Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

UJA-Federation of New York has tapped longtime Jewish educator Michael Kay as its next CEO, the country’s largest Jewish federation shared exclusively with Nira Dayanim for Jewish Insider, marking a generational change that signals the growing importance of day schools on the Jewish communal agenda.

Kay, 46, currently serves as head of school at The Leffell School in Westchester County, N.Y., and will step into his new role on Oct. 5, succeeding Eric Goldstein, 66, a former Wall Street lawyer who will step down after 12 years in the role…

President Donald Trump continued to hedge today on resuming military action in Iran while keeping open diplomatic options: “We’re either going to make a deal or they’re going to be decimated,” he said of Iran while departing for his state visit to China. “So one way or the other, we win.”

Earlier in the day, Trump told the “Sid & Friends in the Morning” radio show that he’s anticipating Iran’s economic collapse due to the U.S. blockade of its ports. “It’s just a question of time, we don’t have to rush anything,” the president said…

Kuwait accused Iran of attempting to invade its Bubiyan Island today, claiming six members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps attacked soldiers on the strategic piece of Kuwaiti territory where the Gulf state, with assistance from China, is building a large port…

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) expressed frustration with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing as they declined to comment on a report that Pakistan harbored Iranian military aircraft from U.S. strikes.

Asked, if the report were to be accurate, if the U.S. should reconsider Pakistan’s role as mediator between the U.S. and Iran, Hegseth and Caine said they “didn’t want to get in the middle of ongoing negotiations.” Graham replied, “Well I do! I want to get in the middle of these negotiations. I don’t trust Pakistan as far as I can throw them … No wonder this damn thing is going nowhere”…

Jay Hurst, the Pentagon’s comptroller, testified that the cost of the war has risen to $29 billion — up from the $25 billion figure the Pentagon cited just two weeks ago…

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem wrote in a letter to terror group operatives that a deal between the U.S. and Iran is “the strongest card” for “stopping [Israel’s] aggression” in Lebanon, while slamming the Lebanese government for engaging in direct talks with Jerusalem, the third round of which are slated to take place this week in Washington…

Asked at the Politico Security Summit in Washington if she still calls herself a Zionist, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) said, “I believe in a Jewish State of Israel, yes. And that to me isn’t a radical thing to say and I always have. I can say that in the same breath that I criticize the military policy of Bibi Netanyahu.”

Slotkin said that “as someone who served three tours in Iraq” she has “concerns with the way the Israelis are organizing military policy right now. … What I can’t accept, though, is collective punishment that comes from saying, ‘well, I don’t like Bibi Netanyahu’s military policy so Jews in America’s synagogues should be attacked,’” she continued…

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told the Washington Examiner he’s open to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to wind down U.S. aid to Israel over the next decade: The proposal “has been sort of a given, I think, in our foreign aid budget” for “a long time,” he said, “but if that’s how the Israeli leader feels about it — feels like they’re able to deal with their national security threats with their own resources — then I guess I would listen to what he has to say”…

Two weeks ahead of the Texas Senate Republican primary runoff, Thune said he “still [doesn’t] know where [Trump] is headed” in his intent to endorse either Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) or Attorney General Ken Paxton, but “someone would clearly benefit from it.”

Cornyn, meanwhile, told reporters he doesn’t expect Trump to make an endorsement at all. “We can’t wait, and we’re not waiting. We’re getting prepared, and we are optimistic,” he said. (Still, in what may be a last-ditch effort to secure the president’s support, Cornyn introduced a bill yesterday to rename U.S. Route 287 as Interstate 47 in honor of Trump, the country’s 47th president)…

Politico cast doubt on Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s claim and campaign talking point that he is a practicing physician, finding that “there’s overwhelming evidence that he’s had no experience as a licensed medical doctor.”

While El-Sayed did attend prestigious medical schools and served as executive director of the Detroit Health Department, he was never granted a medical license in either Michigan or New York, where he says he has practiced, and appears not to have treated patients since his schooling days, despite claiming repeatedly in campaign pitches that he is a physician…

AIPAC denied accusations by El-Sayed and others that it is behind the Center for Democratic Priorities super PAC, a new group supporting Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the Michigan Senate Democratic primary, and also noted it “isn’t funding any group’s efforts” in Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District, where critics have alleged the pro-Israel group is behind efforts to support candidate Ala Stanford…

Speaking on a webinar with other Washington-area Jewish leaders today, Ron Halber, the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, excoriated the Democratic Socialists of America as an “evil” organization committed to driving Jews out of society, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

“I think they’re a fringe, radical, antisemitic organization,” Halber said, adding that the group wants to make Jews feel “isolated” and force them to “renounce Zionism” and their connection to Israel in order to participate in the political process…

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released his city budget proposal this afternoon, which includes $26 million annually for the Office to Prevent Hate Crimes, a significant increase from its current budget of around $3 million…

Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg hosted a lunch at the State Department with officials from Gulf Cooperation Council countries as well as Jordan to discuss technology supply chains and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for coverage of tonight’s forum of New York 12th Congressional District Democratic candidates moderated by JI Editor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar.

The Israeli Embassy in Washington will host its belated Yom Ha’Atzmaut reception.

The Jewish Democratic Council of America’s conference in Washington continues, with speakers including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, diplomat Dennis Ross, The Washington Institute’s Dana Stroul and former national security officials Jake Sullivan, Jeremy Bash and Jon Finer.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump sounded a pessimistic note today about the state of the ceasefire with Iran, telling reporters in the Oval Office it’s “unbelievably weak” and on “massive life support” while calling Iran’s proposal to end the war, which he rejected yesterday, a “piece of garbage.”

The president was set to meet this afternoon with his national security team to discuss next steps with Iran, including a potential return to military action and resumption of Project Freedom in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Axios.

A number of hawkish Republican lawmakers are encouraging the president to resume military operations, including Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI)…

The UAE has secretly carried out military attacks on Iran during the course of the war, The Wall Street Journal reports, after being on the receiving end of the majority of Iran’s ballistic missile and drone attacks. Abu Dhabi’s targets have included an Iranian oil refinery, struck in early April as Trump was announcing the ceasefire…

Graham called for a potential “complete reevaluation” of Pakistan’s role as mediator between the U.S. and Iran following a CBS News report that Islamabad had permitted Iran to shelter some of its military aircraft from U.S. strikes in Iran. “Given some of the prior statements by Pakistani defense officials towards Israel, I would not be shocked if this were true,” Graham said…

Democratic Majority for Israel PAC is mounting a six-figure mail campaign to boost Bexar County sheriff’s deputy Johnny Garcia in his Democratic primary runoff against activist and conspiracy theorist Maureen Galindo. The campaign is slated to start tomorrow, exactly two weeks from primary day in Texas’ newly redrawn 35th Congressional District…

Axios spotlights the increasingly heated primary between Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Navy veteran Ed Gallrein, who is backed by Trump. The race, scheduled for May 19, has already seen $25.6 million in outside spending — including an ad from a pro-Massie group featuring antisemitic tropes targeting Jewish GOP donor Paul Singer — making it the most expensive U.S. House primary in history…

The New York Times highlights Nebraska’s contentious Senate race, where several candidates have been accused of acting as “plants” intending to siphon votes for the other party (and one candidate isn’t intending to run for Senate at all), as Democrats largely line up behind independent Dan Osborn, realizing their party brand has been tainted in the Midwest…

A new poll by New Jersey congressional candidate Adam Hamawy, who has made criticism of Israel a centerpiece of his campaign, found him leading the crowded Democratic primary field for the 12th District with 19% of likely voters, up from a March poll by his campaign that found him winning just 5%. His surge coincided with a spending blitz by the anti-Israel super PAC American Priorities, which poured $1 million into pro-Hamawy ads in the district…

New York state Assemblymember Alex Bores released his first ad of the Democratic primary for New York’s 12th Congressional District, highlighting his advocacy for AI regulation and involvement in workers’ rights as positioning him to take on Trump. Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY), citing Bores’ AI focus, endorsed the former Palantir employee today…

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice David Wecht announced today that he is changing his party registration from Democrat to independent, citing increasing antisemitism in the Democratic Party. In his statement, Wecht said Democrats have changed since he served as vice chair of the state party 25 years ago: “Nazi tattoos, jihadist chants, intimidation and attacks at synagogues, and other hateful anti-Jewish invective and actions are minimized, ignored, and even coddled,” he said.

“Acquiescence to Jew-hatred is now disturbingly common among activists, leaders and even many elected officials in the Democratic Party. I can no longer abide this. So, I won’t,” he wrote…

Israeli Diaspora Minister Amichai Chickli prohibited anti-Israel influencer Tyler Oliveira from entering the country as he landed in Ben Gurion Airport today; Chikli told right-wing influencer Laura Loomer that Israel “has strong immigration policies, and if you come to Israel with the intent on inciting violence and hatred against Jewish people, you will not be allowed entry into our country.”

Oliveira has recently released videos purporting to expose welfare fraud among ultra-Orthodox communities in Kiryas Joel, N.Y., and Lakewood, N.J., widely denounced as antisemitic, which he discussed at length on Tucker Carlson’s podcast last week while again invoking antisemitic conspiracy theories…

Trump tapped Kari Lake, former far-right Arizona gubernatorial candidate and short-lived head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, as ambassador to Jamaica, seen as a step down for the one-time close Trump ally. He also named far-right Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano as ambassador to Slovakia…

Trump has invited several business leaders to join him on his trip later this week to China, including Elon Musk, outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Meta’s Dina Powell McCormick, Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon, Citi’s Jane Fraser and Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, among others…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at the race to succeed Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), where state Sen. Scott Wiener is testing whether progressive Jews can still win among the Democratic left.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine will testify before the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee as well as the Senate Appropriations Committee for Pentagon budget hearings. Later, FBI Director Kash Patel is also scheduled to appear before Senate Appropriations for a separate budget hearing.

Politico will host its Security Summit in Washington — speakers at the confab will include exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi; former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Reps. Adam Smith (D-WA), Jim Himes (D-CT) and Mike Turner (R-OH).

Elsewhere in Washington, the Anti-Defamation League will hold a reception to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month.

In New York, the funeral for longtime ADL head and storied Jewish leader Abe Foxman, who died on Sunday at 86, will be held at Park Avenue Synagogue.

Democratic primary candidates for New York’s 12th Congressional District including Bores, George Conway and Micah Lasher will take part in a forum at West Side Institutional Synagogue moderated by JI Editor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar.

Across the river, Democratic candidates seeking to unseat Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District — including Rebecca Bennett, Michael Roth, Tina Shah and Brian Varela — will participate in a debate moderated by the New Jersey Globe.

Israeli singer Noam Bettan will represent the Jewish state in Vienna for the first semifinal of the international singing competition Eurovision; Israel’s participation in the contest has been marked by protests and boycotts of several European countries, as well as accusations of Israel’s meddling in voting processes that have been dismissed by Eurovision organizers.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have lifted restrictions on the U.S.’ use of their military bases and airspace after a series of tense calls between President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The administration is now seeking to restart Project Freedom and assist commercial ships in transiting the Strait of Hormuz, an effort Trump said he paused on Tuesday at the request of Pakistan “and other countries.” The renewed effort could begin as soon as this week…

Meanwhile, Iranian state media reported several explosions along the country’s coast in recent hours; an American official told Axios and Fox News that the U.S. attacked Iranian targets in the area, but claimed it did not constitute a return to war…

Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI), who represents a Lansing-based swing district, introduced today the first authorization for use of military force (AUMF) that would limit the length and scope of U.S. military operations in Iran, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. A group of Senate Republicans is working on a similar effort, amid concerns that the war could be a political liability for the GOP in the midterm elections.

Barrett claimed that U.S. operations in Iran “are ongoing,” despite the administration’s notification to Congress that they had concluded as of May 1; the proposed authorization would expire on July 30 and would ban “sustained ground combat operations,” seizing or holding any territory and “nation-building” operations in Iran…

The Trump administration issued sanctions against actors involved in exploiting Iraq’s oil sector to fund Iranian terror activities, including Iraqi Deputy Minister of Oil Ali Maarij Al-Bahadly…

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and her presumptive opponent, Democrat Graham Platner, released their first ads of the general election Senate race since Gov. Janet Mills dropped her Democratic primary bid. 

Collins’ ad highlights her work in restoring a Maine infrastructure project without addressing Platner, while Platner’s ad slams Collins for “selling us out” to the “Epstein class” and for supporting the Iran war (Collins is one of the only Republicans who has supported a war powers resolution to end U.S. operations in Iran)…

Our Revolution, an advocacy group spun off of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) 2016 presidential campaign, today endorsed New York state Assemblymember Alex Bores in the competitive Democratic primary for the state’s 12th Congressional District, JI’s Will Bredderman reports. 

Following Sanders, Our Revolution has aligned with student anti-Israel protesters and advocated against military aid to the Jewish state. Its endorsement of Bores emphasized the former Palantir employee’s signature issue — regulating artificial intelligence — and didn’t mention Israel policy…

A new Emerson College poll of likely Democratic primary voters in Massachusetts found Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) leading his challenger, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), 37-32%, ahead of the Sept. 1 primary. Nearly 30% of respondents, however, are still undecided if they want to support their incumbent senator or Moulton, 32 years Markey’s junior, who is positioning himself as a generational change.

Markey has been hostile to Israel and Jewish communal measures in Congress, particularly in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza; Moulton had been known as more moderate, but shifted to the left on Israel issues after announcing his Senate run, including denouncing his previous affiliation with AIPAC…

State Department officials confirmed to several outlets that Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh are expected to hold talks in Washington next Thursday and Friday to discuss the ongoing ceasefire, even as Israel and Hezbollah continued trading fire this week…

The federal Board of Immigration Appeals reopened deportation proceedings against Columbia University protest leader Mohsen Mahdawi, after a judge dropped the case in February. The Department of Homeland Security has characterized Mahdawi, who has not been charged with a crime, as a “ringleader” in anti-Israel protests at Columbia and claimed he admitted to being involved in and supporting terrorist violence…

Mohamed Soliman, the man accused of firebombing an Israeli hostage awareness march in Boulder, Colo., last June, was sentenced to life in prison today after pleading guilty to all 101 charges filed against him, including one count of murder for an 82-year-old victim who died of her wounds…

Religious leaders gathered at the White House this afternoon for an event marking the National Day of Prayer, including Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad); Nathan Diament, executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center; and Rabbi A.D. Motzen, national director of government affairs at Agudath Israel. Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Lee Zeldin, who is Jewish, was among those who delivered remarks…

The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche yesterday requesting that the Justice Department launch an investigation into whether Georgetown University must register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, following a Washington Free Beacon report that the university agreed to consult the Qatari government on speakers and themes for its Islamophobia initiative, for which Qatar provided a grant…

The Israeli Health Ministry said there are currently no hantavirus patients in Israel, Hebrew media reported. One individual reportedly returned to Israel with a strain of hantavirus from Eastern Europe last year, but that strain, passed from rodents to humans, is a “different virus altogether” from the strain that spreads between humans that has been identified on a cruise ship en route to Spain, an infectious disease expert told The Times of Israel… 

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

Keep an eye out in eJewishPhilanthropy for an interview with Rabbi Mike Uram, incoming chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary.

The Capital Jewish Museum in Washington is hosting an after-hours party this evening to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month.

UJA-Federation of New York will host a Shabbat dinner tomorrow for young Wall Street professionals.

The Altneu Synagogue in New York City will host its second annual gala on Sunday, including a performance and awards show.

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump continues to send mixed signals about the direction of the Iran war, writing this morning on Truth Social that, “assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to,” he will end the war as well as the blockade of Iranian ports. If Tehran does not agree (to what has apparently already been agreed to), “the bombing starts” at a “much higher level and intensity than it was before”…

Iran has struck over 200 U.S. military structures or pieces of equipment across the Middle East since the war began, according to a Washington Post analysis, including hangars, barracks, fuel depots, aircraft and radar, communications and air defense equipment…

White House official Seb Gorka announced while unveiling Trump’s U.S. counterterrorism strategy today that U.S. officials will meet with representatives from several foreign governments this week to ask for assistance in combating terrorism emanating from Iran and elsewhere, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.

The strategy highlights the Muslim Brotherhood as “the root of all modern Islamist terrorism” and says the U.S. will turn increased attention to Africa, as “straggler” ISIS terrorists from Syria and Iran migrate there in search of “ungoverned space” to take over…

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he held “a constructive meeting” in Beijing with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, where Wang affirmed “Iran’s right to uphold national sovereignty and national dignity”…

The Board of Peace, whose leaders met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem yesterday, will not expect Israel to abide by the terms of the Gaza ceasefire if Hamas does not disarm, according to a document sent by Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov and advisor Aryeh Lightstone to the Palestinian technocratic committee governing Gaza, The Times of Israel reports. 

“Failure by Hamas to accept the framework within a reasonable timeframe … shall render such commitments null and void,” the officials wrote, saying Israel will not be expected to refrain from military action or ensure humanitarian aid reaches the enclave…

Lebanese media reported the third round of Lebanon-Israel ambassador-level talks will take place in Washington next week. 

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, meanwhile, called talk of a meeting directly between him and Netanyahu “premature,” despite Trump’s repeated claims that he was inviting the two leaders to the White House. “Lebanon is not seeking normalization with Israel, but rather peace,” Salam told reporters…

Belgium has indicted three mohels, Jewish religious authorities who conduct ritual circumcision, on criminal charges, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced. The men were initially arrested in a raid last year for practicing medicine without a license, sparking outcry from the Jewish community.

Sa’ar called the move a “scarlet letter on Belgian society” and said the country has joined a “short and short and shameful list … of countries that use criminal law to prosecute Jews for practicing Judaism.” U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White, who has also been outspoken on the issue, called it a “shameful stain on Belgium” that “is wrong and won’t be tolerated” by the U.S…

Israel will provide jet fuel to Germany, the Israeli energy ministry said, after Germany requested assistance in addressing its fuel shortage due to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz…

Former Northwestern University President Morton Schapiro withdrew as Georgetown University Law Center’s commencement speaker after learning that several students had raised objections to his selection — due to pro-Israel opinion articles the Jewish academic had authored after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, JI’s Haley Cohen reports.

The school replaced Schapiro with David Cole, a professor who criticized congressional hearings on campus antisemitism as a form of “McCarthyism” aimed at chilling free speech and defended “antisemitic advocacy” as a First Amendment right…

Meanwhile, Rutgers University’s School of Engineering has canceled a commencement speech by alum and entrepreneur Rami Elghandour after students raised concerns about his social media activity, which is dedicated overwhelmingly to criticism of Israel. 

Elghandour — who was an executive producer of the film “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” about a young Palestinian girl who died during the Israel-Hamas war — has consistently accused Israel of genocide, apartheid and police brutality and torture of Palestinians, and repeatedly praised the professor who made an unsanctioned jab at Israel at the University of Michigan’s recent commencement ceremony…

Rep. Mike Lawler’s (R-NY) political consulting firm was paid more than $72,000 by advocacy and political groups he controlled, Politico reports, in a scheme that watchdogs say is not illegal but raises conflict of interest concerns. 

And a hacker stole over $3,000 of campaign funds from Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)…

Ted Turner, the founder of CNN who pioneered the 24-hour news cycle, died at 87…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at how New York Democrats are responding to yesterday’s threatening protest outside an Israeli real estate event at Park East Synagogue in Manhattan.

President Donald Trump will host Brazilian President Lula da Silva at the White House for talks on economic and security issues, despite Trump’s at-times acrimonious relationship with the left-wing South American leader.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican following weeks of escalating attacks by Trump on the pontiff, including on Monday when Trump told Hugh Hewitt that the pope is “endangering a lot of Catholics” by being critical of the Iran war. Rubio is also set to meet on Friday with Italian officials including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whom Trump has also clashed with since the beginning of the war.

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy will hold the keynote dinner of its annual Founders Conference — this year’s being focused on the Iran war — in Washington.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted at a press conference this morning that the ceasefire with Iran is not over, despite repeated violations by both sides in recent days. “Ultimately, this is a separate and distinct project,” Hegseth said of the new U.S. mission to escort commercial shipping vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, “and we expected there would be some churn at the beginning.”

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine said similarly that even though Iran has fired on commercial vessels nine times, seized two container ships and attacked U.S. forces more than 10 times since the ceasefire began, that is all “below the threshold of restarting major combat operations”…

Can there be a ceasefire without a war? Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed at his own press conference in the afternoon that Operation Epic Fury, as the Iran war was called, is finished, and the U.S. has moved onto Project Freedom in the strait, only hitting Iranian targets in response to attacks from Tehran.

President Donald Trump similarly downplayed the war effort, calling it a “skirmish” and telling reporters in the Oval Office that Iran still “wants to make a deal.” Meanwhile, Iran shot ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones at the UAE for the second day in a row, the Emirati Defense Ministry said…

A majority of Israelis believe that ending the war with Iran under the current conditions would undermine the country’s security, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports: 64% of Jewish Israelis said ending the war in its current state is “only slightly or not at all aligned” with Israel’s security interests, in a new poll by the Israel Democracy Institute. Nearly half of Arab Israelis (48.5%) said the same…

Incoming Israeli Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Omer Tischler, who assumed his role today, said at his handover ceremony that the IAF is “closely monitoring what is happening in Iran, and are prepared to take the entire Air Force eastward, if we are required to do so”…

Thirty House Democrats sent a letter to the Trump administration urging it to publicly acknowledge Israel’s nuclear weapons program, which neither Israeli nor U.S. officials have ever confirmed publicly. 

The lawmakers, led by Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), a vocal Israel critic, said the threat of nuclear warfare has escalated amid the Iran war: “The risks of miscalculation, escalation, and nuclear use in this environment are not theoretical,” they wrote. “Congress has a constitutional responsibility to be fully informed about the nuclear balance in the Middle East, the risk of escalation by any party to this conflict, and the administration’s planning and contingencies for such scenarios”…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov in Jerusalem today, along with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Board of Peace advisor Aryeh Lightstone, Netanyahu advisors Caroline Glick and Ophir Falk, venture capitalist Michael Eisenberg and tech entrepreneur Liran Tancman.

Mladenov said in a statement that the discussion was “positive and substantive” and the parties “reaffirmed our commitment to the full implementation” of the 20-point Gaza peace plan…

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, convening an emergency summit with Jewish, business, education and government leaders at 10 Downing St., called for a whole-of-society approach to combating antisemitism as the country’s Jewish community has been repeatedly targeted by violent attacks.

Starmer said officials are investigating whether Iran is behind the recent events, announced universities will be required to produce reports on antisemitism on campus and called for the government’s Arts Council to “claw back” funding from organizations that engage in antisemitism…

Tonight, the radical PAL-Awda group is planning a protest outside Park East Synagogue in Manhattan to disrupt a reported Israeli real estate event — Jewish New Yorkers will be watching to see how the protest is handled by city leaders as opposed to the group’s last demonstration outside the same synagogue in November, when protesters harassed attendees and chanted “death to the IDF” and “globalize the intifada.” 

Similar to his stance on November’s protest, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s spokesperson told far-left Drop Site News the mayor is “deeply opposed” to the real estate event, which he said is promoting settlements that are “illegal under international law and deeply tied to the ongoing displacement of Palestinians.” Still, Mamdani’s administration said it has “also been clear that we are committed to ensuring safe entry and exit from any house of worship.”

Assemblymember Micah Lasher, who is running for New York’s 12th Congressional District, condemned the planned protest, saying its purpose is “to create fear in the hearts of Jewish New Yorkers,” while expressing optimism that the NYPD will “make sure that a protest does not turn into a gauntlet of hate through which Jews must pass”…

New Jersey congressional candidate Adam Hamawy, a trauma surgeon who has made criticism of Israel central to his campaign, defended his yearslong relationship with the “Blind Sheikh,” who was convicted of terrorism for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing: Hamawy’s campaign told Politico that reporting on the candidate’s testimony in defense of Omar Abdel-Rahman at his trial are “guilt-by-association attacks on Muslim and Arab candidates”…

A new poll of the Texas GOP Senate runoff from the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs found the race neck-and-neck just three weeks from Election Day: Attorney General Ken Paxton polled with a three-point lead over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), with 7% of likely runoff voters still undecided…

The Washingtonian released its list of Washington’s 500 most influential people of 2026, including: AIPAC’s Elliot Brandt, J Street’s Jeremy Ben-Ami, the Hudson Institute’s Michael Doran, the Center for International Policy’s Matt Duss, the Anti-Defamation League’s Aykan Erdemir, the Washington Post’s David Ignatius, Qatar lobbyist Jim Moran, the Quincy Institute’s Trita Parsi, the American Jewish Committee’s Julie Fishman Rayman, the Washington Institute’s Dennis Ross, New Jewish Narrative’s Hadar Susskind and SKDK’s Jill Zuckman…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at the latest front in the campus anti-Israel movement: student activists targeting Hillel, the world’s largest Jewish campus organization.

The Manhattan Institute will host its Alexander Hamilton Award Dinner, honoring former Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), who is suffering from terminal pancreatic cancer, and Jeff Yass, founding partner of Susquehanna International Group.

The Stephen Wise Free Synagogue will host a Democratic candidate forum for New York’s 12th Congressional District featuring Alex Bores, Micah Lasher, Jack Schlossberg and George Conway.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump continued to voice his frustration today with Hamas’ ongoing violence in the Gaza Strip, including a recent ceasefire violation where Hamas terrorists shot an anti-tank missile at IDF machinery and killed two soldiers, though he stopped short of calling for action against the terror group. 

At a bilateral lunch at the White House with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Trump told reporters, “We made a deal with Hamas that they’re going to be very good, they’re going to behave, they’re going to be nice and if they’re not, we’re going to go in — we’re going to eradicate them if we have to, they’ll be eradicated.” 

Trump claimed the violence was committed by rogue members of the terror group: “I don’t believe it was the leadership — they had some rebellion in there among themselves — and they killed some people, a lot of people.” 

Despite his phrasing, Trump emphasized that the U.S. will not send troops into Gaza. “We don’t need to [have U.S. boots on the ground] because we have many countries, as you know, signed on to this deal,” he said. “We had countries calling me when they saw some of the killing with Hamas, saying, ‘We’d love to go in and take care of the situation ourselves.’ In addition, Israel would go in in two minutes if I asked them to go in. … But right now we haven’t said that. We’re going to give it a little chance and hopefully there will be a little less violence”…

Trump advisors Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, in Israel to help shore up the ceasefire, reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in their meeting today not to take any action that could risk the first phase of the agreement, Israeli media reports, despite the recent violations by Hamas…

Netanyahu appointed Israeli-American businessman Michael Eisenberg as his representative to the U.S.-led international body monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire, according to Israeli media. Eisenberg previously helped establish the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Vice President JD Vance, set to land in Israel tomorrow, is expected to visit the monitoring body’s command center…

The Trump administration’s nominee for ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, former Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC), is also in Israel this week on a trip focused on “religious freedom, unity and resilience after the release of hostages.” Yesterday, he met with American hostage families and today visited Yad Vashem and the Western Wall…

The military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said today it was handing over the remains of a hostage held in Gaza to IDF troops. The army announced the casket is now in Israel and headed for identification…

Meanwhile in the U.S., Politico reports that Paul Ingrassia, the Trump administration’s nominee to head the Office of Special Counsel, said on a text chain of Republican operatives last year that he has “a Nazi streak” in him “from time to time” and that all holidays commemorating Black communities “need to be eviscerated.”

Ingrassia, who has a history of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories, including calling the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel a “psyop,” is scheduled receive a confirmation hearing in the Senate on Thursday…

The Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a lawsuit against Northwestern alleging that the university violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by adopting time, place and manner restrictions on student protest and requiring students to watch an antisemitism training video, Jewish Insider‘s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports.

Among other allegations, the suit, filed in federal court in Illinois, claims Northwestern violated students’ rights by requiring them to agree to the school’s code of conduct, which now incorporates the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, as well as mandatory bias training that includes a video on antisemitism created in collaboration with the Jewish United Fund, the city’s Jewish federation…

Dartmouth College joined five other universities in rejecting the Trump administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence” over the weekend. With a deadline of today, the University of Arizona, the University of Texas at Austin and Vanderbilt University are the only schools offered early access to the compact that have yet to respond publicly…

John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council under the Biden administration, is set to become director of the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics on Nov. 15, according to Axios…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reporting on the U.K. Jewish community’s reaction to rising antisemitism in the country after the Yom Kippur attack on a Manchester synagogue and reflections from a 21-year-old Argentinian activist who was awarded with a trip to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum for her work in tolerance.

This evening, Aish is hosting former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in conversation with Elisha Wiesel on “the future of New York City” about the upcoming mayoral elections. 

Tomorrow, the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control will hold a hearing on Hezbollah’s drug trafficking activities in Latin America.

Hillel International CEO Adam Lehman will appear at 92NY in New York City tomorrow evening to discuss “the state of Judaism on campus.”

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is set to make a comeback bid for the Senate, taking on Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) — who was appointed earlier this year to fill Vice President JD Vance’s seat — next year. Brown, who lost his seat to Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) in a hotly contested 2024 race, held a solidly progressive voting record during his three terms in the Senate but maintained his support for Israel and relationships with Ohio’s sizable Jewish community. Senate Democrats have encouraged Brown to run again, seeing him as one of the party’s few chances to flip a GOP-held Senate seat back to blue in the midterms…

The Democratic National Committee is set to consider two resolutions on Israel this month — one of which is downright hostile to the Jewish state. The first, introduced by DNC Chairman Ken Martin, calls for a ceasefire, the return of all hostages and a two-state solution. The other, introduced by progressive DNC members, calls for an arms embargo, the suspension of all military aid to Israel and for the Democratic Party to recognize a Palestinian state…

The Atlantic reports on the divide between the “reformist” and “academic resistance” factions of university leaders, exemplified by a heated meeting of the Association of American Universities. The reformists are led by Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and Washington University in St. Louis Chancellor Andrew Martin, who have positioned their schools as safe spaces for Jewish students facing antisemitism on other campuses and advocate for more universities to do the same. The two told Jewish Insider last month, “Here are two institutions that are willing to stand in the public square and say, American higher education has lost its way in some respects. We’re great institutions, and we’re committed to working to ensure that our institutions and higher education writ large will do better in the future.”

The resistance faction, meanwhile, led in part by Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber and encompassing most Ivy League schools, says the reformists are lending legitimacy to the Trump administration’s war on higher education by admitting universities have a problem with liberal bias…

We’re hearing that Harvard, one of those Ivy Leagues battling with the federal government, could reach a settlement with the Trump administration as soon as tomorrow. Harvard may agree to spend $500 million for the restoration of its frozen federal funding, more than double what Columbia paid to the federal government last month. However, reported terms of the deal would see Harvard’s payment going towards vocational and educational programs, similar to the $50 million Brown University agreed to spend on local workforce initiatives, rather than going to the Trump administration…

George Washington University joined the schools under fire from the federal government today as the Department of Justice found it in violation of federal civil rights law. The DOJ said GW “took no meaningful action and instead was deliberately indifferent to the hostile educational environment on its campus” during an anti-Israel encampment and protests, and gave the D.C. school an Aug. 22 deadline to agree to dialogue…

The Trump administration is busy on the diplomatic front as well, now working towards a deal between Israel and Syria to open a corridor for Israel to deliver humanitarian aid to the Druze community in the southern Syrian city of Suweida, according to Axios. The initiative comes after Israel bombed Syria last month in defense of that community, as the Druze clashed with militias aligned with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s government. Tom Barrack, U.S. ambassador to Turkey and envoy to Syria, is expected to meet with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani to discuss the deal in Paris next week…

The New York Times interviews Zakaria Zubeidi, the former leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a U.S.-designated terror group based in the West Bank town of Jenin, who was released from Israeli prison in February as part of a temporary ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. The profile framed Zubeidi, who also founded the Freedom Theater in Jenin, as “emblematic of something else: a sense of hopelessness that imbues Palestinian life,” a charitable interpretation for the man who led the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade during the Second Intifada — during which time the militia was designated as a Foreign Terror Organization by the U.S. and over 1,000 Israelis were killed in terror attacks… 

World Central Kitchen confirmed that the individuals struck by the IDF who were operating from a vehicle with a WCK emblem were not affiliated with the aid organization, saying it “strongly condemn[s] anyone posing as WCK or other humanitarians as this endangers civilians and aid workers”…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for an interview with Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who just returned from a trip to Israel, and another with American-Israeli venture capitalist Michael Eisenberg. We’ll also profile American Eagle CEO and philanthropist Jay Schottenstein.

Eric Levine, a top GOP donor and board member of the Republican Jewish Coalition, is co-hosting a fundraiser tomorrow evening for New York City Mayor Eric Adams as Adams tries to retain his office as an independent against Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani. Levin is joined by an array of donors from New York’s legal, financial and Jewish communities in hosting the event, advertised as “Democrats, Independents and Republicans coming together to save New York City.”