Last November, Rahm Emanuel, the tough-talking Democratic operative and prospective presidential candidate, took the stage of the Jewish Federations of North America’s annual conference in Washington to deliver a blunt word of warning about Israel’s declining reputation in the United States and around the globe.

“I don’t mean to be the party pooper, but look, this is not going to be helpful if we’re not going to be honest with each other,” he said on an opening panel, urging the crowd to reckon with a marked downturn in support for the Jewish state over its war in Gaza, particularly among younger voters. “Israel is extremely unpopular.”

Emanuel, a veteran Jewish politician and party official who had recently concluded a tour as U.S. ambassador to Japan in the Biden administration, acknowledged his message might not ingratiate him to the thousands of Jewish communal leaders in the audience who were no doubt deeply familiar with the issue he was highlighting.

“This may be the last time I’m asked to speak to you. I get it,” he said with a hint of indifference. “But we have to be honest about the task we have” for those “who believe that there is something special” to the U.S.-Israel relationship. “We have our work cut out, and it’s not here to get applause,” he told the crowd.

In hindsight, Emanuel’s frankly worded comments marked something of a turning point in his approach to Israel and the Jewish community, foreshadowing more recent remarks in which he has voiced harsh criticism of the country’s military tactics in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks and championed new policy proposals against American military aid to Israel.

Yet even as he builds a profile as a potential candidate willing to tell the Democratic Party hard truths and challenge orthodoxy on a range of issues from trans rights to child social media bans to age limits for politicians, Emanuel, 66, was reticent in exploring his views on Israel in more depth during an interview with Jewish Insider, which he had resisted for nearly a month.

“What I said couldn’t have been clearer,” he told JI last Thursday, referring to his recent comments on “Real Time With Bill Maher” calling for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel that raised eyebrows in the Jewish community. “There will no longer be U.S. taxpayer subsidies for the purchase of U.S. military equipment. Israel will be like every other ally. They can buy what they want, and they have to live within the restrictions.”

“You can decide to slice it, dice it, but that’s what it is,” he said.

While U.S. military funding to Israel has increasingly faced pushback in the Democratic Party, particularly on the far left, Emanuel’s argument that Israel no longer needs the sort of special treatment that he helped promote in the Obama White House has been striking to watch precisely because he has long been a staunch defender of the Jewish state and its founding ideals.

Emanuel, whose middle name is Israel and who speaks fluent Hebrew, holds a uniquely personal connection to the Jewish state. His late father, an Israeli immigrant born in Jerusalem, served in the Irgun, the Zionist paramilitary force that fought for Israeli independence. As a child, he spent summers in Israel and later volunteered as a civilian assistant to the Israel Defense Forces during the Gulf War. His son celebrated his bar mitzvah in Israel.

Emanuel, a moderate former congressman and mayor of Chicago, pointed out in the interview that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had himself proposed winding down U.S. military aid over the next 10 years, saying in January that the country had “come of age” and “developed incredible capacity” to continue on its own. 

Emanuel, however, said that he would instead suspend the assistance “immediately,” characterizing his position as “part of an overall policy” tied to Israel’s strategically secure position in the region as well as its political isolation on the world stage — both of which he argued have never been greater than now.

“If you or anybody thinks you’re going to continue the American taxpayers paying for this, good luck passing that in the U.S. Congress. You’re asking a president of the United States to spend X amount of political capital to do something that even Israel’s own prime minister acknowledged isn’t going to happen,” he said, referring to continued U.S. military aid.

The Jewish state “has made a decision to only lean on its defense and not lean on its diplomatic front,” he told JI, adding that Netanyahu had chosen to “walk away” from pursuing a two-state solution, support for which has declined in Israel since the Oct. 7 attacks and ensuing war in Gaza.

In his view, the U.S. should continue to stand with Israel only if its efforts in the region help contribute to peace. “Every risk you will take, the State of Israel takes, for peace, then America will stand by you,” he said. “We understand there’s risks. We have stood by Israel through thick and thin.”

“But,” he said, “when one friend in that relationship abandoned something that’s contrary to our interests and contrary, in my view, also to Israel’s interests,” it is reasonable, he suggested, to rethink that alliance.

“There will no longer be U.S. taxpayer subsidies for the purchase of U.S. military equipment. Israel will be like every other ally. They can buy what they want, and they have to live within the restrictions,” Emanuel said of his vision of the future of military aid to Israel.

His comments indicate that he is now embracing a fundamental reassessment of the U.S.-Israel alliance, abandoning even the pretense of tough love that once characterized his approach, among other moderate voices in the Democratic Party. 

For example, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a centrist Jewish Democrat who is also weighing a presidential campaign in 2028, recently reiterated his support for continued U.S. aid to Israel but said that it should be seen as “leverage” to exert pressure over the country’s use of American-made weapons.

“Rahm’s move tells you a lot about the politics of the Democratic Party on Israel now. And that is a sign of how Israel’s image has changed in the country,” said Dennis Ross, a former U.S. diplomat and Middle East negotiator who overlapped with Emanuel in the Obama administration.

Despite his strong attachment to Israel, Emanuel is reckoning with a changing party no longer broadly sympathetic to the pro-Israel perspective that had long been central to his political identity, even as he has tussled with Israeli leadership during his time as a public figure.

Last Friday, for example, Emanuel signaled he would back Graham Platner, the far-left Senate candidate in Maine now poised to become the Democratic nominee, even as the Marine veteran has called to block U.S. military aid to Israel while facing controversy over a Nazi tattoo he recently covered up.

“Whether it’s people chanting ‘Jews will not replace us’” in Charlottesville, “or somebody bombing Gov. Shapiro’s home, or somebody painting Nazi insignia on my fence, or the candidate saying ‘I did not know that was a Nazi’” insignia on his chest, “we’re going to have to confront this,” Emanuel told JI the day before announcing his support for Platner, while touting his record of fighting antisemitism.

“I’ve dealt with it when I ran for Congress,” he said on the phone from Chicago, noting that he was outside an Anne Frank exhibition opening in his home city. “And I’ve also been upfront when I think a decision is going to lead to the strategic and diplomatic isolation of, not only the State of Israel, but, more importantly, the Jewish people.”

Still, Emanuel seemed reluctant and even somewhat frustrated to answer further questions seeking clarity on the implications of his new approach to Israel and how he arrived at his position. He refused to confirm explicitly, for example, if he would back defensive aid for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, which has recently emerged as a subject of intense debate in some corners of the Democratic Party.

It is a significant contrast with where Emanuel stood during his time as Obama’s chief of staff. In the White House from 2009-2010, Emanuel was one of Obama’s top consiglieres on policies relating to Israel. He was involved in initial funding to boost Israel’s Iron Dome system, an effort that culminated in a 10-year memorandum of understanding between the two countries that provides $3.8 billion in annual aid through 2028, which the White House touted, at the time, as “the largest single pledge of military assistance in U.S. history.”

In 2009, Emanuel shared more reassuring words in his address to the JFNA’s annual gathering, praising Netanyahu while citing his own familial ties to Israel as well as what he had called the “privileged point of view” from understanding the Jewish state’s “value as a homeland.”

“Those who have questioned” whether the Obama administration’s opposition to Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and outreach to the Arab world “implies diminished support for Israel, that is not the intent,” he said, filling in for his boss. “It is not the case and it never will be. The truth is the opposite. Only through dialogue will Israel achieve the peace it seeks.”

Emanuel now takes a more jaundiced view of Israeli diplomacy, fueling his calls for an end to U.S. aid. “Under Prime Minister Netanyahu, in the last three years, you’ve lost Europe, you’ve lost the American public, and you picked up Somaliland,” he scoffed to JI, referring to Israel’s decision to formally recognize the secessionist region in the Horn of Africa last year. “As my grandmother would say, ‘Such a deal.’ That is your only diplomatic achievement.”

Julie Fishman Rayman, senior vice president of policy and political affairs at the American Jewish Committee, called Emanuel’s views “disappointing and worrying,” arguing that U.S. security assistance to Israel “is not just vital to deterring further attacks and ensuring the survival of the state of Israel, but is integrally tied to safeguarding American interests in the region.”

Emanuel argued that his position on U.S. aid is a logical extension of sentiments he had conveyed in 2009 while in the Obama administration, when he repeatedly clashed with Netanyahu over settlement expansion in the West Bank, which the White House cautioned would jeopardize prospects for achieving a two-state solution.

“I went straight to the prime minister to his face and said, ‘What you’re doing is going to lead to the great isolation of Israel,’” Emanuel recalled, noting, as he often does, that Netanyahu called him a “self-hating Jew,” underscoring the highly personal tenor of their long-testy relationship. “Look, I have a longstanding relationship,” he explained. “I’m honest about it.”

But even as he argues that Israel is today “a different country from a sense of wealth and capacity,” he has strained to harmonize the motives now animating his current approach. He has dismissed speculation over the sincerity of his stance and whether it is rooted in a good-faith view of Israel’s economic standing or if it is instead a more cynical political calculation tailored to a rising anti-Israel faction in the Democratic Party.

Though in contrast with high-profile voices on the far left, Emanuel has shied away from charged rhetoric about genocide in Gaza, saying it is a legal question, as well accusations that Israel had tricked President Donald Trump into war with Iran, which he says ignores U.S. agency in the conflict. He has said it is a “mistake” to restrict arms sales to Israel, suggesting that he is not aligned with related resolutions that were introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) last month and notably drew backing from most Senate Democrats.

Emanuel’s allies said in recent interviews that they were not surprised with his approach, saying that he has been building to this moment for some time. “Do I agree with him? Not necessarily,” former Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), who served with Emanuel in Congress, told JI. “But this is not a breakthrough position. He’s expressed those concerns for years.”

David Axelrod, a former chief strategist to Obama, likewise agreed in a text message to JI that “Rahm’s basic concerns about where Bibi is leading are not new,” using Netanyahu’s nickname. “Rahm, like a lot of us, has always believed a two-state solution was the only road to peace and Bibi has been deeply, irretrievably opposed and actively hostile to the notion.”

“You ask these questions like somehow I’ve changed. The prime minister used to articulate a two-state solution. He was for it. He’s the one that’s changed,” Emanuel said of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

One prominent Jewish Democrat, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss a charged issue, called Emanuel’s stance a practical response that “takes the wind out of the sails of the far left and the far right,” which have politicized funding for Israel. “As long as we’re giving aid to Israel, Americans will feel like they have a say in Israeli policy and how that investment is managed.”

But if that is Emanuel’s aim, he has not made it clear. In conversation with JI, he was hesitant to clarify his own positions when pressed. Asked if he would back Iron Dome funding, he said he had been “part of the financing” for a “joint project” that he called “key for Israel’s security” when it was first developed with the United States.

He declined to elaborate further about such aid. “U.S. taxpayers should not be in the position of subsidizing a country,” he reiterated. “You know my history with the Iron Dome,” he said. “I’m done. I’ve answered it.”

Though some allies of Emanuel are willing to indulge his views more favorably than other 2028 prospects with thinner resumes related to Middle East policy, a range of Jewish and pro-Israel organizations are now pushing back on his recent turn against U.S. military aid.

“It’s in America’s interests to keep our word and help a democratic partner shield innocent civilians from missiles,” Deryn Sousa, a spokesperson for AIPAC, told JI, referring to the Iron Dome. “Reneging on the Obama administration’s signed agreement with our closest ally in the Middle East would send a devastating message to our allies, empower our enemies and do nothing to advance peace.”

Brian Romick, president of Democratic Majority for Israel, said that “Israel’s situation is not comparable to our other close allies.”

“Unlike Japan, South Korea and Germany, Israel does not have permanent U.S. troops on the ground,” he told JI recently. “It’s also surrounded by enemies who actively want to wipe it off the face of the earth. U.S. security assistance reflects that reality and the significant strategic benefits the aid provides.”

Michael Makovsky, president and CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, told JI in a recent interview that he disagreed with Emanuel, even as he acknowledged the sentiment as a “legitimate view.” Still, he added that it is “in the U.S. interest” to continue providing military aid to Israel, “which anyway all goes to buying U.S. weaponry.”

Even some pro-Israel Democrats sympathetic to Emanuel and his perspective said his comments on military aid raise more questions than they answer. One influential Jewish Democrat who has long been acquainted with Emanuel, speaking on the condition of anonymity to address a sensitive topic, expressed concerns that ending aid to Israel could stoke further calls from the far left to condition military funding or block future weapons sales outright.

For his part, Emanuel avoided commenting on the question of Israel’s qualitative military edge, which the U.S. is legally obligated to ensure but allies say could suffer without military aid. “I feel like we’re taking the same question from 50 angles,” Emanuel told JI. “I want Israel to fight for peace the way it’s proven that it’s fought in the last three years. That’s what’s missing,” he said last week.

“You ask these questions like somehow I’ve changed,” Emanuel said earlier in the call. “The prime minister used to articulate a two-state solution. He was for it. He’s the one that’s changed.”

Following an attack last Thursday on Temple Israel and its early learning facility in West Bloomfield Township, Mich., the Jewish Federations of North America is making a renewed push for expanded security funding and resources to protect the Jewish community.

Since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel, antisemitic attacks have repeatedly prompted such efforts from Jewish community groups and advocates on Capitol Hill, but funding has remained stubbornly gridlocked. Currently, funding for community security under the Nonprofit Security Grant Program remains in limbo during the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, with no signs of movement in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

In a letter sent to every member of Congress on Friday, JFNA Chair Gary Torgow and President Eric Fingerhut highlighted the significant degree of security support that Temple Israel received from its own membership, from the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit and JFNA. 

“We are grateful that philanthropic funding and security planning played a decisive role in ensuring no harm came to any of the children or staff at Temple Israel,” the letter reads. “However, safeguarding communities at risk of violence is not the responsibility of philanthropic organizations. Rather, it is the government’s responsibility to protect its citizens in their places of worship and communal gathering.”

The letter emphasizes that the “Jewish community is under attack today like no other religious or ethnic group,” as a top target of hate crimes by a significant margin.

The letter urges increased funding for the NSGP at $1 billion and the prompt allocation of funds already appropriated that have not yet been disbursed for 2025. It also requests an end to restrictions on using NSGP funding to pay salaries for security personnel.

“The Jewish Community in Detroit has received important support from the state of Michigan and the Federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program, but the funding levels currently provided across the nation to protect our communities are simply not commensurate with the escalating threat landscape that American Jewish communities face daily,” the letter states.

The letter additionally asks Congress to ensure that NSGP applications are quickly opened and processed and that reimbursements are promptly fulfilled, following significant delays to funding grants and reimbursements last year.

It also calls for additional funding for FBI counterterrorism personnel and field offices that work to protect Jewish communities, and increased federal funding for local law enforcement to protect Jewish institutions, so that those institutions don’t have to pay for such protection themselves.

“Finally, we urge all our political leaders to take action to confront antisemitic-fueled violence in the public discourse and on social media,” the letter concludes. “This virulent ideology surging across the political spectrum utilizes rhetoric that either normalizes or minimizes such hatred, manifesting in dangerous consequences, potentially far worse than what took place today.”

The letter precedes a visit by Torgow, Detroit Federation CEO Steve Ingber, Temple Israel Rabbi Jennifer Lader and Detroit federation security director Gary Sikorski to Capitol Hill on Tuesday. The group is set to meet with both of Michigan’s senators and nearly every member of its House delegation.

As governors from across the country convened in Washington over the weekend for the annual National Governors Association summit, representatives from the Jewish Federations of North America held dozens of sideline meetings with Democratic officials to lobby them on a new education tax initiative, Josh Nason, JFNA’s senior director of political affairs, told Jewish Insider. 

Their goal was to educate those governors, some of whom were skeptical of the credit, and urge them to participate in the first-of-its-kind supplemental federal funding that could help pay for Jewish day school and yeshiva education. 

Starting in the 2027 tax year, the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit, part of President Donald Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, provides a dollar-for-dollar tax credit — up to $1,700 annually — for donations to approved Scholarship Granting Organizations. These SGOs offer scholarships for a variety of K-12 public and private education expenses, including private school tuition, transportation and tutoring. 

If states don’t opt in, taxpayers can still donate, but residents of that state won’t have the ability to be beneficiaries. 

“For Jewish day schools, it’s a huge opportunity,” Nason told JI following his meetings with both Democratic and Republican governors — the first time JFNA had a presence at NGA. 

The credit differs from school-choice programs “in the sense that it’s not taking money out of public school funds,” said Nason. “It’s just a tax credit that people can put toward a school scholarship option. The advocacy that we’re doing is [to raise awareness that] any individual can make this donation and get the tax credit, but a state has to opt in in order for their [SGOs] to be eligible to receive the funds.” 

While nearly all Republican governors have already opted in, their Democratic counterparts have been hesitant. Some critics have voiced concerns that the program has insufficient oversight against fraud or that it could divert public money to private schools. JFNA submitted written comments in December to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service regarding implementation of the tax credit. 

Last month, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis became the first Democratic state leader to opt his state into the program. States have the next several months to choose to participate. 

Nason said that in meetings with Democratic governors, “we heard a lot of interest in opting in.” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who serves as vice chair of the NGA, was among the officials JFNA met with. 

“A lot of the Democratic governors are waiting to understand the implications, especially for IRS regulations,” continued Nason. “We certainly heard a lot of positive reactions to it and a lot of openness to understanding it. It was really productive and a good opportunity to educate them.”

While the Orthodox Union has been active for years in lobbying for Jewish day school affordability, JFNA has only started wading into the issue in recent months. Eric Fingerhut, JFNA’s CEO, raised the topic during the group’s inaugural “State of the Jewish Union” address last week.

Meetings with governors were just the beginning of JFNA’s advocacy for the tax credit. The group also recently started conversations in Jewish communities to raise awareness about the opportunity for prospective day school students. 

“We at JFNA are leading the charge on this, but part of it is making sure there’s awareness out there,” Nason told JI. “We’ve been in touch with other partners. There’s significant interest from the denominations. We’ve had a generally positive response from everyone we’ve spoken to in the Jewish community as folks understand what can be done to make Jewish day schools more affordable. We are at the early stages of advocating for this.”

“We are doing outreach inside and outside the Jewish community,” said Nason. 

While the education tax credit could help many more families send their children to Jewish schools — which cost an average of $35,000 per student annually — the program is “not really a Jewish communal issue,” he continued. “There are a lot of other religious groups in the country sending their kids to private schools, and we want to get public school parents to understand that this can benefit their schools as well.” 

Jewish life in other areas could also be enhanced by the program, according to Nason, because “money coming into the system in other ways [allows for] more money in general that federations have to spend on projects.”

“This is a great opportunity for there to be funds available, and we would love to see all the states opt in,” he said. “For this program to be sustainable, it really needs to be nationwide. That’s the message we are sending.” 

This story was updated on Feb. 23 to reflect that JFNA representatives met with both Democratic and Republican governors.

As antisemitic incidents continue to roil Jewish communities nationwide, Jewish Federations of North America CEO Eric Fingerhut called on Congress to increase funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program to $1 billion annually and to “make the program more flexible and simpler to use.”   

Fingerhut also called on governors to support an educational tax credit on Thursday during JFNA’s inaugural “State of the Jewish Union” address at the organization’s Washington headquarters.

Fingerhut urged lawmakers to provide federal support for security personnel so that schools and synagogues don’t need to cover the costs; expand the FBI’s capabilities to detect and disrupt domestic terrorism; increase support for state and local law enforcement protecting Jewish institutions; hold social media companies accountable for antisemitic hate and incitement to violence through their platforms; and prosecute hate crimes “aggressively.”

The call for increased security comes as American Jews have faced several high-profile hate crimes in the past year, including the recent arson attack at Mississippi’s largest synagogue. Less than two weeks after the attack on Congregation Beth Israel in Jackson, ​​Congress put forward a budget of $300 million for NSGP for 2026. While that figure is a small increase from the funding provided in 2024 and 2025, it is lower than the allocations initially proposed by both the House and Senate and the amount requested by Jewish leaders. 

American Jews have responded to the increase of hate and the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in what JFNA coined as “the surge,” describing a rise in Jews engaging or seeking to engage more in communal life. 

According to the organization, enrollment in Jewish schools and camps remains high. “This is why we strongly support the new federal education scholarship tax credit and urge all 50 states to opt in so the funds can reach the families and schools in every community,” Fingerhut said on Thursday. 

JFNA confirmed to Jewish Insider that the group plans to hold sideline meetings with state leaders on Friday during the National Governors Association summit in Washington to encourage Democratic governors to participate in the education tax credit, which would create supplemental funding for scholarships for Jewish day school and yeshiva education. 

Though the anti-Israel encampments and disruptive protests that plagued college campuses in the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7 and the ensuing Israel-Hamas war have largely died down, a larger percentage of Jewish college students report having experienced antisemitism than ever before. Fingerhut encouraged passage of the bipartisan Protecting Students on Campus Act, which would require federally funded colleges and universities to inform students of their civil rights under Title VI and provide accessible information on how to file discrimination complaints.       

“The state of the Jewish union in America is strong, but it is being tested,” said Fingerhut. “We are united in our commitment to America and to Jewish life, even as we worry about the real threats of violence and the growing acceptance of antisemitic rhetoric.”

Following Fingerhut’s address, three heads of local federations shared challenges in addressing security and social needs in their communities. Rabbi Noah Farkas, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles; Scott Kaufman, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation; and Miryam Rosenzweig, president and CEO of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation echoed that — despite varying degrees of antisemitism in their communities — there is a significant “antisemitism tax,” an increased financial burden to protect Jewish institutions. 

“Every dollar we’re spending [on security] we can’t spend on the ‘joy’ part of being Jewish,” said Kaufman.  

Young American Jews have less of an emotional attachment to Israel than older Jews, but the overwhelming majority of all American Jews, across age groups, believes in Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state, new survey data from Jewish Federations of North America reveals. 

The results from the survey, which was conducted in March 2025 and released this week, makes clear that a baseline belief in Israel’s existence is still a consistent feature of American Jewish life among at least three-quarters of all Jews in the United States. At the same time, illustrating the complexities of the post-Oct. 7 landscape, one-third of young Jews describe themselves as anti-Zionist or non-Zionist.

Overall, nearly 9 in 10 American Jews believe in Israel’s right to exist, though there is a disparity among age groups. Ninety-eight percent of Jews between the ages of 55 and 74 believe in Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish, democratic state, compared to 76% of American Jews between 18 and 34. 

Among younger Jews, a majority still describe feeling emotionally attached to Israel, although there is a larger discrepancy from their parents’ generation. Fifty-seven percent of American Jews between 18 and 34 said they feel emotionally attached to Israel, compared to roughly three-quarters of Jewish Americans between 55 and 74. Among American Jews who are older than 75, 88% described feeling emotionally attached to Israel. 

According to the survey, fewer than half of American Jews — across nearly all age categories — identify as Zionists. Among those between the ages of 18 and 34, 35% identify as Zionist. Among Jews over 75, just 33% identify as a Zionist. 

JFNA’s chief impact officer, Mimi Kravetz, argued in a Jewish Telegraphic Agency op-ed explaining the survey results that Jews’ reluctance to describe themselves as Zionists, while agreeing with the fundamental tenets of Zionism, is a result of misperceptions about the word, which Kravetz said had experienced “definition creep,” shaped by “political agendas, public discourse, and broader social forces.” 

She urged Jewish advocates to respond with unity and a recommitment to the term’s earliest definition. 

“For us, Zionism means supporting the State of Israel and the Israeli people and uniting the Jewish people behind this shared commitment,” Kravetz wrote. 

But while relatively few American Jews describe themselves as Zionists across age groups, the data shows that far more young Jews identify as anti-Zionists or non-Zionists than older Jews. About one-third (32%) of Jews between 18 and 34 describe themselves as anti-Zionists or non-Zionists. That’s a much larger number than any other demographic: 13% of Jews between 35 and 44 say the same, compared to 15% of Jews between 45 and 54, 1% of Jews between 55 and 64, 4% of Jews between 65 and 74 and 9% of Jews older than 75. 

As 2,000 Jewish philanthropists, activists and professionals prepared to leave Washington on Tuesday as the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly wrapped up, they heard a stern warning from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): Americans must confront antisemitism on both sides, including the right; if they don’t, the nation will face an “existential crisis.” 

“I do not want to wake up in five years and find that both major parties in America have embraced hatred of Israel and have tolerated, if not embraced, antisemitism,” Cruz said.

Cruz has become the most prominent Republican elected official speaking out against a rising tide of right-wing antisemitism. But the weeks following podcaster Tucker Carlson’s interview with neo-Nazi provocateur Nick Fuentes have sparked a reckoning for Republicans, including some who until recently considered antisemitism to be primarily a left-wing phenomenon.

That internal tension was on full display at a Tuesday afternoon conference hosted by the conservative National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism. The group was until recently affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, until the conservative think tank’s president came to Carlson’s defense. Earlier this month the task force members voted to cut ties with Heritage.  

The NTFCA gathering, arranged in less than two weeks after the group’s split from Heritage, took place in a basement ballroom at The Line Hotel in Washington. About 100 people were in attendance, among them representatives from Jewish advocacy groups including the Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Federations of North America and Combat Antisemitism Movement.

The event’s organizers — NTFCA co-chairs Ellie Cohanim, who served as deputy antisemitism special envoy in the first Trump administration; Mario Bramnick, a Florida pastor and president of the Latino Coalition for Israel; and Luke Moon, a pastor and executive director of the Philos Project — took the opportunity to forcefully reject Carlson and other far-right media figures who are gaining clout among conservatives by attacking Israel and its backers, and to issue a call for conservatives to join them in calling out growing animosity toward Jews. They don’t think enough people are doing so. 

“I remember Luke, early on, said, ‘Mario, keep your eye on the right.’ I said, ‘Well, look, that’s a fringe. It’s not really important,’” Bramnick said. “But now we’re seeing a very troubling development during President Trump’s second administration within the MAGA movement: antisemitic acts coming from MAGA movement leaders.” The Project Esther report that the task force developed with Heritage last year was focused solely on left-wing antisemitism. 

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee delivered remarks via video. “There is so much antisemitism around the world today. But what perhaps is most troubling to me is that it is not just rising up on the far left,” Huckabee said. 

Two other Trump administration officials also spoke: Justice Department senior counsel Leo Terrell, who said combating antisemitism “is the American thing to do,” and former Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC), Trump’s nominee for international religious freedom ambassador. 

Trump, meanwhile, defended Carlson this week when he was asked about the right-wing podcaster’s interview with Fuentes. 

The convening was a launchpad for a new movement of conservative activists willing to take on antisemitism within their own party. It saw staunch partisans stake out surprising positions, like when Zionist Organization of America President Morton Klein said he was “disappointed” that Trump claimed not to know much about Fuentes.

“The fight on the left is still happening. That is not done. That is a work that still has to go on. But we now have an emergent threat on the right,” Moon said. “It’s the early days of this war. I don’t feel like we did win the last battle, but we didn’t lose yet either.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) upped the ante on his recent rhetoric targeting right-wing podcaster Tucker Carlson, telling a gathering of Jewish leaders in Washington that calling out antisemitism from Carlson and his Republican allies is necessary to defend American values. He said America faces an “existential crisis” if the rising antisemitism on the American right is not addressed.

“I do not want to wake up in five years and find that the Republican Party has become like the Democrat Party,” Cruz said on Tuesday at the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly, which brought together 2,000 philanthropists, activists and Jewish communal professionals. “I do not want to wake up in five years and find that both major parties in America have embraced hatred of Israel and have tolerated, if not embraced, antisemitism.”

The conservative movement has faced internal division and tensions since Carlson hosted neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes on his podcast last month. 

By digging in on his campaign against Carlson, Cruz further separated himself from President Donald Trump, who on Sunday night offered praise for the former Fox News host when he was asked about Carlson’s decision to do a friendly interview with Fuentes. 

“He said good things about me over the years. I think he’s good,” Trump said. “You can’t tell him who to interview.” 

Cruz, meanwhile, has gone after Carlson in increasingly sharp messages, after having his own heated interview with the podcaster in June — including at the recent Republican Jewish Coalition conference in Las Vegas, then at a Federalist Society conference in Washington and now at the GA. 

In his latest speech, he did more than calling out Carlson and his Republican enablers. He made the case that countering Carlson’s influence is necessary for the future of America.

“That is a poison that not only does damage to Israel. That is a poison that does damage to America,” Cruz said. “And if we’re going to stop it, we’re going to stop it because we stand up and say, ‘No, this is not who we are. This is not what we believe. This is not what the Constitution and the Declaration [of Independence] were all about. This is not what America was all about.’”

At the GA, Cruz was addressing a friendly audience who had spent two days immersed in programming about antisemitism in America. But he warned that many people are not fully grasping the scope of the problem. He described a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this year where, he said, Netanyahu tried to push back on the idea that right-wing antisemitism was a threat. 

“I’ll tell you, he actually was a little dismissive of that. He said, ‘No, no, no, that’s Qatar, that’s Iran, that’s bots,’” Cruz said. “My response: ‘Mr. Prime Minister, yes, but no. Yes, that’s happening. Yes, there are millions of dollars being spent to spread this poison. Yes, that’s happening online. But it is real and organic.’”

The misunderstanding, Cruz said, also exists in the Christian world.

“My message to the Christians is, this poison is spreading. There are pastors who love Israel, who think all is fine,” Cruz said. “My message to them is, ‘Go and talk to the teenagers in your congregation. Go and talk to the 20-somethings in your congregation, because they’re picking up their phone and they’re watching Tiktok and they’re watching Instagram, and they’re hearing this message being driven, and it is resonating.’”

The answer, Cruz said, is for other public officials — Republicans in particular — to speak out. But what’s at stake, he argued, is more than just their party or the Jewish community. He made the case that they must do so for the good of America. 

“My hope is that we see other Republicans willing to stand up, willing to stand up and to be clear, willing to draw a line,” he said. “This is a fight worth fighting. Saving America is worth fighting. Bringing us back to our founding principles — that is worth fighting.” 

Longtime Democratic official Rahm Emanuel offered a word of warning on Sunday night to the thousands of Jewish communal leaders gathered in Washington to kick off the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly: Don’t expect 2028 presidential candidates to visit Israel like his old boss, Barack Obama, did on the campaign trail in 2008. He used an ice cream metaphor to make his point.

“If in 2024 the Democrats didn’t have a choice, in 2028 it’s going to be like Baskin-Robbins. There’s gonna be, like, 31 flavors. Some of us are gonna be chocolate mint. Nobody is going to Jerusalem,” Emanuel said at the opening plenary. “Nobody is leaving America to go travel to Jerusalem. That’s the politics. And it’s not just in the Democratic primary.” 

Emanuel, Obama’s former chief of staff and the former U.S. ambassador to Japan, beseeched the attendees to reckon with the shifting political winds on Israel and work to make a stronger case for the U.S.-Israel relationship. 

“For the generation under 30, the last two years will be as seminal a definition as what the Six-Day War was for those six days for a generation. We have our work cut out for us,” said Emanuel, who acknowledged that his message may not make him popular in a room of pro-Israel professionals. “This may be the last time I’m asked to speak to you.” 

Emanuel has discussed the possibility of running for president in 2028, and this year has positioned himself as an independent-minded truth-teller willing to break with Democratic Party talking points. He urged the Jewish leaders, who are in Washington for a three-day conference focused on philanthropy and advocacy, to take stock of the task that awaits them.

“The task here is a major long-term rehabilitation of the narrative around what Israel needs, and if we don’t understand the depth of where we are, we’re never going to fix the problem,” said Emanuel, who was speaking on a panel with conservative CNN analyst Scott Jennings. 

Emanuel described the American Jewish community as being “on the precipice,” when asked about a 2024 Atlantic article that argued that antisemitism on both sides of the aisle threatens to end the so-called “golden age” of American Jewish life. 

“Whether that era, that golden era, closes or stays open for another generation is not only incumbent upon the people in this room, but incumbent upon all of us who believe in a set of values that, as noted, are universal,” he said. “I think what we’re seeing on the left and the right, not only about Israel, but now fully open about Jews and who they are, sits on the precipice. It can go either way.”

A majority of Jewish Americans see antisemitism as a common Jewish experience, according to a new joint study, released on Monday, commissioned by the Jewish Federations of North America and Anti-Defamation League.  

According to the “Portrait of Antisemitic Experiences in the U.S.,” which relied on two nationally representative surveys of Jewish Americans and was conducted in partnership with Columbia University researchers, 55% of those surveyed experienced at least one form of antisemitism over the past year. Over half (57%) also said antisemitism is now a normal Jewish experience. 

The immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel and the start of the war in Gaza fueled a record-breaking wave of antisemitic incidents. Such incidents increased by 5% in 2024, according to the ADL’s tally. The results mark an 893% increase over the past decade.

Over one-third (36%) of those surveyed witnessed actual or threatened antisemitic violence, and 44% had experienced exclusion or minimization based on their Jewish identity. One in five respondents (21%) who have witnessed an antisemitic attack reported signs of depression. 

Forty-one percent of Jews reported having experienced online antisemitism. Other contexts where antisemitism was found included: public spaces (reported by 21% of Jews), educational institutions (13%), near Jewish institutions (9%) and the workplace (9%). 

Nearly four-fifths of Jews (79%) expressed concern about antisemitism, and 48% have taken actions to increase their personal security. (As part of that group, 14% of Jewish respondents said they had made plans to leave the country, while nine percent said they had purchased a gun.) 

The JFNA study surveyed 1,877 Jewish Americans by text message in six geographic areas between March 5-March 25, 2025, with a +/- 2.26% margin of error.

The ADL study surveyed 2,982 Jewish Americans by text message in 12 geographic and age categories between May 27-July 6, 2025, with a +/-3.2% margin of error.  

The ADL’s audits have been criticized for changing its methodology of what constitutes an antisemitic incident while still comparing data year-to-year in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack. After Oct. 7, the organization began including “expressions of opposition to Zionism, as well as support for resistance against Israel or Zionists” — for instance, spray-painting “Free Gaza” graffiti — which resulted in a significant increase in the number of incidents in the 2023 audit. But even without the inclusion of anti-Zionist messaging as antisemitism, antisemitic incidents still would have doubled from 2022 to 2023. 

“It is so profoundly sad that Jewish Americans are now discussing worst-case scenarios,” Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO, said in a statement. “When American Jews – who have built lives, careers and families here for generations – are making contingency plans to flee, we must recognize this as a five-alarm fire for our entire country. This is not just a Jewish problem; it’s an American problem that demands immediate action from leaders at every level.”

A trend that Jewish Federations dubbed “the Surge” — a significant increase in Jewish engagement that was brought on by the Oct. 7 attacks — continues, according to the study, but at slightly lower levels than in 2024. Nearly one-third (31%) of American Jews reported increased participation in Jewish life, down from 43% last year. A survey from JFNA last month showed that ​​the impact of “the surge” is waning more quickly among Jews from minority populations, including LGBTQ Jews, Jews of color, Jews with disabilities and financially vulnerable Jews, than it is among the broader Jewish community. 

Eric Fingerhut, CEO of JFNA, lauded the nearly two-thirds of those surveyed who directly experienced antisemitism but “are responding by deepening their Jewish involvement.”

That “demonstrates the extraordinary resilience of our people,” said Fingerhut. “Rather than retreating in fear, American Jews are choosing to stand together, strengthen their bonds and affirm their identity.” 

In the aftermath of the deadly Oct. 7 attacks two years ago, American Jews were pulled off the sidelines and got much more involved in Jewish life — a trend, dubbed “the surge,” that has continued into a second year, according to a survey released this spring. 

But a further breakdown of that survey data, shared this week by the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), shows that the impact of “the surge” is waning more quickly among Jews from minority populations, including LGBTQ Jews, Jews of color, Jews with disabilities and financially vulnerable Jews, than it is among the broader Jewish community. 

The survey found that 31% of Jewish respondents said this year that they are engaging more with the Jewish community now than before Oct. 7, down from 43% last year — still significant post-Oct. 7 growth, but slightly down from the immediate aftermath. But among historically marginalized populations, that decrease was even more pronounced. 

“We’re sad and disheartened to see that these marginalized groups are engaging so much less than they were at this time last year,” JFNA’s chief impact and growth officer, Mimi Kravetz, told Jewish Insider on Wednesday. “It’s still higher than baseline. There’s still people showing up more. But there has been a more significant drop among these most marginalized groups.” 

Roughly one-fifth of people with an LGBTQ+ member of their household say they are now engaging more with the Jewish community in 2025, down from 49% from the year before. Among Jews who are not white and Ashkenazi, 30% of people are “surging” this year, a decrease from 57% the year before. Thirty-two percent of financially vulnerable Jews are “surging” now, compared to 49% a year earlier. 

Across these different populations, there is no single answer as to why there was a sharper decline in engagement than among the broader Jewish community. The Jewish leaders analyzing this data have not yet identified what they think accounts for the disparity, but they have some ideas — and suspect that some of the differential can be explained by simmering tensions over Israel.

Overall, the JFNA survey found that roughly one-third of American Jews believe conversations about the war in Gaza are “negatively impacting community engagement and belonging,” according to a presentation for Jewish community stakeholders hosted by JFNA on Tuesday. Thirty-five percent feel that if they shared their views on Israel, they wouldn’t be welcome in the Jewish community. 

But just because people are sometimes afraid to voice their opinion, that doesn’t mean they are all in alignment. Similar percentages of American Jews feel the community is too hard-line in its support for Israel (39%) and feel that it is not outspoken enough in its support for Israel (34%). 

Among LGBTQ Jews, or those who live with someone LGBTQ, “we do see a slightly lower sense of pride and emotional attachment to Israel, and we do see that they are more likely to believe that the community is too hard-line in its support of Israel,” Kravetz offered as one possible explanation for why the community is now “surging” less. 

That’s different from financially vulnerable Jews, who are “more likely to feel pride in an emotional attachment to Israel than the general Jewish public,” Kravetz said on the webinar. One challenge for them may be a sense of feeling uninformed compared to others in the community. 

“They’re actually far less likely to say that this issue of the community and Israel is affecting their sense of engagement and belonging,” she added. “They are much more likely, though, to say that they don’t know enough to participate in the conversation.” 

But the Israel hypothesis falls short when looking at why Jews of color are “surging” less than a year ago. “Their views actually mirror the general population,” said Kravetz. But part of that may account for diversity within the broad “Jews of color” umbrella — which encompasses Mizrahi Jews, Black Jews, Latinos and more. 

The data is particularly concerning for Jewish leaders who had invested in understanding diverse segments of the community and helping them feel more included. But the same barriers that existed before Oct. 7 are still present.

“What’s really affecting their sense of surge and engagement and belonging are the same things that affected them prior to Oct. 7, and those are that they need to see a reflection of themselves in leaders and other participants,” said Kravetz. “They need space to show up as their whole self, whatever that looks like for them. They need to see visible evidence of diversity and inclusion policies and practice, and that those policies will be followed, and they need to know before they enter.” 

In a letter to members of the House Homeland Security Committee’s Counterterrorism and Intelligence subcommittee, the Jewish Federations of North America highlighted the significant security costs facing the Jewish community, as advocates push for additional security assistance from the federal government at a time of heightened antisemitism.

The JFNA letter states that, nationally, the Jewish community spends more than $765 million each year on security expenses, and that 14% of the annual budget of “a typical Jewish organization” is dedicated to security costs.

The letter highlights that each security guard typically costs Jewish institutions $90,000 annually, while a community security director costs $160,000.

“We also know that these measures are critical for Jewish life to flourish, finding that 60% of Jews say that security precautions make them feel safer,” the letter reads. “They see the addition of police, security guards, and hardening of buildings as the most effective.”

“It is a fundamental right for all Americans to practice their faith freely and without threats and intimidation,” the letter continues. “We urge this Subcommittee to advance concrete, bipartisan solutions that address the growing threat environment and reflect the urgent needs of faith-based and vulnerable communities nationwide.”

JFNA has called on lawmakers to provide $1 billion annually for the chronically underfunded Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which helps nonprofits offset security costs. In 2024, 36% of security grant recipients were Jewish institutions, including synagogues and Jewish community centers.

“As you head to your districts for the upcoming recess, we wanted to call your attention to the immense financial burden the Jewish community faces simply to keep itself safe,” the letter reads. “With antisemitic incidents and attacks continuing to grow, it is critical that Congress act to defend faith communities.”

The letter reiterates the NSGP funding request, as well as other issues on which JFNA and other Jewish organizations have advocated, including dedicated federal funding for security guards, expanding efforts to counter domestic terrorism, increasing funding for state and local law enforcement, addressing antisemitism on social media and forcefully prosecuting hate crimes.

“These are not abstract priorities,” the letter states. “They reflect what we hear every day from communities on the ground that are being forced to divert vital resources to pay for armed guards, harden facilities, and live in fear.”

Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced bipartisan legislation last week aimed at eliminating loopholes used by museums and other stakeholders to continue possessing Nazi-looted artwork that Jewish families have been trying to recover.

Introduced on Thursday, the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act would expand on Cornyn’s 2016 legislation of the same name, which was passed at the time by unanimous consent, by ending the Dec. 31, 2026, sunset date on the original bill and strengthen the existing procedural protections to ensure that victims’ claims are not dismissed due to non-merit-based factors such as time constraints. 

“The artwork wrongfully ripped from Jewish hands during the Holocaust bears witness to a chapter in history when evil persisted and the worst of humanity was on full display. I’m proud to introduce this legislation to support the Jewish people and Holocaust survivors by helping them recover art confiscated by the Nazis that they are rightfully owed and give them the justice and restitution they deserve,” Cornyn said in a statement. 

“The theft of art by the Nazi regime was more than a pilfering of property — it was an act of inhumanity. Our bipartisan effort seeks to strengthen measures to bring long overdue justice to families whose cherished art was brazenly stolen by the Nazis,” Blumenthal said. 

Many families of Holocaust victims in the U.S. who have located artwork from deceased relatives and sued to recover those items face the deadline at the end of next year before the statute of limitations sets in. Thousands of stolen works of art remain unreturned to their rightful owners from the Nazi plunder, and there are scores of ongoing cases to resolve disputes over ownership of those items. 

“Unfortunately, many museums, governments, and institutions have contradicted Congress’ intent and obstructed justice by stonewalling legitimate claims, obscuring provenance, and employing aggressive legal tactics designed to exhaust and outlast Survivors and their families. Rather than embracing transparency and reconciliation, too many have chosen to entrench and litigate, effectively preserving possession of stolen works rather than returning them to their rightful owners,” a press release for the bill states.

Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Fetterman (D-PA), Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and Katie Britt (R-AL) co-sponsored the bill, which was endorsed by a number of Jewish organizations including Agudath Israel of America, the American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Federations of North America, StandWithUs and World Jewish Congress, among others. 

“This legislation helps to right a historic wrong committed during one of the darkest chapters in history. By eliminating unnecessary legal obstacles, the HEAR Act establishes a clear path to restitution for Holocaust survivors and their families, ensuring that art and cultural property stolen by the Nazis can finally be returned to their rightful owners,” Tillis said.

Fetterman said in a statement, “Eighty years after the Holocaust, we have a moral responsibility to do right by the victims of these atrocities and their families. I’m grateful to join my colleagues from both sides of the aisle in introducing the HEAR Act to help return artwork stolen by the Nazis to its rightful owners.”

In a letter sent to key members of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees on Friday, a coalition of 23 Jewish groups, spanning a range of political and denominational positions, urged Congress to “provide the highest possible funding” in 2025 for the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.

The widespread support for funding for the office, known as OCR, is notable given political divisions over the issue on Capitol Hill. Democrats critical of Republicans’ approach to combating antisemitism on campuses have emphasized calls for increased funding for the office. Some Republicans, meanwhile, have downplayed the need for additional funding for the office, often arguing that it has the resources it needs but must better prioritize antisemitism cases.

But calls for increased funding span the political spectrum. In the 2024 funding process, a bipartisan group of 51 lawmakers urged Congress to provide funding in excess of the administration’s budget request for OCR.

House Republicans sought to cut funding to OCR, the office responsible for investigating complaints of antisemitism on campuses, for 2024. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has said the office’s staff are severely overstretched, with each staffer working 50 cases in light of a post-Oct. 7 surge in complaints.

OCR received $140 million for 2024, the same funding it received in 2023, falling $37.6 million below the administration’s request. The administration requested $162 million for OCR for 2025.

“It is Congress’s responsibility to ensure that OCR has the resources it needs to conduct immediate and robust investigations into these complaints. OCR cannot protect the rights, safety and wellbeing of students if it does not have adequate resources to appropriately investigate and respond to its increased caseload,” the letter reads.

The signatories include the Anti-Defamation League, Alpha Epsilon Phi Sorority, Alpha Epsilon Pi, American Jewish Committee, B’nai B’rith International, Combat Antisemitism Movement, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Hadassah, Hillel International, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Jewish Federations of North America, Jewish Grad Organization, Jewish on Campus, Olami, National Council of Jewish Women, Rabbinical Assembly, Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity, Sigma Delta Tau, StandWithUs, Union for Reform Judaism, Orthodox Union, Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity and Zionist Organization of America.

They include liberal, nonpartisan and conservative-leaning Jewish groups, as well as groups representing the Reform, Conservative and Orthodox denominations.

The groups, the letter states, “reflect the depth and breadth of American Jewish life [and] are united in asking your urgent support to combat growing antisemitism on university campuses.”

The letter highlights data showing that cases of antisemitism on college campuses have “skyrocketed” since Oct. 7, and that OCR is facing “a surge in reported cases” alongside a reported 10% reduction in full-time staff.