Daily Overtime

Shapiro’s Israel stance plays well in Pennsylvania

Plus, Moskowitz named to powerful Mideast post

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro speaks before Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 6, 2024.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

August 25, 2026

Good Tuesday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social today that the Navy informed him that “all mines have been removed and/or detonated” in the Strait of Hormuz, and that the U.S. has notified Iran “that any ship or boat placing new mines will be immediately and systematically destroyed.” The U.S. Space Force is monitoring the strait as well as Iran’s nuclear sites, including Pickaxe Mountain, for any suspicious activity, he added…

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said following a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran today that he is hopeful the two countries “will soon announce a temporary corridor for the Strait of Hormuz and practical arrangements to restore safe navigation,” while continuing to work towards a permanent agreement on administering the waterway. The Omani Foreign Ministry further s pecified that the parties aim to establish a joint effort to clear the strait of mines — despite Trump’s announcement that all have been cleared…

The State Department is preparing to send some foreign service officers and other diplomats back to work at embassies in Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Iraq and Kuwait that were evacuated or had staffing reductions during the Iran war, according to a State Department document obtained by The New York Times, potentially indicating the Trump administration does not expect hostilities to resume…

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced that Israel has expelled officials from the Netherlands from the military and humanitarian coordination hub for Gaza located in Kiryat Gat due to “a series of anti-Israel moves by the Dutch government,” including a new law prohibiting trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank…

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed doubled down on his anti-Israel rhetoric during an event at a Dearborn church today, Jewish Insider‘s Matthew Kassel reports, a day after the nominee drew renewed scrutiny over his ongoing association with antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker.

El-Sayed declined to confirm if he hopes to win an endorsement from state Sen. Jeremy Moss — a Jewish Democratic nominee for a congressional seat in the Detroit area who is a key holdout in offering his backing — and said that his support for ending aid to Israel is “about making sure that in our foreign policy, we substantiate equal rights to peace, dignity and self-determination for Palestinian folk”…

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) was named ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, where he said he will “work to strengthen America’s relationships with Israel and our Gulf allies.”

A source familiar with the situation told JI’s Marc Rod that, since outgoing ranking member Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) would have been unable to remain in the post next year, he decided to give up the position early to help support Moskowitz in his reelection race — in a South Florida district with a substantial pro-Israel constituency where the leadership position will further bolster Moskowitz’s profile — and to pass off committee leadership to a preferred successor….

A new New York Times/Philadelphia Inquirer/Siena University poll released today found that nearly half of voters in Pennsylvania view Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Jewish Democrat mulling a presidential bid in 2028, as “about right on support of Israel,” even as he has faced skepticism from the far left over his pro-Israel views, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports. Sixty percent of Democrats said they were satisfied with his support for the Jewish state; 39% of Republicans said the same, while another 40% said he is not supportive enough…

The Department of Justice announced today that a 26-year-old Ohio man had been arrested and charged for sending an email threatening to kill Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) and his family, saying he would behead the Jewish congressman and calling him a Nazi, JI’s Marc Rod reports…

The IDF said it views with “utmost severity” an incident involving far-right MK Zvi Sukkot and his aides who, during a requested tour of the Palestinian town of Madama, attacked a memorial — dubbed the “Martyrs’ Monument” — with a sledgehammer, an incident which was captured on video. The IDF said the tour participants “acted deceptively and manipulatively” while accompanied by IDF soldiers “who had been diverted from their operational activities for this purpose … while the IDF is operating under significant operational strain”…

The Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish group that was backed by the U.S. in the fight against ISIS, has officially dissolved, SDF head Mazloum Abdi announced at the presidential palace in Damascus today. The group has completed its merger into the Syrian army under President Ahmad al-Sharaa, Abdi said — the culmination of a fraught integration process that followed months of deadly clashes between government and Kurdish forces…

Assouline, the luxury publisher known for turning global cities into vibrant $100 coffee-table books, has focused its lens on several Middle Eastern capitals over the years — most recently Beirut. But out of hundreds of titles spanning the globe, not a single Israeli city has made the cut, despite co-founder Prosper Assouline‘s Moroccan Jewish roots, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how Jewish leaders are viewing Rep. Jamie Raskin‘s (D-MD) investigation into the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on campus antisemitism.

Israeli singer Omer Adam will marry his partner Sacha Israelovich at a converted 14th-century Christian monastery in the Italian seaside village of Portofino tomorrow, after having held a civil ceremony today. Hassidic singer Motty Steinmetz is expected to perform at the celebration, reportedly prompting gender-segregated seating for the guests.

Stories You May Have Missed

CONFRONTING HATE

Jeffries blasts Piker’s claims that American Jews are inciting antisemitic violence

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks during the March for Israel on the National Mall November 14, 2023 in Washington, DC.

House Minority Leader: ‘There is zero justification for threats against the safety of our Jewish brothers and sisters at a moment of rising hate’

Read more

Daily Overtime

Jeffries fed up with party’s Piker problem

Plus, Bessent's plan to make Iran an 'economic outcast'

Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks during his weekly press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on March 19, 2026.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

August 24, 2026

Good Monday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced this afternoon that the Trump administration is launching “Operation Economic Outcast” against Iran, an effort aimed at severing Tehran’s global economic ties in order to “collapse every last option” for the regime, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.

The Treasury Department designated over 60 entities, individuals and vessels “that enable the Iranian regime to procure illicit nuclear and missile technology, conduct cyber operations and generate oil revenue,” Bessent said, while President Donald Trump “is making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests to cease their interactions with the regime”…

The Treasury Department also redesignated Hezbollah, already a Foreign Terrorist Organization, for acting as a proxy of the Iranian regime under the direction of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and sanctioned 10 individuals who were part of a network transferring funds to Hezbollah through couriers on commercial flights between Lebanon, Turkey, the UAE and Iran…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed today that Iran tried to assassinate one of his sons: “Iran tried to kill, to murder one of my sons,” he said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 14, without specifying which of his two sons was the target…

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) today denounced comments by antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker claiming that Jews are inviting antisemitic attacks against themselves by supporting Israel, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

Jeffries wrote on X that the “malicious claim that American Jews are inviting violence against themselves is dangerous and antisemitic,” without naming Piker directly. “We will fight the cancer of antisemitism with the fierce urgency of now,” he said…

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, meanwhile, distanced himself from Piker but did not name him nor address the substance of his comments.

El-Sayed insisted that “nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople,” despite having campaigned prominently with Piker, and went on to downplay Piker as “a Twitch streamer” who will not define the race or his campaign. He did not say whether his or his campaign’s relationship with Piker will change going forward…

Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) condemned Piker outright, calling him “a hack who thrives on hate, shock and awe because he lacks substance.” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who has previously appeared on Piker’s show, also rejected the streamer’s comments, telling JI’s Marc Rod that “Jews are not the cause of [antisemitism]. Neither are people who support Israel. Antisemites are to blame. That’s it”…

Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) attended three AIPAC-hosted fundraisers in Los Angeles yesterday with another planned for today, according to The New York Times, as reporting emerges about a growing rift between Rogers and the pro-Israel group as he runs for U.S. Senate.

Rogers reportedly told Michael Tuchin, AIPAC’s board chair, that the group should consider whether it is the best messenger against El-Sayed, though he did not explicitly say he did not want its support and its United Democracy Project super PAC is still considering running ads backing Rogers…

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned comments by Brooklyn Democratic leader Carmella Charrington attacking Jewish investors with whom she is engaged in a property dispute as “Zionists” and suggesting some link between her situation and Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank.

“Suggesting that an alleged deed theft in Brooklyn is part of a global conspiracy involving Jewish people is blatant, reprehensible antisemitism. Trafficking in these dangerous antisemitic tropes is vile and inexcusable,” the mayor’s office told JI’s Will Bredderman, after initially avoiding his questions on the issue at a press conference earlier today. However, the administration did not answer a follow-up question about whether the mayor believes Charrington should step aside from her district leader role…

Several leading Jewish and pro-Israel organizations condemned actor Mark Ruffalo for using what they deemed antisemitic rhetoric in his recent social media commentary targeting the Ellison family amid the pending merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, JI’s Haley Cohen reports.

Rabbi Noah Farkas, president and CEO of Jewish Federation Los Angeles, said Ruffalo’s “unhinged rant, which combined Jewish wealth, media control, secret technology and sinister global power, is not legitimate criticism. It draws on recognizable antisemitic tropes with a long and dangerous history”…

As New York magazine continues to come under fire for a recent cover issue depicting the rise of Southwest Asian and North African culture in New York City while taking a hostile view of Israel, the magazine said its editors decided “genocide” is an “accurate description” of Israel’s actions in Gaza and therefore “its use would be allowed in our pages,” claiming that “accusations of antisemitic intent” in usage of the word “were in fact obfuscating an overwhelming scholarly consensus”…

The Trump administration formally revoked Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism today at the end of the 45-day congressional notification period, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced, in order to “eliminate the final major barriers for private sector investment in Syria and promote Syria’s economic recovery and reintegration into the global economy.”

Rubio also revoked the designation of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — a group that Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa led until he assumed the presidency in January 2025 — as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, after having removed HTS from the Foreign Terrorist Organization list last year…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a preview of tomorrow’s Senate special election runoff in South Carolina, where Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) still has the backing of much of the GOP establishment, including President Donald Trump, in her race against Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC).

Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi is expected to visit Iran tomorrow, as the two countries continue negotiations over administering the Strait of Hormuz amid the announcement of the new U.S. economic campaign against Tehran.

Stories You May Have Missed

BOOKSHELF

In new book, Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib argues Hamas has held Palestinian population hostage for 20 years

Members of the Democratic Socialists of America May 01, 2019 in New York City.

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a Gaza native who lost 33 family members in Israeli airstrikes, argues in his new book that Hamas bears primary blame for Palestinian suffering and political stagnation

Read more

analysis

Unpacking the tactical dispute between Mike Rogers’ campaign and AIPAC

Paul Sancya/AP

Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers speaks before President Donald Trump at an event at the General Motors Proving Ground Monday, July 27, 2026, in Milford, Mich.

By

Josh Kraushaar

August 24, 2026

The debate over AIPAC’s involvement in the high-stakes Michigan Senate race is drawing renewed attention after an Axios report outlined a request from allies of former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) for the pro-Israel group’s super PAC to lay low for the general election. The Rogers campaign advisors suggested instead that the group transfer money for the race to a separate pro-Rogers entity so as not to make its outside spending a major issue in the contest.

The episode has touched a lot of raw nerves in both the pro-Israel world and the Republican political landscape. Rogers, a longtime supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship, is highlighting his relationships with Michigan’s Jewish community, and has made attacking Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s anti-Israel virulence and his relationship with antisemitic figures like Hasan Piker a central element of his campaign message.

AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, spent about $32 million in the Democratic primary to try to defeat El-Sayed, and there’s little doubt its money — in the absence of any moderate group willing to spend similar resources to stop a far-left candidate like El-Sayed from winning — made the race more competitive than it otherwise would have been. But it also gave El-Sayed a talking point in attacking outside money in the race that diluted the impact of the aggressive advertising campaign, especially at a time when support for Israel itself is diminishing within the Democratic Party.

Both the Rogers campaign and AIPAC see El-Sayed as uniquely vulnerable, with polls showing the race statistically tied despite the overall favorable environment for Democrats in the swing state. But beyond focusing on winning the race, both sides have slightly different tactical imperatives: AIPAC, after coming close to defeating El-Sayed in the primary, wants credit for helping finish the job in the general election. Rogers, meanwhile, is trying to turn the tables on El-Sayed, using his endless primary campaign attacks on Israel as a way to underscore he’s more obsessed about the Middle East than the issues critical to Michigan voters.

On one hand, support for Israel is decidedly higher among the general electorate than it was among primary voters — and likely is a winning issue for Rogers, especially given El-Sayed’s radicalism on the subject. But populist concerns about foreign aid and engagement abroad still resonate across party lines, with 44% of Michigan voters in a recent Fox News survey saying they favor continued military aid to Israel, while 55% oppose such aid.

The Rogers campaign believes that making the race about Middle East policy would be shortsighted, especially given that El-Sayed’s record and background makes him vulnerable to the charge that he’s the candidate more consumed with international affairs than improving the lives of Michiganders.

Furthermore, unlike in the Democratic primary, there will be no shortage of money available for the Rogers campaign and its allies in the general election. Rogers has been a solid fundraiser, and the deep pockets of both the Senate Leadership Fund GOP super PAC and a separate pro-Rogers super PAC should offer more than enough resources to run a full-fledged campaign. Rogers’ campaign would prefer donations get directed — and spent — under the Republican Party umbrella.

There’s a reason AIPAC’s super PAC hardly ever spends in general elections — most competitive races are already saturated with cash, so its involvement (or that of any outside nonpartisan super PAC) wouldn’t make much of a difference anyway.

AIPAC’s concerns are understandable as well, and I have heard them echoed by several senior GOP strategists involved with the race. El-Sayed’s ties to extremists and inability to forthrightly condemn antisemitism in his home state is a major reason why he’s vulnerable in the first place. Diluting or downplaying that argument takes one of the campaign’s strongest angles off the table.

It’s one thing to debate about whether advertisements would be best aired under the GOP banner or the UDP banner. It’s another issue to be concerned that the Rogers’ campaign, in its desire to universalize the race, isn’t taking full advantage of winning over the many Democratic-friendly Jewish voters who view El-Sayed’s record as intolerable. Asking AIPAC’s chair to stand down its ad campaign, as reported in the Axios story, might have been a tactical dispute, but it risks coming across as downplaying the importance of the pro-Israel and Jewish communities in the state.

Ultimately, the goals of the two sides are the same: winning the race. If the differences between the Rogers’ campaign and AIPAC are tactical, that’s understandable in a lengthy campaign. But if it’s a dispute about who gets credit for taking down El-Sayed, the argument seems a bit frivolous when the stakes in the race are so high.

BOOKSHELF

In new book, Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib argues Hamas has held Palestinian population hostage for 20 years

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a Gaza native who lost 33 family members in Israeli airstrikes, argues in his new book that Hamas bears primary blame for Palestinian suffering and political stagnation

By

Matthew Shea

August 24, 2026

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, who lived in the Gaza Strip from the age of 10-15, describes himself as an advocate for the Palestinian people. Since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel, 33 of Alkhatib’s immediate and extended family members have been killed. But in his latest book, Hamas and Its Two Million Hostages, Alkhatib argues that Hamas — rather than Israel — bears primary responsibility for the suffering and political stagnation of the people of Gaza.

Alkhatib is a resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, where he directs Realign for Palestine, a project focused on pragmatic, nonviolent Palestinian advocacy. There, he denounces Hamas and advocates for Palestinian statehood alongside a secure Jewish state.

On Friday, Alkhatib spoke with Jewish Insider about his new book, his experiences growing up in Gaza and his outspoken criticism of Hamas. He also discussed the backlash he has faced from within his own community and why he believes that, ultimately, the terrorist group will have no role in the enclave’s future.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Jewish Insider: What inspired you to write Hamas and Its Two Million Hostages, and what does your book add to public debate on this issue that isn’t already out there?

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib: I wanted to weave in elements of my personal story with Gaza’s contemporary history, and add a human dimension to what I felt was Hamas’ devastating impact on the Palestinian people, their destructive role in setting back the Palestinian national project and the radicalization of the society.

I felt that there’s a consistent gap in the discourse from a Palestinian self-interested point of view. Even though many Palestinians and Arabs and Muslims will tell you privately how devastating Hamas is, there’s a disconnect in the discourse outside of Gaza versus inside Gaza — where you’ll find a ton more willingness to speak out, not just because of the consequences of Oct. 7, but because of the totality of the last 20 years of their rule.

One of the things that’s really frustrating is how there is this persistent narrative that Gazans are all Hamas, Gazans support Hamas. It’s very difficult for the other side, for the Israelis and the pro-Israel folks, to see the humanity of Palestinians because they so fundamentally believe that Gaza is inseparable from Hamas. Nevertheless, I argue and maintain that directly and indirectly, Hamas has taken Gaza captive and is holding 2 million people as hostages.

For the pro-Palestine folks, the goal is to burst the bubble of Hamas, which has been getting normalized since Oct. 7, getting called “resistance” or at best receiving token critique. It’s like a check the box: “Oh, I’m not with Hamas, but let’s keep going on Israel, and Israel this and everything is Israel’s fault.” At its worst, it’s actually been lionizing Hamas — refusing to call for the release of hostages, refusing to acknowledge the pain and suffering they’ve caused for the Palestinian people … Hamas has been a disaster. It has destroyed the seams of the Palestinian society and the fabric, and it’s been part of this devolution.

I also made it a short book deliberately for the average casual reader … I wanted to target a lot of younger audiences … because with the avalanche of new entrants to the scene since [Oct. 7], you have people that quite simply don’t know about Hamas, about the Palestinian people or about Gaza. I believe the theme of this book is that within the imbalance of power dynamics between Israel up here and the Palestinians down here, believe it or not, there is plenty of space for Palestinian agency, responsibility and accountability. That’s not blaming the victims or self-hatred — that’s actually the first step to empowering the Palestinians.

JI: You reflect in the book on your own experiences and those of your family in Gaza. How did these experiences shape the way you approach this book, and how did they shape your understanding of Hamas? Did you find that other Gazans shared your sentiments?

AFA: Well, in some ways, my lived experiences are very central to where I’ve arrived. My family are very devout Muslims and committed Palestinians. My family grew up in a Gaza context, and they were not immune to some of the broader trends. So on one hand the family context was helpful and relevant, and on the other hand it was not necessarily responsible for where I’m at right now because my family was kind of an average lower middle class that engaged in this topic. Very educated, but also not the most politically engaged. Very independent, very willing to stay clear and interested in staying clear from Fatah, from Hamas, from all the other different factions, and I think that was very key.

I remember the hope and optimism of the tail end of the Oslo [Accords] years in the ’90s — flying into Gaza’s airport, these shiny new Palestinian passports, the Palestinian airlines, the cell phones, the industrial zone, the kind of renaissance and the sense of hope and optimism and the march toward statehood. In the midst of all of that, Hamas’ counter-narrative was, “Oh no, the Palestinian Authority and the [Palestine Liberation Organization] sold out, they gave up 78% of historic Palestine, and we are going to bring you something better.”

And I just remember being like, “What’s there that’s better than the opportunity to travel freely, an airport, an incoming seaport, the beginning of the symbol of sovereignty and statehood?” On top of all of that, Hamas said, “We’re going to bring you the whole of Palestine from the river to the sea,” but then said, “Oh, by the way, we need to take this detour so let’s go burn a bar that has liquor, let’s control how women dress, let’s make the society more Islamist.” I distinctly remember [saying to] my parents and my uncles, “This is a detour that has nothing to do with negotiating a better outcome or achieving better results for the Palestinians.”

I tell the story of one time going to a summer camp that turned out to be a Hamas summer camp, and neither my family nor I knew that. I must have been 11, and I just remember being like,
“What is any of this?”

There was a very robust pushback against Hamas and against this trend, but parts of the society ultimately either acquiesced or essentially had no option but to go along because Hamas moved the Overton window — including for the moderate and secular Palestinian Authority and [former PLO and PA leader Yasser] Arafat, who had to accommodate Hamas and incorporate elements of Islamism and resistance culture. That is the theme I try to convey: Hamas slowly and gradually shifted the Overton window of what’s acceptable discourse, not just for itself, but for the entirety of Palestinian society, its national project and its political atmosphere.

JI: You talked to CNN earlier this week about what you described as the “troubling persistence of support” for Hamas among some Palestinian activists and diaspora communities, noting that 44% of American Muslims told Pew Research that they support Hamas. Why does support for Hamas persist in these activist circles, and how do you reverse that trend?

AFA: There are many Palestinians, Palestinian Americans, Muslim Americans and Arab Americans who, when you speak to [them] privately, will tell you that Hamas is a gift to the far right in Israel, that Hamas is gross, that Hamas is disgusting. They don’t want to live under a regime that resembles Hamas — they want to live a normal life. But when you step back in a communal dynamic — whether it be the clergy, elements of the community in academia or parents who are guilt-ridden — you have sociological factors and identity crises that contribute to this trend.

Then there is a much more sinister element: elements of academia, journalism and the “social justice” far left who are not Palestinian or Arab or Muslim, who have concocted a variety of frameworks for how you see these conflicts. They want to map out Israel and Palestine to existing frameworks in domestic discourse around immigration, abortion rights, LGBT issues and Black Lives Matter.

You have modern-day anti-Zionism regularly devolving into antisemitism, and a departure from the broad framework of two peoples, two states. Right now, it is very much so a “river-to-the-sea” eliminationist discourse. Israel is seen as an extension of the United States — whether due to the presence of Ashkenazi Jews that are white-presenting, even though half of Israel are Mizrahi Jews of essentially brown origin and darker origin from Arab lands and from the Middle East, whether it be Israel’s founding being considered a purely European Zionist-led colonial project and not something that has anything to do with Jewish peoplehood and heritage and connection to the land, and so there are just these overly simplistic narratives that are not conducive to productive dialogue.

Part of this support for Hamas is an overcorrection to what people felt was an effort by parts of the pro-Israel community to suppress legitimate critique of Israeli actions. But when the pendulum swung, it didn’t swing toward narrow, targeted advocacy for Palestinian freedom and self-determination next to a safe, secure, recognized Jewish Israel. It swung to, “No, actually, we need resistance to eliminate the Zionist entity.”

Hamas very much so cared about the public relations war and narrative warfare because it thought this level of activism would not only delegitimize Israel, but also coerce Israel into stopping the war. Neither happened. Palestinian suffering was irrelevant to a lot of these communities, because they didn’t react when I and many others in Gaza were saying what was necessary for this suffering to end: closing the page on Hamas taking 2 million people as hostages in its suicidal jihadi nihilism.

JI: Have you faced criticism from within your community for placing so much attention on Hamas in your book rather than Israel, and how are you navigating that?

AFA: It is very frequently that I face critique. People say that I’m obsessed with Hamas, that I’m a nutjob, I’m a Zionist, I’m paid by Israel. Now they’ve shifted to saying that I’m a traitor and a sellout.

I see no shortage of people talking about what Israel has done and what Israel is doing right now in Gaza — including Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, whom I acknowledge potentially worsened this situation through direct support for Hamas via Qatari funding. I have no illusions about the fact that Israel bears responsibility in worsening multiple aspects of the discourse, whether it be not empowering the Palestinian Authority, the aggressive expansion of settlements or the recent activities under the current coalition.

My goal is not to simply repeat what people who are even smarter than I am are out there talking about, often speaking in circles to their own choirs. I want to address a gap — and a significant one at that. That gap is that my family and tens of thousands of Palestinians would still be alive had Hamas simply kept its terrorists at home on Oct. 7.

Hamas is treated as an extra on a movie set when it needs to be one of the main antagonists in this whole film. Hamas is a central player in this whole devastation that has befallen Gaza. I see the rightward shift in Israeli society that everybody talks about all the time as inseparable from Hamas and what it did in Gaza and the suicide bombings and what it did to radicalize the Palestinian people in Gaza and in the West Bank.

JI: What do you believe Hamas will look like in the years ahead? Do you believe it is possible for Gaza to have a future without Hamas — and one that is different for both sides of this conflict?

AFA: I don’t believe there can be any coexistence with Hamas. I think they need to be effectively banned from the scene. When people say Hamas can’t be defeated, it absolutely can be defeated. I don’t care about Hamas’ ideology per se. The Nazi ideology lives on all these years. Al-Qaida is alive and well after [Osama] bin Laden. ISIS is alive and well, even though they don’t theoretically control mass territories like they once did.

What I care about is three metrics through which you can judge and assess Hamas’ ability to remain relevant and be defeated: Do they control territory? Do they have an executive force on the ground that can have a monopoly on violence and force and act as an administrative body? And do they control resources — financial, taxation, access to aid and incoming resources, or smuggling? In those three metrics, Hamas has been significantly rolled back.

More likely than not, it is my belief that Hamas is going to be largely irrelevant in Gaza. Hamas is not going to govern like it once did. The days of Hamas reigning supreme and controlling Gaza are over. Hamas may try to remanufacture itself as a political body, as a political entity, but in terms of controlling Gaza like it once did, I see that as incredibly unlikely. Their inventory of weapons and arsenal is very finite. They’re not smuggling weapons like they once did, and a lot of their supplies, workshops and spaces have been destroyed and rolled back. Whether it be through disarmament, Israeli elimination or decay — I think Hamas’ arsenal is going to recede to where it not only no longer constitutes a threat to Israel, but it no longer is adequate to entirely rule the Gaza Strip.

My concern is that Hamas is moving to Turkey. The Turks might be trying to help them reinvent themselves as a political organization. If they enter Palestinian elections, will they then further ruin democratic life? Will they evolve their so-called armed resistance narrative into something that can introduce political stalemate?

Right now, largely speaking, Hamas, Israel, the Board of Peace, the Trump administration and regional and international partners are in agreement over the next steps as far as disarmament, which is a prerequisite to get any kind of withdrawal or reconstruction happening in Gaza. However, now we’re in a space where the disarmament issue is actually logistical in nature. Logistics can make or break a war, a campaign or an effort, and right now, logistically, the disarmament plan is just — it’s not there. It’s not there. That’s what concerns me.

Daily Overtime

Hochul tells Mamdani to stick to City Hall

Plus, Baltimore's Orthodox Jews get a day at the races

Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, left, and Kathy Hochul, governor of New York, during a news conference on 2026 FIFA World Cup transportation at the MTA Rail Control Center in New York, US, on Thursday, June 4, 2026.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

August 20, 2026

Good Thursday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Stefany Shaheen, the daughter of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and a candidate for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, launched a TV ad this week hitting her primary opponent, military veteran Maura Sullivan, for receiving $300,000 in donations “bundled from AIPAC donors,” Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

The donations referenced in the ad appear to be from individual donors who have previously contributed to AIPAC, but the pro-Israel group itself has made no endorsement and has not been directly involved in the race…

Michigan Democratic congressional nominee Jeremy Moss declined to endorse his party’s Senate nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, in an interview with Slate: “Abdul’s going to have to demonstrate some serious outreach to Oakland County’s Jewish community,” Moss said. The two candidates have “had an ongoing dialogue,” Moss added, as he said Democrats must ensure that “the liberal Jewish community is not politically homeless”…

Rabbi Asher Lopatin, director of community relations at the Ann Arbor Jewish federation who has been outspoken about the threat he believes El-Sayed poses to the Jewish community, appeared at a “Democrats for Rogers” press conference in Detroit today where he said, “I usually vote Democrat, but I’m gonna be voting for Mike Rogers … I’m sad to say this, that Abdul El-Sayed has made one thing very clear: We cannot let him anywhere near the U.S. Senate”…

A new poll commissioned by AARP found El-Sayed leading Rogers by one percentage point, 48-47%, but voters ages 50 and up were 16 points more likely than younger voters to say they were motivated to participate in the general election — a population that swings heavily towards Rogers. Voters ages 50-64 favored Rogers over El-Sayed 51-46%, and voters above 65 favored the Republican by 13 points (54-41%)…

Asked in a New York Times interview about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s call for the federal government to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he arrives in the city for the U.N. General Assembly next month, Gov. Kathy Hochul advised the mayor, “Let’s focus on the blocking and tackling of city government. That is where I believe the main focus should be”…

The Trump administration, meanwhile, is weighing in on another official’s appearance at the UNGA: The White House intends to prevent Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas from attending for the second year in a row, a U.S. official told The Times of Israel…

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained on CNBC today that in order to implement the new U.S. economic campaign against Iran, the Trump administration will approach “all of our allies” and tell them, “You are either with us or against us.”

“If you insist on doing business with [Iran] — either transferring money, buying their oil, doing seaborne ship transfers — then the U.S. Treasury and the U.S. government will put its full might and force toward enforcing against you,” he added…

The NYT looks at which countries do the most business with Iran and could therefore be hardest hit by the new measures, including China, India and several Middle East nations…

Georgia state Rep. Esther Panitch, the only Jewish member of the state’s Legislature, denounced the Georgia branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations for featuring extremist anti-Israel voices including Zahra Billoo, Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur as keynote speakers at its gala next month.

CAIR-GA has “dropped the mask at this point,” Panitch told the Jerusalem News Syndicate. “This is actual straight-out, Nazi-level Protocols of the Elders of Zion kind of antisemitism. They’re doing it, and they can’t say they didn’t know”…

For more than 150 years, Baltimore’s Orthodox Jews have walked to synagogue on Preakness Saturday and listened to the roar of the crowd from Pimlico Race Course less than a mile away, never able to join it. That changes in 2027, when the second jewel in horse racing’s Triple Crown — following the Kentucky Derby and preceding the Belmont Stakes — moves from Saturday to Sunday, finally opening the gates at Pimlico to the local Shabbat-observant community for the first time since the race started in 1873, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at the growing divide between the United States and Israel over how to approach post-Assad Syria.

Despite her recent debate stage snafu, which has led GOP operatives to question her chances in next week’s special runoff election, Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) is still enjoying the support of the party: Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), the Senate majority whip, is in South Carolina today to support her race, and President Donald Trump will join her in Myrtle Beach for a rally tomorrow.

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

Stories You May Have Missed

GOING LOCAL

Socialist surge happening in under-the-radar local and state legislative races

A Brookings Institution study found that of the 104 Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates running for state legislature, nearly 75% have won their primaries

Read more

Daily Overtime

Michigan Jews make the case for Rogers

Plus, ICE detains Jewish bridal shop owner

Sarah Rice/Getty Images

Senate candidate Mike Rogers greets supporters at his election watch party with the MIGOP on November 5, 2024 in Novi, Michigan.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

August 19, 2026

Good Wednesday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Jewish leaders in Michigan are circulating an open letter, obtained by Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel, urging Jewish Democrats and independents in the battleground state to sign their names in support of former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) as he faces Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed in the race for U.S. Senate.

If El-Sayed were to claim victory in the general election, the authors say, “we fear the far-left and anti-Jewish elements in the Democratic party would become dominant … We cannot allow him to become the Democratic standard-bearer or Michigan’s senator”…

California state Sen. Aisha Wahab still holds a narrow lead as of this afternoon over former Dublin, Calif., Mayor Melissa Hernandez in the special election runoff for an East Bay House seat that drew a late surge of outside spending from AIPAC.

With 62% of the vote counted in yesterday’s election, Wahab had 51%, leading Hernandez by two percentage points or 1,356 votes, according to the unofficial initial returns. “We made a race that wasn’t close when we started into a nail-biter,” Patrick Dorton, a spokesperson for AIPAC’s United Democracy Project super PAC, told JI’s Matthew Kassel…

ICE detained a Jewish bridal shop owner and his mother living in Englewood, N.J., a local elected official confirmed today to JI’s Haley Cohen: Ari Ladino and his mother, Chava, who are originally from Bogotá, Colombia, run Luana Rose Modestly in Teaneck — a dress shop specializing in modest special occasion gowns popular among local Orthodox Jewish women. The reason for their arrest remains unclear…

In an interview with The Jerusalem Post today, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack doubled down on his criticism of Israeli strikes on a Syrian air base earlier in the week, which Israel said had been prompted by Turkish involvement at the base. “Turkish forces were not aware that the Israeli aircraft were en route to that specific Syrian base … [and] could potentially have been inclined to scramble their own jets in the belief that they themselves were under attack,” Barrack said.

He announced that the U.S. is looking to relaunch a deconfliction cell between Israel and Syria, with potential Turkish participation, and downplayed reported Israeli concerns over a specific Turkish radar system said to be deployed at the base. “We remain convinced that this technical requirement need not pose a security concern, and that further conversations can help clarify the matter to everyone’s satisfaction,” Barrack said…

Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF’s chief of staff, visited Israeli troops in southern Syria today, where he said Israel is “monitoring the changes on the Syrian front” and “know[s] how to use our power precisely where it is needed and when it is needed”…

The IDF announced it is opening an investigation into the killing of 5-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza in January 2024 after finding that troops had indeed fired at her family’s vehicle as it was traveling opposite the direction of an evacuation route. The military had previously denied responsibility for the incident, which drew global attention and inspired an Oscar-nominated film titled “The Voice of Hind Rajab.”

The IDF will also investigate the killing of 15 rescue workers traveling in emergency vehicles in March 2025, and closed investigations into a strike on a World Central Kitchen convoy and into the deaths of several Doctors Without Borders members, finding that troops’ actions in those incidents did not rise to the level of criminal offenses…

The New York Times examines CENTCOM’s efforts to keep oil traffic flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, including utilizing air- and water-based assets to intercept Iranian drones and missiles targeting commercial traffic.

Beyond protecting tankers loaded with oil, the U.S. military has also reportedly established its own corridor to help empty ships enter the strait, load up and exit largely undetected…

The New York State Department of Financial Services issued a notice warning Holocaust survivors and their families about potential fraud by an organization calling itself the “Jewish Holocaust Claims Center” that is contacting such individuals about their eligibility for compensation…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how Sen. Darline Graham‘s (R-SC) debate stage flub on national security may impact her chances in next week’s South Carolina special runoff election for Senate.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and his primary opponent, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), will face off in their final debate before the election. Moulton, 47, is mounting a generational challenge to the 80-year-old Markey and has taken an increasingly critical stance against Israel and AIPAC on the campaign trail, while Markey has long staked out staunchly anti-Israel positions.

Stories You May Have Missed

SUNSHINE STATE SOCIALISM

Florida Democrats nominate DSA candidate for Senate race

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon participates in a worship service during a visit to the Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church on August 17, 2026 in Hallandale Beach, Florida.

Angie Nixon, who called Israel’s war against Hamas a genocide and campaigned with Rep. Rashida Tlaib, will be the party’s candidate against GOP Sen. Ashley Moody

Read more

DAILY KICKOFF

Florida trims the fringe

Plus, Darline Graham says natsec 'not my thing'

Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) speaks at a press conference on Capitol Hill on Sept. 8, 2025.

By

JI Staff

August 19, 2026

Good Wednesday morning.

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we break down the results of yesterday’s primaries in Florida, and talk to foreign policy officials wary of the Trump administration’s Gaza diplomacy. We report on Sen. Darline Graham’s admission during last night’s South Carolina Senate debate that national security was “not my thing,” and cover a new report from the Anti-Defamation League and the Academic Engagement Network about anti-Israel activists’ efforts to exert control over higher education unions. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Ehren Stenzler, Jeremy Moss and Yossi Cohen.

Curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss, with an assist from Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

Today’s Agenda

We’re keeping an eye on the remaining races to be called in yesterday’s primaries in Florida and special election runoff in California’s 14th Congressional District, where state Sen. Aisha Wahab maintains a 1,300-vote lead over Melissa Hernandez with 62% of precincts reporting.

A number of the Florida races were called shortly after polls closed, with Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Randy Fine (R-FL) fending off challengers from the more extreme wings of their respective parties. More below.

SUNSHINE STATE SOCIALISM

Florida Democrats nominate DSA candidate for Senate race

Angie Nixon, who called Israel’s war against Hamas a genocide and campaigned with Rep. Rashida Tlaib, will be the party’s candidate against GOP Sen. Ashley Moody

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon participates in a worship service during a visit to the Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church on August 17, 2026 in Hallandale Beach, Florida.

By

Marc Rod

August 18, 2026

Democratic Socialists of America-affiliated candidate Angie Nixon, a Florida state representative, won the Democratic primary for Florida’s Senate seat on Tuesday, scoring a major upset over the establishment-backed Alex Vindman.

Vindman, who is Jewish and gained national attention as a whistleblower in President Donald Trump’s first term, brought in $16 million during the campaign while Nixon raised less than $1 million. Her victory is a sign of the shifting political tides in the Sunshine State. .

Her left-wing affiliations are also likely to concern Democrats in the general election in light of the various immigrant constituencies in the state that have generally been hostile to socialist ideology.

Nixon said recently that she would have supported efforts to cut off all U.S. aid to Israel: “We cannot continue to send money to countries that are violating international law, that are violating human rights, that are actively destroying,” she said on local radio.

Nixon campaigned alongside and was endorsed by a series of anti-Israel figures and groups, including Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner, the virulently anti-Israel group TrackAIPAC and Jewish Voice for Peace.

A month after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, Nixon faced accusations of antisemitism by Jewish Democrats in the Statehouse over a resolution she led calling for a ceasefire “in Israel and occupied Palestine,” with just one other lawmaker joining her in support of it. Most House members turned their backs to Nixon as she spoke on the House floor in support of the resolution.

“To be called a terrorist on the House floor. Ignorant. Antisemitic. That was very hurtful. But I will always fight to stand on the right side of history, and I believe that I was on the right side of history then just like I’m on the right side of history now,” Nixon said recently.

Rick Stark, chair of the Florida Democratic Jewish Caucus, said that Nixon joined a Zoom meeting with the group to discuss issues including Israel policy. He characterized her as having no clear understanding of the region.

Stark said that Nixon had not offered a clear answer on whether Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state, and was not interested in traveling to Israel.

He recounted that she was not familiar with the meaning of the slogan “from the river to the sea,” but she said that she had been told by Palestinian friends that it did not constitute a call for the destruction of Israel.

Steve Schale, a Florida Democratic strategist, told JI before the primary that Nixon had “created a bunch of buzz for herself,” and that she would have a strong base in the Jacksonville area and among Black voters statewide — beyond only the progressive and DSA-aligned coalition.

The results indicated that Nixon, indeed, won comfortably in heavily Black counties and precincts, giving her a broader base of support than just far-left voters.

Vindman is also relatively new to Florida, having moved to the state only recently and attracting accusations of carpetbagging.

“Who would’ve ever thought that a Jewish refugee would make it to the U.S. Army, to the White House, and to becoming a candidate for the U.S. Senate. Only in America is that possible,” Vindman said in a statement.

“I still believe in the American Dream, because I’ve lived it. It’s worth fighting for. Rep. Nixon ran a strong campaign. I will be standing by her side in the fight against Ashley Moody. I hope you’ll join me.”

READING THE RIGHT

Florida primaries pose a test for far-right candidates

Reps. Byron Donalds and Randy Fine are favored to win their races, but the margins for their extreme challengers could signal how far right the GOP base has drifted

Prodip Guha/Getty Images

Dan Bilzerian on Sept. 13, 2019 in Mumbai, India.

By

Marc Rod

August 18, 2026

Florida’s Republican primaries on Tuesday will be a critical test for far-right candidates who have built their campaigns on open antisemitism, providing hard data on how popular those views have become in the GOP.

Neither gubernatorial candidate James Fishback nor Dan Bilzerian, who is challenging Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) in Florida’s 6th Congressional District, are expected to win. But the extent of the support they’re able to pick up will be instructive.

Polling has shown that Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) is likely to easily win the gubernatorial primary — and therefore the governorship — with the backing of President Donald Trump. But Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and Fishback will be competing for the second-place slot.

Fishback has embraced and celebrated neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes and his “groyper” followers and leaned into a variety of antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories. He has also vowed to cut ties with Israel and suggested he would scale back state efforts to combat antisemitism.

He has also run a racist campaign, including repeatedly referring to Donalds, who is Black, as a “slave,” telling a Black Floridian they should be lynched and invoking other bigoted tropes.

Fishback’s campaign has attracted attention from younger GOP voters in particular, with some polls showing him far outpacing Donalds among voters under 35 — as well as support from donors who have backed far-left anti-Israel Democrats.

Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist in Florida, said that the extent of Donalds’ victory is the key question at the moment. He predicted that Fishback could pick up more than 10% of the vote, and potentially outperform Collins.

“It’s more of a testament to Byron running away with it and everyone knowing it,” O’Connell said, explaining his prediction of a poor performance by Collins. Trump’s endorsement of Donalds — which the president has frequently highlighted — should push Donalds to a commanding victory, he continued.

At the same time, “the one thing that Fishback has shown himself to be good at is garnering media attention. … I think this is about gaining name ID, gaining attention,” O’Connell continued.

He suggested that Fishback’s gubernatorial run might be a bid to gain public attention as a pretext for a future race for a lower political office. “We don’t know what his ultimate goal is. Is he going to run for another office?”

O’Connell also predicted a poor performance by Bilzerian, who has garnered bipartisan criticism in recent days over a blatantly antisemitic and pro-Hitler advertisement targeting Fine posted by Bilzerian on social media.

He predicted that Bilzerian’s final margin will amount to a “statistical anomaly” and that another candidate, Aaron Baker, who is also challenging Fine, may outperform Bilzerian. Baker has also been critical of Israel including opposing aid for its offensive weapons and calling for conditions on U.S. aid.

Bilzerian has put $1 million of his own money into the race, raising an additional $240,000, trailing far behind Fine, who raised more than $4 million. Baker has only raised $109,000.

Collins, the lieutenant governor, endorsed a third candidate in the primary, Charles Gambaro, a local official.

Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) might be in the most danger of any incumbent Florida Republican, having been dogged for months by a growing series of scandals and investigations related to alleged domestic violence and harassment, financial misconduct, sexual misconduct, stolen valor and alleged use of his office for his own financial gain. Mills has denied any wrongdoing.

Mills’ wedding was also officiated by a radical imam who was believed to be a key fundraiser for Hamas and listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, who also expressed antisemitic and anti-American sentiments in his sermons. Mills denied any knowledge of the imam’s affiliations.

O’Connell predicted that Mills is likely to lose to Ryan Elijah, a former local TV anchor, consistent with a recent poll showing Elijah opening up a commanding lead over Mills ahead of primary day.

“The allegations might have caught up to Cory in terms of winning there. So that looks like an uphill climb for Cory in Florida[‘s 7th Congressional District], based on all the numbers I’ve seen,” O’Connell said. “He would need a hefty Election Day turnout. It’s not unheard of, but it’s just highly unlikely that he’s going to win.”

Both Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have backed away from Mills in recent weeks in light of the scandals and declined to intervene in support of him. O’Connell described Mills as “trying to cling to an endorsement” from Trump that largely predated the scrutiny into his scandals.

O’Connell predicted that Republicans would be able to hold the seat even if Mills wins the primary election, though Democrats have seen Mills as potentially a ripe target if he’s renominated.

Daily Overtime

Kushner’s game plan for Gaza

Plus, Trump puts Oman in the crosshairs

Shalev Shalom

Israeli President Isaac Herzog meets with Jared Kushner at the President's Residence in Jerusalem on Aug. 17, 2026.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

August 17, 2026

Good Monday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump confirmed to Fox News this morning that the White House is communicating directly with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and said that Tehran should “raise the white flag of surrender,” as the 60-day memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran — which was intended to lead to the creation of a permanent peace agreement but was quickly deemed moot by both parties — officially expired today without a deal in sight.

Jared Kushner separately told Fox News about the status of talks with Iran that Trump is “focused on economic pressure” but is still open to reaching an agreement, adding that dialogue between the White House and “different areas of the Iranian government” is “probably more robust than it’s maybe ever been” and that the conversations are “positive”…

Trump also threatened in his interview to “bomb the sh*t out of” Oman if the country “gets in the way,” amid Muscat’s negotiations with Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking later to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he doesn’t think Oman “behave[s] very well” and that the U.S. would “handle them very easily.” He also reaffirmed his recent claim that he intends to declare the strait a U.S. territory, saying he “think[s] it’s a great idea”…

Responding to Trump’s threat, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) announced he intends to introduce a war powers resolution when the Senate returns from recess to prohibit U.S. military action against Oman…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had “deep and constructive discussions” with Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov and Kushner in Jerusalem today, where the parties agreed to establish two working groups: one on the “disarmament and demilitarization of Gaza,” which they agreed should happen before “any reconstruction,” and a second on sanitation and public health concerns in the enclave.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog also met with the group and said he was “impressed that Israel’s security interests are an important and central element of their plan”…

After the meetings, Kushner told Fox News that he predicts there will be progress in starting to demilitarize Gaza “in as little as 30 days” and beginning to fill in Hamas’ terror tunnels “in the next 60 to 90 days.”

Despite Trump stating in his interview that Israel should not be conducting any more strikes in Gaza, Kushner said the Board of Peace would “not restrict Israel’s right to defend itself” and that if Hamas doesn’t follow through on its commitments, Israel will “have a lot more support from the U.S.” to “finish the job.” He called his Sunday meeting with Hamas leaders “cordial” and said they “said all the right things” but that they are “hard to trust”…

Trump said today it’s “most appropriate” that he “stay out of” Israel’s upcoming elections but added that he “may endorse somebody” anyway….

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi disputed claims by Masrour Barzani, prime minister of the region of Kurdistan, that his office was attacked by Iranian drones: “Kurdish friends should be vigilant against false-flag ploys to sow discord between neighbors,” Araghchi said on X, claiming that Iran has historically “protected” the Kurds. It was a striking characterization given that Iran has repeatedly struck Kurdish opposition bases in Iraqi Kurdistan, including during the current war, and has a decades-long history of suppressing its own Kurdish population…

New York City leaders are condemning a series of inflammatory posters opposing a new housing development in Chelsea that use antisemitic, racist and homophobic language, including a call to “stop Zionist occupation of Manhattan,” tying the project to “foreign wealth dirty zionist money” and claiming that “Talmudists are trained to cheat.”

City Hall called the posters “vile” and claimed the rhetoric “has absolutely no place in our city’s political discourse,” while Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, said, “Disagreement over housing policy is legitimate. Dehumanizing your neighbors is not”…

Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Dan Goldman (D-NY) continued to spar this week over the University of Washington’s decision to cancel a planned speech by antisemitic influencer Hasan Piker, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

After Goldman argued initially against Jayapal’s denunciation of the school, the congresswoman said she “completely disagree[s] with [Goldman’s] analysis of free speech”; Goldman responded that students have ample access to “Piker’s racist and anti-American views,” but the university has a responsibility to prevent discriminatory conduct or a hostile environment for Jewish students that could interfere in their ability to participate on campus…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at AIPAC’s involvement in tomorrow’s special election in California’s 14th Congressional District, where state Sen. Aisha Wahab is facing off against former Dublin, Calif., Mayor Melissa Hernandez, who is backed by the pro-Israel group.

Florida will also hold its primary elections tomorrow, where several pro-Israel and Jewish candidates are facing off against far-right and far-left extremists. Read more on the races and their implications here.

The Sephardic Rabbinical Conference will conclude in New York with speakers including Israeli Consul General Ofir Akunis; Daniel Rosenthal, vice president for government relations at UJA-Federation of New York; Rabbi Elie Buechler, director of programs at the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center; and rabbis from around the world.

Stories You May Have Missed

SENATOR SITDOWN

Rick Scott: We have to ‘fight, fight fight’ antisemites running in the Republican Party

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) talks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on July 23, 2026.

The senator told JI he was worried that fringe ideas could gain momentum if Republicans don’t aggressively push back

Read more

primary colors

Florida Jewish Democrats look to fend off DSA-aligned primary challengers

Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) are the latest DSA targets

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) speak to the media before a visit to the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport on July 12, 2025 in Ochopee, Florida.

By

Marc Rod

August 17, 2026

Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), two Florida Jewish Democrats known as champions of Israel, are facing primary battles on Tuesday against Democratic Socialists of America-aligned candidates who have made criticism of the incumbents’ stances on Israel major planks of their campaigns.

Moskowitz, running in a heavily Jewish south Florida district, faces a challenge from DSA member Oliver Larkin.

Wasserman Schultz is facing a slew of Democratic opponents after redistricting broke up her previous district. She decided to run instead in a plurality Black seat, a decision that has sparked controversy in both the state and on the Hill. Her most prominent challenger is Elijah Manley, a former DSA member who converted to Judaism as an adult.

Larkin and Manley — alongside progressive Senate candidate Angie Nixon, who faces Jewish Democrat Alex Vindman — rallied on Friday with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), one of the most prominent critics of Israel in the House. The event was forced to relocate after the original business hosting the event, The Venue Fort Lauderdale, cancelled the reservation following backlash from Democratic state Rep. Michael Gottleib and others, including far-right commentator Laura Loomer.

“Once we became aware of the full scope and nature of the event and reviewed the publicly circulated promotional materials, we immediately began addressing the matter. Due to security concerns as well as the welfare of attendees and staff, the decision was then made that the event would not proceed at our property,” The Venue said in a statement. “The Venue Fort Lauderdale is Jewish-owned and operated and our values and commitment to the Jewish community are deeply important to us.”

Local media reported that a second venue also backed out of hosting the event before organizers were able to secure a third location, where the event went forward.

Larkin, Tlaib and Nixon also attended a Shabbat event organized by Jewish Voices for Peace. JVP did not identify any Jewish leaders attending the Shabbat event on the invitation.

In spite of the national attention toward the races, longtime Democratic insiders in the state are skeptical that far-left politics is a winning formula in Florida.

“I don’t think this entire state is great for that,” Steve Schale, a longtime Florida Democratic strategist said, pointing to the defeats of former gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum and Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) presidential campaign in the state.

Mitch Ceasar, a former chair of the Broward County Democratic Party and a former state Democratic chairman, agreed that far-left and anti-Israel positions aren’t likely to have much purchase in the Sunshine State. “I don’t think either one of those things plays in Florida like it would in New York or some other places.”

Neither Larkin nor Manley have picked up the prominent national endorsements of figures such as Sanders or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) that have been a boon to other progressive congressional hopefuls. Manley, for his part, secured the endorsement of Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA).

But other far-left figures have been rallying in support of Larkin in particular, including antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker; far-left Democratic nominees Darializa Avila Chevalier, Claire Valdez and Melat Kiros; former Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY); childrens’ entertainer Ms. Rachel; former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner; and anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour.

Manley also appeared on Piker’s livestream show.

Moskowitz — despite an unrelenting barrage of attacks from Larkin’s campaign — has largely stuck to a positive message and declined to engage directly with Larkin.

But Moskowitz has said he believes that he’s “being targeted simply because of my faith and being pro-Israel” and that Larkin has embraced supporters who have “repeatedly trafficked in antisemitic rhetoric and hostility toward the Jewish community.”

Moskowitz has raised nearly $3 million, but has reserved close to $2 million of that for the general election. Larkin raised $689,000 and would enter the general election with just $170,000 left on hand.

Ceasar said Larkin’s campaign has also brought in “a lot of very anti-Jewish overtones,” which have raised particular concerns in light of the public death threats and assassination attempts that Moskowitz has faced.

Schale said he’s been dubious of polling and other data the Larkin campaign has put out that has suggested Larkin is gaining ground on Moskowitz. He added that a Larkin victory would virtually guarantee that Democrats lose the seat in November.

“I remain skeptical that that race is actually going to be all that close,” Schale said, emphasizing that the district, geographically and demographically, is very different from most of the other districts where DSA candidates have had success, including being less urban, older and heavily Jewish.

A poll from Larkin’s campaign on Aug. 5 of 403 likely voters showed Moskowitz leading Larkin by two points, while a Moskowitz poll on July 22 showed Moskowitz leading by 36 points.

Ceasar agreed that Moskowitz should win reelection, noting his strong fundraising performance and that his new district shares about half of its territory with the previous one. “Jared’s a hard worker,” Ceasar said.

He also emphasized that Moskowitz is a well-known quantity in the district since the beginning of his political career.

An individual close to Moskowitz’s campaign noted that half of the expected voters have already voted early, and that the district is generally older. The district is also 25% Jewish and 25% Hispanic — mostly of Cuban and Venezuelan ancestry, populations that are generally hostile to socialist policies. The source noted that the district is deeply purple — split around evenly among Democrats, Republicans and Independents.

All of those factors are likely to favor Moskowitz. There’s also been an effort among Republican-leaning Orthodox Jewish voters to re-register as Democrats to vote for Moskowitz in the primary.

Another source who requested anonymity to speak freely told Jewish Insider they expect Moskowitz to win, but said that his one potential vulnerability is that he’s been somewhat absent from local Democratic club meetings and other gatherings in the district. Moskowitz has also faced criticism, including from the Sun Sentinel — which declined to reendorse him — for failing to appear with or debate Larkin.

Moskowitz, who has young children, faced a credible assassination attempt in 2024 and repeated death threats and other harassment, largely tied to his Jewish identity.

The source said, however, that Moskowitz is very well-known and well-liked and has a long history in the district, and noted that his father was also a leader in the Broward County Democratic Party.

Schale said he was skeptical of a characterization of Moskowitz as disengaged. The lines of the district, Schale noted, changed around three months ago and around 40% of the district is new to him, so campaigning on the ground in much of the district would have been difficult before then as well. He said he’s found Moskowitz to be “incredibly in-touch with his constituents” and “responsive” to them throughout his career.

Caesar told JI that Wasserman Schultz remains the favorite in her race in part because her opponents failed to consolidate. Some Black community leaders had hoped to narrow the field to a head-to-head challenge against Wasserman Schultz, but ultimately the other candidates declined to do so.

Democrats have expressed frustrations with Republicans for creating the redistricting situation, accusing them of deliberately stoking racial tensions through their decisions in drawing the district boundaries in addition to carving up Democratic-held seats.

“I hate the situation all around,” Schale said.

“What the Republicans are doing is they’re going for what I would call a political [Buy One, Get One], and that is that they’re seeking to steal Democratic districts in Florida, while also creating racial disharmony,” Ceasar said.

Wasserman Schultz, Ceasar noted, maintains a substantial fundraising advantage over her opponents. She’s raised $3.3 million, far surpassing Manley’s $1 million, former Broward County Mayor Dale Holeness’ $394,000, former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus McCormick’s (D-FL) $389,000 and rapper and free speech activist Luther Campbell’s $163,000.

The seat has a plurality Black population but not necessarily a majority, and includes a diverse set of communities, Schale noted.

“I’ve talked to several people that think she probably is going to win,” Schale said. “She’s probably in the strongest position to win this thing, but assuming she wins, she’s going to have a very real challenge on Day 1 to build trust in the community with folks who feel like she shouldn’t have run there … and to deliver in a real way. The one thing about her that I know is she’s as tireless as any human being I’ve ever known and she’ll work her tail off.”

Though Manley’s campaign has gained the most national attention, as well as endorsements from some local newspapers, Schale said that Holness is likely to be a strong candidate as well. Cherfilus-McCormick, he said, likely still maintains a base of support in spite of the scandals that led to her resignation from Congress earlier this year, while Campbell has also been an interesting and unique candidate.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Elijah finished second if he doesn’t win. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Dale was [second],” Schale said. “I don’t know that [Holness] is raising the kind of money and communicating in the same way, but he’s also got a substantially deeper relationship with the district than Elijah does.”

He said Manley’s path to victory would be if other candidates split the more moderate vote and he’s able to squeeze through to victory with around 30% of the vote. With significant Black, Caribbean, Cuban, Venezuelan and Colombian voting populations, “just demographically, the district isn’t set up well for a socialist. And also … a good chunk of them came there escaping socialism.”

A third pro-Israel Jewish Democrat, Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL), is also facing a challenge that’s gone largely unreported at the national level. Rick Stark, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party’s Jewish Caucus, said that Frankel’s reelection race may be flying under the radar as a true contest.

Her main opponent, Victoria Doyle, who is running to Frankel’s left and has expressed hostility toward AIPAC, has loaned her own campaign $325,000. Frankel is in a much stronger position financially, having raised $2.2 million.

Stark, who lives in Frankel’s district, said he hasn’t seen much outreach from Doyle’s campaign, but noted that Democrats have been particularly hostile this cycle toward older and long-tenured Democratic leaders like Frankel.

“I do think [Frankel] pulls it off, [but] I think it’s going to be a lot closer than [people are] thinking,” Stark said. “A lot of the young folks are tired of us old folks.”

Schale said he hadn’t heard any indication that Frankel’s race would be competitive.

“Our campaign is directed at fighting Donald Trump‘s policies and not on attacking other Democrats. I’m laser-focused on building an affordable America, protecting our Social Security and Medicare, and fighting Trump’s threat to our democracy,” Frankel said in a statement to JI.

In the Senate race, Schale predicted victory for Vindman, a military veteran and National Security Council whistleblower, but said that Nixon is likely to put up a strong performance.

“Angie’s running a very energetic [campaign]. I think she’s created a bunch of buzz for herself,” Schale said. “I think Alex will win, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s not close-ish.”

He emphasized that many Florida voters will be unfamiliar with either candidate going into the polls — though Vindman has been able to communicate with more voters — but Nixon will have a base of voters in Jacksonville and Black voters statewide, beyond only progressive and DSA-aligned voters.

Stark said that Nixon had spoken at a Jewish Democratic Caucus Zoom event where she did not demonstrate a clear understanding of issues in the Middle East.

PAC PUSH

J Street launches six-figure ad campaign to boost progressive in Swalwell’s former seat

In a statement, J Street said that its spending effort to boost progressive California state Sen. Aisha Wahab is intended to counter the pro-Hernandez spending by AIPAC and others

Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images

California state Sen. Aisha Wahab attends a press conference in Hayward, Calif., on March 2, 2026.

By

Marc Rod

August 14, 2026

J Street Action Fund, the super PAC affiliated with the progressive Israel advocacy group, spent $108,000 on Thursday on digital advertisements to boost progressive California state Sen. Aisha Wahab in the special election in California’s 14th Congressional District.

The AIPAC-affiliated super PAC United Democracy Project has spent nearly $2.5 million — along with significant independent expenditures by other groups — attacking Wahab and boosting moderate former local mayor Melissa Hernandez in the special election runoff to replace former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA).

J Street said in a statement that its spending effort is intended to counter the pro-Hernandez spending by AIPAC and others. The J Street ad praises Wahab for work on housing affordability issues.

Wahab’s campaign has raised concerns from members of the Jewish community, given that she voted against or abstained on votes on top-priority legislation to combat campus antisemitism and is closely aligned with teachers’ unions that have opposed antisemitism bills. She has also accused Israel of committing genocide and shared a page on her campaign site individually calling out specific “AIPAC-linked donors” supporting Hernandez’s campaign.

“Aisha Wahab is an Afghan-American and the first Muslim elected to the California State Senate,” J Street said in a statement. “In September 2025, she introduced a resolution calling for an end to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the immediate release of all hostages. She is exactly the kind of compassionate leader constituents of the 14th District should have in Congress.”

Wahab introduced the 2025 resolution alongside Jewish state Sen. Scott Wiener, who is running for Congress in another Bay Area district.

“This is once again a cynical attempt by AIPAC to defeat a candidate who won’t rubber-stamp their agenda,” Tali deGroot, J Street’s vice president of political and digital strategy, said in a statement. “AIPAC’s super PAC has failed time and again this cycle, and we expect this latest attempt to take Republican billionaire dollars and buy a Democratic primary to fail as well. Voters in the 14th deserve better, and they deserve a Member of Congress who will bring the kind of clear-eyed, nuanced and compassionate leadership that Dr. Wahab has shown throughout her career.”

A Jewish leader in the district said that, while they harbored concerns about Wahab, they did not believe that even significant UDP spending would be enough to swing the race against her and worried that UDP spending could push her toward stronger anti-Israel stances.

Daily Overtime

Mamdani’s ‘first-in-the-nation’ antisemitism plan that isn’t

Plus, CA considers making Jews an ethnicity

Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP via Getty Images

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani arrives for a news conference at Gracie Mansion in New York City on March 9, 2026.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

August 13, 2026

Good Thursday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced today that his Office to Combat Antisemitism will be releasing a municipal plan to combat antisemitism, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.

The mayor marketed the plan as the “first-in-the-nation,” even as former Mayor Eric Adams already released a “blueprint” for combating antisemitism on his last day in office, which included the city adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism — a policy that Mamdani repealed on his first day.

The move comes days after Mamdani hosted a roundtable with rabbis in the city who asked the mayor to back off his attacks on Israel, a request that Mamdani did not reference or commit to addressing in his remarks…

The California state Legislature is considering a bill to require state agencies to include “Jewish” as an ethnicity option on all forms that collect demographic data. The move would make California the first state to officially consider Judaism as more than a religion for identification purposes…

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit yesterday brought by the Trump administration against Harvard University alleging that the school showed “deliberate indifference” to antisemitism on campus in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks.

The judge ruled that the few campus incidents cited by the administration were “too isolated and episodic” to find “any institutionalized noncompliance with Title VI persists at Harvard to this day”…

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said on X today that she had communicated her “concerns” to the University of Washington about its decision to cancel an appearance by far-left, antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker, and encouraged student groups who “want to hear from Mr. Piker to work with the University to ensure they can proceed.”

Piker had earlier this week denounced Democrats who didn’t “speak out against this clear violation” of the First Amendment due to his “position as a prominent critic of Israel”…

Former Democratic Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner is expected to headline a Labor Day rally for the Hancock County Maine Democrats next month, his first public appearance since dropping out of the Senate race after he was accused of rape by a former romantic partner…

White House advisor Jared Kushner is planning a trip to Israel next week with Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials to discuss the Hamas disarmament deal, Axios reports…

CENTCOM announced today it is undertaking efforts to establish the “first-ever multi-domain, multinational attack drone task force,” including consulting with and inviting regional partners to join, that will work to utilize unmanned, one-way attack drones “from above, on, and below the sea” in the Middle East…

The U.S. has lost roughly a quarter of its fleet of MQ-9 Reaper drones in the war with Iran, sources told The Washington Post, as the armed drones have been targeted by Tehran and its proxies in Yemen and Iraq…

The Pentagon is sending the USS George Washington aircraft carrier to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East, as reports and lawmakers indicate that conditions aboard the ship are deteriorating after a record 200 days without a port call; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed the concerns about the Abraham Lincoln today as “completely misrepresented”…

Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC), facing a runoff special election to be the GOP nominee for her late brother’s Senate seat, announced she is co-sponsoring the Jewish American Security Act, the U.S.-Israel FUTURES Act, a bill on Iran sanctions and a bill on Iranian human rights and internet access…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is avoiding contending with the anti-Israel turn of her preferred successor, San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, in her race against state Sen. Scott Wiener.

President Donald Trump will appear with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the GOP candidate for New York governor, at an event on Long Island honoring law enforcement officials.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), a member of the Squad, will appear at a rally in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., alongside anti-Israel progressives running against Jewish Democrats Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), as well as socialist Colorado Democratic congressional nominee Melat Kiros.

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

Stories You May Have Missed

NEW BATTLEGROUND

Jewish leaders build up local grassroots organizing to counter radical forces in politics

Human crowd forming a big David’s star on blue background.

There’s widespread interest within the Jewish community to develop efforts to counter the growing populist rage and anti-Jewish hate, city by city

Read more

Daily Overtime

Jewish publisher writes off Ossoff

Plus, Josh Kushner and Bob Iger ball out

Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Breakthrough T1D)

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) questions witnesses during a hearing held to examine a future without Type 1 Diabetes with a focus on accelerating breakthroughs and creating hope at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on July 09, 2025 in Washington, DC.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

August 12, 2026

Good Wednesday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

A State Department official pushed back on Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz’s comments in southern Lebanon today, where he said the IDF would remain deployed in a security zone, contrary to the agreement signed between Washington, Jerusalem and Beirut.

“The United States expects all parties to act in a manner consistent with the Framework they agreed to, and Israel clearly stated that it has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon. A permanent military presence in South Lebanon is not consistent with the commitments made in the Framework, or the long-term peace and security of both states,” the official told Axios…

Sources told Reuters that Israel and Lebanon have agreed that countries including Britain, Italy, Switzerland and Indonesia could contribute troops to an international force meant to oversee Hezbollah’s disarmament; an Israeli official denied any decisions had been made on the issue…

President Donald Trump continued to boast about the success of the U.S. campaign against Iran, stating again in a post on Truth Social today that the U.S. “has total control over the Strait of Hormuz” and that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is “decimated and fleeing.”

Meanwhile, out of the 166 ships that have transited the strait so far this month — a significant decrease from the average before the war — only two are known to have used the U.S.- and Oman-backed route, according to The Wall Street Journal…

In a rare interview with Western media, top IRGC advisor Mohammad Reza Naqdi told “PBS News Hour” that Iran is prepared to continue hostilities through the end of Trump’s term and accused the U.S. of waging a “war without strategy”…

The New York Times documents the efforts being made by Gulf countries to construct routes to move oil out of the region that do not rely on the Strait of Hormuz…

Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov denied in a post in Hebrew today that there is any financial agreement between the board and Hamas, refuting a report by Israeli public broadcaster Kan that the board would cover Hamas’ debts up to $400 million.

The disarmament roadmap states that the new Palestinian technocratic government will “assess the legitimate commitments to suppliers, contractors and other parties — up to a total amount of no more than $400M — and address them”; Mladenov said in his post that such processes “are not channeled through Hamas” and that “all accounts are open to full scrutiny by the donor governments”…

The publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times, Michael Morris, penned an open letter to Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) today pressing the senator over his repeated votes to block U.S. military sales to Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

“I apologize for being blunt, but please, stop lying to me and your constituents. I hear you claim, over and over again, that you support Israel — that your support is ‘ironclad.’ It is not,” Morris wrote…

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) denied today that the more than $30 million of support she received from AIPAC’s super PAC in her failed run for U.S. Senate backfired, saying on CNN that those who criticize AIPAC “maybe don’t understand what the group is” and that she’s “proud of the friendships and the relationships I have there [and] the really good Americans” who make up its membership…

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is stepping away from her role at the end of the month, Trump announced today, in order to spend more time with her family. The president said Leavitt will now serve as “one of my top outside advisors”…

Josh Kushner, managing partner of the venture capital firm Thrive Capital, and former Disney CEO Bob Iger have agreed to purchase a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Lakers for a record-breaking price of $12.5 billion, JI’s Matthew Shea reports…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at local Jewish political organizing efforts in major cities across the country.

The Hudson Institute will hold an event examining the state of the ongoing conflicts in the Gulf with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Behnam Ben Taleblu and Hudson’s Michael Doran, Ludo Hood and Zineb Riboua.

Stories You May Have Missed

TRUST, BUT VERIFY

Rabbis hope ‘open, honest dialogue’ with Mamdani brings belated change in Israel rhetoric

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a food distribution center on July 27, 2026 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

Mamdani’s antisemitism czar invited a cross-section of rabbis and Jewish leaders broadly sympathetic to the mayor for the candid conversation

Read more

Daily Overtime

Relations thaw between Jerusalem and Caracas

Plus, City Hall and NYPD clash over Rama Duwaji's travel plans

Javier Campos/NurPhoto via Getty Images

A woman waves a Venezuelan flag during a march in amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in Caracas, Venezuela on May 25, 2021. (Photo by )

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

August 11, 2026

Good Tuesday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, insisted today that any agreement reached between Iran and Oman on administering the Strait of Hormuz is separate from Tehran’s broader closure of the waterway, which will only be lifted once the U.S. accedes to Iran’s demands.

Meanwhile, Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, a key mediator between the U.S. and Iran, met today with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran. Islamabad’s defense minister, Khawaja Asif, told Bloomberg that developments are “shaping up again in favor of a peace arrangement”…

CENTCOM said it disabled a Panama-flagged cargo ship sailing toward Iranian ports today by firing two Hellfire missiles into the vessel’s engine room, the third such incident since the U.S. blockade began…

Ed Miliband, who last month was appointed by new U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham to be foreign secretary, said he had a “frank and constructive first call” with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar today, during which the British diplomat raised the issues of settler violence, settlement expansion and the humanitarian situation in Gaza, among others.

The discussion came a day after Miliband met with British Jewish community leaders, who said they were “impressed” by the foreign secretary’s “longer-term commitment to maintaining the conversation”…

Sa’ar announced that Israel and Venezuela have agreed to renew consular relations — establishing a coordination mechanism to provide consular services to each country’s citizens — in the first official channel between the two since Caracas severed diplomatic ties in 2009. The move builds on the Israeli aid delegation dispatched to Venezuela after the June 24 earthquakes…

The Palestinian technocratic committee meant to govern Gaza convened a joint coordination meeting with several U.N. agencies — including the World Food Program, UNICEF and the World Health Organization — as well as representatives from the Board of Peace and former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Institute for Global Change to coordinate on humanitarian aid and reconstruction issues…

Former Mossad head Yossi Cohen said at a conference in Israel today that Israeli operatives have “toured” Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility “many times” in order to “understand” it, and called the U.S. operation to bomb the site during the 12-day war in June 2025 “the fulfillment of all my dreams”…

The NYPD denied that its officers will be accompanying New York City First Lady Rama Duwaji on a trip to Lebanon and Syria next month after City Hall said that, “upon the strong recommendation of the NYPD, the First Lady’s security detail will be joining her” on the trip.

“The NYPD does not send officers to countries with level four travel advisories for discretionary reasons,” the NYPD said today, referring to the State Department’s ranking system that currently designates the two countries as “do not travel” locations. Mayor Zohran Mamdani later said the diverging statements stemmed from a “miscommunication,” and that when his wife makes the trip “it will be without any NYPD detail”…

Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed has made private over 100 YouTube videos from his time as a podcaster and commentator, CNN reports, including videos in which he lambasted fireworks on the Fourth of July, floated replacing the Second Amendment and voiced support for prison abolition…

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added Brian Poindexter, the Democratic nominee in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District, to its “Red to Blue” program as he aims to unseat Rep. Max Miller (R-OH). Democratic leadership will offer Poindexter strategic support as the district, previously considered a long shot for Democrats given its GOP leanings, is now seen as a key flip opportunity as Miller navigates accusations of domestic violence by his ex-wife…

The campaign of Francesca Hong, the socialist seen as the front-runner in today’s Democratic primary election for governor of Wisconsin, was rebuffed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) as she sought his endorsement due to her perceived weaknesses as a candidate, Politico reports; her campaign is planning to overhaul its staff to address such issues if she proceeds to the general…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for results from key primaries taking place today in Minnesota, South Carolina, Connecticut and Wisconsin.

Stories You May Have Missed

THE CAPITAL’S KOSHER CONUNDRUM

D.C. has a kosher restaurant problem. Owners say to blame the math

Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad), prepares to hang a mezuzah on the doorpost at the grand opening of Oro Nami, a new kosher sushi restaurant in the West End neighborhood of Washington on June 25, 2025.

D.C. has a kosher restaurant problem. Owners say to blame the math

Read more

Daily Overtime

Trump returns Tehran’s invoice

Plus, new app offers Shabbat experience ‘with training wheels’

(Aaron Schwartz / AFP via Getty Images)

US President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at Camp David in Maryland, on July 31, 2026.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

August 10, 2026

Good Monday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Responding to a recent demand from Iran that the U.S. fully compensate it for its war costs in order to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump issued his own demand today that Tehran compensate the U.S. “for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts,” as well as pay reparations to the “families of the hundreds of thousands of innocent protestors that Iran has killed over the last 50 years.” Trump said he instructed U.S. representatives to “put this firmly into any, and all, future negotiations” with Tehran…

Shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that Israel rejects the Hamas disarmament deal, Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov told Israel’s Channel 12 that the deal is “the only way” that “guarantees” that the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, “will not occur again.”

“Nobody is required to do anything — last of all Israel — before we actually have verified steps on the ground,” Mladenov said, referring to the IDF’s eventual withdrawal from Gaza after all of Hamas’ weapons are “stored, and ultimately rendered unusable,” by the Palestinian technocratic government…

The International Atomic Energy Agency will remove nuclear material stored at a secret site in Syria tied to the fallen Assad regime, Axios reports, per an agreement reached between Trump, Jerusalem and Damascus…

Megan Romer, a national co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, said in a podcast interview last week that the Oct. 7 attacks were “largely inevitable” — “If you put people in an open-air concentration camp and you deprive them of rights, of dignity, of food, of the ability to live in safety, you have to expect that they are going to not take that for that long,” she said — and that she would have attended the anti-Israel Times Square rally on Oct. 8 had she been in the area, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports…

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said on MS NOW today that Abdul El-Sayed, the state’s Democratic nominee for Senate, should “tone down his rhetoric” about Israel and AIPAC in order to help combat antisemitism in the Democratic Party.

“Not everything is about AIPAC, not everything is about Israel. … Even if we wiped Israel off the face of the earth tomorrow, you know, everyday Michiganders’ lives wouldn’t be better on” issues such as housing and healthcare, Nessel said…

The University of Washington on Friday reversed its decision to host far-left, antisemitic influencer Hasan Piker, citing a flawed planning process, JI’s Haley Cohen reports.

The event listing, which has since been removed from the university website, described Piker as a “journalist and wildly popular content creator” who has “become an authoritative voice for millennials and Gen Z,” and as someone who is “armed with sharp analysis and an irreverent wit”…

The new conservative government in Colombia, which recently returned its ambassador to Israel, today recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, becoming the second country to do so after the U.S.

Colombia’s Foreign Ministry announced the move shortly after a powerful earthquake struck the country, killing over 100 people…

A new app called Sabbath is selling an ancient pitch to a modern, phone-addicted crowd: lock technology away for one sacred day a week. The app — which founder Ben Springwater calls “Shabbat with training wheels” — is “trying to make a bigger tent, get more people to experience some of the benefits and virtues of what Shabbat offers,” he told JI’s Haley Cohen, by allowing users to block certain apps from sundown to sundown on either Saturday or Sunday…

The Cook Political Report updated its rating of Rep. Max Miller’s (R-OH) district from “Likely Republican” to “Toss Up” after the deadline passed for Miller to drop out of his reelection race, which he declined to do despite facing serious domestic abuse allegations. Miller has denied the accusations levied against him by his ex-wife and her father, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH)…

Politico explores how Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is using her political clout to boost her preferred successor, San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, over Chan’s opponent, state Sen. Scott Wiener, including lining up endorsements and hosting major fundraisers…

“Fauda” star Lior Raz announced that the fifth season of the series, set two years after the Oct. 7 attacks, is coming to Netflix on Sept. 8…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at D.C.’sever-evolving kosher food scene.

Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont and Wisconsin will hold primary elections tomorrow, with South Carolina and Alabama holding special elections as well.

We’ll be watching the outcomes in Minnesota’s Senate race, where Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan are neck-and-neck, as well as the Wisconsin governor’s race, where democratic socialist Francesca Hong is favored to win the Democratic nomination.

In the South Carolina special Republican Senate primary, Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) is trying to hold her late brother’s seat in a race widely expected to head to an Aug. 25 runoff. And in Connecticut’s 1st District, longtime Rep. John Larson (D-CT) faces his first serious primary challenge in decades from former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.

Kenneth Marcus, the chairman of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, will testify before a hearing of the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission tomorrow, urging the commission to repeal rules requiring employers to keep and submit yearly reports breaking down their workforce by race, sex and ethnicity.

Marcus argued to JI that the practice has “created the impression that the agency is pushing them to use racial preferences in order to improve their numbers.” He said the situation has left Jews either “invisible because we’re not counted, or potentially stigmatized because we are,” and that “counting by race or ethnicity has never been helpful for the Jewish people and has sometimes been dangerous.” He said that eliminating these requirements would allow the EEOC to focus more fully on specific complaints of alleged discrimination.

Stories You May Have Missed

GOPHER BROKE

The latest Senate showdown between the center and the left set in Minnesota

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., left, and Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan participate in a forum for U.S. Senate candidates at Farmfest Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in Morgan, Minn.

Left-wing Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s anti-Israel message is being complicated by her outreach to AIPAC earlier in the campaign

Read more

Gopher Broke

The latest Senate showdown between the center and the left set in Minnesota

Left-wing Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s anti-Israel message is being complicated by her outreach to AIPAC earlier in the campaign

(AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., left, and Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan participate in a forum for U.S. Senate candidates at Farmfest Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in Morgan, Minn.

By

Matthew Kassel

August 10, 2026

The outcome of Michigan’s bruising Democratic Senate primary last week, where Abdul El-Sayed claimed a narrow victory over Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in an upset championed by the anti-Israel left, is looming over the next intraparty showdown being held in Minnesota on Tuesday — the latest in a series of proxy battles between the party’s mainstream and left-wing flanks.

In an echo of Michigan, the bitter Democratic primary for an open Senate seat in battleground Minnesota this week is pitting a moderate House member with a long-standing pro-Israel record, Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), against an outspoken progressive, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, whose attack lines have frequently centered on AIPAC, which spent over $30 million in its unsuccessful effort to help Stevens.

The Minnesota primary is, in the closing stretch, likewise revolving around questions of electability for Democrats in the must-win November contest. Craig has pointed to controversies amid Flanagan’s tenure in government as vulnerabilities Republicans are eager to exploit — most notably including the welfare fraud scandal that prompted Democratic Gov. Tim Walz to abandon his reelection campaign for a third term earlier this year.

Flanagan, in addition to her anti-AIPAC messaging, has hammered Craig over what she has described as a “disqualifying” vote approving the Laken Riley Act — legislation requiring the detention of unauthorized migrants charged with certain crimes — the optics of which have been damaging in the wake of President Donald Trump’s protracted immigration crackdown in Minnesota. Craig has expressed regret for her vote.

But unlike Michigan, where El-Sayed claimed the nomination by less than one point after polls had suggested a double-digit blowout, the Minnesota matchup has been seen as neck-and-neck, the outcome of which is hard to predict, experts say. Recent independent surveys have shown a statistical dead heat in the final weeks of the primary, with each candidate garnering around 40% of the vote.

The candidates’ equivocations over AIPAC and individual ties to the group have also emerged as fault lines in recent weeks, complicating the ideological divisions that have shaped other primaries in which Israel and Middle East policy have featured prominently.

In a reflection of the extent to which AIPAC is now viewed as a liability in Democratic primaries, Craig has distanced herself from the group, which has not officially made an endorsement in the race even as its donor network has contributed to her campaign. The congresswoman, who is backed by several pro-Israel lawmakers including Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), has said she is not accepting contributions from AIPAC’s political arm in her current campaign.

During a recent debate, Flanagan said AIPAC had been Craig’s “biggest funder throughout her entire political career,” while claiming her own “values do not align with” the group. Flanagan has cast AIPAC as part of “a band of super villains” in the race now trying to “buy this election,” language some Jewish leaders say they have found unsettling amid rising antisemitism.

Flanagan, however, acknowledged last month she had met privately with AIPAC after The Minnesota Star Tribune obtained a video recording of remarks to Jewish community members — also reviewed by Jewish Insider — in which she said the outreach was “important” for her “to make sure that we’re building that relationship.”

Flanagan claims that AIPAC turned against her and came to regard her as a “threat” when she confirmed her support last year for Senate resolutions to block arms sales to Israel. She has since endorsed a House amendment to end aid to Israel, which Craig rejected, further illustrating her policy disagreements with the group.

Craig, for her part, has sharply dismissed the lieutenant governor as “completely disingenuous about her soliciting support from AIPAC,” claiming that she “has been very hypocritical” because of her efforts to demonize the group.

While Flanagan has insisted she was not seeking an endorsement in her outreach to AIPAC officials, she did write an Israel position paper that she submitted to the group as part of their discussions, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Manny Houle, a pro-Israel Democratic consultant in Minnesota, confirmed to JI that Flanagan presented a Middle East policy paper to AIPAC and said that he had personally reviewed the document. He said he no longer had a copy, which JI was unable to obtain, but he recalled that she “was open to conditioning aid” to Israel and said she “put a lot of pressure and fault on Israel and occupation,” among other “key factors” he characterized as distinguishing Flanagan from Craig.

Houle, a former director of progressive outreach for AIPAC in the Midwest, said his impression had been that Flanagan wrote the paper and sought the group’s feedback early in her campaign last year because she viewed it as part of a broader process. The lieutenant governor “would have been open to engaging within the network of donors” affiliated with AIPAC, Houle claimed, “but when she realized that wasn’t going to be the case,” she pivoted to a more hostile position.

“Many key advisors to Peggy are anti-AIPAC, so it’s hard for me to think she’d ever honestly in good faith engage with the organization,” Houle explained to JI. “I’ve had conversations with her throughout the race trying to get her to tone down her rhetoric” on Israel issues, he added, “but to no avail.”

A spokesperson for AIPAC did not return a request for comment.

Alexandra Fetisoff, a spokesperson for Flanagan’s campaign, did not directly address the AIPAC paper in a statement responding to a request for comment. “Flanagan disagrees with AIPAC’s deeply unpopular political agenda and the catastrophic actions of” the government led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Fetisoff told JI on Friday.

“Flanagan believes what has happened in Gaza is genocide, a position in line with the United Nations,” Fetisoff said. “Flanagan has consistently condemned antisemitism, and will continue standing with Jewish Minnesotans against hate.”

Last week, American Priorities, a new super PAC created to counter AIPAC’s influence in Democratic primaries, began spending in the race to help boost Flanagan, spending over $50,000 on an ad calling her a “fighter” who would “stand up to Trump” while touting her support from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

Flanagan also claims backing from the state Democratic Party and retiring Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), whom she is vying to succeed, along with leading progressive critics of Israel such as Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

Doug Rossinow, a professor of history at Metro State University in St. Paul, who has tracked divisions over Israel in the state Democratic Party, said the “AIPAC issue flew under the radar until pretty recently” in the election. “The Flanagan-Craig contest is, compared to Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary race, a classic case of Minnesota understatement and even passive aggression,” he told JI.

“Flanagan lately has made an issue of Craig’s history of support from AIPAC,” he noted, “but Craig, unlike Haley Stevens, doesn’t want to own that or talk about Israel.” Meanwhile, Flanagan has stated “little about her own position on Israel” and the region, he added, “unlike El-Sayed in Michigan,” a fierce critic of Israel who has refused to acknowledge its right to exist as a Jewish state.

One state party activist described the race as “a little bit less black and white than Michigan,” while noting the contrasts between Craig and Flanagan are not as drastic. “I see it as a toss-up,” he said of the primary.

Joe Radinovich, a Democratic consultant based in Minneapolis, added that while the national political mood has favored populist progressives, he believes there is reason to interpret the closer-than-expected finish in Michigan as a relatively promising omen for Craig, who flipped a GOP-held swing district in 2018.

“The dominant narrative has belonged to the further left wing of the party, populist candidates and people decrying AIPAC and Israel,” Radinovich, who said he is supporting Craig but is not involved in the primary, told JI in an interview on Friday. “But if I’m on the Craig campaign and looking at the results of the election in Michigan, I’m feeling some wind in my sails.”

Mara Kunin, Craig’s campaign manager, projected confidence in a statement on Friday. “National and state Republicans are making a serious play for this Senate seat and primary voters understand that we can’t risk putting up a weak candidate in the general election,” she said, adding Craig “is positioned to win this race on Tuesday and seal the deal in November.”

The Democratic nominee is expected to face Michele Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter who is heavily favored to win the Republican primary, in November. The GOP’s Senate campaign arm has indicated that it views Minnesota among four pickup opportunities as the party seeks to retain its majority in the chamber.

“It is very saturated, very ugly and very negative,” another state party activist said about the primary, which has otherwise seen a flood of outside spending from opposing groups. “I think that AIPAC will have an impact in the race, but social services fraud could be more important,” he told JI. “Whoever wins, it will sort of say which issue” carries the most weight.

TEXAS TALK

Talarico reaffirms support for conditioning aid to Israel

The Texas Democratic Senate nominee said on 'The Breakfast Club' that he ‘would not vote to send weapons to the Netanyahu government’

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Democratic Texas State Rep. James Talarico speaks during a campaign launch rally on September 09, 2025 in Round Rock, Texas.

By

Marc Rod

August 9, 2026

James Talarico, the Democratic Senate nominee in Texas, said he would not vote to send further military aid to an Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and that aid beyond that should be conditioned on Israeli policies in Gaza and the West Bank.

He also condemned AIPAC, saying it silences criticisms of Netanyahu and Israel.

“I would not vote to send weapons to the Netanyahu government,” Talarico said in an appearance on “The Breakfast Club” podcast last week, adding later in the interview that he wants to stop weapons sales as well.

Pressed on military aid to Israel in general, Talarico said, “I think all of that needs to be conditioned on ending the death and the destruction in Gaza and the West Bank.”

But he continued to decline to describe the war in Gaza as a genocide, citing the ongoing legal case on the subject at the International Court of Justice. He said, however, that there is “certainly evidence to bring those charges” and that the U.S. should “abide by whatever ruling that the court comes to.”

“As a U.S. senator, my job would be to take action,” he continued. “My job would not be to litigate what terms are used. My job would be to stop what’s happening. And that’s why I’ve said I would use every bit of our nation’s diplomatic and financial leverage to protect the lives of Palestinians.”

Talarico has made similar comments regarding aid to Israel earlier in the race, which prompted some Jewish Texans to turn away from him in the primary.

He suggested in the interview that politicians face pressure from AIPAC to not criticize Netanyahu — though even AIPAC-supported Democrats have been highly critical of the Israeli leader.

“The influence of AIPAC in our elections has a chilling effect and people don’t feel like they can speak their minds because they’re worried AIPAC is going to drop hundreds of millions of dollars of money in their race — usually not even talking about the issue of Israel or issues that Jewish Americans face,” he said, referring to AIPAC’s strategy of highlighting issues other than Israel in ads in Democratic districts.

In a statement, Talarico campaign manager Seth Krasne said, “James believes every human life is sacred. His longstanding record combating antisemitism, defending Jewish students on the floor of the Texas House, and supporting Israel’s right to exist demonstrate his steadfast commitment to Jewish safety.”

“He will continue to speak out against Prime Minister Netanyahu’s unacceptable actions that threaten civilians in Gaza — this moral clarity should never be misconstrued as opposition to the safety and security of Israeli civilians and Jewish people around the world,” Krasne continued. “In the coming months, James looks forward to working with Jewish leaders to continue the important work of eradicating hate wherever it rears its ugly head.”

BIG TENT

Mike Rogers begins outreach to Michigan Democrats after El-Sayed’s Senate nomination

In a video message directed at disaffected moderates, Rogers said ‘the fight is far greater than just left versus right. The fight is for the very soul of our nation’

Sarah Rice/Getty Images

Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers speaks at his election watch party.

By

Haley Cohen

August 7, 2026

Addressing Michigan Democrats in a videotaped message, Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers said that the “vast majority of people” rejecting Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed — whose bid he framed as a “campaign filled with anger, divisiveness, calls for violence and the views that are out of touch with your values”— have “a home with us.”

“If you’re among the majority of Democratic voters that woke up on Wednesday feeling hopeless because the person who won does not represent your values, well, just know there is still hope,” Rogers said seated next to his wife, in a 90-second video message released on Friday.

“Michigan deserves a senator who is ready to sit with you, hear from you and represent you.

The parents across Michigan who want an education system that sets up their kids for success have a home with us. Grandparents across Michigan who are heartbroken from watching their kids and grandkids leave the state, you have a home with us,” he continued.

“To young people who are looking for real solutions to our housing affordability crisis, you have a home with us. To families who don’t want higher taxes and lower paychecks, you have a home with us. The fight is far greater than just left versus right. The fight is for the very soul of our nation. Over the next 90 days, I’m going to work hard to earn your trust, to earn your support and earn your vote.”

Most Democrats quickly coalesced behind El-Sayed after he narrowly clinched victory in Michigan’s Democratic primary on Wednesday morning, while Republicans quickly attacked El-Sayed’s extremist history and ties.

Just before he was declared winner, El-Sayed doubled down on his criticism of Israel on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe,” calling the Jewish state “bloodthirsty” and saying his critiques go beyond the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

PAC PLAY

UDP targets progressive state senator in race to replace Swalwell

While Jewish community leaders expressed concerns about Aisha Wahab, one said they were skeptical that she was beatable and that the AIPAC spending risked further alienating the potential nominee

Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images

California state Sen. Aisha Wahab attends a press conference in Hayward, Calif., on March 2, 2026.

By

Marc Rod

August 7, 2026

After a night of mixed results in Tuesday’s primary elections, AIPAC’s United Democracy Project super PAC is turning its eyes toward the special election runoff in California’s 14th Congressional District, where progressive state Sen. Aisha Wahab and moderate local mayor, Melissa Hernandez, are competing to replace disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA).

Wahab entered the race as the heavy favorite and dominated the primaries for both the regular and special elections. In the special election primary, Wahab finished with 43% to Hernandez’s 17%, and led Hernandez 38%-17% in the regular primary. The special election runoff is set for Aug. 18.

Her record raises concerns for some members of the Jewish community — she has not been supportive of numerous priority bills and resolutions aimed at tackling antisemitism and has been a vocal critic of Israel, including describing the war in Gaza as a genocide and championing legislation in the state Senate on the issue.

UDP’s initial ad buy in the race totaled $1.2 million.

One of UDP’s ads accuses Wahab of being soft on crime — pointing to an amendment she led to a sex trafficking bill — and describes Hernandez as tough on crime and supported by police. Other pro-Hernandez groups are running with a similar message. Another highlights her background and work on affordability issues.

In a page on her website responding to attacks, Wahab’s campaign accused Hernandez of “relying on misleading attacks and AIPAC-linked dark-money PACs to tear Aisha Wahab down.” The page takes aim at Hernandez for having “denied the genocide in Gaza” — she declined to provide a yes-or-no answer on the subject at a candidate forum — and shared a spreadsheet naming all of the individual “AIPAC-linked donors” supporting Hernandez’s campaign.

“Wahab has accused Israel of committing genocide and has separately published the names of Jewish donors to her opponent on her website. She’s pretty extreme in her points of view on Israel,” UDP spokesperson Patrick Dorton told Jewish Insider. “It’s a race where Wahab is talking about ideological issues and Hernandez is talking about economic and affordability issues that are important to voters in the district.”

Bold America PAC, linked to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, has spent more than $2 million so far attacking Wahab and supporting Hernandez. The group has taken some donations from an AIPAC-affiliated group. A new pro-Hernandez group, Safer Alameda County, has spent $51,000 so far.

Daniel Klein, the CEO of Jewish Silicon Valley — which is nonpartisan and does not take stances in elections — said that Jewish community leaders are paying close attention to the race, and he has heard significant concern about Wahab’s votes on major antisemitism legislation and her close relationship with state teachers’ unions, which have opposed antisemitism bills.

“That is, I think, creating some angst — or at least more attention to this race — amongst many members of the Jewish community and Jewish communal organizations,” he continued, relating conversations he’s had with members of the community. “These are pieces of legislation that are intended to protect our children, right? They should be fairly non-controversial.”

Wahab was one of three senators who voted against SB 1287, which required overhauls of campus codes of conduct to address antisemitic and anti-Israel demonstrations, and abstained from a floor vote on AB 715, which aimed to address antisemitism in K-12 schools.

Klein said he has not had the opportunity to meet with Wahab personally and is happy to meet with any elected leader. He said he had spoken with Hernandez, who seemed to him primarily focused on local issues and national partisan politics, rather than foreign policy, though he said that she seems to understand the Jewish community’s concerns about antisemitism and is receptive to hearing from the community.

“My record speaks for itself: I have consistently stood against antisemitism, supported the safety and security of Jewish communities, worked in partnership with Jewish colleagues, and defended Israel’s right to exist — while also maintaining that as an American elected official, I have both the right and the responsibility to question the policies of any foreign government and to speak out when innocent civilians are suffering,” Wahab said in a statement to JI.

Though she did not support the two bills mentioned by Klein, she has supported other priority legislation for the Jewish community in the state Senate. She also introduced a resolution in 2025 with Jewish state Sen. Scott Weiner calling for the release of hostages and an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Another Jewish leader said Hernandez had attended various Jewish community events and generally has good relationships with the community but isn’t particularly involved with its issues. The district itself is not home to a sizable Jewish community.

Oleg Ivanov, executive director of StandWithUs Northern California, said, “We’re of course concerned that as a state senator, Aisha Wahhab has called Israel’s defense against the Hamas attack [on Oct. 7, 2023,] genocide. So we’re concerned that she is spreading this debunked blood libel about Israel, which we feel all that does is it makes Jews and Israelis here in her district unsafe. As we’ve seen in many cases, this kind of irresponsible language has led to direct violence against Jews and Israelis.”

Ivanov said he hasn’t had any interaction with Hernandez, but praised her for declining to describe the war in Gaza as a genocide. He also criticized Wahab’s opposition to antisemitism-related legislation.

But another Jewish leader in the district, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, said that the strong consensus among political observers in the area is that Wahab “pretty much [has] this in the bag, and that Hernandez is a lazy campaigner.” Other moderate groups that had looked at the district “just have not been impressed with Hernandez,” the leader continued.

The Jewish community, the leader said, doesn’t want Wahab to win, but that might already be a foregone conclusion.

“I’m not in principle against AIPAC getting involved in these kinds of primaries like some other people [are], but based on all the local knowledge that we’re hearing from politicos, it’s not a good use of time or money,” the leader said. “People are kind of scratching their heads — not because there aren’t concerns about Wahab … but let’s play where we can win.”

The leader said they’re also concerned that AIPAC’s involvement risks pushing Wahab further to left, describing Wahab currently as a less-than-ideal choice but necessarily aligned with the Squad — i.e., not opposed to Israel’s existence or outright at odds with the Jewish community.

The leader noted Wahab abstained on, rather than outright opposed, AB 715, one of the antisemitism bills. They also noted that Wahab’s family are refugees who escaped radical Islam in Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan war. Wahab has relationships with some Jewish community groups in the Bay Area, particularly social services organizations that have been involved in Afghan refugee resettlement work.

“I don’t like the idea that the pro-Israel community is jumping into a race they can’t win against the presumptive winner and potentially pushing her into the arms of the worst members of Congress,” the leader said. “I think that people need to play their cards carefully here. There’s shades of gray at play.”

Daily Overtime

Fetterman unloads on El-Sayed

Plus, Israel and Turkey trade barbs over Syria

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) talks with reporters after the Senate luncheons in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

August 6, 2026

Updating Everlit Embed

Good Thursday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump disputed reports that the U.S. is running low on critical munitions as a result of the Iran war, claiming on Truth Social last night that the country has “massive amounts of ‘munitions,’ especially of certain types” and that more are being manufactured and shipped to the U.S. “as needed”…

The IDF struck several targets in southern Lebanon again today “in response to the incident yesterday” during which two IDF soldiers were killed and four severely injured in an explosion that the army attributed to Hezbollah.

The strikes came during the last day of Israel-Lebanon talks in Rome, which a State Department official said were “productive on the technical and expert levels” and brought the parties “a lot closer on what needs to be done to advance and expand the pilot zone process”…

Jonathan Cowan, president of the center-left group Third Way, told The New York Times that the group plans to spend $15 million ahead of the 2028 presidential election to target the Democratic Socialists of America after Abdul El-Sayed’s primary win in the Michigan Senate race. “It is deeply troubling to see radical, far-left candidates winning in places that are potentially presidential swing states,” Cowan said. El-Sayed was not endorsed by the DSA, though he was championed by the far left…

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) told Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs that he believes El-Sayed’s victory has put Michigan in play for Republicans to win in November. “[El-Sayed] will quickly discover a primary is a much different situation in this state [than the general election], when you’re accountable for winning the other side. I can’t wait to see him campaign for the general. I have got my popcorn for that,” Fetterman said…

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) joined Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Reps. Brad Knott (R-NC) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) today in introducing the Right to Worship Act, a federal bill that would ban activity that knowingly disrupts or impedes access to scheduled religious services within 100 feet of the entrance of a house of worship, JI’s Marc Rod reports…

California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Lele Yutzy as the state’s first director of its Office of Civil Rights, which was created under a bill enacted last year that acknowledged the prevalence of antisemitism in the state’s public schools and pledged to tackle discrimination. The office is also required to appoint an antisemitism prevention coordinator…

Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) joined Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) in calling on Rep. Max Miller (R-OH), Moreno’s former son-in-law, to drop out of his reelection race and resign from Congress amid growing scrutiny of domestic violence allegations made against Miller, JI’s Marc Rod reports…

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill‘s Mission to Deliver PAC endorsed a series of Democratic candidates with national security or military backgrounds, including Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) in his primary campaign to oust Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA).

Asked in a debate on local news earlier this week if Israel committed war crimes in Gaza, Markey answered an emphatic “yes” and called to end all military aid to Israel, while Moulton called the conflict an “absolute moral atrocity” and highlighted his rejection of AIPAC’s support but did not answer in the affirmative…

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said in a statement today that he has been discharged from the hospital after a fall in Juneand will continue his recovery at home, without indication of when he will return to Capitol Hill…

The feud between Jerusalem and Ankara continued today as Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan claimed Israel’s “attacks targeting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” are “among the greatest threats to the country’s stability.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar in turnaccused Fidan of hypocrisy, arguing that Turkey currently occupies 5% of Syria while the IDF holds a buffer zone “that comprises just one-tenth of one percent of Syrian territory”…

An extremist Israeli settler, Yinon Levi, was charged by the Israeli State Attorney’s Office with reckless homicide over the July 2025 killing of Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen, who had been featured in the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land” about home demolitions in the West Bank…

The Yemeni Defense Ministry said the Houthis attacked the internationally recognized government’s military forces in several locations — reportedly killing dozens of soldiers — and that the military would retaliate against the terror group “at the appropriate time and place.”

The hostilities mark Yemen’s latest potential slide back towards its brutal civil war that devastated the country from 2014 until the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government reached a ceasefire in 2022…

The United Arab Emirates has successfully transported more oil through the Strait of Hormuz in the last two months than any other country despite ongoing military hostilities in the area, Bloomberg reports, by utilizing tankers that switch off their transponders during the risky crossing…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at the special election to replace former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), where AIPAC’s United Democracy Project super PAC is working to boost Dublin, Calif., Mayor Melissa Hernandez over state Sen. Aisha Wahab.

A deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz may still emerge, though its reported contours are raising concerns among experts that it could grant Tehran unprecedented oversight over the international shipping route, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.

In the latest development, Iranian state media reported today that the country’s parliament is considering a preliminary bill to bar American, Israeli and other “hostile” vessels from utilizing the strait.

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

Stories You May Have Missed

MICHIGAN MALAISE

Jewish Democrats in Michigan weigh crossing party lines after El-Sayed’s Senate primary win

Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan Abdul El-Sayed visits a polling place as residents cast their votes on August 04, 2026 in Dearborn, Michigan.

Several Jewish Democrats in the battleground state are now indicating that they will break with a party they have long called home and instead vote for the Republican nominee, Mike Rogers, in the November election

Read more

CASE STUDY

Generational challenge threatens Ed Case in Hawaii’s under-the-radar primary

Rep. Ed Case (D-HI) questions Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at a House Appropriations subcommittee budget hearing for the Department of Defense, Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Washington.

A 42-year-old progressive state senator has quietly closed the gap on the 73-year-old pro-Israel incumbent, with internal polls showing a tightening race before Saturday’s vote

Read more

Daily Kickoff

Democrats’ Michigan malaise

Plus, Hawaii's sleeper House race

(Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed speaks to supporters at an election-night rally at the Majestic Theatre on August 04, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan.

By

JI Staff

August 6, 2026

Good Thursday morning.

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover the fallout from Abdul El-Sayed’s narrow victory over Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, and talk to Jewish Democrats in the state who are considering crossing party lines to vote for GOP nominee Mike Rogers in the November election. We report on the obstacles facing Rep. Ed Case ahead of a challenge from his left in Saturday’s primary in Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District, and cover a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing examining Muslim Brotherhood networks and affiliates in the United States. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Benny Stanislawski, Tom Kahn and Gianni Infantino.

We also have a new on-demand Live Briefingthat you can access throughout the day via our new app (on Apple and Android) and on our website.

Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Israel Editor Tamara Zieve and U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik. Have a tip? Email us here.

What We’re Watching

U.S.-led talks between Israel and Lebanon in Rome are slated to conclude today, after yesterday’s discussion was cut short by several hours “due to events on the ground,” the State Department said.
The decision to pause talks came after the IDF conducted strikes in southern Lebanon over what it said were “blatant violations” of the ongoing ceasefire by Hezbollah, including an incident in which two IDF reservists were killed and four seriously wounded by an explosive device in southern Lebanon.
Reports continue to indicate Iran and Oman are inching toward a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz after earlier agreements on the issue fell apart. An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday that Tehran and Muscat were close to finalizing an agreement, so long as “certain parties do not obstruct this process” — an apparent reference to the U.S.
Tennessee is holding its primary elections today. In the state’s 5th District, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN), a far-right lawmaker, is facing a serious primary challenge from Charlie Hatcher, a former state commissioner of agriculture.

What You Should Know

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MATTHEW KASSEL

Abdul El-Sayed’s narrow victory over Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in Michigan’s bruising Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday is forcing many Jewish leaders in the state to confront an uncomfortable decision as they now look ahead to the general election in November.

Several Jewish Democrats in the battleground state are now indicating that they will break with a party they have long called home and instead vote for the Republican nominee, Mike Rogers, in the November election, citing their continued alarm over El-Sayed’s hostile rhetoric toward Israel as well as remarks they have interpreted as indifferent to rising antisemitism, among other concerns.

“I can’t vote for El-Sayed,” Michael Horowitz, a Jewish community leader and Detroit businessman who supported Stevens, a pro-Israel moderate, told Jewish Insider. “So many things I find despicable about him, not the least of which is his close association with Hasan Piker,” the antisemitic Twitch streamer, who Horowitz said “demeans America, demeans Jews and demeans all but the most radical among us.”

Horowitz confirmed he was now “leaning strongly to Rogers,” a former congressman who narrowly lost in his bid for Senate last cycle. “And I have heard from many in the Jewish community who say they will be supporting Rogers,” he said on Wednesday.

Hannan Lis, a Democratic fundraiser and Jewish leader who splits his time between Michigan and Israel, was among those who had told JI before the primary that he would vote for Rogers in the general election if El-Sayed won the nomination, noting he knows “many” Jewish Democrats who plan to do the same.

His reservations about Republicans preserving their Senate majority by picking up the Michigan seat held by retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), he clarified, were superseded by his objections to El-Sayed’s stances on Israel and responses to antisemitism. “El-Sayed is no Democrat,” he claimed.

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

CASE STUDY

Generational challenge threatens Ed Case in Hawaii’s under-the-radar primary

Rep. Ed Case (D-HI), a moderate pro-Israel Democrat in Hawaii who was first elected to the House in 2002, has not drawn a serious primary threat in several years. Now, as he prepares to defend his seat in a primary on Saturday that has largely flown under the radar, some Democrats are warning that the 73-year-old could be at risk of losing to a younger challenger capitalizing on a national political environment that has proven unfavorable to Democratic incumbents amid broader calls for generational change from the party’s activist base, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.

While you were sleeping: “It’s one of those sleeper races where there’s definitely an upset brewing,” said a Democratic operative who worked on the Case campaign until a few months ago, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid professional reprisals. “Ed is running a poor race,” the former staffer told JI, echoing other observers who described a sluggish approach in which Case has largely foregone campaign events and avoided debates with his opposition.

Read the full story here.

ON THE HILL

Cruz links El-Sayed’s victory to Muslim Brotherhood network in United States

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaks during the 29th annual Milken Institute Global Conference at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on May 4, 2026. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), speaking at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Wednesday that he organized to examine Muslim Brotherhood networks and affiliates in the U.S., suggested that Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed was tied to such networks and that his Democratic primary win represented a victory for them. “Behind El-Sayed’s political rise sits a much older and more entrenched institutional network,” Cruz asserted, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Zoom out: Kyle Shideler, a senior analyst for homeland security and counterterrorism at the Center for Security Policy, testified under questioning from Cruz that El-Sayed’s win concerned him given the nominee’s father-in-law’s ties to Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups and El-Sayed’s own relationship with groups connected to the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “It shows the success of the Muslim Brotherhood network over multiple decades. It achieved what they said they were going to achieve, which was to normalize support for Hamas and normalize support for terrorism,” Shideler said.

Read the full story here.

COMMUNITY CONCERN

Jewish Dems ‘disappointed’ in Michigan Senate results, stop short of endorsing El-Sayed

Abdul El-Sayed, candidate for US Senate in Michigan, speaks at Mumford High School on May 3, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Sarah Rice/Getty Images)

Jewish groups expressed concern on Wednesday about the victory of Abdul El-Sayed in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, highlighting his extreme rhetoric on Israel and the broader rise of the far left, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Reactions: Jewish Democratic Council of America CEO Halie Soifer said in a statement that the group was “disappointed” by the results of the primary, in which the group had endorsed and campaigned strongly for Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI). Soifer congratulated but stopped short of endorsing El-Sayed. AIPAC, while declining to preview specific plans, indicated it intends to stay engaged in the Michigan race through November. “Our members remain determined to ensure that voters reject Dr. El-Sayed and his radical anti-Israel agenda in November,” spokesperson Deryn Sousa told JI.

Read the full story here.

Trump’s take: President Donald Trump, speaking at an event in Las Vegas on Wednesday, said al-Sayed “hates Jews and he hates Israel,” adding, “He’s a man of hate, and now he’s going around saying, ‘Oh I love everybody.’ He doesn’t love everybody. Put him in office, and you’re going to find out what he loves.”

WITHHOLDING SUPPORT

Moderate Michigan Rep. Hillary Scholten does not offer endorsement of El-Sayed

Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) speaks during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on March 26, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI), a moderate Michigan lawmaker representing a swing district, broke with most other Democratic members of the state’s congressional delegation in declining to offer an explicit endorsement of Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, after offering strident criticism of him during the primary campaign, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Matthew Shea report.

What she said: “Congratulations to everyone who participated in Michigan’s hard-fought primary elections last night, and thank you to every voter who made your voice heard. In these close elections, we want you to know — you are HEARD,” Scholten said in a statement that did not mention El-Sayed. “Now our focus turns forward. I’ve always said I’ll work with anyone committed to lowering costs, expanding affordable health care, creating more opportunity, and fighting corruption. I mean that.”

Read the full story here.

Phone a friend: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani refused to close the door on a trip to Michigan to campaign for El-Sayed, whom Mamdani praised for what he described as a focus on “the concerns of working-class Americans” — even as he tried to explain away El-Sayed’s poor performance in the areas where working-class voters live, JI’s Will Bredderman reports.

RACE RHETORIC

El-Sayed calls Israel ‘bloodthirsty’ in first post-primary TV interview

Abdul El-Sayed addresses supporters at his election night event at The Majestic Theatre in Detroit, Michigan, on August 4, 2026(JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP via Getty Images)

Appearing on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” on Wednesday, Abdul El-Sayed doubled down on his criticism of Israel, calling the Jewish state “bloodthirsty” and saying his critiques go beyond the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports.

What he said: “I think we’ve seen the worst of what the Israeli government has done [under Netanyahu] but don’t forget that we’ve been talking about an illegal apartheid regime for a very, very long time, and that supersedes Netanyahu himself,” El-Sayed said. “I understand that Netanyahu is a big reason why they’ve gotten so aggressive and frankly so bloodthirsty under his reign, but I also understand that it’s impossible for us to say we want a two-state solution while we’ve been aiding, arming and abetting the very people who have been trying to foreclose on the possibility of a Palestinian state.”

Read the full story here.

It’s all over: Democrats quickly coalesced behind El-Sayed after the far-left candidate narrowly clinched victory in Michigan’s Democratic primary on Wednesday morning, while Republicans quickly pounced on his extremist history and ties, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

Worthy Reads

Reassessing Reality: The Atlantic‘s Jonathan Chait contends that, in order to wrest back their party from the far left, moderate Democrats will have to reevaluate some of their core stances, including support for AIPAC and Israel. “Fending off a leftist insurgency will be all but impossible unless Democrats reject AIPAC’s endorsements and stop supporting unconditional aid for an Israel that no longer works toward a two-state solution. Democrats also have to stop passively allowing multiple candidates to split the mainstream vote while the leftist vote consolidates behind a single candidate, as occurred in Michigan’s Seventh District and the Wisconsin governor’s race. But the greatest challenge for mainstream liberals is to find a way to engage in and win the substantive argument with the left.” [TheAtlantic]

Lemons into Lemonade: Tablet‘s Jacob Siegel argues that the U.S.-Israel alliance is loosening, and that the moment presents an opportunity for Israel to reduce its dependence on Washington and diversify its alliances. “A greater degree of separation between the United States and Israel is not only inevitable, it is desirable. Many supporters of Israel seem to be aware only of the significant challenges that this will create for the small country. They overlook the significant opportunities it presents for Israel’s growth. … With the chapter closing on its role as an outsize client state, Israel needs to develop itself as an independent regional power that is a desirable partner by virtue of its ability to innovate technologies and project force.” [Tablet]

Fashion Faux Pas: In The New York Times, John Galliano biographer Dana Thomas cautions against the decision by the Metropolitan Museum of Art to honor the designer, who was convicted of antisemitic abuse after praising Adolf Hitler. “Not all great creators deserve a retrospective, and someone as incendiary as Mr. Galliano certainly shouldn’t be the subject of one during his lifetime, when he stands to profit from the honor personally. With ‘John Galliano: Horizons,’ the Met and Ms. Wintour are selling the idea that they can tell the rest of us how to think about a difficult and divisive figure. Maybe they didn’t notice that idea has gone badly out of fashion.” [NYTimes]

Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our new app (on Apple and Android) and website.

Word on the Street

Asked about an Axios report that claimed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “confronted” him over their diverging policy views during his visit to Washington last week, Vice President JD Vance said in an interview on Fox News on Wednesday, “He didn’t confront me. We had a nice and frank conversation. … I would describe it as a pleasant but direct conversation”…

The White House denied a Washington Post report that President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth clashed last week at Camp David over the war in Iran; the Post reported that the president asked why he had been misled about a shortage of munitions…

A group of far-right figures, including Tucker Carlson, outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and former National Counterterrorism Center head Joe Kent — who gathered over the weekend at Carlson’s Maine home — are considering launching a third-party political organization…

The Israeli Foreign Ministry denounced a joint statement adopted by Arab states — including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Egypt, among others — whose foreign ministers convened in Jordan on Wednesday to discuss Israel’s policies in Jerusalem and said that Israel, which the statement claimed “has no sovereignty” over the city, had “alter[ed] the Arab Islamic and Christian identity of occupied Jerusalem”…

The IDF is investigating a reported arson attack by Israeli settlers in a Palestinian village in the West Bank overnight in which suspects allegedly set fire to homes and attacked residents, including children…

A new Israel Democracy Institute survey found that a majority of Israelis believes the integrity of the October election is in danger…

The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen said on Wednesday that they struck a Saudi oil tanker in the northern Red Sea, escalating the group’s stated blockade against Riyadh and strikes on Saudi ships that have thus far been focused in the southern Red Sea, near the Bab el-Mandeb strait…

James Stavridis, former supreme allied commander of NATO, argues in Bloomberg that a Saudi-led naval coalition could help protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks, though it would likely still require U.S. and European intelligence and logistical support to be effective…

An Azerbaijani official said on Turkish TV that Baku lobbied Israel to stop the Knesset from voting to recognize the Armenian genocide…

FIFA officials gathered in Morocco this week reaffirmed their support for Gianni Infantino, days after the FIFA president faced widespread criticism from within the organization over a plan to privatize elements of the World Cup…

The Atlantic investigates whether al-Qaida, 25 years after the 9/11 attacks, is quietly rebuilding or if its core organization is effectively defunct…

A new poll shows left-wing Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva‘s lead over conservative challenger Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, narrowing ahead of the country’s October elections…

Benny Stanislawski, previously the communications director for Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), is joining Pennsylvania Democrat Bob Brooks‘ congressional campaign as communications director…

American University’s School of Public Affairs named Tom Kahn as director of its Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies; Kahn, who served as acting director for the past year, was the longest-serving staff director in history for the House Budget Committee…

Find on-demand Live Briefing updates throughout the day via our new app (on Apple and Android) and website.

Pic of the Day

The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law hosted 34 law students from leading law schools, including Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, NYU and Vanderbilt, for its three-day Law Student Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., this week. The students received training in civil rights law, Title VI, free speech and advocacy on behalf of Jewish students from a range of experts, including Brandeis Center founder Ken Marcus, pictured here addressing attendees.

Birthdays

Soleil Moon Frye at the A Sense of Home 10th Anniversary Gala held at Pacific Design Center on October 04, 2025 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Variety via Getty Images)

Actor, director, producer and screenwriter, Soleil Moon Frye turns 50…

Retired founding partner of the Jaffe Family Law Group, Daniel J. Jaffe turns 89… Esports executive and casino owner, he is a three-time bracelet winner at the World Series of Poker, Lyle Berman turns 85… Professor emerita and former dean at Bar Ilan University, Malka Elisheva Schaps turns 78… Film director, television director, producer and screenwriter, Brian Michael Levant turns 74… Austrian businessman with many U.S., Israeli and Eastern European investments, Martin Schlaff turns 73… Former state treasurer of Virginia and then state secretary of finance, she is now a gourmet popcorn manufacturer, Jody Moses Wagner turns 71… Professor of public diplomacy at The Fletcher School of Tufts University, she was formerly undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, Tara D. Sonenshine turns 67… Professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at The George Washington University Medical Center, Alan J. Lipman, Ph.D. turns 66… Israeli diplomat, he served as Israel’s consul general in NYC between 2000 and 2004, Alon Pinkas turns 65… NASA astronaut who spent 198 days on the International Space Station, he brought 18 bagels from his family’s bagel store in Montreal into space, Gregory Chamitoff turns 64… Chair of White & Case’s white collar practice group, Joel M. Cohen… Executive director of public affairs and policy communications at the American Council on Education, Jonathan Riskind… CEO of Elluminate (formerly known as the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York), Melanie Roth Gorelick… Vice chair of Jewish California and a board member of JFNA and JCRC Bay Area, Susie Sorkin… Television and radio sports anchor on ESPN and ABC, he was one-half of the “Mike & Mike” team but now hosts his own ESPN morning program, Mike Greenberg turns 59… Chief economist at The Burning Glass Institute, Gad Levanon, Ph.D…. Law professor and associate dean at Michigan State University College of Law, David Blankfein-Tabachnick turns 55… Former boxing commentator and co-host of ESPN’s “This Just In,” Yiddish speaking Max Kellerman turns 53… Co-founder and former CEO of Uber, Travis Kalanick turns 50… Founder and CEO at Climb Together which helps prepare people from low-income backgrounds for entry level jobs, Nitzan Pelman… Screenwriter and television producer, he is best known for creating and executive producing the Fox teen drama “The O.C.,” Joshua Ian Schwartz turns 50… Former comms director for Zohran Mamdani’s New York City mayoral general election campaign, Jeffrey Lerner… Creative director and visual strategist, Rachel Gogel… Member of the New York State Assembly, Simcha Eichenstein turns 43… Winner of two gold medals in swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, he is now CEO of Gather Campgrounds north of Austin, Garrett Weber-Gale turns 41… Director of strategy and policy at K2 Space Corporation, he is also a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, Corey A. Jacobson… Reporter at San Antonio Express-News, Elizabeth Teitz… Special advisor at the Department of Homeland Security and former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Hunter Pollack turns 29…

CASE STUDY

Generational challenge threatens Ed Case in Hawaii’s under-the-radar primary

A 42-year-old progressive state senator has quietly closed the gap on the 73-year-old pro-Israel incumbent, with internal polls showing a tightening race before Saturday's vote

Alex Brandon/AP

Rep. Ed Case (D-HI) questions Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at a House Appropriations subcommittee budget hearing for the Department of Defense, Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Washington.

By

Matthew Kassel

August 6, 2026

Rep. Ed Case (D-HI), a moderate pro-Israel Democrat in Hawaii who was first elected to the House in 2002, has not drawn a serious primary threat in several years.

Now, as he prepares to defend his seat in a primary on Saturday that has largely flown under the radar, some Democrats are warning that Case, 73, could be at risk of losing to a younger challenger capitalizing on a national political environment that has proven unfavorable to Democratic incumbents amid broader calls for generational change from the party’s activist base.

“It’s one of those sleeper races where there’s definitely an upset brewing,” said a Democratic operative who worked on the Case campaign until a few months ago, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid professional reprisals. “Ed is running a poor race,” the former staffer told Jewish Insider, echoing other observers who described a sluggish approach in which Case has largely foregone campaign events and avoided debates with his opposition.

While the contest has not centered around Israel or AIPAC, which has officially endorsed Case but is not involved in the race, it reflects a trend seen in several recent Democratic primaries, where well-established pro-Israel incumbents were unseated by increasingly competitive challenges from an emboldened far left.

Jarrett Keohokalole, a 42-year-old progressive state senator, has instead argued that his opponent is not meeting “the urgency of the moment,” to which Case has countered that “seniority matters” in Congress — where he sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

Keohokalole’s message is resonating, experts in the state and recent polling suggest, particularly after a separate challenger dropped out of the race in May, effectively narrowing the contest to what is viewed as a one-on-one matchup in Hawaii’s safely Democratic 1st District, anchored by the state capital of Honolulu on Oahu.

One Democratic strategist in Honolulu who is not involved in the primary told JI that Keohokalole “is making this closer than” Case “would like to see” in the final stretch of the race. “There’s really not much of any excitement around him,” he said of the veteran lawmaker.

“I think it’s going to be closer than anyone would have predicted back in the beginning and may come down to a single-digit difference,” another Honolulu strategist who is not working in the primary told JI.

“Jarrett has closed the gap” and run a “very effective campaign,” the strategist added, noting that Case had stepped up his digital advertising and texting, “which he hasn’t ever done before.”

Polling from Keohokalole’s campaign conducted in early July and obtained by JI had Case leading by eight points, 33-25%, with 42% undecided. A more recent internal tracking poll from July 24 showed Keohokalole leading Case by seven points.

Martin Hamburger, a veteran Democratic ad maker who is serving as a media consultant to Keohokalole, said he was feeling optimistic. “Our first poll showed us that there was a big name ID gap, but Case wasn’t breaking 50 percent,” he told JI, noting that he cut an introductory ad with a jingle about how to pronounce Keohokalole’s name based on a tune preschoolers in Hawaii learn.

“I think we have a very, very good shot, as good a shot as all the work I’ve done in Hawaii,” Hamburger told JI this week. “There are a lot of trade winds that are blowing in a ‘throw the bums out’ sort of mood.”

Hamburger’s firm has also been working for Future Progress, a new super PAC that recently entered the primary to boost Keohokalole and whose donors have yet to be disclosed. But he said he was not personally involved in the effort and that his firm had instituted a firewall between the campaign and the super PAC.

In contrast with other races where Middle East policy had featured prominently, “Israel has barely come up at all,” Hamburger told JI. He described Keohokalole as more closely aligned with J Street, the progressive Israel advocacy organization. Hamburger, who called himself pro-Israel and an AIPAC supporter, said that he wrote Keohokalole’s Israel position paper but was unable to share the final draft with JI.

Keohokalole, backed by groups critical of Israel such as Our Revolution and Peace Action, has appeared to avoid more divisive rhetoric on Israel used by the far left, including claims of genocide. But he has still positioned himself well to the left of Case on Middle East policy, recently confirming he would have voted in favor of an amendment to end aid to Israel that drew support from more than 100 House Democrats. Case opposed the measure.

To the extent Middle East policy has emerged as a salient issue in the primary, it has come in relation to the Iran war and rising gas prices that have provoked broader debates about affordability.

“I haven’t read or heard Ed Case say ‘I opposed the war in Iran and we need to stop the fighting now,’” Keohokalole said recently. “I haven’t heard him say, ‘Not one more taxpayer dollar’ toward extending this conflict. It needs to end now.”

He has also criticized Case for taking contributions from AIPAC and defense contractors, but the group has not been a major source of attention in the race, even as it has grown increasingly toxic in other Democratic primaries. Keohokalole has not actively sought to draw attention to Israel during the race, observers say.

A spokesperson for AIPAC declined to comment on the primary.

While experts say that Case is likely vulnerable, a low-turnout election combined with Keohokalole’s relative lack of name ID remain as obstacles in a state where it is notoriously difficult to unseat incumbents.

John Hart, a professor of communications at Hawaii Pacific University, called speculation that Case is in trouble “wishful thinking,” while also acknowledging that “the progressive end of the party and some of the Hawaii party leadership” is “not happy with some of his votes.”

“However, it is incredibly difficult if not impossible to take out an incumbent Democrat at the federal level in this state,” Hart told JI, adding that Case “simply hasn’t made the major kind of mistake either in his personal, financial or policy choices that would result in this stunning of an upset.”

Neither campaign returned requests for comment from JI.

Whatever the outcome, the former Case campaign staffer said the race more broadly demonstrates how progressive challengers to AIPAC-backed incumbents can mount an opposition without fixating on Israel.

“While Israel is obviously playing a large factor nationally,” the former campaign staffer told JI this week, the Hawaii contest “shows there is a pathway for progressives to win without making the whole race about AIPAC.”

Daily Overtime

El-Sayed’s narrow win alarms Jews, while Dems close ranks

Plus, Israel-Lebanon talks wrap early after IDF strikes

Sarah Rice/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Abdul El-Sayed speaks during a primary election night watch party at The Majestic Theatre in Detroit, Michigan early on Aug. 5, 2026.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

August 5, 2026

Good Wednesday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Abdul El-Sayed’s victory today in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan rattled Jewish groups, who raised concerns about his rhetoric on Israel and the broader rise of the far left, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

The Jewish Democratic Council of America congratulated El-Sayed but said it was “disappointed” by the result and stopped short of endorsing him, while AIPAC said its members “remain determined to ensure that voters reject Dr. El-Sayed and his radical anti-Israel agenda in November”…

The Republican Jewish Coalition is urging Jewish Democrats to support the GOP nominee, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), in the general election, calling El-Sayed “a direct threat to Michigan’s Jewish community.”

A Democratic fundraiser in Michigan told JI’s Matthew Kassel it is “absolutely certain” that “several large Jewish Democratic donors” will be backing Rogers. “I would guarantee there will be fundraisers for him hosted by high-profile Jewish Democrats,” they said…

Shortly after his win, El-Sayed previewed his evolving message to Jewish voters, saying he welcomes the opportunity to “break bread with you at Seder” and to “worship with you at shul.” He spoke of his “sisters and brothers who said, you know, ‘I want to join this movement because AIPAC doesn’t speak for me’” and vowed he would prioritize Jewish safety…

But just before he was declared the victor, El-Sayed appeared on MS NOW where he called Israel “bloodthirsty,” JI’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports. He said that “we’ve been talking about an illegal apartheid regime” in reference to Israel since before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to power, though “Netanyahu is a big reason why they’ve gotten so aggressive and frankly so bloodthirsty”…

Democrats, meanwhile, are quickly coalescing behind the new Senate nominee, JI’s Marc Rod reports. El-Sayed’s opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), promptly endorsed him upon conceding the race; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) offered their joint support; and former Vice President Kamala Harris is fundraising for El-Sayed’s campaign alongside her PAC.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is also backing his ideological ally and left open the possibility that he’ll travel to Michigan to campaign with El-Sayed ahead of the general election, per JI’s Will Bredderman…

In another consequential Michigan race, pro-Israel Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) was ousted in his primary, losing to state Rep. Donavan McKinney, a democratic socialist who cross-endorsed with El-Sayed, campaigned alongside him and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and ran on ending U.S. military aid to Israel…

Talks between Israel and Lebanon ended several hours early today “due to events on the ground,” the State Department said, but were “extremely productive” and are slated to restart tomorrow. The move came after the IDF conducted strikes in southern Lebanon due to what it said were “blatant violations“of the ongoing ceasefire by Hezbollah.

An Israeli source told The Times of Israel that the talks were cut off after Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter accused Lebanese representatives of leaking false information to the media…

The Israeli Foreign Ministry denounced a joint statement adopted by Arab states who convened in Jordan today to discuss Israel’s policies over Muslim and Christian sites in Jerusalem, which asserted that Israel “has no sovereignty” over the city and accused Israel of “altering the Arab Islamic and Christian identity of occupied Jerusalem.”

The countries also pledged to launch a “media platform to document and expose Israeli violations against the holy sites and worshipers” and hold a meeting at the U.N. General Assembly to further discuss the issue. Israel said the statement was “built on false accusations, historical distortions, and a complete disregard for the facts”…

The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio today renewing its call for the Trump administration to press Jordan to honor its extradition treaty obligations and send Ahlam Aref Ahmad al-Tamimi to the United States.

Al-Tamimi was convicted in Israel for her role in the 2001 bombing of the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem, which killed 16 people, including three Americans. She has been charged by the Justice Department and remains on the FBI’s Most Wanted list…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at Rep. Ed Case‘s (D-HI) reelection race, a primary that has largely flown under the radar but could pose a threat to one of the House’s more reliably pro-Israel moderates. While the contest has not centered on Middle East policy, it reflects the pattern seen in several recent Democratic primaries where well-established pro-Israel incumbents have faced increasingly competitive challenges from their left.

It remains to be seen if a deal will materialize between Iran, Oman and the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz (again), after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said today that Tehran and Muscat were finalizing a bilateral agreement without Washington. The latest reporting indicates that such an agreement would preclude any fees or tolls for a temporary period of time.

Tennessee will hold its primary elections tomorrow, where Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Rep. John Rose (R-TN) are the front-runners for the open governorship, Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) is expected to win renomination and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) is running in the redrawn 5th Congressional District.

Stories You May Have Missed

BOOKSHELF

Dara Horn’s shocking new title hides a serious argument about fighting antisemitism

Five years after ‘People Love Dead Jews,’ the novelist’s new book reframes Jewish hatred as a lie about destruction — and tells Jews they don’t have to accept it

Read more

Daily Overtime

Hormuz deal on the horizon?

Plus, Mamdani's anti-Bibi video features in synagogue vandal's feed

Nathan Howard-Pool/Getty Images

Delegation staff members meet in the lobby during a quadrilateral meeting between the U.S., Iran, Pakistan, and Qatar at the Lake Lucerne Summit, aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict at the Buergenstock Resort, Lake Lucerne on June 21, 2026 near Stansstad, Switzerland.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

August 4, 2026

Good Tuesday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed today that the IDF will “not withdraw from the current lines in Gaza until Hamas is completely disarmed.” President Donald Trump “thinks, and his team thinks, that Hamas can be totally disarmed and Gaza demilitarized. We’re looking into it,” Netanyahu continued in a video posted to Facebook in Hebrew. “They sent us a draft, we didn’t agree. It wasn’t our draft. We sent our responses”…

Evoking a sense of déjà vu, U.S. and Iranian officials are signaling a deal over the Strait of Hormuz is near at hand: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on CNBC this morning that “there is a chance” the U.S. and Iran “may have a deal today or tomorrow to open” the strait, while Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told reporters that talks are in “very progressive stages” and that draft agreement language has been “circulated among the parties.”

Trump called Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani this afternoon to discuss “ongoing efforts to deescalate tensions” between Washington and Tehran, the emir’s office said, in order “to bring their views closer together”…

Reuters reports that the U.S. Army has depleted“virtually all” of its long-range surface-to-surface missiles in the course of the war with Iran, raising concerns about readiness for future conflicts and the potential need to carry out riskier missions if hostilities with Iran escalate. The White House disputed the report, with Trump insisting that the U.S. has “far more munitions than anyone in the world”…

A brewery in Michigan apologized for hosting an event last night for Rep. Haley Stevens’ (D-MI) campaign for Senate ahead of today’s primary election due to her support for Israel, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.

“We DO NOT endorse Haley Stevens,” Pux Taphouse wrote on Instagram, claiming it was not aware the event was being hosted by the campaign. “We are heartbroken as we pride ourselves on being not only a queer friendly space but also have advocated and continue to call for a Free Palestine,” the company said…

A Florida man accused of hurling a brick through the front window of a Sarasota Chabad house shared New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s video labeling Netanyahu a “war criminal” just days before the crime, JI’s Will Bredderman reports.

The Sarasota Police Department stated that the alleged perpetrator, Brayton Laschinger, had admitted to targeting the synagogue in an attack last week “because it was a Jewish place of worship” — and had blamed “propaganda on social media” for enraging him in the hours before the vandalism. An Instagram account bearing Laschinger’s name, and featuring photos of him dating back more than a decade, reposted the clip, which Mamdani had published the week prior to the attack…

The Anti-Defamation League called out far-left streamer Hasan Piker for promoting a conspiracy theory claiming Israel is behind the recent migration crisis in Ceuta, Spain, going as far as to claim on his Twitch stream that Israel is working to make the antisemitic text The Protocols of the Elders of Zion“come true.”

“Saying Israel looks at those conspiracy theories and decides to make them ‘come true’ shifts responsibility for antisemitism onto the Jewish state,” the ADL said…

The Colorado Democratic Party called on Victor Marx, the GOP nominee for governor, and other state Republicans to denounce an image that Marx and others have boosted of Phil Weiser, the state’s Jewish attorney general who is Marx’s opponent, depicting Weiser with devil horns, which critics have said evokes a classic antisemitic trope.

Montrose County Commissioner Sean Pond, who created the image, claimed he was unaware Weiser is Jewish and said, “Weiser does not receive immunity from political satire because of a personal fact I did not even know”…

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor declined a request by the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization to pause a $656 million judgment won by families of American victims of Palestinian terror attacks during the Second Intifada. The PA and PLO had argued that paying the sum now would “destabilize” government services in the West Bank as the bodies appeal the ruling…

Ellen Germain ended her five-year tenure as the State Department’s special envoy for Holocaust issues last week; it remains unclear if someone else will be tapped to lead the office — which deals with issues including restitution of Holocaust-era assets, Holocaust remembrance and combating Holocaust denial around the world — or if its remit will be wrapped into the Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, currently headed by Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun. Jewish communal organizations have advocated both for and against the prospect of the consolidation…

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison spoke out in a New York Times op-ed against those who oppose Paramount‘s ongoing acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which he argued is at its core a concern about his own political views. “I have regularly voted for candidates of both parties; I hold some views that would be called conservative and others that would be called liberal, just like most Americans; and when it comes to our news operations, I do not aspire to lead these companies to bend their newsrooms to my views,” he wrote…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for election results from key races taking place today in Michigan and Missouri.

Talks between Israel and Lebanon will continue in Rome, where technical teams are working to advance the pilot zone process, Hezbollah’s disarmament and the IDF’s redeployment from southern Lebanon, the State Department said today.

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Federal Courts subcommittee are planning to boycott a hearing tomorrow set to examine Muslim Brotherhood networks in the United States, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports, calling the hearing a “political creepshow” designed to attack Muslims broadly.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will receive a classified update on the ongoing civil war in Sudan.

Stories You May Have Missed

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE OF PLAY

Darline Graham, backed by Trump, still faces obstacles in bid to succeed brother in the Senate

Darline Graham, sister of Lindsey Graham, looks on during her ceremonial swearing in to become a U.S. Senator on July 14, 2026.

Polls show she’s largely unknown to South Carolina voters as she struggles to win a majority of Republican support

Read more

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE OF PLAY

Darline Graham, backed by Trump, still faces obstacles in bid to succeed brother in the Senate

Polls show she’s largely unknown to South Carolina voters as she struggles to win a majority of Republican support

Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images

Darline Graham, sister of Lindsey Graham, looks on during her ceremonial swearing in to become a U.S. Senator on July 14, 2026.

By

Emily Jacobs

August 4, 2026

Sen. Darline Graham’s (R-SC) bid to succeed her late brother in the Senate is facing growing skepticism from Republican operatives and lawmakers who say President Donald Trump’s endorsement is unlikely to spare her from a runoff in South Carolina’s special GOP primary next week.

Over the last week, six senior GOP campaign operatives and Republican lawmakers told Jewish Insider that they believe a runoff is all but certain after the Aug. 11 special election primary, with most predicting Graham will not be able to clinch a majority of the vote to avert one as her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), did with his June primary victory.

While Republicans believe Graham will be one of the top two candidates in the race, thus allowing her a spot in the Aug. 25 runoff, they are still unsure whether she will face Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) or Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC) in that contest. Those who spoke to JI expressed skepticism that Graham could win a head-to-head showdown, despite having Trump’s coveted primary endorsement.

“The sense that this is going to go to a runoff seems pretty clear,” Doug Heye, a Republican strategist who served as communications director for the Republican National Committee and a deputy communications official for former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), said. “What happens after that is anyone’s guess.”

“Ultimately, it’s going to be a question of what Republican voters in South Carolina want to do and how they view the new Sen. Graham,” he continued. “You can’t really factor in what she’s done yet, but you know what she says she’s going to do. She doesn’t have a high name ID, although that is increasing every day, whereas the others who are running have much higher name ID and not just necessarily in their districts.”

The uncertainty surrounding the race has caused some to worry about Graham entering a competitive election contest, which will require her to develop a full policy platform and hit the campaign trail as she mourns her brother’s recent death.

“It’s being said and unsaid by a lot of people on Capitol Hill right now. Up to this point, most people here have been more concerned about her personally than figuring out her political philosophy, asking if it’s fair to her to put her in this situation,” a Republican senator told JI. “This has got so many consequences. I’ve been very concerned about it. The people who express concern the most are still mainly worried about her personally, which is heartwarming, but the stakes are also very high.”

Four sources noted that Trump’s support for Graham did not deter Norman or Fry from entering the contest, nor has it hurt either of their performances in recent primary polling.

“There really is an appetite for change, but also for someone who is known, who has a proven record,” a GOP campaign source said. “Love them or hate them, folks know what Ralph and Russell’s records look like. Love them or hate them, you know where they stand. Darline is largely an unknown.”

Republican sources pointed to issues around voter turnout, Graham’s ability to fundraise quickly enough on the compressed campaign schedule, her lack of political background or voting record and the possibility of her losing support if portrayed to voters as being anointed to the role.

Darline Graham should be able to benefit from some of the leftover cash in her brother’s campaign account. Lindsey Graham’s campaign filed a statement with the Federal Election Commission after his death reporting $2.3 million in remaining funds.

Lindsey Graham’s campaign was able to transfer some of that money to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate GOP campaign arm, for Darline Graham to use for her campaign, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation. The figure expected to be transferred is under $1 million, one source confirmed, leaving Darline Graham with a possible cash disadvantage for the primary and the general election, where the Republican nominee will face Dr. Annie Andrews, a pediatrician who handily won the Democratic primary in June and has proven to be a strong fundraiser.

Prior to Lindsey Graham’s passing, Andrews drew attention for outraising the incumbent senator in the first two quarters of 2026. Despite the fundraising success, national Democrats declined to commit resources to the race against Graham, which the Cook Political Report continues to rate as solid Republican even after his death.

Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Mike Lee (R-UT) got behind Norman’s campaign before Graham had entered; once she did, she quickly secured her own endorsements from three members of Senate GOP leadership: Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY); Senate Republican Conference Chairman Tom Cotton (R-AR); and Senate Republican Policy Committee Chairwoman Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV).

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said after Graham announced her candidacy that he would not be weighing in with an endorsement, though he praised the incumbent senator as a “strong candidate” who “obviously carries on Lindsey’s legacy.”

Beyond those who have already endorsed her, Graham does not appear to have asked her other Republican colleagues in the Senate for their backing, according to two Republican senators and one senior GOP Senate staffer. The senators suggested that perhaps Graham was not in the right frame of mind to ask about endorsements herself, though both senators expressed surprise that no one from Graham’s campaign had made those overtures on her behalf.

“Many of us had never met her before. All I knew was how much Lindsey adored her. He talked about her a lot. He referenced her a lot. He’d take her call whenever it happened to be,” a GOP senator told JI of Graham. “But we don’t have a clue how Republican she is. I don’t have the faintest idea what her basic philosophies are.”

“She hasn’t asked me or the members that I’ve talked to,” one GOP senator told JI on condition of anonymity of Graham seeking out endorsements late last week. “If she isn’t asking and nobody is asking on her behalf, she sure as heck won’t get a lot of them. Maybe she’ll get around to that next week now that she’s on the job full time. It’s kind of a pivotal week, I would say.”

Graham has picked up one House endorsement from Rep. William Timmons (R-SC), who opposes Norman’s candidacy, while Norman has been endorsed by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) and former Rep. Bob Good (R-VA). He also has the support of former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who served with Norman in the House.

The slow drip of congressional endorsements have since ground to a halt, as it became clear that Graham’s surprise campaign launch and Trump’s support for her candidacy had not deterred her Republican opponents or hurt their polling numbers.

“Many of us had never met her before [she was sworn in to serve out the remainder of her brother’s term]. All I knew was how much Lindsey adored her. He talked about her a lot. He referenced her a lot. He’d take her call whenever it happened to be,” a GOP senator told JI of Graham. “But we don’t have a clue how Republican she is. I don’t have the faintest idea what her basic philosophies are.”

“She’s still grieving,” a senior GOP campaign official involved with the race told JI. “Nobody wants to be seen hitting someone whose brother literally just died — and then was vaulted into a very public, very national spotlight — but at some point the gloves are gonna have to come off at least somewhat.”

“I suspect that being through what she’s been through the last couple of weeks, reliving his whole life basically in written word and broadcast and even just storytelling, she’s probably getting a pretty good lesson if she’s still forming her positions,” the senator continued. “I doubt she’s 180 degrees from him, but I don’t know what’s in her heart.”

Several Republicans have expressed concern that voters would respond poorly to the idea of Graham running while mourning the loss of her brother. They also worry about the possibility that the contest turns negative and the consequences of that shift.

“She’s still grieving,” a senior GOP campaign official involved with the race told JI. “Nobody wants to be seen hitting someone whose brother literally just died — and then was vaulted into a very public, very national spotlight — but at some point the gloves are gonna have to come off at least somewhat.”

One Republican senator told JI that they were “afraid it could be a brawl before it’s over, especially if her opponent feels like they’re up against a wall and corners her. We know how this goes.”

“If they get to a runoff, at that point, it is a whole new ball game and she’s no longer a grieving sister. She becomes a semi-incumbent obstacle to whoever wants to win,” the senator said. “These things happen faster nowadays. We have short memories.”

The South Carolina senator faced her four leading opponents in a televised debate on Monday evening. Graham was joined on the debate stage by Norman, Fry, former Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC) and Mark Lynch, a MAGA-aligned businessman who lost to Lindsey Graham in last month’s primary by 30 points.

The debate was largely respectful, though Graham called out Lynch in her closing statement for repeatedly criticizing her late brother while on stage. “I don’t know if I can rebut, but Mr. Lynch mentioned Lindsey Graham multiple times. I don’t know if he’s just afraid Lindsey beat him and now his little sister is going to beat him, but I just don’t like hearing that,” Graham said.

Graham used the debate to highlight where she and her late brother agree and disagree on policy matters, emphasizing their shared support for the U.S. war in Iran and how they diverge on the filibuster, which Darline Graham said she supports abolishing to pass the Save America Act despite her later brother’s opposition to the move.

It is unclear if the two candidates who advance to the runoff, should one be triggered, will hold another debate.

“Lindsey just made his way through a pretty contentious primary himself, and there is a degree of the primary electorate that was not a fan of his. I think that segment will still be very much adamantly opposed to this because they’ll see it as a continuation of the policies that they don’t support,” a senior GOP campaign source said. “Ralph Norman is a little bit better positioned to capture some of these hardcore conservative voters. I think she’ll have a difficult time even with the president’s endorsement.”

“This is potentially a race where debates could have a real impact, in part because this would be part of her introduction statewide as a candidate,” Heye said. “In moments like that where you have somebody in that situation, it’s very important for the other people on stage, including the moderators, to be appropriately respectful.”

While several Republicans acknowledged Trump’s endorsement as a key booster for Graham, they pointed out that her late brother, who was known to be close to the president, struggled in his own primary.

“Lindsey just made his way through a pretty contentious primary himself, and there is a degree of the primary electorate that was not a fan of his. I think that segment will still be very much adamantly opposed to this because they’ll see it as a continuation of the policies that they don’t support,” a senior GOP campaign source said. “Ralph Norman is a little bit better positioned to capture some of these hardcore conservative voters. I think she’ll have a difficult time even with the president’s endorsement.”

Heye noted to JI that, “Not everything that happens in a Republican primary is about Donald Trump. His endorsement is always a boost, but that’s it.”

Reached for comment, Graham campaign press secretary Abby Zilch told JI in a statement, “Sen. Darline Graham has had to work hard for every single thing she’s ever done — running for the United States Senate will be no different. That’s just one of the many reasons why President Trump has endorsed her and why so many South Carolinians see a true fighter in this campaign.”

analysis

From safe seats to swing districts, the left’s primary wins set up a November reckoning

Two Democratic operatives involved in Michigan and other targeted races told JI that left-wing candidates endorsed by Sanders and his far-left allies can expect to win about one-third of the primary vote

(Sarah Rice/Getty Images)

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Michigan Democratic candidate for Senate Abdul El-Sayed and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) greet the crowd after El-Sayed spoke at The People V. The Powerful rally at the Detroit Opera House on July 18, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan.

By

Josh Kraushaar

July 31, 2026

In chatting with plugged-in Democratic strategists currently working on congressional campaigns, I was shocked — but not all that surprised — at the acceptance that the party has been all but dominated by the socialist faction, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), that has gotten more radical since his presidential campaign in 2016 and has played a key role in many Democratic primaries across the country.

Two Democratic operatives involved in Michigan and other targeted races bluntly told JI that left-wing candidates endorsed by Sanders and his band of far-left allies can now expect to win about one-third of the primary vote from the start if given the Sanders seal of approval. And far from being contained to deep-blue urban districts in New York, the trend is spreading into swing-district primaries and statewide nomination fights.

That’s certainly shaping up to be the case in Michigan’s 7th District, one of the biggest battleground districts in the country long held by now-Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI). Despite two candidates with cross-partisan credentials running — former Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam and former Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink — the Sanders-endorsed socialist activist William Lawrence is the front-runner, according to new polling conducted in the race.

And the socialist wave is building in statewide races in two of the biggest Midwestern battlegrounds, with Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed Francesca Hong running away with the Democratic nomination for Wisconsin’s governorship, despite her recent embrace of politically toxic views like supporting funding cuts to the police.

And as we’ve extensively covered in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed’s virulently anti-Israel and left-wing platform in the Senate race doesn’t appear to be stunting his primary campaign against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), even with popular Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s endorsement of Stevens.

There will be exceptions in certain moderate constituencies, especially those with sizable Jewish populations — like Army veteran Cait Conley’s success in the Westchester County district of Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) or former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett, who’s running against Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) in the northern New Jersey suburbs.

But even in the affluent suburban districts that were once immune to progressives, candidates running with Sanders’ backing are proving they can prevail, especially as anti-Trump sentiment has metastasized in an acceptance of extreme views. Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-NJ), who was embraced as a close Sanders ally, easily won an affluent suburban seat filled with white-collar professionals.

The only constituency who defected en masse to her relatively moderate GOP opponent were the Jewish voters in the district. “People underestimate the radicalization of high-propensity Democratic primary voters,” Michigan Democratic labor activist (and a former DSA leader) Jake Altman wrote on X.

If El-Sayed, Hong and Lawrence (among others) win their primaries next week, the last line of defense for the political mainstream will be in the November general election. Unlike the earlier primaries where DSA-aligned candidates prevailed, these contests are still taking place in competitive battlegrounds.

But even general election polls suggest that partisanship runs so deeply these days that even positions that once made candidates unelectable aren’t the vulnerabilities they used to be. November may end up being the biggest test of the socialists’ staying power — and the last chance for moderating, independent-minded voices to prove they still wield political power.

analysis

Mamdani bets he can govern without any relationship with traditional Jewish leaders

If Mamdani is able to succeed by only playing to his base — still a big if — the city’s organized Jewish community risks getting written off entirely

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a food distribution center on July 27, 2026 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

By

Will Bredderman

July 30, 2026

The morning after a double hate crime targeted an Asian American and a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke in Manhattan, during which the attacker allegedly yelled “Allahu Akbar” and “Justice for Islam” while passing a synagogue and stabbing the second victim, New York City Comptroller Mark Levine offered what may prove a eulogy for a political era in America’s greatest metropolis.

“There is no New York without us,” the Jewish Democrat said at a press conference outside The Jewish Center, the Modern Orthodox synagogue where the Jewish victim worshipped, invoking the deep history and contributions of Jews to the Big Apple.

But Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the lone citywide official not to attend the gathering, seems to wager that he can govern New York City without much support from the dense web of religious and civic organizations that historically shaped Jewish life there and helped guide the choices of his predecessors. Mamdani received only about one-third of the Jewish vote in the mayoral election, but little support from legacy Jewish groups.

One need only look to the state Assembly district covering the site of the assault to see how Mamdani is at odds with the mainstream Jewish leadership. As mayor, he endorsed an opponent of Rabbi Stephanie Ruskay, the favorite of local Jewish Democratic leadership, as she sought the seat in June. The rabbi serves as associate dean of Jewish Theological Seminary, and is the daughter-in-law of retired longtime UJA-Federation of New York CEO John Ruskay. In doing so, Mamdani even spurned one of his most vocal Jewish supporters, former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger, long a standard-bearer of a Jewish liberalism rooted in communal institutions.

The mayor instead backed Eli Northrup, a Jewish attorney and activist ambivalent about Israel but deeply engaged in the online left that propelled Mamdani to power.

And it was this very online, Democratic Socialists of America-dominated audience that the mayor addressed two days before the attack, when he released a video denouncing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, even as he admitted he could not honor his campaign vow to arrest him if he came to the city for the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September. The social media post followed days of questions and criticism from local press and Jewish leaders over his continued toying with the idea of cuffing the Israeli leader, even though city attorneys had long apprised Mamdani that he had no authority to enforce an International Criminal Court warrant against the Israeli leader, as The New York Times subsequently reported.

But rather than plainly admitting he could not honor his promise, the mayor spun a real-world, local loss into an Internet triumph: releasing a dramatic, camera-facing address on his official social media channels with the caption “Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal.” The video itself focuses on denouncing the Israeli prime minister as the “architect of a horrific genocide” — without even mentioning the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack that set off the most recent round of the conflict. Only in the final moments of the video, which received more than 150 million views, does the mayor acknowledge he lacks legal grounds to arrest Netanyahu.

There is at present no evidence that the video inspired the Manhattan attack, much less a violent incident at a Jewish summer camp in Queens this week. But the video prompted fierce criticism from Jewish leaders — and calls from Levine and other prominent Democrats for a general tempering of rhetoric among elected officials. Mamdani has refused to even acknowledge suggestions that he turn down the temperature.

He also dismissed concerns from a suite of Jewish attorneys associations that a panel he appointed to recommend city judicial appointments did not include a single Jewish member, despite the prevalence of Jewish attorneys in New York. This kind of political faux pas, committed amid relentless criticism from Jewish leaders, would typically sap a leader’s political capital. But Mamdani built his political coalition online, apart from traditional bases of political influence, and it looks to have endured these incidents unscathed.

If anything, the mayor still appears empowered after helping to elect three leftist allies in New York City to Congress last month, ousting two sitting members of the House in the process. And the institutions, Jewish and otherwise, that have sought to stop him look weaker than ever.

He smashed the political organization of one-time ally Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), and humiliated the left-wing Working Families Party by using his clout to lift Assemblymember Claire Valdez over Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in the primary for the retiring Velazquez’s seat.

He also potentially decimated the unique Jewish-Dominican political alliance — the kind of “only in New York” ethnic coalition that once defined city politics — that elevated Levine to power by taking out the comptroller’s most important ally, Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), with his own pick: radical grad student Darializa Avila Chevalier.

But Mamdani is not the only canny politician capitalizing on the emotionally heightened moment. Netanyahu, facing a tough election fight at home, has announced his intention to come to New York and challenge the mayor’s message and authority directly. Mamdani, who enjoys better poll numbers among American Jews than Netanyahu, has already tacitly urged his supporters to greet the Israeli leader with protests.

A collision between the two seems increasingly likely — with potential to again impact New York’s Jewish community.

Less sensationally, and often behind the scenes, the main challenge to Mamdani’s latitude in government have so far been two more moderate-minded Jewish women, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and City Council Speaker Julie Menin, both around issues of law and order. Tisch, a grand marshal in this year’s Israel Day on Fifth Ave parade, reportedly forced the mayor’s hand on the question of arresting Netanyahu, as her department prepared to publicly declare it could not take the Israeli politician into custody.

Menin helped shepherd bills mandating police buffer zones around religious institutions and schools at a time when the mayor struggled to condemn pro-Hamas protests outside synagogues.

Meanwhile, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten has fought the mayor politically. Her union helped bankroll PACs opposing his political candidates, and its New York branch — closely aligned with Menin and the city’s Jewish Democratic establishment — has threatened the mayor with “all-out war” in upcoming contract negotiations.

So far though, these struggles have barely slowed the mayor down. His social media-fueled movement has little appetite for compromise, at least on their core issues (which includes opposition to Israel). If Mamdani is able to succeed by only playing to his base — still a big if — the city’s organized Jewish community risks getting written off entirely.

MICHIGAN MOMENTUM

‘These are not ordinary times’: Inside Jewish Detroit’s get-out-the-vote campaign for Haley Stevens

Leading rabbis across the state are urging their congregants to vote for Stevens — even if they’re not saying so explicitly

Andrew Roth/Sipa USA

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party Endorsement Convention in Detroit, Mich., on April 19, 2026.

By

Gabby Deutch

July 29, 2026

Several large Detroit-area synagogues emailed their congregants earlier this summer to urge them to vote in Michigan’s Aug. 4 primary — what seemed at first to be a somewhat bland call to make their voices heard and exercise their civic duty.

Then, as primary day drew closer, the messages took on a sharper edge from the usual staid, nonpartisan rhetoric that houses of worship might have sent in the past ahead of major elections.

“While we aren’t going to tell you who to vote for and we have never sent a message like this in our congregation’s history, these are no ordinary times,” the leaders of Temple Israel, the Reform synagogue in West Bloomfield that was the site of a violent antisemitic attack in March, wrote in an email last month.

The rabbis did not directly tell congregants whom to support in the Democratic Senate primary between Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official. Instead, they merely described a politician who sounded a lot like Stevens: “a candidate whose record, actions, and rhetoric demonstrate the strongest commitment to protecting Jewish lives by combating antisemitism, seeking federal security funding for American Jewish communities, and supporting Israel’s security and right to exist as a Jewish state.” (The Conservative Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield used similar language in a letter to its congregants in June.)

El-Sayed, who has made attacking AIPAC a central tenet of his campaign, has refused to say whether he believes in Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. El-Sayed condemned the Temple Israel attack — which did not result in any casualties aside from the assailant, a Hezbollah sympathizer who drove a truck into the synagogue preschool before opening fire — but said that “hurt people hurt people,” referring to the attacker’s ties to family members in Lebanon affiliated with Hezbollah who were killed in Israeli strikes.

The email from a nonprofit religious institution was just one of many that are being forwarded between the inboxes of Jewish Michiganders in the final days of the Senate primary, which is open to all registered voters regardless of party affiliation. Rabbis’ unprecedented advocacy in the race reflects the urgency surrounding what many Michigan Jews view as one of the most important elections in their lifetime: between a moderate, pro-Israel lawmaker who has represented the hub of Detroit’s Jewish community for nearly eight years and an insurgent far-left candidate whom they view as dangerously misguided when it comes to matters of Jewish communal concern.

Rabbi Aaron Starr, of Shaarey Zedek, told Jewish Insider on Tuesday that Stevens is “a longtime friend of the Detroit Jewish community.” But he stopped short of publicly naming her as his preferred candidate. Still, he said that the stakes feel different in this election, prompting the stronger-than-usual message to congregants.

“This is not difficult at all because I just feel it is so important,” Rabbi Asher Lopatin, who leads the Orthodox Kehillat Etz Chayim synagogue in Detroit and is director of community relations at the Ann Arbor Jewish federation, told JI. “We really have seen a lot of energy, I would say really just in the last month. People have woken up, I think, to this danger.”

“We’ve spoken in condemnation of and in praise of elected officials’ and candidates’ rhetoric on both sides of the aisle,” he said of the synagogue’s past political commentary. “Yet this election feels like a more existential moment for the Jews of Michigan, of the United States and around the world.”

Other rabbis are being more overt in their support for Stevens. Rabbi Asher Lopatin, who leads the Orthodox Kehillat Etz Chayim synagogue in Detroit and is director of community relations at the Ann Arbor Jewish federation, sent an email this week to his personal contact list urging them to vote for Stevens. He also noted that his position does not formally represent the views of his employers.

“This is not difficult at all because I just feel it is so important,” Lopatin told JI. “We really have seen a lot of energy, I would say really just in the last month. People have woken up, I think, to this danger.”

Three dozen members of Detroit’s Orthodox community, including several rabbis, signed a letter calling on observant Jews to support Stevens, whom they described as an “outspoken supporter of Israel and a devoted ally to the Jewish community.”

Among Orthodox Jews, who are more likely than secular Jews to identify as Republican, there is an educational push to remind voters that in Michigan, they can vote in whichever primary they choose — Democratic or Republican — regardless of their party affiliation.

“In the primary, many of the Democratic challengers to these candidates are hostile to our community. It is imperative to vote for those who support us,” the Orthodox Jewish leaders wrote. “Having a voice in deciding who the Democratic candidate is will be important no matter who you vote for in November in the general election. You do not need to be a registered Democrat to vote in the Democratic primary.”

“We need all the help we can get, the people we can get, to represent the Jewish population,” Gail Mash, an 81-year-old resident of a senior housing facility operated by the Detroit Jewish Federation, told JI. “There are people who are homebound and have nothing to do. This is the best thing they can do: take an active part and feel that they’re doing something for the community.”

The frantic email campaigns and WhatsApp chains are joined by the actual bread-and-butter of campaigning: phone banking and canvassing. Gail Mash, an 81-year-old resident of a senior housing facility operated by the Detroit Jewish Federation, calls herself and her group of politically engaged girlfriends the “Bubbe Brigade.” (Mash described herself as a former “Kennedy girl” who has been a Democrat her whole life.)

The “Bubbe Brigade” makes phone calls each week to members of the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus, a grassroots group representing Jewish Democrats within the state party, and reminds them to vote.

“We need all the help we can get, the people we can get, to represent the Jewish population,” Mash told JI in a phone call on Tuesday. “There are people who are homebound and have nothing to do. This is the best thing they can do: take an active part and feel that they’re doing something for the community.”

The Democratic Jewish Caucus campaigned with Stevens in the Detroit suburbs over the weekend at a canvassing event that was also promoted by the Jewish Democratic Council of America, a national group that is supporting efforts to rally Jewish voters for Stevens. JDCA is hosting more than a dozen phone banking events, and it has also made a five-figure digital ad buy in support of Stevens.

“When Jewish Americans needed a champion, Haley Stevens stepped up,” the ad says. It touts Stevens as a leader in fighting antisemitism, “creating jobs” and “delivering for Michiganders.”

Polling has shown El-Sayed with a small lead, though the dynamics of the race have shifted in Stevens’ favor since a third candidate, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, dropped out earlier this month.

In the final debate of the campaign on Monday, El-Sayed repeatedly went after AIPAC and attacked Stevens for her support of the U.S.-Israel relationship. The rhetoric has left some Jewish Democrats in the state confused — and frustrated — at the way Israel, and its political supporters in the U.S., have become so central to a primary for a pivotal Senate swing seat.

“We have concerns that are sometimes unique from other communities’ concerns,” Ari Weisenfeld, the director of state relations at Agudath Israel, told JI. “If you want your elected officials to take them seriously, whether that’s at the local, state or federal level, you need to get out and vote.”

“The Jewish community is just like, why is there this obsession with this organization that a lot of us do not have an affiliation with?” said Decky Alexander, who chairs the Democratic Jewish Caucus. “It is just mind-blowing that this is such a consumptive issue when we have real threats to our Constitution, our democracy and the economics that are going on.”

Early voting is already underway, but campaigning will continue until polls close on Tuesday. Ari Weisenfeld plans to travel to Detroit from his home in Connecticut to urge Orthodox Jews to vote. As the director of state relations at Agudath Israel, an Orthodox umbrella organization, Weisenfeld is not promoting a particular candidate — all he cares about is that observant Jews get out and vote. He plans to try to visit as many synagogues as he can for morning minyanim between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m, reminding people to vote. If people need a ride to the polls, he’ll provide it.

“We have concerns that are sometimes unique from other communities’ concerns,” Weisenfeld told JI. “If you want your elected officials to take them seriously, whether that’s at the local, state or federal level, you need to get out and vote.”

CANDIDATE CORNER

Moskowitz challenger runs on military record in contested GOP primary

George Moraitis is running against Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer and businessman Dan Franzese to take on Moskowitz

George Moraitis campaign website

Former Florida state Rep. George Moraitis.

By

Marc Rod

July 28, 2026

Former Florida state Rep. George Moraitis is hoping that a bipartisan approach and his background in the Statehouse and as a military veteran will make him a formidable candidate to take on Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) in South Florida in November.

Moraitis is running in the Republican primary in Florida’s 25th Congressional District against former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer, who is Jewish, and businessman Dan Franzese. In the general election, the winner will face Moskowitz — or his socialist primary challenger — in the district redrawn to favor Republicans.

Republicans are also seeking to block a Libertarian candidate from making it onto the ballot in November, fearing that a third-party candidate could strip away some of the GOP vote and hand a victory to Moskowitz.

Moraitis trails Singer and Franceze in fundraising — Singer has raised nearly $2 million to Franzese’s $1.5 million and Moraitis’ $840,000 — but recently picked up the endorsement of the Sun Sentinel, the largest newspaper in the area.

Moraitis told Jewish Insider he spent his “whole life in public service,” serving in the Navy on submarines and as a state representative. He said he wants to work to “restore the American dream,” protect U.S. national security and defend “our God-given freedoms” of worship, speech and assembly, including combating rising antisemitism, as well as what he described as efforts to shut down churches and Christian prayer.

During his time in the Navy, Moraitis was stationed with the 6th Fleet in Naples, Italy, a role that included helping to defend allies such as Israel, which was at the time part of the U.S.’ European Command. He never had the opportunity to travel to Israel while in the Navy but said he would plan to do so as a member of Congress.

He said that Israel is an important part of both Jewish and Christian “shared spiritual heritage.”

“I appreciate that the Israeli government has done so much to protect religious minorities, particularly the Christians,” Moraitis said. “In addition to having a Jewish state, they’ve done more than anyone in history has done, frankly, to protect the Christians.”

He said he’s seeing challenges on the left and “to some extent on the right” to Israel’s status as a Jewish state. He argued that many of those opposing Israel’s right to exist fail to understand Israel’s creation in the aftermath of the Holocaust and centuries of antisemitism.

“I am committed to the Jewish people having a homeland in the nation of Israel. I mean, I think there’s a spiritual component to that. We definitely have a national component … our own national security is tied to being strong in the Middle East. Israel has been our strongest ally in the world,” Moraitis said. “I am 100% committed to Israel existing as a Jewish homeland and being a strong and important ally of the United States.”

Moraitis said he also supports continued U.S. military aid to Israel — increasingly a hot-button issue on both sides of the aisle.

He said he was supportive of the administration’s efforts to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, adding that it was an “open question” whether that goal could be accomplished diplomatically.

He acknowledged that polling has shown the American people would not support an expanded war with Iran but said he supports U.S. efforts to control the Strait of Hormuz and impose a blockade on Iranian ports.

“I do want to give peace a chance. We can’t make this about regime change because we really can’t ultimately control that without huge numbers of casualties and a much bigger effort than what we’re putting into it, and I don’t think the American people are prepared for that,” Moraitis continued.

“I do want to see us get to a peace where Iran gives up their nuclear weapons,” he said. “I do feel that we’ve had to do this. I also feel that we need to move this to a place where we do stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, whether or not this regime continues on.”

He warned that the United States will regret if it fails to take the opportunity to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and continuing to spread terrorism around the region, warning that Iran could attack the United States or Israel if it obtained a nuclear bomb.

In a stance that’s becoming increasingly unpopular among Republicans, Moraitis said he still believes that there will ultimately need to be some form of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, while emphasizing that neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority are equipped to run a Palestinian state and that such a state would need to be demilitarized and might take decades to bring to fruition.

“Israel has to have the right to defend itself. They can’t give up their security to do it, the way they tried to do it … pulling out of Gaza [in 2005]. Obviously it didn’t work because ultimately the vacuum was created and Hamas stepped into it. And so, I think this next effort would have to be something a lot more supervised,” Moraitis said. “But I do ultimately support a transition to an autonomous state.”

In the long run, he said that resolving the continued conflict would be beneficial for both sides.

Asked about addressing antisemitism at home, Moraitis touted the hearings and other efforts by congressional Republicans over the past four years to address antisemitism on college campuses, which he said should continue. He said that the federal government should leverage federal funding to compel schools to take action on antisemitism.

“I just think we need to take a stronger stand on it,” Moraitis continued, specifically raising concerns about Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback, who has campaigned on an openly antisemitic line. “There’s just really no place for that in our party or really even in America.”

He also emphasized the need to call out antisemitism when it appears and to continue to fund security grants for communal institutions.

Moraitis argued that he’d be the best-positioned Republican to win the seat in November given his status as a veteran and his experience in the Statehouse. He also argued that he has a “track record of winning — I’ve never lost an election,” arguing that some of his competitors have underperformed the GOP ticket in the past.

“I do feel like if I get up there, I’m doing this for the right reasons. I want to get things done. I have a record of reaching across the aisle to get things done,” he continued. “There’s a lot of things we can do on a bipartisan basis. I think Washington’s gotten too polarized, and I think some of the candidates, the way they’re running is going to make it difficult to govern with these small majorities that we have.”

And he emphasized that, while he’s not Jewish himself, “there’s really not going to be any daylight between myself and [the Jewish candidates running in the seat] on supporting Israel and fighting antisemitism.”

He also said that the Republican Party is “better positioned to support Israel and fight antisemitism” — a pitch to pro-Israel Jewish voters who have been a strong base of support for Moskowitz in the past.

MICHIGAN MATTERS

Democrats hope Navy SEAL can block far-left activist from nomination in Michigan battleground district

Matt Maasdam is gaining late momentum running on his national security credentials, but Bernie Sanders-backed William Lawrence is winning over the base

Campaign website

Matt Maasdam

By

Marc Rod

July 22, 2026

The Democratic primary in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District — a Lansing-area swing seat key to Democrats’ hopes for taking back the House — has turned into a three-way battle between two moderate Democrats with national security backgrounds and a far-left activist who has emerged as a contender for the nomination despite repeated controversies over extremist comments.

On the campaign trail, Matt Maasdam, a former Navy SEAL, has leaned into his background as a veteran and a military aide to former President Barack Obama who carried the nuclear football. Bridget Brink, a career foreign service officer, is highlighting her service as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine from 2022 to 2025.

William Lawrence, the progressive backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), is a former organizer with the Sunrise Movement, which bills itself as leading “the climate revolution” but also embraces other left-wing causes.

Adrian Hemond, a Michigan political strategist, said he expects the race to be close, predicting that the three candidates could all finish within several points of each other.

He previously told JI that Lawrence holds the progressive lane to himself, which could be an asset if Maasdam and Brink split the moderate vote — but he could lose out on young, progressive-leaning Michigan State University students who won’t return to campus until after the Aug. 4 primary. Lawrence has also struggled with Black and older voters.

The race initially appeared to be a contest between Maasdam and Brink. Lawrence gained momentum and attention by scoring a series of prominent endorsements from Sanders and other progressive leaders.

But Lawrence’s rise hit a stumbling block with the re-emergence of past comments disparaging Black political leadership, which prompted condemnations from Michigan leaders and the Congressional Black Caucus. After those initial revelations, Lawrence subsequently came under fire for past comments disparaging Obama and his administration.

In past comments on the “Hegemonicon” podcast he hosted, first uncovered by Jewish Insider, Lawrence repeatedly argued, for the sake of climate and economic goals, Americans would have to abandon the idea of the American dream and their way of life.

Discussing whether and how ideas of “abundance” or “degrowth” could or should be part of an agenda to fight climate change, Lawrence said on an episode of the podcast release in January 2024, “we’ve experienced the last several years of how that got filtered through the lens of American global competitiveness and geoeconomic dominance and, some of these questions about the role of the American consumer on a global stage and and whether or not we are proposing the continuation of the American consumer way of life and its translation into China and presumably the rest of the globe, is really viable in a climate-changing world.”

“We made that move, and now we need to reckon with the contradictions inherent even in that move,” Lawrence said. “I’m wondering how we can inspire a sense of abundance for people in the United States while, frankly, destroying the American way of life and the negative connotations, and material realities that has come to mean.”

In a statement, Lawrence defended the comments.

“We’ve been told that we would achieve happiness by buying more TVs and taking on a bigger mortgage,” Lawrence said. “Instead, the cost of housing, healthcare, and education is skyrocketing, while Michigan’s land and water is under threat. We need a new version of the American dream in which we can all have economic security while leaving a healthy environment for our kids and grandkids.”

In another episode, released in December 2023, Lawrence said that “there are certain aspects of the American dream that need to die — but maybe that’s another episode,” arguing that most people would not be able to have “the McMansion in the suburbs.”

A senior political advisor close to the Maasdam team said that the endorsements from Sanders and other top progressives catapulted Lawrence toward the front of the field, but the recent revelations of his past comments have stunted that growth.

The advisor said the endorsements from Sanders and others likely earned Lawrence the votes of around a third of the Democratic electorate who will likely vote for the most-left candidate in the race, leaving around two-thirds up for grabs.

Last week, Maasdam picked up an endorsement from Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who subsequently filmed an advertisement supporting him. The freshman senator represented the Lansing-area district before being elected to the Senate.

The advisor close to the Maasdam campaign said that they see the race now largely as a contest between Maasdam and Lawrence, but said they believe Maasdam is well-positioned going into the final weeks of the race and peaking at the right time.

He has been the beneficiary of more than $1.6 million in outside spending by VoteVets, with another outside group, Crush MAGA PAC, spending nearly $1 million to attack Lawrence, and a third group, Michigan Values PAC, spending around $1 million to attack Brink. A nursing union group has spent $400,000 boosting Lawrence.

At the same time, they also acknowledged a real concern that Maasdam and Brink could split the moderate vote, allowing Lawrence to win with a plurality.

Brink has faced criticism from primary rivals for her service under and praise of President Donald Trump — though she ultimately resigned in protest of the administration’s efforts to pressure Ukraine.

The advisor argued that, compared to Brink, Maasdam has a better resume and background as a fighter, and said Maasdam plans to highlight his links to Obama in the wake of the revelation of Lawrence’s comments disparaging the former president.

Maasdam posted an X video on Monday highlighting his support for and ties to Obama, while calling out Lawrence’s criticism of him.

In spite of their moderate and national security focused backgrounds, neither Maasdam nor Brink appears to have spoken much about Israel policy during the campaign, and neither campaign provided comment to JI on their stances.

Lawrence has attacked the two for declining to describe the war in Gaza as a genocide, and has made cutting off arms sales to Israel a major plank of his campaign.

All three have been critical of the war with Iran.

Daily Overtime

Nearly half of Dems vote to cut Israel aid

Plus, Vance alleges Israeli influence campaign to extend Iran war

Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images

The sun sets behind the U.S. Capitol Building on July 8, 2026 in Washington, D.C.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

July 15, 2026

Good Wednesday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

More than 100 House Democrats, about half of the caucus, voted in favorof Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-KY) amendment to strip all U.S. aid to Israel out of the State Department appropriations bill this afternoon, including several leaders of the caucus such as Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA), the No. 2 House Democrat, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

While the amendment was overwhelmingly defeated, 314-104, the large segment of Democrats supporting the measure indicates a growing shift away from the party’s historic support for Israel…

Vice President JD Vance, in an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” released today, stated repeatedly that Israeli actors are engaged in a “very discreet, very well-funded” influence campaign to extend the war in Iran: “There are some people within their system we know beyond a shadow of a doubt who are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely. Again, not towards any objective, but just indefinitely,” he alleged.

Vance also said that the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein “clearly had connections to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence” and to “elements of the Israeli deep state that were left of center”…

The U.S., Israel and Lebanon, wrapping up talks in Rome this week, agreed on the structure and guidelines for implementing the two pilot zones the parties agreed to create in southern Lebanon, a State Department official said today, without specifying a timeline for the IDF’s withdrawal. The parties will now engage in expanded technical talks to implement the trilateral agreement reached in the last round of negotiations…

CENTCOM began another round of strikes against Iran this afternoon; coming after strikes earlier in the day, the pace of the operations appears to be gaining momentum. President Donald Trump is reportedly considering expanding U.S. military efforts to include more airstrikes, utilizing ground forces and targeting nuclear sites again, according to The Wall Street Journal…

Three senior U.S. officials connected to the Board of Peace, the Trump-led body created to resolve the conflict in Gaza, have been meeting with congressional offices this week to request $200 million for the International Stabilization Force, two people with knowledge of the meetings told Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch. The meetings mark the first time that Board of Peace representatives have approached Congress with a funding request…

Ahead of today’s deadline, candidates have begun releasing their fundraising reports for the second quarter. In Georgia, where some in the Jewish community have felt torn between two less-than-ideal options in Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and his opponent, Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), Ossoff holds a commanding fundraising advantage: The senator reported raising$20 million this quarter with $42 million in the bank, while Collins raised $2.1 million, leaving him with $2.2 million in cash on hand…

Meanwhile, Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed released his 2025 tax returns, which he is not legally obligated to do but was pressured to do by his opponent in the Democratic primary, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI). El-Sayed’s reported total income was over $680,000, nearly $300,000 of which was unspecified as to its source…

The anti-Israel American Priorities super PAC made an initial investment of $375,000 to boost El-Sayed in the race; El-Sayed has repeatedly railed against super PAC involvement in politics — particularly that of AIPAC’s United Democracy Project, which is spending heavily in favor of Stevens…

Rep. Hilary Scholten (D-MI), speaking to Semafor about electability concerns in the Democratic Party, criticized progressives who “prop up other candidates who have said really problematic things.” The moderate congresswoman added that El-Sayed, who has been criticized for comments about Stevens seen as misogynistic, “has a problematic record with women”…

A new Quinnipiac poll of Pennsylvania voters found Gov. Josh Shapiro leading his Republican opponent in his reelection race by 13 points, 53-40%, with a 56% overall approval rating. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) had a 77% approval rating among Republicans, but only 19% among voters in his own party. Nearly half (49%) of voters said the Democratic Party has moved too far to the left, while 42% said the Republican Party has moved too far to the right…

Former White House senior official Brett McGurk is releasing a book, Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7 Hostages, on his role leading U.S. efforts under former President Joe Biden to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, due out on Oct. 6 to coincide with the third anniversary of the attacks…

The New York Times examines the role that Hollywood superagent Ari Emanuel could play in the potential presidential run of his brother, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, as politicians increasingly seek access to media as part of their campaigns; among those close to Ari Emanuel are the UFC’s Dana White, commentator Joe Rogan, pundit Stephen A. Smith as well as Elon Musk…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at what this afternoon’s vote on Massie‘s amendment to cut all U.S. aid to Israel means for the future of Israel policy in the Democratic Party.

At least eight Democratic candidates vying to replace former nominee Graham Platner on the ballotfor U.S. Senate in Maine will take the debate stage tomorrow evening in their first chance to pitch themselves to voters, ahead of the state Democratic Party’s nominating convention later this month.

President Donald Trump will give an address to the nation in the evening, which he has said will largely focus on American election security.

The American Federation of Teachers’ annual convention will kick off in Washington. The second largest teachers’ union in the U.S., the AFT has previously featured anti-Israel resolutions at its gatherings.

The Aspen Security Forum continues with several panels on the Middle East, including speakers such as Akif Çağatay Kılıç, top advisor to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan; Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s foreign minister; Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT); Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee; Dan Shapiro, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel; Rahm Emanuel; Anne Neuberger, former deputy national security advisor; and Salam Fayyad, former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority.

Stories You May Have Missed

SPACE MAN

The Israeli scientist at the center of Trump’s search for answers on UFOs

Avi Loeb at the CISO summit at 1440 Multiversity, June 17, 2024

Harvard professor Avi Loeb believes his research, which propelled him to the White House, could usher in a ‘new messianic era’

Read more

analysis

Michigan Democrats scramble to avoid a Platner repeat

After socialist candidates scored several surprise victories, party leaders are fighting with renewed vigor to rally behind Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the primary against her left-wing challenger, Abdul El-Sayed

Kristen Norman/AP

Michigan U.S. Senate candidates, Abdul El-Sayed, left, and Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., are displayed on a television during a debate inside the spin room at WoodTV studios on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, in Grand Rapids, Mich.

By

Gabby Deutch

July 15, 2026

As Maine Democrats pick up the pieces of Graham Platner’s failed Senate campaign and quickly try to find a replacement for the scandal-tarred candidate on the ballot, moderate Democrats in Michigan, where a primary is fast approaching, are in a race against time to prevent another far-left Senate candidate from capturing a valuable nomination.

The final three weeks of the Michigan primary will be 2026’s most consequential test yet for the power the party establishment still holds, particularly in a pivotal swing state. After socialist candidates scored a number of surprise victories in heavily blue districts in New York City, Philadelphia and Denver, party leaders are fighting with renewed vigor to rally behind Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the primary against her left-wing challenger, Abdul El-Sayed.

Retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) endorsed Stevens on Monday, a pivot from his announcement in May that he planned to stay out of the race, joining Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who had already backed the congresswoman. The party’s left flank — including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) — is backing El-Sayed.

“The change of heart is we just know that we have to hold Michigan,” Peters said on “Morning Joe” on Tuesday of his decision to endorse, with Stevens sitting beside him. “She’s an outstanding candidate and I certainly hope that folks get behind her around the country and understand that she’s the right person to be the next senator from the state of Michigan.”

There are fresh signs that the late push for Stevens from Democratic leaders — along with millions in ad spending from pro-Stevens outside groups — has given the congresswoman momentum in the closing stretch of the race. A new poll commissioned by the Detroit News found Stevens pulling ahead of El-Sayed by seven points, 48-41%, after she trailed in most public polls this year.

The United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s affiliated super PAC, is spending big to attack him, dropping nearly $15 million in the race so far. A new 30-second ad attacks El-Sayed as sexist, referencing criticisms he’s made against former First Lady Michelle Obama and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. A mailer sent to Michigan voters criticized El-Sayed’s response to the attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield in March. El-Sayed condemned the attack but said that “hurt people hurt people,” referring to the assailant having lost his brother — a Hezbollah commander — in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon.

“We are going to continue educating Michigan voters on El-Sayed’s track record of making disparaging and sexist comments about women,” Patrick Dorton, a UDP spokesperson, told JI on Tuesday.

Platner’s collapse in Maine has, for some Democrats, raised questions about the electability of far-left candidates in must-win Senate battlegrounds for the Democratic Party.

The centrist Democratic think tank Third Way published a memo on Tuesday underscoring that Democrats could lose other winnable races if they continue taking the advice of ideologically driven left-wing consultants who advised Platner. (Fight Agency, the political ad firm that was used by Platner and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, is also consulting for El-Sayed’s campaign.)

El-Sayed has continued to play to his base, doubling down on radical rhetoric in interviews at a time when Democrats are concerned about holding onto the swing seat in November. He called Israel a “rogue state” in a recent CNN interview and said that Democrats who support Israel only do so because of money. As his rhetoric has become more extreme, and the race tightens between the two candidates, Jewish Democratic groups are planning to amp up their campaigning for Stevens ahead of the Aug. 4 primary.

“It is now a direct, high-stakes two-way race between Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed,” the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus wrote in a recent email to members. The Jewish Caucus is hosting a canvassing event on behalf of Stevens in Farmington, a heavily Jewish suburb of Detroit, this weekend.

“With early and absentee voting already underway, to ensure Haley wins on Aug. 4, we need to leverage our deep community roots, personal relationships, and trusted voices,” Jewish Caucus Chair Decky Alexander told Jewish Insider on Tuesday.

The Jewish Democratic Council of America, a national organization, is hosting a virtual phone bank for Stevens this week. The group had previously issued a joint endorsement of Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who withdrew from the race earlier this month, but is now planning a five-figure digital ad buy in support of Stevens’ campaign.

“JDCA is focused on mobilizing Jewish voters across Michigan in support of Haley Stevens,” JDCA CEO Halie Soifer told JI on Tuesday. “Haley has always stood with the Jewish community, and we’re proud to support her in this critically important election. We also believe she has the best chance of beating Mike Rogers in November, and we’re committed to keeping Michigan blue.”

The Stevens campaign expects a close race but views McMorrow’s decision to drop out as a boon for Stevens. McMorrow did not endorse either candidate. A source working with the Stevens campaign, who was not authorized to speak on behalf of the congresswoman, said the campaign is particularly focused on winning over Black voters, as well as older and non-college-educated voters, many of whom remain undecided. (The Detroit News poll showed Stevens with a substantial advantage with Black voters, leading El-Sayed 67-21%.)

The Michigan Jewish community, which is centered in Stevens’ congressional district, is also a part of the campaign’s get out the vote plan.

“I think that Haley wants all Michiganders to vote, but obviously has a very special connection with the Jewish community, especially in her district in Oakland County,” said the campaign source.

El-Sayed routinely tars Stevens for receiving the backing of AIPAC. She has not said much during the primary about her ties to the group, instead highlighting her support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which she described as “the difference between my opponent and myself on this issue” in a debate last week. El-Sayed has said he struggles with the question of whether Israel should exist as a Jewish state.

This week, El-Sayed announced a major fundraising haul from the second quarter of the year: $4.5 million, up from $2.3 million he raised in the first quarter. A spokesperson for Stevens declined to share her latest fundraising totals, which legally must be reported by Wednesday. She took in $1.9 million in the first three months of the year.

Daily Overtime

Khanna’s Israel criticism draws JCRC rebuke

Plus, Dem leaders split on Israel aid

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) questions U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth as he testifies before the House Armed Services Committee April 29, 2026.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

July 14, 2026

Good Tuesday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning to Iranian leaders, as military hostilities escalate between Iran and the U.S.: “Do not count on there being calm if you attack us,” Netanyahu addressed Tehran, while speaking today at a conference in southern Israel. “Do not expect a repeat of what happened before, because there will be no repeat. … Any further attempt to harm us will be met with a different response — far more powerful”…

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump walked back his announcement that the U.S. would institute a 20% toll on all cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz, saying in a post on Truth Social that Middle East leaders had agreed to additional trade and investment deals with the U.S. to replace the fee…

CENTCOM announced it began launching an additional round of strikes against Iran this afternoon “to continue degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping” in the strait, and officially reinstated a blockade on Iranian ports. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched missile and drone attacks in retaliation against bases in Kuwait and Bahrain…

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said he would oppose an amendment led by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to strip all aid to Israel out of the 2027 State Department appropriations bill, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. But Jeffries also argued for “urgent change” to the U.S.-Israel relationship, including suggesting that direct U.S. military aid to Israel should end when the current memorandum of understanding expires.

Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), on the other hand, said he plans to vote yes on Massie’s amendment, writing in a “Dear Colleague” letter that the “American people are crying out for an end to US tax dollars subsidizing Israel’s military”…

Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev announced today that the U.S. will only be permitted to station 20 military refueling aircraft at Ben Gurion Airport, while the rest must be parked at Israeli Air Force bases, in order to facilitate commercial travel for Israelis over the summer…

U.N. official Ramiz Alakbarov accused Hamas forces of interfering at a humanitarian aid distribution site in Gaza, saying armed men had entered a warehouse and “endangered humanitarian personnel,” leading the organization to suspend its operations at the site. “These incidents are not isolated. They are completely unacceptable and reflect an increasingly dangerous pattern of intimidation, violence and obstruction,” Alakbarov said…

Trump asked Netanyahu in a phone call last week to pull IDF forces back from Syria and Lebanon, Axios reports; the Prime Minister’s Office said Netanyahu in turn emphasized Israel’s need for security zones along its borders…

The Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area issued a statement today on Rep. Ro Khanna’s (D-CA) recent encounter in the West Bank, where he claims he was detained by violent settlers as well as the IDF. The group said it has “conveyed our concerns to the Congressman in how he is representing the district and our community on foreign policy issues” and called on Khanna “to exercise the same urgency he has brought to criticizing Israel to address the hostile climate many Jewish Americans face every day”…

Pressed repeatedly by writers with the Hamas-sympathetic outlet Drop Site News to offer support for the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks and Palestinians’ “right to kill Israeli soldiers,” Khanna said he is “not for violence in any way”…

Asked about legislation imposing sanctions on Russia that was championed by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Trump said in the Oval Office today that lawmakers “may be adding Iran to it … They may add Hezbollah, too.” He said there’s a “good chance” it will pass “in honor of Lindsey”…

White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were spotted in the Senate chamber during the swearing-in this afternoon of Darline Graham Nordone to fill Graham’s seat…

The AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project super PAC sent direct mail to voters in Michigan highlighting far-left Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s refusal to condemn extreme rhetoric from antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker and El-Sayed’s efforts to “rationalize” the attack on Michigan’s Temple Israel earlier this year…

Columbia University anti-Israel protest leader Mahmoud Khalil filed a civil rights lawsuit against Trump administration officials, the Heritage Foundation and pro-Israel groups Canary Mission and Betar, alleging they “sought to terrorize” him to “intimidate and silence the growing movement for Palestinian rights”…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with Avi Loeb, the Israeli Harvard scientist leading Trump’s search for answers that may be out of this world.

Trump will headline the last day of Sen. Dave McCormick’s (R-PA) Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit at the U.S. Army War College, with additional remarks from Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.

The Aspen Security Forum in Colorado will feature fireside chats with former Navy Secretary John Phelan and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Also on tomorrow’s agenda: a live taping of the “What the Hell is Going On?” podcast hosted by the American Enterprise Institute’s Danielle Pletka and Marc Thiessen, in conversation with former National Security Advisors Stephen Hadley and Robert O’Brien as well as Michèle Flournoy, former under secretary of defense for policy.

Jay Clayton will appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee for his confirmation hearing to be director of national intelligence, after Trump abruptly canceled his hearing originally scheduled for last month.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) will speak at the Hudson Institute on the future of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East..

Stories You May Have Missed

MICHIGAN MATTERS

Mainstream Democrats rally to block far-left candidate from nomination in swing Mich. district

William Lawrence, who has won support from progressive lawmakers and groups, has been under fire for his comments attacking Kamala Harris and denigrating Black political leadership

Read more

Daily Overtime

Freedom of the seas, for a fee

Plus, Graham's Senate seat kept in the family

Shady Alassar/Anadolu via Getty Images

Commercial vessels and oil tankers preparing to transit through the Strait of Hormuz maintain their wait in the Gulf of Oman, on June 17, 2026.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

July 13, 2026

Good Monday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump declared today that the U.S. will take control of the Strait of Hormuz and will institute a 20% fee on all cargo passing through the waterway “for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World,” Jewish Insider’s Christina Sher reports. The move comes after Trump and his administration insisted for months that no country is permitted to charge fees to transiting ships…

Trump also announced he is reinstating a blockade of Iranian ports, which was lifted when the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding last month. CENTCOM said the blockade will resume tomorrow at 4 p.m. ET and will be enforced “against vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas.”

CENTCOM also revealed that it successfully deployed sea drones in combat operations for the first time yesterday, using the unmanned vessels to strike an Iranian submarine at the Bandar Abbas Naval Base…

Trump notified Congress on Friday that fighting with Iran officially resumed last week, further stoking tensions between the executive and legislative branches as lawmakers already approved a war powers resolution calling for an end to American operations in Iran.

Trump’s letter to congressional leadership said U.S. “ground forces are not involved in these strikes” — which he described as “limited, measured, planned, and executed in a manner designed to minimize civilian casualties” — and said he is acting “pursuant to [his] constitutional authority as Commander in Chief”…

The Mossad spent years grooming former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as an intelligence asset to be installed as Iran’s leader after a post-Khamenei regime change, including paying for his housing and travel and arranging a meeting with then-Mossad chief David Barnea under cover of a climate conference in Budapest in 2024, American and Iranian officials told The New York Times.

As the Iran war broke out on Feb. 28, Mossad operatives rescued Ahmadinejad from an Israeli airstrike on his Tehran compound and took him to a safe house, but he balked and left — Ahmadinejad is now reportedly under house arrest by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps…

The Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of bombing Yemen’s international airport today, with a spokesperson saying the action “will not go unanswered,” threatening a tenuous truce enacted several years ago between the terror group and the Saudis. A spokesperson for the internationally recognized Yemeni government, which is backed by Riyadh, said the Houthis subsequently fired ballistic missiles into Saudi Arabia…

U.K. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced on Monday that the country designated the IRGC as a terror organization, with those found guilty of supporting the group facing up to 14 years in prison. The government also banned the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right, which No. 10 Downing St. said was behind a number of attacks on British Jewish sites…

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced at a press conference this afternoon that he is appointing Darline Graham Nordone, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) sister, to serve out the rest of Graham’s term. Trump had voiced his support for Nordone, who shared an exceptionally close bond with her brother, as “a fabulous tribute to Lindsey.” Fox Newsreported that Nordone could be sworn in as soon as Wednesday…

The Trump administration plans to launch a major diplomatic offensive against the International Criminal Court, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced today, the latest move in the White House’s longtime battle against the international organization.

The push appears to be rooted in concerns that the ICC will seek to prosecute American servicemembers, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports. Such actions would not only be “a grave overreach of its purported authorities,” Rubio wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, “it would mean the death of the U.S. as a sovereign and independent nation”…

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani vowed that he would maintain ties with Morris Katz, the controversial political operative behind Mamdani’s own victory as well as the imploded campaign of former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, JI’s Will Bredderman reports, despite calls from members of the Democratic Socialists of America to boycott the consultant’s services…

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), a member of the Squad and a vocal detractor of Israel, endorsed far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed today, joining fellow Squad members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Summer Lee (D-PA) and Delia Ramirez (D-IL) in backing him less than a month before the primary…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at the surging anti-Israel candidate in the Democratic primary for Michigan‘s swing 7th Congressional District.

The sixth round of talks between Israel and Lebanon are slated to begin tomorrow in Rome, despite Beirut’s reported threat not to attend if the IDF did not vacate two pilot zones in southern Lebanon before the discussions. Israeli media reported that this week’s talks will focus on the timeline for the withdrawal.

The Aspen Security Forum, the high-profile annual gathering of national security leaders, policymakers and foreign policy experts, begins tomorrow afternoon in Colorado. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper and former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker will speak on a panel on the “state of the world.”

The two-day Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit, hosted by Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA), will kick off at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., with a keynote address from Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine.

Some House Republicans were invited to a dinner tomorrow night with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to Punchbowl News, as the Trump administration is seeking more than $67 billion for the Pentagon in its supplemental funding request.

Stories You May Have Missed

REMEMBERING

Tributes pour in after death of Lindsey Graham, Israel’s staunch defender in the Senate

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks at the 62nd Munich Security Conference on February 13, 2026 in Munich, Germany.

Trump, Cruz, Fetterman, Coons and Jewish organizations remembered the South Carolina Republican, who died suddenly at 71

Read more

SETTLER SCRUTINY

Khanna calls for investigation into West Bank incident as IDF disputes lawmaker’s account

Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said Khanna had declined a request to coordinate with the embassy for the trip where he was stopped by Israeli settlers in the West Bank

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) questions U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth as he testifies before the House Armed Services Committee April 29, 2026.

By

Matthew Shea

July 12, 2026

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) on Sunday called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to launch an investigation after the lawmaker said he was harassed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank last week, an incident Netanyahu attributed to a small group of “vigilantes.”

During his first known trip to Israel and the West Bank since October 2024, Khanna said that his delegation’s van had been surrounded, stopped and taunted last Wednesday by Israeli settlers armed with U.S.-made M4 rifles during a tour of the southern West Bank, an incident that a New York Times photographer traveling in a different vehicle said he witnessed.

Khanna claimed IDF vehicles then appeared, and the soldiers spoke amiably with the settlers and continued to block the road themselves after the settlers departed. The IDF denied that the visitors were detained by military personnel.

Cameron Kasky, an aide to Khanna, said the group was held for over an hour and appealed to the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem for assistance. Kasky previously ran in the Democratic primary in New York’s 12th Congressional District on an explicitly anti-Israel platform.

Khanna told NBC News the incident had made him “more resolved” to consider a presidential run in 2028.

“I have something unique to offer about the injustices of Palestinians,” he told the Times. “I’m going to go to every corner of America, regardless of whether I run or not, and tell their stories and tell the story of what is happening in the West Bank.”

An IDF spokesperson told NBC that troops and police officers were dispatched to the scene in a “closed military zone” after a “report was received regarding Israeli civilians who were unlawfully blocking the vehicle of foreign nationals.” The military said the soldiers reopened the road and let the delegation through.

Israel Police said that officers on the scene did not witness any violence and that the group was stopped in a restricted zone. Israel prohibits its citizens from entering certain areas of the West Bank without an IDF permit, particularly Palestinian Authority-controlled Area A, which are typically marked with warning signs. Foreign civilians are generally not legally barred from these areas, though they may be subject to security advisories or temporary restrictions.

Police added that Khanna’s tour group leader was warned of a possible arrest and that the group was told that civilians were not permitted in the area, before being released. Khanna said that his office had alerted the Israeli Embassy in Washington of his visit — a claim that was denied by the Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter.

Speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Leiter said that Khanna’s team did not alert Israeli authorities, saying instead that the California lawmaker had ignored a request from officials to allow them to assist in coordinating the trip.

“We reached out to him [Khanna] when we heard he was going to Israel … We suggested he visit with survivors of the Oct. 7 [2023] massacre, that he visit the borders so he understands the issues that we have on our borders and so on,” Leiter said. “He [Khanna] ignored that and he decided to coordinate his trip not with Israel, but with Palestinian activists and with J Street.”

“There was a question about visas, that’s all,” Leiter added of Khanna’s outreach to the embassy. “But when we requested that he coordinate the trip with us, he rejected that by basically staying silent.”

J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami on Sunday denied that J Street had any involvement in organizing Khanna’s visit.

Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Khanna called the encounter “unprecedented” and accused the IDF of “lying.”

“They had violent settlers detain American citizens, including an American government official,” Khanna said. “You had these settlers brandishing M4s, kicking the tires of our van, laughing at us, mocking us, videotaping us. We were detained for about 20 minutes, fearful for our lives. Then the IDF comes, four soldiers, they tell our translator that they’re on the side of the settlers.”

Also appearing on NBC on Sunday, Netanyahu insisted that Israel is “a country of laws” and blamed the confrontation on a fringe group of “vigilantes.”

“We’re a country of laws, and people who break the law, we take them to court,” Netanyahu said. “There is a vigilante effort, not by the settler community … There are 150 juvenile delinquents that are not part of that community. They come from other parts of Israel. I don’t want vigilantes of any kind, and we are working to put them under the law.”

Responding to Netanyahu’s remarks, Khanna pushed the Israeli leader to further investigate the matter.

“The prime minister needs to open an investigation on these violent settlers,” Khanna said. “They need to be prosecuted … their outpost needs to be investigated, and he [Netanyahu] needs to have an investigation on these four IDF officers.”

“Security cameras can see that they were involved in the detention of American citizens,” he added. “How dare they mistreat people with an American passport that way?”

Daily Overtime

Israel on standby to join the fight

Plus, Labour's leftward turn on Israel

Israeli Ministry of Defense/Anadolu via Getty Images

Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz holds a security situation assessment meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other senior commanders in Tel Aviv, Israel, on March 07, 2026.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

July 9, 2026

Good Thursday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Appearing on CNN this morning, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said Jerusalem is “supportive of the position of the United States” regarding renewed strikes on Iran, and said Israel would “fly alongside U.S. aircraft” if called on to do so.

He added that Iran had violated its “only obligation” under the memorandum of understanding — to keep the Strait of Hormuz open — and that if the Iranians “persist in their malign intentions,” the war could resume “in full swing”…

Israeli military leaders are also hinting at potential Israeli involvement: At an Israeli Air Force graduation ceremony, Defense Minister Israel Katz said the IDF is prepared to carry out independent strikes “to remove threats” in Iran. Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF’s chief of staff, told the graduates that “new plans” are “on the drawing board” and that “major operations are still expected to lie ahead of us. Be prepared”…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he spoke with President Donald Trump today and was updated by the president “on American moves in the Gulf.” According to a statement from the PMO, Netanyahu again raised the issue of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan‘s hostile rhetoric toward Israel…

The Wall Street Journal examines the “root of the dispute” over the Strait of Hormuz — the “poorly worded” fifth article in the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding that says Tehran will “make arrangements” to restore shipping in the waterway and then work with Oman on a plan to administer it going forward.

“Notably, the paragraph says nothing about the U.S. making arrangements for the safe passage of vessels, which Iran has seized on to attack ships that use a U.S.-coordinated route,” a U.S. official told the outlet…

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) is in Israel and the West Bank this week while Congress is in recess, according to two individuals with knowledge of the trip. Khanna has not posted publicly about his visit, which is scheduled to conclude tonight, JI’s Melissa Weiss reports…

While wrapping up his trip, Khanna, who was one of Senate candidate Graham Platner’s most vociferous defenders until a rape allegation was made against the Maine Democrat earlier this week, told MS NOW that he’s endorsing former state Sen. Troy Jackson to take Platner’s place on the ballot. Jackson, who previously ran for governor, is a progressive seen as aligned with Platner…

But Platner’s potential replacements will have to wait a few more days: The candidate told campaign staff he intends to wait until the very last day — Monday — to officially file his paperwork to drop out of the race, Axios reports…

The Journal profiles Cheyenne Hunt, the progressive influencer and activist who played a key role in bringing to light the sexual assault and misconduct allegations that ultimately saw the ouster of Platner and the resignation of former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA)…

Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) withdrew as co-chair of the Congressional Friends of Spain Caucus due to what he called Madrid’s “escalating, hostile crusade” against Israel…

Andy Burnham, widely expected to become Britain’s next prime minister, told The Guardian that the response of his Labour party to Israel’s military actions in Gaza “has too often not been good enough” and that the U.K. has “got to do more to put pressure on the Israeli government,” including sanctions and potentially banning trade in goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Burnham also said there is “increasing evidence” that Israel committed war crimes, though he did not use the word genocide, and said the determination should be left to international courts. His comments mark a shift to the left of Labour’s outgoing leader, Keir Starmer, who was slower than other European leaders to back a ceasefire and recognize Palestinian statehood…

Among those speaking at the closed-door Allen & Company retreat in Sun Valley, Idaho, today were Jared Kushner, UAE Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) as well as Ken Griffin, the hedge fund manager and GOP megadonor.

Asked whether he would support Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the 2028 presidential election, Griffin said he’d be inclined to back Rubio…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at Platner’s potential replacements, as a handful of Maine Democrats are already jockeying for the position less than 24 hours after Platner announced he intends to drop out of the race for U.S. Senate.

We’ll be watching to see if U.S. and Iranian strikes continue into the weekend, or if the current flare-up has run its course. Prior to the outbreak in hostilities, Saudi media had reported that talks between Washington and Iran would restart on July 11, after the dayslong funeral of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wraps up today. Trump said this morning that the Iranians had called and “want to make a deal so badly,” but it’s unclear whether the two sides intend to meet.

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

Stories You May Have Missed

SCOOP

New Ted Cruz-aligned organization takes aim at right-wing antisemitism

Allies of the Texas senator are launching The Front Line, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit aimed at making antisemitism ‘disqualifying’ for GOP candidates

Read more

BELL BUOY

Wesley Bell sees surge of outside spending ahead of rematch with Cori Bush

As of this week, UDP has reserved $865,000 in ad time for the race and New Democrat Majority has reserved $500,000, ahead of the Aug. 4 primary

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO) right, and Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) attend the Congressional Chess Tournament hosted with the St. Louis Chess Club in Russell building on Wednesday, June 3, 2026.

By

Marc Rod

July 9, 2026

A month ahead of Missouri’s primary elections, Rep. Wesley Bell’s (D-MO) campaign is being buoyed by an influx of outside spending from the AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project super PAC and another super PAC affiliated with the moderate New Democrat Coalition.

As of this week, UDP has reserved $865,000 in ad time for the race, while New Democrat Majority has reserved $500,000 ahead of the Aug. 4 primary. In at least one advertisement, UDP is taking a similar approach as it did in its attacks against Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) in 2024 when the group helped Bell unseat her, hitting her as an absentee and ineffective lawmaker and for voting against the bipartisan infrastructure package in 2021.

UDP’s ad features clips accusing Bush of having betrayed and disappointed organized labor and workers who supported her in her initial campaign.

A source familiar with Bell’s campaign said that it is confident going into the final weeks, but predicted a tight race, adding that the campaign expects a ramp-up in advertising in the final month of the race.

UDP’s attacks complement what the source said will be the main pitch of Bell’s campaign: the congressman’s work delivering for constituents through projects such as delivering funding for a local airport and tornado recovery, and standing up to the Trump administration on issues including immigration enforcement and releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files.

The source said Bell’s campaign also aims to hit Bush as an ineffective lawmaker who failed to deliver for the district and was more focused on own public profile, as well as highlight past campaign finance scandals, which have continued to trail Bush, and Bush’s failure to embrace Vice President Kamala Harris during her 2024 presidential campaign.

The source also emphasized that Bell has sought to remain deeply and frequently engaged in the district, focusing on constituent services and frequent appearances at local events — gaps that hurt Bush’s 2024 campaign.

At the same time, with her campaign focusing on attacking Israel and AIPAC’s support for Bell, Bush is likely to attempt to weaponize the UDP spending against Bell.

Bell has faced some protests and backlash in the district over Israel, though the source said that voters are much more focused on affordability and quality of life issues at home and concerns about the Trump administration than Israel policy or AIPAC.

The source acknowledged that those issues have come up in the community, but argued that Bush is overplaying the extent to which voters in St. Louis are focused on them.

Bell’s campaign in 2024 ran a robust engagement and turnout operation in the Jewish community, bringing together leaders from across the community from various political and religious backgrounds. Stacey Newman, a former state representative, led that effort for Bell’s campaign in 2024 and returned to do so again, after having launched and led a local Jewish advocacy group in the intervening years.

Braxton Payne, a Democratic political strategist in St. Louis, said that the pro-Bell camp was significantly outpacing Bush and her supporters in media buys around the district, while Bush seemed more focused on the grassroots campaign tactics she has used in previous races.

Payne said he still sees Bell as the frontrunner because he hasn’t taken any votes that were considered to be particularly problematic in his relatively short time in office, has stood up against the Trump administration and has strong financial backing and outside support.

“I think that he’s going to be able to out-communicate Cori like he did two years ago, even without outside funding or outside groups,” Payne said. “Now, if Cori is able to get some grassroots money, and if the Justice Democrats [super PAC] or other groups that similarly align to them do decide to weigh in to that, I think that could make a difference.”

With Missouri’s two-week early voting window, early communication is key, Payne added.

One vote that Bush has repeatedly sought to hit Bell for is on a resolution condemning the antisemitic firebombing attack on a hostage awareness march in Boulder, Colo. that killed a Holocaust survivor and injured others. The Republican-led resolution included language expressing gratitude to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which Democrats who supported the resolution have condemned as a cynical GOP political gambit.

Payne said that the current progressive wave across the country would not necessarily have significant impacts on the St. Louis electorate — “St. Louis has always been a bastion of progressive and left-leaning politics, nothing has really changed there … I would say it’s very similar to people that would have voted two years ago.”

Unlike recent races in New York City and Colorado, Bell is young and still relatively new to Congress, not an old or long-entrenched incumbent. “Those differences of the generational change are just not here in this race,” Payne said.

He said that Bell has generally remained popular among the voters and community leaders who supported him in 2024, as compared to Bush who faced significant defections in that race among voters who had previously supported her.

On the other hand, he said, some progressive voters may be undecided at this point in the race, and, given Democratic outrage at the Trump administration, could be attracted to the more aggressive and confrontational style of politics that Bush has practiced.

And Bush has been working, Payne said, to re-engage with local grassroots groups that she had neglected during her time in office. “A lot of her supporters four years ago that were maybe not as [much] there for her two years ago, or even a year ago — I think they’ve all started to coalesce around her,” he said.

Daily Overtime

Trump says no war, as strikes continue

Plus, Rahm Emanuel on the ‘moral bankruptcy’ of far-left Dems

Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

President Donald Trump during the press conference at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkiye on July 8, 2026.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

July 8, 2026

Good Wednesday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

CENTCOM began conducting additional strikes against Iran this afternoon, after President Donald Trump continued to escalate his rhetoric against the regime in his remarks today at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.

Trump said he wasn’t sure he wanted to make a deal with the Iranians any longer and reiterated his threat to “finish the job,” but still denied the strikes mark a return to full-scale war: “I think anything that happens is going to be over very quickly,” he said…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had scrapped a planned trip to Israel, saying in an interview that the defense chief had been “called back home” from the summit in Ankara. Meanwhile, Israeli media reports that American military refueling planes have begun to return to the region…

Trump is likely to face pushback from lawmakers over the renewed strikes: Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he’s already “in conversations with the Senate to explore any and all legal pathways to hold Trump accountable,” given that both chambers of Congress already passed a war powers resolution seeking an end to U.S. military action in Iran…

Trump also informed Congress today that he intends to rescind Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism following a 45-day pre-notification period, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced, shortly after Trump held a friendly meeting with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the NATO summit…

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, speaking to Jewish Insider’s Melissa Weiss prior to his speech at Tel Aviv University today, criticized the “moral bankruptcy” of “those that paraded, celebrated and cheered” in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.

Responding to a question about Democrats who did so — including New York City congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, who attended an anti-Israel rally in Times Square on Oct. 8, 2023 — Emanuel said, “I have no place for the moral bankruptcy of those that found Oct. 8 as the day to cheer 1,200 people not only killed but sexually abused, and for taking hostage 250 people”…

In an interview on Israel’s Channel 12, Emanuel confirmed he’s “thinking about” running for president in 2028 and said he believes Americans could elect a Jewish president. “I believe people will evaluate me based on my character and my background,” he said…

Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner still remains in the race two days after Politico published an account from a former romantic partner accusing him of rape, though the candidate’s feud with the Maine Democratic Party continues. Platner’s campaign manager, Ben Chin, sent a message to supporters today accusing the MDP of allowing the national Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to orchestrate Platner’s replacement “behind closed doors.”

In response, the MDP, which was reportedly set to hold a meeting on the issue this afternoon, said Platner’s campaign is “distracting from the job of defeating [Sen.] Susan Collins (R-ME) in November with false accusations” and pledged to develop “a representative, transparent and inclusive process to select a new nominee when he chooses to withdraw from the race”…

A new Politico survey of Democratic primary voters in Michigan, conducted in the two days after state Sen. Mallory McMorrow dropped out of the race for U.S. Senate, found the two remaining candidates — Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Abdul El-Sayed — in a statistical tie at 42-41%, with nearly 20% of voters undecided…

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear sent a letter to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) requesting that he “fully update Kentuckians regarding the current status of your health,” as McConnell has been hospitalized for nearly a month…

A new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 44% of American Jews hold a favorable view of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — a higher percentage than Netanyahu, who received a 32% favorability rating…

Jewish groups — including the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Hadassah and StandWithUs — celebrated several steps taken at the National Education Association’s Representative Assembly, which wrapped up yesterday in Denver, including the Jewish Affairs Caucus’ work in advancing three amendments to the NEA Constitution and a resolution on Jewish education…

Bertrand Benoit, The Wall Street Journal’s bureau chief in Germany, explores what it means for Germany’s identity as its citizens begin to lose their living connection to the Holocaust, including how the fading of survivor testimony, rising antisemitism and challenges from both the political right and left are reshaping the country’s culture of remembrance…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at the choice ahead for Georgia’s Jewish community in the race between Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and his opponent, Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA).

The Contemporary Antisemitism conference at the University of Haifa will wrap up with a keynote speech by philosopher and author Bernard-Henri Lévy.

Stories You May Have Missed

SANCTIONS STANDOFF

Lawmakers divided over Trump’s plan to lift sanctions on Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to supporters at his party’s Istanbul mayoral candidate Murat Kurum’s campaign rally on March 29, 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Members from both parties warned lifting penalties would reward Erdoğan’s destabilizing actions, while senators at NATO summit said Turkey could rejoin F-35 program if concerns over Russian S-400 system are resolved

Read more

Daily Overtime

Three strikes and you’re out — U.S. revokes Iran oil waiver

Plus, progressives pull the plug on Platner

Photo by Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

Crude oil tankers, bulk carriers and vessels sit anchored around Qaboos Port on June 22, 2026 in Muscat, Oman.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

July 7, 2026

Good Tuesday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The fallout from a rape allegation made against Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner intensified today as Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) — some of the Democrat’s most prominent progressive backers — rescinded their support of Platner and called on him to drop out. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who shares a top consultant with Platner, also advised the candidate to drop his bid.

Platner’s campaign has canceled all in-person fundraising events scheduled for the coming days and put holds on its social media ads, according to Politico. The candidate reportedly told his campaign staff in a call last night that a decision on the future of his race is forthcoming…

Several prominent Maine Democrats have begun to signal interest in replacing Platner on the general election ballot, should he withdraw by the deadline of July 13. Among those hinting at a run are Troy Jackson, a former state Senate president who has already filed with the Federal Election Commission to explore a bid; former U.S. House candidate Jordan Wood; former gubernatorial candidate Nirav Shah; and Platner’s former primary opponent David Costello.

Maine Democratic Party officials are considering holding a pop-up convention around July 25 or holding a statewide caucus to choose Platner’s replacement, sources told The New York Times…

As the heated Democratic Senate primary in Michigan enters its final stretch, far-left candidate Abdul El-Sayed told CNN this week that he does not believe that a politician’s support for Israel could be about anything other than money, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. “Not if you’re a Democrat and you believe in human rights,” El-Sayed told CNN when asked about such a distinction…

The Treasury Department revoked the waiver it issued last month lifting sanctions on Iranian oil, after Iran reportedly struck another vessel in the Strait of Hormuz today, marking the third such attack in the last 24 hours.

“As President [Donald] Trump and the administration have repeatedly affirmed, the [memorandum of understanding] in effect with Iran is entirely performance-based. Iran will only reap benefits if they exhibit good behavior,” a U.S. official told JI’s Matthew Shea. “Iran’s actions in the Strait were wholly unacceptable to the United States and will be met with consequences. Our negotiators continue to work in good faith towards a final deal”…

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry summoned Iran’s deputy ambassador in the Gulf stateto express its “strong condemnation and denunciation” of Tehran’s strike yesterday on a Qatari tanker, after Doha sent a delegation of officials to the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an apparent diplomatic olive branch…

Saudi Arabia is considering increasing the capacity of its East-West oil pipeline in order to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and facilitate oil exports out of the Red Sea, Reuters reports…

Trump announced today that his administration is preparing to lift congressionally mandated sanctions on Turkey as he weighs moving forward with the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Ankara, JI’s Matthew Shea reports.

“It’s time to do that. We don’t want to sanction friends,” the president said. Defense experts and lawmakers previously told JI that Turkey still maintains the Russian air-defense system that prompted the sanctions in 2020, which makes lifting the sanctions legally complicated…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again voiced his opposition to Trump’s overtures to Ankara, telling CNN that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is “not exactly a model ally of the United States” as he “threatens to destroy my country, the one and only Jewish state.”

Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli went further in his rhetoric, calling Erdoğan a “grotesque hybrid of Hitler and [late Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar” and a “pathetic blood-soaked zero” in a post on X yesterday…

The Israeli Consulate in New York was evacuated from its Midtown Manhattan building after a nearby high-rise building under construction showed signs of collapsing, prompting evacuations across the area…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for coverage of tonight’s debate between Michigan Senate Democratic primary candidates Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), with less than a month to go until the election.

The NATO summit in Ankara will conclude with the main working session of all 32 member states as well as a press conference from NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers is set to attend a dinner tonight on the sidelines of the summit with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel will deliver a speech at Tel Aviv University, where he is set to lay out his vision for the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship as he prepares for a potential 2028 presidential run. Emanuel met today with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum.

The Contemporary Antisemitism conference will continue at the University of Haifa.

Stories You May Have Missed

SORE SPOT

Wasserman Schultz’s reelection bid ignites tensions within Democratic Party

Black leaders in the district have failed to unite behind a single challenger, leaving the Jewish congresswoman favored in a plurality race but potentially vulnerable down the road

Read more

SORE SPOT

Wasserman Schultz’s reelection bid ignites tensions within Democratic Party

Black leaders in the district have failed to unite behind a single challenger, leaving the Jewish congresswoman favored in a plurality race but potentially vulnerable down the road

Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)

By

Marc Rod

July 6, 2026

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s (D-FL) reelection race has turned into a local and national flashpoint following the Republican-led redistricting process in Florida, and risks driving a wedge in traditional Black-Jewish alliances in the state and the party.

Wasserman Schultz is running in South Florida’s newly redrawn 20th Congressional District, a decision pitting the longtime Democratic leader and former Democratic National Committee chair against leaders who have criticized her for running in a seat historically represented by a Black lawmaker.

Yet, Wasserman Schultz also maintains dedicated supporters in the district and her home state at large, especially within the Jewish community.

“I have spent my whole adult life fighting for Broward County, and I want to continue the fight to make life more affordable for the families in CD20 who are stretched to the breaking point by the Trump MAGA agenda,” Wasserman Schultz said in a statement to Jewish Insider.

“And as I meet with voters throughout District 20, the overwhelming response is that voters know my record of standing up for them and delivering billions in local funding for Broward parks, clean water and transit and other projects and all the jobs that come with them,” she continued. “Voters also know that I’ve always spoken out for them and they want me to keep up the critical fight against Trump’s high-cost, corrupt agenda.”

Despite repeatedly expressing support for all Democratic incumbents, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has so far declined to endorse Wasserman Schultz for reelection.

“As I’ve indicated relative to the congresswoman, she’s had an extraordinary career,” Jeffries told reporters last week. “She’s a valuable member of the House Democratic caucus, and I’m looking forward to having more to say about that when we are closer to the Florida Democratic primary.”

Black leaders in the area brought together various candidates running against Wasserman Schultz in an effort to consolidate around a single candidate, but ultimately failed to do so, leaving a divided field opposing the longtime legislator.

Democratic leaders in and around the district lamented the situation that the redistricting process, that effectively erased Wasserman Schultz’s previous district, has created, accusing the GOP both of trying to gerrymander seats for its own gain as well as create racial divisions in the Democratic Party.

“The situation we’re in is the result of a deliberate decision by the Republican leadership in our state to target all three Jewish members of Congress from South Florida, to target the two African American members of Congress from South Florida and deliberately set something up that was going to result in, let’s say, tension between those two historically allied communities,” said Joe Geller, a former Florida House Democrat, who lives outside the district and is supporting Wasserman Schultz.

Geller argued that the redistricting explicitly violates the Florida state constitution, which bans the drawing of districts based purely on partisanship, arguing that the recent Supreme Court decision allowing for racial gerrymandering doesn’t override that provision.

“This was done deliberately by enemies of both communities to create dissension between traditional allies,” Geller continued. “It’s cynical, it’s illegal and it’s disgusting.”

He said that state courts should immediately halt the redistricting and require that the election be run under the previous lines until the issue can be litigated further, claiming that Republicans had timed the redrawing specifically in order to try to avoid judicial review.

Wasserman Schultz, throughout her time in Congress, has been a fierce and vocal advocate for Israel and for the Jewish community, breaking at times with her party on the issue. She’s currently a co-chair of the Abraham Accords caucus, was a co-founder of the Congressional Jewish Caucus and is one of the most prominent Jewish leaders inside the Democratic caucus.

Mitch Ceasar, a former chair of the Broward County Democratic Party, predicted that, given challengers’ failure to unite behind a single candidate, Wasserman Schultz should still be favored to win the seat with a plurality of the vote.

Wasserman Schultz faced pressure to run in another neighboring district, but, observers on the ground acknowledged, that seat would have been tougher for Democrats to win.

Polling released in early June showed Wasserman Schultz leading with around 39% support, followed most closely by self-described democratic socialist Elijah Manley at 21% and former Broward County Mayor Dale Holness at 15%.

The polling found Wasserman Schultz would trail either of them, or rapper and free speech activist Luther Campbell, in a head-to-head race, though it’s now too late for any candidate to withdraw from the ballot.

A poll by Wasserman Schultz’s campaign released around the same time found her leading all of the other candidates combined, at 52%, with near-universal name recognition and 80% favorability across the district.

Manley’s candidacy is causing consternation among members of the Jewish community, due to the anti-Israel stance he has staked out over the course of the campaign, which includes an endorsement from the antisemitic group TrackAIPAC. Prior to his congressional bid, he described supporters of Israel as cultish and accused pro-Israel Americans of “meddling in our country’s affairs.” He said in 2020 he was in the process of converting to Judaism.

Manley has picked up support from the Florida Democratic Progressive Caucus and the president of the Democratic Black Caucus — though the caucus as a whole did not offer an endorsement.

He has also offered other fringe views, including describing police unions as “terrorist organizations.”

Ceasar noted that, while Manley has gained attention and support, he’s also a perennial candidate for office whose past runs have been unsuccessful. He also mounted a failed bid for the Socialist Party’s presidential nomination in 2020.

Ceasar also said that the other candidates in the race, including Holness, Campbell and former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) — the latter of whom resigned from Congress earlier this year and is facing federal criminal corruption charges — have taken more pro-Israel stances.

Wasserman Schultz has long enjoyed strong support from — and spoken proudly of — the Jewish community in the district, joking at times at Jewish community events about representing the large Jewish retiree population.

Ceasar said that there is still a Jewish bloc in the district, but the demographics even in traditionally Jewish parts of the area have been changing, with a growing minority retiree population — though he said that political stances of the two communities are fairly similar.

Cherfilus-McCormick, whose corruption trial isn’t slated to begin until after the election, remains something of a wild card, Ceasar noted. Holness, he said, has posted strong performances in the district in the past. Ceasar said he was somewhat surprised by Campbell’s candidacy, given that he has stronger roots in a neighboring district, which is also an open seat.

Richard Stark, who chairs the Florida Democratic Party Jewish Caucus, which is remaining formally neutral in the race, said that Wasserman Schultz has been a strong and aggressive campaigner going back to her first campaigns for political office — “she worked hard, she campaigned, walked door to door and she got that support, and chances are she’ll do the same thing now.”

Speaking in a personal capacity, Stark said Wasserman Schultz is also popular and well-known for delivering results for various communities she represents. He speculated that, given her stature in the state, Republicans particularly hoped to see her pushed out of Congress.

“She’s a star within the Democratic Party, for the most part. It’s really a shame that we have to have a race like that,” Stark said. “She’s looking for the best that she can do for the United States of America and for the Jewish people.”

Rabbi Mark Winer, Stark’s predecessor as the Jewish Caucus chair, said that Wasserman Schultz is “the most important Democratic politician in Florida, over many, many, many years” who has had “phenomenal influence beyond her district and beyond the Congress” and is a “real force within the district.”

Winer said it’s a “real question for the future whether she’ll get reelected — it’s tough — but she is a formidable politician, she really knows how to do retail politics.”

Winer and Stark traced some of the hostility toward Wasserman Schultz, particularly among progressives, to her role as DNC chair in 2016. Progressives continue to accuse the congresswoman of putting her thumb on the scale for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as she campaigned against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the presidential campaign.

Looking further ahead, even if Wasserman Schultz ends up winning with a plurality of the vote against a divided opposition, that could signal vulnerability in a future primary election against a more unified opposition effort. But, Ceasar emphasized, “human nature always makes that difficult.”

Daily Overtime

Platner at a crossroads amid new allegations

Plus, Rahm Emanuel says Israel support should come with strings

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks at a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour stop held by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) at the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus on May 24, 2026 in Orono, Maine.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

July 6, 2026

Good Monday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

A woman who dated Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner alleged in a series of interviews with Politico that the Democrat sexually assaulted her in 2021, an account the outlet backed up with her correspondence and other interviews.The woman, Jenny Racicot, said Platner came into her home uninvited while intoxicated and forced himself on her despite her repeated objections.

In a video statement, Platner denied the accusation outright but said he’s “mindful of the political reality it will inflict” and would be “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love,” a different tone than Platner has struck in the aftermath of his previous controversies. The Maine Democratic Party can only choose a replacement nominee for the general election ballot if Platner voluntarily withdraws by July 13…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced opposition today to the Trump administration’s sale of jet engines and potential sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, hours before President Donald Trump was set to depart for the NATO summit in Ankara, Jewish Insider’s Christina Sher reports.

Netanyahu suggested on “Fox & Friends” that such moves “will upset the power balance in the Middle East, which is ultimately guaranteed by Israeli air superiority” and U.S. posture in the region. Axios reports that Netanyahu relayed the same message directly to Trump in a phone call last week and asked him to help address Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan‘s escalating anti-Israel rhetoric…

The percentage of Jewish Israelis who believe Israel’s security is a central consideration for Trump has reached a record low of 26%, according to a new survey from the Israel Democracy Institute, JI’s Matthew Shea reports. The figure marks a 15-point decrease from a month ago, during which time the Trump administration signed its memorandum of understanding with Iran…

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem announced at a press conference in Gaza today that the terror group’s Emergency Committee — the administrative body that has governed the enclave for more than two decades — is dissolving and that its civil servants, who will remain in their roles, stand ready to work under the new technocratic government established by the Board of Peace.

The BoP expressed skepticism about the announcement, JI’s Emily Jacobs and Matthew Shea report, saying its “assessment will be guided by actions, not promises” and calling for a “genuine transfer of authority” and for Hamas to disarm. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar dismissed the move outright, calling it a “trick … designed to prevent [Hamas’] own disarmament”…

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said both Israel and Lebanon see the agreement signed between Jerusalem, Beirut and Washington earlier this month as “superseding” the first clause of the U.S.-Iran MOU, which calls for the end of hostilities on all fronts. “Whether or not the United States does, you’ll have to ask an administration spokesman,” Leiter said at an event with the Council on Foreign Relations.

Leiter also said he “can’t imagine that any ultimate agreement with Iran would be absent a clause limiting the development of ballistic missiles,” though the MOU did not mention Iran’s ballistic missile program…

In a preview obtained by Politico of the speech former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel is set to deliver at Tel Aviv University on Wednesday, the prospective 2028 presidential candidate is set to say that the U.S. has spent too long “averting its eyes” from what he views as Israel’s misadventures, calling for “significant changes and a new direction” in the bilateral relationship.

“Going forward, Emanuel plans to say, Israelis should regard U.S. support as expressly contingent: On reviving a serious commitment to Palestinian sovereignty; On rejecting dreams of asserting dominion beyond official borders in pursuit of ‘Greater Israel’; On abandoning a security strategy that emphasizes brutally effective military force with scant attention to diplomacy or credible what-next plans in Gaza and Iran,” the outlet reported…

French President Emmanuel Macron became the first major Western head of state to visit Syria since the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2024, landing in Damascus today for meetings with Syrian leaders. Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa is also expected to meet with Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey this week…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

The two-day NATO summit begins in Turkey tomorrow with leaders of all 32 NATO countries expected to attend, as well as a congressional delegation comprised of Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Chris Coons (D-DE) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH). At the top of the agenda are increasing defense investments, as Trump continues to press NATO allies to shoulder a greater share of the alliance’s defense burden and threatens to draw down U.S. troops from Europe, and continuing to support Ukraine in its war with Russia.

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Abdul El-Sayed, now the only remaining candidates in Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary, will participate in a televised debate on local news tomorrow night, their first head-to-head matchup since state Sen. Mallory McMorrow suspended her campaign yesterday.

The annual Contemporary Antisemitism conference, which bills itself as the largest annual academic conference on contemporary antisemitism, will kick off tomorrow at the University of Haifa. The three-day summit will feature hundreds of academics and experts, with a keynote speech tomorrow from former State Department antisemitism envoy Deborah Lipstadt and a lifetime achievement award presented to Tel Aviv University professor emerita Dina Porat.

Stories You May Have Missed

NO FLIGHT PLAN

House Democrats introduce legislation to block sale of jet engines to Turkey

Turkish Stars, aerobatic team of the Turkish Air Force perform a demonstration flight during the Youth and Aviation Festival organized by the Ministry of National Defense to mark the 115th anniversary of the Turkish Air Force in Izmir, Turkiye on June 07, 2026.

Rep. Dina Titus is leading the Joint Resolution of Disapproval against the Trump administration’s $700 million sale of F110 jet engines to Turkey despite legal restrictions on U.S. military sales to the country

Read more

BOOKSHELF

In new book, former AJC chief David Harris traces antisemitism’s past — and warns about its present

Harris told JI he’s both ‘a believer in the possibility of change’ and has ‘never been more worried in my adult lifetime than I am right now’

David Harris/book cover

By

Haley Cohen

June 26, 2026

David Harris spent more than three decades leading the American Jewish Committee, where he navigated crises facing the Jewish community and built bipartisan coalitions to advance the group’s mission of supporting Israel and Diaspora Jewry.

His book, Antisemitism: What Everyone Needs to Know, published by Oxford University Press last year, is Harris’ attempt to reach beyond the Jewish community — churches, classrooms and the “average New York Times reader.” His goal, he said, is to turn the “silent majority” into the “loud majority.”

Written in the shadow of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks in Israel, the book arrived at a moment of surging antisemitism in the U.S. and around the world. It traces antisemitism from its ancient roots through the Holocaust, the Soviet era and its recent resurgence — the explosion on college campuses and beyond after Oct. 7 and the ensuing war in Gaza.

Harris, who quipped that he retired “for about 30 seconds” after serving as AJC’s CEO from 1990–2022, sat down with Jewish Insider on Thursday to discuss the book at a moment in which he said he has “never been more worried” about antisemitism — yet also remains optimistic about the Jewish future.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Jewish Insider: Oxford University Press called you about writing this book in the fall of 2023 — weeks after the Oct. 7 attacks. You write that you were “honored but distressed by the need for such a book.” How much did the aftermath of the attacks reshape the book you thought you were going to write?

David Harris: That call was not directly related to Oct. 7, it was too close to the attacks to even have associated [the rise of] antisemitism with it. Antisemitism was surging [already] in general. They needed a book that would be easily accessible to a high number of people, to be able to reach the average New York Times reader. It was also meant for high school and college classrooms and churches. They understood the emerging problem and this was their contribution.

I wrote the book over the span of close to two years during the post-Oct. 7 period. Two things impacted me: the speed and virulence of which history was turned on its head. The worst day in Israeli and Jewish history since the end of World War II had before our eyes suddenly become directed at Jews, Zionists [and] friends of Israel who were suddenly seen as the perpetrators. Even with my understanding of the subject matter, I was stunned by how quickly and viciously it turned.

Number two is that I kept needing to add to the book because every day brought new events, insights and tragedies. At a certain point the publishers had to remind me this wasn’t a newspaper, we have to close the book at some point. There’s already room for a sequel, unfortunately.

JI: How are you reaching a wider, non-Jewish audience? Does the average American want to read about antisemitism? What has been their reaction to the book?

DH: Because Oxford University Press [is a major publisher], it’s not so easy for people who are otherwise ready to go after a book on antisemitism, such as the one that I wrote, to discredit or marginalize it with accusations like “Harris is a Zionist.” The publisher’s label is enormously important for the book’s credibility and reach.

Jews are also an important part of the audience. I learned from writing the book. Others can learn from reading the book.

I wrote this book with the hope that I’d be able to speak to non-Jewish audiences as well. So when one of the largest Methodist churches in the U.S., in Kansas City, with more than 30,000 worshippers a week, invited me to come speak, I was in my happy place. They invited me to come and could not have been more gracious. The response was very good. There was also a large gathering of interfaith leaders while I was in Kansas City. I want to reach well beyond the Jewish community because antisemitism is not a Jewish problem that can be solved by Jews. We need to engage good people, the silent majority, and help turn them into the loud majority.

It seems to me the larger goal, and this book is only a part of it, is to reach and mobilize the heart of America to understand the situation and the implications not just for Jews but for liberal values for all of us. It may begin with Jews, it never ends with Jews. The people burning the American flag are the very same people trampling on the Israeli flag and threatening Jews.

JI: Where do you see the line between criticism of Israel and antisemitism — and has that line shifted since Oct. 7?

DH: For me, the line has not shifted. It’s just been more revealed. In the book I quote Natan Sharansky, one of my heroes, who wrote a number of years ago there’s “three Ds” to answer that question. When criticism of Israel evolves into delegitimization of Israel, demonizing of Israel and the use of double standards, it’s clear people cannot hide behind their defense of just being critical.

It’s a more elegantly linguistic way of being antisemitic while claiming you’re only anti-Zionist.

JI: The book documents the near-total disappearance of 850,000 Jews from Muslim-majority countries since 1948. Why does that history get so little mainstream attention, and why does it matter now?

DH: It’s a question I know all too well because I’m married to one of those 850,000 Jews and have been for 51 years. I’ve seen this issue play out through my wife’s experience post-expulsion from Libya in 1967 and I’ve seen it play out in my global diplomacy where every time I raise this issue I’m usually met by an eye roll — a complete lack of interest.

One reason is the Palestinians have done an exceptionally good job of making the world believe they are the perpetual refugees and have elevated victimhood to a whole new level. Those 850,000 Jews really determined from the get-go that they were not going to create lifelong victimhood, they were going to build new lives. And they did very successfully, so they didn’t become professional storytellers of their plight and loss.

But my wife says they are triple victims. First, they were expelled or forced to flee their country, their ancestral homeland. Two, the world looked away. Three, there is no trace of a 2,000-plus year history of the Jewish presence in Libyan history today. There is nothing, they’ve been completely wiped out. With the exception of Morocoo, that is true for most of these countries which these refugees had to flee.

JI: There’s a chapter detailing the campus antisemitism surge. Jewish groups told Jewish Insider two months after the Oct. 7 attacks that they were taking an engage-and-influence approach with diversity, equity and inclusion frameworks that have been used to exclude Jews from protected minority status on some campuses, which some attribute to the rise in antisemitism. Then in 2024, the same groups said they were reassessing their embrace of DEI. What is your approach? Is DEI fixable?

DH: For many years Jewish organizations relied on one weapon with campuses, so to speak. That was called reason, sitting down with the president or provost and reasoning with them to help them understand why antisemitism is unacceptable. Clearly, after Oct. 7 that dependence on reason was proven to be totally ineffective in most places.

What instead is more effective is taking the gloves off — lawfare. I particularly applaud the students at Harvard, Penn, George Washington University and other schools who took the lead here. While sitting on campuses, they were suing those campuses for violation of their rights. The organizations that got behind the students, groups like the Lawfare Project and Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and law firms that have stepped up pro bono, all deserve huge credit.

I retired for about 30 seconds after I stepped down from my position at AJC. I joined the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy because I thought they were really onto something regarding campuses that no one else that I knew was looking at carefully, long before Oct. 7, and that was foreign funding — where was it coming from? What was its intent? Why were universities in many cases violating American law by not reporting those gifts? Today it’s part of the national discourse to follow the money. These ecosystems directly and indirectly penetrated campuses at many levels, student organizations, faculty and staff, liberal arts, social sciences, Middle East study centers. They penetrated over many years in a very systematic and focused way.

The combination of deep research and the ability to get the research into policymakers, in the university world and the political world together with lawfare are the strategies that I think are most effective.

The students on campus are the frontline warriors of the Jewish people. They deserve the absolute backing of the American Jewish community.

JI: You led AJC for more than 30 years — you’ve seen Jewish organizational leadership up close across decades of crises. How do you assess how today’s Jewish leaders have responded to the post-Oct. 7 surge in antisemitism, and what would you tell them to do differently?

DH: Our community is several steps behind where it should be. We are at war. It’s a war designed to drive a wedge between the U.S. and Israel. It has fueled antisemitism and in many cases attacked and isolated Jews. Unlike in Israel, I don’t see the war mindset, plans and leaders here. I sometimes wonder, if the American Jewish community had been asked to organize D-Day, could the community have actually come together and created a single, comprehensive plan and followed it? I’m not sure. Based on the post-Oct. 7 situation here in this country, I worry we are not where we should be — where we need to be.

JI: You built AJC’s influence partly through bipartisan relationships. Is that model still viable, or does the current political environment force Jewish organizations to choose sides?

DH: It certainly elevates the importance of groups like the Republican Jewish Coalition and the Democratic Majority for Israel. Support for Israel, in both political parties, can obviously no longer be taken for granted. That’s especially true now in the Democratic Party, all the more so after the primary election in New York earlier this week.

But there’s also an emerging cultural war inside the Republican Party. While I operated for nearly 50 years in the nonpartisan space, and positioned AJC as a nonpartisan organization with outreach at the highest level to both parties, today I would say it’s particularly important Jewish groups are operating inside multiple parties in a very partisan way.

It’s clear that we have enormous work to do in the Democratic Party. It was not long ago that [Sens.] Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) were the outliers when it came to Israel and the Middle East. Fast forward a couple of years and they are now the clear majority. Every Jewish organization looking for a Democrat from Washington lines up to invite Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA). If he’s not available, they’re all baffled as to who else to invite from the contingent of Democrats in the U.S. Senate.

The question for the 501(c)(3) groups that are nonpartisan is, what do they bring to the table? In an earlier era, Jews were seen as a very important constituency with many voices, reach and impact. I’m not sure what the power equation is today for nonprofit Jewish organizations and why people in Washington should listen to them as they would have a few years ago.

The challenge for Jewish organizations is how to restore their indispensability to the national conversation. Posting on X, issuing statements, if no one is reading them or thinking about the messaging then what’s been accomplished? There is a huge amount of work to be done. I hope and pray the American Jewish community is up to the task.

JI: After immersing yourself in this history, are you more or less optimistic than when you started?

DH: I could not have spent 50 plus years in global Jewish advocacy without being a believer in the possibility of change for the better. I’ve seen it in my lifetime. I’ve seen the miracle of the rescue of Jews from the Soviet Union and the rescue of Jews from Ethiopia.

I also understand as a Jew I’m commanded to believe in the possibility of a better tomorrow and not to succumb to despair. Having said all of that, I would be totally dishonest if I didn’t tell you that I’ve never been more worried in my adult lifetime than I am right now.

concession speech

Ousted Dan Goldman warns antisemitism will be ‘undoing of our democracy’

The defeated New York congressman pointed to antisemitic attacks during his campaign while urging Democrats to remain a broad coalition

(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) speaks at a news conference on June 18, 2025 in New York City.

By

Matthew Kassel

June 24, 2026

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), a pro-Israel Jewish Democrat who was unseated in a bitter primary on Tuesday, warned in his concession speech that antisemitism “will ultimately be the undoing of our democracy if we all don’t lean in and speak out.”

“Jews have given back so much to this country,” the two-term lawmaker said. “As history has taught us, antisemitic tropes and stereotypes, some of which I heard personally on this campaign, will ultimately be the undoing of our democracy if we all don’t lean in and speak out — even if it’s not politically expedient.”

Goldman, who was resoundingly defeated by Brad Lander, the former city comptroller backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, faced blowback during the campaign over his support for Israel and ties to the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC — some of which invoked hostile antisemitic rhetoric.

In the final days of the primary, a Brooklyn coffee shop Goldman patronized wrote in an incendiary online post it was banning him over his pro-Israel views, calling him a “genocide enabler” and saying his purchase “probably” came from AIPAC — which endorsed him but did not engage directly in the race.

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division said Monday it had opened an investigation into the cafe for discrimination, though Goldman clarified he did not believe the incident warranted legal scrutiny.

“Every day I tried to approach this job with integrity, with seriousness and courage to stand up for what is right, even when it was not politically expedient,” the ousted congressman said in his concession speech, in an apparent reference to his defense of Israel over the course of the primary.

Goldman, a former federal prosecutor who rose to national prominence as the lead counsel during President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, shared a range of progressive policy views with Lander, a fellow Jewish Democrat who identifies as a progressive Zionist.

Despite their agreements on several key issues, the race ultimately became a referendum on support for Israel in the Democratic Party and Goldman’s refusal to disavow his Zionist ideals. He lost by more than 30 points, with 90% of the vote tallied as of Wednesday.

Lander, who accused Israel of genocide in Gaza and called for ending U.S. aid to the Jewish state, largely aligned his campaign with the anti-Zionist far left as he touted his endorsement from Mamdani, a key ally who also played a decisive role in helping elevate two democratic socialists with records of vocal anti-Israel activism to the nomination on Tuesday.

In his victory speech, Lander, who won a decisive 66% of the vote in New York’s 10th Congressional District, praised Goldman “for how he responded to some of the toxic rhetoric that he and his staff faced over the past couple days,” saying his opponent had acted “with grace and with gratitude.”

“That is something we need more of in our politics,” Lander added.

Even as he raised alarms about antisemitism on the left, Goldman called on his supporters to “remember the enemy to all that we want and all that we hope for is in the White House, not in our own party.”

The Democratic Party, Goldman said, “has always been at its strongest when it has welcomed a broad coalition of voices united by those shared democratic values of equal rights, social justice, human rights.”

“We have never required unanimity of opinion to stand together against the forces that truly threaten our democracy,” he argued in his concession speech. “And we should not demonize, or push away, anyone who shares our mutual goals.”

A spokesperson for Goldman did not respond to a request for an interview on Wednesday.

Daily Overtime

Jerusalem’s ‘train wreck’ warning

Plus, NYC first lady snubs Brad Lander on primary day

Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images

Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter speaks to reporters after a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese delegations hosted by the United States at the State Department in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2026.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

June 23, 2026

Good Tuesday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The U.S. and Iran continued to offer conflicting accounts of the agreement reached over the weekend: President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social this morning that Iran “fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future,” without which “there would be no further negotiations.” But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said it was untrue and that the parties had not discussed any nuclear issues.

About Tehran’s denial, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. “know[s] what [Iran] agreed to do, and now they’ll either do it or they won’t. And if they do, the process moves forward. And if they don’t, the president will have some decisions to make”…

Trump also said in his post that the funds received by Iran through the deal will go “into escrow, controlled by the U.S.A., and will be used for the purchase of food and medical supplies.” Yet the Treasury Department’s waiver of Iranian oil sanctions contains no such language and the text of the memorandum of understanding says unfrozen Iranian assets “shall be made fully usable” for “any ultimate beneficiary designated by the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran”…

Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were in Muscat speaking with Omani leaders about the Strait of Hormuz: In a joint statement, the parties said their foreign ministries will work towards an agreement on the “future administration” of the strait, the “services that will be provided in this regard and the costs associated with them,” as the Trump administration has repeatedly stated it will not accept any tolls placed on transit through the key waterway…

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was also abroad, meeting in Islamabad with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, where Pezeshkian said Iran’s ballistic missile program “will never be” up for negotiation with the U.S…

Jerusalem is publicly expressing concern about the Lebanon deconfliction mechanism established by the U.S. and Iran for the first time, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports: At the opening of Israel and Lebanon’s fifth round of direct talks taking place in Washington today, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter claimed the parties are “heading towards a train wreck.”

Leiter said he’s “concerned the concept of deconfliction is misplaced” because “Israel is not in conflict with Lebanon,” and that Israel had assumed “the central issue was Lebanon and Hezbollah — not the extent to which Iran could restrain Hezbollah. That is not Iran’s role”…

Rubio, arriving in Abu Dhabi, said the U.S.-Iran and Israel-Lebanon tracks “are separate because Lebanon is a sovereign country,” and that the U.S. is “going to negotiate a deal directly with the Lebanese government,” without mentioning Israel.

Rubio also made clear that Iran is responsible for much of the terror activity in the Middle East, striking a different tone than that of Vice President JD Vance, JI’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports, after Vance said yesterday the U.S. is counting on Iran to “rein in” Hezbollah…

The Senate passed a war powers resolution this afternoon directing the administration to withdraw U.S. forces from Iran, 50-48, with GOP Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) voting in favor with Democrats,JI’s Marc Rod reports.

The resolution, now passed by both chambers, came as a concurrent resolution — meaning it will not be submitted to the president and, based on past court precedent, is not seen as carrying the force of law…

A manifesto allegedly left by the gunman behind yesterday’s rampage in Côte-des-Neiges, a heavily Jewish neighborhood in Montreal, repeatedly targeted Jews and Zionists, specifically identifying “influential Zionists” among his intended victims, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…

New York City First Lady Rama Duwaji posted an Instagram story today flashing an “I Voted” sticker and encouraging her followers to support two congressional candidates endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America: Assemblymember Claire Valdez and doctoral candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier. Not receiving a mention was the only Jewish congressional candidate endorsed by her husband: former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, JI’s Will Bredderman reports…

Ammar Campa-Najjar, a DSA-backed candidate who was recently defeated in his run for a California congressional seat, launched a new PAC called Democratic Majority for America — a counter to Democratic Majority for Israel, which organized against him in the June primary — to support progressive candidates who want to end aid to Israel, Politico reports.

The PAC, which Campa-Najjar said has about $100,000 in cash on hand, has already endorsed California congressional candidate Randy Villegas and far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed…

AIPAC’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project, has spent more than $38 million backing candidates this election cycle so far through direct and indirect spending, according to Politico, surpassing the $26 million it spent on the 2022 midterms…

The Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, headed by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, announced the formation of its inaugural advisory board, including Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, Dentons CEO Kate Barton, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for primary results from key races in New York and Maryland, as well as a postmortem on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s ability to wield his political capital in the three congressional races where he endorsed progressive candidates.

President Donald Trump is expected to attend a GOP Senate luncheon as he remains at odds with his party over several legislative efforts and as some Republicans speak out against his efforts to curb Israeli operations against Hezbollah.

In the afternoon, Trump will hold a rally on the National Mall to kick off his Great American State Fair in the lead-up to the country’s 250th anniversary.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is slated to brief House Republicans tomorrow as the Pentagon gears up for a contentious fight over an expected $80 billion supplemental funding request tied largely to the Iran war.

The House Appropriations Committee will mark up the 2027 defense spending bill.

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) will speak in conversation with Jewish Council for Public Affairs CEO Amy Spitalnick as well as leaders from other religious groups, including the Union for Reform Judaism and Orthodox Union, about the Jewish American Security Act.

Stories You May Have Missed

ACROSS THE POND

Starmer’s resignation puts Burnham’s record on Israel, antisemitism in the spotlight

Labour Party MP Andy Burnham greets supporters at the Labour campaign HQ on June 18, 2026 in Ashton-in-Makerfield, England.

Jewish leaders view Andy Burnham as an ally in the fight against antisemitism, but his expected bid for the premiership is renewing scrutiny of his views on Israel and Labour’s post-Corbyn direction

Read more

Analysis

How Hoyer’s team helped pro-Israel allies organize against left-wing opposition

In throwing his support behind Adrian Boafo, Hoyer is using his connections to party leaders and ties with pro-Israel groups to boost his hand-picked choice to the nomination for a safely blue seat

Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD) speaks at a press conference in Washington, DC on February 24, 2025.

By

Matthew Kassel

June 23, 2026

As Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) prepares to step down at the end of his current term, the former Democratic House majority leader is staking his pro-Israel legacy on a little-known candidate who he hopes will uphold his long-standing commitment to maintaining a close relationship with the Jewish state.

In throwing his support behind Adrian Boafo, a 32-year-old Maryland state delegate who is among nearly two dozen Democratic candidates running in Maryland’s 5th Congressional District primary on Tuesday, Hoyer, 87, is using his connections to establishment party leaders and ties with pro-Israel groups to boost his hand-picked choice to the nomination for a safely blue seat.

United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s super PAC, has emerged as the biggest spender in the race, investing more than $5.7 million as part of an aggressive effort to promote Boafo launched by Hoyer and his allies.

The well-funded foray is a useful illustration of the degree to which planning and organization helped put Boafo in contention for the seat Hoyer has held for 45 years, in contrast with recent primaries where UDP and other pro-Israel advocacy groups have been relatively cautious with their engagement while being outflanked by the far left.

A UDP source, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the race, said polling showed Boafo was not in the lead when Hoyer endorsed him in January. “It’s a super close race that could go either way,” the source told Jewish Insider on Monday, stressing a high level of undecided primary voters. “Many candidates are in contention.”

One Jewish Democrat in Maryland told JI that Hoyer “put a heavy finger on the scale” in the race, calling in “chits” with influential Democratic officials who gave endorsements to Boafo, such as Gov. Wes Moore and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) — both of whom are featured in UDP’s ad blitz that began late last month.

Boafo also gained support from Democratic Majority for Israel’s super PAC led by Brian Romick, a former longtime senior aide to Hoyer. The group backed him on its first slate of non-incumbent endorsements not long after Hoyer had expressed his preference in the race. Boafo is a former campaign manager for Hoyer.

In New York City’s closely watched primaries on Tuesday, meanwhile, UDP and DMFI PAC have largely been absent from key races where far-left challengers are threatening to unseat pro-Israel incumbents. Polling has indicated that Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) is facing long odds against Brad Lander, a former city comptroller, while Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) hopes to fend off Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist insurgent with a long record of anti-Israel activism.

Both Lander and Avila Chevalier have been buoyed by endorsements from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — who is using his own early political capital on a risky gambit to help lift a slate of candidates that has angered the Democratic establishment.

Mamdani has also joined forces with the Democratic Socialists of America’s New York City chapter, which is flexing its local organizational muscle to help Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez, a state assemblymember who is facing off against Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, a progressive backed by retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY).

Even as far-left super PACs like American Priorities, a new group created to counter AIPAC’s spending in Democratic primaries, have been surging money into New York City, UDP has remained on the sidelines — with the exception of money it recently funneled to a pro-Espaillat super PAC disclosed in campaign filings late last week. Still, the pro-Israel group has not been directly engaged in New York City, despite its historic support for Goldman and Espaillat.

UDP has reason for caution, as AIPAC’s brand has become toxic among a growing number of Democrats who have vowed to reject its support and view it as a noxious presence in contested primaries.

Pro-Israel activists speculated UDP chose to stay out of a crowded House contest in New Jersey this month featuring some credible moderate candidates because it had earlier bungled its involvement in another race in the state with an aggressive spending strategy that inadvertently helped elevate a far-left Israel critic to a seat in the House.

In the June primary, some Jewish leaders in New Jersey questioned if UDP’s lack of involvement had helped the nominee, Adam Hamawy, avoid credible opposition — even as he faced scrutiny over his past ties to a radical Muslim cleric convicted of terrorism.

Now, however, UDP is embracing a more proactive approach in Maryland as it seeks to push Boafo past the finish line on Tuesday, in a maneuver suggesting that it is comfortable courting a moderate voter base that Hoyer has represented as a staunch supporter of Israel as well as a close AIPAC ally.

While UDP has faced backlash from the left, the response has been largely reactive. In recent weeks, for instance, the group has drawn criticism from Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a vocal detractor of Israel, who has accused AIPAC and crypto-linked interests in the race of “trying to buy” the seat, which extends southward from the eastern Washington suburbs of Prince George’s County. Van Hollen has not made an endorsement in the race.

Meanwhile, three Democratic primary candidates, including Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker and businesswoman Quincy Bareebe, teamed up to decry the flood of outside spending that is shaping the race.

“Special interests don’t spend money out of civic goodwill,” Baker said last week. “They spend the kind of money that we see because they expect someone to work for them.”

Dunn, who faced opposition from UDP in a separate race last cycle, has claimed Boafo is “benefiting from the MAGA donors who fund AIPAC.”

In an unusual move, UDP released an ad last week seeking to counter the negative attention in which Hoyer himself spoke in a direct-to-camera appeal.

“You’ve probably seen the attacks on Adrian Boafo,” Hoyer said. “Let’s get something straight. Adrian is a man of deep integrity. He has the courage to stand up to any special interest. I trust him. You can, too.”

For his part, Boafo pledges on his campaign site to “strengthen the U.S.-Israel alliance and ensure” it “has the security assistance it needs to defend itself,” but has distanced himself from UDP, saying in response to Van Hollen’s remarks “that big money has no place in politics.”

His comments illustrate how even as AIPAC seeks to build new relationships amid declining support from Democratic members, its preferred candidates are — at least publicly — keeping the group at arm’s length.

If Boafo prevails in Tuesday’s primary, though, his victory could also help AIPAC to reset the narrative, while providing the group with a potential blueprint for engagement in future races as it seeks to fend off the anti-Israel left.

Daily Overtime

Crude awakening — Trump opens Tehran’s tap

Plus, the White House amplifies Al Jazeera

Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The Brent crude oil price chart is displayed on a mobile screen on March 2, 2026.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

June 22, 2026

Good Monday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Three people were killed in a shooting attack today in Côte-des-Neiges, a heavily Jewish neighborhood in Montreal, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen and Tamara Zieve report. A civilian, a police officer and the suspect were confirmed dead by Montreal police, while one other police officer was seriously injured but in stable condition. Police said the suspect’s motive is still under investigation. Stay updated on this developing story with JI’s What We’re Watching briefing…

After the U.S. and Iran agreed to create a “deconfliction cell” for military operations in Lebanon during their negotiations yesterday, Vice President JD Vance said at a press conference today that the U.S. will be counting on Iran to “rein in” Hezbollah — without acknowledging that Tehran offers material backing to its proxy in Lebanon, JI’s Matthew Shea reports.

Vance called Hezbollah’s attacks on northern Israel and the IDF’s retaliation “a bit of a chicken and egg problem, that you’ve got a junior guy who fires a drone that didn’t have approval from the high command. Of course Israel has to respond to that,” he acknowledged, “but … we could actually have a better and more peaceful situation if Israel responds in the context of a conversation that’s ongoing between Hezbollah, Lebanon, Israel and other partners in the region”…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to push back on Vance’s framing, saying in a video statement this morning that his directive to the IDF “has not changed: Our fighters in southern Lebanon have full freedom of action to thwart any direct or developing threat to them or to the residents of the north. The IDF has no restrictions on this matter,” he said, while the tenuous ceasefire with Hezbollah appeared to hold today…

Vance also announced Iran had agreed to let U.N. nuclear inspectors back into the country, and President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that “everybody is fully aware” Iran will agree to “have Major Weapons Inspections in order to ensure ‘Nuclear Honesty’ long into the future,” but Esmail Baghaei, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, told state media that Iran made “no new commitments” regarding inspections…

Pursuant to the agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran over the weekend, the Treasury Department issued a waiver lifting decades-old U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil for the next 60 days, permitting imports of Iranian oil directly to the U.S. and paying for the goods in U.S. dollars.

Asked this afternoon in the Oval Office if he can ensure that Iran won’t use the funds for military purposes, Trump said, “They’re not supposed to be doing that, so we’ll see, but they’re supposed to use the money to buy food for their people.” AIPAC described the waiver as “broader than the terms detailed in the MOU or what was included in the JCPOA”…

The White House’s “Rapid Response” X account boosted an Al Jazeera video interview about the negotiations with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, calling it “the real story from people actually in the room”…

Avigdor Liberman, head of Israel’s Yisrael Beiteinu party and a leading opponent of Netanyahu, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that the “deal between Washington and Tehran won’t stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power. It will guarantee it.” He called for Jerusalem to “inform Washington that Israel won’t accept any linkage between Iran and Lebanon” and end its reliance on U.S. missile systems, preparing to attack key Iranian infrastructure if Tehran strikes Israel…

Asked about her stance on Israel in a rare nationally televised interview on Fox News today, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said she “remain[s] a very strong supporter of Israel” despite rising hostility to Israel and AIPAC among the American public, which she said “sadly reflects rising antisemitism in our country that” her opponent, Democratic nominee Graham Platner, “certainly is part of.”

“It’s important to recognize that AIPAC is made up of Americans who care deeply about our relationship with Israel. Platner makes it sound like this is some sort of evil foreign influence and that is absolutely wrong,” Collins continued…

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani doubled down on his rhetorical assault on AIPAC today, JI’s Will Bredderman reports, after Jewish groups over the weekend criticized his comments about the pro-Israel organization at a rally last week that they argued evoked classic antisemitic tropes.

Mamdani defended naming AIPAC among the “monsters who move dark money” as a reference to a widely known misquote of 20th-century Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci, and backed up his argument with statistics from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry alleging that the IDF has killed more than 1,000 Palestinians since the ceasefire last fall…

JI’s Christina Sher looks at the state of tomorrow’s Democratic primary for executive of Montgomery County, Md., as all three of the front-runners — County Councilmembers Will Jawando, Andrew Friedson and Evan Glass — have been outspoken against antisemitism, but diverge in their policy positions and views on Israel…

Three men killed in asmall plane crash in Bowie, Md., on Saturday night have been identified as Israeli citizens, JI’s Haley Cohen reports: Yoav Bomrind, 26, David Rabinovitz, 19, and Elad Neidik, 20, boarded the single-engine plane in Ocean City, N.J., for a training flight before it crashed just outside Washington, D.C…

Alan Greenspan — the influential economist who led the Federal Reserve across four presidencies and whose track record guiding economic growth earned him status as an economic “maestro” — died today at 100, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how pro-Israel groups’ intervention in the race to replace retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) — where they are supporting state Delegate Adrian Boafo — revealed a more proactive strategy for taking on the left than the one the groups have employed in New York City’s Democratic primaries, as voters in both states head to the polls tomorrow.

Israeli and Lebanese representatives are expected to meet in Washington to continue their direct negotiations, as the U.S. and Iran seek to intervene in ending military operations in Lebanon.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will embark on a three-day trip to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain to discuss issues including the memorandum of understanding with Iran and transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

Orthodox Union Advocacy will hold its annual lobbying day on the Hill, including a luncheon with senators from both parties and a speech by Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter.

The Jerusalem News Syndicate’s policy summit continues in Jerusalem with remarks from former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, Netanyahu advisor Michael Eisenberg and Magen David Adom President Gilad Erdan.

Stories You May Have Missed

WASHINGTON WATCH

D.C. Jewish leaders taking wait-and-see approach to Lewis George’s expected mayoralty

Mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George celebrates her early lead at her election night party at the Howard Theatre on June 16, 2026 in Washington, DC.

JCRC CEO Ron Halber said he hopes to work with the DSA member, despite his strident criticism of the group, while remaining vigilant

Read more

COMMON DENOMINATOR

Mamdani’s House candidates attack Israel in closing arguments

Brad Lander, Claire Valdez, and Darializa Avila Chevalier are all demonizing the Jewish state in the runup to Tuesday’s primary

Congressional candidate Claire Valdez, Congressional candidate Brad Lander, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier raise their hands during a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) rally at King's Theater on June 18, 2026 in New York City (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

By

Will Bredderman

June 20, 2026

The battle for three Democratic congressional primaries in New York City has been defined by a conflict more than 5,000 miles away, with candidates spending the final days before Tuesday’s primary echoing the fiercely anti-Israel rhetoric that helped elevate Mayor Zohran Mamdani to power.

All three of the mayor’s favored contenders for the House — former City Comptroller Brad Lander, Assemblymember Claire Valdez and doctoral student Darializa Avila Chevalier — underscored their criticism of Israel and its U.S. supporters as early voting began in the contested districts.

Avila Chevalier took time in a televised debate on Tuesday to accuse the country of “apartheid” while seeming to compare the actions of Jewish settlers in the West Bank and the IDF in the Gaza Strip to gentrification in the district where she hopes to unseat Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) and other majority-minority areas.

“I saw so many connections between what was happening to Palestinians there in Palestine and what was happening to so many communities across the U.S., particularly Black and Latino communities, who have been priced out and pushed out of our homes,” said Avila Chevalier, who — like most candidates affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America — draws her strongest support from predominantly white and highly educated residents of the district.

“When we talk about displacement in the West Bank and Gaza, it is a very similar, visually similar situation, where people who have been in a place for generations, are being displaced because of corporate interests, because of folks who are coming in, claiming the land over, and buying it up and kicking the people who live there out.”

Avila Chevalier, who has come under fire for attending an anti-Israel demonstration one day after the Oct. 7 attacks, added during the debate that the “very institutions” involved in both the Holy Land and urban America are the same.

Valdez, vying against Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso for the seat of retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), has similarly brought Middle Eastern issues into the race for the district spanning parts of Brooklyn and Queens. As a new PAC, Real Fight NYC, began spending hundreds of thousands on ads attacking her record and boosting that of her opponent, the sculptor-turned-socialist lawmaker inaccurately suggested pro-Israel interests were behind the effort.

“Is it actually AIPAC?” Valdez speculated in a thread on X. “This is a well-established pattern from AIPAC and its affiliates, especially when there’s only one candidate who’s been clear and consistent against the genocide.”

Reynoso in fact has been a fierce critic of Israeli policy during the race, and the American Federation of Teachers subsequently identified itself as the main sponsor of the ad campaign. Valdez has neither apologized for nor retracted her remarks.

Even former City Comptroller Brad Lander, the lone self-described progressive Zionist among the mayor’s endorsees, spent his final TV face-off against Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) on Monday criticizing the incumbent for his past support for aid packages to Israel and his refusal to call the military campaign in the Gaza Strip “a genocide.” The day before, Lander held a rally with Mamdani and a bevy of left-wing Jewish and Muslim activist groups, which he took as another occasion to condemn Israel.

“We’re united around a belief that a better world is possible — one in which we don’t compromise on anyone’s humanity. One in which we are not complicit in occupation and genocide,” he wrote on X. “One in which everyone has a home they can afford, with no bombs falling on it, in a place where they are both safe and free.”

Mamdani, for his part, vowed at a rally for the trio Thursday evening that they would help combat “monsters” that he claimed dominate the political process. The only such quarry he called out by name, though, was AIPAC.

“AIPAC, for whom the only thing more frightening than democracy being allowed to run its course is an end to genocide and [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu’s wars,” the mayor told the roaring crowd.

Good Thursday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by Senior National Correspondent Gabby Deutch.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stories You May Have Missed

Transferring responsibilities

‘The single best diaspora experience’: Jewish leaders mark America’s 250th with open letter

An America 250 US flag on the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.

The letter urges American Jews to ‘double down’ on civic values as the country marks its 250th

Read more

Daily Overtime

Senators skeptical of Iran MOU

Plus, Qatar complicates Israel-VW deal

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

U.S. President Donald Trump is joined by (L-R) U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as he speaks at a press conference during the G7 Leaders' Summit on June 17, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France.

By

JI Staff

Gabby Deutch

June 17, 2026

Good Wednesday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by Senior National Correspondent Gabby Deutch.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

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

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

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

Stories You May Have Missed

Transferring responsibilities

Education Department to hand civil rights investigations to Justice Department

A person walks past the U.S. Department of Education on March 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.

The move marks a major step in the White House’s efforts to dismantle the Education Department and significantly reduce or distribute its work

Read more

Daily Overtime

Trump berates Bibi over Beirut bombing

Plus, hired hitmen targeting Canadian Jewish sites

Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images

President Donald Trump, right, and Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, during a news conference in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025.

By

JI Staff

Gabby Deutch

June 16, 2026

Good Tuesday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by Senior National Correspondent Gabby Deutch.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Amid reports of tensions between Washington and Jerusalem over the U.S.’ memorandum of understanding with Iran, President Donald Trump on Tuesday criticized Israel’s tactics in Lebanon and suggested Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa might be better positioned to take on Hezbollah, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.

“Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon,” Trump said during a meeting with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France. “If Israel can’t do the job without killing everyone else, he [al-Sharaa] will do the job. Syria will do the job”…

The text of the deal between the U.S. and Iran has still not been released, but Trump on Tuesday pledged to do so after the Friday signing ceremony — though he did not offer specifics.

Trump also said during the meeting with the Qatari emir on Tuesday that the U.S. is “not investing any money in Iran,” even as The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. plans to allow Iran to begin selling oil as soon as the deal is signed…

Later, during a meeting with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Trump said he was hopeful that a full deal would come soon after the MOU because, he asserted, U.S.-Iranian ties had improved.

“The relationship is now normalized,” Trump said. He also said during the meeting with the Emirati leader that he would send the Iran agreement to Congress for review…

After a meeting between G7 leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he has a “certain degree of optimism” about the possibility of peace between Russia and Ukraine after Trump called on Russia to make a deal…

The FBI announced on Tuesday that it had foiled an attack planned targeting the UFC fight at the White House on Sunday, JI’s Marc Rod reports. One suspect allegedly told investigators that the attack was meant to target “capitalist elites,” “billionaires” and politicians linked to AIPAC, according to Fox News…

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) endorsed former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) in her rematch campaign against incumbent Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO), who unseated Bush, a member of the Squad, in 2024 in part with the support of AIPAC…

In his new book, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, Vice President JD Vance recounts a conversation with conservative activist Charlie Kirk two months before Kirk was killed last year, in which Kirk described young conservatives’ anger at “Israeli influence in American politics” and detailed how some were moving from criticism of Israel to antisemitism…

Toronto police warned that young people in Canada are being recruited and paid to carry out attacks against Jewish sites. “It is clear that some of the people hiring these criminals want to create a sense of fear in our communities, including in the Jewish community,” Toronto police chief Myron Demkiw said at a press conference…

Israeli journalist Amir Tibon was awarded the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature for his book The Gates of Gaza, a harrowing first-person account of how his family survived the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and a deep dive into Israel’s policies in Gaza, Jewish Insider’s Christina Sher reports…

Democrats plan to take a tough line against the White House’s request for additional funding for the Defense Department, raising questions about whether the government will shut down again in October, Semafor reports…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at the Trump administration’s announcement earlier today that the Department of Justice will take over many of the responsibilities of the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, marking a major change to the federal office responsible for investigating antisemitic harassment and discrimination at American schools and universities. The move comes as the White House continues to seek to dismantle the Education Department…

Cameron Hilton, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will testify at a confirmation hearing at the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee…

Comedian Amy Schumer and author Jessica Seinfeld will serve as the grand marshals of a kid-friendly New York Knicks ticker-tape parade outside the Children’s Museum of Manhattan at 4 p.m.…

Stories You May Have Missed

DEBATE NIGHT

Goldman criticizes AIPAC despite endorsement in debate with Lander

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander debates Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), June 15, 2026

The trailing Democratic incumbent said the pro-Israel group is ‘harmful in many ways’ despite receiving its backing, while Lander defended appearing in an ad with Mamdani allies

Read more

Analysis

Israel divisions and a Trump threat shape Washington’s first open mayor’s race in 12 years

Divisions over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have surfaced in a way that would once have been unexpected in a municipal election

Pete Kiehart for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Mayoral candidates participate in the Free DC candidate forum, an event for constituents to meet and question candidates for mayor and congressional delegate, on March 14, 2026 in the Southeast neighborhood of Washington, DC. Candidates attending the mayoral forum included, from left to right, Janeese Lewis George, Gary Goodweather, Yaida Ford, and Kenyan McDuffie.

By

Gabby Deutch

June 16, 2026

Today’s mayoral primary in Washington, D.C., has not gotten the same kind of frenzied national attention that accompanied recent mayoral contests in New York City, which pitted Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, against a centrist Democrat, and in Los Angeles, where Republican Spencer Pratt made an insurgent bid against Mayor Karen Bass and Nithya Raman, a Democrat Socialists of America-affiliated councilmember.

Still, there are some similar dynamics in the race in Washington, where DSA member Janeese Lewis George, a District councilmember, faces Kenyan McDuffie, a former councilmember running a more moderate campaign. And, like in New York, divisions over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have surfaced in a way that would once have been unexpected in a municipal election, at least before the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza.

Early this year, Lewis George sparked concern among some Jewish Washingtonians when she said in a DSA questionnaire that she would not attend events that “promot[e] Zionism” and that she would avoid engaging with “the Israeli government or Zionist lobby groups.”

She has since done a degree of damage control — meeting privately with rabbis and pledging at a Jewish candidate forum last month not to exclude people “based on your opinions or feelings on matters here and across the world,” even as she avoided answering a question asking her to clarify her views on Zionism. In March, she said it is not a conflict to support “Palestinian human rights” and to “stand firm in my commitment against antisemitism.”

McDuffie saw an opening with the DSA endorsement kerfuffle, particularly when talking to Jewish voters, a constituency he has sought to engage. He told Jewish Insider in April that he would not seek the endorsement of DSA or any organization “that requires some sort of divisive pledge to exclude people that are a part of the fabric of the community.” And he has opted not to weigh in on questions about Israel at all, saying it is not the role of a mayor to conduct foreign policy.

But zoom out, and the candidates’ approaches to Israel and Jewish communal issues were not front and center in the closing days of this race. The campaign has otherwise zeroed in on cost-of-living concerns and a dispute over who will better be able to counter President Donald Trump.

Last week, Trump waded into the race for the first time when a reporter asked what he thought of a socialist candidate running a “Zohran Mamdani campaign,” referring to the mayor of New York. “I wouldn’t like it,” he said. “Maybe we’d take back Washington and run it on the federal basis. We won’t put up with it.”

In deep-blue Washington, the threat from Trump has united both McDuffie and Lewis George in doubling down on their opposition to the president and his threat to meddle in local politics, a sensitive topic for the District, which was not allowed by Congress to elect its own government until 1973.

McDuffie told CNN that the best way to counter Trump is not to give him what he wants (namely, Lewis George): “If you believe Donald Trump is a threat to D.C.’s local autonomy, then the last thing we should do is elect someone whose agenda would make it easier for him to justify federal intervention.”

Lewis George called Trump’s comments “an attack on democracy itself.”

“The people of D.C. elect their mayor, and they want someone who’s going to stand up to Donald Trump,” she said in a recent campaign video.

Polling in the race has been scarce. A Washington Post poll conducted in late May found Lewis George leading McDuffie by 11 points, with a quarter of voters still undecided. Today’s election is the first open mayoral race since Mayor Muriel Bowser, who is backing McDuffie, was elected 12 years ago. Whoever wins will usher in a new political era for the nation’s capital.

Daily Overtime

Sign first, negotiate later

Plus, Goldman and Lander face off tonight

Isabel Infantes / AFP via Getty Images

US President Donald Trump attends a working dinner with G7 leaders during the G7 summit in Evian, central-eastern France on June 15, 2026. A G7 summit is set to take place June 15 to 17 in the French town of Evian-les-Bains near Switzerland and it will be attended by country leaders as well as the EU's foreign policy chief and ministers from Brazil, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

By

JI Staff

Gabby Deutch

June 15, 2026

Good Monday afternoon.

This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by Senior National Correspondent Gabby Deutch.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Details of the U.S. deal with Iran remain hazy, even after President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker, virtually signed a memorandum of understanding, as a senior U.S. official confirmed on Monday. Vance is slated to speak with CNN’s Jake Tapper at 5 p.m. today.

The text of the MOU will likely not be released until “sometime after Friday,” Trump, who is in Evian-les-Bains, France, for the G7 summit, said earlier today during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. According to a senior administration official, the MOU sets the stage for future negotiations; the official said that the most hot-button disputes between the two countries — including Iran’s nuclear program and U.S. sanctions — will be discussed only after the MOU is signed. Vance said earlier on Monday that Iran’s nuclear program is already destroyed, and the agreement “is about ensuring that they don’t rebuild it,” Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports…

Trump seemed bullish on the new direction in which U.S.-Iran ties may be headed.

“We got along very well with Iran. It is a different set of leaders. As you know the first set is gone and the second set is gone. We found the third set to be very smart, strong, very smart,” Trump said during his meeting with Macron. “Hopefully it is going to be a good relationship, and we are going to get along. If we don’t, we go back to where we started, but I don’t think that is necessary”…

The Wall Street Journal reports that Israeli officials are “alarmed” by the murky deal, with many concerned that the MOU will provide Iran “with the financial relief it needs to rebuild its shattered economy but doesn’t include a commitment to turn over its enriched uranium”…

In his first statement on the matter, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the recent U.S. and Israeli military campaign against Iran “saved Israel from a nuclear annihilation threat.” He vowed that Iran will never get nuclear weapons, “with or without an agreement”…

Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s political opponents — and even some allies — blasted the premier after the deal was announced.

Yair Lapid, the opposition leader from the centrist Yesh Atid party, said Netanyahu “lost the war.” Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who is also challenging Netanyahu in this year’s elections, said the deal revealed that even after Israeli military successes against Iran, Netanyahu “is once again incapable of turning all of that into lasting security achievements.” Netanyahu also faced criticism from some members of his own coalition, with far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calling the deal “bad for Israel and for the entire free world”…

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said on Monday that he hasn’t yet formed an opinion on the Iran MOU, JI’s Marc Rod reports. “I don’t know enough about it to say” whether it’s a good deal, Thune said…

Major Jewish groups appear to be approaching the deal with caution, JI’s Marc Rod reports. The American Jewish Committee said that as it “await[s] developments about the reported 60-day ceasefire agreement,” the group “remain[s] focused on the underlying threats posed by the Iranian regime that have destabilized the Middle East for decades.” AIPAC framed the MOU as the beginning of a 60-day window for talks. “We look forward to learning the full details of the framework for these negotiations, including whether the deal preserves the sovereign right of our democratic ally Israel to respond to the security threats it confronts,” AIPAC said in a statement.

The right-wing Zionist Organization of America said that the “little that we know is deeply problematic.” Democratic Majority for Israel and the Jewish Democratic Council of America both criticized the deal and Trump’s overall approach to Iran…

Former George W. Bush administration official Joel Scanlon will take over as the new president and CEO of the Hudson Institute, the conservative think tank in Washington announced on Monday, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye out for coverage from Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman from tonight’s PIX11 debate between Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) and Brad Lander ahead of the Democratic primary next week to represent New York’s 10th District.

Voters in Washington, D.C., will go to the polls tomorrow as Janeese Lewis George and Kenyan McDuffie face off in the Democratic primary for mayor. In deep-blue Washington, the primary winner is expected to sail to victory in November. Oklahoma congressional primaries also take place tomorrow, as well as a runoff to decide the Republican Senate candidate in Georgia.

President Donald Trump is in Evian-les-Bains, France, through Wednesday for the annual G7 summit. On Tuesday, he’ll participate in several working sessions with the leaders of the G7 nations — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom — on a range of issues including Ukraine, the Middle East and developing countries. He’ll also hold bilateral meetings with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates.

Stories You May Have Missed

TIME TO TALK

A Lebanese Zionist’s longshot bid to reshape the Middle East

Hagar Hajjar Chemali, who is half Jewish and half Christian, thinks she has a shot at helping break through the deep sectarianism that has led to distrust both within Lebanon and towards Israel

Read more

pitch perfect

Iran’s World Cup appearance puts security officials on alert

Alireza Jahanbakhsh Iran trains with teammates one day ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group G match between IR Iran and New Zealand at Centro Xoloitzcuintle on June 14, 2026 in Tijuana, Mexico.

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said she was briefed on a ‘credible threat’ to the city and decided to turn on CCTV cameras around the soccer stadium for the games

Read more

Daily Overtime

Pentagon prepares for ‘busy’ night in Iran

Plus, Ron Klain goes to bat for Platner

Getty Images

A large plume of smoke rises over Tehran after explosions were reported in the city during the night on March 28, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

June 10, 2026

This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

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

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

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

Stories You May Have Missed

SIDESTEPPING QUESTIONS

Senior House Democrats profess ignorance of Hamawy’s controversial past

Dr. Adam Hamawy speaks during an AFP interview after meetings on Capitol Hill, in Washington DC, on June 14, 2024.

House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Greg Meeks said of the Democratic N.J. congressional nominee, ‘I don’t like to talk about somebody I don’t know’

Read more

MAINE CHARACTER

Graham Platner survives scandals to win Dem nomination, will face Sen. Susan Collins

In his victory speech, Platner railed against the political establishment and criticized U.S. wars in the Middle East

Sophie Park/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Graham Platner, Democratic Senate candidate for Maine, arrives to speak during a Fighting Oligarchy event in Portland, Maine, on May 25, 2026.

By

Josh Kraushaar

June 9, 2026

Maine Democrats rallied behind scandal-plagued oyster farmer and military veteran Graham Platner as their Senate nominee against Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in Tuesday’s primary, turning to a left-wing outsider running against the political and institutional establishment as its standard-bearer for the general election.

Platner — whose controversies, including his now-covered Nazi tattoo and abuse allegations, have unnerved many Democrats — will be a political test over whether his brand of progressive populism can win over swing voters in a state critical to the Democrats’ hopes of winning back the Senate.

“In trying so hard to understand me, [the media] failed to understand that this is not about me at all. This is a movement about us, about the far too many, working far too hard and struggling far too much,” Platner said in his victory speech.

Attacking “forever wars,” Platner railed against the Trump administration’s war in Iran, and slammed Collins for “closing hospitals while using our tax dollars to destroy them halfway around the world.” (The line was an apparent attack against Israel’s targeting of Hamas terror infrastructure that was often lodged in medical facilities during the war in Gaza.)

Platner won about 72% of the primary vote despite Gov. Janet Mills remaining on the ballot, a solid enough showing amid all the controversies that should mute any calls for him to drop out of the race. In a statement on Platner’s victory, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) reiterated their support for the nominee: “In November, Maine voters will elect Graham Platner, and we will win a Senate majority.”

Mills, for her part, did not mention Platner at all in her statement about the election results.

The most recent polls in the race, conducted as Platner’s scandals hit the news, suggest a highly competitive matchup between Collins and Platner. Maine is the only state Trump lost in the 2024 presidential election that is represented by a Republican in the Senate, but Platner’s personal baggage is complicating the party’s path to victory.

Collins, meanwhile, is one of the most politically resilient senators, winning reelection even when the political environment for her party has been less than favorable.

Platner was surrounded by mostly older women as he delivered his victory speech, a critical constituency for him to win in the general election in the state with the oldest median population, especially given the allegations of abuse towards several ex-girlfriends.

In other primary news on Tuesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) coasted to renomination, though he only won 58% of the GOP vote against weak competition.

In his victory speech, Graham railed against Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), two isolationist, anti-Israel GOP lawmakers who left or were ousted from Congress. “What did we prove tonight? That South Carolina is Trump country, not Massie country. We proved tonight that nobody gives a damn what Marjorie Taylor Greene thinks about who to vote for in South Carolina,” Graham said.

In South Carolina’s governor’s race, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, will face state Attorney General Alan Wilson in a runoff for the nomination. Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Nancy Mace (R-SC) lagged well behind in the primary, with Mace’s fifth-place finish serving as a disappointing conclusion to her congressional career.

Daily Overtime

Helicopter down, Iran tensions up

Plus, Israeli confidence in Trump hits new low

U.S. Navy via Getty Images

A U.S. Sailor signals the launch of an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter, attached to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 70, on the flight deck of the world's largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), while supporting Operation Epic Fury on February 28, 2026.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

June 9, 2026

This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stories You May Have Missed

MOUNTING SCRUTINY

Will Avila Chevalier’s ‘beyond the pale’ views sink the DSA challenger’s campaign against Espaillat?

Avila Chevalier has a long record of extreme views, including calling for the abolition of police, voicing pro-Russia sentiment and rejecting Israel’s existence

Read more

Daily Overtime

Trump warns Bibi: ‘You will be on your own’ if…

Plus, AIPAC wades into Mich. Senate race

SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 7, 2025.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

June 8, 2026

This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump cautioned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that if Israel went forward with a plan to escalate its strikes on Iran today, “you will be on your own very soon,” the president recalled in an interview with Axios, after which the Israeli leader reportedly called off the attack. Trump also claimed the U.S. and Iran are nearing a “phenomenal deal. We are getting everything we wanted”…

Netanyahu subsequently said in a video statement that, while Israel is “holding its fire” against Iran, Jerusalem has “a full right to self-defense” and is “exercising it to the extent necessary” — a message he said he relayed “with appreciation and respect in my good conversations with my friend President Trump.” But Netanyahu warned that if Iran resumes its attacks on Israel, the IDF would respond with “overwhelming force”…

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, said in an address today that Iran’s simultaneous military strikes and diplomacy are part of an intentional strategy and that, though Tehran is seeking to end the war, it does not want to normalize relations with Washington…

U.S. forces disabled another empty oil tanker attempting to sail to Iranian ports today after it failed to disobey orders to stop by firing a precision munition into the ship’s engineering and steering spaces, CENTCOM announced. It’s the seventh such vessel U.S. forces have disabled since the blockade began…

Thirty-eight Senate Democrats, led by Sens. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), demanded in a letter to Trump that the administration provide Congress with the legal opinion backing its determination that U.S. hostilities against Iran have ended, given the ongoing strikes and U.S. presence in the region…

At next week’s G7 summit in France, which Trump will be attending, European leaders will attempt to secure the president’s support for a U.K. and France-led effort to de-mine the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reports…

The J7, a coalition of Jewish communal organizations representing the seven largest Jewish Diaspora populations, urged Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to prioritize action over further study after he announced Ottawa’s new Ministerial Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion would examine rising antisemitism in the country.

Arguing that the problem has already been well documented, the groups called for a “whole-of-government” response focused on enforcement and countering extremist ideologies and terror movements…

United Democracy Project, the AIPAC-aligned super PAC, began buying ad time in Michigan today, in what appears to be the pro-Israel group’s first foray into the state’s heated Democratic Senate primary…

The Wall Street Journal interviews activists Daniel Moraff and Leanne Fan, who, along with consultant Morris Katz, recruited Graham Platner to run for Senate in Maine. The two said that their own vetting process of Platner did not turn up the Nazi tattoo he had on his chest, nor the full extent of his controversial Reddit posts, but they believed none of what they had seen at the time “will or should stop him from becoming a U.S. senator”…

The two factions of Williamsburg, Brooklyn’s Satmar community united behind Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in the race to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY). Reynoso, a native of the district, clashed with some of the Hasidic sect’s leaders as a city councilmember but rebuilt relationships in subsequent years. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has found allies in the Satmar sect while in office, is backing Reynoso’s opponent, Assemblymember Claire Valdez…

Ahead of tonight’s Knicks NBA Finals game against the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden, The Forward examines the chant sweeping New York City — “My mayor Muslim, my bagel Jewish, my Christian Dior, Knicks in four!” — and what it says about the city’s identity…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at the view from Washington on Trump’s attempt to pressure Netanyahu not to retaliate to Iran’s recent ballistic missile attacks.

Maine, Nevada, North Dakota and South Carolina will hold their primary elections tomorrow.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a markup of various bills, including one to direct the State Department to impose sanctions on the leaders and family members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Sudanese civil war.

The House Appropriations Committee will mark up the FY 2027 spending bills for Labor, Health and Human Services and Homeland Security.

The Atlantic Council will kick off its two-day Global Energy Forum with remarks from Energy Secretary Chris Wright; Ben Black, CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation; Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy; and representatives from Kuwait, Egypt, Syria and more.

Agudath Israel of America will celebrate the opening of its new office on Capitol Hill with a tribute to its longtime vice president for government affairs, Rabbi Abba Cohen, who is set to step down after 37 years at the organization.

Stories You May Have Missed

PROMISES AND PERILS

As AI reshapes society, Jewish leaders grapple with what comes next

Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone: ‘When we ascribe human attributes — emotions, consciousness and soul — to AI, we risk transforming a sophisticated instrument into an idol’

Read more

DEMS DEBATE

Jewish concerns at the forefront of closely contested race to succeed Nadler

At a debate days before the start of early voting, all leading Democratic contenders for the NY-12 seat declined to call Israel’s war in Gaza a genocide

Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

New York state Assemblyman Micah Lasher campaigns and distributes flyers as he runs to represent NY-12 on Lexington Avenue.

By

Matthew Kassel

June 7, 2026

The four leading Democrats running in a closely contested Manhattan primary to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) all declined to describe Israel’s military conduct in Gaza as genocide during their first televised debate on Thursday evening.

Micah Lasher, an assemblyman who is backed by Nadler and other Democratic leaders in New York, called the number of Palestinian casualties “horrific” but characterized the question as “one of a set of definitional debates that does more to divide people of good faith than it does to find common ground.”

Alex Bores, a fellow assemblyman who has gained left-wing endorsements even as a defender of Israel, said he was “not comfortable” using the word, while Jack Schlossberg, a Kennedy scion and social media influencer, told the PIX11 debate moderator that he was “less interested in what we call it than what we do about it.” George Conway, a former Republican who is now an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, said he did not think Israel’s war “meets the threshold” for genocide.

Their broadly unanimous responses underscore the political landscape shaping the June 23 primary race to represent New York’s 12th Congressional District, a seat home to the largest Jewish constituency in the country and where many voters identify with liberal Zionist sentiments.

In contrast with other congressional primaries in more progressive districts in Brooklyn, Queens and Upper Manhattan — where Israel has emerged as a flashpoint — the race for Nadler’s coveted House seat in the heart of Manhattan has been largely marked by a consensus view among the top candidates who have all generally voiced continued support for the Jewish state.

One notable exception stems from their differences over U.S. military aid to Israel, a topic of discussion at Thursday’s debate — which also focused on issues such as Trump’s immigration agenda and AI policy, a divisive source of industry-linked outside spending in the race.

Lasher and Bores have both agreed that the U.S. should consistently enforce the Leahy Laws — which prohibit security funding to foreign military units that engage in human rights violations — rather than singling out Israel for conditioned military aid, a position they each highlighted during the debate.

Meanwhile, Schlossberg continued to argue against future weapons sales to Israel amid wars in Iran and Lebanon, even as he reiterated his support for aid to boost Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system that has recently faced growing pushback from the far-left flank of the Democratic Party.

Conway, for his part, said simply that he opposes efforts to block offensive or defensive weapons to Israel, which he called “our one true, steadfast ally in the region.”

With days remaining until early voting, the debate was the latest of several forums in which the candidates have faced questions on Israel and other issues of particular concern for Jewish constituents, whose support could tip the scales in what polls have shown will be a close election.

On Wednesday evening, several of the candidates gathered at Temple Emanu-El’s Streicker Cultural Center on the Upper East Side of Manhattan for the most recent Jewish community forum, moderated by the Jewish Democratic Council of America.

The event, which was attended by Bores, Lasher and Schlossberg, featured some lesser-known candidates: Laura Dunn, a civil rights lawyer, and Nina Schwalbe, a public health expert. Conway did not participate in the discussion.

Among the key topics covered were aid to Israel, the Iran war and instances where “anti-Zionism blurs into antisemitism,” as Halie Soifer, JDCA’s CEO, put it while moderating the event.

Lasher, who has identified as a “proud Zionist Jew,” said that “while anti-Zionism and antisemitism are not precisely the same thing, I think we need to acknowledge they often go hand in hand,” citing recent protests outside of synagogues in New York City at which demonstrators have voiced support for Hamas.

“Holding Israel to a standard that is applied to no other country, making Jewish people feel unwelcome in any environment, these are all examples of antisemitism,” Lasher said.

Daily Overtime

Platner’s other shoe drops

Plus, John's bolting to a guilty plea

Daryn Slover/Portland Press Herald via AP

Senate candidate Graham Platner acknowledges the large crowd that attended Platner's town hall, Sept. 25, 2025, at Bunker Brewing in Portland, Maine.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

June 4, 2026

This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Three women who were romantically involved with Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner told The New York Times in a detailed exposé that the presumptive Democratic nominee had been “toxic,” physically threatening, misogynistic and unfaithful during their yearslong relationships.

One former partner, Lyndsey Fifield, confirmed Jewish Insider’s reporting from October that Platner had known what the Nazi symbol tattooed on his chest represented and had taught her the word for it, calling it “my Totenkopf”…

John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s national security advisor during his first term, intends to plead guilty to illegally retaining sensitive national security information, CNN reports, a charge that could carry up to five years in prison…

Trump told aides he would only consider resuming military action against Iran — besides the skirmishes in the Strait of Hormuz, which the administration has insisted do not qualify as warfare — if Iran were to kill American troops, U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal…

Trump lambasted the House’s “meaningless vote” yesterday passing an Iran war powers resolution “right in the middle of my final negotiations to end the War with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Who would do such an unpatriotic thing,” he mused…

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told reporters today that the ceasefire announced yesterday with Israel would take effect only after Hezbollah approved of the proposal, given that it’s contingent on the terror group’s disarmament and withdrawal from southern Lebanon; Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem then rejected the agreement, calling the negotiations “absurd, humiliating and insulting,” and claiming Hezbollah’s withdrawal at this time would mean “surrender, defeat and achieving the enemy’s goals”…

Israel and Hezbollah then continued to exchange fire in southern Lebanon, where a UNIFIL peacekeeper was killed today after a mortar shell struck a U.N. position in the area. The IDF said the launch trajectory of the mortar “clearly indicates” it was launched by Hezbollah…

The House rejected a war powers resolution by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) that aimed to block U.S. support for the Israeli operations in Lebanon, after House Democratic leaders publicly came out against the effort. But the Democratic leaders said they would support a future effort by Tlaib along similar lines that will include carveouts for other U.S. operations inside Lebanon, indicating that Tlaib’s next effort is likely to pick up greater Democratic support…

Iran and Russia signed a $25 billion memorandum of understanding on nuclear cooperation, Iranian state media reported…

The Times takes a look at how Qatar and the U.S. came to dominate the global liquefied natural gas market and how disruptions to Qatari exports amid the Iran war are exposing the risks of that concentration while potentially increasing America’s energy and geopolitical leverage…

In its markup of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, the House Armed Services Committee blocked by a voice vote an effort to strip out a relatively routine provision on cooperation with Israel, which has become the subject of criticism and misinformation online. Both the chairman and ranking member of the committee said that critics were misrepresenting the provision and what it entails…

Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee proposed providing $315 million for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program in 2027, a slight increase from 2026 funding levels but far below the $1 billion that supporters of the program in the House and Jewish and other faith communities have advocated for, JI’s Marc Rod reports. Jewish groups called the proposal appreciated, but vastly inadequate, given the current threat level…

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) called out recent AIPAC and crypto-linked spending in the crowded Democratic primary to replace retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), where AIPAC’s super PAC has invested heavily in support of Hoyer-endorsed Adrian Boafo, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports. Van Hollen accused the “outside groups” of “trying to buy this congressional seat,” and said the groups “do not have the voters’ interests at heart”…

A week after winning his primary runoff against anti-Israel Rep. Al Green (D-TX), Rep. Christian Menefee (D-TX) co-sponsored the Block the Bombs Act. Menefee was seen as the more pro-Israel choice in the race, who Jewish community leaders hoped would provide a fresh start after their relationship with Green collapsed…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Brig. Gen. Guy Markizeno as his military secretary, after his previous military secretary, Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman, became director of the Mossad earlier this week. Markizeno, who currently serves as military secretary to Defense Minister Israel Katz, has “extensive experience in coordinating between the political echelon and the military echelon,” Netanyahu said in a statement…

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced Israel will open its first embassy in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, calling the rise of center-right Prime Minister Janez Janša, whose government was approved by the country’s parliament today, a “new chapter” in Israel-Slovenia relations after “years of the hostility of the previous government”…

The Times interviews Iranian soccer federation head Mehdi Taj, who said the Iranian national team’s U.S. visas have still not been approved less than two weeks before the team is set to play its first World Cup match in the country, while the team trains in Mexico rather than its planned home base in Arizona. Taj was formerly a commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at the new art exhibit at Manhattan’s Altneu synagogue grappling with the end of American Jewry’s “golden age.”

We’ll be watching to see how the latest revelations about Platner‘s past play out on the campaign trail ahead of Tuesday’s primary election, where Democratic Gov. Janet Mills is still on the ballot. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) is expected to join Platner at his Get Out the Vote rally in Bar Harbor, Maine, tomorrow evening.

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

Stories You May Have Missed

SITTING IT OUT

UDP faces questions from N.J. Jewish leaders why it stayed on sidelines against Hamawy

Adam Hamawy, a plastic surgeon, is seen during an exclusive interview at in New York, United States on April 24, 2024.

Hamawy, despite his past ties to a convicted terrorist, faced minimal scrutiny from outside groups — including many of his primary rivals

Read more

SITTING IT OUT

UDP faces questions from N.J. Jewish leaders why it stayed on sidelines against Hamawy

Hamawy, despite his past ties to a convicted terrorist, faced minimal scrutiny from outside groups — including many of his primary rivals

Islam Dogru/Anadolu via Getty Images

Adam Hamawy, a plastic surgeon, is seen during an exclusive interview at in New York, United States on April 24, 2024.

By

Matthew Kassel

June 4, 2026

Adam Hamawy’s victory on Tuesday in a closely watched congressional primary in New Jersey, which elevated an outspoken critic of Israel whose past ties to a convicted terrorist had drawn scrutiny during the campaign, is raising questions over why the far-left Democrat did not face outside opposition from the pro-Israel group AIPAC or its well-funded super PAC.

Hamawy, who won 28% of the vote in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, prevailed with a modest plurality over the multi-candidate primary field competing to succeed Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ). With 93% of the vote counted on Wednesday, Brad Cohen, the mayor of East Brunswick and a Jewish Democrat who touted his support for Israel while identifying as an AIPAC member, placed second with 15%. Hamawy is all but assured a seat in Congress next year as the district heavily favors Democrats.

Despite a double-digit deficit, Cohen’s performance exceeded many expectations, indicating that he likely could have finished in a stronger position with help from AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, some local Jewish leaders suggested in interviews on Wednesday.

While Cohen posted relatively robust fundraising figures, pulling in $700,000 over the course of the race, he struggled to keep up with Hamawy, a plastic surgeon and Army veteran who claimed just over $1 million. Notably, Hamawy also drew support from a newly created super PAC, American Priorities, launched as a left-wing counterweight to AIPAC, which spent more than $1.5 million in the primary to bolster his ascendant campaign.

UDP’s conspicuous absence as American Priorities aggressively promoted Hamawy during the final days of the primary allowed the new group to shape the narrative as he drew skepticism over his efforts to downplay a decades-old association with a radical Muslim cleric convicted of inspiring the 1993 World Trade Center bombing as well as his work for a now-shuttered al-Qaida-linked front group in Bosnia.

Such vulnerabilities were the sort that UDP would presumably have been eager to exploit to thwart an extreme detractor of Israel who had argued against the country’s Iron Dome missile-defense system that protects civilians from attacks.

UDP, which looked at all of the candidates in the crowded field, had considered backing Cohen but ultimately determined he did not have a credible chance of winning, according to a source familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to address a confidential matter.

Patrick Dorton, a spokesperson for UDP, defended the group’s choice not to engage. “We play in races where we have a reasonable opportunity to win,” he explained in a brief interview with JI on Wednesday. “This was a multi-candidate field with obviously the anti-Hamawy vote very split.”

“We didn’t see a path to victory,” Dorton said broadly of the primary. “We did a careful analysis of the race, including polling, and came to the conclusion not to get involved.”

Steve Klinghoffer, a Jewish community leader and philanthropist and a former AIPAC board member, strongly disagreed with UDP’s assessment. He said he had “numerous conversations” with AIPAC to try to convince the group to get involved in the primary but declined to share what he had been told in response.

“If they stay out there’s a good reason,” noted Jason Shames, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, who said he spoke with AIPAC about the primary and got the sense that the group did not “see much upside” in being directly involved. “I give them the benefit of the doubt,” he told JI, calling the group “very careful” and “more strategic” than critics might think.

“In my assessment, this was a missed opportunity, and it’s greatly disturbing,” Klinghoffer told JI, calling the primary “highly winnable” and citing “private polling that showed it would be closer” if AIPAC had devoted its resources to the contest.

Still, Jewish and pro-Israel leaders in New Jersey were largely divided about AIPAC’s decision, with some saying they trusted UDP’s calculus and others expressing more skepticism about its motivations.

“If they stay out there’s a good reason,” noted Jason Shames, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, who said he spoke with AIPAC about the primary and got the sense that the group did not “see much upside” in being directly involved. “I give them the benefit of the doubt,” he told JI, calling the group “very careful” and “more strategic” than critics might think.

Ben Chouake, the president of NORPAC, a pro-Israel advocacy group in New Jersey that endorsed Cohen, said there were more complex challenges at play that had influenced the result beyond AIPAC’s decision to hold its powder.

“We supported Brad Cohen and raised a fair amount of money for him and tried to put together a ground game within the Jewish community,” he told JI. “But I don’t think our community, as a whole, is as unified as it needs to be.”

But he believed AIPAC’s involvement “absolutely” could have made a difference in the race, saying the vote tally was not insurmountable. “I think it was a worthwhile effort for us,” he stressed. “I’m not upset that we did it.”

Cohen, who sought to draw attention to Hamawy’s controversial past ties in the closing stretch of the race, did not respond to messages from JI seeking comment.

Even as UDP now sits on a nearly $95 million war chest to use in the midterms, it also has reason to stay on the sidelines, as the AIPAC brand has become increasingly toxic among Democrats who have vowed to reject its support.

The super PAC had also endured an embarrassing setback in March in a nearby northern New Jersey Democratic special election, where it spent heavily to block Tom Malinowski, a moderate former congressman who had expressed interest in conditioning U.S. aid to Israel. The foray backfired, however — propelling a progressive activist with far more antagonistic positions on Israel to the House.

The reputational damage stemming from that effort still lingers in New Jersey, according to some Jewish leaders. One pro-Israel leader speculated that AIPAC simply “got gun-shy,” after its handling of the March election. Outside the state, UDP has otherwise shown a penchant for caution — most recently investing in a Democratic congressional race in a Maryland district home to a more moderate constituency.

“My guess is they probably were afraid this time that by coming in to support Brad, it might have harmed a very good candidate,” a Jewish Democrat told JI, noting it “raises a question of what AIPAC’s strategy” is going forward. “I think they need to also look in the mirror” and “assess this terrain very carefully” in weighing “what they’re going to do in the future.”

“Unfortunately, it’s a tougher climate for AIPAC and other pro-Israel PACs, especially on the Democratic side,” Mark Levenson, a Jewish community leader in New Jersey, told JI. “The environment has changed.”

Amid a national political landscape now favoring anti-establishment, left-wing sentiment of the sort espoused by Hamawy and his progressive allies in other key races, AIPAC likely “understood its brand had taken a hit, particularly in New Jersey,” said one Jewish Democrat who viewed Hamawy’s election as a troubling sign of the party’s direction. “AIPAC called it wrong previously.”

“My guess is they probably were afraid this time that by coming in to support Brad, it might have harmed a very good candidate,” the activist said on Wednesday, noting it “raises a question of what AIPAC’s strategy” is going forward. “I think they need to also look in the mirror” and “assess this terrain very carefully” in weighing “what they’re going to do in the future.”

Dan Cassino, a political scientist and pollster at Fairleigh Dickinson University, said it was “hard to imagine that there were a lot of Hamawy supporters who would have turned against him because AIPAC was opposed to him,” given their already jaundiced view of the group.

“If AIPAC had gotten involved very early, and thrown around enough money to dissuade some candidates from running, they could have made a difference,” he told JI. “But once that field was set, I don’t think they could have changed the result,” he said, pointing out the “risk that getting involved in a race that led to another win for a disfavored candidate would hurt AIPAC’s credibility even more.”

Micah Rasmussen, the director of Rider University’s Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics, argued it “would be foolish to blame AIPAC for the results of the election,” saying the “single thing that could have changed the outcome is for the field of candidates to have consolidated behind one candidate as a viable alternative to Adam Hamawy.”

“Whatever else might be said about AIPAC, they are not political novices,” he told JI. “No one can believe they sat on their hands because they couldn’t think of anything else to do.”

“You’re really left to wonder,” Rasmussen mused, “whether they view Adam Hamawy as a foil or a lightning rod for Jewish voters across the country.”

Daily Overtime

Bibi fast-tracks aid wind-down

Plus, Rubio defends Israel's Lebanon strikes

ABIR SULTAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a press conference at the Prime minister's office in Jerusalem on August 10, 2025.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

June 3, 2026

This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNBC’s Sara Eisen today that he wants to start the process of winding down U.S. aid to Israel in the final two years of the Trump administration, as both countries work toward reaching a new memorandum of understanding, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.

“We’re now working on a memorandum of understanding which will bring down the aid,” Netanyahu said. “I want it to start in the last two years of the Trump administration and I want it to keep going down, coming to zero.” His comments suggest he’s looking to begin phasing out aid even while the current MOU is set to provide Israel with $3.8 billion in U.S. military assistance annually through FY 2028…

Despite President Donald Trump’s public acknowledgement of a confrontational phone call with Netanyahu regarding Israeli operations in Lebanon, Secretary of State Marco Rubio largely defended Israel’s attacks against the Lebanese terrorist group, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

Rubio said at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing today that Hezbollah reached out to the U.S. government through Lebanese authorities and said that it would stop launching missiles into Israeli territory if Israel did not attack Beirut, but Hezbollah went back on that agreement and launched rockets at Israel within hours…

Trump avoided directly answering a question from reporters this afternoon if the U.S. ceasefire with Iran still stands, after Iran launched several ballistic missile attacks around the region last night.

“There is a reason for certain things, and there’s usually a reason that sometimes makes sense. We got it, we nipped it in the bud very quickly … but some people would say they were slightly provoked because we took a strong action for a different reason. So they were reciprocating,” the president said…

Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) told JI’s Emily Jacobs on Tuesday that they both believe antisemitism is worse on the left than on the right, arguing that the electoral success of far-left candidates with antisemitic records in Democratic primaries distinguishes the left from the right, as similarly controversial candidates have struggled in GOP primary contests…

The anti-Israel American Priorities super PAC pledged to spend $2 million backing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s chosen congressional candidates: former City Comptroller Brad Lander, running to unseat Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY); Darializa Avila Chevalier, challenging Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY); and Claire Valdez, running to succeed Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY). All three candidates have denounced super PAC spending in the past…

Maine Senate candidate and presumptive Democratic nominee Graham Platner released an internal poll showing he still leads his general election opponent, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), by a margin of four points after potential voters are told about his most recent scandals. The latest figures from Platner’s camp mark a drop from the roughly eight-point advantage the Democratic candidate has held in previous polls…

In the race to succeed retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), state Sen. Scott Wiener and Connie Chan, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors who was endorsed by Pelosi, will advance to the general election. With half of votes counted so far in the jungle primary, Wiener won 41% and Chan received 28%, while Saikat Chakrabarti, a wealthy tech entrepreneur aligned with the anti-Israel left, came in third with 15%…

In Montana’s 1st Congressional District, where Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) is retiring, smokejumper Sam Forstag prevailed in the Democratic primary, where several of the candidates, including Forstag, had expressed views critical of Israel. Forstag now faces an uphill battle against Trump-endorsed Republican military veteran Aaron Flint in the general election, given the district’s GOP leanings…

The NYPD arrested an NYU student today for raising a flag that displayed swastikas and a Star of David atop a university building last month. The perpetrator was a fourth-year NYU student at the time of the incident and has not yet received a diploma, a university spokesperson told JI’s Haley Cohen. The New York Times reported that the man is named Alexander Stepnowsky, a music technology student who was charged with a hate crime and trespassing…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at why pro-Israel groups chose not to engage in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District to oppose anti-Israel Democratic nominee Adam Hamawy in yesterday’s primary election.

The House Armed Services Committee will hold a markup of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, where Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said he will attempt to strip out a routine provision facilitating expanded U.S.-Israel cooperation.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will testify before the House Ways & Means Committee.

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin and City Councilmember Virginia Maloney will meet with Manhattan Holocaust survivors at UJA-Federation of New York headquarters to mark Holocaust Survivor Day.

Brandeis University’s Jonathan Sarna will sit in conversation with Princeton’s Laura Arnold Leibman at Temple Emanu-El in New York City to discuss the Jewish experience of the American Revolution, a month ahead of the U.S. Semiquincentennial.

UN Watch will hold its annual gala in Geneva, where the group will honor free speech and women’s rights activists Abnousse Shalmani and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Stories You May Have Missed

PAC PLAY

AIPAC betting big on pro-Israel Democrat and party favorite in Maryland

Del. Adrian Boafo, Democratic candidate for Maryland’s Fifth Congressional District, speaks during a press conference to kick off a series of meet-the-voter events, at Kenhill Center in Bowie, Md., on Monday, March 2, 2026.

State Del. Adrian Boafo is Steny Hoyer’s favored candidate, and is getting support from Democratic leaders across the state

Read more

INSTANT ANALYSIS

Despite past terror ties, Hamawy prevails with narrow plurality in N.J. Dem primary

Democrats also nominated pro-Israel former Navy pilot Rebecca Bennett in a neighboring district to run against Rep. Tom Kean Jr.

DREW ANGERER/AFP via Getty Images

Dr. Adam Hamawy speaks during an AFP interview after meetings on Capitol Hill, in Washington DC, on June 14, 2024.

By

Josh Kraushaar

June 2, 2026

New Jersey, the state with one of the largest Jewish populations in the country, has become something of a political nightmare for Jewish voters who have seen Democrats turn to far-left, virulently anti-Israel candidates in this year’s primaries.

That trend continued Tuesday night as Democratic voters in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District nominated plastic surgeon Adam Hamawy, despite his past affiliations with Islamist extremists, who prevailed with about 28% of the vote in a crowded Democratic primary field.

Hamawy, with the support of left-wing groups, some progressive lawmakers and the anti-Israel American Priorities super PAC, prevailed over his opponents with regional bases but limited support outside their local communities. No pro-Israel groups or other moderate-minded outside PACs decided to spend money on anti-Hamawy attack ads, allowing him to consolidate enough backing from his base to prevail with a relatively small plurality.

Hamawy was a former associate of Omar Abdel Rahman, also known as the Blind Sheikh, who was convicted of inspiring the terrorists who engineered the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Hamawy later served as a defense witness during Abdel Rahman’s 1995 trial, and volunteered around the same time in Bosnia with a group later shuttered as a front for Al-Qaida.

Despite his baggage, Hamawy is expected to win election to Congress in the November general election, given the central New Jersey district’s heavily Democratic electorate.

Democratic voters in the neighboring 11th Congressional District also overwhelmingly renominated left-wing Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-NJ), who was the surprise winner in a special election primary earlier this year after AIPAC’s super PAC spent money attacking the more moderate former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ)

But while Mejia won a whopping 82% of the Democratic vote against her long-shot opposition, there was a significant protest vote against her in the towns with a large Jewish constituency: Livingston and Millburn.

In more favorable news for pro-Israel moderate voters, Democrats nominated former Navy pilot Rebecca Bennett, who flew missions over the Straits of Hormuz, to run against Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) in a major battleground district.

“I just feel very strongly that Israel has a right to defend itself and has a right to exist, and that the United States needs to be able to support Israel, and it shouldn’t be partisan,” Bennett told Jewish Insider last August. “I think we should be supporting Israel as an ally, regardless of political party.”

She also told JI she supports continuing U.S. aid to Israel without restrictions or conditions.

Kean, who has represented the 7th Congressional District since 2022, has been missing from Congress for the last several months with an undisclosed illness. His uncertain personal circumstances have made Democrats bullish of their prospects in the swing district, which Kean only won by five points in 2024.

Meanwhile, Rep. Robert Menendez Jr. (D-NJ), a pro-Israel Democrat, comfortably brushed back a challenge from far-left, anti-Israel candidate Mussab Ali, winning 70% of the primary vote.

Daily Overtime

The case of the missing ambassadors

Plus, Trump's unconventional pick for intel chief

Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images

International flags at the State Department in Washington.

By

JI Staff

Danielle Cohen-Kanik

June 2, 2026

This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump again dismissed reports that Iranian negotiators have cut off dialogue with the U.S. as “false and erroneous,” writing in a post on Truth Social that discussions have continued “four days ago, three days ago, two days ago, one day ago, and today”…

About the current talks, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today that the U.S. is not offering Iran any sanctions relief in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and that sanctions relief would only be on the table if Tehran makes concessions related to its nuclear program in the next phase of negotiations, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…

The Trump administration sent a fresh slate of diplomatic nominations to the Senate for approval today, but noticeably absent was a full-throated push to fill critical ambassadorial vacancies across the Middle East and North Africa, even as the Iran conflict has increased the need for coordination and dialogue in the region, JI’s Matthew Shea reports.

The newest list of nominees included only two names for the MENA area: Donald Blome, tapped to serve as assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs — a role that acts as the principal advisor on U.S. foreign policy across the region — and Nick Oberheiden, nominated to be U.S. ambassador to Egypt…

In a highly unusual move, Trump appointed Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as acting director of national intelligence, after DNI Tulsi Gabbard announced she will resign effective June 30. Pulte, who has no prior experience in an intelligence role, has been a staunch Trump loyalist and led some of the president’s retribution efforts against his political adversaries…

The fourth round of Israel-Lebanon diplomatic talks began at the State Department today, and is expected to last through tomorrow…

At an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council yesterday requested by France, every country except for the U.S. called for Israel to immediately withdraw from southern Lebanon and deescalate military hostilities in the country…

The heads of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations met today with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Maj. Gen. Hassan Rashad, head of the country’s General Intelligence Service, in Cairo, where they discussed U.S.-Egypt relations and Middle East security…

A new poll of 600 likely voters in the Michigan Senate Democratic primary conducted for the campaign of physician Abdul El-Sayed found him leading the pack with 34% of the vote, two months ahead of Election Day. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) came in second with 31% and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow trailed at 19%…

Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, appearing at the American Jewish Committee’s Global Forum in Washington, condemned the “egregious examples of antisemitism that have transpired here at home on American soil” since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel as “devastating and antithetical to our values as a nation,” JI’s Emily Jacobs reports…

The backlash to the participation of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and other far-right Israeli politicians in the Israel Day on Fifth parade in New York City over the weekend continues: Mark Treyger, the head of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, which organizes the parade, told The New York Times that he had been blindsided by their attendance.

“There was a complete lack of transparency here,” Treyger said, adding that the Israeli consulate in New York had declined to share with him who would be attending. Dan Rosenthal, a top official at the UJA-Federation of New York, wrote on X that both New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Smotrich “believe in a one-state solution”…

White House Correspondents’ Association President Weijia Jiang announced that the Correspondents’ Dinner will be rescheduled for July 24, after April’s event was cut short by a shooting attack. Trump said he will once again give remarks at the gathering, which will take place at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for the results of today’s high-stakes Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, where plastic surgeon Adam Hamawy, whose past terror ties have raised red flags about his candidacy, is the favorite to win.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be back on the Hill testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, while Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin will appear before the House Homeland Security Committee.

State Department antisemitism envoy Yehuda Kaploun and the Argentine Embassy in Washington will co-host a commemoration ceremony at the U.S. Institute of Peace marking the 32nd anniversary of the bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA), with remarks from House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL) and AMIA President Osvaldo Armoza.

The Jewish Democratic Council of America will host a candidate forum for the New York 12th Congressional District Democratic primary at the Streicker Center in New York City.

Stories You May Have Missed

Hard Ro To Hoe

Khanna’s hostile turn towards Israel divides Silicon Valley Jews

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) leaves the U.S. Capitol on March 13, 2024 in Washington.

His critics once saw him as an ally, but fear he’s pandered to extremists as he raises his national profile ahead of the 2028 presidential election

Read more

Hard Ro To Hoe

Khanna’s hostile turn towards Israel divides Silicon Valley Jews

His critics once saw him as an ally, but fear he’s pandered to extremists as he raises his national profile ahead of the 2028 presidential election

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) leaves the U.S. Capitol on March 13, 2024 in Washington.

By

Marc Rod

June 2, 2026

Rep. Ro Khanna’s (D-CA) emergence as a leading Democratic party critic of Israel — while affiliating with and embracing individuals and groups that have been accused of antisemitism and support for terrorism — is creating divisions within the local Jewish community in his Silicon Valley-centered district.

While Khanna maintains unified support from Jewish elected officials in the district, other Jewish community leaders say they feel abandoned, ignored and even attacked by their congressman, whom they once saw as an ally, as he faces what could be his most credible primary challenge in years.

For some in the district, ties with the congressman have been strained for years, and were further inflamed by the March attack on two Israeli Americans in San Jose’s Santana Row shopping district.

Khanna strongly condemned the attack but some in the community said his words rang hollow after months of escalating anti-Israel rhetoric. Some Jewish leaders in the district say that they saw a direct connection between Khanna’s incendiary language condemning the Jewish state and attacks such as the one their community experienced.

Two days after the attack, Khanna posted about how he is “proud to stand” with Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, as well as to join far-left streamer Hasan Piker’s show, all of whom have faced criticism from the Jewish community — comments that prompted condemnation by Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.

Jewish leaders in the district who are now critical of the congressman said the community’s relationship with Khanna started out strong when he was first elected in 2016, but has significantly deteriorated over time, particularly in the past few years. Khanna’s Silicon Valley district includes substantial, concentrated Jewish and Israeli-American communities.

Tali Klima, a spokesperson for Bay Area Jewish Coalition Action, a local grassroots advocacy group, said that Khanna was “warmly welcomed” by the Jewish community when he was first elected and that many in the community had supported him.

Khanna traveled to Israel three times while in office, and has expressed support for the Abraham Accords, voted in 2019 to condemn the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, condemned calls to “globalize the intifada,” voted in early 2024 to condemn the slogan “from the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” and introduced a Holocaust education resolution in 2024. Amid rising antisemitism in recent years, he has touted appointing a point of contact for addressing antisemitism in the district on his congressional team.

But, Klima and other critics said, they’ve seen the congressman’s posture change over time.

“He’s become more and more divisive and more extremist in his views, that we never heard when he was first elected, especially since Oct. 7. It’s been a massive shift in the way that he communicates about things that we care about,” Klima continued.

“At this point, the community has really lost trust in him,” Klima said. “Much of the community is afraid of him, and much of the community is also very angry and feels betrayed by him.”

“Having participated in local town halls with Representative Khanna and spoken with him about various community concerns, I am thankful for his commitment to open dialogue and remaining accessible even when we disagree,” Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens said. “His dedication to peace and justice for all people and support for a two-state solution is laudable. He has been a leader for accountability and transparency with the Trump Administration, particularly with the bipartisan push for the release of the Epstein files.”

Khanna has frequently and repeatedly accused Israel of genocide, was among the first lawmakers to endorse calls for cutting off U.S. support for Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system and led an effort for U.S. recognition of a Palestinian state, among a range of other stances and votes, and has repeatedly faced scrutiny for his affiliations with groups and individuals condemned by the Jewish community.

Later this week, he’s set to offer an amendment to strip a provision advancing U.S.-Israel cooperative programs out of the 2027 defense bill. Though one former Biden administration called the provision “quite unremarkable” and in keeping with existing programs, Khanna called it a “fusion” of the U.S. and Israeli militaries to prevent scrutiny and accountability for U.S. aid to Israel.

Jewish elected officials supporting Khanna, in statements shared with Jewish Insider, praised the congressman for his support for a two-state solution and for engaging with local Jewish communities.

“Having participated in local town halls with Representative Khanna and spoken with him about various community concerns, I am thankful for his commitment to open dialogue and remaining accessible even when we disagree,” Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens said. “His dedication to peace and justice for all people and support for a two-state solution is laudable. He has been a leader for accountability and transparency with the Trump Administration, particularly with the bipartisan push for the release of the Epstein files.”

State Sen. Josh Becker added, “While Congressman Khanna gets a lot of ink for his criticism of Israel he gets less for his vocal support of a two state solution and Israel as a safe democratic Jewish state.”

Others, such as San Jose City Councilmember David Cohen, more broadly praised him for his work on local issues.

“The fact that an elected official like Khanna defends [people like Hasan Piker and Zohran Mamdani] and their dangerous antisemitic views is not only shameful — but it also actively endangers the lives of Jewish people both in his district and around the country,” Oleg Ivanov, executive director of StandWithUs Northern California, said.

“Times are very difficult these days in Washington D.C., and Congressmember Khanna remains a steady advocate for our region and economy. We need people who understand the tech industry and also who bring money back to our community from the federal budget,” Cohen said. “He has shown courage and has been willing to face his constituents at monthly town hall meetings ever since he was elected. While I don’t agree with every position he takes, I admire his thoughtfulness and transparency.”

Cohen declined to speak further on Khanna’s foreign policy work or his relationship with the local Jewish community.

But others in the community feel that their concerns aren’t being heard or listened to by the congressman. Daniel Klein, CEO of Jewish Silicon Valley, a Jewish nonprofit which runs a local JCC and other community programs and resources, said he’s communicated to Khanna directly that he thinks the legislator is out of step with his constituents.

“The fact that an elected official like Khanna defends [people like Hasan Piker and Zohran Mamdani] and their dangerous antisemitic views is not only shameful — but it also actively endangers the lives of Jewish people both in his district and around the country,” Oleg Ivanov, executive director of StandWithUs Northern California, said.

Ivanov also accused Khanna of spreading a “blood libel” in accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.

Oded Shekel, executive director of Bay Area Jewish Coalition Action, emphasized that members of the Jewish and Israeli community in Khanna’s district feel afraid, isolated and that they have to hide who they are, and don’t feel they’re getting the support they expect from their congressman.

Shekel said that he doesn’t necessarily think Khanna is personally or openly antisemitic, but that he is supporting and rationalizing extreme voices, to the point that has made many Jews like him feel that Khanna is the “strongest voice [that] hurts Jews in his district.”

Khanna joined a town hall in 2024 hosted by the Bay Area Jewish Coalition — a separate entity from Bay Area Jewish Coalition Action led by the same individuals — but the relationship has soured since then.

Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein, a Khanna supporter, said he’d attended the BAJC town hall, and met with Jewish community members alongside Khanna to discuss the challenges that Jewish high schoolers were facing from antisemitism in the district, and how the congressman could address them.

“Good to hear directly from High School Students and their parents on the district issues,” Mayor Klein said in a statement. “It was valuable to hear firsthand about the harassment that Jewish Students had endured.

Mayor Klein also praised Khanna’s “bipartisan approach to leadership” on issues including “working to halt reckless foreign intervention” and the release of the Epstein Files, saying that Khanna, “consistently puts principles over politics.” He also praised Khanna’s engagement with constituents more broadly and work on securing federal funding for the district.

Daniel Klein of Jewish Silicon Valley described Khanna’s stances and statements as hostile to the Jewish community. He said that the violent attack in Santana Row, and other similar incidents, are the “natural maturation” of the rhetoric Khanna has used and elevated.

“I appreciate the congressman being outraged” about the Santana Row attack, “but statements and what he normalizes and who he platforms before these incidents, and then who he chooses to stand with and platform and normalize after these incidents, makes the community feel unseen and unsupported by the congressman,” Klein said he told Khanna’s office in the wake of the attack.

Yet, Klein said, Khanna’s rhetoric does not appear to have shifted substantially since the March attack.

“I’m a big fan of Congressman Khanna,” Ben Linder, a J Street board member who lives just outside Khanna’s district, told JI. “The majority of the Jewish community is squarely behind him and very aligned with him,” Linder continued, emphasizing that he has seen Khanna speak on multiple occasions to busy synagogue audiences.

Klima echoed that, expressing frustration that Khanna’s condemnation of the attack was quickly followed by a return to his usual rhetoric and activity.

In addition to Jewish elected officials backing him, Khanna maintains support among segments of the local Jewish community. Ben Linder, a J Street board member who lives just outside Khanna’s district, told JI he continues to strongly support the congressman. J Street has endorsed Khanna, but Linder spoke to JI in a personal capacity, not on behalf of the progressive Israel advocacy group.

“I’m a big fan of Congressman Khanna,” Linder, who was born in Israel and moved to the U.S. in high school, said. “The majority of the Jewish community is squarely behind him and very aligned with him,” Linder continued, emphasizing that he has seen Khanna speak on multiple occasions to busy synagogue audiences.

He called critics “out of touch with the view of the majority of Jews right now” both in Khanna’s district and nationally, pointing to a Washington Post poll last year that found a majority of Jews are critical of the way the war in Gaza has been conducted.

He asserted that discontent with Khanna traces to a “vocal minority in the district, mainly led by right-wing Israeli expats that dislike Congressman Khanna” and are “out of touch with where our community is.”

“I consider Ro Khanna very pro-Israel. He is clearly anti-Netanyahu and anti- the policies of Israel’s right wing government, but so am I, and, I think, so are the majority of Jews in this district,” Linder said.

Critics of Khanna said that the congressman’s activity following the Santana Row attack matches a pattern they’ve observed repeatedly when Khanna is called out for conduct or statements they find offensive — Khanna will apologize, or offer targeted condemnations, but won’t substantially change his behavior, and ultimately continues doubling down.

They said this pattern ignores the way that Khanna’s own rhetoric is fueling antisemitism.

Klima emphasized that Khanna’s constituents have come to him on numerous occasions asking him to dial down his rhetoric. At this point, she said, his “symbolic condemnations” of antisemitism “ring very hollow.”

“He’s speaking out of both sides of his mouth, basically,” she said, adding that, as a longtime congressman, his comments “[legitimize] this rhetoric,” driving similar activity from other local officials as well.

Ivanov said it’s easy for Khanna to denounce antisemitic attacks or vandalism, “but as soon as he does that, he continues to spread the antisemitic conspiracy theories, to defend antisemitic speakers that are out there every day, fueling the antisemitism that leads to these actions.”

“We will not accept Khanna’s pro-forma denunciation of antisemitic incidents while he himself continues to fuel antisemitism and defend antisemites,” Ivanov said.

Linder, the Khanna supporter, argued that Khanna has made clear that he “will speak with anyone” and “dialogues with people he disagrees with, and I respect that.” Khanna has expressed similar sentiments to JI in the past.

Linder said he strongly disagreed with the notion that Khanna’s rhetoric is fueling violence, and emphasized that the Santana Row attack was not charged as a hate crime.

“I don’t believe there was sufficient evidence to show that it was hate-motivated,” Linder said. “The congressman came out very quickly and denounced that attack, denounced the violence, and I fundamentally am not a subscriber to the notion that criticizing Israel fuels antisemitism. I see a clear delineation between criticism of Israel and Jew hatred. I don’t believe the two are connected. As a matter of fact, I think some of the actions of Netanyahu and the Israeli government, the extreme right Israeli government foment antisemitism.”

Shekel, a Khanna critic, said that, during conversations with Khanna about antisemitism that community members are facing, Khanna has expressed sympathy while pivoting to emphasize his disputes with various Israeli government policies.

“We feel that he is fixated, obsessed with Israel,” Klima added.

“The organized Jewish community is telling you exactly where the majority of the Jewish community stands, and if you choose not to listen, it is not due to lack of knowing where your constituents are. It’s a choice,” Daniel Klein, CEO of Jewish Silicon Valley, said. “It’s a choice at that point, and then that begs the question of why the member of Congress is choosing to ignore the Jewish community while also at the same time saying he’s being responsive to the Jewish community. That’s a contradiction I don’t have the answer to.”

Klein said that some in the community see Khanna as not only ignoring their concerns but attacking the Jewish community for elevating those issues in the first place. He pointed to an incident in which Khanna shared on his X account a clip of Holocaust denying social media influencer Ian Carroll as one such instance.

Klein said he and representatives of the local Jewish Community Relations Council sat down in person with Khanna’s staff about the video — “not only the fact that this person was platformed, the person wasn’t taken down immediately, and instead of listening to the Jewish community’s concerns, at least publicly, he seemed to attack the Jewish community instead.”

Klein also characterized Khanna as deflecting the concerns of the local Jewish community in conversations, offering a variety of excuses, including pointing to national polling on Israel policy issues.

“The organized Jewish community is telling you exactly where the majority of the Jewish community stands, and if you choose not to listen, it is not due to lack of knowing where your constituents are. It’s a choice,” Klein said. “It’s a choice at that point, and then that begs the question of why the member of Congress is choosing to ignore the Jewish community while also at the same time saying he’s being responsive to the Jewish community. That’s a contradiction I don’t have the answer to.”

Critics in the district see a political motivation behind Khanna’s rhetoric and positioning.

Ivanov said that he first met Khanna several years ago, when Ivanov was working for the American Jewish Committee. The congressman at the time emphasized “the importance of maintaining progressive support for Israel in American society. That has obviously changed over the past few years, where he has embraced this tide of vilification of Israel as a way to appeal to the rising popularity of bashing Israel among certain voters,” Ivanov said.

Klima said that the “general sentiment” among members of the Jewish community is that Khanna’s stance is “opportunistic” and that he’s following anti-Israel trends for the sake of popularity, rather than any “deeply held view.”

“We feel like he’s throwing us, his constituents, under the bus for his political game, because he feels like this is a win for progressives,” she said.

The congressman is widely seen as preparing for a presidential campaign in 2028.

Khanna’s frequent commentary about the “Epstein Class” — he was one of the leading advocates in the House for releasing files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — has also set off alarm bells for Khanna’s critics.

Klima said that many in the Jewish community read those references as code for the Jewish community writ large, “because of our history with him, our recent history with him.” She said that Khanna’s pattern of rhetoric and actions has sowed distrust of him and his motives.

Khanna has dismissed the notion that the phrase is antisemitic, pointing to Jewish elected officials who have also spoken about the “Epstein Class.”

Critics in the district say that Khanna has a lot of work to do to repair his relationships with the Jewish community — and that it will take more than the pro forma condemnations of antisemitism that they feel he’s been offering over the past few years.

Klein encouraged Khanna to “stop feeding the extreme left and the alt-right” on social media and called on him to apologize for “ignoring the Jewish community,” and “actually start listening to the organized Jewish community,” rather than the “fringes.”

Klima said that she is fed up with what she sees as “symbolic gestures” by the congressman.

“We feel like we’re just pawns in his political game, because the very next day, he’s back to the ‘genocide’ and his political obsession,” she said. “[He] is clearly hurting us and it needs to be something much deeper than just a statement.”

Big Sky Battle

Most Montana Democrats running for Rep. Ryan Zinke’s seat slam U.S.-Israel relationship

Two of the four Democrats in the race have also faced scrutiny over antisemitic activity online

Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) arrives for the House Republican Conference caucus meeting at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.

By

Marc Rod

May 29, 2026

In the contentious Democratic primary in Montana’s 1st Congressional District, Israel and antisemitism have become flashpoints in ways that members of the local Jewish community say they find concerning and potentially dangerous.

Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), who currently represents the seat, is retiring at the end of his current term, and Democrats view it as a potential pickup opportunity in a favorable midterm climate. Former Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) narrowly won the district in 2024, despite losing statewide. However, the Cook Political Report rates the district as “Likely Republican,” and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee hasn’t put the district on its target list at this point.

Though the district leans Republican, that hasn’t stopped a majority of Democrats in the field from racing to the left on Israel policy, a dynamic that was on clear display at a recent debate.

Ryan Busse, a businessman and author who is the top fundraiser among the Democratic candidates, declared that the U.S. has been “forced into a war by another country,” alleging that Israel dragged the U.S. in its military campaign against Iran.

“This war that we’re fighting, that you’re funding, that your tax dollars are funding, is largely a war propagated by Israel,” Busse said. “I’m not taking any AIPAC dollars, wouldn’t dream of it. I think we should be really wide-eyed about the degree to which Israel has too much influence over our foreign policy. “

He also declared that Israel is not a “functioning democracy” and said that Israel is committing war crimes with American tax dollars and that he would fight to stop that aid in Congress.

Russell Cleveland, a Navy veteran and entrepreneur, said that Israel “has a right to exist without fear, but that doesn’t mean that those rights can infringe on other countries’ rights or other people’s rights to exist without fear as well” and said that Israel committed genocide in Gaza.

He asserted that Israel is being held to a different standard than other countries and is effectively controlling U.S. policy.

“We have hitched our wagon so hard to Israel in turning a blind eye to their actions on a national stage that we’re willing to disregard what we would hold to account any other country for the same exact violence and war crimes and violations of international law,” Cleveland said. “We cannot allow another country to have that type of control on not only what we’re doing in terms of sending armaments and money, but also that’s an ally to the United States, so everything that they do, we too are responsible for.”

Sam Forstag, a wildland firefighter and union leader with the backing of prominent national progressives and D.C.-based groups, said that he agreed with Busse and Cleveland, also disavowing AIPAC support while blaming U.S. support for Israel for a lack of services and government assistance at home.

“We need to have strict enforced humanitarian requirements on any aid that we are providing countries overseas,” Forstag said. “That needs to apply to Israel, that needs to apply to any country, because if we cannot afford to feed our hunger, if we cannot afford to make sure that the elderly in this country are not living on the streets, we sure as hell cannot afford to rain cruelty in chaos overseas, Israel or Iran.”

Matt Rains, an Army veteran, rancher and photographer, was the only one of the four Democratic candidates to stake out an opposing view and offer a defense of the U.S.-Israel relationship.

He emphasized that he has spent time in the region, and that he understands “we need to value our alliance with Israel, and I am in support of that because I am against hatred, I’m against racism, I’m against antisemitism, I’m against terrorism.”

Rains said that actually working toward a two-state solution requires people who have firsthand experience and understand the situation on the ground, arguing that many draw incorrect conclusions from news reports.

Busse has been the top fundraiser in the field, pulling in $529,000, followed by Forstag with $448,000, Cleveland with $325,000 and Rains with $125,000. Cleveland, however, trails the rest of the field in cash-on-hand.

Antisemitic activity online has also cast a cloud over two of the candidates in the race.

Cleveland liked an antisemitic Instagram comment that read, “I wouldn’t vote for anybody who takes money from those stinking Jews,” on a post endorsing him.

Cleveland denied any knowledge of the post and disavowed it. He told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle that his campaign “incidentally liked [this] comment” and that “My team and I do not condone these types of antisemitic comments, nor support them. … This is antisemitic. I don’t approve of that comment. I wouldn’t have liked it intentionally.”

Busse’s son Lander has also landed in hot water over a series of controversial social media posts which included a spat with a local rabbi.

The younger Busse responded to a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring that “Free Palestine is today’s version of Heil Hitler” with a gif of a “Breaking Bad” character saying, “Well, Heil Hitler b****.”

He also demanded that a local Chabad rabbi, Chaim Bruk, acknowledge that Israel is an apartheid state and conducting a genocide. When Bruk declined to do so, the younger Busse responded “aight then f*** you.”

He also said in another post “F*** ISRAEL.”

The elder Busse told the New York Post, “I don’t condone any language or actions that minimize the very real tragedy of the Holocaust, and I don’t condone any antisemitic behavior or language.”

He said he opposes antisemitism and that his son is “definitely not antisemitic in any way shape or form,” but denied having seen his son’s social media posts, which were subsequently deleted.

Bruk, the longest-serving rabbi in Montana, told Jewish Insider that he felt it was necessary to engage with Lander Busse as the son of a person running for office, when the younger Busse was spreading comments that could prompt hate against the Jewish community.

Bruk said that he also wanted to give the elder Busse “an opportunity to reach out and see if he has a very different opinion than his son — which he has not done as of today.”

Bruk argued that he’s seen little evidence that Busse’s own opinions differ from those of his son, noting that, while they haven’t engaged in the same sort of vulgarity, Busse, Cleveland and Forstag had all made concerning comments about Israel and Jews.

“I have always strongly opposed antisemitism and will continue to do so unequivocally. I am deeply troubled by the rise in antisemitic activity and rhetoric across our country, and I stand firmly with Jewish communities,” Busse said in a statement to JI. “At the same time, I am troubled by the current Israeli government’s policies and leadership. In my view, criticism of a government’s actions and policies should not be conflated with prejudice against an entire people or faith. We should be able to reject antisemitism in all forms while also engaging in honest and thoughtful discussion about the actions of governments, including Israel’s.”

But Bruk said he takes Cleveland at his word that he did not personally or intentionally like the antisemitic Instagram post.

Cora Neumann, a Jewish state senator who was a previous Democratic nominee for the 1st District seat, said she feels that many of the candidates for the seat are “getting pulled into national issues that don’t impact us, just to posture and play political games,” particularly when it comes to Israel.

She said she has found the attacks on AIPAC, which come despite the fact it hasn’t been involved in the race, “very problematic,” and has been concerned by candidates blaming Israel for the war in Iran. She said she has reached out to several of the candidates to share her perspective.

But she said she hasn’t seen many of the candidates in the race “take pause and think twice about the way you speak” about Israel, even after being warned that their rhetoric might fuel antisemitism, “which shows a disregard for a vulnerable population in the U.S. and around the world.”

“I think this is a poison that has taken hold in our party and it has made my family less safe, and there has been little to no action taken to combat it, locally or nationally,” Neumann told JI. “Democrats need to reflect on our values and who we are and if we really feel that this is acceptable. … Democrats need to seriously reflect on why they’ve let it get so out of hand.”

Asked about concerns from members of the local Jewish community about the way Israel and AIPAC have been invoked in the race, Cleveland said in a statement to JI that, “Being critical of the actions of Israel with regard to its military aggression and violation of international law is not antisemitic.”

“We cannot simply label criticism of any one country as prejudice just because many of us oppose more war, death and destruction. The best possible outcome in the region is one where all people, no matter whether they are from Israel, Palestine, or Lebanon, are treated equally and without prejudice,” Cleveland said. “I want peace for the people of Israel, just as I do for those in any other country or territory. I believe this can be achieved through application of freedom of religion, coexistence, and seeking strength through diversity. This, however, can only be achieved through strict adherence to international law and practice of equal rights of all people.”

In an interview with JI, Rains, an Army captain who served in Iraq and traveled throughout the world in that role and a subsequent one as a photojournalist, said that he has a “vital perspective” of understanding the dynamics in the region firsthand, rather than being “told by other people how to think and believe” on the internet.

His travels took him throughout Israel and the West Bank, and he said that he found many of the media narratives that people in the United States hear about Israel and the conflict to be exaggerated.

He said he feels that the other candidates in the race are “jumping on [the anti-Israel] bandwagon” without a proper understanding of the situation. “You just want to scream because it’s truly a lack of understanding and knowing what is reality and what you’re just being fed through the internet and buying into.”

He said that growing animosity toward Israel and calls to cut off aid are jeopardizing a critical alliance, which will ultimately make the United States less safe and lead to more regional instability and more wars.

He said that he’s also been stunned by what he has seen as an embrace of antisemitism in the United States, pointing significant blame toward the Trump administration for spreading and normalizing “comments that are there to rile up people.” He said that he would be vocal as a member of Congress in emphasizing that antisemitism is not acceptable.

He called the spread of antisemitic rhetoric in the primary race “one of the most shocking things of this campaign.” He said he didn’t anticipate that the issue would be one that he would campaign on, but said he felt a responsibility to not “let hatred creep in” in his own party.

Rains’ photojournalism work also brought him to Myanmar, where he said he was the first photojournalist on the ground documenting the Rohingya genocide in the early 2010s. Having seen such atrocities firsthand — and encountering fierce police resistance to documenting them — he called the accusations of genocide against Israel “absolutely frustrating,” and criticized those in his party who have spread that narrative.

Having worked on strategic planning matters in Iraq, Rains said that he’s been frustrated by what he saw as a failure of proper planning in the U.S. operations in Iran. “The threat of the regime [was] horrific,” Rains said, but he doesn’t have faith in the Trump administration to ensure that Iran is more stable and has better governance at the end of war.

“My biggest frustration is there’s a risk — kind of what happened in Afghanistan when we left there — for a worse government to backfill and make it more hostile than it was,” Rains said.

Bruk and Neumann both spoke positively of Rains’ stance on issues of concern to and of his engagement with the Jewish community.

Bruk said Rains is the only one of the four Democratic candidates who has visited the local synagogue and Chabad center and “made it clear that he stands with the Jewish people and he stands with the people of Israel and their right to their own nation.” He said Rains and his campaign had reached out to visit the synagogue of his own initiative.

Bruk said it’s important to him that the growing Montana Jewish community has a representative who cares about them and who “isn’t ready to throw them locally under the bus because of some international issue with which they agree or disagree” — regardless of potential policy differences on Israel.

Neumann said that she’s also been impressed by the “moral clarity” Rains has shown on the issue and others.

“I think to be able to stand up against the intense headwinds and national pressure to speak on Israel, even if it’s not relevant to your constituents, to be able to stand up against that pressure shows incredible moral character, and that’s what I look for in candidates,” Neumann said.

Bruk said he’d also had a conversation with Forstag and was optimistic that his rhetoric would change going forward. “I think he genuinely didn’t realize that it’s not just about some lobbying PAC that gives, you know, very little money to Montana at all, but it ends up creating an environment in which Jews become fair game,” Bruk said.

He said that he felt from their conversation that Forstag didn’t realize that AIPAC had had little to no involvement in politics in the state. Bruk said he emphasized to Forstag that invoking AIPAC on the campaign trail can increase the dangers to the Jewish community.

“I don’t think he realized the practical ramifications,” Bruk said, and said he was comforted to see Forstag’s rhetoric seemingly shift since then.

Neumann said she also found Forstag to be “receptive and sensitive to feedback on how problematic this disproportionate focus on Israel is.”

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND

DSA quietly poised to make inroads in NYC’s congressional delegation

Two DSA-backed challengers have a credible shot at winning seats, while Rep. Dan Goldman is down in polls against Brad Lander

Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

NY Assemblymember Claire Valdez

By

Matthew Kassel

May 28, 2026

As an emboldened socialist wing of the Democratic Party gains traction across New York City in the aftermath of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s victory, Jewish leaders and moderate officials are bracing for the possibility of multiple upsets in key House races that could reshape the ideological orientation of the state’s congressional delegation.

Three races have drawn heightened attention in recent weeks, including a marquee House contest playing out largely in progressive Brooklyn where Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) is seeking to fend off a serious challenge from former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. Meanwhile, in upper Manhattan and the Bronx, Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) is facing what looks like an increasingly credible challenge from an anti-Israel organizer. And in the race to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), her favored primary candidate is struggling to compete against a democratic socialist endorsed by Mamdani.

“If you have two socialists and Brad Lander” who are elected, “that’s a real move to the left — and it’s a lot of people who are bringing down the seniority of the congressional delegation,” said Chris Coffey, a New York City Democratic strategist not involved in the races. “That is probably the biggest shift we’ve seen at the congressional level in generations,” he told Jewish Insider, adding that there are “a lot of ifs baked into that.”

A recent public poll showing Goldman trailing badly behind Lander underscored how an emboldened far left is asserting itself in a race that is hinging in large part on the candidates’ differences over Israel. The independent survey, released last week by Emerson College, strongly indicated that Goldman is in serious trouble in the closely watched June 23 primary, lagging badly behind Lander, who held a commanding 57% of the vote.

Goldman, a pro-Israel Democrat who gained prominence as an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, touts a relatively progressive record on domestic issues like healthcare, climate policy and immigration. But as he seeks a third term, Goldman has faced backlash from left-wing activists over his continued support for U.S. funding to Israel, which Lander, notably endorsed by Mamdani, has vowed to end, even for missile defense.

In a rare convergence on Middle East-related issues, the candidates opposed a successful effort this week to implement a boycott of Israeli products at a high-profile local food cooperative in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, which sits in the district. (In a sign of the times, the boycott vote passed by a 2-to-1 margin.) But they otherwise disagreed on whether the measure was antisemitic, as Goldman and other Jewish community activists, including an influential rabbi in the district, had described the divisive effort.

Both Goldman and Lander are slated to address Jewish community concerns on June 7 during off-the-record town hall events at Congregation Beth Elohim, a Reform synagogue in Park Slope that is led by that rabbi, Rachel Timoner, according to an email recently sent to members. They will answer questions from congregants independently in the back-to-back, hour-long forums.

Despite tensions over Israel, some strategists note that Lander’s dominance in the progressive district covering sections of Brownstone Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan can be attributed to his standing as a popular former councilman and citywide elected official who also ran for mayor last cycle — a level of name ID that marks him as a sort of de facto incumbent.

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), left, is joined by New York City Comptroller Brad Lander during a news conference outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022.

But other races have also sharply demonstrated how anti-Israel sentiment is fueling the rise of candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists America’s New York City chapter. The group, which has championed anti-Zionism as a core element of its platform, is now backing challengers in two high-profile congressional primaries as well as some down-ballot races for seats in the state Legislature.

The closest race, for an open House seat spanning parts of Brooklyn and Queens, pits Claire Valdez, a democratic socialist assemblymember who is known for her anti-Israel activism, against Antonio Reynoso, the progressive Brooklyn borough president boasting establishment support from the outgoing incumbent, Velazquez, and the state attorney general, Letitia James, among other elected officials and groups.

But even as Reynoso entered the race in a favorable position, well-known to voters for his reputation as a more traditional progressive, he has struggled in his campaign to gain traction, recently calling himself an underdog, thanks to Valdez’s support from Mamdani paired with the grassroots organizational muscle of a resurgent DSA. A recent poll showed Valdez narrowly leading Reynoso by two points, with 23% of the vote, even while she is comparatively new to the district as a first-term state lawmaker.

Valdez’s favorable position has come as she has made opposition to Israel a primary focus of her campaign, while facing some scrutiny over her decision to sit for a friendly discussion earlier this month with a Twitch streamer who was once suspended from the platform for calling Jews a “demonic ethnicity.” Her campaign did not respond to a request for comment concerning the interview.

In a separate House primary in upper Manhattan as well as parts of the Bronx, Jewish leaders have begun to raise alarms about an insurgent challenger to Espaillat, a veteran incumbent who, like Goldman, is backed by the pro-Israel group AIPAC. In the final weeks of the race, he is now facing what Democratic strategists say is an increasingly serious threat from Darializa Avila Chevalier, a DSA-endorsed organizer who helped lead campus anti-Israel demonstrations at Columbia University.

“Folks seem to be getting very nervous,” one Jewish leader following the race told JI, echoing others who relayed similar concerns about the contest as it enters its closing stretch.

An internal campaign poll conducted in March, for instance, put Avila Chevalier at 28% among primary voters, with Espaillat at 42%, a poor showing for an incumbent who has held office for close to a decade. Political observers suggested the race could be closer as the primary nears and Avila Chevalier rides a wave of anti-establishment, leftist sentiment now shaping several races across the country where the DSA is involved.

In addition to backing an arms embargo on Israel and efforts to boycott the Jewish state, both Avila Chevalier and Valdez pledged to “refrain from any affiliation with the Israeli government and Zionist lobby groups, including but not limited to AIPAC, J Street, or DMFI,” according to DSA questionnaires reviewed by JI.

Justice Democrats, the far-left group that has frequently targeted incumbents, has also endorsed both candidates and is now spending to boost their campaigns. On Wednesday, it dropped $260,000 on ads to help boost Avila Chevalier — suggesting it sees the race as in play. The group also made its first foray into Valdez’s primary this week, according to filings, spending $11,000 on digital ads to prop up her bid.

Reynoso and Espaillat, meanwhile, can expect seven figures spent independently on their behalf in the coming weeks, a Democratic operative familiar with the matter told JI, but did not disclose the source of such funding.

The upcoming expenditures foreshadow what is shaping up to be a bitterly contested fight between the Democratic establishment and the far left now seeking to supplant it.

Still, there are signs that the far left is struggling to gain traction outside of deeply progressive districts. For example, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), a pro-Israel stalwart facing a challenge from former state lawmaker Michael Blake, who has made opposition to AIPAC a key part of his messaging, is expected to prevail. A recent poll showed Torres with a commanding 60% of the vote share, far outpacing Blake, who held just 15% in the Bronx-based district.

Torres’ position “shows that if you are actually working hard in your district and are there and present and delivering, then you should be OK,” Coffey, the Democratic strategist, told JI, noting that the congressman also developed a positive relationship with Mamdani, despite their disagreements on Middle East policy.

Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic strategist in New York City, characterized the DSA’s strategy as part of a “long-term plan” to “take over legislatures” across the country and influence foreign policy at the congressional level, as other far-left candidates have made inroads in key House races in Philadelphia and Denver. “New York is just the beginning,” he told JI.

ANALYSIS

Democrats reject antisemite in Texas while Trump tightens GOP grip

The results painted a picture of a volatile electorate in both parties

(Stewart F. House/Getty Images)

Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at an election night watch party held by the Lone Star Liberty PAC at the Dallas/Plano Marriott at Legacy Town Center on May 26, 2026 in Plano, Texas.

By

Josh Kraushaar

May 27, 2026

In last night’s Texas primary runoffs, Democrats successfully prevented a virulent antisemite from becoming the party’s nominee in a battleground House race, while voters also ousted one of the party’s longtime anti-Israel lawmakers for a younger, more pragmatic replacement.

On the Republican side, President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was the decisive factor in Paxton’s sweeping victory over Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), a widely respected pragmatic conservative who served for years in party leadership.

The results painted a picture of a volatile electorate in both parties. A late push by the Democrats’ House campaign arm and the pro-Israel advocacy group Democratic Majority for Israel helped prevent sex therapist Maureen Galindo, who advocated putting pro-Israel Jews in internment camps as part of her campaign message, from winning a valued nomination in Texas’ swing 35th Congressional District.

Johnny Garcia, a Bexar County sheriff’s deputy long touted by national Democrats as a top recruit, won the Democratic nomination by 28 points (64-36%) despite finishing in second place in the primary. He will face Republican Air Force veteran Carlos de la Cruz in the general election.

DMFI’s political action committee touted its role as an early endorser of Garcia’s campaign, and for being one of the first and few groups to raise the red flag on Galindo’s extreme views. In its victory statement, DMFI also condemned the efforts from a secretive GOP group to spend nearly $1 million on Galindo’s behalf, in hopes of elevating a more vulnerable Democratic candidate to the general election.

On the positive side, an extremist was defeated thanks to leading Democratic Party organizations and officials rushing to condemn her candidacy. It’s a sign of how institutions can use their power to unify in speaking out against hate. On the other hand, she still won over one-third of the runoff vote despite the full-court press from Democrats to oppose her, a sign that it may take aggressive measures simply to stop a crank from prevailing.

Pro-Israel leaders also cheered the resounding defeat of Rep. Al Green (D-TX), who has alienated the Houston Jewish community with his anti-Israel votes in Congress in recent years and lackluster constituent services. Green lost by nearly 40 points to Rep. Christian Menefee (D-TX), who was just elected to Congress in a neighboring district and was forced to run against his colleague as a result of redistricting.

AIPAC tweeted a congratulatory note to Menefee after he prevailed, cheering his “victory tonight over one of the most outspoken anti-Israel voices in Congress.” Menefee, a former Harris County attorney, was generally a critic of Israel’s wartime actions during its campaign in Gaza, but unlike Green, refused to describe its war against Hamas as a “genocide.” He also said during a debate against Green that he understood why a democratic nation would want to wage a war against a terrorist group.

And in a suburban Dallas district that pitted former Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) against his successor, Rep. Julie Johnson (D-TX), Allred prevailed in the battle of the two experienced politicos. Allred was the party’s unsuccessful nominee for the Senate in 2024 and considered another Senate campaign before pivoting and deciding to run for the House again.

The race generating the most national headlines was Paxton’s resounding victory over Cornyn by 28 points (64-36%) — proving another example of Trump’s endorsement power in Republican nomination fights. Cornyn had been one of the state’s most popular Republican elected officials before facing growing grassroots opposition from the right over his pragmatism and lack of deep MAGA bona fides. Paxton, despite facing considerable personal baggage, sensed Cornyn’s vulnerability with the base — and in the end, parlayed a Trump endorsement to victory.

This month alone, Trump defeated five of seven targeted Indiana state senators for resisting redistricting efforts, ousted Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) in primaries over perceived disloyalty and handily dispatched the battle-tested Cornyn. Trump is struggling to maintain support with many Americans, but within the Republican Party, his grip is still tight.

LANDER LEANS IN

Lander uses mosque visit to accuse Israel of ‘potentially’ committing genocide in Lebanon

The congressional frontrunner bashed Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah in an address at the Al Khoie Islamic Center in Queens

Ryan Murphy/Getty Images

Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander speaks to members of the media, alongside supporters, before appearing in court on February 12, 2026 in New York City.

By

Will Bredderman

May 21, 2026

Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander — favored to defeat Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) in next month’s Democratic primary — broadened his already sweeping criticism of Israel in a speech to a Queens mosque earlier this month, suggesting the country’s actions against Hezbollah in Lebanon could constitute genocide.

As shown in a video of May 15 services posted to the Al-Khoei Islamic Center’s YouTube page, Lander told worshippers that he is “a very proud Jewish New Yorker,” quoted a Quranic verse on unity and recalled his cross-endorsement in the 2025 election with now-New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

He drew a parallel with the Jewish concept of B’tzelem Elohim, or the creation of humanity in the divine image — and pivoted then to a topic that has animated his campaign: what he called “Israel’s genocide in Gaza,” which Lander described as “a Jewish requirement” to denounce.

He also repeated a pledge to vote against further military aid to Israel in Congress, but went even farther in his criticism of the country than he has in the past.

“I will not vote for any more U.S. military aid to Israel, not the bombs that are destroying the hospitals and schools in Gaza, not the occupation in Lebanon which is now I believe on its way potentially to being a genocide as well,” he said from the pulpit. “I pray for the day when Palestinians and Lebanese and Israelis can come to know one another, recognize each other’s equal humanity, the spark of divine image, the need for safety and peace and not for occupation and apartheid and genocide and oppression and war.”

He further vowed to work closely with anti-Israel Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) if elected to Congress.

The comments mark an even further swing leftward for Lander, who has long identified as a “progressive Zionist” and once drew fire from now-allies like Jewish Voice for Peace for participating in a City Council delegation to Israel.

Goldman, who has been a reliable supporter of Israel in Congress, has also grown increasingly critical of the Jewish state but remains supportive of continued U.S. military aid.

Al Khoei, a Shi’ite mosque named for a rival to late Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, sits well outside the Brooklyn-Manhattan House district Lander hopes to represent but has been a common stop for politicians, including former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

problematic platforming

Nevada GOP candidate Marty O’Donnell hosted neo-Nazi influencer on podcast

In August 2025, O’Donnell hosted a popular far-right influencer best known by his online pseudonym ‘Raw Egg Nationalist’ on his podcast for a friendly discussion

Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons

Marty O’Donnell

By

Marc Rod

May 19, 2026

Marty O’Donnell, a Republican candidate in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District recently endorsed by President Donald Trump, hosted a Nazi supporter on his podcast last year, months after filing to run for Congress.

O’Donnell is an outsider candidate who also ran in the district in 2024, placing fourth in the GOP primary. He was best known before his political career as the music composer for the “Halo” video game series.

But with Trump’s endorsement — as well as backing from the National Republican Congressional Committee’s MAGA Majority program — the unlikely political candidate has become the favorite for the nomination, despite facing a former U.S. ambassador to Iceland, among others.

In August 2025, O’Donnell hosted Charles Cornish-Dale, a popular far-right influencer better known by his online pseudonym “Raw Egg Nationalist,” on his podcast for a friendly discussion. Repeatedly, over the course of multiple years, Cornish-Dale has shared antisemitic and pro-Nazi content on his Raw Egg Nationalist X account.

Those posts include a quote from Mein Kampf alongside a meme featuring a man in a Nazi uniform in front of a swastika flag; a reference to the “zog” — a conspiracy theory claiming Zionist control of the U.S. government and society; the shorthand “HH” — which stands for Heil Hitler; an advertisement for “Blood, Soil and Grass-fed Beef” t-shirts — referencing a Nazi and white nationalist slogan; and various other Nazi-sympathetic posts.

In his introduction to the interview, O’Donnell acknowledged that Cornish-Dale has been “accused of many weird — fascist, nationalist, white nationalist, misogynist, you name it — he’s been accused of everything. And of course I’m being accused of those things too, so I had to talk to him to find out what’s true and what’s not true.” He called the interview “one of those sort of marriages made in heaven.”

“Charles Cornish Dale was booked by Marty’s production team. Marty was unfamiliar with Dale before the interview and was unaware of these posts shared by Jewish Insider until we received the inquiry,” Keith Schipper, a spokesperson for O’Donnell, said in a statement. “Marty’s support of Israel is unequivocal and, as seen in various interviews and online posts, he will not tolerate the rise of anti-semitism in our country. Marty will continue to fight bigotry, misinformation, and hate toward Israel because it is the right and moral thing to do.”

Later in the interview, O’Donnell again dismissed criticisms of Cornish-Dale, including accusations of white nationalism and misogyny, as not credible. Cornish-Dale responded, “Once upon a time you were a Nazi if you held specific political beliefs and worshiped Adolf Hitler and all that, and now you’re just a Nazi if you’re right wing” — glossing over his own past commentary.

O’Donnell’s personal Discord server — The Marty Army — which he has used and promoted for campaign purposes, also contains a number of users who have shared antisemitic, pro-Nazi and anti-Israel sentiments, even as O’Donnell himself has personally debated with and threatened to ban some of those users from the server — and appears to have banned at least one such user.

Some of those comments, including a series of comments deriding the Anti-Defamation League, have been shared in a channel dedicated to O’Donnell’s congressional campaign.

O’Donnell’s friendly interview with Cornish-Dale comes in spite of his own personal history of speaking out against antisemitism and in support of Israel on social media, in the Discord server and in other public forums.

In a recent podcast interview, O’Donnell leaned into the religious and historical connection between Jews and Christians, and emphasized the West’s “Judeo-Christian” heritage.

“These Christian weirdos who are heretics, who say, ‘Oh, well, the Jews killed Jesus.’ Like, no, Jesus said, ‘No one takes my life from me. Amen. I lay down willingly. I’m doing my Father’s will.’ This is the plan for saving humanity, and it’s a Judeo-Christian plan. That’s God’s plan. That’s the people He chose,” O’Donnell said.

He said he believes that politics now is a form of “spiritual warfare,” including against antisemitic figures on the far right.

“How else do you explain Candace Owens? How else do you explain Tucker Carlson? Some evil spirit has clouded their minds, whether they’re just grifting for money or something evil is happening, but it’s spiritual warfare,” he said.

“Antisemitism, or Jew Hatred, is NOT ‘woke right’. Groypers, [Nick] Fuentes, and his followers are as far from the right as any of the godless Marxist progressives are,” he said at another point on X last year.

RECENT NEWS

PIKER PROBLEM

More Democrats speak out against El-Sayed’s relationship with Hasan Piker

GOING ALONE

El-Sayed doubles down on anti-Israel rhetoric amid Piker controversy

ON THE HILL

Moskowitz to take over as top Democrat on Middle East subcommittee

THREAT THWARTED

Man arrested for threatening to kill Rep. Randy Fine

SURVEY SAYS

New poll shows Pa. voters approve of Shapiro’s centrist, pro-Israel approach

OFF THE SHELF

From Beirut to Riyadh, Assouline’s luxury book collection has yet to spotlight an Israeli city

daily kickoff

Mamdani’s mum moment

analysis

Trump’s Senate endorsement streak tested with Graham-Norman runoff

INTERNET AGE

Bipartisan group introduces bill to make influencers register under FARA

CONFRONTING HATE

Jeffries blasts Piker’s claims that American Jews are inciting antisemitic violence

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Stories You May Have Missed

CONFRONTING HATE

Jeffries blasts Piker’s claims that American Jews are inciting antisemitic violence

HOLLYWOOD HEADACHE

Jewish leaders speak out against actor Mark Ruffalo’s ‘antisemitic’ attack against Ellison family

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Stories You May Have Missed

BOOKSHELF

In new book, Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib argues Hamas has held Palestinian population hostage for 20 years

MONEY MOVES

UAE deals major blow in cutting Iran financial ties — but experts warn Tehran has work-arounds

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Stories You May Have Missed

GOING LOCAL

Socialist surge happening in under-the-radar local and state legislative races

COLD TURKEY

Turkey-linked group in Eric Adams bribery scandal advertising event with Ryan Zinke

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

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

Stories You May Have Missed

SUNSHINE STATE SOCIALISM

Florida Democrats nominate DSA candidate for Senate race

CAMPUS BEAT

ADL-AEN report details higher ed unions being hijacked by anti-Israel activists

Today’s Agenda

One Thing To Know

Florida voters reject political extremes

The Big Reads

DISARMAMENT DOUBTS

Pro-Israel foreign policy officials wary of Trump administration’s Gaza diplomacy

game changer

Sen. Darline Graham, at debate: ‘National security is not my thing’

campus beat

ADL-AEN report highlights unions being hijacked by anti-Israel activists

The Rundown

sunshine state socialism

Florida Democrats nominate DSA candidate for Senate race