Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed sidestepped a question about Israel’s right to exist during an interview with the anti-Israel media outlet Zeteo last week, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. 

Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan asked El-Sayed how he would respond if and when he faces questions on the campaign trail about whether he supports Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. Pressed after initially dodging the question, El-Sayed said, “Israel exists. Palestine doesn’t. And so I always wonder why nobody asks me why Palestine doesn’t have a right to exist.”

El-Sayed also dismissed AIPAC donors as “MAGA billionaires throwing their money around to try to dictate the outcome for a Democratic primary,” though AIPAC has not yet endorsed a candidate in the Michigan Senate race…

Chi Ossé, a far-left Gen Z New York City councilman, is planning to launch a primary challenge to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), The New York Times reports, despite discouragement from his ideological ally, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who clinched Jeffries’ endorsement shortly before the general election. Ossé’s insistence on running reportedly caused him to be disinvited from Mamdani’s election night party… 

Elsewhere in New York, Bruce Blakeman, the first Jewish executive of Nassau County who just won reelection last week, is considering mounting a bid for governor, he told Politico, where he would face off against Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) in the GOP primary. Both are allies of President Donald Trump; Blakeman said he “told [Trump] that I was interested, and he didn’t discourage me. And I think he’s had the same conversation with Elise. I think the president is going to play it out and see what happens at the convention”…

Also throwing her hat in the ring, former Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA), a moderate Jewish Democrat with a strong pro-Israel record, plans to launch a comeback campaign tomorrow, Punchbowl reports. Luria would likely be the front-runner in the already crowded Democratic primary to win back Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District from Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA), who defeated her in 2022…

Ron Dermer, Israel’s minister of strategic affairs and longtime advisor and confidante to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, resigned from his post today after three years in the role, JI’s Tamara Zieve reports. “This government will be remembered both for the October 7 attack and for its management of the two-year, seven-front war that followed,” Dermer wrote in his resignation letter. Israeli media had reported for months that Dermer’s departure was expected.

Dermer has led Israel’s ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations since February and is expected to stay on as Netanyahu’s envoy to continue handling the future of the Gaza portfolio, political sources recently told JI… 

The State Department denied reports today that White House advisor Jared Kushner met with Gaza militia leader Yasser Abu Shabab to discuss ceasefire issues including dozens of Hamas terrorists still “stuck” in tunnels on the Israeli side of the ceasefire lines, though U.S. officials told Axios Kushner did speak with Netanyahu about the issue during their meeting in Jerusalem yesterday, and is eager to resolve it without impact on the next phase of the deal…

Saudi Arabia is set to host a U.S.-Saudi investment summit in Washington next Wednesday, a day after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the White House. An invite obtained by CBS News shows the event taking place at the Kennedy Center, co-hosted by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment and the U.S.-Saudi Business Council…

An undated letter from Houthi Chief of Staff Yusuf Hassan al-Madani to Hamas’ Al Qassam Brigades indicates that the Yemeni terror group has halted its attacks on Israel and ships in the Red Sea amid the ongoing ceasefire: “We are closely monitoring developments and declare that if the enemy resumes its aggression against Gaza, we will return to our military operations deep inside the Zionist entity, and we will reinstate the ban on Israeli navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas,” the letter reads…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for an analysis on congressional redistricting efforts and additional reporting on Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s Washington meetings.

The International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries kicks off tomorrow, drawing 6,200 rabbis from 111 countries to New York City.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama will appear at Washington’s Sixth & I Synagogue tomorrow evening to discuss her forthcoming book, The Look.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Despite the historic nature of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s White House visit today, his meeting with President Donald Trump was kept a relatively low-key affair. Al-Sharaa entered through a back door and didn’t receive the usual greeting photo op with Trump, and the meeting was closed to the press.

The two leaders made news nonetheless: Syria is now set to join the U.S.-led campaign against ISIS, Trump and al-Sharaa discussed reopening respective embassies in Damascus and Washington and the Treasury Department issued a new order extending the suspension of U.S. sanctions on Syria for six months. 

Ibrahim Olabi, Syria’s U.N. ambassador, said the two leaders also discussed a prospective Israel-Syria security agreement. “The term used frequently during the meeting by President Trump and Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio was ‘let’s get this done,’” Olabi said…

Trump has encouraged lawmakers to fully lift the congressionally mandated U.S. sanctions on Syria, but Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), a Trump ally and the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, did not commit to supporting sanctions relief when he held his own meeting with al-Sharaa yesterday, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Mast and al-Sharaa “had a long and serious conversation about how to build a future for the people of Syria free of war, ISIS, and extremism,” Mast said in a statement, but offered no words of praise for the Syrian leader…

Sergio Gor was sworn in as U.S. ambassador to India today to unusual fanfare — he and Trump were joined in the Oval Office by Rubio; Vice President JD Vance; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent; Attorney General Pam Bondi; U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro; Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Jim Risch (R-ID); Katie Britt (R-AL) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL); Erika Kirk and Fox News host Laura Ingraham, among others. 

Swearing in Gor, who used to serve as the head of the Presidential Personnel Office where he wielded significant influence in assuring political hires shared his skepticism of American engagement abroad, Vance said, “We have such a crowd here, you’d think we were swearing in a vice president”…

Laura Loomer, a right-wing Trump advisor who has historically maintained pro-Israel stances, wrote on social media today that, after spending “an incredible week” in Israel, she has “reached a firm conclusion: Israel must end its dependence on U.S. aid and the U.S. must end all aid to Israel.”

“I truly hope by the end of the Trump administration and by the beginning of a new administration in 2028 that we see zero aid flowing to Israel,” she wrote, calling it a “win-win” for the U.S., which will no longer be a “global baby sitter,” and for Israel, which will be free to conduct its wars as it wishes.

In response, Democratic Majority for Israel accused Loomer of continuing “a troubling pattern on the Right — embracing anti-Israel policies & undermining our allies,” in the vein of Tucker Carlson and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)…

Christine Pelosi, daughter of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who was thought to be considering a run for her mother’s seat as she retires, announced today that she is not running for Congress. Instead, Pelosi is launching a campaign for the state Senate seat currently held by Scott Wiener, who is running for her mother’s San Francisco congressional district…

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani named two of his top advisors today: Dean Fuleihan to be first deputy mayor and Elle Bisgaard-Church as his chief of staff. 

Bisgaard-Church is a democratic socialist who was part of Mamdani’s campaign inner circle. Fuleihan, on the other hand, is a city and state government veteran; he previously served in the same role under former Mayor Bill de Blasio and as his budget director, as well as a budget expert in the state Legislature, among other roles. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), who was at times at odds with Mamdani during his campaign, called Fuleihan’s appointment “exceptional … in more ways than one”…  

Danielle Sassoon, the former interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York who resigned her post rather than drop a case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams at the request of the Trump administration, has joined the law office of Clement & Murphy, The New York Times reports. The conservative boutique firm is known for its “longstanding opposition to executive branch overreach”…

The Wall Street Journal reports on Yale’s attempt to stay out of the line of fire in Trump’s crusade against higher education, including President Maurie McInnis’ increased government lobbying expenditures and a student forum where classmates encouraged each other to refrain from disruptive anti-Israel protests: “‘The only thing continuing to protest will do is to take education and opportunities away from the rest of us,’ said one post [on the forum]. ‘Ppl need to stop being stupid and selfish and realize they will gain no ground under this administration on the Israel issue’”…

Palantir CEO Alex Karp defended his support of Israel in an interview with WIRED, released today, saying, “Israel is a country with a GDP smaller than Switzerland, and it’s under massive attack. Some critiques are legitimate, but others are aggressive in attacking Israel. My reaction is, well, then I’m just going to defend them.” 

“When people are fair to Israel and treat it like any other nation, which I don’t think they do, I will be much more willing to express in public the things I express in private to Israelis”…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reporting on veteran journalists Bianna Golodryga and Yonit Levi’s new book, Don’t Feed the Lion, which they will launch at Temple Emanu-El in New York City tomorrow night, joined in conversation by comedian Elon Gold.

This evening, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa will appear on Fox News’ “Special Report” with Bret Baier.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The Abraham Accords is expected to gain another participant this evening, though in a first, the country is not joining as a show of peace with Israel — since the new addition, the Muslim-majority central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, has had full diplomatic relations with Israel since 1992.

Kazakhstan’s president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, is expected to announce the move at a meeting with President Donald Trump later today, where they will also hold a joint phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump administration officials told Axios that the White House wants to “build momentum” for the Abraham Accords ahead of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Washington on Nov. 18.

As far as Kazakhstan’s motivation, the former Soviet nation has long lobbied Washington to cancel a Cold War-era law that has hindered its access to American markets, and could benefit from currying favor with the Trump administration.

Leading Jewish organizations have worked with Kazakhstan’s Jewish community and government for over a decade to lobby Congress to repeal the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, and told Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov and Danielle Cohen-Kanik that they are highly supportive of the country’s inclusion in the Accords…

Ahead of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s own visit to the White House on Monday, the U.N. Security Council voted in favor of a U.S.-sponsored resolution to lift sanctions on the former Al-Qaida leader turned president…

Also getting an Oval Office welcome, Israeli media reported today that Trump invited the 20 Israeli hostages released from Gaza last month to visit the White House in two weeks…

On the Hill, members of the Senate Armed Services Committee from both parties voiced concerns with Elbridge Colby, under secretary of defense for policy, and his office at the Pentagon at a committee hearing today — for the second time this week, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

“Many of this committee have serious concerns about the Pentagon’s policy office and how it is serving the president of the United States and the Congress,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the chairman of the committee, said in his opening statement. “In many of these conversations, we hear that the Pentagon policy office seems to be doing what it pleases without coordinating, even inside the U.S. executive branch”…

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced this morning that she will retire at the end of her term in 2027, after serving 39 years in Congress where she made history as the first female speaker of the House. 

For most of her illustrious career, Pelosi has been a reliable ally of Israel and, as Democratic leader, generally managed to keep her caucus united around support for the Jewish state. But, like many Democrats, she leaned in a more critical direction during the war in Gaza, at one point supporting a call to suspend weapons transfers to Israel. Read JI’s interview with Scott Wiener, the state senator from California seeking to win her seat…

The IDF is beginning to demobilize thousands of reservists called up for duty, some of whom have served hundreds of days in the past two years, announcing that the country is transitioning from war into a period of “enhanced border security” as the ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza largely endures…

The Treasury Department announced sanctions today against members of Hezbollah’s “finance team” who “oversee the movement of funds from Iran” in an effort to support the Lebanese government’s moves to disarm the terror group. The department revealed that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has already transferred over $1 billion to Hezbollah this year…

Author Jamie Kirchick argues in The Washington Post that the “inevitable fracturing of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement is in sight, the instigator of its rupture that most narcissistic and destructive of media personalities: Tucker Carlson.” 

Kirchick admonishes Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts for failing to outright condemn Carlson’s platforming of neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes: “Stalinists and Holocaust deniers like Fuentes are perfectly entitled to spew their nonsense on street corners, through self-published manifestos or in online livestreams. What they are not entitled to is the imprimatur of purportedly respectable institutions whose reputations hinge upon the voices they choose to amplify”…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for an interview with former Minnesota Sen. Rudy Boschwitz, who will be celebrating his 95th birthday.

On Sunday, the Zionist Organization of America will hold its annual gala, where it will present awards to Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY); Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter; Leo Terrell, head of the Department of Justice’s antisemitism task force; Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon; and philanthropists Irit and Jonathan Tratt. 

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Jewish Americans are still taking stock after Zohran Mamdani’s victory last night in the New York City mayoral race. The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, based in New York, called Mamdani’s victory a “grim milestone” and a reminder “that antisemitism remains a clear and present danger, even in the places where American Jews have long felt most secure.” Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, listed policies the organization will be looking toward “to address the profound concerns about what the future holds for Jewish safety and belonging.”

Robert Tucker, the Jewish commissioner of the New York City Fire Department, resigned this morning, The New York Post reports, hours before he was set to fly to Israel to meet his counterpart there. 

In his first response to an incident of antisemitism as mayor-elect, Mamdani denounced the vandalism of the Magen David Yeshiva in Brooklyn, which had two swastikas graffitied on it overnight, as “a disgusting and heartbreaking act of antisemitism, and it has no place in our beautiful city”…

Another heavily Democratic city rejected its own far-left candidate for mayor today, as incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis won reelection against his DSA-aligned challenger, state Sen. Omar Fateh, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. Marking a win for the more pragmatic wing of the Democratic Party, Frey secured his third term with 50% of the vote, to Fateh’s 44%, in the second round of the city’s ranked-choice voting.

A similar result may be emerging in Seattle, where preliminary results last night showed the Democratic incumbent, Mayor Bruce Harrell, leading over his socialist challenger, Katie Wilson, though many ballots remain to be counted… 

One day after a historic Election Day — first democratic socialist mayor of New York City, largest turnout in an NYC mayoral race since 1969, first female governor of Virginia, first Muslim woman elected to statewide office as Virginia’s lieutenant governor, a record percentage of registered voters turning out for the municipal election in Minneapolis, among others — and the U.S. is already hitting another milestone: the longest government shutdown in history, at 36 days long.

President Donald Trump partially blamed the shutdown for Democrats’ strong showing in yesterday’s elections at a breakfast with Senate Republicans this morning, telling them, “I thought we’d have a discussion after the press leaves about what last night represented, and what we should do about it. … I think if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor, negative for the Republicans”…

Citing the shutdown, increased polarization and rising political violence, Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) announced this afternoon that he will not be seeking reelection. Golden, a pro-Israel centrist who often worked across the aisle, has represented Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, a largely rural, working-class district that Trump won in the 2024 election by 14 points, since 2018, a seat that will be difficult for Democrats to maintain…

Recently freed former hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov recounted her two and a half years of captivity by Kataib Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terror group in Iraq, in a new interview with The New York Times, detailing the torture she experienced that resulted in potentially permanent nerve damage and the need for “long-term physical and psychological rehabilitation,” as determined by doctors at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center…

The University of Maryland, College Park student government is scheduled to vote on two resolutions hostile towards Israel tonight, JI’s Haley Cohen reports. One calls for the university to prohibit people who are “committing war crimes” and “genocide” from speaking on campus, after the campus chapter of Students Supporting Israel hosted an event last month where former IDF soldiers spoke about their experiences serving during Israel’s war with Hamas.

The second resolution calls on the university to issue an apology to students who faced disciplinary action for protesting that event, when demonstrators packed the outside hallway shouting “baby killers” and “IOF [Israel “Occupation” Forces] off our campus,” while several others protested outside of the building with chants comparing the IDF to the Ku Klux Klan…

Variety profiles David Ellison in his first 100 days as CEO of the recently merged Paramount Skydance, including the media company’s about-face on Israel issues. Free Press founder Bari Weiss, hired as editor-in-chief of CBS News by Ellison, “has been so vocal in her support of [Israel] that she faces frequent death threats. She and her wife, The Free Press co-founder Nellie Bowles, require a detail of five bodyguards that costs the studio $10,000-$15,000 a day.” 

Paramount also reportedly “maintains a list of talent it will not work with because they are deemed to be ‘overtly antisemitic’ as well as ‘xenophobic’ and ‘homophobic,’” after the studio was the first to denounce a boycott of Israel signed by several Hollywood heavyweights…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for the latest news on the Heritage Foundation’s internal reckoning with its defense of Tucker Carlson.

Tomorrow, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act, a bill aimed at eliminating loopholes used to possess Nazi-looted artwork that Jewish families have been trying to recover.

The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a nomination hearing for Alex Velez-Green to be deputy under secretary of defense for policy, coming days after committee lawmakers blasted the Pentagon office and its head, Elbridge Colby, during a contentious hearing for failing to communicate with them. 

Maccabi Tel Aviv will play Aston Villa tomorrow in a Europa League match that generated controversy after local authorities announced that supporters of the Israeli team would not be permitted to attend, with the game deemed “high risk” over security concerns. Over 700 police officers are expected to be deployed and a no-fly zone will be established around the Villa Park stadium in Birmingham, England.

Israel’s Hapoel Tel Aviv basketball team will face off against the Dubai team in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Round 9 of the EuroCup tomorrow.

The Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, formerly the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, will host its second Sports Leaders Convening at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts tomorrow, featuring Robert Kraft, the organization’s CEO and owner of the New England Patriots; Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee; Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League; Adam Lehman, CEO of Hillel International; Michael Masters, CEO of the Secure Community Network; and leaders from major sports leagues.

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy will host a webinar tomorrow on the possibility of peace between Israel and Lebanon with Lebanese Member of Parliament Fouad Makhzoumi.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Election Day is underway, and voters are breaking turnout records in New York City. Already by noon today, more people had voted in the mayoral race than had voted in the entirety of the 2021 NYC mayor’s race. By 3 p.m., more than 1.4 million New Yorkers had voted in the race — more than in any NYC mayoral election since 2001, according to The New York Times — with several more hours before the polls close at 9 p.m. 

President Donald Trump chimed in last night, urging New Yorkers to vote for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job,” he wrote on social media. Trump added in another post, “Any Jewish person that votes for Zohran Mamdani, a proven and self professed JEW HATER, is a stupid person!!!”…

One party leader not weighing in: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who has officially made it through the mayoral race without issuing an endorsement. He had said throughout the election that he had held “conversations” with Mamdani but resisted calls to either endorse his party’s candidate or to denounce his anti-Israel views. At a press conference in the Capitol this afternoon, Schumer told reporters he himself had voted and “look[s] forward to working with the next mayor” but would not reveal who got his vote…

Leading right-wing figures continue to contend with the normalization of antisemitism within the GOP: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) joined the list of Republicans who have publicly admonished Tucker Carlson for platforming neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes on his podcast, saying today, “Some of the things [Fuentes has] said are just blatantly antisemitic, racist and anti-American. Anti-Christian, for that matter. I think we have to call out antisemitism wherever it is. Whether it’s Tucker or anybody else, I don’t think we should be giving a platform to that kind of speech. He has a First Amendment right, but we shouldn’t ever amplify it. That’s my view.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) also denounced antisemitism on the right in comments today, though without naming Carlson or Fuentes. “Well, there are lots of voices, obviously, out there, but I don’t think there ought to be any — there just should be no room at all whatsoever for antisemitism or other forms of discrimination. That’s certainly not what our party is about,” Thune said…

Backlash against the Heritage Foundation for defending Carlson also continues; the National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, a conservative coalition aligned with Heritage, changed its tune today in an email to President Kevin Roberts, a day after the task force said it would stand by the organization. 

In today’s email, obtained by Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch, the NTFCA co-chairs made several demands of Roberts, including removing his controversial video defending Carlson; an apology “to those Christians and Jews who are steadfast members of the conservative movement and believe that Israel has a special role to play both biblically and politically;” a conference hosted by Heritage on the boundaries of the conservative movement; hiring a visiting fellow “who shares mainstream conservative views on Israel, Jews and Christian Zionists” to win over Gen Zers; and to host Shabbat dinners with Heritage’s interns and junior staff members to educate them about Judaism.

The task force co-chairs said in the email that if an agreement is not reached soon, their relationship with Heritage “will be irrevocably harmed.” Co-chair Luke Moon told JI, “If the terms aren’t met, we will take the NTFCA elsewhere”…

Several Jewish organizations have cut ties with the NTFCA already over the incident, including the Zionist Organization of America and Young Jewish Conservatives; today, the Coalition for Jewish Values and Combat Antisemitism Movement did so as well.

“We cannot grant legitimacy to an effort to combat antisemitism operated by the Heritage Foundation while Heritage is validating antisemitism and giving it a platform,” CJV wrote. “Although our target” on the task force “was and remains primarily a left-wing cause, ‘no enemies on the right’ was always liable to be proven false.”

CAM, in its resignation letter to Roberts, affirmed its support of free speech and specified that “the genesis of this letter is our deep concern with how you, Mr. Roberts, on behalf of the Heritage Foundation, have chosen to exercise your rights” [emphasis original]…

Bipartisan lawmakers expressed frustration with the Pentagon for not properly briefing them on national security issues at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a new rule last month requiring all Pentagon staffers to get approval before interacting with members of Congress.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) called out Elbridge Colby, under secretary of defense for policy, specifically, saying it was even harder to contact him than Hegseth or Trump. “Man, I can’t even get a response, and we’re on your team,” Sullivan said…

The Trump administration is pushing Congress to repeal the Caesar Act sanctions on Syria ahead of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s first visit to the White House on Monday, urging lawmakers to include it in the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. The Senate already approved the repeal in its version of the NDAA last month, but the House version does not include a similar provision…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for an interview with Republican Kentucky Senate candidate Nate Morris, who is seeking to take the seat of retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and for a reflection on the late Vice President Dick Cheney’s legacy.

Tomorrow afternoon, the ADL will host a post-election briefing on the New York City mayoral race with its CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, and Hindy Poupko, senior vice president of community strategy and external relations at UJA-Federation of New York.

Former Israeli hostage Emily Damari will appear at Temple Emanu-El in New York City tomorrow evening  for her first public speaking engagement in the U.S., joined by author Noa Tishby.

• Former Vice President Dick Cheney, a towering figure in Republican politics who led the “war on terror,” died last night, his family said in a statement. Cheney, who was vice president for both of President George W. Bush’s terms, previously served as White House chief of staff, congressman representing Wyoming and secretary of defense. He was 84.
• It’s Election Day in a number of states and cities around the country. In New York City, voters head to the polls today to cast their ballots for mayor and city council. We’re also watching the gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the redistricting ballot initiative in California and the mayoral races in Minneapolis and Seattle. More below on the races to watch.
• In New York City, the World Zionist Organization and Temple Emanu-El are holding an event marking the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Rabin’s grandson Jonathan Benartzi, Shalom Hartman Institute President Yehuda Kurtzer, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, Jewish Council for Public Affairs CEO Amy Spitalnick and peace activist Alana Zeitchik are slated to speak.
• Elsewhere in New York, the La’Aretz Foundation is holding its third annual benefit to support Israeli families in crisis. Israel’s consul general in New York, Ambassador Ofir Akunis, is slated to give remarks at the event, which will include food by Eyal Shani and will include Israeli “spokeskid” Ben Carasso and a performance by an IDF soldier in an elite unit who is known only as “M.”

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S Josh Kraushaar

The stakes for Jewish voters are high for today’s off-year elections. All the major contests — in New York City, New Jersey, Virginia and California — are taking place in parts of the country where Jews make up a significant constituency. At a time when both parties are facing rising antisemitism in their own midst, we will be keeping a close eye on the results for trends affecting the Jewish community.

Here’s what we’ll be watching most closely:

New York City mayor: Polls consistently show Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani with a comfortable lead, but there’s less consensus on how decisive his winning margin will be. Most polls show Mamdani under 50%, though a few show him hitting a majority. Some show the combined anti-Mamdani vote — represented by former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa — outpacing Mamdani’s share. 

Whether Mamdani surpasses a 50% majority will go a long way in determining how big his mandate will be. A narrower victory would mean that downballot Democrats — from members of Congress to local city council members — would have less to fear in response to the Mamdani movement.

President Donald Trump’s last-minute endorsement of Cuomo on Monday night could help the former Democratic governor pick off some Republican voters that had been leaning toward Sliwa. But for Cuomo to score an upset victory, he’d need to win over the vast majority of those Sliwa voters.

Pay close attention to the results in Rep. Jerry Nadler’s (D-NY) heavily Jewish Manhattan district for signs of where the progressive-minded Jewish vote ends up landing. Cuomo won the first round of balloting over Mamdani in the district (37-33%), which includes the Upper East and Upper West Sides, but Mamdani narrowly prevailed in the final round of ranked-choice voting. Nadler notably backed Mamdani after his victory in the primary, but his district featured a significant share of backers for Brad Lander, the progressive city comptroller, as well. Cuomo will need a solid showing in Nadler’s district to do well.

New Jersey governor: The race between Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and Republican Jack Ciattarelli is competitive, though Democrats hold a small edge, according to public polls. The county we’ll be watching closely as a bellwether is Bergen County in north Jersey, which has one of the largest Jewish constituencies in the state and saw a significant pro-Trump swing from 2020 to 2024.

It’s also home to Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), the pro-Israel stalwart in Congress who carried the county in the Democratic gubernatorial primary and campaigned with Sherrill at a Jewish event in his home base last month.

Former President Joe Biden won 57% of the vote in Bergen, while former Vice President Kamala Harris barely won a majority (51%). New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, won 53% of the Bergen County vote in his narrow victory over Ciattarelli in 2021. Ciattarelli would probably need an outright win in suburban Bergen to secure a victory.

Read the rest of ‘What You Should Know’ here.

Hamas’ Miscalculation: In The Wall Street Journal, Ophir Falk, who was a member of Israel’s hostage negotiation delegation, posits that Hamas’ decision to take hostages on Oct. 7, 2023, was ultimately what led the terror group to agree last month to a ceasefire that demands its disarmament. “The hostage-taking prevented the conflict from dissolving into the traditional false narratives about ‘occupation,’ ‘resistance’ and ‘apartheid.’ Despite strenuous efforts to turn reality on its head, including through bogus international lawfare, many saw the truth — innocent people being held hostage by a genocidal terrorist organization committed to murdering Jews. Even Israel’s harshest critics struggled to argue that a nation should abandon its captive citizens. The hostage-taking provided what decades of legitimate Israeli grievances couldn’t: a broadly recognized imperative that eventually overcame the propaganda. The Palestinians’ greatest weapon — the ability to manipulate international sympathy — turned against them.” [WSJ]

What BDS is Really About: In Real Clear Policy, John Finley, the senior managing director and chief legal officer of Blackstone, argues that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement has reached an “inflection point” in the U.S. “The goals of BDS, in addition to seeking an end to the ‘occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall,’ are often cloaked in terms of either support for an undefined Palestinian liberation or Palestinian’s inalienable rights such as equality and an inclusive democracy that celebrates diversity. … The acceptance of Israel as a Jewish state is foundational to peace in the region because the rationale for Israel’s existence is inseparable from it being a Jewish state. There is no Israel without Zionism and there is no Zionism without Israel.” [RealClearPolicy]

Israel at a Crossroads: The New York Times’ David Halbfinger does a temperature check on the national mood in Israel, which just marked the 30th anniversary of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination. “In conversations with ordinary Israelis, there is a palpable sense that the nation is at a crossroads — and not just over what to do about Gaza. Tens of thousands more people emigrated from Israel over the past year than immigrated to the country. Many Israelis across the political spectrum say they believe the election to be held sometime in the coming year will be climactic and decisive, with its outcome determining the future character of the country and whether more citizens will choose to stay or leave. … Much will hinge on what Mr. Netanyahu decides in the coming months: what he is pressured into doing or accepting, what he prioritizes above all else and what, at 76, he wants his legacy to be.” [NYTimes]

The U.S. is circulating a draft U.N. Security Council resolution calling for the establishment of an international security force in Gaza that would operate in the enclave through the end of 2027…

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard met with senior Israeli military officials during a surprise two-day visit to the country earlier this week…

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) blasted the New Jersey Education Association over plans for an anti-Israel “Teaching Palestine” session scheduled during the union’s conference taking place this week, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…

Former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz discussed a wide range of security challenges facing Israel, outlining his long-term vision for confronting Iran, expanding regional defense cooperation and managing Gaza’s postwar recovery. Speaking at a web event hosted by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Gantz called Iran a “global challenge and threat to the State of Israel” and proposed a five-point plan to ensure Iran’s abandonment of its nuclear ambitions by 2028, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports… 

In a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Reps. Andy Barr (R-TN) and Jefferson Shreve (R-IN) called for the U.S. government to designate the Palestinian Conference for Palestinians Abroad, also known as the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad, as an affiliate of Hamas and a Specially Designated Terrorist group, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…

Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL) said yesterday he would not seek reelection next year; Garcia’s chief of staff, Patty Garcia, filed paperwork to run for the seat hours before the Monday filing deadline, in what critics said was an effort to deny voters in the Illinois district a fair open primary…

A new poll released Monday by the Democratic Majority for Israel finds Democrats broadly support the ceasefire and hostage-release deal reached between Israel and Hamas and a majority of them think President Donald Trump played at least a “somewhat important role” in reaching the agreement, Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports…

The Atlanta Braves named Walt Weiss as the team’s new manager, while the Miami Marlins promoted Gabe Kapler to become the team’s new general manager…

Far-right activist Laura Loomer, who is visiting Israel this week, received Pentagon press credentials, after the Defense Department instituted new, more stringent policies regarding press access…

The Washington Post reviews Jane Eisner’s biography of Carole King, which does a deep dive into the singer’s Jewish upbringing…

The World Zionist Congress reached a new tentative power-sharing deal that would see an even split between the center-left and center-right blocs in the control of the World Zionist Organization and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross reports…

Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, said that 5 million of the approximately 6 million Jews killed during the Holocaust have now been identified by name…

The Washington Post looks at the disagreement between Israel and the U.S. over Turkey’s potential role in post-war Gaza…

Israel released the bodies of 45 Palestinians on Monday following Hamas’ repatriation of the bodies of three Israeli soldiers who were killed on Oct. 7, 2023…

The Wall Street Journal spotlights Abdulmalik Al-Houthi, who has led Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen for more than a decade as he has evaded multiple assassination attempts and directed the terror group’s destabilizing activity across the region…

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that nuclear negotiations with the U.S. would not be possible as long as Washington supports Israel and maintains military bases across the region…

Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel addressed attendees at the opening VIP reception at the Nova Music Festival exhibition in Chicago last night. The traveling exhibition, which has run in New York, Washington, Boston, Los Angeles and Tel Aviv, opens to the public today.

Professor at UCSF and winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in medicine, David Jay Julius turns 70… 

Professor emeritus of Talmud at Bar-Ilan University, Daniel Sperber turns 85… Vice-chairman emeritus of AllianceBernstein, he is a former chairman of the Tikvah Fund, Roger Hertog turns 84… Political scientist who has published works on grand strategy, military history and international relations, Edward Luttwak turns 83… Member of Congress and chair of the House Budget Committee until 2023, he was Kentucky’s first Jewish congressman, John Yarmuth turns 78… Former chief of the general staff of the IDF, then minister of defense and member of Knesset for Kadima, Shaul Mofaz turns 77… Uruguayan biologist, he served as mayor of Montevideo and then as a national cabinet minister, Ricardo Ehrlich turns 77… Professor of medicine at England’s University of Birmingham and a leading British authority on organ donation and transplantation, James Max Neuberger turns 76… Board member of Jewish Funders Network and a member of the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency, Dorothy Tananbaum… Marketing and communications consultant focused on Israel advocacy and the Jewish community, Robert L. Kern… U.K. politician who served as a Conservative party MP and cabinet minister, he was chairman of the Conservative Friends of Israel, Baron Richard Irwin Harrington turns 68… Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives since 2013, Kenneth I. Gordon turns 66… Ombudsman at CBS and Japan chair at the Hudson Institute, Kenneth R. “Ken” Weinstein turns 64… Author of five books, comedic actress and television host, Annabelle Gurwitch turns 64… Professor of philosophy at Texas A&M University, she is known for her expertise on feminist theory and modern Jewish thought, Claire Elise Katz turns 61… CEO and Chairman of RXR Realty, he also serves on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Board of Directors, Scott Rechler turns 58… Israeli screenwriter and film director, Eran Kolirin turns 52… Partner at Paragon Strategic Insights, a consulting firm for non-profits, Jeremy Chwat… Co-founder of Semafor, Benjamin Eli “Ben” Smith turns 49… MLB pitcher who appeared in 506 games over his nine-year career, John William Grabow turns 47… Global head of strategic communications at McKinsey & Company, Max Gleischman… Opinion columnist at The Washington Post, she is also a commentator for CNN and a correspondent for the “PBS NewsHour,” Catherine Chelsea Rampell turns 41… Heavily favored to be elected to Congress tomorrow from New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District, Maggie Goodlander turns 39… Founder and CEO at Denver-based Fresh Tape Media, Jared Kleinstein… Founder and CEO of a health organization working for early detection and prevention of cancer, Yael Cohen Braun turns 39… Acting general counsel at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Addar Weintraub Levi… Senior coordinator for management at the Office of Management and Budget, she is a White House nominee as a CFTC commissioner, Julie Brinn Siegel turns 38… Former White House special representative for international negotiations, Avi Berkowitz… Recording artist, songwriter and entertainer known as Yoni Z, Yoni Zigelboum turns 34… Israeli professional stock car racing driver, he is the first Israeli to compete in one of NASCAR’s top three touring series, Alon Day turns 34… Founding editor of Healthcare Brew, a vertical of Morning Brew, Amanda E. Eisenberg… Bob Rubin…

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky returns to Washington today for a sit-down at the White House with President Donald Trump.
• We’re keeping an eye on the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, amid reports that Sunni Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, have warned senior White House officials that Hamas’ ongoing refusal to disarm could collapse the agreement.
• Republican Party leaders in New York State are set to hold a vote to disband the state’s Young Republicans chapter today, after the publication of racist text messages shared in a chat of the national Young Republican leaders that implicated members of New York’s delegation. The state party plans to eliminate the group’s charter and rebuild the group with new leadership.
• On Sunday, Americans for Ben-Gurion University is holding a benefit in New York City featuring  former Israeli hostage Sasha Troufanov and comedian Alex Edelman.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR

With all of the living hostages released from Gaza and an end (at least for the time being) of Israel’s war in the Palestinian territory, the coming months could offer the mainstream Jewish community something of a breather to assess the changed political landscape. 

In the war’s final months, the anti-Israel far left gained a foothold in Democratic Party politics, most prominently in the New York City mayoral race with Zohran Mamdani, but also in urban contests ranging from Seattle to Somerville, Mass. The antisemitic forces on the far right have been less of a political force, but have gained strength on podcasts and among younger right-wingers, and have been embraced to a greater extent by a few populist lawmakers like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). 

With the return of the living hostages, Israel’s success in degrading Hamas and additional enemies, and the apparent end of the Gaza war, Jewish optimists can plausibly argue that some degree of normalcy could creep back in the political sphere. Israel should become a less salient issue for low-information scrollers, with the war’s end reducing the constant anti-Israel and antisemitic propaganda being fed on so many screens. 

With a ceasefire finally achieved, the anti-Israel forces have been remarkably silent, and have been exposed for the Hamas-sympathizing extremists that they always have been. That faction of the anti-Israel Democratic left is as politically exposed as it’s been since the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7, 2023.

There’s also the possibility that, with Israeli elections being held next year, a new Israeli prime minister would get elected, bringing with him or her a new Israeli government that may not be as polarizing to liberal critics of Israel back in the U.S. 

Jewish pessimists also have a plausible case to make. Support for Israel has declined in the past year, with the most significant slippage coming from Democratic Party voters and some independents. It’s hard to imagine it will rebound anytime soon. The youngest Gen Z voters are the most hostile towards Israel and have been even before Oct. 7. It’s reasonable to expect their future growth in the electorate will only grow the pool of anti-Israel voters.  

Furthermore, the rise of anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiment isn’t happening in isolation; it’s a symptom of the rise of larger illiberal and extreme forces within both parties. The fact that polls show an upward tick in the toleration of political violence, growing antipathy to capitalism on the left, and growing sympathy for authoritarianism on the right is the broader context of the growing hostility Jews are facing, and it’s not showing any signs of abatement.

In the coming year, it will be important to track whether the political outlook for Jews is getting better or whether the trends we’ve seen worsen in the last couple years are accelerating. 

We’ll be debuting an election scorecard next week, examining the most meaningful elections in the coming year that will test the influence of the political mainstream against the extremes. Stay tuned: it will be worth bookmarking and tracking as we approach Election Day this November, and in the runup to next year’s congressional primaries.

Read the rest of ‘What You Should Know’ here.

Political Cover: In The New York Times, Dana Stroul, who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East in the Biden administration, posits that President Donald Trump’s “key intervention” in the Israel-Hamas war “was to give a political lifeline” to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had faced threats from the far-right members of his government over efforts to reach a ceasefire. “Many analysts assumed Mr. Netanyahu, constrained by his far-right coalition, would not accept any end to the war without a complete Hamas surrender. Any compromise in which Hamas could reassert itself could have triggered early elections in Israel, costing Mr. Netanyahu the premiership and exposing him to his ongoing trials for corruption. Mr. Trump flipped the script. Mr. Trump lavished praise on his counterpart, extending him the political protection of Trump’s overwhelming popularity in Israel. In return, Mr. Netanyahu agreed to Trump’s proposal to free the hostages and let Hamas survive, for now.” [NYTimes]

JD’s Deflection: The Atlantic’s Jonathan Chait considers what Vice President JD Vance’s response to leaked racist text messages sent by Young Republican leaders portends for the future of the party. “Some Republicans, including those who have directly employed the people in these chats, condemned these messages. But Vice President J. D. Vance had a different, and more telling, response. ‘I refuse to join the pearl clutching,’ he posted on X defiantly. … Given Vance’s evident ambitions to succeed Donald Trump as the Republican standard-bearer, his response is revealing. The vice president apparently grasps that openly defending references to Black people as ‘watermelon eaters’ and quips about sending political rivals ‘to the gas chamber’ would hurt his political standing, but he also clearly needs these Young Republican leaders if he hopes to consolidate the Trump base behind him. Deflection is a calculated response.” [TheAtlantic]

Rabbi Hauer’s Chavruta: In eJewishPhilanthropy, Rabbi Rick Jacobs reflects on his friendship with Rabbi Moshe Hauer, the Orthodox Union leader who died earlier this week. “A few years back, Rabbi Hauer sent me a marked-up copy of a statement I had published. My words were covered with his voluminous comments in red ink. He took issue with pretty much every point I had made. Rather than just thanking him for ‘sharing his thoughts,’ I asked if we could sit and discuss his rather extensive rebuttal. How could I not be impressed by the seriousness with which he debated my views about the latest news from Israel? With his characteristic humility, he took me to task, never once raising his voice or dismissing my deeply held convictions. As consummate students of Torah, our session felt like a chavruta, an intense one-on-one learning session with a wise colleague. I thanked him for his thoughtful critique.” [eJP]

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton was indicted by a federal grand jury on a combined 18 counts of transmitting or retaining national defense information, stemming from his keeping and sharing of digital diaries — according to the indictment, more than 1,000 pages of entries, some including confidential information — that detailed his work during the first Trump administration…

Jacob Helberg was sworn in as under secretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment…

Rep. Dave Taylor (R-OH) blamed the appearance of an American flag bearing a swastika in his office on an orchestrated “ruse” to distribute such flags that were “initially indistinguishable from an ordinary American flag to the naked eye.” But Politico reported that a staffer from another office that received such a flag in the mail said that “it was plainly obvious to us that there was a swastika on the flag with the naked eye.” Taylor denied any intentional wrongdoing by any of his staff…

California state Sen. Scott Weiner is reportedly planning to announce a bid for the congressional seat held by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)…

Claudia Milne, who served as head of standards at CBS News since 2021, is departing the media company; Milne is the first senior CBS News executive to leave the network following CBS parent company Skydance’s acquisition of Bari Weiss’ The Free Press and installation of Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News…

Warner Bros. Discovery rejected calls for the media company to boycott Israeli film institutions, saying that such a move would run afoul of its nondiscrimination policy…

Pomona College opened an investigation on Thursday after an on-campus event held Wednesday commemorating the second anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks was disrupted by four masked and keffiyah-clad individuals who barged in chanting “Zionists not welcome here,” Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports…

The owners of the Washington-area vegetarian chain Shouk, which served Israeli fare in the capital region for a decade, closed all its locations, citing financial losses resulting from a sustained boycott of the chain; Shouk is co-owned by Dennis Friedman and Israeli entrepreneur Ran Nussbacher…

The New York Times interviews actor Ari’el Stachel about his new one-man, off-Broadway show “Other,” about his conflicting identities as an Arab Jew…

Australia’s National Gallery of Victoria quietly restituted a 17th-century Gerard ter Borch painting to the descendants of Max Emden, a Swiss-German art collector who was forced to sell some of his pieces under financial duress in the lead-up to World War II…

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer ordered a review of antisemitism within the country’s National Health Service, citing “too many examples, clear examples, of antisemitism that have not been dealt with adequately or effectively”; 10 Downing Street is also asking the NHS to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism…

Starmer also condemned the decision by English Premier League team Aston Villa to prohibit attendance by Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters at an upcoming match in Birmingham and called on Aston Villa to reverse the decision, which the team said was due to “a number of physical and safety factors”; Emily Damari, a British-Israeli former hostage and a fan of Maccabi Tel Aviv, called on Aston Villa to “come to your senses and reconsider”…

A court in Oslo convicted a Norwegian man who worked as a guard at the U.S. Embassy of espionage on behalf of Russia and Iran…

The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen confirmed that the terror group’s chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Muhammad Abdul Karim al-Ghamari, had been killed in an Israeli airstrike in August…

The Washington Post spotlights the difficult and traumatic conditions, including beatings, starvation and uncertainty over the fates of their loved ones, that the last group of living Israeli hostages, who remained in Gaza until earlier this week, endured while in captivity…

The Wall Street Journal reports on the challenges in repatriating the bodies of the remaining Israeli hostages, citing both the difficulty in locating all of the bodies as well as Israel’s allegations that Hamas is holding onto some bodies as future leverage…

The New York Times does a deep dive into the whereabouts of former Syrian officials who have fled the country or otherwise evaded officials amid a broader crackdown on Assad-era officials believed to be complicit in the regime’s atrocities…

Michael Ratney, Nimrod Novik, Farah Bdour, Ibrahim Dalalsha, Elisa Ewers, Garrett Nada and Neri Zilber were named as members of a new Israel Policy Forum policy council…

Susan Stamberg, an early employee of NPR who hosted its “All Things Considered” from 1972-1986, died at 87…

Arts journalist Milton Esterow, whose brand of investigative journalism focused on artwork looted by the Nazis, died at 97…

Independent film distributor Toby Talbot, who with her husband operated art-house cinemas in New York City from 1960-2018, died at 96…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participated in a state memorial ceremony on Thursday for the fallen soldiers of the Israel-Hamas war at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl.

Emmy Award-winning film and television music composer, Nicholas Britell turns 45…

FRIDAY: Chair emeritus of the board of directors of NYC’s 92nd Street Y, Jody Gottfried Arnhold turns 82… Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit since 1999, Ronald Murray Gould turns 79… Filmmaker and novelist, Michael L. Tolkin turns 75… U.S. district judge for the District of Connecticut since 1994, he took senior status in 2017, Robert Neil Chatigny turns 74… Movie and television producer, Lawrence Bender turns 68… Rochester, N.Y., resident, Peggy Futerman… Number theorist and professor at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, he has written a highly critical report on the world’s leading Holocaust deniers, Jeffrey Shallit turns 68… Partner in Becker & Poliakoff, she has been a member of both houses of the Florida Legislature, Ellyn Setnor Bogdanoff turns 66… Rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University, he is a son of professor Isadore Twersky and a grandson of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, he also serves as the rebbe of the Talne Hasidic dynasty, Rabbi Mayer E. Twersky turns 65… Former Northwest regional director of J Street, Andrew Straus… Professor of economics at Harvard, he served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Jeremy Chaim Stein turns 65… Ramsey, N.J.-based licensed professional counselor, Shemsi Prinzivalli… Member of the California state Senate until last November, Josh Newman turns 61… Co-founder of AQR Capital Management, Cliff Asness turns 59… Jerusalem bureau chief of The New York Times, David Halbfinger turns 57… Founder of Maniv Investments in 1997 and Maniv Mobility, Michael Granoff turns 57… U.S. senator (D-NM), Martin Heinrich turns 54… CEO and founder of Crosscut Strategies, a D.C.-based public affairs firm, Kenneth Baer… Rheumatologist and director of the rehabilitation division of Arthritis and Rheumatism Associates in the D.C. area, Dr. Shari B. Diamond… Author and staff writer at The New Yorker magazine, Ariel Levy turns 51… VP and head of U.S. public policy at TikTok, Michael Beckerman turns 47… Los Angeles-based consultant to the beauty industry and former CEO of several companies, Jessica Goldin turns 46… CEO at Citizen AI, Tomer Kagan turns 42… D.C.-based director of federal affairs for New York University, Katharine Nasielski… Co-founder and executive director at the Constructive Dialogue Institute, Caroline Mehl… Member of the Maryland state Senate since early this year following seven years in the Maryland House of Delegates, Dalya Attar turns 35… Staff software engineer at Zocdoc, Adam Greenspan…

SATURDAY: Co-founder and former chairman of Qualcomm, Irwin M. Jacobs turns 92… Former mayor of Amsterdam and leader of the Dutch Labour Party, Marius Job Cohen turns 78… Linguist, he is a professor emeritus at the University of Chicago, Victor A. Friedman turns 76… Former U.S. ambassador to Morocco, he is president of the Coalition for a Safer Web, Marc Ginsberg turns 75… Physician and political activist In Henrico County, Va., Dr. Max S. Maizels turns 74… Professor of intelligence and global security studies at Capitol Technology University, Joshua B. Sinai, Ph.D…. Bakersfield, Calif.-based attorney focused on adoption and reproductive law, Marc Dennis Widelock… Television director, writer, producer, composer and actor, Chuck Lorre (born Chaim Levine) turns 73… Film producer and founder and head of Dimension Films, Robert “Bob” Weinstein turns 71… President of the Economic Future Group, a consulting firm, Jonathan Bernard Yoav Tasini turns 69… Award-winning illustrator and writer of books for children, Eugene Yelchin turns 69… Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission during almost all of the Biden administration, Gary Gensler turns 68… Retired NFL running back, he writes of his conversion in From Rose Bowl to Rashi: My Unique Journey to Judaism, Leon Calvin (now Yosef) Murray turns 67… Israeli journalist, political commentator and author of two books highly critical of PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Ben Caspit turns 65… Retired in 2021 after 20 years as the director at Rutgers Hillel, followed by a year at Harvard Hillel, Andrew Getraer… Founder of Coalesce Advisors, he is a former president at Birthright Israel Foundation, David Fisher… Professor and director of Jewish studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Steven Phillip Weitzman turns 60… Weather anchor for NBC 4 New York, David M. Price turns 59… Former ESPN television host, sports reporter and anchor, Rachel Nichols turns 52… CEO of Future Today Strategy Group, she is an adjunct professor of strategic foresight at NYU, Amy Lynn Webb turns 51… Fashion designer, stylist and art director, Maryna Asauliuk turns 45… SVP and COO at the American Enterprise Institute, Suzanne Gershowitz… Academy Award-winning screenwriter and author, Graham Moore turns 44… Founding partner and Washington correspondent for Puck News, Julia Ioffe turns 43… Congressional correspondent for The New York Times, Annie Karni… Support team leader at Moovit, Ayal Kellman… Popular Israeli singer, Idan Yaniv turns 39… Staff writer at The New Yorker, Emma Green…

SUNDAY: Professor emeritus and first-ever Jewish president of the University of Minnesota, Kenneth Harrison Keller turns 91… CEO of Aramark Corporation for 34 years ending in 2014, he is a past chairman of the University of Chicago’s Board of Trustees, Joseph Neubauer turns 84… Founder and former ringmaster of the Big Apple Circus, Paul Binder turns 83… Pulmonologist in Plano, Texas, he is also the author of six mystery novels, Dr. Kenneth L. Toppell turns 83… Writer, scholar and former Israeli ambassador, Yoram Ettinger turns 80… Obstetrician and gynecologist at the Center for Fetal Medicine in Los Angeles, Lawrence David Platt, MD… Retired hospitality executive, Michelle Fischler… Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, she directed the journalism program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology until this past July, Deborah Blum turns 71… Founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform, Grover Norquist turns 69… Retired supervisor for Minnesota’s Pollution Control Agency, David Alan Cera… Israel’s minister of the economy and former mayor of Jerusalem for 10 years, both positions following a successful high-tech career, Nir Barkat turns 66… Co-owner of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and English soccer club Manchester United, Avram A. “Avie” Glazer turns 65… Social psychologist and professor at New York University focused on the psychology of morality and moral emotions, Jonathan David Haidt turns 62… Canadian business executive and board member of Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital, David Cynamon turns 62… Chief rabbi of Ukraine, Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich turns 61… Founder of Global Policy Associates where he is now an advisory board member, he was the White House Jewish Liaison in the Clinton administration, Jay Footlik… Ritual coordinator at Congregation Emanu El in Houston, Shira Kosoy Moses… Actor, director, producer and screenwriter, his television production company is Golem Creations, Jon Favreau turns 59… Former mayor of Portland, Maine, now a non-profit executive, Ethan King Strimling turns 58… Technology journalist and record producer, Joshua Ryan Topolsky turns 48… Film director, screenwriter and producer, Jason R. Reitman turns 48… Chief growth officer at itrek, Evan Majzner… Executive at Nefco, David Ochs… Pittsburgh-based founder and CEO of Mamalux, Lindsay Applebaum Stuart… Founder of iTrade[dot]TV, equities trader and financial marketer, Elie Litvin… Infielder in the Athletics organization, he played for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Zack Gelof turns 26… Jim Vespe…

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump heaped praise on the leaders of Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Indonesia at a Cabinet meeting at the White House today, lauding them as key parties responsible for getting Israel and Hamas to agree to the first phase of his peace plan for the region, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.

Trump also confirmed in his remarks that his team is organizing a Mideast trip for him to commemorate the deal, which would include stops in Egypt and Israel, where he’s been invited to address the Knesset.

The president said he is planning to depart from Washington on Sunday and hopes to time his trip to be there when the remaining hostages are released, which he said will happen on Monday or Tuesday. That’s later than some reports which speculated they could be returned to Israel as soon as this weekend… 

Israeli and Hamas negotiators signed the final draft of phase one of the deal in Egypt today, and the Israeli Cabinet is now meeting to vote to approve it.

Former Mideast envoy Jared Kushner and current envoy Steve Witkoff joined the Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, coming off of negotiations in Egypt and having already met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The deal is expected to be approved, despite statements from National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that their parties will oppose it. The meeting, as well as an earlier Security Cabinet briefing, were delayed after Ben-Gvir demanded to retain a veto on the release of specific Palestinian prisoners in the exchange, according to Israeli media…

Preparations are underway for Trump’s brief visit, with the Knesset lit up today in red, white and blue and the King David Hotel reportedly getting ready to boot out guests staying in the luxury lodgings for Sukkot to accommodate the president and his entourage…

Anti-Israel Democratic lawmakers offered tepid support for the deal throughout the day, while reiterating their strident criticisms of Israel, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) didn’t explicitly praise the deal but said he hopes it will lead to the end of a “horrific war.” He made no mention of the Israeli hostages set to be released, but asserted one-tenth of the Gazan population was killed or injured during the war. Read more reactions from lawmakers here…

Joining the pack, New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani told a local radio station today that he hopes the deal is “lasting” and “brings peace” but that it shouldn’t erase “Hamas’ horrific war crime on Oct. 7 … and the Israeli government’s horrific war crimes since then”…

The Atlantic Council’s Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, who grew up in Gaza, writes in The Free Press about the “self-styled peace activists” in the West denouncing the peace deal as a “colonial attempt to continue the genocide” who have “little understanding or interest in how dealmaking works.”

“One of the first steps to freeing Palestinians from the horrors of war is to free them from the ‘Free Palestine Movement’ in the diaspora and Western world. The unholy alliance between the far left, far right, and Islamist hooligans who normalize Hamas’s narrative is harmful first and foremost to the Palestinian people,” Alkhatib argues…

In her first week as editor-in-chief of CBS News, The Free Press founder Bari Weiss reportedly told staff today that former secretaries of state Hillary Clinton, Antony Blinken and Mike Pompeo have agreed to appear on a Middle East roundtable on the network…

The New York Times profiles Jewish stand-up comedian Mordechi Rosenfeld, known as Modi, who has a “personal mantra that guides his comedy: ‘Moshiach energy’ … For Mr. Rosenfeld, the slogan reflects a Messianic idea inspired by the last leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch Orthodox movement, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Mr. Rosenfeld interprets it as a mandate to pour positive energy into the world to help bring the Messiah”…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reporting on the Senate’s agreement, which had been stalled for weeks, to move toward passage of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act today.

Tomorrow, NOTUS will host a virtual event on “Mapping the New Global Order” with former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE) and Jason Crow (D-CO).

Over the weekend, we’ll be keeping an eye on President Donald Trump’s travels to the region and engagement with Israeli officials, as well as developments in the hostage-release process.

In observance of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, we’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Thursday. Chag Sameach and Shabbat Shalom!

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The clock continues to tick on whether Hamas will accept President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza, presented with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House yesterday.

The plan itself says in Point No. 4 that “within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned.”

Trump affirmed that timeline, telling reporters this morning that he would give Hamas “three or four days” to agree to the ceasefire and said later during remarks to military leaders in Quantico, Va., “We have one signature that we need, and that signature will pay in hell if they don’t sign”…

Officials from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey are urging Hamas to agree, despite being angered by several changes to the plan negotiated by Netanyahu, particularly on the conditions and timeline for the IDF’s withdrawal from Gaza, before it was presented to the public yesterday, Axios reports…

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee postponed a rare trip to Egypt, originally planned for Sunday, to mid-October. Huckabee said the purpose of his visit, requested by Egyptian officials, is to “build dialogue, trust and understanding,” without providing further details on the agenda or the reason for the delay…

The Israeli Foreign Ministry today claimed that the Sumud Flotilla currently making its way to Gaza, including anti-Israel activist Greta Thunberg and around 500 others, was organized and funded indirectly by Hamas through the Palestinian Conference for Palestinians Abroad, an organization led and endorsed by Hamas affiliates.

The flotilla and the Israeli Navy are expected to make contact as the ships approach Gaza tomorrow. Italy and Spain dispatched their own navies to accompany the flotilla, though those ships will turn back before reaching Israeli waters.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called in a statement today for the flotilla to cease its operation for risk of “blowing up” the “fragile balance” created by Trump’s peace proposal. In the U.S., meanwhile, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and 18 other House progressives wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding that the U.S. protect the flotilla…

Elon Musk and several right-wing influencers misrepresented the Anti-Defamation League’s classification of the antisemitic Christian Identity movement as an extremist group, circulating a partial, out-of-context screenshot on social media purporting that the civil rights organization was disparaging the Christian religion at large, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report.

Musk said the ADL “hates Christians” and called it a “hate group,” while Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) said the group is “intentionally creating a targeted hate campaign against Christians.” In reality, the Christian Identity movement, which the ADL lists on its website as an extremist group, “is a virulently antisemitic and loosely organized movement that has nothing to do with mainstream Christianity,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt wrote on X…

Trump told reporters this afternoon that his administration is close to reaching a deal with Harvard after a monthslong deadlock and legal battle that will see the university pay around $500 million to open and operate trade schools. “They’re going to be teaching people how to do AI and lots of other things,” Trump said at an executive order signing.

The potential deal comes after the Department of Health and Human Services said yesterday that it was initiating the process of “debarment” against Harvard, which would cut the school off from future federal research funding, a large blow to its financial standing.

Harvard had sent a scathing letter to the administration on Sept. 19 accusing it of relying on “inaccurate and incomplete facts” in determining that the school had violated civil rights laws, The New York Times reports. The letter also said the administration failed to meet legal requirements to prove discrimination and relied on findings from a fraction of a percentage of the student body…

Meanwhile, a federal judge ruled today that the Trump administration’s moves to arrest and deport international students for actions at anti-Israel protests were illegal, saying that the Department of Homeland Security and State Department aimed to “tamp down pro-Palestinian student protests and terrorize” students. 

A DHS official testified during the trial that the department relied heavily on the advocacy work of the pro-Israel group Canary Mission, creating reports on between 100-200 student protesters based of the group’s profiles of people involved in anti-Israel activity on campus…