Plus, why UDP passed on NJ-12
Ilia YEFIMOVICH / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a ceremony commemorating Israel's Remembrance Day on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on April 21, 2026.
Add JewishInsider on GoogleGood Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we talk to local Jewish leaders in New Jersey about the decision by pro-Israel PACs to sit out the Democratic primary in NJ-12, in which a candidate with past terror ties eked out a small plurality that sets him on a glide path to Washington, and talk to Sens. Dave McCormick and John Fetterman about their concerns over rising antisemitism. We cover comments made by a senior State Department official blaming the Oslo Accords for the rise in global Islamist terrorism, and have the exclusive on a new Senate bill that would coordinate Middle East air-defense acquisitions. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Ambassador Charles Kushner, Nirel Zini and Argentine President Javier Milei.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- President Donald Trump is slated to meet today at the White House with Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox patriarchate of Jerusalem, who will present the president with the Great Bearer of the Cross of the Order of Cross-Bearers of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the church’s top honors.
- The Senate will begin a series of votes this morning on a range of issues — known on the Hill as a “vote-a-rama” — that is expected to last for hours.
- The House Armed Services Committee is holding its markup of the 2027 NDAA this morning.
- The House Ways and Means Committee will hear from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this morning, a day after Bessent appeared before the Senate Finance Committee. (Of note: Bessent clarified an exchange that occurred last summer between himself and acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte in which Bessent said he told Pulte that he “was going to kick his a**.”)
- New York’s PIX11 will host a debate for candidates in the NY-12 Democratic primary, a day after candidates Alex Bores, Laura Dunn, Micah Lasher, Jack Schlossberg and Nina Schwalbe participated in a debate hosted last night by the Jewish Democratic Council of America. Bores, Lasher and Schlossberg will be joined by George Conway at tonight’s debate.
- New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin is slated to mark Holocaust Survivor Day at the headquarters of UJA-Federation of New York, where she’ll meet with survivors and their families.
- Elsewhere in New York, Tech Tribe is hosting a dinner tonight with Yossi Farro and Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone on the sidelines of NYC Tech Week.
- In Geneva, Switzerland, UN Watch is holding its annual gala dinner. This year’s dinner will feature French journalist Abnousse Shalmani and activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MELISSA WEISS
It’s a strange moment when the leader of the free world explains to a reporter why he cursed out the prime minister of a major ally.
But we live in an increasingly strange moment, one in which President Donald Trump confirmed to the New York Post this week that he had indeed called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “f***ing crazy” during a discussion about Israel’s plans to expand operations in Lebanon, even as he stressed that he and the Israeli leader have “worked very well together.” (Trump’s confirmation came after Netanyahu’s office denied the remarks.)
The tense nature of the Trump-Netanyahu call this week underscores the increasingly divergent tactics the two are taking to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East as Trump leans into diplomacy while Netanyahu pushes for intensified military action — and as questions loom over the future of U.S. aid to Israel.
With the House’s passage of a war powers resolution yesterday (with four Republicans breaking with House GOP leadership), and a Senate vote on the issue still pending, the Trump administration’s appetite for a resumption of hostilities is even smaller than it was last month (when, as we reported, it was already quite low, owing to rising gas prices and the approaching midterms).
On paper, Washington and Jerusalem do appear in lockstep — alongside Beirut — on deepening relations between Israel and Lebanon and rooting out Hezbollah. To that effect, the White House announced in a joint statement with Lebanese and Israeli officials on Wednesday that the parties had agreed to a renewed ceasefire — though it is contingent on the cooperation of Hezbollah, which did not take part in the talks and continues to launch drones and missiles at northern Israel.
But even as officials in Washington reach an accord on Lebanon, the challenges on the ground remain much the same. It was, after all, the issue of Lebanon — and Netanyahu’s announcement that the IDF would attack Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut — that triggered Trump’s expletive-laden outburst on Monday, causing Netanyahu to walk back Israel’s military plans in Lebanon.
And while Netanyahu needs to stay in Trump’s good graces, it is voters in Israel — including those in the country’s north who are living under daily Hezbollah fire — whom Netanyahu will need to sway ahead of the fall elections.
SITTING IT OUT
UDP faces questions from N.J. Jewish leaders why it stayed on sidelines against Hamawy
Adam Hamawy’s victory on Tuesday in a closely watched congressional primary in New Jersey, which elevated an outspoken critic of Israel whose past ties to a convicted terrorist had drawn scrutiny during the campaign, is raising questions over why the far-left Democrat did not face outside opposition from the pro-Israel group AIPAC or its well-funded super PAC,Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. Hamawy, who won 28% of the vote in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, prevailed with a modest plurality over the multi-candidate primary field competing to succeed Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ).
Sitting it out: With 93% of the vote counted on Wednesday, Brad Cohen, the mayor of East Brunswick and a Jewish Democrat who touted his support for Israel while identifying as an AIPAC member, placed second with 15%. Despite a double-digit deficit, Cohen’s performance exceeded many expectations, indicating that he likely could have finished in a stronger position with help from AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, some local Jewish leaders suggested in interviews on Wednesday.
Capitol concerns: Some lawmakers are warning that Hamawy’s past terrorist ties could pose a national security risk and that he should be barred from serving on sensitive committees working on national security issues, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
KEEPING IT GOING
Israel and Lebanon agree to extend ceasefire, establish joint security zones
Israel and Lebanon agreed on Wednesday to extend their ceasefire — which in practice has been tenuous — on the condition that Hezbollah disarms and withdraws from Israel’s northern border, and to jointly establish “pilot zones” where the Lebanese Armed Forces “will take exclusive control of the territory,” Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
Pushing forward: The parties, together with the U.S., announced the developments in a joint statement at the conclusion of the second and final day of the fourth round of peace talks between Israeli and Lebanese officials at the State Department. The group will reconvene for the next round of talks the week of June 22 “with a view toward reaching a comprehensive agreement,” the statement said. A State Department official told JI that the exact time and venue for the upcoming discussions have not yet been decided.
SUPPORTIVE VOICE
Stutzman introduces resolution backing Netanyahu’s call to wind down U.S. aid
Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) introduced a resolution on Wednesday endorsing and praising Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s call to wind down U.S. aid to Israel over the next decade, the latest twist in the rapidly evolving U.S. conversation over the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship and U.S. aid to Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Major moves: Few Republicans, at this point, have publicly endorsed Netanyahu’s effort, which comes amid talks between the U.S. and Israel over the next memorandum of understanding on military aid. Top U.S. officials have confirmed in recent days that ending U.S. aid to Israel is part of those discussions. Netanyahu himself offered a letter of support for the resolution, which Stutzman publicized alongside the resolution.
Setting a timeline: Netanyahu said in an interview with CNBC’s Sara Eisen on Wednesday that he wants to start the process of winding down U.S. aid to Israel in the final two years of the Trump administration, JI’s Emily Jacobs reports.
PEACE PARADOX
At AMIA commemoration, State Department official blames Oslo Accords for wave of terrorism
The State Department’s top legal advisor on Wednesday drew a direct connection between the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 — which sought to bring peace between the Israelis and Palestinians — and the global rise in Islamist terrorism, in remarks delivered at an event in Washington marking the anniversary of the deadly 1994 terror attacks on the AMIA Jewish Center in Buenos Aires, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
What he said: Reed Rubinstein, the State Department legal advisor, used his remarks to herald President Donald Trump’s efforts to fight terrorism, which he described as a course correction from decades of failed leadership. “The fruit of those accords paradoxically included a massive increase in brutal terrorism,” Rubinstein said, referring to the Oslo Accords. “Oslo led to an unprecedented wave of suicide bombing and death.”
SHARED ASSESSMENT
Fetterman, McCormick say Democrats have worse antisemitism problem than GOP
Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) told Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod on Tuesday that they believe antisemitism is worse on the left than on the right, arguing that the electoral success of far-left candidates with antisemitic records in Democratic primaries distinguished the left from the right, as similarly controversial candidates have struggled in GOP primary contests.
A pox on both houses: The Pennsylvania senators spoke to JI on the sidelines of the American Jewish Committee’s Global Forum. While both men acknowledged onstage and to JI that antisemitism exists within the conservative movement, they rejected the notion that it had taken hold of the GOP, arguing that the rise of Graham Platner’s Senate campaign in Maine and Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb’s nomination for a Philadelphia-area House seat showed that the Democratic Party had already normalized antisemitism within their party.
Tehran talk: Fetterman also told JI’s Emily Jacobs that he is growing increasingly concerned that President Donald Trump may agree to a deal with Iran that does not ensure the retrieval of Tehran’s stockpile of enriched uranium or that the regime will never acquire a nuclear weapon.
EXCLUSIVE
Senate lawmakers introduce bill to establish coordinated Middle East air-defense acquisitions
Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Joni Ernst (R-IA) and James Lankford (R-OK) are set to introduce a bill on Thursday directing the Pentagon to develop a coordinated air- and missile-defense acquisition strategy with Israel, Abraham Accords members and other Middle East allies, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Details: The Optimizing Acquisition Strategies for Integrated Security (OASIS) in the Middle East Act, which expands on existing legislative and administrative efforts to establish a coordinated air- and missile-defense system throughout the Middle East to protect the U.S. and its partners, would aim to ensure that the necessary resources are in place to protect the U.S. and its allies in future conflicts, sponsors said.
Worthy Reads
War Gains: In The Wall Street Journal, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice considers the accomplishments of the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. “The three-month military campaign degraded Iran’s ability to project power by significantly damaging its conventional forces, missile stockpiles and proxies. It drew America, Israel and the Arab states closer together through defense cooperation and intelligence sharing. In this regard, Israel has never been more secure. … The war demonstrated that the Iranian regime’s leaders were physically vulnerable to U.S. military power and allied intelligence.” [WSJ]
Hands Off AI: In the Financial Times, Argentine President Javier Milei argues in favor of unregulated AI. “At the beginning of the industrial revolution, Adam Smith illustrated the potential of technology and economies of scale in his celebrated recollection of the pin factory. And, as much as the industrial revolution freed us from the constraints of the human muscle, AI will free us from the constraints of the human brain, pushing productivity beyond our wildest dreams.” [FT]
The Center Holds: Puck’s Peter Hamby suggests that the results of California’s primaries this week underscore the degree to which many voters prefer moderate Democrats over candidates from the more extreme wing of the party. “As with other elections around the country dating back to last year, Democrats won or advanced by focusing on the basics. Yes, there were promises to stand up to Trump — table stakes for any Democratic messaging. (‘California is bigger than Trump,’ [former HHS Secretary Xavier] Becerra said in his primary night speech. ‘Our values are undeniable — and undeportable.’) But Tuesday’s winners, generally, ran on the cost of living, safe streets and playgrounds, good schools, and healthcare costs. Not exactly peak woke.” [Puck]
No Strait Jacket: In The New York Times, Christopher Smart, who served as a Treasury Department official during the Obama administration, posits that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is prompting a readjustment of global supply chains less dependent on the waterway. “The longer the Strait remains blocked, however, the less important oil from the Strait becomes. The S&P 500 is setting records not because investors believe peace is at hand, but because corporate earnings continue to grow and American consumers, particularly wealthier ones, are still buying. … The winners of this adjustment include U.S. oil and natural gas producers that can fill the Strait’s shortfall, as well as nuclear and renewable energy providers. ” [NYTimes]
Word on the Street
Federal officials announced charges against a resident of Newport Beach, Calif., alleging that the man, the CEO of an Iran-based tech company, provided “computer technology to Iranian companies and Iran’s government — including technology to help with Iran’s military and nuclear program”…
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) became the first Republican to co-sponsor the Block the Bombs Act, arguing the U.S. is “morally obligated to end support of Israel’s devastation of Gaza and its people” — going beyond his usual arguments against foreign aid generally. The bill now has 71 co-sponsors…
Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) on the House floor accused Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) of “advocat[ing] for terrorists on a daily basis” and of “hang[ing] out with” with Hezbollah “butchers”; Miller’s remarks were ultimately struck from the record with Tlaib’s objection, but he said in a statement read on the House floor by a colleague that he stood by his comments…
California Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar, who has made several failed runs for Southern California-area congressional seats, said that after falling short in his latest bid, in the state’s 48th District, his “political career is permanently over”…
The NYPD arrested an NYU student Wednesday for raising a flag that displayed swastikas and a Star of David atop a university building last month, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…
Former President Joe Biden, making a surprise appearance at his wife’s debut book event at the 92nd Street Y, told attendees he has a book coming out in September…
Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square is set to sell its remaining stake in Universal Music Group — amounting to approximately 80.6 million shares — in a deal that will garner Pershing Square at least $600 million, following failed attempts to take over the company…
The Qatar Foundation announced the launch of new study abroad partnerships for students at Hampton University, Xavier University and Prairie View A&M University — all HBCUs — to study at the Gulf state’s Education City…
Former Columbia University President Katrina Armstrong will step down as the CEO of the Columbia University Irving Medical Center to launch the Vagelos Institute for Basic Biomedical Research within the medical school…
The U.K.’s National Health Service will implement a series of measures designed to address what a new government-authorized report calls “routine ostracism” faced by Jewish patients and staff in the British healthcare system, including limiting the political symbols that staff can wear on their uniforms and requiring antisemitism training for the heads of the country’s health trusts…
Companies operating under Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund are seeing the departures of foreign CEOs and being replaced by locals as the fund focuses on domestic financial priorities ahead of the Gulf state’s hosting of the World Cup in 2034…
Israel’s High Court ruled against a government policy banning Red Cross officials from visiting Palestinian security prisoners, citing violations of both Israeli and international law…
Israeli forensic specialists are conducting DNA testing on bones found in Kfar Aza by relatives of Nirel Zini, who was killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks; Zini, whose girlfriend, Niv Raviv, was also killed, was decapitated during the attack, and his family buried his partial remains…
Kuwaiti officials said that one person was killed and more than 60 injured in an Iranian drone attack early Wednesday that caused significant damage to parts of the passenger terminal of the Gulf nation’s main airport; the airport reopened Wednesday evening…
Miami-based LGBTQ activist Ruth Shack died at 94…
Pic of the Day
U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner participated in a ceremony earlier this week organized by Operation Benjamin at the Meuse-Argonne American Military Cemetery in Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, France, to replace the headstones of five fallen Jewish servicemembers with Stars of David.
Birthdays
Lineman for the Miami Dolphins for 12 seasons, which included three Super Bowl appearances and four Pro Bowls, then a judge on the Miami-Dade County Court, Ed Newman turns 75…
Co-founder of Boston Properties and owner of U.S. News & World Report, Mort Zuckerman turns 89… Professor emeritus of organic chemistry at the Weizmann Institute of Science and winner of the 2012 Israel Prize, David Milstein turns 79… Retired chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, Stephen J. Markman turns 77… Former judge on the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia, he was the longest tenured member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Mark B. Cohen turns 77… British journalist, author of 11 books and socially conservative columnist for The Times of London, The Jerusalem Post and The Jewish Chronicle, Melanie Phillips turns 75… First-ever Jewish governor of Hawaii and then COO of Illinois, she serves on the board of directors of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Linda Lingle turns 73… President and CEO of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC until 2023, now president and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Daniel H. Weiss turns 69… Co-founder of Ripco Real Estate, Todd Cooper… Artist and art educator, she was born in Kibbutz Beeri, where she currently resides, Ziva Jelin turns 64… Chair in human cancer genetics at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dr. Matthew Langer Meyerson turns 63… Law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, Ayelet Shachar turns 60… U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) turns 55… French-Israeli entrepreneur, angel investor in over 360 startups, Jeremie Berrebi turns 48… Party photographer in Washington for the Washingtonian, Daniel Swartz… National politics reporter at The Washington Post, Colby Itkowitz… Israeli supermodel, Bar Refaeli turns 41… Clean energy portfolio planning program manager at Orange and Rockland Utilities, Adam E. Soclof… Director at Dentons Global Advisors, Jason Hillel Attermann… Managing editor at eJewishPhilanthropy, Judah Ari Gross turns 37… Gena Wolfson… Coordinating producer at MS NOW, Emily Gold… VP of government relations at UJA-Federation of New York and former Member of the New York state Assembly, Daniel Rosenthal turns 35… Ken Moss…
Hamawy, despite his past ties to a convicted terrorist, faced minimal scrutiny from outside groups — including many of his primary rivals
Islam Dogru/Anadolu via Getty Images
Adam Hamawy, a plastic surgeon, is seen during an exclusive interview at in New York, United States on April 24, 2024.
Adam Hamawy’s victory on Tuesday in a closely watched congressional primary in New Jersey, which elevated an outspoken critic of Israel whose past ties to a convicted terrorist had drawn scrutiny during the campaign, is raising questions over why the far-left Democrat did not face outside opposition from the pro-Israel group AIPAC or its well-funded super PAC.
Hamawy, who won 28% of the vote in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, prevailed with a modest plurality over the multi-candidate primary field competing to succeed Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ). With 93% of the vote counted on Wednesday, Brad Cohen, the mayor of East Brunswick and a Jewish Democrat who touted his support for Israel while identifying as an AIPAC member, placed second with 15%. Hamawy is all but assured a seat in Congress next year as the district heavily favors Democrats.
Despite a double-digit deficit, Cohen’s performance exceeded many expectations, indicating that he likely could have finished in a stronger position with help from AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, some local Jewish leaders suggested in interviews on Wednesday.
While Cohen posted relatively robust fundraising figures, pulling in $700,000 over the course of the race, he struggled to keep up with Hamawy, a plastic surgeon and Army veteran who claimed just over $1 million. Notably, Hamawy also drew support from a newly created super PAC, American Priorities, launched as a left-wing counterweight to AIPAC, which spent more than $1.5 million in the primary to bolster his ascendant campaign.
UDP’s conspicuous absence as American Priorities aggressively promoted Hamawy during the final days of the primary allowed the new group to shape the narrative as he drew skepticism over his efforts to downplay a decades-old association with a radical Muslim cleric convicted of inspiring the 1993 World Trade Center bombing as well as his work for a now-shuttered al-Qaida-linked front group in Bosnia.
Such vulnerabilities were the sort that UDP would presumably have been eager to exploit to thwart an extreme detractor of Israel who had argued against the country’s Iron Dome missile-defense system that protects civilians from attacks.
UDP, which looked at all of the candidates in the crowded field, had considered backing Cohen but ultimately determined he did not have a credible chance of winning, according to a source familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to address a confidential matter.
Patrick Dorton, a spokesperson for UDP, defended the group’s choice not to engage. “We play in races where we have a reasonable opportunity to win,” he explained in a brief interview with JI on Wednesday. “This was a multi-candidate field with obviously the anti-Hamawy vote very split.”
“We didn’t see a path to victory,” Dorton said broadly of the primary. “We did a careful analysis of the race, including polling, and came to the conclusion not to get involved.”
Steve Klinghoffer, a Jewish community leader and philanthropist and a former AIPAC board member, strongly disagreed with UDP’s assessment. He said he had “numerous conversations” with AIPAC to try to convince the group to get involved in the primary but declined to share what he had been told in response.
“If they stay out there’s a good reason,” noted Jason Shames, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, who said he spoke with AIPAC about the primary and got the sense that the group did not “see much upside” in being directly involved. “I give them the benefit of the doubt,” he told JI, calling the group “very careful” and “more strategic” than critics might think.
“In my assessment, this was a missed opportunity, and it’s greatly disturbing,” Klinghoffer told JI, calling the primary “highly winnable” and citing “private polling that showed it would be closer” if AIPAC had devoted its resources to the contest.
Still, Jewish and pro-Israel leaders in New Jersey were largely divided about AIPAC’s decision, with some saying they trusted UDP’s calculus and others expressing more skepticism about its motivations.
“If they stay out there’s a good reason,” noted Jason Shames, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, who said he spoke with AIPAC about the primary and got the sense that the group did not “see much upside” in being directly involved. “I give them the benefit of the doubt,” he told JI, calling the group “very careful” and “more strategic” than critics might think.
Ben Chouake, the president of NORPAC, a pro-Israel advocacy group in New Jersey that endorsed Cohen, said there were more complex challenges at play that had influenced the result beyond AIPAC’s decision to hold its powder.
“We supported Brad Cohen and raised a fair amount of money for him and tried to put together a ground game within the Jewish community,” he told JI. “But I don’t think our community, as a whole, is as unified as it needs to be.”
But he believed AIPAC’s involvement “absolutely” could have made a difference in the race, saying the vote tally was not insurmountable. “I think it was a worthwhile effort for us,” he stressed. “I’m not upset that we did it.”
Cohen, who sought to draw attention to Hamawy’s controversial past ties in the closing stretch of the race, did not respond to messages from JI seeking comment.
Even as UDP now sits on a nearly $95 million war chest to use in the midterms, it also has reason to stay on the sidelines, as the AIPAC brand has become increasingly toxic among Democrats who have vowed to reject its support.
The super PAC had also endured an embarrassing setback in March in a nearby northern New Jersey Democratic special election, where it spent heavily to block Tom Malinowski, a moderate former congressman who had expressed interest in conditioning U.S. aid to Israel. The foray backfired, however — propelling a progressive activist with far more antagonistic positions on Israel to the House.
The reputational damage stemming from that effort still lingers in New Jersey, according to some Jewish leaders. One pro-Israel leader speculated that AIPAC simply “got gun-shy,” after its handling of the March election. Outside the state, UDP has otherwise shown a penchant for caution — most recently investing in a Democratic congressional race in a Maryland district home to a more moderate constituency.
“My guess is they probably were afraid this time that by coming in to support Brad, it might have harmed a very good candidate,” a Jewish Democrat told JI, noting it “raises a question of what AIPAC’s strategy” is going forward. “I think they need to also look in the mirror” and “assess this terrain very carefully” in weighing “what they’re going to do in the future.”
“Unfortunately, it’s a tougher climate for AIPAC and other pro-Israel PACs, especially on the Democratic side,” Mark Levenson, a Jewish community leader in New Jersey, told JI. “The environment has changed.”
Amid a national political landscape now favoring anti-establishment, left-wing sentiment of the sort espoused by Hamawy and his progressive allies in other key races, AIPAC likely “understood its brand had taken a hit, particularly in New Jersey,” said one Jewish Democrat who viewed Hamawy’s election as a troubling sign of the party’s direction. “AIPAC called it wrong previously.”
“My guess is they probably were afraid this time that by coming in to support Brad, it might have harmed a very good candidate,” the activist said on Wednesday, noting it “raises a question of what AIPAC’s strategy” is going forward. “I think they need to also look in the mirror” and “assess this terrain very carefully” in weighing “what they’re going to do in the future.”
Dan Cassino, a political scientist and pollster at Fairleigh Dickinson University, said it was “hard to imagine that there were a lot of Hamawy supporters who would have turned against him because AIPAC was opposed to him,” given their already jaundiced view of the group.
“If AIPAC had gotten involved very early, and thrown around enough money to dissuade some candidates from running, they could have made a difference,” he told JI. “But once that field was set, I don’t think they could have changed the result,” he said, pointing out the “risk that getting involved in a race that led to another win for a disfavored candidate would hurt AIPAC’s credibility even more.”
Micah Rasmussen, the director of Rider University’s Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics, argued it “would be foolish to blame AIPAC for the results of the election,” saying the “single thing that could have changed the outcome is for the field of candidates to have consolidated behind one candidate as a viable alternative to Adam Hamawy.”
“Whatever else might be said about AIPAC, they are not political novices,” he told JI. “No one can believe they sat on their hands because they couldn’t think of anything else to do.”
“You’re really left to wonder,” Rasmussen mused, “whether they view Adam Hamawy as a foil or a lightning rod for Jewish voters across the country.”
‘Anybody that's tied to that should never be elected to Congress, and if he is, I think should never serve on a national security committee,’ Rep. Michael McCaul told JI
DREW ANGERER/AFP via Getty Images
Dr. Adam Hamawy speaks during an AFP interview after meetings on Capitol Hill, in Washington DC, on June 14, 2024.
Some lawmakers are warning that the past terrorist ties of Adam Hamawy, the Democratic nominee in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District expected to be elected to the House in November, could pose a national security risk and that he should be barred from serving on sensitive committees working on national security issues.
Hamawy was an associate of convicted terrorist mastermind Omar Abdel-Rahman, known as the Blind Sheikh, and testified in Abdel-Rahman’s defense when he was on trial for his involvement in a series of terrorist attacks in New York City. Hamawy also volunteered for the Benevolence International Foundation, a charity operating in Bosnia that was later shuttered as an al-Qaida front.
He also volunteered at the European Hospital in Gaza during Israel’s war with Hamas, denying when he returned that there was any terrorist activity at the hospital or any tunnels underneath it. Israel killed Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar in a tunnel system under the hospital.
Members of Congress are exempt from usual security clearance vetting procedures applied to other federal officials, and all members are able to access certain House-wide classified briefings.
But members serving on several key committees touching on national security and foreign policy, such as the Foreign Affairs, Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, have more regular access to a much wider range of classified briefings and information. Caucus leadership is responsible for assigning committee posts.
Some of Hamawy’s potential future colleagues — largely Republicans — say that Hamawy should be barred from those committee postings if he’s elected. As a military veteran and having focused much of his campaign on foreign policy issues, Hamawy would ordinarily be a likely candidate for such committee assignments.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), the former chair of the Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security committees and a former U.S. attorney focused on counterterrorism and national security, told Jewish Insider that Hamawy “should be barred from any national security committee.”
“The Blind Sheikh, Ramsey Youssef, the ‘93 World Trade Center bombing — the original plot was to hit 12 Jewish synagogues simultaneously, symbolic of the 12 tribes of Israel,” McCaul said, “and so anybody that’s tied to that should never be elected to Congress, and if he is, I think should never serve on a national security committee — because then you get access to classified information.”
In a statement to JI, a campaign spokesperson said, “Hamawy’s entire career and life have been defined by his patriotism and deep love of this country,” and emphasized that he was in the military during the time of the Blind Sheikh trial.
“As a witness, he performed his civic and legal duty to testify truthfully under oath and contribute to the system of laws and justice he defended while serving our country in the Army,” the statement, similar to ones the campaign has provided in the past, continued. “At the time, the man in question was one of very few religious figures in what was then a very small Muslim community in New Jersey — he saw him speak in religious settings in his early 20s. Dr. Hamawy condemns that man’s violent rhetoric and actions, and all violence, hatred, and terrorism — and he will always. Dr. Hamawy had no contact with this person after they were arrested.”
The campaign also dismissed reporting on his relationship with the Blind Sheikh as “bad-faith, guilt-by-association attacks” started by a “designated hate [group].”
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) said that Hamawy’s eligibility for national security posts “obviously … has to be a conversation we’ll have to have once we get past the general election.”
He also referenced his concerns about state Rep. Chris Rabb, a Democratic nominee in Philadelphia, and said that Democrats should hold Rabb to the same standard as former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) — after she shared “false flag” theories about the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting — for sharing a false flag conspiracy theory about the mass shooting at a Hanukkah gathering at Sydney’s Bondi Beach last December.
Rabb has disavowed and condemned the Bondi Beach post shared by his Instagram account, attributing it to a campaign contractor who has since been dismissed.
“We want to win elections, we want to win the House, we want to win the Senate,” Moskowitz said. “But expanding the tent to the point where we’re taking people in that don’t really share our values, I think, is a long-term mistake.”
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) told reporters he has “significant concerns when you have somebody who affirmatively testified for the defense in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and volunteered for an organization that was a front for al-Qaida.”
He said that Hamawy’s past “raises significant questions that, frankly, I think he has not adequately addressed,” and that if Hamawy is elected, “there needs to be an investigation into his ties to these incidents and organizations, and that’s something that I don’t think people should take likely.”
Lawler stopped short of saying that Hamawy should be disqualified from service on any national security committee, saying again that there should be a “thorough investigation” and that he “certainly would have significant concerns about him serving on any committee, let alone in Congress.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) said on X that “there is no way [Hamawy] can have a security clearance. National security risk.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who congratulated Hamawy on Tuesday evening for his victory — as he traditionally does for Democratic House nominees around the country — told The Free Press on Wednesday that he hasn’t yet had a conversation with Hamawy about his past affiliations, but planned to speak to him some time on Wednesday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said on X, “Not even ties to terrorists are too extreme for the modern day Democrat Party.”
Despite his baggage, Hamawy is expected to win election to Congress in November, given the central New Jersey district’s heavily Democratic electorate
Islam Dogru/Anadolu via Getty Images
Adam Hamawy, a plastic surgeon, is seen during an exclusive interview at in New York, United States on April 24, 2024.
Democrats nominated a mix of pro-Israel moderates and anti-Israel ideologues in Tuesday’s primaries across the country, but the biggest red flag for the party is the emergence of a New Jersey nominee with past terror ties prevailing in a closely watched congressional contest.
Plastic surgeon Adam Hamawy prevailed with 28% of the vote in a crowded Democratic primary field in the race to succeed retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ).
Hamawy was a former associate of Omar Abdel Rahman, also known as the Blind Sheikh, who was convicted of inspiring the terrorists who engineered the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Hamawy later served as a defense witness during Abdel Rahman’s 1995 trial, and volunteered around the same time in Bosnia with a group later shuttered as a front for al-Qaida.
Hamawy, with the support of left-wing groups, some progressive lawmakers and the anti-Israel American Priorities super PAC, defeated his opponents with regional bases but limited support outside their local communities. No pro-Israel groups or other moderate-minded outside PACs decided to spend money on anti-Hamawy attack ads, allowing him to consolidate enough backing from his base to prevail with a relatively small plurality.
Despite his baggage, Hamawy is expected to win election to Congress in November, given the central New Jersey district’s heavily Democratic electorate.
In more favorable news for pro-Israel moderate voters, Democrats nominated former Navy pilot Rebecca Bennett, who flew missions over the Straits of Hormuz, to run against Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) in a major battleground district.
“I just feel very strongly that Israel has a right to defend itself and has a right to exist, and that the United States needs to be able to support Israel, and it shouldn’t be partisan,” Bennett told Jewish Insider last August. “I think we should be supporting Israel as an ally, regardless of political party.” She also told JI she supports continuing U.S. aid to Israel without restrictions or conditions.
Kean, who has represented the 7th Congressional District since 2022, has been missing from Congress for the last several months with an undisclosed illness. His uncertain personal circumstances have made Democrats bullish about their prospects in the swing district, which Kean only won by five points in 2024.
Democratic voters in the neighboring 11th Congressional District overwhelmingly renominated left-wing Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-NJ), who was the surprise winner in a special election primary earlier this year after AIPAC’s super PAC spent money attacking the more moderate former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ).
But while Mejia won a whopping 82% of the Democratic vote against her long-shot opposition, there was a significant protest vote against her in the towns with a large Jewish constituency: Livingston and Millburn.
Meanwhile, Rep. Robert Menendez Jr. (D-NJ), a pro-Israel Democrat, comfortably brushed back a challenge from far-left, anti-Israel candidate Mussab Ali, winning 70% of the primary vote.
New Jersey wasn’t the only state holding consequential primaries. In Iowa, the high-stakes Senate race is all set after Democrats nominated the more moderate state lawmaker Josh Turek, the favorite of the party establishment, over progressive state Sen. Zach Wahls.
Turek will face Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA). Iowa has lately been a reliably Republican state, but given President Donald Trump’s depressed approval ratings, Democrats are optimistic they can put the seat in play.
In California, the first wave of results suggest the likelihood of a general election matchup between Democratic former state Attorney General Xavier Becerra and former Fox News host Steve Hilton, a Republican who was backed by President Donald Trump, though there are many ballots remaining to be counted. Former hedge fund manager Tom Steyer, a Democrat, lags behind the top two vote-getters in third place.
In the Los Angeles mayor’s race, it’s looking likely that Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, will be facing Republican former reality show star Spencer Pratt in the general election. DSA-aligned City Councilmember Nithya Raman so far is trailing Pratt in third place.
In the race to succeed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), state Sen. Scott Wiener will face Connie Chan, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors — with the virulently anti-Israel Saikat Chakrabarti lagging far behind Chan.
Meanwhile, at least one of the two Democrats endorsed by the pro-Israel Democratic group DMFI is heading into a general election. The DMFI-backed San Diego Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert is comfortably ahead of Ammar Campa-Najjar, who was viewed as a less reliable supporter of the U.S.-Israel alliance. Von Wilpert will face Republican Jim Desmond, a San Diego County supervisor, in the swing district.
But in the battleground district of Rep. David Valadao (R-CA), the DMFI-endorsed candidate, state Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains, is narrowly trailing her left-wing, anti-Israel challenger Randy Villegas.
Democrats also nominated pro-Israel former Navy pilot Rebecca Bennett in a neighboring district to run against Rep. Tom Kean Jr.
DREW ANGERER/AFP via Getty Images
Dr. Adam Hamawy speaks during an AFP interview after meetings on Capitol Hill, in Washington DC, on June 14, 2024.
New Jersey, the state with one of the largest Jewish populations in the country, has become something of a political nightmare for Jewish voters who have seen Democrats turn to far-left, virulently anti-Israel candidates in this year’s primaries.
That trend continued Tuesday night as Democratic voters in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District nominated plastic surgeon Adam Hamawy, despite his past affiliations with Islamist extremists, who prevailed with about 28% of the vote in a crowded Democratic primary field.
Hamawy, with the support of left-wing groups, some progressive lawmakers and the anti-Israel American Priorities super PAC, prevailed over his opponents with regional bases but limited support outside their local communities. No pro-Israel groups or other moderate-minded outside PACs decided to spend money on anti-Hamawy attack ads, allowing him to consolidate enough backing from his base to prevail with a relatively small plurality.
Hamawy was a former associate of Omar Abdel Rahman, also known as the Blind Sheikh, who was convicted of inspiring the terrorists who engineered the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Hamawy later served as a defense witness during Abdel Rahman’s 1995 trial, and volunteered around the same time in Bosnia with a group later shuttered as a front for Al-Qaida.
Despite his baggage, Hamawy is expected to win election to Congress in the November general election, given the central New Jersey district’s heavily Democratic electorate.
Democratic voters in the neighboring 11th Congressional District also overwhelmingly renominated left-wing Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-NJ), who was the surprise winner in a special election primary earlier this year after AIPAC’s super PAC spent money attacking the more moderate former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ)
But while Mejia won a whopping 82% of the Democratic vote against her long-shot opposition, there was a significant protest vote against her in the towns with a large Jewish constituency: Livingston and Millburn.
In more favorable news for pro-Israel moderate voters, Democrats nominated former Navy pilot Rebecca Bennett, who flew missions over the Straits of Hormuz, to run against Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) in a major battleground district.
“I just feel very strongly that Israel has a right to defend itself and has a right to exist, and that the United States needs to be able to support Israel, and it shouldn’t be partisan,” Bennett told Jewish Insider last August. “I think we should be supporting Israel as an ally, regardless of political party.”
She also told JI she supports continuing U.S. aid to Israel without restrictions or conditions.
Kean, who has represented the 7th Congressional District since 2022, has been missing from Congress for the last several months with an undisclosed illness. His uncertain personal circumstances have made Democrats bullish of their prospects in the swing district, which Kean only won by five points in 2024.
Meanwhile, Rep. Robert Menendez Jr. (D-NJ), a pro-Israel Democrat, comfortably brushed back a challenge from far-left, anti-Israel candidate Mussab Ali, winning 70% of the primary vote.
Renewed scrutiny of congressional hopefuls Graham Platner and Adam Hamawy highlight the potential for far-left candidates to complicate the party’s midterm ambitions
Sophie Park/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Graham Platner, Democratic Senate candidate for Maine, left, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) during a Fighting Oligarchy event in Portland, Maine, on May 25, 2026.
The latest revelations that Graham Platner, the Democrats’ anti-establishment, far-left standard-bearer in the Maine Senate race, was sending sexually explicit texts to as many as a dozen women while he was married — an issue his wife raised to campaign staff as a potential liability — is another sign that the candidate’s extensive baggage may be too much for the party to handle. (As commentator Haviv Rettig Gur posted on X: “I’m starting to think that SS tattoo might have been a red flag.”)
Meanwhile, a New York Times interview, published over the weekend, with leading New Jersey Democratic congressional candidate Adam Hamawy about his past affiliations with Islamist extremists is going to raise more red flags for Democrats.
Asked about his travels with Omar Abdel Rahman, known as the “Blind Sheikh,” who was connected to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Hamawy downplayed the spiritual leader’s jihadist sermons. “He wasn’t preaching death and destruction all the time,” Hamawy said. “He had certain views that he spoke in certain forums, but that’s not what he did every single day.”
With the calendar now approaching June, it’s yet another reminder that Democrats are on the verge of nominating some truly radical and damaged candidates for congressional office as a critical mass of primaries take place this month.
Many of the races are taking place in safely blue seats, so Democrats haven’t raised that much concern over candidates such as Hamawy, whose terror ties (including volunteer work for what was later revealed as an al-Qaida front group) at the very least, raise questions about suitability for public office.
But others, such as Platner, are running in battleground Senate seats where the stakes couldn’t be higher. In California and Montana, candidates are running in swing districts where the battle for the House majority will be fought.
If May was the month that tested President Donald Trump’s power over the Republican Party (lesson: he’s still firmly in control of GOP voters), June will be the month that determines whether the Democratic Party is going to abandon its moderate moorings and nominate a roster of radicals.
The stakes couldn’t be higher — especially for Jewish Democrats, who have been among the leading voices alarmed by the rise of these candidates, who, not surprisingly, often hold virulently anti-Israel views and don’t have a problem mainlining antisemitic rhetoric.
While Platner’s expected nomination and Hamawy’s potential one are generating the most attention, several under-the-radar races will have a direct bearing on the Democrats’ midterm prospects.
In California’s congressional races, the pro-Israel advocacy group Democratic Majority for Israel has been involved in two swing-district races where the group fears left-wing candidates could jeopardize the party’s chances of a pickup. In the seat held by Rep. David Valadao (R-CA), the group endorsed Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains and has been airing ads on her behalf in the Central Valley-based district.
Bains is facing a Democratic challenge from school board trustee Randy Villegas, who has landed endorsements from many of the leading anti-Israel lawmakers in Congress and who many Democrats fear could cost the Democrats a seat if he’s the nominee against the battle-tested Valadao.
In the race to succeed retiring Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) in a San Diego-area district, the pro-Israel group has endorsed San Diego Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert, who is running against Ammar Campa-Najjar, who is of mixed Palestinian and Mexican American descent and has twice unsuccessfully run for Congress. The district was redrawn to elect a Democrat, but it still remains a competitive battleground.
In Iowa, Democrats will be choosing whether to nominate the party-favored state Rep. Josh Turek, the more moderate candidate, or go with a true-blue progressive in state Sen. Zach Wahls. The nominee is expected to face Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) in a state that Democrats hope will become competitive, given the rough national environment for Republicans.
And in Montana’s 1st District, in the race to succeed retiring Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), Jewish leaders are alarmed by several candidates in the Democratic primary field over their anti-Israel rhetoric and online antisemitic activity. Army veteran Matt Rains appears to be the most mainstream Democratic candidate of the four in the race, but lags behind in fundraising.
The district has been solidly Republican since its creation, but in a Democratic wave, it’s competitive enough that it could flip. Given the extreme rhetoric of some of the Democratic candidates, however, that prospect would be less likely.
Also of note: Los Angeles voters will be determining which two candidates will square off in a runoff for mayor. Assuming embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass finishes in the top two, her opponent will either be running further to her left (Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman) or to her right (reality star Spencer Pratt). The matchup will determine whether the campaign focuses more on catering to progressive voters or moderates disenchanted with the direction of the city.
‘The lack of transparency calls into question who he really is, and whether or not he's the right person for the 12th Congressional District,’ said Hamawy opponent Mayor Adrian Mapp
Islam Dogru/Anadolu via Getty Images
Adam Hamawy, a plastic surgeon, is seen during an exclusive interview at in New York, United States on April 24, 2024.
Several of Adam Hamawy’s opponents in the Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District are challenging the candidate to explain his ties to Omar Abdel-Rahman, the convicted terrorist known as the Blind Sheikh, as well as his service with a charity later shuttered as a front for al-Qaida years after he volunteered.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) is now also joining them in seeking more clarity on the first-time congressional candidate’s background.
Many of Hamawy’s other Democratic rivals appeared hesitant to address the military veteran and physician’s past ties to Islamist extremists, with only Mayor Adrian Mapp of Plainfield publicly addressing the weeks-old reporting about Hamawy testifying in defense of Abdel-Rahman.
Mapp told JI he was “shocked” at the news of Hamawy’s time in Bosnia with the Benevolence International Foundation, an al-Qaida-tied group — and disturbed at what he described as the plastic surgeon’s “refusal to be forthcoming” about his involvement with either Benevolence International or his testimony on behalf of the Blind Sheikh.
“Can you explain why you were in Bosnia in association with an entity that was raided, and believed to be a front for al-Qaida? Can you explain that to the American people and especially to the people in the 12th Congressional District?” Mapp posed to his opponent. “The lack of transparency calls into question who he really is, and whether or not he’s the right person for the 12th Congressional District.”
Hamawy has so far dismissed questions about his associations in the 1990s as Islamophobia, but Mapp maintained he had no objection to a Muslim serving in the seat. He added that the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, that Abdel-Rahman was convicted for inspiring, was personal to him, as he said his brother worked as a security guard in the complex at the time.
Brad Cohen, the mayor of East Brunswick, N.J., likewise said Hamawy’s past ties require further explanation.
“Adam Hamawy has never denounced his association with the terrorist responsible for murdering six Americans and injuring more than 1,000. He stuck by a terrorist who called for death to Jews and Christians and to Muslims whom he did not consider radical enough,” Cohen told JI. “Adam has never explained why he traveled to Bosnia with an al-Qaida-linked organization just a year after his mentor tried to bring down the World Trade Center. These are questions that demand urgent answers and it is deeply troubling that Dr. Hamawy has refused to provide them.”
Somerset County Commissioner Shanel Robinson, another candidate in the race, called on Hamawy to explain his relationship with the Blind Sheikh further, while also praising his military service.
“As a fellow veteran I truly appreciate Adam’s service to his country, and know that it speaks to his patriotism. Adam’s relationship with Sheikh Abdel Rahman was thirty years ago, but Adam and I are both asking the people of New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District to select us for positions of authority in the federal government,” Robinson said. “The voters will judge us on our entire adult lives, the choices we have made, and the people we associate with regardless of whether it was 30 days or 30 years ago. Therefore, the voters deserve to hear directly from Adam about this. In the end, it will be up to them to decide.”
Gottheimer emphasized the connections between the Blind Sheikh, al-Qaida and the 9/11 attacks.
“This hits close to home. I represent a lot of families who lost loved ones on 9/11. I also co-chair the Intelligence Committee’s Review of the 9/11 Commission Report,” Gottheimer said. “Based on what I’ve read, I have serious questions and deep concerns about his associations with terrorist organizations and leaders who have attacked America, from the ‘Blind Sheik’ to Al Qaeda. He needs to answer these questions and explain himself to New Jersey voters.”
Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ) did not address the substance of the issue, but told JI, “It’s going to be up to the voters in New Jersey’s 12th District to consider these allegations.”
Sam Wang, a Princeton University professor, offered a defense of Hamawy, the only one of his opponents reached by JI to do so.
“At the time that Adam Hamawy was in Bosnia, Muslims were under attack. I take him at his word that he was performing a humanitarian mission. It is consistent with his character,” Wang said.
In a statement, a Hamawy campaign spokesperson said that “these questions have been asked and answered” and said that his “entire career and life have been defined by his patriotism and deep love of this country,” noting his military career and work at Ground Zero after 9/11.
The spokesperson noted that Hamawy was and remained in the military during the time of the Blind Sheikh trial.
“As a witness, he performed his civic and legal duty to testify truthfully under oath and contribute to the system of laws and justice he defended while serving our country in the Army,” the spokesperson said. “At the time, the man in question was one of very few religious figures in what was then a very small Muslim community in New Jersey – he saw him speak in religious settings in his early 20s. Dr. Hamawy condemns that man’s violent rhetoric and actions, and all violence, hatred, and terrorism — and he will always. Dr. Hamawy had no contact with this person after they were arrested.”
The spokesperson also called attacks on his work with Benevolence International in Bosnia, “desperate,” “absurd,” and “gross and bigoted.”
“Dr. Adam Hamawy, as a young medical student and member of the US military, volunteered to provide medical assistance to victims of the Bosnian genocide, per the suggestion the Bosnian mission made to him on how to help via a United Nations approved route,” the spokesperson said.
Several other competitive candidates in the race contacted by JI about Hamawy’s past ties did not respond to requests for comment or declined to comment. No other Democratic members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation — including Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) — responded to requests for comments.
Hamawy, boosted by $1.5 million in spending from the anti-Israel American Priorities super PAC, his own strong internal fundraising and unified support from national progressives, has emerged as the apparent front-runner ahead of Tuesday’s primary race.
More moderate candidates have divided the vote, with their support mainly concentrated in their local communities. But a last-minute infusion of nearly $400,000 by a largely unknown super PAC, Project 218, is set to boost Sue Altman, a former progressive organizer and staffer for Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ), ahead of the primary election on Tuesday. Altman has faced more than $250,000 in attack ads from the Florence Avenue Initiative, a super PAC whose backers are unknown.
Plus, Green going, going, gone
DREW ANGERER/AFP via Getty Images
Dr. Adam Hamawy speaks during an AFP interview after meetings on Capitol Hill, in Washington DC, on June 14, 2024.
Good Wednesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we have the scoop on the ties between New Jersey congressional candidate Adam Hamawy and a Bosnian organization with which he volunteered that was later shuttered for providing support to Al-Qaida, and report on Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s comment that he struggles with whether Israel should exist as a Jewish state. We report on the just-released text of the final version of New York State’s “buffer zone” legislation, and have the exclusive on a new report that documents a $65 million Qatari campaign to influence U.S. education. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Mike Needham, Bezhalel Machlis and James Tisch.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- We’re awaiting the final results of yesterday’s runoffs in Texas, which saw Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton trounce Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and antisemitic sex therapist Maureen Galindo defeated in the Democratic primary in the state’s 35th Congressional District. More below.
- We’re monitoring the situation in Iran as the Islamic Republic begins to lift its monthslong internet blackout across the country. Reuters reported on Tuesday that the Pentagon clashed with Elon Musk’s Starlink after the satellite internet company raised the price of deploying direct-to-cell services as well as the cost of its satellite Wi-Fi network used by the Defense Department for its kamikaze drones.
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan railed against Israel earlier today while making remarks on the occasion of the Muslim holiday of Eid-al Adha, suggesting that “the tyrant known as [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu will learn the necessary lesson at the hands of the world’s Muslims.”
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR
In last night’s Texas primary runoffs, Democrats successfully prevented a virulent antisemite from becoming the party’s nominee in a battleground House race, while voters also ousted one of the party’s longtime anti-Israel lawmakers for a younger, more pragmatic replacement.
On the Republican side, President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was the decisive factor in Paxton’s sweeping victory over Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), a widely respected pragmatic conservative who served for years in party leadership.
The results painted a picture of a volatile electorate in both parties. A late push by the Democrats’ House campaign arm and the pro-Israel advocacy group Democratic Majority for Israel helped prevent sex therapist Maureen Galindo, who advocated putting pro-Israel Jews in internment camps as part of her campaign message, from winning a valued nomination in Texas’ swing 35th Congressional District.
Johnny Garcia, a Bexar County sheriff’s deputy long touted by national Democrats as a top recruit, won the Democratic nomination by 28 points (64-36%) despite finishing in second place in the primary. He will face Republican Air Force veteran Carlos de la Cruz in the general election.
DMFI’s political action committee touted its role as an early endorser of Garcia’s campaign, and for being one of the first and few groups to raise the red flag on Galindo’s extreme views. In its victory statement, DMFI also condemned the efforts from a secretive GOP group to spend nearly $1 million on Galindo’s behalf, in hopes of elevating a more vulnerable Democratic candidate to the general election.
On the positive side, an extremist was defeated thanks to leading Democratic Party organizations and officials rushing to condemn her candidacy. It’s a sign of how institutions can use their power to unify in speaking out against hate. On the other hand, she still won over one-third of the runoff vote despite the full-court press from Democrats to oppose her, a sign that it may take aggressive measures simply to stop a crank from prevailing.
Pro-Israel leaders also cheered the resounding defeat of Rep. Al Green (D-TX), who has alienated the Houston Jewish community with his anti-Israel votes in Congress in recent years and lackluster constituent services. Green lost by nearly 40 points to Rep. Christian Menefee (D-TX), who was just elected to Congress in a neighboring district and was forced to run against his colleague as a result of redistricting.
SCOOP
Leading N.J. Dem congressional candidate Adam Hamawy volunteered with Al-Qaida-tied group in Bosnia
Adam Hamawy’s past relationship with terrorist mastermind Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman has loomed over his rapid rise in the race to succeed retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ). Just one year before Hamawy took the witness stand on the sheikh’s behalf at his 1995 trial, the congressional candidate traveled to Bosnia with a group subsequently shut down for providing “logistical support” to Al-Qaida, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.
Trip talk: In a 1996 interview with the Newark Star-Ledger, according to a copy JI recovered through an archive of print publications, Hamawy described volunteering in Bosnia during the summer of 1994 with a Chicago-based nonprofit called the Benevolence International Foundation. “I worked in Sarajevo for 10 days and then the rest in Zenica, a large regional center in central Bosnia,” Hamawy, who had just graduated from medical school, told the paper about the five weeks he spent with the organization. Sarajevo and Zenica were the exact cities where Benevolence International maintained its offices — offices that Bosnian authorities raided in 2002, part of a joint effort with U.S. authorities to dismantle the group, which they had identified as a front for Al-Qaida.
SCOOP
El-Sayed said he struggles with question of whether Israel should exist as a Jewish state
Abdul El-Sayed, the far-left Democratic candidate for Michigan’s Senate seat, said at an event with Jewish supporters last week that he struggles to answer questions about whether he believes Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What he said: El-Sayed, in response to a question from an audience member about him sidestepping inquiries about Israel’s right to exist, said, “I often struggle with the question that people ask in this particular scenario, because what they now ask is, ‘Do you believe in the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state,’ which, to me, forces the question of a definition of what a Jewish state means.” El-Sayed continued: “I need folks who want to ask me that question [to explain] what it is that they mean by that, and how that is consistent with any form of liberal values that we say we believe in here in the United States.”
ALL BUFFED OUT
Final New York state buffer bill makes blocking access to religious institutions a misdemeanor
The final version of the New York state “buffer zone” legislation passed by the state Legislature on Tuesday makes it a Class B misdemeanor — one of the lowest levels of criminal offense — to “knowingly” infringe on the right of access or egress to a religious institution, or to cause those entering or exiting to fear for their safety from a distance of less than 50 feet, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.
Where it landed: The language is less punitive than the legislation that Gov. Kathy Hochul initially endorsed, which would have made it a low-level felony for demonstrators to obstruct doorways and driveways at houses of worship. But the 50-foot enforcement zone in the final draft is twice as large as the one described in the earlier versions of the bill, and would apply to sidewalks as well as private parking lots and other entry points.
EXCLUSIVE
New report documents $65 million Qatari campaign to influence U.S. education at all levels
Qatar has spent more than $65 million to influence U.S. education over the past 17 years through Qatar Foundation International, with efforts targeting all levels of education including K-12, universities, teacher training programs and national education networks, according to a new report from the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy. ISGAP, in its report, called for a federal investigation of Qatar’s influence efforts targeting American education — and some lawmakers on Capitol Hill appear eager to join those inquiries, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Beyond its purview: The report alleges that QFI has gone significantly further than supporting Arab-language education, as QFI now claims is its goal, and has instead undertaken efforts to exercise influence over social studies, science, technology, art and mathematics curricula, activism and educational professional development programs — and deliberately engaged in efforts to shield its work and influence, using the credibility of host organizations to which it provided funding.
RED FLAGS
Josh Shapiro warns of ‘very dangerous’ efforts to target AIPAC supporters in Democratic Party
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro warned of the dangers of efforts within the Democratic Party to single out AIPAC, telling Politico in a new interview that painting the pro-Israel group as “toxic” could be seen as silencing Jewish voices in the American political system, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
What he said: “I think it’s been used cynically by some to try and silence certain voices, to try and say that certain people participating in politics shouldn’t count, or should be viewed in a toxic way,” Shapiro said in the interview, which was released on Tuesday. Where some Democrats have recently distanced themselves from AIPAC, Shapiro declined to do so. “Do I agree with every political decision they’ve made, every endorsement they made? Of course not,” said Shapiro. “I think what we have seen is a weaponization of that. And I think that is a danger for our system.”
Taking aim: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a recent interview with Politico, arguing that the Israeli premier has committed war crimes and that his actions make American Jews less safe.
CONTROLLER CONTEST
Los Angeles controller race pits mainstream Democrat against anti-Israel incumbent
Kenneth Mejia, the incumbent controller of Los Angeles who is running for reelection in next week’s primary, bolted from the Democratic Party in early 2024 to protest American support for Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and the ensuing war in Gaza. The L.A. controller has no jurisdiction over anything Israel-related but Mejia said he “could no longer be part of a party that pays for bombs to be dropped overseas while people here in America and in L.A. are struggling to put food on the table and a roof over their head.” That’s provided an opening for his opponent, real estate executive Zach Sokoloff, to go after Mejia, painting him as insufficiently Democratic, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
What he’s saying: “From my standpoint, Los Angeles is still a staunchly Democratic town,” Sokoloff told JI in a recent interview. “I think that it’s healthy for parties to evolve as the world evolves, and I guess remaining loyal to the Democratic Party for me means being involved in that conversation, not abandoning it.”
Scene in Sacramento: California’s state Assembly on Tuesday advanced the Safe Worship Zone Act, which if signed into law would establish 100-foot no-protest zones around the entrances of houses of worship; the effort comes on the heels of similar efforts in New York City and at the federal level.
Worthy Reads
Blow to Beijing: In The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Michael Singh posits that the war with Iran has revealed the limits of Beijing’s global influence. “[China] hasn’t come to the aid of its key economic partners like the U.A.E. Meanwhile, China’s relations with Iran, its supposed strategic partner, have been tenuous. Beijing has cautiously aided Tehran — buying oil and reportedly providing limited military support. Iran repaid the favor by seizing a Chinese vessel the same day President Trump and Mr. Xi met in Beijing. (Iran also fired on a Chinese vessel days before.) The moves indicated to both leaders exactly what Tehran thought of suggestions that China could force Iran to open the strait.” [WSJ]
Georgia on My Mind: The Washington Post’s editorial board raises concerns about the Republic of Georgia’s pivot to authoritarianism as the country increasingly aligns itself with American adversaries. “The United States’ once-stalwart ally in the region, Georgia, is increasingly turning anti-American. Its government, headed by the Georgian Dream party, has for years openly played footsie with Russia at the expense of its Western ties. Less well-known is that it has also been cultivating ties with Iran.” [WashPost]
Ceasefire in Name Only: In The New York Times, Lebanese writer Rana Hanna reflects on decades of failed ceasefires as a result of Hezbollah’s continued entrenchment in the country. “The state binds itself to agreements on behalf of an actor it can neither compel nor control. A Lebanese cease-fire is a document about the cessation of violence that leaves intact every internal mechanism that produced it. … Having lived all my life with war as the backdrop, I am hesitant to believe that things could change. But I need to. A cease-fire in Lebanon that ends the need for future cease-fires would have to happen on two planes. We would have to sign a peace treaty with our neighbors, and we would have to sign another with ourselves.” [NYTimes]
Word on the Street
Secretary of State Marco Rubio tapped longtime advisor Mike Needham to serve as assistant to President Donald Trump and deputy national security advisor…
The Justice Department filed a third lawsuit against UCLA, alleging that the school violated Jewish students’ civil rights by being “deliberately indifferent” to antisemitism in the months after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, including the creation in spring 2024 of an anti-Israel encampment on the campus…
Republicans in both chambers of Congress are urging the Trump administration to move to permanently dismantle the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, with a new letter from House Republicans calling for a reworking of Palestinian refugee programs in the region, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…
An appellate court granted Mahmoud Khalil a stay of a previous order that denied the former Columbia University anti-Israel protest leader a rehearing of his case as the Trump administration seeks to deport him…
CUNY School of Law once again featured anti-Israel activity at its commencement ceremony on Thursday, allowing antagonistic student activity during its graduation events for the fourth straight year, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports…
Brooklyn’s Park Slope Coop voted by a 2-to-1 margin in favor of boycotting Israeli products, capping off a yearslong endeavor by activists to end the institution’s sales of Israeli-made items including olive oil, hair products and some brands of tahini…
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office announced it was filing a hate crime charge against a California man who was captured on security footage attacking a visibly Jewish man as he was walking home from synagogue; the victim said that the alleged assailant shouted “Free Palestine!” in the aftermath of the attack…
“CBS Evening News,” hosted by Tony Dokoupil, reached 4 million viewers last week as the Bari Weiss-led network newscast makes inroads against rivals ABC and NBC…
British authorities in Bath are conducting a new probe into social media posts from the former mayor of the city, who resigned after coming under fire for sharing content suggesting that the recent arson attack on Hatzola ambulances in the heavily Jewish London suburb of Golders Green was an “Israeli false flag operation”…
Jordanian-American tech entrepreneur Amjad Masad, who has frequently criticized Israel, was honored by Jordanian King Abdullah II…
The Financial Times reports on the challenges facing the Trump administration’s Board of Peace, which has not received much of the $17 billion in pledged funds for operations; the group received $3 million from Morocco and $20 million from the United Arab Emirates to support the office of Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov, while another $100 million was given by the UAE to fund a currently stalled police-training program…
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the death of Hamas military head Mohammed Odeh in an IDF strike in Gaza City, 11 days after Odeh was tapped to succeed Izz al-Din al-Haddad, who was also killed in an Israeli strike…
The IDF formally dismissed Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, the former military advocate-general, who last year admitted to leaking footage from the Sde Teiman detention center that allegedly showed the abuse of a Palestinian detainee by Israeli forces…
Israeli carrier Israir is planning to launch a direct route between Israel and New York City this summer, joining Arkia and El Al, which currently operate regular long-haul flights from Ben Gurion Airport to New York; Israir’s entry into the market comes as U.S. carriers Delta and United continue to delay a resumption of flights to Israel following the outbreak of war with Iran…
The U.S. and Thailand are accelerating talks for the Southeast Asian country’s state-controlled energy company PTT PCL to purchase some $5.4 billion in U.S. energy products per year; the talks, which began last year, ramped up following the onset of the Iran war, as Qatar, which is second only to the U.S. in liquefied natural gas exports, faced extensive damage to its energy infrastructure…
Elbit CEO Bezhalel Machlis told Reuters that the defense contractor is in the process of developing hardware to thwart Hezbollah’s fiber-optic drones, which have evaded Israeli defensive systems and targeted both IDF soldiers and civilians in recent weeks…
Indian authorities said that Iran released 10 Indian sailors who had been imprisoned in the Islamic Republic since the Palau-flagged oil tanker they were on was seized by Iranian forces last July…
Loews Corp Chairman James Tisch was elected as the new co-chair of the Council for a Secure America…
Newspaper mogul Donald Newhouse, who headed Advance Publications’ newspaper division, died at 96…
Pic of the Day
World War II veteran and Holocaust survivor Ralph Brunn, 101, joined by U.S. Navy veteran Barry Steelman, threw out last night’s ceremonial first pitch at the Baltimore Orioles’ home game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Camden Yards for Jewish Heritage Night.
Birthdays
Stage, film and television actor and producer, Ben Feldman turns 46…
Professor emeritus at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, he is the author of over 80 books, Philip Kotler turns 95… Founder of Val d’Or Apparel and Cannon County Knitting Mills, Martin “Marty” Granoff turns 90… CEO of British real estate firm Heron International, he was knighted in 2024, Sir Gerald Ronson turns 87… Senior U.S. district judge for the Central District of California, Christina A. Snyder turns 79… Retired in 2014 as school rabbi and director of Jewish studies at The Rashi School, a K-8 Reform Jewish school in Dedham, Mass., Ellen Weinstein Pildis… Partner in the D.C. office of ArentFox Schiff, he wrote a book about the struggle for Jewish civil rights during the French Revolution, Gerard Leval turns 76… Analytical psychotherapist, author, and Jewish Renewal rabbi, Tirzah Firestone turns 72… Former MLB pitcher who played for the White Sox and Pirates, he is now a financial advisor at RBC Wealth Management, Ross Baumgarten turns 71… Emmy Award-winning actor, comedian and director, Richard Schiff turns 71… Owner of a 900-acre plant nursery in Kansas, he is a former MLB pitcher and was an MLB All Star in 1979 and 1982, Mark Clear turns 70… Marriage counselor, therapist and author, Sherry Amatenstein… U.S. ambassador to Argentina during the Biden administration, he served for six years as chairman of the National Jewish Democratic Council, Marc R. Stanley turns 69… Beverly Hills-based immigration attorney, founder and chairman of the Los Angeles Sephardic Jewish Film Festival, Neil J. Sheff… EVP of talent and technology at Phibro Animal Health, Jonathan Bendheim… Chicago-based reporter at The New York Times, he was a Rhodes Scholar and then a longtime senior editor for The New Republic, Noam Scheiber… Director of development at the Livingston, N.J.-based Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy, Grant Silverstein… Science of Success columnist for The Wall Street Journal, Benjamin Zachary Cohen… Director of legislative affairs and policy at General Atomics, Katherina “Katya” Dimenstein… Assistant district attorney for Dallas County, Joshua A. Fitterman… Reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer since 2012, Andrew Seidman… Emily Cohen…
The letter warns that New Jersey ‘cannot lag behind in equipping our state to confront rising antisemitism’
Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill during an election night event in East Brunswick, New Jersey, on Nov. 4, 2025.
More than 2,000 New Jersey rabbis and lay leaders signed a petition to New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and state lawmakers urging them to take prompt action to implement the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism in the state.
Legislation on the issue picked up broad support in the New Jersey Statehouse last year, but was ultimately halted by then-Gov. Phil Murphy and other state Democratic leaders over concerns that the bill — while enjoying support from a majority of assemblymembers — would require some Republican support to pass, and that voting for the measure could fuel progressive primary challenges to some Democratic members.
“We were deeply dismayed that legislation to adopt the IHRA definition was recently shelved for political reasons, despite broad support in the legislature and clear evidence of rising antisemitism,” the letter, which was organized by the Jewish Majority, reads. “At a moment when Jewish communities seek protection and clarity, this delay sends a troubling message about whether Jewish safety is prioritized.”
The letter argues that the IHRA definition is a “practical necessity” and that, given its substantial Jewish population, the state “cannot lag behind in equipping our state to confront rising antisemitism.”
The bill has been reintroduced in the current legislative session, but one Jewish leader said it does not appear that it has much momentum or institutional backing at the moment, or that the state of play has substantially changed since Murphy’s term ended and the new governor came into office.
Sherrill, a Democrat, had previously expressed support for the IHRA legislation.
Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner of Temple Emanu-El in Closter, N.J., who was one of the driving forces behind the petition, said he was “really furious” when Murphy “played a game with this legislation,” calling it “strange and uncharacteristic” from a leader who was once a “fierce advocate of the Jewish community.”
Kirshner said that, given New Jersey’s large Jewish population, it should have been among the first states to adopt IHRA, rather than lagging behind more than 35 other states. He said that he and other leaders in the state want to support the effort to pass and implement IHRA in any way they can.
He said he would also like to see Sherrill act on the issue through an executive order — even one that is time-limited to allow the Legislature to pass the IHRA bill. He said he would have liked her to implement such an order on her first day in office.
“This is not complicated, and the idea that the governor’s office or that any of our legislators want to complicate this process is a passive-aggressive form of continued antisemitism,” he said.
Rabbi Matthew Gerwitz of Temple B’nai Jeshrun in Short Hills, N.J., another organizer of the petition, said that New Jersey Jews need to “find all ways and operate at all levels” to address rising antisemitism in the state, and not let it become normalized, lest they “end up contributing to our own downfall and demise.”
“[The governor has] expressed her support of us. And this is part and parcel of supporting Jews right now, is making sure that every legal, ethical, communal device is put into place, so that we can feel protected during a time where [antisemitism] has become … normalized,” Gerwitz said.
He said that the Jewish community felt like it had the “rug pulled out from under our feet during a perilous time for Jews” by Murphy.
Gerwitz said that he has no issue with an executive order, as long as it has teeth, but said that he wants to ultimately see legislation passed, so that the state government speaks in one voice on the issue.
“I would like to see the stamp of approval from the Assembly, from the state Senate and from the governor to say every single branch of this government is going to be behind you … the way they should be behind any group that is feeling persecuted,” he said.
Rabbi Samuel Klibanoff of Etz Chaim in Livingston, N.J., inside Sherrill’s former House district, who also helped lead the petition, said it was a “great show of unity amongst the rabbis, because [it’s] not that often that you see a Conservative, Reform and Orthodox rabbi do something together.”
“I hope that [Sherrill] will [act on] her conviction and not party lines or party pressure or whatever it might be,” Klibanoff said. “I just hope she’ll do the right thing, and not play politics with this.”
He said it’s important to bring renewed attention to the issue, and that the longer the bill takes, the longer the Jewish community is left in peril.
Jonathan Schulman, the executive director of Jewish Majority, described the petition as a follow-on and expansion to a previous letter from around 100 rabbis in the state urging passage of the IHRA legislation, explaining that rabbis had heard interest from their congregants about joining the effort as well.
He said he’s hearing widespread support among local leaders for a stopgap executive order, which he said would also create political cover for Democratic lawmakers to “finally be able to vote their conscience and support legislation like this.”
Businessman Brian Varela was recently endorsed by CAIR and the anti-Israel group A New Policy
Campaign website
Brian Varela
Divides are emerging on aid to Israel among the Democratic candidates in the primary race in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District as one candidate, businessman Brian Varela, picks up a series of endorsements from anti-Israel groups.
“If we’re going to provide aid to other countries, I don’t think it’s enough to just follow U.S. law and international law. I would actually support providing additional conditions to make sure that we can further American interests and to make sure that the countries that we are helping are living in alignment with our values,” Varela said in response to a question about conditioning aid to Israel at a debate in the district last week.
Varela previously told Jewish Insider in July 2025 that Israel has been a “strong ally for us, and I think it’s important to make sure that we are there for Israel, that we help Israel with their ability to defend themselves.”
His campaign clarified to JI this week that he was not calling for specific conditions on aid for Israel alone.
Emmett Shell, Varela’s campaign manager, told JI: “When Brian talks about conditioning aid, he is talking about every country that receives American taxpayer dollars, not Israel specifically. Conditioning aid is one of the most important tools of soft power we have. It is how we make sure American values and American interests are actually being advanced with American money abroad.”
Rebecca Bennett, a veteran who is seen as the favorite of national Democrats in the race, said at the debate she had, as a member of the military, “the opportunity to see how important Israel is as an ally to the United States,” but said that “I also think that what Netanyahu is doing is not in the best long-term interest of Israel.”
But she also emphasized that Israel should not be subject to a “higher standard or a lower standard” than any other ally. Pressed on whether she’d support new conditions on Israel, Bennett said, “I’m going to be focused on making sure that Israel is following U.S. law, and then we’ll go from there.”
Democrat Michael Roth, the former head of the Small Business Administration, who previously told JI he wanted to be a leader of a new generation of pro-Israel Democrats, said at the debate he supports “conditioning aid to Israel up to U.S. law, international law, humanitarian law.”
He said that, as “a Jew who has deep ties to Israel,” he believes that “[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has been horrible,” and emphasized the “shared humanity” of Israelis and Palestinians.
Roth said in an interview with JI last May that U.S. aid to Israel is “some of the best investment that you can make” and that he had strong confidence in the Israeli military and would not support conditions or restrictions on aid to Israel.
In a follow-up interview with JI on Wednesday, Roth emphasized his strong personal ties to Israel and the need to “be honest with our friends and hold them accountable if we want to lead the world as we have done over the last 100 years.”
He said that “we need to make sure that we are enforcing our laws evenly, and that nobody is getting special treatment, and that we actually have enforcement,” but declined to specify whether he would also support new conditions on aid that apply to Israel alone.
Asked whether he thinks current U.S. laws have not been enforced on Israel, Roth responded, “I think Trump has very clearly not enforced international law, has had no interest in doing so.”
He said that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has “made my heart bleed” and that, while he “strongly believe[s] in Israel’s right to defend itself … those actions are different than what they have been in the last year and a half.”
Roth said his views have evolved as a result of conversations with both Jewish and Muslim communities in the district. And he argued that long-term support for Israel requires leaders who will listen to all perspectives and speak with those who disagree.
Tina Shah, a physician, said she did not support conditioning aid to Israel.
Though she condemned the humanitarian situation in Gaza and Netanyahu specifically, she said, “I don’t think that [we] should change our relationship with the country because of one prime minister, and that’s why I don’t support conditioning aid.”
Varela, who entered the race as a centrist but has subsequently been working to pick up progressive support, also recently earned endorsements from several progressive and anti-Israel groups, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the founder of which expressed support for Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. The group’s New Jersey chapter justified the Oct. 7 attacks days after they occurred.
“As a leading Muslim American political advocacy organization, CAIR Action knows that I am committed to upholding the rights of all Americans, regardless of religion or race,” Varela said when he announced the endorsement. “They recognize that I have built a grassroots movement dedicated to protecting voting rights, lowering costs, and fixing our broken immigration system. They know I’m the fighter NJ-07 needs and the leader this district deserves.”
Asked about the endorsement, Shell, the Varela campaign spokesperson said Varela “has been clear and consistent in his opposition to Hamas from day one,” believes “there is no justification for the October 7 attack,” and “opposes violence in all of its forms, including the violence Palestinian civilians are facing in Gaza.”
“Brian was not aware of the specific referenced comments, and he does not share those views. He appreciates support from community organizations across NJ-07, including from Muslim American voters who want to see a representative who will fight for peace, but accepting an endorsement is not an endorsement of every statement an organization or its leaders have ever made,” the spokesperson continued.
Varela was also endorsed by A New Policy, a campaign and lobbying group that aims to shift U.S. policy toward Israel. The group’s advocacy arm has accused Israel of genocide, urges cutting off and conditioning U.S. aid to Israel and opposes the Antisemitism Awareness Act and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, among a range of other policies.
“This organization understands that America’s politics need to serve the people, not the powerful, and that our elected officials need to actually fight for working people, take on corporate power, and ensure Congress is acting in America’s best interests,” Varela said, in announcing the endorsement. “That is the kind of Democrat I am running to be, and that is the kind of leadership I will bring to Congress.”
Asked about the endorsement and A New Policy’s stances, the Varela campaign spokesperson said, “Brian welcomes support from a broad coalition, but his positions are his own. Brian has been clear about the humanitarian catastrophe and the unacceptable civilian death toll, and he believes the United States should use its leverage to push for complete peace in the Middle East.”
Regarding the Antisemitism Awareness Act, the spokesperson said, “Brian believes antisemitism is a real and growing threat that has to be confronted seriously, and he stands with the Jewish community in NJ-07 in saying so. He has concerns about how codifying any single definition into federal law could affect protected political speech, but he wants Congress to act on antisemitism and is open to working on language that does both.”
The 7th District, rated by the Cook Political Report as a toss-up race, is one of the strongest pickup opportunities for Democrats this cycle, especially given Rep. Tom Kean Jr.’s (R-NJ) monthslong absence from the House, which aides and family members have attributed to medical issues.
Recent internal polling by both Bennett and Shah’s campaigns have placed Bennett in the lead — but offer different pictures of the size of her lead in the race.
A Bennett poll showed her at 36%, far ahead of Shah at 15%, Varela at 13% and Roth at 12%. But a Shah poll showed a tight race between her and Bennett, at 26% and 23%, and Varela and Roth lagging farther behind at 10% and 7%, respectively.
A Nebraska-based group, Real Change PAC, has also recently begun spending close to $450,000 in the race, hitting Bennett as insufficiently progressive and boosting Shah and Varela.
Reports indicate the group may be backed by Republicans, and linked to another shadowy GOP-linked super PAC, Lead Left PAC, which has gained attention this week for boosting Maureen Galindo, an openly antisemitic Democrat running in a Texas congressional race.
The New Jersey governor’s office said she ‘will evaluate the program’ once more information is available; across the river, Gov. Kathy Hochul already agreed to join
Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill during an election night event in East Brunswick, New Jersey, on Nov. 4, 2025.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill has not committed to joining a new federal education tax initiative being championed by Jewish community advocates to secure funding for Jewish day schools and yeshivas, which New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently agreed to adopt.
“Governor Sherrill will evaluate the program once the Trump Administration has finalized and published its rules. The Governor’s top priority is building New Jersey into the best public school system in the nation for all our kids,” Maggie Garbarino, Sherrill’s deputy press secretary, told Jewish Insider on Tuesday.
Starting in the 2027 tax year, the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit, part of President Donald Trump’s 2025 flagship policy package, provides a dollar-for-dollar tax credit — up to $1,700 annually — for donations to approved Scholarship Granting Organizations. These SGOs offer scholarships for a variety of K-12 public and private education expenses, including private school tuition, transportation and tutoring.
If states don’t opt in, taxpayers can still donate, but residents of that state won’t receive the benefit.
While nearly all Republican governors have already opted in, their Democratic counterparts have been hesitant. Some critics have voiced concerns that the program has insufficient oversight against fraud or that it could divert public money to private schools.
On Friday, a spokesperson for Hochul confirmed to JI that the governor told Jewish leaders at a private event hosted by Agudath Israel that she plans to opt in.
The move makes Hochul the second Democratic official to join the program, following Colorado Gov. Jared Polis in February. Governors have to opt in by the end of the year for taxpayers to be eligible for the credit.
Democratic leaders of other states with large Jewish populations have yet to say whether they intend to follow Hochul’s lead. In February, a spokesperson for Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said his administration “is awaiting federal guidance to address key questions about how this program would work.”
Shapiro’s spokesperson told JI on Monday that there are no updates on his stance.
Spokespeople for Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger did not respond to requests for comment.
Spanberger is in a different position compared to other Democrats — because her predecessor, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, opted Virginia into the program shortly before leaving office, she would need to formally reverse that decision to prevent the state from joining.
Dr. Adam Hamawy, seeking Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman’s seat in New Jersey, pays $7,900 a month to rent his own medical offices as a campaign HQ
DREW ANGERER/AFP via Getty Images
Dr. Adam Hamawy speaks during an AFP interview after meetings on Capitol Hill, in Washington DC, on June 14, 2024.
Dr. Adam Hamawy’s New Jersey plastic surgery practice, which offers such procedures as Brazilian butt lifts, hair transplants and post-pregnancy “mommy makeovers,” is charging his own congressional campaign $7,900 a month for office space.
Filings with the Federal Election Commission reveal that Hamawy, running on a fervent anti-Israel platform to replace retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), has already relayed the first rent check to Princeton Plastic Surgeons, for which state business records show the candidate himself as the sole owner. And there’s more campaign cash headed to the clinic in the months ahead, a spokesperson told Jewish Insider.
“We would much rather be spending this money on paid media, literature, or anything else, but we are running a grassroots campaign in one of the most expensive real estate markets in America, and a space for our volunteers to gather and organize is crucial,” an emailed statement reads.
The campaign maintains it arrived at the $7,900-a-month payment to Hamawy’s business by consulting a compliance firm. It also alluded to federal regulations that allow a campaign to pay companies linked to the candidate so long as it purchases all goods and services at market rate.
Hamawy’s financial disclosure to the House Ethics Committee estimates the value of his practice at one-quarter to half-a-million dollars, and shows that it paid him a salary of $138,461 last year. It had paid him $11,538 for 2026 as of the end of the disclosure period on April 3, a few weeks after the campaign made its first $7,900 payment.
Hamawy’s team at first insisted his practice could have charged another tenant as much as $10,000 a month, and thus Princeton Plastic Surgeons is “losing money they could be making, not earning extra money.” However, on further questioning, the campaign acknowledged that no other entity had shown interest in subleasing space inside a cosmetic procedure center.
“Princeton Plastic Surgeons tried to find a tenant when Dr. Hamawy decided to run for office, but the Princeton-area is a saturated medical market and they were unable to find interested tenants besides the campaign,” the spokesperson wrote.
The campaign maintained that the FEC had informed their compliance firm that Princeton Plastic Surgeons could not legally provide the space as an in-kind contribution, but did not provide written advice. Federal guidance allows for the donation of “assets which the candidate has a legal right of access to or control over.”
Business records show that multiple other entities associated with Hamawy operate out of his plastic surgery offices, including his nonprofit Global Surgery Fund, which raised funds to support his work in Gaza during the recent conflict. However, JI found that this organization had never registered to operate as a charity in New Jersey.
Questioned about this, the Hamawy campaign said that an attorney had advised the Global Surgery Fund that it was exempt from state filing requirements — but that it was “now being registered for the sake of additional transparency.”
Records also reveal that in recent weeks, as his campaign got underway, Hamawy transferred ownership of two other companies operating out of the clinic to his children: Dragonstone Ventures and Global Opportunity Consulting. Dragonstone Ventures has a webpage describing it as an “early-seed investor of choice for ambitious, future-thinking founders,” while Global Opportunity Consulting has no online presence.
The campaign described both as “minor business ventures” without significant income. It did not provide a requested list of firms they had invested in.
“Dr. Hamawy divested from the entities to avoid conflicts of interest as he enters a new phase of his public service,” it said in a statement, though it did not explain how handing the companies to his children would eliminate the conflict.
Global Opportunity Consulting paid Hamawy’s wife a $30,000 salary last year, and $7,500 as of early April, according to the candidate’s House Ethics committee disclosure.
The campaign stressed that Hamawy had received his plastic surgery training through a U.S. Army program and that he was on active duty in the military during his fellowship period. He formed Princeton Plastic Surgeons, which has done business under various other names, in 2013.
In 2017, a former patient sued Hamawy, alleging that she had suffered “severe and permanent injuries” due to his negligence while performing a chemical peel. Court records show the case was ultimately “amicably adjusted by and between parties” out of court. The campaign told JI the patient only sought a refund and “additional services,” and that “no settlement was provided.”
Hamawy and his practice faced a separate malpractice suit in 2023 from a patient who alleged he and his staff had ignored her latex allergy when inserting medical drains into her face during a chin lift procedure, resulting in inflammation and “a significant scar.” However, a judge dismissed the case after the plaintiff failed to obtain an adequate affidavit from a medical expert validating her claim of negligence.
Adam Hamawy is running as an anti-Israel activist in a crowded primary to succeed Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, and is backed by well-financed outside groups
DREW ANGERER/AFP via Getty Images
Dr. Adam Hamawy speaks during an AFP interview after meetings on Capitol Hill, in Washington DC, on June 14, 2024.
The wide open Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District could pose a difficult dilemma for local Jewish voters and national pro-Israel groups, given the candidacy of Adam Hamawy, a physician who served in Gaza and has made criticism of Israel a centerpiece of his campaign.
With a crowded field of candidates staking out a range of views on the U.S.-Israel relationship, the race poses tough strategic questions for the pro-Israel community — if it wants to block Hamawy from becoming the Democratic nominee. With such a divided field, a candidate could win the nomination in the June 2 primary with a small plurality.
The seat is currently held by the retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ).
Hamawy, who posted strong first-quarter fundraising and is winning support from national progressive groups and leaders, is now being championed by American Priorities, an anti-Israel group that aims to counter AIPAC. American Priorities has indicated it’s prepared to spend $2 million supporting Hamawy.
Pro-Israel groups are thus far uninvolved in the race and aren’t indicating any plans to engage.
But a Hamawy victory would create red flags in the Jewish community, given his outspoken anti-Israel stance. Despite his extreme views on Israel, he has a compelling personal biography — he is a veteran combat physician credited with saving Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s (D-IL) life.
A New Jersey Jewish leader told JI that the race presents tough choices for the Jewish community, predicting that Jewish voters are likely to be split among several of the candidates, including Sue Altman, a former state director for Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ), and East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen.
Other candidates, including state Rep. Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, could also prove to be viable challengers, with the support of local political machines.
In addition to recent comments on far-left streamer Hasan Piker’s show in which he said he does not support Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system because it insulates Israel from the consequences of war, Hamawy is now also facing scrutiny for comments he made in 2024 after volunteering at the European Gaza Hospital in the enclave during Israel’s war with Hamas.
The Washington Free Beacon resurfaced past comments by Hamawy saying definitively that Gaza’s hospitals were not being used as bases or hideouts for Hamas terrorists, saying that he saw “no fighters at all,” no guns, no combatants and “definitely no tunnels underground.”
A year later, Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar was killed in a strike on a tunnel that ran directly under the European Hospital’s emergency department during a meeting with other top Hamas leaders. Israel has said that the hospital served as a command center during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel and that it found evidence that Hamas hostages were held under it.
Altman ran on a pro-Israel platform in 2024 in a neighboring district but now says she opposes U.S. financial aid for Israel and wants to restrict and condition weapons sales, while arguing strongly in defense of the Iron Dome system and stridently criticizing Hamawy for opposing it. The former progressive organizer is trying to stake out a middle ground to attract both progressives critical of Israel and more pro-Israel Jewish voters.
Cohen is Jewish and has been the strongest supporter of Israel in the field, facing criticism and, in some cases, antisemitic attacks for that position. He once described himself as a member of AIPAC and faced criticism from Watson Coleman over his stance on Israel — she called him a “hard-line supporter of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu” and specifically urged voters to reject him.
Both candidates, the Jewish leader said, are “reasonable people” who are willing and able to have nuanced conversations about Israel and the Jewish community — though they hold differing views on Israel. Jewish voters, they said, could play a significant role in the election, particularly in Cohen’s home area of East Brunswick.
“They both have their followings, and they’re both, I would argue, relatively well-liked both in and out of the Jewish community,” the leader said, highlighting that both also have experience in government.
The leader predicted that Cohen, given his strong and clear support for Israel and his positive reputation in the Jewish community statewide, is likely to be able to unify much of the Jewish vote.
Though he has the support of the local Democratic county organization, whether Cohen can win district-wide remains a question.
A Sunday night debate highlighted the range of views among the candidates on Israel, and the specific nuances that some candidates are trying to capture.
Hamawy, asked about potential conditions on U.S. aid globally, said that “this isn’t about defense.”
“Every country has a right to defend itself, but what we have from the International Criminal Court, what we have from Human Rights Watch, from Amnesty International and what I have seen and experienced in my own eyes isn’t self-defense,” Hamawy said. “It’s a country that is committing genocide and continues to bomb innocent people every day.”
He suggested that, in addition to cutting off aid to Israel, the U.S. should also cut off aid to the United Arab Emirates over its alleged support of a faction in the Sudanese civil war that the U.S. has determined is committing genocide.
Hamawy, who largely agreed with Piker’s positions on various issues when he appeared on his stream, distanced himself from Piker’s recent comments in a New York Times interview advocating for shoplifting.
“We have to abide by the laws. There’s no room for crime. We have to be able to make food affordable for people when they need it,” Hamawy said, “but crime is not the way to go about it, and so I disagree with that.”
Altman emphasized that she was “the only candidate in this race that AIPAC has actually endorsed against” — when she ran against incumbent Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) in 2024.
She said that she believes Israel should exist and that Netanyahu is a war criminal.
“I believe that we should not be sending our taxpayer money to Israel to kill civilians. But I also think the Iron Dome should exist,” Altman said. “Israel’s a prosperous country, however, it doesn’t need our money to support the Iron Dome. It can pay for it on its own.”
She condemned the “atrocities” in Gaza and the war in Lebanon, but she also emphasized that Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis “are terrorist organizations, and Israel should be allowed to defend itself against those organizations.”
Altman also emphasized that antisemitism and Islamophobia at home are not an acceptable reaction to the conflict in the Middle East.
Reynolds-Jackson took criticism from a fellow candidate over past affiliations with AIPAC, and for a trip she took to Israel in 2018.
She said that the “world is a different place” than it was at the time, and emphasized that she visited both Israel and the “Muslim side,” describing them both as “beautiful.” But she also emphasized that a kibbutz she visited in 2018 had been destroyed.
“When we talk about protecting the right for Israel to defend itself, when we talk about the innocent lives that [have] been lost, I am not afraid to say that I am pro-Israel and I am pro-Muslim. These are people that deserve to live in peace,” she said.
Asked earlier in the event about whether she would support suspending any U.S. aid to Israel, Reynolds-Jackson said, “I support Israel, I support the two-state solution,” before criticizing the amount the U.S. spends on military aid in Israel and elsewhere, and emphasizing her opposition to the war in Iran.
Cohen took the most unequivocally pro-Israel stance of the group.
“I believe very strongly in Israel’s right to exist, and not only exist, but to thrive in the Middle East, along with its neighbors. Everybody in that region of the world deserves to live in peace,” Cohen said. “The U.S. has always been an ally of Israel, and we have allies throughout the world that we support with military aid. That aid should not only be for defense, which Israel uses to defend its citizens, 20% of which are Muslim, it also must be able to fight back when attacked, just like we do for every other U.S. ally that we have around the world.”
He emphasized that Israel is a democracy facing threats from terrorists that want to destroy both it and the United States, even as he said he strongly disagrees with Israel’s current leadership.
Cohen also said that his disagreements with Watson Coleman, in spite of her criticism, are “really very few compared to the multiple things which we’ve agreed upon.” He praised her record and legacy in Congress.
Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp, also running for the seat, said he firmly believes that U.S. aid to Israel should be conditioned, while also calling Israel “a very important ally of the United States” with “the right to defend itself against terrorism.”
“I believe that Israel should exist within secure borders and should continue to be a very important ally and partner of the United States,” Mapp said. “On the other hand, I do believe that Palestinian people have a right to exist and a right to defend [themselves] within secure borders, and so we must make sure that we negotiate a peace agreement that will bring the Palestinians and the Israelis together, existing in borders of their own.”
Jay Vaingankar, a 28-year-old former Department of Energy official, also struck out a strongly anti-Israel stance and went on the attack against several other candidates on the stage over their alleged views on the issue or ties to the pro-Israel community.
While Democrat Analilia Mejia comfortably won the special election to succeed Mikie Sherrill, Jewish voters swung to the right
Heather Khalifa/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Analilia Mejia, US Democratic House candidate for New Jersey, speaks to members of the media outside of the Montclair Municipal Building on the first day of early voting in Montclair, New Jersey, US, on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026.
Rep.-elect Analilia Mejia (D-NJ) cruised to victory in last Thursday’s special election for New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, but the results showed notable defections among Jewish Democrats — an early warning sign for both the left-wing Mejia and her party.
Mejia ran significantly behind other recent Democratic candidates in two municipalities that have traditionally strongly favored Democrats — Livingston Township and Millburn Township — both areas with significant Jewish populations. In Millburn, Mejia lagged 22 percentage points behind former Vice President Kamala Harris’ performance in the 2024 presidential election, and 17 percentage points behind Harris in Livingston.
Dan Cassino, the director of the Fairleigh Dickinson University Poll, said that, given that Livingston favored Democrats by 34 percentage points but Mejia won it by just two, “you could count [that] as a 32-point underperformance.”
Joe Hathaway, the GOP nominee against Mejia, worked during his campaign to attract Jewish voters, casting himself as a moderate centrist and Mejia as an antisemitic extremist.
Jeff Grayzel, the deputy mayor of Morris Township who ran in the Democratic primary against Mejia, said that the special election presented an “actual Sophie’s choice” for Jewish Democrats.
“Some Jews surely voted for her because of their anger with President [Donald] Trump. But many Jewish Democrats I spoke to refused to support Mejia because of her genocide position,” Grayzel, who had hoped to rally support from Jewish voters across the district in the primary, said. Mejia accused the Jewish state of genocide shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.
“So some Jewish Democrats voted for Hathaway, which was evidenced by the result in Livingston, and others simply stayed home,” Grayzel continued. “We will see from voter turnout data how many Jews actually sat out this election. Unfortunately, our voice is our vote, and declining to vote will only hurt the Jewish community in the long run.”
Jason Shames, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, said “it’s disappointing to see someone representing New Jersey or any district in America who not only doesn’t fight antisemitism but seemingly aligns with those who delegitimize Israel. Her comments on Israel’s self defense to the horrific terror attack by Palestinians [are] alarming and should not be dismissed.”
Cassino said that while Mejia outperformed other Democrats who have run in this district, she “did slightly worse than we would have expected from a generic Democrat in the special election,” given that the environment strongly favored Democrats.
Cassino said that it’s a “reasonable hypothesis” that attacks on Mejia’s stance on Middle East policy drove Democrats in Millburn and Livingston to vote for Hathaway.
“I would be really cautious, though, about saying that her stance on Palestine, or any other issue, cost her any particular number of votes, because all of these numbers are conditional on turnout,” he added, noting that all of the voters who turned out for Mejia might not have turned out for a different Democratic candidate.
Cassino said that strategists are likely to read the results to mean that attacks on Mejia’s stance on Israel were effective.
“Maybe the most important thing here is that strategists — Democrats and Republicans alike — are going to look at these results and conclude that the attacks on Mejia worked, and ramp them up in November,” he added. “They’re also likely to try and use them against any candidate where they might plausibly stick. So, I hope voters liked those ads, because they’re going to be seeing a lot more of them.”
Micah Rasmussen, the director of the Rebovich Institute of New Jersey Politics at Rider University, said that the apparent protest votes in the Jewish community “could … matter in a different election,” but this time, “Mejia picked up other votes in their place.”
“A lot is being made about these 900 or so votes, and I want to be balanced about how I see them. Yes, they were certainly noticeable. Yes, you can never take any voting bloc for granted,” Rasmussen added. “But electoral coalitions do shift. What can’t be denied is that Mejia’s current margin of 19.5 percent is larger than any other candidate for federal or statewide office since [former Rep.] Rodney Frelinghuysen’s (D-NJ) 25.2 percent win over Mark Dunec in 2014.”
Adam Hamawy has been endorsed by CAIR, Justice Democrats and a new group affiliated with the Institute of Middle East Understanding
DREW ANGERER/AFP via Getty Images
Dr. Adam Hamawy speaks during an AFP interview after meetings on Capitol Hill, in Washington DC, on June 14, 2024.
A constellation of anti-Israel groups is coalescing behind Adam Hamawy, a doctor who served as a trauma surgeon in Gaza during Israel’s war against Hamas and has been an outspoken critic of Israel, in the competitive Democratic primary for New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District. He also recently reported raising $550,000 in the first quarter of 2026, a sizable sum.
Justice Democrats and PAL PAC, a new group affiliated with the Institute for Middle East Understanding that aims to counter AIPAC, both offered their endorsements of Hamawy last month, moves that could bring more national attention and backing to the candidate.
“From war zones to the operating room, Dr. Hamawy has seen firsthand how our government’s misplaced priorities mean life and death for millions of people in America and across the world,” Justice Democrats executive director Alexandra Rojas said in a statement.
“As a physician, he has witnessed the destruction wrought by our tax dollars abroad, while seeing his own patients struggle to afford the healthcare they need at home,” PAL PAC executive director Margaret DeReus said in a statement. “He is a witness with a mandate to ensure our resources fund healthcare at home, not Israel’s war crimes abroad.”
Hamawy had previously been endorsed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations and TrackAIPAC, as well as by former Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), who was also an outspoken critic of Israel. Hamawy was also endorsed by the more moderate Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), who credits Hamawy for saving her life after her helicopter was shot down in Iraq.
Sue Altman, a progressive organizer and former senior staffer for Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ), is viewed as a highly competitive challenger, alongside a handful of local officials who are likely to have support in their own communities, including East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen, Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp and state Rep. Verlina Reynolds-Jackson.
Altman advanced to the June ballot despite a slew of challenges to petition signatures she collected.
Micah Rasmussen, the director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, said that Hamawy’s $550,000 first quarter fundraising haul and the recent endorsements show momentum for his campaign, but “what remains to be seen is whether this translates into forcing Altman to split the outside lane with him. In order for that to happen, he will need to invest his money effectively — presumably in sharing his personal story, which is how he differentiates himself.”
Dan Cassino, the executive director of the Fairleigh Dickinson University poll, said he sees Altman as the frontrunner, “but Hamawy’s fundraising numbers certainly put him in the top tier along with [former Department of Energy official Jay] Vaingankar and a host of local candidates who could win on the strength of name recognition and strong ties to the district. “
Cassino said that, if voters focus on national issues in the election, as they did in the special election in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, that would be a poor sign for Reynolds-Jackson, Cohen and Mapp.
“The endorsements matter, because they serve as a signal to voters in a race where partisanship can’t be used as a heuristic, but anyone who’s closely following the endorsements probably already has a favorite candidate,” Cassino added. “The more important signal is about who is, and is not, a serious candidate: voters are very concerned about tossing their ballots away on a candidate who doesn’t have much of a chance, and endorsements can be used as a signal that a candidate should be taken seriously.”
Rasmussen said that Cohen, who is Jewish, remains one of the stronger candidates in the “establishment lane,” having picked up the endorsement of the Middlesex County Democrats, which have a strong vote-by-mail turnout operation. Middlesex has also made up the largest turnout bloc in the district.
“But … he’s still sharing that crowded establishment lane with candidates from every other county,” Rasmussen said.
Hamawy’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
The ER physician and former government official is making support for Israel and outreach to Jewish voters central to her bid to unseat Rep. Tom Kean Jr.
Taylor Hill/Getty Images
Tina Shah attends the 2024 Forbes Healthcare Summit at NYU Langone on December 04, 2024 in New York City.
Tina Shah is hoping she might have the cure to Democrats’ struggles in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District.
Shah, an emergency room physician and former government official, is running in the Democratic primary to face off against Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ), who has proven resilient against repeated Democratic challenges in the purple district.
Shah noted in an interview with Jewish Insider last month that the district is home to a substantial Jewish community, and said that she’s had many conversations with community members about the situation in the Middle East and the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, conversations she said have fostered her support for continued, unconditional aid for the Jewish state.
“Where I am right now is unequivocally that Israel is our most important ally in the Middle East,” Shah said. “They had a right to defend themselves then, [and] they continue to. I will be the strongest ally to make sure that we continue to build this relationship and support Israel with aid.”
In a position paper shared with JI, Shah emphasized her support for ongoing security aid to Israel, and said that the Oct. 7 attacks and their lasting impacts show the need for a continued U.S.-Israel alliance.
“Allyship with Israel is a bedrock principle of US foreign policy in the Middle East,” she wrote. “Our shared security interests and democratic principles have built a resilient foundation that I will support in Congress.”
She also emphasized the two countries’ shared values and democracies. Shah said she supports a two-state solution and said that she favors a “diplomacy-first approach” like that which led to the Abraham Accords. Shah argued that the U.S. needs stronger advocates for a comprehensive peace deal, and said she would be such an advocate.
“The US should remain a partner in Israel’s long-term security, and the long-term security of the Palestinians, to ensure the realization of a two-state solution achieved through a political and diplomatic process,” Shah said in the paper. “As many members of Israel’s security establishment have acknowledged, failing to reach such a resolution represents an existential threat to Israel.”
She went on to argue that a diplomatic agreement, rather than unilateral action or annexation, will ultimately better serve Israel’s security interests.
She said that she mourns the loss of any innocent life, emphasizing Palestinians’ right to their own state as well, calling for an end to “illegal settlement activity” and said that the “international community must do more to de-escalate violence and provide pathways toward lasting peace.”
Working in the medical technology field, Shah said in her position paper she’s seen firsthand the benefits that the Israeli economy and tech sector has brought to her state and the country.
“I am proud that Israel is one of New Jersey’s largest trading partners,” Shah said. “Continuing this incredible partnership will only make New Jersey more attractive and competitive for employers, it will also increase employment opportunities for New Jersey families and workers.”
Shah told JI she is concerned by the rise of antisemitism in her home state, in part blaming President Donald Trump, who she said is “stoking … he’s feeding the fire and allowing antisemitic acts to go unchecked.”
She pledged her support for the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which is stalled in Congress, and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism. She said she’d also listen to members of the Jewish community in her district to “make sure that I can advocate in the strongest possible way in Congress.”
Shah said in her position paper she “would continue to be an advocate against the weaponization of conflict in the Middle East against American Jews” and that she would oppose the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel, which she said ultimately does not help Israelis, Palestinians or the U.S.’ own interests.
Shah also blasted the Trump administration’s moves to cut the Department of Education, the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice and parts of the intelligence community, saying that those moves only hamper efforts to protect the Jewish community.
Shah told JI that Jews in her community are also worried that the war in Iran is going to make them less safe at home, a concern she said she shared, speaking to JI a day after the attempted attack on Temple Israel in the Detroit suburbs.
Shah said that Trump did not have the constitutional authority to start the war, and vowed that she would “hold our president accountable.”
“Let me be clear, the Iranian regime is brutal, repressive and destabilizing, but there’s a safeguard that was built in with the Constitution to prevent any president, especially Donald Trump, from unilaterally dragging the nation into war,” Shah said, describing the war as directionless.
She said she supports stronger sanctions on the Iranian regime, while lamenting the first Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, a decision she said led the administration to the war today.
In her position paper, Shah said that Israel’s strikes on Iran in the summer of 2025 were a necessary action, in light of Iran’s violations of its nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations, which “created a situation in which Israel could not delay action,”
But she said that she did not agree with the U.S.’ own involvement in the conflict without congressional authorization or, in her view, proper consideration and consultation.
Shah is a practicing intensive care unit doctor in the district, and said that she was inspired to run for office by her experiences seeing patients unable to afford the medicine they need. America, she argues, is in “critical condition.”
“We live in the greatest country in the world,” Shah said. “How is it that people get so sick that they need the ICU because they can’t afford basic medical care?”
But Shah is also hardly new to government or the political scene. She served in three administrations, in the Department of Veterans Affairs and under the U.S. Surgeon General. She also advocated in her home state to prevent insurance companies from denying patients essential care.
And she’s also been involved in the business world, as the chief medical officer of a health care AI startup.
Asked what positions her to win the primary, and to defeat Kean, Shah again pointed to her medical background. “People trust their doctor,” Shah said. “I’m a doctor running in an election cycle where the No. 1 economic issue is health care.”
She said that her time in the exam room gives her experience getting to know and understand people and build trust quickly, regardless of political affiliation.
“I have the ability to raise enough money to combat what Tom Kean Jr. is going to do. But I am the only candidate who has worked across the aisle in D.C., who has worked to pass a bipartisan bill into law here in New Jersey, and that is how I’m going to flip NJ-07,” she said.
Shah faces a series of other candidates in the primary including Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy pilot who is leaning into her national security experience and whom many Democrats see as a top contender for the seat, and Brian Varela, a businessman who is leaning into a progressive lane after initially vying for the centrist vote.
Bennett leads the field in fundraising with nearly $2 million, followed by Varela with $1.76 million and Shah with $1 million.
The only debate in the race — held during Passover — came as Jewish voters are up for grabs in the special election
Analilia Mejia, US Democratic House nominee for New Jersey's 11th District, speaks to supporters and members of the media at Paper Plane Coffee Co. in Montclair, New Jersey
Joe Hathaway, the Republican nominee in the special election in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, repeatedly accused Democratic nominee Analilia Mejia, a progressive organizer, of espousing antisemitism and taking stances that would make the district’s sizable Jewish community unsafe, during their sole debate earlier this week.
Hathaway, in his opening statement, said that Mejia would “demonize thousands of members of our Jewish community.” The Randolph, N.J. city councilman has leaned into outreach to Jewish voters during the campaign.
Mejia, who won the special election primary in part because of significant United Democracy Project spending against the frontrunner, former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), is favored to win in a district that backed Kamala Harris by eight points.
Though she had described the war in Gaza as a genocide less than a month after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack, Mejia stopped short of using that word during the debate. Instead, she said that “many individuals are feeling conflicted about what we are seeing in Gaza,” while accusing Israel and its prime minister of having committed war crimes.
“I believe that criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu and his administration is not anti-Israel any more than criticism of Donald Trump is anti-American,” Mejia said. “Neither man deserves a blank check or a blind eye.”
Hathaway responded by highlighting past instances in which Mejia has accused Israel of genocide, in spite of her dodge on the issue during the debate, and said that her positions are “radically out of touch with a district that has a thriving Jewish community that is made less safe, more dangerous by this extreme rhetoric. It has to stop.”
He accused Mejia of blaming Israel for the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks — something she denied. On Oct. 10, 2023, Mejia said that “Every fiber of my being is horrified beyond words at what is furthering in Gaza. Yet again we see how oppression & dehumanization leads to despair & unthinkable destruction,” without making direct mention of Hamas’ attack.
He also highlighted that she said during a primary candidate forum that she felt “incredible discomfort” with the idea of Israel being a Jewish state.
“I’ll stop calling you an antisemite when you stop saying things that are antisemitic and when you stop taking money from people … who shout that Jews in Israel are the same things as Nazis in Germany,” Hathaway said. “You take money from these people, you support their policies. It is completely out of touch with this district that has a thriving Jewish population. This isn’t a district where you can make those kinds of comments and people are going to be okay with it.”
He claimed that his campaign is seeing mass defections from Democratic voters “because the Jewish people of this district know there’s only one candidate they can vote for if they care about their safety and their children’s safety.”
Mejia responded by accusing Hathaway of “fearmonger[ing]” and misrepresenting her record and past statements.
“I would say it’s laughable except it’s one of the most serious topics,” Mejia said. “As a member of Congress, I would use every legislative power at my disposal to protect the rights of Jewish constituents and convene spaces to educate and to fight antisemitism because I know it’s real. … But that doesn’t mean that we cannot call the question on violations to international law and human rights.”
“We should be able to criticize the actions of a government without being called a person of hate,” she said. “We should be able to support freedom and protect our nations without turning to the very thing that we say we fight against. We have to uphold human rights, and if that’s the worst thing that I could be accused of, then I will stand with it, because I believe we have to fight for the freedom and justice of every human being.”
Hathaway fired back that “antisemitism is a bad thing to be accused of.”
Mejia responded, “and that is why I am disgusted by the fact that you are unable to see that criticism of a prime minister does not equal hate. It is disgusting and it is beneath you.”
The two candidates also debated the issue of congressional war powers, in the context of the ongoing war in Iran.
Mejia said she would not support “illegal and endless wars” or wars “without a plan to keep Americans safe.” She focused her comments primarily on the Trump administration’s posture toward America’s European allies, highlighting that the administration had lifted sanctions on Russian oil.
“I believe that we have to fight [Iran’s] nuclear threat, but more bombs do not equate [with] peace. We have to ensure that we’ve exhausted diplomacy and sanctions to keep Americans safe,” she said.
Hathaway said that Iran cannot have nuclear capabilities and that he would like to see diplomacy work, but that he supported the military action the U.S. took when diplomacy failed, praising the effectiveness of the U.S. operations.
He said he’s hopeful that the war will end soon and said he would not support deploying U.S. ground troops. He alleged that Mejia’s stance on Israel “renders her completely unable to make the right decisions for America and for our allies in Israel when it comes to a nuclear-capable Iran.”
Throughout the debate, Hathaway characterized Mejia as a radical leftist out of step with the district, and himself as a moderate who will work across the aisle. Mejia denied that she identifies as a socialist, emphasizing her longtime role as a Democratic county committee member.
Former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way announced she would not run for the seat, allowing Mejia to run essentially uncontested in the upcoming regular election Democratic primary
Heather Khalifa/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Analilia Mejia, Democratic House candidate for New Jersey, speaks to supporters and members of the media at Paper Plane Coffee Co. in Montclair, N.J., on Jan. 29, 2026.
Analilia Mejia, a progressive activist and organizer who won a surprise victory in the special election primary in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, looks to be on track to win the district’s regular election Democratic primary after several of her potential opponents declined to run.
In the days after Mejia’s surprise victory over former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) and other more moderate candidates, there was speculation over whether she might be vulnerable to a one-on-one challenge in the regular primary on June 2. United Democracy Project, the AIPAC-linked super PAC that inadvertently helped boost Mejia, teased the possibility of further involvement in the subsequent primary.
But former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way announced Sunday that she wouldn’t run against Mejia for the seat, leaving Mejia with no major Democratic competition; other moderate candidates in the special election primary also declined to run again, and Assemblywoman Rosaura Bagolie briefly considered a run, but decided not to pursue a bid as elected Democrats in the state quickly coalesced behind Mejia.
Several of the other Democratic special election candidates pledged not to run for the full term if they lost the special election — but Way had not made such a promise.
“Since the special primary, I have been deeply humbled by the outreach of so many who encouraged me to run in the June primary for Congress in NJ-11,” Way said in a statement. “The confidence and belief so many friends and neighbors have placed in me means more than I can say. After many conversations with my family, who are my greatest calling, and a lot of prayer, I have decided that this is not the right moment for another campaign. But make no mistake: I am not going anywhere.”
Even as the Democratic field has cleared for Mejia, her campaign has in recent days found itself at odds with the League of Women Voters.
The nonpartisan organization canceled its scheduled district-wide candidate forum — set to feature Mejia and Republican nominee Joe Hathaway, the former mayor of Randolph, N.J. — because the LWV and Mejia “could not reach an agreement with Mejia’s campaign and still maintain the League’s nonpartisan debate policy,” according to an LWV statement.
Mejia asserted that the LWV had refused to commit to diversity among the debate moderators; the LWV refuted her claim, stating its moderator is indeed a person of color but Mejia wanted to personally approve of them, which it would not allow. Hathaway accused Mejia of trying to “mislead voters and frame it as a diversity issue.”
Mejia’s stance has elicited criticism even from some fellow Democrats, including Bagolie, who criticized her comments about the LWV.
“If someone believes a debate is not worth their time, say that, it’s honest. But throwing the League under the bus is not okay,” Bagolie said. “I understand the instinct to rally behind a Democrat at all costs. I do. But we cannot excuse behavior that mirrors what we say we are fighting against.”
Hathaway, in a long-shot bid for the blue seat, has leaned into efforts to attract Jewish and pro-Israel voters in the district, and is pitching himself as a moderate with cross-party appeal.
The progressive activist ran as a pro-Israel candidate in a neighboring swing district, but is now walking back her support as she runs to succeed Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman
Courtesy
Sue Altman
Progressive activist Sue Altman shook up the race in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District earlier this month when she announced she was entering the already packed field of Democratic candidates to replace retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) in the House.
Altman ran as a pro-Israel progressive when she was the Democratic nominee in the neighboring district, where she lost to Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ). She served as Sen. Andy Kim’s (D-NJ) state director before announcing her campaign to succeed Watson Coleman in a district that’s decidedly more liberal than Kean’s.
The question remains whether Altman will re-calibrate her views on Israel as she seeks to win a crowded Democratic primary in a farther-left district. In audio shared by the far-left publication Drop Site, Altman said she’s reassessing elements of her position toward Israel from 2024 and working on a new position paper.
“A lot has happened since then. It has been a horrific tragedy,” Altman said, in an unknown setting. “I always looked up to Israel as a young person. … Israel is an important ally to the United States, but what has happened in Palestine is just horrific, and I don’t want our taxpayer money being used to kill children and women who are innocent.”
She said that people she’s spoken to feel that the war in Gaza is a “betrayal that they feel is beyond the pale.” (The war had been taking place for nearly a year when she ran for Congress in the 2024 cycle.)
Altman also said she believes that “[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and the State of Israel are not one and the same and that there’s nuance on all sides here.”
She said she would be “at least as far left as [former Rep. Tom Malinowski, the Democrat who lost his seat to Kean in 2022] if not more so” on the issue, and said she expected AIPAC and other groups might come after her, as AIPAC did with Malinowski in the recent special election in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District.
“AIPAC and countless SuperPACs are destroying our democracy by polarizing and misleading the public,” Altman said on X last week. “They tried (and failed!) in NJ-11, and now they’re trying again in [Illinois]. We need to get dark money out of politics to prevent billionaires from controlling us and getting richer!”
In the comments released by Drop Site, however, Altman appeared to mischaracterize Malinowski’s stated position. Malinowski did not rule out supporting special, specific conditions to be applied only to aid to Israel. Altman claimed that Malinowski was only seeking to enforce existing conditions that apply to all U.S. aid globally — which already apply to aid to Israel — and that AIPAC had come after him for that stance.
Middle East politics have already entered the race in other ways, with Watson Coleman saying she would not weigh in on the race other than telling voters not to support East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen, who is Jewish, calling him a “hard-line supporter” of Netanyahu.
Cohen held a substantial fundraising lead as of the end of the year — though he was surpassed by Altman in her first day in the race — and is likely to receive the support of the Middlesex County Democratic establishment. Middlesex voters made up around 40% of the district’s voter population in recent elections, according to Micah Rasmussen, the director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University.
Also running are other local officials, including Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp and state Rep. Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, both of whom are likely to pick up the support of local Democratic officials in their areas.
The candidacy of Adam Hamawy, a physician and veteran who volunteered as a doctor in Gaza and has been an acerbic critic of Israel, could be of particular concern to the district’s Jewish community.
Dan Cassino, the executive director of the Fairleigh Dickinson University poll, said that Altman became the immediate front-runner upon entering the race, and that her biggest weakness in the 7th District, where she was perceived as too liberal to win a swing district, will not be an issue in this district.
“She can also raise lots of money, which might help to box out some other potential challengers, as it did when she ran in the 7th last cycle,” Cassino said.
Rasmussen said that Altman is hoping for a “divide-and-conquer” strategy — relying on other candidates such as Cohen, Mapp and Reynolds-Jackson to be siloed in their counties and hoping she’ll be able to win support across county lines.
Rasmussen added that if Altman is able to turn out progressive voters like Analila Mejia did in the 11th District special election primary, she’d be well-positioned to win.
But, unlike Mejia, who ultimately had the progressive lane largely to herself in the 11th District, Altman will have serious competition, including Reynolds-Jackson and Hamawy.
“What we don’t know is, are they going to have to share [the progressive lane] or is [Altman] going to be able to consolidate?” Rasmussen said. “You can have a really solid progressive record, but get out-organized and out-worked, then that record won’t count for much. … What Altman has in common with Mejia is both are organizers in that movement, know who to reach and how to fire them up and get them interested in voting.”
He said that attacks on Altman as a carpet-bagger don’t seem especially viable, noting that they were not particularly salient against Malinowski in the 11th District special election, and the district is already large and geographically diverse.
Among the field of nearly 20 candidates, Rasmussen said that Hamawy would be the one he would assess as most likely to have a surprise breakout from the field in a way similar to Mejia in the 11th District. “Given his very interesting life story, his very interesting professional background, I would say there’s a chance that captures people’s attention, that captures people’s interest.”
Generally, Rasmussen said, the county Democratic establishment might be able to push a favored candidate, such as Cohen, over the line but it will take serious dedication and effort, which is not guaranteed. Recent elections have shown the establishment no longer has the heft it once did.
After the rest of the state’s Democratic delegation jointly endorsed Mejia, Gottheimer said he’s ‘looking forward to sitting down with her’
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., leaves the U.S. Capitol after the House passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
New Jersey’s Democratic congressional delegation has fully lined up behind progressive activist and congressional candidate Analilia Mejia — with the exception of Rep. Josh Gottheimer.
After both of the state’s senators and several members of the congressional delegation endorsed Mejia earlier this week, most of the remaining Democratic holdouts, including Reps. Donald Norcorss, Frank Pallone and Nellie Pou, joined their colleagues on Thursday in a joint statement endorsing Mejia in both the April special general election and the June regular primary.
Gottheimer, in a statement to the New Jersey Globe, said, “Analilia and I have been in touch and I congratulated her on her win. I’m looking forward to sitting down with her and discussing issues important to Jersey and the families I represent,” but did not go as far as to offer his endorsement.
He did not provide comment to Jewish Insider.
Gottheimer is a prominent moderate and supporter of Israel, while Mejia has accused Israel of genocide.
In the joint statement shared by the Globe, the remaining New Jersey Democrats said, “Analilia Mejia is running for Congress to build an economy that works for working families, not just the billionaires and big corporations lining the Trump family’s pockets.”
The Associated Press called the race for Mejia on Thursday afternoon. She narrowly defeated former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), with former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way and Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill finishing a distant third and fourth, respectively.
The near-unified support for Mejia from Democratic leaders in the state will make it increasingly difficult for any other Democrat to challenge her in the June primary, which pro-Israel advocates have seen as their last chance to stop the progressive from winning a full term in Congress.
Way is reportedly considering another run in June.
The retiring New Jersey congresswoman clashed with Cohen in 2019 after she voted against a resolution opposing the BDS movement
Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) speaks at a press conference with other House Democrats on articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, in Washington, DC on January 14, 2026.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) urged voters in her district not to vote for East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen, one of the 17 candidates running to replace her, accusing him of being a “hardline supporter” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Cohen, the top fundraiser in the field, was singled out for criticism by Watson Coleman, who declined to endorse a candidate in the 12th Congressional District primary, according to the New Jersey Globe.
“He’s a hardline supporter of Netanyahu, who is a despot, a corrupt leader,” Watson Coleman, a longtime critic of Israel, told the news outlet.
Cohen currently holds a substantial fundraising lead in the race to replace Watson Coleman, with $279,000 raised and $263,000 cash on hand as of the end of 2025.
Cohen told the Globe that Watson Coleman’s characterization of him is false, and that he disagrees with certain actions of the Israeli government.
“I have a lot of respect for Congresswoman Watson Coleman. She spent her first Passover at my house when she became a congresswoman, so our history goes back a long time,” Cohen said. “On most issues, we’re completely on the same page. But I think she’s mischaracterizing me when she calls me a hardliner.”
He did not respond to a request for comment from Jewish Insider.
Cohen is a prominent figure in the local Jewish community and a self-described AIPAC member, who also testified in support of legislation codifying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism in the state legislature and pushed back against efforts to adopt a ceasefire resolution in the East Brunswick town council, according to the Jewish Link, a regional Jewish news outlet.
He and Watson Coleman clashed in 2019 after she voted against a resolution opposing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel, though he defended her from accusations of antisemitism a year later.
Cohen urged the East Brunswick public school district to investigate whether an antisemitic hate crime had occurred in 2024 when a picture of a Jewish student group was erased from the high school yearbook and replaced with a picture of Muslim students.
During a visit to Israel in 2022, Cohen signed a sister city agreement between East Brunswick and Yavne, Israel.
Other notable candidates in the race include Sue Altman, the former state director for Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ), a progressive activist who ran for Congress on a pro-Israel platform in 2024 in a neighboring district, and Adam Hamawy.
Hamawy is a physician and veteran who gained prominence as a vocal critic of Israel after he volunteered as a doctor in Gaza in 2024. He’s endorsed by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), whose life he saved after her helicopter was shot down in Iraq, and he was Watson Coleman’s guest to President Donald Trump’s address to Congress in 2024.
Watson Coleman praised five of the 17 candidates in the race, including Altman and Hamawy, as “hardworking, good people,” but said she would otherwise not “[put] my finger on this in any way, shape, or form.”
Cohen has already faced antisemitic attacks during his congressional campaign, including an Instagram page dedicated to attacking him that portrays him with devil horns and drinking blood, and derisively characterizes him as “Israel first” and a “Zionist … destroying usa.”
AIPAC’s super PAC may not have any candidate to support in the June primary race against the anti-Israel progressive
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Analilia Mejia, co-executive director of Center for Popular Democracy, speaks during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on April 19, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Democratic New Jersey Assemblymember Rosaura Bagolie has decided not to run against progressive activist Analilia Mejia in the 11th Congressional District primary in June, making it increasingly likely that Mejia, who has accused Israel of genocide, may not face any competition for a full term in Congress.
Bagolie, who is Jewish, first floated a run on Monday in an interview with Politico, but backed off those plans on Wednesday, after a slew of top political leaders in the state lined up behind Mejia’s campaign, both in the April special general election and the June regular primary election.
“After thoughtful consideration, I have decided that now is not the time for a congressional run in the June primary,” Bagolie said in a statement first shared with the New Jersey Globe. “I will continue to serve my constituents in the 27th [legislative] district with the same level of dedication, mindful of the trust you have placed in me.”
The AIPAC-backed United Democracy Project super PAC, which many in the state see as having inadvertently contributed to Mejia’s narrow surprise victory over Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) in the primary last week, had said following the election that it had “anticipated” a potential Mejia victory but its “focus remains on who will serve the next full term in Congress.”
But now, the pro-Israel community may be left without any challenger to back against Mejia in June. The most credible possible challenger appears to be the candidate it preferred in the special election, former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, who has not indicated whether she will be running for the seat again.
However, the New Jersey Globe reported on Wednesday that Way is actively considering a second run in the primary. Way was endorsed by Democratic Majority for Israel, and was seen as AIPAC’s favored candidate in the February race, though it did not endorse her or run any ads supporting her campaign.
Way, who is poised to finish with around 17% of the vote in the special election primary, would have an uphill battle to defeat the ascendant progressive, especially now that Mejia has consolidated support from many Democratic power brokers in the state, including moderate leaders.
Way’s campaign has not responded to requests for comment since primary day, including a question from Jewish Insider about the Globe’s reporting on Wednesday.
After Malinowski conceded the race, Mejia was endorsed by N.J. leaders including Gov. Mikie Sherrill, Sen. Cory Booker and Sen. Andy Kim
Heather Khalifa/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Analilia Mejia speaks to supporters and members of the media at Paper Plane Coffee Co. in Montclair, N.J., on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026.
Top New Jersey Democrats lined up behind far-left, anti-Israel activist Analila Mejia on Tuesday in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District — even as a moderate Jewish state assemblymember publicly is mulling a bid against Mejia in the June regular election primary.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who previously held the seat, and Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Andy Kim (D-NJ) all endorsed Mejia, the surprise winner of last week’s special election primary race. Former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), who conceded the race to Mejia Tuesday morning, also backed her, as did several members of New Jersey’s House delegation.
Sherrill said in a statement she is “very proud to endorse” Mejia’s campaign.
“New Jersey’s 11th District has gone from a Trump district to once again showing the country that a commitment to working families and our Democratic values is a winning playbook,” Sherrill said. “I am grateful to the talented field of Democrats who stepped up to take on the threats and chaos coming from Washington. Now, we must turn to the critical work at hand: ensuring that we keep this seat blue and standing up to Trump’s attacks on our rights and economic opportunity.”
Booker, a pro-Israel Democrat, said Tuesday that the district “deserves a representative who will stand up against the harm Trump and Republicans are doing to our state.”
“I’m proud to support Analilia and her people-powered campaign to ensure we keep the 11th district blue on April 16th,” he continued.
Kim also backed Mejia, taking a veiled shot at the AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project’s spending against Malinowski, as well as the New Jersey political machine.
“NJ politics is clearly in a new era where the voters get to decide instead of having the choice made for them,” Kim said. “Let’s keep fighting against machine politics and dark money and get [Mejia] into Congress. There is so much at stake in our country.”
In a later joint statement, Booker and Kim explicitly endorsed Mejia in the June primary as well.
Malinowski, in his statement, praised Mejia for her campaign, but traced his loss in large part to the ad campaign against him by UDP, which spent more than $2 million to oppose him.
“The outcome of this race cannot be understood without also taking into account the massive flood of dark money that AIPAC spent on dishonest ads during the last three weeks,” Malinowski said in a statement. “I wish I could say that this effort, which was meant to intimidate Democrats across the country, failed in NJ-11. But it did not.”
Malinowski said that “if AIPAC backs a candidate — openly or surreptitiously — in the June NJ-11 Congressional primary, I will oppose that candidate and urge my supporters to do so as well. The threat unlimited dark money poses to our democracy is far more significant than the views of a single member of Congress on Middle East policy.”
New Jersey Democratic Reps. Rob Menendez, Bonnie Watson Coleman and LaMonica McIver also endorsed Mejia in a joint statement, offering their backing both in the special general election and the June primary.
“Analilia is the fighter the 11th District needs — from taking on the Trump Administration to championing workers’ rights — and we are proud to support her as the next Congresswoman for this district,” the statement reads. “Unifying behind Analilia is critical to our efforts for a Democratic House majority and defeating House Republicans’ agenda of chaos and terror. We should all be united in our support for her as she joins our delegation in the battle for the soul of our nation.”
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin also offered Mejia his congratulations and support.
Meanwhile, Assemblywoman Rosaura Bagolie, who is Jewish and an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, told Politico on Monday that she was considering a challenge to Mejia in the June primary, with few if any of the candidates who ran against Mejia in the February primary likely to run.
Bagolie said that she is “definitely considering” a bid for the seat, calling Mejia “not representative of the moderate Democrats of this district,” and saying that a race between her and Mejia would be an “election is between two women who come from the same walk of life and have a different view on politics.”
UDP indicated following the primary last week that it would be considering further spending in the June primary. Bagolie told Politico that she would “actively not be seeking” support from any outside groups.
It’s unclear whether the near-unified support for Mejia from state Democratic leaders will impact her plans.
In the state Assembly, Bagolie, who represents Livingston, Montclair and Milburn, has been one of the lead sponsors of legislation codifying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism into state law, and was the lead sponsor of a 2024 resolution offering support for Israel after Hamas’ attacks.
Alongside other legislators, she visited Israel in March 2024.
Speaking with hostage families and visiting the sites of Hamas’ attacks, Bagolie said she felt “anger, triggered by the acknowledgment of humans committing profoundly evil acts, stems from our compassion and the innate pursuit of justice and mercy. Confronting this darkness challenges our belief in humanity’s inherent goodness.”
In a speech at a celebration of Israel’s 77th Independence Day, Bagolie described Israel as a “miracle” and a “homeland reborn from the ashes of history. A beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in a region that too often only knows turmoil. A place where Jewish lives thrive, no matter where you come from, and where people of all faith identities can live with dignity. Israel is not just a place on a map. It’s a living, breathing promise that the Jewish people would never again be without a home, and we will continue to fight every day to maintain our home.”
She said that supporting a “strong, secure Israel” is good for the United States’ national interests as well.
Bagolie said she felt it was important for her to visit Israel in person “so that when those try to convince me that I’m wrong, or that what I am feeling and seeing is wrong, I can tell them I’ve walked it. I’ve lived it. I’ve seen it. And I feel it in my heart till this day, and you are not going to change my mind.”
She said she felt a particular connection to Edan Alexander, the hostage who grew up in New Jersey, seeing similarities between him and her own son. “Seeing the video of the torture Edan is going through and having held his mother in my arms … my heart fell.”
She also vowed not to be silent about the antisemitism growing in the state, arguing that fighting antisemitism and supporting Israel cannot be partisan issues. She highlighted the pervasive fear and threats that her family and the entire Jewish community face.
Former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, who was endorsed by Democratic Majority for Israel in the special election primary and had not ruled out running in the June primary as other special election candidates did, has not announced her plans, and did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Already several members of the state’s congressional delegation have begun to coalesce around Mejia’s campaign
Heather Khalifa/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Analilia Mejia speaks to supporters and members of the media at Paper Plane Coffee Co. in Montclair, N.J., on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026.
With progressive activist Analilia Mejia’s expected victory in the special election Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, attention is now turning to the upcoming April special general election and the June regular election primary as the last chances for moderates and pro-Israel groups to defeat her.
AIPAC’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project, which spent $2.3 million attacking former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), said in a statement that its “focus remains on who will serve the next full term in Congress” and that it will be “closely monitoring … the June NJ-11 primary, to help ensure pro-Israel candidates are elected to Congress.”
Mejia is on track to receive less than 30% of the primary vote in a relatively moderate suburban district, creating an opportunity for a moderate candidate to challenge her. But several Jewish leaders, as well as a local analyst, said that that will be difficult to achieve.
“June is potentially irresistible for the other candidates who ran … if any of these candidates could get a one-on-one shot at making it in June,” Micah Rasmussen, the director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, said. But unless the field can consolidate, Rasmussen said, it’s hard to see how the result would be any different in June.
Rasmussen said he doesn’t share the view of some Democrats that voters would be frustrated with a Democratic candidate who decides to challenge Mejia.
Though they haven’t formally endorsed her yet, other members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation appear to be coalescing around Mejia — Reps. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) and Rob Menendez (D-NJ) participated in a town hall focused on Immigration and Customs Enforcement organized by Mejia on Saturday, and Menendez — a relative moderate aligned with the state’s party machine — posted a photo with her on Sunday.
Malinowski has not yet conceded the race, but said during the primary that he would not run again in June if he lost. Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill also does not plan to run again. That leaves the most likely moderate challenger as former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, who was endorsed by Democratic Majority for Israel and is believed to be AIPAC’s choice in the race.
Way is holding in third with 17% of the vote. Her campaign did not respond to a request for comment on whether she plans to run again.
Local Jewish leaders on Friday were generally pessimistic about the chances of taking Mejia down in the June primary — for the full term in Congress — but there could be a path to defeating the ascendant progressive.
“I sat on a debate stage with Analilia Mejia when she said that Israel has a right to exist, but not as a Jewish state,” Jeff Grayzel, a local Jewish leader who ran for the seat with ambitions of uniting the Jewish community behind his campaign, said. “It is said that Jews will be blessed when they stand together and will experience misfortune when they are divided. My pleas for Jewish unity in this race went unheeded. In my messaging to the Jewish community, I warned of a repeat of New York City in NJ-11, and this result is a consequence of a house divided. I pray our people can unify to find a path forward.”
Rasmussen said that Malinowski, who came closest to beating Mejia, would be the strongest candidate in a head-to-head race against Mejia in June, and Rasmussen said he could envision a scenario in which Malinowski ultimately took another shot at the seat despite his previous pledge not to.
“I think it’s a little bit tougher for Tahesha Way to do that,” Rasmussen said. “She would very clearly have outside spending with her. She’d very clearly have fundraising with her. But it’s a little tough to go from a 17% result to a majority result. We’ll see what happens. It doesn’t mean she shouldn’t think about it, she shouldn’t consider it, but it’s probably a stretch.”
Jeff Grayzel, a local Jewish leader who ran for the seat with ambitions of uniting the Jewish community behind his campaign, lamented Mejia’s victory as a disappointing development for supporters of Israel, and said the Jewish community needs to come together.
“I sat on a debate stage with Analilia Mejia when she said that Israel has a right to exist, but not as a Jewish state,” Grayzel said. “It is said that Jews will be blessed when they stand together and will experience misfortune when they are divided. My pleas for Jewish unity in this race went unheeded. In my messaging to the Jewish community, I warned of a repeat of New York City in NJ-11, and this result is a consequence of a house divided. I pray our people can unify to find a path forward.”
Though Mejia is well to the left of candidates that the district typically picks, Rasumussen said that it’s “hard to come up with a situation” where the district — drawn to favor Democrats with a highly motivated Democratic voter base in a midterm year — would become competitive for Republicans in the April 16 special general election to fill out the remainder of Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s House term.
“However, that’s not to say that Republicans won’t try,” Rasmussen said. “If I were a Republican who had the ability to invest resources, I would certainly be taking a very close look at this race on these next three elections that are going to be happening this year in this district, and trying to see if I can take advantage of the very particular circumstances.”
“I think it’s pretty clear why voters went to Mejia, and it’s not because she is a socialist or because she is the most left of any candidate in the race,” Micah Rasmussen, the director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, said. “Voters were driven away from Malinowski because of that advertising. They did not view a machine candidate as a viable alternative. They saw Mejia as the candidate in the race who could most stand up to Trump … the candidate who had the clearest position on ICE.”
Rasmussen said that UDP’s advertising against Malinowski “very clearly … worked,” citing the significant drop in Malinowski’s share of the vote from the first early votes to be submitted — where he was receiving 60-70% of the vote — and votes submitted later in the cycle, as well as votes on election day.
“It’s pretty clear that the reason they went in [Mejia’s] direction is because she carved out a different position on ICE, which is very clearly on voters minds, and just convinced voters that she was the person who could best stand up to Trump, and that, it seems is what Democratic voters are looking for,” Rasmussen said.
He was skeptical of the narrative that the result was a sign of a broader voter appetite for socialist or socialist-adjacent policies in moderate suburban districts.
“I think it’s pretty clear why voters went to Mejia, and it’s not because she is a socialist or because she is the most left of any candidate in the race,” Rasmussen said. “Voters were driven away from Malinowski because of that advertising. They did not view a machine candidate as a viable alternative. They saw Mejia as the candidate in the race who could most stand up to Trump … the candidate who had the clearest position on ICE.”
The race also saw substantially higher turnout than most anticipated — surpassing 2024 primary turnout levels in not just the 11th District but every congressional district in New Jersey, according to Rasmussen — a sign of strong Democratic motivation to vote, likely spurred by President Donald Trump.
Gill’s fourth-place finish — despite entering the race as the favorite given the backing he received from New Jersey Democratic institutions — is a clear signal that the state’s Democratic machine has largely lost its ability to shape elections to its will, Rasmussen added.
The AIPAC-linked super PAC said it may get involved in the June NJ-11 primary for the next full term
Heather Khalifa/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Campaign stickers for Analilia Mejia, US Democratic House candidate for New Jersey, at Paper Plane Coffee Co. in Montclair, New Jersey, US, on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026.
The AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project said in a statement Friday that it had anticipated the potential elevation of a far-left candidate who has accused Israel of genocide in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District as a possible outcome of its spending against former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), but indicated it may undertake further spending in the district.
The group spent $2.3 million attacking Malinowski over his support in 2019 for Immigration and Customs Enforcement Funding and stock trading while in Congress.
Though ballot-counting has not yet finished, progressive activist Analilia Mejia, who is well to the left of Malinowski on Israel issues, currently holds a narrow lead in the primary — an outcome that frustrated New Jersey Jewish leaders attribute at least in part to UDP’s attacks on Malinowski.
“The outcome in NJ-11 was an anticipated possibility, and our focus remains on who will serve the next full term in Congress,” UDP spokesperson Patrick Dorton said in a statement Friday. “UDP will be closely monitoring dozens of primary races, including the June NJ-11 primary, to help ensure pro-Israel candidates are elected to Congress.”
Thursday’s race was a special primary to fill the remainder of Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s term in the House, through January 2027. The winner will still face a general election against Republican Joe Hathaway, the mayor of Randolph, N.J. The progressive Mejia could be uniquely vulnerable in the general, though the district favors Democrats.
There will also be a second primary race in June, on which Dorton suggested that UDP is focused, for the next full term in the House.
Former Lt. Gov Tahesha Way, rumored to be AIPAC’s preferred candidate and endorsed by Democratic Majority for Israel, looks poised to finish in third, with around 17%, in Thursday’s special election primary.
Mejia, who would likely win with less than 30% of the vote, could be vulnerable in the June primary if moderate voters — split amongst Malinowski, Way and Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill in Thursday’s race — coalesce behind Way in the June regular primary.
Way and Malinowski did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether they plan to run in June. Gill’s team confirmed that he does not plan to run.
The fact that a candidate as far to the left as Mejia could prevail in one of the most affluent, suburban districts in the country speaks volumes about the state of the party
Heather Khalifa/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Analilia Mejia, Democratic House candidate for New Jersey, speaks to supporters and members of the media at Paper Plane Coffee Co. in Montclair, N.J., on Jan. 29, 2026.
The results in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District last night may not make national headlines, but should be sending a shock wave across Democratic campaigns and pro-Israel institutions.
Analilia Mejia, the far-left, Bernie Sanders-endorsed activist, narrowly led in a crowded field of Democratic candidates in a primary election for an affluent, moderate-minded district, despite long odds.
With most votes counted, Mejia leads former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), who was considered the favorite, 29-28%. Former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, favored by pro-Israel groups and endorsed by Democratic Majority for Israel, finished in third place, winning just 17% of the vote.
Mejia’s apparent primary victory is another sign that the socialist wing of the Democratic Party — as exemplified by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s out-of-nowhere success across the Hudson River — is ascendant. Mejia was the only candidate to call Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza a “genocide” and condemned Israel just days after Oct. 7 without making a mention of Hamas’ terror attack against the Jewish state.
As early as Oct. 10, before the Israeli invasion of Gaza began, Mejia said: “Every fiber of my being is horrified beyond words at what is furthering in Gaza.”
The fact that a candidate as far to the left as Mejia could prevail in one of the most affluent, suburban districts in the country speaks volumes about the state of the party. This is a district, based in Morris County, filled with Wall Street bankers, venture capitalists and other wealthy white-collar workers that was a reliably Republican area not long ago.
Mejia is also beating the party machine-backed candidate, Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, on his home turf — an unprecedented dynamic for an underdog with next-to-no institutional support.
The decision by the AIPAC-aligned United Democracy Project (UDP) to spend over $2.3 million in ads attacking Malinowski is also looking highly questionable. The money, spent on ads attacking Malinowski for funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during his time in Congress, served its role in knocking down the front-runner.
But the playbook failed to do enough to boost Way, their closest ally, and clearly played an unintended role in Mejia’s strong showing, potentially elevating the fringe candidate into Congress. The lobby group was upset that Malinowski, who was generally a pro-Israel vote in Congress, had called for conditioning aid to Israel during the lengthy war in Gaza — and wanted to demonstrate that his criticism carried a cost. Their all-out push for the best possible result led to the worst possible outcome.
“If I was an AIPAC official, I’d be wondering, ‘How am I going to go to the same donors that I got money from to run this whole campaign against Malinowski and now I’m going to have to do the same thing to take out the person that I accidentally got elected?’” one Jewish leader said, presuming a Mejia win.
That said, there will be two opportunities for pro-Israel groups and moderate forces within the party to mobilize against Mejia, presuming she holds on for the nomination. Given that the New Jersey seat is a fairly competitive district — it backed Kamala Harris by eight points in the 2024 election — Mejia is not a lock to win the general special election (for the remainder of the term) against Republican Joe Hathaway, the mayor of Randolph Township.
It’s hard to imagine Democrats, running in a very favorable political environment, losing the general election. But you couldn’t find a more-problematic candidate than a socialist running in a capitalist-minded district.
In addition, there will be a separate June Democratic primary for the regular term. There’s a strong chance Mejia would face credible opposition from a more mainstream Democrat, even if elected to Congress, though it’s possible multiple opponents could end up challenging her.
But the fact that Mejia isn’t yet a sitting lawmaker offers little consolation to pro-Israel leaders, who are looking warily at upcoming primary fields — from Illinois to Maine to Minnesota — where Democrats could nominate a slate of far-left, anti-Israel candidates that, if elected, would dramatically change the image and ideological disposition of the party.
The pro-Israel group spent over $2.3 million to block occasional Israel critic Tom Malinowski from getting elected — but it may have unwittingly gotten a far-left radical nominated instead.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Analilia Mejia, co-executive director of Center for Popular Democracy, speaks during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on April 19, 2023 in Washington, DC.
In New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, the AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project made a $2.3 million bet against former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ). It was clear early in the evening that the bet wasn’t paying off — but now the race could end up in what local Jewish leaders are calling a worst-case scenario.
After some outlets initially called the special primary election race for Malinowski, far-left progressive activist Analilia Mejia surged, and took a narrow lead as of the end of the evening, with most saying the race is now too close to call.
Malinowski maintained a largely pro-Israel record while in office but expressed openness during his latest congressional bid to backing policies conditioning or restricting aid. A former State Department official, he was also a leading and influential voice on foreign policy issues among colleagues.
Mejia’s views on Middle East politics are well to the left of Malinowski’s — she indicated support during a candidate forum for an offensive weapons ban, accused Israel of genocide less than a month after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and, as early as Oct. 10, before the Israeli invasion of Gaza began, said, “Every fiber of my being is horrified beyond words at what is furthering in Gaza.” At the same time, she has expressed support for Israel’s “right to both exist and defend itself.”
Mejia was endorsed by a laundry list of vocal Israel critics, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
Even without a final call, the results are already emboldening other Israel critics on the left, who are declaring that the results show that AIPAC has lost its sway, including candidates running against moderate, pro-Israel candidates in two key Illinois primaries.
Though some were concerned about Malinowski’s growing criticism of Israel since leaving office, other Jewish leaders had been puzzled by UDP’s decision to attack a lawmaker they saw as an ally during his previous congressional term — particularly when a more strident Israel opponent such as Mejia was in the race.
Now, some believe that UDP’s attacks on Malinowski, which attacked the former congressman’s vote in 2019 for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and his stock trading while in office, may have pushed voters toward Mejia, rather than toward a more moderate candidate, leaving pro-Israel advocates in an even worse position than if it had not intervened.
“Some of the worst fears of the Jewish community in New Jersey have been realized,” one Jewish leader said, referring to Mejia’s surge. “This was a possible byproduct of them stepping into the race. I don’t know how much of this is to blame on AIPAC specifically, but I think there needs to be a serious after-action report if the intent to push out Malinowski had this unintended consequence of propping up a very, very progressive candidate. … If she were to win, this would be far worse than Malinowski winning.”
The leader added that Jewish and moderate voters were ultimately split among former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, who was rumored to have AIPAC’s tacit backing and was endorsed by Democratic Majority for Israel, and Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill — a longtime New Jersey political hand and the anticipated frontrunner, who ultimately failed to carry his home county.
While attacking Malinowski, UDP did not air positive messaging about any of the candidates to push voters toward its preferred choice.
“Jewish organizations need to rethink their strategy, or I fear that they are slowly pushing themselves into irrelevance,” the leader continued, pointing to the New York City mayoral race as a similar result when Jewish and moderate voters failed to coalesce to stop a far-left candidate. “People are winning elections without their support — they’re basically beating them.”
Another said AIPAC and UDP had “played it wrong in every step” — raising money for Way, whom the source said always had little chance of winning, and then spending heavily to go after Malinowski despite the Jewish community’s largely positive relationship while he was in office, potentially pushing Malinowski further left.
“If AIPAC’s definition of pro-Israel now excludes even someone like me, who passionately supports Israel but won’t commit to a blank check for anything [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] might want, there won’t be enough pro-Israel people left in America to sustain the relationship,” Malinowski said when UDP first began running ads against him.
In a statement, UDP spokesperson Patrick Dorton said the group had anticipated a potential Mejia victory but suggested UDP may get involved in the upcoming June primary for the next full term. Thursday’s primary election was only for the remainder of Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s term in the House, through January 2027.
“The outcome in NJ-11 was an anticipated possibility, and our focus remains on who will serve the next full term in Congress,” Dorton said. “UDP will be closely monitoring dozens of primary races, including the June NJ-11 primary, to help ensure pro-Israel candidates are elected to Congress.”
Mejia gained attention relatively late in the shortened race, and was not initially viewed as a major contender. Additionally, turnout in the race — expected to be low for a Thursday special election primary with poor road conditions from a recent winter storm — ended up surpassing the 2024 primary election.
Should UDP be interested in trying to take another swing at the Democratic nominee, it may have two opportunities to do so: the upcoming special general election, where the far-left Mejia might be uniquely vulnerable to a GOP challenge, or the primary for the November midterm election. Beating Mejia in the latter primary would likely require consolidation among moderate Democrats.
“If I was an AIPAC official, I’d be wondering, ‘How am I going to go to the same donors that I got money from to run this whole campaign against Malinowski and now I’m going to have to do the same thing to take out the person that I accidentally got elected?’” one Jewish leader said, presuming a Mejia win.
The result could also raise questions about AIPAC and UDP’s strategy in other upcoming races. In Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, a Jewish activist in the community raised concerns to JI weeks ago that pro-Israel attacks on Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss could ultimately end up peeling off voters to far-left influencer Kat Abugazaleh, who is avowedly anti-Israel.
But thus far, the strategy in that race appears to be different. An outside group that many in the community believe to be backed by pro-Israel donors recently began running positive ads boosting the pro-Israel favorite, state Sen. Laura Fine, rather than attacking her challengers.
The former congressman’s advantages in fundraising and name ID may be undercut by the massive ad spend against him
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) participates in a get-out-the-vote event on October 29, 2022 in Rahway, New Jersey.
A major infusion of pro-Israel funding into attack ads on former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) has complicated Malinowski’s path to victory in the Thursday special election primary for New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District — though political analysts and members of the local Jewish community still see Malinowski as the likely favorite and say the precise impact of the anti-Malinowski attacks remains to be seen.
Malinowski has been the target of over $2.3 million in ads funded by the AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project, which have hit Malinowski for a 2019 vote for Immigration and Customs Enforcement funding and stock trading while in office.
Though AIPAC hasn’t formally endorsed Tahesha Way or run any messaging supporting her, the group is widely believed to be backing the former lieutenant governor, who was endorsed by Democratic Majority for Israel.
“There are several candidates in this race that are far more supportive of the U.S.-Israel relationship than Tom Malinowski,” UDP spokesperson Patrick Dorton told Jewish Insider last month.
Most local observers agreed that Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, who has deep institutional ties in New Jersey Democratic politics, is in the strongest position against Malinowski, but Way and progressive activist and Israel critic Analilia Mejia, who has mobilized a series of prominent national progressive endorsers, also have pathways to victory.
The AIPAC blitz against Malinowski has surprised some in the Jewish community who saw Malinowski as an ally during his time in office, especially as Mejia has been more strongly critical of the Jewish state than Malinowski. But others have noted that Malinowski has shifted left since leaving office in 2023, when he represented the neighboring 7th District, a shift that now includes expressing openness to conditions on U.S. aid to Israel.
One Jewish leader called AIPAC’s decision to intervene so strongly in the race a tactical mistake that could end up hurting pro-Israel candidates. The leader was also critical of AIPAC’s decision to back Way, rather than Gill, who has also cast himself as a supporter of Israel.
The leader argued that AIPAC’s strategy had boosted Malinowski’s credibility with progressive voters, opened a window for Mejia and undermined Gill, whom the leader argued would otherwise be the most viable pro-Israel candidate.
But others in the Jewish community harbor concerns about Gill related to his wife, a state assemblymember. Alixon Collazos-Gill has ties to and has attended various events hosted by anti-Israel groups.
Micah Rasmussen, the director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, said that Malinowski has clear advantages — he leads in fundraising, and has the strongest name recognition and experience in Congress. He also has a deluge of PAC spending against him. which indicates that opponents view him as having a strong shot — but “my gut tells me … that Brendan Gill has a shot if he can get out the vote in his neck of the woods, in Essex County,” Rasmussen said.
Dan Cassino, the executive director of the Fairleigh Dickinson University poll, agreed that “Malinowski certainly has an advantage in name recognition,” but said the outside spending has been “bruising” to him.
Rasmussen called the UDP ads “one of the biggest factors in the race,” given the size of the spend, but it’s not clear, Rasmussen and Cassino agreed, how voters turned off from Malinowski by the UDP ad blitz will vote, and they may scatter in various directions.
Rasmussen noted that Gill has a higher profile than Way and might be more likely to attract defectors, emphasizing that UDP has not given any direction or push to voters toward its preferred candidate.
He also said that, among certain populations, AIPAC’s opposition could strengthen Malinowski’s standing.
“Any one of these four candidates could win. With a low-turnout election, a highly motivated group of voters can make the difference,” Rasmussen said. A surge in Essex County voters could push Gill over the top, while Way would benefit from higher turnout among Black voters and Mejia could benefit from higher turnout among progressives, he said.
“Turnout is looking to be higher than some of the low-end projections we were seeing, but there’s still not a clear sense of who, exactly, is going to be coming out to the polls,” Cassino said.
Cassino said that “it’s also possible that bringing down Malinowski’s numbers winds up helping Mejia, who’s done a reasonable job of consolidating progressive support,” he continued, while noting that her fundraising has been “anemic.”
Rasmussen added that Mejia hasn’t fully consolidated the progressive lane: she scored endorsements from national progressive leaders, but Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ), the most influential in-state progressive figure, is backing Malinowski.
And, he added, it’s “entirely possible” with so many candidates in the race and a lack of consolidation that a wildcard candidate could come from behind and win with just 20% of the vote.
Cassino framed the race as a test of the continued power of Democratic county organizations in the state.
“There’s going to be a lot of analysis looking at the extent to which Gill and Malinowski benefit from those endorsements,” he said. “The bigger those effects, the more valuable the endorsements are going to be perceived to be, which is going to shape candidate behavior in elections coming up.”
The pro-Israel group’s super PAC has spent over $2 million in ads attacking Tom Malinowski, who has come out in favor of conditioning some aid to Israel, in hopes of electing a more reliable ally in Tahesha Way
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
New Jersey Lt. Gov. Tahesha L. Way, speaks during a Naturalization Ceremony at Liberty State Park on September 17, 2024 in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Tomorrow’s New Jersey special Democratic primary election to fill Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s vacant House seat will offer an early test of AIPAC’s ability to continue showcasing its political clout. The pro-Israel group’s super PAC, in a potentially risky move, has spent over $2 million in ads attacking former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), who has come out in favor of conditioning some aid to Israel, in hopes of electing a more reliable ally in former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way.
The group’s ad hits Malinowski not for his views on Israel, but for a bipartisan vote in 2019 funding the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and over stock trades he made as a congressman. The ICE attacks, in particular, are expected to resonate in the affluent, center-left district. Because of his name recognition representing a neighboring district before losing reelection in 2022, Malinowski started out as the early front-runner but is taking a serious hit on the airwaves.
But complicating that strategy is the presence of a far-left, anti-Israel candidate in Analilia Mejia, who leads a progressive advocacy group and has been endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). Mejia has been polling in second place, according to some reports, and has a path to winning the nomination — and the seat, given the 11th Congressional District’s Democratic lean.
The race also features Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, an establishment-oriented politician — endorsed by former Gov. Phil Murphy — who has expressed consistently pro-Israel views on the campaign trail and in an interview with Jewish Insider.
Even as the political environment within the Democratic Party has shifted to the left, AIPAC isn’t backing down from its aggressive, on-offense playbook from 2024, when a number of mainstream pro-Israel Democrats backed by the group won their elections to Congress — while two of AIPAC’s most extreme opponents, former Reps. Cori Bush (D-MO) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), fell short in their reelection bids.
Given the changed intraparty mood, there was a question about whether pro-Israel groups would need to play a little more defense this election cycle, or at least refocus attention on stopping the most radical candidates with a chance of winning instead of going all-out for the most principled allies.
That’s looking — at least for now — not to be the case.
In Illinois’ upcoming primaries, state Sen. Laura Fine has emerged as the pro-Israel favorite against one frequent critic of Israel (Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss) and one outspoken anti-Israel activist (social media influencer Kat Abughazaleh) in another affluent Democratic district just outside of Chicago. The pro-Israel community isn’t hedging its bets in a bid to prevent Abughazaleh from prevailing.
The confident pro-Israel playbook looks like it’s working. Fine just announced raising a whopping $1.2 million in the last three months of 2025, and a new internal poll for Fine’s campaign shows her tied with Biss in first place, holding the momentum in the crowded primary.
That same dynamic is playing out in Michigan’s three-way Senate primary, where Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) is being rewarded with political support and donations for her long record of pro-Israel allyship. Her opponents offer two different shades of opposition to Israel: state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who tagged Israel’s war against Hamas as a genocide but has now been looking to pivot away from talking about the Middle East; and virulently anti-Israel physician Abdul El-Sayed, who has made hostility to Israel a central part of his campaign message. But McMorrow doesn’t appear to be winning — at least for now — much support from pro-Israel Democrats worried about stopping El-Sayed at all costs.
The New Jersey special election primary also features some quirks that incentivize AIPAC’s involvement. The district, in the northern part of the state, has a significant Jewish constituency, and is one of the most affluent districts in the country, making it uniquely well-suited for a mainstream pro-Israel centrist regardless of the national party trends. “This is a capitalist district,” one Democratic strategist who lives in the district told JI.
In addition, there will be another regularly scheduled primary in June for the full two-year term starting in 2027 — as opposed to the special election, which will only elect a lawmaker for the remainder of the year. If Malinowski gets elected, he’ll likely maintain a lock on the seat for as long as he wants it. As a former congressman, he’d reenter Congress as a more-influential, longer-tenured member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. But if a left-wing candidate like Mejia surprisingly squeaks through, she’d likely face difficulty winning the primary for a full term.
AIPAC’s super PAC — the United Democracy Project — also has another good reason to play an active role in this year’s primaries. It reported $96 million cash on hand at the end of 2025, more than twice as much financial firepower as it had last cycle at this time.
Baraka has faced scrutiny over his record on Israel and antisemitism
Campaign website
Brian Varela
Brian Varela, a businessman running in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, picked up an endorsement on Monday from Newark, N.J., Mayor Ras Baraka, a sign of Varela’s increasing outreach to progressive voters.
Baraka’s progressive candidacy in last year’s New Jersey gubernatorial race raised concerns in the Jewish community, in part because Baraka, in the early 2000s, appeared alongside Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has a long record of antisemitism, and applauded violent rhetoric by the controversial preacher. Baraka also faced scrutiny over his record on Israel and antisemitism.
“Brian is proud to have Mayor Baraka’s endorsement and grateful for his support,” Emmett Shell, a spokesperson for Varela’s campaign, said. “Mayor Baraka has joined north of 50 people across the ideological spectrum that point to Brian’s ability to build a wide-tent coalition.”
“That said, Brian wants to be unequivocal on the underlying issue: He entirely condemns Louis Farrakhan and the violent rhetoric Farrakhan has promoted,” Shell continued. “There is no place for that kind of rhetoric in this country, full stop. Brian has consistently denounced antisemitism in all its forms throughout his campaign and throughout his life, and that position will never waver. Antisemitism is a poison, and Brian will always stand firmly against it, regardless of who is in the room.”
The Baraka endorsement is an additional sign that Varela, who told Jewish Insider last summer, “I consider myself more of a moderate,” has pivoted in a more progressive direction as he faces off against candidates including military veteran Rebecca Bennett, who is running a campaign focused on more moderate messages.
The New Jersey Globe on Monday highlighted the Baraka endorsement as part of “Varela’s quest to claim the progressive mantle in the Democratic primary,” pointing to a series of progressive stances that Varela is taking and his other progressive endorsements.
He’s also staking out a progressive stance on immigration issues, describing himself as the “most vocal ICE critic” in the Garden State and one of the first candidates in the country to call for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s impeachment.
Asked whether he now considers himself a moderate or progressive, the Varela spokesperson said, “Brian would push back a little on the framing, because at the end of the day, voters in NJ-07 aren’t asking whether their representative is a moderate or a progressive.”
“They’re asking who is going to deliver on the issues that matter to their families. Brian looks at each policy on its own merits, whether that policy is going to strengthen the economy and raise the standard of living for people in this district,” he continued. “Sometimes that puts him in a more progressive lane, sometimes a more moderate one. The label doesn’t drive the policy. It’s the ability to change people’s lives for the better that moves Brian towards solutions.”
Varela has gone through a unique political evolution over the years, starting as a press intern for Republican Gov. Chris Christie in 2010, later running as an anti-machine candidate against now-Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ) and later leading the New Jersey chapter of the Forward Party, former presidential candidate Andrew Yang’s centrist third party.
The National Republican Congressional Committee is also seeking to paint Varela as far left, describing him in recent press releases as “dangerously radical” and the “pick of the radical left.”
Baraka also endorsed progressive Analilia Mejia in the special election in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, and is set to endorse Michael Blake, one of the progressive challengers to Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY). Mejia has the backing of various prominent progressive leaders, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
“Analilia has dedicated her career to fighting for the rights of all people and will continue to do so,” Mejia campaign spokesperson Elon Glickman said. “As an Afro-Latina, whose own family has faced bigotry and hate, she understands that Antisemitism, racism and anti-Blackness are cut from the same cloth and we must stand together in fighting it.”
Blake’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Way is touting her support for stalled legislation that would codify the IHRA definition of antisemitism into law
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
New Jersey Lt. Gov. Tahesha L. Way, speaks during a Naturalization Ceremony at Liberty State Park on September 17, 2024 in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Campaigning in a crowded field for the New Jersey congressional seat recently vacated by newly inaugurated Gov. Mikie Sherrill, former New Jersey Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way is leaning into her support for Israel and the state’s Jewish community ahead of next month’s special election primary.
Speaking to Jewish Insider last week, Way, a Democrat, cited the rise in antisemitism that is leaving Jewish voters “terrified” as one of the reasons she’s running for office, alongside her concern about attacks on civil liberties, healthcare access, the economy and immigration raids.
She said that, going forward, it’s “really my fervor and my hope to continue my work on behalf of the Jewish community,” highlighting the work of the New Jersey-Israel Commission — which fell under her purview when she served as secretary of state — to increase trade between Israel and New Jersey as well as to push back on antisemitism.
“You think about the 1960s, when Blacks and Jewish people stood hand by hand” in the Civil Rights Movement, Way said. “That’s why I also made certain that my Israel Commission partnered with my MLK Jr. Commission, not just internally, but externally, going out to schools — especially our high school students — so that they could understand the history, understand the unity of two people in hopes of bringing about a better us.”
“Tahesha Way understands what is failing the Jewish community right now, and especially this fight against antisemitism which is on the rise,” Way said. “I have stood side by side with the Jewish community, overseeing the Israel commission and making sure that the needs and the protection has always been authentically there.”
She said she also worked with the commission to send letters to college and university presidents after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks to ensure that academic leaders took steps to combat antisemitism, and re-emphasized her support for legislation to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism — which was ultimately blocked by fellow Democratic leaders, including former Gov. Phil Murphy.
She alluded to those events, noting that she had “separated myself from governing partners” on that issue.
“Tahesha Way understands what is failing the Jewish community right now, and especially this fight against antisemitism which is on the rise,” Way said. “I have stood side by side with the Jewish community, overseeing the Israel commission and making sure that the needs and the protection has always been authentically there.”
Way said she would advocate for antisemitism legislation to codify the IHRA definition on the federal level as well, and to “streamline access” to security funding for Jewish institutions through the Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
“We need [representatives] who will stand with our Jewish communities without hesitation,” Way said, asserting repeatedly that, “other candidates are not strong on this.” Several other leading candidates also have spoken out against antisemitism and in favor of federal programs to combat it, as well as supported the IHRA bill.
She connected her own daughter’s experience surviving a mass shooting at the University of Virginia to those of Jewish students, and their parents, facing antisemitic harassment on their campuses after Oct. 7.
At the same time, Way said that the federal government should not step in to defund colleges and universities — as the Trump administration has — unless the institutions are “abdicating their responsibilities to students,” and that it must do so through due process and rule of law.
“Conditioning aid to Israel would weaken it at a moment when Israel faces real security threats, and I think it would undermine our credibility as a strategic partner,” Way said. “We work with Israel on these issues as partners, not by holding their security hostage to political demands. And ultimately, I believe, those aren’t conditions. They are the foundation of a strong alliance between two democracies.”
Way visited Israel in 2019 on a delegation with other state-level officials from around the country organized by the American Jewish Committee, calling it “one of the most significant experiences of my life.” She said she wanted to “witness the alliance between our nation and Israel,” and that she had the chance to see the security and intelligence cooperation, the shared democratic values and the economic ties between the two countries.
She said she “absolutely” opposes efforts to condition or stop U.S. weapons sales to Israel, a position she said goes back to the understanding of the U.S.-Israel relationship she developed on that trip.
“Conditioning aid to Israel would weaken it at a moment when Israel faces real security threats, and I think it would undermine our credibility as a strategic partner,” Way said. “We work with Israel on these issues as partners, not by holding their security hostage to political demands. And ultimately, I believe, those aren’t conditions. They are the foundation of a strong alliance between two democracies.”
She added that she has been “clear about my expectations: responsible use of aid, commitment to humanitarian law and a path towards a two-state solution.”
Asked to clarify her vision of a two-state solution, Way said that Hamas’ dismantling is a necessary precondition to moving toward a Palestinian state.
She noted that she had the opportunity to hear from former hostage Eli Sharabi when he visited New Jersey last December, an experience she said led her to recommit to supporting Israel.
Asked about the administration’s strikes on Iran last June, Way said that “Iran is a destabilizing force in the Middle East and an existential threat to Israel and the United States” which has harmed not only U.S. service members but also Iranian citizens. “The United States must ensure that Iran never possesses those nuclear weapons.”
She connected her concerns about the regime’s violations of its citizens’ rights to her own work in New Jersey fighting for civil rights and supporting democracy.
“That’s why I take democracy to heart, that is why I am so passionate about the United States-Israel relationship and alliance, because of the shared democratic values,” Way said.
Pressed on whether she would support strikes on the Iranian government in support of protesters, she again condemned the regime but said that the administration “cannot move unilaterally” and that Congress must be involved in any military action.
Way argued that voters are “are looking for someone who has already made a difference and has proven results for New Jersey families, and that is me, and I’m definitely not done yet,” and that she’s the only candidate with the diversity of government experience, as well as the only candidate who has been sued by the Trump administration.
‘Prioritizing politics over antisemitism signals that Jewish safety is negotiable,’ the rabbis wrote, after JI reporting found Murphy and other Democratic leaders were worried about electoral backlash
AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy speaks during a press conference to announce that George Helmy will take the U.S. Senate seat that will soon be vacated by Senator Bob Menendez, in Newark, New Jersey, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024.
Nearly 100 New Jersey rabbis wrote to now-former Gov. Phil Murphy and members of the New Jersey Assembly this week expressing concerns about reporting from Jewish Insider that Murphy and other Democratic leaders had blocked passage of legislation to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism.
A source had told JI that Democratic leaders in the state were concerned that lawmakers who supported the legislation would be vulnerable to progressive primary challengers.
“This is a deeply troubling failure of leadership that places political calculations above the safety of the Jewish population,” the 95 rabbis wrote, highlighting a string of violent antisemitic incidents in the state and a report indicating that New Jersey was the state with the highest number of antisemitic incidents per capita in 2024.
“Prioritizing politics over antisemitism signals that Jewish safety is negotiable and subjects our community to further cases of harassment and violence,” the letter reads. “Therefore, we call on our political leaders in New Jersey to immediately revisit and pass legislation that adopts the IHRA definition of antisemitism, and applies that definition to training, education, and hate-crime response systems.”
The letter was first reported by NJ.com and organized by The Jewish Majority.
“Already in 2026 demonstrators have gathered outside Jewish institutions to support Hamas’ murder of Jews, and a synagogue has been burned,” the letter continued. “Now is not the time to play politics with our safety.”
The rabbis also said that the recent mass shooting at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia, shows the “lethal consequences of ignoring such hate” and the necessity to provide “clarity around what constitutes Jew-hatred.”
“We spent a lot of time working on this issue in the legislation, and then when Gov. Murphy killed it very late in his term, [it] was really deflating and hurtful and frustrating,” one signatory, Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner of Temple Emanu-El in Closter, N.J., told JI.
He emphasized that the “worst event to happen in our modern era since the Holocaust [the Oct. 7 attacks] … was met in the diaspora, outside of Israel, with increased hatred towards Jews, and vilification and threatening of Jews” and that “what made it even worse is that when we started to wag a finger in the face of those who were threatening and hurting and intimidating the Jewish people, they were claiming it’s not antisemitic.”
New Jersey lawmakers are likely to pursue efforts to pass the IHRA bill again this year.
Kirshner said that the path forward is clear: “We did all the work, all the legislation. It was all put in front of us. Just put the bill out, and let’s pass it. New Jersey has the largest population of Jewish people outside of New York City. It’s the second largest out of our 50 states. We need to act like it.”
He emphasized that nothing about the bill would silence criticism of the Israeli government, as some critics have claimed.
“It will give us guardrails, and it will give us a sense of protection that we are desperately seeking for the last 24-plus months since the worst day since the Holocaust,” Kirshner said.
He said that an executive order implementing the IHRA definition, “especially if it has all the nuts and bolts of the IHRA legislation” would be a “good stopgap measure” and would “engender some good will” for the new governor, Democrat Mikie Sherill, but said that it cannot be a replacement for the state legislature passing the bill.
A source told JI that such an executive order had been drafted and presented to Murphy’s office before the end of his term, amid outcry over the failure of the IHRA legislation, but it was not signed.
Gill is facing off against former Rep. Tom Malinowski and former lieutenant governor Tahesha Way, among other Dem challengers
Campaign website
Brendan Gill
Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, one of the leading Democrats running for the vacant 11th Congressional District seat in New Jersey, told Jewish Insider he would be a strong supporter of Israel and the continued U.S.-Israel relationship, while also expressing concerns about the current Israeli government.
The race, which features a parade of Democratic candidates that also includes former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), will determine who will fill the remainder of Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s term in the House. An AIPAC-affiliated super PAC is spending money on ads against Malinowski, amid reports that the pro-Israel group favors former lieutenant governor Tahesha Way in the race.
Gill — a longtime New Jersey political hand who has previously worked as a staffer for or on the campaigns of Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), former Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and former Reps. Steve Rothman (D-NJ) and Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) — said his time working with each of those lawmakers, all strong supporters of Israel, has served as his “North Star” for his policy toward the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Gill also previously worked for former Gov. Phil Murphy, who has endorsed his congressional bid.
“I very much believe that we absolutely can respect the ability to disagree with decisions that are made by an elected government that we might not agree with, but still at the same time never waver on Israel’s right to exist, never waver on protecting the strategic partnership in that region of the world that the United States has enjoyed with the only democracy that exists, to continue to aid Israel in ways that are both important to its own protection and, by extension, the protection of our own national interests,” he said.
Gill added that he personally disagrees with and has concerns about decisions made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — mentioning the 2022 judicial reform effort in particular — but said he remains committed to protecting Israel’s right to exist and defend itself, as well as supporting democratic institutions in Israel.
Gill visited Israel in July 2024 with a local Jewish federation, visiting the Nova music festival site and meeting the family of Israeli American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin — who was killed by Hamas the following month — and with various Israeli leaders.
“That trip was incredibly impactful for me in terms of how I think about the relationship between the United States and Israel,” Gill said.
In a position paper shared with JI, Gill said he supported the current memorandum of understanding with Israel and would back continuing it, “governed by existing laws on American aid, not additional restrictions.” He also said that he would work to build and maintain bipartisanship in support of Israel.
Gill said in his interview with JI that he wants to continue U.S. aid to Israel, though he would “be open to conversations around requirements to receive that aid. But I would start in a place … that I would not have an issue on continuation of aid to Israel and allowing Israel to defend itself.”
Pressed on the sort of “requirements” he might support, Gill said he would begin by listening directly to Israeli leaders about what the Jewish state needs to defend itself, adding that he finds the distinction some lawmakers have drawn between offensive and defensive weapons “very difficult to discern.”
Asked about the potential discrepancy between the paper and the position expressed to JI, Gill spokesperson Toral Patel told JI that Gill’s position is as expressed in the paper, and that he does not support additional restrictions. “He would be open to discussions that are fully agreed upon between the US and Israel to modify aid, but still does not believe the US should unilaterally restrict aid in any way to our ally,” Patel said, when pressed on what Gill meant by “requirements.”
“My starting point has been, and continues to be, that we should absolutely be able to support Israel in the ways that we have in the past, and at the same time, start these conversations around, what does this aid look like in the future,” Gill reiterated in his interview with JI, noting Netanyahu’s own recent comments about phasing out U.S. aid in the next decade.
In his position paper, Gill said he would “work to ensure that the United States strengthens its unwavering support for Israel’s security while helping to shape a post-Hamas Gaza that is stable, demilitarized, and incapable of threatening the Israeli people,” highlighting the need to keep putting pressure on Hamas to disarm.
“My stance in Congress will be clear and unwavering: Israel has the absolute right to defend itself, and the United States should be its partner in ensuring it has the ability to do so. Removing Hamas from power is not only essential for Israel’s security, but it is also the only path to a better future for Palestinians as well,” he said.
He blamed Hamas for “the suffering of both Israelis and Palestinians” in its attack on Israel, its theft of aid intended for Gazan civilians and its use of Gazan civilians as human shields through the use of tunnels.
Gill said that Americans “are deeply concerned by the conduct, duration, cost, and human toll of” Israel’s war in Gaza and, to maintain popular support for Israel, “we must demonstrate that our engagement is principled, strategic, and ultimately aimed at a lasting resolution that works for all peace-loving people involved.”
In the long term, Gill also expressed support for a “two-state (or more) solution,” also making reference to a “multi-state solution.” He said achieving that goal will require a viable postwar governance plan for Gaza, ongoing U.S. support for Israel’s qualitative military edge and a credible and uncorrupted multilateral reconstruction and deradicalization effort in Gaza.
The AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project super PAC recently launched a $500,000 ad campaign opposing Malinowski, with a spokesperson for UDP telling JI that the group views multiple other candidates in the race as more pro-Israel than Malinowski.
But local reporting indicates that UDP favors Way in the race over Gill and other pro-Israel candidates. Other candidates in the race have also expressed more openly anti-Israel views than Malinowski.
Gill said in his interview with JI that he supported the U.S. strikes against Iran’s nuclear program last year. Going forward, he said that the U.S. must continue to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
He said he also wants to see U.S. lawmakers “speaking out, and louder, about the atrocities that are happening right now” against the anti-regime protesters in Iran, and to “find both in word [and] deed” ways to support the Iranian protests, while also ensuring proper congressional oversight of any potential military action.
At home in the U.S., Gill emphasized that the issue of rising antisemitism is “very, very real” and “not abstract” for him, with the Garden State having a high rate of antisemitic incidents per-capita and the 11th District having seen a series of alarming incidents, including a firebombing of a synagogue, fake blood thrown at children, the destruction of Israeli flags and an attempted plot to kill Jews.
“You need to speak out and be vocal immediately,” Gill said, arguing that, unlike some of his competitors, he has the local connections and experience to respond to such incidents — both in words and by working to help secure additional security resources — and has done so in his current role.
“This is an ongoing challenge that we have right now and a serious problem,” Gill said. “Our leaders need to acknowledge that — and not only acknowledge it, make sure that they’re advancing policies that help push back and fight against it and protect the Jewish community.”
He highlighted his ties to a variety of local Jewish leaders and elected officials, whom he said he would lean on as he considers issues relevant to the Jewish community.
He added that the federal government needs to provide sufficient funding through the Department of Education for educational programs on antisemitism, as well as funding for local law enforcement to ensure security.
Asked about the Trump administration’s policies that aimed to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses, including revoking federal funding to colleges and attempting to deport anti-Israel activists, Gill said it’s critical to address campus antisemitism but also to be “balanced about how you use the levers of power in order to execute that.”
“I support policies that go directly to dealing with the issue of antisemitism on college campuses. I do not support the way that, more broadly speaking, the Trump administration has utilized governmental policy in a[n] unethical, unconstitutional and corrupt way to force policy and outcomes in any space,” he said.
He said that there’s a difference between working to protect Jewish students and “telling an institution of higher learning or a health care institution that ‘they better do X, Y or Z, or their funding is going to be completely cut off.’ That’s extortion.”
In his position paper, Gill said that antisemitism is a problem on both sides of the political aisle that leaders must address, and accused some Republicans of ignoring “rampant hatred in their own ranks in an effort to score cheap political points” and of “purposeful conflation of disagreement with antisemitism,” which he said undermined the fight against antisemitism.
“I believe strongly in protecting the right to peaceful protest and free expression while drawing a clear line against threats, harassment and discrimination,” Gill said.
Gill told JI he supports legislation in New Jersey to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism into state law, which was recently blocked by state Democratic leaders who feared political backlash, and expressed support for formally adopting the IHRA definition in his position paper.
Asked about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s record on antisemitism, Gill told JI that he “definitely [has] some concerns regarding, not necessarily statements that he has made, but statements that have been made by people that are part of his administration.”
In general, Gill said he’s going to “wait and see in terms of how he actually executes his role as mayor.”
Outside of antisemitism policy, Gill noted that “there are many aspects of [Mamdani’s] affordability agenda that I do think are important, that resonate with large portions of our Democratic base.”
In the race generally, Gill is highlighting both his local roots — he’s the son of a Montclair public school teacher and raised his own family in the township — and his experience working for members of Congress.
He argued that that experience gives him the “full skill set” other candidates don’t have and that he’s been “doing this work in the communities that I’m seeking to represent.”
That’s seemingly a dig at Malinowski, another likely front-runner, who previously represented a neighboring district. Gill targeted Malinowski in his first TV ads of the campaign, which began airing this week. “I think what helps you be the most effective member of Congress is understanding, having the relationships with the communities that make up your district, understanding the differences we have,” Gill said.
Gill argued that the numerous endorsements he’s received from local officials and from organized labor attest to his strengths.
He said he’s running for Congress because he sees the opportunities he had to pursue the American Dream slipping away from his own teenage children, and because he’s concerned about the “threat” he believes the Trump administration and its supporters pose to democratic norms and the Constitution.
“Because of both my Washington experience, the experience that I’ve had on the ground representing many of these communities — either as an Essex County Commissioner or doing the work with other federal officials — I think I have the right skill set to fight Donald Trump at this time, to fight MAGA Republicans, and also to deliver for the communities that I live in, that I work in, and that I’ve represented for many years,” Gill said.
Gill plans to focus on the “affordability crisis in this region,” highlighting issues like healthcare, transportation, infrastructure and the environment.
He said immigration is also a personal issue to him — his wife, a state assemblywoman, is Colombian American and his children are Latino. “These are not abstract issues right now for what’s going on in our country,” he said.
‘There are several candidates in this race that are far more supportive of the U.S.-Israel relationship than Tom Malinowski,’ United Democracy Project spokesperson Patrick Dorton told JI
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) participates in a get-out-the-vote event on October 29, 2022 in Rahway, New Jersey.
The AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project super PAC launched a $500,000 ad campaign this weekend targeting former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), who is running in a special election for the seat formerly held by Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill.
The ads highlight Malinowski’s vote in favor of additional funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement years ago, while he was in office representing the neighboring district. The vote also received support from a majority of Democrats.
“There are several candidates in this race that are far more supportive of the U.S.-Israel relationship than Tom Malinowski,” UDP spokesperson Patrick Dorton told Jewish Insider. Dorton also confirmed the size of the ad buy.
Its decision to aggressively single out Malinowski is unexpected given that he has not expressed the same sort of caustic anti-Israel views that many of the candidates the super PAC traditionally targets have espoused. Malinowski, a former State Department official, was a prominent voice on foreign policy matters during his time in Congress and maintained a pro-Israel record.
“The ad itself is obviously — and unforgivably — cynical and dishonest. The strategy behind it is inexplicable. If AIPAC’s definition of pro-Israel now excludes even someone like me, who passionately supports Israel but won’t commit to a blank check for anything [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] might want, there won’t be enough pro-Israel people left in America to sustain the relationship,” Malinowski said in a statement to JI. “I’m confident people will see through this. But if they were to get away with it here, they will do the same to many other Democrats who at some point voted for border funding.”
Various lawmakers — Democrats and Republicans — who AIPAC supports also voted for the border funding package.
In a recent interview with JI, Malinowski described himself as pro-Israel and expressed support for the Trump administration’s Gaza peace plan and strikes on Iran’s nuclear program. But he also said he’s open to policies conditioning or restricting aid, and said the U.S. should act as “counterweight” to the Israeli far right. He added that U.S. aid shouldn’t be used to facilitate Israeli actions that the U.S. itself doesn’t support.
Multiple other candidates in the Democratic primary for the 11th Congressional District have expressed more critical views of Israel, including Analilia Mejia, who leads a progressive advocacy group. Mejia suggested in a candidate forum last week that Arab Israelis do not enjoy the same level of citizenship as Jewish Israelis and indicated she would not support sending offensive weapons to Israel as a member of Congress.
She’s endorsed by a series of progressives critical of Israel including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Maxwell Frost (D-FL), Delia Ramirez (D-IL), Greg Casar (D-TX), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Chuy Garcia (D-IL), as well as the Working Families Party and the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC.
Other candidates in the race include Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, who expressed support for continued and unrestricted U.S. aid to Israel in a recent interview with JI; Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, who voiced her support for the U.S.-Israel relationship in a recent candidate forum; and Jeff Grayzel, the deputy mayor of Morris Township whose path to victory relies upon the support of Jewish voters in the district.
Gill, backed by Gov. Phil Murphy, and Malinowski have generally been seen as the front-runners.
‘It is pathetic that in the state with the fourth largest Jewish population in the United States, we don't have that,’ local Jewish leader Jeff Grayzel said
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
New Jersey Lt. Gov. Tahesha L. Way, speaks during a Naturalization Ceremony at Liberty State Park on September 17, 2024 in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Two Democratic candidates running in the crowded special election to replace New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill, including the state’s current secretary of state and lieutenant governor, criticized the state Assembly for failing to pass legislation codifying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism.
Their comments came during a virtual forum hosted by the Jewish Democratic Council of America on Tuesday evening with most of the candidates in the race for the northern New Jersey House district, though some including Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, the likely front-runner, were missing; Gill was expected to join but organizers said he had unexpected family obligations.
“I, too, take offense that my own state did not adopt IHRA, and I will definitely move this forward as your congresswoman,” New Jersey’s lieutenant governor and secretary of state, Tahesha Way, said.
Multiple sources blamed the state’s governor and other senior Democratic officials for killing the bill due to concerns about political blowback from progressives targeting Democratic lawmakers who would vote for it.
Way issued a statement expressing similar support last week after the legislation failed to move forward in the legislature. “As we witness an alarming rise in antisemitism across our country, we must be unequivocal: hate has no place in our society. I will always stand by the Jewish community, and I support legislation adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism in the New Jersey Assembly and will wholeheartedly support similar federal legislation if elected to Congress.”
Candidate Jeff Grayzel, the deputy mayor of Morris Township and a local Jewish leader who testified before the New Jersey Assembly in support of the bill, also expressed frustration that the legislation had failed, when similar legislation has passed in a majority of states.
“It is pathetic that in the state with the fourth largest Jewish population in the United States, we don’t have that,” Grayzel said.
In addition to her comments on the IHRA legislation, Way also emphasized her work with the New Jersey-Israel Commission, which falls under her purview as secretary of state, to address campus antisemitism, and said she would back efforts to “streamline access” to Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding.
She said that her trip with an American Jewish Committee delegation to Israel in 2019 “really underscored … the strong alliance between the U.S. and Israel,” and emphasized the need to rebuild Gaza without Hamas and to expand the Abraham Accords, as well as pursue a two-state solution.
Former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), viewed as another top contender in the field, said that leaders need to police antisemitism on their own sides, while arguing that the far left “hates our leadership” and that the far right leads the GOP. He also called for proper resources and funding to combat domestic extremism, an effort he said is being undermined by shifting federal resources to immigration enforcement, and called for regulation of social media.
He said that he had a “perfect pro-Israel voting record in Congress as a pro-Israel Democrat,” while accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of dragging the war in Gaza out for his own interests, and calling for more pressure on both sides to continue the ceasefire agreement.
Grayzel, in his opening statement, described himself as a “proud Jew and a proud Zionist” and declared unequivocally that “anti-Zionism is antisemitism,” adding that he is running for Congress in part to stand up for the Jewish people.
He pushed back on suggestions from a fellow candidate that Israel is depriving members of its Arab population of equal rights, and emphasized his support for unconditional aid to the Jewish state.
Passaic County Commissioner John Bartlett noted that he had spent a year living in Israel studying at Hebrew University, experiencing the daily security threats that Israelis face. He said that he supports the continued U.S.-Israel relationship and rejected “arbitrary distinctions between offensive and defensive weapons.”
“I recognize the relationship between the United States and Israel as fundamental and rooted in shared democratic values. I’ve also heard loud and clear from you, your kids and your rabbis that families need to feel safe right here in New Jersey again. You can count on me to be a consistent and outspoken ally in Congress,” Bartlett said.
He also condemned those who are targeting the Jewish community over political differences with Israel, and said that he supports the IHRA working definition and the Antisemitism Awareness Act.
Army veteran and venture capitalist Zach Beecher noted that his wife is Jewish and they are raising their son Jewish, and highlighting his experience in combat in the Middle East. He called for expanded NSGP funding and greater Holocaust education.
He said he “categorically support[s] security assistance and the right of Israel to defend itself” following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.
Other candidates took a more hesitant stance toward support for Israel while expressing support for its right to exist.
Analilia Mejia, who leads a progressive advocacy group, said, “Israel has the responsibility to ensure freedom for all those who live within it,” and said U.S. funding should go “towards peace” and defensive systems “and not bombs.”
Community advocate Anna Lee Williams said, “I’m someone who really promotes peacebuilding and long-term diplomatic strategies so that we can properly support that. I think that’s the main thing — I just want to move forward in terms of, how do we use our partnership to value human rights and make sure that we are holding the Israeli government accountable when they are hurting people.”
Attorney J-L Cauvin, who has gone viral for his impersonations of President Donald Trump, said Netanyahu is “something of a monster,” and had “spit in the face of Joe Biden and is dragging America’s moral authority through the gutter.” Cauvin said that he wants to see less U.S. aid flowing to Israel.
On antisemitism, Cauvin highlighted his own experience with discrimination as the son of an immigrant and as a mixed-race person, arguing that he knows “how to fight it probably better than most people in this race.” He said that he had personally broken with a friend over his “disgusting” reaction to Oct. 7. He largely blamed Trump for the rise in antisemitism, saying he had given a “license to discriminate and speak horribly.”
Williams said her longtime partner is Jewish, and that they have had conversations about the fear that the Jewish community is feeling. She called for steps to make the Jewish community feel safe, to combat antisemitism online and in AI and to improve education.
Throughout the event, several of the candidates described the Trump administration’s policies, particularly its deportation efforts, as fascist and drew comparisons to the Nazi regime.
Grayzel said that the Jewish community “knows where fascism leads. We have an experience of what happened in Germany, and what happened in Minnesota last week is the next step in that fascist process,” referring to the killing of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
“We all know how the Nazis terrorized Jews in Germany, and ICE is now terrorizing our immigrants here in this country,” Grayzel said. “But I am so scared, so, so scared as a Jew of where this country is headed and how ICE is treating people and terrorizing them. It absolutely needs to stop.”
Malinowski agreed, describing the ICE arrests as “proto-fascist operations that we’re seeing on our street.”
Williams said, of recent ICE raids, “For those of us who are part of the Jewish community, and for anyone who studies history, alarm bells should be going off.”
Beecher alleged that a slogan displayed behind Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a news event this week echoed SS rhetoric, a characterization disputed by historians.
Murphy and other Democrats were reportedly concerned that support for the legislation would fuel primary campaigns against incumbents
AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy speaks during a press conference to announce that George Helmy will take the U.S. Senate seat that will soon be vacated by Senator Bob Menendez, in Newark, New Jersey, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024.
A high-profile New Jersey bill adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism is not expected to pass in the current New Jersey Assembly session, four sources familiar with the situation told Jewish Insider.
Two sources familiar with the legislation said that Gov. Phil Murphy opposed the legislation and was a key obstacle to its passage.
Assemblyman Gary Schaer, the Democratic lead sponsor of the legislation, told Politico on Thursday that he had been told by the assembly speaker that the legislation would not be on the docket for the assembly’s final session next week because it did not have “the necessary votes to get where we wanted to.”
“Leadership in the assembly, in the Senate and in the governor’s office have tried significantly to get it done, but they have not been able to get it done,” Schaer told JI. “My office worked closely with any number of agencies and organizations, but the effort was just — cannot get it done. Do I think the bill can pass at some point? The answer is yes, but it requires a political will which does not seem to be evident.”
The legislation was cosponsored by a significant majority of the assembly, but — assuming any Democrats not cosponsoring the bill would have voted against it — it would not have been able to pass with Democratic votes alone.
The bill would have instructed law enforcement to take the IHRA definition into account when determining if violations of state or federal anti-bias law have occurred or whether criminal acts were motivated by antisemitism, and to use it for training public officials and responding to antisemitic incidents.
The legislation, which has been a priority for Jewish state leaders, became a flashpoint among Democratic gubernatorial candidates and in Democratic politics last year. After much debate, it moved through committee in the state Assembly, but hasn’t received a full-chamber vote in either the Assembly or the state Senate. The legislature’s session ends on Monday, and Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill will be sworn in the following week.
Two sources familiar with the legislation blamed Murphy, the outgoing governor, for its failure, alleging that he did not want to be forced to make a decision whether to sign it.
One source familiar with the situation emphasized that the legislation had the support to pass, but that Democratic leaders were reluctant to move the bill forward to a full vote — concerned that support for the bill would place some Democratic members in danger of progressive primary challenges in the future. Concerns about such primary challenges are already widespread, and leaders were concerned that the IHRA bill could give challengers additional ammunition against Democratic incumbents.
The legislation has been attacked by progressive Democrats as an attempt to silence free speech and criticism of Israel, despite provisions in the legislation protecting free speech and its narrow application in criminal matters.
The Murphy administration declined to comment on pending legislation, but emphasized that Murphy “unequivocally condemns all forms of violence and discrimination based on religious belief” and pointed to past statements and initiatives he has supported to combat rising antisemitism in the Garden State.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) told Politico that Murphy would have signed the bill had it passed the legislature.
Another source familiar with the situation said that there had been significant finger-pointing between Murphy, Senate President Nicholas Scutari and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, with each blaming the others for the legislation’s failure to pass. Scutari and Coughlin did not respond to requests for comment.
Assemblyman Mike Inganamort, the lead Republican sponsor of the legislation, told JI he’s “disappointed” the legislation has not made it into law.
“This has been going on for a long time now, preceding even my time in the legislature,” he said. “I think advocates are tired of getting jerked around. Frankly, what I’m hearing from them is they’re tired of the lip service … all we’re asking for is a simple up-or-down vote.”
He emphasized that the legislation is co-sponsored by approximately three-quarters of the Assembly but votes have repeatedly been postponed — “so does the majority rule or not?”
He said that he’s not involved in internal discussions among Democrats about the bill, but said, “the reality is, it’s highly likely that there is a very vocal fringe that is opposed to this legislation. And I sure hope they’re not the ones calling the shots.”
Inganamort said that he’ll work with his fellow sponsors to “fight again in the new term,” though he said that he’s not “terribly optimistic that we’re going to achieve more success in a new term under a new governor,” saying he had been “cautioned to re-read” Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill’s “exact words” on the subject.
Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill told JI in February 2025 that she “supported the IHRA definition in the U.S. House, and would support the current state Senate bill to combat the alarming rise of antisemitism in New Jersey.” Some Jewish leaders told JI that she made comments later in the campaign that included caveats about free speech concerns — which is protected in the existing legislation — but ultimately clarified and strengthened her position.
Three Jewish leaders see Gill as the likely front-runner for the 11th Congressional District seat, with Malinowski as a formidable candidate as well
Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP/Facebook
Former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) and Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill
The race to replace New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill in her northern New Jersey district, an affluent, suburban area with a sizable Jewish population, has attracted around a dozen Democratic candidates from a wide array of backgrounds. But three Jewish leaders in the state plugged into the local political scene say they see Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill as the likely front-runner in the 11th Congressional District, with former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) as a formidable candidate as well.
The primary election is set for Feb. 5, with a general election on April 16.
Gill, a former aide to Gov. Phil Murphy, has been endorsed by the outgoing governor, and is considered the leading Democrat, the Jewish leaders said, because he’s a well-known and well-liked figure in the district, has the backing of the Democratic Party establishment, entered the race relatively early and has long been seen as an up-and-coming leader in the area.
He’s also been working aggressively to secure supporters and donors, two leaders said.
But he could also face attacks over his role as Murphy’s campaign manager in 2017, when he faced allegations by a top campaign aide who accused Gill of running a “toxic” workplace, attempting to push her out of the campaign, of misogynistic behavior toward her and other female campaign staff and of using a misogynistic slur in an argument with her. Gill denies those allegations.
Malinowski is a known quantity from his three terms in Congress and has been endorsed by Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) as a counterweight to the New Jersey political machine — but there’s only partial overlap between Malinowski’s former House district and the neighboring seat he’s running in now, setting up potential attacks on him as an outsider.
“Malinowski is a legitimate, serious candidate. He’s in the mix. I would not rule him out. He’s a well-known name. He’s got the history here. He’s deeply connected,” one leader said. “If I had to gauge it right now, I would say Gill one, and [Malinowski] two.”
They also noted that the limits of Murphy’s influence were clear in Kim’s election in the Senate race, in which he garnered more statewide party support than Tammy Murphy, the wife of the current governor, who dropped her bid before the primary.
One Jewish leader said that, given his ties to Murphy and their ideological alignment, Gill would likely be a reliable supporter of the Jewish community, as Murphy generally has been. The leader noted that Gill had also worked in the past with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), both of whom were strong supporters of Israel.
“I think you’ll see someone who is a practical, thoughtful person in their engagement with the Jewish community,” they said.
But two other Jewish community leaders noted that Gill’s wife, a state representative, has raised concerns among some in the community.
Assemblywoman Alixon Collazos-Gill attended a Palestinian flag raising event in Clifton, N.J., which featured denunciations of Israel, accusations that Israel was committing genocide and deliberately inflicting famine in Gaza and calls for “no money for wars.”
Collazos-Gill, who has attended flag raising events for various other communities in Clifton as well, posted on Facebook after the event, “I was moved by the sense of community, love and resilience. Thank you Clifton for the kind invitation and the Palestinian community that organized the event.”
She was also critical of the Trump administration’s efforts to deport Mahmoud Khalil, an anti-Israel activist at Columbia University. “So many things are at stake: due process, freedom of speech, the right to peacefully protest, democracy. This is a warning that this can happen to any non-citizen. We should all be concerned,” she posted on Facebook.
She was also endorsed by the New Jersey branch of the Working Families Party, which at the national level has accused Israel of mass starvation in Israel and called for the U.S. to condition aid to the Jewish state. It supported an immediate ceasefire in Gaza two weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.
And she attended a meet-and-greet event in May at the invitation of prominent members of the Palestinian American Community Center, a local Palestinian group. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) urged the Department of Justice to investigate the group in April for hosting an alleged affiliate of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine at its annual conference. In social media comments, an organizer of the meet and greet emphasized that it had occurred off-site and was not formally affiliated with the PACC, a nonprofit group.
Collazos-Gill was vague about what was discussed in a Facebook post, but thanked the two PACC members for “inviting me to join you in these meaningful conversations about the issues that matter most to you.”
Gill’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
The Jewish leader who praised Gill said they had spoken to Collazos-Gill recently and didn’t hear her express any anti-Israel sentiments, and said she had indicated an interest in cultivating relationships with the Jewish community. They also noted that Collazos-Gill is sponsoring legislation to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism.
“Regardless, I do think Brendan is a supporter of Israel and the Jewish community as his own person,” the leader continued.
While in Congress, Malinowski was generally a reliable supporter of Israel and a voice against antisemitism, but some of his views towards Israel since Oct. 7, 2023, have raised skepticism in the Jewish community, one leader noted.
In public interviews, he expressed support last year for President Joe Biden’s moves to pressure Israel against entering the Gaza city of Rafah by withholding some arms shipments.
Also in the race is Jeff Grayzel, the deputy mayor of Morris Township, N.J., and a leader in his local Jewish community relations council and federation. While Jewish leaders praised Grayzel and said he’d be a strong voice for Jewish community priorities — one described him as clearly the strongest advocate on those issues — they were skeptical that he would have a path to victory against better-known figures such as Gill and Malinowski.
Grayzel, speaking to JI last week, pushed back, arguing that neither Malinowski nor Gill are particularly well-known in the district.
He predicted that Malinowski and Gill, training their fire at each other will provide an opportunity for other candidates to emerge, and that the wide field will mean that a fairly low vote percentage is needed to win.
Grayzel outlined a path to victory that includes winning Morris County, where he lives and which makes up 40% of the district, as well as picking up the substantial Jewish vote in Essex County.
“People are sick and tired of politics as usual,” Grayzel said. “I think I have the message that’s going to resound the most with the voters, coming at it as a [former] mayor who has literally solved problems, who’s delivered results for his community.”
The Jewish community, Grayzel added, will “have to come out and vote. … If Jews are sick and tired of antisemitism, if Jews are tired of how Israel has been treated, the answer to that is to vote.”
Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way also entered the race, but the Jewish leaders largely said they do not see her as a strong contender, given that she entered the race late and is not particularly well-known, despite her statewide position.
Upon being fired, Ayat Oraby pushed back on condemnation by Rep. Josh Gottheimer over her post comparing Israel to Nazi Germany
Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) speaks during annual Jerusalem Post conference at Gotham Hall.
New Jersey’s largest teachers’ union, the New Jersey Education Association, cut ties with an editor of its magazine on Friday, following criticism from top state officials over her antisemitic and pro-Hamas posts on social media.
Ayat Oraby’s since-deleted posts on X, screenshots of which were viewed by JI, claimed Israel “killed many of its citizens” during the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks and voiced her support of Hamas, praising its actions on social media as “resistance,” among other views.
Oraby, who started at the NJEA Review magazine in August, told the New Jersey Globe, the first outlet to report her termination, that her “intent has always been humanitarian: to stand against the killing of civilians and to advocate for peace. When compassion is politicized, even empathy can be misread.”
Local Jewish elected officials voiced worry about Oraby’s appointment in October, sending a letter to NJEA with 24 signees, expressing “deep concern.”
“We are disappointed that no corrective action has yet been taken despite clear evidence and mounting public concern. Words matter and silence in the face of hate speech is complicity,” the signatories wrote. “We strongly urge you to act immediately to remove Ms. Oraby from any editorial or leadership role within the NJEA and to reaffirm the Association’s commitment to ensuring that all educators, students, and families regardless of religion or background can feel safe, respected, and represented.”
The letter followed one sent by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) to the NJEA, also voicing concern.
“Ms. Oraby has an extremely troubling public record of promoting divisive, violent, and hate-filled rhetoric that has no place in our great state, and that must be addressed immediately,” Gottheimer wrote on Oct. 6. “It is clear that Ms. Oraby should not be involved in any publication sent to New Jersey’s educators or, for that matter, have any role in educating our teachers or children.”
Oraby told the New Jersey Globe that Gottheimer was unfair to condemn her for a post she deleted that compared Israel to Nazi Germany, a claim she said “reflects public opinion and legitimate criticism, not hatred.”
Gottheimer also denounced NJEA earlier this month over its plans for an anti-Israel “Teaching Palestine” session scheduled during the union’s November conference.
NJEA’s parent organization, the National Education Association, has also faced scrutiny for anti-Israel and antisemitic actions, including a vote, which was eventually overturned, to disassociate from the Anti-Defamation League.
If Republicans are unable to recreate the Trump 2024 coalition without Trump on the ballot, they will face serious political disadvantages for the midterms and beyond
Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images
US President Donald Trump during a breakfast with Senate Republicans in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025.
With a week since the off-year gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia, a clear dynamic is emerging: President Donald Trump’s gains with nontraditional GOP voters — especially working-class Black and Hispanic voters and Gen Zers — are not translating into support for the Republican Party this year.
If Republicans are unable to recreate the Trump 2024 coalition without Trump on the ballot, they will face serious political disadvantages for the midterms and beyond.
The double-digit margins of victory of incoming Democratic governors Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger in Virginia speak volumes about the current political environment. Their sweeping wins underscore that, while Democrats may be divided as a result of ideological infighting, the antipathy towards Trump and the GOP is the glue that holds the party together.
The historic tendency of voters taking out their dissatisfaction on the party in power is alive and well, and is much more of a factor than the favorability ratings of the political parties.
The most revealing outcome from the gubernatorial elections is the fact that the majority-making elements of Trump’s coalition swung decisively back to the Democrats, according to the AP/Fox News voter analysis. In New Jersey, young men between 18-29 backed Sherrill by 14 points (57-43%) after narrowly supporting Trump in last year’s presidential election. In Virginia, Spanberger won 58% of young men, a huge margin for a demographic that had assumed to be trending away from the Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party’s comeback with Hispanic voters is equally as significant. Because of continuing inflation and backlash to the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation of illegal immigrants and ICE tactics, Hispanic voters once again voted like reliable elements of the Democratic coalition. In New Jersey, over two-thirds (68%) of Hispanic voters backed Sherrill —12 points more than Kamala Harris’ support with Hispanics in the state in 2024. In Virginia, Spanberger’s 67% support with Hispanics was eight points ahead of Harris’ vote share with the key constituency.
Meanwhile, Black voters overwhelmingly sided with the Democratic nominees this year, after a notable minority of them backed Trump in last year’s presidential election. Spanberger won 93% of the Black vote, seven points more than Harris, even though she was running against a Black opponent in Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. Sherrill won 94% of the Black vote in New Jersey, a whopping 15 points more than Harris carried in 2024.
There are a number of lessons from the gubernatorial results, even if they don’t neatly extrapolate into different states in future elections.
First, the presence of pragmatic-minded Democrats with moderate voting records in Congress at the top of the ticket was a major selling point. In the 2024 presidential election, more voters viewed Harris as out of the ideological mainstream — a dynamic that was impossible to shake, given her long record of progressive posturing. That’s a clear lesson for Democrats to learn as they weigh their presidential nomination options for 2028.
Second, it’s evident that the GOP’s inroads with nonwhite working-class voters in 2024 was more of a short-term blip —mainly in response to former President Joe Biden’s handling of inflation — than any kind of lasting realignment. Republicans may come to regret their aggressive, partisan gerrymandering in Texas, given that it’s reliant on moderate-minded Hispanic voters in the state maintaining an affiliation with the Republican Party. That’s far from a sure thing.
Finally, it’s a reminder that the economy remains the dominant issue for voters — especially with these politically cross-pressured constituencies, which are generally less financially secure than their counterparts. One way to tamp down the so-called “culture wars” and rising extremism is by ensuring economic security and a broader safety net for less advantaged Americans.
The results underscore the widespread backlash to Trump’s polarizing governance in the first year of his second term in office
Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill during an election night event in East Brunswick, New Jersey, on Nov. 4, 2025.
Democrats scored sweeping victories across the country yesterday, with moderate lawmakers comfortably winning governorships in New Jersey and Virginia, while a democratic socialist prevailed in the closely watched New York City mayoral contest. California overwhelmingly voted to redistrict its congressional maps, a response to efforts in some red states to reconfigure congressional maps to give the GOP an edge.
The results underscore the widespread backlash to President Donald Trump’s polarizing governance in the first year of his second term in office, and indicate the likelihood that Democrats have momentum heading into next year’s midterm elections, where the party is looking to retake control of at least one branch of Congress.
In Virginia, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee, easily defeated Republican Winsome Earle-Sears, the sitting lieutenant governor, by a double-digit margin (57-43%), bringing in a sizable Democratic majority in the state’s House of Delegates. Her victory was so sweeping that the Democrats’ scandal-plagued attorney general nominee Jay Jones, who was under fire for texts he sent several years ago wishing political violence against GOP colleagues, narrowly prevailed over the Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican.
In New Jersey, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) comfortably prevailed over Republican Jack Ciattarelli, outperforming polls suggesting a close race. With most of the vote reporting, Sherrill leads by a whopping 13-point margin, 56-43%. In Bergen County, a bellwether county with a significant Jewish population, Sherrill won over 55% of the vote, a dominant performance illustrating the breadth of her support.
In New York City, DSA-aligned Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani prevailed over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was running as an independent, though by a narrower margin than polling suggested. Mamdani leads Cuomo by eight points, 50-42%, with Republican Curtis Sliwa only winning 7% of the vote. The outcome suggested that many GOP voters ended up switching their support to Cuomo, who won a last-minute endorsement from Trump.
The Jewish vote in New York City went heavily for Cuomo, 60-31%, according to the exit polling, but Mamdani won nearly one-third support despite a long record of anti-Israel hostility and refusal to condemn “globalize the intifada” rhetoric, among other positions that alienated the mainstream Jewish community.
Jewish community leaders reacted to the New York City mayoral outcome with alarm. “We recognize that voters are animated by a range of issues, but we cannot ignore that the mayor-elect holds core beliefs fundamentally at odds with our community’s deepest convictions and most cherished values,” the UJA-Federation of New York said in a statement. Sara Forman, the executive director of the New York Solidarity Network, said, “Tonight the quiet normalization of antisemitism just got very loud.”
The Anti-Defamation League announced it would be launching a tool tracking the incoming Mamdani administration’s policies and staffing, in a sign of how deep the Jewish community’s concerns run.
“In light of Mayor-elect Mamdani’s long, disturbing record on issues of deep concern to the Jewish community, we will approach the next four years with resolve. We expect the mayor of the city with the largest Jewish population in the world to stand unequivocally against antisemitism in all its varied forms and support all of its Jewish residents just as he would all other constituents,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.
One big question is what lessons a triumphant Democratic Party will learn from the outcome of Tuesday’s elections. The party’s activist left has been ascendant and will be celebrating the election of a democratic socialist in Gotham, but Mamdani’s vote share in a heavily Democratic city lagged well behind the performance of Democratic moderates in more competitive states.
That alone is a powerful sign of the electoral penalty that far-left candidates could incur, which would be crippling for the party in swing states and battleground districts. Whether Democrats will internalize that lesson is an open question in the months ahead.
At a time when both parties are facing rising antisemitism in their own midst, we will be keeping a close eye on the results for trends affecting the Jewish community
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Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani campaigns on the eve of the Mayoral Election in Long Island City, New York, United States on November 3, 2025.
The stakes for Jewish voters are high for today’s off-year elections. All the major contests — in New York City, New Jersey, Virginia and California — are taking place in parts of the country where Jews make up a significant constituency. At a time when both parties are facing rising antisemitism in their own midst, we will be keeping a close eye on the results for trends affecting the Jewish community.
Here’s what we’ll be watching most closely:
New York City mayor: Polls consistently show Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani with a comfortable lead, but there’s less consensus on how decisive his winning margin will be. Most polls show Mamdani under 50%, though a few show him hitting a majority. Some show the combined anti-Mamdani vote — represented by former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa — outpacing Mamdani’s share.
Whether Mamdani surpasses a 50% majority will go a long way in determining how big his mandate will be. A narrower victory would mean that downballot Democrats — from members of Congress to local city council members — would have less to fear in response to the Mamdani movement.
President Donald Trump’s last-minute endorsement of Cuomo on Monday night could help the former Democratic governor pick off some Republican voters that had been leaning toward Sliwa. But for Cuomo to score an upset victory, he’d need to win over the vast majority of those Sliwa voters.
Pay close attention to the results in Rep. Jerry Nadler’s (D-NY) heavily Jewish Manhattan district for signs of where the progressive-minded Jewish vote ends up landing. Cuomo won the first round of balloting over Mamdani in the district (37-33%), which includes the Upper East and Upper West Sides, but Mamdani narrowly prevailed in the final round of ranked-choice voting. Nadler notably backed Mamdani after his victory in the primary, but his district featured a significant share of backers for Brad Lander, the progressive city comptroller, as well. Cuomo will need a solid showing in Nadler’s district to do well.
New Jersey governor: The race between Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and Republican Jack Ciattarelli is competitive, though Democrats hold a small edge, according to public polls. The county we’ll be watching closely as a bellwether is Bergen County in north Jersey, which has one of the largest Jewish constituencies in the state and saw a significant pro-Trump swing from 2020 to 2024.
It’s also home to Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), the pro-Israel stalwart in Congress who carried the county in the Democratic gubernatorial primary and campaigned with Sherrill at a Jewish event in his home base last month.
Former President Joe Biden won 57% of the vote in Bergen, while former Vice President Kamala Harris barely won a majority (51%). New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, won 53% of the Bergen County vote in his narrow victory over Ciattarelli in 2021. Ciattarelli would probably need an outright win in suburban Bergen to secure a victory.
Virginia statewide elections: Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee, is expected to win comfortably against Republican Winsome Earle-Sears, the lieutenant governor, but the downballot races are likely to be more competitive.
Republicans are pinning their hopes on securing a second term for Attorney General Jason Miyares, one of the more active state attorneys general working to fight antisemitism in their home state. His Democratic opponent, Jay Jones, is mired in a scandal over texts wishing violence against a former GOP colleague in the state Legislature. Polling shows the race highly competitive, with Spanberger’s margin of victory potentially making the difference as to whether she can pull Jones over the finish line.
The lieutenant governor race features Ghazala Hashmi, a Democratic state senator who has elicited concern from the state’s Jewish community over her past involvement in anti-Israel activism. She’s running against conservative talk show host John Reid. Either winner would make statewide history: Hashmi would be the first Muslim woman elected to statewide office; Reid would be the first openly gay Republican elected statewide.
In a brief interview Monday, Jewish Insider asked Hashmi how big of a challenge she thinks antisemitism is in Virginia. Hashmi replied: “I think we see growing challenges on so many levels of bigotry, and we have to be united in our efforts. I’m facing a great deal of Islamophobic attacks, as you probably have seen, so we have to respond to everything.” Pressed on what she thought about antisemitism specifically, Hashmi cut our interview short.
California redistricting referendum: Gov. Gavin Newsom is likely to win his push to redraw California’s congressional lines to offset some of the partisan redistricting that Republicans have engaged in. The new lines, however, could end up endangering some of the more moderate Republicans that have strong records on fighting antisemitism and supporting Israel.
The list of those Republicans adversely affected include: Rep. Ken Calvert — who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee on defense funding — as well as Reps. Darrell Issa, Kevin Kiley, Doug LaMalfa and David Valadao.
Kiley has been a particularly outspoken voice against campus antisemitism from his perch on the House Education and Workforce Committee.
Far-left mayoral scorecard: We’ll also be closely watching the mayoral races in Seattle and Minneapolis, where far-left DSA-aligned candidates are running competitively. If Katie Wilson and Omar Fateh end up both prevailing in Seattle and Minneapolis, respectively, it will signal a sign of the Democratic Party’s growing radicalism in major urban areas.
The New Jersey Education Association’s conference is scheduled to host a session on ‘Teaching Palestine’ instructed by an educator affiliated with a pro-Hamas group
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Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., leaves the U.S. Capitol after the House passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) blasted the New Jersey Education Association on Monday over plans for an anti-Israel “Teaching Palestine” session scheduled during the union’s conference taking place this week.
“The individuals you have invited to teach our state’s educators about the Middle East and combating antisemitism have a clear bias against our key democratic ally, Israel, and the Jewish people,” Gottheimer wrote in a letter to NJEA President Steve Beatty. “The program presents a clear political narrative that promotes one side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and a skewed view of antisemitism, while ignoring key historical facts. This type of biased content has no place in New Jersey classrooms, undermines our state’s values, and raises serious concerns about potential targeting of Jewish students and educators.”
According to Gottheimer’s letter, the instructor leading the session is affiliated with a group involved in pro-Hamas protests that have excused the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and blamed them on Israel.
According to Gottheimer, the program for the session is based on a book that accuses Israel of using U.S. tax dollars to “oppress Palestinians,” that supporters of Israel use “false accusations of antisemitism to silence supporters of Palestinians,” describes Israel’s creation as “a colonial war waged against the indigenous population,” explicitly urges educators to teach their students to support boycotts of Israel, instructs teachers to stage reenactments using students to accuse Israel of “apartheid” and “settler colonialism” and attacks the bipartisan Antisemitism Awareness Act, which is sponsored by Gottheimer.
One of the book’s co-authors was suspended by the Philadelphia school district after social media posts in which she “alluded to violence against Jewish parents,” according to the letter.
“These are not lessons in critical thinking grounded in fact, but the biased political stances of the book’s authors,” Gottheimer wrote in the letter. “The material itself reads less like an educational resource and more like an extremist political activist agenda.”
According to the registration page for the NJEA convention, teachers can receive professional development credit certificates for attending sessions at the conference.
Gottheimer and other New Jersey leaders have repeatedly criticized the NJEA over moves related to Israel, including appointing an individual with a history of antisemitic and pro-Hamas posts as the editor of the union’s magazine.
The NJEA’s parent organization, the National Education Association, has also faced scrutiny for anti-Israel and antisemitic moves including a vote — ultimately overturned — to cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League.
“New Jersey educators have a duty to teach facts, not ideology. Programs like ‘Teaching Palestine’ replace facts with bias and use our classrooms to push divisive, politicized agendas,” Gottheimer wrote in his letter. “Our children deserve to learn history based on facts, not bias. I urge the NJEA to immediately review the materials for ‘Teaching Palestine’ and remove any programming that spreads misinformation or undermines the core mission of public education. Classrooms should be places of learning — not platforms for political propaganda.”
Sherrill previewed a plan to counter antisemitism, joined calls for the state’s largest teachers’ union to fire an editor of its magazine over antisemitic comments and met with Orthodox Jewish leaders in Lakewood
Steve Hockstein/NJ Advance Media via AP, Pool
New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherrill speaks during the New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial primary debate at NJ PBS Studios, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Newark, N.J.
As polls show Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) with a narrow lead in the run-up to New Jersey’s gubernatorial election, less than two weeks away, the Democratic lawmaker has stepped up her efforts to court the state’s sizable Jewish community — whose support could make the difference in what is expected to be a close race.
In recent weeks, Sherrill has previewed a plan of action to counter antisemitism in a webinar led by Jewish Democrats, joined calls for the state’s largest teachers’ union to fire an editor of its magazine over antisemitic and pro-Hamas social media comments and met with Orthodox Jewish leaders in Lakewood who represent an influential voting bloc.
The moderate congresswoman, who has held a northern New Jersey House seat since 2019, has condemned her Republican rival, Jack Ciattarelli, for appearing onstage at an event last weekend just after a Muslim affairs advisor had said he was “not taking money from Jews,” a remark Sherrill called “blatant antisemitism” from her opponent’s “inner circle.”
In addition to attending a Jewish event with Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) late last month in Bergen County, Sherrill is also expected to join Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and other Democratic leaders for a fundraiser on Saturday hosted at the home of Shawn Klein, the Jewish deputy mayor of Livingston, in northeastern New Jersey.
The increased engagement and attention to Jewish issues comes as Sherrill finds herself in a tightening race against Ciattarelli, who came close to unseating term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy in 2021 and was trailing by just five points in a poll released Thursday. The state’s significant Jewish population could help tip the scales for either candidate — with Ciattarelli depending on particularly robust turnout from the Orthodox community.
Her engagement otherwise comes as she has faced lingering reservations from some Jewish leaders in the state who believe she embraced a more critical approach to Israel in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, including early calls for a pause in fighting in Gaza.
And on a key piece of state legislation that would codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, some Jewish leaders have voiced frustration with Sherrill’s evolving stance. While she previously endorsed the bill, Sherrill recently added caveats about free speech concerns to her position before offering more direct support, according to two Jewish leaders who have advocated for the legislation.
“I’m not sure she realized the depth of concern she has in the Jewish community,” one Jewish leader in the state, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to address a sensitive matter, told Jewish Insider on Thursday.
Sherrill has since registered feedback from Jewish activists and has “tightened up” her stance, according to the community leader. “Her statement on IHRA was rather weak and she now understands her response was seen as weak,” he said.
“This has always been an issue of concern in the race that maybe the Jewish community wasn’t going to be with her,” said another Jewish leader familiar with Sherrill’s campaign, pointing to a recent “uptick in outreach.”
In a statement to JI, Carly Jones, a spokesperson for Sherrill, said the congresswoman “has long been a friend to the Jewish community, and as governor, she will fight to lower costs, protect our kids, and combat antisemitism.”
“Mikie will take real action to combat antisemitism by securing houses of worship, protect kids to ensure they’re safe at school and welcome on college campuses, ensure people can practice their religion with pride, appoint an attorney general who will protect communities against hate crimes, and strengthen the role of the Interfaith Advisory Council,” Jones added.
While Sherrill is not expected to perform well among Jewish voters in the conservative Orthodox enclave of Lakewood, which Ciattarelli has aggressively courted over several years, it was still regarded as a positive gesture that she chose to visit the community earlier this week to meet with local leaders, according to an Orthodox activist familiar with the matter who was granted anonymity to speak freely.
“I think she understands that this is a town that is just going to go overwhelmingly for her opponent,” the activist told JI, predicting the Lakewood Vaad, an influential coalition of local rabbis, is preparing to announce its endorsement of Ciattarelli over the weekend — even as the Republican candidate has refused to acknowledge that his Muslim relations advisor used antisemitic rhetoric.
The visit was initially set for early September, but Sherrill had been forced to reschedule because of a conflict on Capitol Hill.
During the meeting Thursday, marking her first visit to Lakewood in the general election, Sherrill toured the community, discussed local issues such as childcare and busing, and attended a fundraiser hosted by business leaders from across the state as well as locals hedging their bets as Sherrill remains favored in the election, according to the Orthodox activist.
Another Jewish leader familiar with Sherrill’s campaign said her team was “acutely aware that Lakewood would be a challenge due to” President Donald Trump’s “heavy engagement there in recent years.”
The congresswoman “has a very solid record on Israel and the Jewish community throughout her time in Congress, but I think the shift to the right by the Orthodox community has been a challenge for her,” the Jewish leader told JI.
Micah Rasmussen, director of Rider University’s Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics, said the Orthodox vote in Lakewood, which includes around 30,000 registered Republicans, could lend a helpful boost to Ciattarelli’s campaign — as Sherrill seeks to shore up broader Jewish community support across the state.
“In 2021, Jack Ciattarelli came out of Lakewood 5,000 votes ahead of Phil Murphy, but that was without the Vaad’s endorsement,” Rasmussen said. “Should he get the endorsement this time, he could triple his previous margin or potentially even more. That certainly isn’t enough to get him across the finish line all by itself, but it helps.”
Mikie Sherrill, the state's Democratic gubernatorial nominee, has also called on the NJEA to remove Ayat Oraby from its magazine
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Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) leaves a classified, closed-door briefing about Hamas' attack on Israel in the Capitol Visitors Center Auditorium on October 11, 2023 in Washington, D.C.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and other top New Jersey officials are urging the state’s largest teachers’ union to reverse its decision to appoint Ayat Oraby as an editor of its NJEA Review magazine, citing a series of antisemitic and pro-Hamas posts on social media.
Gottheimer has engaged repeatedly with the New Jersey Education Association in recent weeks, sending two letters to union leadership outlining his concerns, but Oraby, who was appointed in August, has remained in her position at the Review — a magazine distributed to roughly 200,000 educators statewide.
Oraby’s since-deleted posts on X, screenshots of which were viewed by JI, hold Israel — not Hamas — responsible for the deaths of Israelis during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, claiming Israel “killed many of its citizens,” and voiced her support of Hamas, praising their actions on social media as “resistance” in August 2025.
“While the criminal occupation gang kills children in the streets and treats Muslims with no mercy, you find liberated prisoners hugging and kissing HAMAS soldiers, which indicates the good treatment they received,” Oraby posted, referring to videos of Israeli hostages staged by Hamas.
In other posts, Oraby explicitly called for violence against Israeli officials and claimed in July 2025 that the Jewish state “surpassed Nazism by far.” She also referred to journalists as “the filthy Hebrew media.”
“Ms. Oraby has an extremely troubling public record of promoting divisive, violent, and hate-filled rhetoric that has no place in our great state, and that must be addressed immediately,” Gottheimer wrote in his initial letter to NJEA on Oct. 6. “It is clear that Ms. Oraby should not be involved in any publication sent to New Jersey’s educators or, for that matter, have any role in educating our teachers or children.”
After the initial letter was sent, NJEA Director of Communications Steven Baker said in a statement that the organization was “aware” of the issue and was “addressing it through … internal processes.” The organization told Gottheimer they would look into the matter, but did not respond again.
“To date, I have not received any response from NJEA, nor any confirmation that Ms. Oraby has been removed from her editorial position,” Gotthemier wrote in a follow-up letter on Oct. 21. “I, once again, urge immediate action consistent with NJEA’s standards of conduct. The growing number of voices demanding accountability underscores how important it is for NJEA to act swiftly and decisively to maintain the confidence of New Jersey families.”
The NJEA has declined a request for comment on Wednesday.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), who is currently running for New Jersey governor, has also condemned Oraby’s rhetoric, urging the NJEA to reverse its decision in a strongly worded message earlier this month.
“I’m outraged by Ms. Oraby’s antisemitic, pro-Hamas social media posts,” Sherrill said in a statement. “This is unacceptable and NJEA needs to immediately act and fire her from this position. An individual with bigoted views has no place as an editor of a magazine distributed to our state’s teachers.”
Local Jewish elected officials have also voiced their concerns, sending a letter to NJEA with 24 signees on Oct. 15. The letter expressed “deep concern” at the organization’s lack of urgency.
“We are disappointed that no corrective action has yet been taken despite clear evidence and mounting public concern. Words matter and silence in the face of hate speech is Complicity,” the signatories, who include Democratic elected officials from Bergen County, state. “We strongly urge you to act immediately to remove Ms. Oraby from any editorial or leadership role within the NJEA and to reaffirm the Association’s commitment to ensuring that all educators, students, and families regardless of religion or background can feel safe, respected, and represented.”
The New Jersey GOP gubernatorial nominee was honored at the Muslims 4 Jack event alongside Ibrar Nadeem
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Jack Ciattarelli, Republican candidate for governor of New Jersey, speaks during an election night event in Bridgewater Township, N.J. on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021.
Ibrar Nadeem, a Muslim affairs advisor to New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, bragged that he wasn’t taking money from Jews at a campaign event last weekend organized by a group called Muslims 4 Jack.
Ciattarelli, the Republican nominee, appeared alongside Nadeem on Saturday evening at the event, held in Piscataway, N.J, where he called Nadeem one of his closest advisors. At the event, Nadeem alleged some Muslims in his community had accused him of “taking money from Jews” to support Ciattarelli, which he pointedly denied.
An invitation to the event, which described the gathering as a “community dinner honoring” the GOP gubernatorial hopeful, listed Nadeem’s official title as “executive director” of “New Jersey – Muslim relations.”
“Every time I got tired, people from my community — when I was blamed that — somebody said ‘You are taking money from Jews.’ I said, ‘I check my bank account every day, brother, it is not there,’” Nadeem told the crowd, after also having made remarks against same-sex marriage.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), the state’s Democratic nominee for governor, criticized Ciattarelli in a social media post on Monday for not condemning Nadeem’s comments at the event.
“This blatant antisemitism is coming from a member of Jack’s inner circle. Jack could have condemned it but instead sang his praises. Absolutely disgraceful,” Sherrill wrote.
Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Ciattarelli’s campaign referred Jewish Insider to a post by Ciattarelli on X explaining Nadeem’s remarks and attacking Sherrill for her refusal to weigh in on the New York City mayoral race against Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani.
“Do you ever get tired of lying @MikieSherrill? You know I support same sex marriage,” Ciattarelli wrote on X on Monday night. “You also know the full clip of Dr. Nadeem’s remarks are clear: He was talking about the grief he gets from some BECAUSE of my unwavering support for the Jewish community and Israel and his own efforts to build bridges between Muslim and non-Muslim communities.”
Nadeem defended his support of Ciattarelli’s candidacy during his remarks on Saturday, arguing that an embrace of his campaign could ensure that the Muslim community could have “a seat at the table” if he were elected.
“We want to have a seat at the table. We want to be in those rooms where decisions will be made. I do not necessarily mean me,” Nadeem explained, adding that he planned to collect resumes from some attendees in the room to recommend for positions in Ciattarelli’s potential administration. Nadeem also noted that he “wants to have a ban on same-sex marriage” in New Jersey.
In remarks delivered shortly after Nadeem’s speech, Ciattarelli embraced the local Arab leader as a close confidante without condemning his comments about Jews.
“Dr. Ibrar Nadeem: Just once, I wish you would say what’s exactly on your mind,” Ciattarelli said, prompting laughter from the crowd. The gubernatorial nominee went on to call for a round of applause for Nadeem to thank him for his political engagement.
“I am the first [Republican] gubernatorial candidate in history that has a Muslim as part of his inner circle of advisors, and that advisor is Dr. Ibrar Nadeem,” he later added.
Ciattarelli then detailed how he and Nadeem, whom he described as a “very, very impressive man,” were first introduced in February. “He said to me, eight months ago, ‘I am going to help you be the next governor of New Jersey,’ and that man hasn’t let me down one day since that very day,” Ciattarelli said of Nadeem.
Ciattarelli posted about the event on Sunday, writing on Instagram alongside several photos that featured Nadeem that it was “great to be in Piscataway last night for a Meet & Greet with members of New Jersey’s thriving Muslim community. Our state is built on respect for all faiths and traditions, and I remain committed to being a Governor for every New Jerseyan — ensuring every voice is heard and every family feels welcome.”
Speaking on a Jewish Democratic Council of America webinar, Sherrill said she’s willing to call out antisemitism among her political allies
Steve Hockstein/NJ Advance Media via AP, Pool
New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherrill speaks during the New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial primary debate at NJ PBS Studios, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Newark, N.J.
Speaking on a Jewish Democratic Council of America webinar on Thursday, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) outlined a plan of action on antisemitism she said she would implement statewide if she wins next month’s gubernatorial race in the Garden State.
Sherrill is running against Republican Jack Ciattarelli in a race that polls show is tightening ahead of Election Day on Nov. 4.
“We have seen a really terrible rise in antisemitism,” Sherrill said, emphasizing the need for everyone in the state to “double down that religious hatred is always unacceptable, that we are going to make sure that here in New Jersey, we can chart a path forward that protects all of our constitutional rights, including religious freedom and free speech. And we can do both, and we can be a really strong state that models that for the rest of the nation.”
Sherrill said she’s heard disturbing stories from constituents of antisemitic hate in schools and online, in addition to attacks on synagogues in the state, highlighting that she plans to implement a state plan of action on antisemitism, based on the Biden administration’s 2023 national antisemitism strategy.
She emphasized her willingness to call out antisemitism among her political allies, pointing to the example of an employee of the New Jersey Educational Association — which endorsed Sherrill — who had made “horrible antisemitic [comments] online.” Sherrill said she had condemned the individual and demanded she be fired.
“I’m going to call out anybody in this space that is promoting hate in any way against all of our citizens, but especially our children,” Sherrill said.
Addressing recent revelations of antisemitic messages in a Young Republican leadership group chat, Sherrill said, “I don’t think that should have been a surprise to anyone because we’ve seen it starting at the top with President [Donald] Trump and the antisemitism that he promotes, and I will continue to fight against that.”
Sherrill said her statewide plan will include mandating comprehensive reporting of hate crimes, directing the attorney general to “aggressively combat and prosecute antisemitism,” a “stronger interfaith advisory council” and holding state universities accountable.
The New Jersey congresswoman also expressed her joy and relief at the release of the remaining living hostages from Gaza this week. She said she is hopeful that the ceasefire deal leads to “real peace” and that the effort remains nonpartisan.
“I think we have to hope that this agreement holds, that Hamas is demilitarized, that humanitarian aid is surged into Gaza because the famine there is preventable and we’ve got to address that and then achieve a lasting peace in the region,” Sherrill said.
She added that she felt the region was on a path toward peace with the Abraham Accords before Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, and can continue to pursue that path with rebuilding and a new government in Gaza, with Israel taking a leading role in strengthening the region economically and militarily.
One Jewish leader in New Jersey said that the community appears split in the gubernatorial race — committed Democrats are sticking with Sherrill but Ciattarelli has gained some steam among undecided Jewish voters.
The leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said multiple people have told them they’re voting for Ciattarelli because of recent comments by Sherrill about state legislation codifying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism. Sherrill previously said she supports the bill and would sign it, but has recently offered some caveats to that stance, according to the source.
Another local source familiar with the Jewish community said they expect the Orthodox Jewish population to support Ciattarelli by a wide margin.
The GOP nominee said one key to victory is winning over independents and moderate Dems in Rep. Josh Gottheimer’s home base of Bergen County
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Jack Ciattarelli, Republican candidate for governor of New Jersey, speaks during an election night event in Bridgewater Township, N.J. on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021.
Ever since President Donald Trump ran surprisingly close to Vice President Kamala Harris in New Jersey during last year’s presidential race, Republicans have been looking at the state’s gubernatorial race as a chance to capitalize on the party’s momentum in the blue state.
Jack Ciattarelli, the GOP’s nominee for governor, also came tantalizingly close to defeating Gov. Phil Murphy in the state’s last gubernatorial race. He’s running again, and hoping to get over the finish line against Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), in part by courting the state’s sizable Jewish community, which has swung to the right in recent elections.
“People now know, because of the closeness of my race, that we can win. There’s just an attitude change because they feel like the Democrats have really failed them on a number of issues, and antisemitism is one of them,” Ciattarelli told Jewish Insider in an interview ahead of his visit to Israel this week.
Ciattarelli, 63, who built two medical publishing companies in New Jersey while serving as a state lawmaker, said, “I see myself not so much as a politician, but a successful CEO who is looking to be the CEO hands-on governor that we need.”
As part of his Jewish communal outreach, Ciattarelli traveled to Israel on Sunday for a five-day visit, which he organized in a show of solidarity. He also spent time on his visit pursuing opportunities for economic investment from leading Israeli companies in the technology and medical sectors.
“Any students in violation of university policy, I think, should be expelled. Any student that’s broken the law should be arrested, and any student here on an academic visa from another country should be sent back to where they came from if they’re going to engage in that kind of behavior,” Ciattarelli said. “I will pressure our college and university presidents to be working in partnership with me to make sure that kind of behavior isn’t tolerated.”
He told JI that one of his goals with the visit was to boost the state’s economy “by forging a closer economic relationship with a number of nations” that are close U.S. allies. “Israel is first and foremost on the list, but as governor, I will certainly look to Canada, Mexico and India as well to increase our bilateral trade,” Ciattarelli said.
Fighting antisemitism, Ciattarelli said, will be a priority of his if he’s elected. Ciattarelli said he has “made very, very clear” that he supports codifying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism into state law, will “appoint an attorney general and a superintendent of state police that are both sensitive to the needs and worries of New Jersey’s Jewish community” and will establish an Advisory Council on Jewish Relations to guide him on ways to the best support the community.
“Any students in violation of university policy, I think, should be expelled. Any student that’s broken the law should be arrested, and any student here on an academic visa from another country should be sent back to where they came from if they’re going to engage in that kind of behavior,” Ciattarelli said. “I will pressure our college and university presidents to be working in partnership with me to make sure that kind of behavior isn’t tolerated.”
Ciattarelli described the December 2023 House Education and Workforce Committee hearing, where the presidents of Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology declined to say that calling for the genocide of Jews qualified as bullying and harrassment, as a “watershed moment” that brought the issue of antisemitism to the forefront of Jewish voters’ minds.
“I will do what others have done, including Democratic leaders, and that’s condemning Mamdani, condemning his candidacy, and doing all they can to make sure that a threat to communities such as this is not elected,” Ciattarelli told JI. “There is no space for someone like this in the public sphere, let alone in public office, and I’m going to do everything in my power to protect all 9.3 million citizens here in New Jersey, and particularly members of the Jewish community who feel threatened by a person such as this.”
“They want to see a governor who’s going to demonstrate zero tolerance for antisemitism and call it out for what it is when we see it and hear it,” Ciattarelli said of Jewish voters in the Garden State.
The New Jersey Republican has also sought to tie Sherrill to Zohran Mamdani, the far-left Democratic nominee in New York City’s mayoral race who has resisted condemning “globalize the intifada” rhetoric. Ciattarelli’s campaign cut a digital ad highlighting Sherrill’s nationally televised indecision on whether she would support Mamdani’s mayoral campaign.
“I will do what others have done, including Democratic leaders, and that’s condemning Mamdani, condemning his candidacy, and doing all they can to make sure that a threat to communities such as this is not elected,” Ciattarelli told JI. “There is no space for someone like this in the public sphere, let alone in public office, and I’m going to do everything in my power to protect all 9.3 million citizens here in New Jersey, and particularly members of the Jewish community who feel threatened by a person such as this.”
The race is competitive, with Jewish voters (who make up about 6% of the state’s population) potentially emerging as a swing voting bloc.
“This race is shaping up to be fairly tight, with both candidates making notable outreach efforts to the Jewish community. Jack’s visit to Israel and his strong support for IHRA have had a particularly positive impact,” one Jewish leader in the state told JI.
“Mikie has also engaged significantly, and that effort has been noticed, but concerns remain based on her support of Mamdani in the city and the way she recently framed the call for a ceasefire in Gaza. She still retains goodwill within the Jewish community, but has a long way to go in strengthening trust and confidence,” the leader explained.
A Jewish community leader in Central Jersey, also granted anonymity to speak freely, offered a similar take.
“It’s definitely a race that’s very closely watched in the Jewish community, more than any time in the past, I would say. I think seeing Jack going to Israel, out of all places, just three months before the general election, I think that shows you how important the Jewish vote is going to be this time around, and Jack is losing no time and trying to get the Jewish vote on his side,” the source said.
“I often say that in New Jersey, you have to run for governor as though you’re running for mayor,” Ciattarelli said, adding of his outreach to Democratic and unaffiliated voters, “The biggest compliment I get is when I can come down off a platform or stage, if somebody comes up to me and says, ‘Are you Republican? Are you Democrat?’”
Ciattarelli told JI that he views Bergen County, the state’s most populous county, as a must-win area for his campaign, making the support of Democratic and independent voters necessary in his path to victory. The area, which is represented by Gottheimer in Congress, is also home to around 100,000 Jewish residents, a majority of whom are registered Democrats or independents.
“Bergen County has a greater population than eight states and it’s the key to winning a statewide election. I did very well, just coming a little short in ‘21, but I do sense a change amongst a great number of people who may not have considered me last time, may not have voted last time that are looking to make a change here in New Jersey,” Ciattarelli said.
“I often say that in New Jersey, you have to run for governor as though you’re running for mayor,” he continued, adding of his outreach to Democratic and unaffiliated voters, “The biggest compliment I get is when I can come down off a platform or stage, if somebody comes up to me and says, ‘Are you Republican? Are you Democrat?’”
Since narrowly losing his first campaign for governor, Ciattarelli worked hard to unify the party around his repeat bid, making particular effort to secure support from the MAGA wing of the Republican Party. His efforts paid off in the primary, which he won without much serious GOP opposition.
For her part, Sherrill handily defeated five other Democrats, including Gottheimer, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka,and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, in the Democratic primary.
With that backdrop, both parties are watching the November gubernatorial contest closely to see if the rightward shift in the Garden State has held since Trump took office in January. For his part, Ciattarelli says that while the issues animating New Jersey voters have not changed since his 2021 race, he believes “what is different is the political landscape.”
“The issues I was talking about in ‘21, including antisemitism, have now come to a complete boil. They were simmering back then,” Ciattarelli told JI. “I’m not competing with a pandemic this time around. It’s not easy to campaign when there’s a shelter-in-place order. I’m not running against an incumbent. There’s a lot less indifference.”
As part of his strategy to encourage voters to hit the polls in November, he said he was focusing his messaging around “four issues across the state that are raging that apply to all people”: the affordability crisis, affecting housing and energy costs; public education; public safety; and the overdevelopment of the interior of the state, where suburbs without the infrastructure to become a city are being overinvested in at the expense of New Jersey’s cities.
Regardless of which community he’s engaging with, the New Jersey Republican says the voters he’s spoken to have been more concerned with “how it is I go about solving issues” than national political matters.
“People get excited by ideas. They don’t want to hear the use of polarizing rhetoric. I think they find it a breath of fresh air when somebody stands up and is speaking to the issues and how they’re going to solve them,” Ciattarelli explained, describing this approach as “the secret to the sauce for me in the seven elections I won prior to November ‘21.”
Both parties are also investing heavily as the race emerges as one of the most competitive statewide elections of 2025.
The Democratic National Committee said earlier this month that it would provide more than $1.5 million for Sherrill’s campaign to devote to field staffing and ground game efforts. Greater Garden State, a super PAC connected to the Democratic Governors Association, announced plans in July to spend $20 million on ads for Sherrill. That dollar amount is greater than Murphy and outside groups supporting him spent on ad buys during the entire 2021 general election.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, visited North Jersey earlier this month for a series of fundraising events for Ciattarelli that brought in $1 million.
The Democratic and Republican nominees for New Jersey governor spoke at New Jersey Jewish Business Alliance event
Mariam Zuhaib, Mike Catalini/Associated Press
In this photo combo Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., left, speaking during a news conference, Feb. 13, 2024, in Washington and former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli speaking, Feb. 4, 2025, at Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J.
The Democratic and Republican nominees for governor of New Jersey spoke last week at an event organized by the New Jersey Jewish Business Alliance about their plans to combat antisemitism across the Garden State.
“I as governor will certainly address this appalling surge of antisemitic incidents head-on and work to ensure that every business owner in our state has a fair shot,” Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) said. “I vow to be an ally in the governor’s office. I’ll put the full force of law behind combating antisemitism and making sure that everyone can thrive here in the Garden State.”
Sherrill said that it’s “been an incredibly difficult past several years for the Jewish community here in New Jersey,” highlighting a series of incidents including a fire-bombing at a synagogue in her district, as well as graffiti, harassment, intimidation and more facing Jewish institutions, individuals and businesses.
She noted that Jewish business owners in the state had faced violent crimes and losses of business “because of their religion.”
Republican Jack Ciattarelli said that antisemitism “will not be tolerated in the state of New Jersey under my governorship” and that his entire administration “will be sensitive to the needs and worries of the Jewish community across this state.”
He said he plans to launch an advisory council to maintain “constant contact” with the Jewish community statewide.
He condemned Gov. Phil Murphy for calling antisemitism issues on college campuses “complicated.”
“It’s not complicated. Anybody who’s violating university policy should be expelled. Anybody who’s broken the law should be arrested, and anybody here on academic visa that’s done either those two things should go back to where the hell they came from,” Ciattarelli said. “We’re not going to have anybody feeling unsafe on our college campuses.”
The Republican nominee voiced support for legislation to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, which he said he hopes will be signed before he takes office.
Ciattarelli said that, on his upcoming trip to Israel, he’d be meeting with business leaders to find ways that New Jersey can increase its bilateral trade with the Jewish state.
“Do you know that New York does $14 billion a year in bilateral trade with Israel? New Jersey? Less than 2 billion,” Ciattarelli said. “What does New York have that we don’t have? I’ll be meeting with business leaders to say we’re open for business.”
Both nominees also spoke at length about their plans to improve the business climate in the state.
It’s the GOP gubernatorial nominee’s second trip to the Jewish state
Mark Kauzlarich/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Jack Ciattarelli, Republican candidate for governor of New Jersey
Former New Jersey state Rep. Jack Ciattarelli, the Garden State’s Republican nominee for governor, will travel to Israel on Sunday for his first visit during the campaign, his campaign revealed to Jewish Insider.
Ciattarelli is running against Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) in the race to succeed New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who is term-limited. He was New Jersey’s GOP gubernatorial nominee in 2021 against Murphy, narrowly losing to the sitting governor.
Speaking to JI in an interview ahead of his trip, the New Jersey Republican said he expects to have “five very, very productive days in Israel.”
Ciattarelli said that the goal of the visit was to find opportunities for economic investment in New Jersey from leading Israeli companies in the technology and medical sectors and to show his solidarity with the Garden State’s Jewish community.
New Jersey has the second-largest Jewish population in the country.
“One of my objectives as governor is to grow our economy, and one of the ways that we achieve that objective is by forging a closer economic relationship with a number of nations, one of which is certainly Israel. They have technology companies, medical device companies, pharmaceutical companies, and a number of other industries that are looking to expand internationally. And when they do, we certainly want them to do that in New Jersey,” Ciattarelli said.
Ciattarelli added that the trip, his second time visiting the Jewish state, “also has great significance for New Jersey’s Jewish community,” because it signifies his commitment to a strong U.S.-Israel relationship.
“I’ve always been a big supporter of Israel. And as we know, antisemitism is at an all-time high in New Jersey, across the nation and the globe. As governor, antisemitism will not be tolerated. And so again, by going to Israel, we demonstrate a very close relationship between New Jersey and this very important ally in the Middle East and, of course, in the world,” he explained.
Ciattarelli previously traveled to the Jewish state during his 2021 gubernatorial run, one month before the general election. The trip, which Ciattarelli described to JI at the time as a “life-changing experience,” was his first visit to Israel.
“My goal was to let civic leaders, business leaders and religious leaders know that Israel will have a strong ally in New Jersey when I’m governor. From an economic development perspective, Israel does more than $14 billion a year in bilateral trade with New York. It does only $1 billion with New Jersey. That shouldn’t be the case,” Ciattarelli said after his 2021 visit.
“So I made clear during my trip and meeting with all leaders, that New Jersey is going to strengthen its cultural, religious and economic ties with the State of Israel. And we will stand with her in defending its people,” he continued.
He again mentioned the trade deficit while speaking to JI on Friday about his upcoming visit.
“Israel does $14 billion a year in bilateral trade with New York, less than $2 billion a year with New Jersey. There’s nothing New York has that New Jersey doesn’t. So we want to make sure that Israeli companies, when they invest in the United States, they do so right in New Jersey,” Ciattarelli said.
Bennett is a former Navy helicopter and test pilot who served in the Middle East
Rebecca Bennett for Congress website
Rebecca Bennett
Rebecca Bennett is the kind of Democrat — combat-tested, pragmatic, pro-Israel — who moderates hope can be a balm to a battered Democratic brand, especially in competitive swing districts. The Navy veteran is hoping that her military background — which included stints as a helicopter pilot over the Strait of Hormuz and as a test pilot — will help her clinch victory over incumbent Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, one of those purple districts.
Bennett, a Democrat, told Jewish Insider in a recent interview that national security, alongside affordability and health care, would be one of her core focuses if she’s elected.
“There’s two key areas in this bucket that I think about,” Bennett said. “One is, how are we preparing the United States and our allies for 21st-century conflicts? … And then the other piece of it is, what are we doing to support our veterans and military families, both when they’re serving and then when they come home?”
Bennett, 37, brings a personal perspective to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, having flown missions over the Strait of Hormuz to ensure the safe travel of an aircraft carrier strike group through the region.
“I really felt like I just needed to do everything I could to really fight for this country, because I love it, and I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution,” Bennett said.
While she was in the Navy, Bennett deployed to the Middle East with an aircraft carrier strike group in support of the war in Afghanistan, an experience she said showed her “how important Israel is as an ally, both from an intelligence perspective, but just how important Israel is as an ally for the United States. And so I will say it’s really shaped my worldview.”
She said she also worked with the Israeli military and Israeli contractors while serving as a test pilot. Bennett has never visited the Jewish state, but said she wants to.
“I just feel very strongly that Israel has a right to defend itself and has a right to exist, and that the United States needs to be able to support Israel, and it shouldn’t be partisan,” Bennett continued. “I think we should be supporting Israel as an ally, regardless of political party.”
Bennett said she supports continuing U.S. aid to Israel without restrictions or conditions.
Speaking to JI shortly after ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas fell apart last month, Bennett said she was disappointed by the development, emphasizing the need to free the hostages and end the war in Gaza.
“I think this is why it’s so important that we have serious, experienced leaders that are at the table having these conversations,” she continued.
In the long term, Bennett said she supports a two-state solution, adding, “it’s incredibly important that we make sure that Israel is safe and secure.”
Asked about the U.S. strikes on Iran, Bennett said that she believes that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, but said that she didn’t want to weigh in directly on the U.S. strikes without having access to the intelligence that prompted them. She added that the strikes highlight the need for “serious people” in power who understand the consequences of U.S. policies.
Going forward, she said the U.S. should lean on diplomacy when possible to de-escalate the conflict with Iran and move it further away from nuclear weapons capacity, “but it’s also necessary to make sure that we have all options on the table when we’re having these types of conversations.”
In her own district, Bennett said she’s seen and heard about the impact of rising antisemitism. The day before her interview with JI, Bennett said she had spoken to a mother who was worried about sending her children to a Holocaust museum after the deadly shooting at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington in May.
“It is just unacceptable that this is what’s happening in our country,” Bennett said. “I just want to make sure that is very clear.”
She said that leaders have an “obligation to try to bring down the temperature” on the rhetoric in this country, pointing as well to the shootings of Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota. She said that such rhetoric must be taken seriously and denounced without hesitation.
“That’s something that I do feel very strongly about, because I think everyone has the right to feel free in this country,” she continued. “And I never want a mom to be worried about sending their kid to a Holocaust museum.”
Bennett told JI she joined the Navy to give back and noted that her husband is also a veteran. After her time in the military, she earned her MBA and worked in the healthcare field. She became politically active as a volunteer after her military service, and said she felt called to step up after the 2024 election.
“I really felt like I just needed to do everything I could to really fight for this country, because I love it, and I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution,” Bennett said.
Bennett said she’s running for Congress to “to stand up and fight for the version of the country that we want to live in and the version that I want to leave for my daughters in the next generation” as another form of service to the country.
She said her military background and experience with leadership in difficult environments it conveyed — as well as her role as a mother of two, and her time in the private sector — gives her the right profile to take on Kean.
She argued that military veterans like herself are “uniquely positioned” to win over independent voters — who she said make up around a third of the district — who might not otherwise vote for a Democrat.
During her interview with JI, Bennett made reference during to a group of Democratic women from the national security field who helped Democrats flip seats in the 2018 election, including Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA).
Bennett is reportedly a member of a group chat, the “Hellcats,” of Democratic women veterans running for competitive House seats.
New Jersey’s 7th is a swing district, represented by Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) prior to Kean. President Donald Trump won the district over Kamala Harris by two points, 50-48%, in the 2024 presidential election.
Bennett led the Democratic field in fundraising as of the close of the second quarter, with close to $1 million raised and $670,000 on hand. She’s trailed by businessman and political activist Brian Varela, who raised $693,000 and has $622,000 on hand; former Biden administration official Michael Roth who raised $302,000 and has $225,000 on hand; and Democratic activist Greg Vartan, who raised $150,000 and had $79,000 on hand.
All of them have a gap to close with Kean, who has raised nearly $2 million this cycle and has $1.5 million left on hand.
Pou is one of the few House Democrats representing a district that President Trump carried in 2024
Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
Rep.-elect Nellie Pou (D-NJ) speaks during a press conference introducing new members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in Washington, DC on November 15, 2024.
The leading Republican candidates in a New Jersey swing district that President Donald Trump narrowly carried in 2024 hold questionable track records on Israel and antisemitism as the GOP targets the district in the midterms next year.
Rosemary Pino, the Clifton, N.J., City Council member who recently entered the race against Rep. Nellie Pou (D-NJ), posted a video last month from a Palestinian flag-raising event in Clifton where speakers accused Israel of genocide.
“The Palestine Flag Raising event was more than a gathering. To everyone who showed up, spoke up, and raised their voices alongside the flag thank you. Your presence matters. Your solidarity matters,” Pino wrote in a Facebook post she shared alongside clips from the event.
The event, hosted by the Palestinian American Community Center in Clifton, included denunciations by several speakers of Israel, and featured a condemnation of the Trump administration’s deportation policies that it says are aimed at combating antisemitism.
Speakers accused Israel of “genocide” in Gaza and of deliberately manufacturing a famine in the territory, which a speaker described as a “war crime,” and called for “no money for wars.”
Another speaker at the event condemned the Trump administration’s detention of Columbia University anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil, saying, “His story is a reminder that this system seeks to fracture us and oppress and repress our people. It’s part of a broader system designed to criminalize dissent, fracture our communities and punish those who resist it.”
Pino said in a statement to Jewish Insider, “The City of Clifton conducts more than a dozen flag raisings every year. As a Councilwoman, I attend as many of the flag raisings as I can. I attend the flag raisings to show that I care about the various communities in our city, not as a political nor ideological statement.”
“I support the State of Israel, its right to exist, and its right to defend itself,” she added. “I believe that what happened on October 7th was a horrific and evil terrorist act by Hamas. Israel is a strong ally of the United States, and I believe we must maintain that alliance, not cut it.”
Pino continued, “Like President Trump, I support a ceasefire and an end to the hostilities in Gaza. I support a two-state solution where Hamas’s rule of terror ends. I support ensuring humanitarian aid is made available to those who need it. I believe President Trump is working to bring lasting peace to the region, and I support those efforts.”
The PACC organization has a long record of anti-Israel activity. The group sent a bus of community members to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 2024 speech to Congress, which devolved into violence and vandalism of D.C.’s Union Station, and the group’s magazine published a poem in its March 2024 issue advocating for a free Palestine “from the river to the sea” — a call for the elimination of Israel.
The flag-raising event Pino attended did not, however, include some of the eliminationist anti-Israel and anti-American rhetoric and slogans that have proliferated at other pro-Palestinian events in the past two years, and speakers also called for peace, justice and security for all, and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
In 2023, Pino, as a member of the city council, also expressed concerns about legislation that would have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism in Clifton, highlighting concerns from the Arab-American community, according to contemporaneous news reports.
The resolution was ultimately tabled and never passed the city council. Pino also argued against assigning the resolution to be discussed by the Civil Rights Committee, which she chaired, saying the committee was too new at the time and not “equipped to handle this,” adding that “it’s only right that we not pawn it off to the committee.”
Pino told JI, “I strongly condemn antisemitism in all shapes and forms.”
“At the time, there were concerns in the community regarding the [First] Amendment implications of that specific resolution. Although that particular resolution did not pass, the Civil Rights Committee did, in fact, take up the issue,” she continued. “The Committee, and subsequently the City Council, passed a resolution which explicitly condemned antisemitism and called for renewed efforts to combat it in the City of Clifton.”
The 9th Congressional District has significant Jewish and Palestinian populations, making Israel policy and antisemitism potentially critical flashpoints in the upcoming race. It is also an unexpectedly competitive battleground, swinging from backing President Joe Biden by 19 points in the 2020 presidential election to narrowly backing Trump four years later.
Pou is one of only 13 House Democrats representing a district that Trump carried in 2024.
The other Republican candidate in the race, Billy Prempeh, who was the 2024 GOP nominee, was endorsed by the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations last year, supported cutting off U.S. aid to Israel to stop the war in Gaza, opposed Israeli strikes on Gaza and opposed the Antisemitism Awareness Act.
Mayor Andre Sayegh, a potential primary challenger to Pou, also attended the flag-raising event, and delivered a speech.
Pou is a supporter of Israel, though she has a mixed voting record in the House on issues related to Israel and antisemitism.
In an interview with JI, Varela said that ending the war in Gaza requires Israel’s ousting of Hamas from power
Campaign website
Brian Varela
In a Democratic Party that has lost its grip on the working class — long its base of support and wellspring of its values — Brian Varela is offering a way back home.
Varela, a small business owner and New Jersey political activist vying for the Democratic nomination for New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, is leaning in to his working-class Colombian roots, suggesting that the Democrats need candidates, like him, who are better connected to the middle-class voters in his district.
“I think that one of the things that the national Democrats really messed up on last year was not understanding what the working-class voter was going through,” said Varela, both of whose immigrant parents worked blue-collar jobs. “And that’s why, while national Democrats were talking about how great the economy was, working-class voters did not understand. I understood that because I’ve lived it. And I think that being able to have that background that is very much aligned with a lot of the people in the district puts you in a unique position, not just to understand them, to represent them.”
With that moderate pitch as a first-generation American who has made good, Varela, 36, has firmly established himself as a serious contender for the Democratic nomination for New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District with his recent announcement of a $700,000 fundraising haul in his first three months in the race.
Varela, who self-funded around half of that total, is one of several Democrats, including former Biden administration official Michael Roth, former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett and local Democratic official Greg Vartan, aiming to defeat Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ), in a district Kean won by five points in 2024.
Varela has been active for years in various capacities in New Jersey politics: He started as a press intern for Republican Gov. Chris Christie in 2010, later running as a Democratic candidate opposing the party machine against now-Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ) and subsequently leading the New Jersey chapter of the Forward Party, the centrist third party founded by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang.
“I consider myself more of a moderate,” Varela told Jewish Insider in an interview. “I do believe that we do need to be tight around budgets, and we can’t just go and haphazardly be cutting programs, but we do need to understand that we cannot allow the deficit to continue increasing. But at the same time, I think that there are some great programs that may seem like social programs, but are actually more programs that are going to help us grow our economy.”
He said he also supports “economic populist” programs like growing the middle class through universal childcare, and investing in research and development, infrastructure and education — particularly in skilled trade programs in high schools and trade schools.
He said his life story and the hardships he faced growing up separate him from the Democratic field — as well as from Kean, whose father was the governor of New Jersey and whose grandfather also served in Congress — and align him with the voters in the district, adding that Democrats need candidates who are better connected to the working class.
Varela said that Israel has been a “strong ally for us, and I think it’s important to make sure that we are there for Israel, that we help Israel with their ability to defend themselves.”
He said he supports continued U.S. aid to Israel, as well as aid to Gaza, and supports a two-state solution in the long term. He said that bringing the conflict in Gaza to a close will require “root[ing] out Hamas entirely,” ending attacks from both sides and bringing “all shareholders to the table” including the United States, the United Nations and surrounding countries.
Varela said he did not have sufficient information to weigh in on the Trump administration’s strikes on Iran, but said that it’s “absolutely critical” that Tehran not obtain a nuclear weapon and that he would support renewed diplomatic efforts floated by the Trump administration.
To address rising antisemitic attacks and other incidents at home, Varela said that the U.S. needs to step up hate crimes enforcement, specifically voicing support for legislation raising the penalties for such activity.
“As a society, as an American culture, any hate crime performed is ultimately destroying our fabric, destroying the future of our country, and we need to be unequivocally and unapologetically at the front lines of combating this kind of hate,” Varela said.
Varela said he entered the race because “I think we need a fighter, and I’ve been a fighter my whole life,” from working full-time to cover his schooling costs to supporting his family when his mother got sick, struggling with financial difficulties, raising his younger brother and building a childcare business during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“But we navigated that and fast forward to now, we built the business with over 100 employees,” Varela said, adding that his company has been recognized locally and nationally for its growth.
He added that he thinks that Congress needs more leaders from different backgrounds and more “humble beginnings,” and said, “I can bring a serious diversity of perspective to representation, and not just the Congress, to our party as a whole.”
He said that Kean is “disconnected … from his voters” and doesn’t understand the impacts of legislation cutting assistance programs like the recently passed budget reconciliation bill.
Varela’s fundraising places him second in the Democratic primary, behind Bennett, who has raised $914,000 total, and ahead of Roth, who has raised $303,000 total and Vartan, who has raised $157,000.
Bennett closed the quarter with $672,000 on hand, Varela with $622,000, Roth with $225,000 and Vartan with $79,000.
Turnout in heavily Jewish communities didn’t meet the congressman’s expectations in the N.J. governor’s race
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., leaves the U.S. Capitol after the House passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
With his path to victory narrowing in the closing stretch of New Jersey’s gubernatorial primary, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) had placed his hopes for a come-from-behind win on the state’s sizable Jewish community, a politically active voting bloc he saw as a crucial part of his coalition in a crowded race with overlapping constituencies and likely low turnout.
The moderate Jewish Democrat worked to court Jewish voters by touting his pro-Israel record and commitment to fighting antisemitism. Weeks before the election, he received a promising endorsement from the Lakewood Vaad, a coalition of influential Orthodox rabbis. The group, which represents the state’s largest Orthodox bloc, has not traditionally taken sides in primaries but urged Democratic as well as unaffiliated voters to back Gottheimer, promising to deliver thousands of voters he and his allies saw as one of their best chances to make the difference in a close race.
In the end, however, the veteran congressman came in fourth place in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, losing to a fellow House member, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), by 22 points, even as she had claimed only a third of the vote in the six-way race.
Gottheimer’s poor overall performance across the state came in spite of relatively strong turnout in Lakewood, where he won more than 5,000 votes from the Orthodox community, including several unaffiliated backers, according to Shlomo Schorr, director of legislative affairs for Agudath Israel of America’s New Jersey office.
With nearly 3,000 registered Democrats in the Orthodox community in Lakewood, Gottheimer’s Vaad endorsement helped him secure those votes and to claim additional support from unaffiliated residents, though hardly as many as his allies had hoped to attract: Lakewood has more than 20,000 unaffiliated Orthodox voters — suggesting that only a small fraction of them had declared as Democrats in order to vote in the primary.
Even if he had sought to mobilize those Orthodox voters earlier in the primary, Gottheimer still would have come up short. “None of that would have made a difference,” Schorr told Jewish Insider, given the outcome on Tuesday. “We just don’t have the kind of numbers to flip such a lopsided race, obviously.”
“Had Gottheimer been competitive with Sherrill in the rest of the state, his advantage among the Orthodox community could well have put him over the top,” Dan Cassino, a political scientist and pollster at Fairleigh Dickinson University, said. “Orthodox voters are a reliable source of votes, and Gottheimer put a lot of effort into securing their support. In a game of inches, that could have been decisive, but this race wound up not being a game of inches.”
Micah Rasmussen, director of Rider University’s Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics, said that “Gottheimer was resourceful and smart to reach out to the religious communities of New Jersey — and it did bear fruit for him.”
“But fundamentally, he needed a lot more than those handful of communities could deliver for him,” Rasmussen told JI.
Dan Cassino, a political scientist and pollster at Fairleigh Dickinson University, agreed. “Had Gottheimer been competitive with Sherrill in the rest of the state, his advantage among the Orthodox community could well have put him over the top,” he said. “Orthodox voters are a reliable source of votes, and Gottheimer put a lot of effort into securing their support. In a game of inches, that could have been decisive, but this race wound up not being a game of inches.”
In Lakewood, a deeply conservative community where Republicans vastly outweigh Democrats, Gottheimer had always been severely limited in his ability to claim a decisive share of the electorate, particularly in a race he lost by more than 175,000 votes. By contrast, Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican nominee backed by President Donald Trump, won Lakewood with more than 9,500 votes. In 2021, he came unexpectedly close to unseating outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, with strong support from the community, even as the Vaad had endorsed the incumbent last cycle.
“Considering he lost by 175,000 votes, there’s not much more he could have done,” a New Jersey political strategist and Jewish community activist said of Gottheimer, adding that the election results showed that the Lakewood Vaad is more capable of turning out significant votes than it was in the past — for second-time Republican nominee Ciatarelli.
Lakewood helped deliver Ocean County for Ciattarelli, the strategist said, even as the county GOP chair endorsed one of Ciattarelli’s opponents. “That would have been a great day, just good news all around. But the Gottheimer thing kind of leaves people with a bad taste in their mouth.”
Meanwhile, a widely touted nonpartisan effort to register Jewish voters for the Democratic primary succeeded in persuading only a small minority of Lakewood voters to change their party affiliation, said Schorr, who pegged the number at some 250 voters. “It’s very difficult to get people, especially Orthodox Jews, to become registered Democrats,” Schorr told JI. “They’ll vote, maybe, in the election — but to change their affiliation from Republican to Democrat, that you’re not going to get them to do.”
The results raise questions about what basis had existed for the promises and expectations of that re-registration and turnout effort, according to the strategist, who noted the Lakewood votes simply never were up for grabs. “There aren’t a lot of Democratic votes in Lakewood, in the Orthodox community, to be had,” the strategist explained, while adding that Ciattarelli has worked hard to make connections and appeal to those voters.
A local Democratic strategist argued that the disappointing results of the Orthodox turnout effort need to prompt a re-assessment of the strategy.
Even as Gottheimer won his home county of Bergen in northern Jersey, he underperformed in Orthodox communities there and elsewhere in the state, such as Edison and Cherry Hill, said Schorr. “I think they could have done better just from the initial numbers I’ve seen,” he told JI. “The Lakewood area delivered, but other places did not.”
“For Josh, it was a challenge,” a Jewish leader said of Gottheimer. “It wasn’t enough for Josh, but at the end of the day, a pro-Israel and well-known friend of the Jewish community was still elected in part because of the Jewish vote in the state,” the Jewish leader said of Sherrill.
Notwithstanding his strong record on Israel and antisemitism, across the wider Jewish community, Gottheimer also faced competition from a range of primary rivals including Sherill, former state Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, each of whom has, to varying degrees, built relationships with Jewish leaders during their tenures.
The results indicated that Sherrill overperformed and Gottheimer did not see a strong turnout surge, said a Jewish leader in the state who believes that many Jewish community members are now disillusioned with the results. Still, the Jewish leader expects Sherilll will maintain a positive relationship with the Jewish community going forward.
“For Josh, it was a challenge,” another Jewish leader said of Gottheimer, who sought to draw relatively minor contrasts with Sherrill on Jewish issues during the race, as she has called for increased federal action against antisemitism and demonstrated a largely pro-Israel record while in Congress. “It wasn’t enough for Josh, but at the end of the day, a pro-Israel and well-known friend of the Jewish community was still elected in part because of the Jewish vote in the state,” the Jewish leader said of Sherrill.
Looking toward November, a Jewish leader said that moderate Democratic voters could be up for grabs for Ciatarelli, as many Jewish voters have been feeling disenchanted with the direction of the Democratic Party.
He is also likely to draw strong support from the Orthodox community, where in Lakewood alone there are around 30,000 registered Republicans.
Sherrill, a pragmatic suburban lawmaker and military veteran, will face Republican former state Rep. Jack Ciattarelli in the November general election
AP Photo/Heather Khalifa
Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., greets people during a "Get Out the Vote" rally, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Elizabeth, N.J.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) comfortably prevailed in New Jersey’s Democratic gubernatorial primary last night, translating strong fundraising and backing from numerous party leaders into a double-digit margin of victory in the six-candidate field. With most of the ballots tallied, Sherrill won just over one-third of the Democratic vote.
Sherrill, a pragmatic suburban lawmaker and military veteran, will face Republican former state Rep. Jack Ciattarelli in the November general election. Boosted by President Donald Trump’s endorsement, Ciattarelli easily won the GOP nomination.
Sherrill continues the trend of moderate-minded candidates prevailing in recent Democratic primary fights. Three of her Democratic opponents ran to the congressman’s left, with left-wing Newark Mayor Ras Baraka even getting arrested at a federal immigration facility. That activist messaging didn’t end up winning him much traction in the race.
Baraka’s anti-Israel record and past praise of Louis Farrakhan concerned Jewish leaders, but he ultimately finished well behind Sherrill, in second place with 20% of the vote.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) ran to the center in the race, spent heavily and worked hard to win over the significant Jewish vote in the state, landing key endorsements from several Orthodox groups. But aside from handily winning his home county of Bergen, he struggled to make inroads in other parts of New Jersey, tallying 12% of the vote. (In Ocean County, where the congressman picked up a key endorsement of the Lakewood Vaad, he lagged in third place.)
Sherrill has compiled a largely pro-Israel record during her time in Congress, and called for more action against antisemitism in the aftermath of the murder of Israeli Embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum. But she hasn’t been as outspoken as Gottheimer on issues affecting the Jewish community, and declined interview requests from Jewish Insider during the last month of the campaign to more fully discuss her views on antisemitism.
Ciattarelli also spoke out against antisemitism on the campaign trail, and touted his visit to Israel last summer as he campaigned in Lakewood.
The November general election will offer the first test of whether Trump’s significant gains in the Garden State in last year’s presidential election will hold now that he’s been in office for months — or whether there’s an emerging backlash to his polarizing governance. Trump only lost the once solidly-blue state to then-Vice President Kamala Harris by six points, a much narrower margin than Democrats anticipated.
Ciattarelli ran against outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, in 2021, and also ran a surprisingly competitive race against the incumbent, losing by just three points.
Without much public polling and a late flurry of advertising, there’s a considerable amount of uncertainty as to who will emerge as the nominee in the six-way race
Steve Hockstein/NJ Advance Media via AP, Pool
New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherrill speaks during the New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial primary debate at NJ PBS Studios, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Newark, N.J.
As New Jersey’s competitive gubernatorial primary takes place today, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) looks like the front-runner in the crowded Democratic field but without much public polling and a late flurry of advertising, there’s still a considerable amount of uncertainty as to who will emerge as the nominee in the six-way race.
Sherrill, a military veteran who has represented a suburban north New Jersey seat since 2018, is the favorite of many Democratic Party officials and has been leading in the limited public polling of the race. The congresswoman has also been one of the top fundraisers in the field, along with Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), who has been courting support from the state’s sizable Jewish community.
“Josh has been betting on the Jewish community coming out strong, and there is a realistic possibility that if new voters emerge in places like Lakewood, which is the fifth-largest city in New Jersey now, it could play a decisive role,” one Jewish community activist, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss the primary, told Jewish Insider on Monday.
But even as Gottheimer won a key endorsement last month from the Lakewood Vaad, an influential coalition of rabbis from the state’s largest Orthodox Jewish community, other observers expressed some skepticism that the moderate congressman’s strategy of consolidating Jewish support will be enough for him to prevail in the primary to replace Gov. Phil Murphy, a term-limited Democrat.
“I just don’t know if it’s going to be able to be enough to give him the edge,” said Shlomo Schorr, the director of legislative affairs for Agudath Israel of America’s New Jersey office. “It was maybe a bit too late to get the turnout that they had wanted and needed.”
Though Schorr said that Gottheimer’s strong showing in early voting so far in major Orthodox communities such as Teaneck and Lakewood could peel support away from Sherrill, he also speculated that it could help to fuel another candidate, Steve Fulop, the mayor of Jersey City, running as a progressive-minded anti-establishment challenger.
Fulop, a Jewish Democrat whose campaign is appealing to progressive, younger voters, has said “every single person has a pathway to win.” He has faced backlash from Jewish leaders for opposing legislation to enshrine the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism into state law, though he later walked back his remarks in a mailer aimed at Jewish voters.
Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark whose coalition in some ways overlaps with Fulop, has experienced a late surge thanks largely to his high-profile arrest last month outside an immigration detention facility in New Jersey, even as his record of commentary on key issues such as Israel and antisemitism has raised concerns among many Jewish leaders in the state.
The other Democrats in the primary include Stephen Sweeney, a moderate who served as president of the state Senate, and Sean Spiller, the president of the New Jersey Education Association who has drawn significant outside support from a super PAC spending more than $8 million to boost his campaign.
Jack Ciattarelli, a former state assemblyman backed by President Donald Trump, is favored to clinch the Republican nomination. He came close to unseating Murphy in 2021, winning Lakewood in the process. The Vaad has also endorsed his campaign this cycle.
The results of the Democratic primary are more volatile, particularly without the so-called county line that had bestowed establishment-backed candidates with preferential ballot placement.
“With no line, all bets are off,” said a Jewish activist who is not taking sides in the race, speaking on the condition of anonymity to address the primary. “It’s all turnout. I still think it’s Mikie’s to lose. Her team is confident, as is the candidate. But I guess they all are.”
‘You were not only a shining ray of light, but you were what we call a mensch,’ the family wrote in a letter to Gottheimer
Screenshot/Rep. Josh Gottheimer on X
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) meets with the parents of former Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander on April 19, 2024.
Recently released Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander and his family endorsed Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) for governor of New Jersey and praised his advocacy for Alexander’s release in a letter to the congressman.
The letter, read out at a recent campaign event in Tenafly, N.J. by a family friend, reads, “We can’t wait to thank you in person and we can’t wait to call you Governor Josh in November.”
The letter is signed by Alexander himself, his mother and father Yael and Adi, his sister Mika and brother Roy.
“In those dark times” of Alexander’s captivity, “you were not only a shining ray of light, but you were what we call a mensch,” the family wrote. “You reached out to us and stood by us from day one. You opened doors for us in the political arena and used all your skills, connections and resources to help us in our long uphill struggle to bring back our son to us.”
“You used every platform to bring Edan to the spot light,” the letter continues. “In NJ, in DC and out to the world. You took it personally and took us in as your extended family. You were there for us in the public eye and in private.”
Gottheimer is banking on strong support and turnout from New Jersey’s Jewish community to propel him to victory in next week’s gubernatorial primary.
The judge also raised questions about Khalil's failure to disclose his affiliations with anti-Israel groups
Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images
Then-Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil talks to the press at an encampment at Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus on Friday evening, in New York City, United States on June 1, 2024.
A federal judge in New Jersey issued an order on Wednesday ruling that the Trump administration’s monthslong effort to deport Columbia University protest leader Mahmoud Khalil was likely unconstitutional — but that his failure to disclose his affiliations with anti-Israel groups raises concerns.
Judge Michael Farbiarz said in his opinion that the court found that Khalil is unlikely to succeed in his challenge against the claim that he failed to disclose crucial information in his green card application, including former employment by UNRWA and his membership in the campus group Columbia University Apartheid Divest, which has been banned from Instagram for promoting anti-Israel violence.
Farbiarz also noted that the charges in Khalil’s case are “unprecedented” and likely unconstitutional, stating, “the issue now before the Court has been this: does the Constitution allow the Secretary of State to use Section 1227, as applied through the determination, to try to remove the Petitioner from the United States? The Court’s answer: likely not.” Farbiarz said he will soon issue an order about next steps in the case.
The opinion ruling was a response to an appeal filed by Khalil’s lawyers last month, after the Trump administration presented claims against Khalil, a former graduate student who led last year’s anti-Israel campus protests against the war in Gaza and subsequent student negotiations with university administration.
A memo submitted to the court in Louisiana — where Khalil remains held in an ICE detention facility — signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited the president’s authority to expel noncitizens whose presence in the country could have adverse foreign policy consequences, regardless of whether they have committed a crime. It stated that Khalil’s arrest and planned deportation are based on his “participation in antisemitic protests and disruptive activities, which fosters a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States.”
“Condoning anti-Semitic conduct and disruptive protests in the United States would severely undermine that significant foreign policy objective,” Rubio wrote in the two-page memo.
One day after the memo was submitted, an immigration judge in Louisiana ruled that the government’s argument that Khalil’s presence in the U.S. posed “potentially serious foreign policy consequences” was sufficient to rule he could be removed from the country. Khalil’s lawyers argue that he’s being punished for what they say is protected speech.
Khalil, who grew up in Syria but is of Palestinian descent, first came to the U.S. on a student visa and later married a U.S. citizen and received a green card. He was arrested on March 8 at his university-owned apartment, without being charged with a crime, making him the first high-profile target of the Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign students.
The prolonged case is a contrast to a Vermont judge’s decision last month ordering the immediate release of Mohsen Mahdawi, another Palestinian student from Columbia who helped organize campus anti-Israel demonstrations, but remained jailed for just two weeks. Mahdawi graduated from Columbia last week.
The New Jersey Democratic congressman is counting on winning a significant share of the state’s 600,000 Jewish voters in next month’s primary
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., leaves the U.S. Capitol after the House passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
As Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) works to come from behind in the closing weeks of the New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial primary, the veteran congressman is counting on support from the state’s sizable Jewish community to launch him to victory in the June 10 election.
“It’s a key part, a critical part of the coalition,” Gottheimer told Jewish Insider on Monday. “These off-year primaries are — despite what we’re all working to do — it’s always a lower turnout in the off years. And I’d say the Jewish community is very engaged, and I think they play a really important role in the election.”
He argued that he has an extensive record both in office and before his time in Congress fighting antisemitism and supporting the U.S.-Israel relationship, and has forged deep bonds with the Jewish community, particularly at a time when it has been subjected to increased antisemitism.
“I think that [the Jewish] community around the state recognizes that,” Gottheimer said. “I think I’ve made a very strong case of why I’d be an excellent governor for the Jewish community, and for all communities.”
Gottheimer recently picked up the endorsement of the Lakewood Vaad, an influential group of rabbis in one of the state’s largest Orthodox Jewish communities, which urged both Democrats and unaffiliated voters to vote for Gottheimer in the Democratic primary. The endorsement came comparatively early for the Vaad, which in the past has endorsed candidates as late as on Election Day.
As of last week, Lakewood had more than 20,000 unaffiliated Orthodox Jewish voters, in addition to nearly 3,000 Orthodox voters registered as Democrats, according to Shlomo Schorr, the director of legislative affairs for Agudath Israel of America’s New Jersey office. In surrounding communities in Ocean County where the Vaad’s sphere of influence extends, there are 3,500 Orthodox Democrats and 2,250 unaffiliated Orthodox voters, Schorr said.
“It’s a three-part punch: it’s Lakewood coming out early, it’s Lakewood saying to the Democrats they should vote for Josh and it’s them saying [to] the unaffiliated who have the ability to show up that day and declare as a Democrat that they should as well show up for Josh,” a Gottheimer-backing New Jersey strategist said.
Even as Gottheimer has lagged behind other opponents, such as Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), the establishment favorite in the race, in the limited public polling available, one Gottheimer advisor suggested that current polling could be missing the preferences of the Orthodox community.
“Orthodox communities such as the Vaad are generally missed as a part of traditional polls because the community is not inclined to participate in traditional opinion polling,” the advisor told JI. “If you wanted to look for a hidden vote that wouldn’t be counted, there’d certainly be evidence that that is one.”
The New Jersey strategist predicted that the Lakewood endorsement would produce a “domino” effect: as the largest Jewish community in the state, Lakewood turning out for Gottheimer could drive turnout among other New Jersey Jewish communities, signaling “that Josh has a viable path to victory and to win.” Some other Jewish community leaders, including a Jersey Shore-based Sephardic Orthodox group, have also endorsed Gottheimer.
If those communities turn out in force for Gottheimer, it could total between 30,000 and 50,000 votes, the strategist said, which “is enough to — 100% — win that election.” They continued, “Josh’s path to victory is Bergen County turning out and the Jewish community turning out.”
Gottheimer also emphasized to JI that he’s been speaking to Jewish communities throughout the state for months, and has won endorsements from mayors and other local officials in areas with large Jewish communities statewide, both Orthodox and non-Orthodox.
“We have very big support — I’ve spent a lot of time — because I think the Jewish community wants somebody who’s going to stand up and fight antisemitism and hate, who’s going to make sure we teach children in K-12 about the Holocaust, about what happened on Oct. 7 [2023], actual facts, and who’s going to be a nationwide leader on these issues,” Gottheimer said.
“A lot of Jewish voters feel abandoned, and they want someone who’s going to be a champion of them and of the community,” Gottheimer said.
Schorr said the Vaad is anticipating that it can convince not only Democrats but an even more significant number of unaffiliated voters in Lakewood and beyond to pull the lever for Gottheimer in a race that is expected to be fought on the margins.
Along with its endorsement, the Vaad is spending heavily on ads and get-out-the-vote efforts to help raise awareness around the primary, for which early voting begins next Tuesday and ends on Sunday.
Schorr, who clarified that he was not involved in the endorsement discussions and that his own group is not taking sides in the race, acknowledged that the Vaad’s endorsement could “heavily tilt” the election. But he said the late push may face some logistical hurdles with just weeks remaining until the primary.
“There’s not that much time,” he told JI on Tuesday. “Their struggle will be to get people to turn out for the Democratic candidate.”
Livingston, N.J. Mayor Ed Meinhardt, a former synagogue president who has endorsed Gottheimer, said he expects the Jewish community in his town and surrounding areas — including two large Orthodox congregations — to support Gottheimer, adding that Gottheimer’s “path to victory very much goes through the Jewish population of western Essex” County.
Sherrill represents Livingston and other areas of Essex, and local observers expect her to carry a significant share of the Jewish vote in her congressional district.
“I think what Congressman Gottheimer is doing is taking the vote away from Congresswoman Sherrill,” Meinhardt said. “I believe what Congressman Gottheimer is doing is actually splitting the vote and taking the vote away from her and putting it back into his camp … That’s why he’s spent so much time in this area.”
Another local source familiar with the race said that “given the way the numbers are looking, having the Jewish community come out and vote would appear to be a boon for [Gottheimer], and if the Jewish community doesn’t come out and vote for him, it’s going to hurt.”
The source said that the Jewish community in New Jersey — totaling more than 600,000, making it the largest non-Christian religious community in the state — could be enough to swing the race if Jewish voters show up in force and if Gottheimer is able to turn out and unify Jewish voters statewide, outside of his existing Bergen County constituency.
“There’s 120,000 people in Lakewood, so let’s say they could deliver 40,000 votes, give or take, maybe less … but there’s enough there that if the entire community came out and voted for one candidate, there’s a good chance that candidate’s going to win,” the source said.
David Bercovitch, the co-founder of a new political advocacy group called Safeguard Jewish South Jersey, which has endorsed Gottheimer, said the congressman “has garnered the support of so many in the Jewish community because he embodies the values of everyday New Jerseyans.”
“He is a strong advocate on the issues of concern for the Jewish community, as his track record in Congress shows,” Bercovitch told JI. “I believe many will be surprised by the results on June 10 in large part because of his tremendous advocacy for the Jewish community.”
In the GOP primary, the Vaad also endorsed Jack Ciattarelli, a former state assemblyman who won Lakewood in his previous bid for governor in 2021, even as Gov. Phil Murphy, a term-limited Democrat, had notched the coalition’s backing at the time.
The New Jersey gubernatorial candidate called on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and AG Pam Bondi to provide more resources for security to Jewish institutions
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ)
Following the murder of two Israeli Embassy employees outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), a New Jersey gubernatorial candidate, wrote to federal leaders to call for further action to protect the Jewish community and raised concerns about growing trends of antisemitic violence across the country.
Sherrill wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi to call on the government to provide additional resources and funding to allow houses of worship and nonprofits to protect themselves — including through the Nonprofit Security Grant Program — and ensure that law enforcement can properly investigate and prevent antisemitic violence.
In the letter, Sherrill described the shooting as unequivocally motivated by antisemitism and as “an assault on the core values and ideals of our nation — particularly the right to religious expression and to practice one’s faith without fear of violence” and said “we must take every effort to prevent it from happening again.” She said the attack “highlight[s] the threat of violence against Jewish Americans and residents across the United States.”
“As antisemitic violence and threats have increased, I remain concerned that synagogues, Jewish faith-based organizations, and nonprofits are under-resourced for the heightened threats that they face,” Sherrill said. “I urge you to take whatever actions you can to ensure that the programs that support these organizations are properly resourced and staffed.”
In addition to NSGP funding, Sherrill expressed concerns that funding cuts will leave “initiatives within your departments meant to combat antisemitism and other hate crimes … unable to address the rising threat that we face today.” She pointed specifically to a range of programs to address and prevent hate crimes.
The administration has sought to cut funding from hate crime grant programs it claimed violate the First Amendment. Sherrill urged the administration to “maintain and expand funding for these programs.”
Sherrill linked the shooting to the April arson attack on the residence of Penn. Gov. Josh Shapiro, pointing to the arson as another example of the “ever-present risk of antisemitism and violence to all Jewish Americans,” given that the arsonist, who targeted the governor’s mansion on the first night of Passover, was allegedly motivated by Shapiro’s support for Israel. Sherrill also highlighted vandalism and firebombing incidents at synagogues in her district.
“Our country faces a crisis of antisemitic violence and threats that show no signs of abating,” Sherrill wrote. “It is vital that the federal government take urgent action to protect Jewish communities, prosecute perpetrators of antisemitic hate crimes, and support community programs to counter antisemitism. Jewish Americans face the severe threat of antisemitic violence every day, and it is long past time that the U.S. federal government prioritizes their safety.”
Another gubernatorial candidate, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), publicly urged other candidates in the race to support state legislation to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism last week, in response to the shooting. Sherrill has said she supports that bill.
Some in the Jewish community have seen Sherrill’s record on Jewish issues as spotty at times compared to Gottheimer, but a pair of progressive candidates with more questionable records on such issues have become increasingly competitive against Sherrill, who leads in polling.
The state legislation has divided the New Jersey gubernatorial field thus far
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (R-NJ) leaves a meeting of the House Democratic Caucus at the Democratic National Committee on Tuesday, July 9, 2024.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), a candidate for governor of New Jersey, challenged his fellow candidates to pledge to sign bipartisan state legislation to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism in response to the murder of two Israeli Embassy officials outside the Jewish museum in Washington.
That legislation has become a major dividing line in the gubernatorial race — Gottheimer and Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) support it, while Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop opposes it, but said recently he would not veto it. Other candidates did not respond to requests for comment on the issue earlier this year. Critics of the legislation say that the IHRA definition — which identifies some criticism of Israel as antisemitic — violates free speech protections.
“I’m heartbroken by the tragic act of violence that took the lives of two young Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, D.C. Wednesday night … While the investigation continues, one thing is undeniable: antisemitism is fueling violence in this country, and it’s getting worse,” Gottheimer said in a statement shared with Jewish Insider. “Here in Jersey, we feel the effects of hate firsthand in our communities and synagogues. New Jersey had the third highest amount of antisemitic incidents last year, according to the ADL.”
“No one should have to live in fear simply for being Jewish. We must call out antisemitism wherever it appears and hold those responsible for spreading hate and violence accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” he continued. “As Governor, I’ll immediately sign New Jersey’s IHRA bill into law, and I’ll push to dismantle antisemitism and hate in any form whenever it rears its ugly head.”
Gottheimer visited the scene of the shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum on Thursday morning.
MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli soldiers clean the gun of a tank at a position near Israel's border with the Gaza Srip on May 4, 2025.
Good Monday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we interview New Jersey Assembly candidate Tamar Warburg, who would be the first Orthodox woman in the New Jersey legislature, and look at how a dispute over the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism is playing a role in the state’s elections. We report on Rep. Ritchie Torres’ call for New York’s City Parks Foundation to cancel its upcoming concert featuring Kehlani following the singer’s antisemitic and anti-Israel comments, and cover a bipartisan push from House members making the highest-ever request for nonprofit security funding for the upcoming fiscal year. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Yuval Raphael, Santa Ono and Robert Kraft.
What We’re Watching
- President Donald Trump is slated to announce Washington as the host of the 2027 NFL Draft. Trump will make the announcement today from the White House, where he’ll be joined by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris.
- Jordanian King Abdullah II arrived in Washington today for meetings with senior officials.
- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Dan Goldman (D-NY) are hosting a screening of Wendy Sachs’ “October 8” documentary about antisemitism on college campuses this evening at the Capitol Visitors Center.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) are speaking today at the National Zionist Rabbinic Coalition’s national conference in Washington.
- The Milken Institute Global Conference continues today in Los Angeles. Today’s speakers include Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Carlyle Group’s David Rubenstein, Starwood Capital’s Barry Sternlicht, Apollo Global Management’s Marc Rowan, Mubadala’s Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi, Mohamed Albadr and Khaled Al Shamlan, Axel Springer’s Mathias Dopfner, TWG Global’s Amos Hochstein, former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, BDT-MSD Vice Chairman and President of Global Client Services Dina Powell McCormick, former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, Lazard’s Peter Orszag and Alphabet’s Ruth Porat.
- The Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California is holding its Capitol Summit in Sacramento today and tomorrow. Those addressing the two-day gathering include UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk, Gov. Gavin Newsom (who is speaking virtually), California Attorney Gen. Rob Bonta, former Heath and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Lieutenant Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
- The Future Summit kicks off today in Tel Aviv. Lightspark founder David Marcus, Papaya Global’s Eynat Guez, Tinder founder Sean Rad, Insight Partners cofounder Jeff Horing, NFX cofounder Stan Chudnovsky, First Round Capital cofounder Josh Kopelman, Freestyle General Partner Jenny Lefcourt, Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire and Poalim Tech’s Michal Kissos Hertzog are slated to speak at the three-day confab.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S LAHAV HARKOV
For the third day in a row, air raid sirens blared throughout central Israel on Sunday morning after the Iran-backed Houthis launched a missile from Yemen. This time, the IDF was unable to shoot the missile down before it reached Israel, and while no one was killed, it landed in a strategically damaging location: Ben Gurion Airport. Several airlines canceled flights for the coming days.
While Israel dealt with threats to its north and south, the IDF began calling up tens of thousands of reservists ahead of a return to more intensive warfare in Gaza, unanimously approved by the security cabinet on Sunday night and likely to begin after President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East next week.
Amid U.N. pressure, the cabinet also approved a plan to allow humanitarian aid in again — once the food currently in Gaza runs out — with a new distribution mechanism meant to prevent Hamas from pocketing the goods and using it as leverage to stay in power.
Since the last ceasefire in Gaza ended on March 18, Israel has been slowly intensifying the war with the aim of ramping up pressure on Hamas, first by stopping humanitarian aid, and then by evacuating the civilian population from more and more areas of the coastal enclave, and continuing airstrikes throughout.
After Hamas rejected the ceasefire and hostage release deal that Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, attempted to negotiate last month, and the terrorist group’s counter-offer excluded disarmament – a red line for Israel – plus a spike in IDF casualties in Gaza, Israel’s patience began to run out.
The open decision to escalate and the mobilization of reservists to that end is its own form of pressure, another warning shot at Hamas aimed at pushing it to enter a hostage release deal, but Jerusalem views the intensification of fighting as the only way to reach the war’s other goal, “total victory” over Hamas, as Netanyahu said in a video posted to social media on Sunday.
An Israeli official told media that the plan includes occupying Gaza and retaining the territory, moving the Gazan civilian population south, and conducting “powerful attacks” against Hamas.
The mission, the prime minister said, remains to bring back the hostages and defeat Hamas: “There will be no Hamas [in Gaza] … We will not give up on defeating them. Wars must end decisively. We will win.”
At the same time, many hostage families and their supporters continued to speak out against intensifying the war, with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum saying, “The expansion of military operations puts every hostage at grave risk.” The group also noted that “the vast majority of the Israeli public views the return of the hostages as the nation’s highest moral priority.” Recent polls back up that statement, indicating that most Israelis would be willing to end the war in exchange for all the hostages.
IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir warned ministers in recent days that “in a plan for a full-scale maneuver, we won’t necessarily reach the hostages. Keep in mind that we could lose them,” according to Israel’s Channel 13. The channel also quoted Zamir as saying that the goals of defeating Hamas and returning the hostages “are problematic in relation to each other.”
Netanyahu, however, continued to argue that the choice between defeating Hamas and the hostages is not binary. “Military pressure is what worked and it is what will work now,” he said. “If we are victorious, we will free the hostages, and we are in the stages of victory … Victory will bring the hostages.”
The prime minister also waved off accusations that he was continuing the war for his own political longevity as “the propaganda line of the propaganda channels and the left,” saying: “Should we leave Hamas inside [Gaza] so they will be at the [border] fences again? Should Hezbollah be at the fences? That’s political?”
PARKWAY POLITICS
In this NJ election, antisemitism could decide the race — while dividing a Jewish community
Tamar Warburg is hoping to be the first Orthodox woman in the New Jersey legislature, running for office in the June 10 Democratic primary to represent New Jersey’s 37th Assembly district, which includes Teaneck, Englewood and most of Bergen County. She didn’t plan for this: Last year, she was approached by Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, a leading candidate for governor, who asked her to run on an unofficial slate affiliated with his campaign. She’s taking on two incumbent Democrats, arguing that they have not been attentive enough to the needs of the district’s large Jewish community. “I realized this was not an offer to Tamar Warburg. This was an offer to my Jewish community, and unless I had a really compelling reason not to do it, I didn’t really have the authority to say no,” Warburg told Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch in an interview.
IHRA ire: But to win, she first faces an uphill battle within her own Jewish community. A messy political dispute playing out in the New Jersey gubernatorial election has trickled down to this Assembly race, pitting Warburg against another Orthodox candidate, Yitz Stern — and threatening to split the Jewish vote and deal a win to the incumbents. It all started with what was intended to be a straightforward piece of legislation that would’ve codified the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, affording law enforcement officers and other state employees a tool to understand and respond to hate crimes and formulate anti-discrimination policies. It passed out of committee in the State Senate in February, but it was never brought to a vote on the floor. Of the two incumbent assembly members from District 37, one — Ellen Park — signed on as a sponsor of the bill, while the other — Shama Haider — did not, earning criticism from many in the Bergen County Jewish community.
nuclear news
Trump says goal of Iran talks is ‘total dismantlement’ of nuclear program
President Donald Trump said the goal of U.S. negotiations with Iran is “total dismantlement” of its nuclear program, contradicting comments made by others in his administration that Iran may be allowed to retain some enrichment capabilities. Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, the president said total dismantlement is “all I’d accept” out of the negotiations and downplayed the suggestion that the U.S. is open to Iran maintaining a civilian enrichment program, Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen reports.
Civil enrichment: “Now, there’s a new theory going out there that Iran would be allowed to have civilian — meaning to make electricity and to — but I say, you know, they have so much oil, what do they need it for?” Trump said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has indicated otherwise as recently as last month, when he told The Free Press, “If Iran wants a civil nuclear program, they can have one just like many other countries in the world have one.” Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has made similar comments suggesting Iran could be permitted to continue enrichment up to 3.67% as part of a civilian program, though he backtracked after receiving pushback from GOP lawmakers.
CONCERT CONTROVERSY
Ritchie Torres calls on NYC to cancel Central Park performance by anti-Israel artist Kehlani
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) is calling on New York City officials to cancel a Central Park performance at a city-sponsored event by Kehlani, a performer who has called for the destruction of Israel and Zionism, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Back and forth: Kehlani is set to perform in June at an event for Pride month sponsored by the City Parks Foundation, an independent nonprofit which receives city funding to promote arts, sports, education and other programming in city parks. But Mayor Eric Adams has disputed whether the mayor’s office has any ability to cancel the performance or withhold funds. Torres highlighted Kehlani’s anti-Israel rhetoric in a letter to Mayor Eric Adams, City Parks Foundation Executive Director Heather Lubov and Live Nation Entertainment CEO Michael Rapino and said that “Our public institutions have a duty to ensure that taxpayer dollars are never misspent on subsidizing or sanitizing antisemitism.”
NONPROFIT PROTECTION
House members put forward highest-ever request for nonprofit security funding for 2026
A bipartisan group of more than 130 House members put forward their highest-ever request for funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, asking for an appropriation of $500 million, nearly doubling the current funding level, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Path ahead: Despite the substantial bipartisan support, the request could face strong headwinds as the appropriations process moves forward, with the Trump administration proposing significant cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s non-emergency grants — a category that includes NSGP — and not, as of Friday, offering a specific budget line-item for the NSGP. “We respectfully ask that $500 million in funding be allocated to NSGP. The program provides critical security resources to at-risk faith-based and nonprofit institutions located in urban, suburban, and rural communities,” a group of 133 House members led by Reps. Gabe Amo (D-RI) and Michael McCaul (R-TX) said.
BUDGET BREAKDOWN
Admin calls for significant cuts to Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights
The Trump administration’s budget request submitted to Congress on Friday calls for a $49 million cut to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, the bureau responsible for investigating and adjudicating complaints of campus antisemitism, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Going deeper: The budget proposal, which slashes a total of $163 billion in spending, also includes what Republican defense hawks are condemning as an effective cut in defense spending and cuts to Federal Emergency Management Agency grant programs, Department of Justice hate crime prevention grants and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The budget request sent to congressional appropriators says that the OCR cut, which amounts to 35% of the department’s 2025 budget, seeks “to refocus away from DEI and Title IX transgender cases” and states that the office has cleared “a massive backlog in 2025.”
Worthy Reads
Bucking Boulos: Politico’s Felicia Schwartz and Robbie Gramer look at the relationship between the White House and Massad Boulos, Tiffany Trump’s father-in-law and the Trump administration’s Africa advisor and senior advisor of Arab and Middle Eastern affairs, whose role has become “diminished” amid reported tensions with the White House. “Trump named Boulos as a senior adviser on the Middle East during the transition last year and he began taking informal meetings with Lebanese officials and other diplomats. But some in the administration say he was overstepping. ‘The job was more symbolic, but he didn’t know that,’ said an administration official. ‘Everyone knew it but him.’ … Boulos was weakened by a spate of early media interviews asserting himself as a dominant voice on Lebanon policy, irking Trump’s inner circle in the process, as well as a New York Times story that exposed he had for years misled the public about the source of his wealth. Two of the people familiar with Boulos’ interactions said he had developed an unfavorable reputation for talking too much. His move away from Middle East work stemmed also from concerns within the administration about some of his political and social connections in the region.” [Politico]
Campus Beat: In The Free Press, Rabbi David Wolpe, who served for a year as a visiting scholar at Harvard Divinity School, reflects on the school’s recently released report on antisemitism. “[The report] explains that anti-colonialism has become the ideological battering ram to mobilize a diverse cult of anti-Western sentiments. The challenge to Zionism becomes a first step in turning disillusion with the West into a wholesale indictment of it. The old antisemitism of the Soviet Union had this double purpose as well — destroy the Jews, and you’ve destroyed the root of Western civilization. Harvard is not just a host for this worldview. It is the dominant view on campus. But what no report can capture is the feeling that Jewishness was something to hide, and the stigma of being a Jew-hater was fading. One student in my class, after having walked through Harvard Yard and being screamed at by some of the protesters, said to me: ‘They don’t just hate what I believe. They hate me.’” [FreePress]
Weiner’s Way: In The Atlantic, Josh Tyrangiel interviews former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), who is attempting a return to politics in his bid for New York City Council. “Weiner’s a centrist Democrat — he thinks the neighborhood needs more cops and fewer pot shops. ‘If this election is about the most anti-Trump, crazy-making person on the left, you’re not going to pick a Cuomo or a Weiner,’ he said. ‘Now, I could be completely wrong, but there seems to be a disconnect with the brand that New York Democrats are selling and what people want to buy right now.’ I asked what evidence he had to support this. ‘I’m in New York with a head on my shoulders seeing what’s going on on 14th Street.’ … Most politicians know how to live on the surface in these moments. But Weiner uses conflict to make small things feel more urgent, to make local democracy into something worthy of passion. He’s not a beautiful speaker, but he challenges Democrats to hear the jagged melody blaring through his septum: Do we want to be polite, or do we want to solve this? If I’m willing to fight with you, imagine how hard I’ll fight for you.” [TheAtlantic]
Alarm in Africa: In the Jerusalem Post, Amjad Taha and Eitan Neishlos consider the threat posed to Israel by extremist elements in Sudan that are bolstered by support from Tehran. “Sudan is no longer just a battlefield. It is rapidly becoming a terror hub, strategically positioned near Israel’s southern flank and the vital shipping lanes of the Red Sea. The Baraa ibn Malik Brigade, operating under SAF, openly venerates Sayyid Qutb, the ideological architect of jihadism. Its leader, Al-Musbah Abu Zaid, often referred to as the Yahya Sinwar of Sudan, poses with figures like Mukhtar Badri, notorious for anti-Semitic incitement and global terror ties. … Iran is also a central actor in this Islamist resurgence. Port Sudan has quietly transformed into a key node in Tehran’s regional weapons network. Through covert maritime shipments and military contracts, Iran has begun supplying drones to the Sudanese Armed Forces, the same types used by the Houthis to target Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea.” [JPost]
Word on the Street
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is slated to travel to Israel on May 12, before traveling on to Saudi Arabia, where he will join President Donald Trump, who also is slated to travel to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates…
White House senior policy advisor Stephen Miller is reportedly a top candidate to succeed Mike Waltz as national security advisor, following Trump’s announcement last week that he planned to nominate Waltz to be U.S. ambassador to the U.N….
Politico looks at Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s standing in the Trump administration, noting that the former Florida senator, who was appointed interim national security advisor following Waltz’s ouster, “offers a lesson to others trying to survive under Trump”…
The House of Representatives postponed a vote on the IGO Anti-Boycott Act, which expands existing U.S. anti-boycott laws addressing compulsory boycotts of U.S. allies enforced by foreign nations, following outcry from the far-right, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) and influencer Charlie Kirk, online on Sunday; the legislation received near-unanimous support in committee last year…
Beth Davidson, a Democratic Rockland County legislator running against Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), shared with Jewish Insider her position paper on Israel and the Middle East, outlining her support for “the continuation and growth” of U.S. military aid to Israel, her plans for countering Iran’s nuclear ambitions and her support for the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism…
Harvard President Alan Garber said that the Trump administration’s threat — made by the president on Friday — to revoke the school’s tax-exempt status would, if carried out, be “highly illegal” and “destructive” to the university…
A Temple University student was suspended after an incident in which he and another individual ordered a sign with antisemitic text to his table at a bar owned by Barstool founder Dave Portnoy; in a social media post, Portnoy said he would, following a conversation with the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism’s Robert Kraft, cover the costs for the two individuals to travel to Auschwitz “to learn about the Holocaust”…
University of Michigan President Santa Ono is departing the Ann Arbor school for the University of Florida, following the UF presidential search committee’s unanimous decision to recommend Ono as the sole finalist to succeed former President Ben Sasse, who stepped down last summer…
Officials in the U.K. arrested seven Iranian men in connection with two separate national security-related threats; police said four of the men were planning a terrorist attack on an unnamed site…
The Associated Press spotlights the “Violin of Hope,” which was recently discovered to have been made by a Jewish craftsman while imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp; the violin-maker, Franciszek “Franz” Kempa, survived the war and died in his native Poland in 1953…
The Wall Street Journal looks at the increase in online radicalization of European teenagers following the arrests of dozens of young people across the continent in connection with plots to conduct terror attacks…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested that Qatar has “decisive influence” over Hamas “that is not always exercised but could be,” a day after the Prime Minister’s Office released a statement calling on Doha to “stop playing both sides with its double talk and decide if it’s on the side of civilization or if it’s on the side of Hamas”…
Hamas released a video of hostage Maxim Herkin, a month after releasing a video showing the first sign of life from the Russian-Israeli citizen who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023…
The Israeli government decided not to establish a state commission of inquiry into the events surrounding the Oct. 7 attacks at this stage, citing the intensifying war in the Gaza Strip…
Tehran said it would strike Israel or the U.S. if either responded to the Sunday ballistic missile attack conducted by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen…
Iran unveiled the new “Qassem Basir” ballistic missile that Iran’s defense minister said has a range of 745 miles…
Phil Gordon, who served as national security advisor to former Vice President Kamala Harris, is joining the Brookings Institution as the Sydney Stein, Jr. Scholar in the Brookings’ Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology…
Rabbi Sholom Lipskar, the longtime leader of The Shul of Bal Harbour, Fla., and founder of the Aleph Institute, died at 78…
Singer Jill Sobule, who was known for her hits “Supermodel” and “I Kissed a Girl,” died at 66…
Attorney Sybil Shainwald, who represented female clients whose health had been damaged by poorly tested devices and treatments, died at 96…
Pic of the Day
Singer and Nova music festival massacre survivor Yuval Rafael met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog before departing for the Eurovision Song Contest in Switzerland, which takes place next week, where she will perform “New Day Will Rise” as Israel’s entrant in the annual competition.
Birthdays
Former Israeli national soccer team captain, he also played for Chelsea, West Ham United and Liverpool in the English Premier League, Yossi Benayoun turns 45…
Senior U.S. district judge for the Northern District of Illinois, Robert W. Gettleman turns 82… Best-selling author of 20 novels featuring fictional Manhattan prosecutor Alexandra Cooper, written by the former head of the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, Linda Fairstein turns 78… Retired chief judge on the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, he was once president of the Jewish Community Council of Washington, Peter B. Krauser turns 78… Docent at NYC’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ruth Klein Schwalbe… Gayle Weiss Schochet… Member of the Knesset, almost continuously since 1988, for the Haredi parties of Degel HaTorah and United Torah Judaism, Moshe Gafni turns 73… South African-born president of American Jewish World Service, Robert Bank turns 66… David Shamir… Pulitzer Prize-winning author of three nonfiction books, historian and journalist, Tom Reiss turns 61… Senior managing director of the Jewish Funders Network, Yossi Prager… Emmy Award-winning television writer and producer, known for “The Simpsons,” Josh Weinstein turns 59… Special education consultant and nanny, Nancy Simcha Cook Kimsey… EVP of BerlinRosen, Nicole Rosen… Executive director of public relations at UJA-Federation of New York, Emily Kutner… Executive director of Micah Philanthropies, Deena Fuchs… Head coach of the football team at the University of Washington, Jedd Ari Fisch turns 49… President of Charleston, S.C.-based InterTech Group, Jonathan M. Zucker turns 47… Journalist, stage and film actress, Lara Berman Krinsky turns 45… Mayor of Bat Yam, Israel, Tzvika Brot turns 45… Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives since 2013, Michael H. Schlossberg turns 42… Former professional golfer, now an orthopedic surgeon, David Bartos Merkow, MD turns 40… Partner at New Enterprise Associates, Andrew Adams Schoen… Maxine S. Fuchs… Blake E. Goodman… Basketball player for the Under 20 Team Israel in 2023 and the Michigan Wolverines in the Big Ten Conference, he recently declared for the NBA draft, Daniel Wolf turns 21…
‘I stand alone in the sense that I've been an advocate for the Jewish community and Israel with no support financially or politically from that community,’ Fulop said comparing himself to Gottheimer and Sherrill
Kyle Mazza / SOPA Images/Sipa USA via AP Images
Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop during a press conference in Jersey City.
Facing scrutiny and increasing criticism from some in the New Jersey Jewish community, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop is suggesting that his top opponents in the state’s Democratic gubernatorial primary aren’t reliable allies against antisemitism and in support of Israel — and is also taking aim at the state’s current governor, accusing him of failing to adequately address the issue.
“When people try to portray me as anything other than a person that understands and supports the Jewish community here, it’s like a laughable accusation, considering my family’s background and my personal trajectory and personal backgrounds,” Fulop told Jewish Insider. “I stand alone in the sense that I’ve been an advocate for the Jewish community and Israel with no support financially or politically from that community. I do it solely because I believe that what I say is on the right side of the issues. That’s not the same place that the congressional candidates are.”
Fulop is facing growing skepticism and frustration over his rejection of legislation to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and his ties to prominent anti-Israel figures in the state, among other concerns.
Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) are both running in the race to succeed Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat.
“This attack reeks of desperation from a candidate who has failed to gain any traction after more than two years running for governor. But far worse, it politicizes efforts to fight antisemitism and support our ally, Israel,” Sherrill spokesperson Sean Higgins said. “The mayor often misses the mark as he fabricates attacks in an attempt to benefit his political self-interest; this one is particularly craven.”
Gottheimer’s campaign declined to comment.
Gottheimer, who is Jewish, has been among the most active and outspoken lawmakers on antisemitism and Israel, including when it put him at odds with former President Joe Biden. Sherrill has often backed key pro-Israel legislation and other efforts to combat antisemitism.
Though he does not support the IHRA legislation, arguing that it chills criticism of Israel and will actually exacerbate antisemitism, Fulop told Jewish Insider last week he does see room for the state to act in other ways.
He said the state could expand antisemitism and hate education — which he said should start at early ages — and more forcefully enforce the law at institutions of higher education.
“I don’t think Phil Murphy has done a particularly great job around that,” Fulop said.
Fulop asserted that Murphy should have intervened sooner in response to campus antisemitism in New Jersey, saying that the governor had allowed the issue to “fester” and should have had “no tolerance for that sort of stuff.”
Fulop added that Murphy should have been “more assertive” against antisemitism at Rutgers, adding that the state school system should not have made a deal with and concessions to student demonstrators to break up an anti-Israel encampment.
“The reality of the situation is that you had a lot of Jewish students there that felt that they were at risk with physical harm, and no student should feel that way when they attend a university,” Fulop said. “Getting to a place where you are negotiating with a group of students that ultimately made other students feel uncomfortable, I don’t think it’s a productive course of conversation. I don’t think it’s the right approach.”
Murphy did not respond to a request for comment.
Fulop said it would be “hard to argue that these were peaceful protests,” especially at Columbia University in neighboring New York City.
Fulop also highlighted his father’s service in the Golani Brigade during the Six-Day War, his Jewish upbringing and the Tanach quotes in his inauguration speech.
He said he’s supportive of the work of the New Jersey-Israel Commission, and said he’d work to highlight and grow that work, finding new partnership and investment opportunities. He said he’d worked in a similar way in Jersey City, on a smaller scale.
He said he sees opportunities to further connect technology companies and educational institutions in New Jersey and Israel.
Sherrill and Gottheimer are backing the definition after a leading rival, Steve Fulop, said he’d veto the bill
Kyle Mazza / SOPA Images/Sipa USA via AP Images
Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop during a press conference in Jersey City.
New Jersey legislation codifying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism is splitting the Democratic field in the gubernatorial race, after one leading candidate said last week he’d veto the bill.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) told JI this week that she supported legislation under consideration in the state that would codify the IHRA definition as New Jersey’s official definition of antisemitism for assessing cases of antisemitic discrimination. “I’ve supported the IHRA definition in the U.S. House, and would support the current state Senate bill to combat the alarming rise of antisemitism in New Jersey,” Sherrill said in a statement to JI.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer’s (D-NJ) campaign indicated in a statement that he also supports the bill. His campaign manager, Chelsea Brossard, noted that he “helped write and pass” the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which codifies the IHRA definition at the Department of Education.
“Since October 7th, antisemitic incidents have skyrocketed to an all-time high in New Jersey. This is unacceptable, and Josh will continue working tirelessly at all levels of government to protect Jewish students and families from all forms of hate,” Brossard said.
Those comments come after Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, who has touted his Jewish heritage on the campaign trail, said he was opposed to the legislation, arguing that it could infringe on criticism of Israel and ultimately exacerbate antisemitism.
Three other candidates in the race — Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller and former state Sen. Steve Sweeney — did not respond to requests for comment on the IHRA issue.
Fulop and Sherrill have both recently come under scrutiny for campaigning alongside progressive leaders who’ve been outspoken against Israel.
A Jewish leader in the state told JI that Fulop’s IHRA stance, in combination to his ties to anti-Israel figures including Sadaf Jaffer, an outspoken anti-Israel former state assembly member, have generated growing frustration and a sense of betrayal among members of the Jewish community.
Fulop aggressively rejected the notion that his IHRA stance was motivated by politics, and said his comments have been misconstrued by various constituencies. “What I said was a very thoughtful, careful, deliberate answer that serves very little political benefit because I answered it honestly,” Fulop told JI.
He said that, in the same comments about IHRA, he had supported the New Jersey-Israel Commission and anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions legislation and said that Gov. Phil Murphy had not been aggressive enough in response to antisemitism on college campuses.
He also said Jaffer was only a campaign volunteer and that they don’t agree on all issues. “Anybody who says that I’m antisemitic or I don’t sympathize with the Jewish community is totally misguided, and they’re purely political.”
Another Jewish leader said that many Jewish politicos see Gottheimer’s record as the strongest on antisemitism and supporting Israel, but that without an aggressive advocacy effort highlighting the differences in the candidates’ records, the Jewish vote could end up split among various candidates, with voters prioritizing other issues.
A key political dynamic in the race is becoming the fight between New Jersey’s Democratic machine and those casting themselves as outsiders opposing that machine. Institutional support has largely been divided between Sherrill and Gottheimer, but some leaders who had initially backed Gottheimer recently switched their allegiance to Sherrill.
“Party leadership in New Jersey is a little bit scared,” Dan Cassino, the executive director of the Fairleigh Dickinson University poll, told JI. “There’s a strong incentive for that group, for institutional Democrats, to unify behind one candidate and make sure that candidate gets the nomination, to preserve at least the perception that they’re able to pick the candidates and therefore maintain their power.”
If Sherrill and Gottheimer split the moderate vote, one of the other candidates could muster enough support to achieve victory. No reliable polling is available in the race at this point.
Fulop and Baraka seemed to pick up momentum from strong performances in a recent debate and have been making strides in fundraising, Cassino added. In that debate, Sherrill appeared to be “riding the fence,” he continued, and avoiding controversial policy positions, while Gottheimer was on the receiving end of criticism from several other candidates.
As they’re trying to lock down a winning coalition, some candidates are trying to balance appealing to both left-wing constituencies critical of Israel and the state’s sizable Arab and Muslim populations, as well as the state’s significant Jewish population and the moderate voters they’ll need to win the general election.
Baraka’s candidacy could raise concerns in the Jewish community given that his father, poet Amiri Baraka, claimed in a 2002 poem that Israelis knew about the 9/11 attacks in advance. A Baraka-backed initiative in Newark held an event on Oct. 7, 2023, honoring the elder Baraka, which featured multiple speakers who have been accused of antisemitism. Baraka has defended his father from accusations of antisemitism.
A Jewish leader in the state said that Baraka’s base largely coincides with anti-Israel parts of the Democratic Party.
Sweeney, a moderate Democrat and the former senate president, supported anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions legislation when he was in the state Senate and led legislation to combat antisemitism in schools in 2019 which largely utilized the IHRA definition. Hailing from southern New Jersey, his base of support is expected to come largely from that part of the state, potentially including some Jewish voters in the Cherry Hill area.
The Jewish leader said that Sweeney’s record on Jewish issues has been unobjectionable.
Spiller, the former mayor of Montclair, N.J., could face issues among Jewish voters in the state over concerns about antisemitism in New Jersey’s public schools, though he has offered condemnations of antisemitism in the past. He’s leaning into education issues on the trail. The Jewish leader described the teachers’ union as having a poor record on Israel issues.
Blogger and entrepreneur Melinda Strauss is about to host the 7th year of the Jewish Food Media Conference — and already planning a women’s mindfulness event for next month
Thousands of kosher industry professionals will pack the the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey, next week to check out the latest trends in the Jewish food world. And a day earlier, more than 100 bloggers, brands and burgeoning foodies will convene for the 7th annual Jewish Food Media Conference.
The conference is the brainchild of Melinda Strauss, a food blogger, health coach and mom of two who lives in Long Island. She held the first such gathering in Manhattan in 2012, for around 50 kosher food bloggers. Next week she’s expecting more than 120 Jewish food media moguls from up and down the East Coast — as well as California, London and Israel — to show up in Passaic, New Jersey for this year’s event.
Strauss told Jewish Insider that she started the conference — and knew it would keep going year after year — because “our community needs it. We thrive on seeing each other and building each other up.”
“It really is about knowing that you will leave that room with new friends,” she said. “Every year, people tell me that they have created new friendships because they get to finally see their friends in person… people that they talk to on social media all the time.”
This year’s lineup includes cookbook author Adeena Sussman; chef, recipe developer and meal prep instructor Dini Klein; food photographer Sina Mizrahi and Fleishigs Magazine publishers Shlomo and Shifra Klein.
“The learning is really, really important because anytime someone’s growing a business, there’s always something new to learn,” said Strauss of the lectures and speeches planned for next week. But, she added, there’s also “a really important networking opportunity” at the conference, especially with its sponsors.
Attendees photograph a workshop at a past Jewish Food Media Conference.
Each year, the conference is timed to fall just before the Kosherfest trade show, to allow those traveling from out of town to attend both. Now in its 31st year, the Kosherfest exhibit hall will be packed with manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and kosher certifiers. New buzzworthy products this year include organic oat milk, vegan bagels, a coconut-based margarine replacement, and Hebrew letter stamps for cake and cookie decoration.
And while the major kosher brands have a prominent presence each year — including Manischewitz, Kedem (rebranded as Kayco) and Meal Mart — Menachem Lubinsky, co-founder of the trade show, says it continues to be a dynamic experience. This year, Lubinsky said, there will be 90 new exhibitors, which will make up almost 40% of the show floor.
Strauss has been attending Kosherfest for years, and sees many changes over the years, in part due to the growth of social media. “It is so much easier to connect than it used to be,” she said. “There are people who aren’t interested or don’t feel like they need [Kosherfest] because they can just as easily connect with whoever they want to through Instagram.” But she still thinks there is a lot of value in “that face-to-face [meeting] and the connections you can make.”
The Jewish Food Media Conference was originally named the Kosher Food Blogger’s Conference when it launched back in 2012. But several years ago, Strauss rebranded the gathering to make it more inclusive.
“I got a lot of questions from people in the first few years: ‘Is it okay if I come if I don’t keep kosher? Is it okay if I come and I don’t have a website? If I’m not a blogger?’” Strauss recalled. Today, she said, “it’s so much bigger than bloggers,” attracting online influencers, writers of all stripes, brand owners and Jewish media professionals. Plus, she added, “there is no reason for it to ever be about ‘Do you keep kosher?’”
Strauss said this year will not focus specifically on social media, but she acknowledges the outsized role platforms like Instagram have played in Jewish food media — and in her own journey. Each morning, she greets her 24,000 Instagram followers via video while walking her dog — sharing a few thoughts and a little inspiration to start the day.
“It’s changed everything for me,” Strauss said of the social media platform. “It’s really taken me from food blogging into motivational speaking and really — it’s changed the direction of my mindset.”
Strauss started her food blog, Kitchen Tested, soon after the birth of her second child, back in 2011. She quickly fell in love with the medium, and attracted attention for recipes like zucchini ravioli, pomegranate brisket tacos and rainbow hamantaschen.
While the kosher food blogging world can seem saturated, Strauss said there is always space for more. “The world can’t get enough new recipes,” she said. “The world can’t get enough incredible photographers. There’s just so much room.”
And while she touts the warm and interconnected nature of the kosher foodie community, Strauss acknowledges that there have been occasional feuds, squabbles and accusations within the niche group, particularly when it comes to taking credit for new ideas.
“It’s not always pretty,” she said. “I’ve been a part of it. I’ve witnessed it.” Over the years, she said, she’s learned to handle it better, and brush things off rather than magnifying the drama. “If somebody else is copying you, then they’re going to copy you. If you really have a problem with it, then the best thing to do is to approach them privately. Because when things get public, nobody wins.”
Strauss, a Seattle native, is energetic, bubbly and laser-focused, despite being involved in a whole host of ongoing projects. The busy blogger is spending the weekend before the Jewish Food Media Conference at a health coach convention in Arizona, and she’s already planning a brand new conference for next month titled Kavana, touted as an event for Jewish women’s personal growth.
“I just wanted it to happen so badly,” Strauss says of the close timing between the two conferences. “I didn’t want to announce it and then wait six months for it to happen. I’d rather it be imperfect and happen than wait for it to be perfect, because perfect never comes.”
She said the one-day event, billed as helping women “become inspired, find community, live with purpose, and learn to dream,” is for females across all religious levels and all lifestyles. “For so many women out there, it’s about your sister, it’s about your mom, it’s about your kids, it’s about your husband — it’s like everybody else is taken care of but you,” she said. “I think we just deserve so much more for ourselves. And this conference is really all about that. It’s about giving yourself time for yourself, and figuring out how to make that happen.”
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