• We’re monitoring the situation in Israel and Lebanon after Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam slammed “attacks, incursions, demolitions and the systematic destruction of homes” in parts of southern Lebanon.
• Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, meanwhile, said the IDF was “destroying all the houses” in the established buffer zone between the countries as it prepares for a “long-term presence” in the area, prompting a rebuke from a State Department official, who said, without naming Katz, that a “permanent military presence in south Lebanon is not consistent with the commitments made in the framework or the long-term peace and security of both states.”
• We’re also keeping an eye on developments in the West Bank, as extremist settlers attempt a siege on a home owned by a Palestinian American family in the village of Qusra. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee criticized the “horrific act of terror” targeting the home and its residents, who according to a relative in the U.S. were evacuated by the IDF.
• In Washington, the Hudson Institute is holding an event this morning looking at the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran nearly six months after the launch of Operation Epic Fury. Speakers include the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Behnam Ben Taleblu, the Hudson Institute’s Michael Doran and Zineb Riboua, and former State Department official Ludovic Hood, who recently joined Hudson’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East as a senior fellow.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who is openly considering a presidential campaign in 2028, made waves over the weekend when she declared that “Woke 1.0 was crazy” in a nationally televised ABC News interview where she distanced herself from the most unpopular elements of the progressive movement. 

Left unsaid during the conversation is what specific policies in the party’s last activist wave does she think were crazy, and does she still agree with any of them? After all, the platform of the Democratic Socialists of America currently outlines many of the same issues that played a role in Democrats’ defeat in 2024 — from progressive candidates’ support for defunding the police to the Biden administration’s open-ended immigration policy that led to the second Trump administration’s harsh crackdown on refugees and undocumented immigrants. 

Presumably, she’ll be asked to answer more of the specifics in subsequent interviews. But the implication of her comments was that it’s hard for Democrats to publicly embrace the panoply of left-wing issues that became liberal conventional wisdom around the time of the pandemic without suffering a significant political penalty. Democrats aren’t exactly speaking the language of climate change activists or transgender advocates or supporting watering down penalties for criminals anymore, as was commonplace in 2020.  

But they aren’t confronting the far-left forces that drove these issues to the forefront of the conversation for much of the last decade, either. The scandal surrounding Francesca Hong’s view of Thanksgiving as a “colonizer holiday” and Abdul El-Sayed’s comments bashing football, July 4 fireworks and Mackinac Island only underscore the impression that their deeply-held views are at odds with a majority of Americans. 

And meanwhile, the DSA faction is as influential as ever in Democratic Party politics. How did that happen, even as a prominent progressive like AOC now acknowledges the excesses of the far left? It’s because the activists have refocused their attention away from their (still deeply held) unpopular social and cultural positions, and are now singularly focused on demanding candidates label Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza as a genocide. That’s the biggest litmus test right now. And their efforts are aided by the overall decline in support for Israel within the Democratic Party that’s accelerated in the last year.

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at local Jewish political organizing efforts in major cities across the country.

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

• The Middle East remains on edge after President Donald Trump called off plans to launch “the biggest attack since World War II” targeting Iran, saying on Sunday that he was persuaded by Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to again attempt to reach a diplomatic solution with Tehran. Trump said that talks with Iran are slated to restart today, while the Islamic Republic denied that talks were set to take place.
• Jay Clayton assumes his role today as director of national intelligence, following his confirmation vote last week to replace ODNI interim head Bill Pulte, who briefly served as acting director following Tulsi Gabbard‘s resignation.
• The Israel on Campus Coalition is holding its annual National Leadership Summit in Washington. More below.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR

Michigan will take center stage this week as it holds its marquee Senate primary and consequential down-ballot races that showcase the divide between the Democratic mainstream and its left-wing, anti-Israel activists.

But Missouri is playing the role of the must-watch undercard, with the rematch between Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO) and Democratic Socialists of America-aligned former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) marking another significant bellwether contest between the center and the left.

Bell, a stalwart supporter of Israel who was championed by AIPAC in both of his congressional campaigns, is facing a changed political environment within the Democratic Party with public opinion turning against the Jewish state. 

Bell defeated Bush by five points in 2024, but the race could end up being closer this time around given the ascendance of socialist candidates in urban, deep-blue districts like Missouri’s First District. 

Bush, however, has myriad other vulnerabilities beyond her far-left policy views, from missed votes during her time in Congress to ethical questions surrounding her handling of campaign funds. 

Bell is also being boosted by outside groups, led by the AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project super PAC, which has spent over $2.6 million in the race hitting Bush, along with the New Democrat Coalition-affiliated super PAC, which has poured in just over $1 million on Bell’s behalf. Bell has also outspent Bush on the airwaves by about a ten-to-one margin, according to the Cook Political Report.

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

History Lesson: In The New York Times, Mehrzad Boroujerdi reflects on his father’s 1978 killing by Iranian revolutionaries, some of whom are now among the Islamic Republic’s top officials. “The United States and Israel have yet to learn that the Iranian regime is not made of papier-mâché, and the Islamic republic’s confrontational ideology is unlikely to dissipate anytime soon. The men in uniform showed no hesitation in killing thousands of their compatriots in January — a national trauma that Iranian society has yet to fully process. They will continue to practice a politics of performance for domestic audiences even as they recognize that the regime’s social contract is both morally bankrupt and fiscally unsustainable.” [NYTimes]

Threat to the West: In The Wall Street Journal, Lorenzo Vidino, the head of The George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, warns of the dangers of political Islam’s impact that have largely been misunderstood by successive U.S. presidential administrations. “Save for the years immediately after Sept. 11, 2001, there has been no concerted effort within U.S. law-enforcement and policy communities to acquire a deep institutional understanding of Islamist networks worldwide. A particular lack of understanding exists on how Islamists are using the American political and educational systems to advance their aims — dynamics that have become apparent in the past few years.” [WSJ]

Rise of the Far Right: Politico’s Kathy Gilsinan does a deep dive into concerns among Republicans over the rise of “groypers” in the party, who are beginning to gain professional footholds in Washington and in the conservative space. “If, as the adage goes, personnel is policy, the stakes are significantly higher than intergenerational trash talk, given the degree to which government staffers, across branches, effectively run the country. Student government types become interns become policy aides become senior advisers, chiefs of staff and even heads of agencies. If the conservative personnel pipeline is changing, Republican government will change with it.” [Politico]

Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our new app (on Apple and Android) and website.

A new survey of K Street leaders from Punchbowl News focused on the war with Iran and memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran found that 65% of respondents believed that Israel’s involvement in the war with Iran had a negative impact on its outcome…

The New York Times looks at the cyberattacks targeting water facilities in at least seven states, finding that evidence indicates potential Iranian involvement…

Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Tim Sheehy (R-MT) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) introduced a resolution condemning the Iranian government’s human rights abuses…

Senate Appropriations Committee leaders finalized a stopgap funding bill that would, at least temporarily, prevent the Trump administration from putting political appointees in charge of approving federal grants, a plan that had raised concerns on both sides of the aisle…

A district court judge dismissed a complaint filed against The George Washington University by alumni of the school alleging that the school allowed “pervasive and severe” antisemitism on campus, citing the length of the complaint; the judge gave the plaintiffs until the end of August to refile an amended complaint…

The New York Times reports from a national meeting of the Democratic Socialists of America, finding an invigorated activist base that struggled at times to find consensus on issues regarding policy and organizing…

Boy George split from his manager, Paul Kemsley, after the latter pulled the performer from a two-week West End run of “Jesus Christ Superstar” after Boy George posted a reggae song with pro-Israel lyrics…

The Minnesota Twins acquired starting pitcher Dean Kremer, the first Israeli player drafted by a Major League Baseball team and a great-nephew of Haim Saban, from the Baltimore Orioles…

FIFA President Gianni Infantino is facing mounting criticism from the governing bodies of European, North American and Central American football leagues following his proposal to privatize FIFA — which originated last year with secret talks between Infantino and Josh Kushner; Bloomberg reports that Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the chairman of Qatar Sports Investments and president of the Paris Saint-Germain team, has the backing of some European sports officials…

The New York Times reports on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s decision to feature an exhibition on designer John Galliano and honor him at its annual Met Gala despite a 2011 outburst in which he proclaimed, “I love Hitler”; the Times notes that Galliano participated in a May meeting with former Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour and New York City Jewish leaders over the decisions…

The Washington Post follows up on a May story about a trove of WWII-era love letters written by a Jewish soldier Louis “Speedy” Weber to his eventual wife, Frances, after finding the couple’s nephew…

The people’s choice award of the Archibald Prize, Australia’s top portraiture honor, was given to artist Michael Zavros for his portrait of Australian Jewish leader Alex Ryvchin following the December 2025 terror attack at a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach…

The Wall Street Journal spotlights tech entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan’s effort to create an incubator for new countries in a sparsely inhabited Malaysian city that fell apart after the project faced government scrutiny following a social media post alleging that the incubator included participants with Israeli citizenship in violation of Malaysian laws…

CNN does a deep dive into increasing incitement in Israel against journalists, who accuse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political allies of stoking animus toward reporters in the country…

Ugandan officials unveiled a statue of Yonatan Netanyahu, the older brother of the Israeli prime minister, at the airport in Entebbe where the elder Netanyahu was killed during the 1976 hostage-rescue operation following the hijacking of a passenger plane by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine…

Former Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), the first Republican woman from Texas elected to serve in the House, died on Sunday at 83…

Find on-demand Live Briefing updates throughout the day via our new app (on Apple and Android) and website.

Members of Israel’s lacrosse team celebrated on Sunday after scoring a goal during the bronze medal match between Israel and Haudenosaunee, made up of Native American nations, during the 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship in Tokyo. Israel came in third in the tournament overall after its win over Haudenosaunee.

Retired head coach of both the NFL’s KC Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills, the oldest-ever living member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Marv Levy turns 101… 

English actor, author, playwright and theatre director, known for his roles as the villain in both “James Bond” and “Rambo” films, Steven Berkoff turns 89… EVP emeritus of the UJA-Federation of New York, John S. Ruskay turns 80… Retired regional director in the Cleveland office of the ADL, she serves on the board of trustees of the Cleveland Federation, Anita Gray… Former chairman and CEO of the North America office of commercial real estate brokerage firm Savills, he is a past member of AIPAC’s Real Estate Division Executive Council, Mitchell S. Steir turns 71… Voice actor in dozens of Disney films, video games and television programs, known professionally as Corey Burton, Corey Gregg Weinberg turns 71… Former chair of the board of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles and board member of JFNA, Orna Amir Wolens… CEO and co-founder of D.C.-based Freedman Consulting, LLC, Thomas Z. Freedman turns 63… Co-founder of Pushkin Industries, a podcast company, Jacob Weisberg… Israeli filmmaker, producer and director, Ilan Moskovitch turns 60…  Canadian entrepreneur and former commodities trader, Alexander Shnaider turns 58… Executive director of public affairs at the Jewish Federation of Broward County (Florida), Evan Goldman… Emmy Award-winning sportscaster, she sometimes serves as a fill-in for her husband, Rich Eisen, Suzy Shuster turns 54… Managing editor of Vital City, Josh Greenman… U.S. senator (D-CT), Chris Murphy turns 53… Chief advancement and communications officer at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, Joshua Cherwin… Senior vice president of public policy at Riot Platforms, Brian Morgenstern… Senior editor of Commentary magazine, Seth A. Mandel turns 44… Managing partner and head of global government affairs at SoftBank Group International, Jeffrey A. Dressler turns 42… Director of strategic partnerships and senior development officer at JDC (the “Joint”), Erica Greenblatt… Caroline “Carrie” Keller-Lynn… Director of member engagement at Christians United For Israel, she was born in Lutsk, Ukraine and raised in Sacramento, California, Liliya Maskovcevs… Executive director of The Natan Fund, Adina Poupko … Executive director of the Reducetarian Foundation (a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing meat consumption), Brian Kateman… Fashion model and entrepreneur, founder of the “Kode with Klossy” nonprofit and founder and CEO of Bedford Media, Karlie Kloss turns 34… U.S. news editor at the Financial Times, Emily Goldberg… First-round pick of MLB’s Atlanta Braves in the 2020 draft, he made his MLB debut in 2023, now in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, Jared Shuster turns 28… Ariana Kaufman… Founder-director of Meeting Your Mission, Leslie Rosen Stern… Leigh Bonner Levine… Co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Washington Reporter, Matthew Foldi…

• World leaders — including President Donald Trump — are traveling to Turkey today ahead of the start of the NATO Ankara Summit tomorrow.
• A number of Israeli officials are reportedly expected to travel to the U.S. in the coming weeks for meetings with their American counterparts amid floundering U.S.-Iran talks. Trump told Axios that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had asked for a meeting, which could take place soon after Trump returns from Turkey, while i24News reports that Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is expected to meet next week in Washington with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
• Funeral proceedings for former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that began over the weekend continued today with the slain leader’s funeral. Three of Khamenei’s sons have been seen at the ceremonies, though Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father following an Israeli strike on the first day of the war, has yet to make a public appearance.
• Allen & Co.’s annual Sun Valley retreat is taking place this week in Idaho. Those expected to attend this year include David Ellison, David Zaslav, Barry Diller, Bob Iger, Mark Zuckerberg, Alex Karp, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Bari Weiss, Jared Kushner and Josh Kushner.
• The Christians United For Israel Summit continues today in Washington, with its annual Night to Honor Israel dinner scheduled for tonight.
• In Jerusalem, the National Library of Israel is marking the U.S.’ semiquincentennial with an evening event focused on “Celebrating America at 250.”
• Startup Nation Central founder Wendy Singer will moderate a conversation between Rabbi Abi Dauber Sterne, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren and B’nai Jeshurun Senior Rabbi Felicia Sol.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MARC ROD

Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow dropped out of the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate on Sunday, narrowing the race to a contest between Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official.

McMorrow suspended her campaign without endorsing either of her rivals, saying only that “whoever wins this primary on August 4th will have my full support.” 

Recent polling has shown a relatively close race between the moderate Stevens and far-left El-Sayed, with El-Sayed leading in several surveys. With McMorrow generally claiming around 10% of the vote in polls, her withdrawal could shift dynamics in the race.

At the same time, mail-in ballots in the state have already been dispatched — with McMorrow’s name still on them.

The end of McMorrow’s campaign marks a significant fall for the up-and-coming state senator, who posted strong performances in early polls but has seen flagging support and enthusiasm in recent months. Her voting base will likely end up divided among both candidates, and both are making efforts to attract her supporters.

McMorrow had sought to carve out a middle ground between Stevens and El-Sayed, running as a somewhat progressive anti-establishment candidate but claiming a more pragmatic lane than El-Sayed, who some Democrats worry will not be electable in a general election against former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), the expected GOP nominee. The race offers the biggest test yet of the progressive, anti-Israel movement’s ability to win in a critical swing state.

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

Battle Plan vs. the DSA: In The Wall Street Journal, Mark Penn and Andrew Stein suggest how Democrats can counter the Democratic Socialists of America’s rising influence in the party. “Political-action committees and advocacy groups that have focused on federal races have to realize that the DSA initially focuses on low-turnout local races and nonprofit boards as easy targets. Once in power, its members degrade law enforcement with policies that encourage street vagrancy, drug abuse and higher taxes, fueling more voter anger, which they exploit at election time. Moderate PACs and other groups need a battle plan for every campaign from district attorney to Congress, city council to state legislature.” [WSJ]

Singled Out in San Francisco: In the San Francisco Standard, Eric Kingsbury reflects on a recent incident in which California state Sen. Scott Wiener, who is Jewish, was filmed being heckled as he was forced by demonstrators to leave a transgender march last month. “Connie Chan, his opponent in the congressional race, holds the same positions on Gaza and Israel that Wiener has publicly endorsed, yet she faced no such harassment and marched in peace. If it’s not his record, why is Wiener singled out? It’s because he’s Jewish. And because of that, nothing he can ever do or say will be enough. He will always be held to a different standard. That is antisemitism.” [SFStandard]

The Erdogan Loophole: In Foreign Policy, Steven Cook, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, observes the response by Western leaders to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s jailing of political opponents and gutting of the country’s main opposition party. “This is odd, especially given how much time and attention leading Democrats and Republicans have spent on human rights in China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Cuba, North Korea, and especially Israel.” [ForeignPolicy]

The Wall Street Journal reports that NASA administrator Jared Isaacman superseded FAA objections to flying vintage Northrop F-5 Tiger II jets in the America 250 air show in Washington over the weekend; Isaacman, whose company owns three planes that were part of the group, said guidelines for planes participating in the flyover differed from rules regarding civilian aircraft that fall under FAA regulations…

Ahead of the start of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, tomorrow, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, who is mulling a 2028 presidential bid, called for a “23-state solution” in which all Arab countries, including a newly formed Palestinian state, establish “full diplomatic relations” with Israel…

Seven anti-Israel demonstrators arrested during a 2024 protest that shut down traffic on San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge were convicted of misdemeanors tied to the incident; the judge overseeing the case declared a mistrial on felony conspiracy charges when jurors were unable to reach a verdict…

The board of the Committee to Protect Journalists voted 17-1 to uphold its existing definition of a journalist that includes members of media groups affiliated with militant organizations “provided they are not engaging in combat or inciting violence in a manner likely to have imminent effect”…

Eyal Shani will open a Los Angeles outpost of his Malka restaurant this summer at the boutique hotel SIXTY Beverly Hills, a year and a half after opening a Miami branch of the popular Tel Aviv eatery, which also has a location in New York…

U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner’s America 250 celebration in Paris — which concluded on Friday before Shabbat — included a fully kosher spread (including kosher wines) and a performance by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli… 

The New York Times spotlights the challenges facing Jewish museums across Europe amid the explosion of antisemitism that followed the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks and ensuing war in Gaza…

A Meta executive denied to Australia’s royal commission investigating antisemitism that the company’s changes to its content moderation rules led to increased instances of antisemitism on its platforms…

Israel’s central bank is expected to cut interest rates to 3.50% from 3.75%, citing the shekel’s strength and inflation expectations…

An American man studying at a seminary in Israel was charged with spying on behalf of Iran in exchange for $1,400 in cryptocurrency; the yeshiva student allegedly took photos of sites and carried out assigned tasks as instructed by a foreign agent operating on behalf of Tehran… 

The Wall Street Journal spotlights Gadi Eisenkot as the former IDF chief of staff, who is making his first bid as a party leader, rises in the polls against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu…

Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev gave the first Israeli confirmation that the country deployed an Iron Dome battery to the United Arab Emirates during the recent war with Iran; the deployment was previously reported by Axios and also confirmed by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee…

The Israeli government voted unanimously to appoint Ruth Cohen Dar — who serves as nonresident ambassador to Slovenia and Malta — to be Jerusalem’s first permanent envoy in Slovenia, following Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s announcement that Israel will open an embassy in the country…

The Israeli Cabinet rejected a Supreme Court decision striking down the government’s creation of an alternative television regulating body as it works to block the sale of Channel 13 to a group led by Assaf Rappaport, a Netanyahu critic…

Judah Gribetz, a longtime New York political aide who played a key role in restituting $1.25 billion to Holocaust survivors and later served as president of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, died at 97…

Geneticist Stanley Gartler, whose work advanced research into the origins and growth of cancerous tumors, died at 102…

Find on-demand Live Briefing updates throughout the day via our new app (on Apple and Android) and website.

Former Israeli hostages Sasha Trufanov and Sapir Cohen, who were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, were married on Sunday outside of Netanya. The couple walked down the aisle to Idan Raichel’s “Mi’Ma’amakim” — “Out of the Depths.”

Those in attendance included former hostages Arbel Yehud, Ariel Cunio, Shani Goren, Moran Stella Yanai, Rom Braslavsky, Eitan Horn and Daniel Aloni, as well as Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who had previously said he wouldn’t attend any weddings until all of the hostages had been released.

Founder of Tumblr, which he sold to Yahoo in 2013 for $1.1 billion, David Karp turns 40… 

Chairman of NYC-based GFP Real Estate, Jeffrey Robert Gural turns 84… 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009, George W. Bush turns 80… Former member of the Knesset for the National Religious Party, Yitzhak Levy turns 79… Lobbyist and former president of AIPAC, Marshall Aaron Brachman… Journalist, pundit and author, known for writing the blog “Kausfiles,” Robert Michael “Mickey” Kaus turns 75… Israeli cryptographer, he is a co-inventor of the RSA algorithm and one of the inventors of differential cryptanalysis, Adi Shamir turns 74… Sole member of the Knesset for the Noam party, Avigdor “Avi” Maoz turns 70… Founder of Kehilas Pnei Menachem, a breakaway in 2019 from the Ger Hasidic dynasty, Rabbi Shaul Alter turns 69… Professor of Bible at JTS and former senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, Benjamin D. Sommer turns 62… Partner at SKDK, she served as a board member of Jewish Foundation for Group Homes (now known as Makom), Jill Zuckman… CEO of Holocaust Museum LA, Beth Kean… Widow of Beau Biden, she is the board chair of the Beau Biden Foundation, Hallie Olivere Biden turns 53… Stand-up comedian, writer and actor, Mark Moshe Kasher turns 47… British actor, Louisa Clein turns 47… Former chief of staff on the Hill, now CoS at Blue Frontier, Shira Siegel… Israeli freestyle wrestler, she was born on the day her parents made aliyah, Ilana Kratysh turns 36… Postdoctoral research fellow at Emory University, Josh Lipson… Jeannie Gerzon…

• Technical delegations from the U.S. and Iran are meeting separately with Qatari and Pakistani mediators in Doha, but have no plans to meet directly. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that the focus of ‌the discussions is the release of Tehran’s frozen funds and the Strait of Hormuz, while President Donald Trump indicated on Monday that the negotiations would focus on Iran’s nuclear program.
• The Wall Street Journal reveals that after Saudi Arabia blocked U.S. military access needed for Project Freedom — Trump’s operation to crack open the Strait of Hormuz — and prompted the White House to threaten to withhold missile interceptors from the kingdom, the confrontation triggered a widening rift in the U.S.-Saudi relationship, with the U.S. now considering reducing its military footprint in the kingdom. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the Gulf last week but skipped a visit to Saudi Arabia; the week before, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman declined an invitation to attend the G7 summit in France, reportedly in protest of the U.S.’ handling of the war with Iran.
• Some of the most prominent figures in U.S.-Israel diplomacy, Israeli national security and the American Jewish community are gathering at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel, to help train a new generation of leaders confronting Israel’s evolving strategic challenges, as part of a pilot program that ends on Thursday. Among the faculty is former Ambassador Dennis Ross, the veteran Middle East negotiator who advised four U.S. presidents; Howard Kohr, the former longtime executive director of AIPAC; and Malcolm Hoenlein, who for decades served as executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Read more in eJewishPhilanthropy.
• The Herzliya Conference wraps up today in Israel: Among the many top national security and political officials speaking are former Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid; former Israeli Ambassadors to the U.S. Danny Ayalon and Michael Herzog; former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro; EU Ambassador to Israel Michael Mann; Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot; Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Avigdor Liberman; Democrats party leader Yair Golan; Ra’am party leader Mansour Abbas; and Nadav Tamir, executive director of J Street Israel.
• And the Aspen Ideas Festival concludes today in Colorado. Jeff Flake, the former U.S. senator and former U.S. ambassador to Turkey; the Atlantic Council’s Ian Brzezinski; and the Stimson Center’s Emma Ashford will speak on a panel about the “next chapter of the trans-Atlantic relationship.”

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR

Progressives in Colorado scored a number of key victories Tuesday night, including Democratic Socialists of America-aligned candidate Melat Kiros’ defeat of Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) in the state’s 1st Congressional District.

The Colorado results suggest that, far from being contained to a few scattered congressional districts in New York City, the momentum for far-left, anti-Israel candidates is only growing within the Democratic Party, especially within urban population centers.

Kiros, a 29-year-old doctoral student, campaigned on her hostility to Israel and faced scrutiny when she declined to call the firebombing attack on a hostage awareness march in Boulder, Colo., antisemitic. DeGette, despite a long-standing progressive record in Congress, struggled to satisfy a critical mass of Democratic voters who preferred a more radical choice, especially when it came to opposing Israel.

Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) survived a scare from a little-known socialist challenger, state Sen. Julie Gonzales, but only won renomination with less than 60% of the Democratic vote. Even in the vote-rich Denver suburbs, the far-left challenger came within striking distance of the state’s well-known senator and former governor.

Former state Rep. Shannon Bird, a moderate championed by Democratic Majority for Israel, lost badly to state Rep. Manny Rutinel for the Democratic nomination in Colorado’s swing 8th District, currently held by Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO). With most votes counted, Rutinel holds a 28-point lead over Bird, 62-34%.

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

When the DSA Came for Lander: Park Avenue Synagogue Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove penned a letter dated two years from now, published in the New York Daily News, to New York Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander, predicting that he will be ousted by a Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidate in the next primary. “They told you it was never about being a Jew — only about being a Zionist — as if the two could be peeled apart, as if your Jewishness had nothing to do with the nation they demanded you disown. There’s an old teaching about the man who thinks he can ride the tiger and dismount whenever he likes. You didn’t tame the coalition you joined. You were, for one term, useful — until the moment it decided to disown you. You could renounce the policy, the lobby, even Zionism, but you could not renounce being a Jew.” [Daily News]

Drone Prone: Foreign Policy’s John Haltiwanger unpacks Israel’s “Hezbollah drone problem.” “After the fighting resumed in March, it wasn’t long before explosive drones were a leading cause of battlefield deaths for Israel in Lebanon. As a result, Netanyahu established a team of experts to address the issue and pledged to give the IDF an unlimited budget to address the Hezbollah drone threat. But there are no simple solutions. … In ancient Rome, gladiators used nets to entangle opponents before moving in for the kill. Today, Israeli troops are using the same primitive tool to defend against drones and intercept them before they reach their targets. The situation is indicative of how militaries have struggled to find countermeasures to drones and have been forced to adapt, particularly as the technology evolves at such a rapid pace.” [FP]

Separate But Equal: Hannah Rosenthal, former special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism under the Obama administration, argues in the Jewish Telegraphic Agency against the proposal of combining the role of the antisemitism envoy with that of the special envoy on Holocaust issues. “The office of special envoy on antisemitism and the special envoy on the Holocaust are complementary, but not duplicative. The former works to address contemporary antisemitism, hate crimes, extremism and government policy around the world. The latter focuses on historical justice, restitution, remembrance, archives and Holocaust-era accountability. The United States deliberately created separate offices because both missions are full time responsibilities.” [JTA]

Jews Turning on Israel: Actor and Jewish commentator Jonah Platt argues in a post on X against the trope of the young, “self-hating” Jew in an essay on X. “It’s maddening. It’s dangerous. It’s irresponsible. It’s shameful. But it isn’t nefarious. It isn’t Jew-hatred, it isn’t self-hatred, and honestly, it isn’t that hard to understand. These are disconnected, uneducated people, surrounded by like-minded peers, all reinforcing one another in a disconnected, uneducated worldview — one they’re not especially invested in anyway, and focus on only because progressive society says they’re supposed to.” [X]

President Donald Trump is considering returning to a full-scale military conflict with Iran and has discussed the idea with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine in recent days, The Wall Street Journal reports, but has decided to continue on the diplomatic track for now…

In an analysis of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies found that the Trump administration is “evidently not applying [the 2015 Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act’s] requirements and restrictions to the MOU, apparently on the basis of an opinion from the Department of Justice,” but the White House and DOJ “have apparently not shared this surprising opinion, or its arguments, with either Congress or the public”…

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said on Monday that he did a “happy dance,” after Iran was knocked out of the FIFA World Cup, telling reporters that Iranian officials tried to bring into the U.S. individuals with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and that accommodating the team while protecting national security had demanded incomparable attention…

The Terrorist Financing Targeting Center — a coalition comprised of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the U.S. — announced joint sanctions against five entities and 16 individuals tied to Hezbollah’s financial network…

Oman has submitted a proposal to the U.S. for Muscat and Tehran to collect service fees from shipping companies seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz, according to The New York Times. One of Iran’s deputy foreign ministers, Kazem Gharibabadi, said on Monday if Iran was unable to come to an arrangement with Oman it would move forward on its own…

A person close to the anti-Israel American Priorities super PAC told CNN many of its contributors weren’t very politically active until New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign victory, which was the “moment that inspired them and brought them into the fold”…

Former Vice President Kamala Harris called Mamdani last week, and is holding lengthy, closed-door meetings with Palestinian activists in the run-up to a possible presidential campaign, Axios reports…

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper, warned of the “tremendous danger and fear” for American Jews as they are being “dehumanized” and antisemitism is “becoming normalized”…

Phylisa Wisdom, the liberal activist appointed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as executive director of his Office to Combat Antisemitism, got a harsh reception at a Holocaust memorial event in Brooklyn on Sunday. Video from the event shows a small group of hecklers booing, calling Wisdom a “kapo” and shouting that she was supportive of Adolf Hitler, JI’s Will Bredderman reports…

Far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed dismissed a question on CNN about the Democratic Party’s “embrace” of antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker as a “ridiculous way to think about politics”…

Adam Jentleson, former chief of staff to Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) who went on to found the center-left Searchlight Institute think tank, urged Democrats to “just say no to AIPAC,” arguing the pro-Israel organization has “evolved from a group to a ‘Group,’” in the pejorative sense…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited southern Lebanon on Tuesday for the first time since the U.S.-brokered security agreement was signed last Friday. Netanyahu told IDF troops, “We will not leave southern Lebanon until the threat is removed”…

“Pod Save America” co-host Jon Lovett said the harassment of California state Sen. Scott Wiener at a transgender pride march last week was “as pure antisemitism as you can see”…

The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case of Daniel Grand, an Orthodox Jewish man from Ohio who was barred from holding Shabbat prayer meetings in his home without a “special use permit” and later faced harassment from city officials who encouraged neighbors to watch his home for signs of religious activity…

Haaretz tracks the carbon footprint of FIFA President Gianni Infantino as he has traveled between World Cup matches across North America on a Qatari private jet, racking up 47,337 kilometers (29,000 miles) from the tournament’s opening days through the first knockout match, after championing the body’s sustainability strategy…

Ellie Gottheimer and Larra Mullin, the children of Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, are releasing Shmoo & Ozzie Go to Washington today, a children’s book on bipartisanship. Proceeds from the book will go to support homeless children…

Mark Isakowitz, Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA)’s chief of staff, is set to release a book in January about his personal journey following the loss of his father, who immigrated to America after surviving Auschwitz, and Isakowitz’s daily practice of reciting the mourner’s prayer at a synagogue in Washington, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports…

Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner tapped Carolin Hulshoff Pol to serve as CEO of Telegraph Media Group following the German media company’s completion of its £575 million acquisition of the British publisher, ending a three-year ownership transition…

Former Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. (res.) Amikam Norkin is a leading candidate to head Anduril’s operations in Israel, as the American defense tech company explores a major expansion into the Israeli market, Calcalist reports…

The Iranian regime plans to take over St. Peter Evangelical Church, the oldest Protestant church in Iran, and evict the 20 families living there, The Free Press reports. The theocratic regime had thus far left it alone in fear of the U.S.’ retaliation, according to the outlet…

The Washington State Democratic Party adopted into its platform during its June convention an amendment blaming the “dramatic resurgence in antisemitism … in part [on] actions taken by the Israeli government,” Jewish News Syndicate reports…

Pentagon official Jason Olson has departed his position as the director of deradicalization for the Gaza Board of Peace, an official from the body told The Times of Israel, as the BoP is convening for discussions in Cyprus…

Tuesday marked the end of Steffen Seibert‘s four-year term as German ambassador to Israel. In a farewell social media video, he paid tribute to the country by listing 25 things he will miss. Seibert is succeeded by Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, who most recently served as the German Ambassador to Moscow…

Judah Gribetz, who as a top aide to Gov. Hugh Carey helped negotiate New York City‘s rescue from financial collapse in the 1970s and later devised a distribution plan for $1.25 billion in restitution to Holocaust survivors in a landmark class-action suit against Swiss banks, died Friday at 97…

Comedian Judy Gold spoke at an event hosted by the Israeli Embassy in Washington, “A Zionist LGBTQ+ Celebration,” at Adas Israel Congregation on Tuesday — a night of solidarity in memory of Sarah Milgrim, the embassy staffer murdered alongside her partner, Yaron Lischinsky, outside the Capital Jewish Museum in May 2025. Milgrim spent her time at the embassy building bridges between Israel and marginalized communities, including D.C.’s LGBTQ+ Jewish community.

Television, film and theater actor, including early career roles in Yiddish theater, Michael Burstein turns 81…

Applied mathematician, statistician and physicist, professor emeritus at both MIT and Harvard, Herman Chernoff turns 103… Former U.S. assistant secretary of education and former research professor at NYU, Diane Silvers Ravitch turns 88… Nobel laureate in economics for 1997 and co-creator of the Black-Scholes model for valuing options and other derivatives, Myron Scholes turns 85… Noted British art dealer and founder of an eponymous London art gallery, Victoria Marion Miro turns 81… Born in a DP Camp to her Holocaust survivor parents, she was the first Jewish woman to serve on the Canadian Supreme Court, Rosalie Silberman Abella turns 80… Israeli-Russian businessman, with holdings in energy and international real estate development, Shalva Chigirinsky turns 77… Partner in the Encino, Calif.-based law firm of Nolan Heimann, Douglas E. Mirell… Campaign, communications and fundraising consultant, Robert Kaplan turns 69… Hall of Fame player and coach in the WNBA and now an NBA broadcaster, Nancy Lieberman turns 68… Attorney and longtime Democratic activist in Pittsburgh, he is a regional chair of the ADL, Steven D. Irwin turns 67… Senior columnist at The Forward and former CEO of the A-Mark Foundation, Rob Eshman… President emeritus of the Orthodox Union and a retired partner at Ropes & Gray, Mark “Moishe” Bane… Under secretary of state for political affairs during most of the Biden administration, Victoria Jane Nuland (family name was Nudelman) turns 65… Journalist, filmmaker and educator, he is the co-founder of Aish[dot]com, Shraga Simmons turns 65… Professor of Jewish thought at Hebrew University, Benjamin Brown turns 60… Member of the Virginia House of Delegates since 2014, Marcus Bertram Simon turns 56… U.S. senator (R-IA), Joni Ernst turns 56… Screenwriter, producer and film director known for romantic comedy films, Marc Silverstein turns 55… Los Angeles resident, Adam B. Siegel… NASA astronaut, on her 2019 trip to the International Space Station she took novelty socks with Stars of David and menorahs, Jessica Meir turns 49… Co-founder of Edgeline Films, Elyse Steinberg… Hasidic musician mixing elements of dancehall, reggae, hip-hop and R&B, known by his stage name DeScribe, Shneur Hasofer turns 44…

• White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Qatar to represent the U.S. in talks with Iran, as the status of the negotiations remains unclear. The technical talks on the memorandum of understanding meant to be taking place separately are also up in the air — Iran’s foreign ministry said an Iranian technical delegation will be in Doha this week but will not be meeting with American officials. More below.
• Representatives of President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace are meeting this week in Cyprus as they seek to advance plans for a committee of Palestinian technocrats to replace Hamas in governing the Gaza Strip, The Times of Israel reports. Former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, who sits on the Board of Peace’s executive board and has recently taken on a larger role in the organization, is set to participate in the “strategic workshop” being held from Tuesday to Thursday.
• Colorado voters will head to the polls in today’s Democratic primaries, where moderate candidates are fearing a far-left wave. More below.
• Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, will testify before the House Appropriations Committee where he is expected to address the White House’s $88 billion supplemental funding request for the war with Iran and FY2027 budget request.
• The Israeli Embassy in Washington will hold a “Zionist LGBTQ+ celebration” on the last day of Pride Month in memory of slain embassy staffer Sarah Milgrim’s allyship.
• In Israel, Reichman University’s Herzliya Conference kicks off, focusing this year on national security and national resilience. Israeli President Isaac Herzog will address the confab, as well as U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee; Amos Hochstein, who served as a Middle East envoy under former President Joe Biden; former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo; former Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi; journalist Barak Ravid; and Aliyah Minister Ofir Sofer.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR

Colorado is a state famous for its moderation, with its governor (Jared Polis) and two senators (Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper) among the most pragmatic figures in Democratic politics. So if a far-left, anti-Israel wave sweeps over the Democratic Party in tonight’s statewide primaries, it will be a true wake-up call for those downplaying the rise of the socialist left.

The biggest race we’re tracking — and the one where a Democratic incumbent looks most vulnerable — is the primary between longtime Rep. Diana DeGette, 68, an influential progressive who has left an imprint on major legislation in Congress, and Democratic Socialists of America-affiliated 29-year-old doctoral student Melat Kiros, whose deep-seated antagonism against Israel is a top focus of her campaign.  

Kiros is the latest example of how radical candidates running for office on their hostility toward Israel are also indulgent of the rising antisemitism around them. Her political awakening came after she was fired from the law firm Sidley Austin for writing a public letter denouncing the hundreds of law firms that signed a petition calling on law schools to do a better job addressing antisemitism on their campuses.

Kiros was angered that the law firms considered those calling for the elimination of Israel as antisemitic. In the last week, she also refused to call the firebombing of a hostage awareness march in Boulder, Colo., antisemitic. Sense a pattern?

As JI’s Marc Rod reported, Kiros’ extreme views have done little to dent her support in a progressive Denver-area district that DeGette has easily held for the last three decades. In March, DeGette barely won the 30% of the vote from party activists necessary to qualify for the primary ballot — in what could be a foreshadowing of the primary results tonight.

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

• King Charles III and Queen Camilla land in Washington today for their first state visit to the U.S. since assuming the throne. They’ll arrive to a city reeling from this weekend’s attempted attack on Trump administration officials at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. More below from JI’s Marc Rod, who was attending the event at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night.
• The king and queen will be welcomed by President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, and will have afternoon tea before attending a White House garden party.
• Trump is expected to convene a Situation Room meeting — sans King Charles — on Iran as the countries remain at an impasse amid stalled talks. The meeting comes days after plans for White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to go to Islamabad for a second round of talks were scrapped, with Trump telling Fox News on Sunday, “If they want to talk, they can come to us or they can call us.” Tehran has reportedly offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war without resolving its disputes with Washington over the future of the Iranian nuclear program.
• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is in Moscow today, where he is slated to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
• Israeli President Isaac Herzog is in Kazakhstan today, where he is slated to meet with President Qasym-Jomart Toqayev.
• Israel Tech Week kicks off today in Miami. Speakers include Daniel Flesch, Phil Goldfeder and Gabe Groisman.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MARC ROD

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night began normally enough — a bustle of reporters, administration officials and members of Congress among other A-listers streaming from the packed lobby of the Washington Hilton down into the basement ballroom.

White House Correspondents’ Association President Weija Jiang, a CBS News White House reporter, finished her introductory remarks, and the thousands of guests packed into the ballroom tucked into their salads.

Then, a loud, shattering bang rang out from the other side of the ballroom. Initially, I didn’t think anything of it — I thought someone had dropped a large tray of food (as President Donald Trump said later, he thought the same thing).

Videos and other accounts of the evening indicate that someone from the security staff shouted from the front of the room that guests should get down. I didn’t hear it. My first indication that something was wrong was when I started seeing other guests ducking under the tables and security officers drawing their guns.

I tried to duck under the tablecloth, but no luck — another occupant of the table was already underneath, and there was no room. My heart pounding, I was forced to do my best to stay low — but I was in the backmost row of tables, right by a door, sitting directly in the aisle.

If a shooter came into the ballroom from behind me, I was a sitting duck. I was completely helpless and exposed.

Two thoughts ran through my head. The main one: I’m getting married in six days. I can’t die now. The second: I can’t believe this is happening to me again. (For those readers who are newer to Jewish Insider — I was also on scene for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.)

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

Riyadh’s Reluctance: Foreign Policy’s Steven Cook considers why Saudi Arabia is not playing a more central role in the U.S. and Israeli conflict with Iran. “This is not to suggest that Saudi Arabia should get into the fight, but it is revealing that a country that billed itself as a rising power and the most important country in the Middle East is betwixt and between when its neighborhood is burning down. The Saudis clearly have interests at stake, but rather than taking action, they have been issuing strongly worded statements while others, including their adversaries, are shaping the region. It seems that Riyadh would be better off taking concrete steps to protect its interests. What is the saying about it’s better to be at the table than be the meal?” [FP]

Feeding Israel to the Left: In his Substack “The Abrahamic Metacritique,” Hussein Aboubakr Mansour raises concerns about the willingness of Democratic leaders to shift leftward on issues related to Israel amid pressure from the activist left. “The establishment’s reasoning is basic strategic calculation: the left will not relent on Israel; a civil war inside the party over the Jewish state would destroy the coalition; therefore, the rational move is to concede this issue, preserve party unity, and proceed with the moderate agenda on everything else: affordability, climate, migration, AI, etc. Feed this one thing to the beast, and the beast will be satisfied. It is an intelligent calculation, a genius one, really, but it is also a catastrophic one, because it rests on a complete misapprehension of what is being conceded and to whom.” [AbrahamicMetacritique]

Battle Royal: For Fox News, presidential historian Tevi Troy does a deep dive into the history of visits to the U.S. from U.K. royals. “When [Queen Elizabeth II] visited Eisenhower in 1957, she helped smooth over tensions that had emerged between Britain and the U.S. as a result of the Suez Crisis. … And now, as King Charles embarks on his first visit to the U.S. in President Donald Trump’s second term, the U.S. and Britain are in the midst of a disagreement over the war with Iran. Charles is not a political ruler, but perhaps his visit, like his mother’s in 1957, can smooth over tensions and help maintain the special relationship America has long had with the United Kingdom.” [FoxNews]

Axios reports that during the active conflict with Iran in March, Israel sent the United Arab Emirates an Iron Dome battery, interceptors and several dozen IDF troops to operate the missile-defense system; a senior Emirati official told Axios, “We are not going to forget it,” while a second official said, “It was a real eye-opening moment. To see who our real friends are”…

A new memo from the State Department acknowledges that the U.S.’ decision to launch Operation Epic Fury against Iran came — at least in part — at Israel’s request, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports… 

An 11-year-old Israeli girl who was critically wounded in an Iranian cluster bomb attack on her home in Bnei Brak earlier this month died of her injuries…

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Tucker Carlson suggested that he was given advance notice of the joint U.S.-Israel operation targeting Iran in late February, saying he received a text message at 10 p.m. ET on Feb. 27 — hours before the start of the operation — that read, “We’re going”; Carlson did not say who sent the message, acknowledging only that it was not President Donald Trump or Vice President JD Vance…

The WSJ notes that at the last meeting between Trump and Carlson, the president displayed a letter from evangelical leader Franklin Graham calling Carlson an antisemite…

The Treasury Department announced sanctions on a Chinese oil refinery and more than three dozen shipping firms and vessels tied to Iran’s oil export industry…

The New York Times examines the Trump administration’s “haphazard” approach to sanctions on Russia and Iran as Moscow and Tehran leverage their oil reserves amid a volatile market…

The Financial Times looks at the United Arab Emirates’ recent request that Pakistan repay $3.5 billion in loans, citing Islamabad’s deepening ties with Saudi Arabia and what the UAE “considers Pakistan’s meek response to Iranian attacks on the Gulf”…

UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed’s son-in-law Mohammed bin Hamad Al Nahyan and EDGE Group CEO Faisal Al Bannai — both of whom advise MBZ — visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., and made a swing through the U.S. to meet with SpaceX founder Elon Musk, Jared Kushner, investors Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz and defense firm Anduril, The Circuit’s Jonathan Ferziger reports…

Talks between the U.S. and Israel on the next 10-year memorandum of understanding are expected to begin next month, and will include Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram, the director-general of Israel’s Defense Ministry, and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Leiter representing Israel and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and State Department senior advisor Michael Needham…

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) dropped his opposition to Kevin Warsh’s nomination to be chairman of the Federal Reserve, clearing the way for Warsh to assume the role when Jerome Powell’s term ends next month…

A federal judge in Texas halted the deportations of six family members of an Egyptian man who firebombed demonstrators, killing an elderly woman, at a Boulder, Colo., march last year raising awareness about the Israeli hostages in captivity in Gaza…

Thrive Capital founder Joshua Kushner announced on Friday the launch of Thrive Eternal, a capital holding company that will acquire a minority, non-controlling stake in the San Francisco Giants as its first major partnership, Jewish Insider’s Melissa Weiss reports…

The New York Times interviews Hollywood agent Michael Glantz, who went viral after being filmed eating his burrata salad at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday as other guests around him ducked for cover…

Counterterrorism authorities investigating a string of antisemitic attacks in London arrested a 37-year-old man on suspicion of preparing to carry out terrorist acts; more than two dozen people have been arrested in connection with attacks against the country’s Jewish community since late March…

The Telegraph goes behind the scenes of the Met Police’s effort to track down arsonists targeting synagogues in the London area…

Israeli President Isaac Herzog is expected to push for a mediated resolution to reach a plea deal in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial, bucking pressure from the White House to pardon the prime minister…

Israel’s Cabinet signed off on the nomination of Michael Lotam to be the country’s first ambassador to Somaliland, four months after Jerusalem recognized the sovereignty of the East African nation…

The Cabinet also approved the appointment of former Israeli Ambassador to the U.K. Tzipi Hotovely to serve as the head of the National Public Diplomacy Directorate within the Prime Minister’s Office, which has been vacant for more than two years…

Israel launched a wide-scale, multimillion-dollar campaign – led by former Trump administration official Brad Parscale — to create pro-Israel web content that would be picked up by AI platforms…

Cardiologist Eugene Braunwald, who as a child fled Nazi Europe and went on to reshape how modern medicine approaches heart attacks, died at 96…

Diplomat Lionel Rosenblatt, whose experiences living in Haifa, Israel, as a child inspired him to join the U.S. Foreign Service and later lead Refugees International, died at 82…

Stars of the upcoming Keshet 12 series “Unconditional” attended the world premiere screening of the drama, about a mother-daughter pair stranded in Russia, ahead of its broadcast tonight, at the Cinematheque in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Showrunner, director, screenwriter and producer, Brian Koppelman turns 60…

Financial executive, he retired in 2014 as head of marketing for money manager Van Eck Global, Harvey Hirsch turns 85… Nonprofit executive who has managed the 92nd Street Y, the Robin Hood Foundation, the AT&T Foundation and Lincoln Center, Reynold Levy turns 81… U.S. senator (R-WV), Jim Justice turns 75… Physician and a former NASA astronaut, she is a veteran of three shuttle flights with more than 686 hours in space, Ellen Louise Shulman Baker, M.D., M.P.H. turns 73… Director-general of the Israel Antiquities Authority until 2020, he was previously a member of Knesset and deputy director of the Shin Bet, Yisrael Hasson turns 71… VP at Covington Fabric & Design, Donald Rifkin… Biologist and professor of pathology and genetics at Stanford University School of Medicine, he won the 2006 Nobel Prize in medicine, Andrew Zachary Fire turns 67… Co-founder of Casamigos Tequila and owner of restaurants, bars and lounges worldwide, Rande Gerber turns 64… Former member of the Knesset for the Shinui party, Yigal Yasinov turns 60… CEO of ZAM Asset Management, Elliot Mayerhoff… Founder and CEO of NYC-based Gotham Ghostwriters, he served as a senior advisor for Sen. Joseph Lieberman in his vice presidential and presidential campaigns, Daniel Gerstein turns 59… Israeli actor, entertainer and television host, Yitzhak “Aki” Avni turns 59… Attorney and journalist, she is a contributing editor at Newsweek and senior editor at Slate, Dahlia Lithwick turns 59… Author, political analyst and nationally syndicated op-ed columnist for The Washington Post, Dana Milbank turns 58… U.S. senator (D-NJ) since 2013, he was previously the mayor of Newark, Cory Booker turns 57… Israeli television and radio journalist and former member of the Knesset for the Jewish Home party, Yinon Magal turns 57… Professor of science writing at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Seth Mnookin turns 54… Cinematographer and director, Rachel Morrison turns 48… Identical twin brothers, between the two of them they won 11 Israeli championships in the triathlon between 2001 and 2012, Dan and Ran Alterman both turn 46… Israeli screenwriter and producer, she has written numerous advertisements and screenplays, Savion Einstein turns 44… VP of AIPAC’s mid-Atlantic region, Leah Berry… Television and film actress, Ariel Geltman “Ari” Graynor turns 43… Basketball coach, analyst and writer, Benjamin Falk turns 38… Senior creative director at Trilogy Interactive, Jessica Ruby… Head of climate data at Watershed, Jonathan H. Glidden… Research fellow at Emory University law school, David Jonathan Benger… Entrepreneurial investor, Noah Swartz turns 33… Medical resident at UCLA Health, Amir Kashfi… 

• The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon that was set to expire this weekend was extended for three weeks following yesterday’s White House meeting, facilitated by President Donald Trump, between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the U.S. Speaking to reporters following the meeting, Trump expressed hope that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun would meet at the White House during the ongoing ceasefire. Read more here.
• It’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner weekend in Washington. Trump is slated to make his first appearance as president at the annual dinner, which will take place tomorrow night at the Washington Hilton. Around Washington, the parties on the sidelines of tomorrow night’s so-called Nerd Prom have already begun. Last night, Trump attended a dinner hosted by Skydance Paramount CEO David Ellison honoring the president and CBS News correspondents at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Read more here.
• On Long Island today, Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) will hold a press conference with Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt to announce the introduction of a federal version of the buffer zone bills that have been put forward in a handful of cities and states. Read our interview with Suozzi below.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S EMILY JACOBS AND MARC ROD

A who’s who of the leading names in media, tech and global and domestic politics are flocking to the nation’s capital for the scores of exclusive parties surrounding the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner this Saturday — where President Donald Trump will make his first-ever appearance as president and deliver a roast of the political press corps. 

The correspondents’ dinner, and the parties thrown in its honor, have always generated enough fanfare to maintain its status as the biggest weekend of the social calendar in Washington. This year, however, is being treated inside the Beltway as the most high-profile WHCD weekend in at least a decade, the result of Trump’s decision to participate in this year’s dinner after boycotting it for his entire presidency.

In addition to Trump’s roast, guests will be entertained by Oz Pearlman, a famed mentalist known for his mind-reading tricks. Pearlman, who is Jewish and was born in Israel, marks a shift from the traditional entertainment choice at the dinner, which is usually a monologue delivered by a comedian. Those comedians’ jokes about Trump were a factor in why the president has skipped previous dinners, and the White House Correspondents’ Association canceled its planned entertainer last year over backlash to her past comments.

The dinner could make for some awkward moments: one of the WHCA’s award winners this year is a team from The Wall Street Journal, for reporting on Trump’s ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein — an article that led Trump to sue the Journal. And that’s not to mention Trump’s routine hostility toward and criticisms of the media more broadly. It is unclear if the president will be present for the award ceremony.

Celebrities have historically flocked to Washington for WHCD weekend, though the number of famous names willing to appear for the dinner or other events dwindled during the first Trump administration. That trend began to reverse during the Biden administration, though it picked up again last year when Trump returned to office. 

Nicki Minaj, the rap superstar who has become an advocate for the Trump administration, will be attending the dinner as a guest of the Washington Times. No other media organizations have announced celebrity guests for their respective tables at the dinner. 

Regardless of a diminished turnout of famous faces, this weekend will be jam-packed with nonstop events, and it has already begun.

JI’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod will be out and about in the district this weekend, as well as at Saturday’s dinner. If you spot them at any of the events, take this as your invitation to say hello.

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

Calling the Shots in Tehran: The New York Times’ Farnaz Fassihi does a deep dive into Iran’s new power structure following the deaths of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of top regime officials, finding that key decisions are now being made by senior generals affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. “It was the Guards who came up with the strategy for Iran’s attacks on Israel and the Persian Gulf states, along with the closing of the strait to maritime traffic. They were the ones who agreed to a temporary cease-fire with the United States and approved back-channel diplomacy and direct negotiations with the United States. They tapped [Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher] Ghalibaf from among their own ranks to lead the talks with Vice President JD Vance in Islamabad.” [NYTimes]

Chronicle of a Kidnapping: In The Atlantic, American journalist Shelly Kittleson recounts her kidnapping — believed to have been conducted by the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah — and subsequent week in captivity. “I was well aware of the risks inherent in being a journalist with the ‘wrong’ passport in places where the default assumption is that anyone asking questions is a ‘spy.’ I was also keenly aware of the creativity employed by those who write ‘intelligence’ reports, having been the victim of fabricated reports of that sort in the past.” [TheAtlantic]

The Jew-ish Paradox: In The Wall Street Journal, Joseph Epstein considers the cultural and religious distinctions among Jews while noting that the differences are unimportant to those who are antisemites. “Jew, Jewish, Jewish, Jew: The two sometimes seem to have little in common. But now, with the re-emergence and spread of antisemitism, not only in the U.S., but globally, they have the hatred aimed against them in common. Will the two join together to fight this menace? They damned well better.” [WSJ]

President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he had instructed the military to “shoot and kill any boat, small boats though they may be … putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz,” as Iran was reported this week to have been laying additional mines in the waterway…

The Wall Street Journal reports on concerns over the proliferation of Chinese satellite imagery that may be used to assist Iran and other American adversaries seeking to target U.S. installations and allies…

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that members of Iran’s national soccer team will be let into the U.S. to play in this summer’s World Cup, but that Iranians with ties to the country’s military would not be allowed entry…

Italian Sports Minister Andrea Abodi rejected the suggestion by Paolo Zampolli, the Trump administration’s special envoy for global partnerships, that Italy’s team replace Iran in the World Cup, saying that such a move was “firstly, not possible and secondly, not appropriate”…

The U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation into the New York City Department of Education, alleging that teachers associated with the group N.Y.C. Educators for Palestine had instructed students to support Hamas and referred to Zionists as “genocidal white supremacists”…

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not give advance notice to senior Republican senators before announcing on Wednesday that he was firing Navy Secretary John Phelan and had already tapped his replacement, causing surprise and confusion on Capitol Hill, JI’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report…

The Wall Street Journal does a deep dive into Phelan’s efforts to convince Trump, a friend and neighbor, to buck Hegseth’s demand that Phelan resign from the Navy’s top job…

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) added $1 million to his campaign coffers and said he would match any donation received ahead of his June primary against former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander; private polling for both camps indicates that Lander has a sizeable lead over Goldman, who first won his seat in 2022…

In a new ad, Goldman addresses the Iran war, saying, “Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu should have never started this war in Iran, and they must end it now,” adding, “I won’t vote for one more cent for this illegal and immoral war”… 

Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee, in their draft 2027 funding bill for the State Department, are again aiming to leverage U.S. funding to the United Nations and other foreign programs to seek accountability for involvement by U.N. employees and others in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, JI’s Marc Rod reports…

Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose book When We See You Again, about her life before and after the kidnapping and murder of her son, was released this week, was a featured speaker at the Time 100 Summit on Wednesday in New York…

Former Disney CEO Bob Iger is returning to Josh Kushner’s Thrive Capital — where he briefly worked in 2022 before returning to Disney after his successor, Bob Chapek, was ousted by the board — in an advisory role…

The Wall Street Journal interviewed folk-pop singer Noah Kahan ahead of the release of his new album, “The Great Divide,” out today…

Saudi Arabia, facing financial challenges associated with the Iran war, pulled out of an arrangement to give up to $200 million over the next eight years to the Metropolitan Opera in New York, itself under financial strain after years of decreased sales from the COVID-19 pandemic; the Met now faces a $30 million shortfall it must make up before the end of its fiscal year this summer…

The department within the U.K.’s Foreign Office tasked with tracking Israel’s potential breaches of law was closed due to budget cuts…

U.K. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis met on Thursday with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at London’s Kenton United Synagogue, days after the synagogue was targeted in an arson attack…

An annual health report released today by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said that Benjamin Netanyahu was treated for early stage prostate cancer in late 2024…

Israir plans to launch daily flights this summer between Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport…

Police in the Israeli city of Modiin detained Hebrew University professor Alex Sinclair for wearing a yarmulke with the Israeli and Palestinian flags; when returned to Sinclair upon his release, the Palestinian flag had been cut from the yarmulke…

In response to rockets launched by Hezbollah toward Shtula in northern Israel on Thursday, the IDF said it struck Hezbollah military structures used to plan and carry out terror attacks in the areas of Kherbet Selem and Touline in southern Lebanon…

Retinal surgeon Kurt Gitter, an avid collector of art from Japan and the American South, died at 89…

Marquette University professor David Fantle, who helped bring the “Bronze Fonz” — a statue of the beloved “Happy Days” character Arthur Fonzarelli to Milwaukee’s downtown, died at 66…

JI wine columnist Yitz Applbaum reviews the 2025 Flam Blanc:

“I could not have orchestrated a more perfect evening if I had planned for a year. Last night, at Rendezvous, that impossibly charming jewel tucked away in the Neve Tzedek neighborhood of Tel Aviv, with a dear friend who happens to be a French-speaking cyber luminary, I was graced by a bottle of Flam Blanc, whose brilliantly beautiful semillon grape held the entire evening in its thrall.

“The 2025 Flam Blanc is an exquisite assemblage of sauvignon blanc, semillon, and the merest suggestion of chardonnay. The wine unveils itself with a disarming sweetness that lulls the uninitiated before delivering a magnificently brazen one-two punch of grapefruit peel zestiness across the mid-palate. The chardonnay finish, poised and unhurried, ushers one back to the noble terroir of the Judean Hills, lingering just long enough to leave you reaching for the bottle again. Pair this with handmade gnocchi and do acquire several cases. It is the kind of bottle that reminds even the most seasoned drinker why the Judean Hills deserve a permanent place in the conversation.”

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, signed a bill on Thursday adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism into law.

Rabbi Jeffrey Abraham, the board chair of the Missouri Alliance Network, which advocated for the bill, told JI, “Thanks to [this bill], our Jewish students will now be given the same protections of other minorities to combat the extreme rise in antisemitism we have seen the last few years. There is more work ahead to ensure school districts implement the IHRA definition and protect our Jewish students moving forward.”

Israeli designer, architect and artist, Ron Arad turns 75… 

FRIDAY: Rabbi emeritus at Washington’s Adas Israel Congregation, he is a former president of the Rabbinic Assembly, Rabbi Jeffrey A. Wohlberg turns 85… Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony and Peabody Award-winning singer and actress, Barbra Streisand turns 84… Delray Beach, Fla., resident, Phyllis Dupret… Distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Maryland, College Park, Jeffrey C. Herf turns 79… Former president and publisher of USA Today, then chairman of theStreet, Lawrence S. Kramer turns 76… Chairman and CEO of Cincinnati-based Standard Textile, Gary Heiman… Former president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards for 16 seasons, himself an NBA player for nine seasons, Ernest “Ernie” Grunfeld turns 71… Israeli singer descended from the Jewish diaspora in Kurdistan, Ilana Eliya turns 71… Columnist for Foreign Policy, Michael Hirsh turns 69…Author of books for children and teens, Deborah Heiligman turns 68… Founding partner and CEO of KSX Communications, Andrew Kirtzman turns 65… CEO and President of Wells Fargo since 2019, he was previously the CEO of Visa, Charles Scharf turns 61… Chief executive director of the Jewish Caring Network, Rabbi Carl S. “Chaim” Schwartz turns 56… Deputy chief of staff for Montgomery County, Md., Councilmember Sidney Katz, Laurie Mintzer Edberg… Emmy Award-winning television writer, producer and film screenwriter, known as the co-creator and showrunner of the television series “Lost,” Damon Lindelof turns 53… EVP of political operations at AIPAC, Mark H. Waldman… Israeli model, actress, entrepreneur, lecturer and activist, Maayan Keret turns 50… Film and television actor, Eric Salter Balfour turns 49… Brandon Hersh… Partner at Apollo Global Management, Reed Rayman… Special assistant to POTUS and senior speechwriter in the Biden administration, Aviva Feuerstein turns 39… Tech and innovation reporter at Automotive News, Molly Boigon…

SATURDAY: Retired attorney, he is a brother-in-law of former Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Myron “Mike” Sponder… Social worker and former health spokesman of the Green Party of the U.K., he is the older brother of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Larry Sanders turns 91… Co-founder of Lender Bagels Bakery, he was the national chair of UJA, Marvin K. Lender turns 85… Hedge fund manager and founder of Omega Advisors, Leon G. “Lee” Cooperman turns 83… Former CEO of baker supply manufacturing companies, Joseph “Joe” Weber turns 81… Hedge fund manager and founder of CAM Capital, Bruce Stanley Kovner turns 80… Rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University since 1973, rabbi of the Young Israel of Riverdale Synagogue since 1974, Rabbi Mordechai Willig turns 79… Former French finance minister and later managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn turns 77… David Handleman… Longtime chairman and CEO of Village Roadshow Pictures, now president of Through The Lens Entertainment, Bruce Berman turns 74… Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations from 2018 to 2021, he was previously president of Bed, Bath and Beyond, Arthur Stark turns 71… Administrative law judge at the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, Beth A. Fox… Commissioner of the National Basketball Association since 2014, Adam Silver turns 64… Senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, focused on security issues in the Middle East, Michael Scott Doran turns 64… Partner at Quinn Emanuel, he served as U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic in the Obama administration, Andrew H. Schapiro turns 63… Emmy Award-winning actor, voice actor, comedian and producer, he is descended from a Sephardic family rooted in Thessaloniki, Hank Azaria turns 62… Infomercial pitchman, better known as Vince Offer, Vince Shlomi or “The ShamWow Guy,” Offer Shlomi turns 62… Deputy director general at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Benjamin Krasna turns 61… CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, Meredith Dragon… New York Times-bestselling author and adjunct professor of neuroscience at Stanford University, David Eagleman turns 55… Deputy director of community health at the Utah Department of Human Services, David E. Litvack turns 54… Former professional baseball outfielder, Micah Franklin turns 54… Democratic Party strategist, she is a co-founder of Lift Our Voices, Julie Roginsky turns 53… President of the Alliance for Downtown New York, the nation’s largest business improvement district, Jessica S. Lappin turns 51… Opinion editor at the California Post, previously senior-editor-at-large for Breitbart News, Joel Barry Pollak turns 49… Attorney turned grocer and now professor, Danielle Brody Rosengarten Vogel… Co-founder of WeWork and now Flow, Adam Neumann turns 47… Executive director at Yaffed, Adina Mermelstein Konikoff… Managing director, head of social, content and influencer at Deloitte Digital, Kenneth R. Gold… Director of public affairs at FEMA during the Biden administration, now SVP at Avoq, Jaclyn Rothenberg… Film and television actress, model and singer, Sara Paxton turns 38… Staff writer at Daily Kos, Emily Cahn Singer… Former NHL ice hockey defenseman, now a color analyst for Westwood One and ESPN, Colby Shane Cohen turns 37… TikTok star, he runs the culinary website CookWithChefEitan, Eitan Bernath turns 24… 

SUNDAY: Owner of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers for 33 years until its forced sale in 2014, Donald Sterling (born Donald Tokowitz) turns 92… Retired Federation executive in Los Angeles, Oakland and Sacramento, Loren Basch… Investment banker best known as the chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers through its bankruptcy filing in 2008, Richard S. Fuld Jr. turns 80… Professor of computer science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Hal Abelson turns 79… Immediate past chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, now a board member at Democratic Majority for Israel, Harriet P. Schleifer turns 73… President of Brandeis University from 2016-2024, Ronald D. Liebowitz turns 69… Moscow-born, conservative journalist and political activist in Israel, Avigdor Eskin turns 66… Senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and contributing writer at The Atlantic, Jonathan Rauch turns 66… London-based interfaith social activist, she founded and chaired Mitzvah Day International, Laura Marks turns 66… Journalist, biographer and the author of six books, Jonathan Eig turns 62… Former member of the Maryland House of Delegates and state Senate, Roger Manno turns 60… Former member of the California state Assembly where he served as chairman of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, Marc Levine turns 52… Member of the NYC Council for six years and now a recently elected member of the NY State Assembly, Kalman Yeger turns 52… General partner of Coatue Management, Benjamin Schwerin… Senior global news editor at The New York Times, Russell Goldman turns 46… Senior director of federal government affairs at Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Karas Pattison Gross… Media relations manager at NPR, Benjamin Fishel… London-based reporter for The Wall Street Journal covering finance, he is the co-author of a book on WeWork, Eliot Brown… Male fashion model and actor, Brett Novek turns 42… Head coach of the UC Irvine Anteaters baseball program, he played for Team Israel in the 2012 World Baseball Classic, Ben Orloff turns 39… Communications director at the University of Florida College of Health and Human Performance, Alisha Katz… AI product manager at Apple, Kenneth Zauderer… Washington correspondent for The Epoch Times, Jackson Richman… Board liaison at American Jewish World Service, he is also a part-time matchmaker at Tribe 12, Ross Beroff… Ahron Singer…

• Tucker Carlson, who has frequently railed against the U.S.-Israel relationship and Christian Zionism, is in Israel today, where he is conducting an extensive interview with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Israeli media reported that the interview is slated to take place at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, with Carlson arriving by private plane and not leaving the airport premises. Earlier this week, Huckabee, a Baptist minister, told the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, “I figure instead of him talking about me, he should talk to me.”
• The International Federation of Social Workers is holding a vote today on whether to expel members of the Israeli Union of Social Workers, a day after the U.S.-based National Association of Social Workers came out against the move. More below.
• In California, the trial of the man accused of killing activist Paul Kessler during an incident at dueling pro- and anti-Israel rallies in Los Angeles a month after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks is slated to begin.
• Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani is in Venezuela today for meetings with senior officials. The trip is the Qatari leader’s first since the U.S. apprehended former President Nicolás Maduro last month.
• The Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy is taking place today in Switzerland. Speakers at the daylong gathering, which is being co-sponsored by dozens of organizations, include UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer, who is giving opening remarks on behalf of the sponsoring organizations, Iranian dissident writer Masih Alinejad and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights’ Brandon Silver.
• The Kigali Forum, a conference bringing together policy leaders and think tanks from the United States, Africa and Israel to discuss “the new Middle East,” is taking place today in Kigali, Rwanda. Attendees include representatives from AIPAC, the Hudson Institute, the Atlantic Council and the American Foreign Policy Council.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR

After AIPAC’s super PAC suffered an embarrassing setback in this month’s New Jersey special primary election — unwittingly helping boost the fortunes of Analilia Mejia, an anti-Israel, far-left candidate, with its attacks against former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) — all eyes will be on Illinois’ upcoming primaries, and the impact of a surge in pro-Israel spending on ads in four closely watched congressional contests.

AIPAC’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project, along with other outside groups boosting the fortunes of pro-Israel candidates, are betting big on four Chicago-area candidates in crowded Democratic primaries: Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller (for the seat of retiring Rep. Robin Kelly); Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin (for the seat of retiring Rep. Danny Davis); former Rep. Melissa Bean (for the seat of Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who is running for Senate); and state Sen. Laura Fine (running for the seat of retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky).

The biggest beneficiaries of outside group spending are Fine and Bean, receiving about $1.25 million apiece in air cover from Elect Chicago Women, a super PAC formed to boost their campaigns (and which appears to be a vehicle for pro-Israel supporters). 

Both of those primaries, in the affluent Chicago suburbs, are developing differently.

The race to succeed Schakowsky, in a progressive-minded but notably Jewish Lakefront district, is shaping up to be the most hotly contested primary in the state. The field is similar to a lot of emerging Democratic primaries this year — one mainstream pro-Israel candidate (Fine), one harsh critic of Israel (Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss) and one all-out anti-Israel activist (social media influencer Kat Abughazaleh).

Fine, fueled by support from pro-Israel allies, raised over $1 million in the last fundraising quarter and was the first candidate to spend money on the air. That jump-start helped give her early momentum, with an internal poll from her campaign showing her tied for the lead with Biss at 21%, with Abughazeleh lagging in third place. (A subsequent internal poll released by Biss’ campaign showed Biss leading with 31%, while Fine and Abughazaleh were tied in second with 18% apiece.)

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

Ignoring Red Lines: The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal warns that Iran is hoping the Trump administration will follow in the footsteps of the Obama administration and only focus on Iran’s nuclear program in talks, even as President Donald Trump has pledged to come to the defense of Iranian protesters. “Mr. Trump prizes flexibility, and he could ignore any red line he has drawn, as Mr. Obama did at great cost in Syria. But given the ideas Iran has floated so far, a deal would likely require Mr. Trump to cave. Why would he do that while the regime is afraid of its own people, badly weakened militarily by Israel and under financial pressure? The main concession Iran is discussing is to suspend uranium enrichment for a time. But Iran isn’t enriching now, thanks to U.S. bombers, and it isn’t ready to resume. In exchange for that status quo, Tehran wants U.S. sanctions relief, which would be a lifeline to the regime and a betrayal of the protesters.” [WSJ]

Vance’s False Idol: Tablet’s Liel Leibovitz shares a letter he wrote to an unnamed Catholic friend about his concerns around antisemitism and anti-Zionism in the Catholic Church, following the controversy last week resulting from comments by a Catholic member of the White House’s Religious Liberty Commission. “I admire Vice President JD Vance’s journey, and I want to believe that he respects my people and faith as much as I respect his. But watching him in public these days sends shivers down my spine. With one morally clear statement, he could disempower this entire emerging false idol. Instead, he’s doing the opposite. … That the Vice President would choose to center his faith not in deep, meaningful, personal, and evocative ways but as a facile and misdirected talking point is concerning. When we say we want more faith in public life, I’m not sure even the most ardently observant among us has in mind a world in which our elected officials are guided by theological urges rather than by America’s cold, hard interests.” [Tablet]

Vice President JD Vance said that Iranian officials were still unwilling to acknowledge “some red lines” set by the U.S. in negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program, as Axios reports that a war between the U.S. and Iran, likely with Israeli involvement, “could begin very soon”…

A week after Carrie Prejean Boller was removed from the White House Religious Liberty Commission after making stridently anti-Zionist comments at a hearing on antisemitism last week, Sameerah Munshi, a member of the commission’s advisory board, came to Prejean Boller’s defense. “It is my hope as an American that ‘America First’ prevails for Carrie and ordinary Americans over an ‘Israel First’ project bent on eroding the constitutional protections that belong to every American,” Munshi said on Monday. She remains an advisor to the commission…

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, is releasing a book later this year focused on his Christian faith…

House Democrats are mulling a forced vote to censure Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) for recent Islamophobic comments made on social media if House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) does not take action…

The New York Times does a deep dive into the fractured relationship between the Black and Jewish communities following comments by Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died yesterday, to The Washington Post in 1984 in which he referred to Jews as “Hymies” and New York City as “Hymietown”…

Thrive Capital founder Joshua Kushner announced that Thrive was closing its 10th fund, with the majority of the more than $10 billion raised going to designated growth-stage investments…

Eric Trump is investing in Israeli drone maker Xtend in a deal that will merge the Israeli company with Florida-based construction company JFB Construction — which says it already has a multimillion-dollar Pentagon contract — with plans to take the new company public…

Scotiabank dissolved its remaining 165,000 shares in Israel’s Elbit Systems, after facing activist pressure, including protests outside branches of the Canadian bank and the disruption of an awards ceremony sponsored by the bank…

A federal judge blocked the deportation of Columbia University graduate student Mohsen Mahdawi, who led anti-Israel protests at the university, citing a procedural misstep by federal attorneys who failed to certify a document that was to be used as evidence against Mahdawi…

A U.N. committee under the body’s Human Rights Council rebuked the European countries that have in recent days called for the removal of Francesca Albanese as special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, saying that the moves against Albanese, who recently came under fire for comments in which she called Israel the “common enemy” of humanity, were “vicious attacks, rooted in disinformation”…

Radio Télévision Suisse removed commentary from one of its broadcasters covering the Olympic men’s bobsled races over his remarks regarding Israeli bobsled captain AJ Edelman’s support for Israel, which the commentator described as support for “genocide,” saying that Stefan Renna’s comments “may have appeared inappropriate due to its length within the context of a sports commentary”…

A new YouGov poll commissioned by the Council for a Secure America found majority support in Syria for both U.S. engagement (65%), as well as a security arrangement with Israel (64%)…

Syria is closing the al-Hol detention camp that previously housed tens of thousands of people, including Islamic State members and their families, weeks after the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish group that had been supported by the U.S. and had been overseeing it, withdrew amid a takeover of the region by Syrian government forces…

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday slammed Israel’s recent recognition of Somaliland, arguing that the recognition does not help any party…

Eli Sharabi’s Hostage, which recounts his 16 months in Hamas captivity, was named the book of the year at the Jewish Book Council’s National Jewish Book Awards…

Yoav Gonen, formerly a reporter at The City, is joining the office of New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin as communications director…

Jewish Currents tapped former Forward reporter Joshua Nathan-Kazis to join its staff…

Cato Institute co-founder Edward Crane, who established the libertarian think tank in 1977, died at 81…

British actor Tracy-Ann Oberman was named as a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire from King Charles in a ceremony on Tuesday at Windsor Castle.

French movie actor, Esther Garrel turns 35…

Rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University, he also holds a Ph.D. in operations research from NYU, Rabbi Hershel Reichman turns 82… Former U.S. representative from New York for 32 years, he was chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Engel turns 79… Former national and Washington correspondent for The New York Times for 24 years, Michael Janofsky… Russian pharmaceutical businessman, Boris Spiegel turns 73… Principal at NYC-based Liebman Advisors, Scott Liebman… Israeli singer and actress, Ilana Avital turns 66… Portfolio manager at Capital Group, she holds a master’s degree in economics from New York University, Hilda Lea Applbaum… Co-principal of the Institute for Wise Philanthropy, Mirele B. Goldsmith… Mayor of Miami Beach, Fla., from 2013-2017, Philip Louis Levine turns 64… National director of events at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Lori Tessel… Director of the digital diplomacy bureau at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, David Saranga turns 62… Author and school safety activist who had a daughter, Meadow, who was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018, Andrew Scot Pollack turns 60… Professor emeritus of the chemistry department at Stony Brook University, she was the Democratic nominee in 2020 for the 1st Congressional District of New York, Nancy Sarah Goroff turns 58… President of Yeshiva University since 2017, Rabbi Ari Berman turns 56… CEO of an eponymous Baltimore-based branding, marketing, PR, advertising and design firm, David F. Warschawski turns 55… Fitness expert, nutritionist, media personality and author, Jillian Michaels turns 52… Actor, comedian, writer, director and producer, Isaac “Ike” Barinholtz turns 49… Co-founder (with Dan Gilbert) of StockX, the stock market for high-end product resale, it started as a secondary market for sneaker sales, Joshua Eliot “Josh” Luber turns 48… Singer-songwriter and pianist, Regina Spektor turns 46… Chief development officer for J Street, Adee Telem… Instagram celebrity, with 9.4 million followers, known commonly as The Fat Jewish, Josh Ostrovsky turns 44… President of baseball operations for the New York Mets, David Stearns turns 41… Editorial writer and opinion columnist for The Washington Post, James P. Hohmann… Deputy director of strategic planning at NYC’s Housing Authority, Dylan Sandler… Producer and off-air reporter on Capitol Hill for NBC News, Rebecca R. Kaplan… 

• In Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District today, Republican Matt Van Epps and Democrat Aftyn Behn face off in the special election to replace Rep. Mark Green (R-TN), who resigned over the summer. More below.
• In Washington, the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates is holding its annual National Day celebration.
• Elsewhere in Washington, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is hosting the premiere of “The Last Twins,” a documentary about the efforts of Erno “Zvi” Spiegel, a Hungarian Jewish man and prisoner at Auschwitz who protected twins imprisoned at the concentration camp.
• Israel Hayom is holding its first New York summit today in Manhattan. Speakers include the Israeli daily’s publisher Dr. Miriam Adelson, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz, outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams, U.S. Special Envoy for Hostage Response Adam Boehler, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder, TWG Global managing partner and former Biden administration senior official Amos Hochstein, the Justice Department’s Harmeet Dhillon and former hostages Guy Gilboa Dallal and Evyatar David.
• The Combat Antisemitism Movement is holding its 2025 North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism in New Orleans.
• In Miami, Art Basel kicks off today and runs through the weekend.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S Josh Kraushaar

Today’s special election in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District — covering parts of Nashville, its conservative suburbs and rural counties in middle Tennessee — was expected to be a sleepy affair, given that the district backed President Donald Trump with 60% of the vote in 2024. The state’s aggressively partisan redistricting in 2021 was intended to guarantee GOP dominance of the state’s congressional delegation, leaving just one Democratic district in Memphis.

But in a sign that Trump’s growing unpopularity is creating unforeseen problems for Republicans in conservative constituencies, the race between Republican military veteran Matt Van Epps, a former state Cabinet secretary, and Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn is highly competitive. 

The fact that polls show the race tightening — with one Emerson College poll showing Van Epps in a statistical tie with Behn — is a sign of just how treacherous the political landscape has become for Republicans. Gallup’s latest survey found Trump with a 36% job approval, close to an all-time low throughout his two terms in office.  

If Republicans are nervous about holding a seat that Trump won by 22 points, there’s a growing likelihood of a blue wave that would give Democrats comfortable control of the House and an outside shot at a Senate majority. (One useful benchmark: Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) carried the 7th District by just two points in her 2018 Senate race, the last election year when Democrats rode a wave to win back the House.)

The fact that Republicans are struggling to make the case that the unapologetically progressive Behn holds views out of step with the conservative district on everything from anti-police rhetoric to antipathy towards her home city of Nashville to a record of hostility against Israel is also a sign of how nationalized our politics have become. In today’s tribal world, candidate quality and specific policy views mean a lot less than the overall political mood (vibes) and the popularity of the president.

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

Target on Their Backs: The New Yorker’s Benjamin Wallace-Wells spotlights the rise in political violence targeting U.S. officials on both sides of the aisle, including the Passover firebombing of the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion targeting Gov. Josh Shapiro. “[Cody] Balmer had pleaded guilty in mid-October, not just to arson and terrorism but to attempted murder. But Shapiro was still reluctant to focus on his attacker. ‘The prosecutor felt it was important to introduce into evidence the bomber’s claims that he did that because of “what I did to the Palestinians,” so clearly there was some motivation because of my faith,’ Shapiro said. ‘But I think it is dangerous for you or anyone else to think about those who perpetrate these violent attacks as linear thinkers, meaning that they have a left-wing ideology or a right-wing ideology, or that they have a firm set of beliefs the way you might or I might. These are clearly irrational thinkers. And I think that’s true of others who have claimed lives, whether it’s [Minnesota] Speaker [Melissa] Hortman’s or Charlie Kirk’s.’” [NewYorker]

Bearing Arms: The Atlantic’s Isaac Stanley-Becker reports on Germany’s moves to rebuild its offensive military capabilities amid concerns over increased Russian aggression on the Continent and moves by Washington toward neo-isolationism. “[Colonel Dennis] Krüger told me about traveling to Tel Aviv to fine-tune a missile-defense system purchased from the Israelis that can intercept and destroy long-range ballistic missiles in space. … For decades, Germany has been a top exporter of arms to Israel, its commitment to the security of the Jewish state a legacy of the Holocaust. Arrow 3, the largest defense deal in Israeli history, reverses that logic by making Israel a guarantor of German safety. Krüger said that work on the weapons system turned representatives from the two militaries into a ‘family,’ and that they built camaraderie when his staff waited out missile attacks in Tel Aviv’s belowground shelters with their Israeli counterparts. The weapons acquisition from Israel is ‘one next step,’ Krüger said, ‘in overcoming our history.’” [TheAtlantic]

Following a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump called on Jerusalem to “maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria” and warned Israel to avoid scenarios “that will interfere with Syria’s evolution into a prosperous State”…

U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, the U.S.’ Syria envoy, met in Damascus on Monday with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in an effort to calm tensions between Syria and Israel following weekend clashes…

Politico looks at concerns among Republican Jewish donors over increasing antisemitism on the right…

Sam Altman’s OpenAI is taking an ownership stake in Josh Kushner’s Thrive Holdings and will integrate its AI tools into Thrive’s companies, which were acquired with an eye toward consolidating them and incorporating AI into their processes; Thrive had previously invested billions of dollars in OpenAI… 

Private equity firm Apax Partners acquired Israeli online marketplace Yad2 for $950 million…

Harvard hired a recent divinity school graduate who was filmed in late 2023 assaulting a Jewish student at a “die-in” at the Cambridge campus…

The New York Times spotlights Eli Zabar’s egg salad sandwich…

Israeli filmmaker Rachel Elitzur interviews religious Jewish couples about their first night of marriage in her short documentary “The First Night”…

The Norwegian government is struggling to reach a consensus on issues regarding oil drilling and Oslo’s sovereign wealth fund’s investments in Israel in its draft budget for the coming year ahead of a vote scheduled for Friday…

A synagogue and memorial in Rome to a 2-year-old Jewish victim of terror were vandalizedearlier this week, drawing condemnations from the city’s Jewish community and Italy’s foreign minister, who called the vandalism “unacceptable”…

Colombia expelled more than two dozen members of the Lev Tahor sect, including 17 children, after a raid on the hotel in which they were staying…

Israel’s Iron Beam system, which intercepts missiles with lasers, will be delivered to the IDF for initial operational use at the end of the month, Brig.-Gen. (res.) Daniel Gold, head of the Israeli Ministry of Defense Research and Development Directorate, said at the International DefenseTech Summit at Tel Aviv University on Monday, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports… 

Iran sentenced award-winning filmmaker Jafar Panahi to a year in prison in absentia; Panahi, whose “It Was Just an Accident” won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, is currently in the U.S. promoting the film…

The Sudanese Armed Forces offered Russia a 25-year naval base deal along the East African coast that, if Moscow accepts, would be its first position in Africa…

Apollo Global Management CEO and UJA-Federation of New York Board Chair Marc Rowan was honored with the Gustave L. Levy Award last night at the 50th UJA-Federation Wall Street Dinner in Manhattan.

Referencing New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s comments regarding the recent protests outside an aliyah event at the Park East Synagogue, Rowan declared Mamdani an “enemy” of the Jewish community, vowing that his organization would “call him out.” 

Read more from eJewishPhilantropy’s Nira Dayanim here.

Actress best known for playing Special Agent Kensi Blye in 277 episodes of CBS’ “NCIS Los Angeles,” Daniela Ruah turns 42… 

Former director of the Mossad and then head of the Israeli National Security Council, Efraim Halevy turns 91… Professor of rabbinic literature at Yeshiva University’s Gruss Institute in Jerusalem, Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff turns 88… Real estate executive and founder of the Sunshine Group, she was an EVP of The Trump Organization until 1985, Louise Mintz Sunshine turns 85… Sociologist and human rights activist, Jack Nusan Porter turns 81… Partner at Personal Healthcare LLC, Pincus Zagelbaum… Former drummer for a rock band in France followed by a career in contemporary Jewish spiritual music in Brooklyn, Isaac “Jacky” Bitton turns 78… EVP at Rubenstein Communications, Nancy Haberman… Author of more than 15 volumes of poetry, he is a professor emeritus of English at the University of Pennsylvania, Bob Perelman turns 78… French historian, professor at Sorbonne Paris North University and author of 30 books on the history of North Africa, Benjamin Stora turns 75… Retired associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Barbara A. Lenk turns 75… Professor emerita at Montana State University, she was a member of the Montana House of Representatives and a board member of Bozeman’s Congregation Beth Shalom, Dr. Franke Wilmer turns 75… Canadian fashion designer and entrepreneur, he is best known for launching the Club Monaco and Joe Fresh brands, Joe Mimran turns 73… Partner in the Madison, Wis., law firm of Miner, Barnhill & Galland, she is a class action and labor law attorney, Sarah Siskind… Rabbi of Baltimore’s Congregation Ohel Moshe, Rabbi Zvi Teichman… Celebrity physician and author of diet books, he is the president of the Nutritional Research Foundation, Joel Fuhrman turns 72… Advertising account executive at the Los Angeles Daily Journal Corporation, Lanna Solnit… Cleveland resident, Joseph Schlaiser… Emmy Award-winning actress, Rena Sofer turns 57… Publisher and CEO of The Forward, Rachel Fishman Feddersen… Identical twin sisters, known as The AstroTwins, they are magazine columnists and authors of four books on astrology, Tali Edut and Ophira Edut turn 53… Lecturer of political science at Yale, she was formerly a White House staffer, Eleanor L. Schiff turns 49… Television writer and producer, Murray Selig Miller turns 49… Former member of the Knesset and then Israel’s ambassador to the U.K., Tzipi Hotovely turns 47… Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, Annie Fixler… Managing director with Alvarez & Marsal in Atlanta, she was a sabre fencer at the 2004 Summer Olympics, Emily Jacobson Edwards turns 40… Actor, best known for playing Trevor in the coming-of-age film “Eighth Grade,” Fred Hechinger turns 26…

• We’re keeping an eye on Lebanon following an Israeli strike on Sunday that targeted Hezbollah’s chief of staff, Haytham Ali Tabatabai, amid indications that the Iran-backed terror group, which suffered significant setbacks amid a wave of Israeli attacks last year, was rearming. Israeli intelligence sources said that the strike could prompt Hezbollah to retaliate against Jewish and Israeli targets abroad. More below.
• We’re also monitoring the situation in the Gaza Strip, following Israeli strikes on Hamas targets that were prompted by Hamas gunfire directed at IDF troops.
• In New York, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) is slated to make an announcement alongside Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) today in Rockland County.
• Former hostages Keith and Aviva Siegel are scheduled to speak tonight about their time in captivity and the fight for Keith’s release at Potomac’s Congregation Beth Sholom.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S GABBY DEUTCH

In the wake of Mark Mellman’s death last week, the longtime Democratic pollster is being remembered for his leadership of Democratic Majority for Israel, an advocacy group he helped launch in 2019 to counter a growing hostility toward Israel on the left, a value proposition that proved prescient. 

But his role leading the group, in what turned out to be the capstone to his decades-long career, was serendipitous — and almost didn’t happen. 

The group’s founding board members “reached out to Mark for advice on who we should hire,” one of the board members, speaking anonymously to discuss the details of the group’s founding, told Jewish Insider. “And Mark said, ‘I’ll do it.’ We went, ‘OK.’ We weren’t expecting that.”

San Francisco Democratic fundraiser Sam Lauter, a former AIPAC activist who has been involved with DMFI from the beginning, said Mellman’s role atop DMFI gave the group “instant credibility.” Weeks later, Mellman was weighing in on a series of tweets from then-freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) that trafficked in antisemitic tropes. 

As political activists reflect on Mellman’s life, several Jewish Democrats told JI that his clear-eyed support for Israel — and his ability to articulate its strategic importance to Democrats — will leave a lasting impact on the party.

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