SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The humid air was swelling with anticipation as thousands of New York politicos descended on Puerto Rico’s capital last week to attend the annual Somos conference, a multiday marathon of post-election elbow-rubbing where receptions and panels occur alongside covert negotiations and late-night schmoozing at local bars and hotels.

The extended Democratic gathering, which kicked off on Wednesday and continued into the weekend, was adjusting to the ascendant political order led by Zohran Mamdani, whose victory in New York City’s mayoral election earlier that week had upended the Democratic establishment and led to new alliances that until recently would have seemed improbable.

While Mamdani was still largely unknown during Somos last year, just weeks after announcing his long-shot mayoral bid, the 34-year-old democratic socialist and state assemblyman now seized the spotlight as attendees swarmed his arrival Thursday at the Caribe Hilton, where the incoming mayor was later fêted by some of the state’s top elected officials at a crowded beachside reception.

For many Jewish leaders who joined the Caribbean confab, however, the feeling was far more subdued, as they openly grappled with the sensitive question of how to work with a mayor-elect whose stridently anti-Israel views conflict with their own core values.

It is a wholly unfamiliar position for Jewish leaders and mainstream Jewish institutions in New York City, where the mayors have long been proudly pro-Israel. But Mamdani’s stunning rise challenged the conventional thinking that a winning candidate in New York, a place with the largest Jewish community of any city in the world,  must show strong support for Israel. In breaking with decades of precedent, Mamdani still faced skepticism from a significant number of Jewish voters who cast their ballots for former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who lost the Democratic primary and then ran as an independent. Exit polls showed that Cuomo, a vocal supporter of Israel, had doubled Mamdani among Jewish New Yorkers, with around two-thirds of the vote.

As Mamdani prepares to assume office in less than two months, Jewish leaders mingling at Somos were freshly processing his looming mayoralty with a mix of shock, hesitation and bemused detachment. Even if some voiced hope for a positive relationship, most were not ready to specify how they planned to move forward or what was expected of his administration.

One well-connected Jewish attendee cited the five stages of grief in characterizing the reactions among Jewish community leaders who had largely resisted engaging with Mamdani’s campaign. Many of them, it seemed, were dealing with the first stage of denial — and were far from finally reaching acceptance.

“We’re so screwed,” one Jewish political activist was overheard lamenting at an event on Friday evening.

Still, some Jewish community leaders who spoke with Jewish Insider over the course of the retreat suggested they were willing to give Mamdani the latitude to follow through on areas where they are aligned, pointing to a sort of provisional detente in the aftermath of a bruising and emotionally fraught election.

“The mainstream Jewish community is open to dealing with reality,” Noam Gilboord, the chief operating and community relations officer at the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, said diplomatically while attending the conference.

The JCRC, for its part, has not yet held any direct meetings with Mamdani, though members of his team privately reached out about some key issues during the election and have continued to stay in touch, according to Mark Treyger, the group’s chief executive. The campaign gave a heads-up to JCRC leadership, for instance, before Mamdani publicly announced that he would ask Jessica Tisch to stay on as police commissioner, an encouraging choice to Jewish community leaders who favored her for the role.

“We are here to represent the transition with the Jewish community, and we’re so happy to be here,” Ali Najmi, a Mamdani confidante and chief counsel to the mayor-elect’s transition team, told JI in a brief exchange. “We see so many good friends and old friends, and we’re so looking forward to our new friends.” 

Mamdani’s team also checked in with the JCRC after he had won the primary to give assurances that the newly anointed Democratic nominee was committed to providing continued security for its annual Israel Day on Fifth parade — even if he was unlikely to attend, as a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against the Jewish state.

While Mamdani was absent from a Thursday night reception the JCRC hosted with the UJA-Federation of New York, he sent two of his top aides, Ali Najmi and Elle Bisgaard-Church, to join the event instead. They were warmly greeted by attendees in a public easing of tensions that would have been difficult to imagine just a few weeks ago.

“We are here to represent the transition with the Jewish community, and we’re so happy to be here,” Najmi, a Mamdani confidante and chief counsel to the mayor-elect’s transition team, told JI in a brief exchange. “We see so many good friends and old friends, and we’re so looking forward to our new friends.” 

Najmi did not share further details regarding the transition’s formal plans to address Jewish issues, steps that are certain to be aggressively scrutinized in the coming months.

Yeruchim Silber, the director of New York government relations at Agudath Israel of America, an Orthodox advocacy group, said he appreciated the outreach and looked forward to meeting with Najmi again. “We’re hopeful that we could always find some common ground and work together,” he told JI during the reception. “Look, the mayor-elect said very clearly in his victory speech that he’s going to tackle antisemitism,” he added, “so we’ll take him at his word.”

“My understanding is there is interest in more formal Jewish outreach” from Mamdani’s team, said Phylisa Wisdom, the executive director of New York Jewish Agenda, a liberal Zionist group that has been receptive to the mayor-elect. Wisdom, who joined a private conversation with Mamdani at a Reform synagogue in Brooklyn before the election, said the appearance of his aides at the reception on Thursday demonstrated “a desire to be in all kinds of Jewish spaces they may not have been during the election,” in order to “build relationships and show goodwill.”

“This is a very, very divided time for the city, I think I can acknowledge that,” Mark Levine, the incoming city comptroller who endorsed Mamdani, said in his remarks to the room. 

Mamdani, whose presence at formal Somos events drew throngs of eager admirers seeking selfies with the mayor-elect, likewise steered clear of an annual Shabbat gathering convened by the Met Council, the Jewish anti-poverty charity. Despite his victory, the event, which featured Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), New York state Attorney General Letitia James and other prominent officials, made no direct allusion to Mamdani — further highlighting his uncomfortable relationship with the Jewish community. 

Instead, the speakers at the Met Council’s widely attended reception zeroed in largely on such issues as hunger, poverty and the Trump administration’s efforts to withhold payments for food stamps amid the government shutdown.

“This is a very, very divided time for the city, I think I can acknowledge that,” Mark Levine, the incoming city comptroller who endorsed Mamdani, said in his remarks to the room. 

Levine, who is Jewish, is now facing pressure from some Mamdani allies to divest the city from Israel bonds. He has refused to change course, saying last week that he has “criticism of the Israeli government” but still maintains “deep personal ties to Israel.” Mamdani, meanwhile, has voiced support for ending “the practice of purchasing Israel bonds,” though Levine has indicated he does not believe the mayor-elect has the power to enforce such a policy.

The Shabbat reception was disrupted by anti-Israel protesters two years ago, weeks after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. But no such demonstrations occurred last Friday.

Mamdani, who will soon become New York City’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor, has frequently vowed to fight rising antisemitism. The day after the election, he swiftly moved to condemn vandalism of a Jewish day school in Brooklyn that was defaced by swastika graffiti, calling the attack a “disgusting and heartbreaking act of antisemitism” and pledging to “always stand steadfast with our Jewish neighbors to root the scourge of antisemitism out of our city.”

In his outreach to different parts of the Jewish community and in his public remarks during the election, Mamdani called for increased funding to prevent hate crimes and boosting police protection at Jewish institutions. He has expressed interest in a city curriculum backed by leading Jewish groups, even as it uses a definition of Zionism contradicting his own views on Israel. Mamdani has said he does not recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

Despite his pledges to counter antisemitism, that tension underscores how many Jewish leaders see his positions as an active threat and an impediment to upholding support for Israel, as the war in Gaza has fueled deep divisions in the Democratic Party. 

Mamdani’s anti-Israel stances have provoked concerns that he will act on his views when he takes office. He has indicated, for instance, that he would reassess the partnership between Cornell University and Israel’s Technion, situated on Roosevelt Island. He has also pledged to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes if he steps foot in New York City, in a controversial move that legal experts have questioned as legally dubious.

Mamdani has faced scrutiny for his ties to the Democratic Socialists of America, whose avowedly anti-Zionist mission includes demands that the mayor-elect implement several policies that would sever New York City’s relations with Israel. His refusal to explicitly condemn calls to “globalize the intifada” have otherwise continued to frustrate Jewish community leaders.

Robert Tucker, a Jewish philanthropist who had served as the commissioner of New York City’s Fire Department until last week, announced that he was resigning after Mamdani’s win, reportedly owing to the mayor-elect’s anti-Zionist stances.

But some Jewish leaders at Somos speculated that Mamdani may now see his vocal opposition to Israel as an albatross as he seeks to enact an ambitious affordability plan that will need buy-in from the state leadership.

During his time at Somos, the mayor-elect seemed careful to largely avoid the issue. “I will make clear that we are not looking to remake New York City in my image,” he said in remarks at a labor breakfast Saturday. “We are looking to remake it in the image of struggling workers across the five boroughs.”

In comments to a mosque he visited in San Juan, where the imam had mentioned Palestine during his own sermon, Mamdani spoke in metaphorical terms as he addressed the audience. “If you are not at the table, you may find yourself on the menu,” he noted. “It was a Muslim brother, Malcolm X, who reminded us that sitting at the table does not make you a diner. You have to be eating some of what’s on that plate.”

Still, some of Mamdani’s allies on the far left indicated that they were eager to use momentum from his victory to push a more hostile view of Israel into the mainstream discourse and to challenge incumbents who accept donations from AIPAC while promoting pro-Israel policies.

In a panel discussion on Thursday billed as “Colonialism, Resistance and Solidarity: Puerto Rico and Palestine,” Mamdani’s supporters — including City Councilmember Alexa Avilés, Beth Miller of Jewish Voice for Peace Action and Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American activist who has spread antisemitic rhetoric — were emboldened by his recent win, as attendees chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestina will be free!” and “Viva, viva Palestina!” Sarsour described Mamdani’s election as “a new day” and said “we’re not going back.”

“Being someone who supports the Palestinian people is no longer a political liability,” Sarsour, who has vowed to hold Mamdani “accountable” as mayor, told the room. “It is what gets you elected into office.”

In statements following the election, a range of Jewish organizations promised to hold Mamdani responsible for keeping Jews in New York City safe. The mayor-elect’s “victory marks the beginning of a new political chapter for New York, one that many in our community view with enormous concern,” Eric Goldstein, the CEO of the UJA-Federation of New York, said in a letter to supporters. “His rhetoric on Israel and Zionism raises serious questions about whether Jewish New Yorkers will continue to feel seen and protected in the very city we indelibly helped build and grow.”

He said the Jewish community would be watching closely to ensure “that antisemitism is not given any oxygen in our neighborhoods,” adding that “actions matter more” than “words.”

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsh, who leads Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, said in a post-election sermon that he “will readily engage in dialogue” with Mamdani if he chooses to reach out. “We will support Mayor Mamdani’s policies where we can — and oppose them when we must,” he concluded.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who, at Somos, celebrated Mamdani’s win, also stressed to reporters on the sidelines of the conference that Jewish New Yorkers still need to “see action” from the mayor-elect to address their concerns. “That’s one area where I know that there’s some opportunities for him to demonstrate, as he has said, but also demonstrate that he is there to protect all New Yorkers, to protect anyone’s right to worship or their beliefs but also their institutions,” she explained.

The Anti-Defamation League, for its part, launched a “Mamdani Monitor” to track policies that could impact Jewish safety and security. Jewish leaders in attendance at Somos, however, voiced reservations with the effort, suggesting they did not see it as productive as some in the community look for common ground to work with the mayor-elect.

Others voiced hope that a leading candidate for City Council speaker, Julie Menin, who is Jewish, would serve as a counterweight to Mamdani — in contrast with a leftist rival, Crystal Hudson, seen more as an ally of the mayor-elect. Menin, who declined to join a meeting between Mamdani and Jewish officials in the primary, is known as an outspoken supporter of Israel in the City Council.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who, at Somos, celebrated Mamdani’s win, also stressed to reporters on the sidelines of the conference that Jewish New Yorkers still need to “see action” from the mayor-elect to address their concerns. “That’s one area where I know that there’s some opportunities for him to demonstrate, as he has said, but also demonstrate that he is there to protect all New Yorkers, to protect anyone’s right to worship or their beliefs but also their institutions,” she explained.

Hochul, for her part, has also drawn backlash from Jewish donors for choosing to back Mamdani’s campaign in the general election, people familiar with the situation told JI. “She’s got a lot to prove,” one Jewish leader said of the governor, long regarded as a staunch defender of Israel.

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), a pro-Israel Jewish Democrat who declined to endorse Mamdani in the general election, told JI at Somos that, despite their disagreements on Israel, he was looking forward to working with the mayor-elect on areas of alignment such as cost of living issues.

But some Jewish community activists were more suspicious of the incoming mayor. One Brooklyn organizer dismissed the possibility of working with Mamdani outright, saying that his stances on Israel had foreclosed any hope of finding common ground, even on unrelated issues.

Leon Goldenberg, an Orthodox business leader in Brooklyn who serves as an executive board member of the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition, which endorsed Cuomo in the general election, told JI that he has been struggling to decide whether he will ask Mamdani for a meeting.

“I’m really at a loss,” he said on Thursday. “What are we going to talk about, Israel?”

The FJCC itself, which long enjoyed a close relationship with outgoing Mayor Eric Adams, was more optimistic, according to Josh Mehlman, the group’s chairman.  “We have met, and will meet with them again,” he said of Mamdani’s team. “We are confident we can work together for the best interest of the Flatbush community and the Orthodox Jewish community citywide.”

Even as Zohran Mamdani remains the front-runner heading into New York City’s mayoral election next Tuesday, some emerging signs indicate that his momentum is flagging in the final stretch of the race — underscoring potential vulnerabilities for the 34-year-old democratic socialist.

Early voting returns over the weekend, for example, showed a notable surge among older New Yorkers turning out in City Council districts on the Upper East and West Sides, in what some experts interpreted as more favorable results for former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo — running as an independent after losing the primary to Mamdani.

Meanwhile, a new Suffolk University poll released on Monday showed a tightening race, with Cuomo cutting Mamdani’s lead in half to just 10 points — 44% to 34% — in the closing week before the election.

The polling followed a debate performance last week in which Mamdani frequently found himself on the defensive — and faced criticism from Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee, over his continued refusal to confirm his position on a series of ballot proposals.

“Cuomo’s numbers are going up because people are now paying more attention,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic consultant leading an anti-Mamdani super PAC.

Mamdani, a state assemblyman from Queens who would be New York City’s first Muslim mayor if elected, had spent the last few days accusing his rivals of pushing Islamophobic attacks, delivering a series of emotional addresses in which he expressed pride in his faith and vowed to “no longer look for myself in the shadows.”

The Democratic nominee came under scrutiny on Monday after clarifying that he had misidentified a family member who he said had stopped riding the subway after the 9/11 attacks, “because she did not feel safe in her hijab.” The woman, Mamdani said, was his father’s cousin, not his “aunt,” as he initially stated during a speech on Friday outside a mosque in the Bronx.

Despite his outreach to Jewish community leaders in recent weeks, Mamdani has doubled down on his base as the election reaches its conclusion. He held a rally on Sunday evening whose attendees included Hasan Piker, the far-left streamer who has espoused antisemitic rhetoric and has said “America deserved 9/11,” a comment Mamdani disavowed during a debate earlier this month.    

Cuomo, who has recently escalated his criticism of Mamdani, said on Monday that Piker’s presence at the campaign rally “is insulting to all New Yorkers.” The former governor’s rebuke came after he himself had faced backlash for laughing with a conservative radio host who said that Mamdani would celebrate another attack like 9/11.

Thanks in part to his continued relationships with extreme figures, Mamdani’s recent campaign efforts have done little to reassure many Jewish voters who remain worried about his hostility to Israel and his refusal to condemn calls to “globalize the intifada,” among other issues.

“I think there’s a genuine and legitimate concern that Jews are not going to be comfortable living in New York with him as mayor,” said Mitchell Moss, professor of urban policy and planning at New York University. “This is not a matter of affordability but survivability,” he added, using a twist on Mamdani’s top campaign focus.

In an unprecedented show of organized Jewish opposition to Mamdani, more than 1,000 rabbis from all leading denominations signed on to an open letter last week that raised alarms about his candidacy and said that, if elected, he would threaten “the safety and dignity of Jews in every city.”

Mamdani has vowed to protect Jewish New Yorkers and voiced sensitivity to rising antisemitism across the city. He is likely to receive an endorsement from a Satmar Hasidic faction in Brooklyn representing a sizable constituency, according to a person familiar with the matter, following recent engagement with the community, which is theologically anti-Zionist. 

But mainstream Jewish groups and leaders continue to hold reservations with Mamdani’s campaign. New York Solidarity Network, a local pro-Israel advocacy group, released an open letter on Monday urging all of the candidates in the race to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, oppose boycott efforts against Israel and “engage a broad spectrum of Jewish voices, including Zionists,” among other things. 

The letter, which was presumably aimed at Mamdani but did not mention him by name, was signed by more than 5,500 Jewish New Yorkers, according to NYSN.

One Democratic consultant not currently involved in the mayoral race said Mamdani has “made some very questionable decisions about who he hangs out with and the rhetoric he uses” with regard to Israel — issues that a number of Jewish New Yorkers believe he has failed to adequately address in his campaign.

While the consultant echoed others who still expect that Mamdani will win next Tuesday, he added that the current trajectory of the race suggests his share of the vote may not ultimately be so commanding to deliver a mandate.

“Based on the data now, five points seems much more likely than 25 points,” the consultant said.

Good Tuesday morning.

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s comments that the Israel rhetoric employed by some Democratic officials has stoked antisemitism, and talk to former Obama speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz about her new book that focuses on Jewish identity. We have the scoop on a call from Sen. Bernie Moreno for Ohio universities to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, and report on a senior Hamas official’s rejection of the Trump administration’s ceasefire proposal. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Bruce Pearl, Ken Weinstein and Amb. Charles Kushner.

Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Marc Rod and Danielle Cohen-Kanik. Have a tip? Email us here.

What We’re Watching

• Jeff Blau, Aby Rosen, Laurie Tisch and Gregg Hymowitz are convening a meeting of associates this morning to strategize over how to boost Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s mayoral election, as a new Siena/New York Times poll shows the former governor trailing Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani by four points in a head-to-head matchup.
• In Virginia, voters in the 11th Congressional District head to the polls today to vote in the special election to succeed Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), who died earlier this year. James Walkinshaw, who for years served as a top aide to Connolly, is the heavy favorite in today’s race.
• On Capitol Hill, the House Committee on Education & the Workforce’s HELP subcommittee is holding a hearing on “Unmasking Union Antisemitism.”
• Elsewhere in DC, the MEAD conference kicks off today, and the National Union for Democracy in Iran is holding its fourth annual Iran conference.
• The U.S. Embassy in Israel is hosting a belated Fourth of July celebration tonight in Jerusalem.
• The Hili Forum continues today in Abu Dhabi.
• And in Cairo, Rafael Grossi, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, is slated to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi for the first time since the 12-day war between Israel and Iran.

What You Should Know

A QUICK WORD WITH jI’S HALEY cohen and josh kraushaar

Over the weekend, The New York Times published a story contending that the momentum for settlements with elite universities was stalling amid divisions between those in the Trump administration looking to make a deal and those looking for more meaningful reforms in combating antisemitism. 

The story glossed over the related development we’ve been hearing from officials involved in the negotiating process: that a zeal for dealmaking from some officials is overshadowing the main reason the Trump administration was playing hardball with these schools in the first place — the rampant antisemitism that has been festering on campus.

In fact, the word “antisemitism” was hardly mentioned in the lengthy Times story, a sign in itself of the administration’s flagging focus.

Indeed, many of the deals struck — along with the outlines of potential future deals — have focused on the dollar amounts in the settlement, without requiring many significant reforms that would deal with antisemitism at the elite schools.

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

WAR TALKS

Hamas official says disarmament not negotiable, rejects Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan

A senior Hamas official publicly rejected any deal requiring the terrorist organization to lay down its arms, after Israel said it would support such a deal proposed by the Trump administration. In response to the Trump deal, Bassem Naim, a Turkey-based senior Hamas official, released a statement on his Telegram channel on Monday calling the proposal a “humiliating surrender document” and not a serious offer to end the war, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports. 

What he said: Naim told Middle East Monitor, a pro-Hamas, Qatar-funded site, that the terrorist group would agree to a long-term ceasefire and would release all of the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, but the Palestinians “right” to weapons and to fight Israel “cannot be relinquished.” He also said the terrorist group would only agree to a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza. The Trump administration’s deal, according to Israel’s Channel 12, would require Israel to stop its military operation in Gaza City and start a 60-day ceasefire. In the first 48 hours, Hamas would release all 48 remaining hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Then, the sides would negotiate the end to the war.

Read the full story here.

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SPEAKING UP

Gillibrand says that some Democrats’ rhetoric is inadvertently stoking antisemitism

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said in comments to Jewish leaders in New York City on Monday that anti-Israel protesters and, in some cases, fellow Democratic lawmakers are fueling antisemitism through the rhetoric and slogans they use, though she said that in many cases it is unintentional, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Notable quotable: “Some of the rhetoric that comes out of various protests globally, various protests on college campuses is so damaging. When they say words like ‘river to the sea,’ whey they say words like ‘globalize the intifada,’ it means end Israel. It means destroy Jews,” Gillibrand said in a video from a roundtable with Jewish leaders in Borough Park shared by The Forward. “No matter what words they intend to be saying, that is the meaning of these simple phrases.” She said some Democratic colleagues, “don’t know how to articulate political disagreement [with Israel], and sometimes it comes out as anti-Israel.”

Read the full story here.

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ALABAMA RACE

Auburn University basketball coach Bruce Pearl leaning against Senate run

Auburn University men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl is leaning against running to replace outgoing Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and will make a final decision on entering the race by the end of the month, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs has learned. 

Status update: Pearl, 65, spent the summer meeting with GOP campaign operatives and Republican senators as he considered whether to enter the race following Tuberville’s announcement in late May that he would not seek a second term in the Senate to run for governor of Alabama. At the beginning of the summer, Pearl had just finished the academic year coaching Auburn’s basketball team, which he joined in 2014 and where he has led the SEC team to six NCAA tournament appearances, including this year’s Final Four. Two sources familiar with Pearl’s thinking told JI that he has not officially decided against running yet and has given himself until the end of September to make a final call, though he is unlikely to enter the contest. 

Read the full story here.

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BOOK SHELF

In new book, former Obama speechwriter calls on Jews to stand proud for their values

After debuting her first book Here All Along, about rekindling her Jewish faith, in 2019, former Obama speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz’s follow-up work comes out today. In As A Jew: Reclaiming Our Story From Those Who Blame, Shame, and Try to Erase Us, Hurwitz speaks to progressive Jews grappling with identity, Zionism and belonging. In an interview with Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch, she explained how the book — pitched before the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks — has taken on new urgency in the wake of rising antisemitism. “This book was very much my journey to stripping away all those layers of internalized antisemitism, anti-Judaism, all of that internalized shame from so many years of persecution, and just saying, ‘You know what, no, I’m a Jew,’” said Hurwitz. 

Post- Oct. 7: Hurwitz said the events of the last two years have only furthered her argument that Jews throughout history have felt the need to separate from parts of their community to earn the approval of the rest of society. “Oct. 7 did not change the overall argument at all. It unfortunately, in many ways, gave this devastating, heartbreaking, new evidence from the argument,” Hurwitz said. 

Read the full interview here.

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CHANGING TACK

Hudson Institute’s Ken Weinstein tapped as CBS News ombudsman

Ken Weinstein, the former president and CEO of the pro-Israel Hudson Institute think tank, has been named ombudsman of CBS News, where he will be tasked with reviewing complaints about editorial bias from consumers and employees, Paramount announced on Monday. The hire represents a shift for the news organization, which has faced accusations of anti-Israel bias in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.

Following through: The creation of the new role also follows through on a pledge that Skydance Media had made as it sought approval from the Federal Communications Commission for its merger in late July with Paramount, CBS’ parent company. Weinstein will report to Jeff Shell, the president of Paramount. “I’ve known him for many years and have great respect for his integrity, sound judgment and thoughtful approach to complex issues,” Shell said in a statement on Monday. “Ken brings not only a wealth of advisory experience in media and beyond but also a calm, measured perspective that makes him exceptionally well-suited to serve as our ombudsman.”

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SCOOP

Bernie Moreno urges schools in Ohio to adopt IHRA definition of antisemitism

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) is asking the presidents of the largest colleges and universities in Ohio to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and ensure that their respective institutions have plans in place to combat campus antisemitism during the upcoming school year, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs has learned.

What he wrote: Moreno sent letters on Tuesday to the presidents of The Ohio State University, Miami University, Kent State University, Cleveland State University, Youngstown State University, the University of Cincinnati, Central State University, the University of Toledo, Bowling Green State University, Akron University, Ohio University, Wright State University, Northeast Ohio Medical University and Shawnee State University. In the letters, the Ohio senator requested information on how each school was responding to “the unacceptable and disgusting rise in antisemitism” and the ways each plans to “protect students’ safety while on campus from antisemitism and/or other religiously motivated crimes.”

Read the full story here.

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Worthy Reads

JD and Rand: Poles Apart: Politico’s Ian Ward spotlights the growing ideological divide in the Republican Party, underscored by recent clashes between Vice President JD Vance and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky over U.S. strikes targeting international drug cartels. “The exchange gets to the heart of the question dividing the two factions of restrainers: Should U.S. military action be evaluated based on its respect for the separation of powers and civil liberties? (A bar that blowing up a boatful of alleged drug smugglers without congressional approval or any due process likely does not meet — even as the White House has defended the legality of the strike.) Or should it be judged based on its ability to advance U.S. interests — at least its interests as defined by Trump and his allies? That question may sound academic, but it matters for the long-term political efficacy of the restraint camp. For now, Vance’s populist faction seems to have the upper hand over the libertarians. But try as Vance might to define the ‘Trump Doctrine’ in terms that are favorable to the anti-interventionist camp, the core of Trump’s foreign policy remains whatever Trump says it is.” [Politico]

‘Golden Dome’ Domination: The New York Times’ Sheera Frenkel looks at efforts by tech companies to develop technology for potential use in President Donald Trump’s proposed “Golden Dome” defensive system. “Mr. Trump promised during his campaign last year to build a U.S. system similar to Israel’s Iron Dome, which protects the country against missile attacks. In January, Mr. Trump signed an executive order to create the defense shield. … Many have flocked to defense conferences and conducted exercises to display everything from sonars that monitor incoming threats to lasers that shoot missiles from space. Companies chosen for Golden Dome are likely to become the new cornerstones of U.S. defense, military officials involved in the project said. Larger tech firms including Palantir, which builds advanced data processing systems, and Anduril, which makes A.I.-backed weapons systems, have already been in discussions to get involved, two military officials briefed on the conversations said.” [NYTimes]

Word on the Street

Jared Kushner and U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met yesterday in Miami with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer to discuss ceasefire and hostage-relief efforts and day-after plans for Gaza…

Former Iran envoy Rob Malley, whose security clearance while serving in the Biden administration was suspended in the spring of 2023 amid an investigation into his handling of classified documents, said he would have resigned from the Biden administration but was not allowed to because of the status of his clearance…

Texas state Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat, who is mounting a Senate bid in the state, told Punchbowl News that part of the reason the Democratic Party is losing young voters is due to “our party’s failure to recognize the moral disaster in Gaza”… 

Following a fight with New York City’s Board of Elections over his ability to appear on multiple ballot lines in November, Mayor Eric Adams, who is mounting an independent reelection bid, withdrew himself from the “EndAntiSemitism” ballot line…

A suspect in the vandalism of the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia turned himself in to authorities, and is expected to face charges related to two separate incidents last month in which he spray-painted walls of the museum…

The Chicago Commission on Human Relations held a hearing on antisemitism on Monday that included the testimonies of a Chicago Public Schools student who faced antisemitism from both classmates and a teacher, as well as a Jewish man who was shot while walking to synagogue…

In a recently unearthed joint op-ed written in the Bangor Daily News while he was a high school student, Graham Platner, who is mounting a bid for Senate in Maine, suggested that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter,” while lamenting that in media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, “a sometimes-oppressive Israeli state can be, and often is, portrayed as a victim”… 

The New York Times spotlights the efforts of the Jewish Theological Seminary in Budapest to recover tens of thousands of Jewish texts seized by the Nazis before and during World War II…

A letter authored by U.K. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, who until last week was serving as the country’s foreign secretary, stated that London’s position was that Israel had not committed genocide in Gaza; Lammy wrote the letter prior to his reassignment within Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government…

French lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to oust Prime Minister François Bayrou after nine months in office, collapsing the country’s government…

U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner posted a video of himself and his staff participating in what he called the “Ambassador Plank Challenge,” modeled after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “Physical Fitness Challenge”; Kushner won, holding the plank for nearly eight minutes…

Sharren Haskel, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, met in Abu Dhabi with Ali Al Nuaimi, the chairman of the United Arab Emirates’ Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee…

The Wall Street Journal interviews hostage families tied to the Tikva Forum, who support continued IDF action in Gaza and oppose the widespread Israeli public pressure on the government to cut a deal to secure the hostages’ release before Israel’s strategic aims in Gaza are accomplished…

Israel banned two far-left Spanish legislators from entering the country following Madrid’s announcement that it would formalize a de facto weapons ban to Israel and ban ships carrying fuel bound for Israel from docking in Spain…

Syria accused Israel of conducting airstrikes near the cities of Palmyra, Latakia and Homs…

Israel’s soccer team fell short in its World Cup qualifier match to Italy 5-4; the Israeli players wore black armbands in recognition of the Jerusalem terror attack earlier in the day in which six people were killed…

Tunisian authorities denied a claim from the Global Sumud Flotilla that one of its vessels attempting to reach Gaza had been struck by a drone; a spokesperson for Tunisia’s National Guard said the allegations “have no basis in truth”…

International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi said that if Iran allows nuclear inspectors into the country, “the possibility of further military action will be diminished”…

More than 1,800 actors, entertainers, producers and other film industry workers signed a pledge not to screen films or work with Israeli film institutions “that are implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people”; signatories include Emma Stone, Javier Bardem, Mark Ruffalo, Ayo Edebiri and Olivia Colman…

AIDS activist Michael Seltzer, who raised millions to fund treatment and prevention of the virus, died at 78…

Pic of the Day

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee met in Jerusalem on Monday with the families of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, who were killed in a May terror attack outside an American Jewish Committee event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington.

Birthdays

President of Israel from 2014 to 2021, Reuven “Ruvi” Rivlin turns 86…

Beverly Hills resident, Barbara Schechter… Senior fellow emeritus in the foreign policy program at The Brookings Institution, Kenneth G. Lieberthal turns 82… Former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Donald M. Berwick turns 79… President of the Middle East Forum and publisher of its Middle East Quarterly journal, Daniel Pipes turns 76… President emeritus of Yeshiva University, Richard M. Joel turns 75… A founder of the Shas party, he served in the Knesset for 16 years, Nissim Mordechai Ze’ev turns 74… Founding president of Shalem College in Jerusalem, he has been a visiting professor at University of Chicago, Cornell, Johns Hopkins and Georgetown, Martin Seth Kramer turns 71… Brooklyn educator, Steven Elworth… Retired editorial director of Schocken Books (the Judaica imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, which is part of Penguin Random House), Altie Karper… Israeli businesswoman and philanthropist, Shari Arison turns 68… Israeli businessman and president of Limmud FSU, Aaron G. Frenkel… Suzanna Stone… D.C.-based communications strategist and tactician, Jeffrey Weintraub… Crisis management consultant, author and founder of D.C.-based PR firm Dezenhall Resources, Eric B. Dezenhall turns 63… Founder and managing member of Alternative Asset CFO Services, Lloyd Eric Appel… U.S. senator (D-DE), Chris Coons turns 62… Professional golfer formerly on both the PGA Tour and then on the Champions Tour, Jules Ira “Skip” Kendall turns 61… Actor, comedian, screenwriter, film producer and musician, famous for “The Chanukah Song,” Adam Sandler turns 59… Author and former senior national correspondent at HuffPost for 10 years, now a correspondent and podcast host for The Bulwark, Jonathan Cohn turns 56… Former member of the Knesset for the Yesh Atid party, Dov Lipman turns 54… Former partner and associate director at Boston Consulting Group, now an independent consultant, Sacha Frédéric Litman… Features writer and political columnist for New York magazine, David Freedlander… Israeli entrepreneur and the CEO and co-founder of Lightricks, Zeev Farbman turns 46… Global head of financial innovation and digital assets at Amazon Web Services, Michael B. Greenwald… Program specialist at USC’s school of architecture, Carla Hashley… Former head of Google Cuba, now an investor and strategist, Brett Perlmutter… Managing director at Alums for Campus Fairness, he is also the D.C. chair of B’nai B’rith Connect, Trey Meehan… Co-founder of International Hummus Day in 2012, now an angel investor, he served in the IDF’s signals intelligence group, Unit 8200, Ben Lang… Fourth overall pick by the New Jersey Devils in the 2021 NHL draft, he is the son of hockey star Ellen Weinberg-Hughes, Luke Hughes turns 22…

Since Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor, there’s been a fascinating disconnect between the polls showing Mamdani still vulnerable in the general election and the sclerosis among political leaders unable to make the tough decisions on whether to rally behind an alternative in a bid to stop the socialist candidate from becoming the next mayor.

There hasn’t been much good polling since the primary, but the most recent general election surveys all paint a picture of Mamdani leading the race with a plurality, but far below what a typical Democratic nominee should be receiving after a stunning, come-from-behind defeat of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. 

One poll, conducted by the Democratic firm Slingshot Strategies between July 2-6, found Mamdani winning 35% of registered voters, Cuomo at 25%, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa tallying 14%, Mayor Eric Adams at 11% and attorney Jim Walden at 1%. Thirteen percent said they were undecided.

A late-June poll by the GOP firm American Pulse found Mamdani at 35%, Cuomo at 29%, Sliwa winning 16% and Adams with 14%. Asked whether they were leaning towards voting for Mamdani or anyone but Mamdani, it was close to an even split, with 48% leaning towards Mamdani and 46% preferring anyone else.

Of note, both polls found the combined Cuomo and Adams vote — which roughly encompasses the lion’s share of the moderate Democratic electorate — narrowly outpacing Mamdani’s share of support. In other words, the Mamdani alternative wouldn’t necessarily need a large portion of the Republican vote to prevail. 

The obvious challenge for the anti-Mamdani forces is consolidating the field behind one leading opponent — or at least encouraging one of the two Democratic candidates in the race to drop out and endorse the other one. That’s a lot easier said than done. 

The Cuomo camp rightly claims that, on paper, their numbers are stronger than the scandal-plagued Adams. The Adams camp rightly argues that Cuomo had his chance after blowing a very winnable race, thanks to a lackluster campaign operation and a lack of energy on the campaign trail — traits that won’t bode well for a general election rematch.

Both sides are correct in that all the Mamdani alternatives are seriously flawed. But looking at summer polls to predict how things could develop throughout the summer is a foolhardy exercise. After all, as we’ve written in these pages, the argument for defeating Mamdani doesn’t rest on the strength of the challenger, but the desire to build a broad coalition to stop a far-left activist from taking charge of the nation’s largest city. 

Adams, as the incumbent, might be the better vehicle to put together that coalition despite his dismal favorability ratings right now. He’s already shown more agility as a general election candidate, framing the race between a silver-spooned socialist (Mamdani) against his blue-collar background.

On paper, Adams also seems better-positioned to win over enough Black voters and some crossover Republicans that Cuomo would likely struggle more in turning out. Cuomo is viewed as a partisan villain to most New York Republicans, and Adams has shown resilience with Black voters in his early campaign efforts.  

But regardless of who is the strongest alternative, outside groups and business leaders need to start picking a side now if they have any hope of blocking Mamdani’s path to Gracie Mansion. It’s notable that most of the state’s top elected leaders — from Gov. Kathy Hochul to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — have still not endorsed Mamdani, even though he was declared winner of the primary over two weeks ago.

The longer the anti-Mamdani forces wait to make their move, the easier it becomes for him to consolidate enough Democratic support to make the efforts even harder. The reality is the fear of failure is as significant for many of these stakeholders as the desire to prevent a far-left candidate from taking over Gracie Mansion.