The former U.S. ambassador to Japan is in Israel this week, where he delivered a speech on the future of U.S.-Israel relations
Israel Hadari
Rahm Emanuel speaks at Tel Aviv University on July 8, 2026.
Add JewishInsider on GoogleFormer U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, speaking in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, criticized the “moral bankruptcy” of “those that paraded, celebrated and cheered” in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.
Emanuel, who served as White House chief of staff from 2009 to 2010 in the Obama administration, made the comments as part of a broader address on his vision for the future of U.S.-Israel relations as he mulls a potential presidential bid.
Speaking to Jewish Insider prior to his speech at Tel Aviv University, Emanuel responded to a question about Democrats, including Darializa Avila Chevalier, the presumptive winner in New York’s 13th Congressional District, who attended a Times Square rally the day after Hamas launched its attacks on southern Israel. “I have no place for the moral bankruptcy of those that found Oct. 8 as the day to cheer 1,200 people not only killed but sexually abused, and for taking hostage 250 people. They’re morally bankrupt.”
Emanuel further criticized some of the banner stances of the far left, calling open-border policies and efforts to defund the police “wrong on every level.”
“I believe in capitalism, a better capitalism than we have today,” Emanuel said. “I don’t believe in the socialism that you advocate.”
“I have spent my life,” he added, “whether it was helping Nancy Pelosi become speaker by winning the House or helping President [Barack] Obama and President [Bill] Clinton not only get elected but reelected, and the policies they put in place. My whole life is geared toward politically moving red to blue, not blue to midnight blue. I’m not impressed, and for the record, the colors of the DSA are red. I’m into blue: red, white and blue.”
Speaking later Wednesday to a standing-room-only audience at ANU Museum of the Jewish People on Tel Aviv University’s campus, Emanuel laid out what he saw as the generational challenges facing the State of Israel and potential avenues to address them.
In the speech, Emanuel reiterated his concerns about potential Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank and settler violence. He accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — with whom he has long clashed, including on issues related to the West Bank — and the Israeli government of having “led Israel into a dead end for too long.”
Emanuel called for a reassessment of the relationship between the U.S. and Israel. “American policy towards Israel operated under the assumption that the best thing Washington could do for Jerusalem is to blindly, to silently stand behind your government without conditions, without demands, without consequences, even when we disagree,” Emanuel said. “That has been our mistake, and it’s been not a favor to you.
Former U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel called for a reassessment of the U.S.-Israel relationship at Tel Aviv University.
— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) July 8, 2026
The American government's support for Israel's decisions "even when we disagree … has been our mistake," Emanuel said, "and it's been not a favor to you."… pic.twitter.com/vjpNUumRx2
Israel, he said, had “turned from being known for your technological prowess to being considered primarily a territorial pariah.”
Emanuel expanded on his “23-state solution” proposal, under which Israel would normalize relations across the Middle East, including with a newly formed Palestinian state. Emanuel had previewed the proposal in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published earlier this week.
Under such a plan, he said, “The Arab League would establish full diplomatic recognition of Israel, and Israel with all 21 members of the Arab League, just as they had once proposed. The political benefits from all parties would be far greater than a two-state solution could ever offer the two parties.” The implementation of his plan, Emanuel told the audience, “would be your greatest day, and Iran’s worst nightmare.”
Emanuel has in recent months become more vocal on foreign policy issues as he mulls a 2028 presidential bid. Appearing on “Real Time with Bill Maher” in April, Emanuel called for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel. Under such a scenario, Emanuel told JI in May, “Israel will be like every other ally. They can buy what they want, and they have to live within the restrictions.”
Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, on the Maine Senate candidate: ‘If he's the Democratic nominee, I'm going to help him if he wants my help, absolutely’
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Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel speaks on Capitol Hill on July 23, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, a likely Democratic presidential candidate, on Friday signaled his backing for Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, who has drawn scrutiny over his far-left views and decades-old Nazi tattoo that he recently covered up.
“I would hope at this point in the process he understands what a Nazi symbol is,” Emanuel said. “He’s going to have to make his way. And the Democrats — he’ll be the nominee — should support his candidacy,” Emanuel told CNN’s Kasie Hunt.
Asked by Hunt if he was personally backing Platner, Emanuel said, “If he’s the Democratic nominee, I’m going to help him if he wants my help, absolutely.”
“You have to put an end to Donald Trump,” Emanuel added.
Emanuel, who served as mayor of Chicago from 2011-2019, later quipped about a meeting with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a vocal critic of Israel, after Mamdani’s election as mayor. “I told him when I first met him, I said, ‘I don’t know who’s going to hate this meeting more, my rabbi or AOC,’ but we had an honest meeting … an honest discussion about what to face as mayor,” he said.
Platner is now the expected Democratic nominee against Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) after the Democratic establishment’s favored candidate, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, dropped out of the race on Thursday. Mills, despite holding a strong political track record, consistently trailed Platner in primary polling since launching her campaign.
Over the weekend, Platner’s campaign also drew support from another unexpected voice: far-right podcaster Tucker Carlson.
In a lengthy interview with The New York Times, Carlson said he “appreciated” Platner’s foreign policy views, and plans to meet with the candidate. “I appreciate how different [his foreign policy views] are from everybody else in his party,” Carlson said.
The group of over 200 participants traveled to Asia last month to promote ties between Israel and the U.S. allied countries
President Lai Ching-te/X
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te meets with AIPAC leadership, including CEO Elliot Brandt and Board Chair Michael Tuchin, in Taipei on Oct. 28, 2025.
A delegation organized by AIPAC recently completed a nine-day visit to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, Jewish Insider has learned, as the pro-Israel lobbying group seeks to promote ties with Israel among key U.S. allies.
Over 200 of AIPAC’s largest donors as well as its CEO, Elliot Brandt; board chair, Michael Tuchin; board president, Bernie Kaminetsky; and top professional staff traveled to the region from Oct. 22-30, according to a participant with knowledge of the trip’s background.
Though Israel already has warm relations with all three countries, as both Israel and the U.S. look to increase ties in the Indo-Pacific region, the trip was meant to highlight the Jewish state’s relevance in its defense prowess, relationship to the U.S., shared democratic values, growing relations to the Gulf states — which have historically provided the Asian nations with much of their oil and gas — and acumen in the technology and business sectors, the participant said.
The large group met with high-level leadership in each country, including the Taiwanese president, vice president and secretary-general of its National Security Council, Korean ministers and a Japanese senior diplomat.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te told the group that “the Taiwanese people often look to the example of the Jewish people when facing challenges to our international standing and threats to our sovereignty from China,” and that the T-Dome, a missile interceptor project announced by Lai earlier this month, was inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome and President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” project.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Tel Aviv said in a statement to JI, “We welcome AIPAC’s recent visit in Taiwan, underscoring the positive synergies and mutual benefits of partnerships among Taiwan-U.S.-Israel. We continue to work with all stakeholders to deepen cooperation in trade and advanced technologies, to safeguard our shared interests of peace and prosperity.”
The Japanese leg of the trip coincided with Trump’s visit to Tokyo, and the Japanese government had just been sworn in — with its first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.
Takaichi, known as a national security hawk, was elected within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on a platform of boosting defense capabilities and reinforcing Japan’s role in the region, largely through prioritizing the country’s alliance with the U.S., which the AIPAC delegation highlighted as areas of success for Israel.
In South Korea, the delegation visited the Korean Demilitarized Zone, its border with North Korea, where participants heard from Mike Chinoy, a veteran CNN correspondent for the region. The conversations with government officials focused on shared concern between Israel and Korea about North Korea’s nuclear capabilities and cooperation with Iran.
The group also met with business leaders throughout the region who, the participant said, see Israel’s “start-up nation” as a compliment to their own “scale-up nations,” not well-known for innovation but able to rapidly scale technological advancements. The delegation emphasized the multilateral possibilities in the “new Middle East” as a result of Israel’s ties with its Abraham Accords partners, something the participant said is not yet well understood in the region.
AIPAC has taken similar delegations to the Gulf, India and Europe. The Asia visit had been planned for 2020 but was postponed due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
To mark the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, the Jewish Insider team asked leading thinkers and practitioners to reflect on how that day has changed the world. Here, we look at how Oct. 7 changed Israel’s relations with the world
NEW YORK — October 13, 2023: The Israeli flag flies outside the United Nations following Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)
Plus, an interview with Israel's ambassador to Japan
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National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on January 13, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Good Friday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we interview Israeli Ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen about Tokyo’s approach to Palestinian statehood, and report on a resolution by seven Senate Democrats calling for the U.S. to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. We cover a meeting between Senate and House lawmakers with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and report on House Foreign Affairs Committee votes rejecting conditions on aid to Israel. We cover Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter’s remarks at the embassy’s Rosh Hashanah reception in Washington last night and report on the New York Democratic Party chair’s decision not to endorse Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Jonathan Greenblatt, Rep. Elise Stefanik and Erika Kirk.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Israel Editor Tamara Zieve and U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik with an assist from Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent Jewish Insider and eJewishPhilanthropy stories, including: New York Jewish leaders reckon with a potential Mamdani win; Palantir’s Alex Karp says Jews need to ‘leave their comfort zone’ to defend community; and Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen talks covert missions, Oct. 7 failures in new book. Print the latest edition here.
What We’re Watching
- In New York today, an event on “Breaking the Chain: Global Action Against Hostage-Taking” will feature the first public remarks from former Israeli hostage Na’ama Levy. Also speaking are a Yazidi survivor of ISIS captivity; Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the U.N.; Dorothy Shea, acting U.S. representative to the U.N.; and Ibrahim Olabi, Syria’s ambassador to the U.N.; among others.
- Chabad at Vanderbilt University will honor Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier with Chabad’s Lamplighter award tomorrow. Read JI’s interview with Diermeier and Washington University in St. Louis Chancellor Andrew Martin here.
- On Saturday, the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream is opening with its flagship exhibition, the “American Dream Experience,” in Washington.
- On Sunday, Charlie Kirk’s memorial will be held at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., where speakers will include President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and far-right podcast host Tucker Carlson, who has advanced conspiracy theories in the aftermath of Kirk’s murder claiming the conservative activist was being pressured by Israel.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S GABBY DEUTCH
In Washington, whether a public official or their spokesperson is speaking honestly is usually not fully known until much later. Take Israel’s attack on Qatar last week: the Trump administration claimed not to have known about it ahead of time, but Israeli officials told Axios that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had given President Donald Trump a heads-up.
When a president leaves office, his former staffers tend to get rather loose-lipped — an opportunity for them to rehabilitate their reputation and, perhaps, tell the truth about their views (or at least the narrative they’d like to put forward on their own terms, not those of their boss).
The past few months have provided such an opportunity to the three architects of President Joe Biden’s Middle East policy team: Secretary of State Tony Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Brett McGurk, Biden’s coordinator for the Middle East at the White House. All of them played a crucial role in shaping American policy toward Israel and Gaza after Oct. 7. Each has in recent months written op-eds and made lengthy appearances on podcasts and cable news to comment on developments in the Middle East.
Looking at where Blinken, Sullivan and McGurk have positioned themselves publicly, without the constraints of government service, is a sign of the options available to Democrats right now, at a moment when the party’s future is up for grabs — with an ascendant anti-Israel wing that is exerting stronger influence than ever, though it remains in the minority.
TOKYO TALK
As reports swirl that Japan indicated it is no longer considering recognizing a Palestinian state at the United National General Assembly on Monday, Israeli Ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen remains wary, but hopeful, he told Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen in a wide-ranging interview on Friday in Tokyo. “Japan hasn’t decided yet. There is no official statement yet by Japan,” said Cohen, adding that he expects a decision will be finalized over the weekend.
Envoy’s efforts: “A recognition of a Palestinian state would be a reward to Hamas after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, would not contribute to peace and would not build on the trust of Israelis in the future,” he continued. In recent weeks, Cohen relayed that message to Japanese ministers as the country weighed recognizing a Palestinian state as several governments, including those in Britain, France, Australia and Canada, have announced plans to do at UNGA.
STATEHOOD PUSH
A group of seven Senate Democrats introduced a resolution on Thursday calling for the U.S. to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. The resolution was led by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and co-sponsored by Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Peter Welch (D-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI).
Merkley’s mission: Merkley and Van Hollen recently traveled to Israel and released a scathing report accusing Israel of deliberate ethnic cleansing and collective punishment. “Recognition of a Palestinian state is not only a practical step the United States can take to help build a future where Palestinians and Israelis can live in freedom, dignity, and security, but it is the right thing to do. America has a responsibility to lead, and the time to act is now,” Merkley said in a statement. “The goal of a Palestinian state can’t be put off any longer if we want the next generation to avoid suffering from the same insecurity and affliction.”
ON THE HILL
Senate and House lawmakers met Thursday with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, in the first trip by a Syrian government official to Congress in decades. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said that their meeting was “very encouraging and constructive,” Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Takeaways: “I think we are on a path to eliminate sanctions in a way that safeguards interests of other nations in the region, and at the same time, provides for reconstruction in Syria, in a way that negates the influence of Iran and Russia,” Blumenthal said. He said there was broad, but inconclusive, discussion about talks between the Syrian and Israeli governments. Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ), who worked on Syria and Middle East issues at the State Department, called the trip “historic.” This was his first meeting with officials from the new Syrian government. “He very much expressed a deep interest in being able to work as partners with us to stand up against ISIS, to stop Iranian reach and meddling throughout the Middle East, to push back on Russian interference,” Kim said.
In the room: Along with Kim and Blumenthal, Sens. Jim Risch (R-ID), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Chris Coons (D-DE), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Reps. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) met with al-Shaibani.
Reporter’s notebook: Times of Israel Editor in-Chief David Horovitz spent 48 hours in Damascus, accompanying a U.S. Jewish group to holy sites and meetings with Syrian government officials.
VOTED DOWN
The House Foreign Affairs Committee, during a marathon markup of legislation to reform and reorganize the State Department, resoundingly rejected amendments seeking to condition U.S. aid to Israel on a bipartisan basis, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. The committee also engaged in vigorous debate over the U.S. relationship with Turkey and the future of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
Key votes: By two votes of 45-5, the committee rejected a pair of amendments by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) that would have added new conditions to $1 billion of the $3.3 billion in direct military funding the U.S. provides to Israel each year. Jayapal and Reps. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) and Madeleine Dean (D-PA) voted in favor of the amendments.
Coming soon: The world’s first laser-based missile defense system, known as “Iron Beam,” will be delivered to the IDF by the end of 2025, the Israeli Defense Ministry and arms manufacturer Rafael announced on Wednesday, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
JUSTICE FOR ALL
The Anti-Defamation League filed a new federal lawsuit on Thursday on behalf of more than 140 U.S. victims of the Oct. 7 attacks alleging that several different terrorist groups carried out the attacks with material support from U.S.-designated state sponsors of terror: Iran, Syria and North Korea. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, comes a year after a similar federal suit by the ADL targeting Iran, Syria and North Korea, but it relies on an additional statute to seek compensation for the American victims of the attacks, which left 1,200 people dead. The suit also includes more plaintiffs than the original case, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Seeking justice: The new case names the terror groups — Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement, Hezbollah and the Popular Resistance Committees — and invokes two American laws that provide civil remedies to victims of international terrorism. “The victims of the October 7 massacre deserve justice, accountability and redress,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “This lawsuit seeks to do that by holding those responsible for the carnage accountable, from the state sponsors who provided the funding, weapons and training to the terrorist organizations who carried out these unspeakable atrocities.”
Exclusive: ADL and the Community Security Initiative of New York are partnering to launch a national threat monitoring and assessment network, following a year marked by two deadly attacks on North American Jewry, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim reports.
BREAKING RANK
Jay Jacobs, the chairman of the New York Democratic Party, said on Thursday he will not endorse Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City, notably breaking with Gov. Kathy Hochul, who recently announced her support for the Democratic nominee. In a statement, Jacobs said he had a “positive conversation” with Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist and Queens assemblyman, soon after the primary, and dismissed what he called “the fear-mongering around him and his candidacy” as “wrong and a gross over-reaction,” Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
But: While Jacobs said he shared Mamdani’s belief that “America’s greatest problem is the continued growth in income disparity in our nation,” the state party chair noted they “fundamentally disagree” on “how to address it.” Jacobs, who is Jewish, also cited Mamdani’s staunch opposition to Israel, an issue on which the nominee has recently indicated he has no intention of budging, as a major source of contention. “Furthermore, as I expressed to him directly, I strongly disagree with his views on the State of Israel, along with certain key policy positions,” Jacobs said of Mamdani, who has vowed, if elected, to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said he would move to terminate a city program to foster partnerships between companies in Israel and New York City, among other positions that have raised concerns among Jewish leaders.
AAA push: Citing Mamdani’s stated plans to revoke the city’s use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) called on Thursday for the House to pass the long-stalled Antisemitism Awareness Act, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Worthy Reads
Green Light for Annexation?: Philip Gordon, former national security advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris, argues in The New York Times that the international community must pressure Israel to stop any expansion in the West Bank due to the Trump administration’s permissiveness. “The Trump administration has not officially given its blessing to Israeli annexation of the West Bank. But it appears to be doing nothing to stand in Israel’s way. … Given America’s apparent acquiescence, only international action can prevent a coming disaster. It was encouraging that the United Arab Emirates said earlier this month that Israeli annexation in the West Bank would be a “red line,” jeopardizing Israel’s prized relationship with Abu Dhabi. A conference sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia at the U. N. General Assembly next week on the Palestinian issue will be another chance for the international community to put down a marker that most of the world objects to this Israeli government’s agenda. The government of Mr. Netanyahu should know that it can have flourishing relations with the rest of the world, or total control of the West Bank — but not both.” [NYT]
Ellison’s Empire: Former Wall Street banker and founding partner of the Puck media company William Cohan suggests in The New York Times that Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison’s rising profile as a “media magnate,” along with his friendship with President Donald Trump, threatens to reshape American journalism into a more partisan landscape. “Along with his son, David, [Ellison] could soon end up controlling a powerful social media platform, an iconic Hollywood movie studio and one of the largest content streaming services, as well as two of the country’s largest news organizations. Given Mr. Ellison’s friendship with, and affinity for, Donald Trump, an increasingly emboldened president could be getting an extraordinarily powerful media ally — in other words, the very last thing our country needs right now. … No matter their motives, two independent journalistic voices, CBS News and CNN, could soon be combined into something potentially almost unrecognizable, something way too close to what is served up on a daily basis by the Murdochs. And that will put yet another chink in the fragile armor that is America’s democracy.” [NYT]
Word on the Street
President Donald Trump said at a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday that the recognition of a Palestinian state, which the U.K. plans to do this weekend, is “one of [the] few disagreements” between the two leaders. “We want [the war] to end. We have to have the hostages back immediately. That’s what the people of Israel want, they want them back. And we want the fighting to stop,” the president continued…
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to talk today, their second conversation in Trump’s second term, about trade and the framework deal to save TikTok in the U.S…
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa told reporters on Wednesday that Syria and Israel could reach a security agreement “within days”…
Saudi Arabia signed a defense pact with Pakistan on Wednesday, as its leaders are reportedly angry with Washington over Israel’s recent strike against Hamas leaders in Qatar and are seeking alternative defense relationships…
Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Joni Ernst (R-IA), John Barrasso (R-WY), Rick Scott (R-FL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Ashley Moody (R-FL) reintroduced the SEVER Act, which would bar sanctioned Iranian officials from entering the U.S. to visit the United Nations…
French President Emmanuel Macron told Israel’s Channel 12 that, despite European attempts to negotiate with Iran over its nuclear program, U.N. Security Council snapback sanctions will be implemented at the end of the month, likely on Sept. 27…
Israel’s i24 News reports it has obtained recent audio of Macron speaking to former French parliament member Meyer Habib where Macron is heard saying, “I will not recognize a Palestinian state without the release of the hostages,” contrary to his reported plan to do so next week…
Two Israeli soldiers were killed yesterday at the Allenby Crossing between Jordan and the West Bank by an assailant driving a truck of humanitarian aid destined for the Gaza Strip…
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting that she investigate the organization Doctors Without Borders for terrorism, saying it had proliferated “propaganda continuously pushed by Hamas”…
Former Vice President Kamala Harris reflects on her decision-making in choosing a vice president to run on her presidential ticket in the 2024 campaign in her forthcoming book, 107 Days; she was concerned that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro seemed to be more interested in being VP than in helping her win, according to Politico’s review of the memoir….
After several headlines positioned former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo as shifting away from his previously full-throated support of Israel, Cuomo told the Forward on Wednesday that his position “hasn’t shifted one iota. I said we want three things: We want killing to stop, because it’s a matter of humanity. We want the hostages returned, and Hamas eliminated. If you don’t eliminate Hamas, you accomplish nothing. This will happen again and again”…
After her endorsement of New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has “pledged to anxious private sector leaders that she will use her power to act as a check on Mamdani’s agenda,” Politico reports…
A man in Texas was arrested for making death threats towards Mamdani over the phone and in writing, including saying in a message, “I’d love to see an IDF bullet go through your skull”…
Trump told reporters he is working to regain control of the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, which is now under Taliban control since the U.S. withdrawal in 2021…
The Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs in Canada released a joint statement urging their respective governments to reconsider their plans to recognize a Palestinian state next week…
Former President Barack Obama said that the firing of Karen Attiah — the anti-Israel Washington Post columnist who justified the Oct. 7 attacks and was let go from the Post earlier this week over social media posts on Charlie Kirk’s killing — is “precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent”…
The board of directors of Turning Point USA, the organization Kirk founded, unanimously named Erika Kirk, his widow, as its new CEO and board chair…
Pic of the Day
Speaking at a Rosh Hashanah reception at the Israeli Embassy in Washington yesterday, Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., compared congressional efforts to block U.S. weapons transfers to Israel to the antisemitic “blood libel” and he took aim at Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for leading the charge, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Birthdays
Author, theater producer, television personality and philanthropist, Candy Spelling turns 80 on Saturday…
FRIDAY: Professor of Jewish history and literature at Yeshiva University, he is the only son of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Haym Soloveitchik turns 88… Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives until 2022, he has served as synagogue president, Jeffrey Colman Salloway turns 84… Professor at Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law and director of the Innocence Project, Barry Scheck turns 76… Distinguished senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, after a 28-year Pentagon career as a Middle East expert, Harold Rhode turns 76… Freelance reporter, he was a writing instructor at Montana State University Billings, Bruce Alpert… Archaeologist and professor of early Judaism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Jodi Magness turns 69… Stockton, Calif.-based physician at The Pacific Sleep Disorders Center, Ronald Kass M.D…. Producer of over 40 films in his career and executive producer of the television series Monk, David Elliot Hoberman turns 73… Rabbi emeritus of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, he is the inaugural rabbinic fellow at the ADL, David J. Wolpe turns 67… Boston-based attorney focused upon Section 529 college savings plans, Mark A. Chapleau… Chairman and CEO of NYC’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, John Nathan “Janno” Lieber turns 64… Bow tie-clad field reporter for Fox Major League Baseball since 2005, he is also a senior baseball writer for The Athletic, Ken Rosenthal turns 63… Inspector general of the Federal Reserve Board and the CFPB, Michael Evan Horowitz turns 63… U.S. senator (R-SC), he chairs the Senate Banking Committee, Tim Scott turns 60… CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, Ron Halber… Author of eight popular business books, former small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal, Mike Michalowicz… Founder and managing director at Two Lanterns Venture Partners, he is also the founder of MassChallenge, John Harthorne… Pole vaulter, she competed for the U.S. in the 2004 Olympics and for Israel in the 2012 Olympics, now an associate brand manager at Kraft Heinz, Jillian Schwartz Dickinson turns 46… CEO of Enduring Cause Strategies, Neal Urwitz… Former MLB player for nine seasons, he was on Team Israel for the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Danny Valencia turns 41… Public affairs director at Elliott Investment Management, Joe Kristol… Singer-songwriter and producer, he frequently wears a Magen David pendant when performing, Charlie Burg turns 29… Former NFL placekicker, his college teammates nicknamed him the “Kosher Cannon,” Sam Sloman turns 28…
SATURDAY: Wealth management advisor, he won four Super Bowls with the Steelers during his eight-year career as a tight end, C. Randy Grossman turns 73… Dean of the Yeshiva of Greater Washington, Rabbi Ahron Lopiansky turns 72… Senior chairman of Goldman Sachs since 2019, prior to which he served as CEO there for 13 years, Lloyd Blankfein turns 71… Co-founder and board chair of Broadcom and owner of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, Henry Samueli turns 71… Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel since 2017, Yosef Elron turns 70… Insurance agent in Tulsa, Okla., Lawrence M. Schreier… Real estate developer, sports agent and boxing promoter, Marc Roberts turns 66… Former rabbi of Congregation Beit Torat Chaim of Jakarta, Indonesia, Rabbi Tovia Singer turns 65… Emergency medicine physician in Austin, Texas, he was the goalkeeper for the U.S. field hockey team at the 1984 Summer Olympics, Randolph B. “Randy” Lipscher turns 65… Civil rights attorney, author and legal analyst on “The Today Show,” “NBC Nightly News” and MSNBC, Lisa Bloom turns 64… SVP of marketing and communications at BBYO, Deborah Gavin Shemony… Former member of the Knesset for the Likud party, Keren Barak turns 53… Founder of PFAP Consulting and COO of PizzaIDF, Melissa Jane Kronfeld… Senior advisor to the under secretary of defense for research and engineering, James Mazol… Deputy news team lead at Bloomberg Law, Drew Singer… Principal at Blue Laurel Advisors, Emily Grunewald… Climate activist in Oakland, Calif., Carter Lavin… Senior director of strategic initiatives at Sony Music Entertainment, Alison Bogdonoff… VP of marketing at Cumulus Coffee, Zoe Plotsky Rosen… Isabel Eliana Tsesarsky… Actor, best known for his leading role as young aspiring filmmaker Sammy Fabelman in Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical film “The Fabelmans,” Gabriel LaBelle turns 23… Theater, film and television actor, Jason Ian Drucker turns 20… Lauren Ackerman…
SUNDAY: One of the highest-grossing Hollywood box office producers of all time, plus the producer of many commercially successful TV shows, Jerry Bruckheimer turns 82… Chairman of the board of JDC, The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Mark B. Sisisky turns 75… Immediate past chair of the Board of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, Cheryl Fishbein… Professor at Harvard Law School, following a three-year stint in the Obama White House, Cass Sunstein turns 71… and his wife, with whom he shares a birthday, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development during the Biden administration, Samantha Power turns 55… Immediate past president of the Women’s League for Conservative Judaism, Debbi Kaner Goldich… Owner of Total Wine & More, the largest alcohol retailer in the U.S., he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (D-MD) until January, David Trone turns 70… Member of the Knesset for the Likud party since 1998, he serves as Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz turns 70… Professor of political science at Tel Aviv University and professor emeritus at Georgetown, Yossi Shain turns 69… One-half the renowned filmmaking team of the Coen Brothers, Ethan Jesse Coen turns 68… Attorney, author of 10 books and Fox News host of “Life, Liberty & Levin,” Mark R. Levin turns 68… Retired managing director of equity trading at Goldman Sachs, Andrew Berman… Co-founder of the private investment firm Centerbridge Partners, he is a former board chair of Johns Hopkins University, Jeffrey Aronson turns 67… Russian businessman who fell out of favor with President Vladimir Putin, now living in Israel, Leonid Nevzlin turns 66… Co-founder of Wisdom Without Walls, she is the author of a series of courses for the Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning, Sandra Lilienthal… Director of the Board of Jewish Education of Metropolitan Chicago, Alissa C. Zuchman, Ph.D…. Janet Bunting… Senior partner at polling firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, Anna Greenberg, Ph.D…. Emmy Award-winning talk show host, actress and producer, Ricki Lake turns 57… Guitarist and music producer in Israel, Nachman Fahrner turns 53… Managing editor of the New York Jewish Week, Lisa Keys… Member of the Maryland House of Delegates, Marc Alan Korman turns 44… Associate professor of radiology at Duke, he is an Olympic gold medalist in swimming, Dr. Benjamin M. Wildman-Tobriner turns 41… Former program director for strategic engagement at B’nai B’rith International, now a senior manager at Meridian International Center, Sienna Girgenti… COO of TAMID Group, Nathan Gilson… Lecturer in expository writing at UMass Boston, Mia Appelbaum… Member of the Michigan House of Representatives since 2023, Noah Jeremy Arbit turns 30… Global director of communications at Gallagher Bassett, Scott Frankel…
In an interview with JI, Ambassador Gilad Cohen discusses his push to persuade Japan not to recognize a Palestinian state at the UNGA
Courtesy Gilad Cohen
Israeli Ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen
TOKYO — As Japan decided against recognizing a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, Israeli Ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen told Jewish Insider in a wide-ranging interview in Tokyo that he is appreciative of Japan, “an important factor of the international community.”
On Friday evening, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya called his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa’ar, to update him that after weeks of deliberation, Japan decided it will not recognize a Palestinian state at the UNGA.
“Sa’ar appreciated [the] decision and briefed [Iwaya] about Israel’s actions against Hamas chiefs in Qatar and IDF operations in Gaza,” Cohen told JI. “I join my foreign minister in appreciating Japan, a member of the G7, and an important factor of the international community, and for the deep friendship of our nations.”
“A recognition of a Palestinian state would be a reward to Hamas after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, would not contribute to peace and would not build on the trust of Israelis in the future,” he said. In recent weeks, Cohen relayed that message to Japanese ministers as the country weighed recognizing a Palestinian state as several governments, including those in Britain, France, Australia and Canada, have announced plans to do at the UNGA.
“This recognition is null and void because when you acknowledge a state there have to be conditions — what are the boundaries? Do you have effective control of the population? Nothing about that works with the Palestinians,” Cohen told JI. “Are they going to dismantle Hamas? Are they going to continue paying salaries for families of suicide bombers? Are they going to continue to have pacts with Iran against Israel? Is there going to be a repetition of Oct. 7 because they have a state? We are the Jewish people, we always have to be concerned and worried.”
For Cohen, who assumed office as ambassador of Israel to Japan in October 2021 following a stint as deputy director general for Asia and Pacific division in the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan’s consideration of recognizing a Palestinian state has been one of only a few disagreements he’s held with local politicians since arriving in Tokyo. In the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks, “the Japanese government stood by Israel, called for an immediate and unconditional release of our hostages and said publicly that Hamas should be dismantled,” Cohen said.
“I thank the Japanese for acknowledging that Hamas is a terrorist organization and for saying that Iran is the number one destabilizer of the region. I want to thank the Japanese government for standing on the right side of history.”
When war broke out between Israel and Hamas soon after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, Japan, as a member of the U.N. Security Council, “was trying to influence the release of the hostages and not to [attack] Israel. They were not mediating, but there were messages Japan was trying to deliver for both sides in order to bring our hostages back,” Cohen recalled.
Looking ahead to the postwar period, Cohen suggested that Japan will contribute to rebuilding the Palestinian economy. “We will welcome any kind of investment in the Palestinian economy to revive it,” he said. “Economy is a major part of the vision of Palestinians living side by side with Israelis in peace and security.”
While tourism from Japan to Israel has seen a decline amid the war, Cohen said that joint business ventures between the two countries have increased over the past two years, as Israeli tech companies engage with Japan’s industrial giants and venture capital networks.
“Investments from Japanese companies in Israel were much higher in 2024 than 2023, including in AI and technology,” he said. “There is a saying that Israel can do things from zero to one and Japanese can take them from one to 10. Israeli innovation and startups can be combined with Japanese wisdom, experience and production ability that Israel doesn’t have.”
When it comes to creating cars, for example, an area that Japan is a global leader in, “Israel should focus on the brain of the car, systems that prevent accidents such as Waze and Mobileye,” said Cohen. “The synergy that we can learn from Japan — and we can share our experience with them — I see a lot of potential in economic relations. Japanese companies are looking at Israeli startups with great interest. In the last two and a half years, there have been direct flights from Israel to Japan, which is important because businessmen and investors do not have time to waste. This is an engine for connecting the people of Israel and Japan.”
Israel is among the handful of countries that Japan has a free trade deal with, an agreement signed by Cohen in March 2023. It allows 200 Israelis to come to Japan annually on a visa for one year of work, study and travel. At the same time, 200 Japanese citizens can come to Israel for one year to do the same.
Cohen sees himself not only as an ambassador of Israel “but also as representing the Jewish people in Japan,” he said, describing a small but vibrant community. Tokyo is home to two Chabad houses and a Jewish community center, which runs a pluralistic synagogue. The cities of Kyoto and Kobe also each have a Chabad. All five centers primarily cater to tourists.
It can be a challenge to navigate Holocaust education and antisemitism awareness in a country with limited historical exposure to those issues, Cohen said, recommending that all Japanese visit the Holocaust Education Center in Fukuyama City, near Hiroshima.
“The Japanese government comes to commemorate our Holocaust memorial days,” Cohen told JI. “They give thanks to [Chiune] Sugihara,” he said, referring to the Japanese diplomat who, while posted in Lithuania, saved thousands of Jews during the Holocaust. “We are participating in ceremonies to commemorate him. In Japan, he became a hero.”
“I see a lot of potential in the future when things calm down in the region,” continued Cohen. “I would like to have future agreements signed with Japan to boost the economy on both sides. I have many things on my agenda, but this will be after Rosh Hashanah.”
The parade was an example of how Beijing has used WWII not only to encourage nationalism, but to project power internationally, from Jerusalem to Taipei and beyond
Alexander KAZAKOV / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALEXANDER KAZAKOV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Russia's President Vladimir Putin walks with China's President Xi Jinping and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un before a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on September 3, 2025.
China showcased its growing aggressiveness on the world stage in a major military parade on Wednesday, showing off missiles and fighter jets to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in attendance.
The parade was an example of how Beijing has used WWII not only to encourage nationalism, but to project power internationally, from Jerusalem to Taipei and beyond.
President Donald Trump pushed back against the spectacle in Beijing, writing on Truth Social that Chinese leader Xi Jinping ought to “mention the massive amount of support and ‘blood’ that the United States of America gave to China in order to help it secure its FREEDOM from a very unfriendly foreign invader. Many Americans died in China’s quest for Victory and Glory. I hope that they are rightfully Honored and Remembered for their Bravery and Sacrifice! …Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un as you conspire against The United States of America.”
The parade came shortly after China hosted a summit with Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Eurasian leaders, deepening ties among major powers not aligned with the West. The attendees issued a communique last week strongly condemning “the military aggression launched by Israel and the United States against Iran” in June.
China has also used World War II and Holocaust terminology in recent weeks as it continues its hostility against Israel, calling Israel’s war a “genocide,” even as the Chinese Embassy in Israel held an event highlighting Beijing’s positioning with the Allies in World War II.
The recent statements reflect a broader double game China has played in its relations toward Israel, consistently showing hostility to Israel on the international stage since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks, while within Israel, the Chinese ambassador has pursued a friendlier posture.
Last month, Beijing, in a statement from the Chinese Communist Party’s Information Office, accused the U.S. of “serving as an accomplice to the genocide in Gaza.” The statement, Tuvia Gering, a fellow at the Atlantic Council and the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, said, marked the first time an official Chinese document accused Israel of genocide.
Gering told Jewish Insider that “you see the word [genocide] being used more and more by Chinese academics, and they are the ones who help formulate China’s Middle East policy … In recent months, I have been seeing it used much more frequently, as well as other accusations against Israel and Jewish people.”
“From the beginning of the war, there have been comparisons between the Jewish state and Japanese imperialists,” Gering said. “From the Chinese perspective, [Japan] did some of the most terrible things, like what the Nazis did to us. That vile, inhumane violence is ingrained in every child in China’s psyche from a young age.”
The Chinese consul-general in Osaka, Japan, has published posts on X over the course of the Gaza war comparing Israel to Nazis and “a demon … that will even devour a baby,” and saying “we must get rid of it once and for all.” Beijing has not apologized for the diplomat’s statements.
That being said, Gering posited that the use of the word “genocide” was unlikely to reflect a policy shift by Beijing “because of the sensitivity to how the word is being used against China” in relation to its Uyghur minority.
The genocide accusation came in response to the State Department’s report on human rights practices in China in 2024, which opened by stating that “Genocide and crimes against humanity occurred … in China against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs.”
As such, Gering said the use of “genocide” in an official document is primarily meant to target the U.S.
Similarly, Carice Witte, founder of SIGNAL Group, a think tank focused on China-Israel relations, told JI that the statement is an example of Beijing “using Israel as a tool.”
To China, she said, “the Middle East and Israel are much more about great power competition than the local issues.”
“Israel is a very small country that is no longer of great interest to China, and its positions on Israel are not about Israel as much as they are about China’s global interests,” Witte said. “By saying the U.S. supports genocide in Gaza, that is not about Israel, but about the U.S. and the global south. Because so many countries hate Israel, [China] believes that if they criticize Israel, more countries will support them.”
A source involved in China-Israel relations who spoke on condition of anonymity told JI they heard a Chinese diplomat say that “they use the Palestinians to make trouble for the U.S. the way the U.S. uses Taiwan to make trouble for them.”
Ten days after Beijing accused Israel of genocide, the Chinese Embassy in Israel held a ceremony marking 80 years since the end of World War II in the Pacific arena, and honoring “Jakob Rosenfeld, a Jewish doctor whose heroic contribution to the Chinese people’s fight against fascism is a lasting symbol of international solidarity,” the invitation read.
Gering also noted that China has made diplomatic use of the fact that over 20,000 Jews escaped the Holocaust to Shanghai, including, famously, the entire Mir Yeshiva from Lithuania. They fled to an enclave in Japanese-occupied Shanghai that did not require a visa for entry, until 1941, when Japan forced the Jewish refugees into a ghetto and banned Jewish immigration to the city. The only Chinese diplomat known to have played a role in helping Jewish refugees was a representative of the Republic of China, which the Chinese Communist Party that currently rules China later defeated in a civil war.
Like many other countries, including China’s ally Russia, which also holds WWII victory parades, Beijing “employs selective historical memory,” Gering said. “There is a very obvious, explicit utilization of memory … Undermining or silencing the voices of victims of the Holocaust and refugees in Shanghai … When you listen to Chinese ambassadors, you think that there was a unique civilizational benevolence by the Chinese people, who opened their arms when the rest of the world rejected Jews … It’s a complete distortion of the story of the Jewish refugees who lived in squalid conditions.”
Israel generally does not push back against that narrative for “political expedience,” Gering said, explaining that “it is good for soft power to say we share their sentiment of anti-fascism.”
Witte said that China’s politicization of World War II and the Holocaust reflects a broader “two-pronged path. On the one hand, China has a big-picture policy and the Beijing stage is for the track that is harsh on Israel. Local policy, where the embassy is the stage, is the pro-Israel track.”
“Obviously, Beijing is exponentially louder, more recognized and more heard than the embassy,” she added.
Gering pointed out that Chinese Ambassador to Israel Xiao Junzheng, who arrived at his post in December, “emphasizes friendship between Jews and Chinese people, while Chinese propaganda says Israel is committing genocide and compares Jews to Nazis.”
Xiao “has been given a mandate to act like nothing [bad] happened,” Gering added. “He even wrote an article saying not to let the war define the relationship. Even though … [the CCP] legal advisor said the Hamas attack [on Oct. 7, 2023] was A-OK, don’t split hairs, let’s talk about Chinese cars and how many Jews we saved. They’re kind of forgetting about Jews living today.”
**
Gering also expressed concerns about Beijing’s recent use of Nazi terminology to describe the government in Taiwan.
The CCP newspaper, People’s Daily, published an article that compared Taiwan’s President William Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party to the Nazis. The article also described civil society groups seeking to educate Taiwanese citizens to be prepared for possible missile attacks from China and to recognize Chinese propaganda in the media as “Nazi-like.”
The article “even feigns concern for their democracy, which is ironic in a CCP mouthpiece,” Gering said.
Gering expressed concern that the language is similar to that used by Russia in the years before its invasion of Ukraine.
“The denazification card is what Putin’s Kremlin used as a pretext for its invasion and its ongoing war in Ukraine,” Gering noted. “This prompts us to ask if this is a precursor to a People’s Liberation Army [Chinese military] denazification campaign in Taiwan.”
Still, Gering said, Taiwanese politics are very divisive, and opposition politicians have also called the current government Nazis, leading to condemnation by Israeli and German diplomats in Taipei. “That gave a hechsher [kosher certification] for the CCP to use this kind of pernicious rhetoric, as well,” he said.
“In the more immediate term, it’s probably just a tactical way for the CCP to sow division and weaken the Taiwanese leadership and democratic institutions,” he added.
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