Several candidates in Tuesday’s elections have ties to the U.S., a trend that goes back to the beginning of the State of Israel
Courtesy
Yaya Fink, Yishai Fleisher, Simcha Rotman, Jeremy Saltan
Add JewishInsider on GoogleAmerican immigrants to Israel have played outsized roles in governing the Jewish state from its establishment: Golda Meir, born in Kyiv and raised in Milwaukee, was a member of the first Knesset, working her way up to become prime minister 20 years later in 1969. A few years after that, Marcia Freedman, from New Jersey, became a pioneer of Israeli feminism in the Knesset, and in the 1980s, Brooklyn-born Rabbi Meir Kahane entered the Knesset as a one-man faction that was later banned because of its racist platform.
Broaden that out to people who spent formative years in America or have American parents, and you have another two prime ministers: Benjamin Netanyahu and Naftali Bennett, respectively.
Several of the parties likely to win Knesset seats in next Tuesday’s election have candidates who meet those criteria, and some of them spoke with Jewish Insider this week. The interviews have been condensed for space and clarity.
Jeremy Saltan, No. 23 on the B’Yachad list
Bennett’s B’Yachad has a record-breaking six American candidates: Bennett, whose parents moved to Israel from Berkeley, Calif.; Baltimore, Md.-born Yonatan Shalev, who at 24 is set to be the youngest Knesset member since 1959; longtime Bennett advisor Jeremy Saltan, who was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs; former Teva executive Mati Gil, who was born in Columbus, Ohio; Knesset member Moshe Tur-Paz was born in Philadelphia; and Member of Knesset Michal Slawny Cababia, a native of Blacksburg, Va.
Saltan, a fifth-generation Chicagoan, moved to Israel with his family at age 11, and spent many subsequent summers in the Windy City. He has been an aide to Knesset members from several right-wing parties, as well as an advisor to Bennett in formal and informal capacities since 2012. He is a major in the IDF who has served over 600 days of reserve duty since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.
Jewish Insider: Why did you decide to run for the Knesset?
Saltan: The number one thing that brought me to accept Naftali’s offer to come from behind the scenes is to help those who serve. … I see the price that my soldiers have had to pay in this war, and I understand that if the current government remains in power, I’m going to have to do another 600 days in the next term. I’m looking at soldiers who I’m helping get through [military] medical committees, some for physical reasons, but many for mental health reasons. I think of my soldiers who [emigrated], five in a company of a little over 100 soldiers who left, because they can no longer carry what is on their shoulders. Bennett’s plan to flip the pyramid and stop giving money to those who don’t serve and give it to those who do — I want to be a part of that, not only for my soldiers, but for the entire IDF reservist community. When Bennett commits to giving NIS 4,000 towards daycare to anyone who is in active reserve duty, that’s a huge lifesaver.
I’m bringing 17 years of experience in the Knesset and 20 years of military service as a reservist. I understand the problems and the solutions.
JI: How has being American influenced you?
Saltan: We’re all products of our upbringing and education. … The experience that I had going to Jewish day school where the size of the kippah or what synagogue you prayed at, if at all, didn’t matter, that we were all just Jews, is a very big part of my frame of thought. The values of liberty, freedom, accountability, transparency and representation are just second nature to me. The one thing that I find to be incompatible is that I have always worn a suit and tie to the Knesset, and many sabras [native Israelis] have a problem with that.
JI: If you become a member of Knesset, you will have to give up your American citizenship. How do you feel about that?
Saltan: I’m totally fine with it. I identify as an Israeli. My American upbringing is a big piece of me and will always be a part of me, but I’m first and foremost a Jew. I’m happy to be a citizen in the Jewish homeland and to have the chance to be a representative in today’s Knesset … is a privilege.
Yair “Yaya” Fink, No. 5 on the Democrats list
Yaya Fink, whose parents and two of his older siblings moved to Israel from the U.S., has been a well-known political activist for nearly two decades, serving as chief of staff to Labor leader Shelly Yachimovich in 2011-2013, and leading several left-leaning organizations, as well as the “Social Justice” faction in Israel’s Histadrut national labor union.
Jewish Insider: Why did you decide to run for the Knesset?
Fink: I very much love this country. … As far as I’m concerned, we have to change the direction in which the country is going. It has massive potential, but the country is going to a very dangerous place of extremism, draft-dodging, running from responsibility, major failures, lack of security and religious coercion. We want to try to bring the country back on track in the directions of social justice, equality, diplomatic agreements, equality in the burden [of IDF service] and democracy. After what happened in the last four years, I think it’s my responsibility and ours to do this in the place where decisions are made.
JI: How has being American influenced you?
Fink: My parents moved to Israel at the end of the ‘60s, and my brother and sister were born in the U.S. We were a house of immigrants. It influenced us in understanding how much this place has to be a home for all Jews, not only those who live in Israel, but also those abroad. It also helped me understand what it means that Israel is a country of immigrants. … We are a varied, complex country, and that is part of its beauty and an opportunity.
I have a great appreciation of my parents and the many other Americans in my neighborhood in Jerusalem who gave up a lot … to move to Israel and take part in the Zionist project.
I think I better understand, thanks to [my parents], the importance of international relations. When I do reserve duty, my uniform, my helmet, my night vision goggles, my weapon are all American. It reminds me of the importance of good relations with other countries generally, and especially our best friend, America. Support [from America] has to be bipartisan, and it’s important to keep up the connection and be a home for American Jews.
I’m also named after my cousin, Shmuel Yair Landau, who was killed in the First Lebanon War a few years after he came to Israel from America. I understand the price of being here, but also want to ensure it’s not just a place of blood, sweat and tears, but also one where we reach diplomatic agreements and solutions.
JI: If you become a member of Knesset, you will have to give up your American citizenship. How do you feel about that?
Fink: I’m an Israeli citizen. I live in Israel. I visit the U.S. a lot, but I don’t have two homes; I have one home in Israel. I don’t have a deep connection with my American passport. I will try from within the Knesset to strengthen ties between Israel and the U.S., and Israeli Jews and American Jews. I love and appreciate the U.S. very much and I feel comfortable when I’m there; I have family and many friends there, but in the end, I have only one home.
Yishai Fleischer, No. 12 on the Otzma Yehudit List
Fleischer was born in Haifa to parents who were Russian refuseniks who arrived in Israel in the 1970s. They moved to New Jersey for work when he was eight years old. After graduating from high school in New Jersey, he served as a paratrooper in the IDF, during which time he was injured by a Hezbollah roadside bomb in Lebanon. He attended college and law school in the U.S. and returned to Israel, where he has served as the international spokesman for the Jewish community of Hebron, as well as informally advising Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben-Gvir on foreign media and matters relating to the U.S.
Jewish Insider: Why did you decide to run for the Knesset?
Fleischer: Because I have a legal degree, I have been involved in trying to change Israeli policy for the better … I came up with the idea of the Biblical Highway project, renaming Rt. 60 [which spans from Beersheba, through Bethlehem and Jerusalem, to Nazareth], and now [since June], it’s the law of the land.
I want to utilize Israeli law to make our country stronger and more Jewish. Two years ago, I was invited to work with Minister Ben-Gvir to head up his trip to the U.S., and that’s where we started forming a relationship. I was trying very hard to explain to people that Ben-Gvir’s policies are reasonable, so he tapped me to be No. 12 in this upcoming election. I really believe that Otzma is the law and order party. … For me, Oct. 7 and [riots] in Paris are indicative of a global trend … of jihadism in and around our land, and we have to stop that effort to undermine our sovereignty and also strengthen Jewish values.
JI: How has being American influenced you?
Fleischer: I didn’t just grow up in America, I purposefully went to American law school to understand the system and learn it to see if we can bring some of the good values of America to Israel. … There are many beautiful ideas that America has about liberty — things like the poisoned fruit doctrine of evidence, which is very important … a more open economy with less bureaucracy, freedoms like the right to bear arms. … We’d like to bring some of the more red-state ideas to Israel, and just a general sense of law and order and a much more limited Supreme Court that is not a free for all, but is bound by laws that limit its powers.
In general, when you have a perspective on a different system of governance and law, it gives you a way to measure how we’re doing.
JI: If you become a member of Knesset, you will have to give up your American citizenship. How do you feel about that?
Fleischer: It’s definitely not easy to swallow. It’s part of my identity, and I’m proud of it. I had to earn my American citizenship. If I have to give it up in order to serve the Jewish state and help it move forward, then I’ll do it, because that is the law and a superior value, to be able to serve the Jewish state, but I do it with a heavy heart. … I did call some well-known Israeli politicians who had to do it, and they said it’s not so bad. But it’s not something that I take lightly.
Simcha Rotman, No. 4 on the Religious Zionism list
Rotman was born in Israel, with a father who has U.S. citizenship, and has spent a lot of time with extended family in Cleveland. While Rotman does not have American citizenship, his children do, thanks to his wife, whose parents are American. “I know how to file taxes in both countries,” he quipped in a past interview.
Rotman has been a Knesset member since 2021 and chairman of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee in recent years, making him one of the leaders of the government’s controversial judicial reform push. Before entering electoral politics, he led an organization that opposed judicial activism.
Jewish Insider: Why did you decide to run for the Knesset?
Rotman: I am running mostly on the topic of judicial reform, repairing the judicial system. The connection there to the U.S. is very strong, because what I’m trying to do in judicial reform is to introduce checks and balances into the Israeli system, more like the American style. In Israel today, there are no checks and balances on the court, and none on the deep state.
I have a master’s degree from a joint program of Tel Aviv University and Northwestern University. I learned American constitutional law at an American university, which made even clearer to me that Israel must select its judges in a more democratic way, like the U.S., and have the power of the court checked and balanced to have better governance and preserve civil rights.
JI: How has growing up with American family influenced you?
I think the fact that large parts of my family live in the U.S. … really opened my mind to understand where parts of the Jewish people are … and how important aliyah is. … I have cousins who made aliyah, lived in Israel, and then returned. All of that back and forth from the U.S. showed me how hard we have to try to make Israel attractive for aliyah from the U.S. and other countries with strong economies. We don’t want to go back to the days where my great-grandfather was considered crazy [for moving to Israel]. We need Israel to be attractive, to be strong in its security and economy and to have a more organized government.
One of the things I did for immigrants to Israel is pass a law to stop double taxation of earnings from a country where they already pay [social security] for the first five years in Israel. I hope to pass a law so that can continue beyond five years.
**
No. 2 on the Yashar list, led by Gadi Eisenkot, is Chili Tropper, a former culture minister whose parents and two of his nine siblings moved to Israel from the U.S. Tropper’s office did not respond to interview requests, and the party did not make its U.S.-born No. 29, Alon Futterman, available for an interview.
Plus, Illinois Dems pour $2M into anti-Israel pick
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Haygood-Hopkins Gate, the main entrance to Emory University campus
Good Tuesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we spotlight the tight California congressional race where Rep. Doris Matsui is focusing the final weeks of the campaign on challenger Mai Vang’s ties to antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker, cover an Illinois state Senate race where Democrats are putting money behind an anti-Israel candidate, and report on the launch of a new state-level PAC in New York that is seeking to fight antisemitism and anti-Zionism. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Pete Hegseth, Julie Menin and Rachel Greenberg.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss, with assists from Tamara Zieve, Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod.
Today’s Agenda
This afternoon, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) is sitting in conversation with Yeshiva University President Rabbi Ari Berman.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is holding a virtual fundraiser this afternoon for Democratic Socialists of America-aligned Florida Democratic Senate candidate Angie Nixon, a critic of Israel who has called Israel’s war against Hamas a genocide.
Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is expected to win his congressional race next month in New York’s 10th District, is in Israel and the West Bank this week, participating in the “Protect the Harvest” coalition that assists Palestinian farmers as they harvest olives.
The inaugural “Together at the Crossroads: A Congress for Allyship & Unity” conference hosted by the David Merage Foundation for Confronting Antisemitism in Denver wraps up today.
The Soufan Center and the Qatar International Academy for Security Studies are hosting the Global Security Forum today in Doha. U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack spoke this morning at the gathering, later praising on X the Gulf state’s “steady intervention and mediation” and noting that “Doha has shown what a trusted partner looks like: patient, discreet, and willing to carry hard work to a result.”
One Thing To Know
FIRING FALLOUT
By Haley Cohen
Hillel’s Georgia affiliate is disputing allegations made by Rabbi Nikki Golomb, a former campus rabbi at Emory University Hillel, saying that she was terminated due to her failure to be “truthful or transparent during the interview process,” and not, as she has claimed, because of her fiancé’s anti-Israel activism.
In a statement to Jewish Insider responding to what it called “false and misleading statements” that Golomb, 31, made last week to Jewish Currents, which first covered her firing, Hillels of Georgia said she had not been transparent during the hiring process about potential conflicts with the organization’s mission and values.
But the organization declined to tell JI what information Golomb failed to disclose during the hiring process, what conduct prompted leadership to lose confidence in her and whether it asked Golomb about her position on Israel.
The Big Reads
sacramento showdown
As the general election race approaches between Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA) and her far-left opponent, Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang, Matsui is continuing to lean into attacks linking Vang to far-left streamer Hasan Piker, running ads highlighting that Vang campaigned with Piker, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. The two are running in California’s 7th Congressional District, which includes much of Sacramento and its suburbs, stretching out into more rural areas. Matsui’s best hope for victory likely lies in winning over some of the more conservative voters redrawn into the district in the outlying areas.
Piker problem: A planned event in Minneapolis featuring antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and far-left state Sen. Omar Fateh, set to take place days before the midterm election, is facing growing backlash inside the state.
prairie state priorities
Illinois Democrats are pumping significant cash into a state Senate race in the Chicago suburbs, hoping that an anti-Israel state representative can take down a Republican appointed to the seat, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Since Labor Day, Democratic leadership has put more than $2 million — a substantial investment for a state-level race — behind state Rep. Nabeela Syed, boosted further by more than $500,000 in individual contributions. Syed was one of several Illinois Democratic legislators who issued a joint statement on Oct. 8, 2023, which appeared to point blame for Hamas’ deadly terror attacks the day prior toward Israel.
albany alliance
Three Jewish politicos from New York’s Capital Region — all women, and all Democrats — have launched a new state-level committee dedicated to supporting candidates with liberal social views who also push back on anti-Jewish and anti-Israel forces, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports. Aleinu-NY PAC, named for the Jewish prayer that translates to “our duty,” registered with the New York Board of Elections in late September and officially launched its website last week. It describes itself as “a new nonpartisan political action committee in NYS established to support candidates who stand up against Antisemitism and the scourge in violence against the Jewish community throughout New York.”
The Rundown
speaking out
hilltop forecast
SCOOP
security setback
On Our Radar
● The Live Briefing. Word on the street, clips, podcasts and quick updates — the items we’re tracking all day in our Live Briefing on the app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made an unannounced trip to Israel on Monday, during which he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, eight days before Israel’s election and a day after President Donald Trump endorsed Netanyahu; CNN reported that representatives from the United Arab Emirates were present at one of the meetings…
Vice President JD Vance declined on Monday to endorse Netanyahu ahead of Israel’s election, saying in an interview with journalist Mark Halperin, “The president has the most effective endorsement in American or international political history. I endorse American candidates, and that’s where I’m focused on in the midterms. So I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections”; Vance’s comments came six months after he traveled to Budapest to campaign on behalf of Viktor Orbán in Hungary’s election…
Trump invoked an antisemitic term during a campaign rally in Kansas on Monday, saying that recent reporting that Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), a doctor, had sued clients for unpaid bills, presented the Kansas Republican as “some kind of a Shylock-type guy”; Trump, who followed up his remark with, “I don’t know if I should be saying it,” had last year faced criticism for using the term, the antisemitic context of which he said he had been unaware of at the time…
Federal prosecutors said the Saudi national accused of bugging the headquarters of OpenAI was in communication with a member of the Saudi royal family, and that the Saudi government and a member of the country’s military booked flights for the alleged perpetrator’s wife and son to leave the U.S.; the pair flew to Qatar the day after his arrest…
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, City Comptroller Mark Levine and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) unveiled a street sign on Monday co-naming East 47th Street and Second Avenue “Jewish Community Relations Council of New York Way”; the location has seen pro-Israel rallies, demonstrations supporting Soviet Jewry and a recent protest against antisemitism during the U.N. General Assembly…
The NYPD is investigating as a hate crime the vandalism of a Capital One bank on the Upper East Side that had a window smashed in and was graffitied with the words “Drop Elbit,” referring to the Israeli defense firm, and “Pal Action,” a reference to the U.K.-based anti-Israel activist group that has been designated by the U.S. as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist…
Director and producer Rachel Greenberg has begun filming “The Emissary of Light,” a documentary about Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson told through his effort to promote public menorah-lightings…
University of Pennsylvania associate professor Simcha Gross was named the school’s inaugural Georgia and Jesse Feldman associate professor of Jewish studies following a $3 million gift from Feldman, who graduated from the school in 2000, and her husband; the gift will go to expand the university’s Jewish studies program…
Former Columbia University protest leader Mahmoud Khalil appealed to the Supreme Court in an effort to halt the ongoing deportation case against him…
The U.K.’s Metropolitan Police arrested a man in northeastern London in connection with the assaults of three Jewish women, including one pushing a stroller, in the city’s Stamford Hill neighborhood; authorities are investigating the incidents as hate crimes…
The Israeli Foreign Ministry and the World Jewish Restitution Organization decried the sale of a Nazi-looted fragment of a Torah scroll at a public auction in Norway…
Former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, the leader of the Blue and White party, withdrew from the upcoming Israeli election, after polls showed Blue and White consistently failing to meet the electoral threshold to enter the Knesset…
The Israel Police are looking into a complaint made against ultranationalist Religious Zionist Rabbi Dov Lior who issued a religious decree last week permitting Jews to harvest olives from Palestinian-owned properties in the West Bank…
Israel plans to resume commercial goods shipments to the Gaza Strip after a dayslong pause over a tax dispute between Hamas and local merchants…
Officials from Yemen’s internationally recognized government said that more than four dozen soldiers were killed in a Houthi ballistic missile attack targeting a military camp in the southern part of the country…
Christiane Amanpour, chief international anchor for CNN, announced on Monday that she will end her 43-year tenure with the network in June…
Jon Stewart inked a deal to stay on as host of “The Daily Show” for one episode a week through the end of 2028…
Worthy Reads
Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our app (on Apple and Android) and website.
French Failings: In The Free Press, Simone Rodan-Benzaquen raises concerns about French authorities’ ability to address the wave of riots and violence prompted by far-left activists that has swept through the country. “The government needs to protect officials and teachers, prosecute their attackers, and get schools open. It needs to investigate police abuses seriously, without accepting that those abuses justify an assault on anyone in uniform. And it needs to keep doing this after the immediate crisis has passed. People will believe the state can protect them when they see it happening, consistently, in their own lives.” [FreePress]
Words as Weapons: In The Wall Street Journal, Elisha Wiesel, the son of Nobel Peace Laureate Elie Wiesel, reflects on former President Barack Obama’s recent controversial comments regarding the foundational years of the state of Israel. “My father’s life was a testimony to what words can do. History is replete with speeches, lectures, editorials and textbooks turning neighbors into intruders and murder into justice. Mr. Obama’s place isn’t with those who call Jewish survival excessive. His place is with the murdered of Hebron and of Oct. 7, and with a people that has been waiting, since 1947, for someone across the table to stop choosing hate. I hope Mr. Obama reconsiders his words and takes them back.” [WSJ]
Coalition Conundrum: In Foreign Policy, the Atlantic Council’s Shalom Lipner, who served in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office for 26 years under seven prime ministers, considers the most likely outcome of next week’s election. “In the convoluted and cacophonous Israeli political system, the vote alone will not determine what comes next. Instead, arguments over policy and personality will fade after election night, as attention shifts to the technical and procedural questions that will shape the future of Israeli politics. … Israel’s election appears destined to end in a structural deadlock: one where Netanyahu loses his clear majority but his opponents fail to win one of their own.” [FP]
Picture of the Day
Former White House official Brett McGurk spoke last night at America Abroad Media’s 13th annual awards dinner. AAM honored historian Niall Ferguson, Saudi actress and filmmaker Fatima al Banawi, Netflix series “The Diplomat” and Abu Dhabi-based AI company G42 and its Bee:wild initiative at the dinner, before an audience including several ambassadors to the United States, current and former U.S. officials and others.
Attendees at the dinner included: Amb. Jim Jeffrey, Morgan Ortagus and Amb. Bill Burns (via video) — who presented the award to “The Diplomat” creator Debora Cahn and actors Ali Ahn and Ato Essandoh — Adrienne Arsht, Elliott Abrams, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jacob Helberg, John Jovanovic, Brendan Hanrahan, United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba, German Ambassador to the U.S. Jens Hanefeld, Egyptian Ambassador to the U.S. Mohamed Hamdy El-Molla, Kuwaiti Ambassador to the U.S. Sheikha Al-Zain Al-Sabah, Omani Ambassador to the U.S. Talal bin Suleiman Al Rahbi, former White House official Amos Hochstein, Aaron Lobel, Esin Erkan, Marty Edelman, Daphne Oz, Yitz Applbaum, Elliot Ackerman, Lea Ackerman, Jennifer Isham, Chris Isham, Juan Zarate, Jonathan Greenblatt, Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Barak Ravid, Jason Isaacson, Michael Hayden, Jay Mens and Joel Rayburn.
Birthdays
Hilla Vidor, Israeli actor, turns 51
Henry Kaufman, economist who earned the nickname “Dr. Doom” during his tenure as the chief economist at Salomon Brothers, turns 99
Robert Pinsky, former poet laureate of the U.S., he is a professor emeritus at Boston University, turns 86
Tsvia Walden, professor emerita at Ben Gurion University, she is the daughter of former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres, turns 80
Rabbi Aharon Teitelbaum, one of two grand rebbes of Satmar, turns 79
Russell Galbut, Miami Beach-based real estate developer, turns 74
Melanie Mayron, actor and director of film and television, turns 74
Thomas Newman, music composer for many films, winner of six Grammys and an Emmy Award, turns 71
Thomas Salter Kahn, former longtime House Budget Committee staff director, now an adjunct professorial lecturer at American University
Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. senator (D-RI), turns 71
Jordan Heller, managing director and partner at Beacon Pointe Advisors
Rabbi Binyamin “Benny” Lau, former rabbi of the Ramban Synagogue in Jerusalem’s Katamon area and a leading figure at the Israel Democracy Institute, turns 65
Kamala Harris, 49th vice president of the United States, turns 62
Brian Schatz, U.S. senator (D-HI) and his identical twin brother, Stephen Schatz, the executive director of the University of Hawaii’s P-20 programs, both turn 54
Leila Josefowicz, classical violinist, she is a 2008 winner of a MacArthur Genius fellowship, turns 49
David Caspe, film and television writer, turns 48
Mike Levin, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (D-CA-49), turns 48
Eric Post, Long Island regional director at AJC Global
Alona Tal, Israeli-born actor, she was a recurring character on Paramount+’s “Seal Team,” turns 43
Misha Nonoo, fashion designer, best known for her eponymous line of women’s ready-to-wear, turns 39
Michael Clark, director of fundraising and events for the National Association of Realtors’ political action committee
Evan Zuckerman, partner in the NYC office of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Avi and Rafi Granoff, twins from Ra’anana and avid JI readers, turn 22
Jewish Democrats fear the mayor could dampen the party’s chances in suburban and outer borough races
Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a press conference at the Unisphere on Nov. 5, 2025.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s socialist wave swamped his fellow Democrats last November and again in June. Now, some fear it could wash out the prospects of moderate members of his party in swing districts next month — especially in those with large Jewish populations.
Citywide, the mayor still coasts on a 60% approval rating and a swelling entourage of allies at the state and federal level, while Democrats nationally look to ride a tide of discontent with President Donald Trump. But a recent Quinnipiac poll put Mamdani’s support in the New York suburbs at 39%, and a Siena College survey in September found nearly two-thirds of Jewish voters in the Empire State view him negatively.
CNN correlated the latter figure with an astonishing 36-point collapse for House Democrats among New York Jews, one of the party’s most historically loyal voting blocs.
Embattled Republicans at the city’s margins have pounced. In Rockland County, home to fast-growing Hasidic towns, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) has in successive debates pushed Democrat Cait Conley to denounce the mayor’s stances on Jewish issues, piling on an ad by the Republican Congressional Leadership Fund depicting Conley alongside Mamdani and left-wing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
In Long Island’s Nassau County, home to more than 200,000 Jewish residents, the local GOP has bombarded mailboxes with literature linking Democratic candidates for state and local office with the New York City mayor.
And in southern Brooklyn, where Syrian and ex-Soviet Jews live alongside culturally conservative Asian American and Catholic communities, incumbent GOP members of the state legislature have sought with mixed success to establish a “Stop Mamdani” ballot line to run on.
Pressed on his potential November impact at an unrelated press conference last week, the mayor maintained his record could only boost his party’s fortunes.
“I think the work that we’re doing is an asset because the work that we’re doing over 10 months has been to make the city more affordable for working families,” Mamdani said.
But experts and operatives Jewish Insider consulted for this story disagreed, and warned that the mayor’s recent statement on the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel — a statement that devoted more space to Palestinian casualties in the subsequent military campaign than to those killed on the date three years ago — exacerbated an already bad situation for moderate Democrats.
“It has absolutely complicated the life of Democrats in the suburbs, especially where there are larger Jewish populations and larger, frankly, more pro-Israel populations,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime Democratic political consultant, Modern Orthodox rabbi and Mamdani critic.
The issues Mamdani’s commentary caused were evident in the latest televised face-off between Lawler and Conley. Under pressure from the Republican incumbent, Conley — who had long deflected questions about her fellow Democrat — called out the mayor’s remarks.
“Yes, I do denounce Mamdani’s statement on Oct. 7, a day we should be honoring and mourning the loss of life, the greatest loss of life to our Jewish community since the Holocaust,” Conley said during last week’s debate. “I condemn antisemitism from any party or anyone.”
David Schwartz, a longtime Democratic operative living in the district, praised Conley for denouncing Mamdani’s “very hurtful” statement. The mayor’s remarks surged into local WhatsApp feeds, joining a torrent of anti-Israel commentary from Mamdani.
“Democrats are paying a price because of the Mamdani headlines,” Schwartz said, decrying what he described as the mayor’s lack of both tactics and tact with his Oct. 7 post. “I mean, come on, what are you doing? Like, what’s one day? Say whatever you want in two days from now.”
The district is one of the few Republican seats that former Vice President Kamala Harris carried in the 2024 election, even as Lawler cruised to a second term.
But polling shows this year’s race, despite the favorable Democratic environment, is still highly competitive — owing in large part to the district’s politically significant Haredi towns. Schwartz noted that, like Hasidic communities in New York City, those in Lawler’s turf mostly vote as a bloc. But unlike the communities in the city, whom the mayor has sought to mollify with generous outlays to social service organizations, Schwartz reported that his neighbors don’t benefit from any additional government benefits on Mamdani’s watch.
Thus, he asserted, Lawler would likely carry these towns by a similar margin to 2024. But in such a tight race, Conley pulling even 10% of the vote from those communities could mean the difference between defeat and triumph, Schwartz argued. Any perceived proximity to Mamdani could eliminate those chances.
Still, Schwartz bemoaned what he saw as a double-standard for his party, noting that the president had suffered little local blowback for his warm relationship and multiple public appearances with the mayor.
“Why is Donald Trump allowed to hang out with Mamdani, and then Democrats are not?” he pointed out.
In Nassau County — where Trump’s endorsed candidate for governor, Bruce Blakeman, presides as county executive — two incumbent Democrats in competitive districts have fended off Mamdani-themed Republican attacks by blasting the mayor themselves. Since the democratic socialist became his party’s nominee, Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY) and Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) have pilloried him again and again, all while doubling down on support for Israel and on measures aimed at improving security for Jewish institutions.
Suozzi appears to have had particular success: Last week, Republican PACs abandoned a planned $11 million ad campaign aimed at dislodging the centrist Democrat and elevating his GOP opponent, former state lawmaker Michael LiPetri.
“I stand with my Jewish brothers and sisters and I will fight to bring Democrats back to a place where our party is once again perceived as a true friend and ally of the Jewish people,” Suozzi told JI.
But local Republicans have still used Mamdani as a bludgeon against Democrats with lower profiles competing farther down the ballot, including in a closely watched contest for a vacant state Senate seat inside Suozzi’s turf. The race pits 30-year-old GOP Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz against veteran Democrat Rory Lancman, who served as a state lawmaker and then city councilman in Queens between 2007 and 2020.
Both candidates are Jewish and strong supporters of Israel, but over the summer Republicans blasted out a mailer accusing Lancman of vanguarding a “Mamdani takeover” of the suburban district.
“Mamdani, Lancman & NYC Socialists Are Trying to Take Our Communities. Don’t Let Them,” the literature warns.
Lancman scoffed at the GOP attacks.
“If [former New York City Mayor] Rudy Giuliani’s message was famously reduced to a noun, a verb, and 9/11, the Republicans in Nassau County have reduced their message to a noun, a verb, and Zohran Mamdani,” he said. “It’s a generic ‘Mamdani’s bad, and he’s a Democrat, and these other guys are Democrats.’”
Lancman asserted it would be impossible to tie his political record, largely liberal but ardently Zionist, to what he described as “Mamdani’s antisemitism,” and predicted efforts to link his fellow Democrats to the mayor would prove too “attenuated” to persuade voters.
A local Democratic insider, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely about the party, concurred with Lancman that attacks connecting Mamdani directly to lower-level candidates would likely make little impact. The real risk, they asserted, was at the top of the ticket: Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Historically weak on Long Island, and running against one of its native sons in Blakeman, they argued the governor’s close and highly visible partnership with Mamdani had further alienated local voters — with possible cascading consequences down the ballot.
The irony, Lancman and Sheinkopf said, is that the chief beneficiaries of a moderate Democratic wipeout in swing districts could be Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America themselves. For every pro-Israel Democrat who loses, the DSA’s growing bloc becomes proportionally more powerful.
Much attention to date has focused on the trouble that far-left House members, including candidates Mamdani endorsed, could cause for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). But Jewish leaders told JI they were even more concerned about Albany, where decisions are made about education policy and the disposition of hundreds of billions in tax revenue — a process Democrats dominate entirely.
To counter the Mamdani bloc’s growth, institutional actors in the five boroughs hope to flip the heavily Jewish southern Brooklyn seat of Republican Assemblymember Michael Novakhov. Their candidate is Joey Cohen-Saban, a pro-Israel Democrat who nearly beat Novakhov in 2024.
Unusually, the rivals have sought to flank each other on the right — Novakhov by linking the Democratic Party to Mamdani, Cohen-Saban by accusing the Republican of being a closet socialist, noting that a decade ago Novakhov made multiple donations to the presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
“This guy is not a real Republican,” the Democrat said of his foe in an interview with JI. “Compare somebody who has a record of delivering nothing to somebody who will fight for the issues and the values that this community cherishes, with a seat at the table, and fight against the far left and be a voice of reason and moderate politics.”
The other awkward element of the race, which both candidates downplayed in their remarks to JI, was that it pits the Sephardic Jewish community Cohen-Saban hails from against Novakhov’s base among Russian-speaking Jews.
However, this rivalry may prove key for Cohen-Saban to succeed — and here Mamdani may indirectly have aided him. Syrian Jewish leaders answered the democratic socialist’s triumph in last year’s primary with an aggressive voter registration drive, hoping to stymie him in the fall. That effort failed, but has potentially enlarged Cohen-Saban’s electoral base.
Speaking to JI, Novakhov urged his largely conservative constituents of all backgrounds to vote their conscience — and against the party of the mayor.
“Every Democrat elected is empowering today’s Democratic Party, which is hijacked by the socialists and antisemites, and is led by Mamdani,” he said. “So why help Mamdani?”
At an eJP–ANU election panel, representatives of eight Zionist parties laid out plans on aliyah, antisemitism and pluralism; the governing coalition sent no one
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Jewish Insider and its sister publication eJewishPhilanthropy and Anu: The Museum of the Jewish People's Tisch Center for Jewish Dialogue conducts an election panel at the museum on Wednesday, moderated by eJP Managing Editor Judah Ari Gross
Many Diaspora Jews who care about the future of Israel have been watching the election campaigns in Israel unfold from afar.
And while Diaspora affairs do not rank high in Israelis’ concerns in Oct. 27 election — security and the economy are the top issues — most Zionist political parties have given thought to the issue, whether in their platforms or when candidates are asked about antisemitism and Israel’s connection to world Jewry.
Jewish Insider and its sister publication eJewishPhilanthropy, in partnership with Anu: The Museum of the Jewish People and the Peoplehood Coalition, conducted an election panel at the museum on Wednesday, moderated by eJP Managing Editor Judah Ari Gross, to hear how the parties plan to commit themselves to ties with global Jewry. The event was also supported by Anu’s Tisch Center for Jewish Dialogue, the American Zionist Movement, Global Jewry, Belong, Masa and the Jewish Federation of Tulsa (Okla.).
The following are their answers, condensed for space and clarity:
Yashar, led by Gadi Eisenkot:
Alex Rif, who was born in Ukraine in the former Soviet Union and founded an activist movement for Russian-Israelis, spoke about the discrimination and harassment Jews faced in the Soviet Union, but said when they arrived in Israel, they were made to feel “not Jewish enough.”
“My parents would tell me about times when people in the Soviet Union didn’t tell others that they were Jews because they were afraid. Unfortunately, we are going again to these times,” she said.
Rif said that “the issues of aliyah and absorption are in [Eisenkot’s] heart. … We have so many problems today. The antisemitism is rising. … [yet] this government, Netanyahu’s government, tried over and over to change the Law or Return, to cancel the grandchild clause” — meaning that anyone with one Jewish grandparent can immigrate to Israel — “and we’ve defended it.”
Rif called for “an international coalition to fight antisemitism,” to invest more in Birthright and Masa programs and to promote “an inclusive and respectful Judaism,” as well as protect the Law of Return.
Likud, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli did not attend as planned, and Likud did not send anyone in his place. Otzma Yehudit, Religious Zionist Party, Shas and United Torah Judaism declined to participate in the panel, which meant that the current governing coalition was not represented.
B’Yachad, led by Naftali Bennett:
Moshe Kinley Tur-Paz, a lawmaker from Yesh Atid, one of the parties comprising B’Yachad, was born in Philadelphia but grew up in Israel. He said that he has been “trying to bring the voice of the Jews around the world, of world Jewry to Israel … and because Bennett himself also comes from a family of [immigrants to Israel] this is something very lively and very committed in our party.”
Tur-Paz said that while Diaspora Jews cannot vote in Israel, their position should be brought up in legislative debates, proposing a non-voting 121st Knesset member to represent them in parliament. In addition, he called for funding for more Hebrew learning around the world, and emphasized the need to connect young Diaspora Jews to Israel as well as to educate Israelis about world Jewry, which he repeatedly said was lacking. In addition, he called to form a task force to fight antisemitism.
Tur-Paz said that when he was a principal, he partnered the school in Israel with an Australian school so that the children could learn together online and connect. “Education is everything,” he said.
He also spoke about the Western Wall plan to allow pluralistic prayer services at the holy site, which was proposed and then shelved in the 2010s. “We need every Jew to feel in the [Jewish] Quarter as if it [belongs to] himself. … We will bring it back to the Jews of the world so everyone will feel that this is his land and it is his Kotel.” Asked why his party did not advance the issue when it was in power, Tur-Paz gave what he called a “scoop” that he had been drawing up legislation to do so before the coalition collapsed.
The Democrats, led by Yair Golan:
Gaby Lasky, a former Knesset member best known as a lawyer defending Palestinians and far-left activists against charges in Israel, moved to Israel from Mexico by herself at age 15. “Israel is the state of all the Jews around the world,” she said. “We believe that the connection between the state and Jewish communities outside of Israel is part of our identity, is part of our responsibility.”
The Democrats, she said, “believe in the values of the [Israeli Declaration] of Independence. We believe that Israel has to be a democratic and Jewish state, and for those reasons, we fight for Israeli democracy. … We fight for Israel to be a Jewish state, and that means … all the [denominations] of Judaism, not only Orthodoxy. … We have to change in Israel the fact that only Orthodox [conversion] is accepted. … We all share in common one thing, and that is Tikkun Olam. We believe that we can change this place for the better, and we can only do it if we do it together.”
Yisrael Beiteinu, led by Avigdor Liberman:
MK Oded Forer, a former cabinet minister and the former director-general of the Immigration and Absorption Ministry, said that Israel is “the land of all the Jewish people around the world. You’re a member of the Jewish people — this is your state. Even if you haven’t visited here once.”
Forer said that the mission of encouraging Jews to immigrate to Israel “isn’t complete. We need the majority of the Jewish people to live in Israel. .. I’m sure that we can do it.”
Forer called to help fund security and Jewish education for Diaspora communities. He also expressed appreciation for the generosity of Diaspora communities after the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks. Reflecting on both, he said that Israel’s support for world Jewry should be “unconditional” and so should world Jewry’s support for Israel.
Reservists and Economy Party, led by Yoaz Hendel: Writer and former Knesset member (2010-2013) Einat Wilf, whose Oz party merged with Hendel’s, said that she had been one of the small number of Knesset members who devoted time to Diaspora issues and said she had an “absolute, ongoing, unbroken commitment to this relationship … and this will not change whether there are or are not votes in it.”
She called for “more stable, organized, institutionalized, consultative mechanisms by which the Jewish people can have their voice heard and participate in having their voice heard, short of voting.”
“One of the ironic successes of Zionism is that Jews in Israel live in a bit of a bubble, and we do not realize how dangerous what is being built around us in the world,” Wilf said, adding: “We have one side of the political map that believes that changing of government will be enough [to reverse anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiment]; it won’t, and another side who has made [antisemitism] into something permanent. There’s always going to be antisemitism, so there’s kind of fatalist helplessness to it. .. It’s also going to be good for us, that Israeli leaders, coalition and opposition live in a bit less of a bubble.”
Amcha Yisrael, led by Ofer Winter:
Former Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum spoke of choosing to move to Israel in 2001, and her experience defending Israel in international media, in English and in Spanish: “I’ve been fighting … for three years for the legitimacy of our country, for the legitimacy of a war that we didn’t start.”
“I believe that I’m the candidate that can represent the [English-speaking] voice in this country and Israel-Diaspora relations. We have a wonderful plan for aliyah, for Israel-Diaspora relations and for representing our country and the Jewish people,” she stated.
Hassan-Nahoum also called to reform the World Zionist Organization so that it is a more effective voice of the Diaspora. “Ninety percent of what they do with the money… is just give jobs to their friends, retired politicians. … There are people in this organization who have a job, that don’t show up to work. Most of them can’t even speak English or any [foreign] language. … The infrastructure, the apparatus exists. Let’s clean it up please.”
Blue and White, led by Benny Gantz:
Pnina Tamano-Shata, a Knesset member who was the first Ethiopian-born member of Israel’s cabinet as immigration and absorption minister, said that “the most important experience in [her] life” was when she moved to Israel at age 3, barefoot, with only the clothes on her back.
“We know every step we take impacts the Jewish world,” Tamano-Shata said. “We have to take responsibility [and have] accountability in such a challenging time.”
Tamano-Shata also called to “bring the young generation to be connect[ed] with Israel, to get the tools to deal not only with antisemitism, with a lot of fields — culture, education, the Jewish people and traditions and so much more.”
Tamano-Shata called for an “alternative vote,” without specifying what it would entail, to “give more influence to the Jewish community … [on] important issues that bother the Jews in [the] Diaspora.”
She also referred to the ongoing war in Ethiopia, and said that Jews there, including children, have been killed and kidnapped, and people need to think about them, as well.
Asked about her party’s stance on negotiations with Palestinians and support for a two-state solution — the view held by the majority of American Jews — Tamano-Shata said that while her party yearns for peace, a Palestinian state is out of the question at this point in time, particularly in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks.
Israel First, led by Sharren Haskel:
Haskel, a Knesset member and former deputy foreign minister from Likud, was born in Canada and her family moved to Israel when she was a child. She said that having more immigrants in the Knesset helps address the issues that immigrants and Diaspora Jewry face.
Her party has a four-pronged program, beginning with educating Israelis and Diaspora Jews as young as possible to be connected to one another. The second is self-defense, including Krav Maga lessons and leadership programs. The third is strengthening Jewish identity, including free Hebrew lessons in Diaspora communities, and a Hebrew-speaking au pair program. Finally, Haskel called for reducing overhead and streamlining overlapping programs in Jewish organizations that receive Israeli government funding.
Haskel also posited that mixing religion and politics in Israel has been damaging to relations with the Diaspora and called for the separation of religion and state, while strengthening Jewish identity and values.
Plus, Italian mayor backtracks on Israel litmus test
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The Herbert Park Hotel in Ballsbridge, Dublin, Ireland.
Good Wednesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Former Vice President Kamala Harris said today at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, South Korea, that the Biden administration should have acted “sooner and more forcefully” to restrain Israel during the war in Gaza, Jewish Insider’s AJ Rodriguez reports, as Harris has become more critical of the Biden administration’s policy towards Israel since leaving office…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani today sharply criticized Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman — the GOP nominee for New York governor — calling the Republican’s assertions that he would not protect Jewish communities from arson and sexual violence “directly racist,” JI’s Will Bredderman reports.
Referring to Blakeman’s comments in a private meeting with Hasidic leaders in Williamsburg that Mamdani would likely do little “if there is rioting here, if they’re burning down the yeshivas and your shuls, and burning down your house and raping your women,” the mayor said, “It’s not even a dog whistle. It’s just directly racist to say that I would not respond to Jewish New Yorkers being killed and raped”…
Mamdani also said today that he “welcome[s]” the decision by New York City Comptroller Mark Levine not to reinvest portions of the city’s pension system in Israel Bonds, which Levine said was solely a financial consideration and not an ideological one.
“It is something that I’ve said in the past that I don’t believe that our city should purchase Israel Bonds. We don’t purchase the bonds of any other sovereign nation. I don’t think that we should make an exception when it comes to Israel,” Mamdani said…
Addressing the House of Commons today, U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham denounced as “wrong” and “antisemitic” a recent motion passed by the Green Party defining Zionism as racism, JI’s AJ Rodriguez reports. Burnham stated that the Labour party would “have nothing to do with” the motion and would not sit in a coalition with the Green Party while it maintains such a policy…
The mayor of Reggio Emilia, Italy, defended the city’s handling of a controversy where Israeli and American Jewish preschool teachers were asked to condemn Israel’s actions in Gaza before being permitted to join a trip to his town, denying that the pledge was a requirement to attend, JI’s Haley Cohen reports.
After outreach from the State Department, Mayor Marco Massari said the city’s Charter for Democratic and Participatory Education, a document associated with Reggio Emilia’s early childhood education approach, was intended to be an “open document” and not a requirement that visitors sign on to a particular position…
The Herbert Park Hotel in Dublin canceled 70 rooms booked for participants of an international conference of envoys for combating antisemitism, JI’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Maurice Cohen, the head of the Irish Jewish Representative Council, said at the opening of the summit that the hotel canceled the group’s reservation made in May after finding out the nature of the event and after inquiring if the IDF would be involved, despite having no relevance to the topic of the gathering…
The Israeli Defense Ministry and the Pentagon signed an agreement today for Israel to acquire 12 Boeing-made Apache “Echo” attack helicopters for the IDF, wtih delivery scheduled to begin early next decade…
Colombia opened its embassy in Jerusalem today, fulfilling a campaign pledge by President Abelardo de la Espriella and marking a further restoration of ties with Israel under his right-wing party…
Israeli President Isaac Herzog met today with Bahraini Foreign Affairs Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani while attending the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia being held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Herzog said the two “discussed the friendship and ties between Israel and Bahrain, as well as the importance of the U.S.-led Abraham Accords in strengthening security, stability, and prosperity in the Middle East”…
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin announced that the council will allocate $1.25 million to the Blue Card program — which provides financial assistance to families of Holocaust survivors — to develop a virtual Holocaust education experience and expand educational opportunities for students across the city…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for coverage of today’s memorial event at the State Department for the American victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.
National security veteran Brett McGurk will sit in conversation with Washington Post columnist David Ignatius at the Atlantic Council to discuss McGurk’s new book, Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7th Hostages.
The annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards Ceremony for advancing women in peace and security will be held at Georgetown University.
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RELATIONSHIP STATUS
Likud insists Netanyahu can work with any White House, while opposition parties argue a new government is needed to win back Democrats and the broader public
CONTROVERSIAL COCKTAIL
Michelle Smith agreed with a commenter’s remark that ‘shekels would prolly fly out’ of a Republican consultant
Plus, GOP retreats from Landsman’s seat
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani attend an unveiling ceremony for a new 9/11 Memorial Wall at One Police Plaza on Sept. 9, 2026 in New York City.
Good Tuesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump declined today to answer whether he had decided to order U.S. strikes on the Iran-backed Houthis, telling reporters only that the group is “behaving very badly,” and later wrote on Truth Social that he “thought they learned their lesson a year ago when we bombed the HELL out of them … but now they’ve emerged again, probably at the behest of Iran.” Trump separately said the administration expects to determine its next steps on Iran “very soon”…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken with Trump several times about the possibility of striking Iran before the U.S. midterms and Israeli elections, Axios reports, with the Israeli leader pushing to address Iran’s apparent efforts to reconstitute its nuclear program — though Trump has recently said he has no intention to resume operations against Iran before November…
The Houthis reportedly attacked today the headquarters of Saudi Aramco, the national oil company of Saudi Arabia, after Riyadh targeted a Yemen Petroleum Company fuel depot; the extent of the damage to Saudi Aramco was unknown, though one source told the Financial Times that the site caught on fire…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told reporters today that he has no plans to fire NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, as parts of his socialist base have called for him to do, and commended her success in combating violent crime and corruption…
The Congressional Leadership Fund, the independent expenditure arm of the House GOP aligned with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), is reportedly withdrawing plans for independent spending against Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH), alongside several other swing districts the PAC is seen as essentially surrendering to Democrats, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Landsman has been one of the most outspoken pro-Israel Democrats and is running comfortably ahead in a Cincinnati-area district Trump won in 2024…
MI5, Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, is now devoting more resources to countering state threats than during the Cold War, Director General Ken McCallum said today, as the country works to fend off attacks from Iran and Russia. The U.K. has “entered a new era of national security,” McCallum continued, with terrorist and state-threat operations now “pretty much of equal scale”…
Representatives of the J7 Task Force Against Antisemitism, a body representing the seven largest Jewish diaspora communities, gathered at Herzog Park in Dublin — named for Chaim Herzog, the Dublin-raised sixth president of Israel, which activists have sought to rename — in order “to stand in solidarity with Ireland’s Jewish community and raise concerns about antisemitic rhetoric and actions in Ireland.” The group also conveyed those concerns directly to Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Foreign Affairs Secretary-General Joe Hackett…
Canada, Australia, France and the U.K. said in a joint statement today that they “deeply regret” the Palestinian Authority’s decision to postpone its elections until September 2027 and urged it to hold a vote “without further delay.” The countries also called on Israel to refrain from actions that could impede the vote and reiterated that Hamas should have no role in the future governance of the Palestinian territories…
A Delta Air Lines flight arriving in Tel Aviv from New York was cleared today at Ben Gurion Airport after an anonymous report indicated that a “suspicious” device was on board…
Asked if he’s considering running for president in 2028, Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), a co-chair of the House Antisemitism Task Force, said during a recent podcast appearance, “I won’t lie — yes, I would love to, but I would also just be happy to be the right-hand or the left-hand man to someone else that has the same values”…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
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 the Washington-area restaurant Busboys and Poets is alienating Jewish customers by promoting its new “free Palestine” drink.
The State Department, along with the American Jewish Committee, will host an event honoring the 46 Americans killed in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks in Israel, JI’s Marc Rod reports, after postponing the event from its original date in late September.
Leo Terrell, chair of the Justice Department’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, will speak at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield, Mich., for the first stop of the task force’s “American Tour Against Hate.”
The 2026 American Foreign Service Association awards ceremony will be held at Georgetown University, where former CIA Director Bill Burns will be honored for his “lifetime contributions to American diplomacy.”
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PACKED PEWS
At Temple Israel, the lawmakers and the New York Times columnist discussed the rise of antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment with the Call Me Back host
PROBLEMATIC POST
Michelle Smith agreed with a commenter’s remark that ‘shekels would prolly fly out’ of a Republican consultant
Plus, Lankford says Lebanon eyeing Michigan race
Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images
U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband arrives in Downing Street to attend weekly Cabinet meeting in London, U.K. on Sept. 8, 2026.
Good Monday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the House of Commons today that the suspected plot targeting the U.S.-run RAF Fairford air base was “highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran” and “almost certainly directed by” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
In a joint statement, the U.S. and 27 other countries backed Britain’s assessment, condemned Iran’s use of proxies for attacks on Western soil and vowed to identify, disrupt and prosecute those responsible…
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband agreed today to host a meeting of officials from seven countries to coordinate efforts against antisemitism, Jewish Insider’s AJ Rodriguez reports, following talks in London with representatives of the J7 Task Force Against Antisemitism — a body of organizations representing the seven largest Jewish diaspora communities.
William Daroff and Betsy Berns Korn, respectively CEO and chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, told JI that their discussion with Miliband was “frank and direct. We called him to task for the U.K. government’s sanctions against Israel and its rhetoric, which exacerbate antisemitism and increase the risks Jewish communities face. We made clear that these consequences cannot be brushed aside,” they said.
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told JI that, “while there are areas of strong disagreement [with Miliband], we identified some common concerns including our shared view on the bigoted antizionism of the Green Party … But this was just the first conversation. We intend to keep pushing for action and demanding accountability”…
Former President Barack Obama officially endorsed Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in a video where he praised El-Sayed for refusing corporate money and for supporting “invest[ing] money here, instead of wasting money on endless wars.” Asked about his past criticisms of Obama following his 2012 reelection, El-Sayed said on “Meet the Press” this weekend that he was “younger” and “angry about circumstances” back then…
El-Sayed’s opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), released an ad pushing back on El-Sayed’s claim that neither he nor his family have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, highlighting a social media post from his sister that said, “My family has long been MB [Muslim Brotherhood],” among other similar reports…
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) told reporters today that Lebanese and Israeli leaders both expressed to him strong interest in the Michigan Senate race while he was on a trip to the Middle East last week, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
Among his conversations, Lankford said Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told him there was an “extension of [his] party in Michigan that he just initiated.” Berri leads the Amal Movement, a Shia political faction allied with Hezbollah….
A teenager was killed and 24 others were injured today when an unexploded Hezbollah cluster munition detonated during a school hike in northern Israel near the Lebanon border. The IDF said the explosive had remained in the area from an earlier Hezbollah attack and that the incident remains under investigation…
American citizens have been detained in Saudi Arabia for photographing recent missile or drone incidents, the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh confirmed today, as it warned Americans not to film or share images of intercepted projectiles or impact sites so as not to violate Saudi law…
Speaking at the TRENDS conference in Abu Dhabi, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo predicted that “the large Islamic nations,” including Malaysia and Indonesia, will “come to see that something akin to the Abraham Accords makes sense for their countries as well,” given Iran’s destabilizing actions in the Middle East…
A federal court in California denied a motion by The Pokémon Company International attempting to dismiss a discrimination lawsuit brought by an Israeli American professional Pokémon player, who claims he was banned from all Pokémon competitions over his efforts to lobby the gaming company to host official tournaments in Israel. The court found that the allegations represent a “plausible claim of discrimination and retaliation,” allowing the case to proceed…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
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 the small Israeli political parties that could end up playing kingmaker in the upcoming elections.
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington will hold a forum this evening focused on issues of concern to the Jewish community for candidates running in contested races for the Montgomery County Board of Education.
The USC Shoah Foundation will mark the grand opening tomorrow of its first office in Washington with a Q&A with Wolf Blitzer on his family’s experience in the Holocaust.
The Israeli Embassy in Washington will present a screening tomorrow of “NAZA: The Real Story,” a documentary meant to counter the controversial film “NAZA” that alleges the IDF intentionally targeted Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Former Rep. Max Rose (D-NY), a staunchly pro-Israel Jewish Democrat, will host a fundraiser in New York tomorrow for Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and singer Bobby Pulido, who is running as a Democrat in Texas’ 15th Congressional Distrct.
The Heritage Foundation will host a conversation tomorrow with Ben Black, CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, on American investment abroad.
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BREAKING POINT
One Jewish community leader said that the debate had ‘reinforced’ Jewish community members’ ‘deep concern’ about El-Sayed and his political ideology
TORAH AND TAXES
Path-breaking academic Nechumi Yaffe is running for Knesset in a party of Orthodox Israelis who want to bring change to their community
Path-breaking academic Nechumi Yaffe is running for Knesset in a party of Orthodox Israelis who want to bring change to their community
Hatzibur HaHaredi
Nechumi Yaffe, with party leader Motti Leitner at the Hatzibur HaHaredi headquarters
Just don’t call it “change.”
Nechumi Yaffe, a norm-shattering Haredi woman, and her fledgling political party, Hatzibur HaHaredi, may be tilting at ultra-Orthodox windmills, but they are seeking nothing less than a wholesale transformation of Haredi society. Yaffe wants to pull the community out of poverty. She wants to alter its relationship to the army on the contentious issue of Haredi conscription. And she wants to “make higher education the default” in order to bring more men into the labor force.
Call it “repair, rehabilitation, healing,” she said, but don’t call it “change,” a word she said was too threatening to a community bound by tradition and ritual.
Yaffe is the first woman to run for Knesset in a Haredi party, after a series of career firsts: She’s the first Haredi woman to receive a Ph.D. from Hebrew University, and the first Haredi woman faculty member at Tel Aviv University, where she teaches at the School of Public Policy, focusing on Haredi society. She also founded “Achdut,” a Haredi volunteer command center, after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel, coordinating over 100,000 volunteers.
Yaffe, who is 50, spoke with Jewish Insider on Wednesday about Hatzibur HaHaredi’s plans and why change has been so difficult in the Haredi community. A graduate of the prestigious Gateshead Jewish Academy in the U.K., a Haredi teachers’ seminary, and with a post-doctorate from Princeton University, she spoke near-perfect English.
“I think the Haredi community needs to take more responsibility and take initiative and do its share,” she said. “Most Haredi people feel like victims and feel like they’ve been [persecuted] … I think people have broad ignorance of what it means to be citizens and do their share. … They were never taught civics and don’t understand their duties and obligations.”
Most Haredim, Yaffe argued, feel that they contribute by learning Torah, which they believe leads God to protect Israel. They think they pay taxes, she said, because they have sales tax and that they are major consumers because they have many children, not understanding that far fewer of them pay income and municipal taxes than in general society, because of widespread poverty in their sector. The average Haredi household’s consumption was 58% of the average Israeli household in 2024, according to an Israel Democracy Institute study. But when the broader public makes demands, Yaffe said, the Haredi population thinks, “what more do these people want from us?”
Meanwhile, those who should know better pursued “short-sighted, lazy policies” and ignored the needs of the Haredi population, she added.
“A bad political agreement was made for them,” Yaffe said. “Haredi politicians [tell potential coalition partners] ‘all we want is autonomy and we will vote any way you want.’ Non-Haredi politicians would overlook what that really means for the economy and said ‘let them rot in their ghetto.’ All that came back to bite us. … We have rapid growth in a community that doesn’t understand what is wrong. They are not participating in the army or the economy. Their poverty is affecting the Israeli population. The autonomy is a threat to the entire country.”
Hatzibur HaHaredi (“Haredi Public”) are people who are “loyal to our Haredi identity, put Torah at the center of our lives … but we want to take responsibility for the financial and educational future for our children and for the State of Israel. We want to be part of designing our future,” Yaffe said.
The party’s first priority is education, by promoting Haredi public schools that are affiliated with the Education Ministry. Currently, most Haredi schools are independent, meaning that they do not use a government-backed curriculum, though they still receive government funding, and very few prepare students for national high school matriculation exams.
“We want to change norms through resource allocation, to encourage people to move their kids” to the public schools, Yaffe said. “My vision is that [the schools] become the mainstream, the natural automatic choice. Those who don’t want their children to get a secular education should be the ones deviating from the norm.”
Yaffe took issue with the current situation regarding Haredi conscription in the IDF, by which over 100,000 young Haredi men are considered to be illegal draft-dodgers who could, potentially be arrested.
“It’s not conducive to making them love their country more or go to the army. It’s making people illegitimate and not pushing them in the right direction,” she said, calling for the government to “be very strategic.”
She called to start with the young men who do not actually study in a yeshiva. The rabbis of those yeshivas know which students are falsely registered and which actually study, she said.
“They should be recruited ASAP,” Yaffe said. “This should be done tomorrow. Thousands can be recruited. This will normalize the army” in Haredi society.
As for leading Haredi rabbis who have said that even those who are not actually learning Torah should not join the IDF, Yaffe said: “My research has shown that we always think the rabbis are the movers and shakers, but statistically, it’s social norms. No one wants to be alienated from the community. We have to normalize the army as part of life.”
Another major priority for Hatzibur HaHaredi is employment for men after yeshiva and military service. While about 83% of Haredi women work, only 54% of men do.
“We have to make higher education the default in order to realize their potential and create jobs for thousands of men who could be part of the labor force,” she said.
Increasing employment will better integrate Haredim into society, Yaffe said.
“One of the main components of poverty is having no control over your life,” she said. “When these men get jobs and have a salary, they can normally plan their monthly expenditures and gain control of their lives … and then I trust people to get things right.”
Yaffe compared the potential of Haredim in the workforce to major waves of Jewish immigration “that revived and strengthened the country. The next wave will be Haredi immigration into Israeli society. We’re going to take the talent and ambition of this community and harness it.”
Yaffe also plans to fight for the rights of “neglected, overlooked and used” Haredi women. She believes that they are the party’s “weapon,” and will be a large part of their voter base.
“We are sent to work and bring in money, but have no legal protections,” she said.
Haredi women are often employed as teachers, but their labor rights are frequently violated, and contrary to nearly all public school teachers in Israel, few Haredi teachers are union members. A common practice in Haredi schools – including those once managed by the current head of United Torah Judaism, Yitzhak Goldknopf – is to hire teachers as contractors and sign new contracts with them annually, so they do not receive tenure or raises. Yaffe also said that hiring and promotions are often based on personal connections.
“It’s like a third-world country; it’s so corrupt,” Yaffe said of employment practices in Haredi schools. “The corruption needs to end, full stop. We need to get women into senior jobs and around the decision-making table.”
While one may think that being the primary breadwinners would grant haredi women more power, Yaffe said that “the culture is that Torah is more important than money, and they don’t have access to Torah [at the same level as the men].”
“It ends with us,” Yaffe promised. “Women are making the money and don’t get to make the decisions. That will end when women are around the table and see the mechanisms and say we won’t play this game anymore.”
Much of Israeli Haredi society has very closed social ranks, and those who break the norm are often ostracized. Haredi commentators have attempted to criticize Yaffe and others in the party as not really Haredi.
“The easiest way to refute criticism is to ostracize someone,” Yaffe said. “I think it’s hard to say that about me. I wasn’t just a teacher; I wrote the curriculum. My name is on their children’s textbooks.”
Yaffe said she has gotten “mixed reactions” and some people think she’s “off,” but that “most say [I am] trying to do something good.”
She is used to deviating from the norm, since she turned to academia, but the criticisms are more difficult for other members of her family, who received phone calls telling them that she is “terrible and how dare [she] go against the establishment.”
“Some people disapprove, but I don’t care,” she said. “I hope my kids are OK receiving criticism, because they may not be as resilient as I am. … It’s not easy having this kind of a parent, but you can’t choose your parents.”
Earlier this week, leading Haredi Rabbi Dov Lando sparked controversy by saying that religious Zionist soldiers were killed in the war because of their “distorted Torah.”
Yaffe was careful not to criticize specific rabbis, but said that Hatzibur HaHaredi is “demonstrating that there are enough Haredi people who want to do things differently and are proud to be part of this country. We want to serve. We are not alienated from the pain, sacrifice and heroism of our brothers who are keeping us safe and alive. We don’t take this state for granted and are grateful for the miracle of this country’s establishment.”
“We are trying very hard to do something different, and with God’s help we will succeed,” she added.
As to their consistently polling under the threshold, Yaffe said: “This is a country of miracles. We hope we’ll be part of it and get in [to the Knesset].”
“This is a movement of repair, responsibility, of a shared fate [with the rest of the country]. We’re here to stay. Eventually, we’ll make it in and lead the Haredi community into normal lives,” she said.
Plus, Israel debuts at Morocco airshow
Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images
US President Donald Trump speaks about the conflict in Iran in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on April 6, 2026, in Washington, DC.
Good Thursday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post today that the U.S. is having “productive discussions” with Iran and that he “want[s] to make it clear” that Washington will not attack Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, after reports indicated the president was considering such a move…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani today shrugged off the protest — which featured jeers of “traitor” and chants of “long live Hamas” — that sought to drown out an event he attended last night memorializing the victims of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.
“I was proud to attend last night’s vigil, as I did last year, to listen to testimonies from family members of those who were killed on Oct. 7, and those who’ve been killed in the three years since, and all of whom united in a vision for peace and an end to the genocide in Gaza,” Mamdani told reporters. “As for those protesting me, I am the mayor of New York City, and this is what I signed up for”…
A planned trip to Reggio Emilia, Italy, for some 100 Jewish early childhood educators from the U.S. and Israel was canceled after participants were required to sign a statement condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The educators were meant to study the Reggio Emilia Approach to early childhood education, a method long embraced by Jewish preschools. But ahead of the trip, participants were asked to sign a statement declaring, “I distance myself from the occupation of Gaza and the violation of children’s and human beings’ rights in the occupied territories as well as in every places [sic] in the world,” according to a screenshot obtained by JI’s Haley Cohen…
An ad set to air during the Michigan Senate debate tonight, paid for by a pro-Mike Rogers super PAC, features a mother of a student at Temple Israel who said she identified as a lifelong Democrat but will be voting for Rogers due to remarks by Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed seeming to justify the attack on the synagogue earlier this year…
British counterterrorism police arrested two Latvian men today after they were found inside RAF Molesworth, an air base used by the U.S. military and NATO for intelligence operations. The men were detained on suspicion of entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the U.K.; police said there is no evidence at this stage linking the incident to the suspected Iran-related plot at RAF Fairford…
The Israeli Defense Ministry opened a national pavilion and led a delegation of defense firms — including Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael — at the Marrakech Airshow in Morocco this week, marking Israel’s first official participation in a Moroccan defense exhibition since signing the Abraham Accords…
The first Iron Dome Tamir interceptor fully produced and assembled in the United States was delivered to the Israeli Defense Ministry at a ceremony yesterday in East Camden, Ark., attended by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The Raytheon-Rafael facility is the first site outside of Israel to manufacture complete Tamir interceptors, part of the U.S.-Israel missile-defense cooperation program…
Several speakers at the right-wing National Conservatism Conference in Jerusalem this week berated Jews for speaking out against antisemitism, accused Israel of drawing the U.S. into wars and mocked evangelical Christian beliefs about Israel, JI’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Amanda Milius, a conservative documentarian, portrayed those accusing others of antisemitism as being “in a fit of hysteria” and said that doing so is “at risk of becoming [Black Lives Matter] to the younger American right. They are correctly sick of being called racists”…
Trump clarified that his recent comments about Iran bombing Los Angeles and San Diego were not invitations for Tehran to do so, writing on Truth Social that he only meant to make a comparison between the “small price to pay” of increased gasoline prices amid the Iran war and the regime potentially bombing major U.S. cities…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with Nechumi Yaffe, the first woman to run for Knesset on a Haredi party ticket, who spoke with JI’s Lahav Harkov about her new party’s push to transform ultra-Orthodox society — from conscription and the workforce to secular education — all while refusing to call it “change.”
Saturday will mark one year since President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan took effect. While the truce halted full-scale fighting and secured the release of the remaining hostages, the plan’s broader goals remain stalled: reconstruction of the enclave has made little progress, the International Stabilization Force has yet to deploy and Hamas is not yet disarmed.
Vice President JD Vance will make a campaign stop in Ohio tomorrow to boost Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) in his bid to keep his seat against former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH). Trump may make a stop in Alabama, pending a possible hurricane.
We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat shalom!
Stories You May Have Missed
KINGS COUNTY KERFUFFLE
Kings County Victory Project seeks to elevate three Dems, including in contest between Syrian Jewish and Russian Jewish candidates
POLICY PIVOT
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that U.S. policy in the Middle East ‘must change dramatically’ to ensure long-term peace
Kings County Victory Project seeks to elevate three Dems, including in contest between Syrian Jewish and Russian Jewish candidates
John Lamparski/Getty Images
Candidate for NYS Assembly District 45 Michael Novakhov speaks during a "Save New York" rally for Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin in Brighton Beach on August 03, 2022 in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City.
The Mamdani-world operative serving as treasurer for a national anti-AIPAC campaign is now running a New York State committee seeking to oust three Republican lawmakers in Brooklyn — two of whom are Jewish.
State Board of Elections records show that attorney and activist Mark Hanna submitted paperwork to establish the Kings County Victory Project committee in late September. The PAC’s stated purpose is to boost the candidacies of three Democrats running against incumbent Republicans in centrist and right-leaning parts of southern Brooklyn: Joey Cohen-Saban, running against Assemblymember Michael Novakhov; Chris McCreight, seeking to unseat Assemblymember Alec Brook-Krasny; and Joyce Xie, vying against Assemblymember Lester Chang.
“I intended for it to be a bit more of a useful thing for the November elections, for any of the Democrats that are running in, like, contested Republican districts, to flip seats,” Hanna told Jewish Insider.
Novakhov and Brook-Krasny are two of the most prominent elected officials from Brooklyn’s Russian-speaking Jewish community, which has grown increasingly Republican since the early 2010s. Cohen-Saban hails from the borough’s sizeable Syrian Jewish community, which is politically conservative but mostly votes Democratic in local elections.
Hanna worked with now-New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on the 2017 City Council campaign of Rev. Khader El-Yateem, an unsuccessful bid backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, a campaign that Mamdani has credited with having “transformed” his political outlook and engaged him in local affairs. More recently, Hanna has served as treasurer of the American Priorities PAC, a self-styled anti-AIPAC effort which has taken in huge sums from Mamdani supporters in the tech sector and spent the funds boosting left-wing critics of Israel. Among the PAC’s most prominent recipients are Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, and congressional candidates Adam Hamawy and Rev. Frederick Haynes III in New Jersey and Texas, respectively.
Hanna also ran alongside and served as election attorney for Carmella Charrington, who won a race for Democratic district leader — an unpaid but influential internal party position — as part of a left-wing wave in June. Jewish Insider discovered that Charrington had shared an Instagram post promoting industrialist Henry Ford’s infamous antisemitic tract ‘The International Jew,’ which she described as “the truth.” Hanna condemned Charrington’s comments at the time but declined to call for her resignation.
Hanna’s involvement with the new committee prompted an attack from the embattled Novakhov, who edged out Cohen-Saban in a tight race in 2024.
“I’ve said it before: my opponent keeps very bad company,” the incumbent said in a statement to JI. “Now we know that the same political operative helping oversee the effort to elect Joey Saban is also running the finances of a multimillion-dollar Super PAC working against pro-Israel candidates.”
But Cohen-Saban said he had no knowledge of the Kings County Victory Project’s existence, and did not want its support unless Hanna recanted his stance on Israel and denounced Charrington.
“I’m a proud supporter of AIPAC, and if there is any organization, PAC, whatever you want to call it, that is trying to get involved in my race, but doesn’t share my values, I don’t welcome their help,” the Democratic challenger told JI, highlighting his family’s ties to Israel, where they lived after fleeing Syria but before coming to Brooklyn. “You need to share my values, and you need to have my interests in order to be able to play any role in my campaign, whether it’s direct or indirect.”
The race between Cohen-Saban and Novakhov has been one of the most closely watched in New York Jewish politics — not only because it pits two of the city’s Jewish immigrant populations against each other, but because a Cohen-Saban victory would add a pro-Israel Democratic to the dominant Assembly majority in a year that has seen a raft of anti-Israel candidates elected to the state legislature.
Cohen-Saban, McCreight and Xie are, like Hanna and Charrington, Democratic district leaders. But recent weeks have found them on opposite sides of an internecine battle for control of the Brooklyn party organization. Hanna, McCreight and Charrington are part of a left-liberal bloc seeking to remove the current centrist leadership, while Cohen-Saban and Xie have backed the present establishment. Cohen-Saban further highlighted that he was among the first district leaders to demand Charrington’s resignation after JI reported her remarks.
Hanna, for his part, argued that he meant for the Kings County Victory Project to overcome these internal divides and focus on dislodging Republican electeds. However, he said that the ongoing legal battle for control of the Brooklyn organization had prevented him from raising meaningful funds for the PAC to date, and he was uncertain how much of a role it could play in next month’s elections.
Brook-Krasny declined to comment for this article.
Plus, Mamdani misses the mark on Oct. 7
Screenshot
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed appear on the "“For the Sake of the Argument with Lori Goldman” podcast.
Good Wednesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump said he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today to wish him and the Israeli people well on the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks. Trump called the attacks “a horrible tragedy” and said “the other side is paying a very big price for what they did on Oct. 7”…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani observed the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks with a statement that opened with a denunciation of Hamas and the “horrific war crimes” it committed that day, but spent most of its length excoriating the Israeli response — drawing fierce criticism from mainstream Jewish organizations, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.
“Many New Yorkers are reckoning with this unbearable grief, and we mourn alongside them — all while knowing that our tax dollars fund these war crimes,” Mamdani’s statement said. “Three years later, we must refuse to accept a world in which occupation and apartheid continue, where war crimes are met with impunity, and our federal government continues its complicity with every arms shipment.”
UJA-Federation of New York accused Mamdani of choosing “to respond to the grief of Jewish New Yorkers by advancing false and inflammatory attacks against Israel — not only inappropriately shifting the focus away from Hamas’s cruelty, but also placing Jewish New Yorkers at risk”…
Metropolitan Police in the U.K. arrested 11 individuals today at anti-Israel marches, including five at a “spontaneous protest” outside the Camden headquarters of the Board of Deputies — the representative body of British Jews — for “inciting racial hatred, involving allegedly shouting or chanting slogans calling for intifada,” according to a police statement…
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot visited Hostages Square in Tel Aviv and Kibbutz Be’eri today, saying in a statement that France “will never forget” the victims of the Oct. 7 attacks — “Nothing will erase their faces or their names,” he added. A French official told The Times of Israel that Barrot has no plans to meet with Israeli officials during his visit, as Jerusalem and Paris continue to be at odds over issues including settlements in the West Bank and the war in Gaza…
The White House has asked the Pentagon to prepare potential options for strikes in Iran to be executed before the midterm elections, The Atlantic reports, as the president considers avenues to signal strength before voters head to the polls…
Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed recently called far-left influencer Hasan Piker to warn him that his extreme rhetoric was costing the candidate votes and asking him to stop, CNN reports…
In a lengthy profile on El-Sayed, CNN revealed that Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel avoided attending religious services for the High Holy Days after she endorsed El-Sayed, knowing her position was controversial among the Jewish community. Speaking to the outlet, she credited El-Sayed with largely having stopped attacking AIPAC in his public statements, which she said she asked him to do.
Lansing, Mich., Mayor Andy Schor, a Jewish Democrat, also told CNN that he won’t endorse El-Sayed without having spoken to him, and his campaign has not yet made contact. El-Sayed also seems aware of his shortcomings: “I’m not the Democrat the Democrats want, but I am the Democrat that Democrats have,” he told the outlet…
As of this afternoon, El-Sayed still had not issued a public statement about the Oct. 7 anniversary, unlike many other candidates and elected officials across the country…
Meanwhile, the Republican Jewish Coalition announced today a $2 million ad campaign targeting Jewish voters in Michigan, highlighting Jewish Democrats who refuse to support El-Sayed, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
Ads from the group call out El-Sayed’s response to the terrorist attack earlier this year on Temple Israel, featuring several self-described lifelong Democrats saying they will not vote for El-Sayed, including a woman who says in the ad that her grandson attended preschool at the synagogue…
New YouGov polls of key midterm Senate elections found Democrats ahead in Kansas, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio as well as Texas, where state Rep. James Talarico is leading his GOP opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, by six points (50%-44%)…
In an address today at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed Western civilization, drawing a contrast between the Iranian regime, which he cast as a “cult of death” that glorifies martyrdom, and the West’s tradition of loyalty and sacrifice.
Rubio warned that the West has lost its will to fight and its drive to excel, saying that “the ideal of many ideologies in our time has, frankly, become a world of perfect safety, a world devoid of risk or failure” — one in which “we hold the most exceptional things among us hostage to the average, the ordinary, the mediocre”…
Former Boca Raton, Fla., Mayor Scott Singer, the Republican candidate running against Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) in South Florida, traveled to Qatar in 2024 where he met and was photographed with Qatar’s minister of municipality, Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, during a visit to the Qatar Economic Forum with other mayors from around the U.S., JI’s Marc Rod reports.
Singer and Moskowitz have been battling over which one of them is the stronger and more reliable supporter of Israel, in a district with a substantial Jewish population that could be up for grabs in the midterm election…
The authors of a play about the Oct. 7 attacks are calling for a police investigation after a fire alarm disrupted a showing of the play at Northwestern University yesterday. Alleging that someone intentionally pulled the alarm, playwright Phelim McAleer told Jerusalem News Syndicate, “These people are demonic.” Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) similarly called for an investigation into the incident, calling it “unacceptable”…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
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 GOP concerns with a provision regarding cooperation with Israel in the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act.
El-Sayed and his GOP opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), will participate in a debate tomorrow evening airing on a local Detroit TV station.
Israel is expected to close the British consulate in east Jerusalem tomorrow in retaliation for London placing sanctions on Israeli settlements; reports indicate the U.K. intends to expel dozens of Israeli diplomats if the closure is enacted.
Stories You May Have Missed
LIFE AFTER CAPTIVITY
The former hostages talk with JI about survivor’s guilt and rebuilding their lives far from their Kibbutz Kfar Aza home
CAMPUS CHRONICLES
Three students who arrived on campus weeks before the attacks describe how the past three years reshaped their Jewish identities, through religious observance, community and activism
Plus, the freshmen of Oct. 7 are seniors now
(Jamal Awad/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)
07 October 2026, Israel, Re'im: Mourners place flowers beneath portraits of victims during a memorial at the site of the Nova music festival in Re'im.
Good Wednesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at how Israel’s security landscape has changed in the three years since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, interview former hostages Keith and Aviva Siegel and Shoshan Haran, and talk to Jewish college seniors about how the events of Oct. 7 and ensuing war in Gaza shaped their university experiences. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Sen. Chris Coons, Kevin Roberts and Danielle Bernstein.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss, with assists from Tamara Zieve and Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
Today’s Agenda
Today marks the three-year anniversary of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks. In Israel and around the world, communities will mark the day with solemn ceremonies and memorials. Ceremonies on individual kibbutzim and at the site of the Nova music festival began as early as 6:29 a.m. local time, marking the minute that the attacks began three years ago.
Meanwhile, some will be marking the anniversary by protesting against the Jewish state, including on several college campuses and at New York City Hall, where anti-Israel groups including PAL-Awda, Within Our Lifetime and the youth chapter of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America are promoting a rally with a flyer that features the phrase, “Glory to the martyrs, victory to the resistance.”
Former hostages will be speaking at events marking the day. In Israel, Eli Sharabi is co-hosting a memorial ceremony in Tel Aviv, where he will be joined by other former hostages. In New York, Omer Shem Tov is slated to speak tonight at Yeshiva University, while Or Levy will address a commemoration ceremony on Long Island. Eliya Cohen and his wife, Nova survivor Ziv Abud, are speaking in Boston, and Yosef Chaim Ohana, along with Nova survivor Daniel Sharabi, is speaking at a community memorial in Denver. In France, Omri Miran will speak at the European Union’s official commemoration event.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday alongside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch vowed that “Jewish institutions will not be left to protect themselves without a strong partner in the NYPD” amid the demonstrations.
Mamdani, for his part, is slated to attend an Oct. 7 vigil today before meeting with Palestinian New Yorkers, according to his official schedule.
One Thing To Know
ANALYSIS
This year, three years since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terror attacks, Israelis are marking the first anniversary in which no hostages remain in Gaza. Daily life has shifted to a new phase: one in which fewer reservists are being called up, Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square sits quiet on Saturday nights and Israelis tuning into the evening news normally see something other than war — usually election coverage.
Israelis now face a reckoning on the heels of last week’s FlyDubai attempted hijacking and ahead of the first election since Israel’s south was invaded by thousands of terrorists. The questions that loomed in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks regarding the security of Israelis and the key role the government plays in that security are again front and center.
The terror attack on a FlyDubai flight bound for Israel, foiled by a miraculous set of events and the bravery of the Indian captain and Israelis on board, serves as a reminder of the threats that Israelis still face — and of the ways in which the institutions designed to protect them failed their societal covenant to do so.
The Big Reads
lessons learned?
On the third anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, the Jewish state’s borders are more secure, but there are still dangers looming and lessons to be learned, according to military and national security analysts. Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, told Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov on Tuesday that Israel “is in a better place in terms of its security. Kinetically, militarily, in counterterrorism and on the battlefield, we are in a much better place,” he said. “We have defensible borders. That’s an important point. It’s not only in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank], but we have them 10 kilometers deep into Lebanon, security zones in [Syria] up to 20 kilometers, and some strategic depth in Gaza. We have multi-border strategic depth that we need to survive, and a consensus that we’re not going anywhere.”
life after captivity
Keith Siegel was held captive by Hamas for 484 days. Of those, 433 were spent apart from his wife, Aviva, who was taken hostage with him but released after 51 days in captivity. “Every day counts,” he was quick to point out on Tuesday, when he and Aviva met with Jewish Insider’s Melissa Weiss in Tel Aviv ahead of the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. “Maybe every hour.” In part to deal with the trauma of her abduction and ordeal in Gaza, Aviva wrote a book about her experiences, Survived to Tell: A Hostage’s True Story of October 7 and 51 Days in Captivity. “I remember thinking, ‘I have to leave all these words for our grandchildren, because if Keith doesn’t come home, and he might never ever come home alive, that they’ll be able to read the love between us and how amazing Keith was,’” Aviva reflected.
Next chapter: On the third anniversary of the attacks, and with every hostage either returned alive or brought home for burial, Kibbutz Be’eri survivor Shoshan Haran, who was, like the Siegels, taken hostage, is allowing herself to think about what comes next. “This is the first anniversary that we can start looking at the future,” she told JI’s Haley Cohen. Her new memoir, Mission in Captivity: One Woman’s Struggle to Survive and Save Her Family in Gaza, is part of that next chapter — an effort to document what she experienced, mourn what she lost and make her voice heard about the events of Oct. 7 and their aftermath.
campus chronicles
Seven months after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel, Erica Ho stood beneath a Chabad tent on Harvard’s campus and became a bat mitzvah on her 20th birthday. Growing up in Albuquerque, N.M., with a Chinese father and Jewish mother, Ho lived miles away from the nearest synagogue and felt disconnected from the local Jewish community. For Ho and other members of the college class that arrived on campus just weeks before Oct. 7 — most of whom are now seniors — the three years since have become a defining chapter of their Jewish lives. As the third anniversary of Oct. 7 approached, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen spoke with three Jewish students who entered college weeks before the attacks.
The Rundown
education consternation
survey says
speaking out
fundraiser fallout
chesapeake challenge
On Our Radar
● The Live Briefing. Word on the street, clips, podcasts and quick updates — the items we’re tracking all day in our Live Briefing on the app (on Apple and Android) and website.
The White House stood by comments made by President Donald Trump on Monday that Iran could “take out” major California cities, including Los Angeles and San Diego; Trump’s comments prompted condemnation from Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state officials…
Vice President JD Vance said that Iran would have to make a “meaningful” change to its enrichment capacity in order to reach an accord with the U.S. to end the war, adding, “If you don’t want a nuclear weapon, then why do you need 60% enriched fuel? And if you want to show commitment to not building a nuclear weapon, don’t build highly enriched fuel. That’s a very basic threshold issue”…
During Maine’s Senate debate last night, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said she supports continued aid at current levels to Israel, while Democratic challenger Troy Jackson said he does not want “any more offensive weapons going to murder people in Palestine”; he added that he believed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a “war criminal, but Sen. Collins likes him”…
The Cook Political Report shifted its ratings of three key Senate races — in Kansas, New Hampshire and North Carolina — to further favor Democrats…
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, who had previously defended far-right commentator Tucker Carlson over his friendly interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes — prompting a series of resignations from the right-wing think tank — told The New Yorker in an exposé on Heritage that he now believes Carlson is “exacerbating antisemitism in America”…
The Wall Street Journal profiles WeWoreWhat founder Danielle Bernstein, who has amassed a large social media following even as she has courted controversies that have garnered her the tabloid nickname “America’s most hated influencer”…
Politico profiles Berlin mayoral candidate Elif Eralp, whose Left Party has galvanized younger supporters even as it faces antisemitic incidents within the party; media have dubbed Eralp the “Berlin Mamdani,” owing to her progressive politics and campaign style, which were influenced by political consultant and Mamdani advisor Morris Katz, who is also advising Eralp…
The New York Times spotlights former hostages Gali and Ziv Berman, twins from Kibbutz Kfar Aza who were among the last living hostages to be released, as they adjust to life post-captivity…
The Wall Street Journal interviews young Americans who chose to immigrate to Israel following the Oct. 7 attacks…
British Airways is set to resume daily nonstop flights between London and Israel on Oct. 25…
The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen struck two airports in Saudi Arabia overnight amid a Riyadh-backed effort by Yemen’s internationally recognized government to retake areas claimed by the Houthis…
Counterterrorism officials in the U.K. arrested a seventh man in connection with an investigation into a security incident near the country’s RAF Fairford base, which had been used by the U.S. during its operations against Iran…
Actor Eva Marie Saint, known for her role in “Exodus,” died at 102…
Worthy Reads
Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Foreign Influence Peddling: In The Washington Post, Sander Gerber and Eugene Kontorovich argue that the government has a role to play in addressing covert foreign influence operations on social media. “Most of us calibrate our opinions at least in part by watching our neighbors. When a foreign government floods our Instagram feed with counterfeit neighbors, real citizens see a consensus that may not exist — and subconsciously adjust toward it. The deception lies in trying to pass off foreign (and often foreign-based) — and perhaps not even human — messages as apple-pie American.” [WashPost]
Seeing Red Over the Greens: In The Free Press, former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair raises concerns about the rise of the country’s Green Party, amid its vote over the weekend in favor of a single Palestinian state. “For most of its history, the Green Party was a party on the margins. Today it is a significant force in British politics. It won its best-ever results in this year’s local elections, and its membership has almost tripled. And it has moved itself, and many of its supporters and sympathizers, from condemnation of Israel’s conduct in the Gaza war to a full-on denial of the State of Israel’s right to exist.” [FreePress]
Coons’ New Tune on Israel: Politico’s Daniella Cheslow looks at Sen. Chris Coons’ (D-DE) political evolution on Israel in the three years since the Oct. 7 attacks as he positions himself to assume control of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee if Democrats flip the Senate. “Coons depicted his approach as providing moral clarity to an ally in an uneasy time. Oct. 7, Coons said, made Israelis ‘dramatically more concerned about security and less willing to tolerate or engage in conversations about a two-state solution or a path towards peace with Palestinians.’” [Politico]
Picture of the Day
On the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks, an Israeli soldier crouched to light a candle Wednesday morning at the memorial to the victims of the Oct. 7 attacks at the Nova music festival. John Wessels/AFP via Getty Images
Birthdays
Matthew Sklar, composer for musical theater on Broadway and the West End, television and film, turns 53
JOHN NACION/GETTY IMAGES
Robert Ian Kaufelt, former owner of Murray’s Cheese, the nation’s leading purveyor of artisanal cheese, turns 79
Allan Nelkin, retired chairman and CEO of Halco Lighting Technologies
Margery Nyberg, Highland Park, Ill., resident
Barry Curtiss-Lusher, co-founder, chair and former CEO of energy company Nexus BSP, he is a former national chair of the Anti-Defamation League, turns 75
Jill Smith, former chair of the Jewish Foundation for Education of Women and chair of the Prize Committee of the Genesis Prize Foundation, turns 73
Bruce Lawrence Bialosky, founder of the Republican Jewish Coalition of California and a former member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, turns 73
Ron Vosatka, former deputy director of community security at the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County
Michael W. Sonnenfeldt, entrepreneur and political activist, he co-founded the Israel Policy Forum in 1993, turns 71
Kenneth L. Marcus, founder and chair of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, he served as assistant secretary of education in the Trump administration, turns 60
Eli Saulson, president of Detroit’s Imperial Management and a board member of the William Davidson Foundation
Gabriele Corcos, creator, host and producer of “Extra Virgin” on the Cooking Channel, turns 54
Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner, rabbi of Temple Emanu-El in Closter, N.J.
Arie Lipnick, political fundraiser and strategist, advisory board chairman of the Combat Antisemitism Movement
Michael Malchieli, member of the Knesset for the Shas party and former minister of religious affairs, turns 44
Natalie Lascar Lefkowitz, SVP of the leadership institute at AIPAC
Adam Teitelbaum, founder of Level III Industries after holding roles at the Jewish Federations of North America, AIPAC and AEPi
Daniel Mael, CEO of Holbrook, N.Y.-based MW Impressions
Tayla Harris, executive assistant for global client operations at WPP
Barbara Martinez, an original Politico staffer, now a manager of editorial and content strategy for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
Sam Schear, principal on the real estate team at Korn Ferry
Tamara Harel-Cohen, co-founder and chief growth officer at Riseup
Plus, Smotrich urges Israeli self-reliance
Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images
Anti-Israel demonstrators protest against 'Great Israel Real Estate' event at the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan on Tuesday, May 05, 2026, in New York City.
Good Tuesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Speaking at the National Conservatism Conference in Jerusalem today, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that Israel “can and must bear a growing responsibility for its own security, develop military and economic independence and stand up for its own interests,” and that Jerusalem “respect[s] the right and the duty of the United States to put the American people at the top of its policy priorities”…
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts said similarly at the conference that, “if Americans put America first, like Israelis put Israel first … we can stand up to this new threat and, bound firmly together, toss red-green leftism into the ash heap of history”…
Roberts told The New Yorker in an exposé on the right-wing think tank released yesterday that he now believes far-right commentator Tucker Carlson is “exacerbating antisemitism in America,” after having previously released a video defending Carlson amid backlash over his friendly interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes — a move that fractured the organization…
The Telegraph reports that the Green Party member who proposed the “Zionism is racism” motion recently adopted at the party’s conference is a self-described close friend of an al-Qaida terrorist jailed for a foiled 2011 plot to bomb travelers arriving at Heathrow from Israel.
Lubna Speitan had offered to testify in defense of Minh Quang Pham — now serving a 44-year sentence for the plot — and confirmed to the outlet that the two remain friends, suggesting he had been wrongly “targeted” by “the system”…
Meanwhile, the European Green Party said the British Green Party’s “Zionism is racism” policy runs counter to its support for a two-state solution and that it would immediately seek clarification from the British party’s leadership. German Greens co-leader Felix Banaszak separately called the policy “intolerable and unacceptable”…
British counterterrorism police arrested a seventh suspect today in connection with the alleged plot targeting the U.S.-run RAF Fairford air base, detaining a 22-year-old British man in London on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts. The other six suspects have been released on bail as the investigation continues…
The Cook Political Report changed its ratings of three key Senate races further in favor of Democrats: Kansas switched from “Lean Republican” to “Toss Up,” New Hampshire changed from “Toss Up” to “Lean Democratic” and North Carolina shifted from “Lean Democratic” to “Likely Democratic.” The three races will be critical to deciding which party takes control of the upper chamber…
Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore would not commit to serving out a full second term if reelected in November, amid speculation that he plans to run for president in 2028: Asked at a gubernatorial debate today if he would serve the entirety of his next term, Moore said, “I would not be running for reelection if I was not committed to the people of Maryland,” and declined to comment further when pressed for a yes or no answer…
Member of Knesset Zeev Elkin met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today as part of an Israeli delegation to Ukraine marking the 85th anniversary of the widespread extermination of Jews by the Nazis at Babyn Yar. Zelensky said the two discussed Iran’s cooperation with Russia as well as regional issues, and stated, “Strong relations between Ukraine and Israel could certainly contribute to our shared security”…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a special edition of the Daily Kickoffhighlighting stories from former hostages, college students and the security sector marking the third anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.
Others around the world will be marking the anniversary by protesting against the Jewish state, including on several college campuses and at New York City Hall, where anti-Israel groups including PAL-Awda, Within Our Lifetime and the youth chapter of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America are promoting a rally with a flyer that features the phrase, “Glory to the martyrs, victory to the resistance.”
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch vowed today at a press conference alongside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani that “Jewish institutions will not be left to protect themselves without a strong partner in the NYPD” amid the demonstrations.
Elsewhere in New York, Jaser AbuMousa, a father from Gaza who lost several family members to Israeli airstrikes during the Israel-Hamas war, and Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of former Israeli hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, will sit in conversation at the 92nd Street Y.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and her Democratic challenger Troy Jackson will face off tonight in their first debate, one of four to be held in the next two weeks, after Jackson was selected to replace Graham Platner as the state’s Democratic Senate nominee in July.
The National Conservatism Conference continues tomorrow in Jerusalem with speakers including former Polish President Andrzej Duda; Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli; former Israeli National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat; and Sebastian Gorka, senior director for counterterrorism at the U.S. National Security Council.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore will speak at an event tomorrow hosted by the Jewish Federation of Annapolis & the Chesapeake about the third anniversary of Oct. 7 and his commitment to combating antisemitism. The event will also feature a screening of the documentary “Torn: The Israel-Palestine Poster War on NYC Streets,” about the clashes in New York City as pro- and anti-Israel activists put up and tore down the “kidnapped” posters raising awareness about those taken hostage by Hamas.
Stories You May Have Missed
GAZA GRIFT?
The ringleader of the alleged conspiracy is Gaza-based Hamas official Saleem Alzaq, a member of Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades and one of its propaganda offices
IN THE CROSSHAIRS
The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland urged the University of Oregon to take action after antisemitic flyers called for ‘Hillel off campus’
Plus, Turkey and Pakistan send troops to Saudi Arabia
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 18, 2026 in Washington.
Good Monday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) argued during her first joint campaign appearance with Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed that the Jewish vote is not a monolith and that some Jewish voters are prioritizing issues other than Israel and antisemitism in the state’s upcoming competitive Senate race, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
“There’s no such thing as the Jewish voters, just like there’s no such thing as the Muslim voters or the Black voters. People have their own views and the things that they prioritize are going to drive their vote,” she said during a joint appearance on MS NOW, after participating in a town hall with El-Sayed over the weekend. “But I think frankly … people want to see a Jewish woman and a Muslim man being able to get along, debate, push and pull each other, and move the state forward”…
Appearing on Fox News this afternoon, El-Sayed declined to answer directly when asked if he supports U.S. terror designations for Muslim Brotherhood chapters in Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan. “I will support a terrorist designation for any organization that is engaged in or committed to political violence,” he said.
He also praised the Israelis who thwarted the attack on the FlyDubai flight last week, calling terrorism “awful and terrible”…
Also lending a hand to El-Sayed on the campaign trail is former President Barack Obama, who is set to campaign with the Senate candidate, as well as Michigan Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson, in Detroit on Oct. 24…
Turkey and Pakistan will deploy troops to Saudi Arabia, the three countries said in a joint statement today, as the Kingdom continues to battle the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen. The activation of the countries’ trilateral mutual defense pact “demonstrates the credibility of the commitment to collective defense” and “strengthens the effectiveness of deterrence,” the statement said…
Speaking today at a memorial in Jerusalem for those killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “settle accounts” with the remaining “human beasts” who planned and carried out the attacks; Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that 4,000 of the terrorists who entered Israel on Oct. 7 have already been killed, while 2,000 remain at large…
Asked if he thinks Iran was responsible for the attack on FlyDubai FZ1073, President Donald Trump told reporters today, “I personally do,” even as investigators have not officially determined Iranian involvement…
Trump also said that the U.S. moved its B-1 bombers out of the RAF Fairford air base in the U.K. due to “some threats, and rather than tempting the enemy, we’ll capture the enemy and beat the enemy.” Vice President JD Vance said similarly today that the planes were moved “out of an abundance of caution, trying to protect our guys” from an unspecified threat from Iran…
Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Netanyahu while en route to Iceland today, according to a State Department spokesperson…
British National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell reportedly visited Israel last week in an effort to prevent the closure of the British consulate in east Jerusalem; Israel ordered the consulate closed in response to British sanctions on West Bank settlements, and an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson said it will shut Thursday as planned…
A Kuwaiti national who attempted to attack the Israeli Embassy in London last year was sentenced today to life in prison with a minimum term of 20 years after being convicted of preparing a terrorist act. Abdullah Sabah Albadri, 34, was arrested outside the embassy armed with two knives and carrying a note indicating he was prepared to die as a “martyr”…
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) is continuing his travels in the Middle East in Saudi Arabia, where he met today with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, of whom he’s been a vocal critic. In a video update, Murphy said he pressed MBS about Gulf investments with the Trump family and freedom of political speech and discussed the Iran war and Palestinian statehood.
Murphy also visited the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, which was struck by Iranian drones early in the Iran war. He claimed, based on the damage, that the strikes would have caused a “mass casualty event” if they had occurred while the building was occupied…
Ambassador Yehuda Kaploun, the State Department’s antisemitism envoy, said at a press conference today that countries including the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Guatemala, Paraguay, Costa Rica and Chile are considering adopting or have already decided to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, as several Latin American countries have recently shifted more favorably towards Israel and prioritized combating antisemitism…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a dispatch from the Israeli Embassy in Washington’s Oct. 7 memorial event taking place this evening.
The National Conservatism conference kicks off tomorrow in Jerusalem with speakers including Israeli scholar Yoram Hazony; Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts; writer Rod Dreher; Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich; and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.
National security veteran Brett McGurk’s new book, Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7th Hostages, about his experience negotiating for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas during the Biden administration, will hit bookshelves tomorrow.
Stories You May Have Missed
PASTOR’S POSITION
Adam Hamilton called Israel’s war in Gaza ‘irresponsible and unjust’ but said he does not believe Israel’s intent ‘is to wipe out a group of people’
HATE MAIL
Far-right Maryland Republican Dan Cox’s son and ‘bodyguard’ sent an antisemitic rant to a consultant
Far-right Maryland Republican Dan Cox’s son and ‘bodyguard’ sent an antisemitic rant to a consultant
Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox addresses supporters at an election night watch party, in Annapolis, MD.
The son — and one-time campaign worker — of Dan Cox, the Republican nominee challenging Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, sent Facebook messages predicting “Israel will fall” and calling Jews “scum who killed my savior Jesus” and the “Synagogue of Satan,” according to a post from a GOP consultant.
Republican operative Alexandra Levine shared screenshots of messages allegedly from Josiah Cox, the GOP gubernatorial nominee’s son, that were posted to a Facebook group in June. The profile in the images uses the same name and photo as one the gubernatorial hopeful tagged in a 2024 post, which also called his son his “bodyguard” and shared photos of him, including one with then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
“Jewish customs disgust me,” one of the screen-grabbed missives reads. “You’re pedophiles and Satan worshipping scum and you slaughter innocents all around the world.”
The message continues: “Israel will fall either by the might of the nations God sends against it or in the end times when Christ returns and wipes them off the face of the earth. I long for that day. Enjoy the rockets you brought on yourself.”
Another of the images Levine posted includes the references to killing Jesus and the “Synagogue of Satan,” ancient antisemitic libels. Josiah Cox also declared himself “More right wing that [sic] you can imagine.”
“Christ is king, down with zionists,” that message concludes.
According to Levine, the exchange began in March, after the younger Cox commented that Israel does not have a right to exist on one of her posts.
“His father is running for Governor of Maryland and this is how he feels!” Levine wrote at the time. “If Dan wins the primary, this rhetoric will continue. What I’m finding is that Dan is working with the Alt right [sic] of the Republican Party and allowing these antisemitics [sic] to be apart [sic] of his campaign.”
Cox — a 2020 election denier who had helped bus supporters to President Donald Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, rally and called former Vice President Mike Pence a traitor — won Trump’s endorsement and even a fundraiser that the then-former president hosted at Mar-a-Lago during his previous run against Moore in 2022. Maryland campaign finance records show that Josiah Cox made thousands of dollars off his father’s 2022 race against the eventually victorious Moore.
State records show no payments from the campaign to the younger Cox this cycle.
In her Facebook post, Levine added that she had contacted Dan Cox about the messages but got no answer after three months. She urged members of the Facebook group, “Everybody’s Maryland Politics,” to support the former state lawmaker’s primary opponent.
“I do not want Jewish Republicans to vote for this man who has a son who clearly hates Jews,” she wrote, before concluding, “Jewish people, reject the Anti-Israel Cox train!”
Levine declined to comment on the record for this story, except to say that Dan Cox had apologized to her and she no longer regarded him as culpable for his son’s behavior. She deleted the Facebook post shortly after speaking to Jewish Insider.
Neither Cox responded to repeated questions from JI.
Plus, UT Jewish groups host hostage counter-event to Piker
Samuel Corum/Getty Images
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while aboard Air Force One on June 5, 2026 en route to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.
Good Thursday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
The co-pilot who attacked his captain yesterday during a FlyDubai flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel “underwent Islamist radical indoctrination,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed on Fox News this morning based on initial findings from the investigation, and had asked his crewmates after being captured to “kill me.”
Netanyahu acknowledged concerns about how the assailant was able to serve as a co-pilot on a flight to Ben Gurion Airport as an Omani national, given that the Abraham Accords bar pilots from countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Jerusalem from flying into Israel…
While Netanyahu cautioned that investigators have not yet determined whether the attacker had ties to Iran or other foreign actors, President Donald Trump told reporters today that, “based on what I’m hearing,” the pilot was in fact linked to Tehran and “could have been” associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps…
Netanyahu also said on CBS yesterday that Israel provided the U.K. with intelligence about an “Iranian-sponsored attack” on British soil, “and pretty much the next day they slapped sanctions on us,” referring to the new British sanctions regime targeting Israeli settlements.
Meanwhile, British counterterror officials arrested a 27-year-old dual British-Iranian national in London today on suspicion of plotting a terror attack in connection with the security incident at the U.S.-run RAF Fairford air base over the weekend. Five British men who were initially arrested near the base on suspected explosives and terror offenses have since been released on bail…
Trump told Time magazine in an interview published this morning that he “can’t imagine” Netanyahu ignored warnings from both the UAE and Egypt in weeks ahead of the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks, after reports emerged that the prime minister had been notified of the threats ahead of time.
“You know, I think if he would have known, he would have done something about it. Certainly, he would have had people at least alert,” Trump said…
Democratic Majority for Israel released a proposal today for a “modernized U.S.-Israel relationship,” with a focus on reimagined ties between the countries following the end of the current memorandum of understanding on military aid, set to expire in 2028, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
The group urged focusing on “more joint development and production in missile defense, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies” but did not fully rule out the potential for “some” continued military aid and missile-defense funding past 2028 — though the group suggested that such aid would likely be phased out “over time, and by mutual agreement”…
Roughly 20 empty Iranian oil tankers have been stranded off Sri Lanka’s coast — drifting with idled engines as food, fuel and water run low — since July, when the U.S. reimposed its blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. Washington has since pressured Sri Lanka into barring local ships from resupplying the vessels and their crews, according to The Wall Street Journal…
The Pentagon is reportedly sending a third aircraft-carrier strike group and additional Marine Corps ships to the Middle East — adding roughly 9,000 to 10,000 troops — which are set to arrive in the region in November, as Trump publicly weighs renewing strikes on Iran after the midterms. The buildup could bring the U.S. to three carrier-strike groups in the Middle East for the first time since April…
Secretary of State Marco Rubio waived human rights conditions on $320 million in U.S. military aid to Egypt, citing national security interests and Cairo’s “helpful role” following the start of the war with Iran, according to a State Department memo…
A CNN investigation found that Jared Kushner‘s private equity firm, Affinity Partners, is the largest shareholder in an Israeli financial group, Phoenix Financial, that holds stakes in Elbit Systems and at least eight other companies supplying the Israeli military — even as Kushner has served as a lead U.S. negotiator in the Gaza war.
Critics say his envoy status — which lets him avoid financial-disclosure requirements — blurs the line between his public role and private profit, though CNN found no sign that Kushner’s diplomacy affected the investments and his attorney said he has never directed Phoenix’s decisions…
While hundreds of students gathered at the University of Texas at Austin last night to hear far-left streamer Hasan Piker speak about the future of progressive politics, former Israeli hostage Maya Regev was across campus recounting her 50 days in Hamas captivity at a counter-event organized by campus pro-Israel groups in response to Piker’s appearance, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…
The superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools acknowledged today that the district needs to do more to combat antisemitism, responding to a letter earlier this week from more than 40 local rabbis and cantors who warned that school leaders have failed to adequately address a rise in antisemitic incidents, JI’s Haley Cohen reports.
In his reply, Thomas Taylor called the school district’s response after a swastika was drawn on a student’s desk last month at Walter Johnson High School a “misstep,” and pledged to address concerns about staff training, student education and harmful social media behavior…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
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 voters in Texas are viewing the state’s hotly contested race for U.S. Senate between state Attorney General Ken Paxton and state Rep. James Talarico, as community leaders say neither candidate has made a meaningful effort to engage with the local Jewish community.
Israeli carriers El Al, Israir and Arkia will begin repatriation flights tomorrow to bring Israelis stranded in the United Arab Emirates back to Tel Aviv after FlyDubai suspended its 8-10 daily flights to the Jewish state. Meanwhile, we’ll be watching developments in the investigation into the attack as authorities work to officially determine whether the assailant had ties to Iran or other actors.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) will appear on Saturday with Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed at a town hall in Macomb County, Mich.
We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat shalom and chag sameach!
Stories You May Have Missed
MUSEUM MOMENT
Wiesel, the son of Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, pointed to the museum’s past work documenting atrocities in Sudan and against the Yazidis and Rohingya
PLANNING FOR POWER
Sen. Mark Kelly told JI Democrats could withhold funds for White House operations to put pressure on the president
Plus, Nithya Raman's rocky relationship with LA Jews
30 September 2026, Israel, Lod: Yaniv Hayoun (C), one of the men who helped incapacitate the attacker on the flydubai aircraft bound for Israel from the United Arab Emirates, which was diverted to Saudi Arabia following an emergency signal, is welcomed after arriving at the Ben Gurion International Airport. Photo by: Jamal Awad/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
Good Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we have the latest on yesterday’s midair attack on a FlyDubai flight to Israel, look at tensions between Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman and the city’s Jewish community as the democratic socialist mounts a bid for mayor, and report on new federal data indicating that fewer than one-quarter of Nonprofit Security Grant Program applications were fulfilled this year. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Elisha Wiesel, Ivy Wolk and Ynon Kreiz.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss, with an assist from Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
Today’s Agenda
The United Arab Emirates has opened an investigation into yesterday’s attack on a FlyDubai flight from the UAE to Israel in which an Indian pilot was stabbed by his co-pilot, prompting the plane to plummet 17,000 feet before Israeli passengers on the flight, assisted by two off-duty pilots, regained control of the aircraft and safely landed it in Saudi Arabia.
The UAE’s attorney general said in a statement that investigators would “collect information and evidence, to determine the truth of the incident, its circumstances, details, and motives, and to verify the extent of its connection to any terrorist activity or purpose, or the existence of prior planning or direction for it.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s office said this morning that he planned to recommend five of the plane’s passengers for the Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism, whom Herzog said in a statement “acted with extraordinary heroism” in alerting passengers and crew to the attack in the cockpit and overpowering the assailant co-pilot.
In Washington, the two-day Nixon Foundation Grand Strategy Summit wraps up today. Speakers include the White House’s Seb Gorka, Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), former Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Riley Moore (R-WV), Rich Goldberg and Walter Russell Mead.
The Senate Judiciary Committee’s markup of the bipartisan, bicameral Right to Worship Act — which would create buffer zones outside of religious institutions during services — was canceled after the Senate ended its work week early, sending legislators home until after the midterms. Read more from JI’s Marc Rod here.
One Thing To Know
L.A. rift
By Matthew Kassel
Nithya Raman, a democratic socialist mounting a formidable bid to unseat Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass next month, faced a particularly hostile crowd on Tuesday night at a Jewish community candidate forum, where the city councilwoman fielded several tough questions about Israel.
Her answers drew audible groans from the audience members at the Skirball Cultural Center as she reiterated her view that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza and defended her decision to sit for an interview with the Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who regularly espouses antisemitic rhetoric.
The event illustrated how Raman has continued to gain momentum in the final stretch of the race even as she has doubled down on her anti-Israel stances while courting voters in a city that is home to the second-largest Jewish population in the country. Her harsh positions on Israel — coupled with recent efforts to distance herself from some former allies in the Jewish community — suggest Raman has made a strategic calculation she can win without meaningful Jewish support.
The Big Reads
museum moment
Elisha Wiesel urged the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday to speak up against what he called the false accusation that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, arguing that the institution his father helped create has a “unique responsibility” to address the issue, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. Wiesel, the son of Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel, made the appeal while delivering special remarks at an event honoring his late father on what would have been his 98th birthday. “You made your own findings for Darfur, the Yazidis, Rohingya,” he said in remarks directed at the institution. “You have the scholars, the credibility and the mandate to do the same hearing to explain with the rigor you applied to Burma why the genocide label does not fit Gaza and what the misuse of Holocaust language does to Jews around the world.”
planning for power
Senate Democrats say that they’d plan to use federal funding authorities to force the Trump administration to negotiate with the Iranian regime and end the Iran war if their party regains the majority in the next Congress, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs report. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) told JI, with President Donald Trump continuing to ignore war powers votes from Congress that have attempted to force an end to the conflict, “we would use approp[riations] levers — either to put guardrails, not allowing funds unless or until there was an authorization [for use of military force passed by Congress].” Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), meanwhile, said that he thinks lawmakers would be more likely to withhold funds for White House operations, while noting that the administration has asked for a $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget for 2027.
On the other side of Capitol Hill: A group of more than 40 House Democrats introduced the Stop the Settlements Act on Wednesday, which would place sanctions on anyone involved in further settlement expansion in the West Bank or Gaza and ban imports from Israeli settlements, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
security shortfall
In a year when the Jewish community was rocked by a terror attack at a Detroit-area synagogue alongside other antisemitic threats, the Nonprofit Security Grant Program fulfilled less than 23% of applications submitted for funding in 2026, according to new data obtained by Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod. The majority of the funding will be provided to houses of worship from various denominations, according to a source familiar with the situation, but other recipients include schools, medical facilities, senior centers, camps, museums, shelters and community centers. Application numbers and total funding requested seem to be down somewhat from 2025, when the program received in excess of 8,000 applications, with an acceptance rate of just 20%. Even so, the amount of funding requested was higher and the acceptance rate was lower than in any year in documented program history other than 2025.
The Rundown
busy in beirut
mile-high miracle
playing defense
bookshelf showdown
party outreach
On Our Radar
● The Live Briefing. Word on the street, clips, podcasts and quick updates — the items we’re tracking all day in our Live Briefing on the app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Iran said it received a formal response from the U.S. regarding its proposal to end the ongoing war, but did not elaborate on the contents of the response; President Donald Trump, who publicly rejected Tehran’s proposal earlier this week, said on Wednesday that a decision on Iran — either to “blow them up” or “make a deal” — was coming “very soon”…
Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the immediate removal of Iran’s delegation to the U.N. General Assembly, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, from the U.S. earlier this week after Qatar-mediated talks again reached an impasse…
U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said London believes that Iran “played a part” in a weekend incident in which five men were arrested on suspicion of explosives violations and terrorism near the RAF Fairford base, which was used by the U.S. to conduct strikes on Iran during the height of hostilities earlier this year…
Politico looks at the efforts of Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang to pitch the White House on a voluntary but binding “AI accords,” the basis for which originated at last week’s state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping, during which Zuckerberg pitched House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and then Huang on the idea…
Maine Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson apologized for comments made earlier this week in which he suggested that it was “unfortunate” that Jewish residents in the state were uncomfortable using the term genocide to describe Israel’s actions in Gaza and that they “don’t like to use that term only because they’re Jewish”…
A former bodyguard for former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), with whom the former lawmaker was romantically involved, said that he caused $200,000 worth of damage to Sinema’s home and tried to force the former senator to post a decades-old video from one of his deployments to Iraq because he was angry about her post-Senate work with companies he believed contributed to the wars in Gaza and Iran…
The head of the University of Oregon’s Hillel said that a sukkah that had been constructed in front of the building was taken from the property earlier this week, adding that he was unsure if the incident was “common theft” or something “more hostile and antisemitic in nature”…
Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz was named co-CEO of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, serving alongside CEO David Ellison, after a judge on Wednesday issued an order allowing Paramount’s acquisition of WBD to proceed…
The Wall Street Journal spotlights efforts by Nathan Kirsh, the 94-year-old philanthropist and businessman, to build out what is likely to be one of the largest family offices established in recent years, following the sale earlier this year of Kirsh’s Jetro Restaurant Depot to Sysco for $29 billion…
The New York Times profiles actress and comedian Ivy Wolk, whose provocative social media videos have elicited negative responses that have propelled her to stardom…
Authorities in Texas said they foiled an imminent terror plot targeting the Texas State Capitol in Austin; a friend of the individual arrested in connection with the threat said Benny Caldera Jr. had told the friend he was angry with AIPAC and that “these people have to be exterminated”…
Israel’s Supreme Court cleared for publication the name of the senior Israeli intelligence official believed to be involved in the army’s intelligence failures leading up to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks; Lt. Col. Aryeh Amidror, the son of former National Security Advisor Yaakov Amidror, was identified as the Gaza Division’s intelligence officer during and before the attacks…
British broadcaster and philanthropist Dame Esther Rantzen, the longtime host of “That’s Life!” — one of the most popular episodes of which featured Sir Nicholas Winton and several dozen of the adults he saved when they were children during the Holocaust — died at 86…
Worthy Reads
Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Midair Melee: The Atlantic’s Graeme Wood considers the political implications of yesterday’s attack on a FlyDubai flight to Israel. “The next step will involve determining whether the pilot acted alone — not a good look for Flydubai, to have suicidal or terrorist pilots — or at someone’s behest. The latter possibility could, if confirmed, have serious implications, depending on who directed the attack. Many have a motive: Sunni jihadists (al-Qaeda or the Islamic State), Hamas, and of course Iran and its proxies.” [TheAtlantic]
Strait Man: Bloomberg’s Alex Dooler, Dinesh Nair and Laura Gardner Cuesta spotlight Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed Al Nahyan as the Emirati official, who helms a $300 billion sovereign Abu Dhabi wealth fund, looks to find alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz amid tensions with Iran. “He is known to lean heavily on a small group of Emirati officials, some childhood friends and others who have steered Abu Dhabi’s economy for decades. … According to one former teacher, a young Sheikh Khaled was at ease even in a class of students who went on to become top political scholars in Middle Eastern geopolitics. He’s known to prefer to observe before offering careful interventions.” [Bloomberg]
Picture of the Day
Yaniv Hayoun (center), one of the passengers who helped incapacitate the attacker on the FlyDubai aircraft bound for Israel from the United Arab Emirates, was welcomed after arriving at the Ben Gurion International Airport on Wednesday night, still wearing the blood-stained shirt from the attack. Jamal Awad/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
Birthdays
Rod Carew, former MLB second baseman and Hall of Famer who appeared in 18 straight All-Star Games, he is immortalized as Jewish in Adam Sandler’s “Chanukah Song,” turns 81
Lynn Steven Adelman, U.S. District Court judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, turns 87
Andrew David Hurwitz, senior judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, turns 79
Aaron Ciechanover, professor at the Technion, he won the 2004 Nobel Prize in chemistry, turns 79
Lynn Ahrens, Tony Award-winning writer and lyricist for the musical theater, television and film, turns 78
Bruce Levenson, former co-owner of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and founding board member of the publicly traded TechTarget, turns 77
Israel Jacob Yuval, professor emeritus of Jewish history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, turns 77
Andrew Goodwin, copy editor at Politico since 2009
Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, a native of Scranton, Pa., turns 67
Steven C. González, the first-ever Jewish chief justice of the Washington State Supreme Court, now serving as an associate justice, turns 63
Cynthia Dawn “Cindy” Margolis, reality television personality, model and actor, turns 61
Adam Bennett Frisch, member of the Aspen City Council from 2011 to 2019, turns 59
Robert A. Rosen, founder of Peak Impact Advisors after 17 years at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Stacie Passon, film director, screenwriter and producer, turns 57
Rob Seidman, partner at FGS Global, specializing in telecommunications, technology, consumer protection and privacy for companies in regulated industries
Michael J. Koplow, chief policy officer at Israel Policy Forum
Rebecca L. Taibleson, former law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia, now a judge on the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, turns 43
Samantha J. Weinberg, director of investor relations and strategic engagement at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Yossi Raskas, account manager at Fiserv
Scott Rosenthal
Plus, 'strong indications' Iran involved in attempted U.K. attack
Jack GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images
Passengers board a flydubai flight, bound for Dubai, before taking off from Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on September 30, 2026.
Good Wednesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Details continue to emerge about the suspected terror attack this morning on a FlyDubai flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel, where a co-pilot stabbed his captain and attempted to crash the plane.
Upon landing safely back at Ben Gurion Airport — after making an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, where video showed Saudi attendants offering medical assistance to the Israelis — a group of passengers met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. One man, Yaniv Hayoun, described how he burst into the cockpit to subdue the attacker; watch the video of his account with English subtitles here.
The injured captain was identified as Smit Machchhar, an Indian national who has 13 years of experience as a pilot, who is reported to be in stable condition. One passenger was also lightly injured and treated by Magen David Adom in Israel…
Israel will now ramp up security checks on pilots flying into the country, the Prime Minister’s Office said, including verifying the identities of pilots on both Israeli and foreign carriers…
Netanyahu spoke with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed following the attack and was expected to speak with President Donald Trump about the matter afterward, according to Hebrew media…
FlyDubai said it is temporarily suspending all flights to Israel as the incident is under investigation, while El Al announced it expects to restart its Tel Aviv-Dubai route in November…
U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said in a BBC interview today that there are “strong indications” Tehran was involved in the suspected terror plot near a British air base housing U.S. military assets for operations against Iran…
The New York Public Library is coming under scrutiny from Jewish leaders after it hosted author Benjamin Moser at an event where he mocked Jewish fears of antisemitism, ridiculing what he called the “poor me thing that all these Jews are suddenly having,” according to a recording of the event obtained by Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen.
During an event promoting his new book lauding anti-Zionism, Moser also accused “almost all of the main Jewish institutions” in America of having “supported this genocide” — referring to Israel’s war in Gaza — and said “nothing has made Jews look worse in history” than Zionism…
Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani today defended his administration’s strategy to combat antisemitism by spending heavily on nonprofit-based hate crime prevention, while keeping up his fierce criticism of Israel.
Pressed by JI’s Will Bredderman about the effectiveness of allocating tens of millions of dollars to his Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, which has already seen a boost in funding while antisemitic hate crimes in New York have increased, Mamdani pivoted to discussing his experience learning about the Holocaust as a teenager and pointed to declining public awareness of it…
The Democratic National Committee announced the launch of a new Jewish constituency council in order to organize and engage Jewish Democrats in advance of the 2028 election, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Adam Goldwyn, a North Dakota state representative who will chair the Jewish American Council, said it is intended to “support critical organizing needs to win elections and ensure Jewish Americans know that a vote for their Democratic candidate is a vote for their values,” as a growing number of Jewish Democrats have felt unwelcome in the party amid rising antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment…
Senate Democrats told JI’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs that they’d plan to use federal funding authorities to force the Trump administration to negotiate with the Iranian regime and end the Iran war if their party regains the majority in the next Congress.
In addition to potentially blocking funds for military operations undertaken without congressional authorization, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) said Democrats could threaten White House operations funding to put pressure on Trump…
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a new four-star military command dedicated to drone and robotic warfare, aimed at speeding up how the Pentagon buys and deploys unmanned systems. The “Autonomous Warfare Command,” set to be running by October 2027, is meant to give the U.S. a homegrown supply of cheap drones…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
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 the Los Angeles mayoral race, after Democratic Socialists of America-aligned candidate Nithya Raman said during a Jewish forum last night that she continues to back the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
The Senate is expected to depart this evening for recess until after the midterm elections. When the chamber returns, it will have to confront a series of pressing challenges, including the National Defense Authorization Act and government funding, which have already led some senators to warn that they’re preparing for Thanksgiving and Christmas recesses to be canceled.
The Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights & Inwood will host a “Fiesta Sukkot” tonight, marking the holiday of Sukkot during Hispanic Heritage Month. Speakers are set to include outgoing Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) and other Hispanic elected officials alongside Jewish community groups including UJA-Federation of New York and the New York Board of Rabbis.
Stories You May Have Missed
DRAWING A LINE
State Rep. Noah Arbit said El-Sayed aligns with people who want to ‘purge the Democratic Party and American life of Zionists and, therefore, most Jews’
DEFINITION DEBATE
The Maine Democratic Senate candidate said, ‘It’s unfortunate that there are people here in Maine that don’t like to use that term only because they’re Jewish and what that means to them, with the Holocaust’
Plus, Mamdani's antisemitism plan sidesteps Israel
Wisam Hashlamoun/Anadolu via Getty Images
Streaks of light from Iranian ballistic missiles are seen in the night sky above Hebron, West Bank, as Iran resumes its retaliatory strikes against Israel.
Good Tuesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
In a video address this morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Jerusalem has received “indications that, ahead of the [Israeli] elections, our enemies will try to attack us,” and warned such adversaries, “Don’t mess with us — not now, and not ever. Our long arm will reach you anywhere, at any time.”
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said he had requested an “urgent security update” from Netanyahu’s office regarding his statement, which the PMO said it would provide…
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a separate video today that Hamas leaders living abroad are “also in [Israel’s] crosshairs,” after the IDF eliminated the commander of the terror group’s northern brigade in Gaza last night…
Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and former top Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan, who currently serves as an advisor to Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi, have agreed to run in a coalition in the upcoming Palestinian elections, a PIJ official confirmed to the Associated Press.
The coalition could challenge the dominance of Fatah, the party that governs the Palestinian Authority, if the Nov. 28 elections take place, which is far from certain — PA President Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly delayed elections in the past…
President Donald Trump said in the Oval Office yesterday that he was “surprised” British authorities released on bail the five men who were arrested for a potential attempted terror attack at a U.K. air base housing U.S. military assets. “I wouldn’t have done that,” he said, adding that the incident “might be” linked to Iran but that he didn’t want to say definitively. “I know the answer, I could be very specific, but I’d rather not say. I would not have released them,” he added.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio similarly said yesterday that many people were “disturbed” the individuals had been released and that the “very serious situation” over the weekend “clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor,” without specifying further. Rubio indicated there’s “a lot more news that’ll come out on this in the days to come”…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration today released its delayed municipal strategy to combat antisemitism, a 30-page plan that provides $7.4 million for security grants but declines to adopt a definition of antisemitism and does not address Israel-related hate, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Jewish leaders offered a mixed response to the strategy, with some welcoming increased security funding and other measures while also arguing that the plan fails to address what they see as a key driver of anti-Jewish hostility — rhetoric targeting Israel and its supporters, some of which they noted has been driven by Mamdani himself…
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights concluded, following a yearlong probe, that campus antisemitism is a “serious and growing civil rights concern,” but also suggested the Trump administration’s efforts to combat it “sometimes represented a departure from established practice” and went against statute, JI’s Marc Rod reports…
Democratic Majority for Israel’s PAC unveiled a nearly $1 million digital ad buy in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District targeting Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA) over her support for Trump’s policies, in a bid to boost former Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA)…
The State Department announced sanctions today on 13 individials and entities tied to Iran’s military procurement and proliferation, marking the one-year anniversary of the “snapback” provision that restored U.N. sanctions on Iran and calling on all U.N. member states to fully enforce those measures…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
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 the effectiveness of U.S. efforts to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and how long Washington may be able to sustain them.
The Senate is expected to hold a vote this evening on a bill requiring the State Department to produce a report for Congress on violence by settlers and Israeli forces in the West Bank, including killings and detentions of Americans. If the resolution passes and the State Department does not produce a report in 30 days, most U.S. security assistance to Israel would be cut off. Any senator would also be able to force a vote on cutting off aid to Israel after such a report is delivered.
Far-left influencer Hasan Piker will speak at the University of Texas at Austin tomorrow, though in front of a smaller audience than planned; University Democrats, the group hosting Piker, said the university declined to provide them with a larger venue and other off-campus venues “pulled out” of discussions with the group. “We will not cancel because if we allow them to win, they will not stop until every semblance of left-wing speech is prohibited,” the Democratic Party-affiliated student organization said in a statement.
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum — along with the State Department’s Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, the Romanian Embassy and Moment magazine — will host an event honoring the late Holocaust survivor and author Elie Wiesel, with remarks to be delivered by his son, Elisha Wiesel.
U.S. forces are set to withdraw from their last bases in Iraq by tomorrow, ending a military presence that has spanned more than two decades. The withdrawal, agreed to in 2024 under former President Joe Biden, comes as Iraqi security officials warn that the departure could allow Iran-backed militias to gain a stronger foothold in the country and ISIS cells to regroup.
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QUESTIONABLE COMPANY
One signatory has repeatedly referred to pro-Israel officials as neo-Nazis while others have been involved with Students for Justice in Palestine and campus anti-Israel advocacy
MARYLAND MATTERS
More than 40 clergy members called on Superintendent Thomas Taylor to require antisemitism-specific teacher training and consequences for hateful social media posts
Plus, MD rabbis sound alarm on school antisemitism
POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives for a press conference in Jerusalem on March 19, 2026.
Good Monday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump is willing to release frozen Iranian funds and provide some sanctions relief to Tehran in return for concessions on Iran’s nuclear program, Axios reports, as Qatari and Pakistani mediators met today with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in New York to continue negotiations. Qatari officials are expected to meet with Trump today or tomorrow…
The official state news agency of the United Arab Emirates confirmed reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi yesterday, where the two leaders discussed “bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to strengthen and develop them.” It was a rare public acknowledgment by Abu Dhabi of its ties with Jerusalem, after having denied a reported Netanyahu visit earlier this year…
The State Department postponed a memorial event for the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks that was scheduled for Sept. 30, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports, without specifying reasons for the delay or plans for rescheduling…
Five men arrested in connection with a possible attempted terror attack at a British air base on Sunday were released on bail today, Laurence Taylor, the head of Britain’s counterterrorism police, announced, though he said they would be “subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others.”
Taylor said the U.K. is investigating the plot “from every possible angle, including that this may be actively committed by proxies or individuals, either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state”…
More than 40 rabbis and cantors in Montgomery County, Md., warned in a letter today that public school leaders have failed to address a rising tide of antisemitism in local classrooms, urging officials to implement new teacher training and stricter social media rules, JI’s Haley Cohen reports.
In the letter addressed to Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Taylor, the clergy — representing dozens of Montgomery County synagogues across denominations — wrote that they are “alarmed that the lack of a meaningful response by MCPS has led to an increase in the normalization of antisemitic attitudes, language and behaviors in our schools”…
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam at the State Department today to discuss regional developments including ongoing Israeli-Lebanese negotiations. Also in attendance were Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi, State Department Counselor Dan Holler, Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa…
Rubio also met with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud today amid escalating hostilities between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. The two were expected to discuss bilateral ties and regional developments, according to Saudi state media…
Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman invited UAE Vice President Mansour bin Zayed to visit Riyadh tomorrow, the Saudi Defense Ministry announced, in a sign of warming ties between the two Gulf powers after months of visible strain…
Former Israeli hostage Noa Argamani is joining Vine Ventures, a venture capital firm backing Israeli startups in AI, cybersecurity and defense tech. Argamani told Business Insider she intends to use her experience and the global connections she established after her time in captivity to “do something with more impact — to make a change in the world”…
The USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier departed from San Diego to relieve the USS George Washington in the Middle East while U.S. forces continue to enforce a naval blockade on Iran and facilitate the movement of oil through the Strait of Hormuz…
Dozens of countries joined the U.S. and Israel today in boycotting an event hosted by the U.N. to mark the 25th anniversary of the Durban Conference, the 2001 gathering in South Africa meant to fight global racism that instead became deeply controversial over extreme antisemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric…
Francesca Albanese, the U.N.’s special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, apologized on X for claiming in a recent interview that antisemitism originally meant hatred of all “Semitic peoples” rather than Jews, and that Jews taken to the Nazi gas chambers were “called ‘the Muslims.’”
Critics accused her of distorting the Holocaust, noting that the camp term “Muselmann” described starving prisoners near death, not a racial category. Albanese conceded she had “misread” the term and that antisemitism “was coined specifically to denote hatred of Jews”…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
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 the silence from Texas Democrats over far-left influencer Hasan Piker‘s speaking engagement at the University of Texas later this week, even as the historically conservative state remains one of the most consequential battlegrounds in the upcoming midterm elections.
The Jewish Federation of Los Angeles and other local groups will host a mayoral forum with L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman, Bass’ progressive challenger in the Nov. 3 runoff who has taken a critical stance against Israel.
The Senate Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Strategic Forces will receive a briefing on the status of the Golden Dome missile-defense project.
President Donald Trump will headline an event in Washington on innovation with guests including Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Energy Secretary Chris Wright; NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman; SpaceX CEO Elon Musk; Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang; Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown; and Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, among others.
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LATIN LINKS
Gianpaolo Baiocchi and Defend Democracy in Brazil worked closely with groups backed by Marxist mogul Neville ‘Roy’ Singham
TALK OF TURTLE BAY
Costa Rican Jewish economist Rebeca Grynspan has emerged as a leading contender, but faces competition from Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, the anti-Israel Guyana U.N. ambassador
Plus, APA accreditation called into question over antisemitism
Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters on September 24, 2026 in New York City.
Good Thursday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against criticism of Israel over the Gaza war and settler violence in the West Bank in his address to the U.N. General Assembly this afternoon, taking aim at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, French President Emmanuel Macron, Qatar and Turkey, Jewish Insider’s AJ Rodriguez reports.
The prime minister accused foreign actors of spending “untold billions” to spread anti-Israel messages through traditional and social media — singling out Qatar for “massively funding American universities and toxic media outlets” in what he alleged was an effort to “brainwash young minds to hate Israel, hate America, hate the West” — and called Turkey the latest “superspreader of antisemitic lies”…
During Netanyahu’s speech, several far-left Democrats expected to be elected to the House of Representatives in November attended a protest organized by Jewish Voice for Peace that blocked the streets outside U.N. headquarters.
Dozens of demonstrators, including NY-13 nominee Darializa Avila Chevalier, were detained by the NYPD for refusing to comply with an order to disperse. Also in attendance were NJ-12 nominee Adam Hamawy, PA-3 nominee Chris Rabb, CO-1 nominee Melat Kiros and streamer Hasan Piker…
While in the U.S., Netanyahu is set to meet with the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Panama and Ethiopia; the vice president of Colombia; and the prime ministers of Greece, Slovenia and Papua New Guinea, his office said…
In his UNGA address earlier in the day, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas criticized the lack of progress on President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan while calling for the implementation of a two-state solution and warning that prospects for Palestinian statehood are at a “low point.” Abbas delivered the address by prerecorded video after the U.S. denied him a visa to attend the gathering in person…
The Saudi-backed government in Yemen said it shot down six ballistic missiles today fired by the Houthis deep into Saudi Arabian territory…
Pressed during a town hall at the University of Michigan yesterday to condemn the Iranian regime’s massacre of tens of thousands of protesters earlier this year, Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed declined to do so, focusing his answer on criticizing the U.S. war in Iran, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
“Here’s my point: one can disagree with the governance of a foreign country. One can stand in solidarity with freedom and democracy movements, but my worry is one when one decides that we are going to go in and take out the leadership of a foreign government,” El-Sayed told a student, who had said his own family was targeted by the Iranian regime…
A new New York Times/Siena poll of Senate races in battleground states found Democrats leading in Michigan — where El-Sayed was up 49%-44% over his opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) — and in New Hampshire, where Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) led former Sen. John Sununu (R-NH) 50%-45%. In Maine, however, Democratic nominee Troy Jackson was trailing Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) 49%-46%…
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) joined Democrats and a handful of Republicans in voting today for a war powers resolution demanding an end to the war in Iran, JI’s Marc Rod reports. But, despite growing calls from vulnerable Republicans ahead of the midterm elections, most of the GOP continued to vote against the war powers effort, and the measure failed by a 50-49 vote…
The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, a federal advisory body to the Department of Education, voted today to recommend that DOE suspend the American Psychological Association’s ability to accredit graduate programs, based on its failure to address antisemitism in such programs…
The University of California, Berkeley intends to honor its long-delayed agreement to rehire an Israeli dance professor whom it declined to reappoint over her nationality, the school told J. The Jewish News of Northern California.
The school acknowledged its wrongdoing and vowed to correct the situation in a settlement with Yael Nativ in December 2025; the administration said the delay had been caused by an “internal miscommunication” and that it would provide Nativ with a job offer by Monday…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
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 what legislation a Democratic majority in the next Congress may use to put pressure on Israel.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will sit for an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier this evening.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) will campaign tomorrow in Miami Beach with House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-CA) and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Suzan DelBene (D-WA) along with Hispanic community leaders as Moskowitz attempts to fend off a challenge from former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer in his reelection race.
The Jewish Detroit Expat Reception will be held at the start of the Sukkot holiday tomorrow evening, where Rebecca Blumenstein, president of NBC News editorial, will discuss her new book, The Last Free Women: A Daring Escape from Afghanistan and Coming of Age in America.
On Sunday, the New Jersey Globe and Rider University will host the only debate of the New Jersey 7th Congressional District race between Democratic Navy veteran Rebecca Bennett and Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ).
We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat shalom and chag sameach!
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WAKE-UP CALL
Accepting Chabad’s Lamplighter award, the Texas senator warned that pastors don’t see the drift on the right
ENVOY DEBATE
In a new op-ed, local political heavyweights Joe Schocken and Sam Jefferies argue that Seattle is a ‘laboratory’ for tactics for pushing Jews out of civic life that will spread across the country
Plus, Israel ally leads settlement sanctions bill
Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images
Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter speaks to reporters after a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese delegations hosted by the United States at the State Department in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2026.
Good Wednesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Neria Leiter, the son of Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, was seriously wounded today in a car-ramming terror attack at a West Bank checkpoint, the ambassador confirmed.
Leiter, an IDF reservist in his 30s, was stationed at the Maccabim checkpoint on Route 443 when an assailant accelerated his vehicle and ran him over, Jewish Insider’s AJ Rodriguez reports. Leiter underwent emergency brain surgery at Shaare Zedek Medical Center this afternoon but his “life is still in danger,” said the head of the hospital’s trauma unit.
Leiter’s older brother, Maj. (res.) Moshe Yedidya Leiter, was killed during reserve duty in northern Gaza in November 2023…
Addressing the U.N. General Assembly this morning, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian cast Tehran as a peaceful victim of American and Israeli aggression and claimed Iran is only interested in a civilian nuclear program for energy and medical research purposes, JI’s Matthew Shea reports…
Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, threatened to disable the airports of neighboring countries if they stop Iranian flights, as American sanctions targeting aviation service providers cooperating with Iran kicked in today…
In his UNGA address, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa blasted Israel for its military actions on Syrian territory and said “the opportunity for peace and security is available to those who wish to live in peace”…
Nineteen Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), introduced a bill today that would impose wide-reaching sanctions on companies, individuals and others involved in the construction and development of Israeli settlements in the controversial E1 area in the West Bank, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
Coons’ leadership on the legislation is especially notable as he has historically been seen as one of Israel’s strongest allies on Capitol Hill and is in line to be the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the next Congress. As potential chair of the influential panel, if Democrats take the majority, he’d have significant latitude to advance the bill and other similar measures…
Appearing on the “Raging Moderates” podcast hosted by Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov, Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed refused to tone down his hostile rhetoric toward Israel, including his repeated accusations of genocide, invoking the Holocaust to justify his position, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports.
“The word genocide was created to explain what that was,” El-Sayed said of the Holocaust, “but the whole point of creating that word isn’t that you have to wait until the crime is that big again to be able to use it.” Throughout the exchange, Galloway and Tarlov, both of whom are Jewish, warned El-Sayed that his views are “disqualifying” for some Jewish voters…
Florida’s public pension fund and the National Center for Public Policy Research think tank sued The New York Times, seeking internal records related to its Israel-Hamas war coverage and citing allegations from a former Jewish employee who repeatedly raised concerns about antisemitism and anti-Israel bias in the newsroom…
The Board of Peace convened a meeting of diplomats and advisors on the sidelines of the UNGA today where officials including White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, BoP head Nickolay Mladenov and advisor Aryeh Lightstone laid out 66 projects necessary to help rebuild Gaza, and urged countries to help contribute to the $2.45 billion needed to kick-start the effort.
They noted that the enclave’s long-term recovery could require as much as $71 billion. “We have no Plan B,” Witkoff told the crowd, and urged them to come up with innovative ways to support the effort, including a new measure to allow countries to fund the International Stabilization Force through the World Bank…
A group of survivors of antisemitic attacks across the nation visited Capitol Hill today to lobby in favor of legislation aimed at protecting Jewish community institutions from future attacks.
“I want to use my story and my voice and show firsthand how federal funding that we did receive through grants actually made the difference between life and death,” Cassi Cohen, the director of strategic development at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich., told JI’s Marc Rod ahead of the meetings…
A 26-year-old man from Florida was sentenced to nearly 10 years in federal prison and a $15,000 fine for threatening to harm Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) and his two young sons. The perpetrator’s search history was found to have antisemitic and anti-Israel content, including “israel should burn in hell”…
Argentine President Javier Milei visited Yeshiva Darchei Torah in Far Rockaway, Queens, yesterday ahead of his UNGA address this afternoon. He was presented with the school’s “Lover of Israel” award and delivered a speech to the students…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a preview of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the U.N. General Assembly tomorrow and the stakes for him on the world stage a month before Israel’s elections.
Netanyahu has said that during his remarks he will “tell the truth” about the Israeli military and take aim at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and added today that viewers should “expect surprises” during his speech. His trip to the U.S. is expected to be brief — less than 24 hours — and he is not expected to meet with President Donald Trump.
Trump will meanwhile host a state dinner tomorrow for Chinese President Xi Jinping, with a guest list including several tech and finance executives. The dinner comes even as Beijing remains the biggest obstacle to Washington’s economic pressure campaign against Iran, as Tehran’s largest trading partner and oil customer.
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DIPLOMACY DIARIES
Riyadh squandered a yearslong lull and fractured the anti-Houthi coalition with its UAE split, experts tell JI — and its new defense partners are hanging back
CANARY CALL
In a new op-ed, local political heavyweights Joe Schocken and Sam Jefferies argue that Seattle is a ‘laboratory’ for tactics for pushing Jews out of civic life that will spread across the country
Plus, Trump floats a deal or 'annihilating' Iran
Screenshot
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed appear on the "“For the Sake of the Argument with Lori Goldman” podcast.
Good Tuesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Addressing the U.N. General Assembly this morning, President Donald Trump said he faces a “big decision” regarding Iran: “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before … or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic?”
But Trump quickly made clear he believes that a deal will be reached “right after the [midterm] election, because it doesn’t make sense for them not to,” Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports…
Trump later said during a press availability with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had a “very good meeting” with Iranian officials today on the sidelines of the UNGA that lasted for three hours, while Trump has reportedly told his advisors he’s open to meeting with the Iranians himself “if the conditions are right”…
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will be provided a security detail from the State Department while attending the UNGA, Axios reports…
Speaking on Fox News about recent Houthi and Iran-backed attacks on Saudi Arabia, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. has “a defense agreement with Saudi Arabia. We intend to live up to our commitments on it. We will,” though he said Washington is “working to see if this thing can be fixed” first…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani reupped his criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an interview with CNN yesterday, calling him “a war criminal and an architect of a horrific genocide of the Palestinian people.” Netanyahu responded in a video message today accusing Mamdani of supporting Hamas and inciting riots against Jews…
The Trump administration is discussing with Middle East partners a $10 billion investment fund, with $5 billion from the U.S. and matching contributions from the other countries, to rebuild energy infrastructure damaged in the Iran war and develop new oil and gas routes that reduce reliance on the Strait of Hormuz…
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in his address to the UNGA, accused Israel of having a “genocidal mindset that can never get enough of killing” and called on more world leaders to recognize a Palestinian state…
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that she is endorsing the state’s Democratic Senate nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, after having previously voiced reservations over his views on Israel and antisemitism, JI’s Emily Jacobs reports. In a joint podcast appearance with El-Sayed, Nessel, who is Jewish, acknowledged that “people are going to call me a traitor to my people” and a “kapo,” but said, “I can’t be true to my values if I even consider voting for [GOP nominee] Mike Rogers. Yes, I’ll be voting for Abdul.”
El-Sayed, for his part, vowed to support the Jewish American Security Act but said he would work to expand the legislation to provide similar protections for people of other faiths. He also answered in the affirmative when Nessel asked if Jewish Zionists have a place in the Democratic Party…
Meanwhile, Michigan Jewish leaders called on former Vice President Kamala Harris to appeal to El-Sayed, whom she campaigned with in Michigan today, to accept their five “nonnegotiable” demands including Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, noting Harris’ own history of fighting antisemitism and standing with the Jewish community, JI’s Marc Rod reports. In their appearance today, Harris and El-Sayed did not address foreign policy…
Vulnerable Republican candidates in high-profile races, including Rogers, Iowa Senate candidate Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) and Michigan gubernatorial candidate Rep. John James (R-MI), have urged a prompt end to the Iran war in recent days, citing rising costs ahead of the midterm elections, JI’s Marc Rod reports…
A new CNN poll found that 61% of Americans view Israel as an “ally” or “friendly” country, down from 73% who said the same in March 2025, while 15% view it as an enemy, the highest in any CNN poll since 2000 and double the amount who said the same last year. The figure who see Israel as an enemy is even higher among Americans under 45, at 23%…
Several airlines are canceling flights to and from Iran as U.S. sanctions kick in tomorrow, targeting any entity that offers Iranian airlines fuel, landing services, ticketing or other services…
Weekend Recap
The Houthis fired on Saudi Arabia’s international airport on Saturday, marking the group’s first direct attack on Saudi soil in months. U.S. embassies across the Middle East issued a security alert following the attack urging Americans to “seriously reconsider travel” to the region, but President Donald Trump has reportedly decided to hold off, for now, on a planned strike against the Houthis…
A gunman opened fire outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, as congregants gathered for Yom Kippur services on Sunday. A police officer was wounded and the assailant was killed…
An Israeli man in his 30s was killed on Sunday in a drive-by shooting terror attack near the Halamish settlement in the West Bank, where he was ritually bathing ahead of Yom Kippur…
Two men in their 30s were arrested in Manchester, England, over a plot to target the Jewish community there during Yom Kippur…
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has, like her House counterpart, placed a procedural hold on a $2.8 billion sale of bombs to Israel…
Politico published a story during Yom Kippur targeting David Milstein, an observant Jew who serves as senior advisor to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, for soliciting monetary gifts in his wedding invitation, while Milstein remained offline for the holiday…
Retiring Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) crossed party lines to endorse Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY)…
Israeli President Isaac Herzog pardoned Elor Azaria, a former IDF combat medic who was convicted in 2017 of manslaughter after he shot dead an incapacitated Palestinian assailant who had stabbed a soldier…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with author Zibby Owens on her latest book, Between Chapters: How I Started Over, Took Some Chances, and Found the Plot.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will address the U.N. General Assembly tomorrow morning. It remains unclear if Pezeshkian will hold a meeting with President Donald Trump while in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Jewish organizations including UJA-Federation of New York, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, American Jewish Committee New York, Anti-Defamation League New York/New Jersey, the New York Board of Rabbis and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations will hold a rally against antisemitism outside U.N. headquarters.
In Washington, ADL will bring survivors of antisemitic attacks — including the June 2025 firebombing of an Israeli hostage awareness march in Boulder, Colo., the deadly May 2025 shooting at the Capital Jewish Museum and the March 2026 terror attack at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich. — to Capitol Hill to lobby for the Jewish American Security Act and the Right to Worship Act.
The Senate Armed Services Committee will receive a classified briefing on CENTCOM operations from its commander, Adm. Brad Cooper.
American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) will host its Lamplighter Awards reception, this year honoring Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Jeff Miller, chair of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. The event will be co-chaired by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA); Norm Brownstein, founder and chair of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck; and Eli Miller, senior managing director of Liberty Strategic Capital.
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DIPLOMACY DIARIES
The group plans to discuss a range of subjects including U.S. allies’ decision to sanction Israel
POLICY PIPELINE
The former State Department envoy says EPICA will stay ‘laser focused’ on policy, tracking whether governments follow through on the global guidelines she helped write
Plus, Piker defends China over Israel
Robert Sullivan
A fleet of F-35 "Joint Strike Fighter's" over Edwards Air Force Base, California.
Good Thursday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump told Axios today that he has “a big decision coming up” regarding Iran: “Do I want to go in and annihilate them [the Iranian regime] or do I not? It’s a big decision.” Trump also said he “may” meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he comes to New York for the U.N. General Assembly next week…
The State Department announced it has approved “a possible foreign military sale” to Saudi Arabia for 48 F-35 advanced fighter jets and “related equipment,” including engines, at an estimated cost of $24.3 billion. The proposed sale “will not alter the military balance in the region,” the department said, in a potential reference to Israel’s qualitative military edge, which the U.S. is required by law to uphold…
Meanwhile, a group of House Democrats introduced a resolution today to block the U.S. nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports, citing the lack of safeguards in the deal applied in previous agreements with other U.S. allies and arguing that the deal paves the path toward a Saudi nuclear weapon.
Under procedural rules, the Democrats should be able to force votes on the resolution, which seems likely to pick up support from most Democrats and potentially a handful of Republicans…
Russia and China vetoed a U.S. resolution at the U.N. Security Council today to renew the mandate of a panel of experts meant to monitor Iran’s nuclear program and efforts to evade sanctions…
In another clip released by Axios of Alex Thompson’s interview with Hasan Piker, the far-left streamer defended his lenient views on China as compared to Israel: Asked by Thompson why he cares more about Israel’s treatment of Muslims than China’s, Piker responded, “Israel is murdering not just Muslims, but Christians as well, with my tax dollars,” and made a distinction between what Israel is doing in Gaza as an “actual genocide,” whereas he said China’s actions against the Uyghur Muslim minority are a “cultural genocide”…
Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Michigan Senate nominee for whom Piker has acted as a campaign surrogate, distanced himself from comments Piker made in another clip claiming that the U.S. had “pound for pound” committed more acts of terror than al-Qaida. “I do not agree with this statement [on al-Qaida], nor do I give much weight to the statements made by a social media streamer,” El-Sayed said in a statement to Axios…
A group of Jewish Democrats in Michigan published an open letter today urging voters to support El-Sayed, despite acknowledging they remained concerned about some of his views, “including aspects of his approach to Israel and the language used by some of his allies.”
Among the 500 signatories were Eli Savit, the Democratic nominee for Michigan attorney general; former Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI) and his son, former Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI); Alicia Chandler, the past president of the Detroit chapter of the American Jewish Committee; and Decky Alexander, the chair of the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus…
Hedge-fund manager Clifford Asness, a major Jewish GOP donor who is outspoken against antisemitism, took aim at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on X over a report that Schumer’s Senate super PAC had put another $10 million behind El-Sayed: Sharing the cover of Schumer’s book Antisemitism in America: A Warning, Asness wrote: “by ‘warning’ I think he might’ve meant something a bit different than we were told”…
A new poll from The Hill and Emerson College found the Texas Senate race in a dead heat less than two months from Election Day: Democratic state Rep. James Talarico barely edged out Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, 47%-46%. In Alaska, another battleground state, an AARP poll found former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) with a more sizable lead over Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), 46%-41%…
The Harvard Kennedy School announced this week the launch of a new program focused on Israel, set to examine issues including Israeli politics and society, U.S.-Israel relations, Jewish-Arab relations and Israel’s place in the region. Barak Sella, a Kennedy School graduate who is spearheading the initiative, spoke with JI’s Haley Cohen about the program’s goals…
Automaker General Motors has begun building missile parts for Lockheed Martin’s Patriot missiles, in an effort to boost production of the critical interceptor whose stockpiles have been depleted by the Iran war and heavy demand from allies…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with former State Department antisemitism envoy Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt on her newly founded institute at Emory University to combat antisemitism.
Axiosis expected to air its full-length interview with Hasan Piker tomorrow, after releasing several clips today.
World leaders will converge this weekend in New York ahead of high-level week at the U.N. General Assembly, which will see speeches from global heads of state and many diplomatic sideline events and meetings.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a press conference today that they are expecting “multiple protests every day” of the event, but that there are “no known, specific or credible threats against the United Nations General Assembly or our city,” JI’s Will Bredderman reports.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz and Anwar Gargash, a senior diplomatic advisor to UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed, will sit for a conversation on Sunday hosted by Al-Monitor.
On Monday evening, as Yom Kippur comes to an end, former U.S. diplomat Morgan Ortagus and Lebanese banker Antoun Sehnaoui will host a break the fast and UNGA welcome reception in New York.
In observance of Yom Kippur, we’ll be back with the Daily Overtime on Tuesday. Shabbat shalom and g’mar chatima tovah!
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The previously unreported Jewish outreach comes as Democrats worry about El-Sayed’s struggles to expand support beyond his base
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Courtesy Miznon
Miznon green beans at the US Open
Good Thursday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
The International Atomic Energy Agency has observed construction activity at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected underground nuclear site, IAEA head Rafael Grossi told Bloomberg Television. President Donald Trump said similarly yesterday, “We notice there’s a little activity at Pickaxe,” and warned Iran “not to get cute because we will have to hit them very hard”…
Iran has also resumed producing ballistic missiles, officials told The Wall Street Journal, working in underground facilities with components it had stockpiled before the war began…
Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), the GOP nominee for Senate in Michigan, plans to take aim at his Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, in his remarks at the GOP midterm convention today, calling out in particular El-Sayed’s relationship with streamer Hasan Piker.
Rogers will highlight Piker’s comments that America “deserved 9/11,” according to Axios, as other Republican candidates also campaign around the 25th anniversary of the attacks…
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee attended a ceremony today at the 9/11 Living Memorial Plaza in Jerusalem, the only memorial outside of the U.S. to list the name of each victim killed in the terror attacks…
The next round of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon will be held over two days next week in Rome, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel…
Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod last week that he’s likely to support the administration’s proposed nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, which would reportedly allow for joint U.S.-Saudi nuclear enrichment efforts inside the Gulf country.
Mast’s support, as the chair of a committee that will be responsible for reviewing the deal during a mandatory congressional oversight period, is a strong sign that many congressional Republicans will coalesce behind the administration in support of the agreement…
The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law wrote to Qatari Ambassador to the U.S. Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad al-Thani yesterday amid a back-and-forth online, urging the Qatari Embassy to release a full public accounting of its funding to U.S. colleges and universities, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
“There is a straightforward way for the Government of Qatar to demonstrate that public accounts of its activities are inaccurate or misleading: full disclosure,” Brandeis Center CEO Ken Marcus said in a letter to Al-Thani, after the ambassador claimed that critics of Qatar are engaged in a “coordinated disinformation campaign” to manipulate data on foreign funding in U.S. higher education…
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” today that the U.S. should take a “very tough position” if Israeli voters reelect the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel’s upcoming elections, but said a new Israeli government could provide opportunities for more constructive progress…
The Honey Deuce — the U.S. Open’s iconic signature cocktail — is facing fierce competition for the tennis tournament’s most popular menu item this year. Surrounded by greasy fried foods, the unexpected breakout star is a green bean bowl from Eyal Shani‘s Tel Aviv-born eatery Miznon, whose head of operations spoke with JI’s Haley Cohen about the craze…
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel announced that his interview with Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico will not air on his show tonight, and will instead be posted online, after the Trump administration threatened the show, host network ABC and local stations.
The move comes months after former “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert said his show was also prevented from airing an interview with Talarico due to threats from the Federal Communications Commission…
The J50, a forum of Diaspora Jewish organizations, issued a declaration signed by 59 organizations representing 40 countries that states anti-Zionism, “as manifested today through efforts to deny the Jewish people their right to self-determination, or demand that Jews renounce Zionism as the price of acceptance in political, academic, professional, or cultural life,” is antisemitic, and reaffirms the principles of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism…
Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon launched a Task Force on Combating Antisemitism at the global body yesterday. Its first meeting was attended by representatives from several countries including the U.K., Australia, Argentina and Slovakia…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
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 New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the NYPD are preparing for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming visit for the U.N. General Assembly.
President Donald Trump will attend the Pentagon memorial ceremony for the 9/11 anniversary tomorrow, while Vice President JD Vance will attend the memorial ceremony at Ground Zero.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations will host its annual policy conference and gala in Washington over the weekend, with speakers including New York City Democratic congressional nominee Darializa Avila Chevalier; New Jersey Democratic congressional nominee Adam Hamawy; Virginia state Del. Sam Rasoul; anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour; Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin; Drop Site News co-founder Ryan Grim; and commentator Cenk Uygur.
The annual All-In Summit — the influential tech-and-politics gathering run by the “All-In Podcast” — kicks off in Los Angeles on Sunday with speakers including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang; Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella; NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman; SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell; California GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton; and former L.A. mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt.
We’ll be back with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shana tovah u’metukah!
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Plus, Moskowitz opens up about anti-Israel bullying
Leon Neal/Getty Images
Prime Minister Andy Burnham departs 10 Downing Street to address the House of Commons on Sept. 1, 2026 in London, England.
Good Tuesday morning.
IIn today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover comments by Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit in Las Vegas and preview Vice President JD Vance’s fireside chat at the event tonight. We talk to Jewish Democrats in Michigan about Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s apology for equivocating in response to a terrorist attack against a Michigan synagogue in March, and spotlight New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin and City Comptroller Mark Levine’s upcoming appearances on the Style Across the Aisle runway at the Metropolitan Opera House next week. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Brian Poindexter, Eyal David and Brett McGurk.
Curated by Israel Editor Tamara Zieve and U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
Today’s Agenda
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is expected to announce sanctions against Israeli settlements in the West Bank today, including a trade ban on goods produced in the area, in what would be a significant escalation of hostilities from the recently elected U.K. government towards Israel.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said that “Israel will act” against any sanctions, but did not offer any details about what the Israeli response would be. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the expulsion of Britain’s ambassador from Israel, while National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Israel should recognize Argentina’s sovereignty over the disputed Falkland Islands, which are held by Britain.
The announcement will be delivered by new U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, as part of what The Guardian reports as the new Labour government’s “broad reset of the UK’s relations with Israel.”
Meanwhile, Britain published legislation on Tuesday to toughen sanctions on Iran.
In Germany, embattled German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged to fight on as his country’s leader despite his center-right Christian Democratic Union party suffering an embarrassing defeat to the far-right Alternative for Germany in a regional election over the weekend. It is still unclear whether the AfD party — whose leaders have minimized the Holocaust and used Nazi slogans — will be able to form a governing coalition in Saxony-Anhalt, a small state of 2.1 million in eastern Germany.
The American Jewish Committee said on X that the win “marks a grim milestone,” and noted that AJC Berlin has been “sounding the alarm on the AfD’s rampant, intrinsic, and foundational antisemitism that is deeply embedded in its authoritarian-nationalist politics.”
Voters in New Hampshire are heading to the polls today for the state’s primary elections. The most competitive contest is the Democratic primary for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, where military veteran Maura Sullivan is looking to fend off a challenge from Stefany Shaheen, the daughter of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), who has run as an outspoken critic of Israel and pro-Israel donors. Read more from JI’s Marc Rod below.
The 81st session of the U.N. General Assembly opens today in New York, though the high-level meetings of world leaders do not begin for several more weeks.
Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) will appear this evening at Vanderbilt University to speak with Chancellor Daniel Diermeier.
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem is hosting a “Freedom 250” celebration in partnership with the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem this week in honor of the U.S.’ semiquincentennial.
The National AI Directorate at the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office is convening AI industry leaders, entrepreneurs and leading deep-tech companies in Tel Aviv today for what is being billed as the “First National Physical AI Conference” to discuss turning Israel into a leader of physical AI.
The third annual Hili Forum is continuing in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where policymakers and experts are convening to discuss the growing role of the Gulf states in Middle East geopolitics. The forum is organized by the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR) and the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy (AGDA).
Tonight, Dara Horn will speak in conversation with author Coleman Hughes about her new book, The Final Solution to the Jewish Question: A Love Story for the Living, at 92NY in New York City in collaboration with UJA-Federation of New York.
One Thing To Know
PRESSURE CAMPAIGN
By Marc Rod
For Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), the Democratic caucus has become an increasingly lonely place for those who remain staunchly pro-Israel, with what he described as bullying, harassment and threats from the anti-Israel camp contributing to the shift away from Israel among Democratic lawmakers.
“What is it like to be in the caucus? It’s become lonely,” Moskowitz said during a wide-ranging interview with Jewish Insider in his Capitol Hill office last week. “None of my colleagues are mean to me, but it is an ostracizing feeling. There’s no doubt that the Democrats that are super pro-Israel, in general, feel somewhat ostracized, and how could you not?”
He said that the “mushy middle” of the party is being pushed left, explaining that he has had colleagues tell him that consultants have told them that, in order to win reelection, they’ll need to reject AIPAC or vote against pro-Israel legislation or express opposition to Israeli missile-defense systems.
The Big Reads
GRANITE STATE GAMBIT
Stefany Shaheen, the daughter of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), has been attacking AIPAC as a central message of her campaign in the closing days of her congressional primary. But unlike some other Democrats who have used attacks against Israel to boost fortunes with the progressive base, Shaheen has fallen behind her primary opponent, military veteran Maura Sullivan, who holds a narrow lead in the latest public polling, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Sullivan, who entered the race as a supporter of Israel, has also taken a more critical turn, supporting blocking at least some offensive weapons sales to the Jewish state.
PAPPAS UNDER PRESSURE
Moderate Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) remains favored to win the New Hampshire Democratic Senate primary, but the race is shaping up to be more competitive than expected, both in the Democratic primary and in the general election, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. In the primary, Pappas’ progressive challenger, Karishma Manzur, has been gaining ground against him, and leveling attacks related to Pappas’ past support from AIPAC and backing of the U.S.-Israel relationship. Pappas has subtly recalibrated his foreign policy views during the primary.
THREADING THE DIVIDE
In the upcoming Democratic mayoral primary in Providence, R.I., on Wednesday, Israel and antisemitism have claimed prominence as unusually divisive sources of debate for a municipal race, raising concerns among Jewish leaders who worry the focus on Middle East policy in particular will only contribute to further polarization on a sensitive issue, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. The election pits Mayor Brett Smiley, 47, a first-term incumbent who converted to Judaism while in office in 2024, against state Rep. David Morales, a 27-year-old democratic socialist backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and leading progressive groups including the Working Families Party.
The Rundown
MUM’S THE WORD
Mamdani’s Mensch
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UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed reportedly warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a week and a half before the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks that Hamas was planning a major operation against Israel, according to journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval, who cited three sources familiar with the reported 45-minute-long conversation, in a Haaretz report based on their forthcoming book…
Netanyahu’s office called the investigation an “absolute lie,” saying “Prime Minister Netanyahu didn’t speak to the president of the UAE during the period in question and received no warning from him”…
Netanyahu will speak at the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Sept. 24, Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon announced, with a warning to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to “stay tuned” after the mayor admitted he could not arrest Netanyahu when he visits the city…
Netanyahu has instructed that unauthorized settler outposts in the West Bank be dismantled, two sources told Reuters on Sunday, amid pressure from the U.S. for Israel to crack down on attacks by settlers against Palestinians…
Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee held a rare town hall with Palestinian Americans in the West Bank town of Turmus Aya on Saturday where he denounced Israeli settlers who have carried out attacks against Palestinians as “terrorists” and said he would exert “pressure” to “get some resolution” to such issues raised by the attendees…
Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman warned Huckabee in a post on X on Sunday that using the term “terrorists” to define Israelis — whom Friedman said are only “fight[ing] back” against the “ruthless thugs” who commit violence against Jews in the West Bank — is a “win for the anti-Israel PR machine”…
Iran’s state media said Monday that an improved ballistic missile, the Qassem Basir, marks a “turning point” in Tehran’s defense strategy under a new doctrine of taking preemptive action against threats…
Attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on Tuesday disrupted some energy facilities in Saudi Arabia and wounded more than 70 people, Saudi authorities said…
The Israeli National Security Council released its assessment of threats to Israelis and Jews traveling abroad ahead of the High Holy Days, naming as continued threats Iran and its proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, as well as ISIS and al-Qaida. The NSC advised Israelis to avoid countries including Jordan, Qatar, Somaliland and Egypt, and to avoid displaying Jewish symbols or speaking Hebrew in public…
Corey Lewandowski, while working as a top Department of Homeland Security advisor, reportedly approached Qatari and UAE officials, offering them side deals with department-related issues, according to The Wall Street Journal, which added that both countries turned him down. A representative for Lewandowski denied he had sought contracts with foreign governments…
NBC News reports that Jewish voters who have typically voted for Democrats are considering voting Republican for the first timein key Senate races over concerns over rising antisemitism and Democratic candidates’ hostility to the U.S.-Israel relationship. The story focuses on the Michigan and Texas races, where Jewish voters could make the difference in the highly competitive contests…
Progressive House members and incoming candidates are pushing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to move left, frustrated by his public rejection of “Medicare for All” and by the elevation of pro-Israel Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) to a Foreign Affairs subcommittee post…
Nate Hochman, a former campaign speechwriter for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was fired after he promoted a pro-DeSantis video featuring a Nazi symbol embraced by white supremacists, is now working as a senior aide and speechwriter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio,The New York Times reports…
Delta and United Airlines are restarting direct flights between the U.S. and Israel, with Delta resuming a once daily direct flight from New York’s JFK International Airport to Ben Gurion on Sunday, and United beginning two daily direct flights from New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport on Tuesday. Israir is also expected to launch a direct flight from New York next month…
Volkswagen sealed a preliminary deal to convert its Osnabrück factory to produce military equipment with Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, with Tel Aviv-based Aurelius Capital and the state of Lower Saxony taking over the plant, Bloomberg reports. Structuring the deal without a direct VW-Rafael partnership may have helped overcome resistance from the Qatar Investment Authority, a major VW shareholder that had reportedly held up the collaboration previously…
Anthropic has decided not to acquire Israeli startup Decart AI, after engaging in talks to buy the company in a deal reportedly valued at $6 billion…
Haifa-based startup HydroSight, an AI-powered marine technology company, emerged from stealth with $5 million in seed funding led by StageOne Ventures, CTech reported on Monday. The company, founded last year by Tomer Adler, Haitham Ezzy and Chen Megera, serves ports, energy companies and telecom cable operators…
The New York Times interviews “Fauda” writers Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff ahead of the Netflix premiere of the series’ new season, which depicts the Oct.7, 2023, Hamas attacks and their aftermath…
Ambassador David Satterfield and former Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) have joined the advisory board of the Council for a Secure America… of mission in Rabat, Morocco, and Nairobi, Kenya…
Worthy Reads
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A Losing Horse: Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a Gaza native and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, calls in The New York Times for Western left-wing activists to abandon their romanticization of Hamas as “resistance” in favor of a Gaza rebuilt on peace and self-governance now that the group has agreed in principle to disarm. “Hamas is now facing a humiliating defeat. Despite Israeli rejection of the initial phased disarmament framework, Hamas acquiesced to the Board of Peace’s demands. All the devastation was for nothing. Large segments of the pro-Palestine community and Western left bet on a losing horse and embraced a rotten resistance narrative now invalidated by Hamas itself. The last thing Palestinians need is more denial from the left. The Palestinian national project has a rare chance to evolve toward nation-building, peace and coexistence alongside a Jewish Israel that is not about to be exterminated. Chants of ‘from the river to sea’ and the like are destructive conceits.” [NYTimes]
The Pen Handoff: The Wall Street Journal’s “Free Expression” editor Matthew Hennessey argues that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani insulted the memory of 9/11 victims last Friday when, after signing executive orders marking the attacks’ 25th anniversary, he handed the ceremonial pen to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and directed her to pass it to his chief counsel, Ramzi Kassem — a former lawyer for a Guantanamo Bay detainee. “He might as well have turned to the cameras and winked. How has it come to this? … The radical leftists taking over the Democratic Party don’t look at the victims of 9/11 as countrymen. They don’t think of that day and feel the enormity of the loss or the magnitude of the injustice. They think we had it coming. They think we’re the bad guys.” [Wall Street Journal]
Picture of the Day
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, held a press conference on Monday at the conclusion of a launch event held at the University of Notre Dame, Jerusalem, for the “Within Your Gates” forum, which seeks to encourage and advance dialogue between the church, Israelis and Palestinians.
Birthdays
Jeffrey Lurie, owner of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, winners of the Super Bowl in 2017 and 2024, turns 75
John Nacion/Getty Images
Leslie H. “Les” Wexner, chair emeritus of Bath & Body Works, turns 89
Bernie Sanders, U.S. senator from Vermont, he was a 2016 and 2020 presidential candidate, turns 85
Samuel D. Waksal, pharma executive, turns 79
Howard Mark Lorber, former chairman of Douglas Elliman and its former parent company, Vector Group, he is also executive chairman of Nathan’s Famous, turns78
Eli Aflalo, former co-chair of the Jewish National Fund, he was previously a member of Knesset, turns 74
Mindy Grossman, CEO of Weight Watchers until early 2022, turns 69
Jay W. Abarbanel, owner of Sam’s Fine Wines & Spirits in Walpole, Mass., for 41 years until 2022
Daniel Wolpert, British physician and professor of neuroscience at Columbia University, turns 63
Scott Levy, professional wrestler, known by his ring name, Raven, turns 62
James Ginsburg, founder and president of Cedille Records, a classical music label, he is the son of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, turns 61
Zarakh Iliev, real estate developer in Russia owning 14 million square feet of retail as well as many luxury hotels and shopping centers, turns 60
James Packer, Australian businessman, turns 59
Rabbi Andrea Merow, senior rabbi of the Jewish Center of Princeton
Adam Goldsmith, Aspen, Colo., resident
Brooke Burke, actor, model and television personality, she is the host of “Penn & Teller: Fool Us,” turns 55
Robyn Faintich, founder and executive education consultant at Atlanta-based JewishGPS
Jonathan Leshnoff, classical music composer and professor of music at Towson University, whose works include “Zohar,” “Nekudim” and “Heichalos,” turns 53
Jonathan Rosen, CEO of Orchestra
Alecia Beth Moore, one of the world’s best-selling music artists, known professionally as Pink, turns 47
Asaf Ganot, head coach for the University of Hawaii men’s basketball team
Spencer Gerrol, founder and CEO at SPARK Neuro
Andrei Berman, executive vice president at Biederman LLC.
Jay Weinberg, drummer for the funk metal band Infectious Grooves, he is the son of Bruce Springsteen drummer Max Weinberg, turns 36
Serena Deutch, an MBA candidate at Tulane&
Gabby Deutch, former senior national correspondent for Jewish Insider, now a staff writer at The Atlantic
Gilad Peled, director of education at Itrek
Philip Ehrensaft
Mayor Brett Smiley, who converted to Judaism while in office, faces a Bernie Sanders-backed democratic socialist in Wednesday's Rhode Island primary, with an anti-Israel divestment referendum looming over the race
(Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley answers questions during a press conference at the Providence Public Safety Complex on December 16, 2025.
In the upcoming Democratic mayoral primary in Providence, R.I., on Wednesday, Israel and antisemitism have claimed prominence as unusually divisive sources of debate for a municipal race, raising concerns among Jewish leaders who worry the focus on Middle East policy in particular will only contribute to further polarization on a sensitive issue.
The election is pitting Mayor Brett Smiley, 47, a first-term incumbent who converted to Judaism while in office in 2024, against state Rep. David Morales, a 27-year-old democratic socialist backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and leading progressive groups including the Working Families Party.
One of the top subjects of debate is a controversial ballot initiative up for a vote in November that — if passed — would require Providence to refrain from investments in “foreign countries conducting ethnic cleansing, apartheid, illegal military occupation or genocide.”
Even as the ballot measure does not name Israel, unlike recent efforts explicitly targeting the Jewish state in Pittsburgh as well as Somerville, Mass., the referendum was driven by local anti-Israel activists, leaving Jewish leaders now rallying to oppose it with little doubt over its subtext. Smiley, a vocal supporter of Israel, has opposed the referendum, saying it could run afoul of state law, while Morales has been among its key defenders, framing the effort as a moral cause.
In a statement shared with Jewish Insider, Smiley noted “the city’s legal department has determined that this ordinance is both unenforceable and likely in violation of existing state law,” while adding the effort “is consuming resources that should be spent protecting the integrity of our elections.” He called the referendum “unproductive” and “burdensome to our election officials,” warning that it “will harm the finances of our city.”
Morales, in an interview with JI on Friday, said he believed the successful effort to secure ballot access for the referendum was a step toward ensuring “that in no way, shape or form is Providence contributing to” what he described as “apartheid, illegal military occupation or genocide.”
“The fact that we are actively having this type of conversation, I think, speaks to the broader question of who do we want representing us? Who do we want making decisions out of City Hall, the Statehouse or to the walls of Congress?” Morales added, pledging to use his “platform as mayor of Providence” to push for federal opposition to “unconditional military aid” for Israel.
The heated atmosphere of the election underscores the degree to which rising Democratic divisions over Israel are now shaping even local races for roles with no direct ability to influence foreign policy outcomes. In another demonstration of how such elections have gained a more nationalized valence, Morales has also won praise from Track AIPAC, an extreme anti-Israel account, even as AIPAC itself does not engage in city or state races.
As leftist candidates have increasingly linked their opposition to the war in Gaza to a broader suite of social justice causes on the domestic front, Israel is emerging as a significant issue animating an activist base that has helped fuel a growing number of major upsets at both the state and federal levels this cycle.
While there is no independent public polling on the race, a survey released last week and commissioned by a group tied to a supporter of Morales showed the Democratic insurgent leading by 10 points, with 48% of the vote.
A spokesperson for Smiley declined to share internal polling but expressed skepticism of the recent survey, noting that it was commissioned by a group affiliated with Jorge Elorza, a former Providence mayor who is backing Morales.
Morales, who has sought to channel the energy of Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for mayor of New York City — where the state legislator hosted a fundraiser in July — has also notably denounced his opponent’s attendance at a conference sponsored by the Combat Antisemitism Movement, where Smiley is chair of the mayoral advisory board.
The conference, Morales argued in December, is organized by “outside donors pushing a national agenda,” which he claimed was “designed to chill political speech” and to crack down on “expressing solidarity with Palestine.” The mayor, who has also faced protests outside his home over a trip to Israel, has rejected that characterization, while pointing to what he casts as a “double standard” for supporters of the Jewish state.
“In my darkest days as mayor,” Smiley told JI last week, “I have found strength and resilience through my faith and my community, and I will continue to work every day to ensure that Providence Jews are able to gather, worship and celebrate safely and free from hatred and discrimination.”
“That’s why I have spoken out against antisemitism” and joined “conferences focused on understanding and combating antisemitism — conferences that my opponent has repeatedly condemned,” he said in the written comments.
Against the backdrop of such tensions, some of Smiley’s campaign signs were recently defaced by antisemitic imagery — including devil horns and a Hitler mustache — in an incident that turned up the temperature of an already contentious race.
“While campaigns can often get heated, there is no excuse for targeted attacks and hate speech in our political dialogue,” Smiley wrote in the statement to JI. “Actions like this are about more than one person — they send a message to an entire community that they are not safe or welcome here. That is not how we treat our neighbors in Providence, and it’s incumbent on all of us to disavow hate speech in all its forms.”
Speaking more broadly, Smiley said antisemitism “is on the rise around the country, and our community is feeling that here in Providence,” which is home to an estimated 15,000 Jewish residents.
“No one should ever have to ask if it’s safe to put a mezuzah on their door or display a menorah in their window, and yet these conversations are happening more and more often in our city,” the mayor told JI.
Morales, for his part, condemned the vandalism last month, while urging residents to oppose “all forms of bigotry,” a sentiment he reiterated to JI on Friday.
Despite concerns among local Jewish leaders who feel his rhetoric against Israel is sowing unneeded tensions, Morales vowed to engage proactively with community members who do not share his stances.
“When I talk about building a Providence for all, it’s not just about building a city for people I agree with,” he clarified in the interview. “It’s about engaging with neighbors from all walks of life and all backgrounds, and so I will certainly be engaging directly with our Jewish community, and ensuring that they feel safe and welcomed.”
Morales has faced attacks from the mayor over his past support for defunding the police, a position he has said he no longer holds. He emphasized to JI that as mayor, “when there is a need for additional police details for gatherings and events” at synagogues and other institutions, he will be “ready to deploy those additional forms of security measures and support.”
Still, Jewish leaders indicated they were far from reassured by such promises, largely citing Morales’ vocal support for the ballot initiative they view as a thinly disguised effort to institutionalize the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel at the municipal level.
“Providence’s investment decisions should be driven by what’s best for Providence residents,” said Steven Baker, president and CEO of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, “not by divisive political tests that make our community more polarized and less united.”
Avi Nevel, the founder and CEO of the Rhode Island-Israel Collaborative, said he was “extremely concerned about what we are seeing in this race, and I think what has happened was totally uncalled for.”
“I definitely feel that there is a wave of anti-Israel sentiment that is also coinciding with antisemitism. Unfortunately, past experience has taught us that the two can often overlap, and I believe we need to take this very seriously,” he told JI last week.
Ken Schneider, the president of the Rhode Island Coalition for Israel, said the “mayoral race is of great importance to the Jewish community in Providence.” He called the ballot referendum both “anti-Israel and anti-Jewish” and said the city “should not insert itself in international politics.”
“The community has mobilized against this,” he told JI last week, while vowing that members of his group “will be at the polls” on Primary Day “to point out the major differences between Smiley and Morales.”
The winner on Wednesday will face Republican candidate Dave Talan as the prohibitive favorite in November. Providence has not elected a GOP mayor in nearly half a century.
Tony Affigne, a professor of political science at Providence College, said debates over Israel “aren’t the concerns that animate most Providence voters,” noting that “a critical shortage of affordable housing, school funding and effectiveness, anxiety about local ICE actions, property tax rates and community safety are top of mind for our local electorate.”
He framed the race as a fight for generational change, describing Morales as “an energetic, insurgent young candidate” who is “promising a focus on affordability and a clean break with the past.” He called the mayor a “well-connected, well-financed incumbent,” saying Smiley has been both “administratively experienced and policy oriented — if somewhat uninspiring on a personal level.”
“Either could win based on their relative strengths, depending somewhat on turnout for this and the other races on the ballot this year,” Affigne told JI.
He attributed much of the shift on Israel policy among his Democratic colleagues to bullying, harassment and threats from the anti-Israel camp
Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) speaks at a press conference on Capitol Hill on Sept. 8, 2025.
For Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), the Democratic caucus has become an increasingly lonely place for those who remain staunchly pro-Israel, with what he described as bullying, harassment and threats from the anti-Israel camp contributing to the shift away from Israel among Democratic lawmakers.
“What is it like to be in the caucus? It’s become lonely,” Moskowitz said during a wide-ranging interview with Jewish Insider in his Capitol Hill office last week. “None of my colleagues are mean to me, but it is an ostracizing feeling. There’s no doubt that the Democrats that are super pro-Israel, in general, feel somewhat ostracized, and how could you not?”
He said that the “mushy middle” of the party is being pushed left, explaining that he has had colleagues tell him that consultants have told them that, in order to win reelection, they’ll need to reject AIPAC or vote against pro-Israel legislation or express opposition to Israeli missile-defense systems.
“No one really loves family infighting,” he said. “For me, I’m fighting for what I believe in. For me, it’s not about the polling. I’ll go down on this issue. Ultimately, I’m not interested in moderating to try to win my election.”
He also attributed some of the shift to harassment and threats of violence targeting members, including Moskowitz being the target of an assassination attempt in 2024. Standing up for Israel, at this point, puts members’ families at risk, he said, and with that pressure coming exclusively from the anti-Israel side, it’s no surprise that some members are caving.
“I talk to members. They’re scared from all of this stuff. Not only are they scared, their spouses are scared, and do not underestimate the spouse in this congressional relationship,” he said. “The bullying is only happening one way. Members are getting bullied online. They’re getting bullied in the hallways. They come down the steps [from the House chamber], cameras get put in their face on this issue.”
Moskowitz said that, because he has refused to cave on this issue, he now needs armed security and police protecting him in his district — as do other outspoken members. He said that it’s important for members who have been outspoken, on both sides of the aisle, to be reelected.
“If you look at what’s happened to the Jewish community in two years, where are we in five? Where are we in five years? Are we going to lose an entire political party?” he asked.
And Moskowitz warned that he sees similar issues on the horizon in the Republican Party. “The Tucker [Carlson] wing of the [Republican] Party is ready to pounce. The only thing that’s keeping them at bay is Trump. … The fight you’re seeing that we’re having now, they are going to have on the right.”
The Florida congressman, asked about the upcoming Israeli elections, said that he believes that some of his Democratic colleagues have “backed themselves into a corner” by focusing their criticism on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“A lot of my colleagues, when they voted to cut off aid to Israel, both in the Senate and in the House, said, ‘Well, it was all about Netanyahu,’” he recounted. “My argument to them was, ‘At some point, he won’t be there. How are you going to go back to those voters who you’ve now courted because you cut off aid and go back to them saying, ‘Well I’m going to let the aid flow now because Netanyahu is gone?’”
As a result, he predicted that a loss for Netanyahu would do little to change Democratic discourse on Israel, noting that anti-Israel voices online have already begun to target other Israeli leaders as polling has suggested that Netanyahu may lose.
Moskowitz said that the recent outrage, from both progressive commentators and some of his colleagues, over his appointment as ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Middle East and North Africa subcommittee has been disproportionate to the position itself, and tinged with “veiled antisemitism.”
At the same time, Moskowitz argued that the appointment shows that pro-Israel Jews remain part of the Democratic “big tent” — at least for Democratic House leaders. He also noted that anyone on the committee — which includes several vocal critics of Israel — could have objected to the appointment, but chose not to.
“For me, this isn’t game theory. This is real,” Moskowitz said, emphasizing that his relatives fled the Holocaust in Europe. “Tough economic times in a country, wealth inequality — the Jews. It’s not a new playbook that’s being run on the community.”
“Not only does the big tent include pro-Israel Jews but we’re going to give them leadership spots on that issue,” he said.
He said that he sees criticisms of “Zionists” and of Israel as barely disguised attacks on the Jewish people as a whole — with the vast majority of American Jews being Zionists — drawing on historic tropes and patterns.
“For me, this isn’t game theory. This is real,” Moskowitz said, emphasizing that his relatives fled the Holocaust in Europe. “Tough economic times in a country, wealth inequality — the Jews. It’s not a new playbook that’s being run on the community.”
“If we don’t fix the affordability issue, antisemitism is going to continue to get worse,” he added. “For me, it’s intricately linked. It’s not our fault, but we are being made the scapegoat for all of these things. Flock cameras? Jews. AI? Jews. Can’t afford your groceries? Jews. If we don’t start fixing problems here, we’re going to be on the short side of that stick.”
His children, he said, will grow up in a different and more hostile America than he did, after the Jewish community had believed it was assimilated and safe.
“We assimilated in Spain. We assimilated in Germany. Never thought what could happen could happen, and we were expelled and exterminated in both of those countries,” he said.
He credited much of the rise in antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment to malign foreign influence, particularly through coordinated bot campaigns on social media. He said that, if the Nazis had a tool like social media on their side during World War II, they likely would have won.
“Congrats to China and our foreign adversaries, who took an 80-20 issue and turned it into a 20-80 issue as an experiment in a petri dish that they can apply to Taiwan in the future,” Moskowitz said. “We’re just letting foreign adversaries decide how the American people are going to think on everything.”
He described social media platforms as deliberately blind to the problem — until similar tactics were applied to the issue of data centers, which could impact their bottom lines.
“When it comes to Israel, I want to see them treated like any other ally,” he continued. “If the idea is that the majority of our members want to cut off aid to Israel, then we’re going to have to look at all our other allies’ humanitarian records, and we’re going to have to treat them all the same. I look at that as calling balls and strikes, and getting into reality off of the internet.”
Moskowitz is favored to be chairman of the Middle East subcommittee next year if Democrats take the House, but he said he would still need to rally support on the committee to secure the seat. He said that ultimately House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Greg Meeks (D-NY) would set the agenda for Democrats, but that he sees opportunities to use the post to strengthen U.S. ties with the Gulf and Mideast allies.
He called the decision to allow a Saudi nuclear energy deal to proceed without Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords a “missed opportunity” and said it’s important to ensure that Gulf allies don’t try to appease Iran “because the Iran war now has gone south.”
“When it comes to Israel, I want to see them treated like any other ally,” he continued. “If the idea is that the majority of our members want to cut off aid to Israel, then we’re going to have to look at all our other allies’ humanitarian records, and we’re going to have to treat them all the same. I look at that as calling balls and strikes, and getting into reality off of the internet.”
The congressman also blasted those who blame Israel alone for the war in Iran, explaining that in conversations with ambassadors from the Gulf countries, “they were all supportive of this — all of them,” but are now “upset about the marketing and the branding of the war” and hiding from responsibility.
Moskowitz supported the administration’s 2025 strikes on Iran’s nuclear program, and opposed war powers efforts to block a U.S. attack on Iran before the war began earlier this year. But he has supported war powers resolutions since the war started, arguing that Congress must preserve its constitutional role in making war.
“I think the president made a mistake in hindsight. Think about it this way: In an alternative reality, had he come to Congress in the very beginning, it probably would have passed,” he said, “and then we would have owned it with him. He owns it all on his own.”
He said the administration underestimated Iran’s willingness to take the Strait of Hormuz hostage and to expand the war to attack Gulf allies, and overestimated the fragility of the Iranian regime.
Moskowitz also said that the administration has shifted and scaled back its goals, noting that Trump no longer emphasizes the need to remove enriched nuclear material from Iran, now focusing primarily on the Strait of Hormuz.
“We didn’t succeed on the terms he told people of why we were going. And so I think it was a completely failed strategy on prosecuting the war,” Moskowitz said, even as he said he’s glad that former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead, Iran’s navy has been destroyed and the Iranian nuclear program has been set back.
He said he does not want the war to become a long-term problem, but also said that he still does not want to see a deal that would provide Iran with substantial financial relief. “That has to be still the North Star. They cannot have a nuclear weapon. But mistakes that we have made to try to achieve that now could have long-term repercussions.”
Since beating Democratic Socialists of America member Oliver Larkin by nearly 30 points in his primary race, Moskowitz has gone on the offensive against the DSA and the surging socialist wing of the Democratic Party.
He said that he thinks mainstream Democrats need to recognize income inequality and other economic struggles that are driving young people toward the DSA, but also need to realize that the DSA is “awash in antisemitism” and a range of other unpopular and fringe ideas.
“There will be members here from the DSA, but they’ll be 5% of the caucus,” Moskowitz said. “What we can’t do is what the Republicans did with [former House Speaker] Kevin McCarthy. We can’t go make a deal with the DSA because then that deal will be held over the entire caucus for the next two years while we’re in power.”
He said that, despite being targeted with what he described as the “whole DSA apparatus” in his primary, he decided not to engage directly with his opponent, to not run negative ads and to try to keep the race local.
“I was going to deny these viral moments for them,” he said, arguing that other Democrats had erred by getting in direct fights with DSA opponents. “It was my belief that the voters would reject it without me having to spend a ton of money explaining to them why it was bad, and that’s what happened.”
He said his polling showed that Larkin’s stances were turning off voters and argued that his strategies “blew up in their face,” alienating older voters, Jewish voters and Hispanic voters.
“This is not a place that the DSA can win in, and they shouldn’t have done it because it made them look stupid,” Moskowitz said.
Moskowitz noted that he now enters the general election with $2 million, a substantial cash advantage over his Republican opponent, former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer, who is also Jewish.
He argued that his brand of politics and his past ties to former Gov. Ron DeSantis will help him win over independent voters in the general election, and highlighted his appeal with Jewish voters, among whom he vastly outperformed former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. He noted that he doesn’t have to calibrate stances on the U.S.-Israel relationship in his district, but can instead express his honest views in a way that other Democrats can’t.
“This election between me and [Singer], on [Israel and antisemitism] in particular, is the difference between a vote versus a voice,” Moskowitz continued. “He’ll be a vote on pro-Israel. I’m not going to deny that. He will be a vote, but he won’t be a voice.”
Can the Israeli electorate overlook the fact that Netanyahu was in charge during the Oct. 7 massacre and was responsible for some of the mistakes leading up to it? That is precisely what Likud is betting on
(Ohad Zwigenberg / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu casts his ballot at his party Likud's main polling station during primary elections ahead of Israel's general election in October in Jerusalem on August 17, 2026.
The countdown to Israel’s October elections has begun, bringing with it a central question: Will Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who, against all odds, remains in office three years after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks took place under his tenure — remain Israel’s leader?
Israeli governments have often faced political upheaval after major wars or security crises, but Netanyahu’s current government completed a full term — the first time a government has done so in nearly four decades. But Netanyahu is not out of the woods yet.
“Oct. 7 serves primarily as a reminder that the stakes are genuinely high. Israel is a country where elections are fought over matters of life and death in the most literal sense,” Shmuel Rosner, a pollster and analyst for Israel’s Channel 13, told Jewish Insider.
The leading candidates of the major parties all have defense bona fides: Netanyahu, who has been out of power for only a single year in the last 15 years, has overseen wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran; Gadi Eisenkot, who is projected to lead the largest party according to most polls, served as IDF chief of staff from 2015 to 2019 and lost his son, Gal, in Gaza combat; and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who served as a cabinet minister for nearly a decade.
So how is it that the average Israeli voter — with plenty of experience at the ballot box, having endured six election cycles in a decade — is largely maintaining the same voting pattern?
“The discussion is always framed in terms of alternatives. People used to say: ‘What, rockets are being fired at Sderot again and again, and people still vote for Likud?’ It seems crazy, but the answer is yes, indeed,” a political strategist who has worked for Likud and several other parties told JI. “Ultimately, right-wing voters tend to be pragmatic. As a result, they assess the available alternatives. When the alternative is perceived as worse, they will go with the option that feels more natural to them, despite their anger.”
Many Israelis view the upcoming election in this frame of tradeoffs: What is more concerning — another term under a Netanyahu-led government that includes the ultra-Orthodox parties as they continue to push for draft exemptions for their constituents, or a new government that might rely on Arab parties to reach the magic number of 61 members of Knesset needed to form a coalition?
“First, there’s the question of whether a potential voter wants the current coalition to return in an identical or similar composition. Next is whether they want the prime minister to continue in his role. And as usual, there’s the element of fear: How much do they fear the ‘other side’, meaning the possibility of an alternative coalition forming?” Rosner explained. “‘A coalition with Arab parties is the demon of the right; a coalition of ‘extremists’ is the demon of the smaller centrist parties; a ‘coalition with the Haredim’ is the demon of many voters, particularly in the anti-Netanyahu camp, and so on.”
If there is one thing both the Israeli right and left agree on, it is that security issues will dominate this election. In a poll conducted last July and published by Kan 11, voters were asked what key issue would determine their vote in the October elections: One-quarter of respondents cited security issues, while an almost equal share (24%) cited the Oct. 7 failures and the establishment of a commission of inquiry into the terror attacks.
Economic matters trailed in third place at 22%, while judicial reform — an issue that dominated Israeli politics just a few years ago — stood at just 12%.
“Economics isn’t playing a major role in these elections. Security definitely is,” Rosner noted. “Netanyahu faces a challenge partly because he made far-reaching promises that even his supporters realize were not delivered on. If he could show Hamas raising a white flag, or Iran doing the same, or boast a stable peace agreement with Lebanon without Hezbollah on the horizon, he would have something to sell.”
Yossi Tatika, a pollster and strategic consultant at Tatika Consulting and Research, also believes that defense issues remain “the top priority for the Israeli voter, but their meaning has shifted. In my view, the Israeli voter is prioritizing security figures who are not directly tied to Oct. 7. There is a strong appetite for figures perceived as ‘fresh faces.'”
One new candidate on the scene is Ofer Winter, a former high-ranking IDF officer who historically maintained ties with Netanyahu, Avigdor Liberman and Bennett (though some of those relationships have cooled) and has a strong animosity towards Eisenkot, who refused to promote him to a general when he was the IDF chief of staff. Winter announced the launch of his new right-wing party, People of Israel, last week, and some polls project the new contender winning between four and six seats. In an election campaign that feels increasingly unpredictable, he could emerge as the wild card.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu has publicly urged his far-right Cabinet ministers, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, to merge their parties to hopefully gain more seats in the election, but they have remained defiant.
Still, Netanyahu remains a powerful brand among large segments of the Israeli public, and his entire campaign rests on what he markets as Israel’s achievements over nearly three years of war, including, the assassinations of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Hamas head Yahya Sinwar, while touting deterrence this has brought Israel in the region.
Can the Israeli electorate overlook the fact that Netanyahu was in charge during the Oct. 7 massacre and was responsible for some of the mistakes leading up to it? That is precisely what Likud is betting on. The answer will begin to come clear at 10 p.m. on Oct. 27, when the exit polls are released.
David Kramer, a Jewish Democratic leader in Michigan, said Rep. Hillary Scholten is ‘someone who has a very strong sense of self and what she thinks is right and wrong’
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Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) speaks outside the U.S. Capitol on March 26, 2026 in Washington.
Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) has emerged in recent weeks as one of the Democratic Party’s most outspoken voices against antisemitic influencer Hasan Piker — including standing as one of the few Michigan Democratic holdouts in endorsing Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in light of his relationship with Piker.
Her stalwart outspokenness against antisemitism and resistance to her party’s home-state Senate nominee is increasingly rare in today’s politics. But Jewish Michiganders who have worked with her say she’s long been close with and supportive of the community, and that she’s been deeply and personally disturbed by rising antisemitism and other rhetoric from Piker and El-Sayed.
At an event for a fellow Michigan House candidate this week, Scholten faced down a questioner who said that she was making “bad faith accusations” against El-Sayed and Piker and stoking Islamophobic hate speech in the interest of protecting U.S. aid to Israel. Scholten stood her ground.
“I do not support the comments of Hasan Piker. He has said some terrible things about America, about American troops, and I would stand by comments condemning those. I think they don’t have any place in the Democratic Party or in the United States of America,” she said. “But even though we may not necessarily be in agreement about all of those things, we are in alignment about the things that unite us as Democrats: lowering costs, delivering on universal health care, and fighting corruption.”
Speaking to reporters after the event, she said that she has not endorsed El-Sayed and hasn’t heard from him in any capacity.
“If he would [reach out to me], I would have questions,” Scholten said. “A lot of it has to do with his past associations with Hasan Piker.”
She said she’s hearing “a lot of support” from people who agree with her raising the question of “whether this is the right direction for our party.”
Scholten was among Rep. Haley Stevens’ (D-MI) most outspoken supporters during the Senate primary, and unlike Stevens, refused to commit to endorse El-Sayed during the general election. Her decision to stick to her guns carries political risk: El-Sayed carried Scholten’s district in the Democratic primary, winning the Kent County (Grand Rapids) base by 26 points over Stevens.
El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment, but largely shrugged off questions about Piker and criticisms from Scholten and other Democrats during a press conference on Wednesday.
He accused Republicans of pushing a false narrative of Democratic division and suggested that his critics are simply “still nursing wounds or grievances from the primary.”
Despite having repeatedly campaigned with Piker, El-Sayed also dismissed him as “a streamer in California” who is not central to the campaign, which he described as focused on issues in Michigan. He asserted that questions about Piker are driven by a media focus on a “tabloid version of our politics.”
Scholten declined to comment to Jewish Insider for this story.
She was first elected in 2022, after losing a 2020 race in a GOP-leaning district against former GOP Rep. Peter Meijer. The Grand Rapids-area district was redrawn to be more favorable to Democrats two years later, and she prevailed over a hard-right Republican challenger who defeated Meijer in the GOP primary. The Cook Political Report now rates her as a shoo-in to win reelection.
In a 2020 interview with Jewish Insider during her run for the House, Scholten did not rule out conditioning or reducing U.S. aid to Israel in the interest of serving as a neutral arbiter to pursue a two-state solution, though she also argued that the U.S. should continue to be supportive of Israel. Scholten voted earlier this year against an amendment cutting U.S. aid to Israel that was supported by nearly half of House Democrats.
She also strongly condemned the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, saying that it has “deep roots in antisemitic sentiment and rhetoric.”
Jewish Democrats in Michigan said that Scholten is a longtime ally of their community, and said that her strong stand against Piker and antisemitism is nothing new.
David Kramer, a prominent Jewish Democratic leader in the Detroit area who served as campaign chair for Stevens’ Senate race, said Scholten is “someone who has a very strong sense of self and what she thinks is right and wrong, and she has a history of speaking up, even if it’s unpopular” — pointing also to her early call for then-President Joe Biden to end his reelection campaign and her strong and early support for Stevens.
“This is another one in the pattern of her doing what she thinks is right, even when she knows she’s going to get some flak for it,” Kramer continued. “I’m absolutely, positively convinced that she’s doing this just because of what her convictions are and her gut reaction.”
He said he’s heard from Scholten directly that even her staff have warned her about the potential consequences of the stand she has taken on Piker and El-Sayed, but that she feels strongly that this is an issue of right and wrong.
Kramer said that Scholten has come to him on various occasions about her concerns that El-Sayed and Piker’s comments and activity will cause insecurity in the Jewish community — “she just gets it.”
He added that, while Scholten is close with the small Jewish community in Grand Rapids as well as with Jewish leaders in the Detroit area, her positions come from her own deeply held values.
“She is a very, very smart, very, very principled person who is willing to speak the truth and is willing to take stands even if it is not something that others would say will help her politically, and that is really unusual today in politics,” Mark LoPatin, another Detroit-area Jewish Democrat who has interacted with Scholten, said. “She is one of the few who is really willing to get out there to say, ‘This is wrong,’ and why she believes it’s wrong.”
LoPatin said that Scholten may very well face a more difficult primary race in 2028 as a result of her outspokenness and has told supporters that she has faced backlash for her stances, but that she does not plan to back down.
“We should have more congressional leaders that are willing to do that,” he said. “We probably wouldn’t be in the position that we’re in right now.”
Michael Horowitz, another Detroit-area Jewish Democrat, said he got to know Scholten through Stevens and her campaign at joint events they held together. “She just fits a category of intelligent, caring people who are trying to do good … they approach their job with the goal of trying to get things done.”
He said that Scholten is someone who “sees right and wrong” and was “particularly offended” by the attacks leveled against Stevens in the primary, as well as against state Sen. Jeremy Moss, a House candidate whom Piker attacked by name in recent comments that have drawn particular criticism.
“This isn’t a political calculation, she sees it as wrong,” Horowitz said. “It’s just a person who’s a decent person, cares about right and wrong. I think it just upset her. … I don’t see any agenda here, other than people that she’s close to have been attacked, and … she doesn’t buy into it. This isn’t who she is, and she’s willing to say something.”
Kramer said that, having known Scholten for several years, he believes her convictions on antisemitism are authentic and deeply rooted. He also noted that she’s an active member of her church and “someone of a lot of faith,” and said he believes that some of her dedication to the issue of antisemitism comes through her faith, though he said he hasn’t asked her the question directly.
LoPatin agreed that Scholten’s stance seems to be a product of her moral character, and said that quality means he’ll continue to support her even if he disagrees with particular stances she may take. “I do know that she will have a thoughtful response to whatever those issues are.”
Kramer also emphasized that, despite not having endorsed El-Sayed, Scholten remains committed to helping Democrats up and down the ballot in Michigan win in November — a commitment Scholten expressed herself at the event earlier this week.
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL): ‘It is disingenuous for El-Sayed to try to distance himself from Piker without specifically condemning, refuting, or even just rejecting Piker’s hateful rhetoric’
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Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) speaks during the New Democrat Coalition news conference on its policy platform for the 119th Congress in the Capitol on February 26, 2024.
As more Democratic lawmakers join the chorus calling out influencer Hasan Piker over his comments that Jews’ support for Israel invites antisemitic violence, a growing number of moderate Democratic lawmakers said that Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s efforts to distance himself from Piker, a campaign surrogate, haven’t gone far enough.
“Hasan Piker’s recent ‘victim-blaming’ comments inciting violence against American Jews reflect one of the oldest strategies long deployed by bigots and tyrants alike. His most recent diatribe is consistent with his history of antisemitic statements,” Rep. Brad Schnieder (D-IL), a co-chair of the Congressional Jewish Caucus and chair of the centrist New Democrat Coalition, said in a statement.
Schneider said that El-Sayed had “so-far refused to condemn the words of Hasan Piker, his friend and frequent campaign surrogate.”
“It is disingenuous for El-Sayed to try to distance himself from Piker without specifically condemning, refuting, or even just rejecting Piker’s hateful rhetoric,” Schneider continued. “Claiming that no one speaks for him except himself and his team is not enough. The Jewish community in Michigan deserves outright condemnation of rhetoric that threatens their safety and very identity.”
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) expressed similar sentiments.
“El-Sayed’s response was pathetic and it did not answer the call,” Gottheimer said on Fox News. “He did not condemn Piker. He didn’t even mention Piker. He didn’t condemn what Piker said. He didn’t say I will never campaign with this guy again. … Frankly, he should not only condemn him, but no Democratic members should allow Piker anywhere near them on the campaign trail, they should have nothing to do with this guy. And anybody who does and has not condemned him bears responsibility for some of these comments like that.”
Gottheimer also urged House Republican leadership to call up his resolution with Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) condemning both Piker and far-right antisemitic influencer Candace Owens for a vote when the House returns to session next week — a move to force progressive lawmakers who have allied and associated with Piker to take a clear stance on the record about Piker’s history of antisemitism.
El-Sayed did not respond to a request for comment.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) also reiterated his previous condemnations of Piker’s comments in an appearance on CNN, confirming that he had been referring to Piker in a statement the day prior, which did not name the influencer specifically.
“Those comments were dangerous, malicious and antisemitic and should not be tolerated by anyone in the public square,” Jeffries said. “Everybody, regardless of ideological perspective, should be willing to denounce this rise of antisemitic rhetoric, hate crimes and bigotry, and actually try to move us to a society where we embrace everyone — even where there are differences on issues, be they foreign or domestic. The notion that people should be targeted because of their religious beliefs or ethnicity or race, whatever the case may be, that’s fundamentally inconsistent with who we are in this country.”
Piker dismissed the criticism from various Democrats as the result of an “aipac boss call.”
“they are unanimous in their hatred of me, and i welcome their hatred. if you’re a defender of israel’s genocide, of its occupation, of its child killing spree – then your boos mean nothing to me,” Piker wrote on X.
Other Democrats joined Jeffries in condemning Piker.
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a co-chair of the bipartisan Senate antisemitism task force, called the comments a “new low,” even for someone who “has been trafficking in antisemitic tropes for a while.”
“Blaming Jewish Americans for the violence and hate they’re facing is not just wrong, it provides an excuse to those perpetuating these anti-Jewish hate crimes,” Rosen said. “Let me be absolutely clear: crimes against Jews for being Jews is antisemitism plain and simple. There’s no excuse for it.”
Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) said, “This shouldn’t be hard: no community should face the threat of violence for their political views.”
“In a time where political violence and anti-semitism has been spiking— and where just 6 months ago Michigan had a nearly deadly event of anti-semitic mass violence at Temple Israel — no one should causally be suggesting that anyone, Jews or otherwise, are to blame for being targeted,” Slotkin said.
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) emphasized the pattern of “the extremes of American politics” of blaming Jews for antisemitism.
“Let me put it plainly: there is absolutely no justification for antisemitism. There never has been, and there never will be,” Torres said. “No amount of victim-blaming or gaslighting by Hasan Piker can shift moral responsibility away from where it belongs: the antisemites who commit acts of violence and terror against Jews.”
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said that “Piker’s dangerous and hateful language targeting Jewish Americans has no place in our civic discourse. Suggesting that Jewish Americans bear responsibility for hatred or violence directed against them is wrong, dangerous, and antisemitic” and that his commentary goes well beyond debate over Israeli or American policy.
“No American should be told that their political beliefs make them responsible for hatred or violence directed against them,” Booker continued. “There is a bright line between vigorous debate and rhetoric that stokes hatred toward our neighbors. Mr. Piker has crossed that line, repeatedly and unmistakably.”
Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ), who chairs the campaign arm of the New Democrat Coalition, said, “Framing violence against Jewish Americans as something they brought on themselves shifts the blame from the perpetrators onto the very people they want to harm.”
Meanwhile, at least one progressive House Democrat is taking a different approach, calling out the growing number of Democrats who are condemning Piker.
“When the head of a major left-leaning DC think tank regularly gets in fights with the Dem base and progressive influencers on social media, almost in an irrational and uncontrollable way, does that ultimately hurt the think tank?” left-wing Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) said, an apparent reference to Center for American Progress CEO Neera Tanden, a vocal Piker critic on social media.
The Alaska Senate race is pitting a moderate Democrat against a Republican with a record as a national security hawk
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Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) speaks during a ceremony for the lighting of the Capitol Christmas tree in Washington, DC on December 3, 2024.
Alaska’s closely watched Senate race, which will help determine the balance of power in the Senate, is set to pit a consistent — if rarely prominent — Democratic supporter of Israel against a prominent Republican national security hawk. Unlike in some other battleground races, the issue of Israel has rarely come up in the campaign.
Peltola was not a leader on Middle East policy issues during her time in the House and did not highlight it as a priority, but was generally a reliable vote in support of Israel, breaking on numerous occasions with the majority of her party on the issue.
Peltola’s campaign did not provide comment in response to repeated inquiries from Jewish Insider about whether her stance has changed since leaving the House. But she has said she opposes the Iran war, and would have voted with nearly all other Democrats for war powers measures that sought to force a halt to the war.
“Dan Sullivan voted for the Iran war 12 times,” Peltola said on X on Thursday, highlighting the impact the war has had on rural Alaska communities. “Alaskans are suffering because Dan Sullivan continues to rubber stamp an unpopular foreign war that’s causing energy prices to skyrocket. We need change.”
Peltola was one of just 46 House Democrats who voted in February 2024 in favor of a stand-alone Israel aid package — separate from the bipartisan package that also provided aid for Ukraine and Taiwan — and one of just 16 who voted for a measure that would have forced the Biden administration to proceed with arms sales to Israel that had been withheld.
Peltola also voted for various measures imposing strengthened sanctions on Iran and severely limiting the Biden administration’s ability to lift such sanctions, some of which were opposed by a majority of Democrats. She also was in favor of imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court.
She voted for a resolution describing anti-Zionism as antisemitic, for a measure calling for the firing of university presidents for their testimony on campus antisemitism, for the Antisemitism Awareness Act and for a resolution describing the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” as antisemitic — though she voted against censuring Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for using the phrase.
Peltola also voted against a measure — that became increasingly unpopular among Democrats — which would have allowed the Treasury Department to unilaterally revoke the tax-exempt status of nonprofits it deemed to be supporting terrorism.
Sullivan, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has been more deeply involved in national security issues, and has been a prominent supporter of Israel and a hawk on Iran.
Sullivan has been a frequent leader on legislation and other efforts to support Israel, including serving as a lead co-sponsor in 2025 of the U.S.-Israel Defense Partnership Act, to expand and increase funding for cooperative defense programs and the Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025, targeting parties involved in the Iranian oil trade.
Among other policies, Sullivan has distinguished himself with yearslong calls, in both interviews and hearings with senior military officials, for the U.S. to retaliate against the Iranian military directly for Houthi attacks on American and commercial shipping, dating back at least to mid-2024.
“My view is, at this juncture, the only way to deter the Houthis is to make Iran pay the price. We should sink all their spy ships who probably helped with this attack,” Sullivan told JI at the time. “We should tell them we’ll sink your whole Navy if you continue this. We have the capacity to sink the Iranian Navy [within] two hours, and we just let the Houthis attack us, attack Israel.”
He has traveled to Israel and the Middle East repeatedly, including at least three times since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. He joined a bipartisan delegation to Saudi Arabia and Israel weeks after the attacks, which aimed to salvage progress toward the Abraham Accords.
Sullivan has proven willing to press Trump administration officials at times, having delivered a particularly tough grilling of Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby during his 2025 confirmation hearing over Colby’s past accommodationist rhetoric on Iran.
Though he ultimately supported Colby’s confirmation, Sullivan, joining other Senate Republicans, later accused Colby of avoiding the congressional communication and collaboration he had promised during his confirmation proceedings. But he and other senators have said the situation has improved since they aired their concerns publicly.
Sullivan supported the 2024 supplemental aid package for Israel, Ukraine and other U.S. allies.
GOP campaign veteran Colin Reed called Graham’s debate performance a ‘seismic moment in an otherwise sleepy race’
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Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) and Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) participate in a televised debate ahead of the Republican primary runoff in Newberry S.C., on August 18, 2026.
Sen. Darline Graham’s (R-SC) stumbling performance at the final GOP primary debate on Tuesday has prompted questions among Republicans in Washington about her prospects in next week’s runoff against Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC).
Graham’s debate performance has been widely panned for her response to a question about Taiwan and the South China Sea, during which she admitted that she is “not that informed on national security.” The moment prompted national Republican operatives to question her qualifications to replace her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and led to an avalanche of attacks from critics about her lack of policy experience.
Senior Republicans who have been involved in the race privately described Graham’s foreign policy flub as a pivotal moment that could cost her the nomination.
“It was always going to be a lot harder than she was told when she got into this, but I thought she could win before the debate. Now, I think she’s done for,” a senior GOP campaign official involved with the race told JI. “This loss is going to be an unfortunate embarrassment, and the way this played out could be somewhat of a stain on Lindsey’s legacy even though he had nothing to do with it.”
A spokesperson for Graham’s campaign declined to comment about her debate performance. Graham defended her answer while speaking to reporters in the spin room following the debate, arguing that, “The people of South Carolina, they’re worried about their pocketbooks more than they’re worried about the South China Sea, quite honestly.”
Veteran Republican strategists who have been involved in high-profile Senate races called Graham’s performance one of those rare moments that could change the trajectory of the race.
“The debate seems fairly consequential for a number of reasons,” Colin Reed, a founding partner of South & Hill Strategies and a GOP campaign veteran, told Jewish Insider. “To me, it seems like a fairly seismic moment in an otherwise sleepy race.”
Reed predicted that Graham’s inability to sound articulate on foreign policy — all but taking a pass on a consequential national security question — was likely to have an impact on the outcome of the race because of the importance of national security issues to South Carolina’s “heavy military presence and large veteran community.”
He added that her comments are already drawing comparisons to “the towering figure her brother was on the matter of foreign affairs” and the fact that the U.S. “happens to be engaged in multiple conflicts, or at least one conflict overseas with Iran, right now.”
“This is a late-summer primary and runoff, and only the most engaged audiences turn out,” Reed said. “Those types of audiences are the ones who were likely paying attention or discussing the debate.”
He argued that Graham’s lack of political experience makes her a “blank canvas” to voters and that, combined with the special election to replace her late brother on the ballot as the GOP nominee being truncated despite Republican primary voters being “wary of coronations,” the South Carolina senator had already been in a vulnerable political position prior to the debate.
Should Graham lose to Norman, it would mark the first time this cycle that a GOP candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump in a Senate race has lost their primary contest.
The president will hold a campaign rally for Graham in Myrtle Beach on Friday, even as he has scaled back his campaign appearances in recent months. Republicans in Washington expressed skepticism that the rally would significantly alter the outcome of this race, with two sources predicting that most of the attendees were only going to see the president speak. (For his part, Lindsey Graham was frequently booed and heckled when appearing at Trump rallies through the years.)
Norman said in a statement following the debate that South Carolina deserves to have a senator with “know-how” on foreign policy matters.
“Whether it’s spy balloons flying overhead or buying up land near South Carolina military bases, China continues to prove that it is a threat to the United States,” the House lawmaker told Politico.
Republican senators were told that Graham was not interested in seeking a full term when she agreed to the appointment in the immediate aftermath of her brother’s unexpected death last month. Graham said in a pre-debate interview on Monday that she “didn’t even realize I’d be asked to fill the seat temporarily” and did not accept the appointment last month with the idea of running for a full term. She instead credited the president with convincing her to run during an Oval Office meeting in her first week as senator.
Graham’s surprise decision to run, which two sources told JI came at the urging of Trump and several of Lindsey Graham’s campaign consultants, was met with apprehension in Washington. GOP circles. After Graham launched her campaign, Republican senators and strategists skeptical of her chances of winning began quietly voicing concern to one another about her lack of voting record or political background, the fact that she lacked a policy platform and the optics of sending a grieving sister out on the campaign trail. They also took note of how competitively Norman, Graham’s opponent in next week’s runoff election, was polling in the race.
One senior Senate GOP operative put it bluntly: “If we’re going to do a coronation, we need to be able to do a coronation. If we can’t get our s**t together, then we shouldn’t keep trying.”
Graham was cautioned by several Republicans, including two senators, that she would be setting herself up for a contentious election fight if she got in the race, according to two sources familiar with the matter. She was told by several of her brother’s campaign consultants, however, that while the contest would be challenging, she was likely to win with the president’s endorsement.
Graham prevailed in the first round of the primary election earlier this month, but only tallied 33% of the vote, far short of the majority necessary to avoid a runoff. She got a campaign boost after winning the endorsement of one leading rival, Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC), but her debate stumble only underscored her biggest vulnerability: lack of experience.
“The debate was challenging to watch. Her performance was very bad. We all empathize with her because of the circumstances she’s under, but that makes it all the more disturbing that folks who claim to love Lindsey would get in her ear and tell her she should run,” the Senate Republican campaign source said.
The winner of the Republican runoff next Tuesday will face Democrat Annie Andrews in the November election. Andrews, a pediatrician, is a decided underdog running in a solidly Republican state, but has been a strong fundraiser, bringing in over $10 million during the campaign cycle.
A Brookings Institution study found that of the 104 Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates running for state legislature, nearly 75% have won their primaries
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Members of the Democratic Socialists of America May 01, 2019 in New York City.
The Democratic Socialists of America notched another win this week in Florida’s Democratic Senate primary, with the shock victory of state Rep. Angie Nixon, a DSA member, over a much better-funded, establishment-backed challenger.
The far-left group has also notched at least six new victories in deep-blue House districts where its members are all but guaranteed to be elected, and could lead four major U.S. cities — New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and Washington, D.C. — after the midterm elections.
But some of the group’s more overlooked victories have happened at the state level, where the DSA members could wield significant power if they win. A new study by the Brookings Institution, released Wednesday, found that of the 104 state legislative candidates endorsed by national or local DSA chapters in 2026, 76 have won their primaries or advanced to the general election without a primary.
At the local level, another 64 of the 99 DSA-endorsed candidates are moving on to the general election. By comparison, at the congressional level, only 20 of the 64 total DSA-endorsed candidates have made it to general election races.
In New York City, already a comparative bastion of DSA representation in the state Assembly and Senate, eight DSA endorsees have advanced to the general election, including state Senate candidate Aber Kawas, who downplayed the 9/11 attacks, as well as seven state Assembly candidates. In total, the group is expected to have at least 15 members in Albany next year.
Sara Forman, the former executive director of the New York Solidarity Network, a state-level Jewish advocacy organization, said that after New York City Zohran Mamdani’s victory, the DSA seems to be emboldened to “flex their muscles” nationwide, after previously taking a more “surgical” approach at the state and local level.
Forman, who is now a senior advisor at Optimistic Labs, said she thinks the group learned lessons from the Mamdani race, including targeting highly engaged communities and neighborhoods. She also emphasized that the group has spent two decades building out the infrastructure that fueled the recent victories highlighted in the Brookings data.
“The Jewish community needs to take a hard look at this and really decide whether or not we’re willing to break bread” with a group that only looks at the Jewish community for “how they can use us,” she continued, while adding that Jewish community members will likely need to engage with some DSA elected officials in some capacity..
The national DSA organization endorses only a small subset of the DSA-affiliated candidates running nationwide. But outside of New York, five of its endorsees have advanced to general election races in state assembly seats around the country, with some set to coast to election and others facing competitive general election races: Robert LeVertis Bell in Kentucky, Tammy Carpenter in Oregon, Chris Gilmer-Hill in Michigan, Luke Alfaro-Jungmann in New Mexico and Mathewos Samson in Georgia.
Local DSA groups have racked up many more wins, such as state Rep. Maryam Khan’s ouster of an incumbent in a recent Hartford, Conn.-area state Senate seat.
“It’s interesting to me that the places where you’ve seen a lot of the newer elected officials pop up were a little unexpected, Connecticut being one example,” Forman said.
The state-level wins carry the potential to advance the DSA’s agenda, particularly in places such as New York, where the DSA expects its endorsees to work as a bloc in coordination with DSA leaders.
The Brookings study found that most DSA candidates hailed from already liberal areas — 111 were from California and New York alone — and most from districts that heavily favor Democrats. And DSA candidates contested and were nominated in a small fraction of the 7,386 total legislative seats around the country.
“From one perspective, the story of DSA candidates’ influence is overblown. The scarcity of candidates and their lack of strong success rates overall make this look more like a skirmish than a war,” the study’s authors conclude. “Nonetheless, the high-profile wins, fueled by young, white, educated voters, represent a warning to the rest of the party. They signal that unhappiness with the Democratic establishment and, in the post-Biden world, opposition to elderly officeholders can be leveraged by young, charismatic DSA candidates — and reflect an impatience with party leadership that transcends ideology.”
The rapid rise of the far left has alarmed Jewish leaders, who have seen candidates aligned with the DSA or affiliated with other virulently anti-Israel groups and in some cases, embracing antisemitic views. Those ties haven’t stopped them from winning deep-blue primaries across the country.
“Just judging on Missouri, it’s worse than people are realizing,” said Stacey Newman, a former Democratic state lawmaker who now leads the Missouri Alliance Network.
She emphasized that St. Louis-area Democrats elected a growing number of far-left candidates — albeit most not formally DSA-endorsed — and others hostile to Jewish community interests to the Legislature even while reelecting a close Jewish community ally in Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO). “They all have the same anti-Israel, anti-Jew platforms,” she said.
Forman said that Jewish advocates and their allies at the state level “need to be prepared for what I’m assuming is going to be the incoming push to try to make Israel a state and local issue,” as Mamdani and other DSA members did in New York State with legislation such as the Not On Our Dime Act.
“We really need to be making sure that our advocates and our allies are prepared to push back on that narrative,” Forman said, “but second of all, to remind people that state and local office has nothing to do with foreign policy.”
She said that the existing Jewish educational infrastructure needs to have the “toolkit to be able to say and push back hard and aggressively that this has no place in the state legislature,” and have its messaging clear and prepared.
Newman, whose group led advocacy for an antisemitism bill in the Missouri Legislature, said she feels that the Jewish community increasingly can’t rely on Democrats in Missouri’s legislature to support their priorities. And, she emphasized, much more policy work happens at the state level than the federal level.
“As a former Jewish state legislator, I’m petrified, because we’re all watching what’s happening around the country,” Newman said. “We’re watching Michigan, Wisconsin, we’re watching the Democratic Party throw caution to the wind.”
Young activists are divided over Israel and America First, leaving GOP politicians trying to reestablish a common set of facts
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) arrives for a news conference in the U.S. Capitol on developments regarding Cuba on Wednesday, May 20, 2026.
TAMPA, Fla. – The crosswinds buffeting the Republican Party and conservative media ecosystem over Israel and antisemitism blew through Tampa earlier this month at the National College Republicans convention, and both the politicians who addressed the gathering and the young Republicans themselves had their collars turned up.
Gubernatorial candidate Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) warned the crowd: Don’t let social media think for you.
It is too easy, he said, to “go down rabbit trails” and follow personalities instead of facts.
Donalds then turned to why he believes more and more young conservatives have become skeptical of Israel. “Social media, propaganda,” he said.
Foreign governments, Donalds added, “would love nothing more for the United States to be destabilized.”
But he also drew a distinction between criticism of Israeli policy and antisemitism. “If you are having an issue with public policy … have that issue,” Donalds said. But blaming Israel or Jews “with no real facts, no real evidence, just because that’s what you heard” should not be tolerated.
Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL), who also spoke at the conference, was even more explicit about the problem. For her, the argument over Israel begins before foreign policy: Republicans first have to agree on what constitutes a fact.
“You can’t even begin to have an honest conversation about how we ensure the security of our country, let alone our allies, until people understand what basic facts are,” Cammack said.
The exchanges between lawmakers and student activists captured a broader tension within the Republican Party that was on display throughout the Aug. 8 convention, which focused on recruiting, building chapters, training leaders and working on campaigns. But lawmakers and students kept coming back to a simpler question: where do young Republicans get their news, and whom do they trust?
University of Florida senior Justin Giacomelli said the debate over Israel has become one of the biggest fault lines among younger conservatives raised on social media.
“A lot of younger people, in particular, have grown up on social media where they’ve been bombarded by misinformation and lies about our relationship with Israel,” Giacomelli told Jewish Insider. “They’ve been brainwashed into thinking that Israel is evil, while countries like Iran are not, and they don’t understand the role we have with Israel, our mutual relationship, where we get critical intelligence from them.”
Giacomelli said X is his preferred platform for news because it puts competing arguments in the same feed. He also values the chance to test those arguments in real time by joining the debate himself. He admires Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s approach to Israel, Cuba and Venezuela, and disagrees with far-right, isolationist voices such as Tucker Carlson.
“I have learned that those policies don’t work,” Giacomelli said. “It’s dangerous to turn on your allies and become sympathetic toward your enemies, like Russia, China and Iran. You reach a point where you realize those policies don’t benefit America. They are not America First.”
Ian Lares-Chacin, the incoming chairman of the National Federation of College Republicans, said foreign policy is important to younger Republicans but remains secondary to affordability, particularly homeownership.
“As much as people care about foreign policy and that sort of thing, it’s second. Right now people are just kind of stressed out,” he said.
Still, Lares-Chacin described a “pretty split divide” over Israel among younger conservatives and said the debate had become toxic in some corners. His goal as chairman, he said, is to keep factions cooperating even when they disagree.
“At the end of the day, we’re all conservatives, even if we don’t agree 100% on every issue,” Lares-Chacin said. “I don’t think one or two issues should be the cause of a civil war.”
He said Israel could become a wedge issue, though he did not think it should.
Ephraim Asher, a University of South Florida junior who interned for Rubio when he was a senator, said most of his news comes from YouTube because he prefers extendedlong-form material to clipped excerpts.
“I get most of my information from YouTube, more like long-form content,” Asher said. “One thing I’ve seen is people clipping stuff, and I’m like, just watch the whole thing. So I’d rather watch the whole thing, see what they said, go through the sources and everything else.”
He said he checks Bloomberg, follows hosts with varying viewpoints and uses articles and AI tools to compare arguments. Like Giacomelli, he named Rubio as a model for the party’s future, citing his foreign policy and his ability to disagree without being divisive.
Moses Jinu, an FSU freshman, has a different routine.
“I’m kind of old-fashioned,” Jinu said. “I read the newspaper with my grandpa and then independently research news topics on Google.”
Asked what being a Republican means in 2026, Jinu pointed to “individual freedoms, liberty, and everyone’s right to speech, religion, the First Amendment.” Darren Valens, a Valencia College freshman, emphasized consent of the governed and the idea that rights come from God rather than government.
Scott Johnson, an advisor to the Osceola Young Republicans, said the defining challenge for a generation raised on social media is “figuring out what’s real and what’s not real.”
Cammack, the Florida congresswoman, recalled talking to a young man who believed American politicians were funded by foreign governments, a claim Cammack told him was not true. To her, the exchange showed how much the media landscape has changed. Younger conservatives are less likely to rely on Fox News or the New York Post and more likely to move between podcasts, X accounts and YouTube livestreams.
“There’s no editorial control, no reviews, there’s no accountability,” Cammack said. “There’s no, ‘Oh, I have sources, I have this.’ There’s none of that.”
The COVID-19 pandemic, she said, accelerated a collapse of trust, when many conservatives began questioning institutions and legacy media. That gave an opening for independent journalists and commentators.
She added that “there is a beauty” in the rise of independent media, “but now we’ve seen the abuse of that, and how people can just say whatever the hell they want, and they don’t have to back it up.”
Cammack said she has seen friends share material she believed was created by the Chinese Communist Party while assuming it came from American users. “We are in a full-blown cognitive war with China, with Russia, with Iran,” she said. “People don’t know it.”
Her prescription to the students was not a return to one set of legacy outlets, but more skepticism toward everything they encounter — including content they already agree with.
Cammack encouraged students to check claims before posting them and decide if the sources are credible. Distrust in established institutions makes personal judgment even more important.
“You want to be known as someone who is a beacon of truth, who can be counted on to share the truth,” she told the students, “who has the integrity and the intelligence to go do your own dang research, and you know what is fact and what is fiction.”
Among students, the divide was less abstract.
Conservative influencer Gates Garcia said the right has been too reluctant to confront antisemitism within its own ranks, while also warning against branding every criticism of Israel as antisemitic.
“We have a First Amendment right to criticize anyone,” Garcia said. “But what becomes antisemitic is when we hold Israel to a different set of standards than other people and other countries. And that’s what a lot of people in the conservative movement are falling victim to.”
Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) are the latest DSA targets
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) speak to the media before a visit to the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport on July 12, 2025 in Ochopee, Florida.
Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), two Florida Jewish Democrats known as champions of Israel, are facing primary battles on Tuesday against Democratic Socialists of America-aligned candidates who have made criticism of the incumbents’ stances on Israel major planks of their campaigns.
Moskowitz, running in a heavily Jewish south Florida district, faces a challenge from DSA member Oliver Larkin.
Wasserman Schultz is facing a slew of Democratic opponents after redistricting broke up her previous district. She decided to run instead in a plurality Black seat, a decision that has sparked controversy in both the state and on the Hill. Her most prominent challenger is Elijah Manley, a former DSA member who converted to Judaism as an adult.
Larkin and Manley — alongside progressive Senate candidate Angie Nixon, who faces Jewish Democrat Alex Vindman — rallied on Friday with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), one of the most prominent critics of Israel in the House. The event was forced to relocate after the original business hosting the event, The Venue Fort Lauderdale, cancelled the reservation following backlash from Democratic state Rep. Michael Gottleib and others, including far-right commentator Laura Loomer.
“Once we became aware of the full scope and nature of the event and reviewed the publicly circulated promotional materials, we immediately began addressing the matter. Due to security concerns as well as the welfare of attendees and staff, the decision was then made that the event would not proceed at our property,” The Venue said in a statement. “The Venue Fort Lauderdale is Jewish-owned and operated and our values and commitment to the Jewish community are deeply important to us.”
Local media reported that a second venue also backed out of hosting the event before organizers were able to secure a third location, where the event went forward.
Larkin, Tlaib and Nixon also attended a Shabbat event organized by Jewish Voices for Peace. JVP did not identify any Jewish leaders attending the Shabbat event on the invitation.
In spite of the national attention toward the races, longtime Democratic insiders in the state are skeptical that far-left politics is a winning formula in Florida.
“I don’t think this entire state is great for that,” Steve Schale, a longtime Florida Democratic strategist said, pointing to the defeats of former gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum and Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) presidential campaign in the state.
Mitch Ceasar, a former chair of the Broward County Democratic Party and a former state Democratic chairman, agreed that far-left and anti-Israel positions aren’t likely to have much purchase in the Sunshine State. “I don’t think either one of those things plays in Florida like it would in New York or some other places.”
Neither Larkin nor Manley have picked up the prominent national endorsements of figures such as Sanders or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) that have been a boon to other progressive congressional hopefuls. Manley, for his part, secured the endorsement of Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA).
But other far-left figures have been rallying in support of Larkin in particular, including antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker; far-left Democratic nominees Darializa Avila Chevalier, Claire Valdez and Melat Kiros; former Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY); childrens’ entertainer Ms. Rachel; former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner; and anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour.
Manley also appeared on Piker’s livestream show.
Moskowitz — despite an unrelenting barrage of attacks from Larkin’s campaign — has largely stuck to a positive message and declined to engage directly with Larkin.
But Moskowitz has said he believes that he’s “being targeted simply because of my faith and being pro-Israel” and that Larkin has embraced supporters who have “repeatedly trafficked in antisemitic rhetoric and hostility toward the Jewish community.”
Moskowitz has raised nearly $3 million, but has reserved close to $2 million of that for the general election. Larkin raised $689,000 and would enter the general election with just $170,000 left on hand.
Ceasar said Larkin’s campaign has also brought in “a lot of very anti-Jewish overtones,” which have raised particular concerns in light of the public death threats and assassination attempts that Moskowitz has faced.
Schale said he’s been dubious of polling and other data the Larkin campaign has put out that has suggested Larkin is gaining ground on Moskowitz. He added that a Larkin victory would virtually guarantee that Democrats lose the seat in November.
“I remain skeptical that that race is actually going to be all that close,” Schale said, emphasizing that the district, geographically and demographically, is very different from most of the other districts where DSA candidates have had success, including being less urban, older and heavily Jewish.
A poll from Larkin’s campaign on Aug. 5 of 403 likely voters showed Moskowitz leading Larkin by two points, while a Moskowitz poll on July 22 showed Moskowitz leading by 36 points.
Ceasar agreed that Moskowitz should win reelection, noting his strong fundraising performance and that his new district shares about half of its territory with the previous one. “Jared’s a hard worker,” Ceasar said.
He also emphasized that Moskowitz is a well-known quantity in the district since the beginning of his political career.
An individual close to Moskowitz’s campaign noted that half of the expected voters have already voted early, and that the district is generally older. The district is also 25% Jewish and 25% Hispanic — mostly of Cuban and Venezuelan ancestry, populations that are generally hostile to socialist policies. The source noted that the district is deeply purple — split around evenly among Democrats, Republicans and Independents.
All of those factors are likely to favor Moskowitz. There’s also been an effort among Republican-leaning Orthodox Jewish voters to re-register as Democrats to vote for Moskowitz in the primary.
Another source who requested anonymity to speak freely told Jewish Insider they expect Moskowitz to win, but said that his one potential vulnerability is that he’s been somewhat absent from local Democratic club meetings and other gatherings in the district. Moskowitz has also faced criticism, including from the Sun Sentinel — which declined to reendorse him — for failing to appear with or debate Larkin.
Moskowitz, who has young children, faced a credible assassination attempt in 2024 and repeated death threats and other harassment, largely tied to his Jewish identity.
The source said, however, that Moskowitz is very well-known and well-liked and has a long history in the district, and noted that his father was also a leader in the Broward County Democratic Party.
Schale said he was skeptical of a characterization of Moskowitz as disengaged. The lines of the district, Schale noted, changed around three months ago and around 40% of the district is new to him, so campaigning on the ground in much of the district would have been difficult before then as well. He said he’s found Moskowitz to be “incredibly in-touch with his constituents” and “responsive” to them throughout his career.
Caesar told JI that Wasserman Schultz remains the favorite in her race in part because her opponents failed to consolidate. Some Black community leaders had hoped to narrow the field to a head-to-head challenge against Wasserman Schultz, but ultimately the other candidates declined to do so.
Democrats have expressed frustrations with Republicans for creating the redistricting situation, accusing them of deliberately stoking racial tensions through their decisions in drawing the district boundaries in addition to carving up Democratic-held seats.
“I hate the situation all around,” Schale said.
“What the Republicans are doing is they’re going for what I would call a political [Buy One, Get One], and that is that they’re seeking to steal Democratic districts in Florida, while also creating racial disharmony,” Ceasar said.
Wasserman Schultz, Ceasar noted, maintains a substantial fundraising advantage over her opponents. She’s raised $3.3 million, far surpassing Manley’s $1 million, former Broward County Mayor Dale Holeness’ $394,000, former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus McCormick’s (D-FL) $389,000 and rapper and free speech activist Luther Campbell’s $163,000.
The seat has a plurality Black population but not necessarily a majority, and includes a diverse set of communities, Schale noted.
“I’ve talked to several people that think she probably is going to win,” Schale said. “She’s probably in the strongest position to win this thing, but assuming she wins, she’s going to have a very real challenge on Day 1 to build trust in the community with folks who feel like she shouldn’t have run there … and to deliver in a real way. The one thing about her that I know is she’s as tireless as any human being I’ve ever known and she’ll work her tail off.”
Though Manley’s campaign has gained the most national attention, as well as endorsements from some local newspapers, Schale said that Holness is likely to be a strong candidate as well. Cherfilus-McCormick, he said, likely still maintains a base of support in spite of the scandals that led to her resignation from Congress earlier this year, while Campbell has also been an interesting and unique candidate.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Elijah finished second if he doesn’t win. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Dale was [second],” Schale said. “I don’t know that [Holness] is raising the kind of money and communicating in the same way, but he’s also got a substantially deeper relationship with the district than Elijah does.”
He said Manley’s path to victory would be if other candidates split the more moderate vote and he’s able to squeeze through to victory with around 30% of the vote. With significant Black, Caribbean, Cuban, Venezuelan and Colombian voting populations, “just demographically, the district isn’t set up well for a socialist. And also … a good chunk of them came there escaping socialism.”
A third pro-Israel Jewish Democrat, Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL), is also facing a challenge that’s gone largely unreported at the national level. Rick Stark, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party’s Jewish Caucus, said that Frankel’s reelection race may be flying under the radar as a true contest.
Her main opponent, Victoria Doyle, who is running to Frankel’s left and has expressed hostility toward AIPAC, has loaned her own campaign $325,000. Frankel is in a much stronger position financially, having raised $2.2 million.
Stark, who lives in Frankel’s district, said he hasn’t seen much outreach from Doyle’s campaign, but noted that Democrats have been particularly hostile this cycle toward older and long-tenured Democratic leaders like Frankel.
“I do think [Frankel] pulls it off, [but] I think it’s going to be a lot closer than [people are] thinking,” Stark said. “A lot of the young folks are tired of us old folks.”
Schale said he hadn’t heard any indication that Frankel’s race would be competitive.
“Our campaign is directed at fighting Donald Trump‘s policies and not on attacking other Democrats. I’m laser-focused on building an affordable America, protecting our Social Security and Medicare, and fighting Trump’s threat to our democracy,” Frankel said in a statement to JI.
In the Senate race, Schale predicted victory for Vindman, a military veteran and National Security Council whistleblower, but said that Nixon is likely to put up a strong performance.
“Angie’s running a very energetic [campaign]. I think she’s created a bunch of buzz for herself,” Schale said. “I think Alex will win, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s not close-ish.”
He emphasized that many Florida voters will be unfamiliar with either candidate going into the polls — though Vindman has been able to communicate with more voters — but Nixon will have a base of voters in Jacksonville and Black voters statewide, beyond only progressive and DSA-aligned voters.
Stark said that Nixon had spoken at a Jewish Democratic Caucus Zoom event where she did not demonstrate a clear understanding of issues in the Middle East.
Plus, Jewish leaders go grassroots to fight political extremes
(Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Commissioner of the NBA Adam Silver, Joshua Kushner and CEO of Disney Bob Iger attend the Men's Quarterfinal match between Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Taylor Fritz of the United States on Day Ten of the 2025 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 2, 2025 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.
Good Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we talk to Jewish leaders about their efforts to build up local grassroots organizing to counter extremist political forces, and report on Bob Iger and Josh Kushner’s purchase of a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Lakers. We interview Andrew Gross, the incoming head of the American Jewish Committee’s New York/New Jersey office, and spotlight Scouting America’s efforts to provide a welcoming environment for Jewish and Israeli scouts. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Yuval Ben Neriah, Rabbi Ben Berger and Nelson Peltz.
We also have a new on-demand Live Briefing that you can access throughout the day via our new app (on Apple and Android) and on our website.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- We’re monitoring the situation in Israel and Lebanon after Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam slammed “attacks, incursions, demolitions and the systematic destruction of homes” in parts of southern Lebanon.
- Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, meanwhile, said the IDF was “destroying all the houses” in the established buffer zone between the countries as it prepares for a “long-term presence” in the area, prompting a rebuke from a State Department official, who said, without naming Katz, that a “permanent military presence in south Lebanon is not consistent with the commitments made in the framework or the long-term peace and security of both states.”
- We’re also keeping an eye on developments in the West Bank, as extremist settlers attempt a siege on a home owned by a Palestinian American family in the village of Qusra. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee criticized the “horrific act of terror” targeting the home and its residents, who according to a relative in the U.S. were evacuated by the IDF.
- In Washington, the Hudson Institute is holding an event this morning looking at the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran nearly six months after the launch of Operation Epic Fury. Speakers include the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Behnam Ben Taleblu, the Hudson Institute’s Michael Doran and Zineb Riboua, and former State Department official Ludovic Hood, who recently joined Hudson’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East as a senior fellow.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who is openly considering a presidential campaign in 2028, made waves over the weekend when she declared that “Woke 1.0 was crazy” in a nationally televised ABC News interview where she distanced herself from the most unpopular elements of the progressive movement.
Left unsaid during the conversation is what specific policies in the party’s last activist wave does she think were crazy, and does she still agree with any of them? After all, the platform of the Democratic Socialists of America currently outlines many of the same issues that played a role in Democrats’ defeat in 2024 — from progressive candidates’ support for defunding the police to the Biden administration’s open-ended immigration policy that led to the second Trump administration’s harsh crackdown on refugees and undocumented immigrants.
Presumably, she’ll be asked to answer more of the specifics in subsequent interviews. But the implication of her comments was that it’s hard for Democrats to publicly embrace the panoply of left-wing issues that became liberal conventional wisdom around the time of the pandemic without suffering a significant political penalty. Democrats aren’t exactly speaking the language of climate change activists or transgender advocates or supporting watering down penalties for criminals anymore, as was commonplace in 2020.
But they aren’t confronting the far-left forces that drove these issues to the forefront of the conversation for much of the last decade, either. The scandal surrounding Francesca Hong’s view of Thanksgiving as a “colonizer holiday” and Abdul El-Sayed’s comments bashing football, July 4 fireworks and Mackinac Island only underscore the impression that their deeply-held views are at odds with a majority of Americans.
And meanwhile, the DSA faction is as influential as ever in Democratic Party politics. How did that happen, even as a prominent progressive like AOC now acknowledges the excesses of the far left? It’s because the activists have refocused their attention away from their (still deeply held) unpopular social and cultural positions, and are now singularly focused on demanding candidates label Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza as a genocide. That’s the biggest litmus test right now. And their efforts are aided by the overall decline in support for Israel within the Democratic Party that’s accelerated in the last year.
MOVERS AND LAKERS
Josh Kushner, managing partner of the venture capital firm Thrive Capital, and former Disney CEO Bob Iger have agreed to purchase a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Lakers for a record-breaking price of $12.5 billion, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
Announcement: “As lifelong NBA fans, we are deeply honored for the opportunity to become stewards of the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most iconic sports franchises in the world. We have immense respect for the leadership and vision of Jerry and Jeanie Buss,” Kushner and Iger said in a statement, referring to Jeanie Buss, governor and minority owner of the Lakers, and her late father, longtime Lakers owner Jerry Buss. “Our long-term commitment is to build on that foundation, compete at the highest level, and serve this extraordinary team, its fans, and the city of Los Angeles.”
NEW BATTLEGROUND
Until recently, the political strategy of the American Jewish establishment could be summed up in two ways: Elect pro-Israel lawmakers to Congress and, at a much smaller scale, educate state and local officials about Jewish values and causes. But a new model of Jewish political engagement is emerging to counter growing populist angst and surging antisemitism across the political spectrum: local efforts focused on school boards and city councils and statehouses, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Door-to-door: These Jewish activists are not shying away from the messy reality of politics: They aren’t here to make friends with everyone, acknowledging that not everyone is an ally. Their goal is to offer support — through door-knocking, organizing and their checkbooks — to candidates who have stood by the Jewish community in the post-Oct. 7 political firestorm, and to try to unseat those who have not. “All of these groups are starting to pop up because we realize that the infrastructure that the community has had in the past isn’t enough and isn’t working,” said Stefanie Clarke, a political strategist in Colorado who co-founded the Colorado Jewish Action Alliance.
EYE ON THE BALL
Andrew Gross arrived in his new role as the American Jewish Committee’s New York regional director on Monday with memories from the other side of the Hudson River — memories of the shattered JC Kosher Supermarket in Jersey City, where in December 2019 antisemitic gunmen murdered three people before themselves dying in a firefight with police. “I remember seeing the bullet casings and glass fragments on the ground,” Gross, who had become executive director of the New Jersey-Israel Commission under then-Gov. Phil Murphy just a few months before, told Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman.
Wide net: “As I do my job here at the AJC, I’m going to work with everyone to make sure that exact type of scenario does not happen again,” he said in a wide-ranging interview with JI. “Everyone,” as he described it, extends from the NYPD to New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin to AJC’s long-standing network of Jewish and non-Jewish civic allies, and even friendly interests out of the Persian Gulf. Gross said he also plans to draw on another set of experiences from Murphy’s administration as he looks now to forge stronger ties with Big Apple business leaders: his time at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.
COMMUNITY CONCERN
The publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times penned an open letter to Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) on Wednesday pressing the senator over his repeated votes to block U.S. military sales to Israel, accusing Ossoff of failing to support Israel and of misrepresenting his positions to his Jewish constituents, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Notable quotable: “I apologize for being blunt, but please, stop lying to me and your constituents. I hear you claim, over and over again, that you support Israel — that your support is ‘ironclad,’” Michael Morris wrote in the letter. “It is not. You vote against Israel on the Senate floor in Washington, then come home to Georgia and make this untruthful claim.” He argued that, by contrast, Ossoff’s “antagonism toward Israel has remained steadfast,” pointing to his repeated votes for efforts to block arms sales.
FOLLOW THE MONEY
David Flippo, the Republican nominee in Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District, accepted a max-out donation from Robert Beadles, a prominent local GOP donor and commentator who has repeatedly promoted the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and other antisemitic conspiracy theories, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Paper trail: Flippo, a military veteran who is running in a district that strongly favors Republicans to replace Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV), has positioned himself as a close ally of the Jewish community. But according to FEC records, he has received $7,000 in donations from Beadles — the legal allowable limit — in May and June of 2026, the only donations Beadles has made thus far this election cycle.
SCOUT’S HONOR
Clad in khaki uniforms and merit badges, hundreds of scouts gathered on a Saturday morning for a sight that has become increasingly rare in America: a Jewish prayer service without security and where nobody felt the need to look over their shoulder, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Sense of security: At a moment when Jewish students contemplating the upcoming school year are weighing whether to wear or hide their Star of David necklaces as they return to the classroom, this summer’s Scouting America national jamboree in West Virginia offered a different message — holding a full, public Shabbat service for its Jewish scouts as part of an event organizers describe as one of the last unapologetically inclusive spaces for religious minorities in youth culture. “I’ve had the privilege of going to synagogue services around the world for the past 20 years. [The jamboree] was the only one I’ve been to, other than in Israel, where there was no need for security around the service,” Ricky Mason, chair of Scouting America’s national executive board, told JI.
Worthy Reads
Not Very Christian: For Fox News, George Deek, Israel’s special envoy to the Christian world, reflects on the “double standard” applied to Israel amid reports of attacks by Israeli extremists targeting Christians in the country. “Extremism exists in every democratic society. Sometimes it grows dangerously. Governments must confront it. But serious people understand the difference between extremists within a society and the character of the society itself. Except, increasingly, when that society is Israel. An extremist in Boston, Madrid or London attacks a Jew, and we correctly call him an antisemite. A fanatic spits at a Christian in Jerusalem, and suddenly we are invited to diagnose Israeli society. That is not analysis. It is a double standard. If you genuinely want to know whether Christians are flourishing in a country, there are better measures than the behavior of its worst citizens.” [FoxNews]
Trouble Back Home: The Wall Street Journal’s Sadanand Dhume looks at the challenges facing Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir as he notches a series of high-profile diplomatic wins but struggles with domestic constraints. “Over the past year and a half, the army chief and Pakistan’s de facto leader, Field Marshal Asim Munir, has pulled off a high-wire act: He has raised Pakistan’s international standing even as domestic challenges have mounted. But unless Gen. Munir can revive the country’s stagnant economy and calm its restive population, his diplomatic gains will likely prove evanescent. … Unfortunately for Pakistan, neither Gen. Munir’s diplomatic feats nor his consolidation of power offers solutions to the country’s domestic crises.” [WSJ]
Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our new app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Word on the Street
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was spotted at a joint practice between the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins in Virginia alongside Commanders owner Josh Harris and Dolphins CEO Daniel Sillman…
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is stepping away from her role at the end of the month; President Donald Trump, who announced Leavitt’s upcoming departure from the White House, said she will now serve as “one of my top outside advisors”…
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) dismissed the notion on Wednesday that campaign spending in her favor by AIPAC’s super PAC backfired in her failed bid for U.S. Senate, and defended the pro-Israel group as Jewish Americans participating in the democratic process, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports…
Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management is preparing, as part of a consortium of investors it organized that includes Abu Dhabi-based BlueFive Capital, to make a bid for Wendy’s that would take the fast food chain private…
TheWrap’s media editor looks at the pushback to New York magazine’s recent edition that focused on New York City’s Middle East culture scene while denigrating Israel, including the characterization of the Jewish state by one reporter as “the land mass currently called Israel” and lumping Zionism together with Islamophobia and xenophobia…
Israeli chef Yuval Ben Neriah is opening a chain of Japanese fast casual restaurants across Europe in a $10 billion venture; the first branch of the yet-to-be-named chain is set to open in Vienna…
Israel Police announced a monthlong gag order on details related to an Israeli mother-daughter pair who disappeared last week in Austria; the request for the order came from the Lahav 433 major crimes unit, which took over the case…
A new report from the Israeli think tank IMPACT-se, which monitors educational materials around the Middle East, found that most of the “problematic themes” in Saudi curricula targeting Jews and Christians had been addressed, noting that the materials indicated a shift “toward greater moderation, inclusivity, and alignment with the broader reform objectives of” Riyadh’s ambitious Vision 2030 project…
The European Broadcasting Union announced changes to next year’s Eurovision Song Contest in which a winning country would “automatically be ineligible to host” if it was involved in an “armed conflict” or a “sensitive geopolitical situation” at the time…
More than 25 European countries signed on to a joint statement condemning Iran’s use of the death penalty to “silence dissent, intimidate communities, and punish individuals” tied to the Islamic Republic’s anti-government protests…
The governor of Iran’s central bank said the country would soon join BRICS’ New Development Bank, two years after Tehran joined the growing consortium whose founders include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa…
Yeshivat Chovevei Torah announced that Rabbi Ben Berger will serve as the Modern Orthodox seminary’s president and CEO, after eight years at Hillel International, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Jay Deitcher reports; Berger succeeds Rabbi Dov Linzer, who served as president and rosh yeshiva for seven years and will continue in the latter role…
Rachel Nielsen is joining the Milwaukee Jewish Federation as chief operating officer…
Israeli journalist Oren Nahari died at 70 of complications from ALS, a year after announcing his diagnosis and days after his last radio broadcast…
Find on-demand Live Briefing updates throughout the day via our new app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Pic of the Day
Israeli President Isaac Herzog was honored with an honorary degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary on Wednesday in a special ceremony with JTS Chancellor Emerita Shuly Rubin Schwartz at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.
Birthdays
Co-chair and CEO of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, Michael De Luca turns 61…
Member of the New York State Assembly for 24 years, since then she is the county clerk of Queens County, Audrey I. Pheffer turns 85… Retired CPA and senior executive in Los Angeles, Morton Algaze turns 83… Treasury secretary through all four years of the Biden administration, Janet Yellen turns 80… Documentary still photographer of the American and international Jewish communities since 1970, Robert A. Cumins turns 78… Beverly Hills, Calif., resident, Ruth Fay Kellerman… VP and chief of staff at The Aspen Institute, James M. Spiegelman turns 68… Film producer, writer and director, Susan Landau Finch turns 66… Founder of the Council of Orthodox Jewish Organizations of Manhattan, he is also the executive chairman of LifeHealth Network, Michael Landau… Storyteller, producer and writer, Jeffrey Mark “Slash” Coleman turns 59… Editor-in-chief of the Hollywood Reporter, Maer Roshan turns 59… Co-founder and managing director at Beacon Global Strategies, he was chief of staff at the CIA and the Pentagon during the Obama administration, he is a graduate of CESJDS, Jeremy B. Bash turns 55… President of Accessibility Partners, a Maryland firm that hires people with disabilities for tech jobs, she is also the founder of a nonprofit I Support the Girls, Dana Marlowe… Three-time Olympian water polo player, now head coach at Pepperdine University, Merrill Marc Moses turns 49… Professor of government at Harvard University, he was the director of the Harvard Center for Jewish Studies, Eric Matthew Nelson turns 49… Professor of law at the South Texas College of Law in Houston, Joshua Michael Blackman turns 42… Deputy general counsel and global head of contracts and litigation for Tower Research Capital, Matthew Weiss turns 40… Weekend editor for The Washington Post, Sara Sorcher… Israeli Olympic long-distance runner, she ran the marathon for Israel at the Paris Olympics in 2024, Maor Tiyouri turns 36… Counsel at CD&R, Nathan Jablow… Senior account supervisor at Edelman, Jodie Michelle Singer… VP of business development at Azul Hospitality Group, Adam Dahan… Head of investor relations at Israel Legacy Partners, David Angel… Elaine Hall… Jonathan Gerber…
There’s widespread interest within the Jewish community to develop efforts to counter the growing populist rage and anti-Jewish hate, city by city
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Human crowd forming a big David's star on blue background.
Until recently, the political strategy of the American Jewish establishment could be summed up in two ways: Elect pro-Israel lawmakers to Congress and, at a much smaller scale, educate state and local officials about Jewish values and causes.
But a new model of Jewish political engagement is emerging to counter growing populist angst and surging antisemitism across the political spectrum: local efforts focused on school boards and city councils and statehouses.
These Jewish activists are not shying away from the messy reality of politics: They aren’t here to make friends with everyone, acknowledging that not everyone is an ally. Their goal is to offer support — through door-knocking, organizing and their checkbooks — to candidates who have stood by the Jewish community in the post-Oct. 7 political firestorm, and to try to unseat those who have not.
If you want to make a difference in the actual day-to-day lives of Jewish Americans, these activists argue, the place to do so is not Congress. It’s Sacramento, or Harrisburg, or the local Democratic Party committee meeting up the street.
“All of these groups are starting to pop up because we realize that the infrastructure that the community has had in the past isn’t enough and isn’t working,” said Stefanie Clarke, a political strategist in Colorado who co-founded the Colorado Jewish Action Alliance.
Like nearly all of the groups now operating in local politics, COJAA was born after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, when municipal governments in the U.S. became the newest front in Israeli-Palestinian culture wars. Anti-Israel rhetoric that often veered into outright antisemitism could suddenly be heard regularly in city halls and state legislatures. People who were elected to office because of their views on bike lanes or the environment were suddenly being pressured to weigh in on a contentious issue that originated thousands of miles away.
By law, tax-exempt nonprofits cannot engage in the political system. But a growing consensus is emerging that the apolitical approach necessarily adopted by the Jewish philanthropic world is not enough to address the intense partisanship of the moment, where incendiary antisemitic rhetoric has seeped into all levels of the political system.
In places including Atlanta, Denver and Pittsburgh, first-time Jewish activists such as Clarke are responding with grassroots initiatives like COJAA. Elsewhere, existing Jewish communal institutions are incubating new political organizations that they are spinning off as independent entities — for example, in San Francisco, where the local Jewish Community Relations Council created an affiliated advocacy organization called Bay Area Jewish Action (BAJA).
“We are seeing an increasingly unhinged and violent-prone mob challenging elected officials for standing with the Jewish community, and so there is a risk in standing with us, however unacceptable that reality is,” said Tyler Gregory, the CEO of JCRC and executive director of BAJA. “We need to be able to do more than just verbally say thank you in a situation like that.”
What that looks like in practice differs from place to place. BAJA created a political network where members commit to donating a certain amount throughout the election cycle, and have opportunities to meet candidates in BAJA-organized forums.
Other efforts are bipartisan. COJAA endorsed 13 candidates in Colorado’s primaries this year, a mix of Democrats and Republicans. (The primary results were themselves mixed; seven of COJAA’s preferred candidates won.) Georgia Solidarity Network, based in Atlanta, sees its mission as educating lawmakers about the state’s Jewish community.
“Part of our theory of change is that you cannot meet the moment by just showing up in an election cycle and trying to get messaging out there,” Beacon Coalition founder Jeremy Kazzaz explained. “It requires people on the ground, and it requires conversations going all the time.”
“Our legislators are incredible. But our legislators are blueberry farmers and used car sales lot owners and small-time lawyers in tiny towns who have no familiarity at all with the Jewish community,” Georgia Solidarity Network co-founder Alli Medof told Jewish Insider. “We really recognized that there was a need for us as a community to have a strong voice and presence in the legislature and to represent the concerns of Jewish Georgians.”
In Pittsburgh, a group called the Beacon Coalition spent the past year recruiting moderate Democrats to run for local volunteer positions in official Democratic groups throughout Allegheny County. Forty aligned Democrats won their races for small neighborhood seats that play an outsized role in party endorsements.
“Part of our theory of change is that you cannot meet the moment by just showing up in an election cycle and trying to get messaging out there,” Beacon Coalition founder Jeremy Kazzaz explained. “It requires people on the ground, and it requires conversations going all the time.”
Each of these groups is independent, created and operated — and funded (for the most part) — locally. But they see an opportunity to connect with and learn from each other.
Schusterman Family Philanthropies, the philanthropic behemoth that supports liberal causes and pro-Israel groups, convened a gathering earlier this year that brought together dozens of activists in the burgeoning local Jewish political ecosystem.
“I’m deeply concerned about the rise in extremism that’s playing out in local politics,” the foundation’s senior director for U.S. Jewish grantmaking, David Rittberg, told JI. “I do think that Jewish community leaders as well as everyday Americans are waking up to the challenges that these dynamics are creating in a local political context.”
Schusterman’s involvement in this space is an indication that Jewish philanthropists are taking problems at the local level seriously. Rittberg declined to comment on whether Schusterman has given grants to any of the groups, but said the foundation sees its role as being “a connector.”
Many emerging local activists have looked to a group called New York Solidarity Network for advice. NYSN was formed in 2022 after New York City’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter began pressuring local candidates to pledge not to travel to Israel, a request that at the time was seen as radical but has since become the norm in many Democratic primaries in liberal urban areas.
Sara Forman, the group’s founding executive director, advises them that money is not enough — a pointed message at a moment when, at the national level, AIPAC’s super PAC just spent tens of millions of dollars backing Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in a failed Michigan Senate primary bid, and further damaged its image with Democrats in the process.
“DSA has been incredibly successful at organizing community and at making people feel like they are part of something,” said Sara Forman, founding executive director of NYSN. “I think in the Jewish community, having local organizations mimic some of the same practices of DSA is a good thing. Make people feel included. Make people feel like their voice counts.”
“You can’t build something inorganically. There has to be a reason for people to want to come out and attend events, and want to knock on doors and make phone calls and organize their synagogues,” said Forman, who stepped down from NYSN in January. “Check-writing isn’t what’s going to make the difference here.”
The goal, instead, is building up American Jews’ appetite for grassroots political organizing in support of Jewish causes and candidates who support them. That’s a different position than the one taken by AIPAC in recent years, which has invested at the federal level in high-dollar political fundraising. But when groups such as DSA are able to recruit eager volunteers to campaign for far-left officials and show up to public meetings to voice support for anti-Israel measures, Jewish activists increasingly see a need to fight fire with fire.
“DSA has been incredibly successful at organizing community and at making people feel like they are part of something,” said Forman. “I think in the Jewish community, having local organizations mimic some of the same practices of DSA is a good thing. Make people feel included. Make people feel like their voice counts.”
The success of a DSA-aligned faction in several major Democratic primaries this year has led many of these Jewish activists to now see their fight for communal safety as part of a larger battle within the party, about whether it will move left or to the center ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
“I think the overlap between folks who are concerned about fighting illiberalism, extremism, antisemitism and virulent anti-Zionism deeply intersects with those of us who want to strengthen moderate factions on both sides of the aisle, in particular for us on the Democratic side,” Third Way President Jon Cowan told JI. “A lot of folks are coming to realize that those fights deeply overlap.”
“We know that the next phase for us is focusing more on the creeping threat of DSA,” Medof, from Georgia, said. “The way we think about this work is that the sorts of things that we’re fighting for are not just about what’s good for Jewish Georgians. They’re good for Georgia overall.”
Last week, The New York Times outlined a new effort by the centrist Democratic group Third Way to push back against the growing appeal of DSA-aligned groups and policies within the party. Third Way President Jon Cowan told JI that the organization is, for the first time in its history, working with groups at the local level. Third Way gave a grant to the Beacon Coalition this year to support its work and help the organization expand to Cleveland.
“I think the overlap between folks who are concerned about fighting illiberalism, extremism, antisemitism and virulent anti-Zionism deeply intersects with those of us who want to strengthen moderate factions on both sides of the aisle, in particular for us on the Democratic side,” Cowan said. “A lot of folks are coming to realize that those fights deeply overlap.”
Building support for Israel is not what most of these groups see as their focus. They want efforts targeting Israel — like Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaigns — to fail, and for local governments to otherwise stay mum on one of the most intractable foreign policy issues in the world.
“We are about Jewish safety, security and engagement in civil life. We really don’t talk about Israel other than how the rhetoric around it endangers our community,” said Mindy Miller, a co-founder of the Colorado group.
Not that that has stopped opponents from trying to tar the groups as, essentially, mini-AIPACs.
“We’ve seen a trend with a very similar pattern of behavior targeting groups like Beacon, where there are Jewish Americans who are showing up in spaces as Jewish Americans and saying our community is important,” said Pittsburgh-based Kazzaz. “It’s a lot of boogeyman-ing, just name calling, ‘You’re a secret Republican.’”
Mostly, though, the new Jewish activists are finding curiosity, not animosity. People who are eyeing local positions are generally not running with Israel or Palestine as their top issue. But that doesn’t mean they don’t understand how thorny the discourse can be.
“One of the things we say is we will never cancel you. There are no stupid questions,” said Miller, from Colorado.
She wants to be a guide to help local politicians learn about the issues. And with financial and manpower resources that can help candidates in their campaigns, Miller hopes the Jewish community will now have a shot of being the first to reach those politicians.
While Jewish community leaders expressed concerns about Aisha Wahab, one said they were skeptical that she was beatable and that the AIPAC spending risked further alienating the potential nominee
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images
California state Sen. Aisha Wahab attends a press conference in Hayward, Calif., on March 2, 2026.
After a night of mixed results in Tuesday’s primary elections, AIPAC’s United Democracy Project super PAC is turning its eyes toward the special election runoff in California’s 14th Congressional District, where progressive state Sen. Aisha Wahab and moderate local mayor, Melissa Hernandez, are competing to replace disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA).
Wahab entered the race as the heavy favorite and dominated the primaries for both the regular and special elections. In the special election primary, Wahab finished with 43% to Hernandez’s 17%, and led Hernandez 38%-17% in the regular primary. The special election runoff is set for Aug. 18.
Her record raises concerns for some members of the Jewish community — she has not been supportive of numerous priority bills and resolutions aimed at tackling antisemitism and has been a vocal critic of Israel, including describing the war in Gaza as a genocide and championing legislation in the state Senate on the issue.
UDP’s initial ad buy in the race totaled $1.2 million.
One of UDP’s ads accuses Wahab of being soft on crime — pointing to an amendment she led to a sex trafficking bill — and describes Hernandez as tough on crime and supported by police. Other pro-Hernandez groups are running with a similar message. Another highlights her background and work on affordability issues.
In a page on her website responding to attacks, Wahab’s campaign accused Hernandez of “relying on misleading attacks and AIPAC-linked dark-money PACs to tear Aisha Wahab down.” The page takes aim at Hernandez for having “denied the genocide in Gaza” — she declined to provide a yes-or-no answer on the subject at a candidate forum — and shared a spreadsheet naming all of the individual “AIPAC-linked donors” supporting Hernandez’s campaign.
“Wahab has accused Israel of committing genocide and has separately published the names of Jewish donors to her opponent on her website. She’s pretty extreme in her points of view on Israel,” UDP spokesperson Patrick Dorton told Jewish Insider. “It’s a race where Wahab is talking about ideological issues and Hernandez is talking about economic and affordability issues that are important to voters in the district.”
Bold America PAC, linked to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, has spent more than $2 million so far attacking Wahab and supporting Hernandez. The group has taken some donations from an AIPAC-affiliated group. A new pro-Hernandez group, Safer Alameda County, has spent $51,000 so far.
Daniel Klein, the CEO of Jewish Silicon Valley — which is nonpartisan and does not take stances in elections — said that Jewish community leaders are paying close attention to the race, and he has heard significant concern about Wahab’s votes on major antisemitism legislation and her close relationship with state teachers’ unions, which have opposed antisemitism bills.
“That is, I think, creating some angst — or at least more attention to this race — amongst many members of the Jewish community and Jewish communal organizations,” he continued, relating conversations he’s had with members of the community. “These are pieces of legislation that are intended to protect our children, right? They should be fairly non-controversial.”
Wahab was one of three senators who voted against SB 1287, which required overhauls of campus codes of conduct to address antisemitic and anti-Israel demonstrations, and abstained from a floor vote on AB 715, which aimed to address antisemitism in K-12 schools.
Klein said he has not had the opportunity to meet with Wahab personally and is happy to meet with any elected leader. He said he had spoken with Hernandez, who seemed to him primarily focused on local issues and national partisan politics, rather than foreign policy, though he said that she seems to understand the Jewish community’s concerns about antisemitism and is receptive to hearing from the community.
“My record speaks for itself: I have consistently stood against antisemitism, supported the safety and security of Jewish communities, worked in partnership with Jewish colleagues, and defended Israel’s right to exist — while also maintaining that as an American elected official, I have both the right and the responsibility to question the policies of any foreign government and to speak out when innocent civilians are suffering,” Wahab said in a statement to JI.
Though she did not support the two bills mentioned by Klein, she has supported other priority legislation for the Jewish community in the state Senate. She also introduced a resolution in 2025 with Jewish state Sen. Scott Weiner calling for the release of hostages and an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Another Jewish leader said Hernandez had attended various Jewish community events and generally has good relationships with the community but isn’t particularly involved with its issues. The district itself is not home to a sizable Jewish community.
Oleg Ivanov, executive director of StandWithUs Northern California, said, “We’re of course concerned that as a state senator, Aisha Wahhab has called Israel’s defense against the Hamas attack [on Oct. 7, 2023,] genocide. So we’re concerned that she is spreading this debunked blood libel about Israel, which we feel all that does is it makes Jews and Israelis here in her district unsafe. As we’ve seen in many cases, this kind of irresponsible language has led to direct violence against Jews and Israelis.”
Ivanov said he hasn’t had any interaction with Hernandez, but praised her for declining to describe the war in Gaza as a genocide. He also criticized Wahab’s opposition to antisemitism-related legislation.
But another Jewish leader in the district, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, said that the strong consensus among political observers in the area is that Wahab “pretty much [has] this in the bag, and that Hernandez is a lazy campaigner.” Other moderate groups that had looked at the district “just have not been impressed with Hernandez,” the leader continued.
The Jewish community, the leader said, doesn’t want Wahab to win, but that might already be a foregone conclusion.
“I’m not in principle against AIPAC getting involved in these kinds of primaries like some other people [are], but based on all the local knowledge that we’re hearing from politicos, it’s not a good use of time or money,” the leader said. “People are kind of scratching their heads — not because there aren’t concerns about Wahab … but let’s play where we can win.”
The leader said they’re also concerned that AIPAC’s involvement risks pushing Wahab further to left, describing Wahab currently as a less-than-ideal choice but necessarily aligned with the Squad — i.e., not opposed to Israel’s existence or outright at odds with the Jewish community.
The leader noted Wahab abstained on, rather than outright opposed, AB 715, one of the antisemitism bills. They also noted that Wahab’s family are refugees who escaped radical Islam in Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan war. Wahab has relationships with some Jewish community groups in the Bay Area, particularly social services organizations that have been involved in Afghan refugee resettlement work.
“I don’t like the idea that the pro-Israel community is jumping into a race they can’t win against the presumptive winner and potentially pushing her into the arms of the worst members of Congress,” the leader said. “I think that people need to play their cards carefully here. There’s shades of gray at play.”
If Mamdani is able to succeed by only playing to his base — still a big if — the city’s organized Jewish community risks getting written off entirely
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a food distribution center on July 27, 2026 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
The morning after a double hate crime targeted an Asian American and a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke in Manhattan, during which the attacker allegedly yelled “Allahu Akbar” and “Justice for Islam” while passing a synagogue and stabbing the second victim, New York City Comptroller Mark Levine offered what may prove a eulogy for a political era in America’s greatest metropolis.
“There is no New York without us,” the Jewish Democrat said at a press conference outside The Jewish Center, the Modern Orthodox synagogue where the Jewish victim worshipped, invoking the deep history and contributions of Jews to the Big Apple.
But Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the lone citywide official not to attend the gathering, seems to wager that he can govern New York City without much support from the dense web of religious and civic organizations that historically shaped Jewish life there and helped guide the choices of his predecessors. Mamdani received only about one-third of the Jewish vote in the mayoral election, but little support from legacy Jewish groups.
One need only look to the state Assembly district covering the site of the assault to see how Mamdani is at odds with the mainstream Jewish leadership. As mayor, he endorsed an opponent of Rabbi Stephanie Ruskay, the favorite of local Jewish Democratic leadership, as she sought the seat in June. The rabbi serves as associate dean of Jewish Theological Seminary, and is the daughter-in-law of retired longtime UJA-Federation of New York CEO John Ruskay. In doing so, Mamdani even spurned one of his most vocal Jewish supporters, former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger, long a standard-bearer of a Jewish liberalism rooted in communal institutions.
The mayor instead backed Eli Northrup, a Jewish attorney and activist ambivalent about Israel but deeply engaged in the online left that propelled Mamdani to power.
And it was this very online, Democratic Socialists of America-dominated audience that the mayor addressed two days before the attack, when he released a video denouncing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, even as he admitted he could not honor his campaign vow to arrest him if he came to the city for the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September. The social media post followed days of questions and criticism from local press and Jewish leaders over his continued toying with the idea of cuffing the Israeli leader, even though city attorneys had long apprised Mamdani that he had no authority to enforce an International Criminal Court warrant against the Israeli leader, as The New York Times subsequently reported.
But rather than plainly admitting he could not honor his promise, the mayor spun a real-world, local loss into an Internet triumph: releasing a dramatic, camera-facing address on his official social media channels with the caption “Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal.” The video itself focuses on denouncing the Israeli prime minister as the “architect of a horrific genocide” — without even mentioning the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack that set off the most recent round of the conflict. Only in the final moments of the video, which received more than 150 million views, does the mayor acknowledge he lacks legal grounds to arrest Netanyahu.
There is at present no evidence that the video inspired the Manhattan attack, much less a violent incident at a Jewish summer camp in Queens this week. But the video prompted fierce criticism from Jewish leaders — and calls from Levine and other prominent Democrats for a general tempering of rhetoric among elected officials. Mamdani has refused to even acknowledge suggestions that he turn down the temperature.
He also dismissed concerns from a suite of Jewish attorneys associations that a panel he appointed to recommend city judicial appointments did not include a single Jewish member, despite the prevalence of Jewish attorneys in New York. This kind of political faux pas, committed amid relentless criticism from Jewish leaders, would typically sap a leader’s political capital. But Mamdani built his political coalition online, apart from traditional bases of political influence, and it looks to have endured these incidents unscathed.
If anything, the mayor still appears empowered after helping to elect three leftist allies in New York City to Congress last month, ousting two sitting members of the House in the process. And the institutions, Jewish and otherwise, that have sought to stop him look weaker than ever.
He smashed the political organization of one-time ally Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), and humiliated the left-wing Working Families Party by using his clout to lift Assemblymember Claire Valdez over Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in the primary for the retiring Velazquez’s seat.
He also potentially decimated the unique Jewish-Dominican political alliance — the kind of “only in New York” ethnic coalition that once defined city politics — that elevated Levine to power by taking out the comptroller’s most important ally, Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), with his own pick: radical grad student Darializa Avila Chevalier.
But Mamdani is not the only canny politician capitalizing on the emotionally heightened moment. Netanyahu, facing a tough election fight at home, has announced his intention to come to New York and challenge the mayor’s message and authority directly. Mamdani, who enjoys better poll numbers among American Jews than Netanyahu, has already tacitly urged his supporters to greet the Israeli leader with protests.
A collision between the two seems increasingly likely — with potential to again impact New York’s Jewish community.
Less sensationally, and often behind the scenes, the main challenge to Mamdani’s latitude in government have so far been two more moderate-minded Jewish women, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and City Council Speaker Julie Menin, both around issues of law and order. Tisch, a grand marshal in this year’s Israel Day on Fifth Ave parade, reportedly forced the mayor’s hand on the question of arresting Netanyahu, as her department prepared to publicly declare it could not take the Israeli politician into custody.
Menin helped shepherd bills mandating police buffer zones around religious institutions and schools at a time when the mayor struggled to condemn pro-Hamas protests outside synagogues.
Meanwhile, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten has fought the mayor politically. Her union helped bankroll PACs opposing his political candidates, and its New York branch — closely aligned with Menin and the city’s Jewish Democratic establishment — has threatened the mayor with “all-out war” in upcoming contract negotiations.
So far though, these struggles have barely slowed the mayor down. His social media-fueled movement has little appetite for compromise, at least on their core issues (which includes opposition to Israel). If Mamdani is able to succeed by only playing to his base — still a big if — the city’s organized Jewish community risks getting written off entirely.
The numbers demonstrate the degree to which opinions on Israel and Iran — and the U.S. role in the region — have shifted in the five months since the war began
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago club on December 29, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida.
For watchers of the U.S.-Israel relationship, the events of the last few days have had a familiar feel. On Friday, President Donald Trump suggested at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that Iran would “love to make a deal. I don’t think they’re ready to. I don’t think it’s time yet, but I’m willing to listen.” Today, the president will meet at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the countries weigh a military escalation with Iran.
The similarities to the dialogue surrounding Iran earlier this year are striking. In early February, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, “Iran looks like it wants to make a deal very badly.” Days later, Trump would meet at the White House with Netanyahu for talks focused on Iran. Weeks after that meeting, the U.S. and Israel launched joint military strikes against the Islamic Republic, kicking off a six-week war.
And despite the similarities around today’s meeting — which comes hours before the funeral of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) — much has changed.
In the U.S., there is growing opposition among Americans to renewed military action against Iran — a sentiment that extends to some top military officials, including, reportedly, CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper.
Public perception of Israel — and Israelis — has hit its most negative point in years, with Gen Z Americans across the political spectrum having significantly more favorable views of Palestinians than Israelis.
The numbers demonstrate the degree to which opinions on Israel and Iran — and the U.S. role in the region — have shifted in the five months since the war began. The domestic politics in the U.S. vis-a-vis Iran look very different than they did during the last Trump-Netanyahu meeting.
Among Israelis, there is little confidence that Trump is acting with Israel’s security needs in mind, with just 28% of those surveyed in an Israel Democracy Institute poll last month saying that they believed the country’s security was a central consideration for Trump.
When Trump and Netanyahu last met, elections in both countries were still a far-off prospect. But with less than four months before both the midterms and Israel’s first election in nearly four years, the calculus has changed.
In Israel, Netanyahu is facing a tough reelection battle as recent polls show former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot and his Yashar party making gains on the prime minister and his Likud party. Netanyahu had reportedly spent weeks seeking a meeting with Trump as the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran fell apart and both sides resumed attacks before confirming he’d attend Graham’s funeral — with a Trump meeting to boot.
The meeting also offers Netanyahu an opportunity to remind Israeli voters of his close relationship with Trump — something no other Israeli candidate can boast. And he’s also seeking a more permanent solution on Iran leading into the election — a tangible win he can tout to Israeli voters, who are overall unhappy with the outcome of the war.
For Trump, the outcome of the midterms is less threatening to his standing, but will likely serve as a referendum on American attitudes toward the war with repercussions extending well into the 2028 presidential race.
And even as Trump has claimed that he doesn’t care about voter opinions about the war with Iran, the rest of his party — and those looking to shape its direction — will be waiting to see the outcome of the Netanyahu meeting.
With the region on edge, today’s meeting is likely to offer one of the clearest indications as to whether Trump and Netanyahu share the same vision for the future of the Middle East — or whether they’re on increasingly divergent paths.
Micah Lasher, who represents the district where the attacks took place: ‘I beseech all those in a position of power, including our mayor, to hear our cry from the heart, to please help take the temperature down’
Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images
Members of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit investigate the scene of a stabbing attack at the intersection of West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan, New York, United States, on July 23, 2026.
Shockwaves from the Tisha B’Av stabbings on the Upper West Side reverberated through New York’s Jewish and Democratic party elected leadership on Friday, as some blamed New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s invective against Israel, while others called more broadly to turn down the temperature on the rhetoric in the city.
Thursday afternoon, a man allegedly shouting “Allahu Akbar” stabbed first an Asian American and then a Jewish man near Central Park, a short walk from the second victim’s synagogue. Police quickly captured a suspect, and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch reported that her department was investigating the attack as a potential hate crime, though she noted that “mental health may have been a factor.” Both victims are in stable condition.
Several politicians, including New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin and New York state Attorney General Letitia James offered sympathy to the Jewish community’s fears of a heightened threat environment but took time at a press conference outside the Modern Orthodox Jewish Center — which the second victim had just left — to emphasize the police chief’s statement that a probe into the attacker’s motives remains ongoing.
Others, meanwhile, took square aim at inflammatory “rhetoric,” though did not say whose rhetoric they meant. The Upper West Side stabbings followed a wave of warnings from Jewish groups that the mayor’s intense, relentless focus on verbally assailing Israel might provoke violence on the streets of New York.
“There is no New York without us. We feel disregarded and disrespected and targeted through hateful rhetoric directed at us, and are undeniably being disproportionately targeted again and again and again,” said New York City Comptroller Mark Levine, drawing a parallel between the holiday’s commemoration of the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem and the spike in antisemitic hate crimes in the Big Apple since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.
“We are demanding that the targeting of the Jewish community, that the singling out of the Jewish community, that the endless demonization of this community stop.”
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams highlighted that the potential mental illness of the alleged perpetrator, Raul Morales, did not preclude his having acted out of hate, or having been influenced by the language of elected leaders. But he, too, declined to mention the mayor by name.
“When people watch the news, when people listen, they hear what we’re saying. And even if you are unfortunately dealing with mental health issues, you too hear what people are saying,” said Williams, the first in the line of succession to Mamdani. “And so I’m just asking all of us, me included, we all have to take stock of what we’re saying and how we’re saying it so we don’t feed what is already in the atmosphere.”
Of the officials who participated in the Jewish Center press conference, only Assemblymember Micah Lasher — who won a primary last month to succeed Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) as congressional representative for the Upper West Side — openly called out Mamdani.
“When a place, and by extension the people who are inextricably linked with that place, are singled out, compared to the worst evildoers in human history, blamed for problems half a world away, the space between rhetoric and violence can vanish,” warned Lasher, who endorsed Mamdani in last year’s general election and worked with one of his closest political aides.
“I beseech all those in a position of power, including our mayor, to hear our cry from the heart, to please help take the temperature down and provide leadership that makes every New Yorker feel safe in this glorious city.”
Jewish religious and community leaders took a much stronger line, openly pointing to the widely viewed video Mamdani released earlier this week attacking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the “architect of a horrific genocide,” and a mass killer and maimer of children.
“When I was growing up, the only time we saw security outside of my synagogue or outside of my Jewish day school was when the mayor came to speak,” said The Jewish Center’s Rabbi Yosie Levine. “Today, every time the mayor speaks, we need the police to protect us.”
Eric Goldstein, CEO of UJA-Federation of New York, also recalled how Mamdani named AIPAC — and AIPAC alone — when telling supporters they must battle “monsters.”
“When the mayor of New York repeatedly uses his platform to relentlessly single out and demonize Israel, the world’s only Jewish state, and calls those who support it monsters, he contributes to a climate in which Jewish New Yorkers are increasingly targeted and unsafe,” said Goldstein, himself an Upper West Side resident. “Mayor Mandani, stop fanning the flames of hatred and division. The consequences are not abstract. They’re playing out on our streets.”
Other Democrats, including Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and outgoing Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), openly linked the attack to diatribes against Israel, though without specifically calling out Mamdani. Assemblymember Nily Rozic alluded to Mamdani’s refusal to fully distance himself from and denounce the slogan “globalize the intifada,” which many recognize as a call to reignite the campaigns of Palestinian terrorism carried out under the same name.
“If you can’t fully condemn calls to ‘globalize the intifada,’ you should be prepared to confront the normalizing of that rhetoric. Words inflame, embolden, and lead to violence against Jewish communities,” the Jewish Queens politician wrote on X. “Leaders must reject hate — clearly, consistently, & without qualification.”
However, state Sen. Sam Sutton, a longtime leader in Brooklyn’s Syrian Jewish community, openly pointed blame at Mamdani for having “normalized” violence against Jews.
“When Mayor Mamdani & his allies relentlessly single out & demonize the world’s only Jewish state, they create a climate where antisemitic violence thrives,” the conservative Democrat wrote on X. “Mr. Mayor, this is on you. The rhetoric must stop. Enough is enough.”
The mayor’s office did not directly answer questions about the criticism of his rhetoric. In an appearance on the local TV station NY1, the mayor praised the NYPD and noted one of the two victims was Asian American. But he maintained his attacks on Netanyahu have nothing to do with the Jewish community in New York.
“They are critiques of a political leader, not of people of a specific faith or a religion or a background, and my responsibility as the mayor of this city is to keep every New Yorker safe, no matter where they come from, what they believe in, or frankly, even if they agree with my politics,” he said. “My job is to keep them safe.”
How largely pro-Israel Democrats in solidly-blue districts balance the pressures from the base against their longstanding principles will speak volumes about whether the U.S.-Israel relationship can maintain support within their party
Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, during a hearing on May 14, 2026.
President Donald Trump’s capture of the Republican Party did not happen at once, and was memorably met with resistance from some lawmakers who would later become his allies.
Many Republicans, during the rise of Trump, cast mostly party-line votes alongside the president and rarely spoke out publicly when they disagreed. But there were notable times when prominent party leaders used their political capital to stand up for their principles on key issues, such as then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) outspoken advocacy for Ukraine funding or Sen. Susan Collins’ (R-ME) decisive vote against repealing Obamacare.
There may be a similar political calculus at play for some typically pro-Israel Democrats, who are facing immense political pressure from loud activists in their party base to turn against the Jewish state. Nearly half of the House Democratic caucus voted to cut off aid to Israel last week, a record number that included 18 lawmakers who had previously been endorsed by AIPAC and were seen as strong allies of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
AIPAC cut off fundraising to their reelection campaigns after the vote, and how these lawmakers will position themselves on Israel policy going forward is now uncertain.
Not all of the Democrats who supported the amendment have adopted an anti-Israel worldview. Some said that they still support Israel, but wanted to make a statement, via a bill that was certain to fail, that they disagree with many recent actions of the Israeli government.
It’s also possible that some of them — especially those in districts where they face a credible primary threat from the left — took the vote to attempt to placate anti-Israel activists without making any real change in policy, like the Republicans who would offer an olive branch to their right-wing base by voting contrary to their longstanding beliefs.
For instance, in April 2024, then-Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) voted against a sweeping foreign aid package for Israel and Ukraine in the face of rising isolationist sentiment in the party, despite their hawkish records. But politically speaking, it helped maintain their credibility with a MAGA base skeptical of any foreign assistance without jeopardizing the funding.
A similar dynamic appears to be taking place among the generally pro-Israel Democrats who are trying to hold onto their place in the party as anti-Israel voices are on the rise.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), for instance, described his “yes” vote as an attempt to “to try to get the attention of the Netanyahu government to force them to change their actions.” He also said he still supports Israel and expressed concern “about the tactics used by those on the far left to advocate for cutting off aid to Israel,” including vandalizing his family’s home. Days later, he spent time on a far-left podcast attacking the host’s anti-Israel views and explaining to her why he’s been such a strong supporter in his career of the Jewish state.
Far from sounding like an anti-Israel convert, Smith sounded like he wanted to throw the left-wing activists a bone by voting for the symbolic anti-Israel resolution without fundamentally shifting his longstanding views on Middle East policy.
In the liberal Boston suburbs, Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) — a Jewish Democrat and strong supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship — surprised many by voting for the amendment. But in an interview with Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod this week, he asserted that the vote was in line with his pro-Israel beliefs.
“I represent a pro-Israel, anti-Netanyahu district and this is a pro-Israel, anti-Netanyahu vote,” Auchincloss said, adding that he believes “a majority of my Jewish constituents would agree with me.”
How largely pro-Israel Democrats in solidly blue districts such as those represented by Smith and Auchincloss balance the pressures from the base against their longstanding principles will speak volumes about whether the U.S.-Israel relationship can maintain support within their party.
‘I represent a pro-Israel, anti-Netanyahu district and this is a pro-Israel, anti-Netanyahu vote,’ Rep. Jake Auchincloss told JI
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) participates in the House Transportation Committee hearing on Thursday, June 27, 2024.
Of the 103 House Democrats who voted to cut off the $3.3 billion in U.S. aid to Israel last week, few came as more of a surprise than Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), a Jewish Democrat who has generally been a reliable pro-Israel vote in the House.
Auchincloss, in an interview with Jewish Insider this week, said that he approached the vote as a protest of the war with Iran, and argued that the vote wasn’t anti-Israel.
“This president, in conjunction with Prime Minister Netanyahu, has launched an illegal, catastrophic war that nine out of 10 Israelis think has led to Iranian gains, and that even fewer of my constituents support,” Auchincloss said. “And foreign military financing is a form of appropriations for a war I believe to be illegal and unwise.”
He also pointed to comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling for the U.S. to phase out aid to Israel over the next 10 years, arguing that Democrats can’t be expected to take a position on aid “to the right of Netanyahu” — though the Israeli prime minister hasn’t called for an immediate halt to aid.
“That grant of foreign military financing is a privilege that Congress grants annually to both our head of government and to counterparty heads of government,” Auchincloss said. “Every year, Congress has the right — Congress has the responsibility — to determine whether that privilege is warranted. Given Trump and Netanyahu’s decision-making about this debacle with Iran, I do not think it is warranted.”
He said he would evaluate his position on future FMF to Israel on a year-by-year basis depending on whether he believes such aid is deserved. “That’s not only my right as a member of Congress, that’s my responsibility — particularly when 18 Americans have died overseas.”
But he said that he continues to support the U.S-Israel relationship and said the U.S. should continue to work to preserve Israel’s qualitative military edge (QME), and suggested he would not, at this point, support a cutoff of support for Israeli missile-defense systems or an embargo on Israel buying U.S. systems with its own funds.
He said he also believes in continued U.S. support for the Abraham Accords and other efforts to bring Israel and the region closer together, including through the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC).
Some observers have seen Auchincloss’ vote as a concession to left-wing Democrats in his suburban Massachusetts district, in light of the party’s shifting stance on Israel and primary challenges to other pro-Israel Democrats. The district includes a substantial Jewish population.
Auchincloss himself won his first primary in 2020 with 22% of the vote, scoring a narrow victory over a divided field that included several candidates to his left. Some on the left still see him as vulnerable to a one-on-one challenge in a future race — or as a potential candidate for higher office in deep-blue Massachusetts.
“I represent a pro-Israel, anti-Netanyahu district and this is a pro-Israel, anti-Netanyahu vote,” Auchincloss asserted, arguing that he’s “confident … a majority of my Jewish constituents would agree with me.”
“I hear why people see this vote through the lens of primaries and the national Democratic scene,” Auchincloss said. “I represent about 100,000 Jewish constituents. They are super smart and engaged on this issue. If I try to take political votes or symbolic votes or too-clever-by-half 4D-chess votes, it doesn’t hang together. I have to be able to defend the internal logic of each and every vote to this community, and I am confident that I can say to this community on this vote: This is a rejection of Trump and Netanyahu’s decision-making to take away the credit card.”
Asked whether the U.S.-Israel relationship can be sustained and repaired while Netanyahu continues to lead Israel — as some prominent U.S. figures have suggested that Netanyahu being ousted in the upcoming Israeli elections is necessary to continued bilateral relations — Auchincloss said that the relationship should be bigger than any one leader.
“The U.S.-Israel alliance is deeper than personalities,” he said. “Certainly, you know, Congress and our decisions about appropriations and policy need to be calibrated to the individuals who are going to be executing that policy, right? But the U.S.-Israel alliance is based on shared interests, on common values, and a long history.”
He suggested he was unconcerned by AIPAC’s decision to halt fundraising for him following the vote, explaining that his votes aren’t shaped by endorsements or contributions and that he’s taken votes both supported and opposed by AIPAC over the course of his career.
Though he diverged from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on the Israel aid vote, Auchincloss praised the Democratic leader’s approach to the issue and called it a model for how the party as a whole should approach Israel policy going forward.
“Hakeem is pointing the way with a steady hand, which is to say, ‘We’re a party that supports qualitative military edge for Israel, which is surrounded by terrorists and the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, and has a right to defend itself against those terrorists and needs QME to be able to do that, but we’re not a party that yields congressional oversight to Trump and Netanyahu as Republicans have,”’ Auchincloss said.
Asked about the possibility of conditions on further U.S. aid to Israel, Auchincloss said that the next U.S.-Israel memorandum of understanding should be crafted around supporting Israel’s QME, expanding and supporting normalization and, critically, provisions that can garner support from both chambers of Congress and both parties.
Even as he sided with progressives in the party on the Israel aid vote, Auchincloss has also found himself vocally at odds with the left over his criticisms of former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner.
Auchincloss long opposed Platner and faced strong backlash from the party in late May for saying that Platner’s tattoo and comments about it were “disqualifying” and saying he would support another candidate in the primary if he were a Maine voter.
“Character should matter in politics,” Auchincloss told JI. “Ten years ago, Republicans decided that it doesn’t. They’ve become a cult of personality, and Platner demonstrates to Democrats the hazards of agreeing that character doesn’t matter.”
“And I think it’s a problem for the Democratic Party to wrestle with [the fact] that it would have been more politically damaging for him to have a Star of David tattoo than to have a Totenkopf tattoo,” Auchincloss continued, an apparent reference to comments from a Platner supporter on the campaign trail earlier this year.
Auchincloss also said he remains concerned about surging antisemitism globally, and continues to be involved in other efforts to combat antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment, including as one of a handful of Democrats who signed a letter earlier this week condemning plans by Malaysia to round up and expel Israeli citizens.
He said he’s been in discussions with Jewish community groups about the role of social media in promulgating antisemitism and is working on legislation to combat it, while also arguing that it will require a “multifaceted approach.”
“Antisemitism tends to mushroom in failed societies, and social media has become a failed society as one big online toxic brew. And politics is downstream of media and information and culture,” Auchincloss said.
He said that even as political leadership is necessary to call out and reject antisemitic candidates, leaders also need to look “upstream to media and culture and information,” particularly on antisemitism.
Auchincloss is making his own efforts to steer the direction of the Democratic Party, including as the chair of Majority Democrats, a new campaign group backing moderate and liberal Democratic lawmakers and candidates around the country.
In his view, Auchincloss said that he sees himself and the group as occupying a third corner of the party, separate from the left and the establishment. “There is the opportunity for a faction that will redefine the center of American politics and be disruptive of the establishment without being socialist,” Auchincloss said.
He said he believes his faction and the party as a whole should be focused on “the new American dream” — a robust primary and secondary education, the ability to own a home by age 30 and retire by 65 — as “partners to help you achieve that economic security.” Auchincloss said the party should also be aggressive about confronting corruption across the political spectrum and should not yield “faith, family and the flag” to conservatives.
“I don’t think Americans are going to vote for Democrats to lead this country if they don’t think Democrats like this country,” Auchincloss said. “And so we have to be the party of patriotism — not of blood and soil nationalism, but of true constitutional patriotism. And then, finally, we need a cross-ideological governing platform that is willing, even self-consciously celebratory, of dragging and dropping good ideas from across factions of American life.”
He also said that Democrats should be strongly supportive of public safety, including cracking down on petty crime, and support a national wealth tax.
Auchincloss pointed to Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), increasingly seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, as someone who he believes is a strong leader for the party, particularly on anticorruption issues.
He said that he sees an anti-establishment mood across the party — which he said will look different in deep-blue and purple seats, while emphasizing that Democratic Socialists of America members have won “about 1%” of Democratic Party primaries.” He said he believes that the extremism problem is much more severe on the GOP side, asserting that 2020 election deniers have won more than half of GOP primaries to date.
“American politics is horseshoeing, but it’s not horseshoeing symmetrically,” Auchincloss alleged.
Asked whether he’s comfortable being in the same political coalition as those DSA members, Auchincloss said that he’s “not a bouncer” and doesn’t have the capability to police who’s winning Democratic primaries.
“What I’m concerned about is less about being a bouncer at the door and more about do we have music at this party that people want to come and dance to? Like, are we filling the room? Because enrollments for Democratic Party are going down,” Auchincloss said.
He said that, as with Platner, character matters, but that Democrats also shouldn’t be fixated on a “checklist at the door” for who can and can’t be part of the party, and should instead concentrate on a “governing vision” that will attract voters.
Plus, former Bernie bro bashes old boss
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a primary-night watch party for NYC congressional candidate Claire Valdez on June 23, 2026.
Good Tuesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on a fundraiser for Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed that is being cohosted by a Democratic Party operative who praised her grandfather’s Nazi service, and spotlight Ed Miliband, who was announced as the U.K.’s foreign secretary on Monday. We talk to Jewish Democrats in Washington state who feel increasingly isolated in their own party, and interview Joel Rubin, a former Jewish liaison for Sen. Bernie Sanders, about his concerns that his one-time boss is promoting antisemitic candidates. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Micah Lasher, Ron Dermer and Khalil Al-Hayya.
We have also launched a new on-demand Live Briefing that you can access throughout the day via our new app (on Apple and Android) and on our website.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- President Donald Trump is slated to meet today with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at 11 a.m. ET. The meeting comes as Israel moves forward with its plan to withdraw from “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon where the Lebanese Armed Forces will move in and administer the area in accordance with the framework agreement established last month between Beirut and Jerusalem.
- The White House is reportedly mulling a proposal from Middle East mediators including Qatar, Egypt and Pakistan for a 10-day ceasefire to halt fighting between the U.S. and Iran. Earlier today, officials in Bahrain confirmed that sirens sounded in the Gulf state ahead of what was believed to have been another Iranian attack.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine are slated to appear before the Senate Appropriations Committee this morning to testify about the Trump administration’s $88 billion supplemental funding request for the Pentagon.
- The House Intelligence Committee is convening a hearing today on the next generation of terror threats, with former National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster set to testify.
- Arizona is holding its primaries today, with the GOP’s gubernatorial race between Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Dave Schweikert (R-AZ) taking center billing. The winner will face Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in November.
- We’re also closely watching the primary results in Arizona’s 1st District, a swing district based in Scottsdale with a sizable Jewish population, which Schweikert is vacating to run for governor. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is backing former TV news anchor Marlene Galan-Woods over former state Rep. Amish Shah, who was the party’s 2024 nominee. The GOP front-runner is former NFL kicker and CBS Sports sideline reporter Jay Feely.
- In New York, Jewish Women International is hosting a day-long workshop series focused on Jewish women in the workplace.
- More than a dozen Jewish and pro-Israel groups, including the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Israeli-American Council, the Jewish Federations of North America and Christians United for Israel, are hosting a virtual tribute to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) tonight ahead of his funeral next week.
- The three-day Gulf Research Meeting kicks off today in Cambridge, U.K. Speakers include Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud; Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari; Mohammed Ibrahim Al Dhaheri, the deputy director of the United Arab Emirates’ Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy; and Arab World Institute President Anne-Claire Legendre.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MELISSA WEISS
In recent weeks, following the collapse of the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has fired dozens of times on Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
At the same time, it has sustained fire from the U.S., whose military bases across the region have been targeted by the Islamic Republic, with several service members killed. And all the while, Tehran has targeted commercial ships transiting through the strait.
But as focus on the conflict with Iran has shifted from addressing the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions to the Strait of Hormuz, Israel has stayed out of the fighting — despite Iranian threats earlier this month to target the Jewish state if the U.S. attacks did not cease.
There is no upside for Israel to reenter the fight, especially when the issue of the Strait of Hormuz falls outside of the objectives set by Israel at the start of the war earlier this year. (This, despite the widespread sentiment among Israelis that this year’s war did not improve Israel’s security situation, according to polling last month from the Israel Democracy Institute.)
Key among the goals laid out by Israel was degrading Iran’s ballistic missile program and setting back elements of its nuclear program. Reopening Hormuz is an American objective, not an Israeli one. With Israel having made the calculus that the most immediate Iranian threats have been blunted — at least in the short term — the current mission has become an American one.
“Israel’s best move is to not move — yet,” Mark Dubowitz, the CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Jewish Insider this morning. “Washington does the striking. Israel keeps its fire and its threats in reserve, waiting for one of two triggers: a U.S. request to join, or an Iranian regime foolish enough to hit Israel and invite the reprisal that has been promised.”
Despite Iran’s threats to target Israel, such a move would likely be a strategic misstep for the Islamic Republic. Iran’s blockade of the strait and its attacks on Arab and Gulf states are an attempt to reassert its dominance over the region and demonstrate its ability to impact the global energy market. Tehran also appears to be betting that sustained attacks across the region will push Arab states to pressure the U.S. to accept an agreement to reopen the strait, handing the Islamic Republic a win.
BLUE STATE BLUES
The past few years of rising tensions in the Democratic Party over Israel and antisemitism have been marked for many Jewish Democrats in Washington — one of the country’s bluest states, which has a Jewish population of about 90,000 — by disappointment, anger and a growing sense of isolation within a party they have spent decades supporting. But the answer, they say, is not to walk away; rather, it’s to try to reclaim influence from within, Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports.
Rebuilding: That effort begins with rebuilding the party’s own Jewish infrastructure. The Washington State Democratic Party’s Jewish caucus has gone “by the wayside, because it takes a lot of organizing and energy to keep it up,” said Linda Clifton, a longtime member of the caucus. “It’s all volunteer [work], and people had other jobs and other things they had to pay attention to. I think we need to revive it, and there’s been some effort to do that … but I think people are so disheartened that that becomes very difficult,” she continued.
FRIENDLY FIRE
Joel Rubin, a former State Department official who led Jewish outreach for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) 2020 presidential campaign, is now excoriating his former boss and the movement he has built for elevating stridently anti-Israel candidates — most notably former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Notable quotable: “I think what Sanders and the Sanders operation have done is shove into our system the most categorically anti-Israel, antisemitic candidates that we’ve seen in a generation — if ever, certainly within the Democratic Party — and it’s by design,” Rubin said in an interview with JI last week at the Aspen Security Forum. “It’s not by accident, and it’s very disruptive intentionally. The goal is to undermine Democratic unity and even rationality on Israel at this stage.”
More Dem dynamics: Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) said in an interview with JI’s Emily Jacobs on Monday that the votes by more than 100 House Democrats last week in favor of an effort to end all U.S. aid to Israel indicate the party is “flirting with” making opposition to Israel the official party stance, something he said would lead him to leave the caucus.
NOT SO FUNNY MONEY
Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is slated to appear at a campaign fundraiser this weekend that is co-hosted by Kelly Neumann, a controversial Democratic fundraiser in Michigan who faced scrutiny earlier this year for a 2024 Facebook post on Veterans Day that praised her grandfather, who fought for the Nazis in World War II, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Pulled out: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who endorsed El-Sayed on Monday, was initially listed as a speaker at the Saturday event hosted by Neumann, though Neumann and the campaign removed Warren from their promotional materials after JI inquired about the senator’s role. Warren is speaking at a rally for El-Sayed later that day.
ACROSS THE POND
Ed Miliband’s appointment on Monday as U.K. foreign secretary is raising questions about how the former Labour chief will influence Israel and Middle East policy under Andy Burnham, the country’s new prime minister, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. As the first Jewish leader of the Labour party, which he helmed from 2010-2015, Miliband has long balanced his commitment to Israel’s security with vocal criticism of the Jewish state that has fueled some tensions with British Jewish leaders.
Israel approach: During his past tenure as Labour leader, Miliband “certainly wasn’t an instinctive supporter of Israel, but he also wasn’t as hostile as some expected given his background,” Arieh Kovler, a political analyst in Jerusalem who previously served as the director of policy and research for Britain’s Jewish Leadership Council, told JI. “But that was a decade ago. Attitudes to Israel have hardened across British politics and the Labour Party with it.”
BACKTRACK
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani seemed to shy away on Monday from a campaign vow — referenced in an interview over the weekend — to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, even as he continued to lob rhetorical fusillades at the leader of the Jewish state, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.
What he said: Mamdani seemed to acknowledge on Monday that such a move might exceed his authority. “My administration will follow all applicable local laws, that is our commitment, that is something we will follow through on, when it comes to adherence to local laws,” the mayor told reporters after an unrelated event, stressing again when pressed: “We will follow our local laws.”
View from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.: President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social site that Netanyahu would not be arrested “in any way, shape, or form” while in the U.S.
SHE’S RUNNING
Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) said that she will run in next month’s special election to replace her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), on the ballot as the GOP nominee for Senate in November, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
Mind made up: Graham, who was appointed last week to serve out the remainder of her brother’s term in the Senate, announced her decision to run for a full term in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday. “I’ve made a decision,” Graham said. “I’m in.” Graham told Hannity, a friend of her late brother’s, that she had been “praying a lot” and “talking to my family” about the decision, which she acknowledged she needed to make at an expedited pace due to the week-long filing period for candidates beginning on Tuesday.
Worthy Reads
Eye on 2028: The Atlantic’s Mark Leibovich interviews Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ), about Kelly’s presidential considerations, Giffords’ recovery after a 2011 shooting and Kelly’s shortlisting as former Vice President Kamala Harris vetted potential running mates. “Kelly told me that he’d only ‘read parts’ of Harris’s memoir. Presumably, these were the parts that corresponded to mentions of ‘Kelly, Mark.’ He smiled when I suggested this and did not deny it. When I brought up that Harris said she was concerned that he wasn’t tested as a national candidate, Kelly grew more openly annoyed than I might have expected, given how beside the point the topic is now. … He also noted, sarcastically, that some people apparently found it charming that Walz asked for Diet Mountain Dew to drink during his VP interview. ‘[Gov. Josh] Shapiro and I asked for water,’ he said, smirking.” [TheAtlantic]
Tehran’s Tactics: In The Wall Street Journal, Reuel Marc Gerecht and Ray Takeyh posit that Iran’s ability to withstand international economic pressure and U.S. strikes has given the Islamic Republic a “wartime advantage” over Washington. “Today’s conflict with the U.S. and Israel lets senior guard commanders, lowly IRGC foot soldiers and the rest of the theocracy’s security forces feel the fraternity of resistance against the regime’s enemies. For a dictatorship that lost most Iranians’ loyalty years ago, these wars were a boon. The zeal of the revolutionary faithful has baffled many Iranian expatriates and analysts, who see a morally, spiritually and financially bankrupt regime.” [WSJ]
Kuwait in the Crosshairs: The Financial Times’ Ahmed Al Omran looks at how the Iranian attacks across the Gulf have affected Kuwait, which has been targeted by more than 1,500 missiles and drones since the start of the war. “The sense of fear is particularly potent in Kuwait, which is still scarred by the trauma of the 1990 Iraqi invasion — a unique experience that sets it apart from other Gulf Arab states. Since the US-Israeli war against Iran started in February, Kuwait’s proximity to the Islamic republic and high concentration of American troops have made it an easy target for Tehran’s short-range missiles. … But the intensity and frequency of the attacks came as a surprise to some observers in Kuwait, which before the war enjoyed relatively cordial relations with Iran.” [FT]
A larger selection of Worthy Reads is available in our Live Briefing.
Word on the Street
Amid its escalating conflict with Iran, the White House’s social media feed posted a three-week-old poll on Monday from a right-wing polling firm indicating Americans support the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding established last month, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…
The Pentagon confirmed a New York Times report that nearly 100 American troops stationed in Jordan have been injured by Iranian attacks over the last two weeks as the Islamic Republic targets U.S. bases in the region; several of the strikes had not been made public prior to the Times’ reporting…
Israeli intelligence shared with the U.S. indicates that Iran moved thousands of centrifuges into its clandestine Pickaxe Mountain site last fall, following the 12-day war in June; read more about Pickaxe Mountain here…
The Wall Street Journal spotlights the “once-unthinkable” ideas being mulled by Washington, Beirut and Jerusalem to disarm Hezbollah in Lebanon…
The New Yorker‘s David Kirkpatrick talks to former Biden administration officials about the Biden White House’s policies toward Israel and Gaza at the height of the conflict between Israel and Hamas…
Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), who is challenging Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), removed from his campaign website family photos that featured his son-in-law, who was found to have promoted white nationalism and Nazi ideology online…
The Washington Post reports on the volatile temperament of Troy Jackson, who is expected to replace Graham Platner as the Democratic Senate candidate in Maine, during the time that Jackson served as the head of the state Senate…
Axios examines how Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) rhetoric as she campaigns for Democrats around the country resembles former President Barack Obama’s own early campaign rhetoric following the launch of his 2008 presidential bid…
Politico looks at how New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has alienated portions of the city’s electorate — including the Black, Jewish and Latino communities — that have traditionally had close ties with City Hall…
The New York Times interviews New York state Assemblymember Micah Lasher about his childhood hobby of performing magic; the New York Democrat, who won last month’s Democratic primary to succeed Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), in 1996 published The Magic of Micah Lasher, and performed on national television as a child…
Adam Hamawy and Darializa Avila Chevalier, who won their respective Democratic congressional primaries against more moderate candidates in part by attacking Israel on the campaign trail, were announced as the keynote speakers at the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ annual gala in Washington…
Hungarian chess grandmaster Judit Polgar turned down Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s offer to serve as the country’s interim president, saying she felt she lacked “the strength to take on the historic responsibility of uniting a divided nation” in the post-Viktor Orbán era…
The president of the Australian Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants testified before the country’s royal commission investigating antisemitism that increasing antisemitism in the country has “disturbing parallels” to Nazi Germany, but that he did not believe that the country was “becoming another Germany in the 1930s,” owing to Australia’s “democratic institutions, legal system and civilian civil society”…
OpenAI is reportedly starting a business development operation in Israel, having hired a senior Israeli executive from Amazon Web Services to lead the effort to develop relationships in the Israeli high-tech sector…
Air France paused its flights to and from Dubai until next week; the airline is also temporarily suspending its routes to Saudi Arabia until later this week…
Hamas announced Khalil Al-Hayya, the terror group’s top negotiator in Qatar, as its new leader; Al-Hayya succeeds Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by the IDF in October 2024…
Former Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer is rejoining the Jewish Institute for National Security of America as a distinguished fellow, a position he previously held from 2021 to 2022…
Pic of the Day
Demonstrators from the Union of Jewish Students of France protested on Monday outside the Paris headquarters of French far-left party La France Insoumise following the interruption over the weekend of a Jewish DJ’s concert in Grenoble. La France Insoumise had for months been calling for a boycott of Barbara Butch’s show last Saturday, which was disrupted by anti-Israel activists.
Birthdays
Retired CEO of Sony/ATV, a large music publishing firm, he is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Martin Bandier turns 85…
President at Admar Group, Henry Dean Ostberg turns 98… Professor in the physics department at Bar-Ilan University, he won the Israel Prize in 2018, Shlomo Havlin turns 84… Director of the Center for the Political Future at USC, Robert Shrum turns 83… Criminal defense attorney, known for representing many politicians, celebrities and organized crime defendants, Benjamin Brafman turns 78… Former member of the U.K.’s House of Commons, now in the House of Lords, Baroness Susan Veronica Kramer turns 76… Senate majority whip (R-WY), John Barrasso turns 74… Chairman and CEO at Quantitative Financial Strategies, Sanford “Sandy” Jay Grossman turns 73… Endocrinologist and professor at Columbia University’s medical school, she is an honorary president of NYC’s Central Synagogue, Shonni Joy Silverberg, MD… Professor at Columbia Law School and daughter of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Jane Carol Ginsburg turns 71… Brooklyn resident, Irene Ostrovsky… Comedian and actor, best known for his five seasons on “Saturday Night Live” ending in 1990, Jon Lovitz turns 69… Former chief rabbi of Moscow, his opposition to the Ukraine war forced him to leave Russia, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt turns 63… Literary agent at the William Morris Endeavor book department, Eric Matthew Simonoff turns 59… Actor and producer, Alysia Reiner turns 56… Professor of astronomy at MIT and winner of a 2013 MacArthur Genius Award, Sara Seager turns 55… Brazilian fashion designer best known for avant-garde designs and eclectic prints, Alexandre Herchcovitch turns 55… CEO of Fanatics, licensed sports merchandise and digital sports platform, Michael G. Rubin turns 54… Founder, president and CEO of Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE) and the Electrification Coalition, Raphael “Robbie” Diamond… Rabbi of Congregation Bais Naftali in Los Angeles, his YouTube channel has over 4.6 million views, Rabbi Yoel Gold… Online media personality and director of product management at Electronic Arts (EA) in British Columbia, Veronica Belmont turns 44… CEO of Women of Reform Judaism since 2023, Rabbi Liz P.G. Hirsch… Clinical social worker, Aniko Gomory-Pink… Entrepreneur and political activist, she came to prominence as an African-American pro-Israel student activist at the U of New Orleans, Chloé Simone Valdary turns 33… Policy advisor at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Zachary A. Marshall… Senior recruiter at Tines, Rachel Elizabeth Nieves… Attorney in Madrid and secretary general of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain until 2021, Elias Cohen…
In one of the bluest states in the country, Jewish Democrats feel increasingly estranged from a party they helped build — but the answer, they say, is to lean in
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Seattle Skyline with the Space Needle and Mount Rainier, Washington
SEATTLE — David Kaplan has been attending Washington state Democratic conventions since he was 6 years old.
He was brought to his first convention in 1960 by his mother, who was, as Kaplan put it, a “Warren Magnuson Democrat,” while his father was a “Henry Jackson Democrat.” The two legendary former Washington senators who served from roughly the 1940s to the ‘80s differed on several issues, including Cold War and defense policy, “but one common denominator has always been support for Israel,” Kaplan said.
Six decades later, that consensus feels to him like a relic of a bygone era.
The past few years of rising tensions in the Democratic Party over Israel and antisemitism have been marked for many Jewish Democrats in Washington — one of the country’s bluest states, which has a Jewish population of about 90,000 — by disappointment, anger and a growing sense of isolation within a party they have spent decades supporting.
But the answer, they say, is not to walk away; rather, it’s to try to reclaim influence from within.
That effort begins with rebuilding the party’s own Jewish infrastructure. The Washington State Democratic Party’s Jewish caucus has gone “by the wayside, because it takes a lot of organizing and energy to keep it up,” said Linda Clifton, a longtime member of the caucus.
“It’s all volunteer [work], and people had other jobs and other things they had to pay attention to. I think we need to revive it, and there’s been some effort to do that … but I think people are so disheartened that that becomes very difficult,” she continued.
At the state party’s June convention, delegates adopted a resolution condemning “genocide and apartheid in Palestine” and calling for an arms embargo on Israel. They also adopted a plank in their party platform calling out a “dramatic resurgence in antisemitism in recent years on all sides of the political spectrum” while claiming it has risen “due in part to actions taken by the Israeli government.”
And in its foreign policy section, dedicated overwhelmingly to Israel and Palestinian issues, the platform states that the party “reject[s] racist political ideologies rooted in supremacy, including forms of Zionism,” and calls for an end to the “mass civilian casualties, destruction, displacement and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza and [the] West Bank,” among other stances critical of Israel.
“My only issue with the platform, honestly, was that it singles one country out and that, to me, crosses the line,” said Kaplan, a founding member of the party’s Jewish caucus. “But I can tell you that I was not one of the volunteers for the platform committee, so I can’t point fingers.”
Kaplan’s deep engagement in the party has provided him a front row seat to its shift over time. These days, “I have my local Democrats piling on,” he said, referencing his representative in Congress, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), the former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “On many levels, I admire her courage and her principles. But I get her emails where AIPAC becomes the straw man for everything that’s evil.”
Kaplan is no apologist for AIPAC, though he once served on its regional board, nor Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — “I actually think he’s evil,” he said — but “in a world that contains all sorts of bad sh*t, why [Israel] is singled out … It transcends policy differences. It becomes less-than-subtle antisemitism, and I’m struggling with it mightily as a Democrat.”
“I’ve been as active as you can be in Washington Democratic politics. I never before had to worry about whether my local [representatives] harbored antisemitic beliefs or had them use AIPAC as a straw man,” he said.
Clifton, too, is dismayed by the rising hostility in a party that she’s been engaged in for decades. She said she sees it most clearly in her home 43rd Legislative District, which is based in some of the most progressive neighborhoods of Seattle, including the University of Washington campus.
“The [Democratic Socialists of America] has really organized here, and one of the main impetuses for that organization was [former] Councilwoman Kshama Sawant,” Clifton said. Sawant, a far-left socialist who promoted several anti-Israel measures during her tenure on the Seattle City Council, is now running as a long-shot independent candidate against Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA).
“She’s been very effective in building a constituency within the 43rd that is pretty young and pretty hostile to the interests of the Jewish community,” Clifton said of Sawant, “so it’s been much, much more difficult to remain an active member of the 43rd. It just hurts.”
Where she used to regularly attend the organizing meetings for the 43rd District Democrats, “I just got really tired of being the only vote on one side of an issue on a Zoom call. So I’ve really pulled back,” she said.
The Washington State Democratic Party begins at the most local level with precinct committee officers (PCOs), who are elected every two years — oftentimes uncontested — to represent a voting precinct. Democratic PCOs are officers of their party and vote on a wide range of party business, including endorsements, resolutions, local party leadership and convention delegates.
About organizing efforts at the state party convention, another longtime activist said the state’s Jewish Democrats “are not in the room, or not noticeably so as Jews,” instead focusing their advocacy on other policy priorities like education, healthcare and housing. “As Jews and as an organized Jewish community, we need to decide if the party platform matters, and if so, we need to be involved in the grassroots of the Democratic Party.”
“It doesn’t take many people, but it does take some,” the activist added. They emphasized the ease with which people can run for and be elected as a PCO. “If 100 Jews signed up as PCOs, that would change the party over the next two years and the next decade,” they said.
Kaplan had similar advice for his fellow Jewish activists: “In terms of getting involved, I recommend people become PCOs. It’s actually a relatively easy gig. Just join. Just show up!”
As far as the Jewish caucus goes, he said, “I wish we could be more proactive, you know, as a formally recognized constituency caucus within the Washington State Democratic Party.”
The Jewish caucus activists spoke highly of the state Democratic Party chair, Shasti Conrad, praising her outreach efforts. “She is doing the best she can to thread this needle and have differing opinions come together under a bigger tent to hash things out,” Kaplan said.
Conrad told JI in an interview, “I have always strived to try to build a party that is as inclusive as it can be, and it’s been really important to me, particularly as our first woman of color chair, that we build a party that does feel like it has people from diverse backgrounds who are able to be their full selves in the party.”
“Especially since Oct. 7, 2023, that really has focused largely on the Jewish community, alongside the Muslim community and Palestinians as well. We have really tried to sort of hold space for people that have been impacted on all sides of the conflict,” she continued.
Since she became chair in 2023, Conrad said she realized that the state party structure, which is broken into 49 legislative districts, “may have made it a little bit more challenging for particular communities” to organize and promote their priorities “because they get sort of split across geographic lines.” To help alleviate these issues, the party will look to “make sure that we are including the constituency caucuses in the drafting of the platform” for the 2028 convention.
Conrad said antisemitism is “something that I want to disavow as loudly and clearly as possible.”
“There is no room for antisemitism in our party. We have been trying to fight against it as it has really become a sort of central organizing point, I believe, for the Republican Party.”
Conrad said that at the Democratic National Committee, where she also currently serves as one of five vice chairs, she was one of the first officers to co-sponsor the creation of a DNC Jewish caucus. “I’ve done a lot of organizing alongside our Jewish caucus, and I’ve learned a lot and grown, and it’s been one of the most important parts of my learning.”
Asked about the state party’s inclusion of foreign policy in its platform, Conrad said the party is “responsive to what our delegates feel strongly about,” emphasizing that the platform is drafted before every convention by the relevant committees made of local activists and voted on by delegates. “I don’t feel like many international leaders are looking to see, you know, ‘What do the Washington state Democrats think about X, Y and Z?’ I don’t think that’s often the case, but I do think that we hear from our delegates and from our grassroots members that these are issues that are very important to them.”
Outside the party structure, some Jewish community members have turned to electoral politics to advance their priorities. Washingtonians for a Brighter Future, a PAC formed in 2024, calls itself the “political action arm of the Jewish community and its allies in Washington state.”
“The Jewish community in Washington state is under attack,” said Nevet Basker, one of the PAC’s co-chairs. “It’s under attack from many, many places, including by people who are hostile to Israel, but they take it out on the Jews here,” she said, referencing the November 2023 vandalism of Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation on Mercer Island, an area that serves as a hub of Jewish life in the state.
She also raised the forthcoming 20th anniversary on July 28 of the deadly shooting at the Seattle Jewish Federation — an event that still weighs heavily on the area’s Jewish community — which was carried out by a man who reportedly shouted during the attack, “I am a Muslim American, angry at Israel.”
In order to receive WBF’s endorsement, candidates must “make a public statement supporting the Jewish community and opposing antisemitism … We have a lot of friends who are shy, who will say, ‘Oh yes, I heard about the attack in Colorado, and I called the rabbi to express my support.’ And we say, ‘That’s lovely of you. Thank you for calling the rabbi. Will you put out a public statement?’ And they will say, ‘No, that’s not my lane.’”
Basker’s message to these candidates? “We’re not interested in being the person that you are secretly dating, but won’t introduce to your friends.”
Sam Jefferies, chair of The Kids Table, a PAC created in 2025 to support “pro-Jewish” candidates in the state, told JI, “Jews helped build the Democratic Party and contributed to political and policy victories at every level of government for more than a century. At this moment of crisis, the party should be standing firmly and unequivocally with Jews across Washington state and rejecting extremism at every turn. It isn’t.”
For all their efforts to organize, reclaiming a place in the party is not simply a matter of Jewish Democrats showing up. It requires them to navigate a political environment where they often feel both committed to the process and isolated within it. Kaplan recalled the 2024 state party convention, where he said the Jewish caucus was “not prepared.”
“As we walked in, we were given pieces of paper or leaflets from, you know, white college kids in keffiyehs, and there were three resolutions” targeting Israel. As the discussion around the resolutions began, “I came to the realization, quite honestly, that half the people that I would work with and have known for years, even Jewish ones — I wouldn’t trust them to know where Anne Frank lived.”
Taking matters into his own hands, Kaplan stood to speak against one resolution calling on the Democratic Party to support restoring funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency — funding which the Biden administration had paused earlier that year due to findings that some UNRWA employees had participated in the Oct. 7 attacks.
“I remember it’s the first time I’ve ever been afraid to speak, so I was really nervous,” Kaplan said. “I remember not getting the reaction that I would have expected to get, not being heard, and it was very painful at that moment. I vowed I was never coming back.”
The resolution passed, but Kaplan went back for this year’s convention anyway. “I still believe the Democratic Party is the best place to be,” he said.
In our decentralized political environment, it’s easier than ever for a critical mass of ideologically committed small-dollar donors to power insurgent, ideologically driven campaigns
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Large amount of US dollar cash
The second-quarter congressional fundraising reports, which were posted on Wednesday, paint a picture of far-left, anti-Israel candidates drawing financial fuel from a growing small-dollar donor network of like-minded individuals.
Nearly all of the Democratic Socialists of America-aligned or virulently anti-Israel candidates were among the Democrats’ leading fundraisers, including lawmakers (like Reps. Rashida Tlaib [D-MI] and Ilhan Omar [D-MN]) who are not facing particularly competitive races.
The highlights: Abdul El-Sayed raised $4.6 million between April and June in the Michigan Senate primary, more than double the $2.1 million that Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) brought in. Disgraced former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner took in a whopping $9.1 million before dropping out amid allegations of rape, outpacing Sen. Susan Collins’ (R-ME) $5.7 million haul.
On the House side, the DSA duo who won New York City congressional nominations last month — doctoral student Darializa Avila Chevalier and state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez — nearly hit the million-dollar mark in fundraising.
Avila Chevalier raised $952,000 in the run-up to her primary against Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), coming close to matching the Congressional Hispanic Caucus chairman’s fundraising. Meanwhile, Valdez brought in $942,000 for the quarter, significantly more than the party-backed progressive favorite Antonio Reynoso, the Brooklyn borough president.
The list goes on: Adam Hamawy’s past ties to Islamist radicals didn’t prevent him from winning the nomination in New Jersey’s 12th District, and certainly didn’t stunt his fundraising. Hamawy raised $987,000 in the second quarter, a staggering sum for a low-profile open-seat race. That’s well more than double the total of his nearest fundraising rival.
Melat Kiros, the 29-year-old DSA-backed insurgent who ousted Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), also outraised the longtime lawmaker in the homestretch of the campaign. Kiros brought in $712,000 between April and June, while DeGette only raised $694,000.
What does this say about the state of our politics?
In the recent past, radical candidates faced significant hurdles, not just because their message generally turned off moderate-minded voters but because they lacked institutional support, which limited their ability to raise money and be financially viable.
It was once common for party leaders and other aligned outside groups to flood favored candidates with donations and leverage their financial advantage to create institutional guardrails.
But in our decentralized political environment, it’s easier than ever for a critical mass of ideologically committed small-dollar donors to power insurgent, ideologically driven campaigns. And with party-aligned organizations (like labor unions and EMILY’s List) atrophied and the impact of pro-Israel money diminished in Democratic primaries as the party turns against the Jewish state in the wake of the war in Gaza, the establishment has lost a lot of its juice.
As important, the victory of Mayor Zohran Mamdani in New York City opened up the pocketbooks of a growing roster of Muslim and Arab donors whose top political issues include their deep antipathy towards Israel.
The notion of a socialist, anti-Israel candidate winning in New York City sounded fanciful before the rise of Mamdani. His victory proved that if like-minded individuals mobilize behind favored candidates, they can have an outsized impact in the political process — especially given the Democratic public’s declining support for the Jewish state.
The rise of an anti-Israel super PAC like American Priorities to compete against AIPAC in Democratic primaries wouldn’t have been possible without Mamdani’s victory. The time when pro-Israel groups could rely on their financial firepower — without facing a countering force in competitive primaries — is now over.
It’s a reminder that money alone can only go so far in politics, and that strategy, tactics and message are just as important in determining electoral success. If the far-left forces face their comeuppance, it’s going to be because their message is unappealing to average Americans, not because they’re going to be outspent by the establishment.
Republican and Democratic senators paid tribute to his legacy, while wondering if anyone will be able to fill the leadership vacuum
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Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 30, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) sudden death last weekend is complicating an already difficult dynamic between Senate Republicans and President Donald Trump, as legislators try to muster enough support in the caucus to pass the president’s key legislative priorities.
Graham’s committee chairmanships, vast donor network and his close relationship with Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio made him a critical leader in Washington whose presence helped move forward multiple bipartisan efforts, especially on foreign policy. He became one of the most geopolitically connected members of Congress, with world leaders and captains of industry on speed dial.
“It’s impossible to fill that void, number one, so I’ll just take that off the table,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told Jewish Insider at a press conference at NRSC headquarters on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Scott, who represented South Carolina alongside Graham for 13 years, said he has spoken with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) about the challenges Graham’s death creates for the party and detailed several areas where Senate GOP leadership is hoping some of their members will attempt to step in on the late senator’s behalf.
The first of those “three layers,” Scott said, is “the foreign policy front.” The second was Graham’s “budgetary responsibilities” as chair of the Senate Budget Committee. The third area, he said, was “bridging the gap between the two sides of the aisle.”
“Those are the three areas that I know that we’ve been consciously considering,” Scott said. “I have spoken to Leader Thune as well. I think those are three big areas that we’d love to see, probably, a couple people step into.”
On the foreign policy front, Scott noted, “There’s no doubt that when you’re looking at leaders around the world who disagree vehemently with each other, the one guy you might be willing to sit at the table with was Lindsey Graham. He just did a really good job.”
“Frankly, you go to the Middle East and without any question, I’m not sure that there was a bigger, more enthusiastic supporter of the president’s actions in Iran — I happen to be one of them as well — than Lindsey Graham,” Scott said. “[Israeli Prime Minister] Bibi [Netanyahu] calling him at lunch was kind of fun to watch. I’m a big fan of Bibi myself, and just knowing the relationship that they had when I spoke with Bibi myself years ago, I would say without question, Lindsey Graham’s name always came up. You know why? Because, frankly, he took the time to make the trip there.”
“Whether it’s the European front, the Middle East, or frankly, his enthusiasm around Venezuela, he was always in the midst when it came to solving problems around the world because he believed in peace through strength,” he continued. “It was not just a tagline. It was not just a philosophy. It was embedded in his DNA.”
Scott said Republicans will need to focus on “finding someone who has that passion” that Graham applied to his foreign policy dealings. Graham spearheaded the passage of the second Trump administration’s two reconciliation packages — the One Big Beautiful Bill last July, which made the tax cuts implemented in the first Trump administration permanent and enacted a wide range of spending cuts, and the Secure America Act in June to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
“We are living in polarizing times politically. Lindsey Graham was not completely aware of that. He thought you could still find common ground to get something done,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) said. “He turned out to be right. Being able to have [Sen. Richard] Blumenthal (D-CT) knocking on the door for Russian sanctions is only possible because Lindsey Graham spends so much time talking to people that vehemently disagree with him on 85% or 90% of topics. Find that one, you march together.”
As to the budget reconciliation process, Scott said, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) would step in as budget chair. “Big shoes to fill,” Scott added.
Scott touted his late colleague’s ability to reach across the aisle and argued that “bridging that gap is going to be really important.”
“We are living in polarizing times politically. Lindsey Graham was not completely aware of that. He thought you could still find common ground to get something done. He turned out to be right. Being able to have [Sen. Richard] Blumenthal (D-CT) knocking on the door for Russian sanctions is only possible because Lindsey Graham spends so much time talking to people that vehemently disagree with him on 85% or 90% of topics. Find that one, you march together.”
As one of the few lawmakers capable of closing the gap between Senate Republicans and the president, Graham became somewhat of a mediator.
“Lindsey left an indelible mark on the Senate, on the nation and on the hearts of his colleagues,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told JI. “At times when senators were at each other’s throats, were angry, Lindsey could cut the tension with a self-deprecating quip that brought everything to a stop and brought people back together again.”
Leading Democrats also paid tribute to Graham’s legislative acumen. “Lindsey was part of every important policy issue and an indispensable player in every Senate ‘gang.’ He was a fierce Republican partisan one day and a key bipartisan ally the next,” Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) said of Graham after his death was announced.
“I don’t know who can play this role going forward. I just don’t see it,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) told JI on Sunday of Graham. “He’s just not replaceable. There’s not going to be anyone like him again.”
Graham was involved in every successful bipartisan piece of legislation that Trump has signed into law thus far in his second term. During the Biden administration, Graham was one of the 19 Republican senators who crossed party lines to support the bipartisan infrastructure bill, and his decision to come out against the bipartisan immigration reform deal organized by Sens. James Lankford (R-OK), Chris Murphy (D-CT) and former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) has been described as the final death knell that sealed the legislation’s fate.
Graham was also the Republican in Trump’s orbit to whom Senate Democrats would go when trying to settle a legislative dispute or join forces on an issue of bipartisan concern.
“I don’t know who can play this role going forward. I just don’t see it,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) told JI on Sunday of Graham. “He’s just not replaceable. There’s not going to be anyone like him again.”
Graham’s passing puts the longtime legislative and geopolitical priorities he fought for in jeopardy.
The South Carolina Republican spent the last five years lobbying Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to bring Riyadh into the Abraham Accords. Graham tried to secure an agreement on several occasions under Trump and former President Joe Biden, and said repeatedly that he was on the verge of reaching a deal that would see Saudi Arabia normalize relations with Israel in exchange for Israel recognizing a Palestinian state.
After Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, Graham maintained that Iran ordered the attacks to upend his Saudi-Israeli normalization efforts.
Graham was one of the most outspoken and effective Republican advocates in Congress for increasing military funding. Prior to his death, he had been lobbying the president to get behind the Russia sanctions bill he co-sponsored with Blumenthal, and expressed optimism in his final phone call with Morgan Ortagus, the former deputy presidential envoy for Middle East peace in the second Trump administration, that Trump was coming around to the idea.
Trump said on Tuesday that he was considering supporting the bill, which he has long hesitated to get behind, “in honor of Lindsey.”
“This was his thing, he wanted this more than any other thing. You know how he felt,” Trump said from the White House. “There’s a good chance that it gets done. But they’d like to add Iran. And they’d like to add Hezbollah to it. That’s what I’m hearing.”
Ortagus told JI, “There was not a fight on domestic or foreign affairs that he didn’t want to jump into. If he believed in an issue and believed that a particular policy was the right thing, he really didn’t care about the politics.”
Plus, Vance alleges Israeli influence campaign to extend Iran war
Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images
The sun sets behind the U.S. Capitol Building on July 8, 2026 in Washington, D.C.
Good Wednesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
More than 100 House Democrats, about half of the caucus, voted in favorof Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-KY) amendment to strip all U.S. aid to Israel out of the State Department appropriations bill this afternoon, including several leaders of the caucus such as Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA), the No. 2 House Democrat, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
While the amendment was overwhelmingly defeated, 314-104, the large segment of Democrats supporting the measure indicates a growing shift away from the party’s historic support for Israel…
Vice President JD Vance, in an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” released today, stated repeatedly that Israeli actors are engaged in a “very discreet, very well-funded” influence campaign to extend the war in Iran: “There are some people within their system we know beyond a shadow of a doubt who are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely. Again, not towards any objective, but just indefinitely,” he alleged.
Vance also said that the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein “clearly had connections to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence” and to “elements of the Israeli deep state that were left of center”…
The U.S., Israel and Lebanon, wrapping up talks in Rome this week, agreed on the structure and guidelines for implementing the two pilot zones the parties agreed to create in southern Lebanon, a State Department official said today, without specifying a timeline for the IDF’s withdrawal. The parties will now engage in expanded technical talks to implement the trilateral agreement reached in the last round of negotiations…
CENTCOM began another round of strikes against Iran this afternoon; coming after strikes earlier in the day, the pace of the operations appears to be gaining momentum. President Donald Trump is reportedly considering expanding U.S. military efforts to include more airstrikes, utilizing ground forces and targeting nuclear sites again, according to The Wall Street Journal…
Three senior U.S. officials connected to the Board of Peace, the Trump-led body created to resolve the conflict in Gaza, have been meeting with congressional offices this week to request $200 million for the International Stabilization Force, two people with knowledge of the meetings told Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch. The meetings mark the first time that Board of Peace representatives have approached Congress with a funding request…
Ahead of today’s deadline, candidates have begun releasing their fundraising reports for the second quarter. In Georgia, where some in the Jewish community have felt torn between two less-than-ideal options in Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and his opponent, Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), Ossoff holds a commanding fundraising advantage: The senator reported raising$20 million this quarter with $42 million in the bank, while Collins raised $2.1 million, leaving him with $2.2 million in cash on hand…
Meanwhile, Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed released his 2025 tax returns, which he is not legally obligated to do but was pressured to do by his opponent in the Democratic primary, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI). El-Sayed’s reported total income was over $680,000, nearly $300,000 of which was unspecified as to its source…
The anti-Israel American Priorities super PAC made an initial investment of $375,000 to boost El-Sayed in the race; El-Sayed has repeatedly railed against super PAC involvement in politics — particularly that of AIPAC’s United Democracy Project, which is spending heavily in favor of Stevens…
Rep. Hilary Scholten (D-MI), speaking to Semafor about electability concerns in the Democratic Party, criticized progressives who “prop up other candidates who have said really problematic things.” The moderate congresswoman added that El-Sayed, who has been criticized for comments about Stevens seen as misogynistic, “has a problematic record with women”…
A new Quinnipiac poll of Pennsylvania voters found Gov. Josh Shapiro leading his Republican opponent in his reelection race by 13 points, 53-40%, with a 56% overall approval rating. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) had a 77% approval rating among Republicans, but only 19% among voters in his own party. Nearly half (49%) of voters said the Democratic Party has moved too far to the left, while 42% said the Republican Party has moved too far to the right…
Former White House senior official Brett McGurk is releasing a book, Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7 Hostages, on his role leading U.S. efforts under former President Joe Biden to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, due out on Oct. 6 to coincide with the third anniversary of the attacks…
The New York Times examines the role that Hollywood superagent Ari Emanuel could play in the potential presidential run of his brother, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, as politicians increasingly seek access to media as part of their campaigns; among those close to Ari Emanuel are the UFC’s Dana White, commentator Joe Rogan, pundit Stephen A. Smith as well as Elon Musk…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
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 what this afternoon’s vote on Massie‘s amendment to cut all U.S. aid to Israel means for the future of Israel policy in the Democratic Party.
At least eight Democratic candidates vying to replace former nominee Graham Platner on the ballotfor U.S. Senate in Maine will take the debate stage tomorrow evening in their first chance to pitch themselves to voters, ahead of the state Democratic Party’s nominating convention later this month.
President Donald Trump will give an address to the nation in the evening, which he has said will largely focus on American election security.
The American Federation of Teachers’ annual convention will kick off in Washington. The second largest teachers’ union in the U.S., the AFT has previously featured anti-Israel resolutions at its gatherings.
The Aspen Security Forum continues with several panels on the Middle East, including speakers such as Akif Çağatay Kılıç, top advisor to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan; Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s foreign minister; Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT); Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee; Dan Shapiro, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel; Rahm Emanuel; Anne Neuberger, former deputy national security advisor; and Salam Fayyad, former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority.
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Plus, Dem leaders split on Israel aid
Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) questions U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth as he testifies before the House Armed Services Committee April 29, 2026.
Good Tuesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning to Iranian leaders, as military hostilities escalate between Iran and the U.S.: “Do not count on there being calm if you attack us,” Netanyahu addressed Tehran, while speaking today at a conference in southern Israel. “Do not expect a repeat of what happened before, because there will be no repeat. … Any further attempt to harm us will be met with a different response — far more powerful”…
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump walked back his announcement that the U.S. would institute a 20% toll on all cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz, saying in a post on Truth Social that Middle East leaders had agreed to additional trade and investment deals with the U.S. to replace the fee…
CENTCOM announced it began launching an additional round of strikes against Iran this afternoon “to continue degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping” in the strait, and officially reinstated a blockade on Iranian ports. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched missile and drone attacks in retaliation against bases in Kuwait and Bahrain…
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said he would oppose an amendment led by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to strip all aid to Israel out of the 2027 State Department appropriations bill, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. But Jeffries also argued for “urgent change” to the U.S.-Israel relationship, including suggesting that direct U.S. military aid to Israel should end when the current memorandum of understanding expires.
Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), on the other hand, said he plans to vote yes on Massie’s amendment, writing in a “Dear Colleague” letter that the “American people are crying out for an end to US tax dollars subsidizing Israel’s military”…
Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev announced today that the U.S. will only be permitted to station 20 military refueling aircraft at Ben Gurion Airport, while the rest must be parked at Israeli Air Force bases, in order to facilitate commercial travel for Israelis over the summer…
U.N. official Ramiz Alakbarov accused Hamas forces of interfering at a humanitarian aid distribution site in Gaza, saying armed men had entered a warehouse and “endangered humanitarian personnel,” leading the organization to suspend its operations at the site. “These incidents are not isolated. They are completely unacceptable and reflect an increasingly dangerous pattern of intimidation, violence and obstruction,” Alakbarov said…
Trump asked Netanyahu in a phone call last week to pull IDF forces back from Syria and Lebanon, Axios reports; the Prime Minister’s Office said Netanyahu in turn emphasized Israel’s need for security zones along its borders…
The Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area issued a statement today on Rep. Ro Khanna’s (D-CA) recent encounter in the West Bank, where he claims he was detained by violent settlers as well as the IDF. The group said it has “conveyed our concerns to the Congressman in how he is representing the district and our community on foreign policy issues” and called on Khanna “to exercise the same urgency he has brought to criticizing Israel to address the hostile climate many Jewish Americans face every day”…
Pressed repeatedly by writers with the Hamas-sympathetic outlet Drop Site News to offer support for the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks and Palestinians’ “right to kill Israeli soldiers,” Khanna said he is “not for violence in any way”…
Asked about legislation imposing sanctions on Russia that was championed by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Trump said in the Oval Office today that lawmakers “may be adding Iran to it … They may add Hezbollah, too.” He said there’s a “good chance” it will pass “in honor of Lindsey”…
White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were spotted in the Senate chamber during the swearing-in this afternoon of Darline Graham Nordone to fill Graham’s seat…
The AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project super PAC sent direct mail to voters in Michigan highlighting far-left Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s refusal to condemn extreme rhetoric from antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker and El-Sayed’s efforts to “rationalize” the attack on Michigan’s Temple Israel earlier this year…
Columbia University anti-Israel protest leader Mahmoud Khalil filed a civil rights lawsuit against Trump administration officials, the Heritage Foundation and pro-Israel groups Canary Mission and Betar, alleging they “sought to terrorize” him to “intimidate and silence the growing movement for Palestinian rights”…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with Avi Loeb, the Israeli Harvard scientist leading Trump’s search for answers that may be out of this world.
Trump will headline the last day of Sen. Dave McCormick’s (R-PA) Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit at the U.S. Army War College, with additional remarks from Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
The Aspen Security Forum in Colorado will feature fireside chats with former Navy Secretary John Phelan and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Also on tomorrow’s agenda: a live taping of the “What the Hell is Going On?” podcast hosted by the American Enterprise Institute’s Danielle Pletka and Marc Thiessen, in conversation with former National Security Advisors Stephen Hadley and Robert O’Brien as well as Michèle Flournoy, former under secretary of defense for policy.
Jay Clayton will appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee for his confirmation hearing to be director of national intelligence, after Trump abruptly canceled his hearing originally scheduled for last month.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) will speak at the Hudson Institute on the future of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East..
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Plus, Graham's Senate seat kept in the family
Shady Alassar/Anadolu via Getty Images
Commercial vessels and oil tankers preparing to transit through the Strait of Hormuz maintain their wait in the Gulf of Oman, on June 17, 2026.
Good Monday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump declared today that the U.S. will take control of the Strait of Hormuz and will institute a 20% fee on all cargo passing through the waterway “for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World,” Jewish Insider’s Christina Sher reports. The move comes after Trump and his administration insisted for months that no country is permitted to charge fees to transiting ships…
Trump also announced he is reinstating a blockade of Iranian ports, which was lifted when the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding last month. CENTCOM said the blockade will resume tomorrow at 4 p.m. ET and will be enforced “against vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas.”
CENTCOM also revealed that it successfully deployed sea drones in combat operations for the first time yesterday, using the unmanned vessels to strike an Iranian submarine at the Bandar Abbas Naval Base…
Trump notified Congress on Friday that fighting with Iran officially resumed last week, further stoking tensions between the executive and legislative branches as lawmakers already approved a war powers resolution calling for an end to American operations in Iran.
Trump’s letter to congressional leadership said U.S. “ground forces are not involved in these strikes” — which he described as “limited, measured, planned, and executed in a manner designed to minimize civilian casualties” — and said he is acting “pursuant to [his] constitutional authority as Commander in Chief”…
The Mossad spent years grooming former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as an intelligence asset to be installed as Iran’s leader after a post-Khamenei regime change, including paying for his housing and travel and arranging a meeting with then-Mossad chief David Barnea under cover of a climate conference in Budapest in 2024, American and Iranian officials told The New York Times.
As the Iran war broke out on Feb. 28, Mossad operatives rescued Ahmadinejad from an Israeli airstrike on his Tehran compound and took him to a safe house, but he balked and left — Ahmadinejad is now reportedly under house arrest by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps…
The Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of bombing Yemen’s international airport today, with a spokesperson saying the action “will not go unanswered,” threatening a tenuous truce enacted several years ago between the terror group and the Saudis. A spokesperson for the internationally recognized Yemeni government, which is backed by Riyadh, said the Houthis subsequently fired ballistic missiles into Saudi Arabia…
U.K. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced on Monday that the country designated the IRGC as a terror organization, with those found guilty of supporting the group facing up to 14 years in prison. The government also banned the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right, which No. 10 Downing St. said was behind a number of attacks on British Jewish sites…
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced at a press conference this afternoon that he is appointing Darline Graham Nordone, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) sister, to serve out the rest of Graham’s term. Trump had voiced his support for Nordone, who shared an exceptionally close bond with her brother, as “a fabulous tribute to Lindsey.” Fox Newsreported that Nordone could be sworn in as soon as Wednesday…
The Trump administration plans to launch a major diplomatic offensive against the International Criminal Court, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced today, the latest move in the White House’s longtime battle against the international organization.
The push appears to be rooted in concerns that the ICC will seek to prosecute American servicemembers, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports. Such actions would not only be “a grave overreach of its purported authorities,” Rubio wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, “it would mean the death of the U.S. as a sovereign and independent nation”…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani vowed that he would maintain ties with Morris Katz, the controversial political operative behind Mamdani’s own victory as well as the imploded campaign of former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, JI’s Will Bredderman reports, despite calls from members of the Democratic Socialists of America to boycott the consultant’s services…
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), a member of the Squad and a vocal detractor of Israel, endorsed far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed today, joining fellow Squad members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Summer Lee (D-PA) and Delia Ramirez (D-IL) in backing him less than a month before the primary…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
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 the surging anti-Israel candidate in the Democratic primary for Michigan‘s swing 7th Congressional District.
The sixth round of talks between Israel and Lebanon are slated to begin tomorrow in Rome, despite Beirut’s reported threat not to attend if the IDF did not vacate two pilot zones in southern Lebanon before the discussions. Israeli media reported that this week’s talks will focus on the timeline for the withdrawal.
The Aspen Security Forum, the high-profile annual gathering of national security leaders, policymakers and foreign policy experts, begins tomorrow afternoon in Colorado. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper and former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker will speak on a panel on the “state of the world.”
The two-day Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit, hosted by Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA), will kick off at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., with a keynote address from Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine.
Some House Republicans were invited to a dinner tomorrow night with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to Punchbowl News, as the Trump administration is seeking more than $67 billion for the Pentagon in its supplemental funding request.
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Trump, Cruz, Fetterman, Coons and Jewish organizations remembered the South Carolina Republican, who died suddenly at 71
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks at the 62nd Munich Security Conference on February 13, 2026 in Munich, Germany.
As President Donald Trump returned to Washington on the first Sunday of the new year, he was joined by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who had traveled to the president’s Mar-a-Lago estate a day earlier to be with Trump after he ordered the operation that deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Graham, 71, had been encouraging Trump since returning to office last January to take a more aggressive posture toward the Maduro regime, and vigorously defended the president’s decision to launch a series of strikes targeting Venezuelan boats that the Trump administration alleged were carrying drugs meant to reach U.S. soil. By late October, he was calling on Maduro to flee Venezuela and cede power as tensions between Trump and the dictator escalated.
During an impromptu press conference aboard Air Force One, Trump and Graham defended the merits of the operation and predicted that the Cuban regime was likely to fall as a result of the mission. The South Carolina senator, one of the most hawkish Republican lawmakers on foreign policy, grinned as he heralded the mission as a success.
“When I was on Air Force One with the president flying back and we did that news conference, if you thought I was smiling big on the outside, you have no idea how much I was smiling on the inside,” Graham told Jewish Insider in an interview shortly after arriving in Washington with the president. “This is the best time in my political life because I’ve aligned myself with the strongest president in modern times. We’re getting results that are making this world safer and America more prosperous.”
By that time, more than 10 years after rejecting Trump’s candidacy and decrying him as a “race-baiting, xenophobic bigot” whose rhetoric would “kill my party,” Graham had become one of the president’s closest allies in the Senate and a close confidante on foreign policy matters.
“This is what happens when you stay in his orbit, realizing there’s far more good than bad and understanding that this man has magic that nobody on the planet has,” the South Carolina senator told JI. “It’s not so much that I’m on a roll. It’s the fact that talking with President Trump, he is embracing policies that he calls common sense, and the small part I play on the end of this, I’m so proud of.”
Following Graham’s sudden passing this weekend, Trump somberly reflected on the loss of his friend, political confidante and golfing partner, praising the late senator for his political acumen and his patriotism in a pair of media interviews and two social media posts.
“He’s a tough one to lose. He was great. He was unique in every way, actually,” Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday morning of Graham. “He was really a worker. … He was a great politician, actually.”
“He was such an advocate if he wanted to get something. He had a unique ability, he was able to deal with Democrats. If I had a problem, a real problem, I wouldn’t often ask, but if I had a problem with a Democrat, he could work it out,” he continued. “There was nobody like him. He loved being a politician, and he was going to win his election [in November for a fifth Senate term]. … He just had it made.”
Graham passed away on Saturday evening after returning from a congressional delegation that included stops in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Ankara, Turkey, for last week’s NATO summit.
The South Carolina senator arrived to his Capitol Hill townhome late Saturday afternoon and began making phone calls to Republican political allies in the early evening about legislative business, developments in the Middle East and to share details of his recent trip, according to two sources with direct knowledge.
One of those calls was to the president. Another was to Morgan Ortagus, the former deputy presidential envoy for Middle East peace in the second Trump administration and one of Graham’s closest confidantes in Washington. The president said that Graham mentioned being “tired” during their conversation, but noted that “he was fine” and expressed shock at his sudden passing. Ortagus told JI on Sunday afternoon that Graham was upbeat during their final conversation, expressing optimism that Trump was coming around on supporting his Russia sanctions bill and with resuming military operations in Iran.
“Nobody was expecting this. That’s for sure. Not even Lindsey was, or he wouldn’t have been running for another term,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), who has had close relationships with both Graham and Trump, said of the senator’s sudden passing. “When a person cuts as wide a swath as Lindsey cuts, it is shocking. It will take some time to process the reality of it. It should really hit on Monday when we show up for work.”
It came as a shock to Trump, Ortagus and everyone else in Graham’s orbit when his office announced his passing in the early hours of Sunday morning, which the Washington D.C. medical examiner’s office, in a preliminary autopsy report, attributed to aortic dissection caused by arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
“He was extremely jazzed up in our last conversation. He had just gotten off the phone with the president, and he was super excited about the Russia sanctions bill and the president deciding to go back into Iran,” Ortagus told JI. “He could not have been happier when I spoke to him last night. He was in the best mood and in a great place. He spoke about how he felt like he was doing consequential work.”
“Nobody was expecting this. That’s for sure. Not even Lindsey was, or he wouldn’t have been running for another term,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), who has had close relationships with both Graham and Trump, said of the senator’s sudden passing. “When a person cuts as wide a swath as Lindsey cuts, it is shocking. It will take some time to process the reality of it. It should really hit on Monday when we show up for work.”
Asked about his phone call with Graham during his “Meet the Press” appearance — on which Graham had been scheduled to appear — Trump said, “I just can’t believe it. He was like a member of the family to me. It’s very tough, actually. It’s amazing.”
Trump and Graham formed an unlikely relationship over the course of the first Trump administration, finding common ground with the establishment of the Abraham Accords and the confirmation of the president’s Supreme Court nominees.
Graham briefly broke with Trump in the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, condemning the attack and recognizing Biden’s 2020 victory. But within months, Graham was regularly visiting Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., and publicly urging his party to rally around the president’s bid for a second term in 2024.
“He genuinely had a fantastic relationship with President Trump. They really actually liked each other a lot. I think Trump was his best friend in many ways,” Ortagus said. “He loved the president. It was genuine. They were incredibly good friends.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Graham got to know each other as members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and on the presidential campaign trail in 2016. The two developed a close working relationship in the last decade, finding common ground on economic and foreign policy issues that pitted them against the expanding populist wing of the GOP.
Speaking to JI on Sunday, Cruz said that Graham and Trump “became close friends. Lindsey would call the president early in the morning, late at night and at every hour in between. And the president listened to him. He didn’t always agree, but he trusted him and he knew that Lindsey was speaking from the heart.”
“[Senate Majority Leader] John Thune (R-SD) is going to miss him terribly. Donald Trump is going to miss him terribly,” Cramer told JI. “It confounds them, MAGA world. They love Donald Trump and can’t stand Lindsey Graham, so they’re befuddled by the relationship.”
Cramer noted that Trump has developed political alliances with several former critics, the most notable example being Vice President JD Vance, who was similarly disapproving of the president during the 2016 election. Like Graham, the vice president became an avid defender of Trump during the president’s first term.
While both men found their way into the president’s orbit, they remained on opposing sides of the conservative movement, with Vance becoming one of the leading GOP voices wary of U.S. military engagement abroad and Graham emerging as a leading force behind the effort to maintain an engaged foreign policy.
“With Lindsey, he was talented,” Cramer said. “He was bright and he knew things that a lot of people don’t know. He had a historical perspective a lot of people don’t have. He had a Rolodex that’s probably in several languages, and he called you from all kinds of time zones. You never knew where he was when he called.”
Despite having those conservative detractors, following his death, Graham was lauded for his humor, his friendship and his public and private support for Trump by those in the president’s orbit — including Vance and other prominent Trump administration officials who were not often ideologically aligned with the late senator.
“Early in my Senate tenure, I remember getting into a shouting match with Lindsey about a Ukraine funding bill at lunch and then learning the very next day that he was pushing rail legislation I really cared about behind the scenes,” Vance wrote on X. “That was Lindsey Graham. He fought like hell for the things he believed in, and he was just as willing to go to bat for you when it counted.”
“Lindsey had the best sense of humor in the Senate. He loved the game of politics. He was constantly asking which races were up and down, and how he could help,” the vice president continued. “As he liked to say, ‘I don’t care if you’re an isolationist or a religious fanatic, so long as you have an R next to your name, I want you to win.’ We certainly had our disagreements. But I couldn’t help but like him. A one of a kind figure in our politics.”
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy and a longtime Trump advisor, described Graham as a cherished ally to the president in implementing the administration’s policy goals and spoke of telling the late senator “what his friendship meant to me and to us all.”
“I cannot describe to you how much joy President Trump’s leadership and friendship brought to Lindsey,” Miller wrote on X. “Meetings with Graham at the White House were filled with camaraderie, kinship and uproarious laughter.”
“The fact that Lindsey started out as a political opponent only to become one the President’s most steadfast and faithful supporters underscores that Lindsey believed emphatically in the voice of the people,” he explained.
Miller described Graham as “a senator’s senator” and praised his ability to “move a room,” calling it “a glorious thing to witness.”
Sander Gerber, the CEO of Hudson Bay Capital and the architect of the Taylor Force Act, the passage of which Graham championed, told JI, “Lindsey was a maverick. He didn’t care about convention. He cared about doing what was right. When Lindsey set his mind to something, he was going to deliver on it, and he had a keen sense of the politics to be successful at that. He should be remembered as one of the greatest champions for Israel among members of Congress.”
“As heartbreaking as his sudden passing is, I hope it will bring some measure of comfort to those who cherished him to know just how much he was living his dream every day,” Miller said. “Very rarely in life do you get to be exactly where you want to be, when you want to be there, with who you want to be with, doing precisely what you want to do — that was every moment for Lindsey.”
Many of those who spoke about Graham after his passing described the South Carolina Republican, who spent more than two decades in the Senate, as a professional at navigating choppy political waters
“He wasn’t just a good talker, he had depth,” Cramer said. “He knew what the hell he was talking about. He had interesting insights.”
Sander Gerber, the CEO of Hudson Bay Capital and the architect of the Taylor Force Act, the passage of which Graham championed, told JI, “Lindsey was a maverick. He didn’t care about convention. He cared about doing what was right. When Lindsey set his mind to something, he was going to deliver on it, and he had a keen sense of the politics to be successful at that. He should be remembered as one of the greatest champions for Israel among members of Congress.”
“In order to get things done in Congress, to actually make a difference, you need to have the relationships,” Gerber said. “Lindsey was able to cultivate those relationships, and that’s what enabled him to get things done. There are 100 senators, but he was able to get his voice to stand out and to drive policy forward.”
Republicans and Democrats alike predicted Graham would be remembered as a legendary American political figure known for his ability to take political risks and find common ground in unexpected places.
“There was not a fight on domestic or foreign affairs that he didn’t want to jump into,” Ortagus said of Graham. “If he believed in an issue and believed that a particular policy was the right thing, he really didn’t care about the politics. Ultimately, he wouldn’t change what he believed was right based on politics, and that’s in very short supply politically right now.”
Ret. Gen. David Petraeus, the former director of the CIA and head of U.S. Central Command, told JI that Graham’s legacy would be “that of someone who was fiercely committed to the enduring principles, values and freedoms that we cherish, and who had the political skills and determination to see what he supported promoted by legislation, policies and strategies.”
“Sen. Graham’s dedication to the state of Israel and to the Jewish people was deeply sincere. We talked about it all the time. I went to Israel with him many times,” said Morgan Ortagus, the former deputy presidential envoy for Middle East peace in the second Trump administration and one of Graham’s closest confidantes in Washington. “He was a Southern Baptist and believed in the importance of the Jewish state to his core, and was willing to defend it.”
“I think he would be pleased to hear me say that he was not just adept, but was diabolically creative when necessary to achieve the outcomes to which he was committed,” Petraeus said.
Many of Graham’s allies said they expect his longstanding support for Israel and his commitment to aiding Ukraine in Russia’s war against it to be signature pieces of his foreign policy legacy.
“Sen. Graham’s dedication to the state of Israel and to the Jewish people was deeply sincere. We talked about it all the time. I went to Israel with him many times,” Ortagus said. “He was a Southern Baptist and believed in the importance of the Jewish state to his core, and was willing to defend it.”
“We talked a lot in the past year about the rise of antisemitism and anti-Zionism in both parties. He was very close to my daughter and she called him ‘Uncle Lindsey,’” she continued. “I would always remind him that I have a Jewish daughter and that throughout our history, the Jewish people have always thought we were safe until we weren’t.”
Ortagus said she and Graham “agreed that we have to fight antisemitism back in our party, that it can’t be allowed to fester. He would always talk about how important it was. He had deeply held personal beliefs on what America’s relationship with Israel should be. There was nothing cynical or craven about it.”
Cruz described Graham as “a passionate and formidable defender of Israel” and noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “trusted Lindsey and listened to him.”
“Lindsey loved the nation of Israel. He loved the people of Israel, and he believed ferociously in defending and strengthening America’s friendship and alliance with Israel,” the Texas senator said of his late colleague. “Now, Lindsey would sometimes tell his friends messages they didn’t want to hear. Lindsey was not one to just blow smoke. He would tell people exactly what he thought, but that made him an incredibly effective advocate for Israel.”
“Lindsey understood that standing with Israel is overwhelmingly in America’s national security interests,” he continued. “He and I collaborated very closely on articulating why standing with Israel makes America safer, that the enemies of Israel, whether Hamas or Hezbollah or Iran, are the enemies of America as well.”
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) credited Graham with doing “a masterful job of pulling” senators from across the ideological spectrum “in the same direction” in the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, swiftly organizing a bipartisan congressional delegation alongside former Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as he sought to salvage his longstanding efforts to achieve Saudi-Israeli normalization.
“It was an incredible trip, and all of us said it was just one of the most consequential, constructive trips we’d ever been on,” Coons told JI. “[Sen.] Katie Britt (R-AL) came on the trip. It was one of her first trips as a senator, I think. Think about the range of members who we had. We had [Sens.] Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) in the same meeting.”
“Even though it was two weeks after Oct. 7 and it was in the middle of that shock, he knew what he was doing,” Coons continued. “He was building a coalition of supporters for the deal that he was hoping he could pull off.”
Coons was one of several people to point to Graham’s well-documented friendships with the late Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT), known as the Senate’s “three amigos,” as an important part of his legacy.
“I think he continued McCain’s legacy of fighting for freedom, and he never gave up on the possibility of ending the Arab-Israeli conflict,” Coons said. “That was his prize.”
“He was not afraid to be critical and he was never uncritical of friends. He believed that friends owe it to each other to try to enable them to do better,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said. “He had a vision, which was in effect the normalization of relationships throughout the Middle East, an extension of the Abraham Accords. He pursued it relentlessly.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who maintains a similarly bipartisan reputation in Congress, worked with Graham frequently on foreign policy matters. Blumenthal began traveling abroad with Graham in 2012, two years after being elected to the Senate. Their first trip together was a congressional delegation to the Middle East organized by McCain. The two traveled repeatedly to Ukraine and its European neighbors since Russia’s invasion, and to the Middle East since Oct. 7.
“He loved the Jewish people and he loved the Jewish state, which was so striking to me when I first traveled with him and John McCain to Israel,” Blumenthal told JI. “He and McCain loved the faith of the Jewish people, which of course is so much a part of life in Israel, but Sen. Graham also loved Israel’s ingenuity and inventiveness and the prowess and scrappiness of its military.”
“He was not afraid to be critical and he was never uncritical of friends. He believed that friends owe it to each other to try to enable them to do better,” he continued. “He had a vision, which was in effect the normalization of relationships throughout the Middle East, an extension of the Abraham Accords. He pursued it relentlessly.”
On the Taylor Force Act, Gerber noted that he convinced Graham to push for the Palestinian Authority to end its controversial payment program to Palestinian terrorists and their families, also known as “pay-for-slay,” after showing the senator video footage of the Palestinian Authority celebrating the terrorist who murdered Taylor Force, a U.S. army veteran killed by a Palestinian while visiting Israel in 2016.
“I’d shown this to many other senators, but no one was as upset as Lindsey. I remember him shaking when he saw the footage,” Gerber said. “Originally, I just wanted to educate Congress about what was going on, so I was trying to meet with as many members as I could to let them know the Palestinian Authority had this institutional infrastructure in place.”
Leading Jewish and pro-Israel organizations praised Graham in statements on his passing as a champion for the Jewish state and in the fight to combat rising antisemitism.
“For more than two decades in the United States Senate, his voice was a constant reminder that a strong Israel is firmly in America’s national security interest, and his commitment to these principles never wavered,” AIPAC said. “His many visits to Israel and his love for the Israeli people reflected not just a policy position, but a deep personal connection to the Jewish state and its citizens.”
The American Jewish Committee described the late senator as “a powerful advocate for many of the issues AJC champions, including American global leadership, Israel’s security, a robust North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and Ukraine’s defensive fight against Russian aggression.”
AIPAC called Graham “a great friend and true champion of the U.S.-Israel relationship.”
“For more than two decades in the United States Senate, his voice was a constant reminder that a strong Israel is firmly in America’s national security interest, and his commitment to these principles never wavered,” the organization said. “His many visits to Israel and his love for the Israeli people reflected not just a policy position, but a deep personal connection to the Jewish state and its citizens.”
The Republican Jewish Coalition released a statement from Matt Brooks, the organization’s CEO, and former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), the organization’s national chairman, describing the late senator as “a dear friend” to both men personally and the organization as a whole.
“On a personal level, Lindsey was a man of deep loyalty, humor, and heart. He treated everyone, ally or adversary, with warmth and respect, and he built friendships across the aisle that many said were impossible in today’s Washington,” the statement read.
The GOP senator’s slow embrace of Trump earned him criticism from constituents and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. As a former conservative House lawmaker who had fought the rise of the Tea Party movement in the early 2010s, Graham had built a reputation as a defense hawk with a penchant for bipartisanship when Trump was first elected in 2016.
Some Democrats were angered by his political pivot, especially during and after the first Trump administration, but Graham maintained strong relationships with his Democratic colleagues and continued working with them frequently on efforts to support Ukraine and other areas of agreement.
“He deeply, genuinely loved the Senate. He tried really hard to do positive things for the institution at the same time that he was a fierce partisan,” Coons said of Graham. “Our fight over Kavanaugh was one of the worst I’ve ever had.”
Another of those Democrats is Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who became close with Graham in the two-and-a-half years since the Oct. 7 attacks. Graham and Fetterman, whose decision to vocally support Israel amid declining support in the Democratic Party prompted his relationship with the progressive left to collapse, frequently engaged on foreign policy matters, especially related to developments in the Middle East.
Fetterman described Graham to JI as “warm, friendly and thoughtful” and called his passing “a tragedy.”
“Israel lost a huge champion with Lindsey Graham,” the Pennsylvania senator said.
Libertarian and isolationist Republicans, meanwhile, grew frustrated that such a hawkish voice was being consulted so closely on foreign policy matters in an America First administration.
“There should be a law that Lindsey Graham can only enter the White House every other week, and that he’s only to meet with under mid-level people, not the president. No more golf outings,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a foe of Graham’s in the Senate Republican Conference who opposed the president’s actions in Venezuela, told reporters in January.
Across the political spectrum, those who knew Graham described him as an irreplaceable fixture in the Senate and predicted that his loss would cause many voids in the upper chamber, where the late senator was supposed to take over as the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee next year.
“He links so many things and so many people that without him, there’s a missing link in a lot of relationships between Middle Eastern countries between members of the Senate, between Budget Committee members and leadership, between the Republicans and Democrats,” Cramer said of Graham’s expansive presence in the Senate. “We’ll find out the consequences of losing him in time like this soon, but it’ll be hard to navigate to be sure.”
“I don’t know who can play this role going forward. I just don’t see it,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) said. “He’s just not replaceable. There’s not going to be anyone like him again.”
Cruz told JI that, “nobody will fill that void” left by Graham’s absence, citing the respective impacts of McCain and the late Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to the upper chamber.
“When John McCain passed away, that was a void that was never filled. When Orrin Hatch, another longtime legend of the Senate, passed away, that was a void that was never filled,” Cruz said. “Nobody will fill Lindsey’s shoes. Others will step up and lead in different ways, but Lindsey left an indelible mark on the Senate, on the nation and on the hearts of his colleagues.”
“I don’t know who can play this role going forward. I just don’t see it,” Coons said. “He’s just not replaceable. There’s not going to be anyone like him again.”
Plus, Labour's leftward turn on Israel
Israeli Ministry of Defense/Anadolu via Getty Images
Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz holds a security situation assessment meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other senior commanders in Tel Aviv, Israel, on March 07, 2026.
Good Thursday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Appearing on CNN this morning, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said Jerusalem is “supportive of the position of the United States” regarding renewed strikes on Iran, and said Israel would “fly alongside U.S. aircraft” if called on to do so.
He added that Iran had violated its “only obligation” under the memorandum of understanding — to keep the Strait of Hormuz open — and that if the Iranians “persist in their malign intentions,” the war could resume “in full swing”…
Israeli military leaders are also hinting at potential Israeli involvement: At an Israeli Air Force graduation ceremony, Defense Minister Israel Katz said the IDF is prepared to carry out independent strikes “to remove threats” in Iran. Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF’s chief of staff, told the graduates that “new plans” are “on the drawing board” and that “major operations are still expected to lie ahead of us. Be prepared”…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he spoke with President Donald Trump today and was updated by the president “on American moves in the Gulf.” According to a statement from the PMO, Netanyahu again raised the issue of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan‘s hostile rhetoric toward Israel…
The Wall Street Journal examines the “root of the dispute” over the Strait of Hormuz — the “poorly worded” fifth article in the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding that says Tehran will “make arrangements” to restore shipping in the waterway and then work with Oman on a plan to administer it going forward.
“Notably, the paragraph says nothing about the U.S. making arrangements for the safe passage of vessels, which Iran has seized on to attack ships that use a U.S.-coordinated route,” a U.S. official told the outlet…
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) is in Israel and the West Bank this week while Congress is in recess, according to two individuals with knowledge of the trip. Khanna has not posted publicly about his visit, which is scheduled to conclude tonight, JI’s Melissa Weiss reports…
While wrapping up his trip, Khanna, who was one of Senate candidate Graham Platner’s most vociferous defenders until a rape allegation was made against the Maine Democrat earlier this week, told MS NOW that he’s endorsing former state Sen. Troy Jackson to take Platner’s place on the ballot. Jackson, who previously ran for governor, is a progressive seen as aligned with Platner…
But Platner’s potential replacements will have to wait a few more days: The candidate told campaign staff he intends to wait until the very last day — Monday — to officially file his paperwork to drop out of the race, Axios reports…
The Journal profiles Cheyenne Hunt, the progressive influencer and activist who played a key role in bringing to light the sexual assault and misconduct allegations that ultimately saw the ouster of Platner and the resignation of former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA)…
Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) withdrew as co-chair of the Congressional Friends of Spain Caucus due to what he called Madrid’s “escalating, hostile crusade” against Israel…
Andy Burnham, widely expected to become Britain’s next prime minister, told The Guardian that the response of his Labour party to Israel’s military actions in Gaza “has too often not been good enough” and that the U.K. has “got to do more to put pressure on the Israeli government,” including sanctions and potentially banning trade in goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Burnham also said there is “increasing evidence” that Israel committed war crimes, though he did not use the word genocide, and said the determination should be left to international courts. His comments mark a shift to the left of Labour’s outgoing leader, Keir Starmer, who was slower than other European leaders to back a ceasefire and recognize Palestinian statehood…
Among those speaking at the closed-door Allen & Company retreat in Sun Valley, Idaho, today were Jared Kushner, UAE Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) as well as Ken Griffin, the hedge fund manager and GOP megadonor.
Asked whether he would support Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the 2028 presidential election, Griffin said he’d be inclined to back Rubio…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
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 Platner’s potential replacements, as a handful of Maine Democrats are already jockeying for the position less than 24 hours after Platner announced he intends to drop out of the race for U.S. Senate.
We’ll be watching to see if U.S. and Iranian strikes continue into the weekend, or if the current flare-up has run its course. Prior to the outbreak in hostilities, Saudi media had reported that talks between Washington and Iran would restart on July 11, after the dayslong funeral of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wraps up today. Trump said this morning that the Iranians had called and “want to make a deal so badly,” but it’s unclear whether the two sides intend to meet.
We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat shalom!
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SCOOP
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As of this week, UDP has reserved $865,000 in ad time for the race and New Democrat Majority has reserved $500,000, ahead of the Aug. 4 primary
Plus, Rahm Emanuel on the ‘moral bankruptcy’ of far-left Dems
Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
President Donald Trump during the press conference at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkiye on July 8, 2026.
Good Wednesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
CENTCOM began conducting additional strikes against Iran this afternoon, after President Donald Trump continued to escalate his rhetoric against the regime in his remarks today at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.
Trump said he wasn’t sure he wanted to make a deal with the Iranians any longer and reiterated his threat to “finish the job,” but still denied the strikes mark a return to full-scale war: “I think anything that happens is going to be over very quickly,” he said…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had scrapped a planned trip to Israel, saying in an interview that the defense chief had been “called back home” from the summit in Ankara. Meanwhile, Israeli media reports that American military refueling planes have begun to return to the region…
Trump is likely to face pushback from lawmakers over the renewed strikes: Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he’s already “in conversations with the Senate to explore any and all legal pathways to hold Trump accountable,” given that both chambers of Congress already passed a war powers resolution seeking an end to U.S. military action in Iran…
Trump also informed Congress today that he intends to rescind Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism following a 45-day pre-notification period, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced, shortly after Trump held a friendly meeting with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the NATO summit…
Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, speaking to Jewish Insider’s Melissa Weiss prior to his speech at Tel Aviv University today, criticized the “moral bankruptcy” of “those that paraded, celebrated and cheered” in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.
Responding to a question about Democrats who did so — including New York City congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, who attended an anti-Israel rally in Times Square on Oct. 8, 2023 — Emanuel said, “I have no place for the moral bankruptcy of those that found Oct. 8 as the day to cheer 1,200 people not only killed but sexually abused, and for taking hostage 250 people”…
In an interview on Israel’s Channel 12, Emanuel confirmed he’s “thinking about” running for president in 2028 and said he believes Americans could elect a Jewish president. “I believe people will evaluate me based on my character and my background,” he said…
Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner still remains in the race two days after Politico published an account from a former romantic partner accusing him of rape, though the candidate’s feud with the Maine Democratic Party continues. Platner’s campaign manager, Ben Chin, sent a message to supporters today accusing the MDP of allowing the national Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to orchestrate Platner’s replacement “behind closed doors.”
In response, the MDP, which was reportedly set to hold a meeting on the issue this afternoon, said Platner’s campaign is “distracting from the job of defeating [Sen.] Susan Collins (R-ME) in November with false accusations” and pledged to develop “a representative, transparent and inclusive process to select a new nominee when he chooses to withdraw from the race”…
A new Politico survey of Democratic primary voters in Michigan, conducted in the two days after state Sen. Mallory McMorrow dropped out of the race for U.S. Senate, found the two remaining candidates — Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Abdul El-Sayed — in a statistical tie at 42-41%, with nearly 20% of voters undecided…
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear sent a letter to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) requesting that he “fully update Kentuckians regarding the current status of your health,” as McConnell has been hospitalized for nearly a month…
A new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 44% of American Jews hold a favorable view of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — a higher percentage than Netanyahu, who received a 32% favorability rating…
Jewish groups — including the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Hadassah and StandWithUs — celebrated several steps taken at the National Education Association’s Representative Assembly, which wrapped up yesterday in Denver, including the Jewish Affairs Caucus’ work in advancing three amendments to the NEA Constitution and a resolution on Jewish education…
Bertrand Benoit, The Wall Street Journal’s bureau chief in Germany, explores what it means for Germany’s identity as its citizens begin to lose their living connection to the Holocaust, including how the fading of survivor testimony, rising antisemitism and challenges from both the political right and left are reshaping the country’s culture of remembrance…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
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 the choice ahead for Georgia’s Jewish community in the race between Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and his opponent, Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA).
The Contemporary Antisemitism conference at the University of Haifa will wrap up with a keynote speech by philosopher and author Bernard-Henri Lévy.
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Members from both parties warned lifting penalties would reward Erdoğan’s destabilizing actions, while senators at NATO summit said Turkey could rejoin F-35 program if concerns over Russian S-400 system are resolved
CHATBOT FAIL
The antisemitism watchdog tested ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok and found Persian responses hedged or missed antisemitic framing that English responses rejected outright
Plus, progressives pull the plug on Platner
Photo by Elke Scholiers/Getty Images
Crude oil tankers, bulk carriers and vessels sit anchored around Qaboos Port on June 22, 2026 in Muscat, Oman.
Good Tuesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
The fallout from a rape allegation made against Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner intensified today as Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) — some of the Democrat’s most prominent progressive backers — rescinded their support of Platner and called on him to drop out. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who shares a top consultant with Platner, also advised the candidate to drop his bid.
Platner’s campaign has canceled all in-person fundraising events scheduled for the coming days and put holds on its social media ads, according to Politico. The candidate reportedly told his campaign staff in a call last night that a decision on the future of his race is forthcoming…
Several prominent Maine Democrats have begun to signal interest in replacing Platner on the general election ballot, should he withdraw by the deadline of July 13. Among those hinting at a run are Troy Jackson, a former state Senate president who has already filed with the Federal Election Commission to explore a bid; former U.S. House candidate Jordan Wood; former gubernatorial candidate Nirav Shah; and Platner’s former primary opponent David Costello.
Maine Democratic Party officials are considering holding a pop-up convention around July 25 or holding a statewide caucus to choose Platner’s replacement, sources told The New York Times…
As the heated Democratic Senate primary in Michigan enters its final stretch, far-left candidate Abdul El-Sayed told CNN this week that he does not believe that a politician’s support for Israel could be about anything other than money, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. “Not if you’re a Democrat and you believe in human rights,” El-Sayed told CNN when asked about such a distinction…
The Treasury Department revoked the waiver it issued last month lifting sanctions on Iranian oil, after Iran reportedly struck another vessel in the Strait of Hormuz today, marking the third such attack in the last 24 hours.
“As President [Donald] Trump and the administration have repeatedly affirmed, the [memorandum of understanding] in effect with Iran is entirely performance-based. Iran will only reap benefits if they exhibit good behavior,” a U.S. official told JI’s Matthew Shea. “Iran’s actions in the Strait were wholly unacceptable to the United States and will be met with consequences. Our negotiators continue to work in good faith towards a final deal”…
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry summoned Iran’s deputy ambassador in the Gulf stateto express its “strong condemnation and denunciation” of Tehran’s strike yesterday on a Qatari tanker, after Doha sent a delegation of officials to the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an apparent diplomatic olive branch…
Saudi Arabia is considering increasing the capacity of its East-West oil pipeline in order to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and facilitate oil exports out of the Red Sea, Reuters reports…
Trump announced today that his administration is preparing to lift congressionally mandated sanctions on Turkey as he weighs moving forward with the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Ankara, JI’s Matthew Shea reports.
“It’s time to do that. We don’t want to sanction friends,” the president said. Defense experts and lawmakers previously told JI that Turkey still maintains the Russian air-defense system that prompted the sanctions in 2020, which makes lifting the sanctions legally complicated…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again voiced his opposition to Trump’s overtures to Ankara, telling CNN that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is “not exactly a model ally of the United States” as he “threatens to destroy my country, the one and only Jewish state.”
Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli went further in his rhetoric, calling Erdoğan a “grotesque hybrid of Hitler and [late Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar” and a “pathetic blood-soaked zero” in a post on X yesterday…
The Israeli Consulate in New York was evacuated from its Midtown Manhattan building after a nearby high-rise building under construction showed signs of collapsing, prompting evacuations across the area…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for coverage of tonight’s debate between Michigan Senate Democratic primary candidates Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), with less than a month to go until the election.
The NATO summit in Ankara will conclude with the main working session of all 32 member states as well as a press conference from NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers is set to attend a dinner tonight on the sidelines of the summit with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel will deliver a speech at Tel Aviv University, where he is set to lay out his vision for the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship as he prepares for a potential 2028 presidential run. Emanuel met today with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum.
The Contemporary Antisemitism conference will continue at the University of Haifa.
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(CJ Gunther/Getty Images)
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner and his wife Amy Gertner wave to supporters as they arrive to Platner's Primary Election event on June 9, 2026 in Blue Hill, Maine.
Good Tuesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at the fallout from a new report that Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner sexually assaulted a former partner, and spotlight the South Florida congressional race in which Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is mounting a bid in a district historically represented by Black legislators. We report on an Israeli Democracy Institute survey that found confidence in President Donald Trump’s prioritization of Israel’s security needs at an all-time low, and look at a new psychology training program backed by the Academic Engagement Network that aims to combat antisemitism in mental health care. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, Alejandro Mayorkas and President Emmanuel Macron.
We have also launched a new on-demand Live Briefing that you can access throughout the day via our new app (on Apple and Android) and on our website.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with an assist from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- President Donald Trump is slated to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan this afternoon, shortly after he lands in Turkey for the two-day NATO Ankara summit. The summit kicks off later today with representatives from all 32 NATO countries expected to attend.
- In addition to heads of state, a bipartisan congressional delegation comprised of Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Chris Coons (D-DE) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) will also be attending the summit after stopping in Budapest, Hungary, where the lawmakers met on Monday with newly elected Prime Minister Péter Magyar.
- Iran is expected to be a primary topic of conversations on the sidelines of the convening. Before leaving for Ankara, Trump said that the U.S. would either reach an agreement with Tehran, or would “finish the job.” His comments came hours before Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps struck two ships — believed to be a Qatari tanker and a Saudi vessel carrying crude oil — transiting through the Strait of Hormuz near the coast of Oman.
- In Iran, officials from dozens of countries — including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, India, China and Turkey — are taking part in the ongoing ceremonies around the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Absent from the funeral events are representatives from the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, both of which were heavily targeted by Iran during the recent war.
- Stateside, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Abdul El-Sayed will face off this evening in a head-to-head debate as the two vie for the Democratic nomination in the state’s open Senate race. The debate will be the first matchup between the two since state Sen. Mallory McMorrow dropped her bid over the weekend.
- Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel is in Israel this week ahead of a planned speech tomorrow at Tel Aviv University. Emanuel met on Monday with human rights lawyer Cochav Elkayam-Levy, who spearheaded the effort to document Hamas’ sexual violence during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.
- Elsewhere in Israel, the three-day Contemporary Antisemitism conference kicks off today at the University of Haifa. Deborah Lipstadt, who served as the Biden administration’s antisemitism envoy, is slated to deliver the keynote address today.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MELISSA WEISS
When an ex-girlfriend of Graham Platner told Politico in a story published on Monday that the Maine Democratic Senate candidate had raped her in 2021 after entering her home while heavily intoxicated, she said she did so because the response to a recent New York Times report on Platner’s past dubious behavior had focused on discrediting Lyndsey Fifield, one of the women who featured prominently in the story over her ties to the GOP.
Jenny Racicot, a Democrat, hadn’t wanted to go public with the rape accusation (which she had shared off-record with the Times), in part because she and Platner were largely politically aligned. “One of the reasons I didn’t come forward sooner was, the huge moral conflict that I had between supporting his politics, but not supporting him as a person,” Racicot told Politico. “My part of the story [in the NYT] was just a read-over,” Racicot said. “And the story was Lyndsey, and the accusations of her being politically motivated.”
The unfolding situation in Maine reflects a broader trend in American politics in which immoral or questionable behavior by one’s peers is ignored or obfuscated to serve a perceived “greater good” of electing a political ally despite their failing moral standards.
In recent years, both major parties have increasingly tolerated conduct that would have once been considered disqualifying — even as the #MeToo movement briefly changed the nature of the discourse (see former Minnesota Sen. Al Franken as an example). Similar arguments have surfaced across political controversies over the last decade (including against President Donald Trump), with supporters of embattled candidates and officials insisting that policy positions outweigh personal conduct and dismissing allegations as politically motivated.
In a short span of time, the 2017 rallying cry of “Believe all women” gave way to “Believe women whose politics align with ours” — a mindset that extended to the widespread denial of Hamas’ sexual violence during the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks and against the Israeli hostages kept in captivity in Gaza.
But yesterday’s Politico report, which prompted calls from Platner’s most prominent backers — including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) — for him to end his bid, may mark the point at which previous defenses of the Maine Democrat become politically untenable.
SORE SPOT
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s (D-FL) reelection race has turned into a local and national flashpoint following the Republican-led redistricting process in Florida, and risks driving a wedge in traditional Black-Jewish alliances in the state and the party. Wasserman Schultz is running in South Florida’s newly redrawn 20th Congressional District, a decision pitting the longtime Democratic leader and former Democratic National Committee chair against leaders who have criticized her for running in a seat historically represented by a Black lawmaker, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Redistricting ramifications: “The situation we’re in is the result of a deliberate decision by the Republican leadership in our state to target all three Jewish members of Congress from South Florida, to target the two African American members of Congress from South Florida and deliberately set something up that was going to result in, let’s say, tension between those two historically allied communities,” said Joe Geller, a former Florida House Democrat, who lives outside the district and is supporting Wasserman Schultz.
LOSING FAITH
The number of Israelis who believe President Donald Trump views Israel’s security as a central consideration has continued to plummet to record lows after Washington signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran, according to a new survey from the Israel Democracy Institute. The June 2026 Israeli Voice Index, conducted between June 28 and July 1, found that 28% of respondents — including 26% of Jewish Israelis and 36% of Arab Israelis — believe Israel’s security is a key consideration for Trump, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
Survey says: Among Jewish Israelis, the figure dropped 15 percentage points from a month ago, when 41% of respondents said they felt Israeli security was a key consideration for Trump as his administration engaged in negotiations with Tehran. At the time, those findings marked the lowest levels of Israeli trust in Trump since the research center began tracking the metric when he was elected to a second term in November 2024.
