at the organization’s fifth annual National Conference in Washington. Other speakers at the three-day conference will include Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter; State Department antisemitism envoy Yehuda Kaploun; Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon; and Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Stories You May Have Missed

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK

Hiding under a table at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

‘Two thoughts ran through my head. The main one: I’m getting married in six days. I can’t die now. The second: I can’t believe this is happening to me again’

Read more

SHARE

Share options

• 
  Facebook
• 
  Telegram
• 
  LinkedIn
• 
  WhatsApp
• 
  Reddit

Add JewishInsider on Google

FOLLOW THE MONEY

Abdul El-Sayed brings in campaign cash from head of Hamas-cheering group

The Michigan Senate contender accepted $7k from the chair of Al-Awda/PRRC — and hired her son

Read more

SHARE

Share options

• 
  Facebook
• 
  Telegram
• 
  LinkedIn
• 
  WhatsApp
• 
  Reddit

Add JewishInsider on Google

This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — 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

Talks between Israel and Lebanon, which are currently underway, were moved from the State Department to the White House. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were spotted arriving there together this afternoon, and a White House official told Jewish Insider that President Donald Trump would greet the participants at the opening of the discussion…

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who returned to Washington in order to participate in the talks, also stopped by Capitol Hill where he met with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)…

While the bombing campaign in Iran is on pause, the battle at sea continues: U.S. forces boarded another vessel carrying Iranian oil in the Indian Ocean this morning and Trump said he had ordered the U.S. Navy to “shoot and kill any boat” placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz — just as a third U.S. aircraft carrier arrived in the region…

Trump also said Iran is “having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is,” indicating the regime may still be struggling to present the U.S. with a unified proposal. “The infighting is between the ‘Hardliners,’ who have been losing BADLY on the battlefield, and the ‘Moderates,’ who are not very moderate at all (but gaining respect!),” he claimed.

In response, Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and President Masoud Pezeshkian, both considered relative moderates, issued nearly identical statements on X pledging “complete obedience to the Supreme Leader”…

Iranian officials tell The New York Times their new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is alive but injured, and so far ruling differently than his late father; the younger Khamenei is relying on Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commanders to provide him advice to make decisions “as though he is the director of the board.” 

Khamenei’s injuries are extensive and he is largely inaccessible in person: “One leg was operated on three times, and he is awaiting a prosthetic. He had surgery on one hand and is slowly regaining function. His face and lips have been burned severely, making it difficult for him to speak, the officials said, adding that, eventually, he will need plastic surgery”…

U.S. officials are expressing concern over the military’s ability to defend Taiwan from China in the near future should the need arise, given that the U.S. has burned through more than 1,000 Tomahawk missiles and more than 1,500 air-defense missiles in the course of the war with Iran so far, supplies that could take up to six years to replace…

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar named Israel’s first Christian ambassador, George Deek, as the country’s special envoy to the Christian world, JI’s Lahav Harkov reports, after several recent controversies in Israel relating to Christians. Deek is part of the Arab Orthodox Christian community in Jaffa…

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) joined other Michigan Democrats in denouncing Amir Makled, a Democratic nominee for regent of the University of Michigan, over Makled’s past comments expressing antisemitic sentiments and support for terrorism.

“I’m going to have a problem with any candidate — Democrat, Republican or independent — who shares antisemitic and hateful posts on social media. Especially when they refuse to disavow those comments or show remorse,” Slotkin said in a statement to JI’s Marc Rod, in response to a question about Makled…

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not give advance notice to senior Republican senators before announcing yesterday that he was firing Navy Secretary John Phelan, causing surprise and confusion on Capitol Hill. “I found out about it the way everybody else did,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told JI’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod of the Pentagon’s announcement on social media of Phelan’s dismissal.

Trump praised Phelan in a post on Truth Social this afternoon and said he’d “certainly like to have him back within the Trump Administration sometime in the future” — Phelan had reportedly bumped heads with Hegseth but had a close relationship with the president…

Nearly half of young American adults view Israel as a burden to the United States, according to a new Harvard Youth Poll of 18- to 29-year-olds. The survey found that 46% of young Americans consider Israel to be mostly a burden to the U.S., compared to just 16% who say Israel is mostly a benefit, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports.

In addition, Ukraine, which has also received U.S. support in its lengthy war with Russia, was also determined to be more of a burden by young Americans — 31% of respondents said Ukraine is mostly a burden, while 21% said it is mostly a benefit…

The Wall Street Journal‘s Matthew Hennessey issued a defense of Elliot Kaufman, a member of the Journal‘s editorial board, after Trump slammed him on Truth Social as an “idiot” and a “moron.”

“What triggered the president’s ire was an op-ed under Mr. Kaufman’s byline headlined ‘The Iranians Take Trump for a Sucker.’ That’s a provocative title, yes, but the piece delivers on the provocation. Mr. Kaufman wasn’t calling Mr. Trump a sucker; he was merely pointing out that the Iranians are acting like they think he is one. The piece offers plenty of recent evidence to support that claim,” Hennessey wrote…

American journalist Shelly Kittleson details in The Atlantic her experience being kidnapped and held hostage by the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah terror group in Iraq for nine days earlier this month…

Former Disney CEO Bob Iger, who stepped down last month, is returning to Joshua Kushner’s venture firm, Thrive Capital, in an advisory role…

⏩ 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 an interview with Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) as he introduces a buffer zone bill in Congress, which follows legislation under consideration in New York and elsewhere, aiming to protect attendees at houses of worship.

Washington is abuzz ahead of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, being held at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night. The event will be headlined by American Israeli mentalist Oz Pearlman and attended by Trump for his first time as president, alongside celebrities (including Trump fan Nicki Minaj), politicians and media figures. Politicos and reporters will schmooze at events beginning this evening through Sunday morning.

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

Stories You May Have Missed

SHAPIRO SPOTLIGHT

Josh Shapiro supports U.S. aid to Israel, but calls to use it as leverage

In an interview with JI, Shapiro said he ‘[hasn’t] really thought about’ whether he would appear on Hasan Piker’s stream but that he hasn’t been invited

Read more

SHARE

Share options

• 
  Facebook
• 
  Telegram
• 
  LinkedIn
• 
  WhatsApp
• 
  Reddit

Add JewishInsider on Google

DEFINITION DEBATE

Mamdani won’t set definition of antisemitism after repealing IHRA, his antisemitism czar says

In testimony before the City Council’s antisemitism task force, an NYPD official said Mamdani played no role in a controversial change in reporting data from hate crimes

Read more

SHARE

Share options

• 
  Facebook
• 
  Telegram
• 
  LinkedIn
• 
  WhatsApp
• 
  Reddit

Add JewishInsider on Google

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

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt maintained this afternoon that President Donald Trump is “generously offering a bit of flexibility” to Iranian leaders and has not given them a “firm deadline” to provide a proposal to the U.S., contrary to reports that said Trump only intended to wait a few days before ending the ceasefire that he extended yesterday.

Leavitt also said the president did not view Iran’s seizure of two ships near the Strait of Hormuz today as a violation of the ceasefire: “These were not U.S. ships. These were not Israeli ships,” she said — a change in tone for Trump, who has taken a hardline against Tehran’s escalatory actions in the key waterway.

Meanwhile, mediating countries are reportedly working to get Tehran and Washington back to the negotiating table, with a meeting possibly on Friday. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran “has welcomed dialogue and agreement and continues to do so,” but that “breach of commitments, blockade and threats are the main obstacles” to continuing talks…

Even as negotiations to end the war are still in flux, Trump thanked Iran for granting his request not to execute eight women who were reportedly due to be killed by the regime tonight, instead releasing four of them and holding the other four in jail for one month…

The Financial Times profiles Pakistani army chief Asim Munir as he emerges as an unexpected key mediator between the U.S. and Iran, utilizing his ties to Tehran’s security establishment — including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — and personal rapport with Trump to help secure a comprehensive deal… 

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is keeping the door open to a possible 2028 presidential run, saying “only the good Lord knows” what comes next as he continues to reestablish himself in the private sector and policy world after serving in the first Trump administration. 

In a wide-ranging interview with Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs, Pompeo also praised Columbia University, where he now teaches at the School of International and Public Affairs, for “beg[inning] to get back the correct leadership … in a way where more voices can be heard”…

U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack stood by his comments that drew criticism over the weekend in which he repeatedly criticized Israel and praised Turkey, saying he was merely “stating the obvious.” 

“When I described the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire as a ‘time out’ and said that ‘everybody has been equally untrustworthy,’ I was simply stating the obvious reality on the ground. This is realism, not criticism of any side,” Barrack told Fox News Digital. He also reaffirmed his comments that the goal in Lebanon is “not killing Hezbollah,” and that Turkey should be readmitted to the F-35 fighter jet program…

A group of Jewish District of Columbia residents gathered at the city’s municipal building today for a scheduled meeting with Janeese Lewis George, a D.C. councilmember and one of the leading candidates in this year’s mayoral race, but she never showed, two people who were in the meeting told JI’s Gabby Deutch. 

A staff member for Lewis George told attendees at the start of the meeting that she was having a busy morning, and they should begin the conversation without her. At the end of the meeting, when Lewis George still had not arrived, the staff member apologized that she could not attend…

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin warned this morning that if Mayor Zohran Mamdani vetoes the council’s legislation intended to regulate protests at religious and educational sites, the city will face “more divisiveness,” calling the decision a critical test for the mayor, JI’s Haley Cohen reports. 

Menin, New York City Comptroller Mark Levine and Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, speaking at 92NY on the future of Jewry in New York, beseeched the Jewish community not to flee despite tensions with the mayor. “This is not a time to lose hope. Hopefully the three of us here can embody the future of the commitment to fighting antisemitism, the commitment to supporting the Jewish community,” Menin said…

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) is set to introduce a federal buffer zone bill, similar to that of the New York City Council, alongside Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt on Friday, as Suozzi seeks reelection to his swing-district seat on Long Island…

Democratic lawmakers and strategists are expressing concern over the rising popularity of far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, fearing that if he clinches the Democratic nomination, he would lose in a general election to former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), the GOP front-runner, Semafor reports. Democrats must retain the Michigan Senate seat to have any hope of taking back the chamber in the midterm elections.

Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI), who is backing Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the race, told the outlet that “all three candidates are qualified, but dinged El-Sayed for campaigning with [Hasan] Piker and said ‘we are continuing to see consistent polling that suggests that Haley is the only one that can win in a general election’”…

Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner said he would not support keeping Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as the party’s leader in the chamber, naming as potential replacements Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Chris Murphy (D-CT) or Brian Schatz (D-HI). He also said he would oppose a ban on semiautomatic assault weapons, a priority policy for much of the Democratic caucus…

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) dismissed criticism of Platner after campaigning with him in Maine last weekend: Asked on CNBC about her comment that Platner is “my kind of man” given his past incendiary rhetoric and actions including his Nazi chest tattoo, Warren said, “He has apologized, he’s out meeting with the people of Maine every single day so they can evaluate not who Graham Platner was but who Graham Platner is today.”

Warren sidestepped a question specifically about Platner’s 2014 praise of Hamas tactics during an attack on Israeli soldiers, as reported by JI: “You guys want to be the party of inclusivity, right?” host Sara Eisen asked regarding the report. “I want to be the party that stands up for hardworking people,” Warren answered…

Schumer dodged a question yesterday asking if he is on the wrong side of his party after most Democratic senators voted in favor of blocking arms sales to Israel — a measure he opposed. “Our caucus is united and focused on ending the war in Iran,” he said, and touted Democrats’ war powers resolutions before walking away…

Rep. David Scott (D-GA) died today at 80. Scott, who voted on the House floor last night, had been running for reelection for his 13th term…

⏩ 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 the results of this afternoon’s war powers resolution vote in the Senate, which is expected to be blocked by Republicans as the previous four were.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh will meet at the State Department tomorrow for the second round of direct talks between the two countries. Lebanon is reportedly seeking a one-month extension to the ongoing ceasefire, which is set to expire on Sunday; Hezbollah, which has said it is not bound by the agreement, has continued to fire rockets and a drone at Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison will host an exclusive dinner honoring President Donald Trump and CBS News’ White House correspondents at the recently renamed Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace. Ellison is currently seeking regulatory approval of Paramount’s deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.

The Jewish Democratic Council of America will host a candidate forum for New York’s 17th Congressional District featuring leading candidates Beth Davidson, a Rockland County legislator, and Cait Conley, a national security veteran. 

Stories You May Have Missed

DEM DIVIDES

Jewish Dems vow to keep fighting in Michigan, even as they question if they belong

Jewish Democrats described a ‘shell-shocked’ atmosphere at their statewide convention that saw marked hostility to pro-Israel voices

Read more

SHARE

Share options

• 
  Facebook
• 
  Telegram
• 
  LinkedIn
• 
  WhatsApp
• 
  Reddit

Add JewishInsider on Google

CAMPAIGN CLASH

Ex-Democratic Socialists of America official working as top consultant to Osborn, Platner

Daniel Moraff also recruited Rep. Summer Lee, a leading anti-Israel Democrat, to pursue her political career

Read more

SHARE

Share options

• 
  Facebook
• 
  Telegram
• 
  LinkedIn
• 
  WhatsApp
• 
  Reddit

Add JewishInsider on Google

A group of Jewish District of Columbia residents gathered at the city’s municipal building on Wednesday for a scheduled meeting with Janeese Lewis George, a D.C. councilmember and one of the leading candidates in this year’s mayoral race, but she never showed, two people who were in the meeting told Jewish Insider. 

A staff member for Lewis George told attendees at the start of the meeting that she was having a busy morning, and they should begin the conversation without her. At the end of the meeting, when Lewis George still had not arrived, the staff member apologized that she was unable to attend. 

Lewis George’s attendance had been confirmed a day earlier by her staff. 

Ben Rosenfeld, Lewis George’s communications director, told JI on Wednesday that the meeting “was scheduled before the Council hearing calendar was revised,” and Lewis George had to attend a hearing “addressing drastic cuts to paid family and medical leave, which was scheduled for the same time.” 

In her place, Lewis George “was represented by senior legislative and office staff to meet with Ward 4 constituents and JCRC [Jewish Community Relations Council] leadership,” said Rosenfeld. “Councilmember Lewis George appreciates the opportunity to hear JCRC’s core priorities and shares these concerns in the upcoming budget process, including preserving the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund and ensuring houses of worship are supported amid a deeply concerning rise in antisemitism and hate.”

The meeting took place against the backdrop of a heated mayoral campaign, in which Lewis George has faced criticism from some in the Jewish community for her rhetoric around Israel and antisemitism. 

She told members of the local Democratic Socialists of America chapter, of which she is a member, that she would not attend events that promote Zionism. In the DSA questionnaire, she criticized the JCRC of Greater Washington, a local advocacy group, for its approach to antisemitism, and ultimately earned the DSA’s endorsement. 

“I was offended by her last minute no show. This was her chance to meet with Ward 4 residents to discuss issues affecting them and their families, and she was the only councilmember to not show up for her scheduled meeting,” one of the meeting attendees told JI. 

The Wednesday meeting was part of JCRC’s annual D.C. Advocacy Day, which included meetings between Jewish Washingtonians and their councilmembers. The meetings were focused on local issues, like the city’s nonprofit security grant program and funding for early childhood educators. The two meeting attendees who spoke with JI said the meeting with Lewis George’s staff was generally positive and did not touch on the mayoral campaign controversies.  

Jewish community leaders also met with Phil Mendelson, the council chair, and Councilmembers Brooke Pinto, Brianne Nadeau, Christina Henderson, Charles Allen and Doni Crawford.

Ward 4, which Lewis George represents, is home to several major Jewish institutions, including Sinai Temple, Ohev Sholom Congregation and the Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School, each of which had staff members at the meeting.

Greater Washington JCRC CEO Ron Halber called the meeting with Lewis George’s staff “thoughtful and productive,” and said he did not fault her for missing the meeting. 

“We meet regularly with policymakers and their teams throughout the year. We know that there are many demands on their time and we understand completely when unanticipated scheduling changes come up,” said Halber. “We deeply appreciate their commitment to our policy priorities and look forward to continuing our shared work together.” 

In February, Halber called the DSA endorsement questionnaire an “antisemitic manifesto” but has not specifically weighed in on Lewis George’s past comments about Zionism. 

Lewis George met privately last month with a group of Washington rabbis, where she apologized for her answers in the DSA questionnaire, a sentiment she has not shared publicly. Her chief competitor in the race, former Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, has criticized Lewis George for her comments in the questionnaire.

This story was updated on April 23 to add comment from Greater Washington JCRC CEO Ron Halber.

As Washington, D.C., voters 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 this 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. 

“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. 

Lewis George’s responses sparked concern among many in the Jewish community, and she apologized in a closed-door meeting with rabbis in March. But she has not offered any public remorse. 

“I think it’s important for elected officials to have the courage to say in public things that they say in private,” McDuffie said. “Any message that depends on taking a pledge to exclude entire communities as a condition of a political endorsement is extraordinarily divisive and disturbing.” 

Amid the controversy surrounding her DSA questionnaire and the meeting with rabbis, Lewis George released a statement last month pledging to stand firm in both her opposition to antisemitism and her support for “Palestinian human rights.” McDuffie told JI that he did not see the mayoral race as a place to litigate debates about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“I think a mayor’s responsibility is to look out for all of its residents, particularly our most vulnerable residents,” said McDuffie. “At a time where the Jewish community is seeing rising antisemitism worldwide, and even the District of Columbia, it’s important that they understand that their elected officials are going to use every tool possible to protect them.” 

“I didn’t bring those issues into this race. My opponent did it when she sought the endorsement of Democratic Socialists of America,” McDuffie said. “I’m not running for Congress. I’m not engaging in the crafting of foreign policy. I’m running for mayor of Washington, D.C., the most beautifully diverse city in America, and I’m running to fight and deliver for all D.C.”

McDuffie is actively courting votes in the Jewish community. He will appear next week at a meet-and-greet with Jewish young professionals in the District. 

“I think a mayor’s responsibility is to look out for all of its residents, particularly our most vulnerable residents,” said McDuffie. “At a time where the Jewish community is seeing rising antisemitism worldwide, and even the District of Columbia, it’s important that they understand that their elected officials are going to use every tool possible to protect them.” 

McDuffie pledged to speak out against antisemitic violence and rhetoric so that the District’s Jewish residents “understand that they have a mayor and elected leadership who’s going to strongly oppose those kinds of activities and threats and do everything humanly possible to protect them.” He called the city’s nonprofit security grant program, which provides funding to several local synagogues to pay for security expenses, a “nonnegotiable,” even if the city faces other budget challenges. 

Born and raised in Northeast Washington, McDuffie entered politics circuitously. He worked as a mail carrier for the USPS before ultimately going to college and law school, in a career pivot he said was inspired by witnessing the death of two friends to the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s. He spent a few years as a prosecutor, in Maryland and at the Justice Department, before running for Council in 2013. McDuffie represented Ward 5, which includes the neighborhoods Bloomingdale, Eckington, Brookland and Fort Totten, until being elected to a citywide at-large position in 2022 where he served until January.

His message now is about affordability, a buzzword brought into style last year by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a DSA member like Lewis George. The way to make the city more affordable, according to McDuffie, is “economic growth with guardrails” — a contrast to the sweeping changes promised by Lewis George, the viability of which McDuffie has questioned.

“They want experience. They want vision. They want bold. They want change. What they don’t want is more empty promises,” said McDuffie. “What they don’t want is rhetoric that isn’t supported by an actual plan. What they don’t want is somebody who engages with organizations seeking to divide residents, and what we think we have as an advantage is both a vision that is about building a big tent and inviting people in and a record.” 

“We’re the nation’s capital. We can walk and chew gum,” McDuffie said. “I think that’s important for people to understand, that we can have innovative, transformational policies at the same time that we’re delivering core services on time and within a budget that doesn’t default to raising taxes on hard-working residents.” 

McDuffie seemed to recognize that pushing a vision of pragmatism may not be as seductive as promises powered by major spending increases. For instance, both Lewis George and McDuffie want to build new housing in the city, but Lewis George has promised to build 72,000 new units compared to 12,000 suggested by McDuffie, The Washington Post reported. But McDuffie argued that voters want honesty.

“They want experience. They want vision. They want bold. They want change. What they don’t want is more empty promises,” said McDuffie. “What they don’t want is rhetoric that isn’t supported by an actual plan. What they don’t want is somebody who engages with organizations seeking to divide residents, and what we think we have as an advantage is both a vision that is about building a big tent and inviting people in and a record.” 

Though McDuffie and Lewis George are widely viewed as the frontrunners in the race, they are not the only candidates running in the Democratic primary which, in deep blue Washington, will almost certainly decide the eventual victor. Other candidates in the June 16 primary include real estate developer Gary Goodweather and former Councilmember Vincent Orange.

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. 

“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. 

Her campaign has not publicly acknowledged the meeting at Congregation Ohev Sholom, where Lewis George discussed a DSA questionnaire she filled out in which she pledged to avoid events that promote “Zionism and apartheid” and took issue with local Jewish groups’ approach to fighting antisemitism, according to attendees who spoke to Jewish Insider. 

At the meeting, Lewis George apologized for the language she used in the questionnaire and attributed it to a staff member. She said she would have responded differently if she had written the answers herself. A spokesperson for Lewis George did not respond to requests for comment from JI about the meeting.

“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. She described going to synagogues when she was growing up and working with Jewish organizers in Washington. 

“As Ward 4 Councilmember, I worked with Jewish organizations and neighbors to secure security grants for our schools and synagogues,” Lewis George wrote. “Antisemitism is morally wrong and unacceptable, and it is spreading. It is part of the same machinery of division and fear used against Black people, immigrant communities and others. We must work together to stop it.” 

Lewis George then 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.

“Together, we mourned the innocent lives that have been lost in Israel as well as in Gaza and the West Bank. I will continue to stand up against efforts to silence local pro-Palestinian speech and organizing,” Lewis George wrote. “I have no problem voicing my disagreement, loudly, when it is needed. I do not shy away from standing by my values in front of all audiences.”

Washington, D.C., mayoral candidate Kenyan McDuffie criticized his Democratic primary opponents for pledging to avoid campaigning with elements of the Jewish community — an apparent jab at Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed rival Janeese Lewis George, who is facing backlash from Jewish leaders over her pledge to boycott events she described as promoting Zionism.

“Recent reporting has raised serious concerns about how some candidates for office in DC have pledged not to engage with the majority of Jewish organizations in exchange for political support,” McDuffie wrote in a campaign email on Tuesday. “That is wrong. Full stop.”

McDuffie did not mention Lewis George or any specific candidates in his email. 

Lewis George, who earned the endorsement of the Metro D.C. chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, wrote in a DSA questionnaire that she would not attend events focused on “promoting Zionism and apartheid.” She met last week with rabbis and local Jewish leaders who were concerned about her posture toward the Jewish community, Jewish Insider reported on Monday. 

She privately apologized for her responses and blamed them on a staff member, but has not expressed that sentiment publicly. 

“There is no place in this city for shutting out any community — especially in pursuit of political gain,” McDuffie wrote. “Not antisemitism. Not Islamophobia. Not racism. Not sexism.” 

The DSA questionnaire also asked candidates to refrain from affiliating with the Israeli government and “Zionist lobby groups.” In her responses, Lewis George defended her appearance at a Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington meeting in December, but said she was there to talk about immigration enforcement. 

She said she did not align with JCRC’s stance on Israel and Zionism, and that she disagrees with the organization’s “definition of anti-semitism that criminalizes dissent, and their attacks on activists.” 

“Leadership matters in moments like this,” wrote McDuffie. “As your next mayor, I will bring people together across lines of difference. I will engage every community in this city, especially when it is not easy or politically convenient.” 

Washington, McDuffie said, “must be a city where every resident — regardless of faith, race, gender, or identity — feels safe, respected and heard.” 

Janeese Lewis George, a Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed candidate for mayor of Washington, D.C., met with prominent local rabbis and Jewish community leaders last week amid fallout over a DSA questionnaire she filled out outlining her views on Israel and antisemitism.

The March 19 meeting, at the Orthodox Ohev Sholom Congregation in Shepherd Park, was arranged after her responses to a DSA endorsement questionnaire were made public last month, according to two sources familiar with the meeting. 

In the questionnaire, Lewis George pledged not to attend events focused on “promoting Zionism and apartheid.” She also said that she had attended a D.C. Jewish Community Relations Council event in December only to talk about opposing Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s deportation measures in the region, and that she did not agree with JCRC’s stances on Israel, Zionism and antisemitism. 

At the meeting at Ohev Sholom, Lewis George apologized for her statements in the questionnaire, one of the event’s attendees told Jewish Insider, and cried when someone in the meeting described feeling hurt by her answers in the questionnaire. 

She blamed the anti-Israel responses on one of her staff members, and said she would have submitted a different response if she had seen it before it was submitted. 

However, she has not expressed that same sentiment publicly. A spokesperson for Lewis George did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Monday. 

Lewis George did not make any promises to apologize publicly or to further address her comments in the DSA questionnaire, according to the meeting attendee. 

The meeting included rabbis and senior leaders from Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School, the Edlavitch D.C. JCC, Temple Sinai, Ohev Sholom, Adas Israel Congregation, Tifereth Israel Congregation, the JCRC and Tzedek DC, a legal services organization. 

Lewis George will appear at a rally hosted by the Metro DC DSA chapter on Wednesday alongside Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), one of the most vocal detractors of Israel in Congress.

Ron Halber, the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, wrote in an op-ed published Monday that Metro DC DSA threatens “the sense of attachment and belonging that we [Jews] have long enjoyed in D.C.”

“Their questionnaire for political candidates encourages the systematic erasure of Jewish and pro-Israel Americans from public life. It is an outrageous and revolting display of religious discrimination,” Halber wrote in Washington Jewish Week. He did not specifically mention Lewis George.

Correction: A previous version of this article identified Temple Micah as one of the participants in the meeting. They did not have a representative in the room.

Washington, D.C., mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George told the Metro D.C. chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America that she will not attend events focused on “promoting Zionism and apartheid,” according to a questionnaire from the group that she filled out prior to earning its endorsement earlier this month. 

“I will refrain from going on any political junkets to Israel. I will also not attend events focused on obfuscating the realities of occupation or promoting Zionism and apartheid,” Lewis George wrote in her answers on the questionnaire, which the local DSA group posted to its website. Lewis George described herself as “a proud member of Metro DC DSA.”

The DSA questionnaire asks candidates to publicly support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, and to refrain from engaging with “the Israeli government or Zionist lobby groups” — a category that it said includes AIPAC, Democratic Majority for Israel, Christians United for Israel and the more liberal J Street. 

It also asks candidates in the region to “oppose legislation that harms Palestinians and supporters of the Palestine solidarity movement,” including legislation promoting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, efforts to counter the BDS movement or measures that “send any military or economic resources to Israel.” 

Lewis George did not say if she backs the BDS movement but said she supports “the right of all people, including Palestinians, to use nonviolent strategies like boycotts and calls for divestment to build a more just world.” She said D.C. “has no business sending military or economic resources to Israel.”

Lewis George, a D.C. Council member who is running in the open race to replace Mayor Muriel Bowser, defended her appearance at a Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington event in December, where she committed to taking proactive steps to protect the Jewish community.

“In my current role as a councilmember and as mayor, however, I will have to attend events and meet with many people and organizations who do not share my values or with whom I’m not totally aligned,” Lewis George wrote in the questionnaire. “The JCRC legislative breakfast in December was an example. I disagree with the JCRC on a number of issues, including their opposition to using the word ‘genocide’ to describe Israel’s actions in Gaza.” 

Lewis George told DSA that she disagrees with JCRC’s “definition of anti-semitism that criminalizes dissent, and their attacks on activists.” At the JCRC event, she gave a speech criticizing antisemitism and pledging to stand by Jewish Washingtonians, although she did not mention that in the DSA questionnaire. 

“Attending that JCRC event was not an endorsement of JCRC and does not signal that I agree with their stance on Israel or Zionism. I did not go to the JCRC event to talk about Israel and that was not the focus of the event,” Lewis George wrote. “I went to the event to advocate for an end to ICE collaboration, seek allies in that effort, and build on our shared goal of ending the inhumane treatment of our neighbors who are being taken by ICE.”

Lewis George reiterated her support for George Washington University students who had organized an anti-Israel encampment in the spring of 2024.

“I will continue to stand up against efforts to silence local Pro-Palestinian speech and organizing,” she wrote. “I believe that democracy requires freedom of expression and I oppose the government penalizing anyone for participating in non-violent protest, no matter the subject. People surely disagree on many important issues but I think our community and country are at their best when the government does not stifle dissent.”

Lewis George represents Washington’s Ward 4, which encompasses Upper Northwest D.C. around Rock Creek Park, including the neighborhoods of Shepherd Park, Chevy Chase, Brightwood, Petworth and Sixteenth Street Heights.

JCRC CEO Ron Halber told Jewish Insider on Wednesday that he’s noticed the D.C. DSA chapter has been more active since Zohran Mamdani was elected as mayor of New York City with the backing of DSA in November.

“What we noticed was there’s been an uptick in DSA locally, both in Montgomery County [Maryland] and in D.C., approaching candidates for their endorsement,” Halber said. “They’re basically saying that candidates should not be with any Jewish organization, whether it be a synagogue or a mainstream organization like JCRC, through the criteria they establish. As far as I’m concerned, [the questionnaire] is an antisemitic manifesto. They are making the price of their endorsement the social exclusion of Jews.” 

Halber declined to comment on DSA’s endorsement of Lewis George, saying JCRC does not get involved in electoral matters as a nonprofit organization.

D.C. City Council member and mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George, speaking on a panel at a Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington breakfast on Thursday, committed to standing up for the Jewish community and taking proactive steps to ensure its security.

Lewis George’s presence at the event and comments are particularly notable given that she’s a self-identified democratic socialist. Many DSA-aligned elected officials across the country, including incoming New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, have had combative or nonexistent relationships with mainstream Jewish organizations in their cities and districts.

“I learned at a very young age how important it was to loudly condemn and loudly stand up for our Jewish neighbors,” Lewis George said. She said that she learned through education programs in D.C. schools “how important it was that we support each other in solidarity, in our connected struggles, our connected history.”

She said that, as a member of the city council, she has seen a rise in antisemitic activity in her district, and that it is critical to call it out. She committed to providing security for educational institutions and synagogues and emphasized the importance of having proactive plans to protect the community.

Lewis George also expressed support for security funding the city has provided to Jewish and other nonprofit institutions, acknowledging that those costs are high. The JCRC is pushing for a significant increase in the funding available.

“Overall, we have to be more proactive, and we have to not wait to be react[ive] in this moment when we have seen such a rise [in antisemitism],” Lewis George said. “More than just the words, we have to back them with action. That is really showing up and creating the funds and creating the spaces to protect our Jewish neighbors.”

Outgoing Mayor Muriel Bowser, who took office more than a decade ago, said that she did not anticipate the rise in antisemitism that she saw and had to confront in office, but said that she felt it was important for her to learn more about the Jewish community and visit Israel. 

She said she hopes for a day when she won’t have to receive calls after yet another antisemitic attack and that the city is again adding security around Jewish institutions. She also emphasized her administration’s efforts to bring together faith and community leaders across the city to speak out against antisemitism.

D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, who is Jewish, drew a comparison between the Maccabees and the D.C. fight for home rule, saying that “we are also fighting back” against long odds and what he described as government overreach.

He also praised Bowser for her response to the Capital Jewish Museum shooting, in which two Israeli Embassy employees were killed.

“The Bondi attack [in Sydney, Australia,] is, unfortunately, another example of antisemitic violence, targeting Jews for being Jews. It has spiked in recent times, whether it’s on the other side of the world, whether it’s across town at the museum, whether it’s from the left or from the right, threats of violence directed at Jewish people for being Jewish and Jewish organizations for being focused on Jewish issues — those threats are real and they are on the rise,” Schwalb continued. “It affects all of us. It’s harder for me to get into my synagogue here for the high holiday than it is for me to get into the Supreme Court.”