Plus, Vance draws difference between antisemitism and 'not liking Israel'
George Chan/Getty Images
A member of the public leaves the scene with her child, who is covered in an emergency blanket, after a shooting at Bondi Beach on December 14, 2025 in Sydney, Australia.
Add JewishInsider on Google👋 Good Tuesday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at how New York Democrats, in the wake of the Sydney attack, are addressing anti-Israel rhetoric that Jewish leaders warn encourages antisemitic violence, and report on Vice President JD Vance’s comments linking youth antisemitism to immigration and Gen Z demographics. We cover the ties between a group plotting a New Year’s terror attack in California and the recent violent protest at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, and interview writer Izabella Tabarovsky about her new book on Soviet dissident Zionism. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Alan Garber, Steve Cohen and Stephanie Hallett.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik, Matthew Kassel and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- We’re continuing to monitor the situation in Sydney, Australia. Earlier today, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that authorities believed the two gunmen had been “motivated by Islamic State ideology,” and that two homemade ISIS flags had been found in their car along with unexploded devices.
- The funeral of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was killed in the attacks, will take place at 11 a.m. local time tomorrow in Australia, 7 p.m. ET tonight.
- The White House is hosting its annual Hanukkah reception tonight.
- Other Hanukkah happenings in and around Washington today: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s (D-FL) annual Hanukkah party and the Israeli American Council Washington chapter Hanukkah party, featuring remarks by the Justice Department’s Leo Terrell.
- In New York, UJA-Federation of New York and Israel’s mission at the U.N. are holding a Hanukkah reception, while American Friends of Anu — the Museum of the Jewish People is holding its Hanukkah party, where Dr. Albert Bourla and Greek Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis are slated to speak.
- Boston’s Vilna Shul is hosting a live taping of the Shalom Hartman Institute’s “Identity/Crisis” podcast, with host Yehuda Kurtzer in conversation with Harvard President Alan Garber.
- And in Qatar, CENTCOM is holding a daylong conference focused on the Trump administration’s proposed International Stabilization Force in Gaza.
- During a two-day state visit to Jordan, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the India-Jordan Business Forum, which convened today in Amman.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MARC ROD
The massacre in which 15 people were killed at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday has once again brought the Jewish community’s security vulnerabilities into stark focus.
But for the American Jewish community, the prospects for much-needed help from the federal government in the form of additional Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding remain unclear.
The Senate Appropriations Committee’s homeland security subcommittee still hasn’t released a draft bill for 2026, greatly increasing the chances of a full-year continuing resolution that would keep funding for the program flat, at $274.5 million, a level that advocates and proponents on the Hill and Jewish groups say is severely insufficient. The House has passed its own version of the bill with $335 million in funding for the program.
Eric Fingerhut, the CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, told JI, “The events in Australia and California these past days are terrible reminders of the violent antisemitism Jewish communities face. We’ve worked to ensure that every Federation community has a professional security program and director, but at the end of the day it is the government’s responsibility to keep its citizens safe from terrorism, and that’s why it is critical to both ensure that the Nonprofit Security Grant Program is fully funded and not allowed to lapse.”
Multiple lawmakers on the committee and those who follow the NSGP funding process closely said they have little clarity on the state of play on the funding bill, including subcommittee ranking member Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), a co-chair of the Senate antisemitism task force.
SLOGAN UNDER SCRUTINY
Sydney Hanukkah massacre leads New York Democrats to grapple with ‘globalize the intifada’ rhetoric
The deadly terrorist attack during a Hanukkah celebration in Australia on Sunday is sparking a renewed debate within the Democratic Party over anti-Israel slogans including “globalize the intifada,” and whether such extreme rhetoric fuels antisemitic prejudice that can lead to violence against Jews. Some candidates and elected officials in New York City, where recent anti-Israel demonstrations have raised alarms within the largest Jewish community in the world, are tying such rhetoric directly to the carnage at Bondi Beach in Sydney — after two gunmen killed at least 15 people and wounded more than three dozen in the deadliest attack against the Jewish community in Australian history, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
The politics of words: Micah Lasher, a Jewish state assemblyman who is running to succeed Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), asked rhetorically in a social media post Sunday whether there was “any question” that “the spread of violence against Jews is intertwined with the social acceptability of violent rhetoric directed at Jews.” Erik Bottcher, a city councilman who is also mounting a bid for Nadler’s seat, said that in the wake of “an attack like Bondi Beach, we should be unequivocal: antisemitic violence is unacceptable, full stop. And we should also be honest that slogans like ‘globalize the intifada’ don’t advance justice, they escalate hostility and make Jewish communities feel targeted.”
Read the full story here with additional comments from New York Democrats including Mayor Eric Adams, state Assemblymember Alex Bores, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and NY-6 candidate Chuck Park.
Standing in solidarity: Speaking at the White House Sunday night, President Donald Trump called the shooting a “purely antisemitic attack,” and praised Ahmed al Ahmed, a Muslim man and bystander who stepped in to disarm the gunman at Bondi Beach, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
VANCE’S VIEW
JD Vance links youth antisemitism to immigration, demographics of Gen Z
In a series of social media posts, Vice President JD Vance linked data finding increased antisemitism among young people on both sides of the aisle to immigration, and said that there is a difference between “not liking Israel” and being antisemitic, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What he said: “To write an article about the ‘generational divide’ in anti-semitism without discussing the demographics of the various generations is mind boggling,” Vance wrote, referencing an Atlantic piece by Yair Rosenberg that looked at polling data indicating higher levels of antisemitism among younger Americans. Vance blamed the increase in antisemitism on immigration and the demographic makeup of younger Americans, adding “the most significant single thing you could do to eliminate anti-semitism and any other kind of ethnic hatred is to support our efforts to lower immigration and promote assimilation.” The vice president also wrote, “I would say there’s a difference between not liking Israel (or disagreeing with a given Israeli policy) and anti-semitism.”
PLOT PREVENTED
FBI foils New Year’s Eve terror attack by extremist group behind synagogue protest
Federal authorities foiled an alleged terror plot by an anti-Israel, anti-American extremist group, officials announced on Monday. The group — the Turtle Island Liberation Front — appears to also be one of the organizers of an anti-Israel protest that targeted a Los Angeles synagogue this month, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Plan for midnight: Four members of TILF were arrested over the weekend in the Mojave Desert, where they had allegedly gathered to attempt to construct improvised explosive devices. According to Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, they planned to set off the pipe bombs in a coordinated attack at midnight on New Year’s Eve targeting U.S. companies in Los Angeles and Orange County, Calif.
FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES
State Dept., GOP lawmakers meet with members of Germany’s far-right AfD party
A senior State Department official and two GOP members of Congress met Friday with members of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has long faced accusations of extremism and pro-Nazi sympathies, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Meeting minutes: “My exchange with Under Secretary [of State for Public Diplomacy] Sarah Rogers on the new national security strategy of the Trump Administration has made it clear that Washington is seeking a strong German partner who is willing to take on responsibility,” Bundestag member Markus Frohnmaier posted after the meeting. Responding to a critic who noted that leaked Russian documents allegedly described Frohnmaier as a Russian asset, Rogers praised the AfD. The AfD delegation also met with Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and Tim Burchett (R-TN) and attended a New York Young Republican Club event.
STATE-SANCTIONED SERMON?
At Mecca’s Grand Mosque, Saudi imam condemns Israel and calls Palestinian children ‘role models’
During a Friday sermon at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Saleh bin Abdullah bin Humaid — one of the nine imams of the mosque — urged Muslims to view Palestinian children as role models in the face of what he described as an “oppressive and brutal Zionist enemy,” Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
What this means: Sermons delivered at the Grand Mosque are closely watched across the Muslim world and are widely seen as reflective of official Saudi religious and political messaging, making it notable that the senior Saudi cleric used the address at Islam’s holiest site to condemn Israel as President Donald Trump continues to promote normalization between the two countries. Hussain Abdul-Hussain, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the remarks point to broader political implications. “Preachers in most Gulf countries are government employees, and their sermons often reflect official talking points,” Abdul-Hussain said.
BOOKSHELF
The new book urging young Jews to take inspiration from Soviet Jewish dissidents
Writer and activist Izabella Tabarovsky has heard from many Jewish students that large Jewish organizations advised them to keep their heads down and try not to attract attention as a strategy to weather the anti-Israel and antisemitic storms that have raged on campus since Oct. 7, 2023. Tabarovsky’s counter-message: Don’t hide. Reclaim your Zionism. And take inspiration from the Soviet refuseniks of the 1980s, who stared down Communist Party strongman Leonid Brezhnev, held fast to their Judaism and eventually won their freedom. Tabarovsky lays out some of these strategies for college students in a new book, Be a Refusenik: A Jewish Student’s Survival Guide, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Identifying a need: “We’re in a bleak moment, and a lot of books diagnose the bleakness. … I saw a hunger for an inspirational message,” Tabarovsky told JI. In the near-decade that she has been writing about the subject, it has become “widely accepted among scholars and people involved in this [activism] that the patterns of anti-Zionist demonization and erasure are some of what Soviet Jews experienced in [former Soviet Union leader Leonid] Brezhnev’s USSR,” she said.
Worthy Reads
Gathering Storm: In The Free Press, Rabbi David Wolpe and former U.S. antisemitism envoy Deborah Lipstadt consider how antisemitic rhetoric and protests are affecting public Jewish life. “These chants, attacks, and endorsements from public personalities are designed to make Jews think twice about gathering with other Jews, going to kosher restaurants, putting a mezuzah on the doorpost of their apartments or dorm rooms, or even wearing a Jewish star around their necks. … We are a people too wise to be hysterical but too experienced to be naive. The greatest enemy we face now is indifference. If the moral people of the world do not stand with us to denounce and expunge this kind of behavior so destructive to the fabric of any healthy society, especially one founded on the promise of freedom and equality, the consequences will not only be dire for the Jewish people — they will be dire for democracies, the rule of law, and the civilization we cherish.” [FreePress]
Hints of Humanity: In The New York Times, Rabbi Sharon Brous reflects on the instances of humanity that have appeared in times of darkness and despair. “I’m tired of looking for the silver lining after such tragedies. I no longer want to hear, after a mass shooting, of the remarkable ways a community came together. I don’t want platitudes and pieties. I want justice. … I don’t want to celebrate resiliency; I want to see reform. But as a spiritual matter, I urgently need the silver lining. I need the hints of humanity that remind us that what is is not what must be. The quiet insistence that there is more light than darkness in this world, that tenderness and love can prevail over even the most virulent hatred. Give me the counterfactual that makes it impossible to fall into despair, that will keep me from slipping into the self-defeating certainty of our impending doom.” [NYTimes]
Remembering Rabbi Eli: In The Atlantic, Zalman Rothschild reflects on his friendship with Rabbi Eli Schlanger and the lessons he learned from the rabbi, who was killed in the Bondi Beach attack. “Hanukkah does not commemorate despair or isolation. It marks rededication — to Jewish life, Jewish practice, and Jewish responsibility. As Schlanger himself put it earlier this year, the way forward in the face of darkness is to ‘be more Jewish, act more Jewish, and appear more Jewish.’ After October 7, 2023, my sister joined a synagogue for the first time and enrolled her daughters in Hebrew school — as did many others. On the road in Paris, I had no plans to light a menorah, but after learning of Schlanger’s murder, I felt compelled to attend a synagogue gathering and light a Hanukkah candle. … The story of Hanukkah is about political power and self-defense, but it is also about Judaism’s spirit and moral commitment. The words of the prophet Zechariah have been recited in synagogues for centuries on the Shabbat that falls on Hanukkah: ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit.’” [TheAtlantic]
Keep an Eye on Iran: In The Wall Street Journal, former National Security Advisor John Bolton warns that Iran is working to rebuild its proxy network as the U.S. and allies have their attention focused on other global and domestic events. “The Gaza cease-fire diverts Western attention from the real threat — Tehran and its surrogates — and benefits these bad actors. … The “axis of resistance” isn’t yet a well-oiled machine again, but it could be soon if the U.S. is inattentive. Washington’s frequent distractions must not prevent it from developing an effective long-term strategy. Now is the time not to negotiate with the ayatollahs but to resume serious enforcement of economic sanctions while adding new ones. When Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dies, the leadership vacuum will provide Iran’s resistance a critical opportunity for regime change, and the opposition deserves U.S. assistance. Ignoring Iran until it fully regains its strength will only make matters worse.” [WSJ]
Word on the Street
President Donald Trump said the administration was “looking into” whether Israel’s targeted drone strike on a senior Hamas official in Gaza over the weekend violated the ceasefire that went into effect in October…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Monday with U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack in Jerusalem as the U.S. works to alleviate tensions between Israel and both Lebanon and Syria; others present included Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, incoming Mossad head Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and White House Middle East advisor Aryeh Lightstone…
DMFI PAC is rolling out its first round of 2026 House endorsements in a list first shared first with JI, backing several Democratic incumbents facing challenges from the left including Reps. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Dan Goldman (D-NY), Wesley Bell (D-MO), Shri Thanedar (D-MI) and Steve Cohen (D-TN)…
Harvard University’s governing board announced that Alan Garber, who had initially been tapped to lead the school on an interim basis through June 2027, will continue as the school’s president indefinitely…
Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners is dropping out of a plan to turn a former army complex in Belgrade, Serbia, into a Trump-branded property; the redevelopment of the site, which had been bombed by NATO in 1999, had prompted protests as well as government investigations into efforts to strip the complex of its status as a protected cultural-heritage site…
Police in Redlands, Calif., are investigating as a possible hate crime an incident in which assailants fired 20 shots at a home with Hanukkah decorations…
Nick Reiner, the son of Rob Reiner, was arrested and booked on suspicion of murder charges after the bodies of his parents were found at their Los Angeles home on Sunday…
A crowdfunding campaign for Ahmed al Ahmed, a Sydney shopkeeper who was filmed restraining one of the gunmen in the Bondi Beach attack, has raised $1.5 million, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross reports; contributors to the campaign include Bill Ackman, who gave $66,000, as well as thousands of small-dollar donors…
New York Mets owner Steve Cohen received approval for the construction of his $8 billion Metropolitan Park casino project next to the team’s Citi Field stadium…
The International Criminal Court rejected an Israeli appeal for the court to end its investigation into Israel’s conduct in Gaza, which Israeli representatives said falls outside of the court’s jurisdiction…
Archeologists in Jerusalem discovered a 1,400-year-old pendant believed to date to the late Byzantine era; the discovery, made near the Western Wall complex…
Stephanie Hallett was sworn in as U.S. ambassador to Bahrain…
Alyssa Katz, the executive editor of The City, was tapped as the new editor-in-chief of The Forward…
Rachel Gorsky Bombach, previously a foreign policy advisor to former Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and director of the National Security Council in the Obama administration, is joining Democratic Majority for Israel as chief policy officer…
Philanthropist Martin Rosen, an attorney and founding trustee of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, died at 100, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Jay Deitcher reports…
Columnist Robert Samuelson, whose work appeared in Newsweek, The Washington Post and the New York Sun, died at 87…
Pic of the Day
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and his wife, Janet Huckabee, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sara Netanyahu posed for a photo after lighting the second Hanukkah candle on Monday night at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. They were joined by IDF soldiers, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, who oversees the Western Wall and holy sites, as well as Western Wall Heritage Foundation Director Mordechai (Soli) Eliav.
Birthdays
Attorney, professor and author, she was the first woman to serve as president of the Harvard Law Review, Susan Estrich turns 73…
CBS News journalist who has won 13 Emmy Awards, she has reported for CBS’ “60 Minutes” since 1991, Lesley Stahl turns 84… Numismatist specializing in ancient Jewish and biblical coins and their archaeology, David Bruce Hendin turns 80… British chemist and research professor at the University of Nottingham, Sir Martyn Poliakoff turns 78… Litigator in Denver, Craig Alan Silverman… Novelist, journalist and lecturer, Allen Kurzweil turns 65… President and co-founder of The New Agenda, Amy Siskind… First OMB director in the Obama administration, now CEO of Lazard, Peter R. Orszag turns 57… Astrophysicist and professor at Johns Hopkins University and the Space Telescope Science Institute, he was a winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics, Adam Guy Riess turns 56… National campaign director in the northeast for the Jewish National Fund, Rabbi Eric Stark… Director of public affairs at Charles Schwab, Adam Bromberg… Mexican singer, she has toured individually and in bands in Central America, the U.S. and Europe, Alix Bauer Tapuach turns 54… Activist, writer, farmer and punk rock musician, Sascha Altman DuBrul turns 51… Rabbi at Congregation Beth Shalom in Clifton Park, N.Y., Shara Siegfeld… Principal at Elm City Strategies, Melissa Wisner… Former chief of staff for U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Matthew Bennett Klapper turns 43… Middle East analyst at Christians United For Israel, Kasim Hafeez turns 42… Founder of Punchbowl News, Jake Sherman… Actress known for her role on The CW’s teen drama “Gossip Girl” and more recently ABC’s “General Hospital,” Amanda Setton turns 40… Congressional reporter at Bloomberg Tax, Zachary C. Cohen turns 34… Product manager at the Ignyte Group, Drew Liquerman…
Jerry Nadler protege Micah Lasher: ‘The spread of violence against Jews is intertwined with the social acceptability of violent rhetoric directed at Jews’
(Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP via Getty Images)
A man lays flowers at the Bondi Pavillion in memory of the victims of a shooting at Bondi Beach, in Sydney on December 15, 2025.
The deadly terrorist attack during a Hanukkah celebration in Australia on Sunday is sparking a renewed debate within the Democratic Party over anti-Israel slogans including “globalize the intifada,” and whether such extreme rhetoric fuels antisemitic prejudice that can lead to violence against Jews.
Some candidates and elected officials in New York City, where recent anti-Israel demonstrations have raised alarms within the largest Jewish community in the world, are tying such rhetoric directly to the carnage at Bondi Beach in Sydney — after two gunmen killed at least 15 people and wounded more than three dozen in the deadliest attack against the Jewish community in Australian history.
Eric Adams, the outgoing mayor, said on Sunday that “the attack in Sydney is exactly what it means to ‘globalize the intifada,’” and cast the shooting as “the real-world application of that call to violence.”
Erik Bottcher, a city councilman who is among several Democrats now competing to succeed Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) in a heavily Jewish district in Manhattan, said that, in the wake of “an attack like Bondi Beach, we should be unequivocal: antisemitic violence is unacceptable, full stop.”
“And we should also be honest that slogans like ‘globalize the intifada’ don’t advance justice, they escalate hostility and make Jewish communities feel targeted,” Bottcher continued in a statement shared with Jewish Insider on Monday. “Leaders should be lowering the temperature.”
Alex Bores, a state assemblyman also seeking to replace Nadler, called the attack “horrifying and despicable” and said “antisemitism is a growing threat around the world,” while noting that “New York City has a special responsibility to confront it head‑on.”
“Any rhetoric or actions that dehumanize Jews, incite violence or put Jewish communities at risk must be called out and stopped, without exceptions. I have repeatedly condemned the use of the slogan ‘globalize the intifada,’” Bores told JI. “I believe that phrase, regardless of a specific speaker’s intent, has been tied inextricably to violent attacks, strikes fear in many New Yorkers and has no place in our city.”
Micah Lasher, a Jewish state assemblyman and another Democrat in the race, asked rhetorically in a social media post Sunday whether there was “any question” that “the spread of violence against Jews is intertwined with the social acceptability of violent rhetoric directed at Jews.”
“People of good will must confront this reality,” he concluded.
Such discourse is likely to intensify in next year’s primaries, where several anti-Israel candidates in New York City are seeking to challenge incumbent Democrats over their positions on Gaza and ties to AIPAC, the pro-Israel advocacy group increasingly demonized by the far left.
For now, however, those challengers were largely reluctant to weigh in on the heated rhetoric used by anti-Israel protesters — including just last month at at a synagogue in Manhattan where demonstrators chanted such phrases as “globalize the intifada” and “death to the IDF” — and if such language deserves further scrutiny amid heightened security concerns in the Jewish community following the Bondi Beach attack.
Darializa Avila Chevalier, an organizer in Harlem who helped to lead anti-Israel protests at Columbia University and recently launched a bid to challenge Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), did not respond to a request for comment.
Michael Blake, a former state assemblyman who is now challenging Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) in the Bronx and who has drawn charges of hypocrisy for pivoting from his past outspoken support for Israel and close relations with AIPAC, also did not return a request for comment — even as he condemned the shooting in Australia.
For his part, Torres, a pro-Israel stalwart and top ally of the Jewish community, described the attack as “part of a global surge in antisemitism fueled by an ever-escalating campaign of demonization and dehumanization.”
A spokesperson for Brad Lander, the outgoing city comptroller mounting a newly launched bid to unseat Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) in a left-leaning district covering Lower Manhattan as well as parts of Brooklyn, likewise declined to comment, instead referring to his “several public comments about the Sydney shooting.”
The spokesperson also cited previous remarks in which Lander voiced reservations about calls to “globalize the intifada,” shortly after Zohran Mamdani, who is now the mayor-elect of New York City, had faced widespread backlash for refusing to denounce the slogan.
“Maybe you don’t mean to be saying it’s open season on Jews everywhere in the world, but that’s what I hear,” Lander, a top Jewish ally of Mamdani, said in comments in June. “And I’d like to hear that from other people.”
A spokesperson for Goldman, a pro-Israel Jewish Democrat, also declined to weigh in on the matter.
Mamdani, who condemned the Bondi Beach attack as a “vile act of antisemitic terror” in a social media post on Sunday, has refused to denounce the phrase “globalize the intifada,” but has vowed to discourage its usage.
In a Friday interview with WCBS in New York, Mamdani responded to feedback from a prominent local rabbi, Ammiel Hirsch, who expressed concern about the mayor-elect’s “ideological hostility to the very existence of Israel” and said that “anti-Zionist rhetoric and anti-Israel policies will threaten Jewish safety” in the city.
“Rabbi Hirsch is entitled to his opinions,” Mamdani stated. “The positions that I’ve made clear on Israel and on Palestine, these are part of universal beliefs of equal rights and the necessity of it for all people everywhere.”
A spokesperson for Mamdani did not respond to a request for comment.
Despite reluctance among Mamdani and some of his allies to now more openly grapple with rhetoric many Jews have found threatening, one progressive challenger to Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), a pro-Israel incumbent in Queens endorsed by AIPAC, said that he has come to view phrases such as “globalize the intifada” as harmful, thanks to conversations with his Jewish friends.
Chuck Park, a former City Council aide and foreign service officer who has criticized Meng’s donations from AIPAC, said “Jewish people around the world — from Bondi Beach to Bushwick — are very scared right now,” while adding “it is the job of non-Jewish leaders like myself to listen to them.”
“When I listen to my Jewish friends,” he said in an interview with JI on Monday, “they tell me that they hear” the phrase particularly “as a call to violence against them.”
“The swastika is no longer a Buddhist symbol of good fortune, right?” Park added. “The pointed white hood is no longer a Catholic symbol of penance. And in a very similar way, that phrase is not a call for the liberation of an oppressed people, and I think it has instilled and maybe even inspired dangerous attacks on Jewish people around the world.”
Plus, AIPAC travels to APEC
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) speaks at a press conference on taxes at the U.S. Capitol Building on August 03, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Good Thursday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we talk to New York Democratic officials and Jewish community leaders about the main threats that a Mamdani administration could pose to Jewish life in the city, and report on Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts’ apology for his controversial video defending Tucker Carlson after Carlson hosted a friendly interview with neo-Nazi leader Nick Fuentes. We also talk to key players in the two-year-long advocacy campaign for the release of the hostages about the days leading up to the return of all the living hostages from Gaza, and interview Sen. James Lankford about key policy issues, including next steps in Gaza. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Elliot Brandt, Yair Lapid and Ambassador Amy Gutmann.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider 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
- The Blue Square Alliance Against Hate (formerly the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism) is hosting its second Sports Leaders Convening at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts today. The full-day event will feature Robert Kraft, the organization’s CEO and owner of the New England Patriots; Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee; Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League; Adam Lehman, CEO of Hillel International; Michael Masters, CEO of the Secure Community Network; and leaders from major sports leagues.
- The 2025 Somos Conference, drawing New York Democrats to gather in Puerto Rico, continues today. New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is expected to attend, beginning his visit tonight with a cocktail reception hosted by New York Attorney General Letita James. JI correspondent Matthew Kassel is at the conference — send any New York political tips his way.
- This morning, the Senate Armed Services Committee is holding a nomination hearing for Alex Velez-Green to be deputy under secretary of defense for policy, coming days after committee lawmakers blasted the Pentagon office and its head, Elbridge Colby, during a contentious hearing for failing to communicate with them.
- The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act, a bill aimed at eliminating loopholes used by museums to possess Nazi-looted artwork that Jewish families have been trying to recover.
- The Edlavitch Jewish Community Center in Washington is beginning a run today screening the movie “The Floaters.” Read JI’s coverage of how the movie came together here.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S Josh Kraushaar and matthew shea
In addition to New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s race, we’ve been spotlighting two other mayoral contests where socialist, anti-Israel candidates were running competitively against more traditionally liberal standard-bearers: in Minneapolis and Seattle.
If Mamdani’s bare 50% majority in the three-way race signaled that a far-left candidate could prevail in a deep-blue city — even while dividing the Democratic Party — the underperformance of the two other far-left challengers on big-city ballots underscores the limited appetite even deep-blue constituencies have for radical politics.
In Minneapolis, Mayor Jacob Frey won reelection to a third term over Democratic Socialists of America-affiliated state Sen. Omar Fateh. The race was close: While Frey held a substantial 10-point lead in the first round of balloting, he narrowly secured a victory by six points (50-44%) in the second round of the city’s ranked-choice election system.
Fateh formed an alliance with two other left-wing candidates in the race, but ultimately enough people who didn’t back Frey in the first round chose him as a second or third preference.
Fateh, a progressive affiliated with the DSA, has accused Israel of committing genocide, among other anti-Israel views, and campaigned with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who remains one of Israel’s harshest critics in Congress.
Members of Fateh’s staff had also expressed hostile views towards Israel; his communications manager, Ayana Smith-Kooiman, said in a series of now-deleted social media posts that Israel “does not have a ‘right’ to exist” and “must be dismantled,” and said she did not care about Hamas a month after the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks — statements that drew rebuke from Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
The outcome is also looking favorable for the more-moderate incumbent in Seattle — though far from certain. Mayor Bruce Harrell, who trailed his socialist challenger Katie Wilson during the summer primary, is now leading her in the general election by eight points, 54-46%, with more than three-quarters of votes tallied.
COMMUNITY CONCERNS
What New York City Jewish leaders are most worried about in a Mamdani mayoralty
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’s Haley Cohen 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.
Chief concerns: 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 the city, though experts have voiced doubt on the legality of the move.
FACING THE MUSIC
Heritage’s Roberts apologizes for Carlson video, but leaves plans going forward vague
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts apologized in a staff meeting on Wednesday for his video last week defending Tucker Carlson and refusing to “cancel” neo-Nazi leader Nick Fuentes, saying that the video was the result of internal failures of communication and consultation that left too few people involved in its production, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Roberts and other Heritage leaders also repeatedly made reference to a plan under development for how Heritage will approach its relationship with Carlson going forward, amid strong pressure from numerous staff members to forcefully disavow the right-wing podcast host and his activities, but provided little clarity about what that approach will entail and sidestepped the full-throated denunciation of Carlson that several Heritage staffers sought.
Notable quotable: “About ‘no cancelation,’ is there a limiting principle to that? I should have said that there was, especially in light of Tucker hosting not just Fuentes, but a handful of other people,” Roberts said. “You can say you’re not going to participate in canceling someone — a personal friend, an institutional friend — while also being clear you’re not endorsing everything they’ve said. You’re not endorsing softball interviews. You’re not endorsing putting people on shows. And I should have made that clear.”
Update: In a new public video posted following the staff meeting, Roberts delivered a similar message, saying, “everyone has the responsibility to speak up against the scourge of antisemitism, no matter the messenger. Heritage and I will do so, even when my friend Tucker Carlson needs challenging.”
THE INSIDE STORY
The 36 hours in Washington that took hostage families from grief to gratitude
When several dozen people gathered at the Kennedy Center for a yoga class overlooking the Potomac River on Oct. 8, the class began with a practice familiar to anyone who regularly does yoga: intention setting. Among those taking part in the class were former hostages and the family members of those still held in Gaza, all of whom had gathered at the same spot a day earlier for a somber event marking two years since the attacks that reshaped their lives. “What do you do in yoga? You set your intention. You think about the release of the hostages,” recalled Matan Sivek, who until last month was the director of the Hostage Families Forum’s U.S. operation. As soon as the class ended, a cacophony of cellphones began ringing as news broke about a possible deal. Sivek, and other key players in the campaign for the hostages, spoke with Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch last week to reflect on the two-year-long advocacy campaign — spearheaded by Sivek, his wife Bar Ben-Yaakov and leading Jewish organizations.
Behind the scenes: Within the Trump administration, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was working behind the scenes on behalf of the hostages. His wife, Allison, was the driving force behind his advocacy. Allison Lutnick had gotten to know many of the families after a trip to Israel early last year, when she met the mother of Omer Shem Tov, a hostage who was freed in February. Allison then connected with Sivek when she moved to Washington this year, and soon after he facilitated a meeting between the Lutnicks and several freed hostages at the Lutnicks’ apartment in Miami. “We spent three three hours together in our apartment talking and sharing. They spoke of the horrors of what they’d been through and we spoke of the horrors of what we had been through 24 years earlier on 9/11,” Allison told JI on Wednesday.
postwar policy
Sen. Lankford: Turkey, Qatar should be limited in Gaza reconstruction roles
As the global community looks to advance the ceasefire plan in Gaza, Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) emphasized the need for continued pressure from countries like Turkey and Qatar on Hamas to comply with the terms of the ceasefire requiring it to disarm, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. But he also warned that there should be limits on the ways in which Turkey and Qatar are involved in the future of Gaza, arguing that they should have no role in certain sensitive areas, even as they remain involved in reconstruction work.
Looking ahead: Lankford said that ensuring that Hamas disarms, something it has thus far refused to do, will require military, diplomatic and financial pressure, particularly from countries like Turkey and Qatar that have been Hamas patrons. “If the Turks want contracts to be able to rebuild in Gaza, which they do, then that’s not going to happen until Hamas is actually disarmed, so Turkey’s got to decide, ‘Do you want those contracts to be able to rebuild or not?’ If they do, then here’s what that requirement is going to be,” Lankford said. Turkey and Qatar’s roles in the future of Gaza should be limited to certain sectors, Lankford added, given the countries’ hostility to Israel and support for Hamas. He said he’s comfortable seeing Ankara assist with reconstruction, but it should not be involved in running hospitals, schools or mosques or in rebuilding the economy.
TRIP TALK
AIPAC brings delegation of major donors to Taiwan, Japan, South Korea
A delegation organized by AIPAC recently completed a nine-day visit to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik has learned, as the pro-Israel lobbying group seeks to promote ties with Israel among key U.S. allies. Over 200 of AIPAC’s largest donors as well as its CEO, Elliot Brandt; board chair, Michael Tuchin; board president, Bernie Kaminetsky; and top professional staff traveled to the region from Oct. 22-30, according to a participant with knowledge of the trip’s background.
Boosting ties: Though Israel already has warm relations with all three countries, as both Israel and the U.S. look to increase ties in the Indo-Pacific region, the trip was meant to highlight the Jewish state’s relevance in its defense prowess, relationship to the U.S., shared democratic values, growing relations to the Gulf states — which have historically provided the Asian nations with much of their oil and gas — and acumen in the technology and business sectors, the participant said. The large group met with high-level leadership in each country, including the Taiwanese president, vice president and secretary-general of its National Security Council, Korean ministers and a Japanese senior diplomat.
New in town: Israeli chef Eyal Shani teased the imminent opening of a new branch of his Miznon restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan, in an Instagram post yesterday.
BOMBSHELL ANNOUNCEMENT
Israel’s Yesh Atid party drops out of World Zionist Organization, calling it ‘corrupt’
Yair Lapid, Israel’s opposition leader, said on Wednesday that he was pulling his centrist Yesh Atid party out of the World Zionist Organization and called for the “immediate nationalization” of the Keren Kayemeth Le’Israel-Jewish National Fund, which controls more than 10% of the land of Israel, describing the so-called “National Institutions” as hopelessly corrupt, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross reports.
Background: The announcement comes as the World Zionist Congress was nearing a power-sharing agreement that would have seen Yesh Atid split control of the WZO and KKL-JNF over the next five-year term. An initial arrangement was tentatively approved last week, but it fell apart after Culture Minister Miki Zohar of the Likud party, who negotiated on behalf of the center-right bloc, announced that he planned to name Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s divisive son, Yair, to a senior position within the WZO. A new deal was approaching completion, but Lapid’s decision to abandon the organization throws the negotiation process back into turmoil, with no clear path forward.
Read the full story here and sign up for eJewishPhilanthropy’s Your Daily Phil newsletter here.
Worthy Reads
Steer Clear of Mamdani: The center-left Democratic Party think tank Third Way urged national Democrats “to resist the pressure to align” with the politics and agenda of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, offering 10 reasons why doing so “will fail in tough races.” “The DSA platform is extreme and is a Republican ad maker’s dream: Just a glance at the DSA platform makes clear how politically toxic it would be to any voter not deeply in the sway of socialist ideology. … Indeed, the Mayor-elect’s affiliation with the DSA is already being weaponized against his fellow Democrats, as Republicans have declared him to be their ‘single most effective foil’ as they seek to paint Democrats across the country as radicals. … Mainstream Democrats ran authentic campaigns and won big without being socialists: Two moderate Democrats, Abigail Spanberger (VA) and Mikie Sherrill (NJ) delivered historic victories in key gubernatorial races, with Spanberger flipping Virginia from red to blue. … While they shared Mamdani’s focus on addressing affordability, both Spanberger and Sherrill did so with ideas and narratives drawn from the center left, not the far left.” [ThirdWay]
The Fuentes Feud: The New York Times’ Ross Douthat argues that the older generation of conservatives have a role to play in constraining the younger, “groyper” antisemitic strain on the right. “Whatever share of Capitol Hill interns or think tank employees are actually Fuentes sympathizers, this is the scenario the institutional right needs to avoid right now: preventing radicalized junior staffers from steamrolling or puppeteering nominal superiors. But this isn’t just a matter of imposing discipline; the older generation also has to understand where the radical ideas are coming from, the true shape of the debate. You aren’t going to out-debate Fuentes himself — that’s not the business he’s in — but you still want to understand the chain of ideas that draws younger right-wingers toward antisemitism, and offer adult wisdom that’s responsive to its pull.” [NYTimes]
Kippah Quandary: Tevi Troy, a senior fellow at the Ronald Reagan Institute, writes in The Wall Street Journal about his decision to hide his kippah under a hat in anticipation of Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York mayoral race. “The reason openly identifiable Jews can walk around safely wearing religious garb is the social compact. There is an understanding that people will behave appropriately and that there are consequences for misbehavior. One reason for the spate of attacks on religious Jews in New York in recent years has been the belief that antisemitic assaults won’t be punished. … My fear is that Mayor Mamdani will encourage even more impunity. His antipathy to Israel, and his tacit support for ‘globalizing the intifada,’ may send a signal to the New York City Police Department that protecting Jews won’t be a priority for the city. That in turn could send another signal to people on the streets of New York — that it is open season on Jews.” [WSJ]
Word on the Street
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani named his transition team on Wednesday, an all-female group of advisors with experience in city government but lacking backgrounds in education and public safety, as has historically been included in mayors’ transition teams…
Robert Tucker, the Jewish commissioner of the New York City Fire Department, resigned, The New York Post reports, hours before he was set to fly to Israel to meet his counterpart there…
The Wall Street Journal considers the economics behind Mamdani’s largest campaign promises, including a state corporate tax hike, a “millionaires tax,” universal child care and rent stabilization…
The Times of Israel’s Editor-in-Chief David Horovitz rejects the argument that Mamdani’s victory is based on local issues and unconnected to his anti-Israel positions, describing it as “delusional”…
Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) announced on Wednesday that he will not seek reelection in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, citing the “increasing incivility and plain nastiness” in politics and rise of political violence. Golden is one of the few House Democrats to represent a district that President Donald Trump carried in the 2024 presidential election, and his district is now a prime GOP pickup opportunity…
Former Democratic National Committee Vice Chair Michael Blake announced a primary campaign against Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), and plans to run as an anti-Israel Democrat…
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz met Tuesday with Palestinian diplomats in New York to discuss a U.S.-sponsored U.N. Security Council resolution laying out an international security force to be deployed to Gaza, Axios reports. The U.S. is reportedly looking to bring it to a vote at the UNSC within two weeks…
The U.S. is seeking to strike a deal over dozens of Hamas terrorists “stuck” in tunnels on the Israeli side of the “yellow line” dividing Gaza, providing them safe passage to the Hamas-controlled side and amnesty in exchange for their disarmament, Axios reports…
The U.S. is preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus in order to advance a security agreement between Syria and Israel, sources told Reuters…
An event with IDF veterans hosted by Students Supporting Israel at Toronto Metropolitan University yesterday was stormed by anti-Israel protesters, causing one person to be injured. The university’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) had publicized the event on social media, calling on its followers to demonstrate against it…
The body of Joshua Loitu Mollel, a Tanzanian citizen and agronomy student who was killed and kidnapped in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, was returned to Israel by Hamas last night…
Recently released hostage Rom Braslavski said he was sexually assaulted by his captors in Gaza, in an interview with Israel’s Channel 13 “Hazinor” program…
An Afghan national was arrested in Denmark on Wednesday on suspicion of promising to acquire weapons for an Iranian-backed attack on Jewish targets in Germany…
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund was named on Monday as the presenting partner for the inaugural America Business Forum, taking place now in Miami. President Donald Trump spoke at the event, which took place across the street from the future site of his presidential library, on Wednesday…
Saudi Arabia is in talks with Syria to build data cables to connect the Gulf state to Europe, according to Semafor…
Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Israel this week and discussed prospects for peace in the region. Balakrishnan also met with several Israeli lawmakers during his visit…
Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS fashion brand announced on Tuesday that it is entering the Israeli market through a partnership with the Ironi group, which owns Factory 54, and is set to open stores in Ramat Aviv Mall and Big Fashion Glilot, Israel Hayom reports…
Warner Bros. Discovery, under CEO David Zaslav, aims to decide by Christmas whether to sell the entire company or pursue a split. Paramount Skydance, according to NBC, has sent the WBD board multiple letters pressing for its $23.50 per share acquisition offer…
A Reddit rumor, flagged by Puck, claims that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has been planning to make a buyout offer for Warner Bros. to the tune of more than $70 billion…
Joel Pollak, formerly Breitbart’s senior editor-at-large, has been appointed as opinion editor of The New York Post’s new newspaper, The California Post…
Israel’s Hapoel Tel Aviv basketball team is facing off against the Dubai team today in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Round 9 of the EuroCup…
Pic of the Day
The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia last night honored Ambassador Amy Gutmann with the Only in America Award, lauding her “indelible contributions to our society.”
“She has been an outspoken advocate for Israel, and steadfast in her forceful opposition to antisemitism, hate, and discrimination in all its forms,” the museum said of the former ambassador to Germany and president emerita of the University of Pennsylvania.
Pictured from left: Weitzman Chair Emeritus Phil Darivoff, Weitzman Co-chairs Sharon Tobin Kestenbaum and Mark Oster, former Ambassador David L. Cohen, University of Pennsylvania President Dr. Larry Jameson, Gutmann, Weitzman Museum President and CEO Dan Tadmor, museum namesake Stuart Weitzman, NBC News Chief Washington Correspondent and Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell, Chair of the Penn Board of Trustees Ramanan Raghavendran.
Birthdays
Leading teacher in the Breslov Hasidic movement in Israel, Rabbi Yaakov Meir Shechter turns 95…
Belgian theoretical physicist, a Holocaust survivor and 2013 Nobel Prize laureate, François Englert turns 93… Former president and CEO of American Jewish World Service until 2016, prior to that she served as the Manhattan borough president, Ruth Wyler Messinger turns 85… Former commissioner of the Social Security Administration until 2021, Andrew Saul turns 79… Former aide to President Bill Clinton and a longtime advisor to Hillary Clinton, Sidney Blumenthal turns 77… Research scientist at NYU’s Langone Medical Center, Barbara Volsky turns 75… Senior chair of Sullivan & Cromwell, Joseph C. Shenker turns 69… Actress and cellist best known for her lead role in the 1984 film “Footloose” and the television series “Fame,” Lori Singer… and her twin brother, violinist, composer and conductor, he is the founder and music director of the Manhattan Symphonie, Gregory Singer both turn 68… Managing director of the NFL Players Association for 15 years until he retired five months ago, Ira Fishman turns 68… Editorial page editor and Op-Ed columnist for the Los Angeles Times until 2023, Nicholas Goldberg turns 67… Professional poker player from Las Vegas, he has won 10 World Series of Poker bracelets and his total tournament winnings exceed $45.5 million, Erik Seidel turns 66… Founder of Nourish Snacks, she is the host of NBC’s “Health & Happiness” and author of 15 New York Times best-sellers, Joy Bauer turns 62… Philanthropist, she is the founder and chair of Emerson Collective and XQ Institute, Laurene Powell Jobs turns 62… Principal and COO at Douglass Winthrop Advisors, Andrew S. Weinberg… SVP of investments in the Beverly Hills office of Raymond James, Seth A. Radow… Chairman at IDTFS Bank in Gibraltar, he is a partner in Covenant Winery, Geoffrey Rochwarger turns 55… Executive at Elliott Management, podcast host and author of Start-up Nation and The Genius of Israel, Dan Senor turns 54… Director of external affairs at the William Davidson Foundation, Kari Alterman… Film producer, together with her husband Robert Downey Jr., Susan Nicole Levin Downey turns 52… South Florida entrepreneur, Earl J. Campos-Devine… Head cantor of Lincoln Square Synagogue in New York City, Yaakov (“Yanky”) Lemmer turns 42… and his younger brother, the first Hasidic Jew to sign a contract with a leading record label, Shulem Lemmer turns 36… Producer on the Ben Shapiro Show, Jake Pollack turns 30… Former baseball outfielder in the Orioles and Angels systems, he played for Team Israel in 2012 and is now a manager of business development at Robson Forensic, Robert Eric Widlansky turns 41…
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.
The senator apologized to Mamdani in a private phone call after saying in an interview that he had made ‘references to global jihad’
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on September 15, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) apologized to Zohran Mamdani for recently saying that he had made “references to global jihad,” as New York Democrats continue to weigh their response to the 33-year-old democratic socialist’s stunning upset in New York City’s mayoral primary last week that sent shockwaves through the party establishment.
The senator, who is among several Democratic leaders who have so far refrained from endorsing Mamdani in the general election, claimed in a radio interview last week that the Democratic nominee had made comments that are alarming to Jewish voters in New York, alluding to his controversial defense of calls to “globalize the intifada,” a phrase critics interpret as provoking violence against Jews.
“They are alarmed by past positions, particularly references to global jihad,” Gillibrand said in the interview on WNYC. “This is a very serious issue because people that glorify the slaughter of Jews create fear in our communities. The global intifada is a statement that means ‘destroy Israel and kill all the Jews.’”
While a spokesperson for Gillibrand, whose comments drew backlash, soon clarified that she “misspoke in that instance,” her team added on Tuesday that the junior senator had also privately apologized to Mamdani on Monday night, according to a readout of their call first shared with Politico.
The senator “apologized for mischaracterizing Mamdani’s record and for her tone on the call,” the readout stated, adding Gillibrand “said she believes Mr. Mamdani is sincere when he says he wants to protect all New Yorkers and combat antisemitism.”
The news of her apology came shortly after Mamdani had formally clinched the Democratic nomination on Tuesday, in a resounding, 12-point victory over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, his chief rival in the Democratic primary, who had already conceded.
Mamdani, who significantly expanded his initial seven-point lead on election night, won 56% of the vote in the third and final round of ranked-choice tabulations, with Cuomo in second place at 44%, according to the New York City Board of Elections results.
“I am humbled by the support of more than 545,000 New Yorkers in last week’s primary,” Mamdani said in a statement. “This is just the beginning of our expanding coalition to make New York City affordable. And we will do it together.”
Mamdani has been seeking to shore up support from Democratic leaders as he prepares for a fall general election against Eric Adams, the incumbent mayor running as an independent; Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee; and Jim Walden, an attorney also running as an independent. Cuomo will also be on the November ballot on an independent line, but has not yet indicated if he will mount a campaign.
Even as Mamdani has claimed backing from a growing number of state and local party leaders, federal lawmakers have largely been hesitant to fully embrace him, as he has continued to decline invitations to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” an issue that has dogged his campaign in recent weeks.
Gillibrand, for her part, said in the radio interview last week that she had spoken with Mamdani about Jewish security concerns, and that he had agreed to work with her to “protect all residents” amid rising antisemitism.
“These are things that I think are important to New Yorkers, and I will work with him when he gets elected, if he gets elected, to make sure everyone is protected,” she said.
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