Plus, Busboys' bitter cocktail
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani attend an unveiling ceremony for a new 9/11 Memorial Wall at One Police Plaza on Sept. 9, 2026 in New York City.
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In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at how Israeli political parties vying in this month’s election are pledging to rebuild U.S. support for the Jewish state, report on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s decision to stand by NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch amid pressure from some of his far-left allies calling for her dismissal, and cover Busboys and Poets’ founder and CEO Andy Shallal’s addition of a “Free Palestine” drink to the D.C. restaurant’s menu that has raised concerns among Jewish patrons. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Sen. Jon Ossoff, Wolf Blitzer and Sydney Sweeney.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss, with assists from Tamara Zieve and Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
Today’s Agenda
This evening in Tel Aviv, Jewish Insider and eJewishPhilanthropy are hosting an elections panel at ANU — Museum of the Jewish People, in partnership with the museum and the Peoplehood Coalition. eJP’s Judah Ari Gross will moderate the panel, which is set to include candidates from nine parties, discussing their policies on world Jewry at a fraught moment in Israel-Diaspora ties.
The State Department and American Jewish Committee are holding a ceremony today to honor the 46 Americans killed in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks. Read more from JI’s Marc Rod here.
The American Foreign Service Association is honoring former CIA Director William Burns at the group’s annual dinner tonight at Georgetown University for his lifetime contributions to American diplomacy.
In Southfield, Mich., the Justice Department’s Leo Terrell is launching his “American Tour Against Hate” at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in partnership with the Zionist Organization of America’s Michigan chapter.
New York’s Central Synagogue is hosting IsraAid CEO Yotam Polizer in conversation with Rabbi Angela Buchdahl to discuss the expansion of the humanitarian aid group’s work in recent years to meet evolving needs.
One Thing To Know
RELATIONSHIP STATUS
By Lahav Harkov
American views of Israel, particularly among progressives, have become increasingly negative in recent years, a trend that has impacted Democratic primaries ahead of the midterms this year, boosting candidates who are explicitly anti-Israel or who boast about rejecting AIPAC.
The Trump administration and Republicans on the Hill have maintained a close, positive relationship with Israel, but some of the American right’s vanguard and institutions have expressed views concerning to the Jewish state.
But the U.S.-Israel relationship has barely played a role in the Israeli election. Voters have consistently put security and the economy or cost of living at the top of their concerns in polls, but they’re almost never asked about Israel’s international standing.
JI asked parties consistently polling above the electoral threshold for their strategy to turn the tide and improve U.S.-Israel relations, especially as the future of U.S. aid to Israel has become a flashpoint.
The Big Reads
tisch tensions
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday rejected calls from his socialist allies that he force out NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, a rare pro-Israel figure in his administration and an outspoken voice on Jewish issues, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports. Days after protesters clashed with the police following an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent’s shooting of a man in Manhattan, multiple left-wing voices — including from the Democratic Socialists of America and two candidates the mayor himself endorsed for office — demanded the police chief’s ouster. But Mamdani rebuffed their pleas following an unrelated event in Queens. “Jessica Tisch is the police commissioner, I have no plans to change that,” the mayor told a reporter, touting her record under both his leadership and his predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams.
spending scrapped
The Congressional Leadership Fund, the independent expenditure arm of the House GOP aligned with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), is withdrawing plans for independent spending against Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH), alongside several other districts the PAC is seen as essentially surrendering to Democrats, according to The New York Times, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Landsman, a moderate Jewish Democrat, is running for reelection in a district the Cook Political Report rates as “lean Democrat,” even though President Donald Trump won the district in 2024.
controversial cocktail
Andy Shallal, the founder and CEO of the restaurant and bookstore chain Busboys and Poets, has spent two decades building the Washington-area chain into a hub for progressive politics and anti-Israel advocacy. Now, that activism is literally on the menu, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. The chain’s newest drink is a $14 cocktail called “Free Palestine,” which is made of Tito’s vodka and watermelon, and was offered for free earlier this month to the first 100 customers who filmed and posted a promotional video of themselves saying the slogan. Jewish patrons say the new drink signals the latest shift that makes them feel unwelcome in the restaurant.
The Rundown
peach state punches
empire state exchange
smithsonian study
course correction
On Our Radar
● The Live Briefing. Word on the street, clips, podcasts and quick updates — the items we’re tracking all day in our Live Briefing on the app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Speaking at a rally in Alaska, President Donald Trump threatened to “do a number” on Iran, saying, “Wait until you see what we do to Iran. … We sort of had it. You know, we’ve had it.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said in an Army Radio interview that an attack on Iran ahead of the Israeli elections “is not convenient for us”…
On his Truth Social site, Trump accused the Houthis of attempting to drive up global oil prices ahead of the midterms, saying the group was acting “probably at the behest of Iran”…
Bloomberg reports on a surge in Iranian attacks on vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks…
A new report released by Conflict Armament Research found that the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen are building medium-range ballistic missiles, styled after Iran’s Kheibar Shekan precision-guided missiles, using parts acquired from China…
The Justice Department announced the arrest of a Saudi national employed by OpenAI for installing a recording device in the AI company’s executive conference room; the defendant had allegedly inserted a listening device into the back of a television in the conference room days before it was discovered…
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) addressed speculation he may mount a 2028 presidential bid, saying in a debate on Tuesday night that he has “zero interest in running for president. I’m not running for president. I’m running for reelection to the Senate”…
New York City Comptroller Mark Levine pivoted from his pledge to reinvest portions of the city’s pension system in Israel Bonds, saying the decision was made from “financial considerations only, not politics,” and noting that the quality of the bonds have decreased in recent years owing to the Israel-Hamas war…
MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said the British domestic intelligence agency is devoting more resources to countering state threats than during the Cold War as the country works to fend off attacks from Iran and Russia, adding that terrorist and state-threat operations are now “pretty much of equal scale”…
Jewish community groups in the Bay Area released a joint statement expressing concern about the “growing normalization of antisemitic and hateful rhetoric in Berkeley in the discourse surrounding the upcoming election,” citing incidents including “a social media post by a local activist group using the term ‘zionazi’ to describe a former council member” that “received likes from several candidates for office”…
Coalition talks in Berlin between the Green Party, Left Party and Social Democrats were suspended over concerns about the Left Party’s willingness to implement recently agreed upon measures to address antisemitism within the party…
Lena Dunham’s “Girls” series will return to HBO for a five-episode revival featuring the main characters a decade later, with production set to begin in 2027…
Actor Sydney Sweeney received the celebrity treatment on the season premiere of Israeli satire show “Eretz Nehederet,” with Israeli actress Mishel Pru playing her in a sketch that included a rendition of Israel’s national anthem and referenced rumors that Sweeney is converting to Judaism, her controversial “great jeans” campaign for American Eagle and her current Novig commercials…
The Israel Antiquities Authority returned 22 artifacts dated between 700 B.C. and 320 B.C. to Greece, amid deepening ties between Jerusalem and Athens…
Worthy Reads
Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Iran’s Obsession: In The Atlantic, Karim Sadjadpour considers the efforts Iran has gone to fight Israel — to the detriment of both the Iranian people and the Palestinians whom Tehran purports to support. “For three generations, the cause of destroying Israel has attracted the support of dictators, militias, and movements far more readily than the cause of building Palestine. Being anti-Israel is not the same as being pro-Palestine. Too often, it has been the opposite. … Iran has one of the few governments in the world whose aspiration to abolish another state has eclipsed its ambition for its own country.” [TheAtlantic]
America on the Ballot: In Israel Hayom, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s David Makovsky and former Ambassador Dennis Ross argue that the collapse of American public support for Israel should be a central issue in the Israeli election campaign. “Never has Israel been so isolated internationally. It is not an island or a superpower and, at a minimum, needs American partnership technologically, militarily, commercially, and politically. The enduring strength of the U.S.-Israel relationship has rested on Israel’s outreach to both parties. It has been a strategic mistake to focus on only the Republicans, especially now when younger Republicans share negative views of Israel and Israel is doing so poorly not just among Democrats but also Independents.” [IsraelHayom]
Gadi’s Grief: In The New York Times, Israeli pollster Dahlia Scheindlin looks at the popularity of Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff whose son was killed in the Israel-Hamas war, and the challenges he faces as he mounts a significant challenge to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Bereavement places Mr. Eisenkot in the same emotional world as other Israelis who have suffered loss or injury, and the many more who suffer with them collectively. Mr. Eisenkot symbolizes someone who understands. … Still, retired generals like Mr. Eisenkot are common in Israeli politics but usually make poor politicians. The former prime ministers Ariel Sharon and Yitzhak Rabin were prominent exceptions.” [NYTimes]
Picture of the Day
The USC Shoah Foundation inaugurated its newest office in the nation’s capital on Tuesday with a gala dinner featuring CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Blitzer (right) told the foundation’s CEO, Robert Williams, that his decision to go into journalism was driven in part by his experiences growing up watching the TV news every night with his family over dinner. Blitzer’s first assignment, as part of a Reuters training fellowship, was to the news wire’s Tel Aviv bureau. “My dad said his biggest revenge to Hitler was seeing his son report the news on CNN,” Blitzer said. Read the full story here.
Birthdays
Art Shamsky, former Major League Baseball player for the Reds, Mets, Cubs and Athletics, turns 85
Bernie S. Siegel, retired Yale professor and pediatric surgeon, he is the author of many books including Matzo Balls for Breakfast: And Other Memories of Growing Up Jewish, turns 94
Shula Marks, emeritus professor of history at the University of London, turns 88
Ralph Lauren, fashion designer and business executive, turns 87
Alan Blinder, economic professor at Princeton, he was former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, co-founder and a vice chairman of the Promontory Interfinancial Network, turns 81
Ira Shapiro, international trade attorney who held senior posts in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, turns 79
Norman Ornstein, author, political scientist and emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, turns 78
Steven Richard Rothman, former member of Congress (D-NJ-9) where he served for 16 years until 2013, turns 74
Suzanne Bonamici, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (D-OR-1), turns 72
Gary Barnett, president and founder of Extell Development Company, turns 71
Isaac Mizrahi, fashion designer, turns 65
Aaron Kotler, president emeritus of Lakewood’s Beth Medrash Govoha, the largest yeshiva in the U.S., turns 63
Jim Rome, sports radio host, his talk show is syndicated by Westwood One, turns 62
Sharon Nazarian, vice chair of the National Board of Directors at the Anti-Defamation League
Michael Feldman, founding partner and managing director at FGS (Finsbury Glover Hering), turns 58
Esther Panitch, only Jewish member of the Georgia House of Representatives, turns 55
Eli Lehrer, president and co-founder of the R Street Institute, a D.C.-based free-market think tank
Shira Ovide, AI reporter at The Washington Post
David Leichtman, senior director of global elections at Microsoft
Eve Lieberman, executive director of the Colorado office of economic development and international trade
Samantha Katz, creative director and curator, now serving as VP of programming and experience at Summit, turns 41
Chana Yemini, independent fundraising and nonprofit consultant
Ariela Barer, actor and singer, best known for playing the role of Gertrude “Gert” Yorkes in the Hulu original series “Runaways,” turns 28
Quinn Hughes, defenseman for the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, he won the 2024 award as the NHL’s best defenseman, turns 27
Benjamin Kapelushnik, entrepreneur and sneaker reseller, known as Benjamin Kickz or the Sneaker Don, turns 27
Joseph Kushner, son of Jared and Ivanka, turns 13
Marsha Grossman
Jason Epstein, president of Southfive Strategies
Zohran Mamdani declined to criticize demonstrators who shouted down a commemoration ceremony he attended for Oct. 7 victims
CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (C-R) attends vigil for Oct. 7 victims on October 7, 2026.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday shrugged off the protest — which featured jeers of “traitor” at the democratic socialist leader, and chants of “long live Hamas” — that sought to drown out an event he attended the night prior memorializing the victims of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.
The mayor, who rose to power as a fierce critic of the Jewish state, declined at a press conference to denounce or even meaningfully engage with the presence of hecklers who massed in Union Square Wednesday night against a vigil organized by the liberal group Israelis for Peace. Protesters used drums and megaphones to berate the mayor and drown out remarks from speakers.
Mamdani’s statement earlier on Wednesday, which devoted greater space to the death toll in the Gaza Strip than to the atrocities on Oct. 7 that triggered Israeli military action, infuriated mainstream Jewish leaders and drew bipartisan rebuke.
Even so, the statement prompted a wave of far-left outrage online for its condemnation of Hamas, as did his participation in the commemoration.
“I was proud to attend last night’s vigil, as I did last year, to listen to testimonies from family members of those who were killed on Oct. 7, and those who’ve been killed in the three years since, and all of whom united in a vision for peace and an end to the genocide in Gaza,” Mamdani told journalists after an unrelated event in Brooklyn. “As for those protesting me, I am the mayor of New York City, and this is what I signed up for.”
Mamdani shrugged off protests — featuring jeers of “traitor” and chants of “long live Hamas” — that sought to drown out an event he attended last night memorializing the victims of Oct. 7. Read more: https://t.co/IsxYgVBc5N https://t.co/ynDyWiz2q8
— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) October 8, 2026
The mayor remained noncommittal when reporters pressed about city approval for a proposed memorial to the nearly 1,200 killed and 251 taken hostage during the assault, and would not answer why he did not dedicate a polished video on official city channels to the tragedy, as he has repeatedly done for the Palestinian cause. He also did not respond to a question about whether he considered the hecklers to be good-faith actors.
“I think that the statement, the attendance, the meeting, it all speaks to a reckoning with horror and a horror that devastated the lives of New Yorkers three years ago, and it also continues to devastate New Yorkers today,” he said.
Plus, Michigan Hillel appears to punt on Israel advocacy
CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (C-R) attends vigil for Oct. 7 victims on October 7, 2026.
Good Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s statement on the Oct. 7 terror attacks and the backlash it provoked from both legislators and Jewish leaders for its criticism of Israel, look at infighting among Republicans over a pro-Israel provision in the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act and cover University of Michigan Hillel’s announced break with national Israel advocacy organizations. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Eli Sharabi, Rep. Haley Stevens and Andy Schor.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss, with assists from Tamara Zieve and Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
Today’s Agenda
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is slated to hold a press conference with New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin this morning on nonprofits. The press conference comes the morning after mayor’s widely panned statement on the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack. More below.
Speaking at a UJA-Federation of New York event last night, Menin — without naming Mamdani or the other far-left officials and candidates who offered similar statements — said, “Today should be a day about only one thing and that is honoring and remembering the 1,200 people who were murdered by Hamas terrorists. That’s what October 7th is about. … This is a very, very difficult day for the Jewish community. And I think to say anything but that is not OK.”
An Oct. 7 vigil last night attended by Mamdani and organized by the left-wing Israelis for Peace was disrupted by anti-Israel protesters, some of whom wore green Hamas headbands and carried Hezbollah flags. The demonstrators screamed into megaphones and banged on drums, accusing Mamdani of being a “sellout,” “coward,” “traitor” and helping to facilitate genocide while the mayor stood silently and listened to remarks from speakers that were repeatedly drowned out by the demonstrators.
In Michigan, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed will participate in a debate tonight hosted by WOOD TV8.
In Jerusalem, Israeli President Isaac Herzog will present the Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism today to six people who helped thwart the attempted hijacking of the FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Sept. 30: Tali Manes, Zvika Manes, Yaniv Hayoun, Shota Musayev, Asaf Rajuan and Or Pardilov.
Israel and the U.K. reached an agreement ahead of today’s deadline to close the U.K.’s consulate in east Jerusalem, which serves Palestinians, following a row between the countries over London’s decision to ban products from West Bank settlements. U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said that the building would be redesignated as a mission and would continue to provide services with a pared-down staff, following a flurry of diplomatic activity — including a quiet trip to Israel last week by U.K. National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell — in an attempt to find a resolution after Israel said it would shutter the facility.
The USS Abraham Lincoln is set to arrive in San Diego today, after a more than 10-month deployment, the bulk of which was in the Middle East…
One Thing To Know
ON THE HILL
A provision in the draft 2027 National Defense Authorization Act that aims to coordinate and enhance cooperation between the U.S. and Israeli militaries has proven to be a significant source of controversy among Democrats, with even some senior lawmakers who defended the provision on its merits flipping against it under pressure.
And, as Congress will have only weeks to pass the NDAA when it returns from recess after the November elections, the provision is facing some resistance from Republican lawmakers as well — an indication of skepticism of the U.S.-Israel partnership building among the GOP base as part of the debate between hawks and isolationists.
The Big Reads
CITY HALL CRITICISM
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani observed the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel with a statement that opened with a denunciation of Hamas and the “horrific war crimes” it committed that day, but spent most of its length excoriating the Israeli response — drawing fierce criticism from mainstream Jewish organizations, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.
“We grieve alongside our many friends and neighbors who still carry that unthinkable loss,” the top of the statement concludes — before launching into the main body of his remarks attacking Israel. “The suffering did not begin nor end that day.” UJA-Federation of New York said in statement that Mamdani “chose to respond to the grief of Jewish New Yorkers by advancing false and inflammatory attacks against Israel — not only inappropriately shifting the focus away from the victims of Hamas’s cruelty, but also placing Jewish New Yorkers at risk.”
Catching heat: Several Democratic lawmakers blasted Mamdani for his Oct. 7 statement, including Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Dan Goldman (D-NY), and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), JI’s Marc Rod reports.
NO COMMENT
Former Rep. Mike Rogers, the Michigan Republican nominee for Senate, issued a statement Wednesday commemorating the third anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel and bashing his Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, while El-Sayed remained silent, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond to multiple inquiries from JI about whether he planned to issue a statement on the Oct. 7 anniversary, and has not shared any such statement publicly. Rogers said, “Three years ago today, the world witnessed in horror the worst massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust. This dark day is a sad reminder that evil exists all around us. And how we respond to evil determines how much it grows.”
Not on board: Lansing, Mich., Mayor Andy Schor told CNN that he’s not currently supporting El-Sayed, and is not willing to consider backing him without a conversation with El-Sayed about the nominee’s rhetoric around Israel and antisemitism.
Go Blue, but blue and white?
University of Michigan Hillel is ending its formal affiliations with student groups and national organizations engaged in Israel advocacy, lobbying or political organizing, while insisting that the policy does not represent a retreat from its support for Israel, Jewish Insider‘s Haley Cohen reports. The policy, announced by interim Executive Director Cindy Hughey in a message to students at the start of the academic year last month, is part of what Michigan Hillel described as a renewed focus on Jewish life, learning and community. University of Michigan Hillel said it will “no longer formally affiliate with national organizations or student groups whose primary work involves Israel-related advocacy, lobbying, or political organizing,” but it will continue to offer Israel education, cultural programming and discussions about Israel.
The Rundown
POLICY PIVOT
kings county kerfuffle
exclusive
SURVEY SAYS
doha dealings
On Our Radar
● The Live Briefing. Word on the street, clips, podcasts and quick updates — the items we’re tracking all day in our Live Briefing on the app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Texas, President Donald Trump doubled down on comments made earlier this week that Iran could target San Diego and Los Angeles, telling a crowd in San Antonio, “You want to see trauma? You want to see problems? And I said it the other day, let them hit a missile into San Diego or Los Angeles on the way”…
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is in Greece this week, reiterated the Trump administration’s position that “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Simple, period, end of story.”
Speaking in Athens yesterday, Rubio praised Western civilization, drawing a contrast between the Iranian regime, which he cast as a “cult of death” that glorifies martyrdom, and the West’s tradition of loyalty and sacrifice…
The Department of Defense instructed U.S. Central Command to prepare for a potential resumption of strikes targeting Iran, which according to Israeli and U.S. officials could take place before the midterms…
At least 81 U.S. military aircraft and drones have been damaged or destroyed since the war with Iran began in February, according to a new Congressional Research Service report; the losses include 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones and 12 F-15E fighter jets…
A tanker near the coast of Qatar was struck on Wednesday, the first reported strike on a vessel in the Gulf in nearly a month…
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) released a short documentary she made about the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, compiled from interviews with survivors; Stevens said she “wanted people to hear directly from those who lived through it, to see their humanity, their grief, and their resilience”…
A Haverford College professor was charged with cyberstalking and taken into federal custody over threatening and antisemitic messages sent to a co-worker; Guangtian Ha, whom the college has placed on leave, reportedly used anonymous social media accounts to post the home address of his colleague, and sent messages including one that warned that “The Führer is coming, rats”…
The co-pilot who attempted to hijack and crash a FlyDubai flight reportedly told investigators he had sought out roles at airlines that would bring him to Israel and considered carrying out his attack in July, stating he was motivated to do so over the war in Gaza; he reportedly changed his mind because a friend was among the crew on the July flight…
The U.K.’s Metropolitan Police arrested 11 individuals at anti-Israel marches coinciding with the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks, including five at a “spontaneous protest” outside the Camden headquarters of the Board of Deputies, the representative body of British Jews…
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot visited Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square and Kibbutz Be’eri on the anniversary of the attacks, saying in a statement that France “will never forget” the victims of the Oct. 7 attacks…
Three people were killed and dozens wounded in Houthi attacks on airports in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and Wednesday, escalating the conflict between Riyadh and the Iran-backed terror group in Yemen…
Hezbollah reportedly received $200 million from Iran to support Lebanese displaced by the war with Iran; the State Department denied the transfer of funds, saying that the Iran-backed terror group was “trying to save face with fake stories about cash influxes from Iran”…
French-Jewish scientist Henri Kagan, a Holocaust survivor, won the Nobel Prize in chemistry, alongside Japan’s Kenso Soai, for their work on homochirality, building off the 19th-century research of Louis Pasteur; Kagan, 95, is the third-oldest winner of a Nobel Prize…
Worthy Reads
Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Back Home, For Now: In The Atlantic, Amir Tibon, whose family survived the Oct. 7 attacks in their Nahal Oz home, ties his decision to permanently relocate back to the kibbutz on the outcome of the upcoming elections. “Emigration, of course, is always easier to imagine than to execute, and there are many people in this land who would suffer if this government returns to power but who have nowhere to go. … Yet for many Israelis who do have options abroad, starting over somewhere else, with all of its difficulties, seems a better choice than four more years of Netanyahu’s corruption, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich’s extremism, and the ultra-Orthodox parties’ shameless plunder of public funds, all amid a regional ‘forever war’ with no end in sight.” [TheAtlantic]
Mamdani’s Message: In The Free Press, Eli Lake weighs in on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s statement on the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks, which drew bipartisan criticism for its focus on Israel’s war in Gaza. “These are not the errant ravings of a fringe activist or edgy podcaster. This is the mayor of New York sounding like the hate-filled radicals that swarmed American campuses in 2023 and 2024. One should have grace for the youth and the terminally online. But the mayor is a civic leader. When he spreads this poison, he mainstreams it.” [FreePress]
No Direction Home: In eJewishPhilanthropy, the Hadar Institute’s Rabbi Avi Killip reflects on the feeling of political homelessness increasingly felt by American Jews. “Those who once felt comfortable on the left are facing the antisemitism that has been there for years but now become impossible to overlook or excuse. Those who found a home on the right, grateful for leaders willing to acknowledge and defend Israel and Israelis, have watched that support waffle and wane with the winds of the moment.” [eJP]
Picture of the Day
Former hostage Eli Sharabi c0-hosted the October 7 Families’ National Memorial Ceremony alongside actress Shani Cohen on Wednesday night in Tel Aviv’s HaYarkon Park. At the end of the ceremony, Sharabi delivered a monologue dedicated to the memory of his wife, Lianne, and two teenage daughters, Noiya and Yahel, who were killed in their home in Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7.
Birthdays
Yaakov “Kobi” Marimi, singer and actor, he represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, turns 35
Isadore Sharp, founder and chairman of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, author and philanthropist, turns 95
Agustin Estrada, general surgeon in Tempe, Ariz.
Rona Barrett, gossip columnist and businesswoman, turns 90
R. L. Stine, author of more than 330 horror novels, turns 83
Brian E. Frosh, attorney general of Maryland from 2015 to 2023, turns 80
Stephen Shore, director of the photography department at Bard College since 1982, more than 25 books of his photographs have been published, turns 79
Edward Zwick, Academy Award-winning film producer and director, turns 74
Jonathan Kessler, AIPAC senior staffer for 18 years and now CEO of Heart of a Nation
Shira Piven, movie and theater director, writer and filmmaker, turns 65
David Kustoff, member of the House of Representatives (R-TN-8), one of four Jewish Republican congressmen, turns 60
Stefan Simchowitz, Los Angeles-based art collector, art curator and art advisor, turns 56
Rabbi Menachem Creditor, scholar-in-residence at UJA-Federation of New York
Ben Lyons, entertainment reporter and sports commentator, turns 45
Ilana Blitzer Snider, magazine editor and daughter of CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, turns 45
Aliyana Traison, N.Y.-based therapist
Adina Lichtman, founder of Knock Knock, Give a Sock, an organization that collects socks for the homeless
Rep. Josh Gottheimer: ’Mr. Mayor, you're right that today is painful for Jews. You're also the one making it worse’
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) during a hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on June 24, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Several Democratic lawmakers blasted New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday for his statement on the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel — which focused primarily on condemning Israel, the war in Gaza and Jerusalem’s alleged “ongoing genocide” and “apartheid.”
“He basically said ‘The Jews that died, sad, but it’s their fault,’” Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) said on X. “He needs the city’s antisemitism policy for himself. Just an atrocious statement.”
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) accused Mamdani of “[d]esecrating the memory of murdered, innocent Jews today of all days and refusing to even condemn Hamas,” calling the mayor’s statement “obscene.”
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), who lost his primary race in part due to his support for Israel, said that Mamdani’s statement was “reprehensible.”
“In the guise of ‘grieving’ with those mourning that day, Mayor Mamdani asserts as fact hotly disputed allegations that he knows full well will offend and further upset those same people he pretends to grieve with,” Goldman said. “On this day of all days, the Mayor of the city with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel embraces extreme activism instead of balanced leadership.”
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) accused Mamdani of worsening Jews’ pain.
“Mr. Mayor, you’re right that today is painful for Jews. You’re also the one making it worse,” Gottheimer said. “Blame the victims. Trash Israel. Wife likes posts cheering the attack. Thanks for the clarity.”
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) did not explicitly mention Mamdani, but condemned critics of Israel who used the anniversary as an opportunity to bash Israel.
“The world demonizes Israel 365 days a year,” Torres said. “Perhaps, for just one day—October 7th—the critics of Israel could take a vacation from their hysterical hatred of the world’s only Jewish State and find it within themselves to express condolences for the thousands of Israelis murdered, maimed, mutilated, raped, and abducted at the hands of Hamas.”
Other Democratic leaders have also spoken out.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran against Mamdani, also criticized him, saying that Oct. 7 “should be sacred.”
“Yet even today, @NYCMayor cannot put aside his ideological obsession with Israel long enough to simply let Jews mourn,” Cuomo said. “At a time of rising antisemitism, words matter, and rhetoric has real-world consequences. There are 364 other days for politics. Today, remember the victims. Condemn Hamas. Stand with the Jewish community. It should not be difficult.”
Former New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Steve Fulop, who now leads the business advocacy group Partnership for NYC, called Mamdani’s statement “inappropriate and unnecessarily inflammatory.”
“At a time when heightened antisemitism is a real concern — one the Mayor himself has acknowledged — New York’s elected leaders should be focused on bringing our city together and addressing the urgent challenges facing New Yorkers, not creating further division,” Fulop said.
Former Florida Senate candidate Alex Vindman issued an implicit condemnation of Mamdani, saying, “You could save your selective ahistorical biased opinions on the whole history of Israel and Palestine (seemingly justifying October 7th) until say tomorrow. Your empathy could exceed your biases.”
Deborah Lipstadt, the State Department’s former ambassador to monitor and combat antisemitism under the Biden administration, also criticized Mamdani’s statement.
New York-based and national Jewish groups have condemned Mamdani’s statement as well.
The UJA-Federation of New York said that the anniversary “should have been a day” to stand with the victims and survivors of Oct. 7.
“Instead, Mayor Mamdani chose to respond to the grief of Jewish New Yorkers by advancing false and inflammatory attacks against Israel — not only inappropriately shifting the focus away from the victims of Hamas’s cruelty, but also placing Jewish New Yorkers at risk, the group continued.
William Daroff and Betsy Berns Korn, respectively CEO and chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said similarly in a joint statement, “There is a time for debate over Middle East policy. The anniversary of the October 7 massacre is not that time. Exploiting a day of profound grief to accuse Israel of genocide dishonors the memory of those who were murdered, deepens the pain of survivors and hostage families, and further alienates Jewish New Yorkers at a moment that should unite us in remembrance.”
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, said he’s spoken directly with Mamdani about his rhetoric, “but he once again found an opportunity to be callous toward Jewish pain.”
“He gave Hamas a single sentence and then spent the rest of his statement condemning Israel,” Jacobs said. “You cannot proclaim empathy and care for the Jewish community and then fail to show basic humanity toward us in our grief. Turning this anniversary into an indictment of the Jewish state is not only hurtful, and deeply offensive, but it also makes Jewish New Yorkers less safe.”
Democratic Majority for Israel said Mamdani’s statement “diminishes the gravity of the day and disrespects the victims.”
A slew of Republicans have also spoken out to condemn Mamdani, including Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rick Scott (R-FL); Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Jason Smith (R-MO) and Rudy Yakym (R-IN); U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Board Chair Jeff Miller; Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders; U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee; former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley; and former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY).
Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter also condemned Mamdani’s “dangerous lies” and called him a “defender of Palestinian terrorism, a promoter of antisemitism, and an advocate of anti-Americanism” as well as an ally of Hamas.
In spite of his staunch anti-Israel stance, Mamdani is still facing protests from further-left anti-Israel demonstrators today, accusing him of genocide and of betraying the anti-Israel movement.
Jewish groups condemned Mamdani for amplifying rhetoric they said puts Jewish New Yorkers at risk — on a day of mourning for victims of Hamas attacks
Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, arrives to speak to members of the media in New York, on July 7, 2026.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani observed the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel with a statement that opened with a denunciation of Hamas and the “horrific war crimes” it committed that day, but spent most of its length excoriating the Israeli response — drawing fierce criticism from mainstream Jewish organizations.
“We grieve alongside our many friends and neighbors who still carry that unthinkable loss,” the top of the statement concludes — before launching into the main body of his remarks attacking Israel. “The suffering did not begin nor end that day. It instead continued through the Israeli government’s devastating, ongoing genocide in Gaza,” it continues.
The mayor then launched into a litany of familiar criticisms of the Israeli military campaign in Gaza and of U.S. support for the Jewish state in a passage more than twice as long as his comments on Hamas and its victims.
“Many New Yorkers are reckoning with this unbearable grief, and we mourn alongside them — all while knowing that our tax dollars fund these war crimes,” the statement continues. “Three years later, we must refuse to accept a world in which occupation and apartheid continue, where war crimes are met with impunity, and our federal government continues its complicity with every arms shipment.”
The mayor concluded his statement with a call “to honor the dead, we must fight for a world in which every person can live with freedom, safety, and dignity.”
The decision to devote the bulk of his statement commemorating the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust to attacking Israel infuriated leading Jewish religious civic leaders.
“Today should have been a day for New York to stand with the victims of October 7, their families, and all those still living with the trauma of Hamas’s barbaric attack,” UJA-Federation of New York said in statement. “Instead, Mayor Mamdani chose to respond to the grief of Jewish New Yorkers by advancing false and inflammatory attacks against Israel — not only inappropriately shifting the focus away from the victims of Hamas’s cruelty, but also placing Jewish New Yorkers at risk.”
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations also released a statement, saying, “Mayor Zohran Mamdani chose this solemn day to advance his familiar attacks on the Jewish state. There is a time for debate over Middle East policy. The anniversary of the October 7 massacre is not that time. Exploiting a day of profound grief to accuse Israel of genocide dishonors the memory of those who were murdered, deepens the pain of survivors and hostage families, and further alienates Jewish New Yorkers at a moment that should unite us in remembrance.”
“Mayor Mamdani cannot give Jewish New Yorkers even a single day to mourn without gaslighting us and appropriating the trauma of Oct. 7,” Rabbi Marc Schneier of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding said in a statement, re-upping longstanding concerns that the mayor’s constant criticism of Israel feeds into the city’s spike in antisemitic hate crimes under his leadership. “His rhetoric fuels hostility toward Jewish New Yorkers. Today, he could have honored the victims and promoted peace and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians. Instead, he chose to incite hatred.”
Andrew Gross, New York regional director for the American Jewish Committee, also criticized the mayor for what he described as injecting politics into a solemn occasion.
“Today is about the 1,200 lives stolen on October 7, 2023, the 251 who were taken hostage, and the countless others who were terrorized by Hamas and continue to be haunted by the violence inflicted on them, their families, and an entire country that day,” Gross wrote in a statement to Jewish Insider. “It is not about the mayor or his efforts to advance a false political narrative. His decision to use October 7 to promote slander against the Jewish state and amplify rhetoric that puts Jewish New Yorkers at greater risk is especially painful and egregious.”
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, meanwhile, highlighted that the mayor’s statement made no reference to “Jews,” repeating a frequent criticism that Mamdani does not recognize or appreciate that many of the people he represents feel an affinity to Israel as a nation — even as he frequently and explicitly identifies New Yorkers of Palestinian background with events in Gaza and the West Bank.
“You are weaponizing a day meant for mourning the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust to recycle your usual antizionist talking points,” Greenblatt wrote to Mamdani on X. “The city with the largest Jewish population outside Israel deserves a mayor who can honor the dead without exploiting them.”
The mayor’s schedule indicated the mayor will attend first a vigil for the Oct. 7 victims before he “meets with Palestinian New Yorkers” on Wednesday. His office did not provide additional details.
JI reported in March that Mamdani’s wife liked multiple posts on Instagram celebrating the Oct. 7 attacks.
Ironically, Mamdani’s statement on X also prompted an outpouring of antisemitic commentary from the site’s users suggesting he was controlled by Jewish interests.
The mayor pushed back on questions about pouring cash into nonprofits and not changing his Israel rhetoric
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a press conference during moving day at Gracie Mansion on January 12, 2026 in New York City.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani defended his administration’s strategy to battle spiking antisemitic offenses by spending heavily on nonprofit-based “hate crime prevention” and lower outlays for security — all while keeping up his fierce criticism of Israel on official government channels.
On Tuesday, the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism released its weeks-delayed “strategy to combat antisemitism,” which touted $1 million in security grants for houses of worship and “other sensitive locations” and $26 million in already announced funding for the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes.
Questioned by Jewish Insider at a press conference on Wednesday about evidence that the hate crimes office funding has made a meaningful difference, given that the increased funding has coincided with more and more bias incidents targeting Jews, Mamdani instead talked about his experience learning about the Holocaust as a teenager, and pointed to declining public awareness of the Nazi genocide.
Asked by JI's @WillBredderman about evidence that increased funding for the city’s hate crimes office has mitigated antisemitism, Mamdani instead spoke of learning about the Holocaust as a teenager and pointed to its declining public awareness.
— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) September 30, 2026
Read more: https://t.co/16IXo3F18B pic.twitter.com/5grW4pbSDw
“You know, I myself, I went to Bronx Science [High School], and we were lucky to have resources of Holocaust education. I remember going recently to a number of museums where we could see what that actually meant,” the mayor said, as his staff sought to talk over a JI reporter and turned his microphone off. “And that’s something I want to provide for every New Yorker.”
The plan faced immediate criticism from leading Jewish groups for omitting any reference to Israel, including cases of violence and vandalism against New York’s Jews and their institutions inspired by opposition to the Jewish state. But on Wednesday the mayor maintained the program was the product of discussions with “more than 100 Jewish leaders,” and rejected calls that he tone down his own fervent denunciations of Israeli leadership and the military campaign in the Gaza Strip.
“When it comes to criticism of the Israeli prime minister or the Israeli government, that has no bearing on our responsibility to keep Jewish New Yorkers safe,” he asserted. “The responsibility for the Israeli government’s actions lies with the Israeli government. It does not lie with Jewish New Yorkers.”
A list of the Office to Prevent Hate Crimes’ subvendors from 2025 lists a wide array of traditional Jewish and non-Jewish social service providers, many politically connected, as well as explicitly anti-Zionist nonprofits such as Jews for Racial & Economic Justice and the New York chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations. Agudath Israel of America particularly critiqued the administration’s emphasis on secular expressions of Jewish identity, and $2.5 million in city financing for a facility for the Center for New Jewish Culture, which has hosted and supported Jewish critics of Zionism and Israel.
The mayor brushed off questions about Jewish New Yorkers who consider him an antisemite, while noting his continuing celebration of Sukkot with prominent Jewish supporters.
“I think my job as the mayor is not to get bothered by other people’s opinion,” he said. “My job is to deliver for them, no matter what their opinion is.”
The Israeli prime minister called the focus on settler violence an ‘obsession’ and declared that Israel ‘prevented genocide’
Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters on September 24, 2026 in New York City.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against criticism of Israel over Gaza and the West Bank in his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, taking aim at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, French President Emmanuel Macron, Qatar and Turkey.
After most of the hall conducted a walkout at the outset of his speech, Netanyahu condemned violence by Israeli settlers while dismissing the international focus on settler violence as an “obsession.” He said roughly 150 young Israelis were responsible for throwing stones, destroying olive trees and setting fires in the West Bank and said Israel had deployed the Shin Bet against them.
“I can’t stand that. I won’t stand for vigilantism,” Netanyahu said, before arguing that the attention paid to such attacks was disproportionate to Palestinian terrorism. “We can’t stand settler violence. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
In his UNGA address, Netanyahu alleged that "several foreign countries have spent untold billions to spread lies" about Israel, calling out Qatar for "massively funding American universities and toxic media outlets like Al Jazeera … [to] brainwash young minds to hate Israel." pic.twitter.com/3yhyYfgy9z
— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) September 24, 2026
Netanyahu directly addressed Macron, pointing to the killing of Netanel Shukrun, a French citizen and father of six who was shot in a West Bank terror attack on Sunday, and the serious wounding of IDF reservist Neria Leiter, son of Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, in a car-ramming attack on Wednesday.
Macron had said in his UNGA address that Hamas had “never operated” in the West Bank, while criticizing Israeli policy there. A French diplomatic official later clarified that Macron meant Hamas does not govern the West Bank.
The prime minister also rejected accusations that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, directly addressing Mamdani, who has repeatedly called Netanyahu a war criminal.
“Israel didn’t commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide,” Netanyahu said. He also raised that Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, had liked multiple Instagram posts celebrating Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. “You try to silence me. Well, you can’t silence me. You can’t silence the truth,” the prime minister said.
In response, Mamdani accused Netanyahu in a statement of using his U.N. address “to repeat baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians.”
Netanyahu went on to accuse foreign countries of spending “untold billions” to spread anti-Israel messages through traditional and social media, singling out Qatar for “massively funding American universities and toxic media outlets” in what he alleged was an effort to “brainwash young minds to hate Israel, hate America, hate the West.”
He called Turkey the latest “superspreader of antisemitic lies” and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan a “tyrant,” accusing Ankara of supporting Hamas and seeking greater influence in Syria.
Netanyahu also responded to Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who said in his UNGA address on Wednesday that the Golan Heights “will remain Syrian territory.”
“Mr. al-Sharaa, you should know the Jews have been on the Golan Heights since the days of Moses,” Netanyahu said. “You can read it in the Bible.”
The administration failed to produce the proposal it promised by Rosh Hashanah
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a food distribution center on July 27, 2026 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s team vowed that it would produce its long-promised plan to fight antisemitism in the five boroughs “soon” — but declined to provide any specifics about when it might actually come out or why his administration failed to meet its original Rosh Hashanah deadline.
The mayor has repeatedly alluded to a forthcoming “first-in-the-nation municipal response” to anti-Jewish prejudice, even as his short tenure leading the city with the largest Jewish population in the world has seen a spike in hate crimes against Jews. The Jewish community is consistently the target of more than half of all hate crimes, despite making up around one-tenth of New York City’s population.
When asked why its Office to Combat Antisemitism had failed to produce the plan before the High Holy Days as promised, a City Hall spokesperson only promised it would be out “soon.”
“The mayor is fully committed to the safety of Jewish New Yorkers and to using every tool available to ensure that Jewish communities continue to thrive as an essential part of the fabric of the five boroughs,” Sam Raskin, Mamdani’s deputy press secretary, told Jewish Insider.
Mamdani himself did not answer a question from JI about the report’s status following an unrelated event — the release of a plan to combat traffic-related deaths — on Tuesday afternoon.
Former Mayor Eric Adams, Mamdani’s predecessor, released a “blueprint” for tackling antisemitism on his last day in office, largely detailing steps his office had already taken. This included an executive order Adams signed adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism as official city policy.
The IHRA definition has been sharply criticized by Mamdani’s base for its assertion that the denial of the Jewish right to national self-determination and the comparison of Israeli actions to Nazi Germany are antisemitic, even though it explicitly states that criticism of Israeli policy that might be applied to any other country “cannot be regarded as antisemitic.”
Mamdani, whose frequent broadsides against Israel powered his rise to political prominence, repealed the Adams order, along with a dozen others his predecessor signed, the day he assumed office.
The administration’s failure to put out its program to counter anti-Jewish hate sparked outrage from the Anti-Defamation League, one of Mamdani’s most consistent critics.
“The delay from the @NYCMayor’s office to combat antisemitism is unacceptable,” the group posted on X. “The safety and security of Jewish New Yorkers is not a political football.”
The group further demanded the final plan include an official definition of antisemitism — which the administration has resisted setting — specific proposals for protecting Jewish institutions, “zero tolerance” for antisemitism in the municipal bureaucracy and a pledge not to boycott businesses and organizations linked to Israel.
Raskin did not respond to a JI request for his reaction to the ADL’s statement.
An insider with knowledge of the plan’s status told JI it remains unfinished. The source, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely, added that the administration had received input from the Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, an anti-Zionist activist group that supported Mamdani’s election.
Outreach to JFREJ was answered with an autoreply stating the group was inaccessible until after Yom Kippur.
Speaking to JI about ‘I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends,’ the liberal Fox News co-host also shared her conflicted views on Zohran Mamdani and how Oct. 7 deepened her Jewish identity
In her new book, Fox News co-host Jessica Tarlov advocates for constructive disagreement — “acknowledge without accepting,” or hearing someone out, hard as it may be, without torching the relationship or one’s own beliefs.
In an interview with Jewish Insider ahead of Tuesday’s release of I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends, Tarlov pointed to her closely watched sit-down last year with far-left streamer Hasan Piker as evidence that her framework holds even when strained against its limits. Piker was “incredibly nice and gracious,” she recalled, arguing that calls for him to be shut out of Democratic circles are misguided.
The exchange highlights the balancing act central to both Tarlov’s book and her on-air image as the primary liberal co-host on the Fox News talk show “The Five.” But in her conversation with JI, Tarlov, who is Jewish, noted that there is sometimes discomfort in that instinct to engage across lines — the thesis of her book. She said she finds unease in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign appearance with Columbia University anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil, accusations that Israel committed “genocide” and just how much attention Piker’s commentary is getting in a divided Democratic Party.
“How much the discourse is dominated by Hasan Piker and those kinds of discussions is just a general turnoff” of the Democratic Party, Tarlov told JI, “and people don’t necessarily feel like we’re getting the news because there’s so much focus on the infighting.” She pointed to Michigan’s upcoming Senate race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) as a key test of just how deep those divisions run. “It will be a really interesting test as to how divided the party actually is along the lines of this issue — and who comes around to El-Sayed, who goes through with voting for Mike Rogers, or sitting home.”
Despite her willingness to engage with Piker, Tarlov argued the wall-to-wall focus on him has become its own kind of distraction from the issues actually most important to voters.
“I do think the discourse being about him 24/7 is really ignoring what most people are concerned about in their lives,” she said. “They’re thinking ‘my gas prices are up’ and we’re like, ‘Hasan Piker.’ That’s just really missing the mark.”
Last November, when Tarlov found herself seated next to Piker on a panel at Crooked Media’s Crooked Con, she said she was “nervous” going in, given how divisive of an issue his past rhetoric — including justifying Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks and saying America deserved 9/11 — had already become. But she found him friendly, and even took some of his feedback under consideration: “The one thing he did say to me, which did resonate, was that the only criticism of what I do is that I’m too hard on the progressive left. I spent a lot of time thinking about that and ultimately I do think that he’s right.”
“It had been much easier for me to insult AOC for instance and it was kind of low-hanging fruit and there are enough people now who aren’t even necessarily in the far-left party who want things like universal health care. The center part of the party hasn’t been talking about affordability issues in a way that is connecting like Mamdani did in the mayoral election, or that we’re not talking enough about building affordable housing. I thought that was a good note,” she added.
Asked if Democrats should more vigorously condemn Piker — who has over 3 million Twitch followers — or banish him from party circles, Tarlov rejected the premise.
“The idea of us deciding who has legitimacy or platforming when someone has a platform of that size already is really missing the point,” she said. “I show up everyday and talk to people who I disagree with, in some cases people who believe in things I am deeply against. If you don’t engage you leave open this chasm for other people to fill it. I’m not running to be on Hasan’s stream — I wasn’t invited either — but I do think this idea of we’re not going to platform him when he has a bigger platform than most of the people who are saying they have no interest in having him is a little bit embarrassing.”
“In terms of being more culturally Jewish, I do think Oct. 7 changed everything for many nonpracticing Jews in this country, where it became such a bigger part of our identity, where we’re more attuned to discussions around Judaism and Israel in general and it has made us more interested in being affiliated with the religion. It just becomes a more prominent part of your identity when something like that happens,” Tarlov said.
Tarlov’s prominent role as the only Jewish panelist on “The Five” has coincided with Fox News catching the eye of some liberal-leaning American Jews who felt that in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks, much of the mainstream coverage was biased against Israel.
Tarlov said she brings up her Jewish background on air, including her family’s history of fleeing Europe ahead of the Holocaust and her own run-in with rising antisemitism as a student in London two decades ago, “because I think it is relevant and I have a pretty mainstream Jewish perspective on what’s going on in the Middle East and what [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has done and the aftermath of Oct. 7,” she told JI. “I draw on it explicitly because I think it’s important for viewers to know there is a Jewish person who is saying this who is not just someone with an opinion and that I have real connective tissue to the religion and to Israel.”
“In terms of being more culturally Jewish, I do think Oct. 7 changed everything for many nonpracticing Jews in this country, where it became such a bigger part of our identity, where we’re more attuned to discussions around Judaism and Israel in general and it has made us more interested in being affiliated with the religion. It just becomes a more prominent part of your identity when something like that happens,” she continued.
While her cultural connection to Judaism deepened after Oct. 7, Tarlov is no stranger to antisemitism. In her book, she recounts heated politics over Israel during her time at the London School of Economics and former London Mayor Ken Livingstone’s controversial rhetoric during his 2012 campaign to reclaim the office. Tarlov told JI that the period “shaped my current political perspective” and felt like a foreshadowing of the current climate on U.S. college campuses.
“You can draw a straight line from those experiences to what happened at Columbia,” she said. “If there had been an igniting event like Oct. 7 you could easily see how it would spill over into something like that. I’m a little bit embarrassed that I didn’t understand the gravity of it in full back when it was going on. But I definitely see important comparisons — and as someone who likes to look at politics from a sociological lens — how much writing was on the wall. This was really an international movement that got so powerful in what feels like a short period of time.”
“And then working on [then-Mayor] Boris Johnson’s 2012 campaign and following Ken Livingstone, the labor candidate, and seeing him speak at town halls and mosques and how much widespread acceptance there was for antisemitism, was very jarring for me,” said Tarlov. “That stuck with me.”
Tarlov is seeing similar dynamics play out where she lives now, in Manhattan. She writes in her book that “making Jewish New Yorkers feel safe” was on her checklist for the city’s mayoral candidate, and Mamdani didn’t meet it. Eight months after he moved into Gracie Mansion, Tarlov told JI she’s “conflicted” about that view.
“I think he’s been better than a lot of people expected,” she said. “I’m close with a lot of people in the Modern Orthodox community of Riverdale and I pay a lot of attention to how they’re feeling and where they’re going for their information. If you ask them, they’d say there are [good policies like] universal childcare, not related to the Jewish community. But they feel he’s fallen short when it comes to [other issues]. I’m in the realm of neutral based upon my expectations.”
Still, she noted that “one of the difficult moments for me in his campaign was when he campaigned with Mahmoud Khalil.”
“Khalil represents somebody that infringed upon Jewish students at Columbia’s civil rights,” she said. “I was overwhelmed by the feeling that if that happened to Black students, trans students, any other protected sect that would never have been tolerated. So to see him as a campaign surrogate was very difficult for me. I understand that the Trump administration unfairly targeted [Khalil with deportation threats] and I know that’s the thrust of why he was part of the campaign, and he’s been to Gracie Mansion since then, but that was quite jolting to me.”
Asked whether she agreed with Jewish leaders who’ve blamed Mamdani’s rhetoric on Israel for fueling New York’s rise in antisemitism, Tarlov pushed back, framing the criticism as part of a broader pattern she sees playing out with Piker. “This gets back to the Hasan Piker discourse,” she said. “Everyone is going crazy about his comments and then there’s a lot of footage of other people saying similar things, and people said Hasan was antisemitic for saying that.”
She traced the surge in antisemitic rhetoric more broadly to the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks rather than to any one figure. “I wouldn’t put it at Mamdani’s feet like that,” she said, though she added she understood the impulse among Jewish leaders trying to reassure anxious congregants: “People are trying to manage a congregation full of people who are afraid and angry, and a lot of them are disappointed that there wasn’t a candidate that they were excited about.”
The book’s core idea is “acknowledge without accepting,” something Tarlov has proven she can do across many political subjects. But does that framework still work when the disagreement is about something like Israel’s right to exist?
Tarlov’s advice is to “find a way to slide in your perspective without making it a knockdown, drag-out fight.” She pointed to a recent appearance by Ryan Grim — the co-founder of the Hamas-sympathetic outlet Drop Site News — on “Raging Moderates,” the podcast that she co-hosts with Scott Galloway. On air, Grim referred to Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.
“The point of my book was for people to have a longer-term perspective on these tough issues and tips and tricks that could help them do better in these fraught conversations,” Tarlov told JI.
“When he was finished talking, I said, ‘I don’t use that term, I don’t see it that way,’ and then moved on,” Tarlov recalled. “So there are ways to acknowledge without accepting, as per the book, but to make sure it doesn’t cut off all conversation.”
“I think you should always have the conversation — I believe in that,” she continued.
“Understanding other people’s point of view is really of value. I also understand how deeply personal [Israel] is for people. It’s a little different than hearing someone’s view of immigration, let’s say, where they want mass deportations. Saying there should be a one-state solution in the Palestinian direction feels different than that.”
“The point of my book was for people to have a longer-term perspective on these tough issues and tips and tricks that could help them do better in these fraught conversations,” Tarlov told JI.
“That absolutely does apply to being able to dialogue with people over something like Israel and its right to exist. On an emotional level, I think it is more complicated than your average policy issue but I still think the framework applies, and I did have it in mind as I was writing the book. It’s up there as a top five difficult issue for people to talk about and was pulling my political party — and relationships — apart.”
The New York City mayor slammed a local party boss’ bid to retain power, but he did not do the same for antisemitic conspiracy-spreader Carmella Charrington
Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, arrives to speak to members of the media in New York, on July 7, 2026.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani refused on Monday to answer questions about a Brooklyn Democratic leader who promoted Henry Ford’s The International Jew and blamed a property dispute on “Zionists.”
Following an unrelated event in Queens, the mayor refused to answer on three separate occasions when Jewish Insider pressed him about Carmella Charrington, elected in June to the unpaid but important role of Democratic district leader. As first reported by JI, Charrington shared an Instagram video last fall boosting the notorious pamphlet series by the founder of the Ford Motor Company, a clip that blamed Jewish people for a range of societal maladies from slavery to the proliferation of alcohol and drugs.
Charrington first rose to prominence over a dispute over control of her family home, describing herself as a victim of deed theft, while New York State Attorney General Letitia James’ office found that the battle over her brownstone in Bedford-Stuyvesant was simply a complicated dispute over the estate of her Alzheimer’s-stricken father. Charrington has attacked the Jewish investors involved as “Zionists” and suggested some link between her situation and Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank.
After publication, Mamdani’s team reached out with a statement addressing Charrington’s attacks on the property investors.
“Suggesting that an alleged deed theft in Brooklyn is part of a global conspiracy involving Jewish people is blatant, reprehensible antisemitism,” the statement said. “Trafficking in these dangerous antisemitic tropes is vile and inexcusable.”
However, the administration did not answer a follow-up question about whether the mayor believed Charrington should step aside from her district leader role.
JI’s reporting on Charrington’s antisemitic posts prompted condemnations from James and from New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, though neither has called for her to step aside from her district leader position.
Meanwhile Democrats aligned with Brooklyn Democratic Party boss Rodneyse Bichotte — whom Charrington and her slate aim to remove — have demanded Charrington’s resignation.
“Jewish New Yorkers are being attacked. Synagogues are being targeted. Public officials have a duty to lower the temperature and not amplify rhetoric that endangers their neighbors,” district leader and Assembly candidate Joey Cohen-Saban wrote last week on X. “Charrington has repeatedly crossed that line without remorse. She is unfit for public office and must resign. Every Brooklyn Democratic leader and anyone seeking to lead this party must say so clearly and unequivocally. No excuses. No equivocation. Period.”
Charrington was elected to party leadership during the Mamdani-aligned progressive wave in June, with support from leading figures in the New York City Democratic Socialists of America, all with the aim of ousting Bichotte from power. Bichotte has controversially proposed changes to the Brooklyn Democratic organization’s internal leadership selection process that might let her retain power, despite several of her candidates for district leader losing in June.
Unlike with Charrington, Mamdani was not shy with his opinion about the local party leader and her machinations.
“I very much oppose these proposed changes by the current Brooklyn Democratic Party chair,” Mamdani said. “They are an attempt to circumnavigate the will of voters and what we should see is a reflection of what New Yorkers want to see in their home, as opposed to a representation of so much of what has led New Yorkers to become — and Americans to become — disengaged and disaffected in politics at large.”
Julio Peña, the favorite to replace Bichotte, has issued only a general condemnation of antisemitism but has refused to directly address the remarks from Charrington, with whom he ran on a slate.
Charrington won her race with backing from key figures in the Democratic Socialists of America, state Sen. Jabari Brisport and state Assembly nominee Eon Huntley. On her Instagram account last November, Charrington declared the video — which also urged viewers to watch a notorious Swedish neo-Nazi documentary and read Holocaust denial literature — “the truth” and asserted, “This better be the topic at the table.” In a subsequent conversation with JI, she told a reporter to “get your rabbi” for a “roundtable” she planned to hold on a “bullying community.”
However, she later issued an apology for the video in a statement to The New York Times.
This story was updated on Aug. 24 with a statement from Mamdani’s office.
Mamdani’s antisemitism czar invited a cross-section of rabbis and Jewish leaders broadly sympathetic to the mayor for the candid conversation
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a food distribution center on July 27, 2026 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
A roundtable with New York City rabbis held at City Hall on Monday gave participants a chance to voice growing concerns about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Israel rhetoric they felt had before gone unheard — with several attendees telling Jewish Insider the strong collective message, and Mamdani’s reaction, gave them hope he would change tack.
Multiple attendees of the meeting told JI that they had been in contact with Mamdani’s Office to Combat Antisemitism for months about his “single fixation” on Israel and his characterization of the Jewish state’s most politically active supporters as “monsters,” only to see the mayor dismiss such criticism. They said they viewed the gathering as an opportunity to bring their fears directly to him and to demonstrate communal unity amid a period of spiking antisemitic hate crimes.
“People talked about their own concerns, their families’ concerns, their congregations’ concerns. I think he heard them,” said one participant, who requested anonymity to speak freely about their ongoing contact with Mamdani’s antisemitism czar, Phylisa Wisdom, and her deputy, Josh Binderman. “When they framed the meeting, they said it was going to be an ‘open, honest dialogue.’”
A City Hall official said in a statement to JI that Mamdani’s team had “brought together a group of rabbis that reflects the diversity of New York’s Jewish community — including leaders from several major denominations and four of the city’s five boroughs who have leadership roles in some of the city’s largest congregations and denominations — so the mayor could hear directly from rabbis with a broad range of experiences and viewpoints.”
Several participants JI spoke with similarly remarked on the multi-denominational nature of the meeting, though one attendee noted the absence of more religiously conservative Orthodox leaders. The mayor met last week with leaders of Brooklyn’s anti-Zionist Satmar community.
Even as some critics of Mamdani said they were pleased he had taken the meeting on Monday, they expressed skepticism that the mayor would be open to acting on the message the group of rabbis shared.
The New York Board of Rabbis, the organization that has historically represented the city’s Jewish religious leadership, was not involved in planning the meeting, and an executive of the group suggested that Mamdani’s team had deliberately handpicked rabbis and Jewish leaders sympathetic to his political agenda.
Howard Wolfson, a longtime advisor to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, said that he was “glad” Mamdani had heard the feedback from Jewish leaders, but argued that “action, not just talk,” would help “create the conditions for a new relationship.”
“A good start would be to stop referring to American orgs that represent many Jews as monsters,” Wolfson said in a text message to JI, referring to controversial June remarks in which the mayor had singled out the pro-Israel group AIPAC while speaking at a campaign rally. Mamdani defended his rhetoric after it sparked an outcry from Jewish organizations that said he had invoked an antisemitic trope.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s anticipated visit to New York City next month for the U.N. General Assembly “will be a big test,” Wolfson added of the mayor, who encouraged protests of the prime minister even as he acknowledged he cannot order his arrest. “How much does he want to focus on it? How much does he want to grandstand?”
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch of the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, a Reform congregation on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, who serves as the president of the New York Board of Rabbis, said he was not asked to attend the meeting on Monday but was encouraged by what he had heard about it. “If in fact it was a very frank conversation,” he told JI, “then that’s a good thing.”
“It’s not that the mayor is not aware of this. He’s heard it many times,” Hirsch added. “Hopefully it’ll make a difference,” he said, particularly ahead of the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when security concerns are top of mind for synagogues across the city. “It hasn’t made a difference so far.”
“He knows our fear, he is aware of our fear” and “he is pursuing it nonetheless,” Hirsch said.
One of the attendees, who asked for anonymity to talk openly, told JI that he came away suspecting that the Office to Combat Antisemitism had selected himself and his peers as a group that could communicate anxieties over the mayor’s heightened focus on Israel and its local repercussions in a manner Mamdani might be receptive and responsive to.
“The consistent message was, we have to address the mayor’s rhetoric around Israel, because that’s an obstacle to addressing anything else effectively,” said the attendee, who noted that the mayor’s team had told him they would be discussing an upcoming report on antisemitism in the city and initiatives to confront it at the meeting. “I shared similar sentiments to my colleagues about the desire to work together on so many issues of shared concern, and the feeling of alienation as a result of the mayor’s rhetoric, and the belief that it could be different.”
Both attendees who spoke to JI on the condition on anonymity praised Mamdani’s handling of the meeting, characterizing him as an active listener who asked thoughtful questions and took notes throughout the discussion, and who acknowledged synagogues’ charitable work assisting immigrants and feeding the needy. They admitted, however, that the gathering ended without any specific concessions or commitments.
“I’m suspending judgment and waiting to see,” one said.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, came away from the gathering with similar impressions.
“Look, they picked a minyan of rabbis to come sit with the mayor, and I’m sure there are rabbis who just really would’ve just, you know, laid into him,” said Jacobs, known for both his pro-Israel record and outspoken criticism of the Israeli government. “Everybody was thoughtful, everybody was respectful, but everybody made sure that he knew that this is really deeply harmful to our community.”
Jacobs said he had brought his concerns to Mamdani personally in the past, but said he hoped that hearing the same message from so many rabbis would bring about change.
Wisdom said in a statement that the hourlong discussion had “focused on strategies to strengthen Jewish safety and belonging, maintain candid lines of communication and collaborate on issues where we have shared values and goals.”
“It was an open, positive and constructive conversation,” she added. “Mayor Mamdani has and will continue to engage with Jewish life in New York City in order to meet the needs of our communities and reaffirm his commitment to the thriving of Jewish communities across the five boroughs.”
The administration has been increasing its engagement with Jewish leaders ahead of the unveiling of the citywide strategy to combat antisemitism, expected next month.
One Jewish leader who was not invited to the Monday gathering, speaking on the condition of anonymity to address a sensitive issue, said he also met privately a few weeks ago with Wisdom and Binderman and raised concerns about Mamdani. “They listened,” he told JI. “They didn’t argue.”
After Mamdani shot a lengthy video last month in which he walked back his campaign vow to arrest Netanyahu while calling the prime minster a “war criminal” and “the architect of a horrific genocide,” the Jewish leader said he followed up with Wisdom and Binderman in a phone call to voice reservations. There was “not a lot of pushback,” he recalled of their conversation.
Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, lamented that the mayor had not reached out to his group and urged the mayor to engage more with the city’s longstanding Jewish communal organizations.
“When you’re the mayor of New York City, you have to be accustomed, or have to learn to deal with people who like you, don’t like you, agree with you, don’t agree with you. That comes with the territory,” he said. “I was glad to hear the people in the room pushed back on the rhetoric. That was heartening to hear.”
Plus, a Hamas disarmament deal — with caveats
Alex Wong/Getty Images
A visitor holds an AIPAC folder in an elevator in Rayburn House Office Building on March 12, 2024 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
Good Friday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover comments by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel that she will not attend the state Democratic convention due to fears over antisemitic harassment and report on an anti-AIPAC campaign against Michigan state Sen. Jeremy Moss — even though AIPAC has not endorsed him in his bid for Congress in a Detroit-area Democratic primary. We also report on President Donald Trump’s announcement that a deal has been reached for Hamas’ disarmament, and talk to analysts about Iran’s efforts to exploit Sudan’s civil war to deepen ties with Islamist factions. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Maor Shlomo, Boy George and Harriet and Mark Levin.
We also have a new on-demand Live Briefingthat you can access throughout the day via our new app (on Apple and Android) and on our website.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Israel Editor Tamara Zieve and U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik, with an assist from Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent Jewish Insider and eJewishPhilanthropy stories, including: Jewish leaders worried about Michigan’s prime position on Dems’ 2028 calendar; How Debra Band revives a dying Jewish artform; and Family, friends of slain Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner launch foundation in her memory. Print the latest edition here.
What We’re Watching
- Tensions are high in the Middle East going into the weekend, as Iran has continued to strike U.S. assets around the region this week and Saudi Arabia has also faced attacks by Tehran’s proxies.
- We’re keeping an eye out for word from Jerusalem on its stance on Trump’s announcement of a deal for Hamas’ “complete disarmament” announced last night, which requires complete IDF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. See more below.
- Amid the global developments, Trump will hold the 13th Cabinet meeting of his second administration this morning at the historic Camp David retreat in Maryland.
- The Democratic Socialists of America kicks off its three-day annual organizing conference today in Chicago. One programming track is set to focus on “anti-imperialist and pro-Palestine organizing strategy” to end the “U.S.-Israeli genocide in Palestine.”
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S WILL BREDDERMAN
In chatting with plugged-in Democratic strategists currently working on congressional campaigns, I was shocked — but not all that surprised — at the acceptance that the party has been all but dominated by the socialist faction, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), that has gotten more radical since his presidential campaign in 2016 and has played a key role in many Democratic primaries across the country.
Two Democratic operatives involved in Michigan and other targeted races bluntly told JI that left-wing candidates endorsed by Sanders and his band of far-left allies can now expect to win about one-third of the primary vote from the start if given the Sanders seal of approval. And far from being contained to deep-blue urban districts in New York, the trend is spreading into swing-district primaries and statewide nomination fights.
That’s certainly shaping up to be the case in Michigan’s 7th District, one of the biggest battleground districts in the country long held by now-Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI). Despite two candidates with cross-partisan credentials running — former Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam and former Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink — the Sanders-endorsed socialist activist William Lawrence is the front-runner, according to new polling conducted in the race.
And the socialist wave is building in statewide races in two of the biggest Midwestern battlegrounds, with Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed Francesca Hong running away with the Democratic nomination for Wisconsin’s governorship, despite her recent embrace of politically toxic views like supporting funding cuts to the police.
And as we’ve extensively covered in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed’s virulently anti-Israel and left-wing platform in the Senate race doesn’t appear to be stunting his primary campaign against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), even with popular Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s endorsement of Stevens.
IDENTITY POLITICS
Michigan state Sen. Jeremy Moss has a lot of endorsements in his campaign for Congress in a Detroit-area Democratic primary — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and several other state and local officials — but AIPAC is not one of them. That has not stopped Don Ufford, one of Moss’ opponents, from trying to tar the Jewish lawmaker as a pawn of the pro-Israel group in the final days of the race, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
You’ve got mail: A mailer that Ufford’s campaign sent to the homes of voters in the district described Moss as a “career politician who has taken thousands from AIPAC-linked donors.” A website operated by Ufford’s campaign, titled “AIPAC Jeremy Moss,” said that Moss is “for them, not for working Michiganders like you.” Moss told JI in an interview on Thursday, “The language on his mailers was very clear to say AIPAC-linked donors. One more dig deeper than that is just — it’s Jews.” Some of Moss’ donors have also supported AIPAC, but he does not think their involvement in the political system should be suspect.
SAFETY CONCERNS
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Jewish Democrat whose eight years in office will conclude at the end of December, said at an event in Lansing on Thursday that antisemitism in the state — and in the statewide Democratic Party — has gotten so bad that she will not attend the party’s nominating convention next month, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
What she said: “I don’t feel safe going,” Nessel said at the Thursday event, which was organized by the Anti-Defamation League and featured other Michigan Jews speaking about their own experiences of antisemitism. “I feel like my presence is not going to be welcomed. I don’t want to get chased around. I don’t want to get harassed. I don’t want to get yelled and screamed at. And I don’t want to get booed off the stage, irrespective of what I’m saying. And I believe that if I go, that is what will happen.”
ORGANIZING EFFORT
Members of Missouri’s Jewish community are working to turn out voters in Rep. Wesley Bell’s (D-MO) St. Louis-area congressional district as he faces down a rematch with former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) on Tuesday. The Jewish Democratic Council of America has rallied its national membership, particularly in Bell’s district and the broader Midwest region, for an in-person canvassing effort as well as several phone-banking events, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Boosting Bell: “We are mobilizing our network across the Midwest to help get out the vote for Wesley Bell,” Jacob Spiegel, JDCA’s communications director, told JI. “We’re continuing to mobilize our awesome network of volunteers to get out the vote for the candidates that represent our values.”
DONE DEAL?
President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that the Board of Peace had reached a “historic” agreement for the “complete disarmament” of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza, calling it a “monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY,” Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the agreement would be “carried out carefully in structured phases,” and that the IDF would withdraw when Hamas’ disarmament is “completed.”
Briefing: Following the announcement, a senior U.S. official said in a call with reporters that the document is “an agreement by Hamas to follow through on the decommissioning” of its weapons as well as its terror tunnels. The official noted that Iran tried to “convince [Hamas] not to do this deal,” but in the end, “the final communication came through the mediators that Hamas has agreed.”
Word of warning: A senior U.S. official told reporters, “We’re not asking Israel to do anything that isn’t in the 20-point plan that they agreed to initially, and so we’re very confident they will adhere to it. If they don’t, President Trump would be very, very disappointed.”
Yes, but: A Hamas source told Reuters the “draft agreement” says heavy weapons would only be stored and kept under the control of a Palestinian administration. Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas figure, told Al Jazeera, “We will not take any action regarding disarmament prior to Israel’s withdrawal from the Strip.” Meanwhile, Reuters cited an Israeli official as having said, prior to Trump’s announcement, “Israel demands the complete disarmament of Hamas, including the removal of weapons from Gaza and the complete demilitarization of the Strip as a precondition for any process.”
POWER PLAY
As Sudan’s devastating civil war drags through its third year, experts warn the conflict could become an arena for Iranian strategic expansion and Islamist extremism in Africa, as Tehran and the Sudanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood revive a long-standing alliance and threaten to turn the embattled nation into a staging ground for transnational jihadist operations, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
Iran’s involvement: Under the cover of Sudan’s official military, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), armed Islamist brigades — most notably the U.S.-sanctioned Al-Bara ibn Malik Battalion (the armed wing of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood) — have mobilized to fight alongside state forces led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Supported by funding, weaponry and training pipelines linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, these factions have effectively embedded themselves within the state apparatus, raising alarm among counterterrorism officials and regional foreign policy experts.
SURVEY SAYS
The share of Israelis who believe President Donald Trump is “highly committed” to protecting Israel’s security interests has dropped to a new low, according to a new survey from Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
Downward trend: The organization’s July 2026 National Security Survey found that only 14% of Israelis believe the country’s security interests are a top concern for Trump, representing a significant drop from the 35% recorded in March. This continues a downward trend observed as the conflict with Iran drags on, following an Israel Democracy Institute poll released earlier this month that found just 26% of Jewish Israelis believed Israel’s security was a key consideration for Trump – another record low at the time.
Worthy Reads
El-Sayed’s Villains: The Atlantic‘s Jonathan Chait argues that far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s brand of anti-Israel rhetoric is uniquely dangerous. “But if El-Sayed’s anti-Zionism is obsessive, it is not a singular obsession. He talks about the Israel lobby the way he talks on the stump about nearly any other political issue. The El-Sayed formula is to describe just about any policy as a conspiracy by a corporate entity or wealthy cabal to enrich itself at the expense of the people. The villains in his stories are motivated by pure greed, and trade-offs do not exist. This is a rhetorical style that has long existed on the populist left. The trouble is that, when you apply it to the Israel-Palestine conflict, and especially to the question of why some Americans do not share El-Sayed’s position on it, his approach grows paranoid and menacing.” [TheAtlantic]
Take the Win: In her Substack, “Insight,” journalist Frida Ghitis posits that Iran is “overplaying its hand” by continuing to engage in hostilities against the U.S. “Instead of consolidating what it sees as a victory, Tehran continues to test Washington, seemingly inviting another round of war. It’s unclear what’s motivating Iran’s provocative actions after the U.S. had agreed to pause strikes against Iran. It may reflect overconfidence, ideological zeal, or even the belief among some regime hardliners that an apocalyptic confrontation will hasten the return of the Mahdi and usher in a global Islamic order. I’m inclined to believe the moves are not about the world to come but about the immediate future. Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) leaders not only see that they have won the first round, but they believe time is on their side because they pay close attention to Western politics and media. Another round, they may conclude, will solidify their gains.” [Substack]
The Iran Split: Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen argues that President Donald Trump’s military, intelligence and economic teams have delivered real results against Iran while the negotiated ceasefire, which he attributes to Vice President JD Vance, has trapped Trump in a repeating cycle of Iranian violations followed by U.S. strikes and renewed talks. “Case in point: Last weekend, as Trump was on the verge of ordering a resumption of major combat, he was told that the Iranians were desperate for a deal. So he paused to give peace a chance. Result? Iran fired five ballistic missiles at a U.S. military base in Jordan. This cycle has repeated for months. Like Lucy and the football, Trump keeps getting told that this time the Iranians are finally ready to make a deal — only to be set up for failure yet again. Indeed, by elevating a deal as the definition of victory, Vance has given Iran a veto over America’s ability to declare victory. All it has to do is refuse to agree — which it is doing.” [WashPost]
Netanyahu v. Mamdani: In The Free Press, constitutional law professor Jed Rubenfeld lays out the legal case for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sue New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for libel. “Mamdani specifically named Netanyahu and explicitly accused him of heinous crimes, including genocide and the maiming of children. As a result, while Netanyahu v. Mamdani would be an uphill battle, it could be won. … There is, however, an important limit on this immunity. It applies to Mamdani only if his statement concerned matters ‘within the ambit of [his] duties.’ There’s a strong argument that foreign policy is no part of the duties of a mayor. Indeed, despite Mamdani’s personal desire to arrest Netanyahu, the mayor himself has now admitted he has no legal authority to do so. It seems plausible, therefore, that Mamdani strayed far outside the ambit of his official duties in his attack on Netanyahu. If so, he forfeited New York’s absolute immunity.” [FP]
Word on the Street
The IDF carried out a “massive operation” on Thursday evening using approximately 700 tons of explosives to blow up a tunnel system in southern Lebanon that was “a central part of the Hezbollah terror organization’s invasion plan” into northern Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said…
The American Association of University Professors issued its first-ever political endorsement in its 110-year history on Thursday, backing far-left Abdul El-Sayed ahead of next week’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan. The professional organization has repeatedly faced criticism from Jewish groups and faculty members for straying from its mission by engaging in anti-Israel advocacy…
Columbia University’s student workers’ union dropped its demand that the university divest from Israel during a bargaining session on Tuesday, the Columbia Spectator reports, in a reversal of the union’s pro-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions advocacy…
Columbia will open a global center in Tel Aviv later this summer, reviving a plan first floated in April 2023 that drew faculty petitions and student protests…
A fire at the AgriStar meat and poultry plant in Postville, Iowa, one of the largest kosher meat processing plants in the country, “means a significant portion of kosher beef and chicken … will not enter the kosher supply chain,” Rabbi Moshe Elefant, the CEO of OU Kosher, said in a statement. Elefant warned that kosher consumers “will feel the impact of the tightening supply with reduction of availability”…
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) argued on Thursday that, without regime change in Iran, the U.S. will likely need to continue to conduct periodic military operations against Iran’s nuclear program to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…
The Senate narrowly blocked another push by Democrats to force an end to the Iran war, 50-49, with the vote falling along now-predictable lines. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Rand Paul (R-KY) broke with their party to vote for the resolution with most Democrats, while Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) voted against it…
The Iran-backed Houthi terror group, based in Yemen, reportedly attacked Saudi Arabia this week from Iraqi territory, potentially with the assistance of militias in the country working with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in an indication of the growing coordination between Tehran’s proxies…
Facing renewed attacks by both Iran and the Houthis, Saudi Arabia hosted dozens of global military officials, including from the U.S., for a meeting on Thursday to establish a maritime defense alliance, the Saudi Defense Ministry said. Thirteen countries joined Riyadh in signing a statement of support for the effort: Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia…
Meanwhile, Yemeni sources told The Guardian they believe Saudi Arabia is gearing up for a major military offensive against the Houthis in Yemen — by sea and possibly also by land — aimed at breaking the group’s grip on oil exports through the southern Red Sea…
Iranian hackers may have been behind a cyberattack on dozens of municipal water systems this week in Minnesota, state and federal officials told The New York Times…
The Treasury Department sanctioned Iranian airline Mahan Air, calling it the IRGC’s “airline of choice for moving weapons, military personnel, and equipment,” as well as an IRGC-affiliated front company that has sought the locations of American and Israeli equipment in the region…
A group of Democratic House and Senate lawmakers sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday announcing they are opening an investigation into the deaths of six U.S. service members in Kuwait, who were killed in an Iranian drone strike earlier this year, to determine whether the troops were adequately protected during the war…
The Wall Street Journal reports on how the Iran war has impacted the U.S.-Kuwait relationship and caused the U.S. to reconsider the scale of its military presence in the Gulf country…
Egypt confirmed that an explosion at a port on its Mediterranean coast on Wednesday, which set fire to two ships, including a U.S. gas-storage tanker, was caused by a drone attack. Egypt reportedly attributed the attack, which was not claimed by any country or group, to Iran. It marks the first time the country has been targeted during the war with Iran…
The U.S. has informed Israel that it is deploying additional military refueling aircraft to the country, amid growing concerns over a security escalation in the region, raising fears of major disruptions at Ben Gurion Airport, Israel’s N12 news site reports…
Elon Musk has authorized his super PAC, called America PAC, to spend more than $100 million to help Republicans in eight states in the midterm elections, The New York Times reports, including key Senate battleground races in Alaska, Iowa, Maine, Michigan and Ohio…
The Hackney Council in the U.K. gave initial approval to begin ending the city’s 58-year partnership with its sister city Haifa…
British singer Boy George withdrew from a West End production of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” in which he had been set to play Herod, following the release of his pro-Israel song “We Will Dance Again.” Without directly mentioning the song, which drew backlash, Boy George’s manager said: “In this instance, I felt it was right [for Boy George] to step aside, allowing the production to remain the focus, while ensuring everyone involved can move forward with mutual respect and goodwill”…
Base44 founder Maor Shlomo launched a cancer research fund and has already backed seven treatment startups after losing his mother to the disease…
Wine of the Week
JI wine columnist Yitz Applbaum reviews the La Forêt Blanche Ariel Red 2021:
This week I had the honor of attending a dinner held in tribute to the memory of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Every guest at the table was a devoted friend of the senator, who was a steadfast friend of Israel, and the evening carried the quiet weight of remembrance and gratitude in equal measure. I wanted to pour something bold and unflinching, a wine in the senator’s own spirit, drawn from a corner of Israel he loved. The La Forêt Blanche Ariel Red 2021, its grapes raised in the storied heights of Mount Hebron in the Judean Hills, was the perfect answer.
The Ariel Red is 85% petit verdot and 15% syrah. The first sip delivers the firm grip one hopes for from a petit verdot of the Judean Hills: assertive, unapologetic, rooted in the soil that made it. The mid-palate softens, and the finish arrives with an elegance earned over 18 months in French and American oak. This is a wine that will only deepen over the next five years. Serve it beside a well-marbled rib steak hot off the fire, and raise your glass in a toast to the memory of the great senator from the great state of South Carolina.
Pic of the Day
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee spoke yesterday evening to Harriet and Mark Levin — the parents of U.S.-born IDF “lone soldier” Michael Levin, who was killed in the Second Lebanon War on Aug. 1, 2006 — at the 20th memorial ceremony for Levin alongside his grave on Jerusalem’s Mt. Herzl Military Cemetery, eJewishPhilanthropy‘s Judah Ari Gross reports.
During the ceremony, Huckabee praised Levin for his sacrifice and “giving his life, not just for Israel, but … for America as well.” Huckabee also hailed Levin’s parents, whom he said took their grief and channeled it into building a network of organizations to support “lone soldiers,” service members without families who care for them in Israel.
“They could have taken their grief and buried it in their souls and lived the rest of their lives in anguish and even bitterness. But they didn’t do that,” Huckabee said. “They took their love for Michael and the grief, and they did something that has now benefited thousands upon thousands of lone soldiers who have served and have had support that Michael never had. … I cannot help but think that, in so many ways, nothing could have been done more powerfully for Michael’s memory, for his sacrifice, than what his parents have done in their sacrifice to honor their son.”
Birthdays
CEO of Goliath Records and former CEO and chairman of Def Jam Recordings, best known as the manager of Eminem, Paul D. Rosenberg turns 55 on Saturday…
FRIDAY: British judge and barrister, he served as a justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and later as Master of the Rolls, John Anthony Dyson turns 83… Actor, who went on to become CEO of Paramount Pictures and president of production at 20th Century Fox, Sherry Lansing turns 82… Nobel laureate in economics in 1997, known for his quantitative analysis of options pricing, longtime professor at both Harvard and MIT, Robert C. Merton turns 82… Scholar, professor, rabbi, writer and filmmaker, who specializes in the study of the Holocaust, Michael Berenbaum turns 81… Co-founder of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management, in 2015 he bought a 16th-century copy of the Babylonian Talmud for $9.3 million, Leon David Black turns 75… Software entrepreneur, he was president of Ameinu, which merged with Americans for Peace Now in 2024 to form New Jewish Narrative, and serves on the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency, Kenneth Bob… Author of more than 30 best-selling mystery novels, many with Jewish themes, Faye Kellerman turns 74… Manhattan-based criminal defense and civil rights lawyer, radio talk show host and television commentator, Ronald L. Kuby turns 70… Chairman at Haifa-based Twin Digital Healthcare, Guido Benjamin Pardo-Roques turns 70… Owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks until its partial sale to Miriam Adelson in 2023, he was a “shark” investor on the ABC reality program Shark Tank from 2011 until May 2025, Mark Cuban turns 68… Israeli attorney, real estate developer and entrepreneur, Ilan Shavit turns 68… COO at Leenie Productions, she serves on the board of directors of the Northbrook, Ill.-based Haym Salomon Center, Helene Miller-Walsh turns 67… Technology investor and social entrepreneur, he is the founder and chairman of Tmura, Yadin B. Kaufmann turns 67… Israeli libertarian politician and activist, he was previously a member of the Knesset, Moshe Zalman Feiglin turns 64… Adjunct professor at USC, UC Berkeley and Pepperdine, he was previously the director of the Los Angeles office of the American Jewish Committee, Dan Schnur… Born into a practicing Catholic family in Nazareth, Israel, billionaire investor and owner of the Detroit Pistons, Tom Gores turns 62… General manager of MLB’s Miami Marlins, he was an MLB outfielder for 13 seasons, Gabe Kapler turns 51… Author, actor and comedian, Benjamin Joseph (BJ) Novak turns 47… Founder and CEO at Wide Eye Creative, Ben Ostrower… The representative of the World Zionist Organization Executive in North America, Michal Slawny Cababia… Political activist and the founder and president of Stand Up America, a progressive advocacy community, Sean Simcha Eldridge turns 40… Head of global communications, social and film at Zipline, Danielle Meister Lurie… Technical Account Manager at CREW, Aryeh Samet Canter… Adam Rosenberg… David Goldenberg… Richard Rosenstein…
SATURDAY: Culver City, Calif., resident, Allene Prince… Formerly CEO of multibillion-dollar travel and hotel franchisor Cendant Corporation, then CEO of 54 Madison Partners, Henry R. Silverman turns 86… Founder and principal of NYC-based Midtown Equities, a major developer of nationwide real estate projects, Joseph Cayre turns 85… U.S. district court judge for the Southern District of New York, now on senior status, Judge Jed S. Rakoff turns 83… Former president of Brandeis University, now president and CEO of the Cleveland-based Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation, Jehuda Reinharz turns 82… British businessman, he has been described as “the father of British venture capital,” Sir Ronald Mourad Cohen turns 81… Israeli-born businessman and film producer, later CEO of Marvel Studios, he won the 2019 Academy Award for best animated feature, Avi Arad turns 78… Second-generation owner of a Los Angeles flooring business, Eric Kalman Biren… Immediate past president of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Rhoda Smolow… Founder and president of Greystone Hotels, the IHA Group and Markev Realty Corporation, Eric Horodas 73… Media analyst and former host of “MediaBuzz” at Fox News, now a Fox News contributor, Howard Kurtz turns 73… Director of New York government relations at Agudath Israel of America, Yeruchim Silber… U.S. career diplomat who served as ambassador to South Korea during the Biden administration, Philip Seth Goldberg turns 70… United States secretary of the interior, Douglas James Burgum turns 70… Attorney, political strategist and former president of the American Jewish Congress, Richard Scott Gordon… Former CEO of Atlanta’s Jewish Family & Career Services, where she served for six years, she served for 11 years in the Minnesota state Senate, Terri E. Bonoff turns 69… Professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Rachel Yehuda, Ph.D. turns 67… Policy director in the D.C. office of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Andrew C. (“Drew”) Littman… Former senior rabbi of the British movement for Reform Judaism, now a rabbi at London’s Bromley Reform Synagogue, Laura Naomi Janner-Klausner turns 63… U.S. ambassador to Israel during the Obama administration, now a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative, Daniel B. “Dan” Shapiro turns 57… Producer for CBS’ “60 Minutes,” Shachar Bar-On… Professor of mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton and at Hebrew U, he was the winner of the 2010 Fields Medal, Elon Lindenstrauss turns 56… CEO of NYC’s Quantum Media Group, he is a HAFTR and YU graduate, Ari Zoldan… Israeli film director, writer and producer, Asaf Epstein turns 48… Venture partner in Leap Forward Ventures, she is also chief marketing and revenue officer at Blue Flame, Jessica Alter… Founder and CEO of Moishe House (now known as Mem Global), David Cygielman… Chief Jewish life officer at the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), Sheila Katz … Chief community relations officer at the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, Noam Gilboord… SVP of communications at Burford Capital, David Helfenbein… Board-certified family physician, Mor Toledano Shapiro, M.D…. CEO of PeaceWorks Foundation Roey Kruvi… Cross-country skier who competed for the U.S. at the Winter Olympics in 2014 (Sochi) and 2018 (Pyeongchang), now serving as an assistant attorney general fellow in the Consumer Protection section of the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, Noah Hoffman turns 37… Client relations specialist at Pacific Libra Insurance Agency, Yael Rabin… Television, stage and film actor, Benjamin “Ben” Rosenfield turns 34…
SUNDAY: Co-founder and chairman of NYC-based real estate development firm, Rockrose Development Corporation, Henry Elghanayan turns 86… Professor emeritus of Bible at London’s Leo Baeck College, Jonathan David Magonet turns 84… Former member of Knesset for 28 years, he then served as chairman of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems until 2023, Uzi Landau turns 83… Retired colonel in the U.S. Army and a recipient of the Medal of Honor and seven other medals, he serves as a military analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, Jack H. Jacobs turns 81… Longtime librarian, Irene Seff… Nationally syndicated radio talk show host, author and public speaker, Dennis Prager turns 78… Former ambassador and permanent representative of Canada to the United Nations, Robert Keith Rae turns 78… Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, he is international writer-at-large for The New York Times, Roger Cohen turns 71… U.S. senator from Nevada, Jacklyn Sheryl “Jacky” Rosen turns 69… Psychoanalyst, psychiatrist and brain researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Yoram Yovell turns 68… Strategic advisor at Breaking Through, Inc., Amy Aronoff Blumkin… Mayor of St. Petersburg, Fla., for eight years until 2022, now executive vice president and principal of the U.S. Cities Practice at Shumaker Advisors, Richard David “Rick” Kriseman turns 64… Owner of Newton, Mass.-based MPG Promotions, Elliot Mael… Senior vice president of operations and general counsel of Yeshiva University, Andrew J. “Avi” Lauer… Professional tennis player, who was once ranked No. 6 in the world, now the director of tennis at St. Andrews country club in Boca Raton, Fla., Aaron Krickstein turns 59… Former member of the Knesset, first for the Labor party and then the Yisrael Beiteinu party, Leon Litinetsky turns 59… Senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, Steven A. Cook turns 58… EVP for Hearst Television and past chair of the NBC Television Affiliate Board, Eric J. Meyrowitz… Senior director for global trade and public affairs at confectionery, food and pet care firm, Mars Inc., Jay Eizenstat… Professional golfer, he won a PGA tournament in both 2003 and 2004, Jonathan Andrew Kaye turns 56… Pulitzer Prize-winning, D.C.-based national security reporter for The New York Times for 13 years until 2024, now doing investment research, Matthew Rosenberg turns 52… Senior executive communications lead at Adobe, Stephen L. Rabin… Labor law attorney in the Nashville, Tenn., office of Holland & Knight, he served on the national board of JFNA, Aron Zwi Karabel… Program director at the Jewish Fertility Foundation, Tamar Poupko Smith… CEO of Make It Real, he is also the co-founder and chair of The Jewish Entrepreneur (a mentoring program), Isaac William “Zevy” Wolman… Director of philanthropy (Israel) at The Paul E. Singer Foundation, Julia Nayfeld Schulman… Vice president of the United States, James David (JD) Vance turns 42… Actor best known for her 1999 “Pepsi Girl” role as a 7-year-old, and later for subsequent teen roles, Hallie Kate Eisenberg turns 34… Baseball pitcher, he played for Team Israel in 2017 and now manages a baseball training facility for young players in Philadelphia, Kenny Koplove turns 33… CEO of Petra Power in Solon, Ohio, Aaron Goodman turns 32…
Plus, 2025 NSGP grants come in low and slow
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
An exterior view of The Heritage Foundation building on July 30, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Good Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on new allegations of an antisemitic culture at the Heritage Foundation and cover New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s response to questions over the absence of Jews from his Advisory Committee on the Judiciary. We report on a conversation between Yasir Al-Rumayyan, a close associate of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s former shah, during Tuesday’s funeral service in Washington for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and spotlight an announcement by the rabbinic arm of the Conservative movement to further welcome interfaith families. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Sen. Roger Wicker, Adm. Brad Cooper and Erica Schwartz.
We also have a new on-demand Live Briefing that you can access throughout the day via our new app (on Apple and Android) and on our website.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Israel Editor Tamara Zieve and U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik, with an assist from Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- CENTCOM said it conducted a “heavy wave of strikes” against Iran on Wednesday night, as a “powerful response” to Tehran’s attempted attacks on U.S. forces on Tuesday. The military said it struck dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran, including military command centers, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defense sites and maritime capabilities.
- Earlier Wednesday, President Donald Trump had warned that the U.S. would “beat the f**king sh*t out of” Iran following the attempted attack by the IRGC, even as he signaled a willingness to keep diplomatic channels open. “We’ll be hitting them hard,” Trump told Fox News’ Trey Yingst. “They’re going to get a beating.”
- The Senate is expected to hold a procedural vote this morning on a war powers resolution seeking to end those U.S. operations in Iran, after it was postponed yesterday.
- The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a nomination hearing for Sarah Rogers, the undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, to be CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
- This morning, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is speaking at the Hudson Institute for a conversation on global threats.
- In the afternoon, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is co-hosting an antisemitism roundtable with the Anti-Defamation League to hear from Jewish community leaders about recent antisemitic incidents in the state.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S WILL BREDDERMAN
The morning after a double hate crime targeted an Asian American and a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke in Manhattan, during which the attacker allegedly yelled “Allahu Akbar” and “Justice for Islam” while passing a synagogue and stabbing the second victim, New York City Comptroller Mark Levine offered what may prove a eulogy for a political era in America’s greatest metropolis.
“There is no New York without us,” the Jewish Democrat said at a press conference outside The Jewish Center, the Modern Orthodox synagogue where the Jewish victim worshipped, invoking the deep history and contributions of Jews to the Big Apple.
But Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the lone citywide official not to attend the gathering, seems to wager that he can govern New York City without much support from the dense web of religious and civic organizations that historically shaped Jewish life there and helped guide the choices of his predecessors. Mamdani received only about one-third of the Jewish vote in the mayoral election, but little support from legacy Jewish groups.
One need only look to the state Assembly district covering the site of the assault to see how Mamdani is at odds with the mainstream Jewish leadership. As mayor, he endorsed an opponent of Rabbi Stephanie Ruskay, the favorite of local Jewish Democratic leadership, as she sought the seat in June. The rabbi serves as associate dean of Jewish Theological Seminary, and is the daughter-in-law of retired longtime UJA-Federation of New York CEO John Ruskay. In doing so, Mamdani even spurned one of his most vocal Jewish supporters, former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger, long a standard-bearer of a Jewish liberalism rooted in communal institutions.
LOSING YOUR HERITAGE
Nine months after the Heritage Foundation came under fire for defending Tucker Carlson’s friendly interview with a neo-Nazi, the conservative think tank is facing fresh scrutiny over accusations that it has enabled an extreme culture in which new hires feel free to question the Holocaust and to engage in historically revisionist debates about World War II, with no apparent internal policing from leadership, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Internet influence: Andrew Hale, a trade policy analyst at Heritage who left in January to join a rival think tank launched by former Vice President Mike Pence, recalled that prior to departing he had found new hires were fixated on antisemitic conspiracy theories about the Holocaust and Israel of the sort popularized by Nick Fuentes, Carlson and Candace Owens, the extreme-right podcast host. Hale confirmed to JI in an interview on Wednesday that new, particularly younger, staffers at Heritage “openly said things which were antisemitic, whether they realized it or not,” crediting their views to an obsession with far-right social media channels.
HOT SEAT
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani continued to face questions on Wednesday about how he managed to appoint a panel of attorneys to recommend city judges that did not include a single Jewish member. The absence of any Jewish representation on the Advisory Committee on the Judiciary came despite a vow from the mayor’s chief counsel, Ramzi Kassem, that the panel was “truly representative cross-section of the legal profession in New York City,” Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.
What he said: The mayor, at an unrelated event on Wednesday, maintained he had not inquired about nominees’ religious affiliations. “Any suggestion that there would be any decision made or motivated by religion, it does bother me,” Mamdani told reporters. “Any suggestion that the composition of the advisory committee was motivated by religion is false.”
RIYADH X REZA
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the powerful head of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and a close associate of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was seen greeting and conversing with Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s former shah, during Tuesday’s funeral service in Washington for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
Zoom in: In video footage first published Tuesday by the Christian Broadcasting Network, the two men shared an embrace and spoke briefly during the service. The interaction marked a rare public exchange between a top Saudi official and one of the most prominent Iranian opposition figures. Al-Rumayyan holds several key leadership roles across Saudi state interests, including as governor of the Saudi Public Investment fund and chair of oil giant Saudi Aramco, English football club Newcastle United and Riyadh Air.
SECURITY CONCERN
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced on Wednesday that 1,600 out of 6,000 applications received for the long-delayed 2025 Nonprofit Security Grant Program cycle were approved, meaning that less than 27% of organizations that applied received any funding — a significant dip from previous years, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Details: The grants were approved nearly a year after applications opened for the 2025 cycle on Aug. 13, 2025, and after applications for 2026 NSGP funding were already due last week. FEMA indicated that state agencies responsible for administering the grants on the state level and repeated Department of Homeland Security shutdowns relating to immigration enforcement disputes were responsible for the delays.
DEFENSE DOLLARS
Senate Republicans said this week that a House-passed budget reconciliation bill does not contain enough defense-related funding and that they want to significantly increase it, setting up a clash between GOP lawmakers in the two chambers, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What they’re saying: Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, told JI, “I’d rather it be much bigger.” The bill passed by House Republicans includes $73 billion in defense-related funding, designed to largely cover the administration’s $87.6 billion supplemental funding request for the Iran war. But the administration has said it needs an additional $350 billion, separate from the Iran war funding, to help bring to fruition the $1.5 trillion defense budget it envisions for 2027.
Scoop: Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Ronny Jackson (R-TX) are set to introduce legislation on Friday to investigate whether the Iran-linked Polisario Front, a paramilitary group that claims sovereignty over parts of the Western Sahara, can be designated as a terrorist organization.
RABBINIC RULINGS
Eight months after the Conservative movement apologized to interfaith couples for treating them as if their relationships were a threat to Jewish survival, the rabbinic arm of the movement announced a new set of Jewish legal rulings to provide concrete ways congregations and rabbis can better welcome interfaith families. But the new reforms stop short of allowing Conservative rabbis to officiate at interfaith weddings, eJewish Philanthropy’s Jay Deitcher reports.
Majority vote: The announcement came in the form of a publication titled, “Gateways Into Jewish Living: Guiding the Conservative/Masorti Rabbi in Supporting Families with Non-Jewish Loved Ones,” authored by the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards. The nine rulings were voted on by 23 rabbis from the committee, with most passing by a wide margin. The most contentious issue — passed with 14 votes in favor, five against and four abstentions — dealt with offering a Hanukkat Habayit, a dedication of the Jewish home, for interfaith families who are building an “exclusively” Jewish home.
Read the full story here and sign up for eJewishPhilanthropy’s Your Daily Phil newsletter here.
Worthy Reads
Who Fills the Void? The Wall Street Journal’s Barton Swaim examines the scramble to succeed the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), weighing the candidacy of former Gov. Mark Sanford against Graham’s own sister, Darline, drafted into the race by a Trump endorsement she didn’t seek. “Lindsey Graham and Mark Sanford were once close; so much so that Mr. and Mrs. Sanford, as they then were, named Graham godfather to their youngest son. Still I strongly suspect Mr. Sanford, a quasi-libertarian at heart, would view the hawkish policies advocated by Graham in narrowly fiscal terms and deem them too expensive … Will Ms. Graham carry on her brother’s ‘legacy,’ as her campaign literature claims? The task of replacing the ubiquitous Lindsey Graham seems undoable, but his sister signals the right attitude.” [WSJ]
Why Now? In his Substack, “It’s Noon in Israel,” Amit Segal explores the reasoning behind Iran’s renewed attacks on the U.S. “The logic is simple. Both sides are running out of time, but on different clocks. Iran’s runs on resources; [President Donald] Trump’s — whatever the reports of munitions shortages suggest — runs on patience. Iran can afford to lose resources if the spending drains Trump’s patience faster. Quiet slows his clock. Silence is Iran’s worst enemy. That is also why [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is not pushing for another military campaign. Such a campaign would drain Trump completely — and if the regime survived, as it is certain it would, then even amid the rubble it would have won. Iran thinks it can out-stubborn Trump. Netanyahu is working around that bet rather than trying the strategy himself.” [Substack]
Friends and Foes: In The Free Press, Elliott Abrams, the former diplomat who now serves as a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, argues that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington this week as the two allies bearing the heaviest burden for U.S. interests — yet still uncertain whether President Donald Trump will fully commit to backing them. “The issue this week is not so much the personal relationships, though those matter far more than they should to Trump. Instead, the issue is how Trump sees friends, partners, allies, and democracies, versus opponents and enemies. Trump continues to treat Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping with remarkable deference and respect despite the direct threats they pose to U.S. interests. There’s every reason to believe that Russia is providing Iran with intelligence helping it hit U.S. bases in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the U.S. is pampering an ally with far less skin in the game than Israel and Ukraine. Last week, the Trump administration announced its acceptance of a nuclear energy deal that will allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium, without subjecting it to inspections from the International Atomic Energy Agency.” [FP]
Word on the Street
In an interview with ABC News, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he discussed with President Donald Trump various options to proceed with handling the conflict with Iran, but ultimately, “It’s his decision.” Netanyahu said, “The truth is, we’re partners. We’re allies. He’s the senior partner. It’s the United States of America, let’s not forget. And I’m a junior partner. But I’m the prime minister of Israel, and when I have to stand up for the interest of my country and the security of my country, I do so”…
Addressing Vice President JD Vance’s comments to podcaster Joe Rogan this month that American politics are being swayed by Israeli “influence campaigns,” Netanyahu said he “had a very good conversation with the vice president this morning, and I think we straightened that out because we’re not. That’s not our policy”…
Netanyahu also met with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at Blair House on Wednesday morning. Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter and Israeli National Security Advisor Shmuel Ben Ezra participated in the meeting, along with Elbridge Colby, undersecretary of defense for policy, and Sean Parnell, assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs…
The late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) worked privately with Netanyahu just before the 2024 election to organize a bipartisan group of senators to denounce the International Criminal Court‘s investigation of the Israeli leader — coordination captured in footage from filmmaker Alex Holder, in which Graham joked he should be paid “tons of shekels” for his help…
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman traveled to Washington and met with Trump and Vance at the White House on Wednesday, according to Axios, where Prince Khalid told them that, despite Riyadh having engaged in joint strikes with the U.S. on Iranian proxies, the kingdom still wants to see hostilities with Iran de-escalate…
CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper has prepared a two-week intensive bombing campaign against Iran as an option for Trump to consider, The Wall Street Journal reports, outlining a strategy to cripple Tehran’s missile capabilities in order to reduce the strain on U.S. defensive munitions…
The Treasury Department sanctioned the Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company and Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, which are backed by the IRGC, for running “insurance” schemes in the Strait of Hormuz, whereby the terror group creates threats to commercial shipping and then charges vessels for insurance coverage…
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met on Wednesday in Ankara with new Hamas head Khalil Al-Hayya…
A Brooklyn federal judge sentenced Dan Sohail to serve six months in jail and pay $19,000 in restitution for ramming his car into Chabad’s world headquarters in Brooklyn in January…
The New York Times profiles Reihan Salam, the conservative Manhattan Institute president working to make the think tank the “intellectual engine of the resistance” to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani…
The New York Times’ “The Daily” podcast on Wednesday spotlighted AIPAC and the role it is now playing in U.S. politics, describing it as a once-bipartisan organization that has now become partisan and a polarizing force in the Democratic Party. During the conversation, among other statements that drew the ire of AIPAC, guest Jonathan Mahler said the advocacy group’s actions “have provided an opening, honestly, for bad actors, but in particular, in a sort of worrying sense for people who are not just criticizing Israel but who are criticizing Jews and Jewish influence”…
In an X thread responding to several of the accusations made against it during the podcast, AIPAC said, “This is an outrageous accusation. Suggesting that politically active pro-Israel American citizens are to blame for antisemitism is shameful. Antisemites are responsible for the rise in antisemitism”…
The Associated Press spotlights a fringe group of Israeli settlers, the Pioneers of Bashan, who have repeatedly breached the border with Syria, with the ultimate goal of establishing Jewish settlements inside the country — despite condemnation from the IDF…
Opposition lawmakers in Israel filibustered an 11-hour Knesset Finance Committee session yesterday to block NIS 392 million ($127 million) for Haredi education and West Bank settlements…
The Forward tells the story of Nik Jakobs and his family — namely his grandmother, Edith, who was hidden by the entire Dutch town of Stadskanaal to survive the Holocaust, a story which the town recently restaged as a play — as Jakobs is now building a synagogue in an Illinois cornfield from the salvaged remnants of shuttered American shuls…
Jewish summer campers who were headed home to Baltimore during Tuesday night’s storms hauled a fallen tree off a Washington road, clearing the way for a blocked ambulance…
The Associated Press examines the growing far-left media ecosystem, including Drop Site News and Hasan Piker’s stream, that has helped to boost a range of progressive candidates during this primary cycle…
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) declined to answer questions from a Drop Site News reporter, responding, “Oh, you’re Drop Site! It’s like a race between who’s the more pro-Hamas: Drop Site or Zeteo?” Fetterman went on to reiterate his support for Israel and said he wanted Drop Site viewers to know “how much I love to watch Israel eliminating the Hamas leadership”…
A new Washington Post-Ipsos poll found that 3 in 4 Democrats would consider backing a socialist for president, but only 39% of overall respondents would do the same…
Boston University’s Conference on the Jewish Left has rescinded its invitation to Curt Mills, editor of The American Conservative magazine and a prominent voice in MAGA’s anti-Israel wing, after backlash over his inclusion in the March 2027 program, reports Jewish Currents, a magazine associated with the anti-Zionist Jewish left…
CBS News announced that Wall Street Journal correspondent Dov Lieber will join its team in September as a senior reporter based in Israel…
The American Jewish Committee named Andrew Gross, who was previously director of international innovation and partnerships at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, as director of its New York regional office…
Frances “Fran” Belzberg, a Vancouver philanthropist and Order of Canada recipient whose family founded Israel’s OneFamily terror-victims organization, died last Shabbat at 99…
Pic of the Day
Erica Schwartz, founder of The Well, a new Jewish dating app, mingled with prospective users at the app’s launch event on Tuesday in Manhattan. The Well — named for the biblical story of Eliezer finding Isaac’s wife, Rebecca — is slated to launch in the coming weeks. The app matches Jewish day school alumni using AI and matchmakers, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Birthdays
Commissioner emeritus of Major League Baseball, his 2019 memoir is For the Good of the Game, Allan Huber “Bud” Selig turns 92…
Retired attorney from the firm of Hatton, Petrie & Stackler in Aliso Viejo, Calif., Ronald E. Stackler turns 89… The first woman justice on the Nebraska Supreme Court, as a teen she won two gold medals and a silver medal as a swimmer at the Maccabiah Games in Israel, Justice Lindsey Miller-Lerman turns 79… Actor, director and producer, Ken Olin turns 72… Philanthropist and investor, of Uzbek Bukhari background, known as the “King of Diamonds,” Lev Leviev turns 70… Sports executive, attorney and president of Paris Basketball, David Kahn turns 65… Former mayor of Arad and then a member of the Knesset for the Kulanu and Likud parties, Tali Ploskov turns 64… President of C&M Transcontinental, he served as COO for the first two Trump campaigns, Michael S. Glassner turns 63… Emmy Award-winning actor, comedian and producer, Lisa Kudrow turns 63… Head coach of men’s tennis and director of tennis operations at Columbia University, Howard Endelman turns 61… Best-selling nonfiction author, contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone magazines, he is a co-creator of the HBO series “Vinyl,” Rich Cohen turns 58… District chief of staff for retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Robert M. Gottheim turns 55… Assistant attorney general for antitrust at the DOJ during most of the Biden administration, Jonathan Seth Kanter turns 53… Motivational speaker, author and entrepreneur, he served as a law clerk in 2008 for Justices O’Connor and Ginsburg, the first blind person to clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court, Isaac Lidsky turns 47… President of MS NOW, Rebecca M. Kutler… Member of the Knesset for the Otzma Yehudit party, Limor Son Har-Melech turns 47… Senior producer at Vox and host and producer of the podcast of the Association for Jewish Studies, Avishay Artsy… President and founder in 2014 of Dallas-based ECA Strategies, Eric Chaim Axel… Pittsburgh-based therapist, Lewis Sohinki… Author of Jerusalem Drawn and Quartered: One Woman’s Year in the Heart of the Christian, Muslim, Armenian and Jewish Quarters of Old Jerusalem, Sarah Tuttle-Singer turns 45… Former director of policy and public affairs for the Jewish Community of Denmark, now in the renewable energy and offshore wind industry, Jonas Herzberg Karpantschof… Attorney and member of the Los Angeles County GOP Central Committee for Assembly District 42, which includes Pacific Palisades, Elizabeth Barcohana turns 43… Former head of digital operations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, Tamar Schwarzbard… Managing principal of West Egg Development, a New York-based real estate development firm, Samuel Ezra Eshaghoff turns 34… Former trade officer at Israel’s economic mission to the South and Midwest U.S., Joshua Weintraub… Winner of the Miss Israel pageant in 2014, she is now an international businesswoman, Mor Maman turns 31… Actor, as a 10-year-old she starred in the comedy film “Ramona and Beezus,” and since then in many movies and television shows, Joey Lynn King turns 27…
The Arizona senator, who is weighing a presidential bid, also urged Israelis to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the upcoming elections
Eric Lee/Getty Images
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) speaks during a pen and pad briefing with reporters at the U.S. Capitol on June 2, 2026 in Washington, DC. Sen.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) said on Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press” that he will “always stand by Israel as a nation,” while adding that he hopes Israelis will oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the elections later this year.
“I’m not happy with the decisions that the prime minister of Israel has made over the last few years,” Kelly said in response to a question about whether he agrees with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s recent description of Netanyahu as a war criminal. “The way they conducted the operations in Gaza, there were a lot of mistakes made,” Kelly responded. “That being said, Israel is an ally of ours. We support the Israeli people. I’m going to always stand by Israel as a nation.”
He indicated he did not agree with Mamdani’s call for the U.S. government to arrest Netanyahu during his upcoming visit to the United States.
“The best way to resolve this issue with a prime minister — that, just like our president, is not doing the job they were hired to do — is for him to be defeated at the ballot box,” Kelly said. “So that’s coming up pretty soon here. I hope the Israeli people rally around a candidate that will take Israel in a better direction.”
Asked about the Iran war, Kelly questioned the administration’s $1.5 trillion defense budget and $67 billion supplemental funding request .
“Do we really feel that we’re that threatened, and we need to spend these sums of money for our defense? We’ve got programs that this administration is going to spend money on that aren’t going to work, and things that we don’t need,” Kelly said. “What they’re asking for is not reasonable.”
But he said he hasn’t made a final decision on the supplemental yet, while calling the administration’s handling of the war in Iran a “disaster.”
Kelly also acknowledged that he’s considering a presidential run in 2028.
“We have to see what are the issues that we’re facing after we get on the other side of November here,” Kelly said, emphasizing the need for Democrats to take back the House and Senate. “So this is a discussion I’m going to continue to have with my family, but we’ve got plenty of time.”
He also sounded supportive of the Democratic National Committee’s decision to make South Carolina the first Democratic primary state in the presidential election, praising Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), the state’s Senate nominee Annie Andrews as well as Nancy Lacore, the party’s recruit in the open seat of retiring Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC).
The lawmakers argue the meeting, which was canceled after interference by the State Department, should be investigated for potentially violating of the Logan Act
Photo by MADISON SWART/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images
New York Working Families Party co-directors Ana Maria Archila (R) and Jasmine Gripper (L) take the stage during a rally in support of Zohran Mamdani at Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn, New York, on May 4, 2025.
Several House Republicans sent a letter on Thursday to the Department of Justice calling for an investigation into whether New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his international affairs commissioner, Ana María Archila, violated the Logan Act by scheduling a meeting with the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations.
Archila, who heads the New York City Mayor’s Office for International Affairs, had previously scheduled a July 7 meeting with Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran’s U.N. ambassador, before the State Department intervened and the meeting was canceled.
Mamdani claimed last week that the meeting was “made in error” and had been scheduled without his knowledge. The mayor also stressed that the Iranian mission had reached out to his team and not the other way around.
The lawmakers argue that the planned meeting should be investigated for potentially violating the Logan Act, a centuries-old statute that prohibits American citizens from negotiating with foreign governments without authorization on behalf of the United States.
The letter was led by Rep. Addison McDowell (R-NC) and also signed by Reps. Buddy Carter (R-GA), Clay Fuller (R-GA), Pat Fallon (R-TX), Randy Fine (R-FL), Riley Moore (R-WV), Wesley Hunt (R-TX), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Pete Sessions (R-TX), Pat Harrigan (R-NC), Rich McCormick (R-GA), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), and Max Miller (R-OH).
The lawmakers said they were especially concerned about the attempted meeting in light of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran being “in a critical stage.”
“Given its timing, we believe this proposed meeting may have presented significant national security risks,” the letter reads. “In light of this, we respectfully ask that the Department of Justice investigate potential violations of the Logan Act on the part of the mayor’s office.”
“We support President Trump’s efforts to shore up American economic and national security interests in the Middle East, and we understand the vulnerable nature of continued peace negotiations,” it continues. “For that reason, we believe that a formal investigation is necessary to determine whether Commissioner Archila, acting on behalf of Mayor Madani, engaged in any unlawful activity or communication with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Plus, Georgia Jews’ Senate quandary
Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 30, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Good Monday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we talk to friends and colleagues of Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died on Saturday, and spotlight how Georgia’s Jewish community is approaching the state’s Senate race. We report on the confrontation between Rep. Ro Khanna and a group of West Bank settlers during his trip to Israel last week, and cover New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s response to an attempt by top staffers to meet with Iran’s envoy to the United Nations. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Sen. Mitch McConnell, Dennis Baum and French President Emmanuel Macron.
We have also launched a new on-demand Live Briefing that you can access throughout the day via our new app (on Apple and Android) and on our website.
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
- Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi arrives in Washington today, where he is slated to meet this week with President Donald Trump and other senior administration officials. The trip comes as Washington has sought to pressure Baghdad to crack down on Iranian militias operating in the country, and as the U.S. and Iran continued to trade fire over the weekend, with the U.S. striking Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz overnight after Iran hit a Cyprus-flagged container ship, prompting Iran to fire barrages of drones and missiles at Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
- Current and former government officials and policy wonks are arriving in Aspen, Colo., today ahead of the start of the Aspen Security Forum tomorrow. Will you be in Aspen? Say hello to JI’s Marc Rod, who will be covering the forum this week.
- Israelis will go to the polls in new elections on Oct. 27, MK Ofir Katz, the head of the Knesset’s House Committee, announced on Sunday. Katz’s announcement kicks off the official countdown to elections, even as candidates have for months been campaigning as the date has remained uncertain.
- The House Rules Committee is meeting today to discuss the Sunshine Protection Act, legislation that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent and has been opposed by Orthodox Jewish groups. The committee is also set to discuss legislation about State Department funding when it meets at 4 p.m.
- The Justice Department’s Leo Terrell, Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Greg Stanton (R-AZ), author Dara Horn and the Philos Project’s Luke Moon are among those slated to speak today at the National Coalition Against Antisemitism & Hate Conference, hosted by the American Muslim and Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council at the National Press Club.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S EMILY JACOBS
Following the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who was 71, this weekend, tributes poured in from lawmakers, administration officials and Jewish organizations, while Republicans and Democrats alike predicted Graham would be remembered as a legendary American political figure known for his ability to take political risks and find common ground in unexpected places.
Morgan Ortagus, the former deputy presidential envoy for Middle East peace in the second Trump administration and one of Graham’s closest confidantes in Washington, spoke to the senator on Saturday afternoon, hours before paramedics were called to his Capitol Hill home after he experienced an aortic dissection caused by arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
“He was extremely jazzed up in our last conversation,” Ortagus told JI. “He had just gotten off the phone with the president, and he was super excited about the Russia sanctions bill and the president deciding to go back into Iran. He could not have been happier when I spoke to him last night. He was in the best mood and in a great place. He spoke about how he felt like he was doing consequential work.”
“Nobody was expecting this. That’s for sure. Not even Lindsey was, or he wouldn’t have been running for another term,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), who has had close relationships with both Graham and President Donald Trump, said of the senator’s sudden passing. “When a person cuts as wide a swath as Lindsey cuts, it is shocking. It will take some time to process the reality of it. It should really hit on Monday when we show up for work.”
“He was not afraid to be critical and he was never uncritical of friends. He believed that friends owe it to each other to try to enable them to do better,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said. “He had a vision, which was in effect the normalization of relationships throughout the Middle East, an extension of the Abraham Accords. He pursued it relentlessly.”
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) credited Graham with doing “a masterful job of pulling” senators from across the ideological spectrum “in the same direction” in the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, swiftly organizing a bipartisan congressional delegation alongside former Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as he sought to salvage his long-standing efforts to achieve Saudi-Israeli normalization.
PEACH STATE PROBLEMS
For some Jewish voters in Georgia, this year’s Senate race offers no comfortable choice. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s (D-GA) votes to block weapons shipments to Israel have alienated some longtime supporters, while Republican nominee Rep. Mike Collins’ (R-GA) history of inflammatory rhetoric and controversial staffing choices has made him a nonstarter for others, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
The dilemma: The Jewish community remains divided on the race — some prominent community leaders, including prominent longtime Democrats, say they can’t see themselves voting for Ossoff given his record. But they also say that Collins is an unpalatable choice for them given his own history. Yet, both candidates also maintain strong supporters: Ossoff supporters argue that the response to his votes against weapons shipments have been overblown, or support the stances he’s taken. Collins supporters say that, despite past controversies, he’s the more reliable advocate for Israel and the Jewish community, in part because of his evangelical Christian background.
‘Rogue’ rhetoric
Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan running in the race’s far-left lane, on Sunday described Israel as a “rogue state” that has committed genocide and apartheid. El-Sayed made the comments in an interview with Manu Raju on CNN’s “Inside Politics Sunday,” Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
What he said: Asked whether he thought the Israeli government should be considered by the U.S. to be a foreign terrorist organization, El-Sayed answered, “It’s certainly a rogue state.” He continued, “I mean, they did a genocide. What about doing a genocide is not evil in your book? At baseline they do apartheid.”
Endorsement alert: Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) endorsed Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) over El-Sayed for the seat he is vacating, touting Stevens’ having demonstrated “time and time again that she’s a fighter” and adding that the U.S. Senate “is not a place for on-the-job training.”
SETTLER SCRUTINY
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) on Sunday called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to launch an investigation after the lawmaker said he was harassed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank last week, an incident Netanyahu attributed to a small group of “vigilantes,” Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
Khanna’s claim: During his first known trip to Israel and the West Bank since October 2024, Khanna said that his delegation’s van had been surrounded, stopped and taunted last Wednesday by Israeli settlers. Israel Police said that officers on the scene did not witness any violence and that the group was stopped in a restricted zone. Police added that Khanna’s tour group leader was warned of a possible arrest and that the group was told that civilians were not permitted in the area, before being released.
Bonus: The New York Post reports that Khanna ignored efforts by the Israeli Embassy in Washington to arrange a meeting with former hostages and survivors of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks.
MEETING MISHAP
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told reporters on Friday that he had been unaware that top officials in his administration planned to meet with Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations earlier this month — calling the decision “an error” on the part of one of his most prominent and politically active commissioners, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.
Mayor’s comments: Speaking after an unrelated event, the mayor maintained he only learned from a request for comment from City Journal that International Affairs Commissioner Ana Maria Archila and what the publication described as “two other senior officials” working under her had planned to sit down on Tuesday with Amir-Saeid Iravani of the Iranian Mission to the U.N. City Journal, affiliated with the right-of-center Manhattan Institute, reported that the State Department stepped in to preempt the meeting.
FOLLOW THE MONEY
James Fishback, the GOP candidate for Florida governor whom critics call “openly racist” and “openly antisemitic,” ostensibly sits at the opposite end of the political spectrum from the likes of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan. But the far-right and far-left politicians share more than just an aversion to Israel — they also overlap in donors, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman has found.
Money matters: Among the 27 donors to give the maximum $3,000 contribution to Fishback’s bid for Tallahassee is New York-based philanthropist and financier Amed Khan. A longtime associate of the Clinton family and contributor to former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, as well as to the Democratic National Committee, Khan’s public commentary and political giving has pivoted leftward since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. Besides maxing out to Fishback, this cycle the investment banker and Quincy Institute board member has donated $7,000 to former Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner, the progressive Democrat whose tirades against “oligarchs” and “the establishment” — not to mention his rhetoric on Israel — made him a favorite of the online left before a rape allegation derailed his campaign.
Targeting Fishback: The Front Line, a newly launched political nonprofit group aligned with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), is making a $400,000 ad buy in Florida targeting Fishback over his past antisemitic comments and suggestion that he would not enforce the state’s antisemitism law if elected.
Worthy Reads
AWOL on Antisemitism: In The Hill, Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and James Lankford (R-OK), the co-chairs of the Senate’s antisemitism task force, call on Congress to pass the Jewish American Security Act. “Every single attack represents a violation of Americans’ freedom to safely practice their religion. Failing to confront the moral rot of antisemitism in our country is an abdication of our responsibility to uphold this fundamental right. We cannot continue to allow discrimination and violence to go unchecked. Yet despite the disturbing rise in antisemitism, not a single piece of federal legislation focused solely and directly on combating it has been passed into law since the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.” [TheHill]
Lindsey’s Legacy: In The Atlantic, Mark Leibovich reflects on Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) death, looking at how the South Carolina Republican navigated the Beltway bubble, local politics and his relationship with President Donald Trump. “It is perfectly on the nose that Graham’s departure would occur just a few hours before he was supposed to appear on Meet the Press. It would have been his 64th appearance on America’s longest-running public-affairs program. In the Meet the Press greenroom there used to be a prominent photo of Graham yapping away alongside his Senate sidekick, John McCain. McCain, for his part, appeared 73 times on Meet the Press, more than any other guest in history — something McCain was especially proud of. In early 2019, a few months after McCain died, Graham joked to me that his main goal in his remaining time on God’s green Earth (or God’s greenroom) was to beat McCain’s record. He never will.” [TheAtlantic]
White House Inc.: Tablet’s Armin Rosen spotlights the overlap between business and personal dealings among members of the Trump administration, using as an example Massad Boulos, the father-in-law of Trump’s daughter Tiffany who serves as a senior advisor to the president on Middle East and African affairs despite his business interests in Africa. “The blurring boundaries between individual personalities and the basic functioning of the American government are characteristic of the second Trump administration, where jobs at the top of the system have been turned into prizes given out to allies and loyalists deemed worthy of having a shot at 10-figure prosperity. … But the result of this new ethos is that the pursuits of personal and public interest now bleed into one another with desensitizing frequency.” [Tablet]
A larger selection of Worthy Reads is available in our Live Briefing.
Word on the Street
In The Atlantic, former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, now the head of the country’s opposition, reflects on what he has learned about the American ethos during his time traveling the country, finding that “America is the place where the individual precedes the tribe and the story precedes history,” and as a place where loneliness “is not a glitch in the system; it is the raw material from which the system was built”…
Politico looks at how Vice President JD Vance’s rhetoric on Israel is alienating some Jewish Republican donors…
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who has been hospitalized and has not made any public statements since a fall that he said left him “briefly unconscious” last month, released a photo of himself amid speculation over the extent of his illness, saying that he developed pneumonia while recovering from the fall…
The Washington State Democratic Party is facing criticism from Jewish communal leaders over a change to its party platform that linked rising antisemitism in part to the actions of the Israeli government…
The New York Times looks at the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America in smaller cities in upstate New York as the group seeks to extend its footprint around the state…
Graham Platner officially withdrew his candidacy for U.S. Senate in Maine, clearing the way for the Maine Democratic Party to replace him on the November ballot…
The Anti-Defamation League took out a full-page ad in the Maine Sunday Telegram, declaring of Platner, “The tattoo should have been enough” and warning that those who “traffic in antisemitism” often are associated with other “misconduct”; ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told JI, “At this pivotal moment, antisemitism is not only being normalized in our politics, it is at risk of becoming mainstreamed across society. When conspiracy theories, Nazi-linked symbols, ties to extremists or hatred toward Jews are excused or minimized, leaders cannot look away”…
PEN America President Dinaw Mengestu resigned after seven months in the role, following the organization’s publication of an article describing the harassment and isolation faced by Jewish and Israeli writers in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks and ensuing war in Gaza; Mengestu said that the decision was in part because of the group’s opposition to cultural boycotts by pro-Palestinian activists…
The Atlantic explores efforts by the sons of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg to learn the truth about their parents, who were executed in 1953 after being convicted of spying for the Soviet Union…
The U.K.’s Home Office announced it will spend £250 million ($335 million) over the next three years to increase security and policing at Jewish institutions…
The Australian royal commission of inquiry into antisemitism heard from students and faculty about the antisemitism they experienced at universities in the country that predated the Oct. 7 attacks…
Australia’s education minister announced an overhaul of the country’s education standards that will now require universities to adopt a definition of antisemitism and develop transparent processes for reporting incidents of racism…
Politico does a deep dive into efforts by Norway, led by a former national team star player-turned-activist, to oust Israel from FIFA…
European foreign ministers gathered in Brussels today to discuss a potential ban on the importing of goods from West Bank settlements…
Deutsche Welle spotlights efforts by Dennis Baum, the Jewish heir to the Simson automobile manufacturing empire, to fight back against the use of Simson vehicles in political materials distributed by the far-right Alternative for Germany party…
Counterterrorism officials in France are investigating after a military-grade weapon was discovered in a vehicle in a heavily Jewish neighborhood in the north of Paris…
The Qatar Investment Authority, which owns a 10% stake in Volkswagen AG, blocked a deal between the German automaker and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems that would have seen Volkswagen produce vehicles supporting the Iron Dome missile-defense system….
Bloomberg looks at the challenges posed to global financial institutions by the growing rift between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia that “has the potential to upend global investment flows”…
Former Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who oversaw the Gulf state’s transition into an era of massive growth that also saw Doha deepen ties with Iran, Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood and establish Al Jazeera, died at 74; The New York Times’ obituary of Sheikh Hamad included a photo of the former emir with senior Hamas officials…
Find on-demand Live Briefing updates throughout the day via our new app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Pic of the Day
French President Emmanuel Macron and Charles Dreyfus, a grandson of Alfred Dreyfus, on Sunday inaugurated a statue of the military captain, who was the target of the antisemitic campaign known as the Dreyfus Affair. The Paris ceremony marking Dreyfus’ 1906 exoneration was held on the country’s first national day dedicated to the recognition of his innocence.
Speaking at the ceremony, Macron acknowledged that “the old demons of antisemitism have never completely disappeared from our country.”
Birthdays
Television writer, David X. Cohen turns 60…
Scottsdale, Ariz., resident, retired teacher, Howie K. Kipnes… Actor whose films have grossed more than $10 billion, his maternal grandmother was Anna Lifschutz, a Jewish immigrant from Minsk, Harrison Ford turns 84… Ridgefield, Conn., resident, Louis Panzer… Lecturer on the federal budget process following 37 years at various federal agencies, Johnny Cahn… Co-host of “Pardon the Interruption” on ESPN since 2001, Anthony Irwin “Tony” Kornheiser turns 78… Actor, best known for her role as Frenchy in “Grease,” Edith “Didi” Conn turns 75… Author of crime and suspense novels, he is also a conservative commentator, Andrew Klavan turns 72… Guide and educator at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, Rabbi Dr. Eric Marshall Lankin… Senior manager of regulatory and legislative affairs at PJM Interconnection, Stuart Widom… Country music artist, Victoria Lynn Shaw turns 64… Television executive and producer, she was the president of HBO’s network’s entertainment division until 2008 and was responsible for commissioning “The Sopranos,” “The Wire” and other hit shows, Carolyn Strauss turns 63… Film director and screenwriter, Shari Springer Berman turns 63… Author and journalist, Katie Roiphe turns 58… Chief legal officer and chief policy officer at HackerOne, Ilona Cohen… Owner of the D.C. area franchises of SafeSplash Swim Schools, Jennifer Rebecca Goodman Lilintahl… Founder of Omanut Collective, Sarah Persitz… Director of major gifts for the Southeast region at American Friends of Magen David Adom, Yishai Mizrahi… Creator, writer and producer of the TV show “Casual,” which ran from 2015 to 2018, Alexander “Zander” Sutton Lehmann turns 39… Former CEO at Art of Air Events and Entertainment, Ariana Gradow… Managing director at BDT & MSD Partners, Nicholas Avery Newburger… Managing partner at Surround Ventures, Jared Kash… Television and film actor, Wyatt Jess Oleff (family name was Olefsky) turns 23… Technology investor and executive, Eric A. Kohlmann… Reporter at Punchbowl News, Max Cohen…
Some 72% of Jewish voters hold unfavorable views of the democratic socialist mayor, compared with 67% of non-Jewish voters who approve of his performance
Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP via Getty Images
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani arrives for a news conference at Gracie Mansion in New York City on March 9, 2026.
New polling data shows that a sizable majority of Jewish voters disapprove of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s job performance and fear he is pushing the Democratic Party too far to the left, in contrast with non-Jewish voters who hold a largely favorable view of the outspoken democratic socialist.
The gap between Jewish and non-Jewish survey respondents underscores the degree to which Jewish Democrats in New York and across the country increasingly feel out of place in their party amid a rise in antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment on the far left, which has gained traction in recent state and congressional elections.
The poll, shared exclusively with Jewish Insider, showed that 72% of Jewish voters hold unfavorable views of Mamdani’s performance six months into his tenure, with 28% approving. Non-Jewish voters were more positive about the mayor — with 67% approving and 28% disapproving of Mamdani’s actions.
Meanwhile, nearly three in four Jewish voters said that they believed Mamdani’s views were outside the Democratic mainstream in New York City, compared with 52% of non-Jewish respondents who shared the same assessment.
And well over half of Jewish voters, 61%, said the Democratic Party under Mamdani was moving too far to the left, with 36% of non-Jewish voters feeling similarly. Non-Jewish respondents were, at 26%, also nearly twice as likely to say they felt the party had not moved enough to the left amid Mamdani’s mayorship — relative to 16% of Jewish voters, the poll revealed.
The poll was fielded days before Mamdani, a vocal critic of Israel, had helped elevate a trio of far-left candidates, including two Democratic Socialists of America-aligned candidates with extreme records on Israel and antisemitism, to the nomination in New York’s congressional primaries last month, unseating a pair of pro-Israel House incumbents. The wins established Mamdani as a veritable kingmaker in New York City politics, amid a broader rise of democratic socialism now shaping the midterms.
“Taken together, the data reveals a significant fault line within New York City’s Democratic coalition,” a polling memo by Honan Strategy Group shared with JI notes, “one that cuts along religious lines and will bear watching as Mamdani’s mayoralty takes shape.”
The poll, conducted by Honan Strategy Group, surveyed 614 likely general election voters in New York between June 12-17. Most of the respondents, 515, were not Jewish, while 99 were Jewish. Nearly three-quarters of respondents were Democrats, with 16% identifying as Republican. The rest identified as independent or as unaffiliated, according to Bradley Honan, who conducted the survey. The poll’s overall margin of error was around 4%.
The results echo a separate survey released in April and sponsored by The Jewish Majority, a pro-Israel research group based in Washington, D.C. The poll of 665 Jewish voters in New York City showed that most respondents, 40%, believed that Mamdani was doing a “poor” job as mayor.
The poll also found that 82% of Jewish voters — including most of those who voted for Mamdani — were “very” or “somewhat” concerned about the rise in antisemitism, which more than half, 58%, said was linked to the normalization of anti-Zionism espoused by the mayor and his allies on the far left.
Mamdani’s refusal to condemn calls to “globalize the intifada,” 61% of Jewish voters agreed in the survey, also helped to embolden pro-Hamas protestors who have targeted synagogues in New York in his tenure.
More recently, Mamdani has faced blowback for his comments at a political rally last month in which he attacked the pro-Israel group AIPAC as “monsters” who “move millions in dark money,” which Jewish leaders said had evoked classic antisemitic tropes.
The mayor has defended his rhetoric, saying he was borrowing from a phrase used by the Italian Marxist theorist Antonio Gramsci — though Mamdani quoted from a widely attributed mistranslation of his work.
The main difference between the three candidates backed by most Democratic leaders and Mamdani’s favored challengers is the challengers’ hostility to Israel
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Congressional candidate Claire Valdez speaks during a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) rally at Kings Theater on June 18, 2026 in New York City.
2026 has been the year of the democratic socialist, with numerous far-left, anti-Israel candidates winning mayoralties and congressional primaries in cities up and down the Northeast corridor, from New York to Washington, D.C — and beyond.
Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor who proved that radicalism can win hearts and minds among voters in deep-blue jurisdictions, is now trying to utilize valuable political capital by electing three like-minded congressional candidates in primaries in the Big Apple on Tuesday — backing two challengers running against well-funded incumbents, and a third against a well-established progressive borough president.
The outcomes of these three races will go a long way in determining whether Democratic Party voters still draw any red lines around candidates holding views and values that fall outside the party mainstream.
Let’s be clear: The main difference between the three candidates backed by most Democratic leaders and Mamdani’s favored challengers is the challengers’ hostility to Israel.
Mamdani handpicked Darializa Avila Chevalier, a doctoral student with no obvious congressional credentials who protested against Israel the day after it suffered the worst terror attack in its history, to run against Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), the head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and a progressive supporter of the Jewish state.
Avila Chevalier has a laundry list of recent social media posts in which she called for abolishing the police and voiced anti-American and pro-Russian sentiments, while sharing a post saying “Israel doesn’t exist.” That hasn’t disqualified her, in the eyes of a critical mass of the district’s voters.
Mamdani recruited state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez to challenge Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, despite the latter’s backing from party leaders. Valdez, a sculptor, has made her opposition to Israel a central part of the race, even falsely accusing AIPAC of being involved in the race when the outside spending against her came from a major teachers’ union. Reynoso, who has been a vocal critic of Israel, hasn’t made the Middle East a central part of his candidacy.
And Mamdani convinced former City Comptroller Brad Lander to run against pro-Israel Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), even working to clear the field of other challengers who threatened to split the anti-Israel vote against Goldman. Despite calling himself a progressive Zionist, Lander spent his final debate attacking the congressman for not calling Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza a genocide and for supporting aid to the Jewish state.
As JI’s Will Bredderman has documented, all three of Mamdani’s picks have made their opposition to Israel a major part of their closing messages. And while polls show Goldman as the underdog in a progressive district, the other two races are highly competitive. Outside groups representing mainstream forces have mobilized on behalf of Espaillat and Reynoso in the final weeks of the race, giving them a fighting chance to prevail.
There’s no doubt that pro-Israel forces within the Democratic Party are facing uphill challenges, especially in deeply progressive districts where voters are increasingly open to far-left candidates. The outcome in New York’s primaries this week will indicate whether the establishment has the ability to slow down the radicals’ momentum.
Darializa Avila Chevalier also denied knowledge about her own past pro-Russia posts
CAMPAIGN PAGE
Darializa Avila Chevalier
Darializa Avila Chevalier, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s endorsed candidate to unseat Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), on Friday defended her attendance at an anti-Israel rally one day after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, denied knowledge regarding her own history of posting anti-U.S. and pro-Russian sentiments online and maintained she owed nothing to the Texas tycoon underwriting a PAC backing her campaign.
The Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed congressional contender faced a battery of questions from reporters following a press conference, including over her decision to participate in an anti-Israel protest organized by pro-China, pro-Iran groups on Oct. 8, 2023, that even Mamdani and then-city Comptroller Brad Lander condemned at the time. Chevalier maintained that she had consistently opposed Hamas and “the celebration of the loss of life,” but refused to speak to the taking of hostages or to whether she had denounced the attack from the outset.
She also showed no regret for joining the demonstration.
“I was at this rally because I have always, as someone who has followed the issues that happened in the region, I have seen a pattern in which whenever there is an incident, the State of Israel engages in a response that is often disproportionate and creates a greater loss of life,” she said. “And that is what I was there to stand against.”
The candidate also asserted she had learned of GOP-leaning Dallas-area businessman Hussein “Sam” Mahrouq’s support for her candidacy via the anti-Israel American Priorities PAC from news reports. She insisted that she is in no way indebted to her financial backers, even though she has accused Espaillat of being “bought by the Israeli lobby” for support he has received from AIPAC and its supporters.
She also professed ignorance of why she had called the U.S. “a f***ing disgrace” on X and accused the country of having “bullied” Russia into attacking Ukraine.
“I’m not sure what the context of those comments was coming from,” she said.
Darializa Avila Chevalier railed against Democratic leaders and U.S. veterans, and co-hosted a podcast with Oct. 7 cheerleader
CAMPAIGN PAGE
Darializa Avila Chevalier
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s favored candidate to topple Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) has a history of extremist sentiments — with commentary assailing Israel, interracial relationships, “white liberals” and the U.S. flag and military.
Inflammatory posts by Darializa Avila Chevalier, that have received coverage in the New York Post, Politico, and AM New York, include: lambasting Black and Arab men for “fetishizing ugly colonizer women,” boasting of wiping her hand on the American flag, attacking former President Joe Biden as a “rapist,” declaring “f*** [Vice President] Kamala Harris,” demanding “No more police at all ever,” asserting Mayor Bill de Blasio “hates Black people” and is “a piece of shit” and calling American military veterans “child murderers” guilty of “war crimes.”
Jewish Insider reviewed additional tweets, including one announcing “I can’t stand white liberals” and another questioning whether watching a film with Israeli American actress Natalie Portman — a longtime critic of Israeli government policies and its leadership — would constitute “breaking the boycott.”
Her Twitter bio at the time of the latter tweet in 2019 was “how communist of you” and included the hashtag #FreePalestine. At the time, Avila Chevalier co-hosted a podcast called “They Are Just Deportees” with John Jay College instructor Nick Rodrigo, who attracted attention following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel when he offered multiple shout-outs at a rally to the Palestinian terrorists who murdered, sexually assaulted and abducted Israeli civilians.
“Shout out to the resistance! The resistance storming that wretched border wall on Oct. 7. They are doing their resistance and they are freeing themselves and in turn freeing us,” he said at the event.
Avila Chevalier herself later became a leader of Columbia University’s 2023 anti-Israel encampment movement.
Avila Chevalier did not respond to a question from JI about whether she agreed with this statement, or to any queries for this article. The Miami native recently told CNN, however, that she has “grown considerably” since writing many of her past posts.
But the candidate’s profile on The Story Graph, a social site page that allows users to share their reading habits, indicates an interest in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a U.S.-designated Marxist terrorist group that participated in the 2023 assault. The page lists her as “Currently Reading” Primo Levi’s Survival in Auschwitz — and also The Trinity of Fundamentals, a novel by Wisam Rafeedie, a prominent PFLP member who once ran the organization’s publishing house.
The tome was translated and published by 1804 Books, an arm of the People’s Forum, itself part of Shanghai-based financier Neville “Roy” Singham’s international network of pro-China, pro-Russia, pro-Iran nonprofits.
Her “Recently Read” page, meanwhile, lists two books by PFLP spokesman Ghassan Kanafani. During Kanfani’s tenure, the PFLP became notorious for masterminding the slaughter of Israeli citizens and Puerto Rican Christian pilgrims at Lod Airport in 1972, and subsequently pioneering the terrorist practice of skyjacking.
Avila Chevalier is the latest and last of Mamdani’s endorsed congressional candidates, who also include Assemblymember Claire Valdez — seeking to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) — and former city Comptroller Brad Lander, who is challenging Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY). Primary day is June 23.
Plus, Cohen checks out of Congress
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, co-chair of the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), arrives on Capitol Hill on December 05, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Good Monday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to appoint a Jewish Voice for Peace activist to serve as his office’s “faith liaison,” and cover the criticism by Jewish groups of Mamdani’s decision to post a video commemorating the Nakba as “one-sided and dishonest.” We report on Elon Musk’s praise for Israeli innovation, delivered via televised remarks at today’s International Smart Mobility Summit in Tel Aviv, and cover Rep. Steve Cohen’s announcement that he will not seek reelection following Tennessee’s redistricting. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: former Gov. Larry Hogan, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik and Patrick Dumont.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with an assist from Danielle Cohen-Kanik. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- In Washington, we’re expecting fresh votes this week on Iran war powers resolutions in both the House and the Senate. The House is also expected to hold a war powers vote, introduced by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), to block U.S. involvement — including support for Israel — in Lebanon. Read more here.
- The National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism will meet today at the Museum of the Bible in Washington. Speakers include the Justice Department’s Leo Terrell, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), Reps. Randy Fine (R-FL), Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Kat Cammack (R-FL).
- New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is hosting a Shavuot celebration today at Gracie Mansion, days after drawing the ire of Jewish communal leaders in the city for posting a video, featuring a translator of Bosnian descent whom the mayor referred to as a “New Yorker and a Nakba survivor.” More below.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is campaigning today with Republican Ed Gallrein, the challenger to anti-Israel Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), in the run-up to Tuesday’s closely watched primary in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District. Hegseth and Gallrein are scheduled to appear together at an America First Works event in Hebron, Ky., at 1 p.m. ET.
- The International Smart Mobility Summit kicks off today in Tel Aviv. Postponed from March due to the war with Iran, the event featured live televised remarks from Elon Musk, who had planned to come to the conference prior to its postponement. “My hat is off to Israel for just how much incredible innovation … I’d say innovation per capita, Israel must be No. 1 by far in the world,” Musk told the gathering. Read more about Musk’s remarks here.
- Ambassador Daniel Meron, Israel’s envoy to the U.N. in Geneva, is slated to speak today at the World Health Organization’s annual assembly, where he’ll call for reform of the WHO’s system for tracking attacks on health in conflict zones. Meron’s address comes days after the release of a report by Israel’s Center for Medical Integrity that found that the WHO’s surveillance system has hampered efforts to provide assistance to health workers in conflict zones.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MELISSA WEISS
For the last two weeks, a resumption of hostilities with Iran seemed unlikely, with the U.S. uninterested in sparking renewed fighting against the Islamic Republic in advance of President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping — whose country is a key trade partner of Iran.
But with the president back in Washington, the administration appears to be reopening military options — even as Iran continues to drag out tensions by offering what U.S. officials have said were unacceptable proposals to end the war. That extends to Congress, where Democrats on both sides of Capitol Hill are expected to introduce new war powers resolutions this week in an attempt to constrain the administration’s actions in the Middle East.
Trump told Axios on Sunday that “the clock is ticking” for Iran and the U.S. to reach an agreement to end the war. After rejecting Iran’s previous response to a U.S. proposal, Trump said that Tehran has to get to “where we want them to be,” or else “they are going to get hit much harder.”
A decision on whether to return to active fighting could come as soon as Tuesday, when Trump is set to hold a Situation Room meeting to discuss options. After returning from Beijing, the president met on Sunday with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
In Israel, preparations are being made for a possible return to war. Channel 12 quoted a senior Israeli official on Friday saying that the country is “preparing for days to weeks” of renewed fighting.
Even as the tenuous ceasefire has held, the United Arab Emirates — which during the active hostilities took the brunt of Iran’s attacks — has continued to face drone attacks. Emirati officials are investigating a fire near Abu Dhabi’s Barakah Nuclear Power Plant that broke out on Sunday after a drone entered the UAE from its western border and struck a generator near the facility.
SCOOP
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will appoint Rabbi Miriam Grossman — a veteran of various far-left and anti-Israel organizations, and one of the few Jewish religious leaders to back his campaign — to a taxpayer-funded post in his newly created “Office of Mass Engagement,” Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman and Matthew Kassel report.
Details: Multiple sources confirmed that Grossman, a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College who formerly led the independent congregation Kolot Chayeinu in Brooklyn, will take on the role of “faith liaison” inside the new department, which has imported personnel and outreach strategies from the Democratic Socialists of America into City Hall. A listing for the position posted on May 1 shows a salary in the $90,000 to $110,000 range, and indicates Grossman will be responsible for engaging the city’s Jewish religious community.
NAKBA DAY BLOWBACK
Shortly before the start of Shabbat on Friday — and days ahead of a Shavuot event at Gracie Mansion — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted a video marking what Palestinians refer to as Nakba Day, sparking a wave of outrage among Jewish leaders for its failure to acknowledge crucial facts surrounding the birth of the State of Israel, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.
Zoom out: Mamdani’s video featured Inea Bushaq, a translator of Bosnian descent, part of a community that arrived in the Ottoman-ruled Holy Land in the late 19th century, contemporaneous with Zionist settlement. In his accompanying tweet from his official government account, the mayor referred to her as a “New Yorker and a Nakba survivor.” Jewish leaders noted that Mamdani’s account ignored the massacres and expulsions of Jewish communities that invading Arab forces carried out during the war — and the subsequent purges of Mizrahi Jewish populations across the Middle East in the years that followed.
CAMPAIGN COMPANY
New York state Assemblymember Claire Valdez, a far-left Democrat now campaigning to fill an open House seat covering parts of Brooklyn and Queens, sat for a friendly interview released on Friday with a Twitch streamer who was once suspended from the platform for calling Jews a “demonic ethnicity,” Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Problematic platform: Valdez, who is backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and the Democratic Socialists of America’s New York City chapter, joined a nearly hour-long virtual conversation with Michael Beyer, a fellow DSA member who uses the online moniker “Mike from PA” and has drawn criticism for invoking antisemitic rhetoric about Jews and Israel.
BAYOU BUST
Dogged by his vote to impeach President Donald Trump in 2021, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) lost his bid for reelection on Saturday night, finishing in third place in the Louisiana Republican primary behind Trump-endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) and state Treasurer John Fleming, Jewish Insider’s Josh Kraushaar reports.
State of play: Letlow and Fleming, the top two finishers, will now compete in a runoff, which will be held on June 27. Cassidy received 25% of the primary vote, lagging well behind Letlow, who received 45% of the vote, and Fleming, who won 28%. The race offered another strong signal that Trump’s backing is the most important factor in Republican nomination fights.
ON THE OUTS
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) will retire from the House after 20 years, following a redistricting push by Tennessee Republicans that carved up his Memphis district, ending his reelection campaign, Cohen announced on Friday, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Background: Cohen, 76, was the first Jewish person to represent Tennessee in Congress, and long stood out as a white, Jewish lawmaker representing a majority-Black district in the South, a rare profile in Congress. Prior to the redistricting move, which was fueled by a recent Supreme Court decision allowing states to eliminate some majority-minority districts, Cohen faced a challenge from far-left state Rep. Justin Pearson.
HELPING HAND
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) is set to attend a rally with Pennsylvania state Sen. Sharif Street on Monday, a last-minute boost for Street’s campaign ahead of his Tuesday congressional primary in Philadelphia where his challenger, far-left state Sen. Chris Rabb (who rallied with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over the weekend), is favored to win, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Booker boost: Local analysts say that the appearance by Booker — a well-known face to local voters across the Delaware River from his home state — should help Street’s campaign, but were skeptical that it would be enough to help him beat Rabb. One local Democratic strategist said that they don’t expect Street to win, but he remains a viable candidate, with support from many local Democrats including Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker.
Worthy Reads
Hakeem’s Highest Hurdle: The New Yorker’s Jason Zengerle looks at House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ (D-NY) challenging path to retake the House. “Ironically, one of the few issues that Jeffries is identified with is the very topic that now most threatens to divide the Democratic Party. From his earliest days in politics, Jeffries has been a strong supporter of Israel, taking his first trip there when he was in the State Assembly and visiting five more times with AIPAC as a member of Congress… For most of Jeffries’s career, his pro-Israel position was in line with mainstream Democratic sentiment… last summer, he skipped the annual trip to Israel for first-term House Democrats, which is sponsored by AIPAC; two years earlier, he’d helped lead it.” [NewYorker]
Kristof Crisis: Puck News’ Dylan Byers looks at the debate in The New York Times’ newsroom over columnist Nicholas Kristof’s recent opinion piece alleging sadistic human rights violations targeting Palestinian prisoners in Israel. “Nevertheless, many Times journalists told me they remain suspicious of Nick’s sourcing for the most incendiary allegations, skeptical that those sources would have cleared the standards of the newsroom rather than Opinion, and mildly miffed at the Pulitzer-eager columnist for bringing scrutiny on the paper in a piece that should have been in their jurisdiction. Above all else, many seemed exasperated by what they viewed as another instance of the Times brand being undercut by the actions of another department that, they feel, is not held to the same standards.” [Puck]
Overwhelming Force: In The Wall Street Journal, Seth Cropsey considers how the U.S. should approach renewed warfare against Iran. “Mr. Trump has a narrow window in which to end this crisis favorably, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and ensure an economic rebound while securing American interests and prestige. But that requires deploying the full spectrum of American power. … Mr. Trump’s objective shouldn’t be to bluff the Iranians out. Instead it should be to demonstrate that if push comes to shove, the U.S. will commit to an overwhelming confrontation that breaks the Iranian state economically and politically.” [WSJ]
Dumont’s Bet: Bloomberg’s Randall Williams and Christopher Beam spotlight Las Vegas Sands CEO Patrick Dumont, the son-in-law of Dr. Miriam Adelson who, with the Adelson family, purchased a 73% stake in the Dallas Mavericks from Marc Cuban in 2023, and who is seeking to turn Dallas into a sports and gambling hub. “Dumont, who lives in Las Vegas with his wife and seven children, says he’s not a gambler. On the other hand, thanks to his Sands job, “technically I’m on the other side of every single bet.” When it comes to achieving his vision in Texas, he has the money, the connections and the will. All he needs is local buy-in. And, of course, a bit of luck.” [Bloomberg]
Holding Bibi Back: In Air Mail, Yossi Melman profiles Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, whom he describes as the “thorn” in the side of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Critics liken [Netanyahu] to Recep Erdoğan, the president of Turkey; Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s outgoing prime minister; and other populist world leaders. Over his many years in power, they argue, he has sought to dominate the media, weaken law enforcement, and bend the judiciary to political ends. Standing in his way is Baharav-Miara, whose dual role is unusual by international standards. As law professor Yaniv Roznai explains, Israel’s attorney general serves both as the government’s head prosecutor and its legal adviser.” [AirMail]
Pictures at a Roundup: In The New York Times, Jean-Marc Dreyfus reflects on the discovery of dozens of photographs of roundups of Parisian Jews during World War II that were taken to be used as Nazi propaganda and are newly on display at the city’s Holocaust memorial. “They remind us that the past is never entirely buried, and that images can unexpectedly return to challenge the void of memory and representation. They function today not as propaganda, the purpose for which they were originally produced, but as fragments of truth — painful, incomplete and indispensable — that allow us to better understand the way the roundup was organized and conducted and also to get a glimpse of the victims’ shock, fear and pain.” [NYTimes]
Word on the Street
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack met on Sunday with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Riyadh…
The New York Times reports on a second Israeli military outpost in the Iraqi desert that was used during combat against Iran, shortly after The Wall Street Journal reported on the existence of an initial base…
The IDF killed Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the most senior remaining Hamas commander in the enclave, in a Friday strike, according to a joint statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports…
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) endorsed Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the hotly contested Michigan Senate Democratic primary…
Reps. Delia Ramirez (D-IL), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Yvette Clarke (D-NY) introduced a resolution, “recognizing, from Chicago to Palestine to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Puerto Rico, that the pain, violence, and oppression the global majority experiences are interconnected, acknowledges that the future must be self-determined, and affirms our humanity and dignity through a renewed mandate for human rights.” The resolution calls for a grab bag of far-left academic and policy priorities, ranging from defunding the Department of Defense to ending “carceral punishment”…
Federal authorities have charged an Iran-backed militia commander with plotting to attack Jewish sites in New York City and Los Angeles, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…
Federal prosecutors in Washington will seek the death penalty against the Illinois man accused of killing two Israeli Embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum last May…
The Yeshiva World does a deep dive into the White House’s celebration of Shabbat over the weekend, coinciding with Rededicate 250 celebrations that took place over the weekend…
The Rededicate 250 events included an hours-long Christian prayer rally on the National Mall, which included remarks from Rabbi Meir Soloveichik…
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican who has often criticized the evolution of his party, announced the launch of an eponymous leadership Institute at Maryland’s Washington College aimed at fixing what he called a “broken” two-party system after vowing not to seek elected office again…
Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, who will face the winner of next week’s GOP Senate primary in Texas in November, said he will not campaign with Maureen Galindo, a Democratic House candidate who has leaned heavily into antisemitic conspiracy theories as she mounts her campaign for the state’s 35th Congressional District…
The New York Times spotlights the New York state Assembly race for the seat being vacated by Micah Lasher as he mounts a congressional bid; the race pits Rabbi Stephanie Ruskay against public defender Eli Northrup, with the Times noting that both candidates have “cited their faith as drivers of their political ambitions, pointing to Judaism’s teachings and their own unique backgrounds”…
Jewish groups in the U.K., including Community Security Trust and the Jewish Leadership Council, are calling on the government to bar far-left streamer Hasan Piker, who has events scheduled in London next month, from entering the country over his past antisemitic rhetoric…
The U.K. group Parents Against Antisemitism released a report detailing how Jewish students are “routinely bullied” by classmates, describing incidents including praise for Adolf Hitler, threats of violence and Nazi graffiti on school buildings…
Authorities in London arrested 20 people at a pair of dueling rallies on Saturday, one organized by far-right figure Tommy Robinson, and the other organized by far-left activists that included anti-Israel elements…
The New York Times looks at how the war with Iran and Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz have collectively dealt a severe economic blow to Qatar, which since February has been unable to move gas, the Gulf nation’s primary export, out of the country…
The Financial Times spotlights the role of Islamist forces bolstering the Sudanese Armed Forces as the U.S., Israel and the United Arab Emirates prioritize ending the “residual Iranian influence and weapons flows” to the African nation…
Somaliland’s ambassador to Israel, Mohamed Hagi, presented his credentials to Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday…
Israel is moving forward with plans to create a museum, IDF enlistment office and offices for the defense ministry on the site that was previously home to the east Jerusalem headquarters of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, which was banned by Israel last year…
Computer science researcher Peter Neumann died at 93…
Pic of the Day
Israeli singer Noam Bettan, performing “Michelle,” finished second behind Bulgaria at the 70th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night in Vienna. Bettan amassed 123 points from the juries from participating countries, and an additional 220 in the televote, but still fell short of Bulgarian singer Dara’s “Bangaranga,” which garnered 516 votes.
Birthdays
Pioneer of the corporate investigations industry, he is now chairman and co-founder of K2 Integrity and Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Jules B. Kroll turns 85…
Leader and rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger since 1996, Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter turns 87… Best-selling author of nine spy thriller novels, he has served in both the U.S. and the Israeli armies, Andrew Gary Kaplan turns 85… Widow of Bernard “Bernie” Madoff, Ruth Madoff turns 85… Retired New York Times columnist and editorial writer, he was the NYT’s Jerusalem correspondent for four years in the early 1990s, Clyde Haberman turns 81… President of Everest Management and trustee of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, Gary Kopff turns 81… Los Angeles-based attorney, board member of American Friends of Nishmat, past president of Westwood Village Synagogue, Linda Goldenberg Mayman… Longtime Washington correspondent for Newsweek, now writing for SpyTalk, Jonathan Broder turns 78… Longest-serving member of the Maryland General Assembly, starting in 1983, Samuel I. “Sandy” Rosenberg turns 76… Chair of the executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel, a former IDF major general and leading activist for the disability community, Doron Almog turns 75… Senior advisor at Moelis & Company, a former IDF major general, then CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Shlomo Yanai turns 74… Director of nutrition and hospitality at Philadelphia’s Temple University Hospital, Nancy Baumann… Attorney in Atlanta, he was the director of congregational engagement at the Union for Reform Judaism for nine years, Alan Kitey… Film producer and CEO of Miramax, Jonathan Glickman turns 57… Venture capitalist and author of a book on business principles derived from the Book of Genesis, Michael A. Eisenberg turns 55… CEO at Waze from 2009 to 2021, Noam Bardin… VP for communications strategy at Strategic Marketing Innovations (SMI), Bryan Bender turns 54… Former head of development at NYC charter school system Uncommon Schools, Sarah Danzig… Author of Substack-based newsletter and blog “Slow Boring,” he was a co-founder of Vox, Matthew Yglesias turns 45… Founder of London-based Tech With Intention, Eliza Krigman… Staffer for the Senate Armed Services Committee, Eric Trager… Founder of Satori Global Media, Joshua Lederman… Former acting under secretary of defense for intelligence and security, then a member of the National Archives Public Interest Declassification Board, Ezra Asa Cohen turns 40… Tech entrepreneur in the AI and gaming space, Dan Garon… Co-founder of Rebel (formerly known as Rebelmail), then acquired by Salesforce, Joe Teplow… Managing associate in the D.C. office of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, Lauren DePinto Bomberger… Journalist and podcast producer, Netanel “Tani” Levitt… Director of strategic partnerships at Anduril Industries, Sofia Rose Gross Haft… Five-time member of the U.S. Women’s National Gymnastics Team, now a business manager in the office of the CIO at Citadel, Samantha “Sami” Shapiro turns 33… Chief development officer at TAMID Group, Rachel Philipson Marsh…
The NYC mayor has tapped an anti-Zionist Brooklyn rabbi who backed his campaign for the newly created role
John Lamparski/Getty Images
Then-New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during the Jews For Racial And Economic Justice's Mazals Gala on September 10, 2025 in New York City.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will appoint Rabbi Miriam Grossman — a veteran of various far-left and anti-Israel organizations, and one of the few Jewish religious leaders to back his campaign — to a taxpayer-funded post in his newly created “Office of Mass Engagement,” Jewish Insider has learned.
Multiple sources confirmed that Grossman, a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College who formerly led the independent congregation Kolot Chayeinu in Brooklyn, will take on the role of “faith liaison” inside the new department, which has imported personnel and outreach strategies from the Democratic Socialists of America into City Hall.
A listing for the position posted on May 1 shows a salary in the $90,000 to $110,000 range, and indicates Grossman will be responsible for engaging the city’s Jewish religious community, the world’s largest outside Israel.
The listing indicated that Grossman will also be responsible for maintaining key relationships with Jewish religious leaders and organizations, representing Mamdani at community events and acting as the primary link between the community and City Hall.
Grossman, however, is well to the left of even some of the most progressive-minded Jews when it comes to Israel. A self-identified “member-leader” of far-left Jews for Racial and Economic Justice and a veteran of the rabbinical council of the pro-Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions group Jewish Voice for Peace, in a 2021 NPR interview she referred to her father as an “AIPAC rabbi” and recounted turning against Zionism while protesting construction of an oil pipeline in North Dakota as an Oberlin College student in 2008.
“I was really specifically taught not to trust or empathize with Palestinians and how to dismiss charges of anti-Zionism or criticism of Israel as antisemitism,” she said of her youth. “I was beginning to criticize the United States and I was starting to feel that way about Israel as well.”
Seven months before the Oct. 7 attacks, she participated in a march on the Brooklyn home of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to protest U.S. military aid to the Jewish State. In the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ atrocities, Grossman doubled down, joining a JFREJ protest demanding a halt to military aid to Israel and speaking with the Islam Channel on YouTube at a demonstration outside the White House.
“We are here to take it to the White House to tell the White House and Congress it is in our power to prevent a genocide to stop this cycle of death for all of us — for Palestinians and most especially this moment for the people of Gaza who are suffering and crying out for help, and the world is watching,” she said.
She also participated in multiple DSA-led events protesting the Israeli response to the assault. She later appeared in a JFREJ “New York Rabbis for Mamdani” video, endorsing the anti-Israel democratic socialist’s campaign.
Grossman did not respond to requests for comment, and Mamdani’s administration would not remark on the record about the hire. The faith liaison role is distinct from the executive directorship and deputy directorship of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, to which the mayor has appointed Phylisa Wisdom of New York Jewish Agenda and J Street veteran Josh Binderman, respectively.
Binderman and Wisdom’s groups are also critical of Israel, but identify as Zionist.
One Orthodox Jewish leader, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid antagonizing Mamdani, despaired at the news.
“If true it would send a terrible signal and would be one more indication that this mayor is not a friend to the Jewish community,” he said. “JVP is a radical fringe group that does not represent the views of the overwhelming majority of Jewish New Yorkers.”
The Oct. 7 mastermind died in ‘heroic’ style, according to Donald Borenstein, director of video for the Mamdani campaign and City Hall
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is seen in a supporters mobile phone at his election night watch party on November 4, 2025 in New York City.
The architect of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s viral video campaign paid homage to the mastermind of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks in a series of tweets uncovered by Jewish Insider — posts in which the operative asserted that late Hamas military leader Yahya Sinwar “gave his entire life until the end fighting for his people’s liberation.”
Records show Donald Borenstein got paid more than $90,000 last year by the Mamdani campaign for his services as director of video — a role in which, according to his LinkedIn, he served as “primary cinematographer” for the social media imagery that propelled the democratic socialist legislator into Gracie Mansion.
Borenstein’s Instagram indicates he has since assumed the title of “creative director” at City Hall, and he has been credited for official videos promoting the mayor and his agenda. Borenstein was also featured in a recent comedy sketch starring Mamdani and his top staffers that was shared on the official NYC Mayor’s Office YouTube channel.
Yet despite receiving attention from The New York Times and New York Post as a member of Mamdani’s inner circle, Borenstein’s profile online has largely escaped notice so far.
Archives of his X account show that in 2024, a day after Sinwar was killed by the IDF, Borenstein described imagery of his death, captured in Israeli drone footage, as “absolutely overflowing with symbolism.”
“[I]nsanely funny that israelis are so genocidally up their own ass that they have basically hand-delivered one of the most heroic possible images they could here lmao,” Borenstein wrote from his X handle @boringstein on Oct. 17, 2024, and just a few months before Borenstein began working for Mamdani’s campaign.
Borenstein appears to have deleted this tweet, and all others referenced in this story, at some later point, though archived images remain accessible.
Federal Election Commission filings show that a few months before the posts, Borenstein wrapped up work for another politician highly critical of Israel: then-Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), who was serving out the last few months of his term after he lost his reelection to a primary challenge from Rep. George Latimer (D-NY).
The cinematographer further mocked the Israeli decision to release the video of Sinwar sitting on a couch and tossing a stick at the drone moments before he was killed.
“‘[S]urely this man who gave his entire life until the end fighting for his people’s liberation with no proxy will look bad when we show footage of his last stand,’” Borenstein wrote sarcastically, concluding a third post with the phrase “From the river to the sea,” often understood as calling for the annihilation of the entirety of Israel between the Jordan and the Mediterranean, and three Palestinian flag emojis.
When one reply compared the terrorist with Tom Hanks’ character in the movie “Saving Private Ryan,” the cinematographer responded with enthusiasm.
“[I]n earnest!!! you could not direct this better lol,” Borenstein replied. “[I] am honestly so deeply moved.”
In another since-deleted tweet, Borenstein wrote that “the fascist state of Israel will fall in our lifetimes.”
Neither the video producer nor the Mamdani team responded to questions about the tweets.
Borenstein is one of several figures instrumental in Mamdani’s rise whose social media accounts feature explicit support for Sinwar and the terrorist organization he led, even though the mayor has condemned terrorism personally.
In February, JI reported that the co-founder of the independent “Hot Girls for Zohran” social media and canvassing campaign had also shared multiple pro-Hamas posts. In March, JI reported that Mamdani’s wife Rama Duwaji — whom The Cut described as a “de facto adviser” to the mayor’s campaign — had liked posts on Instagram celebrating the Oct. 7 attacks.
Plus, Witkoff equates hostages and Palestinian prisoners
Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP via Getty Images
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani arrives for a news conference at Gracie Mansion in New York City on March 9, 2026.
👋 Good Monday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at the ties between New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration and the family of far-left, pro-China financier Neville “Roy” Singham, and report on White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff‘s comments at FII PRIORITY comparing the freeing of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas to the release of Palestinians from Israeli prisons. We look at how Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick’s potential expulsion from Congress over federal financial crimes could provide a pathway for a staunch Israel critic to take her seat, and report on the Israeli Knesset’s 11th hour passage of its 2026 budget, pushing off a potential early election. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Barry Diller and Jonathan Greenberger.
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 continuing to monitor a potential escalation in the Middle East after the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen launched several ballistic missiles at Israel over the weekend, marking the terror group’s entry into the latest conflict.
- More than 2,000 U.S. servicemembers are en route to the region as part of a mass Pentagon deployment. Yesterday, President Donald Trump said he wanted to “take the oil in Iran” — a move that would involve the seizure of Kharg Island. Before returning to Washington, the president told reporters on Air Force One that Tehran had agreed to allow 20 cargo ships carrying oil to transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Authorities in Haifa are responding to a fire at the Bazan oil refinery — the second time the site has been damaged since the start of the war a month ago — following a series of attacks this morning by both Hezbollah and Iran. Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry said that there was no risk of hazardous leaks at the site.
- Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is in Berlin today, where he’ll meet with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz before traveling on to the U.K., where he’ll meet tomorrow with Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London. Al-Sharaa’s trip to Germany marks the first time in 25 years that a Syrian leader has visited the country.
- New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is slated to give remarks at Knitting Factory founder and music impresario Michael Dorf’s 33rd Annual Downtown Seder tonight at City Winery in Manhattan, with all proceeds from the event going to the Seeds of Peace nonprofit. Others in the lineup tonight include former CNN commentator Don Lemon, singer David Broza and comedian Modi.
- Ahead of the start of Passover on Wednesday evening, Jewish Insider wine columnist Yitz Applbaum is out with his recommendations for this year’s Seders. Read more here.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR
A useful rule of thumb to live by: Social media isn’t real life.
But one of the challenges in the brave new world of media is that extremist influencers can often create the perception of influence simply by dominating so much of the online discourse.
Hasan Piker, a far-left streamer who has been the subject of favorable media profiles despite a laundry list of antisemitic and terror-justifying rhetoric, is a case study in how traditional journalists normalize extremists — and how politicians conclude there’s a marketplace for radical views in the electoral marketplace, even when it’s typically a mirage.
In part because Democrats have been desperate to find anti-establishment voices that claim to speak for young men, Piker is seen as a popular, edgy podcaster by liberal leaders in both media and politics. (Nevermind the fact that Piker gets only about 36,000 viewers on a typical stream — about 1/25th of the typical nighttime audience of MS NOW, as The Atlantic’s David Frum pointed out.)
The New Yorker invited Piker to speak at its annual festival, treating the antisemitic streamer as just another one of the many thought leaders in attendance. Leading progressives, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), joined him at rallies and on his show.
And a handful of leading Democratic presidential contenders — most notably California Gov. Gavin Newsom — expressed interest in going on his show.
This, despite the fact Piker has justified Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks, forcefully denied some of the terror group’s atrocities, has called Orthodox Jews “inbred” and claimed America deserved 9/11.
Any one of those comments on their own would have typically disqualified anyone from playing a part in our political discourse. Yet in the wave of glowing profiles, Piker’s antisemitism and anti-Americanism didn’t even merit a mention.
It wasn’t until March 19, when Lily Cohen, a press advisor from the Third Way center-left think tank, took the initiative to co-write a column for The Wall Street Journal calling out Piker’s antisemitism without any caveats. The decision to call out the crazy — when few in the press or politics had the courage to do so — was a moment that proved that one principled voice in defense of normalcy can break the mirage of those who believe there’s a political marketplace for this garbage.
PHONE A FRIEND
Relatives of a Shanghai-based software magnate devoted to promoting Chinese, Iranian and Russian interests are operating inside the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, supporting Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s preferred candidates for Congress and playing significant roles in shaping and advancing key elements of his agenda, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman has found.
Family affair: Alicia Singham Goodwin, the political director of the far-left nonprofit Jews for Racial and Economic Justice — and niece of far-left financier Neville “Roy” Singham — spearheaded a Jewish outreach operation for Mamdani’s campaign, bundled thousands in donations and was publicly credited by the mayor with originating one of his signature policy ideas. Her parents, both members of NYC-DSA, have donated to his endorsed congressional candidates and she herself has collaborated with Mamdani himself on key organizational structures inside the group.
SANCTIONS SCRUTINY
A group of 25 Senate Democrats criticized President Donald Trump on Friday for lifting sanctions on Russian and Iranian oil exports, sanctions which have seen broad bipartisan support, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Notable quotable: “We write with deep concern and confusion over your administration’s recent decision to ease sanctions on Russian and Iranian oil exports,” the Democrats wrote in a letter to the president. “These actions speak once again to the troubling lack of strategic foresight that has marked your administration’s decision-making prior to and during its war of choice with Iran, jeopardizing the lives of our servicemembers across the region and raising costs for Americans here at home.”
Lebanon front: A war powers resolution introduced by Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Delia Ramirez (D-IL) and Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) on Friday would block any U.S. participation in and assistance to Israeli operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
compare and contrast
White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday compared the release of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas to the release of Palestinians from Israeli prisons, stating that both experiences “feels like we’re changing lives.” He made the comment at the FII Priority summit in Miami, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
What he said: “People ask me: ‘Why do I like doing it?’ And I say because it feels worthy, it feels like we’re changing lives,” Witkoff said. “I remember when we met those families of the Israeli hostages and they were ecstatic because they didn’t think their children were coming home. But I was also in Gaza,” Witkoff continued. “I met Gazan families whose children were released from Israeli prisons in exchange, and they were just as grateful as the Israeli parents.”
SEAT SHAKEUP
The scandal surrounding Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) could send another far-left Israel critic to Congress, after a House Ethics Committee panel found her guilty on Thursday of 25 charges and lawmakers now move toward expelling her from the chamber, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Cherfilus-McCormick was also indicted last year for a range of financial crimes.
The latest: Even before the indictment and Ethics Committee inquiry, Cherfilus-McCormick faced primary challenges including from Elijah Manley, a young progressive who has been critical of Israel. Manley, 27, who has leaned into Cherfilus-McCormick’s indictment as fuel for his campaign, sat prominently behind her at her Ethics Committee trial last week. Dale Holness, the candidate who lost by a hair to Cherfilus-McCormick in 2021, is also running again. A poll of 300 likely primary voters in Pensacola in February found Manley leading the field with 38% of the vote, followed by Cherfilus-McCormick with 35% and Holness with just 10%. In a head-to-head matchup with Holness, Manley held a double digit lead, 45%-33%.
CHANGING TACK
Speaking to Jewish Insider last July, Effie Phillips-Staley, one of the Democrats aiming to take on Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) in suburban New York this fall, said that she wanted to be “very clear that the U.S. has to continue to be a critical ally to Israel” and that she wouldn’t support additional conditions or restrictions on U.S. aid to Israel. But as support for Israel has declined with the Democratic base, the progressive candidate has flip-flopped on her views towards the Jewish state, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
The latest: She received an endorsement this month from the virulently anti-Israel group TrackAIPAC, which has garnered accusations of antisemitism and dishonest tactics even from elected Democrats who are themselves critical of Israel. In a statement to JI, a spokesperson for Phillips-Staley said that her initial stance was a result of “the typical boilerplate advice from establishment Democrats to stay away from critiques of US aid to Israel.” This week, she faced criticism from local Democratic Party leaders for appearing on Hasan Piker’s stream. Her trip to Israel also included a conversation with Rev. Munther Isaac, a virulent antisemite who has justified Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
EARLY ELECTION AVERTED
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition narrowly beat a deadline that would have led to an early election, passing the 2026 state budget early Monday morning, a day before the March 31 deadline, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Remaining issue: The budget passed after the coalition granted NIS 800 million ($255 million) in benefits to Haredi institutions, and promised Shas and United Torah Judaism that the government would pass a law that, in effect, would continue yeshiva students’ exemption from military service, even as Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF chief of staff, raised “10 red flags” about insufficient military manpower.
Worthy Reads
The Hawks’ Blind Spot: The Atlantic’s Jonathan Chait raises concerns about the possibility that a negative outcome in the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran could further boost the ascendent far-right isolationist wing of the GOP. “Trump’s populist allies have learned that their most poisonous ideas have a potent audience. Figures such as [Tucker] Carlson, [Nick] Fuentes, and the far-right influencer Candace Owens have developed mass followings by supplying the forbidden fruits of anti-Semitic paranoia that the old establishment withheld. They have tapped into a deep desire to blame Israel and a Jewish cabal for the world’s problems. If Trump is seen as having failed because of a war fought alongside Israel that was urged on him by the hawks, Carlson’s case against the Republican elite will become trivially simple.” [TheAtlantic]
The Alt-War: In The Washington Post, University of Pittsburgh professor Jennifer Murtazashvili, who moved to Israel as a Fulbright scholar in January, observes how online propaganda has altered the way in which the war in the Middle East is being understood by broad swaths of the West. “We are living through the first alt-war: a conflict in which the war fought online and the war fought in reality have diverged so completely that they might as well be happening on different planets. … The liberal internationalist left and the isolationist right — two camps that have agreed on almost nothing for decades — have suddenly found themselves in lockstep, racing to declare the war a failure before it had barely begun. … Together they are the most powerful engine of the alt-war.” [WashPost]
From Karachi to Palm Beach: Bloomberg’s Faseeh Mangi profiles Bilal Bin Saqib, the Pakistani cryptocurrency expert and “key player” in Karachi’s efforts to build fiscal ties with the U.S. “Last month, Saqib posted a selfie with Zachary Witkoff and other company executives at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. That came around the same time that Pakistan reached an agreement with the US to revamp the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, a deal negotiated by Steve Witkoff. … Starting in March of last year, he was appointed to a series of positions in quick succession: The finance minister’s chief adviser on crypto, chief executive officer of the Pakistan Crypto Council, special assistant to the prime minister on blockchain and crypto. Finally he ended up as chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.” [Bloomberg]
Word on the Street
The U.S. is reportedly making preparations for a weekslong ground operation in Iran that would likely fall short of a full-scale invasion but would consist of smaller raids conducted by special forces…
Separately, the White House is mulling a plan to extract nearly 1,000 pounds of uranium from Iran that would include troops on the ground…
The Wall Street Journal looks at Pakistan’s effort to position itself as a mediator between the U.S. and Iran; over the weekend, Karachi hosted foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt to discuss efforts to deescalate tensions in the Middle East…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in the Middle East over the weekend, said that Ukrainian intelligence revealed that Russia took photos of a U.S. air base in Saudi Arabia on three separate occasions shortly before three soldiers were injured in an Iranian attack on the base; the finding comes as, The Wall Street Journal reports, Moscow steps up its backing for Iran in part “to salvage what’s left of its shrinking web of partnerships”…
The Financial Times reports that Iran is increasingly relying on its “resistance economy” that functions through domestic production and sanctions evasion in an effort to stave off economic collapse, as The Wall Street Journal does a deep dive into Tehran’s “tentacled ecosystem that controls more than half of the economy” and keeps the regime afloat…
The White House issued a statement honoring Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A., honoring the “life, legacy, and vision of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson,” the late Lubavitcher Rebbe…
Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced a resolution to block certain arms sales to the United Arab Emirates…
Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Van Hollen, Welch and Sanders introduced a bill that would require the affirmative consent of Congress for any nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia…
Every Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee wrote to the committee’s chairman requesting a public briefing on the Iran war, saying they are “deeply troubled by the lack of transparency” from the administration…
The Democratic National Committee is expected to vote next month on a resolution opposing outside “corporate-backed independent expenditures” that explicitly criticizes AIPAC and its affiliated United Democracy Project super PAC…
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, signed into law legislation formally adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, becoming the 37th state to do so…
Politico published, and then removed, a cartoon with antisemitic imagery that included Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with an outsized nose and members of Congress wearing bloodied Jewish prayer shawls…
The cartoon was published a day before Politico reported on the “frustrations and anger” with the U.S. war in Iran that “were on full display” among young male MAGA adherents at last week’s CPAC conference, despite a straw poll at the Dallas confab that found overwhelming support for both the Trump administration and the U.S. involvement in the war…
The Wall Street Journal looks at San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s effort to address the city’s anticipated budget shortfall of $900 million through private contributions and the creation of the San Francisco Downtown Development Corporation to raise funds to revitalize the area…
The Information reports on last week’s JPMorgan Chase’s Tech100 gathering in Montana, where attendees included White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared and Josh Kushner, Michael Dell and Dario Amodei…
Apollo Global Management is planning to open a second U.S. headquarters, with Austin, Texas, South Florida and Nashville reportedly among the shortlisted cities; Apollo plans to make the “bulk” of its future hires from the area it selects for the second HQ…
Barry Diller purchased an $11 million duplex penthouse frequented by President John F. Kennedy at New York’s Carlyle Hotel; Diller purchased the property from Karen Pritzker, who with her husband paid $12.5 million for it in 2007…
Nursing home owner Daryl Hagler sold off five properties in Brooklyn and Queens for $332 million, months after a report from New Jersey’s state comptroller found that Hagler and his business partner owed $124 million to the government for redirecting Medicaid funding and understaffing two N.J. nursing homes…
A New Jersey man was charged with plotting an attack on Within Our Lifetime founder and anti-Israel activist Nerdeen Kiswani…
The University of Florida chapter of College Republicans is suing the school for forcing the group’s disbandment after the circulation of an image of a member doing a Nazi salute, citing its First Amendment rights…
Semafor spotlights the work of the New York Post’s “runners” — reporters without a specific beat who are dispatched to cover all manner of stories — by shadowing Reuven Fenton, “one of eight siblings, three of whom are rabbis” and “one of a number of people with arguably the oldest job in American journalism, and perhaps one of the only ones that will survive AI”…
Yeah that’s Kosher released the 2026 edition of its annual guide to kosher ballpark eating…
The U.K.’s Liberal Democrats suspended the mayor of Bath after he shared social media posts calling a recent arson attack on Hatzola ambulances in London’s heavily Jewish Golders Green suburb an Israeli false flag operation…
A day after Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and three other senior Latin Patriarchate officials were denied access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Israel Police announced an agreement that will allow Catholic Church officials access to the site; the accord came after intervention from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called for Pizzaballa to be granted “full and immediate access” to the church…
The IDF withdrew the Netsah Yisrael battalion from the West Bank following a weekend confrontation between reservist soldiers and a CNN crew in which reporter Jeremy Diamond alleged his cameraman was put in a chokehold by one of the soldiers…
The Atlantic spotlights the Kurdish Peshmerga forces along the Iran-Iraq border that are preparing for possible military action in Iran…
Politico Executive Vice President Jonathan Greenberger was named the publication’s new editor-in-chief; Greenberger, who was previously the Washington bureau chief at ABC News, will assume the new role in May…
Dr. Kurt Gitter, who as a baby fled Nazi Europe with his family and would go on to become a pioneer in the field of eye surgery, as well as an avid collector of Japanese art, died at 89…
Dr. Judith Rapoport, whose work brought widespread awareness to obsessive-compulsive disorder, died at 92…
Pic of the Day
IDF Sgt. Moshe Itzhak HaCohen Katz, a U.S.-born IDF soldier from New Haven, Conn., who was killed in combat in Lebanon on Friday, was buried on Sunday in Jerusalem.
Birthdays
Actress, director, producer and ballerina, Juliet Landau turns 61..
Partner of Rose Associates, a real-estate firm in the NYC area, Elihu Rose turns 93… Professor of international trade at Harvard and winner of the Israel Prize in 1991, Elhanan Helpman turns 80… Cherry Hill, N.J. resident, Zelda Greenberg… Film and television director, Michael Stephen Lehmann turns 69… Comedian, actor, television personality, screenwriter, author and musician, Paul Reiser turns 69… Host of Public Radio Exchange’s “The World,” Marco Werman turns 65… District attorney of Philadelphia since 2017, Larry Krasner turns 65… U.S. ambassador to Bulgaria under Presidents Obama and Trump, he is a past president of the American Foreign Service Association, Eric Seth Rubin turns 65… Actor best known for his role as Steve Sanders on the television series “Beverly Hills, 90210,” Ian Ziering turns 62… Owner and founder of D.C.-area’s Ark Contracting (what else can you call your company if your name is Noah), Noah Blumberg… U.S. special representative for international negotiations in the first Trump administration, now at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Jason Dov Greenblatt turns 59… Regional director in the Washington office at AJC: Global Jewish Advocacy, Alan Ronkin… Associate dean of students at Bard College, she helped 350 people escape Afghanistan amidst the U.S. withdrawal, Danna Harman… Tel Aviv-born actress, she appears on television and film in both Israel and the U.S., Mili Avital turns 54… Mexican-American chef, she won a James Beard Award for her PBS television series “Pati’s Mexican Table,” Patricia “Pati” Jinich turns 54… Financial services professional, he was formerly treasurer of Oakland County, Mich., Andy Meisner turns 53… Iranian-born LA-based retired actress, best known for her roles in “Crash” and the “Saw” franchise, also as the mother of the inspirational amputee Ezra Frech, Bahar Soomekh turns 51… Communications consultant, Gabriela Schneider… Jerusalem-born documentary photographer for the Associated Press, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography in 2007, Oded Balilty turns 47… Detroit-area Jewish leader and founder at Multifaith Life, Alicia Chandler… Best-selling author of The Oracle of Stamboul and The Last Watchman of Old Cairo, Michael David Lukas turns 47… Former senior advisor to then-Ambassador David Friedman at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, he is now a diplomatic advisor to the Board of Peace, Aryeh Lightstone turns 46… Chief program officer at Jewish Democratic Council of America, Robert J. Saferstein… Founder and editor-in-chief at Standard & Works, Zach Silber… Senior reporter at The Huffington Post, Jessica Schulberg… Third baseman for MLB’s Chicago Cubs, he was the MVP of the 2018 MLB All-Star Game, Alex Bregman turns 32… Associate at Arnold & Porter, she is a granddaughter of the late Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Leora Einleger…
Sources say Next NYC PAC seeks to unite NYC mayor’s foes, including former Comptroller Scott Stringer and Cuomo alums
Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP via Getty Images
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani arrives for a news conference at Gracie Mansion in New York City on March 9, 2026.
A veteran operative for former Chicago mayor and congressman Rahm Emanuel has established a new political action committee to fight New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America in the Big Apple — an effort that sources say could involve former city Comptroller Scott Stringer and aides to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The Next NYC PAC registered with the New York State Board of Elections on March 11, using the address of Gregory Goldner’s home in the Mid-North District of Chicago. Goldner, who helmed Cuomo’s mayoral campaign in the final weeks of the 2025 cycle and ran a PAC aimed at preventing the election of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson two years prior, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
However, sources — who spoke anonymously with Jewish Insider as Next NYC remains in its formative stages — said that it could fuse the political infrastructure of two candidates who failed to block Mamdani from City Hall last year: Cuomo and Stringer.
Stringer, once a powerful figure on Manhattan’s affluent Upper West Side, declined to confirm or deny his role in the new independent expenditure committee when reached for comment.
However, Stringer, one of the few candidates in the 2025 mayoral race to tout his pro-Israel credentials and specifically refer to himself as a Zionist, spoke to The New York Times in February about a need for a similar committee that would support moderate candidates for local office.
Multiple insiders who had participated in or been informed of meetings related to the new PAC asserted that Jen Bayer Michaels, a longtime Cuomo fundraiser, would also help acquire funds for Next NYC’s efforts, which will focus on protecting and electing centrist candidates for the state legislature over Mamdani- and DSA-backed contenders.
Bayer Michaels gained some prominence in December with a Wall Street Journal editorial that spoke out against growing antisemitism on the left, in which she called for a “Democratic Party that Believes Jewish Lives Matter.”
The Jewish Community Relations Council and UJA-Federation of New York blasted Mamdani’s recent gatherings with Mahmoud Khalil and Abdullah Akl
Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP via Getty Images
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani arrives for a news conference at Gracie Mansion in New York City on March 9, 2026.
Two of New York’s largest Jewish community groups voiced consternation Tuesday night over New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s recent fraternizing with activists who had defended and even advocated violence against Israel.
The criticism from the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and the UJA-Federation of New York came after Mamdani shared a photo on social media Monday night of himself and his wife hosting Columbia University campus activist Mahmoud Khalil at Gracie Mansion — and after reports that Abdullah Akl, the stridently anti-Israel political director of the Muslim American Society of New York, had introduced the mayor at an event in Staten Island.
JCRC CEO Mark Treyger highlighted federal findings that the protests that Khalil helped lead created a hostile environment for Jewish students at Columbia. He acknowledged Khalil’s legal fight to avoid deportation, but urged the mayor to also open Gracie Mansion to those subjected to harassment on the Ivy League campus.
“If our democracy affords Mahmoud Khalil due process rights, as it should, then those same democratic principles must also extend to the civil rights of students and staff to study and work in an environment free from hate, intimidation, and harassment. We cannot be selective about whose rights we defend,” Treyger, a former city councilmember, wrote on X. “Their stories deserve to be heard so that no student, in any educational setting, is ever forced to endure hate and intimidation again.”
The UJA-Federation statement noted that Khalil had rationalized the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks as a means of preventing Israeli-Saudi normalization, and that Akl had led a chant in 2024 calling for attacks on Tel Aviv and lauding now-deceased Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida.
“His decision in the last few days alone to share a stage on Staten Island with an individual who publicly called to ‘strike, strike Tel Aviv,’ and then host an Iftar meal at Gracie Mansion with a man who justified the Oct. 7 atrocities, raises deep concerns in our community,” the UJA-Federation statement said, contrasting the actions with the mayor’s pledges of inclusivity when he entered office.
“This is an important moment for Mayor Mamdani to live up to his own rhetoric and reaffirm his commitment to confronting antisemitism and keeping every New Yorker safe.”
Akl’s organization had its funding from the City Council frozen earlier this year after it held a craft fair hawking merchandise celebrating Hamas, Hezbollah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and featuring the slogans “Let’s go bomb Tel Aviv” and “Death to the IDF.”
The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and did not answer questions from Jewish Insider about how his team vets the people he participates in events with.
‘Gracie Mansion belongs to all New Yorkers. Public office must never be used to legitimize hate,’ an ADL spokesperson said
Mayor Zohran Mamdani/X
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani hosts Mahmoud Khalil for iftar dinner at Gracie Mansion.
The Anti-Defamation League condemned New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday for hosting Columbia University anti-Israel protest leader Mahmoud Khalil at his official residence.
“Welcoming someone known for justifying the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks as an honored guest at Gracie Mansion — while some in the Mayor’s inner circle have amplified antisemitic content and posts dismissing the atrocities of that day — sends a deeply troubling message,” an ADL spokesperson told Jewish Insider.
“Gracie Mansion belongs to all New Yorkers. Public office must never be used to legitimize hate, and New York’s Jewish community deserves a mayor who makes that clear in both words and actions,” said the ADL spokesperson.
On Monday night, Mamdani posted a photo which included his wife, who has come under fire in recent days for her social media support for Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, and Khalil having an iftar meal at Gracie Mansion.
Other Jewish groups have so far declined to publicly weigh in on the dinner.
Khalil, a former Columbia graduate student who grew up in Syria but is of Palestinian descent, was released in June from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Louisiana, where he had been held for three months pending deportation proceedings. A federal appeals court ruled in January that Khalil could be rearrested.
One month after his release, Khalil repeatedly declined to condemn Hamas in a CNN interview.
Federal charges were filed against Pennsylvania youth who lobbed improvised explosive devices outside Gracie Mansion
Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP via Getty Images
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch (C) speaks alongside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (L) during a news conference at Gracie Mansion in New York City on March 9, 2026.
The two Pennsylvania men who allegedly hurled improvised explosive devices toward a protest against New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will face federal charges for “ISIS-inspired terrorism,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch revealed Monday.
Mamdani and Tisch addressed the press near the scene of the crime, the mayoral residence of Gracie Mansion, where far-right provocateur Jake Lang held a protest on Saturday to “Stop the Islamic takeover of New York City.” Tisch said Lang and his supporters were the targets of two homemade bombs that Emir Balat, 18, who had traveled from Pennsylvania with his accused accomplice Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, flung from amid the counter-demonstration.
Tisch confirmed earlier reporting that the Islamic State appears to have inspired the alleged perpetrators’ actions — but maintained nothing at present pointed to any link between the attempted attack and the ongoing U.S. and Israeli military campaign against Iran.
“I can confirm this morning that this is being investigated as an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism,” the commissioner said, noting that so far one of the devices had tested positive for triacetone triperoxide, an explosive used in terrorist bombings across the world. “At this time we do not have any information that connects this investigation to what’s going on overseas in Iran.”
Neither bomb ultimately detonated. The criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of New York Monday stated that both men waived their Miranda rights and explicitly identified ISIS as their inspiration.
“This isn’t a religion that just stands when people talk about the blessed name of the Prophet [Muhammad],” Balat told police, according to the charging documents. The complaint continues that Balat requested and received writing materials, and jotted down: “All praise is due to Allah lord of all worlds. I pledge my allegience [sic] to the Islamic State. Die in your rage yu [sic] kuffar!”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation agent deposed for the complaint stated that the written statement reflects common ISIS slogans. Further, the document alleges Balat subsequently told police he had hoped to pull off something “even bigger” than the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, which he noted had caused “only three deaths.” The indictment also states that Balat was carrying a Turkish government identification card as well as a Pennsylvania driver’s license.
The duo face charges of attempted provision of material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, use of a weapon of mass destruction, transportation of explosive materials — including over state lines — and unlawful possession of destructive devices.
Tisch said Monday her department remains in “a heightened state of alert” due to the ongoing U.S. war against Iran , and had deployed “heavy weapons, teams, K-9 units, aviation and more” to secure sensitive locations.
Mamdani, who revealed he was not home at the time of the incident, joined his commissioner in praising the police department and the officers who helped secure the location. He opened his remarks with an attack upon Lang, known for throwing up Nazi salutes at his events, including outside AIPAC headquarters — but strongly reaffirmed his support for each side’s right to protest.
“While I found this protest appalling, I will not waiver in my belief that it should be allowed to happen,” he said. “Ours is a free society, where the right to peaceful protest is sacred. It does not belong only to those we agree with. It belongs to everyone.”
Still, Mamdani continued, “This was a vile protest rooted in white supremacy. Many of the counterprotesters met this display of bigotry peacefully, with a vision of a city that is welcoming to all. But a few did not.”
Condemning Talat and Kayumi, Mamdani, whose own Shi’ite faith is anathema to the Sunni extremism of ISIS, continued, “They are suspected of coming here to commit an act of terrorism. New York City will never tolerate violence, whether from protests or counterprotests.”
The mayor deflected when asked about Jewish Insider’s revelations that his wife liked Instagram posts glorifying Hamas assault
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani answers questions on October 17, 2025 in New York City.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani would not speak to Jewish Insider’s findings that his wife, First Lady Rama Duwaji, had liked Instagram posts that justified and even glorified the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.
The mayor would not directly address JI’s revelations that his wife had liked posts that approvingly shared stills from the livestreamed assault and promoted a protest that supported the terrorist action the following day — a protest Mamdani himself had condemned at the time.
“My wife is the love of my life, and she’s also a private person who has held no formal position on my campaign or in my City Hall,” Mandani said at a press briefing Friday morning. “I, however, was elected to represent all eight-and-a-half million people in this city, and I believe that it’s my responsibility, because of that role, to answer any questions about my thoughts and my policies and my decisions.”
His comments appear to be an effort to differentiate Duwaji, who has no official municipal or political role, and the wife of Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), whom the New York Times reported earlier this week had liked and shared multiple posts attacking activists critical of Israel while serving as the congressman’s campaign treasurer.
But the mayor’s defense contrasts with his remarks in an interview from January, when he referred to Duwaji as “the best advocate” and credited her with lobbying him to close public schools for a snow day after a student reached her by email.
Duwaji, who met Mamdani on a dating app in 2021 and married him in early 2025, is an increasingly prominent Syrian-American illustrator whose work appeared in a New Yorker piece on conditions in Gaza following her husband’s election last fall, and whose style and presence in high society has received widespread attention.
A post that Duwaji liked from the day of the attack — which saw nearly 1,200 Israelis and foreign workers killed, thousands wounded, 251 civilians and military personnel kidnapped and numerous episodes of sexual assault — labeled images of attackers breaching the barrier between Israel and Gaza and riding in a captured Israeli Defense Forces vehicle as “Systemic change for collective liberation” and valorized the bloody onslaught as “resistance.”
Another post, from the controversial Times Square protest the day after, includes a clip of a crowd chanting “Every colonized people, every occupied people has the right to self-defense” and features images of signs and banners declaring “WHEN PEOPLE ARE OCCUPIED, RESISTANCE IS JUSTIFIED” and “RESISTANCE AGAINST OCCUPATION IS A HUMAN RIGHT.”
The post is from the account of the pro-China, pro-Russia, pro-Iran nonprofit the People’s Forum, which organized the demonstration with the Democratic Socialists of America and other far-left groups. The caption explicitly declares the purpose of the day-after rally as “to stand with Palestinian resistance.”
As of Friday afternoon, Duwaji’s likes of these posts remain visible to her followers.
Mamdani, previously a state assemblyman known for his outspoken criticism of Israel, was at pains during the mayoral campaign to condemn the Hamas attacks. He today represents the largest Jewish population in the world outside of Israel.
“Mayor Mamdani has been clear and consistent: Hamas is a terrorist organization, October 7th was a horrific war crime, and he has condemned that violence unequivocally,” a City Hall spokesperson said in a statement to JI on Thursday.
NYC First Lady Rama Duwaji showed support for far-left orgs applauding Hamas rampage
John Lamparski/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, and his wife Rama Duwaji during a news conference at Gracie Mansion in New York, US, on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani spent the mayoral campaign distancing himself from the most radical anti-Israel elements of his leftist movement, but an examination of his wife’s social media activity reveals she liked multiple Instagram posts cheering on Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault.
The posts liked by Rama Duwaji, a Syrian-American artist, unambiguously celebrated the terrorist attack, which saw nearly 1,200 Israelis and foreign workers killed, thousands wounded, 251 civilians and military personnel kidnapped and numerous episodes of sexual assault.
The first post, shared on the day of Hamas’ onslaught, came from The Slow Factory, which bills itself as “a school, knowledge partner and climate innovation organization” that “center[s] the voices and ideas of the Global Majority (Black, Indigenous, and other people of color) to share their knowledge outside the boundaries of institutions & oppressive systems.”
The Instagram post shows stills from participants’ livestreamed footage of the attack: first of a bulldozer that terrorists used to breach the barrier separating Israel from Gaza, the second of attackers riding on a captured IDF vehicle. Printed on the former are the words “Breaking the walls of apartheid and military occupation,” and on the latter “Resisting apartheid since 1948,” and on both the slogan “Systemic change for collective liberation.”
The extensive caption on the post laments that “if and when the occupation forces retaliate against this resistance” Gazans will be “punished for wanting freedom from apartheid.”
Duwaji, who met Mamdani on a dating app in 2021 and married him in early 2025, liked this post and others using a personal account in her own name, on which she has posted her often-political illustrations and with which the mayor has interacted in the past. She has used it also to directly criticize Israeli policy.
The unapologetic tone of the Slow Factory Post contrasts radically with the mayor’s debate-stage messaging on the attack, which characterized Hamas’ actions as “war crimes,” even as he continually lambasted the Israeli military response.
Duwaji did not respond to multiple requests for comment, and the mayor’s office would not answer questions regarding his feelings about her online activity, or whether they had discussed the Oct. 7 attacks at the time. Rather, his team repeated his standard line on the bloody terrorist rampage.
“Mayor Mamdani has been clear and consistent: Hamas is a terrorist organization, October 7th was a horrific war crime, and he has condemned that violence unequivocally,” a City Hall spokesperson said in a statement to Jewish Insider.
It is unclear when Duwaji liked the Slow Factory post, or the materials that the People’s Forum — part of Shanghai-based Maoist tech mogul Neville “Roy” Singham’s network of nonprofits promoting pro-China, pro-Russia and pro-Iran propaganda — posted to Instagram on Oct. 8, 2023. Duwaji, again using her personal account, liked two posts from protests the organization led alongside the Democratic Socialists of America and allied organizations in Times Square one day after the attack on Israel.
Mamdani, then a state assemblymember, publicly criticized the rally at the time for “making light” of Hamas’ massacre of civilians.
But the posts his then-girlfriend approved of on Instagram enthusiastically justify both the rally and the terrorist actions.
Both captions feature the slogan “from the river to the sea” — often understood as calling for the total elimination of Israel from the lands between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea — and one includes a clip of the crowd chanting, call-and-response style: “Every colonized people, every occupied people has the right to self-defense.”
The images in that post show signs and banners declaring “WHEN PEOPLE ARE OCCUPIED, RESISTANCE IS JUSTIFIED” and “RESISTANCE AGAINST OCCUPATION IS A HUMAN RIGHT.”
“Thousands have taken to the streets in #NYC to stand with Palestinian resistance and call for an end to all U.S. aid to apartheid Israel,” the caption on the post reads.
JI’s findings come amid a growing focus on political spouses: earlier this week, The New York Times reported that the wife of Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) had liked or shared numerous controversial posts, including some attacking activists critical of Israel.
A trio of Mamdani backers united with tech and real estate investors to boost anti-Israel candidates
Neil Constantine/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Mayor Zohran Mamdani meets with supporters in front of Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York.
Three figures linked to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and a Brooklyn political operative — have joined forces with a bevy of wealthy business leaders to pump millions into a new political action committee dedicated to battling AIPAC.
American Priorities PAC has raised $2,050,000 to date and spent a quarter of it so far boosting Democrat Nida Allam, a vocal detractor of Israel, in her bid to oust Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC) in North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District. Filings with the Federal Election Commission show another $67,000 has gone toward promoting the candidacy of the Rev. Frederick Haynes III, the pastor of Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), who is running for her House seat as she seeks the Senate.
It’s all part of a plan to spend a minimum of $10 million countering candidates who have received past support from AIPAC, as NBC News previously reported.
The treasurer of the PAC is Mark Hanna, a Brooklyn activist who served alongside Mamdani on the 2017 City Council campaign of the Rev. Khader El-Yateem, an experience that the mayor has described as having “transformed” his life and political vision.
Hanna, who serves as a district leader in the Brooklyn Democratic Party, would not directly answer questions about the PAC when reached by Jewish Insider. A spokesperson similarly refused to answer questions about American Priorities’ fundraising and decision-making practices, though they denied Mamdani was in any way involved. The spokesperson also forwarded a press release that said American Priorities operates in a “partner network” with various far-left organizations, including the advocacy arm of the Institute for Middle East Understanding, a pro-Palestinian activist group.
A senior political advisor for Mamdani did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
However, NBC cited “a source familiar with the group’s planning” who said that the group planned to intervene in support of New York Assemblymember Claire Valdez, Mamdani’s favored successor to Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY). The NBC source also told the outlet the group would spend to support a challenger to Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), and to back Analilia Mejia in New Jersey, among other as-yet unspecified candidates.
Federal Election Commission records show that $1.5 million of American Priorities’ money — nearly three-quarters of its total resources — came from two Silicon Valley executives who helped fund the New Yorkers for Lower Costs super PAC that helped boost Mamdani into the mayoralty.
Those donors are Omer Hasan, who put up $1 million for American Priorities, and Tariq Afaq Ahmed, who gave half that much. The duo provided $250,000 and $25,000, respectively, to the pro-Mamdani PAC last year, and a photo with the mayor appears on Ahmed’s Instagram account.
Neither Hasan nor Ahmed responded to repeated requests for comment. Both are former executives and shareholders from the marketing platform firm Applovin, which the New York Post spotlighted during the mayoral race for its cybersecurity issues and a significant Chinese investment stake. The company is reportedly the subject of an ongoing Security and Exchange Commission investigation, though no one from the company has faced allegations of wrongdoing.
Amir Nathoo, founder of virtual education platform Outschool, — and husband of Kirsty Nathoo, partner at Y Combinator, which provided his company’s seed funding — donated $100,000 to the PAC. Nathoo’s LinkedIn shows he also sits on the board of the nonprofit Tech for Palestine, whose members have coordinated to push Wikipedia to read as more critical of Israel.
Another $100,000 came from Talat Hasan, a California-based investor who previously founded semiconductor developer Sensys Instruments.
A Los Altos resident named Bothaina Salama supplied a further $100,000, even though she reported to FEC that she was “not employed.” But contribution records to a local candidate show she shares an address with Omar Tawakol, an adtech entrepreneur best known for selling his company BlueKai to Oracle for $400 million.
Only three donations to American Priorities originated outside the California tech corridor. One was a $50,000 gift from Justice Democrats, the left-wing PAC that first elected members of the congressional “Squad” in 2018. Another originated with Gregory Brennan, who identified himself as working in “property management,” and provided an address to what appears to be a waterfront vacation home in Chester, Md. Public records indicate Brennan, who did not respond to requests for comment, runs Green Space Building & Design, a public contractor in New Jersey.
The final $100,000 came from Dallas-area real estate, tech and car dealership owner Hussein “Sam” Mahrouq. Mahrouq enjoys national reach through his firm Ikon Technologies, which provides GPS tracking tools for auto brokers. But he’s also a power player in his hometown of Arlington, Texas.
Meanwhile, the Mahrouq Enterprises International webpage also shows he is a shareholder in various resort developments in the U.S. and internationally, including at the Address Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey — part of the Emirati-controlled Emaara portfolio.
The department’s deputy commissioner acknowledged the City Council bill will formalize, not change, police policy
Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
NYPD officers set up barricades separating pro-Israel and anti-Israel protesters on Sept. 25, 2025 in New York City.
The NYPD — part of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration — declared before the City Council on Wednesday that it has “no objections” to Council Speaker Julie Menin’s proposal compelling the department to develop a policy for establishing “buffer zones” outside houses of worship during protests.
The legislation formed the core of a suite of antisemitism-battling legislation that Menin, the body’s first Jewish speaker, rolled out in January. The bill, which obligates the NYPD to codify protocol for ensuring worshippers can enter and exit religious facilities without obstruction or harassment, initially contained language that would set the range of police barricades or tape at “up to 100 feet.”
However, an updated iteration of the legislation released Monday night eliminated any specific reference to distance, in response to objections that such language could actually constrict the NYPD’s range of protective activity. As a result, the department announced before a hearing of the Council’s Committee to Combat Hate that it has no issues with the bill, following the mayor’s previous allusions to unspecified concerns he and his NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch had with the proposal.
“We greatly appreciate that dialogue and collaboration,” said NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Legal Affairs Michael Gerber, who explicitly stated he was providing the opinion of Tisch. “The result is a bill that is consistent with the NYPD’s ability to protect people entering and leaving places of worship, as well as our commitment to facilitating First Amendment activity.”
The Menin bill is distinct from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s push for 25-foot buffer zones around houses of worship, which would subject violators to criminal penalties. Despite the controversy over the Council proposal, which inspired dueling rallies in opposition and support prior to the hearing, Gerber noted that the law would not impose new policies upon the NYPD but simply require Tisch to formalize and publish their procedures.
“To be clear, the policy will not alter our practices but rather will articulate and describe what we are already doing,” Gerber said. “I think the bill fosters transparency.”
A corollary piece of City Council legislation, introduced by Councilmember Eric Dinowitz — chair of the body’s Jewish Caucus — would apply the same standards to educational facilities. Gerber said his department could not offer the same carte blanche support for this proposal, because it would set uniform standards for police conduct on both public and private property.
Menin pressed Gerber regarding the NYPD’s failure to set up a clear path of access and egress to Park East Synagogue in Manhattan amid an anti-Israel protest in November spearheaded by openly pro-Hamas activists. Gerber reiterated a statement of regret that Tisch, a scion of one of the city’s most prominent Jewish families, also made at the time.
“We got that one wrong,” said Gerber. “We didn’t have the appropriate frozen zone at the entrance, and that led to a situation that should not have happened.”
But the deputy commissioner stressed that the NYPD must guarantee the right of protesters to demonstrate in sight and earshot of their targets, even if their message is hateful and even if the targets are entering or exiting a house of worship.
“The NYPD must protect the First Amendment rights of protesters,” said Gerber. “If individuals choose to protest against those entering a place of worship, the NYPD will ensure that they have sight and sound to the entrance of that location, consistent with the First Amendment. At the same time, the protesters will not be permitted to obstruct, impede or interfere.”
Several left-wing members of the Council pressed Gerber for statistics and responses to hypothetical scenarios, and to make a straightforward declaration of support or opposition to the measure.
Other council members shared their view that the bill does not go far enough. “My concern is that we’re putting forward a symbolic bill that doesn’t really address the real concerns and fears that are being expressed today,” said Councilmember Sandy Nurse.
Menin’s proposal now has 27 co-sponsors, two more than the needed majority of the Council’s 51 members — though seven short of the number required to override a mayoral veto. Mamdani has so far declined to say whether he would sign the bill if it reaches his desk.
The fight to succeed Rep. Nydia Velazquez pits Mamdani and the DSA faithful against the congresswoman and her protege
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a press conference during moving day at Gracie Mansion on January 12, 2026 in New York City.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his allies in the Democratic Socialists of America are set on contesting congressional turf home to one of the city’s biggest Hasidic Jewish communities — setting up a battle royale in the 7th Congressional District that could either blunt Mamdani’s brand of socialist politics, or bolster the new mayor and his far-left supporters.
Mamdani was only days into his term when he endorsed New York state Assemblymember Claire Valdez, who, like Mamdani, is a DSA member, to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), whose district delivered Mamdani’s strongest primary margins last year and contains most of the so-called “commie corridor”: a chain of trendy, gentrifying Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods where socialist support runs strong.
Velázquez, meanwhile, has backed Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso to be her successor, and some community and labor organizations have aligned behind him, pitting Mamdani’s hard-left bloc against the older progressive establishment.
Mamdani has so far been cautious in spending his political capital on behalf of DSA allies. Even before entering City Hall, Mamdani scuttled a left-flank challenge to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and persuaded a DSA-aligned city councilwoman to drop her bid against Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) to consolidate a left-wing lane for former city Comptroller Brad Lander.
Democratic observers who spoke to Jewish Insider were split over whether Mamdani is steering DSA or DSA is steering the mayor.
But Mamdani has now put his name and credibility on the line in this race, argued veteran Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf.
“He’s not a mayor. He’s a movement,” Sheinkopf said. “If he beats [Velázquez’s candidate], he gets more powerful than he’s ever been. As long as you’re winning, people are afraid of you. You start losing, the fear is no longer there and it makes him less significant.”
Not long ago, Velázquez and Reynoso themselves were considered the left wing of the party, defying the once-feared power of the Brooklyn Democratic machine, helping to build a coalition of idealistic new arrivals, community groups, unions and longtime political reform organizations that became the dominant force in the borough’s politics. But the political struggles of the last 20 years are long forgotten, and with the rise of DSA and Mamdani, the residents of what local political observers have humorously tagged the “commie corridor” are no longer content to be one factor among many — or to accept compromise candidates — in their demographic heartland.
“Progressive’s not good enough any more. If you aren’t part of the DSA, that isn’t enough,” said Marcos Masri, a political consultant and native of the district. “They are hungry, they want to hold the reins.”
Valdez’s career path is stereotypical for a DSA member. The daughter of an engineer from Texas, she studied sculpture at the prestigious School of the Art Institute in Chicago before arriving in New York for a job at a Queens-based museum. She then took a role in the visual arts department at Columbia University, and pivoted from creative pursuits to politics when an organizer recruited her to a bargaining unit for the United Auto Workers — itself amid a pivot in New York from its old base of industrial employees and dealership mechanics to radicalized grad students and administrative workers.
At Local 2110, Valdez signed an open letter just weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks that blasted the American labor movement for its historic support of Israel, and demanded the UAW as a whole embrace the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel. The letter makes no reference to the Hamas massacre in Israel that incited the latest phase of conflict.
“Workers in the U.S. are struggling against many of the same capitalist forces that maintain and bolster the Israeli occupation of Palestine. These forces rely on racialized exploitation, dispossession, and policing in the United States and around the world,” reads the missive, which makes no mention of Hamas or the then-fresh terror attacks. “A global class of workers will not achieve liberation if fragmented by colonization, apartheid, and borders. These are the structures on which an ascendant global fascist movement is shoring up white supremacy, nativism, militarism, heteropatriarchy, and other tools of oppression to further divide us.”
The epistle ends with the sign-off “Until Liberation and Return.” A little over a year later, Valdez won election as a DSA-backed insurgent to the New York state Assembly, where she co-sponsored Mamdani’s “Not on our dime!: Ending New York funding of Israeli settler violence act.” This legislation would forbid nonprofit organizations in New York from “unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity,” including in Jerusalem, and establish both monetary penalties as well as a basis for individual lawsuits for damages.
Reynoso, born in Brooklyn to Dominican immigrant parents, has followed a more traditional political career path. He served as an organizer for the now-defunct Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), before he joined the staff of City Councilwoman Diana Reyna. He succeeded Reyna in the City Council in 2013, part of a progressive wave that also lifted Bill de Blasio to the mayoralty, and participated in a council trip to Israel in 2015 over the protests of some activists. He won the largely symbolic borough president’s office in 2021.
A Valdez victory would enhance both DSA and Mamdani’s reach and prestige, said Sheinkopf, as well as give the mayor “a wedge” against the more pragmatic Jeffries in the House. If Reynoso wins the seat, Masri said it would show the mayor and his socialist cadres still depend on other, older institutional actors to win and exercise power, and their clout — and ability to pressure elected officials leftward — would diminish.
But the race promises to be a test, too, for the district’s large Hasidic Jewish community, the bulk of whom belong to the Satmar movement. Despite their religious objections to Zionism and strong network of social service networks that rely on city funding — and despite a few of their rabbis’ receptiveness toward Mamdani — sources predicted the group’s leaders would largely endorse Reynoso. The borough president, who had an at-times fraught relationship with Satmar leadership in the City Council, has heavily networked within the community in his current role.
But Masri questioned whether the community’s mobilization would match the inevitable DSA get-out-the-vote campaign, which will draw on a city-spanning web of activists to knock doors for Valdez.
Further complicating the picture is the recent entry of another Democrat, Councilwoman Julie Won, into the contest. Won, who filed paperwork to run on Monday, has little institutional support, but could scrape off more centrist or right-leaning voters who might otherwise support Reynoso.
“If it’s a very close race, and she pulls like 2,000 votes, that is something that can decide the race,” Masri said.
Sheinkopf was more bullish on Reynoso’s prospects, noting the political organization and trust Velázquez, his backer, built during her 16 terms in Congress. He argued Mamdani risks alienating potential progressive allies loyal to the borough president and congresswoman as he seeks to expand his socialist domain.
“He believes he is immune from any blowback,” the strategist said. “This is not a credit card with unending credit. At some point the credit runs out. The shine runs out. You can’t do this forever.”
Waleed Shahid, veteran of Justice Democrats and the anti-Biden Uncommitted movement, will serve as deputy communications director of economic justice
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani answers questions on October 17, 2025 in New York City.
Progressive operative Waleed Shahid announced on Monday morning he would assume a newly created role of deputy communications director of economic justice in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office.
The former spokesperson for Justice Democrats — the group that helped elevate Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), among other members of the Squad — announced on X and Substack that he would join the new administration, after serving on the mayor’s transition team.
Shahid was a leader in the 2024 Uncommitted movement, which sought to deny support to former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris over the Biden administration’s support for Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, and served as an advisor to former Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY).
In a post on X following Mamdani’s triumph in the New York City Democratic primary in June, Shahid asserted the Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidate’s victory was owed to his positioning against Israel.
“One of the biggest mistakes the Democratic Party establishment made was trying to smother their base’s outrage over US support for Israel’s assault on Gaza,” Shahid wrote the day after the primary. “Mamdani gave it a voice. Without that, there’s no campaign.”
It was a triumphant note after a string of losses for Shahid, who spent the days following President Donald Trump’s 2024 victory deflecting criticisms that far-left activists had divided and undermined the Democratic Party. Rather, Shahid pointed the finger at AIPAC, which had supported successful primary challenges to Bowman and former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO).
“Many other issues dwarf ‘woke groups,’” Shahid argued. “My god, if we’re talking about ‘The Groups’ without mentioning AIPAC — the #1 spender in Democratic primaries, unseating a Black nurse and a principal while undermining youth turnout — then I can’t take you seriously. Let’s be for real.”
In a Substack post later republished in The Nation reflecting on Bowman’s loss to Rep. George Latimer (D-NY), Shahid asserted that the U.S.’ relationship with Israel was a defining issue and an essential litmus test for left-of-center candidates.
“Progressives who have avoided taking a strong stance on shaping the Palestinian rights movement must recognize the deep threat AIPAC poses to all our movements and collective interests,” he wrote. “The stance a politician takes on Palestine often indicates their willingness to challenge entrenched power and stand up for genuine justice and equality. It is imperative that progressives understand the centrality of this issue and rally together to counteract AIPAC’s influence, for the sake of not just Palestinian rights but the integrity and future of all progressive causes.”
Shahid’s role in the mayor’s office is a newly created one, though he signaled his portfolio would emphasize local economic issues.
“My focus will be on listening to New Yorkers and connecting their lived experience to how this administration is using governing power — across economic policy, consumer and worker protections, and a more serious approach to building and development — to bring down the cost of living and ensure dignity,” he wrote.
In the same post, Shahid said not only would he exit his role at The Bloc — a nonprofit established to provide organizational and communications support to left-wing groups — but the organization as a whole would “wind down.”
According to a New York Times notice of his 2022 wedding, Shahid is married to Emily Mayer, a co-founder of the group IfNotNow, which calls itself “a movement of U.S. Jews organizing our community to end U.S. support for Israel’s apartheid.” Tax returns indicate Mayer left the organization in November 2023.
Mayer, also a veteran of the Uncommitted campaign and the New York City Council, began working as an aide to then-New York City Comptroller Brad Lander — now challenging Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) — in 2025. She told Jewish Insider on Monday that she will exit her government role at the end of the week, but would not say whether or what position she might assume next.
Plus, Saudi sets sights on Chinese-Pakistani fighter jets
Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images
Mayor Zohran Mamdani at his inauguration ceremony at City Hall, Manhattan, New York City, United States on January 1, 2026.
👋 Good Wednesday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s approach to antisemitism, following multiple antisemitic incidents in his first weeks in office, and talk to experts about how Saudi Arabia’s efforts to acquire Chinese-Pakistani JF-17 jets could complicate its pursuit of U.S. F-35s. We report on the Trump administration’s designation of three branches of Muslim Brotherhood as terror organizations, and profile incoming University of Michigan President Kent Syverud. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Sydney Sweeney, Bob Harvie and Sens. James Lankford and Jacky Rosen.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with an assist from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- The Trump administration’s Board of Peace to oversee Gaza is expected to be announced as soon as today. The Times of Israel reports that roughly a dozen invitations to join the technocratic committee to administer Gaza went out this week to Palestinian officials.
- We’re continuing to monitor events in Iran, a day after President Donald Trump warned that the U.S. “will take very strong action” if Iranian officials begin executing arrested protesters, while telling protesters that “HELP IS ON ITS WAY.”
- Death tolls have varied, with international phone and internet access largely cut off inside Iran, but vary from U.S. estimates around 600 to Iranian government estimates of approximately 2,000. Elon Musk’s Starlink provided internet access to some users on Tuesday.
- Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, Omar and Qatar are reportedly discouraging the Trump administration from taking military action in Iran.
- The Tribe of Nova Foundation is hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Netanya, Israel, today for UJA New York Beit Nova, a new facility for survivors of the Nova music festival attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and bereaved family members. Read more in eJewishPhilanthropy on UJA-Federation of New York’s effort to build the center.
- Elsewhere in Israel, the family of Joshua Boone, a U.S.-born IDF reservist who died last week, arrives in the country today. Their arrival comes amid calls for Boone, who was not on active duty when he died after serving more than 700 days of reserve duty, to be given a military funeral, and a broader debate in Israel over the military’s treatment of off-duty soldiers whose deaths may be linked to their service.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S Josh Kraushaar
The unlikely but plausible path for the Democrats to win back the Senate opened up Monday with former Rep. Mary Peltola’s (D-AK) announcement that she’s running against Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), giving Democrats an outside shot at flipping the red-state seat in the midterms.
Peltola isn’t your typical Democratic candidate. She won two separate statewide elections in Alaska in 2022 for the state’s at-large House seat, defeating the state’s former governor and onetime GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. Despite compiling a moderate (and pro-Israel) voting record in the House, she narrowly lost her reelection bid to Rep. Nick Begich (R-AK), losing the 2024 general election by just two points.
In her launch video, she touted her campaign theme as “fish, family and freedom.”
Sullivan is a traditional conservative politician with a hawkish voting record, and will be favored to win a third term. But Alaska has become somewhat more competitive in the Trump era, with the president winning 55% of the state’s vote in 2024 and Sullivan tallying 54% in his successful 2020 reelection.
One point in Sullivan’s favor: Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), the independent-minded occasional Trump critic who endorsed Peltola in both of the Democrat’s previous statewide campaigns, quickly got behind the senator’s re-election campaign — before Peltola’s announcement.
Peltola’s candidacy matters because it gives Democrats four capable recruits to contest four GOP-held Senate seats — two in purple states, and two on more conservative turf. The path to a Democratic Senate majority — which remains a long-shot — increasingly is looking like it runs through North Carolina, Maine, Ohio and Alaska.
MAYOR’S M.O.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sparked an uproar among Jewish community leaders when, on his first day in office, he revoked an executive order that adopted a definition of antisemitism equating some criticism of Israel with anti-Jewish prejudice. But the mayor has yet to articulate which, if any, definition of antisemitism he will abide by, raising questions about his views toward escalating anti-Jewish hate in the city as he continues to weigh in on high-profile issues affecting the Jewish community. His recent comments responding to pro-Hamas protesters in Queens last week and an arson attack on a synagogue in Jackson, Miss., over the weekend illustrate what Mamdani’s critics interpret as a core tension animating his assessment of antisemitism, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Breaking it down: While Mamdani released a statement on Sunday calling the arson a “violent act of antisemitism,” his comment on the demonstration outside a synagogue in Kew Gardens Hills where protesters openly voiced support for Hamas was delayed and came only after he faced growing pressure from media outlets and Jewish community leaders to denounce the demonstration. The statements on two separate issues in different states helped distill how Mamdani has traditionally reacted to individual instances of antisemitism. He has unequivocally condemned as antisemitic recent incidents where Jews have faced violent attacks and have been targeted by vandalism, among other acts. But the mayor has been slower to react decisively on protests near Jewish institutions involving anti-Israel activism.
FIGHTER FAULT LINES
Reports that Saudi Arabia may strike a deal with Pakistan to acquire Chinese-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder fighter jets are raising concerns in Washington, as Riyadh’s potential acquisition of the aircraft signals a continuation of its recent shift in alliances and could complicate its efforts to secure the U.S.’ F-35 jet. The discussions between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, first reported by regional outlets, would deepen defense ties between the two longtime partners while easing Karachi’s financial strain by wiping out its $2 billion in loans from the kingdom, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
Risk assessment: “The fact that [the JF-17] has a Russian engine and Chinese avionics means it will very likely be viewed as a security risk if it’s co-located near U.S. forces,” said Grant Rumley, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, who warned this arrangement could pose a danger to the protection of U.S. intel. “The F-35 is one of the crown jewels of American military equipment. Protecting that proprietary information and capabilities is a top priority across party lines in the U.S. national security apparatus.” Such a deal could create “undue turbulence” for Saudi Arabia’s acquisition of the F-35, potentially “complicating the discussion” around the deal and even putting it “into jeopardy,” Rumley said.
TERROR TITLE
The Trump administration labeled three Muslim Brotherhood branches as terrorist organizations, including chapters in Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan. The move follows an executive order President Donald Trump signed in November, which tasked Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent with identifying whether branches of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt should be designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and which should be deemed Specially Designated Global Terrorists, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
Distinctions: Those determinations were released on Tuesday: Jordanian and Egyptian branches were placed under the category of Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), with the State Department citing their provision of “material support to Hamas.” Meanwhile, the organization’s branch in Lebanon received the more stringent label of Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), a stronger categorization that makes it a criminal offense to provide material support to the group. The organization’s leader in Lebanon, Muhammad Fawzi Taqqosh, was named an SDGT.
WARM RECEPTION
While several prominent university presidents famously refused to say that advocating for the genocide of Jews violates school policy when pressed by Congress two months after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, Kent Syverud, the president and chancellor of Syracuse University, wrote a campus-wide email explaining that such rhetoric would not be tolerated on campus. On Monday, Syverud was tapped as the University of Michigan’s 16th president following a six-month search to replace President Santa Ono, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Welcoming the news: Syverud’s appointment was met with optimism from several Jewish leaders who said his strong ties to the Jewish community could benefit the Ann Arbor school, which experienced some of the most disruptive anti-Israel and antisemitic activity in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks and the ensuing war in Gaza. “Syverud’s appointment is very good news for the University of Michigan, which has faced numerous incidents of antisemitism and anti-Israel hostility in recent years,” Miriam Elman, who was a tenured associate professor at Syracuse before joining the Academic Engagement Network as its executive director in 2019, told JI.
Meanwhile at CCNY: City College of New York’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter remains a registered campus group following its participation in last week’s pro-Hamas protest in Queens that caused nearby schools and a synagogue to close early, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Pennsylvania pitch
In suburban Philadelphia, in one of the most hotly contested swing districts in the country, Democratic congressional candidate Bob Harvie is pitching a message of affordability. But not because of a certain big-city mayor 90 minutes north on I-95. The former high school history teacher and vice chair of the Bucks County Board of Commissioners who is hoping to unseat Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) is not trying to mimic the campaign tactics of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist who ran a populist campaign pledging to make the city affordable again. Instead, he said he’s looking for inspiration from two moderate Democratic governors elected last year: New Jersey’s Mikie Sherrill and Virginia’s Abigail Spanberger, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Affordability and allyship: “There have been others who have been talking about affordability. It’s not a Democratic hoax, as the president has said it is. It has a real impact on people, and we’re seeing it here at the county,” Harvie told JI in an interview last week. While Harvie may be leaning in on the affordability message that Mamdani popularized last year, he is taking a more traditional approach to foreign policy and to the U.S.-Israel relationship than the mayor. Harvie, who taught high school history for two decades, attributes the recent rise in antisemitism to a lack of education about Judaism and Israel. “I think what we’re seeing among younger people is just a lack of understanding about the history of Jewish people, especially in the 20th century, the history of Israel,” said Harvie.
Garden State regrets: Two Democratic candidates running in the packed special election to replace New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), 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, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
ON THE HILL
Sens. James Lankford (R-OK) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) are urging Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to move quickly to advance a legislative package that would address rising antisemitism and religious hate generally — something Congress has repeatedly struggled and failed to do since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
New tack: In a letter to the Senate leaders on Tuesday, Lankford and Rosen, who co-chair the chamber’s antisemitism task force, called for a bipartisan legislative package including funding increases for security assistance to religious institutions and improved training, prevention and prosecution efforts. The letter does not mention high-profile bills addressing antisemitism specifically — such as the Antisemitism Awareness Act — which have previously proven difficult to pass amid growing objections from both sides of the aisle. The letter takes a broader approach, focusing on faith communities generally and the attacks that both Jewish and non-Jewish religious institutions have faced.
Worthy Reads
Deserving of Recognition: In The Washington Post, the Hudson Institute’s Joshua Meservey argues that the U.S. should follow Israel’s lead in recognizing Somaliland. “Yet recognizing Somaliland is recognizing reality, which is a necessary foundation on which to build effective policy. Mogadishu’s protest that recognizing Somaliland destroys Somalia’s unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty relies on a mythical conception of Somalia. The country hasn’t been functionally unified since the 1980s. The government controls little of its territory and survives largely because foreign armies protect it and foreign governments fund it. While it is understandable that Mogadishu imagines a unified and sovereign country given Somalia’s long suffering, it demands that the rest of the world participate in the fiction.” [WashPost]
The Ayatollah’s Obsession: The New York Times’ Bret Stephens posits that the Iranian regime’s “singular obsession” with Jews, and, by association, with Israel, will be the root of its demise. “Iranian foreign policy freely mixes anti-Israel furies with anti-Jewish ones. … Earlier this month, the regime tried to mollify protesters by offering most of its citizens a pathetic $7 monthly stipend amid skyrocketing inflation and a collapsing currency. Yet the same regime managed to send an estimated $1 billion to help Hezbollah rebuild its military capabilities while refusing to make meaningful concessions over its nuclear portfolio, leading to European sanctions that have further crippled the economy. What ordinary Iranians are revolting against isn’t just economic mismanagement and corruption. It’s also a regime that would rather pursue a perpetual jihad against the Zionist enemy than feed its own people.” [NYTimes]
Iran on the Brink: The New Yorker’s Robin Wright suggests that the fall of the Iranian regime will likely be contingent on the sentiment within the country’s security forces. “In June of last year, Israel and the U.S. destroyed military installations and nuclear sites in Iran and killed key leaders and scientists, leaving the Iranian military feeling vulnerable. In addition, the rank and file share the same (increasingly existential) economic challenges faced by most Iranians. While the security forces are often lumped into an ideological monolith, there is a wide diversity among their members, as nearly all men are required to serve. Some opt to join the Revolutionary Guard because they get off earlier in the day than conventional soldiers, and thus can earn money at a second job. For others, having the I.R.G.C. on their résumés helps them later when applying for jobs in government or at government-funded universities.” [NewYorker]
Word on the Street
President Donald Trump has reportedly complained to aides about Attorney General Pam Bondi, saying that she is not effectively pursuing his agenda, including the prosecution of former federal investigators…
Israel’s Bar-Ilan University will award White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff with an honorary doctorate, citing Witkoff’s involvement in efforts to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and secure the release last year of nearly all the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza…
Axios reports that Witkoff quietly met over the weekend with Reza Pahlavi, the U.S.-based exiled former crown prince of Iran who is leading one of the opposition factions against the regime in Tehran…
Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urging the IRS to investigate the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations over its backing of anti-Israel encampments on college campuses in the state…
Congressional candidate Cameron Kasky, who made criticism of Israel a cornerstone of his campaign, is dropping out of the crowded Democratic primary in New York’s 12th District, saying the decision came after his trip last month to the West Bank and that he is “not a politician” but “an activist”…
Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat mounting a Senate bid in the Tar Heel State, announced a haul of more than $9.5 million, outpacing top GOP candidate Michael Whatley, who is believed to have raised just over $5 million…
A cryptocurrency token announced by former New York City Mayor Eric Adams crashed less than a day after its launch; in his announcement of the coin on Monday, Adams had said that the token would be used to fight antisemitism and anti-American sentiment…
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a settlement with Betar U.S. over what she described as a campaign of “fear, violence, and intimidation” targeting the group’s ideological opponents; Betar U.S. said it would discontinue its New York operations, though the move was unrelated to the settlement…
The New York Times spotlights the shaky launch of the revamped “CBS Evening News” program, amid broader media scrutiny of Bari Weiss’ oversight of the network and its flagship show…
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry is warning against the creation of a loophole in new hate-speech laws in the country that exempt those who read from or cite religious texts…
The Washington Post looks at shifting political winds in Germany, where the far-right Alternative for Germany party, already on the ascendance, is looking to win control in at least one of the five German states that are holding elections this year…
The Paulson Family Foundation announced a $19 million donation to Hebrew University to go toward expanding the school’s STEM-based research and teaching complex on the Edmond J. Safra Campus in Jerusalem; the gift comes three years after a $27 million donation from the foundation to the school for STEM education, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Jay Deitcher reports…
CrowdStrike will acquire browser security company Seraphic Security, in a deal that is expected to net the Israeli startup $400 million…
Officials in Venezuela released a 72-year-old Israeli-Argentine man who had been imprisoned in the South American country for more than a year; Yaakov Harari was among 125 people, most of whom are Americans, who were released after being accused of being mercenaries operating on behalf of the United States…
Actor Sydney Sweeney met with freed Israeli hostages Noa Argamani and Avinatan Or, posing for a photo with the pair that began circulating on social media on Tuesday, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports…
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told Israel that he could refer the country to the International Court of Justice if it doesn’t reverse “without delay” laws cracking down on the U.N. Relief and Works Agency that works with Palestinians; meanwhile, at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV met privately with UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini…
The Wall Street Journal reports on China’s reluctance to mount a strong defense of Iran, its top trading partner, as Tehran becomes increasingly isolated on the global stage as a result of continued protests in the country and economic pressure…
Adam Grimes, previously a legislative assistant in Rep. Josh Gottheimer’s (D-NJ) office, has been named the New Jersey Democrat’s national security advisor…
Philanthropist and real estate developer Nathan Landow, who served as the chair of the Maryland Democratic Party from 1988-1992, died at 93…
Pic of the Day
Zach Shemper, the president of Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Miss., visited the damaged building on Tuesday, days after an arsonist targeted the synagogue over what he told investigators were the synagogue’s “Jewish ties.”
Birthdays
Movie and television producer and co-founder of Electric City Entertainment, Jamie Patricof turns 50…
Chairman emeritus of the publicly traded Empire State Realty Trust, he is the father-in-law of Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Peter L. Malkin turns 92… Retired travel counselor, Barbara Singer-Meis… Washington Nationals baseball fan known as Rubber Chicken Man, he waves a rubber chicken over the Nationals dugout and is one of the few fans for whom Topps has issued a baseball card, Hugh Kaufman turns 83… Award-winning legal affairs correspondent for National Public Radio since 1975, focusing primarily on the U.S. Supreme Court, Nina Totenberg turns 82… Screenwriter, director and producer, best known as co-writer of the films “The Empire Strikes Back,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Return of the Jedi,” Lawrence Kasdan turns 77… Orthopedic surgeon, inventor and philanthropist, Gary K. Michelson, M.D. turns 77… Painter, editor, writer and book artist, Susan Bee turns 74… Co-founder and chairman of the Pritzker Traubert Foundation, which he manages with his wife Penny Pritzker, Bryan Traubert turns 71… Shaul Saulisbury… Former president of the Sprint Foundation and Sprint’s 1Million Project Foundation, Doug Michelman… Former member of the Knesset for the Likud party, she holds a Ph.D. in criminology, Anat Berko turns 66… AIPAC board chair, he is a founding member of LA-based law firm, Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & Stern, Michael L. Tuchin… Actress best known for her movie roles in the late 1980s in “The Goonies” and “Lucas,” she later became a film producer, Kerri Lee Green turns 59… Staff writer at The New Yorker, Susan B. Glasser turns 57… Venture capitalist, Adam R. Dell turns 56… Director of behavioral health at Mid-Atlantic Pediatric Partners and educational consultant, Ari Yares… Sales associate in the Montclair, N.J., office of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, David Frey… Attorney at Toronto-based Sokoloff Lawyers, Aryeh Samuel…
One person to keep an eye on is Josh Binderman, who served as Mamdani’s Jewish outreach director during the campaign and transition
Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images
Mayor Zohran Mamdani at his inauguration ceremony at City Hall, Manhattan, New York City, United States on January 1, 2026.
As New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani draws increased scrutiny for picking some top appointees whose past incendiary social media comments have provoked controversy and raised questions over his vetting process, Jewish community leaders are now watching closely for signs of how the administration will make staffing decisions on key issues connected to Israel and antisemitism.
One person to keep an eye on is Josh Binderman, who served as Mamdani’s Jewish outreach director during the campaign and transition. He has largely maintained a low profile in his time working for the candidate and now mayor, garnering just a small handful of mentions in the press, despite his critical position leading engagement with a community that in many ways remains deeply skeptical of Mamdani’s hostile stances on Israel and commitment to implementing a clear strategy to counter rising antisemitism.
Binderman, most recently a communications manager for New Deal Strategies, an influential progressive consulting firm, served until 2024 as a PAC manager and a senior associate for J Street, the progressive Israel advocacy group, according to his LinkedIn profile.
While Mamdani notably refused to work with the organization when he led a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine as an undergraduate student at Bowdoin College, the mayor has since developed a friendlier rapport with J Street, which has defended him amid charges that he tapped transition advisors who engaged in anti-Zionist activism that crossed a line into antisemitism.
Mamdani’s decision to employ a former top J Street staffer during the election suggests he could follow a similar approach to key Jewish community posts for his developing administration. If so, it could help to at least dampen some concerns from Jewish leaders who fear the mayor will end up hiring even harder-left members in his coalition such as activists associated with Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Israel advocacy group that aggressively promotes boycotts targeting the Jewish state.
It is still an open question, however, how Mamdani will move forward on such issues. His decision last week to revoke two executive orders linked to Israel and antisemitism was widely seen as a discouraging maneuver that eroded goodwill among mainstream Jewish leaders — even as Binderman had reportedly given some advance warning to leaders about the effort before the inauguration.
Mamdani otherwise chose to retain an office to combat antisemitism established by former Mayor Eric Adams. He has not disclosed who will steer the office now, though a person recently in touch with his team told Jewish Insider this week that Phylisa Wisdom, the executive director of New York Jewish Agenda, a progressive Zionist group, was floated as a possible candidate.
For his part, Binderman, who as a student was involved with BBYO, continues to be an unofficial “point person” for Jewish community outreach in the administration, according to one Jewish leader who has heard from him recently. Binderman is still feeling out a potential role in City Hall, according to other Jewish community leaders. He did not return a request for comment from JI.
Dora Pekec, a Mamdani spokesperson, told JI on Tuesday that the mayor’s team would have more to share on related appointments in the coming weeks and that such decisions “are still being worked out.”
Jewish leaders who have engaged with Binderman told JI their interactions with the young Mamdani aide have been largely positive. But they expressed some lingering doubts about his ability to influence the mayor himself. “He does seem eager and willing to help,” said one Orthodox community leader. “He does want to work together.”
“To what extent and how much freedom he has remains to be seen,” the leader explained to JI.
Another Jewish community leader who has spoken with Mamdani’s team echoed that view. Binderman, he told JI, has “always appeared to be level-headed, fair and reasonable. The question is, will the admin listen to his guidance?”
“Only Josh and Ali Najmi,” a top Mamdani advisor who maintains close ties to the Jewish community, “can land the Jewish plane,” the Jewish leader said. “But Zohran has to decide if he wants to land it.”
‘Finally getting it Nick,’ Bowman commented on a video of Fuentes saying Republicans are ‘better’ for Israel than working people
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Former Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) speaks at the National Action Network’s (NAN) three-day annual national convention on April 07, 2022 in New York City.
Jamaal Bowman, the far-left former House member who is pursuing an appointment as New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s public schools chancellor, recently posted a comment on Instagram supporting remarks from neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes.
Bowman made the comment on an Instagram reel posted by Fuentes in September, which featured the antisemitic commentator making the case that Republicans weren’t a “better” choice than Democrats for working people, but were instead “better” for Israel, the oil and gas industry, Silicon Valley and Wall Street. The caption on the video, which has 2.6 million views and more than 239 thousand likes, reads: “The type of Racist ifw [I f*** with].”
“Finally getting it Nick. Now go a step further,” Bowman wrote in the comment, which was still up as of Thursday evening. “This is the same playbook they use to divide and conquer us based on race to maintain their oligarchy. It’s us, against the oligarchy. Now no more racist bullshit from you.”
Bowman, a former middle school principal, lost his bid for a second term in the House to Rep. George Latimer (D-NY) in the Democratic primary, in part because of his radical views toward Israel and extreme rhetoric.
Now out of Washington, Bowman revealed to supporters last month that he has been “pushing hard” for Mamdani to name him as schools chancellor so he could lead a “revolution in our public schools,” according to the New York Post. Bowman made the comments during a Zoom call in early November organized by the Democratic Socialists of America’s NYC chapter.
“I’m an educator, lifelong educator. When we get universal child care, y’all, it’s going to lead to a revolution in our public schools!” Bowman said on the call.
Pro-Israel Democratic Reps. Hakeem Jeffries, Ritchie Torres and Dan Goldman are facing long-shot challengers from the far left
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
New York City Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani celebrates during an election night event at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater in Brooklyn, New York on November 4, 2025.
The organized left scored a major victory last week when Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City, elevating to executive office a politician who became one of the nation’s most prominent democratic socialists during the campaign.
Now, as the movement seeks to ride momentum from Mamdani’s win and grow its influence at the federal level, some emerging challengers are setting their sights on a handful of pro-Israel Democrats in the House — posing what is likely to be the first key test of its political credibility in the upcoming midterm elections.
While next year’s primaries are still more than six months away, some early signs indicate that the far left is already facing obstacles in its efforts to target established incumbents, raising questions about its organizational discipline and messaging ability, not to mention alignment with Mamdani — who is now walking a delicate path in seeking buy-in from state leadership to deliver on his ambitious affordability agenda.
Jake Dilemani, a Democratic consultant in New York, said “there is and should be euphoria among the left” after Mamdani’s victory, “but that does not necessarily translate into toppling relatively popular incumbents.”
“One swallow does not make a summer,” he told Jewish Insider on Tuesday.
In a pair of looming congressional contests in Brooklyn and the Bronx, for instance, potentially divided primary fields are now threatening to split the vote to oppose Reps. Dan Goldman (D-NY) and Ritchie Torres (D-NY), both of whom are preparing to seek reelection amid left-wing backlash over their support for Israel.
Brad Lander, the outgoing comptroller and an ally of Mamdani, has told associates he is planning to challenge Goldman in a progressive district covering parts of Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, people familiar with his thinking told JI recently.
Lander, who was reportedly boxed out of a top job in Mamdani’s administration over conflict with the mayor-elect, has acknowledged that he is “seriously considering” a House bid, but has yet to confirm his timeline for publicly making a decision. One person familiar with the matter said he is likely to launch a bid after Mamdani assumes office in early January. Lander has denied that there are any tensions with Mamdani or his team.
While polling has shown that Lander would be a formidable challenger to Goldman, thanks to his popularity in the district where he once served as a longtime city councilman, some observers have speculated that he could face skepticism from voters who may see his bid as a consolation after failing to secure a role in City Hall.
Lander and Goldman were seen mingling at some of the same receptions during the Somos conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, last week, but did not appear to interact.
In addition to Lander, Alexa Avilés, a far-left city councilwoman closely aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, is also weighing a challenge to Goldman, provoking fears among his critics who say he will benefit from a crowded field that helped him secure a narrow victory in his first House primary in 2022.
Yuh-Line Niou, a former state assemblywoman who placed second in that primary, has been considering another bid as well, sources told JI, after she lost by a margin of just two points in a race that centered in part on her controversial support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
Goldman, for his part, has sought to downplay the role that Israel could play in the race, arguing that the Trump administration presents a more serious threat to his constituents.
But Avilés, for one, is almost certain to raise Israel in a potential primary challenge, owing to her vocal opposition to the war in Gaza, which she has called a genocide, and outspoken criticism of AIPAC. “The tide is turning, but the forces remain pernicious and persistent,” Avilés said during a panel discussion at Somos last week, warning of “a Congress that is very much controlled by AIPAC.”
“Saying no to violence is not a radical idea,” Avilés added in comments hinting at a challenge. “And you know what, y’all? If people are not stepping up, then we need to remove them.”
In the Bronx, Torres, who is among the staunchest defenders of Israel in the House, has already drawn a primary opponent focusing overwhelmingly on his pro-Israel record and contributions from AIPAC, in an effort to channel the anti-establishment zeitgeist that helped boost Mamdani’s insurgent campaign.
Michael Blake, a former state assemblyman who came in eighth place in the New York City mayoral primary, launched his campaign to unseat Torres last week. But he is facing accusations of hypocrisy over his own previous well-documented ties to AIPAC and past statements voicing strong support for Israel — contributing to a somewhat turbulent rollout that has cast doubts on his viability.
On the sidelines of the Somos retreat last Friday, Blake, who has twice visited Israel and spoken at AIPAC events, insisted that “you can be critical of governmental policies” and it “does not make you antisemitic or anti-Israel.”
Blake, who also ran against Torres in a crowded primary in 2020, said he now supports an arms embargo on Israel, but clarified that, if elected, he would continue to vote for defensive aid for its Iron Dome missile-interception system — views that are unlikely to win converts among voters in Riverdale, a predominantly Jewish Bronx neighborhood where Torres has built a loyal following.
“I do think we have to be attentive of the moment that we’re in right now,” Blake said of his thinking last week, while confirming he would “absolutely” seek support from the DSA, which has so far only endorsed candidates running for state office next year.
Marshall Wittmann, an AIPAC spokesperson, said that the group’s “grassroots members understand the stakes in the upcoming midterms and that is why they are deeply motivated and engaged to help elect pro-Israel candidates and defeat detractors.”
Blake cross-endorsed with Mamdani in the primary and has enthusiastically supported the mayor-elect. But Torres, who once cautioned Mamdani was unfit to lead New York City because of his close ties to the DSA, has since spoken positively about the incoming mayor and praised one of his early appointments as “exceptional” on Monday, complicating the political fault lines in the primary.
A lesser-known primary challenger, Andre Easton, is also campaigning against Torres using similarly hostile rhetoric about Israel and AIPAC. Easton, an independent affiliated with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, has said he is running “to fight for the Bronx — not billionaires who fund genocide in Palestine,” and claims that Torres “pockets money from AIPAC” while children in the district “live in poverty.”
Marshall Wittmann, an AIPAC spokesperson, said that the group’s “grassroots members understand the stakes in the upcoming midterms and that is why they are deeply motivated and engaged to help elect pro-Israel candidates and defeat detractors.”
“The track record demonstrates that being pro-Israel is good policy and good politics as 96% of AIPAC endorsed Democrats won their elections last cycle,” he added in a statement to JI on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, another pro-Israel Democrat, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), is expected to draw a more established far-left primary challenger in the coming weeks, setting up a high-profile fight for the Brooklyn House seat he has held for over a decade.
Chi Ossé, a young city councilman and Mamdani ally who has developed a sizable following on social media, is reportedly planning to seek support from the DSA, as he prepares to launch an insurgent bid to topple Jeffries, long a target of the far left. Ossé recently became a member of the DSA after quitting the group in 2020, he said on social media in 2023, noting that when he first left he “wasn’t aligned with the organization” but that there was “no bad blood.”
Still, he may face resistance from Mamdani, who claimed an endorsement from Jeffries late in the election and is hoping to avoid intraparty conflict while balancing a tenuous coalition to advance his daunting campaign pledges. He has also distanced himself from the DSA’s most extreme positions and said their respective platforms are “not the same.”
“It’s not clear that wins from election night will translate into intra-party primary victories in a midterm election,” Basil Smikle, a professor at Columbia’s School of Professional Studies and a Democratic strategist, said on Tuesday. “There’s a lot of time between now and then but the organizing framework has certainly been established to make a strong run.”
Mamdani, who criticized Jeffries’ pro-Israel views before the mayoral election, had reportedly sought to preempt Ossé’s plans to oppose the congressman who could be the next speaker of the House. As the councilman now moves forward against Mamdani’s apparent wishes, the potential primary battle could place the mayor-elect in an uncomfortable position, possibly fueling tensions with an activist base eager to capitalize on his victory. The DSA did not return a request for comment.
Despite such issues, some experts said that the left remains formidable ahead of next year’s primaries, even as it confronts some potential disorganization.
“It’s not clear that wins from election night will translate into intra-party primary victories in a midterm election,” Basil Smikle, a professor at Columbia’s School of Professional Studies and a Democratic strategist, said on Tuesday. “There’s a lot of time between now and then but the organizing framework has certainly been established to make a strong run.”
Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic strategist, said that “every pro-Israel Democrat is a target for the newly empowered DSA BDS gang,” and warned that incumbents “should be prepared for a long and costly battle.”
JI asked senior New York Democratic officials and Jewish community leaders to discuss the top threats that a Mamdani administration could pose to Jewish life in the city
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
New York City Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani celebrates during an election night event at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater in Brooklyn, New York on November 4, 2025.
New Yorkers elected democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday as the next New York City mayor, ensuring the city will be headed in a leftward ideological direction for the next four years. Mamdani’s election has also sparked widespread concerns in the city’s Jewish community about how the incoming mayor, who refused to condemn “globalize the intifada” rhetoric or acknowledge the state of Israel as a Jewish homeland, would impact the day-to-day life of Jewish New Yorkers.
Jewish Insider asked senior New York Democratic officials and Jewish community leaders — granted anonymity to offer their candid thoughts — to discuss the top threats that a Mamdani administration could pose to Jewish life in the city.
Respondents expressed worry that Mamdani’s anti-Israel worldview could lead to heightened antisemitism, bring a vanguard of leftist operatives hostile to Jewish concerns into City Hall, impact the effectiveness of the New York Police Department and fray ties between the city and Israeli institutions or businesses. He has even vowed to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits, though experts have voiced doubt on the legality of the move.
These are five of the leading concerns from the Jewish communal leadership in New York City, home to the largest Jewish community in the country, about what Mamdani might do as mayor:
1. Mamdani has expressed a desire to defund, or even disband, the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group — the unit that responds to major protests, such as the anti-Israel encampment on Columbia University’s campus last year:
“He’s been pushing for years to disband the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group,” a source with knowledge of city government told JI. In December 2024, Mamdani tweeted, “As mayor, I will disband the SRG, which has cost taxpayers millions in lawsuit settlements and brutalized countless New Yorkers exercising their first amendment rights.”
The SRG responds to hostage situations, riots and protests, including the deadly Park Avenue office building shooting that occurred in July. In April 2024, the Strategic Response Group was called in to assist with clearing the anti-Israel encampment that overtook Columbia University, which saw several incidents of physical assault against Jewish students.
“One question is if he’s actually successful in disbanding them,” the source continued. “That will depend on his will and bureaucracy and whether he can put together an administration to accomplish his tasks. If he’s going to be an effective mayor, then yes he could do it. And if he is, then you’re going to see completely different responses in the city.
“Something super important is whether a Mamdani administration would actually have a proactive approach to policing and using security in a way that will make sure Jewish New Yorkers are safe. If it’s not a priority for them, then I’m afraid to see what will happen.”
2. Mamdani could further politicize NYC Public Schools at a time when anti-Israel rhetoric and related antisemitic incidents have surged dramatically in K-12 schools:
In the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, New York City Public Schools launched new curriculum materials on antisemitism and Islamophobia in its schools. As mayor, Mamdani will have power to appoint a new chancellor of public schools, who could rewrite that curriculum.
Former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, previously a far-left congressman who lost reelection in part because of his radical views towards Israel, has been discussed as a potential candidate to lead the country’s largest public school system. Bowman embraced a number of hostile positions toward Israel in the aftermath of Oct. 7 and throughout his reelection campaign, including pledging to oppose funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system and endorsing the BDS movement.
The New York City Public School system has seen a surge of anti-Israel activity since Oct. 7. In November 2023, a Queens high school teacher said she was forced to hide in a locked office as a mob of students tried to push their way into her classroom, after learning she attended a pro-Israel rally.
In May, a “Teacher Career Pathways” newsletter for educators in the city’s 1,800 schools called for students to be heard on the “genocide in Gaza.” NYC Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos apologized for the mass communication, stating that it should not have been released without consultation from the mayor’s office.
A political insider told JI there is anxiety the new administration will fuel anti-Israel discourse in the classroom. “There’s concern about what curriculums will be used to teach about the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict,” he said. “What vendors will be used?”
The American Jewish Committee announced plans on Wednesday to “boost the ‘Hidden Voices’ curriculum in New York City public schools, which provides resources, lesson plans and workshops to highlight the histories and contributions of underrepresented groups in U.S. history.”
3. Mamdani has expressed support for the BDS movement, which could have a wide-ranging impact on Israeli partnerships with New York City companies or institutions.
Mamdani said in June that he would attempt to divest from Israel if elected mayor — including discontinuing the NYC-Israel Economic Council, which Mayor Eric Adams recently launched.
“His pursuit of discriminatory policies that boycott and divest from Israel, companies doing business in Israel, and U.S.-Israel tech partnerships could cost New York taxpayers billions over the next ten years,” said the head of a leading Jewish organization. “He knows [BDS] policy is discriminatory and antisemitic, yet he refuses to abandon it. Even worse, he continues to double down and has made it an important piece of his economic strategy.”
Mamdani has also said he would “reassess” the partnership between Cornell University and Israel’s Technion, potentially displacing it from its campus on Roosevelt Island. “Ending [the Cornell-Technion] partnership would deal a blow to the city’s booming tech sector, chase away innovators, destroy vital educational opportunities, and damage New York’s reputation as a global business hub,” Ted Deutch, CEO of the AJC, said in a statement.
A political insider and Jewish communal leader told JI those are policies Mamdani could enforce, but “he would have to go out of his way to.”
“He said he’ll divest from Israel but it would be unprecedented for him to start organizing the pension boards under the comptroller,” the source said. “It doesn’t mean he won’t do it, but it’s more complicated than the stroke of a pen. No one knows if he will be passive, aggressive or proactive; there are many options of what we could do.”
4. Mamdani’s inability to condemn antisemitism from his public perch, while associating himself with extremist individuals could lead to a rise in antisemitism:
During the campaign, Mamdani affiliated with anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour, considered to be one of the mayor-elect’s mentors and Imam Siraj Wahhaj, who Mamdani called one of the “foremost Muslim leaders” in the U.S. Wahhaj has a history of supporting controversial figures involved in terrorism, including testifying as a character witness at the trial of Omar Abdel-Rahman who was found guilty of seditious conspiracy for his role in plotting the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Jeremy Corbyn, who led Britain’s Labour Party and was suspended over antisemitic comments, also phone-banked for Mamdani in the closing days of the campaign.
Mamdani has said he would oppose using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, which would dismantle an executive order signed by Adams in June as part of a push against rising antisemitism.
“Even if Mamdani doesn’t do anything to actually impact the day-to-day of the Jewish community, the symbolic impact of Mamdani’s victory [is] devastating,” another veteran Jewish communal leader said. “It shows that a person espousing views that most of us consider dangerous and antisemitic can get elected. It’s the breaking of a taboo.”
5. Mamdani’s failure to equate anti-Zionism with antisemitism could weaken enforcement of laws protecting Jewish institutions:
Throughout his campaign, Mamdani repeatedly said he does not support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and that his criticism of Israel does not amount to antisemitism. But the majority of Jewish Americans report that Israel is a large part of their Jewish identity.
Antisemitism watchers have noted that anti-Israel demonstrations — especially those on college campuses — have increasingly turned blatantly antisemitic by targeting Jewish, not Israeli, institutions such as Hillels and Chabad houses.
The communal leader and political insider added that it’s uncertain where Mamdani draws a line at anti-Israel activity crossing into antisemitism, and therefore whether he would protect Jewish institutions. For example, they said, “it’s unclear if he would use protesting a university Hillel with ‘Free Palestine’ as antisemitic or anti-Zionist.”
Mamdani’s pledge, announced at the last general election debate, is a signal of the DSA-backed candidate’s attempt to moderate on the issue of policing
Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayoral candidate, during a mayoral debate in New York, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, confirmed that he would ask Jessica Tisch to stay on as the city’s police commissioner if elected, ending longstanding speculation over his plans for a key role in his potential administration.
Tisch, appointed last year by outgoing Mayor Eric Adams, “took on a broken status quo, started to deliver accountability, rooting out corruption and reducing crime across the five boroughs,” Mamdani said at the second and final general election debate on Wednesday evening.
“I have said time and again that my litmus test for that position will be excellence, and the alignment will be of that position,” Mamdani added. “And I am confident that under a Mamdani administration, we would continue to deliver on that same mission.”
Mamdani’s choice could assuage concerns among moderate Democrats and other crime-conscious New Yorkers who had been hopeful that he would choose Tisch, a widely respected technocrat who previously led the Department of Sanitation.
Tisch, 44, who is Jewish, has not said whether she would plan to continue in her position if Mamdani is elected on Nov. 4.
Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist and Queens state assemblyman, has faced scrutiny over his past comments on law enforcement — including support for defunding the police. He has moderated during his mayoral campaign and says he no longer backs such efforts, even as he has pledged to pursue some goals that could potentially fuel tension, such as launching a Department of Community Safety “to ensure that mental health experts” instead of police “are responding to the mental health crisis,” he said at the debate.
Mandani’s opponents, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa, also said they would not seek to replace Tisch, though Sliwa, the Republican nominee, said he did not think she would choose to remain in her role if Cuomo or Mamdani is elected. Cuomo, running as an independent, said he did not believe Mamdani would follow through on his promise.
“His position has been to defund, disband the police, she wouldn’t take that,” Cuomo claimed, saying “their philosophies are totally incongruous.”
Elsewhere in the debate Wednesday, Cuomo and Sliwa ramped up their attacks on Mamdani over his strident opposition to Israel and refusal to condemn calls to “globalize the intifada,” continued sources of concern among Jewish voters.
Cuomo, who has recently escalated his criticism of Mamdani to a more personal level, accused him of stoking “the flames of hatred against Jewish people” during a particularly heated moment at the debate — while Sliwa cast the Democratic frontrunner as an “arsonist who fans the flames of antisemitism.”
Mamdani, playing defense on an issue that represents one of his top vulnerabilities, said that there “is room for disagreement on many positions and many policies,” and pushed back against Sliwa’s claim that he supports “global jihad.”
“I’ve heard from New Yorkers about their fears about antisemitism in this city, and what they deserve is a leader who takes it seriously, who roots it out of these five boroughs, not weaponizes it as a means by which to score political points on a debate stage,” Mamdani said.
But the NYC mayoral nominee hasn’t spoken out against the streamer’s long history of antisemitic rhetoric
Angelina Katsanis-Pool/Getty Images
Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani speaks during a mayoral debate at Rockefeller Center on October 16, 2025 in New York City.
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, expressed disagreement on Thursday with comments by Hasan Piker, a far-left streamer who has said “America deserved 9/11,” after several months in which the state assembly member had declined to condemn such rhetoric.
“I find the comments that Hasan made on 9/11 to be objectionable and reprehensible,” Mamdani said during the first general election debate on Thursday night, where he traded barbs with former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is trailing in the polls as he mounts an independent run following his primary loss to Mamdani in June.
Still, Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, defended his decision to appear on Piker’s show for an extensive interview during the primary — even as the streamer has otherwise frequently stirred controversy for using antisemitic rhetoric in his commentary on Israel and Jewish issues.
“I also think that part of the reason why Democrats are in the situation that we are in, of being a permanent minority in this country, is we are looking only to speak to journalists and streamers and Americans with whom we agree on every single thing that they say,” Mamdani argued, while making no mention of Piker’s antisemitic comments. “We need to take the case to every person, and I am happy to do that.”
Piker has faced criticism for justifying Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and forcefully denying some of the terror group’s atrocities — including widespread reports of sexual violence. In one notable stream last year, Piker said “it doesn’t matter if rapes f***ing happened on Oct. 7,” while adding that “the Palestinian resistance is not perfect.” He has also described Orthodox Jews as “inbred” and compared Zionists to Nazis, among other slurs seen as antisemitic.
Elsewhere during the debate, Mamdani, an outspoken critic of Israel who was arrested in October 2023 during a ceasefire demonstration outside the Brooklyn home of then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), declined to confirm that he would not participate in protests if he is elected mayor. “The important thing is to lead from City Hall,” Mamdani said. “That’s what I’ll be doing.”
Mamdani had faced intense backlash before the debate for comments during a Fox News interview released on Wednesday in which he avoided directly answering a question about whether Hamas should disarm and relinquish its leadership role in Gaza. He clarified at the debate that Hamas, as well as “all parties,” “should lay down” their arms but did not comment on its future role in the conflict.
“I’m proud to be one of the first elected officials in the state who called for a ceasefire, and calling for a ceasefire means ceasing fire,” Mamdani said. “That means all parties have to cease fire and put down their weapons. And the reason that we call for that is not only for the end of the genocide, but also an unimpeded access of humanitarian aid.”
He added that “we also have to ensure that [the ceasefire] addresses the conditions that preceded this, conditions like occupation, like the siege and apartheid, and that is what I’m hopeful for.”
Mamdani, who has seen mixed results in his continued outreach to the Jewish community, also once again refused to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” — even as he reiterated that it “evokes many painful memories” for Jewish voters and reiterated he will “discourage” its usage.
Kolot Chayeinu has drawn criticism for its anti-Israel Hebrew school curriculum, and one of its rabbis meeting with the Iranian president last year
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
New York City Zohran Mamdani speaks on Sept. 15, 2025 in New York City.
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, attended his first Rosh Hashanah service on Monday night at a Brooklyn synagogue well-known for its anti-Zionist activism.
The visit to Kolot Chayeinu, a nondenominational synagogue in Park Slope that has drawn controversy over its anti-Zionist orientation, comes as Mamdani is seeking to engage in increased outreach to Jewish voters ahead of the November election.
But the venue choice also underscores his polarizing position in the broader Jewish community — where many Jewish leaders have continued to raise alarms over his anti-Israel policies and refusal to condemn calls to “globalize the intifada,” among other issues.
Mamdani, an outspoken critic of Israel who has identified as anti-Zionist, was warmly received at the Monday service, where he sat in the front row in a mask and a yarmulke beside Brad Lander, the city comptroller who is a member of Kolot Chayeinu.
Lander, a close ally of Mamdani, recently described the congregation, which was one of the first to call for an early ceasefire in October 2023, as a meeting point for anti-Zionist Jews and progressive Zionists like himself.
The synagogue, which maintains an “open tent” policy on Israel and Palestine, has faced criticism for promoting anti-Israel views in its Hebrew school curriculum in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.
In one particularly controversial lesson, students were instructed to write a letter of apology rebuking their Jewish “ancestors” for taking Palestinian land, fueling concerns among parents who objected to the politicized assignment.
A rabbi at Kolot Chayeinu, Abby Stein, who is a member of the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace, also drew scrutiny for attending a meeting in New York City last year with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, days before the Islamic Republic launched a missile attack against Israel.
Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist and assemblyman from Queens, did not deliver remarks at the Monday evening service. During his sermon, the rabbi accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, a claim that Mamdani has frequently made.
Mamdani is now expected to appear at other Jewish institutions during the High Holidays, including a mainstream congregation on Manhattan’s Upper West Side — where he could face a less welcoming audience skeptical of his hostile views toward Israel.
A spokesperson for Mamdani did not respond to a request for comment about his planned outreach to the Jewish community.
Jay Jacobs, who broke with Gov. Kathy Hochul in refusing to back Mamdani, cited the nominee’s hostility to Israel as a key motivating factor
Yuki Iwamura-Pool/Getty Images
Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani
Jay Jacobs, the chairman of the New York Democratic Party, said on Thursday he will not endorse Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City, notably breaking with Gov. Kathy Hochul, who recently announced her support for the Democratic nominee.
In a statement, Jacobs said he had a “positive conversation” with Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist and Queens assemblyman, soon after the primary, and dismissed what he called “the fear-mongering around him and his candidacy” as “wrong and a gross over-reaction.”
But while Jacobs said he shared Mamdani’s belief that “America’s greatest problem is the continued growth in income disparity in our nation,” the state party chair noted they “fundamentally disagree” on “how to address it.”
Jacobs, who is Jewish, also cited Mamdani’s staunch opposition to Israel, an issue on which the nominee has recently indicated he has no intention of budging, as a major source of contention.
“Furthermore, as I expressed to him directly, I strongly disagree with his views on the State of Israel, along with certain key policy positions,” Jacobs said of Mamdani, who has vowed to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he is elected and said he would move to terminate a city program to foster partnerships between companies in Israel and New York City, among other positions that have raised concerns among Jewish leaders.
Jacobs did not elaborate on particular policies that Mamdani has proposed, including free bus service, government-run grocery stores, universal childcare and rent freezes, some of which have faced scrutiny from the business and real estate communities.
He also voiced strong objections to the far-left platform of the Democratic Socialists of America, of which Mamdani has long been a member, saying he did not believe the group “represents the principles, values or policies of the Democratic Party.”
“For those reasons I will not be endorsing Mr. Mamdani for mayor of New York City,” Jacob said in his statement.
The decision to withhold his support for Mamdani comes as the mayoral nominee has claimed backing from a growing number of mainstream Democratic leaders in New York, most recently Carl Heastie, the speaker of the state Assembly, a prominent holdout who issued his endorsement on Wednesday — days after Hochul made her announcement last weekend.
Still, some of the state’s top Democratic elected officials, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as well as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), have continued to remain on the sidelines, with less than two months until the November election.
In splitting with Hochul, Jacobs, who has long sparred with his party’s left-wing base, joins some lawmakers who have recently said they will not back Mamdani; Reps. Laura Gillen (D-NY) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY), who represent Long Island swing districts targeted by Republicans, have criticized Mamdani’s far-left policies and confirmed this week that they will not be supporting his campaign.
Even as he declined to back Mamdani, the clear front-runner, Jacobs said he would not endorse any other candidates in the mayoral race, according to The New York Times.
Mamdani’s opponents include Mayor Eric Adams, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo — both now running as independents — and the GOP nominee, Curtis Sliwa.
A spokesperson for Mamdani did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Plus, NY Jewish leaders fearful of Mamdani mayoralty
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, attends a news conference about the Israel-Hamas war, and pressure to reduce civilian casualties, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Washington.
Good Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we talk to Jewish leaders who are reacting with fear and resignation to the increasing likelihood that Zohran Mamdani will be the next mayor of New York City, and cover remarks made by Sen. Elissa Slotkin about rising left-wing antisemitism. We report on House Speaker Mike Johnson’s efforts to push back on GOP isolationists and cover Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s comments about the Trump administration’s settlements with universities over campus antisemitism. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Richard Goldberg, Mimi Kravetz and Ken Marcus.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Israel Editor Tamara Zieve and U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is holding a hearing this morning on the state of K-12 education.
- The Atlantic Festival begins in New York City today, opening with a session including former Vice President Mike Pence and former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster.
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy is holding a policy forum today on “Recognizing ‘Palestine’: Rationale, Expectations, Implications” with speakers Rob Satloff, the Washington Institute’s executive director, and Tal Becker, former legal advisor to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
- The American Jewish Historical Society is hosting an interview with media executive Barry Diller about his recent memoir, Who Knew.
- Tonight, the Israeli Embassy will host its Rosh Hashanah reception in Washington.
- United Hatzalah will hold its 2025 Los Angeles gala with honorary guest Gal Gadot. Israeli Eurovision performer Yuval Raphael will receive United Hatzalah’s Hero Award and American venture capitalist Shaun Maguire will receive its Am Israel award.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S LAHAV HARKOV
In the aftermath of Israel’s strike aimed at Hamas leaders in Qatar, questions have emerged about how much the U.S. knew, the extent of President Donald Trump’s frustration with Israel’s actions and what it means for the U.S.-Israel relationship.
But another important question is whether the strike marks a turning point for Qatar — and whether the Gulf nation may now be considering a shift in its own role and behavior.
The fact that the Trump administration has not dwelled on the attack — even sending Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Israel for a warm visit days after the strike — may give Doha pause. While Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the strike “did not advance Israel or America’s goals,” in the next breath, she said that “eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.” That goes against the Qataris’ preferred narrative, that the U.S. wants it to host terrorists because they’re the only conduit to Hamas, the Taliban and others.
With that in mind, Qatar could reconsider the business of harboring terrorists, because it has become risky and could impact its relations with Western companies and institutions. Though the UAE was not in the terror-supporting business and has long opposed the Muslim Brotherhood, it didn’t prevent people like Hamas terrorist Mahmoud al-Mabhouh from visiting the UAE until the Mossad killed him in Dubai in 2010. The Emiratis publicly railed against Israel and the then-quiet relations between the countries were set back, but the UAE cracked down and banned such individuals associated with terror groups from entering their country.
However, Qatar does not seem to be taking recent events as a signal to change. Doha roundly condemned Israel, threatened to stop mediating hostage talks and convened an Arab summit to condemn Israel further. Senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad appeared on Al Jazeera yesterday, with the chyron stating that he was in Doha, and the wife of senior Hamas official Khalil al-Haya was spotted visiting the grave of her son, killed in the strike, with Qatari security. On Tuesday, the Qatari Defense Minister hosted his Taliban counterpart.
And while Qatar could respond to the strike by turning away from America, it does not seem to have done that, either. Doha publicly denied reports that they were reconsidering its relationship with Washington. After its initial statement, Qatar said it would continue mediating Gaza hostage and ceasefire talks, and shifted to blaming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, rather than Israel, broadly. Doha softened its language in Arabic to describe the hostages, moving from “prisoners” to “captives,” according to Ariel Admoni, a Qatar expert at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS).
BITING THE BULLET
As Jewish leaders reckon with the increasing likelihood that Zohran Mamdani will be the next mayor of New York City, many who have voiced anxiety over his avowedly anti-Israel policies are reacting with a mix of fear and resignation. Their concerns have been mounting as Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, has continued to hold a comfortable lead in the race, where polling shows him handily prevailing over the divided field, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. The 33-year-old democratic socialist and Queens state assemblyman has recently claimed endorsements from prominent party leaders including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who clarified she does not agree with him on Israel issues but said she appreciated his commitment to combating antisemitism as well as his efforts to meet with Jewish community members to address “their concerns directly.”
Community concerns: But multiple Jewish leaders said in interviews with JI on Wednesday that they remain deeply skeptical of his campaign’s outreach and pledges to confront rising antisemitism, citing a string of recent statements in which he has doubled down on his hostile approach to Israel — as well as an ongoing refusal to explicitly denounce extreme rhetoric espoused by his allies on the far left. “I believe that he will genuinely work to drive a wedge between Jews and their neighbors as long as he serves in public office,” Sara Forman, executive director of New York Solidarity Network, a group that supports pro-Israel Democratic candidates for state and local office, told JI. “To this date,” she said of Mamdani, “his actions certainly have given us no indication they match his words.”
calling it out
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), speaking on Wednesday to a gathering of Jewish activists on Capitol Hill, highlighted concerns about rising left-wing antisemitism and the ways that antisemitic narratives are being spread to and by college students, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What she said: “We’re used to the right-wing side. What is new and what I think has so many in the Jewish community on our heels is that new left-wing antisemitism and how to approach it,” Slotkin said at a pre-High Holidays security briefing organized by several Jewish communal organizations. “How do we counteract it? How do we protect against it? How do we educate? And certainly, we’re watching, on many college campuses, a lot of young people who actually maybe didn’t grow up with the Jewish community at all, get to campus and maybe repeat what they’re hearing, sometimes not even understanding or knowing,” she continued. “I would just say that one of our responsibilities as Jewish leaders and Jewish activists is to try and really parse through how to deal with antisemitism on the left, since antisemitism on the right isn’t good, but it’s more of a well-known threat.”
HOLDING THE LINE
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) spoke about his efforts to hold the line against the isolationist wing of the Republican Party in a private meeting with pro-Israel leaders on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, several individuals who attended the meeting told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod. Johnson, who described himself to the group as a “Reagan Republican” focused on “peace through strength,” acknowledged that isolationism is rising in the Republican Party, and that the party is likely bound for a major debate on the issue after President Donald Trump leaves office.
Preventative action: Johnson also told the group that, in his candidate recruiting efforts, he’s working to filter out isolationists to prevent that wing of the party from growing larger in the House, four people who attended the meeting said. “The speaker was very, very direct about the U.S. role with Israel and in the world and understands that there are voices that don’t agree in both parties, on both extremes, and urges us all to be involved in fighting back against those extremes,” Eric Fingerhut, the CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, told JI.
education cooperation
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said on Wednesday that the Trump administration’s goal is not to engage in a prolonged legal battle with Harvard University and expressed hope that the federal government would be able to reach a settlement that delivers meaningful reforms to the elite campus. McMahon made the comments while appearing at the Federalist Society and the Defense of Freedom Institute’s annual Education Law & Policy Conference on Wednesday morning, after being asked during a moderated conversation with Washington Examiner politics editor Marisa Schultz where negotiations between Harvard and the administration stand, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
McMahon’s mission: “I’m certainly hopeful on the settlement. I have spoken to Alan Garber, their very good president, at the very beginning of this. I haven’t spoken to him since, but I do think that with the idea that Harvard has already started to take certain measures to change what they were doing, I certainly hope that there will be an agreement,” McMahon said. “It’s not our goal to have to go to court to make people abide by the law, to make universities abide by the law.” Asked by Schultz about the ongoing negotiations with the University of California, Los Angeles and other schools, and how the settlements fit into the Trump administration’s “big picture mission for elite universities and colleges in America,” McMahon said that their “goal is really not to be punitive necessarily, but to have universities, I think, return to what we all believe that universities started out to be.”
Backing McMahon: Ken Marcus, the founder of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, said on Wednesday that he had faith in McMahon to ensure that any settlements the Trump administration were to make with Harvard University or other schools would ensure concrete reforms to address campus antisemitism.
OU Action: Members of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center met with McMahon yesterday to discuss federal efforts to counter antisemitism and new legislation promoting school choice, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
EXPLAINING SNAPBACK
The Sept. 27 deadline to snap back United Nations sanctions on Iran’s nuclear and other weapons programs is rapidly approaching. The E3 — as France, Germany and the U.K. are known — announced last month that they planned to trigger the snapback sanctions mechanism, meaning the likely return of all U.N. sanctions that had been “sunsetted” per the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. In an interview with Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov on an episode of the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy’s “Mideast Horizons” podcast, Richard Goldberg, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ senior advisor, explained the snapback procedure and how the sanctions are expected to damage Iran’s economy. Goldberg recently finished a stint as the Trump administration’s National Energy Dominance Council’s senior counselor and was the director for countering Iranian weapons of mass destruction in the first Trump administration.
Now or never: Goldberg said it is important not to stop the snapback process, even if Iran suddenly agrees to cooperate. “You don’t stop the snapback, which goes away in just a few weeks,” he said. “You cannot trigger this again after October; it’s done. Iran just wins all these strategic gains forever. … You have to complete the snapback because you don’t get another chance at it.” The impact of snapback would be significant on several fronts. “On a strategic level, they will no longer have any claim of legitimacy to transfer weapons to Russia,” Goldberg said. “Technically, the Russians today will tell you that it is fully legal under the Security Council, which is true. … That will be done after the snapback is completed.”
survey says
In the aftermath of the deadly Oct. 7 attacks two years ago, many American Jews were pulled off the sidelines and got much more involved in Jewish life — a trend, dubbed “the surge,” that has continued into a second year, according to a survey released this spring. But a further breakdown of that survey data, shared this week by the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), shows that the impact of “the surge” is waning more quickly among Jews from minority populations, including LGBTQ Jews, Jews of color, Jews with disabilities and financially vulnerable Jews, than it is among the broader Jewish community, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Yearly comparison: The survey found that 31% of Jewish respondents said this year that they are engaging more with the Jewish community now than before Oct. 7, down from 43% last year — still significant post-Oct. 7 growth, but slightly down from the immediate aftermath. But among historically marginalized populations, that decrease was even more pronounced. “We’re sad and disheartened to see that these marginalized groups are engaging so much less than they were at this time last year,” JFNA’s chief impact and growth officer, Mimi Kravetz, told JI on Wednesday. “It’s still higher than baseline. There’s still people showing up more. But there has been a more significant drop among these most marginalized groups.”
Worthy Reads
The Ties That Bind: The Wall Street Journal examines why the strong relationship between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been resilient. “Trump, meanwhile, doesn’t want a public break with Netanyahu. He is proud of his close ties to Netanyahu and support for Israel, U.S. officials said. He often boasts about the Abraham Accords brokered during his first term, and continues to push for renewed ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, a grand diplomatic prize he openly covets. Netanyahu also finds ways to ingratiate himself with Trump’s inner circle and flatter the president directly. On Saturday, Netanyahu, alongside U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, participated in a cornerstone-laying ceremony to name a promenade in the beachside city of Bat Yam after Trump. In effect, Netanyahu has shaped a relationship where he can temporarily risk Trump’s ire, knowing it won’t last.” [WSJ]
Arrest Warning: Former Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz argues in The Wall Street Journal against New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani’s pledge to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he travels to the city. “It’s easy to mock Zohran Mamdani’s pledge that he will order the New York City Police Department to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if the Israeli prime minister visits the city while Mr. Mamdani is mayor. Does he expect the NYPD to overcome Mr. Netanyahu’s Shin Bet and Secret Service bodyguards? Or will a New York City Criminal Court judge issue a warrant and wait for the prime minister to turn himself in? Has Mr. Mamdani even heard of diplomatic immunity? … Should a Mayor Mamdani attempt such a stunt, I would happily represent the prime minister in a federal lawsuit, which would be the easiest win of my career. … New Yorkers deserve leaders who focus on the city’s and state’s real challenges, not on grandstanding gestures that flirt with illegality and embarrass this great city on the world stage.” [WSJ]
The Charlie Kirk I Knew: In The Free Press, Harvard Law School graduate Adam Sharf recalls how interactions with Charlie Kirk as an undergraduate influenced him to become Orthodox. “He never tried to convert me. What he said instead changed my life: ‘It’s important that you be Jewish.’ … He made a 19-year-old take first principles seriously: why we are here and what we are here for. I began attending Shabbat dinners, meeting weekly with my rabbi to try to understand the covenant Charlie told me about.” [FreePress]
Word on the Street
The Israeli Ministry of Defense announced that it has completed the development of the Iron Beam laser missile interception system, which will be operational by the end of the year…
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delayed his announcement to recognize a Palestinian state until this weekend, after President Donald Trump has departed from his state visit to London…
Former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, backed by Trump, has proposed creating a “Gaza International Transitional Authority” to govern Gaza postwar, with the goal of replacing Hamas and eventually handing control to a reformed Palestinian Authority, The Times of Israel reports…
An immigration judge in Louisiana ruled that anti-Israel protest leader Mahmoud Khalil must be deported to Syria or Algeria for omitting details from his green card application, despite another court ruling in New Jersey blocking his deportation. Khalil’s lawyers said they intend to appeal the decision but do not expect the appeal to be successful…
Trump told aides that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is f***ing me,” officials told The Wall Street Journal, after Israel attempted to strike Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, as Trump reportedly grows more frustrated with the Israeli prime minister…
The State Department designated four Iran-aligned militias as Foreign Terrorist Organizations on Wednesday…
Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer reportedly met with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff last night in London in a bid to revive ceasefire and hostage-release efforts…
National Students for Justice in Palestine asked members on Wednesday to send letters to a judge in New York asking for a lenient sentence for Tarek Bazrouk, who pleaded guilty in June to attacking three Jews for their Jewish or Israeli identity…
In separate statements, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) on Wednesday accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, the first Jewish lawmakers to do so…
House lawmakers voted down a Republican resolution to censure Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) over a social media video she reposted that called Charlie Kirk a “reprehensible human being” and criticized the right’s reaction to his killing…
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) became the latest voice turning Charlie Kirk’s killing into a referendum on his views on Israel and Judaism with a series of social media posts on Wednesday. “Do not allow a foreign country, foreign agents, and another religion [to] tell you about Charlie Kirk. And I hope a foreign country and foreign agents and another religion does not take over Christian Patriotic Turning Point USA,” she wrote, indirectly referring to Israel and Jews…
Disney-owned ABC is taking Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talk show off air after he said during his Monday show, “The MAGA Gang (is) desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.” …
In an excerpt from former Vice President Kamala Harris’ forthcoming book, 107 Days, she admits she would have preferred to choose former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigeig as her running mate in the 2024 election, but “we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man”…
The Gothamist reports on growing tensions between Democratic New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani and City Comptroller Brad Lander, just months after they cross-endorsed each other in the primary race. Lander is reportedly insinuating behind closed doors that he’ll be appointed first deputy mayor, the mayor’s right hand, should Mamdani win the election, while Mamdani has told him to back off and insists no personnel decisions have been made…
Pro-Israel philanthropist Ronald Lauder injected $750,000 to the Fix the City PAC, which is backing former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his bid to defeat Mamdani as an independent, despite Cuomo’s recent turn away from his full-throated support of Israel’s war in Gaza…
Top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas announced plans today for the EU to impose tariffs on Israel and sanction Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, following on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s call last week for the EU to suspend free trade measures with Israel…
The Israeli Ministry of Culture announced it’s cutting state funding for the Ophir Awards, known as the “Israeli Oscars,” after a film about a Palestinian boy from Ramallah seeing the ocean in Tel Aviv won five awards at the show on Tuesday, including 2025 Best Picture. The movie, “The Sea,” is now slated to represent Israel at the Oscars…
Bloomberg profiles Rachel Accurso, also known as Ms. Rachel, a popular children’s content creator and outspoken critic of Israel’s war in Gaza, which she regularly refers to as genocide……
The New York Times speaks to Jewish and Muslim experts on whether followers of the religion can accept pig heart transplants…
Restaurateurs Emily and Alon Shaya, along with Tulane University Professor Mara Force, recreated dishes from a recipe book of the Fenves family, saved as they were taken to Auschwitz in 1944, in a project dubbed “Rescued Recipes”…
Pic of the Day
The Michael Levin Base for lone soldiers marked its annual gala on Tuesday evening at the Jerusalem Theater at which U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee gave the keynote address. Michael Dickson, executive director of StandWithUs Israel (left), moderated a panel on the rise of global antisemitism, with panelists (from left to right) Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, Israel’s special envoy for trade and innovation and honorary board member of The Michael Levin Base; Adir Schwarz, deputy mayor of Jerusalem; and Matti Friedman, author and journalist.
Birthdays
Winner of three Grammy Awards for music videos, he is also a filmmaker and photographer, Mark Lee Romanek turns 66…
Marina Del Rey, Calif., resident, Kathy Levinson Wolf… Retired Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon, he served as U.S. secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Trump 45 administration, Dr. Ben Carson turns 74… Business executive who served as co-CEO of SAP and CEO of Hewlett-Packard, Léo Apotheker turns 72… Harvard professor of psychology, specializing in visual cognition and psycholinguistics, Steven Pinker turns 71… U.S. senator (R-AL), he had a career prior to politics as a collegiate football coach, Tommy Tuberville turns 71… Former CEO of The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, Howard Tevlowitz… Former executive director of the Los Angeles Westside Jewish Community Center, Brian Greene… Attorney general of Israel, Gali Baharav-Miara turns 66… Professor of economics at MIT and a 2021 Nobel Prize laureate in economics, Joshua Angrist turns 65… One of the earliest Israeli tech entrepreneurs, he is best known for starting Aladdin Knowledge Systems in 1985, Yanki Margalit turns 63… Founder and executive chairman of Delek US, Ezra Uzi Yemin turns 57… Classical pianist, Simone Dinnerstein turns 53… Chief policy officer at the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, Karen Paikin Barall… NBC and MSNBC legal analyst, she was a 2021 candidate for Manhattan district attorney, Tali Farhadian Weinstein turns 50… Founding partner of Shore Capital Partners, he is a part-owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury along with his brother Mat Ishbia, Justin Ryan Ishbia turns 48… Comedian, actor, producer and screenwriter, Billy Eichner turns 47… Rome bureau chief of The New York Times, covering Italy and the Vatican, Jason Horowitz… Director of operations at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, Robin Anderson… Co-host of Bloomberg Surveillance every morning on Bloomberg Television and Bloomberg Radio, Lisa Abramowicz turns 46… Author and CNN analyst, he was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, Bakari Sellers turns 41… Founder of the Jerusalem Journal, Avi Mayer… Professional poker player whose total career live tournament winnings exceed $24.5 million, Nick Schulman turns 41… Baseball broadcaster for the Washington Nationals, Dan Kolko… Television and film actress, Shoshana Bush turns 37… Senior director at TLG Communications – the Levinson Group, Zak Sawyer…
Mamdani’s unyielding approach to opposing Israel underscores just how central the issue is to his self-conception as an activist and an elected official long involved in such causes
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Democratic socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City, attends an endorsement event from the union DC 37 on July 15, 2025, in New York City.
