Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

In their indirect talks in Doha this week, the U.S. offered Iran access to some of its$100 billion in frozen funds in exchange for Tehran not instituting a toll on the Strait of Hormuz, but Iranian officials have continued to signal they plan to proceed with the move. Continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon also caused tension during the discussions, The Wall Street Journal reports…

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U.S. officials told The New York Times that Washington believed Israel was plotting to assassinate Iran’s top negotiators — Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf — as they were engaged in recent talks with the U.S. over the memorandum of understanding…

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Arizona Jewish and pro-Israel leaders told Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel that they feel misled by Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ), whom they supported in her contested 2024 primary but who has since turned away from the pro-Israel views she espoused during the campaign — including now rejecting support from Democratic Majority for Israel, which backed her with a surge of spending in 2024…

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The AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project super PAC is up with its first negative ad against far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, JI’s Marc Rod reports, hitting the Democrat in the initial $2 million ad buy for his “long history of disrespecting women.” Meanwhile, El-Sayed picked up a high-profile endorsement today from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), her first in a contested Senate race this cycle.

UDP also made $400,000 in advertising reservations to support Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO) as he faces a comeback primary challenge from former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), whom UDP helped Bell defeat in 2024…

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Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, the Democratic nominee for governor, criticized his party’s socialist congressional nominee, Melat Kiros, for her refusal to describe the deadly firebombing of a Boulder, Colo., hostage awareness march last year as an act of antisemitism, JI’s Marc Rod reports…

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New York City congressional nominee Brad Lander published a response to Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove’s letter earlier this week in which Cosgrove predicted that Lander’s hostility to Israel would not be enough to protect him from being targeted by the far left. Lander argued in his response that criticism of Israel — including describing its war in Gaza as a genocide — is consistent with Jewish values and that excluding anti-Zionist Jews weakens the Jewish community…

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New polling data shows that a sizable majority of Jewish voters disapprove of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s job performance and fear he is pushing the Democratic Party too far to the left, in contrast with non-Jewish voters who hold a largely favorable view of the democratic socialist, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports…

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A bipartisan group of House lawmakers, led by Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Brad Sherman (D-CA), wrote to President Donald Trump today to “express deep concern about any effort” to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, JI’s Marc Rod reports, after Trump and Vice President JD Vance indicated they were looking into it last week…

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Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), the founder of the Republican Israel Caucus and a reliable ally of the Jewish state, called Israel’s “continuing aggressive operations” in Syria “deeply disturbing,” “counterproductive” and “irresponsible.” Wilson accused Israel of “taking Syrian land and attacking Syrian cities,” saying the operations “need to end immediately”…

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Wilson, along with Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), also sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging the administration to remove Syriafrom the State Sponsor of Terrorism list…

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Israel marked 1,000 days today since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, with memorials and protests taking place around the country…

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Far-right commentator Tucker Carlson told the Columbia Journalism Review that he plans to help start a new political party — after saying last month he was renouncing the Republican Party — but does not plan to run as a candidate. He repeatedly railed against Israel in the interview and accused it of “taking over my political system and destroying my country”…

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Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin hosted his annual White Party at his Hamptons estate yesterday featuring a host of high-profile attendees, including Ivanka Trump, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, former quarterback Tom Brady, actor Leonardo di Caprio and more…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s (D-FL) contentious primary race in Florida’s 20th Congressional District.

Fourth of July celebrations in the nation’s capital are kicking off with a bang (literally — the fireworks show on the National Mall could break world records). President Donald Trump is slated to give a speech on the Mall ahead of the fireworks show on Saturday night, followed by a military flyover debuting the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet.

Iran is slated to hold a massive, dayslong funeral procession for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei beginning on Saturday in Tehran and including cities across Iran and Iraq. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a top mediator between the U.S. and Iran, will attend the memorial, alongside officials from dozens of other countries.

Christians United for Israel’s annual summit in Washington will begin on Sunday. Speakers over the three-day confab include State Department antisemitism envoy Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun; former Auburn University basketball coach Bruce Pearl; Malcolm Hoenlein, vice chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; Georgia state Rep. Esther Panitch; and former Israeli hostage Yair Horn.

We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat shalom and happy Fourth of July weekend!

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Talks in Doha about the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding have concluded, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi announced, with the countries agreeing to create a communication channel “by tomorrow” in order to address MOU violations.

The U.S. and Iran also agreed to “keep things quiet for the coming week,” a U.S. official told Axios, while Washington is reportedly continuing to press Tehran to abandon its plan to charge tolls in the Strait of Hormuz and “think bigger” on a nuclear deal. The sums Iran could generate from freely selling oil without sanctions under such a deal “would be 100 times more valuable to them,” the official said…

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New York Times/Siena polls of the six Senate battleground states — Alaska, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas — found that Democrats have a path, albeit an uphill one, to retake the chamber in November. All of the races are within the margin of error except in North Carolina, where former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper leads Michael Whatley, former chair of the Republican National Committee, with the largest margin of seven points…

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Poetica Coffee, the Brooklyn cafe that banned Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) last week over his support of Israel, claimed in an Instagram post today that Goldman intentionally “smear[ed]” the business in talking about his experience “possibly for election-eve media exposure”…

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Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, told CNN yesterday that some democratic socialist candidates have views that are “vastly more radical” than where the “Democratic coalition” stands, saying their support for communism, open borders and defunding the police represents “a fundamental attack on America itself”…

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Asked about Republicans viewing him as easier to beat in a general election than his more-moderate primary opponents, far-left Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed told Semafor, “The number of times I’m gonna define and redefine Mike Rogers!” referring to the GOP Senate front-runner and former Michigan representative. “By the time I’m done, his best friends are gonna look at him and think what I think, say what I say. I’m gonna define him into eternity”…

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The National Education Association adopted new policies ahead of its convening this weekend in Denver after its Jewish Affairs Caucus and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs advocated for such changes, JCPA said, in response to last year’s assembly which grew contentious over antisemitism issues. The new changes include stronger conduct enforcement for delegates, electronic voting to reduce shouting on the floor during resolution votes, de-escalation training for NEA staff and repeated public reminders of the rules…

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Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji was sentenced to one year in jail and two years of probation yesterday after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter and battery in the death of Paul Kessler, a 69-year-old Jewish man who died after Alnaji struck him with a megaphone at a protest in California shortly after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. The Anti-Defamation League’s California regional offices decried the sentence as “little more than a slap on the wrist” and expressed concern at the judge’s dismissive demeanor during sentencing…

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A New York woman was arrested yesterday by the FBI for allegedly providing material support to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, including over $30,000 in cryptocurrency. The woman is a leader of an extremist organization called the Direct Action Movement for Palestinian Liberation, according to the FBI, and had communicated with a person claiming to be a PIJ fighter in Gaza, whom she told she “wish[es] every day were October 7th”…

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Speaking at the Herzliya Conference in Israel, Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram, director general of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, addressed Israeli public criticism of the U.S.’ foreign policy, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports: “What some in Israel perceive as weakness or folly, an apparent disregard for every warning sign on the ground, is viewed in Washington as cold, calculated and clear-eyed risk management in an era of shifting global attention.”

“For us, Iran is an existential threat; for the United States, it is a chronic regional challenge,” Baram said of the countries’ differing priorities. “We think Tehran, they think Taiwan”…

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U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar held a ceremony to sign the lease for the permanent new complex of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem; Huckabee handed Sa’ar a $1 bill as symbolic payment for the 99-year lease…

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The New York Times looks at President Donald Trump’s insistence that Syria take over fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon from Israel, an idea that has been shot down by Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and raised alarm across the Middle East…

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CENTCOM hosted a regional security dialogue alongside the Bahrain Defense Force with participation from Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the UAE and Yemen — “the first time military leaders from Syria and Lebanon participated in a regional defense conference led by the United States,” CENTCOM said…

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The U.S. Navy is searching for a missing aircrew member after a Sea Hawk helicopter made an emergency water landing in the Arabian Sea, with three of the four crew members rescued in stable condition. There’s no indication any hostile action was involved, the Navy’s 5th Fleet said…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how Jewish leaders are approaching America’s 250th birthday — and why many see the milestone, coming at a fraught moment, as a chance to reaffirm both their Jewish identity and their faith in the American experiment.

The Maccabiah Games, which kicked off today in Jerusalem with a grand opening ceremony, begin in earnest tomorrow as about 5,000 athletes — including 900 from the U.S. — compete in more than 30 sports over the next two weeks.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Nearly all House Democrats voted in favor of a war powers resolution this afternoon that aimed to block U.S. support for Israeli operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports, though the legislation failed to secure a House majority, with nearly all Republicans and 22 Democrats voting against the measure…

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White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are in Doha, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari confirmed, where they were set to meet with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and other mediators, but did not hold talks with Iranian officials. It’s a step back from the direct negotiations that took place in Switzerland just a week ago…

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Al-Ansari said further that the $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets has not yet been released to Tehran. “Whether the funds are transferred depends on the agreement of both parties and the progress of negotiations, which has not yet occurred,” he announced at a press briefing today…

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Meanwhile, Oman has submitted a proposal to the U.S. for Muscat and Tehran to collect service fees from shipping companies seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz, The New York Times reports. One of Iran’s deputy foreign ministers, Kazem Gharibabadi, said yesterday if Iran was unable to come to an arrangement with Oman it would move forward on its own…

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A small group of House Republicans, led by Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), is threatening not to support the Trump administration’s $88 billion Iran war supplemental funding request unless the White House replaces more than 4,000 U.S. troops who were pulled out of Poland last month, Politico reports. The effort could hold up the supplemental, already expected to face a tough fight, given the GOP’s razor-thin majority in the chamber…

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A 20-year-old U.S. citizen living in Jerusalem is set to be charged by Israeli prosecutors for spying on Iran’s behalf. The suspect, arrested earlier this month, was allegedly paid to take pictures and videos of “sensitive sites” in Israel over several months…

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad today as both countries prepare for a “mass funeral” for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Araghchi said, after Khamenei was killed in February in a joint U.S.-Israeli operation…

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The Israeli Ministry of Defense and defense manufacturer Rafael completed a successful test integrating the Iron Beam laser system into the Iron Dome missile-defense array, marking a “major breakthrough,” Rafael announced…

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Ellie Cohanim, who served as deputy special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism in President Donald Trump’s first term, recently joined his administration as a senior policy advisor to U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz, Waltz announced today…

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A New York Times/Siena poll of the race for U.S. Senate in Texas found Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton and Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in a dead heat, 47-47%, among likely voters. The seat, once considered a long shot for Democrats in the deep-red state, has emerged as a top-tier pickup opportunity, given Paxton’s ethical and legal baggage…

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New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin — the first Jewish person to hold her role — slammed a newly elected Brooklyn Democrat’s promotion of antisemitic conspiracy theories, but declined to call her commentary disqualifying, JI’s Will Bredderman reports…

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After a monthslong unexplained absence from Congress, Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) returned to the House floor today to disclose that he had been hospitalized for depression. Kean faces a competitive reelection race against Democratic nominee Rebecca Bennett in a key battleground district in Democrats’ bid to retake the House…

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Prominent pro-Israel activist Arsen Ostrovsky, who was injured in the Bondi Beach Hanukkah shooting in Sydney last year, testified before Australia’s Royal Commission on Antisemitism about how he faced “relentless” and “vicious” harassment online after the attack, including AI-altered images of his injuries and accusations that he was a crisis actor…

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In a series of high-profiledecisions today, the Supreme Court sided with Vice President JD Vance in a case he brought as a Senate candidate, along with other plaintiffs, and lifted federal limits on coordinated spending between political parties and candidates.

The court also struck down Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship — a move that garnered praise from Jewish groups including the American Jewish Committee, the Union for Reform Judaism and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at Democrats’ ongoing divisions over an effort to cut aid to Israel led by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY).

Technical delegations from the U.S. and Iran are expected to meet separately with Qatari and Pakistani mediators in Doha — still with no direct talks planned.

Hard-line Republicans upended business on the House floor for the second week in a row, blocking the procedural measure that would have teed up consideration of the 2027 State Department funding bill and the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act. After a final vote this evening, the House will head to recess early, until July 13.

The Herzliya Conference continues in Israel: Among the many top national security and political officials speaking are former Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid; former Israeli Ambassadors to the U.S. Danny Ayalon and Michael Herzog; former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro; EU Ambassador to Israel Michael Mann; Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot; Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Avigdor Liberman; Democrats party leader Yair Golan; Ra’am party leader Mansour Abbas; and Nadav Tamir, executive director of J Street Israel.

President Donald Trump is set to take his first trip on the jumbo jet gifted to him by Qatar as he travels to an event in North Dakota.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The U.S. and Iran offered conflicting reports about whether talks will be heldthis week as the countries attempt to deescalate after a weekend exchange of military strikes: President Donald Trump claimed today that Iran had requested a meeting that would take place in Qatar on Tuesday, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports, while Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei denied any scheduled meetings with the U.S…

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White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed Congress this afternoon on the memorandum of understanding signed with Iran earlier this month, in the first member-wide update on the agreement…

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CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper met with Lebanese Armed Forces chief Gen. Rodolphe Haykal in Beirut today to discuss “implementing the security annex” to the Israel–Lebanon framework agreement signed on Friday, the LAF said in a statement. CENTCOM said Cooper also met with “senior civilian and military leaders” in Israel…

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White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles joined Vice President JD Vance in initially voicing skepticism to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pitch to Trump in February 2025 that the U.S. join Israel in striking Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to a new book by New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan. Wiles feared that any involvement from the U.S. military could “spiral into an Israeli regime-change war,” the authors write…

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The IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate and Southern Command told Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF chief of staff, that Hamas is reconstitutingin order to resume war against Israel, according to Israeli media. The report indicates the IDF is urging a return to its campaign against the terror group, but the U.S. is opposed as it seeks to move forward with Trump’s Board of Peace…

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Nika Soon-Shiong, the publisher of the Hamas-sympathetic outlet Drop Site News, claimed she was removed from the board of the Committee to Protect Journalists, sharing a letter she had written to the board objecting to CPJ’s announcement that it would audit its database of members of the media killed during the Israel-Hamas war. The move was undertaken after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad identified individuals CPJ listed as journalists as members of the terrorist groups…

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In the lead-up to this summer’s primary elections, endorsement season is in full swing: In its first-ever endorsement, Jewish Voice for Peace Action, the political arm of the anti-Israel advocacy group, is backing far-left Abdul El-Sayed in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan. The Detroit Free Press, Michigan’s largest newspaper, endorsed one of his opponents, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow.

In Minnesota, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is backing Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) for U.S. Senate against her more-progressive primary opponent, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, and in Massachusetts, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) endorsed Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) as he fends off a generational primary challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA)…

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A new New York Times/Portland Press Herald/Siena poll shows Democratic candidate Graham Platner and Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a statistical tie, 49-47%, among likely voters in the Maine Senate race. The close margin reflects Platner’s struggles to consolidate Democratic support — 10% of voters who say they want Democrats to control the Senate indicated they plan to vote for Collins anyway.

Platner and the Democratic National Committee sent a joint fundraising email today, after Democratic leadership had hesitated to support him during the primary…

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New York state Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs acknowledged to The New York Post that the “Israel-Palestinian issue had an impact” in the state’s recent primary elections, where several socialist candidates prevailed. “It hurt establishment Democrats,” he said, including “people who may have voted against [Democratic incumbent Reps. Adriano] Espaillat and [Dan] Goldman because of it”…

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Yair Rosenberg, a longtime journalist and commentator on American Jewry, is joining The New York Timesas a reporter covering Jewish American life, the Times announced today, amid criticism over the outlet’s alleged bias in covering antisemitism and Israel.

In the latest such incident, noted by Gabe Stutman, the former editor of J. The Jewish News of Northern California, the Times’ reporting on antisemitic harassment targeting California state Sen. Scott Wiener failed to mention Wiener is Jewish…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how California politicians are responding to the repeated harassment targeting Wiener, who is running to replace retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in Congress.

Witkoff and Jared Kushner are headed to Qatar in order to represent the U.S. in talks with Iran, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Fox News, as the status of the negotiations remains unclear.

The technical talks on the memorandum of understanding meant to be taking place separately are also up in the air — Iran’s Baghaei said an Iranian technical delegation will be in Doha this week but will not be meeting with American officials.

Colorado voters will head to the polls in tomorrow’s Democratic primaries, where moderate incumbents are fearing a far-left sweep similar to that of New York City’s primaries earlier this month. Internal polling from the campaigns of longtime state Democratic leaders Sen. Michael Bennet — who is running for governor — and Rep. Diana DeGette shows much tighter races than expected for the established politicians.

Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, will testify before the House Appropriations Committee where he is expected to address the White House’s $88 billion supplemental funding request for the war with Iran and FY2027 budget request.

The Israeli Embassy in Washington will hold a “Zionist LGBTQ+ celebration” on the last day of Pride Month in memory of slain embassy staffer Sarah Milgrim’s allyship.

Reichman University’s Herzliya Conference kicks off in Israel, focusing this year on national security and national resilience. Israeli President Isaac Herzog will address the confab, as well as U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee; Amos Hochstein, who served as a Middle East envoy under former President Joe Biden; former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo; former Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi; journalist Barak Ravid; and Aliyah Minister Ofir Sofer.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

As the White House continues to promote the memorandum of understanding that will end the war with Iran and start negotiations between Washington and Tehran, Vice President JD Vance is out with a message that sounds strikingly familiar — at least to anyone who followed former President Barack Obama’s pitch on the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.

“If you think this is a bad deal, what is your alternative?” Vance said in an interview this week with New York Times columnist Ross Douthat. 

Obama used nearly identical phrasing at a 2015 White House press conference: “I’m hearing a lot of talking points being repeated about ‘this is a bad deal,’” he said. “What I haven’t heard is, what is your preferred alternative?”

Watch a side-by-side look at Vance and Obama here…

Vance also delivered a tough message to Israeli officials who have criticized the MOU, telling reporters on Thursday that Israel’s government should be careful not to alienate the only friend it has left: President Donald Trump, JI’s Emily Jacobs reports.

“Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time and he happens to be the head of state of the world’s superpower. If I was in the Cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world,” said Vance…

Trump also had a word of caution for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, two days after he said Netanyahu was too “vicious” in his approach to fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon. Asked by a reporter for Israel’s Kan News if he will support Netanyahu in this year’s Israeli elections, Trump said he most likely would, but did not commit.

“I’ll have to look at who’s running, but I like Bibi very much. I would be most likely to endorse him,” said Trump. “He’s doing a very good job, he’s got to be a little bit more rational”…

United Against Nuclear Iran, an advocacy group that rallied opposition to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, said on Thursday that it “cannot endorse the MoU in its current form”…

AIPAC released a policy memo on Thursday that said the MOU “raises significant questions,” and called on Congress to “play a critical role in ensuring a final deal meets President Trump’s stated objectives for the war”…

In a Thursday speech at the FII Priority summit in Rome, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama blamed Iran for “ruthless” cyberattacks against the country, claiming that Tehran has sought to sow unrest about a preliminarily approved luxury development project in the country from Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, Trump’s daughter and son-in-law, JI’s Matthew Shea reports…

Janeese Lewis George defeated Kenyan McDuffie in the Democratic primary for mayor of Washington, D.C., with the Associated Press calling the race on Thursday afternoon. Democratic socialist Lewis George leads McDuffie 53% to 36%…

American Priorities, a super PAC created as a progressive counterweight to AIPAC, has received $250,000 from a tech executive whose firm is developing AI data centers in New York State — while boosting two democratic socialist House candidates who oppose efforts to expand data centers, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports…

Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ), who has been absent from Congress since March due to an unexplained personal health issue, plans to return to Washington on June 30…

Israel and Syria are expected to resume direct talks soon due to pressure from the U.S., the Israeli network Kan reports…

The FBI announced that it charged San Diego resident Reda Mazen Rida Sabassi with conspiring to provide material support to Hamas after he allegedly raised approximately $600,000 through fraudulent charitable campaigns and funneled a portion to the terrorist organization…

Former Presidents Joe Biden, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton attended the grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Thursday afternoon.

Guests included a litany of ex-Obama administration staffers, including former White House liaison to the Jewish community Matt Nosanchuk and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, who was spotted chatting with Obama…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how Jewish Republicans are feeling about the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding that was signed this week. 

Vice President JD Vance plans to travel to Switzerland this weekend for talks with Iran, though the plans are not yet finalized, he told reporters on Thursday. 

Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, will become the acting director of national intelligence on Friday after the confirmation of DNI nominee Jay Clayton was delayed this week at President Donald Trump’s request. 

We’ll be monitoring the final days of the heated congressional primary campaigns in New York, where Israel and Gaza remain hot topics for progressive candidates. 

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

After days in which President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other senior officials boosted the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding — and amid calls from Capitol Hill and beyond to make public the agreement’s details — the White House on Wednesday shared the text of the document that the Trump administration said will end the war against Tehran. Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs obtained the text of the MOU, which was read aloud to reporters during a call with a senior administration official.

The MOU states that the two nations “and their respective allies in the current war” will permanently end military operations — including against Lebanon, a stipulation that suggests the deal is meant to suspend Israel’s retaliatory strikes against Hezbollah, a provision for which Israel has not yet expressed approval. Iran “reaffirms” in the MOU that it will not “procure or develop nuclear weapons”…

The MOU text also reveals that the U.S. plans to issue a sanctions waiver to Iran so that it can sell oil, a major policy shift away from Trump’s use of sanctions against Iran. If a final deal is reached, the U.S. committed to ending all sanctions on Iran. Trump said earlier in the day at the G7 summit in France that the U.S. will not invest in Iran but would not stop other countries from doing so, JI’s Matthew Shea reports.

One new piece of information Trump shared on Wednesday that was not directly addressed in the MOU: a nuclear deal between Washington and Tehran would not prohibit the Iranians from possessing ballistic missiles, JI’s Matthew Shea reports. “I mean, they have to have some, because other people have some … It doesn’t work that way. And missiles aren’t the problem,” Trump said at the G7.

The agreement does not address Iran’s ballistic missiles or support for terrorist proxies. At the beginning of the war, the Trump administration said eliminating the ballistic missile threat from Iran was a key war aim…

The MOU asserts that a final deal will be negotiated within 60 days, unless both countries agree to extend the deadline. Iran’s naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz must be lifted within 30 days. 

When talking to reporters after landing in Paris this afternoon, Trump said he does not view the 60-day deadline as a hard deadline. “Just as long as they’re behaving, I really don’t care that much,” Trump said.

Vance, not Trump, will be signing the MOU in Switzerland on Friday. “This way if it works out, I’m going to take the credit. If it doesn’t work out, I’m blaming JD,” Trump said during the G7…

Some Republican senators criticized the MOU, with retiring Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) calling it “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades,” JI’s Marc Rod reports…

Dario Amodei and Sam Altman, the CEOs, respectively, of Anthropic and OpenAI, joined Trump and the other G7 leaders for lunch on Wednesday, along with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis… 

The planned Senate confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton, Trump’s nominee to serve as director of national intelligence, was scuttled on Wednesday morning after a last-minute Truth Social post from the president saying that the hearing would be canceled, prompting frustration from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, JI’s Marc Rod reports…

As a major shareholder in Volkswagen, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is complicating talks between the German automaker and the Israeli state-owned defense company Rafael over Rafael’s intention to buy a plant from Volkswagen to manufacture components for Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense systems…

The anti-Israel advocacy group TrackAIPAC, which attacks lawmakers who have received support from pro-Israel groups and donors who have supported Israel-related causes, endorsed Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who once was targeted by TrackAIPAC before moving sharply to the left on Israel in recent months…

After eight people were indicted last week for allegedly threatening University of Michigan leaders and their families as part of an anti-Israel pressure campaign, former Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lon Johnson called on the party’s current leadership to review the actions of five of the suspects who were members of the Michigan Democratic Party…

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights announced on Wednesday that it is opening an antisemitism investigation into the American Psychological Association, the nation’s largest professional organization for mental health professionals. JI’s Gabby Deutch reported on the APA’s handling of antisemitism last summer…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at how some of the country’s most prominent Jewish communal leaders are marking America’s 250th birthday this July Fourth.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) will be speaking in the morning at a fireside chat at the Hudson Institute focused on “diplomacy, defense and debt.”

We’ll be monitoring the results of Tuesday’s mayoral primary election in Washington, D.C., which still has not been called, even as Janeese Lewis George leads Kenyan McDuffie 53% to 37%, with 68% of the vote counted. 

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

After the U.S. conducted strikes yesterday in Iran, President Donald Trump said from the Oval Office this morning that the U.S. would “hit them hard again today” and told Fox News that he may target Iranian power plants and bridges because Tehran is “tapping the United States along” in negotiations.

As Trump convened his national security team in Washington this afternoon to discuss military options, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters CENTCOM will be “busy tonight” with “bombs dropping on key facilities in Iran”…

Trump also revealed today that he directed the U.S. military last month to “execute a secret mission” to assist oil tankers and other commercial vessels in transiting the Strait of Hormuz, an effort that “has resulted in more than 100 MILLION Barrels of Oil” and over 200 commercial ships moving through the waterway. His Truth Social post was a clarification of earlier comments that seemed to suggest the U.S. was stealing this oil directly out of Iran; U.S. operations to facilitate passage in the strait have been previously reported…

Trump provided Fox News with new details of the downing of the U.S. Army helicopter earlier this week, describing how an Iranian drone became lodged between the two pilots in the cockpit who guided the helicopter into the sea, where they were rescued “for the first time in U.S. military history” by an unmanned sea drone…

Qatari mediators visited Tehran today in the hopes of pushing Iranian officials to engage more effectively in negotiations with the U.S., Axios reports, after Trump had grown increasingly frustrated with their intransigence over the last two weeks, even as he continued to signal the two sides were approaching a deal…

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz met with UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, the highest-level U.S. official to publicly visit the Gulf since the Iran war began…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as an “antisemitic dictator” today after Erdoğan condemned Israel’s “network of murder” in Syria and Lebanon and threatened a “very clear and strong response” if Turkish interests in the region were jeopardized. Netanyahu said Erdoğan, whom he accused of supporting Hamas, lacks the moral authority to criticize Israel.

Trump, when asked in the Oval Office about the potential for war between Israel and Turkey, described Erdoğan as a “hell of a leader” and said, “I don’t think that will happen as long as I’m president”…

More than 20 countries, including the U.S., issued a joint statement condemning “lethal plotting and malign actions” by Iran’s security forces working with international and local criminal groups in Europe, North America and Australia, including their efforts to target “Iranian dissidents, journalists and Jewish and Israeli communities and interests”…

The Department of Justice indicted eight individuals associated with the University of Michigan for allegedly threatening university leaders, law enforcement, businesses and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit over the conspirators’ perception of their “purported financial support of Israel.”

The individuals “discussed methods by which to harm the targets and their families, including poison, bombs, and psychological torture,” engaged in extensive vandalism and threw jars filled with noxious chemicals into homes, according to the department…

An immigration judge ordered earlier this month that Columbia University anti-Israel protest leader Mohsen Mahdawi be deported to Jordan, after a lengthy legal battle in which the Trump administration claimed Mahdawi has been involved in and supported terrorist violence. Mahdawi, who has not been charged with a crime, is still seeking review of his removal proceedings in federal court…

The Senate Education and Natural Resources Committee advanced the Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons (HEAL) Act by a voice vote…

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, in a memo to donors, acknowledged that the “political fundamentals in Maine remain challenging” for Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) to retain her seat against scandal-plagued challenger Graham Platnerand called it a “fatal mistake to assume Platner is too damaged to win”…

Trump offered Collins his backing today after having long been at odds with the senator: Asked if she has his full endorsement, Trump said, “She does, because she’s a sane woman. She’s not my best friend at all … but she’s a sane person and she’s a respected person.” He called Platner a “thug,” a “phony” and a “bad person”…

Ron Klain, the former chief of staff to President Joe Biden, defended Platner’s tattoo of a Nazi symbol in a comment responding to the Republican Jewish Coalition on Instagram, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports: Klain claimed the Totenkopf “was a skull and crossbones to remember [Platner’s] fallen comrades from his service in Afghanistan,” an explanation Platner’s campaign has not previously offered…

Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, running against Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) in the 10th Congressional District, denied to JI’s Will Bredderman that he’s backing Darializa Avila Chevalier in her race against Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) — even as the two appeared together in an ad paid for jointly by both of their campaigns…

Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg, running in the Democratic primary for New York’s 12th District, came out yesterday in support of the Block the Bombs Act, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports, despite having previously expressed skepticism about the bill seeking to broadly restrict weapons sales to Israel…

Meanwhile, Public First Action, the PAC linked to AI giant Anthropic, is spending $1.2 million on a Knicks-themed ad in support of Schlossberg’s opponent, Alex Bores, who has become a leading advocate for AI regulation on the campaign trail. The ad is set to air tonight during Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Politico reports…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at the state of play in Israel’s elections, taking place this fall.

The House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee will hold a closed-door markup of the 2027 defense spending bill.

Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA) and Ritchie Torres (D-NY) will speak at a Progressive Policy Institute event on “Working Toward a New Era of Patriotism and Democratic Renewal” at the National Press Club in Washington.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump announced today that Iran was responsible for downing a U.S. Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz last night, and vowed to respond out “of necessity.” Trump had reportedly told aides his “red line” for resuming military action would be if Iran killed any more Americans, though he confirmed in his post on Truth Social that both American pilots involved were “safe and uninjured.”

Later, however, in a call with The Wall Street Journal, Trump appeared to downplay the incident, saying it “wasn’t a big deal” and that “the pilot is fine”…

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Top GOP lawmakers echoed Trump’s initial assessment that the U.S. must respond: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea that Iran should face “significant consequences.” Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, similarly said the U.S. must “vigorously respond,” and Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) pushed for “decisive action”…

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signaled that Tehran is distancing itself from the episodeand not claiming it as a direct attack on the U.S. He said in a statement, “Foreign forces in proximity to our territory are at constant risk on account of their own human errors, plain accidents, or potentially being caught in crossfire. To reduce risk, best solution is for them to leave”…

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Trump, speaking to ABC News, openly mused about whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “even wants to continue” and run in Israel’s upcoming elections, slated to take place this fall. “He’s a wartime prime minister. We will very shortly win the war one way or the other, and you know he’s a wartime prime minister,” Trump said…

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A gunman from Lebanon entered Israeli territory and fired on IDF troops, who killed him before he crossed the border fence, the IDF said. The infiltration set off a widespread search for potential accomplices, though none were found…

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Before the latest round of missile fire between Israel and Iran, U.S. and Iranian negotiators had focused their discussions on four major elements of a nuclear deal, officials told The New York Times, even as the Trump administration has said nuclear issues will be discussed in a subsequent round of negotiations.

The key points reportedly include how long Iran will suspend uranium enrichment, diluting the country’s stockpile of already enriched uranium, dismantling three of its major nuclear facilities and “snap” inspections of all relevant sites inside the country…

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A new survey from the Israel Democracy Institute found the share of Israelis who believe the country’s security is a primary consideration for Trump has plummeted to 44%, down from 60% who said the same in March at the beginning of the Iran war, JI’s Matthew Shea reports.

It’s the lowest level of Israeli trust in Trump since the institute began tracking the metric when he was elected to a second term in November 2024, coming as Washington and Jerusalem seemingly diverge on their strategies and ultimate goals of the war with Iran…

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Twenty-one countries issued a joint statement urging Israel not to implement a new law requiring international NGOs wanting to operate in the West Bank and Gaza to register with and be vetted by the Israeli government, calling the law “part of a broader pattern of restrictive measures” that “constrain the urgently needed humanitarian response.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the concerns and claims of the countries as “completely unfounded and detached from reality” as it said there are “immense amounts of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip”…

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Randy Villegas, a left-wing Democrat running to unseat Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) in California, claimed victory today in the jungle primary over Jasmeet Bains, a moderate Democrat who had been favored by pro-Israel leaders as well as the party’s national leadership, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports. Democratic Majority for Israel’s super PAC had spent heavily to help Bains with a $500,000 TV ad buy opposing Villegas…

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United Democracy Project, the AIPAC-affiliated super PAC, is spending $2 million on an initial ad buy this week to boost Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the Democratic primary for Michigan’s open Senate seat, a UDP spokesperson confirmed to JI’s Matthew Kassel. The ad touts Stevens’ record fighting for the auto industry, opposing Medicare cuts and working to cap insulin prices in Congress…

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

Keep an eye out for timely analysis of today’s primary election results in Maine, Nevada and South Carolina from Jewish Insider Editor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar — premium JI subscribers like you will receive it first.

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The Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee will hold a markup of the HEAL Act, a bipartisan bill examining Holocaust education efforts across the country.

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The Culture for Peace Institute will hold a conference in Washington with speakers including State Department antisemitism envoy Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun; Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK); and Reps. Nick LaLota (R-NY), Randy Fine (R-FL), Andy Barr (R-KY), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Max Miller (R-OH), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Derrick Van Orden (R-WI).

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Elsewhere in Washington, Iran International will hold a town hall focused on the conflicts in Lebanon and Iran, featuring the Middle East Institute’s David Hale and Alex Vatanka as well as Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.

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In the evening, lawmakers will take the field for the annual Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park.

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In New York, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations will hold its annual antisemitism convening, bringing together communal professionals, experts and others to discuss efforts to combat antisemitism.

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New York state Assemblymember Claire Valdez, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and City Councilmember Julie Won — the top Democratic candidates for New York’s 7th Congressional District to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) — will face off for a debate on local news channel PIX11.

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The Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation will honor New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, former Israeli hostage Elkana Bohbot and Gazan human rights lawyer Moumen Al-Natour at its gala in Manhattan.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a heated phone call on Tuesday where they discussed a potential peace deal with Iran that was drafted by Qatar, Pakistan and other mediators, Axios reports, with Netanyahu pushing for a return to war.

Responding to reports that Netanyahu favors continuing strikes, Trump said on Wednesday that the Israeli leader “will do whatever I want him to do”…

Trump said the U.S. and Iran are “right on the borderline” of either securing a deal or resuming the war, telling reporters the process “could go very quickly, or could be a few days.” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, meanwhile, threatened to strike “beyond the region” should military operations continue…

The Jewish Democratic Council of America announced a dual endorsement today of Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow in Michigan’s three-way Senate Democratic primary, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports, saying, “There are two candidates who stand with our community on issues of importance to Jewish voters, and there is one who does not.”

While JDCA CEO Halie Soifer acknowledged concerns that Stevens and McMorrow could end up splitting the more-moderate vote and inadvertently propelling the far-left Abdul El-Sayed to the nomination, she told JI the dual endorsement was meant to reflect JDCA’s broader assessment of the stakes of the race…

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin is backing a new buffer zone bill for schools that aims to avoid another veto from Mayor Zohran Mamdani, JI’s Will Bredderman reports; the revised legislation narrows the language to early childhood facilities and K-12 schools and carves out other educational facilities, addressing concerns from the mayor and other councilmembers…

A new poll from the independent Pan Atlantic Research firm found presumptive Maine Senate Democratic nominee Graham Platner leading incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) 48-41% among likely voters. There was a stark educational divide: Platner led Collins by 20 points among those with a four-year college degree or higher, while the candidates were neck-and-neck among those without…

Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) vowed that if Maureen Galindo, the antisemitic conspiracy theorist running in the Democratic primary for Texas’ 35th District, is elected to Congress, “we will force a vote to expel her every single day we are here.”

All Jewish Democratic members of Congress also joined to condemn Galindo’s “vile, bigoted, and antisemitic views,” calling her “desperate and unhinged”…

Yesterday’s primary elections saw Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) secure the GOP nomination for retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) Senate seat, while in Georgia, former Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) and former football coach Derek Dooley will head to a runoff next month after neither received 50% in the race to take on Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA)…

Former Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), who represented the Boston area in Congress for more than three decades and was the first openly gay member of Congress, died on Tuesday, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports. He was 86.

In the final weeks of his life, Frank did a series of interviews to promote his forthcoming book, even as he anticipated not making it to the release date. In a May 8 interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Frank said he believed Democrats should reject far-left litmus tests, but said Israel policy is “180 degrees” different and that Democrats need to make clear their opposition to Netanyahu…

Netanyahu, along with other Israeli officials, issued a sharp condemnation of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir after he released a video showing himself taunting detained flotilla activists, JI’s Matthew Shea reports.

In the video, Ben-Gvir waves a large Israeli flag over blindfolded activists kneeling on the ground and shouts, “Welcome to Israel, we are the masters.” Netanyahu said the way his Cabinet minister “dealt with the flotilla activists is not in line with Israel’s values and norms”…

James Murdoch, the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, is purchasing, through his media holding company Lupa Systems, New York magazine, the Vox Media Podcast Network and Vox.com from Vox Media. Murdoch’s other business ventures include an investment firm, Bodhi Tree, founded in 2022 with $1.5 billion from the Qatar Investment Authority. His expanded holdings in American media mark a homecoming of sorts — his father owned New York magazine from 1977-1991…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for an interview with the two Republican candidates running for the University of Michigan Board of Regents, as they see an opening to pitch themselves to voters over Amir Makled, an anti-Israel Democratic nominee.

The Capital Jewish Museum in Washington will open to the public to mark the one-year anniversary of the shooting that killed Israeli Embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim.

The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington will hold candidate forums with D.C. mayoral hopefuls Janeese Lewis George and Kenyan McDuffie.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and James Lankford (R-OK) introduced the Jewish American Security Act today, a broad new effort to address antisemitism across multiple sectors of American society, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

The bill — launched at a Jewish Federations of North America press conference on Capitol Hill — aims to combat antisemitism on campus and online, as well as streamline and provide $1 billion in funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, and has broad support among Jewish community groups and across all major religious denominations.

William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, told JI it was “deeply encouraging to see this bill come together with bipartisan, bicameral support at a time when that kind of consensus is all too rare”…

President Donald Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) ahead of the state’s heated GOP primary runoff next Tuesday, JI’s Emily Jacobs reports. Trump, who has repeatedly praised both candidates, claimed Cornyn “is a good man … but he was not supportive of me when times were tough.”

If Paxton wins the May 26 runoff, Democrats plan to invest millions behind their nominee, state Rep. James Talarico, who is trying to become the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Texas since 1988. General election polling indicates that a matchup between Talarico and Paxton — who carries significant legal and ethical baggage — would be highly competitive…

Activist Maureen Galindo, a candidate for the Democratic nomination in Texas’ 35th Congressional District who has continuously trafficked in antisemitic conspiracy theories, pledged in an Instagram post last week to turn an immigrant detention center in south Texas into a “prison for American Zionists.” “It will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles which will probably be most of the Zionists,” she continued.

Jewish and Democratic groups, including Democratic Majority for Israel, are backing Galindo’s opponent, Bexar County sheriff’s deputy Johnny Garcia. In a statement about Galindo’s comments, DMFI accused Republicans of funding her campaign and “deliberately elevating one of the most grotesque antisemites in America”…

Trump blasted Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) for sending a campaign text to voters, as election day is underway in Kentucky, with a statement from Trump endorsing Massie — from 2022. Trump has endorsed Massie’s opponent, Ed Gallrein, in today’s Republican primary.

“Horrible Congressman Thomas Massie put out an old Endorsement, from many years ago, of him by me long before I found out that he was the Worst Congressman in the History of our Country,” Trump wrote on X — his first post on the platform in months…

New polling from the campaign of Navy veteran Rebecca Bennett shows her with a 20-point lead in the Democratic primary for New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, the seat held by Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) — who is drawing increasing scrutiny for his monthslong unexplained absence from Congress. Bennett, who is leading the pack in fundraising, polled at 35% among likely primary voters, while Tina Shah came in second at 15%…

After abruptly scrapping a strike on Iran planned for today, Trump gave a vague timeline for renewed diplomacy, saying Tehran has only “a limited period of time” to return to the negotiating table. “Two or three days. Maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Maybe early next week,” he told reporters today.

Hours after calling off the strike yesterday evening, Trump met with his national security team to discuss military options in Iran, Axios reports, suggesting resumed strikes are still on the table…

Speaking at the No Money for Terror Conference in Paris, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called on U.S. allies to “step up” and join Washington in taking aggressive economic action against Iran and its broader terrorism financing networks, JI’s Matthew Shea reports.

Bessent’s comments came as the Treasury Department announced sanctions against four individuals associated with the pro-Hamas flotilla traveling towards Gaza, as well as a suite of sanctions against Iranian shadow banking operations and 19 regime-linked vessels…

The Emirati Defense Ministry said that drone attacks that caused a fire at the UAE’s nuclear power plant over the weekend were launched from Iraqi territory, where several Iran-backed militias are based…

Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, told members of the House Armed Services Committee that reports that Iran had managed to reconstitute many of its drone and missile sites struck during U.S. operations were inaccurate…

Twenty-five Republican senators led by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) wrote a letter to Trump urging him to “fully dismantle” the U.N. Relief and Works Agency and remove it from the U.N. budget, citing the agency’s “systemic infiltration by Hamas and other U.S.-designated terrorist organizations”…

The Oklahoman, a local daily newspaper, pulled down an opinion article published on Monday comparing the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA team to Israel — an “underdog that has become hated.” The article, written by a pro-Israel Jewish Oklahoman, was “mistakenly published,” the paper’s executive editor said, and “did not align with our opinion standards”…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a readout from the Center for American Progress’ IDEAS Conference, where more than a dozen Democrats, several with national ambitions, shared their policy visions today in Washington.

The Jewish Federations of North America, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Combat Antisemitism Movement and Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History will host a breakfast with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month, with a keynote speech from Sam Salz, believed to be the first and only Orthodox Jew to play Division I college football.

The Senate will begin consideration on the reconciliation bill to fund immigration enforcement, as well as security for the new White House ballroom, during which Senate Democrats could force votes on a range of issues, including the war in Iran.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a budget hearing on State Department-adjacent entities, with testimony from former lawmaker and diplomat Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), National Endowment for Democracy President Damon Wilson and Inter-American Foundation CEO Sara Aviel.

The House Committee on Education & Workforce will hold a hearing on antisemitism in healthcare settings. Witnesses will include Deena Margolies, an attorney from the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law; Jamie Beran, CEO of the progressive Jewish organization Bend the Arc; Eveline Shekhman, CEO of the American Jewish Medical Association; and Dr. Jacob Agronin from Temple University Hospital.

Sarah Rogers, the under secretary of state for public diplomacy, will speak at the Hudson Institute about the U.S.’ public diplomacy strategy abroad, with opening remarks from Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO).

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump announced that, at the request of Qatari, Saudi and Emirati leaders, he was calling off an attack on Iran he said was planned for tomorrow, after the heads of state assured him Iran would agree to a deal that “will include, importantly, NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN!”

Trump said he had instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine to “be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached”…

A new New York Times/Siena poll found 35% of respondents said they sympathize more with Israelis, while 37% said they sympathize more with Palestinians. There was a stark partisan divide: Among Republicans, 66% said they sympathize more with Israelis, while just 17% of Democrats said the same.

Meanwhile, the poll found nearly two-thirds of respondents overall said they disapprove of the Iran war, including 91% of Democrats and 23% of Republicans. Eighty-one percent of Democrats said the costs of the Iran war would not be worth the benefits; 50% of Republicans said they thought it would be worth it, but 32% were unsure…

Several New York City Jewish leaders — including JCRC CEO Mark Treyger, the UJA-Federation of New York and Rabbi Joseph Potasanik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis — plan to skip Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Shavuot event taking place this evening at Gracie Mansion, the New York Post reports, after the mayor released a video on Friday for “Nakba Day” that sparked outrage among the Jewish community.

Asked about the backlash, Mamdani claimed his “door is always open” for Jewish leaders “beyond just this evening’s event,” while doubling down on his decision to post the video, saying he was “proud to commemorate Nakba Day” because there are “many Nakba survivors in New York City”…

Two dozen Jewish lawmakers and candidates from both parties shared with Axios a stream of antisemitic voicemails and messages they’ve received, including repeated death threats and praise of Nazis. “It’s no longer a Republican and a Democrat [issue],” said Rep. Max Miller (R-OH). “Both ends of our parties are wackadoos who hate Jews”…

Ahead of tomorrow’s primary elections in Kentucky, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is going out with an antisemitic bang: He accused his opponent, Trump-backed Navy veteran Ed Gallrein, of being the “puppet” of the Republican Jewish Coalition, which has spent nearly $4 million opposing Massie. The congressman further claimed “a coalition of Israel’s lobbyists and donors” is executing a “blatant attempt to buy a KY congressional seat” and that the RJC is “running [Gallrein’s] race.”

Gallrein, meanwhile, got a boost from Hegseth, who appeared today in Hebron, Ky., to urge voters to turn out for the GOP challenger. Hegseth — who claimed he was there in his personal capacity, as his appearance broke a longstanding tradition of defense secretaries who typically avoid engaging in electoral politics — praised Gallrein as a military leader who would remain loyal to Trump…

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) in her runoff for U.S. Senate, after she finished in first place in the Louisiana primary held over the weekend, ousting Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA). Letlow, who is already endorsed by Trump, is expected to prevail over state Treasurer John Fleming…

A man named Zaid Gitesatani was arrested today on a hate crime charge for assaulting a Jewish man in June 2024 in the heavily Orthodox Pico-Robertson neighborhood of Los Angeles, as the victim was walking his dog near a synagogue that was hosting an Israeli real estate event.

In the days following the assault, Gitesatani posted screenshots of a video of the incident to his Instagram account with the caption, “The Chosen People sometimes need a good smack to wake up” and claimed he “whopped 2 zios,” among other comments, according to the Justice Department…

The three leading Democratic candidates in the race for executive of Montgomery County, Md., — Councilmembers Andrew Friedson, Evan Glass and Will Jawando — pledged to address the rise of antisemitism within the local school system in a discussion today with the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.

Jawando, the most progressive Democrat in the race, said, “I am disappointed that MCPS has not accepted” the training recommended by the JCRC earlier this month. “I will continue to urge them to do so”…

Rahm Emanuel, the former Chicago mayor and prospective 2028 presidential candidate, is slated to discuss the future of U.S.-Israel relations at Tel Aviv University on July 8, according to an announcement from the school today, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports…

Israeli-founded AI startup Decart raised $300 million at a nearly $4 billion valuation for software that helps AI companies switch more easily between chips from Nvidia, which invested in the company, and its rivals…

Police said they “neutralized” a threat during an active shooter situation today at the Islamic Center of San Diego, the largest mosque in the county. Local news reported two suspects are dead, and the mosque’s chairman said a security guard had been killed…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a preview of tomorrow’s primaries in Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper will testify before the House Armed Services Committee.

The Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a budget hearing on the Department of Justice.

The Jewish Federations of North America will hold a press conference on the Hill with House and Senate lawmakers and hundreds of community leaders on the need for increased funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program.

The Center for American Progress will hold its 2026 IDEAS Conference in Washington with speakers including Govs. Gavin Newsom, Wes Moore, Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and columnist Ezra Klein.

The Middle East Forum will begin its three-day policy conference in Washington, with keynote speeches from White House official Seb Gorka, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter and Deputy Special Presidential Envoy Morgan Ortagus.

The Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in Manhattan will hold its spring benefit where it will honor Amb. Deborah Lipstadt, the former State Department antisemitism envoy, with its Light of Freedom Award, and synagogue lay leader and attorney Ira Bogner with its Shem Tov Award.

Tomorrow is Jewish Community Day at Nationals Park in Washington as the team faces off against the New York Mets.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

During their meeting today in Beijing, President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the issue of Iran, where the Chinese leader “did offer, he said, ‘if I can be of any help at all I would like to be of help,’” Trump recalled to Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “Anybody that buys that much oil has obviously got some kind of a relationship with them,” Trump added.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC News about the discussion that the “Chinese side is not in favor of militarizing the Strait of Hormuz and they’re not in favor of a tolling system,” which are positions the Trump administration shares…

At a meeting of foreign ministers of the BRICS bloc in India today, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the UAE of “direct involvement” in military operations against Iran; Araghchi later met on the sidelines with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov…

CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper testified at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that the U.S. and Israeli campaign against Iran has severely degraded its capabilities across a variety of fronts, to the extent that it will take years to reconstitute, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Cooper said that 90% of Iran’s defense industrial base has been destroyed and that support to key Iranian proxies Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis has been “completely cut off.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, meanwhile, said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that the U.S. believes Iran has run out of storage capacity for its crude oil and will need to cut off oil production, a key marker that may put more pressure on the regime to agree to a deal…

Saudi Arabia has begun to consider promoting a nonaggression pact between Middle East countries and Iran once the war ends, according to the Financial Times, fearing that the conflict will leave Iran weaker but more hardline and conflict-prone. Several European countries are reportedly supporting the effort…

The House unanimously passed a resolution yesterday evening recognizing Jewish American Heritage Month and calling on elected officials to combat antisemitism…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said they will initiate a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times over Nicholas Kristof’s column earlier this week alleging widespread Israeli sexual violence against Palestinian prisoners, which critics said used dubious sourcing and elevated conspiracy theories…

The Times looks under the hood of the campaign of Jack Schlossberg, running in New York’s 12th District Democratic primary, which sources described as “so erratic and plagued by turnover that it raises questions about how he might handle himself as a member of Congress”…

Vice President JD Vance, speaking at a rally in Maine, praised Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) — despite her strained relationship with the president — as she heads to a competitive general election against presumptive Democratic nominee Graham Platner.

“Sometimes I get frustrated with Susan Collins, I almost wish that she was more partisan,” Vance said. “But the thing I love about Susan is she is independent, because Maine is an independent state. And frankly, if she was as partisan as I sometimes wish that she was, she would not be a good fit for the people of Maine”…

The United Federation of Teachers endorsed Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) in his competitive primary race against former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander next month; Goldman has been racking up labor support ahead of the June 23 primary against the progressive Lander, who is endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani…

Tune Inn, the D.C. bar where William Paul, son of Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), accosted Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) with an antisemitic rant, announced that the younger Paul would be barred from the establishment going forward. The elder Paul hasn’t made any statement on the confrontation…

A flag with two swastikas and a Star of David was flown atop a building at New York University during a popular graduation event yesterday, reportedly appearing on top of the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, named for Jewish benefactors Michael and Judy Steinhardt. The flag was quickly removed and police say an investigation is underway…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at the emerging bloc of Sunni countries uniting against Israel’s allies, potentially complicating the Jewish state’s regional strategy.

The White House will host a reception with Jewish leaders tomorrow evening to kick off Shabbat 250, an initiative announced by President Donald Trump in his proclamation marking Jewish American Heritage Month where he encouraged Jewish Americans to “observe a national Sabbath” to celebrate the approaching Semiquincentennial of the United States.

Several Jewish organizations and institutions will also be marking the day with special events, including a Shabbat 250 dinner being held in Washington by the Combat Antisemitism Movement and American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch will speak at Friday evening Shabbat services at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan.

The Lennart Meri Conference, an annual foreign policy and security summit in Estonia, begins tomorrow. Speakers include several foreign leaders, former Israeli National Security Advisor Eyal Hulata and Israeli Russian researcher and former hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is kicking off an international tour tomorrow with a visit to the UAE, later heading to several European countries.

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that he secretly traveled to the UAE during the war with Iran and met with President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, leading to a “historic breakthrough in relations” between the two countries.

The UAE, however, called the prime minister’s report “baseless” and denied the meeting occurred, saying in a statement that its relations with Israel “are public … and are not based on secrecy or hidden arrangements.”

But Netanyahu’s not the only one to make an under-the-radar visit: Mossad chief David Barnea also reportedly traveled to Abu Dhabi twice during the war, sources told The Wall Street Journal…

Netanyahu’s governing coalition submitted a bill today to dissolve the Knesset and trigger early elections, which is expected to receive a vote next week. If the measure passes, elections would have to be held within five months, though it’s possible they could happen in early September, so as not to coincide with the High Holy Days and the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

The move appears to be an attempt to thwart the opposition, which submitted similar bills yesterday after Degel HaTorah, part of the ultra-Orthodox coalition party United Torah Judaism, said it would support such efforts due to the coalition’s failure to pass a law exempting yeshiva students from military service…

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) became the latest of a small number of Senate Republicans to break ranks and vote today with the majority of Democrats in favor of an effort to force an end to the war in Iran, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

She joined her colleagues Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Rand Paul (R-KY) in supporting the war powers resolution, but the effort still fell short of a majority of the Senate — or of the 60-vote threshold needed for passage — with a final vote of 50-49…

Paul’s son,William Paul, drunkenly accosted Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) yesterday, telling Lawler in front of a NOTUS reporter that, if anti-Israel Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is to lose his reelection race, it will be because of “your people” and “you Jews,” going on to accuse Jews of being “anti-American” and prioritizing Israeli interests. Lawler, who is not Jewish, reportedly defended his support for Israel and told Paul he was being antisemitic.

Paul apologized in a post on X today, claiming he “had too much to drink and said some things that don’t represent who I really am”…

The Board of Peace is considering implementing its governance and reconstruction efforts solely in the parts of Gaza not under Hamas control, Axios reports, a contingency option written into the Gaza peace plan in case the terror group refused to disarm…

In an unlikely pairing, New York state Assemblymember Micah Lasher has enlisted Fight Agency, a top progressive consulting firm, to cut ads for his campaign for the 12th Congressional District, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports.

The firm — which was co-founded by Morris Katz, who rose to prominence as an advisor for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign — prides itself on elevating left-wing, anti-establishment candidates, including current clients and Senate hopefuls Graham Platner in Maine and Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan. Lasher, meanwhile, has called himself a “proud Zionist Jew” and has close connections to the state’s Democratic establishment…

A new nonprofit aiming to counter Mamdani has already raised over $1 million, according to its co-founder Phil Singer, who also worked on a super PAC for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the mayoral race. NYC Common Sense intends to run ads and issue policy papers about Mamdani’s policies with which it disagrees and file lawsuits as needed…

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) called for an increase in funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program to $1 billion, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports from the Jewish Democratic Council of America’s leadership summit in Washington.

Noting that the Pentagon now estimates the cost of the Iran war at $29 billion, Jeffries asked, “How is it possible that we can’t spend at least 500 million [on NSGP]? I think the number should be even higher. Why wouldn’t we spend a billion dollars to make sure that the communities that we care about across this country are safe?”…

In a speech to parliament, King Charles III laid out his legislative priorities, including several aimed at combating the recent spate of violent attacks on the British Jewish community. One would permit the government to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization and create a new penalty for those who attack synagogues on behalf of foreign actors like Iran, with a potential of up to 14 years in prison…

Open Society Foundations, founded by left-wing philanthropist George Soros and run by his son Alex, announced it will provide $30 million to organizations combating antisemitism and Islamophobia over the next three years.

In a video statement, Alex Soros spoke of the personal nature of the investment, mentioning his father, who is a Holocaust survivor, and his wife, who is Muslim. OSF President Binaifer Nowrojee further cited the “deep injustices occurring in the Middle East,” which she said are “fueling indiscriminate prejudice, dehumanization, and violence directed against both Muslims and Jews”…

The Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh to be chairman of the Federal Reserve this afternoon on a largely party-line vote, with only Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) crossing the aisle to support the nominee, who is also the son-in-law of philanthropist Ronald Lauder. It’s the narrowest margin of approval for any Fed chair since the position became Senate confirmed in 1977…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a conversation with Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) about his antisemitic run-in with William Paul.

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold bilateral talks in Beijing.

Back in Washington, Israel and Lebanon will hold their third round of ambassador-level talks — which will reportedly include military representatives for the first time — to continue discussions on a peace deal framework and efforts to disarm Hezbollah.

CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper and AFRICOM Commander Gen. Dagvin Anderson will appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee for a hearing on the posture of their respective areas of command.

The congressional Abraham Accords Caucus will hold an event on the implications of the tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, including Reps. Craig Goldman (R-TX) and Brad Schneider (D-IL) and the Middle East Institute’s Ambassador Yael Lempert and Karen Young.

The Israeli American Council will host a gala in New York City, featuring a keynote speech from former CENTCOM Commander Erik Kurilla with special guests Miriam Adelson and former Mossad Deputy Director Henrike Weissberg. The event will honor Yakir Gabay, a member of the Gaza Board of Peace’s executive board, and his wife, Elena.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran appears to be on its last legs: Iran opened fire on U.S. warships and commercial vessels today, CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper said, and shot several missiles and drones at the UAE for the first time since early April — some missiles were reportedly intercepted by the Iron Dome system Israel deployed to the country at the beginning of the war, while one drone sparked a fire at the Fujairah oil complex. 

The UAE also condemned an Iranian drone attack on an oil tanker affiliated with the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in the Strait of Hormuz, calling it an “act of piracy”…

Signaling a possible return to hostilities, President Donald Trump told Fox News Iran will be “blown off the face of the earth” if it fires on ships being escorted through the strait by the U.S. as part of “Project Freedom” (which he said on Truth Social this afternoon has already happened).

CENTCOM, meanwhile, announced it had assisted two U.S.-flagged merchant ships in successfully transiting the Strait of Hormuz as of this morning…

Trump’s allies largely continue to stand behind the war effort: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called for “big, strong and short” strikes on Iran in defense of the UAE, while Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman called the war “a very good one” that will resolve shortly with “a resolution that is going to be very, very favorable.”

Asked about the impact on investing in the region, Ackman told CNBC the Middle East “has been reset in a very positive way,” with an expansion of the Abraham Accords and a “peace dividend” likely to come…

A small group of Senate Republicans are working on an Authorization for the Use of Military Force to receive a vote in Congress if military operations in Iran do pick back up, Semafor reports, as many lawmakers agree that Trump has run out the 60-day clock for a war launched without congressional approval (some Republicans believe the clock has been paused during the ceasefire). The AUMF would “likely limit ground troops and provide for a finite period of conflict,” according to the outlet… 

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added eight more candidates to its “Red to Blue” program, a move that could offer additional resources to the campaigns, including several in competitive Democratic primaries, as the party seeks to shore up its strongest candidates and flip the House amid a poor national environment for Republicans. 

The new recruits include union leader Bob Brooks in Pennsylvania’s 7th District as well as Bexar County sheriff’s deputy Johnny Garcia in Texas’ 35th — Garcia is facing Maureen Galindo, who has espoused a range of antisemitic conspiracy theories, in a runoff later this month…

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) endorsed Rep. Al Green (D-TX) in his runoff later this month against Rep. Christian Menefee (D-TX), Green announced today. Jewish leaders have been optimistic about unseating Green in the member-on-member race — a consequence of Texas’ redistricting process — as Green has grown increasingly hostile to Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks. 

The reported endorsement marks an improvement in the lawmakers’ relationship: Green and Pelosi had clashed during her time as House speaker over Green’s effort to impeach Trump…

Members of the Democratic National Committee are considering ways to limit Chair Ken Martin’s influence, The Bulwark reports, after his appearance on the “Pod Save America” podcast last week where he defended his decision not to release the “autopsy” report of the 2024 election and as members worry the organization is struggling to remain relevant and fiscally sound… 

Politico details the Republican campaign to persuade Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) to switch party affiliations and help keep Democrats from retaking the Senate in the midterm elections — despite Fetterman’s insistence that he will never renounce the Democratic Party…

Multiple Jewish homes, a synagogue and a Jewish center in Queens — which contains a preschool — were vandalized with swastikas and other antisemitic graffiti overnight, leaving Jewish residents questioning their safety amid a spate of antisemitic incidents, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. The NYPD is searching for at least four individuals responsible for the vandalism, according to New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin.  

“I have a Jewish community that is seriously questioning whether it is still welcome in this city,” said Democratic state Assemblymember Sam Berger. Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, said, “This is not normal and we need city leaders to act now”…

New York magazine spotlights the race for New York’s 12th District and the personas of its four front-runners — social media guru Jack Schlossberg, establishment operative Micah Lasher, AI critic Alex Bores and reformed Republican George Conway — as each seeks to represent one of the wealthiest, oldest, most educated and most densely populated congressional districts in the country…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for comments from U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz on Iran and the Board of Peace, as JI’s Gabby Deutch spoke with him on the sidelines of the Milken Conference in Los Angeles. 

Trump announced Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine will hold a press briefing in the morning, amid cracks in the ceasefire with Iran.

The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, which advocates for American hostages and journalists abroad, will honor Bar Ben Yaakov and Matan Sivek of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum as well as Qatari minister Mohammed Al-Khulaifi at its annual Freedom Award gala at the National Press Club in Washington, hosted by CBS’ Margaret Brennan.

The Manhattan Jewish Historical Initiative will induct honorees into its Jewish Hall of Fame in a ceremony at Bryant Park: Inductees include Ari Ackerman, philanthropist and co-owner of the Miami Marlins; New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin; singer-songwriter Melissa Manchester; and Ariel Zwang, CEO of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. 

CNN will hold a primary debate for California’s crowded gubernatorial race including Republicans Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton and Democrats Xavier Becerra, Matt Mahan, Katie Porter, Tom Steyer and Antonio Villaraigosa.

Vice President JD Vance is expected to appear at a campaign event for Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA) in Iowa after several postponements — the event, which had been dubbed “Top Nunn” in reference to the “Top Gun” movies, had originally been scheduled for mid-March but drew criticism when several servicemembers from Nunn’s district were killed in the U.S. war with Iran.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The gunman who attacked the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night, Cole Tomas Allen, was arraigned in Washington this afternoon. He is being charged with transportation of a firearm between states, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and attempting to assassinate the president of the United States, which carries a potential life sentence. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jocelyn Ballantine said Allen, 31, had “a 12-gauge, pump-action shotgun, a .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol and … three knives and other dangerous paraphernalia” during the attack. He will remain in detention with another hearing scheduled for Thursday…

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump met with his national security team this morning where they discussed Iran’s latest proposal to end the war, which reportedly includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz but postponing talks on the country’s nuclear program…

German Chancellor ‌Friedrich Merz said the U.S. is “being humiliated” by Iranian leaders after negotiations between the two countries this weekend were called off.

“The Iranians are obviously very skilled ⁠at negotiating, or rather, very skillful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result,” Merz told a group of students. The result is “an entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards,” he added…

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised how “courageously and heroically the people of Iran are fighting for their independence” in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi today in St. Petersburg. Araghchi thanked Russia for standing by its side and said the countries will continue their “strategic partnership”…

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said today that the terror group will not disarm, despite the Lebanese government’s intent to remove the group from power in the south of the country under the terms of the ongoing ceasefire with Israel. Hezbollah and Israel have continued to exchange fire throughout the ceasefire, including a wave of Israeli airstrikes today in response to Hezbollah’s deadly drone attack that killed an IDF soldier and wounded six yesterday… 

New Department of Homeland Security training materials allow green card applicants to be denied for antisemitic and anti-Israel social media posts and activism, as well as anti-American activism, The New York Times reports. The documents, distributed to immigration officers last month, cite “as an example of questionable speech a social media post that declares, ‘Stop Israeli Terror in Palestine’ and shows the Israeli flag crossed out”…

Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha summoned Israel’s ambassador to the country to protest the arrival of a ship allegedly carrying grain taken from Russian-occupied Ukraine at Israel’s Haifa Port, Sybiha said on X. Sybiha also denounced Israel’s “lack of appropriate response to Ukraine’s legitimate request” regarding a similar vessel that docked in Haifa last week.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar slammed Sybiha for his announcement: “Diplomatic relations, especially between friendly nations, are not conducted on Twitter or in the media,” Sa’ar wrote. He said that “evidence substantiating [Ukraine’s] allegations have yet to be provided” and that “the matter will be examined”…

Several pro-Israel House Democrats in Florida could lose their seats after Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a new congressional map that eliminates their districts — state lawmakers are expected to approve the map for use in this year’s midterm elections at a special session of the state Legislature tomorrow.

The new map could give the GOP up to four additional House seats by redrawing Democratic-leaning districts, including those of Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Darren Soto (D-FL)…

Claims by New Jersey congressional candidate Adam Hamawy that the Gazan hospital where he volunteered as a trauma surgeon in 2024 during Israel’s war with Hamas was a “completely benign civilian hospital with no tunnels underneath it” are false, The Washington Free Beacon reports.

While Hamawy claimed in an interview shortly after he returned that “there were definitely no tunnels underground and no command base there,” Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed a year later “in a tunnel directly under the hospital emergency department, where he was leading a high-level meeting with senior Hamas terrorists,” the Free Beacon writes…

All five of Pennsylvania’s living former governors, both Democrats and Republicans, released a statement today calling on state officials to prioritize the safety and security of Gov. Josh Shapiro, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.

The letter came days after state Treasurer Stacy Garrity — Shapiro’s leading Republican opponent in this year’s gubernatorial race — said the state will not pay for security upgrades made to Shapiro’s privately owned family residence, done after the state-owned governor’s mansion was targeted in an antisemitic arson attack last spring…

The New York Times chronicles Google co-founder Sergey Brin’s turn away from the Democratic Party and increasing political involvement, including against the proposed “billionaire tax” in his home state of California.

“I fled socialism with my family in 1979 and know the devastating, oppressive society it created in the Soviet Union. I don’t want California to end up in the same place,” Brin told the Times. Brin, who is Jewish, has also been disturbed by the Democratic Party’s leftward shift on Israel policy…

Toronto-based Jewish advocate Adam Hummel argues in the “Boundless Insights” Substack that “anti-Zionism” is an obsolete position, given the 78-year-old existence of the State of Israel. 

“Israelis don’t owe anyone an argument for their existence. …  The debate is over, not because one side won, but because the thing itself came into being. They are a people. They speak a language. They live on a piece of land and have mortgages. That is what peoples do. The Greeks do it. The Poles do it. The Québécois do it. The arguments about whether they should are, at this point, a leisure activity for people who live elsewhere”…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a profile of Keith Sonderling, the acting secretary of labor, who is Jewish and the grandson of Holocaust survivors, following the resignation of Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

The Zionist Rabbinic Coalition will present its first “Pillar of Zion” award to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) at the organization’s fifth annual National Conference in Washington. Other speakers at the three-day conference will include Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter; State Department antisemitism envoy Yehuda Kaploun; Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon; and Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump announced this afternoon, with the status of negotiations with Iran up in the air and the expiration of the ceasefire quickly approaching, that he is indefinitely extending the ceasefire at the request of Pakistani negotiators (despite having said, as recently as this morning, that he was not inclined to do so).

“Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured … we have been asked to hold our Attack … until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other”…

Talks were meant to begin shortly in Islamabad, but Vice President JD Vance’s trip was reportedly put on hold and he remains in Washington. Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were all spotted arriving at the White House for meetings this afternoon.

Iran also had not committed to sending its own delegation — Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the U.S. of violating the ceasefire through its blockade of Iranian ports and seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, calling it an “act of war. … Iran knows how to neutralize restrictions, how to defend its interests, and how to resist bullying,” he wrote…

U.S. forces boarded an oil tanker in the Indian Ocean that had been sanctioned for working with Iran which defense officials said was currently carrying Iranian oil, in a further escalation of the U.S. campaign against Tehran-aligned assets and actors outside of the Middle East. 

The Treasury Department also announced sanctions on 14 individuals and entities in Iran, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates for “their involvement in procuring or transporting weapons or weapons components on behalf of the Iranian regime”…

Six weeks after he was announced as Iran’s new supreme leader after the assassination of his father, Mojtaba Khamenei has still not been seen in public, raising speculation he is incapacitated from injuries sustained in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike or has been smuggled abroad…

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch (R-ID) endorsed Sen. Roger Wicker’s (R-MS) view that the U.S. should reconsider its funding for the Lebanese Armed Forces in light of its continued inaction to disarm Hezbollah, in addition to the Lebanese government’s failure to “follow through on long-promised economic reform. The era of complacency & unconditional bailouts must come to end,” Risch said…

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) clarified that his post calling it “awesome” that several Iranian oil tankers had bypassed the U.S. blockade — reporting that has been disputed as Iranian propaganda — was written as sarcasm. “[O]bviously Trump’s bungled mismanagement of this war is not ‘awesome.’ As I have said a million times here, it’s a disaster and he should end the war immediately,” Murphy wrote on X…

Democratic lawmakers are expressing concern over Israel’s fracturing relationship with key European allies, while experts say the shifting dynamics could carry longer-term economic and political risks for Jerusalem, even if Israel weathers threats to unwind largely symbolic defense agreements, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.

Among other recent moves, Spain and Ireland led a push today to suspend the EU’s association agreement with Israel. The initiative stalled as member states remained divided on the issue; still, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) called the developments “deeply alarming.” 

“NATO allies like Spain, France and Italy are turning their backs on Israel, a key democratic partner that is actively fighting on the front lines against Iran,” Gottheimer said. “Singling out Israel represents a double standard”…

The arsonist who pleaded guilty to attacking a North London synagogue on Saturday night was released on bail by the Westminster Magistrates’ Court today, JI’s Haley Cohen reports. The 17-year-old boy who threw a bottle containing accelerant through the window of Kenton United Synagogue must live and sleep at his home address and not enter any synagogue, the judge said. It was the third such attack on a Jewish institution in London within a week…

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) resigned from Congress this afternoon, half an hour before her House Ethics Committee sanctions hearing was due to begin. Having lost jurisdiction in the matter, the committee canceled the hearing…

The Board of Peace is reportedly in discussion with the UAE-owned DP World logistics company about managing supply chains and humanitarian aid in Gaza, including potentially building a new port and developing a free-trade zone, according to Financial Times, as part of the Trump administration’s vision of privatizing much of Gaza’s services and infrastructure…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at how Jewish Democrats in Michigan are making sense of their place in the party in the wake of a state convention where pro-Israel voices were shouted down and a pro-Hezbollah candidate won the party’s nomination for a statewide race.

The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing evaluating the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions.

A vote on the fifth Iran war powers resolution in the Senate, expected today, has been pushed to tomorrow.

92NY will host a discussion on the future of New York’s Jewish community with New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal and New York City Comptroller Mark Levine.

The New York City Council’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism will hold its first hearing. The task force was established by Menin in January, shortly after her election, to make recommendations and work towards her five-point plan to combat antisemitism.

Robert Kraft’s Blue Square Alliance Against Hate will host a unity dinner in partnership with the NFL, Hillel International, United Negro College Fund and the Pittsburgh Steelers for Black and Jewish college students from the Pittsburgh area. The event will include a fireside chat featuring Kraft, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch.

Washington, D.C., mayoral candidate Kenyan McDuffie will hold a meet-and-greet with young Jewish professionals. 

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) will speak in conversation at Yeshiva University with its president, Rabbi Ari Berman, about her new book, Poisoned Ivies: The Inside Account of the Academic and Moral Rot at America’s Elite Universities.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Iranian officials have signaled they will attend talks with the U.S. in Islamabad, Pakistan, this week, with Vice President JD Vance, White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner expected to depart for the meeting tomorrow (despite President Donald Trump’s claim that they were already in transit this morning). 

Negotiators are up against a running clock, as Trump said today that his two-week ceasefire with Iran will end “Wednesday evening Washington time” and it’s “highly unlikely that I’d extend it” if no deal is reached…

In a series of heated social media posts, Trump again denied that Israel dragged the U.S. into war with Iran: “[T]he results of Oct. 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,” were his motivation, he wrote on Truth Social. 

Trump also boasted that the deal under negotiation will be “far better” than the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. “If a Deal happens under ‘TRUMP,’ it will guarantee Peace, Security, and Safety, not only for Israel and the Middle East, but for Europe, America, and everywhere else,” he wrote. Lashing out at the media, Trump insisted, “I’m winning a War, BY A LOT, things are going very well,” claiming the U.S. blockade, “which we will not take off until there is a ‘DEAL,’ is absolutely destroying Iran”… 

The State Department confirmed that the U.S. will host the second round of ambassador-level talks between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday, as the 10-day ceasefire between the two countries that began last Thursday, after the first round of talks, continues to hold…

Republican operatives and strategists are growing increasingly concerned that the GOP may lose the Senate in the midterm elections, several told Politico, as rising gas prices and unease around the war with Iran create a poor national environment for Trump’s party. 

The New York Times’ Nate Cohn argues that Democrats have a “realistic chance” to flip the four seats they need to win back the chamber because “they’ve recruited unusually strong candidates in three states that supported Mr. Trump three times: North Carolina, Ohio and Alaska.”

“In all three states, the Democrats’ likely nominees are popular recent statewide office holders. They either won their last campaign or were highly competitive in losing re-election under less favorable political conditions. So far, the polls show those Democrats running well ahead of what one might otherwise expect,” Cohn writes…

Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg’s shifting views on Israel policy and decision to skip two upcoming Jewish community candidate forums are raising eyebrows in New York’s heavily Jewish 12th Congressional District, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.

During a candidate forum at 92NY last week, for example, Schlossberg rejected continued U.S. funding for offensive weapons to Israel amid the war in Iran — even as he emphasized support for boosting the Iron Dome missile-defense system, which he described as a “critical” technology…

Minnesota’s Democratic Party is poised to endorse progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan for U.S. Senate at its convention next month, Flanagan’s campaign said, after the lieutenant governor secured support from over 90% of Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party local conventions held statewide. The party endorsement, however, will not determine the nominee, as Democratic voters are set to choose their candidate in the Aug. 11 primary election.

The campaign of Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), Flanagan’s primary opponent and the favorite of pro-Israel activists, called on the DFL last week to launch a formal investigation into a series of alleged instances of antisemitic activity among its delegates. One instance at a local convention last month reportedly saw an unnamed delegate argue that “we should nuke” Israel…

The Wall Street Journal reports on the growing feud between Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, which “spilled out into public view on Thursday, when Driscoll described to lawmakers his fondness for the Army’s former top general, Randy George, whom Hegseth fired as the service’s chief of staff on April 2 while Driscoll was on vacation”…

A Washington Post investigation found that, since January 2025, neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes has made nearly $900,000 through paid messages on his livestreams from roughly 11,000 fans. His top 500 donors are responsible for almost half of that amount…

The UAE has asked the U.S. to consider offering it financial assistance amid the war with Iran, as the Gulf country has borne the brunt of Iran’s drone and missile strikes, taking a heavy toll on its oil, economic and tourism industries. Emirati officials raised the idea of a currency-swap line, which would allow Abu Dhabi inexpensive access to U.S. dollars…

European officials hosted two meetings on Gaza reconstruction today — one gathering, led by EU representative Kaja Kallas and Norway, centered on coordinating aid with the U.S.-led Board of Peace, where White House advisor Josh Gruenbaum requested international assistance in rebuilding the enclave. The other forum, led by Kallas and Belgium, focused on a two-state solution and was attended by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa…

In response to Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s condemnation of an IDF soldier found to have desecrated a statue of Jesus in southern Lebanon, Radosław Sikorski, Poland’s deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister, accused the IDF of committing war crimes. 

“Lessons should also be drawn regarding the way they are being trained,” Sikorski wrote on X. “IDF soldiers themselves admit to war crimes. They killed not only civilian Palestinians but even their own hostages”…

Incoming Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar affirmed that his country is bound by rules of the International Criminal Court to arrest those sought under its warrants, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; Magyar said he intends to prevent Hungary from leaving the ICC, a move his predecessor, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, had initiated.

Responding to questions about Netanyahu’s claim that Magyar had invited him to the country for a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Hungarian Uprising, Magyar responded, “Every leader is welcome to attend this important commemoration,” but “we have a legal obligation to enforce the court’s rulings, and I’m sure [Netanyahu] knows this”…

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced this afternoon that he will step down from the helm of the tech giant and become its executive chairman in September. Succeeding Cook is John Ternus, head of the company’s hardware engineering…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for an interview with Rachel Goldberg-Polin on the release of her book, When We See You Again, which debuts tomorrow. 

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs will hold a nomination hearing for Kevin Warsh, son-in-law of Jewish philanthropist Ronald Lauder, to be chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. Democrats intend to press Warsh on his personal fortune, which he has only partially disclosed thus far.

The House Ethics Committee will hold a public hearing to determine whether to apply sanctions to Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), after finding last month that she had committed serious ethics violations and campaign finance misconduct.

The U.S. Helsinki Commission will hold a hearing on Iran’s support for Russia amid its war with Ukraine.

The Senate Foreign Relation Committee’s subcommittee on Africa will hold a hearing on U.S. approaches to counterterrorism on the continent. 

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump announced the start of a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon to begin at 5 p.m. ET today, after he held phone calls with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the day. 

Trump added that he will be inviting Aoun and Netanyahu to the White House for “meaningful talks,” later telling reporters such a meeting could happen in the “next week or two.”

The text of the agreement released by the State Department indicates the ceasefire is a “gesture of goodwill” on Israel’s part “intended to enable good-faith negotiations” toward a permanent agreement. The temporary pause in hostilities could be extended if Lebanon “effectively demonstrates its ability to assert its sovereignty” and prevent Hezbollah from carrying out attacks against Israel…

Trump again indicated further talks with Iran could take place this weekend and said the two sides are “very close to making a deal,” telling reporters this afternoon that Iran has already agreed to “give us back the nuclear dust,” referring to its highly enriched uranium. 

Hours earlier, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warned at a press briefing that U.S. forces are “maximally postured” to return to military operations against Iran if negotiations are unsuccessful, and will look to attack “infrastructure, power and energy”… 

The House narrowly voted to block a Democratic resolution to force an end to the war in Iran by a vote of 214-213-1, with all but one of the four Democrats who opposed a similar effort in March changing their votes to support today’s measure, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Reps. Greg Landsman (D-OH), Juan Vargas (D-CA) and Henry Cuellar (D-TX), who voted last month against a similar resolution, flipped their votes to support the war powers effort. But Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), who is retiring at the end of his term, voted no again. On the Republican side, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), who voted for the war powers resolution last time, switched his vote to “present.” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) was the only Republican who voted for the resolution…

Vice President JD Vance, the first vice president to serve simultaneously as finance chair of his party, is building donor relationships that may prove useful should he choose to run for president in 2028, The New York Times reports, including attempting to woo some pro-Israel donors who have otherwise been wary of his ties to far-right commentator Tucker Carlson. 

Among others, Vance has developed relationships with Jewish philanthropists Miriam Adelson, whom he spent New Years Eve with at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, and Paul Singer; has appeared as the guest of honor at a dinner hosted by Palantir and 8VC co-founder Joe Lonsdale; and has been featured at a Republican National Committee event hosted by tech executive Keith Rabois, who is married to Under Secretary of State Jacob Helberg…

With less than six weeks to go until the Texas primary runoff election, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is defending his seat against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton with a significantly larger war chest: As the first quarter of 2026 closed, Cornyn had more than $8 million in cash on hand (including a small donation from former President George W. Bush), while Paxton had $2.6 million in the bank. Whoever clinches the GOP nomination will face state Sen. James Talarico, who has nearly $10 million on hand…

Josef Palermo, who was the first curator of visual arts and special programming at the Kennedy Center until his dismissal last month, recounts his experience as Trump and the center’s then-President Richard Grenell initiated an overhaul of the building, a process Palermo describes as “cronyism, incompetence, and a series of bizarre moves.”

Palermo recounts an exhibition he organized commemorating the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in the building’s Israeli Lounge: “Speaking at the opening reception, Grenell warned the mostly Jewish audience that unless donors came forward to sponsor the space and pay for renovation costs, the lounge would be given away to a new donor. … Such a strong-armed fundraising pitch, at an event commemorating a pogrom, struck many of us in the room as inappropriate. I was mortified”…

Asked for his perspective on antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker’s reach on his platform, Twitch CEO Daniel Clancy said at the Semafor World Economy summit in Washington today that “one of the challenges is when you’re livestreaming you say a lot … you might say a lot of things that are over the top. … If you violate [community guidelines] then we take enforcement actions and we suspend you — it’s designed not to kick you off forever.”

“Whenever Hasan has stepped over the line, we’ve taken action … Folks will get worked up from both the right and the left on this because we have also conservative people that are saying certain things that some people don’t like. … In general, we think it is important for us to allow people to express themselves,” Clancy said…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a temperature check on support for Israel within the Democratic Party, in light of 85% of Democratic senators voting in favor of a Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)-led measure to block military sales to the Jewish state.

France and the U.K. will co-host a conference tomorrow focused on restoring freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, with leaders from several European, Asian and Gulf countries participating via video.

Michigan’s Democratic Party will hold its endorsement convention on Sunday, where party activists will nominate their two preferred candidates for the University of Michigan’s Board of Regents. The election has reignited the campus’ debate over Israel, as candidate and anti-Israel activist Amir Makled seeks to unseat Jewish regent Jordan Acker, who became the target of antisemitic vandalism and harassment in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. (The SEIU labor union recently pulled its endorsement of Makled over his past support of Hezbollah.)

National party leaders including former Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) will appear at events in Detroit ahead of the convention. 

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

A war powers resolution brought by Senate Democrats to force an end to the war in Iran was blocked by Republicans yet again this afternoon, the fourth failed attempt mounted by Senate Democrats since the war began in late February, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Nevertheless, top Senate Democrats have said they intend to continue forcing such votes weekly (they have nine more resolutions already filed) in the hopes that more Republicans will change their votes as the war drags on…

Texas state Sen. James Talarico announced he raised $27 million in the first quarter of 2026 in his run for U.S. Senate, a massive haul that his campaign claimed is the largest amount ever raised by a Senate candidate in the first quarter of an election year. Democrats hope the funds will put Texas in play as Talarico seeks to challenge either Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) or Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who are still locked in their own hotly contested primary.

The top Senate fundraisers behind Talarico this quarter were also Democrats: Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) brought in $14 million — breaking the record for first-quarter fundraising in Georgia — former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper raised $13.8 million and former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) raised $12.5 million…

Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) said he raised $1.1 million in this year’s first quarter, bringing his total to $4.4 million raised — more than any other House incumbent or candidate in New Jersey this cycle, according to the New Jersey Globe — as he defends his swing seat from several well-funded Democratic challengers. 

But even as he’s pulled in plenty of support, Kean has missed a month’s worth of votes on Capitol Hill due to an unspecified medical issue, with his staff declining to say when he will return…

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) in an interview on the “Pod Save America” podcast praised former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) — once a vocal Omar foe who called for the congresswoman’s deportation while they were both in the House — and far-right influencer Candace Owens over the pair’s break with President Donald Trump, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

“I believe the thing that has been very fascinating, especially about Marjorie and Candace, is that … they’re saying, ‘This action is wrong,’ right? They’re saying, ‘I am done with you.’ We should give them credit for that, the fact that they’ve had this wake-up call to finally seeing this con man, this corrupt, chaotic man for what he is,” Omar said…

Sebastian Gorka, the White House senior director for counterterrorism and a deputy assistant to the president, is reportedly angling for the position of director of the National Counterterrorism Center, which was recently vacated by Joe Kent amid Kent’s opposition to the Iran war. Gorka has been a staunch defender of Trump and backed his war with Iran, as well as repeatedly praised Israel amid its war in Gaza…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Péter Magyar, the presumptive next prime minister of Hungary, for the first time today, calling the conversation “warm” and saying that Magyar indicated he will continue the close relationship the countries enjoyed under his predecessor, outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán…

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul defended her proposal to bar demonstrations of more than two people from occurring within 25 feet of a house of worship today, JI’s Will Bredderman reports, legislation that has drawn legal scrutiny over its creation of a new felony offense for violators.

“I believe I have the right to protect people’s constitutional right to free exercise of religion,” Hochul told reporters when asked if she had concerns that the legislation might provoke challenges on First Amendment grounds. “So if that means we test it in court, bring it on”…

After holding its final public hearing earlier this week, the White House Religious Liberty Commission is now preparing a set of recommendations to be presented to the president next month. Ambiguity and confusion about the commission’s mandate has left commissioners unsure if they’ll continue to meet — their first year on the panel was marred by the firing of one commissioner over her disruption of a hearing on antisemitism… 

Progressive media organization More Perfect Union is launching More Perfect University, an effort aimed at college students to act as an alternative to the conservative Turning Point USA, with a focus on urging young people to share left-wing political and economic messaging through social media. Faiz Shakir, the head of More Perfect Union who is also chief political advisor to Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) campaign, said he hopes to jump-start “an economic populist movement for the next generation”…

Duke University’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter has been suspended as a student group and had its funding frozen after it posted virulently antisemitic imagery depicting Israel and the U.S. as pigs frothing at the mouth on its Instagram page, prompting student complaints to campus administration…

University of Michigan President-elect Kent Syverud announced today he has been diagnosed with brain cancer and will no longer assume the presidency, leaving the future of the school’s leadership in question. Jewish leaders had praised Syverud’s appointment as a positive development for UM, which had seen rampant anti-Israel activity in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a preview of a first-of-its-kind antisemitism conference taking place tomorrow at Harvard, created as an outcome of last year’s settlement of a Title VI lawsuit against the school.

New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District will hold its special election for the remainder of Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s congressional term, where progressive Analilia Mejia is expected to prevail against Republican Joe Hathaway.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold nomination hearings for John Breslow to be U.S. ambassador to Cyprus, Todd Steggerda to be U.S. representative to the U.N. in Geneva and Preston Wells to be U.S. representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, among others.

The Shalom Hartman Institute will host a discussion at the Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington with Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, on American Jewry ahead of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.

The House Appropriations Committee will hold a budget hearing on the Department of Homeland Security, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which oversees the Nonprofit Security Grant Program.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

U.S.-Iran talks could restart in the next two days, President Donald Trump told the New York Post. “[S]omething could be happening over the next two days, and we’re more inclined to go [back to Islamabad, Pakistan]” rather than a different mediating country, he said in an interview today. 

Trump also indicated he wasn’t happy with reports that his own negotiating team had offered Iran a 20-year pause on its ability to enrich uranium. “I’ve been saying they can’t have nuclear weapons, so I don’t like the 20 years,” he said…

CENTCOM announced that no ships made it past the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in its first 24 hours, and six merchant ships “complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around”…

Saudi Arabia is reportedly pressuring the U.S. to end the blockade, fearing retaliation and disruption to other trade routes. Iran has threatened to mobilize the Houthis in Yemen to close off the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which Riyadh utilizes to move its oil exports out of the Red Sea…

European countries are drafting a plan to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz after the war ends, possibly without the participation of the U.S. As part of this effort, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France and the U.K. will co-host a conference on Friday of “non-belligerent countries ready to contribute” to the “multilateral and purely defensive mission”…

The Treasury Department said it will not renew a waiver set to expire later this week that temporarily lifted sanctions on Iranian oil — the waiver had drawn condemnation from some lawmakers who had worked to institute those sanctions…

Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized at the outset of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon in Washington this morning that the talks are a “process” that will “take time,” and that the objective of today’s meeting was to “outline a framework upon which a permanent and lasting peace can be developed” and bring a “permanent end to Hezbollah’s influence” in the region.

The State Department said after the meeting, the highest-level talks between Jerusalem and Beirut in over 30 years, that the sides “agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue,” though it did not indicate when or where further talks may take place. Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter told reporters that the parties “discovered today that we’re on the same side of the equation. That’s the most positive thing we could have come away with”…

Italy is suspending its defense agreement with Israel, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said today, declining to renew the agreement “in consideration of the current situation.” Italy had grown critical of Israel’s war in Gaza and has been noncooperative in the war with Iran, reportedly not allowing U.S. aircraft to land at its bases.

Trump railed against Meloni, who has thus far been an ally of his, in an interview with an Italian outlet today, saying he’s “shocked by her. I thought she was brave, but I was wrong,” and claiming she’s “no longer the same person” after she called the president’s attack on Pope Leo XIV yesterday “unacceptable.” “It’s her who’s unacceptable, because she doesn’t care if Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy in two minutes if it had the chance,” Trump said…

Hamas has rejected the U.S.-led Board of Peace’s disarmament proposal, according to the BBC. The parties seem to once again be at an impasse, as Hamas tells mediators it will not continue onto the second phase of the ceasefire until it feels Israel has complied completely with the first phase, while Israel says it will not move forward until there is progress on disarming Hamas…

The New York Times details a tense event held by Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) in his Hudson Valley-based swing district where the lawmaker was pressed by constituents demanding answers and accountability on the Iran war; it’s seen as a harbinger of the growing discontent some Republicans will have to contend with around the largely unpopular war in the lead-up to the midterms…

The Union for Reform Judaism released a statement yesterday voicing concern about “efforts to single out AIPAC as a particularly malign influence in campaign finance. … [T]he harsh language being used by some to denigrate and vilify AIPAC borders on — and in some cases crosses over into — antisemitism.” 

“Until such time as [C]ongress reforms the nation’s broken campaign finance system overall — an effort we would enthusiastically welcome — to single out AIPAC’s activity will continue to raise questions of antisemitic motivation,” the organization wrote, in a sign of how the demonization of pro-Israel donors and groups is raising alarms across the Jewish political and religious spectrum…

California state Sen. Scott Wiener, a progressive Jewish legislator running to fill Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) seat, was accused at a campaign event earlier this week of taking $50,000 from AIPAC by a constituent citing the far-left group TrackAIPAC. “I just want to be clear, I’m not accepting any support from AIPAC,” Wiener responded. “There are people who are gonna list out all my Jewish donors and say that. I’m not taking any support from AIPAC and I support the Block the Bombs Act”…

The Michigan arm of the powerful SEIU labor union announced today that it had rescinded its endorsement of Amir Makled, a candidate for the University of Michigan board of regents, in light of Makled’s deleted social media posts praising the terrorist group Hezbollah, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. 

Makled is a Dearborn attorney who represented an anti-Israel protester who was arrested during the 2024 anti-Israel encampments at UM’s flagship Ann Arbor campus. A Detroit News report found that Makled had deleted posts praising Hezbollah’s leaders and retweets of antisemitic messages from the far-right influencer Candace Owens, as he now seeks to unseat Jewish regent Jordan Acker…

The relationship between New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin appears to be growing increasingly acrimonious as Menin publicly distances herself from some of the mayor’s policies, Politico reports, including apparently helping to plan a protest outside Mamdani’s speech marking his first 100 days in office…

France is exploring legal options to bar rapper Kanye West from entering the country to perform at a concert in Marseille in June, after he was similarly banned and prevented from performing in the U.K. earlier this month. “I refuse to let Marseille be a showcase for those who promote hatred and unapologetic Nazism,” the city’s mayor, Benoit Payan, wrote on social media…