Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

It’s Election Day across the country tomorrow, and we’ll be watching several key races. 

Front of mind is the New York City mayoral race where Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani is expected to prevail, though it remains to be seen if he’ll claim an absolute majority.

All candidates are still vying for the Jewish vote: Over the weekend, divisions emerged in the anti-Zionist Satmar Hasidic community after one of its political leaders issued an endorsement of Mamdani — some leaders publicly broke ranks to reject the move and instead endorse his rival, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. 

Meanwhile, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Ohel in Queens (and recalled a blessing he received from Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson decades ago which Sliwa claimed “saved my life”)…

In nearby New Jersey, gubernatorial candidates Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and Jack Ciattarelli are doing the same. We’ve covered Sherrill’s recent outreach efforts to the state’s sizable Jewish community; on the GOP side, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday urging “ALL of my supporters in the Orthodox community in Lakewood [N.J.] and its surrounding towns to vote in HUGE numbers for Jack Ciattarelli,” naming in particular “all the Yeshiva students who turned out to vote for me last year.” Trump won around 88% of the heavily Jewish township’s vote in the 2024 presidential election…

And in Virginia, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) is likely to win the governor’s mansion against the state’s current lieutenant governor, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears, in a race set to make Old Dominion history — either way, the state will elect its first female governor. 

Also on the Virginia ballot: Ghazala Hashmi, the Democratic state senator running for lieutenant governor, who has elicited concern from the state’s Jewish community over her past involvement in anti-Israel activism and her record on combating antisemitism. 

In a brief interview today, Jewish Insider’s Editor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar asked Hashmi how big of a challenge she thinks antisemitism is in Virginia. Hashmi replied: “I think we see growing challenges on so many levels of bigotry, and we have to be united in our efforts. I’m facing a great deal of Islamophobic attacks, as you probably have seen, so we have to respond to everything.” Pressed on what she thought about antisemitism specifically, Hashmi cut the interview short…

The fallout from the Heritage Foundation’s embrace of Tucker Carlson and refusal to disavow Nick Fuentes continues, as right-wing figures publicly declare themselves aligned with or opposed to the move. Orthodox conservative influencer Ben Shapiro said about Carlson, Fuentes and their ilk in a lengthy video statement today: “These people aren’t to my right. They’re not attached in any way to the fundamental principles of conservatism. And these people have already declared themselves my enemies. I’d be a fool not to take them seriously.”

Ryan Neuhaus, who served as Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts’ chief of staff until Friday, resigned after reposting numerous social media posts in defense of Roberts, including one saying that Heritage employees opposed to his statement were “virtue signaling” and calling for them to resign…

A new poll released today by the Democratic Majority for Israel finds that Democrats overwhelmingly support the ceasefire deal reached between Israel and Hamas and a majority of them think Trump played at least a “somewhat important role” in reaching the agreement, JI’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports.

A majority of those polled (56%) said they believe that the U.S. should keep its alliance with Israel, though only 32% felt so “strongly.” Three-quarters (75%) said they support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish homeland, with 12% saying they don’t believe Israel has a right to exist…

The Wall Street Journal documents the rise and sustained popularity of Abdulmalik Al-Houthi, the reclusive commander of the Houthis in Yemen, who has continued to resist pressure by officials from Arab states to cease the terror group’s attacks on Israel and ships in the Red Sea, “and go back to being a relatively small-time player in the region’s conflicts.” 

“‘They genuinely believe in this jihad to remove Israel from that land,’ said April Longley Alley, a former United Nations diplomat who has engaged with the Houthi leadership. ‘And they’re going to keep pushing’”…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the dispatch of a humanitarian and medical aid delegation from Israel to Jamaica today, to assist in relief efforts after Hurricane Melissa tore through the country earlier this week…

Sudanese refugees in Israel told The Times of Israel about the compounded pain and fear they experienced as the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and the civil war in Sudan unfolded in parallel, decrying the lack of media coverage of Sudan while the world focused on Gaza…

Yad Vashem announced today that the museum has identified the names of 5 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, and hopes to use artificial intelligence to name at least 250,000 more…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for the backstory surrounding Massachusetts Senate candidate Rep. Seth Moulton’s (D-MA) attacks against AIPAC.

Tomorrow, the World Zionist Organization and Temple Emanu-El are holding a memorial event in New York City for slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on the 30th anniversary of his assassination. Speakers will include Rabin’s grandson, Jonathan Benartzi; Yehuda Kurtzer, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute; former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro; Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs; and Israeli American peace advocate Alana Zeitchik.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Efforts are underway to establish an International Stabilization Force in Gaza, Axios scooped today, with U.S. Central Command taking the lead on drafting the plan and holding discussions with countries, including Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Egypt and Turkey, to potentially contribute troops.

Though Israeli officials have said they oppose Turkey’s involvement in Gaza, the U.S. still views Ankara as most capable of getting Hamas “to agree and behave,” one U.S. official told the outlet.

Israel’s main concern is the new force’s legitimacy with Gazans and its willingness to engage militarily with Hamas, a senior Israeli official said. The plan would also see the creation of a new Palestinian police force, with training and vetting by the U.S., Egypt and Jordan…

Kevin Roberts, president of the influential Heritage Foundation, released a video today affirming the organization’s support of anti-Israel commentator Tucker Carlson, defending the podcaster from the “pressure” of the “globalist class,” after reports arose that Heritage had scrubbed references to Carlson from one of its donation pages.

“When it serves the interests of the United States to cooperate with Israel and other allies, we should do so … But when it doesn’t, conservatives should feel no obligation to reflexively support any foreign government, no matter how loud the pressure becomes from the globalist class or from their mouthpieces in Washington,” Roberts said.

His comments come days after Carlson hosted neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes on his podcast, whom Roberts said he was unwilling to “cancel.” 

“We will always defend our friends against the slander of bad actors who serve someone else’s agenda. That includes Tucker Carlson, who remains — and as I have said before — always will be a close friend of the Heritage Foundation,” Roberts continued… 

In the run-up to the New York City mayoral election, The Bulwark co-founder Bill Kristol — a longtime conservative commentator and founder of The Weekly Standard — said that he would vote for Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani if he were a resident of the city. 

“You know, New York City gets to have a left-wing mayor. It’s not the first time, and it’s different from the rest of the country. I wish they were a little less, you know, tolerant of certain things — on Israel, and so, against Israel and all that. But some of the economic stuff, I think, is just silly, but I don’t think it’s going to matter,” Kristol told The Forum. He called “the idea of going back to” former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo “ridiculous”…

Cuomo, meanwhile, picked up the endorsement of Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY), the former chair of the New York State Republican Party, who said he’s had “plenty of disagreements — very publicly over the years — and fought tooth and nail with Gov. Cuomo. But there’s no doubt in my mind he would be a far superior mayor than a communist,” referring to Mamdani.

When asked if it’s a mistake for Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa to stay in the race, Langworthy said, “Everyone’s really got to check, is this a vanity project? Or is this something you’re trying to do to seriously be the mayor? There’s only one candidate running against Mamdani that has a credible path to win. And there’s Andrew Cuomo”…

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is preparing to enter the race for New York governor shortly after the mayoral election, Axios reports, with more than $13 million on hand. Stefanik’s team reportedly believes New Yorkers will turn on the Democratic Party if Mamdani is elected mayor, leaving Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul — who endorsed Mamdani — more vulnerable…

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), the party front-runner for Senate in Michigan, is “underwhelming” the Democratic establishment, NOTUS reports, with strategists warning that her fundraising and campaign activity does not show her substantially pulling ahead of her opponents — state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Abdul El-Sayed, the latter of whom is backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), both running to her left — as expected…

Palantir’s chief technology officer, Shyam Sankar, appearing on The New York Times’ “Interesting Times” podcast released today, affirmed that Israel is a “morally appropriate partner” for the software giant to conduct business with, and said that he was motivated to join up as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves this year to lend his technological expertise because of his “observation in Israel after Oct. 7.”

“Israel is an incredibly technical country. Bountiful resources of technologists,” Sankar said. But when reservists were called up to join the IDF in its war in Gaza, “they were horrified at the state of technology, which is actually an implicit self-critique. … The IDF got more modernization done in the four months after Oct. 7 than in the 10 years that I’d worked with them prior”…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reporting on the Kennedy Center’s efforts to address antisemitism and fight cultural boycotts of Israel as its Trump-appointed director looks to make a mark on programming at the institution.

The Republican Jewish Coalition’s leadership summit kicks off tomorrow in Las Vegas, with featured speakers including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter and many more. JI’s Matthew Kassel will be in attendance — be sure to say hello!

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The White House has told Republicans that President Donald Trump will not pull the nomination of Amer Ghalib, the mayor of Hamtramck, Mich., to be U.S. ambassador to Kuwait and wants the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to hold a vote on his candidacy, despite the growing bipartisan opposition to his nomination, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.

White House officials have communicated to committee Republicans in recent days that Trump would not withdraw Ghalib’s nomination because the president credits the Democratic Hamtramck mayor with helping him win the state of Michigan in the 2024 presidential election by turning out the state’s Arab American vote, two sources familiar with the ongoing discussions told JI.

“If Trump wants his friend to go down that way, that’s OK. He can go down that way,” one Republican on the committee said, expressing confidence that Ghalib had no path to advance out of committee…

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), who represents a Long Island-based swing district on the outskirts of New York City, today endorsed former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the general election for New York City mayor. Suozzi had endorsed Cuomo in the Democratic primary and announced last month that he would not be endorsing Zohran Mamdani after he secured the party’s nomination.

In Suozzi’s decision to re-up his support for Cuomo, now running as an independent, less than a week out from the election, he distanced himself from Mamdani’s political leanings: “I’m a Democratic Capitalist, not a Democratic Socialist. I endorse Andrew Cuomo. I can not back a declared socialist with a thin resume to run the most complex city in America”…

Time magazine profiles New York City Mayor Eric Adams, where he recalls hosting Mamdani and his father, Mahmood Mamdani — a professor at Columbia University with a long record of anti-Israel commentary — for dinner in 2023. “The frightening thing is, he really believes this stuff! Globalize the intifada, there’s nothing wrong with that! He believes, you know, I don’t have anything against Jews, I just don’t like Israel. Well, who’s in Israel, bro?” Adams said…

Elsewhere in New York, the Democratic race to clinch the nomination for retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY)’s seat gained another candidate today: Cameron Kasky, a Jewish gun control activist who survived the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018. Kasky, who recently started co-hosting the “For You Pod” with The Bulwark, frequently criticizes Israel and AIPAC in public statements, including accusing Israel of carrying out a genocide in Gaza and not being committed to the ongoing ceasefire with Hamas.

The field to succeed Nadler, a progressive Jewish lawmaker whose district has one of the largest Jewish constituencies in the country, has already drawn several candidates, including his former longtime aide, Micah Lasher…

Another candidate with harsh words for AIPAC is Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), challenging Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) for his seat. Moulton, considered more moderate than Markey, continued to appeal to his left flank this week, appearing on a podcast hosted by Jack Cocchiarella, a self-described “progressive Gen Z political commentator” who frequently engages in harsh criticism of Israel on social media. 

Moulton — who recently decided to return AIPAC’s donations and pledged not to take its support going forward — said his split with the group could continue to feature in the race depending “a lot on what happens in Gaza and Israel. … I certainly hope … we don’t resort to more violence, and if that’s the case, I think we’ll be able to talk about other issues in this campaign. Sadly, if it’s not, then I’m sure this will keep coming up.”

Moulton did not push back on Cocchiarella’s assertion that AIPAC, which he said has ties to the “Netanyahu regime,” should “be registered as a foreign lobby.” (Accusations from both political fringes that AIPAC — whose members are American citizens — constitutes a foreign influence operation have often invoked antisemitic dual loyalty tropes)…

The Anti-Defamation League today removed a section called “Protect Civil Rights” from its “What We Do” webpage, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports, shortly after it pulled down its “Glossary of Extremism and Hate” amid conservative attacks on the organization. The group appears to be pivoting after FBI Director Kash Patel recently cut the bureau’s ties with the ADL, calling it “an extreme group functioning like a terrorist organization”…

Spotted in Riyadh, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa spoke today at the Future Investment Initiative summit, with front-row spectators Donald Trump Jr. and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman…

Also in the region, U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus visited Lebanon today to push the Lebanese government to speed up efforts to disarm Hezbollah, with a goal of total disarmament by the end of the year, The New York Times reports.

The Lebanese Armed Forces have seized 10,000 rockets and 400 missiles from the terror group as part of disarmament efforts already, though Israeli and American officials told the Times it’s not sufficient, with Hezbollah moving to rebuild its stockpile…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for an interview with California Democratic state Sen. Scott Weiner, running to replace former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who is rumored to be announcing her retirement plans shortly.

Tomorrow, the N7 Foundation and Polaris National Security Foundation are hosting the invite-only Washington Prosperity Summit, with attendees including Trump administration officials, bipartisan lawmakers, foreign dignitaries from the Middle East and business executives, “to explore policies to advance prosperity in the region.”

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is hosting its 2025 Humanitarian Award Dinner in Los Angeles tomorrow, honoring Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, CNN anchor Dana Bash, Oct. 7 survivor Aya Meydan and former Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov. Director Steven Spielberg will present Zaslav with this year’s Humanitarian Award, the center’s highest honor. 

In Washington, Sony Pictures Entertainment, the Motion Picture Association and the German Embassy will host a special screening of “Nuremberg,” a new feature film on the Nuremberg Trials. 

Also tomorrow, the World Zionist Congress wraps up in Jerusalem and the Future Investment Initiative summit comes to a close in Riyadh.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today ordered the IDF to “immediately carry out forceful strikes in the Gaza Strip” after Hamas terrorists opened fire on Israeli troops in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Hamas, in response, said it is postponing the release of a hostage body meant to be turned over to Israel today. Yesterday, Hamas staged the recovery of hostage remains that it reburied before handing to the Red Cross, caught on film by the IDF, which turned out to be partial remains belonging to a hostage who was already recovered by the Israeli army in 2023. Netanyahu said the act “constitute[d] a clear violation of the [ceasefire] agreement.”

Israeli officials told Axios that Netanyahu initially sought approval for action against Hamas from President Donald Trump, who is currently traveling in Asia, before moving forward, but there’s “no indication” the two leaders spoke before Netanyahu’s announcement on today’s strikes…

A senior Israeli official told Israel Hayom that Saudi Arabia has scaled back its participation in ceasefire talks after far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich made a disparaging comment last week on Saudi-Israel normalization, if it were to require the establishment of a Palestinian state. The statement (“No thank you, keep riding camels in the desert”) prompted blowback and he apologized shortly after.

“It’s not only because of Smotrich, but his comments certainly pushed [the Saudis] in that direction,” the official told the outlet. “Israel is now dealing with a bloc that includes Turkey, Qatar and Egypt — countries interested in preserving Hamas’ role in Gaza to varying degrees and refusing to pressure it to disarm”…

The Wall Street Journal traveled to an IDF outpost on the “yellow line” demarcating where Israeli troops have pulled back in Gaza. Israel is working on building water and electricity infrastructure and new aid hubs in the area and believes the entire line, which sits on high ground by design, is defensible from Hamas, Israeli officials told the Journal…

With a week to go until Election Day in the New York City mayoral race, new video has surfaced of Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani invoking antisemitic rhetoric shortly before the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks. 

Speaking at a Democratic Socialists of America convention in August 2023, Mamdani said, “For anyone to care about these issues, we have to make them hyper local. We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF.” The idea that police brutality in the United States is caused by law enforcement training or coordination with Israel is a modern antisemitic trope.

Mamdani continued, “We are in a country where those connections abound, especially in New York City. You have so many opportunities to make clear the ways in which that struggle over there [Israel], is tied to capitalist interests over here”…

Meanwhile, The New York Times reports on the super PACs backing former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for mayor, which have raised him more than $40 million over the course of the election — compared to $10 million raised by super PACs for Mamdani and $1 million for Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee.

“The donors to the pro-Cuomo super PACs have included Michael R. Bloomberg, the former mayor; William Lauder, the chair of the Estée Lauder Companies; Ronald Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress; Bill Ackman, the investor; Steve Wynn, the casino investor; Daniel Loeb, the hedge fund manager; Barry Diller, the chairman of IAC; and Joe Gebbia, the co-founder of Airbnb,” the Times reports.

Bloomberg, who spent at least $8 million attempting to defeat Mamdani in the Democratic primary, met with him last month after he clinched the party’s nomination. Bloomberg was careful to note it was not an endorsement meeting, but rather a discussion on policy and staffing if Mamdani is elected mayor…

On the Hill, the nomination of Amer Ghalib, the mayor of Hamtramck, Mich., to be U.S. ambassador to Kuwait is facing what appear to be insurmountable odds as opposition to his confirmation grows among Senate Republicans, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.

Senators on both sides of the aisle had privately expressed reservations about Ghalib’s nomination prior to his rocky confirmation hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week, but his attempts to evade responsibility for his support of antisemitic positions prompted several Republicans on the committee to go public. 

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) announced at the end of Ghalib’s hearing last Thursday that he would not be able to support moving his nomination out of committee to the Senate floor. Sens. John Curtis (R-UT), John Cornyn (R-TX) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) have since followed suit. Others on the panel, including Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE), have said they plan to raise their concerns about Ghalib with the committee chairman, Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), and the White House…

Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) will introduce a resolution this week affirming Israel’s sovereignty over the Temple Mount and demanding equal freedom of worship for all, JI’s Emily Jacobs scooped. 

The resolution, if adopted, would put the House of Representatives on record as affirming “the inalienable right of the Jewish people to full access [of] the Temple Mount and the right to pray and worship on the Temple Mount, consistent with the principles of religious freedom.”

The current Israeli position, however, that Netanyahu has consistently affirmed, is to maintain the status quo at the holy site, which restricts Jewish prayer…

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who led the the memorable questioning of university presidents at a House Education Committee hearing in December 2023, is coming out with a new book, titled Poisoned Ivies: The Inside Account of the Academic and Moral Rot at America’s Elite Universities, on April 7, 2026…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reaction in Washington to Israel’s latest strikes in Gaza in response to Hamas’ ceasefire violations.

Tomorrow, the Future Investment Initiative continues its ninth annual conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

In the evening, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington is hosting its 2025 annual gala. Honorees include former Rep. David Trone (D-MD) and his wife, June, who is a JCRC board member; Behnam Dayanim, attorney and JCRC vice president; and Eva Davis, a realtor and co-chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington’s Network Council.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said today that Israel’s airstrike in Gaza over the weekend, which the IDF said targeted a Palestinian Islamic Jihad member who was planning a terror attack, did not violate the ongoing ceasefire with Hamas. 

Rubio, who visited Jerusalem last week, told reporters standing next to President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One, “Israel didn’t surrender its right to self-defense. … We don’t view that as a violation of the ceasefire. They have a right — if there’s an imminent threat to Israel — and all the mediators agree to that”…

On the campaign trail, Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) became the first elected Democrat to call for Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner to drop out of the race to replace Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), saying he finds the candidate’s conduct “personally disqualifying,” Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.

“This is a man who criticized and mocked police, rural Americans, and then put a Nazi tattoo on his body,” Auchincloss said. He expressed dissatisfaction with Platner’s defenses, in which the progressive candidate has claimed his actions aren’t a “liability.”

“I think it’s a liability, and I think we should have high standards for United States senators and one of them is: you don’t have a Nazi tattoo on your body,” Auchincloss continued…

Kevin Brown, the campaign manager for Platner, is stepping down after starting the job just last week, Axios scooped today. Brown told the outlet, “I started this campaign Tuesday but found out Friday we have a baby on the way. Graham deserves someone who is 100% in on his race and we want to lean into this new experience as a family”…

More than 160,000 New Yorkers submitted their ballot for New York City mayor with the start of early voting over the weekend, five times higher than the first weekend of early voting in 2021, according to Gothamist. Voters over 55 made up the majority of ballots cast, in contrast with the Democratic primary when voters ages 25-34 were first to the polls…

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who also ran in the mayoral Democratic primary and has been backing nominee Zohran Mamdani, is advancing plans to challenge Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) for his congressional seat, City & State New York reports. 

“I’m very focused on helping Zohran win next Tuesday, and I’ll focus on after that, after that,” Lander told the outlet. At a rally for Mamdani over the weekend, Lander said “it’s more important than ever that we have leaders who understand this moment and will be partners to Zohran” in “the halls of Congress,” potentially hinting at his desire to run. Read JI’s reporting last month of the dynamics of a possible Lander-Goldman matchup…

Former Sen. John E. Sununu (R-NH), the former New Hampshire senator and part of an influential Granite State political family, officially launched his bid last week to take over the Senate seat of retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). 

Sununu’s candidacy ensures a hotly contested GOP primary against former Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), who served as ambassador to New Zealand during the first Trump administration. Brown, who announced his candidacy in June, served a partial term representing Massachusetts in the Senate from 2010-2012, only holding the seat for two years before being bested by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

Brown and Sununu, both of whom had pro-Israel records when they served in the Senate, will battle it out before taking on Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH), the expected Democratic nominee with a history of winning in a swing district…

In an interview with The New York Times, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said that he still believes the U.S. could elect a Jewish president in his lifetime, even in the face of frequent antisemitic violence like the Passover arson attack on his residence. 

“Being open about my faith has opened me up to be able to have a deeper relationship with the people of Pennsylvania, allowed them to share their stories … We’re doing that in this ultimate swing state,” Shapiro, seen as a 2028 presidential contender, said…

Semafor reports on a new survey of hundreds of thousands of voters, conducted by a new center-left group called Welcome, that finds that 70% of voters think the Democratic Party over-prioritizes cultural issues. The report urges Democrats “to abandon some of the progressive language about race, abortion, and LGBTQ issues that Democrats began using after the 2012 election — and recommends the nomination of more candidates willing to vote with Republicans on conservative immigration and crime bills”…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reporting on Fairfax County Public Schools’ reaction to glorifications of violence by local Muslim Student Association chapters.

Tomorrow afternoon, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution will hold a hearing on “Politically Violent Attacks: A Threat to Our Constitutional Order.”

Jewish Federations of North America will hold a briefing tomorrow on how the deal that split off ownership of TikTok’s U.S. business may impact the social media platform’s treatment of antisemitic content.

The 39th World Zionist Congress kicks off in Jerusalem tomorrow with the largest U.S. delegation in history, made up of 155 delegates and approximately 100 alternates. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will address a luncheon hosted by the American Zionist Movement ahead of the Congress’ opening.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Amer Ghalib, the mayor of Hamtramck, Mich., and President Donald Trump’s embattled nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Kuwait, was lambasted for his antisemitic and anti-Israel views by both Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at his nomination hearing today, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.

Ghalib faced bipartisan scrutiny over a litany of comments, including his recent characterization of Saddam Hussein, the former longtime Iraqi dictator who invaded Kuwait, as a “martyr” — a social media post senators found stunning given that he’s being tapped as ambassador to the country Hussein invaded.

He was also pressed over his record of antisemitic commentary, with senators asking about his liking a comment on Facebook referring to all Jews as “monkeys” and the record of one of his political appointees in Hamtramck who said the Holocaust was “God’s advanced punishment of the chosen people” over Israel’s war in Gaza.

Ghalib was largely unapologetic for his views, and argued that what he believes in his “personal capacity” should be distinguished from how he planned to act in his “official capacity” as a U.S. ambassador.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told Ghalib at the end of the hearing, “Your long-standing views are directly contrary to the views and positions of President Trump and to the position of the United States. I, for one, am not going to be able to support your confirmation”…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu distanced himself today from the Knesset’s approval of two bills brought by right-wing members of the opposition to extend Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank, after Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke out against annexation, JI’s Lahav Harkov reports.

Trump, in a Time magazine interview released today but conducted before the votes, said that West Bank annexation “won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries … Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened.” Vance, who left Israel today, said he “personally take[s] some insult” to the votes, which took place during his visit, and the U.S. “certainly [wasn’t] happy about it. … If it was a political stunt, it was a very stupid political stunt.”

In a statement this morning, Netanyahu called the votes “a deliberate political provocation by the opposition to sow discord during” Vance’s visit…

Before the vice president departed Israel, he met today with Defense Minister Israel Katz and Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF chief of staff, who told him that Hamas is able to immediately return at least 10 of the 13 remaining hostage bodies in Gaza, according to Israeli media…

In neighboring Syria, attacks by Islamic State militants have surged as the terror group exploits decreased U.S. troop presence and the fall of the Assad regime, American and Kurdish commanders told The Wall Street Journal. The U.S. has already withdrawn around a quarter of its 2,000 troops that were stationed in the country, potentially increasing that number to half in the coming months. 

Islamic State militants conducted 117 attacks in northeast Syria by the end of August, U.S.-allied Kurdish forces told the Journal, compared to 73 attacks in all of 2024. “Islamic State’s tactics have changed. They now work in small sleeper cells — sometimes with several cells in a town, each unaware of the others. They get orders to stage ambushes and plant improvised explosive devices on roads. It’s an inexpensive arrangement that is hard to stamp out”…

In the final stretch of the New York City mayoral race, Mayor Eric Adams issued a surprise endorsement of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whom Adams called a “snake and a liar” when the mayor dropped out of his reelection race last month.

Announcing his endorsement alongside Cuomo this afternoon, Adams said, “New York can’t be Europe, folks. … You see what’s playing out in other countries because of Islamic extremists — not Muslims, let’s not mix this up — but those Islamic extremists that are burning churches … that are destroying communities in Germany.”

Adams told The New York Times he will campaign with Cuomo in areas where he is receiving support, though it’s unclear how much the unpopular mayor’s backing will buoy Cuomo…

For Our City, a pro-Cuomo PAC, released a TV ad hitting Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani for his recent engagement with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing…

The University of New Hampshire released a poll of Maine Democratic primary voters, with anti-Israel candidate Graham Platner leading Gov. Janet Mills 58% to 24%.

The poll was conducted between Oct. 16-21, largely before recent scandals, including Platner’s tattoo with Nazi roots and incendiary social media posts, came to light. The findings, however, indicate the nature of a Democratic electorate tolerant of Platner’s anti-establishment, left-wing posture…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reporting on Israeli deliberations to enact the death penalty for Oct. 7 perpetrators and on New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s (D-NJ) outreach to the Garden State’s Jewish community in an 11th-hour effort before Election Day.

Early voting begins in the New York City mayoral race on Saturday.

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Vice President JD Vance pushed back today on criticism that the Trump administration, by sending its top advisors to Israel one after the other this week, is engaging in “Bibi-sitting,” the idea that the U.S. is holding Israel’s hand to make sure it doesn’t act militarily against Hamas, which would disrupt the fragile ceasefire agreement the administration is championing.

Speaking to reporters alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after their bilateral meeting, Vance said, “We don’t want a vassal state, and that’s not what Israel is … we want an ally.” He said the high-level visits to Israel — with Secretary of State Marco Rubio expected to touch down tomorrow, following on the heels of Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump advisor Jared Kushner — are “not about monitoring in the sense of, you know, you monitor a toddler. It’s about monitoring, in the sense that there’s a lot of work”…

Upon departing from Jerusalem, Witkoff and Kushner headed to other parts of the region to try to shore up support for the next phases of the ceasefire, stopping in Saudi Arabia yesterday and in the UAE today…

Back in the U.S., the New York City mayoral race continues to heat up with only days until early voting begins this weekend and a final debate between the candidates tonight.

Over 650 rabbis from around the country, representing all the leading Jewish denominations, signed on to an open letter today saying that a win by Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani would threaten “the safety and dignity of Jews in every city,” Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.

“As rabbis from across the United States committed to the security and prosperity of the Jewish people, we are writing in our personal capacities to declare that we cannot remain silent in the face of rising anti-Zionism and its political normalization throughout our nation,” the rabbis wrote in their letter, titled “A Rabbinic Call to Action: Defending the Jewish Future”…

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), a Jewish, pro-Israel lawmaker from a progressive New York City congressional district, also voiced his continued concerns with Mamdani, declining once again to endorse him while appearing on CNN yesterday, JI’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports.

“I am very concerned about some of the rhetoric coming from Zohran Mamdani, and I can tell you as a Jew in New York who was in Israel on Oct. 7, I and many other people are legitimately scared because there has been violence in the name of anti-Israel, anti-Zionism. I’ve asked [Mamdani] to speak out on that and to condemn that and I frankly haven’t really seen him do much on that,” Goldman said…

Mamdani, meanwhile, published a letter in Yiddish in all weekly Yiddish-language newspapers this week, making an appeal for the Hasidic community’s vote…

On the other side of the ballot, Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa continues to rebuff calls for him to drop out of the race in an effort to consolidate voters behind former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in order to defeat Mamdani. Sliwa quit his position at local radio station 77 WABC, where he hosts a show, in an on-air screaming match this morning after the station’s Republican owner and a host called on him to step aside…

After JI first reported yesterday that Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for Senate in Maine, was aware of the Nazi roots to a skull-and-crossbones tattoo on his chest, Platner demonstrated in a video statement this afternoon that he had it covered with a different tattoo and insisted once more he did not know the original image’s meaning.

He claimed that “this has come up because the establishment is trying to throw everything it can at me. It is terrified of what we are trying to build here. Every second we spend talking about a tattoo I got in the Marine Corps is a second we don’t spend talking about Medicare for All”…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reporting on a new initiative designed to counter antisemitism in the literary world and an interview with Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, a Reform leader and president of the New York Board of Rabbis, on why he chose to take a public stance against New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani.

This evening, the candidates for New York City mayor will participate in a final debate hosted by local channels NY1 and WNYC before early voting starts this weekend.

Tomorrow morning, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a vote on the nomination of Joel Rayburn to be assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs after a series of delays. The committee will later hold a confirmation hearing for Amer Ghalib, the controversial mayor of Hamtramck, Mich., who questioned reports of Hamas’ atrocities on Oct. 7 and has supported the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement, to be U.S. ambassador to Kuwait.

In the evening, 92NY in New York City will hold a debate on “Does Zionism Have a Future on the American Left?” with former Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC), now board chair of the Democratic Majority for Israel, and Yehuda Kurtzer, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute, arguing in the “yes” camp. Opposed to them will be journalist Jamie Kirchick and commentator Batya Ungar-Sargon.

Nearby at Temple Emanu-El Streicker, Dan Senor will host a live taping of his “Call Me Back” podcast with Israeli journalists Nadav Eyal and Amit Segal. 

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Speaking today at the opening of the new U.S.-run Civilian Military Cooperation Center in southern Israel, Vice President JD Vance hailed the ongoing ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which he said is “going, frankly, better than I expected,” though he cautioned that its complete execution “is going to take a very, very long time.”

Vance referenced a post by President Donald Trump on Truth Social this morning where the president threatened Hamas with “elimination” if it does not quell its violence in Gaza and comply with the terms of the deal. “But I’m not going to do what the president of the United States has thus far refused to do, which is put an explicit deadline on it, because a lot of this stuff is difficult … In order for us to give it a chance to succeed, we’ve got to be a little bit flexible,” the vice president continued.

“We don’t yet have the international security force set up,” Vance said, referencing the body conceptualized to be deployed to Gaza as part of the still-unfinalized second phase of the ceasefire agreement. “That’s something that we’re working towards. We have a number of volunteers who want to participate,” he claimed, though countries have reportedly been hesitant to send their own forces into Gaza due to fears of clashing with Hamas militants…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his national security advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi, effectively immediately, after several months of reported disagreements between the two over Netanyahu’s strategy against Hamas. Hanegbi’s deputy, Gil Reich, will become acting head of the National Security Council and national security advisor…

On the campaign trail, Graham Platner, a far-left Democratic candidate with a lengthy anti-Israel record running for Senate in Maine, sought to preempt rumors circulating in recent weeks that a black skull-and-crossbones tattoo on his chest is a Nazi symbol, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.

Speaking with Tommy Vietor on the “Pod Save America” political podcast, released on Monday night, Platner said, “I am not a secret Nazi. Actually, if you read through my Reddit comments, I think you can pretty much figure out where I stand on Nazism and antisemitism and racism in general.”

But according to a person who socialized with Platner when he was living in Washington more than a decade ago, Platner had specifically acknowledged that the tattoo was a Totenkopf, the “death’s head” symbol adopted by an infamous Nazi SS unit that guarded concentration camps in World War II.

“He said, ‘Oh, this is my Totenkopf,’” the former acquaintance told JI recently, speaking on the condition of anonymity to address a sensitive issue. “He said it in a cutesy little way”…

The revelations haven’t dented Platner’s support from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who said when pressed by reporters about the tattoo allegations, “I personally think [Platner] is an excellent candidate. We don’t have enough candidates in this country who are prepared to take on the powers that be and fight for the working class”…

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, meanwhile, issued a timely endorsement for Gov. Janet Mills, Platner’s opponent in the Democratic primary, who he said is the “best candidate to retire [Sen.] Susan Collins (R-ME)”…

Another anti-Israel candidate, GOP Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), drew a primary challenger today in former Navy SEAL and fifth-generation Kentucky farmer Ed Gallrein, whom Trump threw his support behind in a Truth Social post on Friday, JI’s Emily Jacobs reports.

Massie has been a thorn in the president’s side as he has opposed some of Trump’s keystone policy agenda items, and frequently opposes U.S. support for Israel and legislation to combat antisemitism…

Mandela Barnes, the former lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, is planning to launch a bid to replace the state’s Democratic governor, Tony Evers, who is not seeking reelection, The New York Times reports. Barnes, who would be the most well-known Democrat in the race, drew the ire of his party’s establishment in 2022 when he narrowly lost what was considered a winnable election against Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI).

During the 2022 race, Barnes, a progressive, told a Jewish forum that he supported continued U.S. aid to Israel, after telling JI in an earlier interview that he would “always support funding” for “legitimate security purposes,” though he “want[ed] to ensure that no American taxpayer dollars go toward activity that violates human rights, including the demolition of homes, forced evacuations or promoting new settlements”…

A federal judge denied a request yesterday by plaintiffs suing Northwestern University to issue a temporary restraining order over the university’s anti-bias training, which included a video on antisemitism that the group said violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. With a deadline to complete the training by yesterday, at least 16 students who refused to comply may now face the loss of their student status…

The Department of Education has laid off more than 460 employees this month as the government shutdown carries on, including staff at the department’s Office of Civil Rights, which enforces Title VI anti-discrimination laws. 

Ken Marcus, who headed the office in Trump’s first administration, told the Times that firing civil rights investigators “really only makes sense if one is looking at a broader picture that involves increases in work done by other agencies”…

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, widely viewed as a likely 2028 Democratic presidential contender, is publishing a memoir in January, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports. For politicians with national ambitions, writing a memoir is generally seen as a stepping stone toward greater name recognition and future campaigns.

The book will include Shapiro’s reflections on his family and faith, details on the arson attack at the governor’s residence during Passover in April and the period in 2024 when Vice President Kamala Harris was considering naming him her running mate…

Warner Bros. Discovery announced it’s considering offers from a variety of buyers to purchase the entire company or some of its assets, after the company reportedly rejected a second offer from Paramount to acquire it…

Clubs in the Euroleague and EuroCup, European basketball leagues, have agreed to resume games in Israel starting Dec. 1, the first international sports competitions to return since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for an analysis of the spate of extremist rhetoric from both the political left and right revealed in recent political stories, and a letter from almost all Senate Democrats to President Donald Trump opposing any moves toward West Bank annexation.

Tomorrow, Israeli President Isaac Herzog will award the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor to nine recipients, including Dr. Miriam Adelson, at his residence in Jerusalem. Herzog announced last week that Trump will also receive the award at a later date for brokering the ceasefire with Hamas. 

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Hamas continues to delay its return of the deceased hostages in Gaza, citing difficulty in locating and unearthing them. The terror group has so far returned nine out of the 28 bodies it holds, though Israel told mediators yesterday that it believes Hamas knows the whereabouts of at least six other bodies, Arab officials told The Wall Street Journal. Israel shared some of its own intelligence on their locations today and is convening an international task force, including Egypt and Turkey, to work on recovering the rest of the remains…

Hamas is also continuing its campaign to execute its rivals in the enclave; President Donald Trump posted this afternoon on Truth Social, “If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them”…

Israel took credit for the death of Houthi Chief of Staff Muhammad al-Ghamari, announced by the terror group today, as a result of an Israeli strike on Houthi leadership in Yemen in August. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that al-Ghamari has “joined his comrades from the thwarted axis of evil in the depths of hell”…

Meanwhile on the campaign trial, New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani refused to say that Hamas should disarm on a Wednesday appearance on Fox News, instead asserting, “I don’t really have opinions about the future of Hamas and Israel beyond the question of justice and safety, and the fact that anything has to abide by international law. That applies to Hamas, that applies to the Israeli military, applies to anyone you could ask me about.”

In response, Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY), a Long Island swing district Democrat who has remained vocally opposed to Mamdani’s candidacy, said on social media, “Pro-Hamas Zohran is unfit to hold any office in the United States”…

Despite maintaining his anti-Israel positions, Mamdani continued his outreach to Jewish leaders in the city over the holiday of Sukkot, including meeting with representatives of the Satmar Hasidic community in Williamsburg as well as with leadership at Reform Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope, The New York Times reports. 

The conversations have not assuaged communal concerns over his potential mayoralty, with at least one meeting ending with Mamdani and “some attendees ‘totally apart from one another’ on key issues.”

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, a progressive Reform leader and senior rabbi at Manhattan’s Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, likewise was unpersuaded in a video and statement he released today, telling Mamdani, “I do not speak for all Jews, but I do represent the views of the large majority of the NY Jewish community, which is increasingly concerned about your statements about Israel and the Jewish people”…

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), mounting a primary challenge to Israel critic Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), said today that he is returning political donations he has received from AIPAC and will reject the group’s support going forward, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. 

AIPAC said in a statement that Moulton “is abandoning his friends to grab a headline, capitulating to the extremes rather than standing on conviction. His statement comes after years of him repeatedly asking for our endorsement and is a clear message to AIPAC members in Massachusetts, and millions of pro-Israel Democrats nationwide, that he rejects their support and will not stand with them.”

Moulton’s changed stance on accepting support from AIPAC is yet another sign of how even more-moderate Democrats are facing pressure from the party’s activist base to distance themselves from embracing Israel… 

CNN unearthed since-deleted social media comments from Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, who has made opposition to Israel and AIPAC a central focus of his campaign, on a range of far-left issues, including calling himself a communist, saying he’s “disgusted” with America and repeatedly disparaging police officers. “I can honestly say that that is me just being an a**hole on the Internet,” Platner said about the posts…

Claudia Milne, senior vice president for standards and practices at CBS News, announced today that she is stepping down from her position, the first executive to do so since Free Press founder Bari Weiss was named editor-in-chief of the outlet. 

Milne oversaw the standards department during a period of perceived anti-Israel bias by the news organization, including when the department instructed CBS employees not to refer to Jerusalem as being in Israel (reported on by The Free Press)…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reporting on the New York City mayoral debate and an appearance by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and antisemitism envoy nominee Yehuda Kaploun at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, both taking place this evening.

On Sunday evening, Americans for Ben-Gurion University will hold a benefit in New York City featuring a performance by comedian Alex Edelman and honoring special guest Sasha Troufanov, who was held hostage by Hamas for almost 500 days.

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

A bipartisan group of pro-Israel lawmakers — Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) — released a statement today criticizing Israeli strikes in Syria overnight.

The lawmakers, who recently returned from Syria, said that the message they heard during their visit “was clear: Syria needs a chance to succeed and move past the violence and strife that consumed the country for over 14 years. Last night’s destabilizing strikes on Syria by Israel make that goal more difficult to achieve.”

“The Syrians are prepared to move forward with Israel to advance peace. It is unclear how long the door to this opportunity will remain open. We call on Israel to seize the moment and immediately cease hostilities,” the group said.

The statement is one of the most public signs yet of friction between even staunch supporters of Israel in Congress and the Israeli government over its approach to the new Syrian government, which has included repeated rounds of strikes on Syrian targets even amid diplomatic engagements. Many U.S. lawmakers, meanwhile, are urging a more optimistic approach.

Syrian state media reported that the strikes also included a ground raid by the IDF near Damascus, which would be the first reported instance of an Israeli ground incursion so far into the country’s territory since the fall of the Assad regime. Syrian forces had reportedly recently uncovered surveillance equipment at a military base in the area…

The IDF also carried out strikes today on Houthi military targets in Sanaa, Yemen, after several Houthi missile and drone attacks on Israel in recent days. Israeli media reported that the strikes, one of which targeted a gathering of top Houthi leaders, may have eliminated the terror group’s minister of defense and chief of staff…

Back in Washington, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer reportedly participated in President Donald Trump’s roundtable on Gaza at the White House yesterday, according to Axios, as he made a last-minute visit to the capital. 

A source told the outlet that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Trump Mideast advisor Jared Kushner got the green light from the president to develop a post-war plan for Gaza, though few details were hashed out at the meeting. 

Dermer reportedly stressed that Israel doesn’t want to occupy Gaza in the long term and wants to see alternative options for parties that could govern Gaza that are not Hamas. “Dermer’s message was: As long as our conditions are met, we will be flexible about everything else,” the source told Axios…

France, Germany and the U.K. sent a letter to members of the U.N. Security Council this morning announcing they are triggering snapback sanctions on Iran, as anticipated after recent diplomatic talks to roll back the Iranian nuclear program yielded little progress.

The move triggers a 30-day timeline before the sanctions go into effect, during which the European countries said they are open to continuing negotiations with Iran.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. will work with the UNSC to “successfully complete” the reinstatement of sanctions. “At the same time,” he said, “the United States remains available for direct engagement with Iran … Snapback does not contradict our earnest readiness for diplomacy, it only enhances it.”

Iran has threatened previously to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if snapback sanctions were imposed, which could have wide-ranging consequences, including a potential regional nuclear arms race…

The UNSC was also busy today with a vote to extend the mandate of UNIFIL, the U.N.’s forces in southern Lebanon, whose mission was due to expire on Sunday. The body voted unanimously to extend the mandate one final time until Dec. 31, 2026, when UNIFIL will have one year to withdraw from Lebanon completely. 

Dorothy Shea, acting U.S. representative to the U.N., said in a statement supporting the vote, “The United States notes that the first ‘I’ in UNIFIL stands for ‘Interim.’ The time has come for UNIFIL’s mission to end. This is the last time we will support an extension of UNIFIL”…

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) threatened Norway and its officials with retaliatory tariffs and visa restrictions in response to the decision by Norges Bank Investment Management — the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund — to sell its stake in the American machinery company Caterpillar in response to the Israeli military’s use of its products against Palestinians.

“To those who run Norway’s sovereign wealth fund: if you cannot do business with Caterpillar because Israel uses their products, maybe it’s time you’re made aware that doing business or visiting America is a privilege, not a right,” Graham said on X…

Back in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and World Food Program Executive Director Cindy McCain shared a joint statement after meeting in Jerusalem today, where they agreed that “every effort must be made to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches the most vulnerable people where they are, and that humanitarian aid is provided exclusively to civilians”…

Meanwhile, the Boulder chapter of the group “Run for Their Lives,” which hosts weekly marches to advocate for the release of the hostages held in Gaza, announced it will no longer publicly advertise its walking route, after participants faced continued threats and harassment in the wake of a firebombing attack on one gathering several months ago. 

In recent weeks, protesters have stalked and shouted slurs at participants, such as “genocidal c**t,” “racist” and “Nazi,” and have threatened organizers’ children, according to the Colorado Jewish Community Relations Council…

No industry is safe: The Wall Street Journal reports on the tech worker “revolt” over Gaza and how companies are responding, including moderating internal message boards by deleting content and closing discussion threads. 

Anti-Israel activists have recently escalated their protests against Microsoft, setting up an encampment at the company’s Redmond, Wash., headquarters, occupying President Brad Smith’s office and rowing kayaks up to the waterfront homes of top executives (Microsoft has asked the FBI for help in tracking and combating these activities)…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for reporting on the obstacles Israel and the U.S. may face in negotiating a new memorandum of understanding as the current MOU nears its expiration in 2028. 

On Monday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will host a campaign event with Graham Platner, the anti-Israel Democrat challenging Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), as Collins has been facing increasing antagonism from crowds at home. 

We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Kickoff and the Daily Overtime on Tuesday. Shabbat shalom and happy Labor Day weekend!

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer made a last-minute visit to Washington today, according to Israeli media, while President Donald Trump convened a meeting on a “comprehensive plan” for postwar Gaza, as Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News last night. It’s unclear if Dermer participated in the meeting himself.

Also in attendance at the White House were former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Trump’s son-in-law and former Mideast advisor Jared Kushner, according to Axios, who have been working with Witkoff on the issue for several months…

Dermer canceled a meeting with World Food Program head Cindy McCain, who is in Israel for the first time since Oct. 7, as he headed to Washington. McCain did meet with IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and the head of COGAT, the IDF unit that facilitates humanitarian aid in Gaza. Recall that a whistleblower recently alleged that the WFP had rejected security coordination with the IDF, hampering aid distribution efforts in Gaza…

The alleged gunman who opened fire today on a Catholic school in Minneapolis, killing two children and injuring at least 17 people, most of them students at the school, used a gun that had antisemitic and anti-Israel writings across it, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Unverified images of the alleged shooter’s gun, taken from a video posted to a YouTube account believed to be associated with the shooter, show scrawlings on the gun and related paraphernalia that say “6 million wasn’t enough,” “Burn Israel,” “Israel must fall” and “Destroy HIAS,” a reference to the Jewish refugee organization.

HIAS, which was also invoked by the Tree of Life synagogue shooter in Pittsburgh in 2018, told Jewish Insider that because of the organization’s focus, it is “sadly often the subject of hateful antisemitic conspiracy theories”…

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is in Washington today as well, meeting this afternoon with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Foggy Bottom. Sa’ar said the two had “a productive meeting on mutual challenges and interests for both our nations” and discussed the Iranian nuclear threat in the aftermath of the U.S. and Israeli strikes in June, among other issues…

Rubio held a call with the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the U.K. today, during which all of the officials “reiterated their commitment to ensuring that Iran never develops or obtains a nuclear weapon,” as the European nations gear up to trigger snapback sanctions at the U.N. Security Council in the coming days…

a16z Speedrun, a startup accelerator program backed by the Andreessen Horowitz venture capital firm, is in Israel this week. Last night, the program convened a dinner of 20 budding startup founders from elite IDF units…

Hollywood heavyweights including Brad Pitt and Joaquin Phoenix are joining the production team of “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” a film about the killing of a six-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza in January 2024. Jonathan Glazer, who made headlines for using his Oscar acceptance speech last year to equate Israel’s actions in Gaza with the Holocaust, is a director of the project…

Variety spotlights a new film in production starring Jon Voight and directed by the controversial Bryan Singer, which a source described as set in the Middle East during the First Lebanon War. “It makes Israel look really bad and could be polarizing,” the source said…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reporting on how security experts are viewing the threat of Iranian influence and attacks in the U.S. in the aftermath of disturbing revelations of Iranian attacks in Australia, and on how the replacement of Sergio Gor with Dan Scavino as head of the Presidential Personnel Office may impact national security personnel decisions in the administration.

Also tomorrow, the Atlantic Council will host an event in Washington on the “past, present, and future” of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, an initiative launched at the G20 Summit in 2023.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Shortly after members of the Democratic National Committee passed a resolution today introduced by DNC Chair Ken Martin that voiced support for humanitarian aid to Gaza and a two-state solution, called for the release of hostages and condemned Hamas, Martin announced he was withdrawing the measure and instead forming a task force to continue discussing the issue.

The surprise reversal came after a competing resolution that called for an arms embargo and suspension of U.S. aid to Israel was voted down. Upon huddling with the co-sponsors of the failed measure, Martin said at the meeting of the Resolutions Committee where the votes took place, “There is a divide in our party on this issue. This is a moment that calls for shared dialogue and calls for shared advocacy.”

“And that’s why I’ve decided today, at this moment, listening to the testimony and listening to people in our party, to withdraw my amendment resolution to allow us to move forward in a conversation on this as a party,” Martin continued. He said that he would “appoint a committee or a task force comprised of stakeholders on all sides of this to continue to have the conversation, to work through this, and bring solutions back to our party”…

Overseas, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and U.S. Syria envoy Tom Barrack, ending their visit to Damascus, traveled to Beirut today where they joined Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). 

Along with diplomat Morgan Ortagus and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson, the delegation met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and head of the Lebanese Armed Forces Gen. Rodolph Haykal, with whom they discussed U.S. support of the LAF. 

Barrack and Ortagus have been shuttling between Lebanon, Syria and Israel over the past several months in an effort to improve security relations in the region.

During a press conference the lawmakers held in Beirut, Graham announced his support for the United States signing a defense agreement with Lebanon, where the U.S. would commit to defending Lebanon militarily. 

“How many nations have a defense agreement with the United States? … The number of nations that America is willing to go to war for is very few. Why do I mention Lebanon being in that group? You have one thing going for you that is very valuable to me. Religious diversity,” Graham said.

The South Carolina senator continued, “Christianity is under siege in the Mideast. Christians are being slaughtered and run out of all over the region, except here. So what I am going to tell my colleagues is, ‘Why don’t we invest in defending religious diversity in the Mideast? Why don’t we have a relationship with Lebanon where we would actually defend what you’re doing?’ I think it’s in America’s interest to defend religious diversity.”

Though it’s been discussed in Israeli and American administrations for decades, the U.S. does not have a mutual defense agreement with Israel, another Middle East country with a large Christian population and religious diversity…

Meanwhile, a meeting of the E3 — France, Germany and the U.K. — and Iran in Geneva today ended with reportedly little progress on scaling back the Iranian nuclear program, leaving the European countries to decide if they’ll follow through on a recent threat to reinstate snapback sanctions at the end of the month… 

The Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, announced it’s selling its shares of the U.S. machinery company Caterpillar over Israel’s use of its bulldozers, which the fund said had contributed to Palestinian suffering, as well as its shares in four Israeli banks, including the country’s two largest.

The fund has already liquidated its holdings in over a dozen Israeli companies and cut ties with Israeli hedge fund managers over concerns with the country’s war in Gaza and treatment of Palestinians…

On the Hill, leading Jewish organizations are set to send a letter to Senate leadership today urging the body to confirm the Trump administration’s nominees for special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, and international religious freedom ambassador, former Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC), Jewish Insider has learned. Schumer currently has a hold on dozens of President Donald Trump’s nominees…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reactions from Jewish Democrats on Martin’s decision to withdraw his resolution at the DNC and an interview with Democrat Maura Sullivan, the Marine veteran and former Defense Department official running to succeed Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH).

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called an IDF strike today on a Gaza hospital that reportedly killed 20 people, including at least four journalists, a “tragic mishap” that Israel “deeply regrets.”

“Israel values the work of journalists, medical staff, and all civilians,” Netanyahu said in his statement. “The military authorities are conducting a thorough investigation. Our war is with Hamas terrorists.”

President Donald Trump, asked by reporters in the Oval Office this morning about the strike, said he was “not happy about it. I don’t want to see it.” Trump said at a press conference later he believes that in two to three weeks “you’re going to have … a pretty conclusive ending” to the war in Gaza…

Also turning up the pressure on Netanyahu, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said Sunday that the IDF has met its objectives in its war in Gaza, “including deeply damaging Hamas,” and “as a result of the military pressure, we created the conditions for the release of the hostages.”

Zamir reportedly advocated for Netanyahu to accept the deal that Hamas said it agreed to last week and reiterated his concern that the IDF’s impending takeover of Gaza City will imperil the lives of the remaining living hostages…

Lawmakers are making the most of their August recess with several in the Middle East this week. 

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) met with Netanyahu in Jerusalem today, after several meetings with Qatari officials in Doha last week.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is in Lebanon today, where he visited a memorial at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut for fallen service members, including the 241 Americans killed in the bombing of U.S. Marine barracks by Hezbollah, under the direction of Iran, in 1983.

Meanwhile, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) joined U.S. Syria envoy Tom Barrack in Damascus, where they met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa to “discuss a bright, unified, and stable future for Syria.”

Wilson and Shaheen also met with Syria’s minister of social affairs and labor, religious clerics and a leader of the Syrian Democratic Forces. Both lawmakers have led efforts in Congress to repeal congressional sanctions on Syria in order to aid reconstruction and stabilization…

Barrack also visited Israel on Sunday and met with Netanyahu, Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, Defense Minister Israel Katz and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to discuss security arrangements between Israel and Syria as well as Israel and Lebanon, according to Axios…

France requested to delay a U.N. Security Council vote on a French proposal to extend the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon until Friday, due to disagreements with the U.S. — which holds veto power — over a sunset date for the extension.

The current French proposal would allow the force to remain in place indefinitely, while the Trump administration wants an extension of only one year before UNIFIL disbands and withdraws from Lebanon, sources confirmed to Jewish Insider. If no consensus is reached, France could request another delay until Aug. 31, when the current mandate expires…

On the domestic front, the University of Florida’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Dr. Donald Landry as interim president of the school, after Florida’s Board of Governors rejected Santa Ono, the former president of the University of Michigan, for the job.

Landry, a renowned physician and chair emeritus of Columbia University’s Department of Medicine, will replace current UF interim President Kent Fuchs, who said the process of choosing a new president had become “more challenging” after Ono’s rejection…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reporting on how the University of Michigan is becoming an epicenter of anti-Israel activism to start the new school year, and Jewish groups’ response to European officials targeting Katharina von Schnurbein, the EU antisemitism coordinator, for her defense of Israel.

Tomorrow morning, the Democratic National Committee’s Resolution Committee is expected to take up two Israel-related resolutions, including an anti-Israel measure that calls for an arms embargo and a suspension of U.S. military aid to Israel. The resolutions will then be brought to the general session on Wednesday. We’ll be paying close attention to how much support that anti-Israel resolution receives.

Also tomorrow, the Treasury Department will officially remove Syria from its sanctions list for the first time since 2005.

Added to our calendar for next week, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is slated to appear at a rally with Graham Platner, a Democrat running against Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who has emerged as a harsh critic of Israel during his nascent campaign.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on “Triggernometry,” a conservative podcast based in the U.K., in an episode released yesterday, where he was pressed by co-hosts Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster about inflammatory comments made by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich about settling Gaza and “things that sound like ethnic cleansing.”

Netanyahu dismissed the comments as democratic disagreements, saying, “In a parliamentary system, people are free to say, sometimes they say things they don’t quite mean. … To the extent that we have these conversations around the Security Cabinet, that is actually not being discussed by these people.”

Netanyahu distanced himself from his ministers who have advocated for reestablishing an Israeli civilian presence in Gaza, clarifying, “It’s not my policy. I don’t intend to build settlements or communities in Gaza, not Israeli ones.”

The prime minister disagreed that the comments from Smotrich may be exacerbating Israel’s “PR problem”: “They ask me, you know, ‘Your minister of finance says this, and what do you say?’ Well, I say I disagree with him, and I say that, you know, he’s entitled to say these things. That’s not ethnic cleansing. It’s a view, a legitimate view, which I happen to disagree with”…

And today, Netanyahu announced that he is working “to approve the plans that the IDF presented” to him and Defense Minister Israel Katz for the impending IDF takeover of Gaza City. “In parallel,” he said, “I have instructed to begin immediate negotiations for the release of all our hostages and the end of the war, on conditions that are acceptable for Israel.”

Netanyahu made no mention of the latest deal reportedly agreed to by Hamas, which only includes the release of some of the 50 remaining hostages…

Israel is also facing increased diplomatic ire over its actions in the West Bank, after Smotrich announced last week his approval of plans to build the E1 settlement, which were previously frozen for decades due in part to U.S. disapproval of its controversial location, which would make a contiguous Palestinian state nearly impossible. 

Twenty-two countries, including the U.K., Australia, France and Japan, issued a statement today condemning the move as “unacceptable and a violation of international law,” and the U.K. Foreign Office summoned Israeli Ambassador to the U.K. Tzipi Hotovely in further protest.

Asked about the settlement approval, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told the Associated Press that a two-state solution is not a “high priority” for the Trump administration and that there are too many unanswered questions about a potential Palestinian state…

On the campus beat, a New York Times report published yesterday on the hurdles international students are facing entering the U.S. this academic year opened with the line, “Many Iranians are not going to American universities this fall.”

The article, largely sympathetic to the plight of students attempting to enter the U.S., highlighted the revocation of more than 6,000 student visas by the State Department, the majority of which were due to breaking U.S. law and support for terrorism; Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s announcement that the department would review visas of students who participated in disruptive campus anti-Israel protests; and new social media vetting of visa applicants, particularly “for expression of pro-Palestinian sentiment,” as barriers to international student enrollment…

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), on a visit to Doha, met today with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Ernst has previously led efforts to pressure Qatar into forcing Hamas to release the hostages held in Gaza…

In the Lone Star State, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), a prominent member of the Freedom Caucus and a thorn in the side of President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), announced a bid for Texas attorney general today, seeking to replace Trump ally AG Ken Paxton, who himself is running for U.S. Senate against Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in a highly competitive primary. 

The Texas game of electoral musical chairs comes as the state is in the midst of a contentious mid-decade redistricting process, which will likely see its Legislature turn even deeper red.

One high-profile Democrat in the Texas Statehouse, James Talarico, was backed by Miriam Adelson’s Texas Sands PAC, Politico revealed today, despite Talarico’s public stance against GOP billionaires‘ influence in politics. The group was his largest donor last year and one of his largest ever…

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, no stranger to scandal, is facing more electoral trouble of his own as he runs for reelection as an independent, facing off against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani. 

Yesterday, reports alleged that Adams’ former advisor and current campaign volunteer, Winnie Greco, surreptitiously gave a reporter an envelope of cash, stashed inside a bag of potato chips. Today, the Manhattan district attorney unsealed four indictments against Adams’ former chief advisor, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, accusing her of receiving more than $75,000 in bribes, and six other individuals, most of whom are associates or supporters of Adams…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for reporting on a trip of young MAGA influencers to Israel that changed hearts and minds and an interview with Rep. John McGuire (R-VA) on his reflections from his own recent trip to the Jewish state.

The foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany will speak with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi by phone tomorrow, sources tell the Substack Diplomatic, to discuss their recent threat to reinstate snapback sanctions on Tehran if it does not sufficiently roll back its nuclear program by the end of this month. 

An Iranian delegation will also travel to Vienna tomorrow to meet with the International Atomic Energy Agency, a week after IAEA Deputy Director General Massimo Aparo visited Iran in a bid to restart the agency’s cooperation with Tehran.

On Sunday, the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus will host its annual “Summer Simcha” event. Among the attendees will be state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, Abdul El-Sayed and, appearing by video, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) — all of whom are vying for Michigan’s open Senate seat. State Sen. Jeremy Moss, who’s looking to claim Stevens’ seat in the House, and University of Michigan Regent Jordan Acker, who had his home and office vandalized by anti-Israel attackers, will be in attendance. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) will also appear by video. 

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) rebuked antisemitic comments made by Minneapolis mayoral candidate Omar Fateh’s campaign staff in a statement to Jewish Insider today, after initially declining to comment when JI unearthed the statements last week.

Klobuchar’s spokesperson said the senator “strongly and immediately condemned the Hamas terrorist attack, and condemns any statements to the contrary.” She called Fateh’s staffers’ comments “outrageous” and said they “have no place in our politics.”

Klobuchar reiterated her endorsement of Mayor Jacob Frey in the race; Frey’s other supporters, including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and other state Democratic officials have thus far refrained from commenting on the situation…

Staying in the Midwest, protesters interrupted Rep. Wesley Bell’s (D-MO) first in-person town hall last night in St. Louis over Bell’s support for Israel, shouting over the congressman and getting into altercations with police.

In response to a question about “the ongoing genocide in Palestine,” Bell said, “Let’s talk about the word genocide, because we see that differently.” He repeatedly asked protesters to stop shouting and listen.

“There’s a lot of folks who don’t want to have the conversation,” Bell said. “They just want to spew what they think is important, but they don’t want to have an actual debate because these are tough issues. So, now we’re going to have the conversation — whether you like it or not”…

Meanwhile on the campaign trail, Politico reported this morning on Rep. Chris Pappas’ (D-NH) new competitor in the Democratic primary for New Hampshire’s open Senate seat, political activist Karishma Manzur.

Manzur said she would have supported recent resolutions from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) — which the moderate Pappas said he would have opposed — seeking to block some arms sales to Israel, saying she “will be against any money to any country to kill people” and that the U.S. should take “concrete actions against the harrowing acts of torture of Palestinians” by the IDF …

President Donald Trump called in to Fox News host Mark Levin’s radio show yesterday and said that, at the time of the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June, he believed Iran “would have had nuclear weapons in a period of four weeks.”

“If we didn’t [strike Iran], they would probably by this time, just about this time, have a nuclear weapon and they would have used it,” the president said.

Trump also told Levin that the U.S. Air Force pilots who conducted the strikes told him that they and their predecessors had been practicing the flight to Iranian airspace for 22 years…

The New York Times published an analysis on the damage inflicted by U.S. strikes on the Iranian nuclear site Fordow based on the site’s structure and the munitions used…

The State Department responded today to a bipartisan congressional letter led by Pappas last month expressing lawmakers’ concerns that the administration was considering selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey in a reversal of U.S. policy, which currently bans the sale of the jets in light of Turkey’s purchase of an S-400 missile defense system from Russia.

Paul Guaglianone, senior bureau official in the department’s Bureau of Legislative Affairs, wrote in a letter to Pappas that the “U.S. position on Turkey’s acquisition and continued possession of the Russian S-400 system has not changed, and the requirements for Turkey to acquire U.S. F-35 aircraft are well-known”…

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also announced this morning that the U.S. is sanctioning four additional officials from the International Criminal Court, two judges and two prosecutors, in addition to the four judges sanctioned by the U.S. in June, over the ICC’s continued “efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, and prosecute American and Israeli nationals”…

In Israel, coalition politics are heating up over a potential ceasefire and hostage-release agreement with Hamas, which reports indicate the terror group recently accepted but Israel has not yet responded to.

Israeli media reported that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told hostage families he would resign if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to a ceasefire, and Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir is likely to do the same, as he did in January when Israel agreed to a previous ceasefire deal.

Meanwhile, opposition MK Benny Gantz, whose Blue and White-National Unity party is currently hemorrhaging in the polls, is reportedly considering rejoining Netanyahu’s coalition to help bolster support for a deal…

Back stateside, Israeli scholar and dance instructor Yael Nativ is suing the University of California, Berkeley, alleging that the university denied her a teaching position because she is Israeli. Nativ had previously taught at Berkeley and was encouraged to apply to teach another course. 

When Nativ’s application was rejected shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks, according to the suit, the dance department chair wrote to her, “My dept cannot host you for a class next fall. Things are very hot right now and many of our grad students are angry. I would be putting the dept and you in a terrible position if you taught here”…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reporting on Graham Platner, the oyster farmer turned Democratic challenger to Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who called AIPAC “weird” in a recent interview.

Tomorrow afternoon, the American Jewish Committee will host a briefing on “Justice for Victims of Hamas’ Sexual Violence: The U.N. Blacklist and What Comes Next,” referring to the U.N.’s recent decision to “blacklist” Hamas as a group that uses sexual violence as a weapon of war.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Ron Halber, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, called Rep. Jamie Raskin’s (D-MD) decision to co-sponsor legislation severely restricting U.S. aid to Israel “extremely disappointing,” telling Jewish Insider today that he had a “very honest and frank conversation” with the congressman, whom he considers a friend.

Halber framed his concerns with Raskin, a prominent progressive Jewish lawmaker, within the broader trend of the Democratic Party moving away from its long-standing support for Israel. “It’s difficult when two-thirds of our community is voting for a political party whose base is hostile to Israel,” he remarked.

“Once the war comes to an end, the whole Jewish community is going to have to re-strategize,” Halber said.

The JCRC of Greater Washington CEO said he had asked Raskin to remove himself as a co-sponsor of the bill and instead issue a statement conveying his concerns with Israel’s war in Gaza. “If he doesn’t, we will be disappointed, but that’s his decision to make and he has to live with the ramifications of his decision”…

Speaking this morning at a briefing co-hosted by the American Jewish Congress and World Zionist Organization, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee sounded a cautious note on the current ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, as reports indicate the terror group has accepted a Qatari- and Egyptian-backed proposal. 

“Whether or not [Hamas is] serious about bringing this to a close, all I can tell you is I hope so. But what’s happened before, even when they say they are thinking seriously about bringing this to a conclusion, making a deal, they always add one or more things that are completely unacceptable, bring those to the table, then it all starts over again,” Huckabee said.

Israel has yet to respond to the proposal and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a press briefing today that the U.S. “continues to discuss” it…

Huckabee and his wife, Janet, hosted U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner and his wife, Seryl, in Jerusalem tonight…

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz met with Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF’s chief of staff, today to approve the IDF’s plans to take over Gaza City. Israeli officials said Gazans will have until Oct. 7 to evacuate the city, to coincide with the second anniversary of Hamas’ attacks, at which point the IDF offensive will begin. It remains to be seen if a ceasefire and hostage-release deal will be reached before then…

The Israeli government also voted today to approve a $9 billion increase to the country’s budget for the year, including $473 million for humanitarian aid for Gaza…

In other negotiation news, Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer is scheduled to meet this evening in Paris with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani and U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Syria envoy Tom Barrack to discuss security arrangements on the Israel-Syria border. 

The meeting comes a day after Barrack, while visiting Beirut, said Israel needs to “comply with [an] equal handshake” to the Lebanese government’s commitment to disarm Hezbollah by fully withdrawing its troops from Lebanon…

Back stateside, the president of the American Association of University Professors said in a recent interview, “We believe strongly that no weapons should be sent to Israel, at all. Not defensive or offensive, nothing,” escalating the association’s adversarial stance against the Jewish state…

The New York Times chronicles the Trump administration’s attempts to wrest financial settlements from elite universities, including ongoing negotiations with Harvard and the University of California, Los Angeles, the latter of which may pay the administration upwards of $1 billion, according to a draft agreement…

Media mogul Shari Redstone told the Times that she decided to sell Paramount to Skydance in a recent $8 billion merger in part due to her frustrations over anti-Israel bias at CBS, particularly after the Oct. 7 attacks. “Once that happened, I wanted out,” Redstone said. “I wanted to support Israel, and address issues around antisemitism and racism”…

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) endorsed New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in her reelection bid today, after initially exploring a run against her and criticizing her tenure…

The Free Press reports on growing frustration with Laura Loomer, a right-wing provocateur and informal advisor to President Donald Trump, inside the White House, with some officials speculating she may be paid or influenced by lobbying firms and business interests.

Loomer lashed out on X, telling Free Press reporter Gabe Kaminsky he should “contact your anonymous White House sources who are so horrified by ‘lobbyists’ and their intentions and ask them how they feel about their friendship with” Jeff Miller, a Republican strategist, board member of the Republican Jewish Coalition and Trump-appointed member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for an interview with top New York Democrat Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY) on her takeaways from a recent visit to Israel.

This evening, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a potential 2028 presidential contender, will speak at D.C.’s Politics & Prose on “the role of states in preserving and advancing U.S. democracy.”

Tomorrow, the historic Sinai Temple in Los Angeles will host a conversation with Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, the director of the Realign for Palestine program at the Atlantic Council who was born and raised in Gaza. It’s the second event in a series the prominent Conservative synagogue has held about the war in Gaza for its congregants, the first of which was held last month with Gaza Humanitarian Foundation head Johnnie Moore. Read JI’s coverage of Moore’s conversation here.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social this morning, “We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be. … Play to WIN, or don’t play at all!” 

Hours later, reports indicated that Hamas had accepted a new ceasefire and hostage-release proposal from Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani and Egyptian officials in Cairo, after a meeting in Doha last week between Al Thani and Mossad Director David Barnea.

A source told Axios that the deal is “98% similar” to the latest U.S.-backed proposal initiated by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

Though neither American nor Israeli officials have confirmed the news, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement this afternoon, “Like you, I hear the reports in the media, and from them you can be impressed by one thing — Hamas is under immense pressure“…

Meanwhile at home, the embrace of anti-Israel actors by the Democratic mainstream continues.

Over the weekend, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender from a swing state, told a local political outlet about New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, “It’s OK to say ‘I disagree with this, this, and this, but I agree with that.’ But the idea that we’re just gonna throw out people that are really bringing in new ideas to the fold, exciting people, just because they’re slightly to the right or to the left of us is dumb.”

It’s a notable marker, a pragmatic lawmaker with national aspirations calling Mamdani — a democratic socialist who has refused to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” — “slightly to the left” of the Democratic center.

And this morning, opinion writer Jerusalem Demsas, formerly of The Atlantic, announced the launch of her new liberal media company, The Argument. The publication will feature writings from center-left heavyweights including Derek Thompson and Matthew Yglesias and received funding from similarly aligned investors including Arnold Ventures and Open Philanthropy.

In her announcement video, Demsas said conservatives are “persecuting Americans for exercising their basic freedoms” over news clips covering anti-Israel protest leader Mahmoud Khalil’s detention by the federal government. 

The continued embrace of Khalil by Democratic thought leaders and influencers is significant as Khalil has continued to escalate his anti-Israel rhetoric, including in a recent appearance on “The Ezra Klein Show” podcast where he said about the Oct. 7 attacks that “we couldn’t avoid such a moment” and about Hamas’ killing of civilians that “we cannot go and ask Palestinians to be perfect victims”…

Former University of Michigan President Santa Ono announced today that he’s been appointed as the inaugural director of the Ellison Institute of Technology. Ono had been named president of the University of Florida but was rejected in an unprecedented move by the Florida Board of Governors, partially over concerns of his handling of antisemitism and an anti-Israel encampment at the Ann Arbor campus.

Now, Ono will report directly to Larry Ellison, the second wealthiest man in the world, who is the founder of the software company Oracle and a major donor to Jewish and Israeli causes…

The Association of American Geographers is set to consider a resolution on Oct. 3 to boycott Israeli academic institutions, the latest professional association to face calls from its members to do so…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for an interview with Rev. Johnnie Moore, the head of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, about the repeated death threats and vandalism he’s faced at his home, and a look at Rep. Brad Sherman’s (D-CA) primary challenge.

Tomorrow afternoon, the Hudson Institute will host a conversation with Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council, on U.S. strategy on counterterrorism and its impacts on U.S. policy in the Middle East.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Mossad Director David Barnea was in Doha today meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani, which Israeli officials downplayed as being unrelated to a ceasefire and hostage-release deal. 

However, with Israel’s expanded operations in Gaza not expected to begin for several weeks and a flurry of diplomatic meetings underway (the Qatari PM also met with Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in Ibiza last weekend), the negotiating parties likely view this time as a last-ditch opportunity to secure a deal…

Axios spotlights a trip of 15 young MAGA influencers to Israel, organized by the advocacy group Israel365, which describes itself as an “Orthodox Jewish institution that believes that Jews and Christians must respect one another,” and partially bankrolled by the Israeli Foreign Ministry. 

Even as Israel’s falling public approval in the U.S. is driven by Democrats and to a lesser extent independents, the story notes that the Israeli government “sees shifting attitudes among young Republicans as the more immediate threat”…

In the world of academia: Professors Jon Shields and Yuval Avnur share their findings from a new study on the diversity of thought in college syllabi in the Wall Street Journal.

Drawing on the Open Syllabus Project, which has a database of over 27 million syllabi, they find that Edward Said’s Orientalism — one of the preeminent anti-West and anti-Israel academic texts — is the 16th most assigned text in the database, featured in nearly 16,000 courses in universities around the world.

However, Shields and Avnur find that Orientalism is rarely assigned with any of its critiquing texts, including Sam Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations and Bernard Lewis’ Islam and the West. At just 5% of syllabi, Huntington is assigned alongside Said the most commonly, and similar critics almost never. 

The professors conclude with a warning to academics who are shaping the next generation of scholars and thinkers: “More of us should follow the minority of professors who teach the real controversy — not only the dominant texts but also work that is critical of them. … If we shut out the views of half or more of the population, we shouldn’t be surprised when the democratic process leads to the diminution of our subsidies and other privileges”…

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) told Politico this morning that he won’t endorse New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani until he takes “concrete steps” to address concerns from Jewish New Yorkers around hate crimes. 

Goldman said, “We’ve had a good conversation, and I am pleased in some respects with many of the things he said, and I’m interested to see how he moves forward, and what actions and concrete steps he takes to address the significant concerns of the 1.3 million Jews in New York City who are justifiably and understandably very afraid given the most recent hate crime statistics that came out”…

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is also still withholding his endorsement from Mamdani, declining to give CNBC a direct answer this morning on if he intends to support the Democratic nominee. He did say that in a “constructive and candid” conversation last month, Mamdani had asked him to help organize meetings with other members of the New York congressional delegation as well as working class communities that Jeffries represents, and that he had assisted Mamdani in doing so…

On the far left side of the American political spectrum, the Democratic Socialists of America adopted a resolution at their National Convention last weekend called “For a Fighting Anti-Zionist DSA,” which makes certain actions in support of Israel — including “making statements that ‘Israel has a right to defend itself’ and making or endorsing statements or legislation equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism” — “expellable” offenses for DSA members.

The DSA did not ultimately debate a resolution censuring Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) — one of the most vocal anti-Israel members of Congress — over her “tacit support for Zionism” at the convention…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for more reporting on the reaction to former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s newly hostile posture towards Israel, which is alarming many mainstream Democrats about the direction their party is headed.

Tomorrow, we’ll be watching the summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin taking place in Alaska, which aims to end the war in Ukraine. The conflict, along with the war in Gaza, has plagued Trump since he took office as he’s been unable to fulfill his campaign promise of ending wars abroad.

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Jewish Insider sat down with the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) team in Washington today. They presented findings from a recent trip to Israel and a report on the estimated costs to the U.S., Israel and Iran from the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June. Several key takeaways: 

The U.S. used around 150 THAAD interceptors — approximately 25% of its stockpile — defending Israel from Iranian missiles and drones. Given that the U.S. acquired 11 interceptors in 2024, will acquire 12 in 2025 and is expected to acquire between 25-37 in 2026, it will take years to replenish U.S. capabilities at current production.

Also putting pressure on production, Saudi Arabia inaugurated its first THAAD system from the U.S. last month and is meant to receive hundreds of interceptors in the coming years.

From JINSA’s analysis, it appears that Israel, using its Arrow missile-defense system, shot fewer interceptors per incoming projectile than the U.S. did, suggesting that Israel’s systems may have better interception rates. In addition, Israel’s Arrow system is significantly cheaper to operate, at $2-3 million per interceptor versus THAAD’s $13-14 million.

On Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, the JINSA team found that rebuilding from the damage inflicted by the U.S. and Israel would be indistinguishable from building them from scratch. More important than Iran’s capability is its psychological fortitude and desire to rebuild its programs, after dozens of top nuclear and military officials were taken out in the span of days…

France, Germany and the U.K. sent a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council last month announcing their readiness and “unambiguous legal grounds” to reinstate snapback sanctions on Iran if it does not reengage in nuclear negotiations by the end of August. 

Iran suspended its negotiations with the U.S. — as well as its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog — in June following the Israel-Iran war. IAEA Deputy Director Massimo Aparo was in Iran earlier this week for talks on the agency’s relationship with Tehran…

Inside Germany, The Washington Post reports, Chancellor Friedrich Merz is facing backlash from his own center-right party and allies after his Friday announcement that the government plans to suspend weapons shipments to Israel “that could be used in the Gaza Strip,” prompted by Israel’s decision last week to expand the war. It was a major shift for Berlin, as Germany has been one of Israel’s most reliable allies in Europe while its neighbors have turned against the Jewish state over the war in Gaza…

Democratic Majority for Israel weighed in on an anti-Israel resolution being considered by the Democratic National Committee that calls for Democrats to recognize a Palestinian state and for the suspension of all military aid to Israel. 

DMFI CEO Brian Romick said in a statement that the organization is “deeply troubled” by the “flawed, irresponsible resolution.” “Shockingly, this resolution does not even mention the barbaric attacks of October 7 nor the terrorist group Hamas at all,” he continued. Matt Brooks, CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition, applauded DMFI for the statement, saying, “That’s how it should be done”…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reporting on the extreme anti-Israel views of individuals connected to Minneapolis mayoral candidate Omar Fateh‘s campaign, as well as an interview with Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican gubernatorial nominee in New Jersey, as he spends time in Israel this week. 

Nancy Jacobson, a former Democratic fundraiser now the CEO of the independent No Labels organization, and entrepreneurs Irwin Simon and Matthew Rabinowitz will be hosting a fundraiser in New York City for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo this evening, Jewish Insider has learned. The event is anticipated to raise over $200,000 for Cuomo as he continues his campaign for mayor of New York City as an independent.