Plus, why UDP passed on NJ-12
Ilia YEFIMOVICH / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a ceremony commemorating Israel's Remembrance Day on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on April 21, 2026.
Add JewishInsider on GoogleGood Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we talk to local Jewish leaders in New Jersey about the decision by pro-Israel PACs to sit out the Democratic primary in NJ-12, in which a candidate with past terror ties eked out a small plurality that sets him on a glide path to Washington, and talk to Sens. Dave McCormick and John Fetterman about their concerns over rising antisemitism. We cover comments made by a senior State Department official blaming the Oslo Accords for the rise in global Islamist terrorism, and have the exclusive on a new Senate bill that would coordinate Middle East air-defense acquisitions. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Ambassador Charles Kushner, Nirel Zini and Argentine President Javier Milei.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- President Donald Trump is slated to meet today at the White House with Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox patriarchate of Jerusalem, who will present the president with the Great Bearer of the Cross of the Order of Cross-Bearers of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the church’s top honors.
- The Senate will begin a series of votes this morning on a range of issues — known on the Hill as a “vote-a-rama” — that is expected to last for hours.
- The House Armed Services Committee is holding its markup of the 2027 NDAA this morning.
- The House Ways and Means Committee will hear from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this morning, a day after Bessent appeared before the Senate Finance Committee. (Of note: Bessent clarified an exchange that occurred last summer between himself and acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte in which Bessent said he told Pulte that he “was going to kick his a**.”)
- New York’s PIX11 will host a debate for candidates in the NY-12 Democratic primary, a day after candidates Alex Bores, Laura Dunn, Micah Lasher, Jack Schlossberg and Nina Schwalbe participated in a debate hosted last night by the Jewish Democratic Council of America. Bores, Lasher and Schlossberg will be joined by George Conway at tonight’s debate.
- New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin is slated to mark Holocaust Survivor Day at the headquarters of UJA-Federation of New York, where she’ll meet with survivors and their families.
- Elsewhere in New York, Tech Tribe is hosting a dinner tonight with Yossi Farro and Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone on the sidelines of NYC Tech Week.
- In Geneva, Switzerland, UN Watch is holding its annual gala dinner. This year’s dinner will feature French journalist Abnousse Shalmani and activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MELISSA WEISS
It’s a strange moment when the leader of the free world explains to a reporter why he cursed out the prime minister of a major ally.
But we live in an increasingly strange moment, one in which President Donald Trump confirmed to the New York Post this week that he had indeed called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “f***ing crazy” during a discussion about Israel’s plans to expand operations in Lebanon, even as he stressed that he and the Israeli leader have “worked very well together.” (Trump’s confirmation came after Netanyahu’s office denied the remarks.)
The tense nature of the Trump-Netanyahu call this week underscores the increasingly divergent tactics the two are taking to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East as Trump leans into diplomacy while Netanyahu pushes for intensified military action — and as questions loom over the future of U.S. aid to Israel.
With the House’s passage of a war powers resolution yesterday (with four Republicans breaking with House GOP leadership), and a Senate vote on the issue still pending, the Trump administration’s appetite for a resumption of hostilities is even smaller than it was last month (when, as we reported, it was already quite low, owing to rising gas prices and the approaching midterms).
On paper, Washington and Jerusalem do appear in lockstep — alongside Beirut — on deepening relations between Israel and Lebanon and rooting out Hezbollah. To that effect, the White House announced in a joint statement with Lebanese and Israeli officials on Wednesday that the parties had agreed to a renewed ceasefire — though it is contingent on the cooperation of Hezbollah, which did not take part in the talks and continues to launch drones and missiles at northern Israel.
But even as officials in Washington reach an accord on Lebanon, the challenges on the ground remain much the same. It was, after all, the issue of Lebanon — and Netanyahu’s announcement that the IDF would attack Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut — that triggered Trump’s expletive-laden outburst on Monday, causing Netanyahu to walk back Israel’s military plans in Lebanon.
And while Netanyahu needs to stay in Trump’s good graces, it is voters in Israel — including those in the country’s north who are living under daily Hezbollah fire — whom Netanyahu will need to sway ahead of the fall elections.
SITTING IT OUT
UDP faces questions from N.J. Jewish leaders why it stayed on sidelines against Hamawy
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,Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. 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).
Sitting it out: 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%. 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.
Capitol concerns: Some lawmakers are warning that Hamawy’s past terrorist ties could pose a national security risk and that he should be barred from serving on sensitive committees working on national security issues, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
KEEPING IT GOING
Israel and Lebanon agree to extend ceasefire, establish joint security zones
Israel and Lebanon agreed on Wednesday to extend their ceasefire — which in practice has been tenuous — on the condition that Hezbollah disarms and withdraws from Israel’s northern border, and to jointly establish “pilot zones” where the Lebanese Armed Forces “will take exclusive control of the territory,” Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
Pushing forward: The parties, together with the U.S., announced the developments in a joint statement at the conclusion of the second and final day of the fourth round of peace talks between Israeli and Lebanese officials at the State Department. The group will reconvene for the next round of talks the week of June 22 “with a view toward reaching a comprehensive agreement,” the statement said. A State Department official told JI that the exact time and venue for the upcoming discussions have not yet been decided.
SUPPORTIVE VOICE
Stutzman introduces resolution backing Netanyahu’s call to wind down U.S. aid
Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) introduced a resolution on Wednesday endorsing and praising Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s call to wind down U.S. aid to Israel over the next decade, the latest twist in the rapidly evolving U.S. conversation over the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship and U.S. aid to Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Major moves: Few Republicans, at this point, have publicly endorsed Netanyahu’s effort, which comes amid talks between the U.S. and Israel over the next memorandum of understanding on military aid. Top U.S. officials have confirmed in recent days that ending U.S. aid to Israel is part of those discussions. Netanyahu himself offered a letter of support for the resolution, which Stutzman publicized alongside the resolution.
Setting a timeline: Netanyahu said in an interview with CNBC’s Sara Eisen on Wednesday that he wants to start the process of winding down U.S. aid to Israel in the final two years of the Trump administration, JI’s Emily Jacobs reports.
PEACE PARADOX
At AMIA commemoration, State Department official blames Oslo Accords for wave of terrorism
The State Department’s top legal advisor on Wednesday drew a direct connection between the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 — which sought to bring peace between the Israelis and Palestinians — and the global rise in Islamist terrorism, in remarks delivered at an event in Washington marking the anniversary of the deadly 1994 terror attacks on the AMIA Jewish Center in Buenos Aires, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
What he said: Reed Rubinstein, the State Department legal advisor, used his remarks to herald President Donald Trump’s efforts to fight terrorism, which he described as a course correction from decades of failed leadership. “The fruit of those accords paradoxically included a massive increase in brutal terrorism,” Rubinstein said, referring to the Oslo Accords. “Oslo led to an unprecedented wave of suicide bombing and death.”
SHARED ASSESSMENT
Fetterman, McCormick say Democrats have worse antisemitism problem than GOP
Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) told Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod on Tuesday that they 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 distinguished the left from the right, as similarly controversial candidates have struggled in GOP primary contests.
A pox on both houses: The Pennsylvania senators spoke to JI on the sidelines of the American Jewish Committee’s Global Forum. While both men acknowledged onstage and to JI that antisemitism exists within the conservative movement, they rejected the notion that it had taken hold of the GOP, arguing that the rise of Graham Platner’s Senate campaign in Maine and Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb’s nomination for a Philadelphia-area House seat showed that the Democratic Party had already normalized antisemitism within their party.
Tehran talk: Fetterman also told JI’s Emily Jacobs that he is growing increasingly concerned that President Donald Trump may agree to a deal with Iran that does not ensure the retrieval of Tehran’s stockpile of enriched uranium or that the regime will never acquire a nuclear weapon.
EXCLUSIVE
Senate lawmakers introduce bill to establish coordinated Middle East air-defense acquisitions
Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Joni Ernst (R-IA) and James Lankford (R-OK) are set to introduce a bill on Thursday directing the Pentagon to develop a coordinated air- and missile-defense acquisition strategy with Israel, Abraham Accords members and other Middle East allies, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Details: The Optimizing Acquisition Strategies for Integrated Security (OASIS) in the Middle East Act, which expands on existing legislative and administrative efforts to establish a coordinated air- and missile-defense system throughout the Middle East to protect the U.S. and its partners, would aim to ensure that the necessary resources are in place to protect the U.S. and its allies in future conflicts, sponsors said.
Worthy Reads
War Gains: In The Wall Street Journal, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice considers the accomplishments of the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. “The three-month military campaign degraded Iran’s ability to project power by significantly damaging its conventional forces, missile stockpiles and proxies. It drew America, Israel and the Arab states closer together through defense cooperation and intelligence sharing. In this regard, Israel has never been more secure. … The war demonstrated that the Iranian regime’s leaders were physically vulnerable to U.S. military power and allied intelligence.” [WSJ]
Hands Off AI: In the Financial Times, Argentine President Javier Milei argues in favor of unregulated AI. “At the beginning of the industrial revolution, Adam Smith illustrated the potential of technology and economies of scale in his celebrated recollection of the pin factory. And, as much as the industrial revolution freed us from the constraints of the human muscle, AI will free us from the constraints of the human brain, pushing productivity beyond our wildest dreams.” [FT]
The Center Holds: Puck’s Peter Hamby suggests that the results of California’s primaries this week underscore the degree to which many voters prefer moderate Democrats over candidates from the more extreme wing of the party. “As with other elections around the country dating back to last year, Democrats won or advanced by focusing on the basics. Yes, there were promises to stand up to Trump — table stakes for any Democratic messaging. (‘California is bigger than Trump,’ [former HHS Secretary Xavier] Becerra said in his primary night speech. ‘Our values are undeniable — and undeportable.’) But Tuesday’s winners, generally, ran on the cost of living, safe streets and playgrounds, good schools, and healthcare costs. Not exactly peak woke.” [Puck]
No Strait Jacket: In The New York Times, Christopher Smart, who served as a Treasury Department official during the Obama administration, posits that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is prompting a readjustment of global supply chains less dependent on the waterway. “The longer the Strait remains blocked, however, the less important oil from the Strait becomes. The S&P 500 is setting records not because investors believe peace is at hand, but because corporate earnings continue to grow and American consumers, particularly wealthier ones, are still buying. … The winners of this adjustment include U.S. oil and natural gas producers that can fill the Strait’s shortfall, as well as nuclear and renewable energy providers. ” [NYTimes]
Word on the Street
Federal officials announced charges against a resident of Newport Beach, Calif., alleging that the man, the CEO of an Iran-based tech company, provided “computer technology to Iranian companies and Iran’s government — including technology to help with Iran’s military and nuclear program”…
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) became the first Republican to co-sponsor the Block the Bombs Act, arguing the U.S. is “morally obligated to end support of Israel’s devastation of Gaza and its people” — going beyond his usual arguments against foreign aid generally. The bill now has 71 co-sponsors…
Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) on the House floor accused Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) of “advocat[ing] for terrorists on a daily basis” and of “hang[ing] out with” with Hezbollah “butchers”; Miller’s remarks were ultimately struck from the record with Tlaib’s objection, but he said in a statement read on the House floor by a colleague that he stood by his comments…
California Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar, who has made several failed runs for Southern California-area congressional seats, said that after falling short in his latest bid, in the state’s 48th District, his “political career is permanently over”…
The NYPD arrested an NYU student Wednesday for raising a flag that displayed swastikas and a Star of David atop a university building last month, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…
Former President Joe Biden, making a surprise appearance at his wife’s debut book event at the 92nd Street Y, told attendees he has a book coming out in September…
Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square is set to sell its remaining stake in Universal Music Group — amounting to approximately 80.6 million shares — in a deal that will garner Pershing Square at least $600 million, following failed attempts to take over the company…
The Qatar Foundation announced the launch of new study abroad partnerships for students at Hampton University, Xavier University and Prairie View A&M University — all HBCUs — to study at the Gulf state’s Education City…
Former Columbia University President Katrina Armstrong will step down as the CEO of the Columbia University Irving Medical Center to launch the Vagelos Institute for Basic Biomedical Research within the medical school…
The U.K.’s National Health Service will implement a series of measures designed to address what a new government-authorized report calls “routine ostracism” faced by Jewish patients and staff in the British healthcare system, including limiting the political symbols that staff can wear on their uniforms and requiring antisemitism training for the heads of the country’s health trusts…
Companies operating under Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund are seeing the departures of foreign CEOs and being replaced by locals as the fund focuses on domestic financial priorities ahead of the Gulf state’s hosting of the World Cup in 2034…
Israel’s High Court ruled against a government policy banning Red Cross officials from visiting Palestinian security prisoners, citing violations of both Israeli and international law…
Israeli forensic specialists are conducting DNA testing on bones found in Kfar Aza by relatives of Nirel Zini, who was killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks; Zini, whose girlfriend, Niv Raviv, was also killed, was decapitated during the attack, and his family buried his partial remains…
Kuwaiti officials said that one person was killed and more than 60 injured in an Iranian drone attack early Wednesday that caused significant damage to parts of the passenger terminal of the Gulf nation’s main airport; the airport reopened Wednesday evening…
Miami-based LGBTQ activist Ruth Shack died at 94…
Pic of the Day
U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner participated in a ceremony earlier this week organized by Operation Benjamin at the Meuse-Argonne American Military Cemetery in Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, France, to replace the headstones of five fallen Jewish servicemembers with Stars of David.
Birthdays
Lineman for the Miami Dolphins for 12 seasons, which included three Super Bowl appearances and four Pro Bowls, then a judge on the Miami-Dade County Court, Ed Newman turns 75…
Co-founder of Boston Properties and owner of U.S. News & World Report, Mort Zuckerman turns 89… Professor emeritus of organic chemistry at the Weizmann Institute of Science and winner of the 2012 Israel Prize, David Milstein turns 79… Retired chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, Stephen J. Markman turns 77… Former judge on the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia, he was the longest tenured member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Mark B. Cohen turns 77… British journalist, author of 11 books and socially conservative columnist for The Times of London, The Jerusalem Post and The Jewish Chronicle, Melanie Phillips turns 75… First-ever Jewish governor of Hawaii and then COO of Illinois, she serves on the board of directors of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Linda Lingle turns 73… President and CEO of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC until 2023, now president and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Daniel H. Weiss turns 69… Co-founder of Ripco Real Estate, Todd Cooper… Artist and art educator, she was born in Kibbutz Beeri, where she currently resides, Ziva Jelin turns 64… Chair in human cancer genetics at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dr. Matthew Langer Meyerson turns 63… Law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, Ayelet Shachar turns 60… U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) turns 55… French-Israeli entrepreneur, angel investor in over 360 startups, Jeremie Berrebi turns 48… Party photographer in Washington for the Washingtonian, Daniel Swartz… National politics reporter at The Washington Post, Colby Itkowitz… Israeli supermodel, Bar Refaeli turns 41… Clean energy portfolio planning program manager at Orange and Rockland Utilities, Adam E. Soclof… Director at Dentons Global Advisors, Jason Hillel Attermann… Managing editor at eJewishPhilanthropy, Judah Ari Gross turns 37… Gena Wolfson… Coordinating producer at MS NOW, Emily Gold… VP of government relations at UJA-Federation of New York and former Member of the New York state Assembly, Daniel Rosenthal turns 35… Ken Moss…
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.
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.”
Despite his baggage, Hamawy is expected to win election to Congress in November, given the central New Jersey district’s heavily Democratic electorate
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.
Democrats nominated a mix of pro-Israel moderates and anti-Israel ideologues in Tuesday’s primaries across the country, but the biggest red flag for the party is the emergence of a New Jersey nominee with past terror ties prevailing in a closely watched congressional contest.
Plastic surgeon Adam Hamawy prevailed with 28% of the vote in a crowded Democratic primary field in the race to succeed retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ).
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.
Hamawy, with the support of left-wing groups, some progressive lawmakers and the anti-Israel American Priorities super PAC, defeated 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.
Despite his baggage, Hamawy is expected to win election to Congress in November, given the central New Jersey district’s heavily Democratic electorate.
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 about their prospects in the swing district, which Kean only won by five points in 2024.
Democratic voters in the neighboring 11th Congressional District 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.
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.
New Jersey wasn’t the only state holding consequential primaries. In Iowa, the high-stakes Senate race is all set after Democrats nominated the more moderate state lawmaker Josh Turek, the favorite of the party establishment, over progressive state Sen. Zach Wahls.
Turek will face Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA). Iowa has lately been a reliably Republican state, but given President Donald Trump’s depressed approval ratings, Democrats are optimistic they can put the seat in play.
In California, the first wave of results suggest the likelihood of a general election matchup between Democratic former state Attorney General Xavier Becerra and former Fox News host Steve Hilton, a Republican who was backed by President Donald Trump, though there are many ballots remaining to be counted. Former hedge fund manager Tom Steyer, a Democrat, lags behind the top two vote-getters in third place.
In the Los Angeles mayor’s race, it’s looking likely that Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, will be facing Republican former reality show star Spencer Pratt in the general election. DSA-aligned City Councilmember Nithya Raman so far is trailing Pratt in third place.
In the race to succeed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), state Sen. Scott Wiener will face Connie Chan, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors — with the virulently anti-Israel Saikat Chakrabarti lagging far behind Chan.
Meanwhile, at least one of the two Democrats endorsed by the pro-Israel Democratic group DMFI is heading into a general election. The DMFI-backed San Diego Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert is comfortably ahead of Ammar Campa-Najjar, who was viewed as a less reliable supporter of the U.S.-Israel alliance. Von Wilpert will face Republican Jim Desmond, a San Diego County supervisor, in the swing district.
But in the battleground district of Rep. David Valadao (R-CA), the DMFI-endorsed candidate, state Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains, is narrowly trailing her left-wing, anti-Israel challenger Randy Villegas.
Shapiro, to Politico: ‘When you have people who are advocating for issues that they feel strongly about and they are having their voices silenced, I think that's a problem in our system’
Peter W. Stevenson/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro sits for an interview at the Pennsylvania State Capitol on June 11, 2025.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro warned of the dangers of efforts within the Democratic Party to single out AIPAC, telling Politico in a new interview that painting the pro-Israel group as “toxic” could be seen as silencing Jewish voices in the American political system.
“I think it’s been used cynically by some to try and silence certain voices, to try and say that certain people participating in politics shouldn’t count, or should be viewed in a toxic way,” Shapiro said in the interview, which was released on Tuesday.
Where some Democrats have recently distanced themselves from AIPAC, Shapiro declined to do so.
“Do I agree with every political decision they’ve made, every endorsement they made? Of course not,” said Shapiro. “I think what we have seen is a weaponization of that. And I think that is a danger for our system. When you have people who are advocating for issues that they feel strongly about and they are having their voices silenced, I think that’s a problem in our system.”
Shapiro, a potential 2028 presidential contender, declined to say whether he would accept support from AIPAC, which does not get involved in state or presidential races, nor did he address AIPAC’s tactics or its involvement in any particular race.
He cautioned that efforts to vilify the group have sometimes crossed a line into targeting American Jews’ political advocacy, noting that sometimes Jewish donors who currently or have in the past supported AIPAC are tarred just for being part of the political process.
“I think it does get blurred because now what you are seeing is not ‘AIPAC money,’” said Shapiro, “but you’re getting the Jews who give to that candidate who also support AIPAC. I think it’s very dangerous in our system, if you are trying to silence certain voices based on their race, based on their faith, based on their particular ideology.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is warning about the dangers of efforts within the Democratic Party to single out AIPAC.
— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) May 26, 2026
“I think it’s been used cynically by some to try and silence certain voices, to try and say that certain people participating in politics shouldn’t count, or… pic.twitter.com/uighmwoMgu
Shapiro, who is one of the most prominent Jewish politicians in the U.S., described a “dramatic spike in antisemitism across this country.” He condemned the Islamophobic attack on a mosque in San Diego last week in which three people were killed while also pointing out that, overall, antisemitism is a much larger problem than other forms of hate.
“There is rising hatred and bigotry targeting people across the board, but it is also undeniable, and no one’s pain is greater or more important than others, but from a data perspective, there has been a dramatic spike in antisemitism that is unmatched elsewhere, and that’s a problem,” said Shapiro.
Asked whether he plans to run for president, Shapiro declined to answer. But he said his family had to consider whether he should run for reelection this year in Pennsylvania after an arson attack on the governor’s mansion last year on the first night of Passover.
“My family and I spent a bunch of time thinking about running for reelection. It is hard for me as a dad to know that doing this job I love, this job I find great purpose in where I get to help people, puts my kids’ lives at risk,” said Shapiro. “I’m not going to cower. I’m not going to be fearful.”
The penalty is less severe than the original legislation endorsed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, which would have charged such obstruction as a felony, but expands the buffer zone to 50 feet
Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
NYPD officers set up barricades separating pro-Israel and anti-Israel protesters on Sept. 25, 2025 in New York City.
The final version of the New York state “buffer zone” legislation passed by the state Legislature on Tuesday makes it a Class B misdemeanor — one of the lowest levels of criminal offense — to “knowingly” infringe on the right of access or egress to a religious institution, or to cause those entering or exiting to fear for their safety from a distance of less than 50 feet.
The language is less punitive than the legislation that Gov. Kathy Hochul initially endorsed, which would have made it a low-level felony for demonstrators to obstruct doorways and driveways at houses of worship. But the 50-foot enforcement zone in the final draft is twice as large as the one described in the earlier versions of the bill, and would apply to sidewalks as well as private parking lots and other entry points.
The measure explicitly covers community centers, as well as any other sort of facility that “a reasonable person would know that religious adherents collectively recognize as a place to regularly gather for or hold religious services, observance, prayer, assembly, education, instruction, or devotional practice” — indicating that the bill also shields religious schools.
UJA-Federation of New York, which became a leading proponent for the measure following pro-Hamas protests that targeted synagogues in Manhattan and Queens, applauded the measure ahead of its passage as part of the legislative package around the New York state budget.
The Jewish advocacy group particularly praised Hochul — as well as state Sen. Sam Sutton and Assemblymember Micah Lasher — for championing the proposal.
“We commend Governor Hochul and the state legislature for taking decisive action to protect New Yorkers by passing ‘buffer zone’ legislation, ensuring that safety and security remain a top priority across our communities,” the group said in a statement to Jewish Insider. “Governor Hochul, Senator Sutton, and Assemblyman Lasher have demonstrated strong leadership in their unwavering effort to help ensure safe access to critical community institutions and safeguard the right to worship free of harassment and intimidation.”
The state legislation is distinct from a recently passed city law compelling the NYPD to develop formal protocols for deploying security perimeters around houses of worship during protests. Both measures, as well as a separate New York City bill to establish security perimeter policy around schools — vetoed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, but since modified and reintroduced in the New York City Council — have received criticism from civil liberties groups, who allege they could interfere with First Amendment protections.
Hochul, for her part, heralded the measure as a victory for freedom of worship. The measure goes under her pen Tuesday evening, her office told JI.
“Every New Yorker should be able to enter their house of worship and practice their religion without fear,” the governor said in a statement. “As we’re witnessing an alarming rise in hate-fueled attacks and blatant antisemitism, I’m grateful our buffer zones legislation has passed and New Yorkers will be safer because of it.”
Jewish and pro-Israel groups seem at pains to clarify how they are now assessing an issue that has long been key to their advocacy — particularly as the conversation around funding and the possibility for a new MOU has rapidly evolved in recent months
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago club on December 29, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida.
Late last month, AIPAC circulated what seemed at first glance like a relatively anodyne memo stressing its support for the current 10-year memorandum of understanding between the United States and Israel, which guarantees $3.8 billion in annual military aid and missile-defense funding to Israel through 2028.
“Congress must fulfill America’s commitment by providing full security assistance and missile defense funding to Israel for the remainder of the MOU,” the group wrote in its missive published on April 28.
The memo was notable, however, for what it left out: calling to negotiate a follow-up MOU — the future of which has been a topic of ongoing speculation among analysts and lawmakers beginning to think about the contours of a potential new agreement in a changing political landscape.
That AIPAC had only urged the implementation of the final two years of the current deal was in many ways a tacit acknowledgement of shifting attitudes against U.S. military aid even among supporters of Israel.
The omission, intentional or not, was otherwise reflective of uncertainty around an agreement that has drawn scrutiny not only among Israel critics on the far left and right but also moderate defenders of Israel in both parties who are openly questioning the necessity of U.S. military assistance to a longstanding Middle East ally.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for winding down U.S. financial aid over the next decade, saying that the Jewish state has “come of age” and matured economically to continue on its own. In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” earlier this month, he confirmed that he wanted to immediately begin the process of weaning Israel off of U.S. aid, noting the future of the U.S.-Israel alliance should be focused on joint projects equally funded by Israel and the United States.
“Each U.S.-Israel MOU to date — negotiated by Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama — has laid the framework for the decade ahead, strengthening an alliance that advances American interests, supports a strong and capable ally in an unstable region, and drives a remarkable ecosystem of joint development and cooperation between two reliable allies,” Deryn Sousa, a spokesperson for AIPAC, told Jewish Insider in a recent statement.
Some pro-Israel Republican lawmakers — including Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Thune (R-SD), the Senate majority leader, and Roger Wicker (R-MS) — have welcomed the idea, even as the GOP has long touted its staunch support for such funding. Rahm Emanuel, the former Chicago mayor and Democratic presidential prospect who holds close personal ties to Israel, has advocated for immediately ending military aid to Israel, arguing it is not worth expending the “political capital” to promote spending that is facing mounting opposition in Congress and among voters.
But Jewish and pro-Israel groups seem at pains to clarify how they are now assessing an issue that has long been key to their advocacy — particularly as the conversation around such funding and the possibility for a new MOU, which remains an open question, has rapidly evolved in recent months.
“Each U.S.-Israel MOU to date — negotiated by Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama — has laid the framework for the decade ahead, strengthening an alliance that advances American interests, supports a strong and capable ally in an unstable region, and drives a remarkable ecosystem of joint development and cooperation between two reliable allies,” Deryn Sousa, a spokesperson for AIPAC, told Jewish Insider in a recent statement.
She added, “We appreciate the Trump administration working closely with the Israeli government toward a new agreement that will strengthen and define the mutually beneficial partnership in the years ahead.”
“We’re figuring it out ourselves,” said Michael Makovsky, the president and CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, adding that he believed Israel “made a mistake” in choosing to forgo U.S. financial aid. He suggested that the U.S. sign “one more” MOU with Israel to cover the next 10 years and help Israel replenish its munitions stocks amid the war against Iran, which he believes is key to advancing American interests in the region. “It zeroes down at the very end,” he explained to JI.
In lieu of an agreement, Makovsky floated “non-monetary” alternatives, for instance, a U.S.-Israel mutual defense treaty — though he questioned whether such a pact could gain enough support in the Senate, where most Democrats recently voted in favor of resolutions to block arms sales to Israel.
Former U.S. and Israeli officials have also recently called for building closer technological ties between the two countries, in anticipation of an era in which financial aid is not a defining feature of the alliance.
“The model in which Israel is assisted by the United States and receives aid has a very small chance of continuing under any future administration,” former IDF intelligence chief Amos Yadlin said this month while promoting a new strategic technology alliance with Tom Nides, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel. “And perhaps even under the Trump administration, so we need to find a new basis for the relationship that is a transition from aid to partnership.”
Even as analysts had indicated last year that the U.S. should begin considering what the next MOU entails, it is unclear if the process is now seriously underway, as Netanyahu’s remarks have complicated the effort. One Hill staffer to a pro-Israel House member told JI he had no knowledge of discussions at the moment.
President Donald Trump was initially surprised when Netanyahu first proposed winding down U.S. funding late last year and did not immediately lend support to the move, JI has previously reported.
A White House spokesperson declined to comment on the prospects for a future MOU, the framework for which first went into effect in 1998 during the Clinton administration. The current agreement was finalized in 2016 near the end of the Obama administration — which touted the deal as “the largest single pledge of military assistance in U.S. history” at the time.
Tal Naim, a spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy in Washington, referred JI to Netanyahu’s comments to “60 Minutes” this month.
Looking ahead, Brian Romick, the president of Democratic Majority for Israel, said “there can and should be a discussion about how the U.S.-Israeli security relationship should change with the times, how our partnership must evolve as Israel’s own capabilities grow and its security needs change, and how we can align on a long-term vision for the region.”
“While a new MOU should reflect that Israel’s economy has grown, it should also recognize that Israel’s defense requirements have too, and Israel may struggle to fill the gap in its defense budget that the loss of FMF would create,” Justin Leopold-Cohen, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Center on Military and Political Power who specializes in U.S.-Israel security cooperation, said.
But, he added, “that debate must bring a serious analysis grounded in prioritizing America’s interests and Israel’s security. It cannot shift with political changes or in the middle of a war, especially when American troops are actively deployed in the region. Ultimately this will be a negotiated agreement between two democratically elected governments.”
A spokesperson for the American Jewish Committee likewise used broad strokes to discuss a future MOU, saying it is “far more than a financial commitment.”
The agreement “is a cornerstone of a broader strategic relationship that advances both U.S. and Israeli national security interests, strengthens deterrence against shared adversaries, and reinforces America’s commitment to the security of its closest ally in the Middle East,” the spokesperson told JI. “At a time of growing regional volatility and evolving security threats, maintaining strong and sustained U.S.-Israel security cooperation remains critically important.”
Justin Leopold-Cohen, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Center on Military and Political Power who specializes in U.S.-Israel security cooperation, said that “there will likely be a new, heavily modified MOU following the current agreement’s expiration.”
Netanyahu, he told JI, “already revealed his desire to phase out American military aid, granted primarily as Foreign Military Financing,” which typically must be used to purchase U.S. defense products and services.
“While a new MOU should reflect that Israel’s economy has grown, it should also recognize that Israel’s defense requirements have too, and Israel may struggle to fill the gap in its defense budget that the loss of FMF would create,” Leopold-Cohen said.
Dan Shapiro, a U.S. ambassador to Israel in the Obama administration who served as a top defense official in the Biden administration, speculated that “the next MOU — if there is an MOU — will look very different from the current one.”
“It will likely phase out FMF, which both Prime Minister Netanyahu and Americans from the left and right are calling for,” Shapiro added. “It will likely emphasize joint research and development, sharing technological advances, and expanded co-production to answer President Trump’s question of what’s in it for the United States. To garner bipartisan support, it should include a consultative mechanism to ensure U.S. weapons are only used in ways consistent with American laws and values and that minimize civilian casualties.”
Daniel Silverberg, a former top foreign policy advisor to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), characterized the MOU as “mutually beneficial,” saying that “it does not need to be exclusively assistance-based.”
“There are many ways to expand cooperation that involve more than giving aid,” he said. “The MOU is a key framework to do so, and it’s crucial to spell that out for a skeptical U.S. audience.”
But, he emphasized to JI, “We can’t want the MOU more than the Israelis want it.”
Herzog’s comments come as liberal Jewish leaders, including Rabbi Rick Jacobs and David Saperstein of the Reform movement, repudiated Amb. Leiter’s harsh criticism of J Street
Aspen Security Forum
Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog
Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog said on Thursday that he does not view J Street, the progressive Israel advocacy group, as a pro-Israel organization, weighing in on the escalating war between his successor, Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, and J Street.
Leiter said earlier this week that he views J Street as a “cancer within the Jewish community,” citing its calls for restricting arms sales and U.S. aid to Israel, and calling group “two-faced” for purporting to be pro-Israel. J Street’s president, Jeremy Ben-Ami, has also accused Israel of genocide.
“To me, to be pro-Israel is to draw a clear line between criticizing Israeli government policies — and supporting anti-Israel agendas and libels de-legitimizing the State of Israel,” Herzog said on X. “To be pro-Israel is to go from pronouncing support for Israel’s right to exist (thank you for the generosity…), to supporting the provision of the means critical to defending that very existence.”
“To be pro-Israel is to listen to Israelis; In our vibrant democracy, most Israelis share the view that j-street doesn’t qualify as pro-Israel,” Herzog continued.
J Street did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Unlike Leiter, a longtime close political ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Herzog was appointed to his role by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, after Bennett’s coalition defeated Netanyahu in 2021, though Herzog remained in his role after Netanyahu was elected, until January 2025. Herzog’s brother, Isaac, is Israel’s president.
His comments criticizing J Street underscore the skepticism that Israeli leaders from across the ideological spectrum have towards the progressive advocacy organization.
The comments came as J Street rallied more than 500 Jewish leaders calling on Leiter to rescind his remarks and apologize for using language that “dehumanizes fellow Jews.” Signatories include Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY); former U.S. Ambassadors to Israel Dan Kurtzer and Tom Nides; Rabbis Rick Jacobs and David Saperstein, leaders of the Reform movement; and National Council of Jewish Women CEO Jody Rabhan.
At the same time, Leiter on Thursday morning offered a strong defense of the Reform movement, condemning Likud MK and Social Equality Minister Mai Golan for comments lambasting the denomination and telling a prominent Reform rabbi, “You’re marrying dogs in your delusional synagogues.”
Leiter said on X that he condemns “in the strongest terms Minister Mai Golan’s verbal attack on MK Gilad Kariv and on Reform Judaism in general.”
“As an Orthodox Jew and as Israel’s representative to the United States I find her words disgusting and reprehensible, worthy of excoriation and rebuke,” Leiter said. “Theological, political, and ideological differences are fine, even necessary for a healthy people. But there is a line that cannot be crossed, it is a line that divides debate from hate and separates altruism from populism. Too many are crossing the line.”
Leiter said he plans to meet in person with Reform leaders to apologize on Israel’s behalf.
While pro-Israel leaders were encouraged by the defeat of Massie in Kentucky, many watched warily as Rabb, a DSA-endorsed candidate with a long record of extremist rhetoric and conspiratorial views, prevailed in a Philadelphia-area Democratic primary
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images/Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. and Pennsylvania State Rep. Chris Rabb
Pro-Israel and Republican Jewish groups helped oust one of their leading GOP antagonists on Tuesday night, aligning with President Donald Trump to defeat Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) in the most expensive House primary in recent memory.
Ed Gallrein, a military veteran and farmer recruited by the Trump White House to challenge Massie, decisively defeated the congressman by 10 points, 55-45%. Massie, a libertarian lawmaker who long cast lonely Republican votes against Israel funding and resolutions condemning antisemitism, increasingly trafficked in bigoted rhetoric in the closing weeks of the campaign.
In his concession speech, Massie continued his antisemitic vitriol against his opponent, telling the crowd: “I had to call my opponent and concede, and it took a while to find Ed Gallrein in Tel Aviv.” Even though Trump’s outspoken opposition was the leading factor behind his demise, he routinely blamed Jewish and pro-Israel donors like Miriam Adelson for costing him his seat and insinuated that Israel was buying seats in Congress.
Massie first drew the ire of Trump for voting against his “big beautiful” reconciliation bill last year, and the anger was exacerbated by his work with Democrats to force the Department of Justice to release all of the files involving Jeffrey Epstein.
Outside groups, including a Trump-aligned super PAC (MAGA KY) and those affiliated with the Republican Jewish Coalition, AIPAC and Christians United for Israel, spent aggressively with ads and billboards attacking Massie over his record, with several pointing out his opposition to Israel and Trump’s foreign policy.
Massie’s defeat also underscores Trump’s strong and continued support within the party, with his endorsements in primaries almost always translating into his candidate’s victory. His opposition to Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) led to his defeat last week, and he successfully ousted most of the Indiana GOP state senators who opposed his redistricting efforts.
Trump’s next test will come next week In Texas, after he just endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s intraparty challenge against Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).
While pro-Israel leaders were encouraged by the defeat of a leading GOP antagonist in Kentucky, many watched warily as state Rep. Chris Rabb, a DSA-endorsed candidate with a long record of extremist rhetoric and conspiratorial views, prevailed in a Philadelphia-area Democratic primary for the seat of retiring Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA).
During the campaign, Rabb called Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza a genocide, and attacked his opponents for not doing the same.
Rabb comfortably led state Sen. Sharif Street by 14 points (44-30%), with surgeon Ala Stanford finishing in third with 24% of the vote. Rabb, who was endorsed by leading progressive lawmakers like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), also spent time campaigning and fundraising with antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker.
Rabb’s sharing of an Instagram post claiming the Bondi Beach terror attack that killed 14 Jews at a Chanukah celebration in Australia was a “false flag” perpetrated by Zionists did little to stunt his support. It also didn’t prevent Ocasio-Cortez from campaigning with him in the campaign’s closing days. (He claimed a former staffer was responsible for the post.)
Election results indicated that Rabb performed best in the whitest and wealthier precincts in the city, while Street and Stanford’s base was in the majority-Black working-class parts of Philadelphia.
The endorsement comes as the New York Democrat faces a tough primary challenge from progressive Brad Lander
(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) speaks at a news conference on June 18, 2025 in New York City.
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), a pro-Israel Democrat facing a formidable primary challenge from former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander next month, won a key endorsement on Thursday from the United Federation of Teachers, a union representing around 200,000 members.
“Dan Goldman has the integrity we need in Washington,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew said in a statement. “He fought to curb Trump’s abuses and supported raising taxes on the wealthy — like himself — to level the playing field so all Americans can live with dignity. We are proud to support Dan Goldman for New York’s 10th Congressional District.”
Goldman, a two-term congressman who represents a heavily Jewish district covering parts of Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, has been racking up labor support as he seeks reelection in the June 23 primary against Lander, an outspoken progressive endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
On Monday, Goldman joined New York Gov. Kathy Hochul at a labor rally in Lower Manhattan, where she touted his role as lead prosecutor in President Donald Trump’s first impeachment and called him a “go-to man” in Washington.
Despite such high-profile support, Goldman is still eyeing a tough primary in his progressive-leaning district. A recent poll commissioned by a super PAC backing his campaign, for instance, showed Goldman with 42% of the vote, trailing Lander by five points.
‘No defense, only offense,’ Gottheimer said at an event in Washington commemorating the 78th anniversary of Israel’s founding. 'I am sick and tired of people apologizing, of making excuses.'
Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) speaks during annual Jerusalem Post conference at Gotham Hall.
Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) urged the Jewish and pro-Israel communities to go on the offensive against antisemitism and anti-Israel attacks, in remarks on Wednesday at an event hosted by the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., commemorating the 78th anniversary of Israel’s founding.
Both lawmakers said they were fed up with constant attacks against the Jewish and pro-Israel communities — and against themselves and other pro-Israel lawmakers personally — for their stances, and urged the audience to forcefully push back and put those attacking the Jewish community and Israel on the defensive.
“No defense, only offense,” Gottheimer said. “I am sick and tired of people apologizing, of making excuses. We should feel proud of the U.S.-Israel relationship, of the independence, of what it’s done for America, of the bipartisan nature, historically, of the relationship and thank God we have Israel to help us fight terror, to stand for freedom and to stand for democracy.”
Moskowitz emphasized that lawmakers who support Israel are being held to a drastically different standard than they are about any other global conflict, just as, he argued, Israel is held to a different standard than other countries.
“We have to stop the defense. We as Jews feel like, ‘Oh, if we just educate them, if we just educate people, if we just give them the information, if we just talk to them, they’ll finally understand,’” Moskowitz said. “We have to flip the script. It’s enough of defending what Israel does. … We have to make the other side defend.”
He said that members of Congress should be grilled aggressively on their support for and relationships with extreme figures such as Hasan Piker and Tucker Carlson, and they should be forced to defend or justify the stances such figures have taken.
“We need all of you … to stand up, to fight back, to play offense, whether that’s against Hasan Piker, whether it’s Candance Owens, we need to make it very clear that’s not going to fly. You’re not going to mess with us. We’re coming for you,” Gottheimer agreed.
Other speakers at the event included Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter. Wright drew comparisons between President Harry Truman’s decision to recognize the state of Israel and President Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran.
“The United States and Israel will prevail, and we will remove a massive threat, and we will bring years and decades of peace, prosperity and restoring confidence in the economic, social and cultural progress of this awesome region, the Middle East, anchored by the state of Israel,” Wright said.
He paid homage to Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, the two Israeli Embassy staffers gunned down last year in an antisemitic attack at the Capital Jewish Museum, not far from the location of Wednesday night’s event.
Wright also highlighted Israel’s technological and energy sector successes and innovations.
Other lawmakers in attendance at the event included Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL), Randy Fine (R-FL), Don Bacon (R-NE), Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Virginia Foxx (R-NC).
Other administration officials who attended the event included Sebastian Gorka, Josh Gruenbaum and Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun.
The annual event also included, for the first time, a dance floor, DJ and live music, to highlight and celebrate the end of the yearslong Gaza hostage crisis — following through on a slogan that emerged following the Hamas massacre at the Nova Music Festival on Oct.7, 2023: “We will dance again.”
JDCA’s top activists made clear this week that a major concern is making sure pro-Israel Jews continue to be welcome in the party
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
Jewish Democratic Council of America CEO Halie Soifer in Washington on May 24, 2023.
When a group of Jewish Democratic activists and donors convened in Washington this week for the annual leadership summit of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, the message seemed to be one of defiance: defiance against President Donald Trump, to be sure, but also a defiant attitude pushing back against some of the recent shifts within the party.
JDCA’s primary objective is to elect Democrats. But as more Democrats have taken positions critical of or outright hostile to Israel, JDCA’s top activists made clear this week that another major concern is making sure pro-Israel Jews continue to be welcome in the party.
“We are fighting to ensure that the views and values of Jewish Americans continue to find their political home in the Democratic Party in Michigan and beyond, and we have work to do,” Halie Soifer, the group’s CEO, said on Tuesday night. She noted that the JDCA hopes to help defeat Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, a far-left candidate who appears to be rising in the polls.
“It’s clear there’s one candidate whose views are antithetical to ours, and we want to ensure he’s defeated,” said Soifer, though she did not name El-Sayed directly. JDCA has not endorsed either of his opponents, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow or Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI).
“We at JDCA only support Democrats, but we do not support them all,” Soifer told the summit. “We understand it’s not just about electing Democrats. It’s about electing Democrats who align with us, and this includes efforts to ensure that candidates who have espoused anti-Israel and/or antisemitic views are defeated before November.”
Over the two-day gathering, a parade of high-profile speakers from Democratic leadership — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), along with Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Steny Hoyer (D-MD), respectively the former House speaker and majority leader — addressed the convening. Their appearances seemed designed to affirm that Democrats remain pro-Israel and committed to fighting antisemitism.
“We have to decisively confront antisemitism from wherever it comes from,” said Jeffries. “I will always hold firm in my support for the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and eternal homeland for the Jewish people.”
Schumer did not specifically discuss Israel but raised concerns about the increasing use of the word “Zionist” as a slur.
“I’ve long said we must fight antisemitism wherever and whenever it appears, even if it’s in our own party. I’ll continue to do so,” said Schumer. “Today, antisemitism takes all different forms: Holocaust denialism, conspiratorial delusions of Jewish or Zionist control of the world, replacing the word ‘Jewish’ with the word ‘Zionist’ to demonize Jewish communities.”
The outgoing Democratic leaders were not as sanguine, instead offering a note of caution about how the dynamic towards Israel has shifted within the Democratic Party.
“Always, but right now, we really have to work together to make sure that support for Israel is, without question, bipartisan,” Pelosi said. “It doesn’t mean we don’t have our differences of opinion … but it should not weaken the fact that we have bipartisan support. That has always been the tradition, and we must make sure we get through this place where we are, where there may be some doubt in people’s minds as to whether that is a value.”
Pelosi is retiring at the end of this year, as is Hoyer, who was even more blunt: “How many of you have been anxious yourselves about rhetoric heard from some Democratic officials and candidates? We ought to be,” he said.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) said he hoped to prove that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) does not speak for the party on matters related to Israel, though he noted with worry that Sanders’ attitude — one that is deeply critical of Israel — appears to be on the rise.
“It’s clearer and clearer to me that there is real alarm about a fundamental break between Democrats as a party and Israel as a nation, and I’m going to do everything I can to resist and oppose that break, while criticizing [Benjamin] Netanyahu and his values and decisions,” said Coons. “I’m trying to be an effective and engaged voice with a perspective that you just heard and not have Bernie Sanders be the only senator whose perspective and attitude is heard across the country.”
Forty Senate Democrats voted last month for a Sanders-authored resolution attempting to block some arms sales to Israel, a record high. Coons said he knows those senators still support Israel’s right to exist, but cautioned that being too critical of Netanyahu can give cover to people who are actually anti-Israel.
“I strongly support Israel’s right to exist, its right to be a Jewish homeland and a democracy, and its value to the American people as a partner and ally,” said Coons. “I think we are at risk of some of my colleagues, in trying to send a message to Netanyahu or in opposition to his policies and stances, to be misunderstood as abandoning that commitment.”
Coons said that on the campaign trail, and on recent trips around the country, he hears “profound concern about where’s the Democratic Party going on Israel.” Some Jewish politicians who addressed the JDCA summit expressed a deeper sense of unease and discomfort about their Jewish identity, against the backdrop of rising antisemitism.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who spoke at a cocktail reception Tuesday evening, talked about how challenging it is to be a Jewish elected official in the current environment.
“It has become deeply, deeply complicated to be a Jew in America,” said Slotkin. “There’s not a single day that goes by for myself representing the state of Michigan that I am not feeling torn.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey delivered a jolt of energy to the room with an impassioned speech about his community’s support for immigrants in the face of ICE enforcement activity, which resulted in the killing of two American citizens by ICE agents in his city in January. When a JDCA member asked him for advice on how to respond to others in the Democratic Party who have made anti-Zionism a political litmus test, he expressed concern.
“It has been deeply concerning for me personally, as a proud Jew,” Frey said. “I am a great supporter of the endurance of our American Republic, a big believer that America should continue to exist, and an adamant opponent of Donald Trump. The same thing can apply to Israel.”
Ultimately, though, the gathering was a political pep rally — a chance for Democratic activists and donors to hear from politicians at all levels of government and gin up excitement ahead of this year’s midterm elections. Everyone who addressed the gathering all but guaranteed that Democrats would take back control of the House and Senate.
The conversations seemed meant to ressure Jewish Democrats about both the party’s fortunes for November and its treatment of pro-Israel Jews. One JDCA activist described the group’s work as “grasstops,” which was demonstrated by the appearances from top party leaders.
But the anti-Israel sentiment that has steadily grown within the party over the past three years is not coming from party leaders; it is driven by far-left activists. Whether JDCA has a plan to counter that grassroots energy remains to be seen — and the answer will only come at the ballot box later this year.
The former House majority leader urged American Jews not to abandon the Democratic Party, despite acknowledging many now feel unwelcome
JDCA
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) at the Jewish Democratic Council of America’s annual leadership summit, May 12, 2026
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), a pro-Israel stalwart and a former House majority leader, said on Tuesday that Jewish Democrats “ought to be” concerned about the critical way that some of their Democratic colleagues talk about Israel.
“How many of you here tonight have been trying to convince a family member, a friend, a neighbor not to abandon the party that has long been their political home?” Hoyer said in remarks at the Jewish Democratic Council of America’s annual leadership summit, where he was honored with an award marking his upcoming retirement, after 45 years in Congress.
He was introduced by three of his current and former Jewish senior staffers, including Brian Romick, the CEO of Democratic Majority for Israel.
“How many of you have been anxious yourselves about rhetoric heard from some Democratic officials and candidates? We ought to be,” said Hoyer. “I will stand up and say, ‘I do not agree with that.’”
Hoyer, a longtime champion of pro-Israel legislation, used the speech to reiterate his commitment to the Jewish state and explain why he thinks Democrats should support Israel. But even as he acknowledged issues of antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment in the party, he also pitched American Jews to maintain their historic support for Democrats and urged those who are unhappy with the party’s leftward shift on Israel to allow room for nuance, and to work to reverse it.
He said he disagreed with the 40 Senate Democrats who voted in April against certain arms sales to Israel, but added that he still believed those lawmakers would support the Jewish community. He encouraged JDCA activists to keep calling those senators to push them to change their minds.
“Those same 40 senators will stand up for you all the time. I disagree with them, but the fact of the matter is, keep in mind, it is not day to day. It is long-term commitment that counts. They need to keep hearing from you,” said Hoyer. “They need to keep seeing us fight to keep our party strong and pro-Israel, and consistent with its values. And they need to see our passion and our resolve.”
Reflecting on his 22 visits to Israel over the last five decades, Hoyer called the trips particularly meaningful due to his Baptist faith. Still, he said he could not distill into words the reason for his deep-rooted affection for Israel.
“I really can’t put my finger on why, but I know that’s what I feel. I know that I feel that the Jewish community … for millennia has been the object of scorn, derision, prejudice, hate and violence,” said Hoyer. “At a very early age, I thought that was wrong, and I am so proud that I had the opportunity to not only say it was wrong, but to try and make it right.”
Hoyer described himself as “a champion for Israel,” a title he said made him proud. He insisted he is not alone in that category among Democrats.
“The majority of Democrats still stand, in my view, and will continue to stand with Israel and with the Jewish people,” said Hoyer. “I’m confident we will be able to overcome this moment and defeat Trumpism at the ballot box, while defeating antisemitism and anti-Zionism in our politics.”
In the speech, Hoyer praised American Jews for the leading role they have played in Democratic politics. He insisted that he will make sure they are still welcome even as he leaves office.
“The Democratic Party has long stood for the same values that Jewish tradition teaches: caring for the sick and hungry, ensuring equal opportunity for all, freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, freedom of choice, freedom for workers to organize and justice for all under the rule of law,” said Hoyer.
“For as long as I am in office, and even in retirement,” he continued, “I will stand with you in strong support, strong foundation for our party as the warm and welcoming home for pro-Israel Jewish voters who care deeply about equal rights, justice and opportunity for all Americans.”
Plus, acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling's Jewish roots
NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE - OCTOBER 13: Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the 2023 First in the Nation Leadership Summit on October 13, 2023 in Nashua, New Hampshire.
Good Tuesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at the implications of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ proposed new congressional map on a handful of Sunshine State seats currently held by pro-Israel Democrats, and profile acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, who prior to his appointment played a role in federal efforts to counter antisemitism. We look at the challenges facing Jewish voters in the Democratic primary in NJ-12, where Israel critic Adam Hamawy is drawing national attention, and interview cookbook author Adeena Sussman about her new book Zariz, out today, that was inspired by the need for quick and easy recipes as Israelis faced disruptive wars. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Roy Altman, Liron Fanan and Sergey Brin.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with an assist from Danielle Cohen-Kanik. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- Talks between the U.S. and Iran remain at an impasse, with the Islamic Republic’s hard-liners reportedly at odds with each other over how the regime should approach negotiations with the West, and whether those talks should include issues related to Iran’s nuclear program.
- King Charles III is set to deliver an address to a joint session of Congress — the second time in history that a British monarch has done so — this afternoon, before a state dinner tonight.
- Education Secretary Linda McMahon will appear before the Senate Appropriations Committee this morning as the committee holds its budget hearing for the Department of Education.
- The Zionist Rabbinic Coalition kicks off its three-day annual conference today, with speakers including Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, State Department antisemitism envoy Yehuda Kaploun, the Justice Department’s Harmeet Dhillon and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Jonathan Schanzer. The group also plans to honor Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) today with the “Pillar of Zion” award.
- Israel Tech Week continues today in Miami.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S matthew kassel
The hyperpartisan gerrymandering arms race is threatening to derail the careers of several of the strongest allies to the Jewish community within the Democratic Party.
A newly redrawn congressional map proposed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday targets four seats held by pro-Israel Democrats, raising concerns among many Jewish leaders at the state and national levels about the implications of losing pivotal voices helping moderate the Democratic Party’s rhetoric on Israel and antisemitism.
The aggressive redistricting plan, the broad outlines of which were first shared with Fox News, appears to eliminate a pair of South Florida House seats held by two of the most vocal pro-Israel Jewish Democrats in Congress, Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), as well as two districts in Tampa and Orlando held respectively by Reps. Kathy Castor (D-FL) and Darren Soto (D-FL), both of whom are viewed as dependable voices in support of Israel.
The map, which comes amid nationwide redistricting efforts from both parties, is expected to pass the Republican-controlled Legislature in a special session this week, though Democrats have said they intend to challenge it in court. Democrats currently hold seven of the state’s 28 congressional seats, after Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) resigned last week amid a House ethics investigation. Her seat did not seem to be affected by the map, which is facing accusations of partisan gerrymandering that could run afoul of state laws.
DeSantis has cast the new map as a necessary corrective meant to reflect the state’s changing population. But Jewish Democrats questioned the Republican governor’s motives, while expressing alarm that his plan threatens pro-Israel members, especially as the party has grown increasingly divided on Middle East policy and the rise of antisemitism.
The new congressional lines “risk drawing out members who have represented large Jewish constituencies for decades and dedicated their careers to combating antisemitism and strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), a Jewish Democrat who is one of his party’s most outspoken supporters of Israel, told Jewish Insider on Monday. “Losing them would be a massive blow to Congress.”
NORTH STAR
Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling guided by Holocaust survivor grandparents
Keith Sonderling’s path to leading the Department of Labor, a role he assumed last week, was relatively straightforward, professionally speaking. But for Sonderling, working to set American labor policy has a more personal resonance, too. He said in his Senate confirmation hearing to serve as deputy secretary that his Jewish grandparents faced religious discrimination at work once they arrived in the United States, after surviving the Holocaust, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
History lessons: “Although more than willing to work, my grandparents lost employment opportunities based solely on their religious beliefs and life circumstances,” Sonderling, 43, said last year. “It was only through their tenacity and relentless hard work that they overcame the barriers put before them, ultimately paving the path for me to appear here, before you, today.”
JERSEY JOSTLING
New Jersey’s 12th District Democratic primary poses tough choices for Jewish voters
The wide open Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District could pose a difficult dilemma for local Jewish voters and national pro-Israel groups, given the candidacy of Adam Hamawy, a physician who served in Gaza and has made criticism of Israel a centerpiece of his campaign, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
State of play: With a crowded field of candidates staking out a range of views on the U.S.-Israel relationship, the race poses tough strategic questions for the pro-Israel community — if it wants to block Hamawy from becoming the Democratic nominee. With such a divided field, a candidate could win the nomination in the June 2 primary with a small plurality.
EYE ON ISLAMABAD
U.S. lawmakers voice caution on Pakistan’s new middleman role
Lawmakers are expressing skepticism over Pakistan’s expanding role in the Middle East, cautiously welcoming its involvement in U.S.-Iran negotiations while questioning its defense aspirations in the region and whether it can truly serve as an impartial intermediary — even as the Trump administration increasingly engages with the country, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
Proceed with caution: “I think the approach has to be: don’t trust, but verify,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) told JI. “[Pakistan] has certainly been a somewhat ambiguous force in many ways. They’ve been disruptive to some relationships. They’re a nuclear-armed power, but they are definitely a force, and if they can play a constructive role here we should welcome it. It doesn’t mean that we have to accept their word on everything they do or say.”
LEGAL APPROACH
Judge Roy Altman, in new book, takes on Israel critics, one legal claim at a time
U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida Roy Altman decided to apply the same legal methodology that judges, lawyers and juries have deployed in courtrooms across America for centuries to address six legal accusations being wielded against Israel by its detractors, in a new book called Israel On Trial: Examining the History, the Evidence and the Law. Altman sat down with Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen, just ahead of the book’s release today, to make the case for examining Israel through a legal lens.
Providing perspective: “Legal questions allow us to pare back the vitriol, emotion, bias and prejudice. That’s what we do with jurors every day in this country,” Altman told JI. “For hundreds of thousands of years, human beings have been accustomed to living in small groups. It was really important in the context of that environment to tell the truth and for the group as a whole to be able to decide whether the person was telling the truth.”
HUSH-HUSH
Brad Lander stays mum on Mamdani buffer bill veto
Congressional hopeful and former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander — Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s favored candidate to dislodge sitting Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) — refused to comment on Mamdani’s veto of a bill that would set NYPD policy around security perimeters at educational facilities during protests, even as a Jewish group Lander co-founded denounced the mayor’s move, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.
Unreachable: Lander has not issued a public statement on the move and failed to respond to calls or text messages on his personal cell phone from JI, while his campaign did not answer queries sent via phone and email regarding Mamdani’s controversial Friday veto, the first of his mayoralty.
BOOKSHELF
Adeena Sussman’s new cookbook spotlights simple cooking for complicated times
Adeena Sussman’s Tel Aviv kitchen is a chef’s dream. The long marble countertop next to the stove extends out from the gas range, perfect for preparing ingredients, pouring drinks and entertaining. “This is my safe room,” Sussman half-jokingly told Jewish Insider’s Melissa Weiss. Her actual safe room is a floor below, used frequently during the war with Iran, in the midst of which JI visited the cookbook author last month, weeks before the release of her third book, Zariz: 100 Easy, Breezy, Tel Aviv-y Recipes, out today.
Comfort food: The first sentence of the introduction of Zariz begins: “When the going gets tough, the cooking gets easy.” Sussman began writing the book in the weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, amid regular rocket fire that frequently sent Israelis, including Sussman, who made aliyah a decade ago, to their shelters. “It’s simple cooking for complicated times,” Sussman explained of the book’s origins. Nearly two and a half years after she began writing the book, “it hasn’t gotten any less complicated.”
Worthy Reads
The Common Foe Theory: In Foreign Policy, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Ahmad Sharawi posits that the U.S. could play a role in bringing Syria and Israel together over their shared opposition to Hezbollah, which poses threats to both countries. “Now, the United States could help pressure both sides to work together more effectively. Indirect coordination or tacit understandings about red lines could significantly reduce friction while tightening constraints on Hezbollah’s movement in Syria. Crucially, Israel could provide Damascus with intelligence that would help it crack down on Hezbollah-linked networks, particularly those tied to weapons transfers and cross-border operations.”[ForeignPolicy]
Tying Mossad’s Hands?: In his Substack “Between Us,” Nadav Eyal looks at the degree to which the Mossad’s plans to target Iran — which so far have left the regime damaged but in power — were hamstrung by the U.S. and other regional actors. “The plan included, as was widely reported in The New York Times, a massive deployment of Kurdish forces in a broad invasion of Iran. This was thwarted by Turkey, which successfully used its influence to prevent the plan from being activated. Had such an invasion taken place, the Islamic Republic would have faced a severe crisis — forced to divert resources to suppress both an internal uprising and an armed incursion.” [BetweenUs]
Israel is Real: In the “Boundless Insights” Substack, Adam Hummel argues that the debate over Zionism ignores the reality of Israel’s existence. “Israelis don’t owe anyone an argument for their existence. They don’t need to win the debate about whether Zionism was the right idea in 1897. They don’t need to persuade Ezra Klein or Hasan Piker or the student encampments that their country’s creation in 1948 was just. The debate is over, not because one side won, but because the thing itself came into being. They are a people. They speak a language. They live on a piece of land and have mortgages. That is what peoples do. The Greeks do it. The Poles do it. The Québécois do it. The arguments about whether they should are, at this point, a leisure activity for people who live elsewhere.” [Boundless]
Word on the Street
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the U.S. is being “humiliated” by Iran amid stalled talks, adding that the “Iranians are clearly stronger than expected and the Americans clearly have no truly convincing strategy in the negotiations either”…
President Donald Trump, speaking to CBS News’ “60 Minutes Overtime,” said, in response to conspiracy theories swirling around the attack at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, that people who say “Oct. 7 didn’t happen, and World War II didn’t happen and the Holocaust didn’t happen — and many things didn’t happen” are “more sick than they are con people”…
The California man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night made his first court appearance on Monday, where he was charged with attempting to assassinate Trump, as well as two firearms charges; Cole Tomas Allen, who did not enter a plea, is expected to face additional charges…
The Wall Street Journal does a deep dive into the recent spike in domestic anti-government violence, finding that attacks and plots targeting the government are at their highest levels in more than three decades…
The New York Times looks at how Google co-founder Sergey Brin has begun to move to the right, citing the Democratic Party’s leftward shift on a variety of core issues, including Israel; Brin told the Times, “I fled socialism with my family in 1979 and know the devastating, oppressive society it created in the Soviet Union. I don’t want California to end up in the same place”…
David Ellison’s Paramount filed a request for approval from the FCC for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Co. to collectively take a nearly 50% stake in Paramount’s equity interests…
All five of Pennsylvania’s living former governors, both Republicans and Democrats, released a statement on Monday calling on state officials to prioritize the safety and security of Gov. Josh Shapiro; the letter comes days after Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity — Shapiro’s leading Republican opponent in this year’s gubernatorial race — said the state would not pay for security upgrades at Shapiro’s private home, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports…
Amir Makled, who earlier this month beat Jordan Acker in the race for the Democratic nomination to the University of Michigan’s Board of Regents, defended sharing social media content praising Hezbollah and demonizing Israelis, while saying he “disavow[s] antisemitism completely”…
A federal judge in Pennsylvania delayed an order that would have required the University of Pennsylvania to turn over information to the Trump administration by Friday about Jewish faculty and individuals affiliated with Jewish campus organizations…
Security experts speaking to eJewishPhilanthropy’s Jay Deitcher warned that philanthropic and Jewish organizations are increasingly at risk as AI enables the proliferation of cyberattacks…
Jewish Community Relations Council of New York’s Mark Treyger, the Met Council’s David Greenfield, UJA-Federation of New York’s Eric Goldstein, Jewish Voters Action Network’s Maury Litwack and Teach Coalition’s Sydney Altfield were among those named to City & State New York’s New York City Power 100 list…
Ynet interviews Liron Fanan, the general manager of the NBA G League’s Cleveland Charge, shortly after she was named the league’s first female executive of the year…
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry summoned Israel’s ambassador in Kyiv amid reports that Israel had allowed a second Russian ship carrying grain looted from Ukraine to dock in the port of Haifa; Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar clashed on X with his Ukrainian counterpart over the allegation, saying, “Evidence substantiating the allegations have yet to be provided”…
Bahrain revoked the citizenships of dozens of people accused of “glorifying or sympathizing” with Iran; Manama revoked 69 total citizenships, including relatives of those alleged to be supporting Tehran…
Adam Safran, who served as legislative director for former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), has joined AIPAC as director for policy and government affairs…
Eugene Kontorovich is joining Advancing American Freedom as a senior legal fellow…
Shayndi Raice, who was previously The Wall Street Journal’s deputy bureau chief for the Middle East and North Africa based out of Israel, was tapped by CBS News to serve in a newly created foreign editor role based out of London; Claire Day, the outlet’s London bureau chief, is set to depart her role next month…
Disability advocate Matan Koch died at 44…
Australian novelist David Malouf, whose writings focused on the country’s dual historical identities as a British empire colony and a rugged outback, died at 92…
Pic of the Day
Israeli President Isaac Herzog met this morning with leaders of Central Asian Jewish communities during his visit to the Beit Rachel synagogue in Astana, Kazakhstan’s capital city.
Birthdays
Actress and film critic, she is the writer and star of the CBC comedy series “Workin’ Moms,” Catherine Reitman turns 45…
Former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., he also served four terms in the Knesset, Zalman Shoval turns 96… White House chief of staff for Presidents Reagan and Bush 41, secretary of the treasury and secretary of state, James Baker turns 96… Retired judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals (now known as the Supreme Court of Maryland), Judge Irma Steinberg Raker turns 88… Retired four-star United States Marine Corps general, Robert Magnus turns 79… Retired SVP and COO of IPRO and former president of the Bronx/Riverdale YM-YWHA and the Riverdale Jewish Center, Harry M. Feder… Cantor who has served in Galveston, Texas, Houston and Buffalo, N.Y., Sharon Eve Colbert… Criminal defense attorney, his clients have included Hunter Biden and Jared Kushner, Abbe David Lowell turns 74… Author of 28 books, lecturer, podcaster, tour guide in Jerusalem and film producer, Rabbi Hanoch Teller turns 70… Director of congregational engagement at Temple Beth Sholom of Miami Beach, Fla., Mark Baranek… Associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Elena Kagan turns 66… American-born Israeli writer and translator, director and senior fellow at Z3, David Hazony turns 57… Director of criminal justice innovation, development and engagement at USDOJ during the Biden administration, Karen “Chaya” Friedman… Comedy writer, television producer and showrunner, Daniel Joshua Goor turns 51… Retired soccer player, she played for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team from 1997 to 2000, Sara Whalen Hess turns 50… Founder of GlobeTrotScott Strategies, Scott Mayerowitz… Model, actress and TV host, known for her role in the soap opera “Fashion House,” Donna Feldman turns 44… CEO and founder of The Branch, Ravi Gupta… Freelance journalist, formerly at ESPN and Sports Illustrated, Jason Schwartz… Senior editor at Politico Magazine, Benjamin Isaac Weyl… President of Saratoga Strategies, a strategic communications and crisis management firm, Joshua Schwerin… Head coach of the women’s soccer team at Yeshiva University, Ryan Alexander Hezekiah Adeleye turns 39… Israeli artist and photographer, Neta Cones turns 38… Marketing director at College Golf Experience, Jeffrey Hensiek… Associate in the finance department of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, Robert S. Murstein… Senior reporter for Cybersecurity Dive, Eric J. Geller… Founder and CEO of Diamond Travel Services, Ahron Fragin… Midfielder for Major League Soccer’s St. Louis City, Daniel Ethan Edelman turns 23…
Adam Hamawy is running as an anti-Israel activist in a crowded primary to succeed Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, and is backed by well-financed outside groups
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.
The wide open Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District could pose a difficult dilemma for local Jewish voters and national pro-Israel groups, given the candidacy of Adam Hamawy, a physician who served in Gaza and has made criticism of Israel a centerpiece of his campaign.
With a crowded field of candidates staking out a range of views on the U.S.-Israel relationship, the race poses tough strategic questions for the pro-Israel community — if it wants to block Hamawy from becoming the Democratic nominee. With such a divided field, a candidate could win the nomination in the June 2 primary with a small plurality.
The seat is currently held by the retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ).
Hamawy, who posted strong first-quarter fundraising and is winning support from national progressive groups and leaders, is now being championed by American Priorities, an anti-Israel group that aims to counter AIPAC. American Priorities has indicated it’s prepared to spend $2 million supporting Hamawy.
Pro-Israel groups are thus far uninvolved in the race and aren’t indicating any plans to engage.
But a Hamawy victory would create red flags in the Jewish community, given his outspoken anti-Israel stance. Despite his extreme views on Israel, he has a compelling personal biography — he is a veteran combat physician credited with saving Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s (D-IL) life.
A New Jersey Jewish leader told JI that the race presents tough choices for the Jewish community, predicting that Jewish voters are likely to be split among several of the candidates, including Sue Altman, a former state director for Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ), and East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen.
Other candidates, including state Rep. Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, could also prove to be viable challengers, with the support of local political machines.
In addition to recent comments on far-left streamer Hasan Piker’s show in which he said he does not support Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system because it insulates Israel from the consequences of war, Hamawy is now also facing scrutiny for comments he made in 2024 after volunteering at the European Gaza Hospital in the enclave during Israel’s war with Hamas.
The Washington Free Beacon resurfaced past comments by Hamawy saying definitively that Gaza’s hospitals were not being used as bases or hideouts for Hamas terrorists, saying that he saw “no fighters at all,” no guns, no combatants and “definitely no tunnels underground.”
A year later, Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar was killed in a strike on a tunnel that ran directly under the European Hospital’s emergency department during a meeting with other top Hamas leaders. Israel has said that the hospital served as a command center during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel and that it found evidence that Hamas hostages were held under it.
Altman ran on a pro-Israel platform in 2024 in a neighboring district but now says she opposes U.S. financial aid for Israel and wants to restrict and condition weapons sales, while arguing strongly in defense of the Iron Dome system and stridently criticizing Hamawy for opposing it. The former progressive organizer is trying to stake out a middle ground to attract both progressives critical of Israel and more pro-Israel Jewish voters.
Cohen is Jewish and has been the strongest supporter of Israel in the field, facing criticism and, in some cases, antisemitic attacks for that position. He once described himself as a member of AIPAC and faced criticism from Watson Coleman over his stance on Israel — she called him a “hard-line supporter of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu” and specifically urged voters to reject him.
Both candidates, the Jewish leader said, are “reasonable people” who are willing and able to have nuanced conversations about Israel and the Jewish community — though they hold differing views on Israel. Jewish voters, they said, could play a significant role in the election, particularly in Cohen’s home area of East Brunswick.
“They both have their followings, and they’re both, I would argue, relatively well-liked both in and out of the Jewish community,” the leader said, highlighting that both also have experience in government.
The leader predicted that Cohen, given his strong and clear support for Israel and his positive reputation in the Jewish community statewide, is likely to be able to unify much of the Jewish vote.
Though he has the support of the local Democratic county organization, whether Cohen can win district-wide remains a question.
A Sunday night debate highlighted the range of views among the candidates on Israel, and the specific nuances that some candidates are trying to capture.
Hamawy, asked about potential conditions on U.S. aid globally, said that “this isn’t about defense.”
“Every country has a right to defend itself, but what we have from the International Criminal Court, what we have from Human Rights Watch, from Amnesty International and what I have seen and experienced in my own eyes isn’t self-defense,” Hamawy said. “It’s a country that is committing genocide and continues to bomb innocent people every day.”
He suggested that, in addition to cutting off aid to Israel, the U.S. should also cut off aid to the United Arab Emirates over its alleged support of a faction in the Sudanese civil war that the U.S. has determined is committing genocide.
Hamawy, who largely agreed with Piker’s positions on various issues when he appeared on his stream, distanced himself from Piker’s recent comments in a New York Times interview advocating for shoplifting.
“We have to abide by the laws. There’s no room for crime. We have to be able to make food affordable for people when they need it,” Hamawy said, “but crime is not the way to go about it, and so I disagree with that.”
Altman emphasized that she was “the only candidate in this race that AIPAC has actually endorsed against” — when she ran against incumbent Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) in 2024.
She said that she believes Israel should exist and that Netanyahu is a war criminal.
“I believe that we should not be sending our taxpayer money to Israel to kill civilians. But I also think the Iron Dome should exist,” Altman said. “Israel’s a prosperous country, however, it doesn’t need our money to support the Iron Dome. It can pay for it on its own.”
She condemned the “atrocities” in Gaza and the war in Lebanon, but she also emphasized that Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis “are terrorist organizations, and Israel should be allowed to defend itself against those organizations.”
Altman also emphasized that antisemitism and Islamophobia at home are not an acceptable reaction to the conflict in the Middle East.
Reynolds-Jackson took criticism from a fellow candidate over past affiliations with AIPAC, and for a trip she took to Israel in 2018.
She said that the “world is a different place” than it was at the time, and emphasized that she visited both Israel and the “Muslim side,” describing them both as “beautiful.” But she also emphasized that a kibbutz she visited in 2018 had been destroyed.
“When we talk about protecting the right for Israel to defend itself, when we talk about the innocent lives that [have] been lost, I am not afraid to say that I am pro-Israel and I am pro-Muslim. These are people that deserve to live in peace,” she said.
Asked earlier in the event about whether she would support suspending any U.S. aid to Israel, Reynolds-Jackson said, “I support Israel, I support the two-state solution,” before criticizing the amount the U.S. spends on military aid in Israel and elsewhere, and emphasizing her opposition to the war in Iran.
Cohen took the most unequivocally pro-Israel stance of the group.
“I believe very strongly in Israel’s right to exist, and not only exist, but to thrive in the Middle East, along with its neighbors. Everybody in that region of the world deserves to live in peace,” Cohen said. “The U.S. has always been an ally of Israel, and we have allies throughout the world that we support with military aid. That aid should not only be for defense, which Israel uses to defend its citizens, 20% of which are Muslim, it also must be able to fight back when attacked, just like we do for every other U.S. ally that we have around the world.”
He emphasized that Israel is a democracy facing threats from terrorists that want to destroy both it and the United States, even as he said he strongly disagrees with Israel’s current leadership.
Cohen also said that his disagreements with Watson Coleman, in spite of her criticism, are “really very few compared to the multiple things which we’ve agreed upon.” He praised her record and legacy in Congress.
Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp, also running for the seat, said he firmly believes that U.S. aid to Israel should be conditioned, while also calling Israel “a very important ally of the United States” with “the right to defend itself against terrorism.”
“I believe that Israel should exist within secure borders and should continue to be a very important ally and partner of the United States,” Mapp said. “On the other hand, I do believe that Palestinian people have a right to exist and a right to defend [themselves] within secure borders, and so we must make sure that we negotiate a peace agreement that will bring the Palestinians and the Israelis together, existing in borders of their own.”
Jay Vaingankar, a 28-year-old former Department of Energy official, also struck out a strongly anti-Israel stance and went on the attack against several other candidates on the stage over their alleged views on the issue or ties to the pro-Israel community.
‘We have to win in Michigan all up and down the ticket, and it's not helpful for people to be shouting down candidates who care deeply about the future of this country,’ Peters told JI
Luke Johnson/Getty Images
Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) speaks in Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 15, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) criticized divisive behavior by Democratic Party activists at the Michigan Democratic Party convention last weekend, where activists shouted down pro-Israel voices including Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and a speaker supporting University of Michigan regent Jordan Acker. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow also faced some jeers.
“I was really disappointed by some of the behavior, by some folks who were just so negative to Democratic candidates,” Peters told Jewish Insider in a brief interview on Tuesday. “The way we win elections is when we are all united and I would hope that everyone would realize that the most important election for Democrats is going to be in November.”
Peters served for two election cycles as the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, working to boost Democrats in swing states. He is retiring at the end of this term.
“We have to win in Michigan all up and down the ticket, and it’s not helpful for people to be shouting down candidates who care deeply about the future of this country,” he continued.
He follows Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI) in condemning the behavior of activists at last weekend’s convention.
Former ADL chief Abe Foxman: 'This is a calamity for the Democratic Party, if it will not be contained and stopped'
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(L-R) Senate Democratic leadership, Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Mark Warner (D-VA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Chris Murphy (D-CT), pose for a group photo in the U.S. Capitol on December 3, 2024 in Washington, DC.
The Democratic shift on Israel policy was on full, dramatic display on the Senate floor on Wednesday night as 40 of 47 Senate Democrats voted for at least one of two resolutions to block U.S. shipments of bulldozers and bombs to Israel.
The votes left many pro-Israel Democrats shocked and disillusioned — exemplified in the muted statements, if any, on the vote from key pro-Israel groups — and is being seen by some as the marker of a new era of Democratic policy on Israel, in which critics of Israel are firmly in the party mainstream.
“It’s yet another data point that the bipartisan consensus [in support of Israel] is, at least at the moment, no longer,” a former Biden administration official told Jewish Insider on Thursday. “Democrats think it’s politically advantageous to take these votes that would have been completely out-of-bounds just two-and-a-half years ago. … It’s deeply concerning if you care about the relationship, if you care about the security of [Israel]. But that’s the state of play at the moment, I think until or unless there’s an event that changes the trajectory.”
Abe Foxman, the former head of the Anti-Defamation League, said the vote highlights the “progressive socialist wing” of the Democratic Party’s increasing takeover. “This is a calamity for the Democratic Party, if it will not be contained and stopped,” Foxman told JI. “What’s also disturbing to me is that this litmus test is being first administered to every Jewish candidate.”
He added that the votes send a terrible message to U.S. allies beyond Israel that the U.S. can’t be relied upon.
Pro-Israel Democrats who spoke to JI said the votes came about as a combination of several factors: They served as a proxy for the war in Iran that nearly all Democrats oppose, but also were a signal of opposition to Israel’s operations in Lebanon, settler attacks and settlement expansion in the West Bank, the war in Gaza and — to a substantial degree — the Democratic enmity that has been growing for years toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his government and his alignment with President Donald Trump and Republicans.
And lawmakers are also responding to the growing progressive pressure, fueled by two years of imagery from the war in Gaza, amplified by social media platforms that boosted antisemitic content, that has changed the politics around Israel in a “really dramatic way” in the Democratic Party, the former Biden administration official said.
“Those [resolutions], at this moment in time, were just a proxy for real discomfort with the direction of the Trump-Netanyahu relationship in this war, which is not the right reason to vote for these,” another former Biden administration official told JI. “I understand the [vote to block] bulldozers at this moment in time. [Withholding] the munitions — I think it’s really, really troubling.”
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), an early supporter of efforts to block weapons sales to Israel, said that the growing opposition can’t be blamed solely on Netanyahu. “I also think it’s watching how the weapons are used,” Kaine told reporters. “I think the observation of how the weapons are used is probably a little bit more the reason that the vote total is going up than a feeling about the domestic politics of Israel.”
Some pro-Israel Democrats say that the impact and meaning of the votes shouldn’t be overstated, and that there remains a sizable pro-Israel Democratic contingent, even including some of the lawmakers who voted for the resolutions on Wednesday.
“There were pro-Israel senators, and senators who are close partners and allies of the Jewish community, on both sides of this vote last night,” Halie Soifer, the CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, said. “This didn’t occur in a vacuum, and it’s not necessarily driven by anti-Israel, and certainly not antisemitic, views. It also doesn’t necessarily represent a wholesale shift in the Democratic Party. It’s a snapshot of where we are in this moment as it relates to these particular arms sales and this particular Israeli government and its policies. But I have no doubt that there’s the chance that that will change in the future.”
Soifer said that she and JDCA didn’t support the resolutions, but emphasized that some of the Democrats who voted for the resolutions said in their statements that they remain strong supporters of Israel. And she said JDCA doesn’t view the votes as “inherently anti-Israel” or necessarily an expression of alignment with the far left.
She called the vote on the bulldozers, which received 40 supporters, a particularly potent “symbolic message” — many Democrats associate the machines with the destruction of Palestinian homes and expansion of settlements in the West Bank. But she said it was something of an “anomaly” as compared to previous efforts to block systems such as bomb guidance kits.
“It’s a challenging time where both things are true at once: You do have an increased number of Democrats who are supporting these [resolutions], and you also still continue to have a majority of Democrats who support the U.S.-Israel security relationship,” Soifer said.
A common refrain in conversations with those in the Democratic pro-Israel world after the votes — and even before then — was that the end of Netanyahu’s premiership would provide a critical opening and opportunity to start rebuilding support for Israel among Democrats.
Kaine said that a change in the Israeli government would lead lawmakers to step back and analyze the potential implications, but said it wouldn’t necessarily bring sweeping changes. “I don’t think the 40 [Democrats voting for the resolutions] is baked in, I also don’t think it will immediately change.”
But a Netanyahu defeat in this year’s Israeli elections is far from a sure thing. So what happens if Netanyahu wins again? “I think it will be very difficult for Democrats to hold any center on support for Israel,” one former Biden administration official said.
The other former Biden administration official said that the intense anti-Israel pressure on Democrats would likely fade if Middle East policy issues are out of the headlines on a day-to-day basis. They further argued that the 2028 primaries will be an “inflection point,” on both sides of the aisle.
And they said that the Jewish community, particularly the non-Orthodox community, needs to be more organized and active locally and on a grassroots level in advocating for their representatives to be supportive of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Foxman said he hopes to see more Democratic lawmakers — naming Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) specifically — standing up directly to the anti-Israel wing of the party, just as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has spoken out against antisemitism on the right.
With opposition to weapons systems for Israel apparently firmly within the mainstream, we wrote earlier this week about the emerging progressive push to cut off U.S. support for Israel’s missile-defense systems as well.
Asked whether he takes a similar view, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the lead driver of the Senate votes, did not directly respond. “Let’s take one thing at a time. Right now, I think we made progress yesterday,” he told JI.
Kaine took a firmer stance in support of missile-defense aid, calling those who want to cut it off “a tiny minority,” especially in the Senate. He noted that no Democrats have offered similar resolutions to block defensive systems, and that other weapons sales to Israel have gone entirely unchallenged — though he acknowledged that the distinction between offensive and defensive weapons can be fuzzy at times.
One of the former Biden administration officials warned that opposing missile-defense support is a “totally unproductive, terrible” policy — not just for Israel, but also sending a message to allies around the world that the U.S. can’t be relied upon to follow through for its partners.
Any potential agreements between Jerusalem, Beirut and Washington will ultimately hinge on whether Hezbollah can be fully disarmed
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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2nd-R), accompanied by U.S. State Department Counselor Michael Needham (C), and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (R), speaks as they begin working-level peace talks with Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter at the U.S. State Department on April 14, 2026 in Washington, DC.
The first round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon has been received positively by diplomats, pro-Israel lawmakers and experts, who see it as a sign of Hezbollah’s waning influence in Lebanon. But despite the optimism surrounding the discussions, experts caution that disarming the terrorist group remains a daunting obstacle that stands in the way of any meaningful change — one that would require a significant shift from the Lebanese government and its armed forces.
On Tuesday, Israeli and Lebanese leadership convened at the State Department in Washington for the highest-level direct discussions in more than 30 years, aiming to outline a framework for “lasting peace” and a “permanent end” to Hezbollah’s influence, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) told Jewish Insider that “it is great” that talks are taking place, expressing hope that “the Lebanese government, the United States and the Israeli government make a deal, and collectively, they push Hezbollah out.”
“That way the Lebanese people can be freed from the Iranian extremism that they have in their country,” Moskowitz said. “The Lebanese people are being held captive by the Iranian government because of Hezbollah. It’s obviously good for the United States, it’s good for Israel, but more importantly, I think it’s good for the people of Lebanon. I think disarming Hezbollah is obviously key to all this.”
Moskowitz added that while the Lebanese government appears to want to disarm Hezbollah, “they probably need help.”
“It’s not going to happen overnight, but I think it’s historic, and this is what the entire region wants,” he said. “This is what the Gulf states want. Everybody wants to come out of the extremism and the terrorism that Iran is trying to spread in the region.”
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) similarly told JI that Hezbollah disarmament is an important factor in talks.
“Why would you have talks if they [Hezbollah] are not going to disarm?” Scott said. “I’m not the prime minister of Israel but my condition would be that Hezbollah has got to disarm.”
Scott dismissed the notion that the Lebanese government and the Lebanese Armed Forces have not done enough to disarm the group, stating that the main problem is “not caused by Lebanon or by the military of Lebanon, it’s caused by Hezbollah.”
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said that disarming Hezbollah should be a “red line” for Israel in talks. He added that Israel “needs a buffer zone so Hezbollah can’t continue to rain down terror on Israelis.”
“Hezbollah has historically been the best trained, best equipped opponents to Israel,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) said. “Israel’s done a great job with them over the last two years, but they’re hardcore fervent believers in destroying Israel.”
Experts similarly described the talks as a meaningful development. John Hannah, a senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, called the discussions an “important breakthrough” and a sign of Hezbollah’s diminishing influence.
“Everyone should welcome the opening of a direct political dialogue between Israel and Lebanon,” Hannah said. “The fact that [the talks are] occurring at all is an important sign of Hezbollah’s declining hegemony over the Lebanese state.”
Robert Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, described the talks as a “win-win-win” in a social media post, adding that Hezbollah emerged as a “big loser.”
“Today is a day to celebrate — we all saw a glimpse of what is possible after so much violence and conflict,” Satloff wrote on Tuesday. “That is a very good thing.”
Still, experts say disarming Hezbollah, which parties agree is necessary for any lasting piece, remains highly difficult and uncertain.
Even before Tuesday’s opening round of discussions, Hezbollah senior member Wafiq Safa said Hezbollah is “not bound” by any deals reached between Israel, Lebanon and the United States.
“It’s hard to be an optimist when it comes to the core question of Hezbollah’s disarmament,” Hannah said. “Even after all that’s been done over the past few years to weaken the group and its Iranian sponsors — including the loss of its legitimacy in the eyes of a majority of Lebanese — it’s not at all apparent that the raw balance of forces inside Lebanon has shifted sufficiently to favor Hezbollah’s near-term demise.”
Hannah described disarming Hezbollah as “worth trying,” but ultimately a “long shot.”
“Since the war against Iran broke out on Feb. 28, Hezbollah has shown through its sustained attacks on Israel that, while much diminished, its forces retain far more significant capabilities than many believed,” he said. “And in the wake of its battle against Israel, Hezbollah is making clear that if push comes to shove, it’s prepared to burn down the state before surrendering its weapons.”
Blaise Misztal, JINSA’s vice president for policy, said the task cannot be accomplished through Israeli military action alone and will ultimately depend on whether Lebanon and the LAF are willing to act.
“[Disarming Hezbollah] can only be fully done by a strong and committed Lebanese government,” Misztal said. “Israel can secure southern Lebanon with ground operations and strike Hezbollah sites in Beirut or the Bekaa Valley, but that will merely distance and degrade the threat, never fully remove it.”
“The question is whether the Lebanese government is, or can be convinced to be, strong and committed enough to take on the task of asserting its control over its own territory,” he added. “Thus far, it has failed to demonstrate either the political will or military capability to do so.”
Hannah similarly noted that “Israel is rightly unwilling to pay the necessary cost in blood, treasure and diplomatic opprobrium” required to fully dismantle Hezbollah, leaving the responsibility to Lebanon and its armed forces.
“The factor that has truly held Lebanon back from disarming Hezbollah has been Hezbollah’s retention of, as far as we can tell, overwhelming support among Lebanese Shiites,” David Daoud, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said. “Having retained that popular support, it can deter the government from pursuing forcible disarmament by dangling the threat of civil war.”
But experts weren’t optimistic that the Lebanese government and LAF are capable — or willing — to take on that role. Hannah said Lebanon’s military “doesn’t appear to have the stomach to truly confront Hezbollah and dismantle the group’s armed wing,” noting that it has already “failed” to disarm the group in southern Lebanon, “much less the rest of the country.”
“It seems even less likely than before the Iran war that the LAF would now be willing to take on the risk of massively confronting Hezbollah,” he said, “in spite of the misery Hezbollah’s unilateral decision to enter the conflict on Iran’s behalf is now inflicting on the rest of Lebanon.”
David Daoud, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, also said Beirut “ultimately holds the key” to resolving the issue of Hezbollah’s disarmament. He said that while Lebanon has taken “immense and commendable” steps in “proscribing Hezbollah’s military activities,” the country’s “unwillingness to act against Hezbollah has been missing from the equation” and has “allowed the group to regenerate in the past.”
He added that Hezbollah still “retains enough military strength to make disarmament daunting” for Lebanese forces and the LAF, and that the group continues to wield significant political power.
“The factor that has truly held Lebanon back from disarming Hezbollah has been Hezbollah’s retention of, as far as we can tell, overwhelming support among Lebanese Shiites,” Daoud said. “Having retained that popular support, it can deter the government from pursuing forcible disarmament by dangling the threat of civil war.”
Daoud also raised concerns about Lebanon’s intentions in negotiations, arguing that Beirut may not truly be seeking meaningful change.
“A good test will be the extent to which the LAF fulfills the Lebanese government’s order from early April to put all of Beirut under its full control,” John Hannah, a senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, said. “Will the LAF truly confront and disarm Hezbollah in the capital or simply repeat the phony disarmament it claimed to have completed in the south?”
“Lebanon is seeking to use the negotiations to return to the status quo, and is willing to ‘pay the price’ of a joint photograph with an Israeli ambassador to achieve that objective,” he said. “This is because the situation in Lebanon is indeed dire — economic collapse compounded by war, the direct impact of the war itself and the emergence of sectarian tensions that could boil over into full-on conflict.”
If those dynamics remain unchanged, he warned that Hezbollah could indefinitely delay disarmament and eventually rebuild its strength.
“A good test will be the extent to which the LAF fulfills the Lebanese government’s order from early April to put all of Beirut under its full control,” Hannah said. “Will the LAF truly confront and disarm Hezbollah in the capital or simply repeat the phony disarmament it claimed to have completed in the south?”
Satloff said the challenge will ultimately require translating diplomacy into “practical steps,” including a shift in how the Lebanese military approaches disarmament.
“While some of this can happen in the negotiating room when the parties meet again, nothing can substitute for strong measures by the Lebanese state to isolate, weaken, delegitimize and disarm Hezbollah while promoting the idea of peace,” he said.
He suggested that turning Beirut into a “true weapons-free zone” is necessary “but not sufficient,” pointing to additional steps such as removing Hezbollah officials from government, expelling Iranian operatives from the country and shutting down the group’s financial and institutional networks.
‘Israel is capable of paying for its own military equipment, including supplies for its missile defense systems,’ a spokesperson said, a position which is at odds with J Street PAC’s own stated endorsement criteria
Michael Brochstein/Sipa via AP Images
J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami speak at the 2022 J Street National Conference held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.
J Street, the progressive Israel advocacy organization which describes itself as a “pro-Israel, pro-peace” group, offered backing for the growing calls among far-left lawmakers to end U.S. support for Israel’s missile-defense systems, such as Iron Dome, which until recently had been largely spared even by strident critics of the Jewish state.
“What progressives are saying is not radical, and in fact, [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu and [Sen.] Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are arguing the same thing. Israel is capable of paying for its own military equipment, including supplies for its missile defense systems,” a J Street spokesperson told Jewish Insider.
Notably, that stance is at odds with J Street PAC’s own top endorsement criteria on its website as of Friday afternoon. The site states that J Street PAC requires endorsees to support “US security assistance to Israel that adheres to US law,” specifically citing support for Iron Dome.
“The United States plays an indispensable role in ensuring Israel’s future as a secure, democratic homeland for the Jewish people. J Street PAC only supports candidates who affirm this responsibility and who commit to supporting US security assistance to Israel as outlined in the 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) negotiated by President Obama — including sustained support for vital systems like Iron Dome,” the J Street website says.
The group, however, is currently supporting candidates who back policies like the Block the Bombs Act that run counter to the MOU.
In its statement, the group was referring to comments by the Israeli prime minister in which he did not call for an immediate end for U.S. aid to Israel, but said that he believed Israel would no longer need to rely on U.S. aid in a decade.
Though Graham initially responded to Netanyahu’s calls by suggesting he would immediately work to wind down U.S. aid, the South Carolina senator softened that position after a meeting with Netanyahu.
Calls to cut off missile defense aid to Israel have been growing in recent weeks from prominent far-left lawmakers like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA), joined recently by Brad Lander, a Jewish challenger to Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY).
J Street’s backing of that stance could give cover to a host of rank-and-file Democrats to take a similar position.
Systems like Iron Dome are also co-produced by the U.S. and Israel, and similar arrangements would likely continue even if direct U.S. financial aid to Israel were ended in the short term.
In a Substack post on Sunday, J Street President Jeremy Ben Ami said that the U.S. should continue to cooperatively develop defensive technologies and to sell such systems to Israel, subject to Israel’s compliance with U.S. arms sales law, but that it should no longer provide any financial aid or subsidies to Israel for military systems.
“The United States should continue to supply what Israel needs for the defense of its people from Iranian, Hezbollah, Hamas and Houthi missiles – but the time is coming for Israel to pay for what it needs, as other prosperous countries do,” Ben Ami wrote.
He also reiterated J Street’s support for new legislation conditioning U.S. arms sales to Israel and for upcoming legislation to block specific arms sales.
“The exact timetable for phasing out taxpayer subsidies should be worked out carefully. The United States should honor existing commitments, including those in the 2016 memorandum of understanding, through their conclusion in the next two years,” Ben Ami said. “But after that, a responsible yet rapid phase-out is needed – a step that would move the U.S. and Israel toward a more mature, balanced, and ultimately more resilient partnership – one grounded not only in shared interests, but in shared standards and accountability.”
‘Saying Jewish donors are somehow the same as "pro-Israel lobby," I got a problem with that, and not just as an elected official, as a Jew,’ Slotkin said in response to a question at a town hall
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Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) is seen in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, March 26, 2026.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) has lately been saying that she does not take money from AIPAC or any corporate political action committees. So when a college student asked her at a town hall in Cincinnati on Thursday about $4.5 million she has received from “pro-Israel lobbies,” Slotkin pushed back — arguing the student was unfairly lumping together all Jewish donors.
“I’m not sure what you’re referring to on ‘not AIPAC but the Israel lobby.’ If you’re equating ‘Israel lobby’ to Jews, I got a problem with that,” Slotkin said.
The figure that the Xavier University student quoted comes from a far-left organization called Track AIPAC, which targets elected officials who it alleges have received funding from the “Israel lobby.” But increasingly, the group is tallying up donations from “lobby donors,” a broad category that critics believe includes any Jewish donors who have also supported AIPAC, J Street or other Jewish or Israel-related advocacy groups.
Slotkin said that just as Iranian Americans, for instance, may not agree with everything the Iranian government does, “I think it’s really important, especially now, to make a distinction between the Israeli government and the choices that they’re making and the average Jew, okay, and Jewish people who donate to campaigns,” Slotkin said, earning applause from the audience.
At the end of the event, she stood by her response to the question when asked about it by another attendee.
“What I take issue with is someone saying that I took $4.5 million from the pro-Israel lobby. That’s not AIPAC. I don’t know what that is,” she said. “But if that’s counting Jewish donors and saying Jewish donors are somehow the same as ‘pro-Israel lobby,’ I got a problem with that, and not just as an elected official, as a Jew.”
Asked her position about taking money from AIPAC, Slotkin said she doesn’t accept AIPAC funding in the same way she eschews other “corporate PAC money.” But she said their work in Washington, of advocating for an issue by building relationships with members of Congress, is the same thing that scores of other groups do.
“I think Americans have the right to support those groups and do whatever they want. Doesn’t mean I have to agree with them. I don’t personally take money from AIPAC. I haven’t in many, many years,” Slotkin said to cheers. “But they and every other organization have an ecosystem in Washington, that they are doing things that every — there’s plenty of groups like them that do the very same thing, a Pakistani American group, or whatever group.”
After the town hall, Slotkin told Politico that she would not do an interview with Hasan Piker, the antisemitic Twitch streamer who appeared at two campaign rallies earlier this week with progressive Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
“I gotta call balls and strikes, whether it’s antisemitism, Islamophobia, coming from the state that I come from, so that’s what I’ve tried to do as he’s come into Michigan,” Slotkin said.
The comments Piker has made with which she takes issue, Slotkin continued, are “some derogatory things he’s said about Orthodox Jews, saying that we deserve 9/11, there’s some things in there. Not to mention he calls me stupid like every other week.”
The ad portrays the repeat Congressional candidate, running to succeed Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), as a perennial flip-flopper
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Ammar Campa-Najjar (D-CA) speaks during a 2018 campaign rally at Grape Day Park in Escondido, Calif.
The pro-Israel group Democratic Majority for Israel’s super PAC launched its first ad of the 2026 campaign, targeting frequent Democratic candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar, accusing him of hypocrisy and of flip-flopping on his positions.
The ad, set to air on television, contrasts past comments by Campa-Najjar about whether he would work with President Donald Trump or support his impeachment with his current hostile stance toward the president — running now in a bluer district.
It also highlights past inconsistencies in his stance on abortion — he once opposed it in all cases, but later described himself as pro-choice.
“Ammar Campa-Najjar has been a DSA-backed candidate whose record of flip-flops on Trump, impeachment, and abortion makes clear he will say whatever it takes to get elected, and voters in CA-48 see right through it,” DMFI president Brian Romick said in a statement.
DMFI is backing San Diego City Council member Marnie von Wilpert for the open seat, which was redrawn to favor Democrats. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who currently represents the district, is retiring from Congress.
Campa-Najjar, who was born in California and raised in Gaza, is the son of a Palestinian Authority official. He has run unsuccessfully for Congress two times before, losing to Issa by eight points in 2020 and losing to former Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) in 2018.
He is the boyfriend of Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA), who represents a nearby southern California district.
Romick and DMFI argued that nominating Campa-Najjar would endanger Democrats’ chances of winning the seat. It’s making a similar case in two other GOP-held swing districts the group is hoping to help flip.
“A candidate who can’t hold a consistent position on the most basic issues isn’t just untrustworthy, he’s unelectable,” Romick continued. “DMFI PAC’s Majority Project is fighting to take back the House, and that means making sure seats like CA-48 are won by candidates with the credibility to actually deliver. Campa-Najjar is not that candidate.”
Activists will consider close to 20 resolutions — some of which condemn AIPAC and DMFI — introduced by seven individuals at a party convention in June
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A t-shirt and hat up for auction at the Kickoff Reception for the 2012 Texas Democratic Party State Convention on June 7, 2012, in Houston.
Texas Democratic Party activists are set to consider a series of resolutions condemning Israel for alleged genocide and pushing for an arms embargo, as well as criticizing pro-Israel involvement in U.S. politics — characterizing it as foreign influence in American elections — and urging penalties for candidates who accept their support.
Close to 20 resolutions have been introduced on these issues ahead of the Texas Democratic Party’s convention in late June. They would need to be considered and approved at preliminary levels before being put before the full convention.
The resolutions echo similar efforts being undertaken within the Democratic National Committee at a meeting in New Orleans this week, and within other state-level parties across the country. The resolutions were introduced by seven individuals, and several of the resolutions are highly repetitive of, if not identical to, others.
Several of the resolutions suggest that U.S. institutions are compromised by pro-Israel interests, which they describe as vectors of “foreign interference in U.S. elections.”
“Foreign-aligned political action committees and advocacy organizations exert disproportionate influence in U.S. elections through coordinated expenditures, endorsements, and political pressure that undermine democratic accountability,” one of the resolutions states, going on to specify that it is referring to “the political network commonly referred to as the ‘Israel Lobby.’”
The resolution names both AIPAC and Democratic Majority for Israel, claiming they “exist primarily to promote policies aligned with the interests of a foreign government rather than the independent interests of Democratic voters” and that their policies have “contributed to prolonged military entanglements, regional instability, civilian suffering, and the erosion of U.S. credibility abroad, while failing to achieve lasting peace or security.”
The resolution, and another similar one, would set as party policy that Texas Democrats should reject campaign contributions, endorsements and other support from pro-Israel groups, and seek to penalize Democratic candidates who accept their assistance with measures such as withdrawal of party endorsements, ineligibility for fundraising and campaign assistance and censure and review by the state party ethics committee.
The resolution urges local Democratic parties to adopt similar penalty policies.
It further urges Democrats to investigate AIPAC and DMFI as potentially violating lobbying disclosure and foreign agent statutes.
Several of the resolutions accuse Israel of apartheid and genocide, and urge Democratic lawmakers from the state and nationally to support a halt to not only U.S. financial aid to Israel but also any shipments of weapons purchased from the U.S. and logistical support provided to Israel until international human rights groups declare that Israel is no longer engaged in apartheid or genocide.
Some of the resolutions urge adoption of a statewide Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions policy, calling for Texas state institutions to cut ties with companies implicated in to Israel’s supposed genocide. One resolution calls for the creation of a statewide task force to review Texas’ “financial, institutional and trade relationships” with states engaged in genocide and to require “public reporting on any associations with entities implicated in genocide or human rights violations.”
Another urges Texas Democrats and others to support the congressional Block the Bombs Act and the Justice for Hind Rajab Act, as well as to investigate American citizens who have volunteered for the IDF for participation in “gross violations of human rights … and subject the perpetrators of such violations to Congressional Oversight or prosecution as appropriate.”
Still another describes the state’s existing anti-BDS law as an “infringement of the [F]irst [A]mendment” and states that it should be a “top legislative priority” for the state Democratic Party to seek its repeal.
“Anything short of that is a derelict of duty to represent the people of Texas and ensure their constitutional rights are fully protected,” the resolution continues.
Other resolutions call for the recognition of Palestinian statehood. One of those also urges support for the release of “Palestinian political prisoners detained without trial in Israel” and calls on the U.S. to adopt as its own policy the Arab Peace Initiative.
“Pushing for the Abrahamic Accords without resolving the Palestinian issue is of no value, and even if signed by some Arab Governments, it has not led to real peace between the Israelis and other neighboring Arab countries’ populations, seeing their Palestinian brethren suffering under the occupation for 58 years,” the resolution states.
Democratic insiders expressed skepticism that the resolutions would pass as written, but called anti-AIPAC targeting within the party concerning
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, US, on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024.
The Democratic National Committee’s resolutions committee is set to consider resolutions condemning AIPAC and Israel at its upcoming meeting next week in New Orleans — a sign of the continued and growing discord in the party over Middle East policy.
It’s unclear at this point how great of a chance the resolutions stand of passing in their current form, but they are emerging as the AIPAC brand has been tarnished inside the Democratic Party.
The resolution targeting AIPAC, described in a resolution packet obtained by Jewish Insider as a “Resolution On Electoral Integrity, Transparency, And Limiting The Influence Of Corporate Money In Democratic Elections,” specifically calls out the pro-Israel group for its spending.
“The use of massive outside spending to support or oppose candidates based on their positions regarding international conflicts or foreign governments raises concerns about undue influence over democratic debate and policymaking, potentially constraining elected officials’ ability to represent the views of their constituents including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) spending approximately $14 million in a single Illinois Democratic primary,” the resolution reads.
It goes on to accuse “corporate money PACs” of also weighing in against “candidates who have advocated for Palestinian human rights, ceasefire efforts, or changes to U.S. foreign policy.” It states that opposition to such spending should be part of the party’s 2028 platform. Though the rest of the resolution is generally aimed at condemning dark money and independent spending in primaries, AIPAC is the only group singled out by name.
AIPAC and the DNC declined to comment on the resolution.
The resolution was submitted by a DNC delegate from Florida who pushed a resolution last year calling for an arms embargo and a suspension of U.S. aid to Israel, which was ultimately rejected by the same panel. At DNC Chair Ken Martin’s direction, the DNC set up a working group to discuss Israel-related issues.
In addition to the AIPAC resolution, another resolution highlights accusations of genocide against Israel and suggests that Israeli military units are in violation of U.S. arms sales laws, requiring a suspension or conditioning of arms transfers. A third condemns U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran and its partners, and calls for conditions on U.S. aid to Israel.
Democratic insiders took differing views on whether the resolutions — particularly the one relating to AIPAC — are likely to pass in their current form.
Halie Soifer, the CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, emphasized that any of the 44 members of the resolutions committee can introduce resolutions. She said that the fact of a resolution being introduced doesn’t mean that it will be considered by or adopted by the full DNC. Resolutions are debated and can be amended by the resolutions committee before they are voted on.
“What you’re seeing here doesn’t reflect a position that’s been adopted by the DNC. It reflects one person[’s] — who filed these resolutions — views,” Soifer said. “I don’t expect that these resolutions will be adopted as they’re drafted.”
Soifer argued that, though there’s “broad concern” about dark money across the U.S. political system, targeting AIPAC in particular doesn’t serve the goal of combating the issue as a whole.
“There are many ways to express such concern, I don’t think solely identifying one organization — especially not in this incredibly difficult moment when such a singling out can be viewed as potentially antisemitic — I don’t think that that is effective,” Soifer said.
A DNC official told JI that the resolutions committee is required by DNC bylaws to consider all resolutions as long as they are compliant with DNC rules, that the committee considers dozens of resolutions at each meeting — totaling more than a hundred in the last year — and that the resolutions are not legally binding. If the resolutions committee votes to advance a resolution, it is then voted on by the entire DNC.
Manny Houle, a Democratic pro-Israel strategist in Minnesota, said that he also doesn’t see the AIPAC resolution going forward because it lacks “teeth” — the DNC “can’t tell candidates where they can and cannot raise money … that’s not our purview.” He also emphasized the diversity of DNC delegates, many of whom do not have an intensive focus on AIPAC or the Middle East.
He also lamented that some Democratic activists seem “hyper-focused on something that doesn’t impact [the day-to-day lives of Americans] and [something] they have very little knowledge on, but they have big emotions for,” referring to the situation in the Middle East. But he also predicted the party will ultimately come together around a nuanced position of supporting allies and opposing Iranian aggression while also opposing “needless war.”
But another senior Jewish Democrat, speaking to JI on condition of anonymity, predicted that an anti-AIPAC resolution of some form could move forward, pointing to discontent and frustration among Democratic insiders over AIPAC’s spending to block former Rep. Tom Malinowski’s (D-NJ) special election primary bid earlier this year, as well as its involvement in Democratic primaries in Illinois.
“I think anyone who is surprised by this sort of potential action by the DNC hasn’t been paying close attention to how AIPAC has been seen within the Democratic Party, especially after their relatively recent decision to get actively involved in Democratic primaries,” the Jewish Democrat said. “The Democratic Party is going to respond when outside groups try to manipulate primaries.”
The Jewish leader said that AIPAC has alienated even some Democrats who were previously aligned with or had donated to AIPAC through its recent political maneuvering, potentially putting more fuel on the fire.
At the same time, the leader urged the party to “go out of their way to ensure that they were not singling out AIPAC for any other reason than it was actively involved in Democratic primaries, which of course other outside forces were too. It’s totally legitimate to criticize a pack in a way that you would criticize any other PAC or outside organization trying to influence Democratic primaries.”
Joel Rubin, a Democratic strategist, former senior J Street official and former Jewish liaison for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) presidential campaign, emphasized that he’s worked at odds with AIPAC at many points in his career, but said he is nonetheless concerned about the singling out and targeting of the group.
“Anytime you single out a specific organization where … at least half of the members are Democrats, and you say they’re banned, you’re opening up a litmus test Pandora’s box that is not going to be easily shut. It’s just bad politics,” Rubin said. “There are ways to criticize — as there should be — an organization’s views and even their electoral efforts without putting forward a resolution of policy of the party that is creating a dynamic that will only further alienate Jewish Democratic voters, period.”
Jewish Americans, he emphasized, have been a core constituency to the Democratic Party for decades, as voters, organizers and fundraisers, and the specific targeting of AIPAC “is a great way to kick out perhaps the most loyal voting bloc from the party.” He said that the effort “plays right into the Republicans’ hands.”
And, Rubin noted, the DNC has no ability to control which candidates run in Democratic primaries, from whom they accept contributions or how AIPAC and its supporters spend their money.
He also predicted that some Democratic activists would treat the resolution, and rejection of AIPAC, as an organizing tool and litmus test for Democratic candidates going forward, regardless of whether this particular resolution is approved.
“It’s going to take leadership amongst people to say, ‘This is not how we treat people in our party. This is not what we do. And if we have a problem with AIPAC and the way they use dark money and the way they have Republican donors go through in a sort of stalking horse, we should call that out and point that out every single time,’” Rubin said. “But that does not mean every single dollar that AIPAC uses … is solely Republican.”
Ambitious Democrats are still trying to figure out a political message that manages to keep pro-Israel voters within their coalition while reacting to the dramatic shift in public opinion towards the Jewish state within their base
Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) speaks at a get out the vote rally in Camden, New Jersey, United States on November 2, 2025.
You would think the media wouldn’t need to twist Democratic candidates’ views on Israel, given the challenges pro-Israel supporters are already facing within the party. But in a Politico story suggesting that Democrats are running away from AIPAC, the publication misrepresented the views of two leading presidential contenders — and ignored the latest pro-Israel comments made in its own pages by a top-tier candidate.
The story leads by noting pro-Israel Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said he’s not taking PAC money from anyone and then twists his comments to suggest that he had shifted his views on AIPAC or his support for Israel. The omission (buried at the end of the story) is particularly egregious because in the same interview, Booker told Politico that he was troubled by the “singling out of AIPAC” compared to other American advocacy groups.
“Somehow, AIPAC seems to be drawing a lot of attention, and that’s problematic to me,” Booker said. That doesn’t sound like an example of someone turning on the pro-Israel advocacy group.
The story then cites Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, one of the leading supporters of Israel in the party, as someone who’s flip-flopping on AIPAC for noting that as a governor, he’s never taken or solicited money from AIPAC. (Which is true, as a matter of fact, because AIPAC only spends money in federal races, not statewide campaigns.)
But that narrow, semantic statement was taken as evidence that Shapiro has changed his tune, when in reality he’s been speaking on left-wing podcasts in defense of the Jewish state, testing a measured, pro-Israel message as he mulls over a presidential campaign.
And perhaps most notably, the story avoids referencing Politico’s own interview with California Gov. Gavin Newsom published the same day, where he backtracked from his anti-Israel comments on the “Pod Save America” podcast earlier in the month. In the interview, Newsom said he “revere[s]” Israel and is “proud to support the state.” And he walked back his earlier comments that seemingly called Israel an apartheid state, saying he was only referencing a column by the New York Times’ Tom Friedman. This latest article appears to fit a pattern of anti-Israel content from Politico that stands in contrast to the pro-Israel stance of its parent company, Axel Springer.
To be sure, Newsom has been carefully calibrating his remarks to different audiences, and has distanced himself from AIPAC lately, in a shift from his longtime support for a close U.S.-Israel relationship. But his latest favorable comments towards the Jewish state — clearly intended as cleanup from his overly zealous criticism just weeks before — is a sign that Democratic candidates are still calibrating their views, not embracing the anti-Israel activists.
The reality is that ambitious Democrats are still trying to figure out a political message that manages to keep pro-Israel voters within their coalition while reacting to the dramatic shift in public opinion towards the Jewish state within their base.
And while it may be easy for Democrats to look at the polling and use AIPAC as a convenient boogeyman, the reality is that by embracing an anti-Israel worldview, candidates will end up dealing with the baggage that comes with the movement — from associating with antisemitic podcasters to championing Senate candidates that had Nazi-linked tattoos. That’s where the polling doesn’t fully reflect the implications of any anti-Israel shift within the party.
It’s a reminder of how so many Democrats running for president in 2020 looked at the polling reflecting the party zeitgeist of the moment and embraced a whole panoply of radical views, from defunding the police to embracing government-funded benefits for undocumented immigrants. That sudden shift to the far left, backed up by the primary polling of the moment, still haunts the party to this day.
It’s why most of the opposition against Israel is still confined to progressive spaces, as more mainstream Democratic candidates try to figure out how to balance concern over Israel’s right-wing government with support for the country itself. The Politico story, in its haste to declare waning support for Israel within the party, instead got nuanced responses that didn’t fit the narrative.
The major Democratic donor said the outsized scrutiny of AIPAC’s political involvement is an effort to ‘chase Jews and their allies out of our big tent coalition’
Vernon Yuen/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Michael J. Sacks at the Global Hong Kong Global Financial Leaders Investment Summit on October 8, 2023 in Hong Kong, China.
A prominent Jewish Democratic donor in Chicago is raising alarms that growing efforts to demonize AIPAC and its engagement in political campaigns are part of a more sinister effort to make pro-Israel Jews feel unwelcome in a party they have long called home.
In an opinion article published in The Chicago Tribune on Tuesday headlined “Why I support AIPAC and a big tent Democratic Party,” Michael Sacks, an asset manager and longtime ally of former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, pointed to what he called a “double standard” for AIPAC’s political involvement, and warned of “a coordinated effort to make support for Israel a litmus test for Democratic primary candidates in 2026 and beyond.”
“Let’s be clear: The campaign against AIPAC is not a policy discussion,” he wrote. “It’s a thinly disguised effort to make support for Israel politically toxic in the Democratic Party, to chase Jews and their allies out of our big tent coalition.”
His public comments on a hot-button issue come in the wake of a contentious primary cycle in Illinois earlier this month, where AIPAC’s spending in a range of contested House races was a subject of particularly heated criticism that is expected to play a role in the midterms and 2028 presidential election.
His op-ed also lands as some Democratic leaders have distanced themselves from AIPAC, including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a rumored 2028 presidential contender and a former AIPAC donor who in recent interviews has said he abandoned the pro-Israel group because it leaned too heavily to the right and lost its commitment to bipartisanship. He has also accused AIPAC of “interference” in Illinois’ recent House races, where its affiliated groups spent more than $20 million across four major primaries.
Despite their differences over AIPAC, Pritzker defended Sacks on Tuesday during an unrelated press conference. “Do I think that people who supported AIPAC can be good Democrats? I can tell you Michael Sacks is a very good, decent, honorable human being who cares deeply about the Democratic values I expressed to you,” Pritzker said.
He added that it was “very unfair for people to have targeted” Sacks “when what he believes is the same thing,” referring to “the security of the state of Israel and the security of the Palestinian people at the very same time.”
During the primaries, Sacks himself faced personal blowback after a progressive House candidate said he was rejecting his campaign contribution because of Sacks’ ties to AIPAC — a move Sacks lamented at the time as a sign of growing “anti-Israel sentiment and outright Jew hate.”
Sacks contributed a combined $1.2 million to two super PACS linked to AIPAC that faced scrutiny for obscuring their donors until after the primaries on March 17. He also donated to pro-Israel candidates who were backed by AIPAC, including former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL), who clinched the nomination in Illinois’ 8th Congressional District, and state Sen. Laura Fine, who lost to an outspoken Israel critic in Illinois’ 9th.
In the Tribune, Sacks clarified that he has not always aligned with AIPAC, saying he had “stepped away” from the group in 2017 over its fierce opposition to President Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear agreement, after decades of involvement.
But following the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, Sacks wrote, “as I watched anti-Israel sentiment accelerate within my party, including in Illinois,” he reconnected with AIPAC, asking how he could help to “ensure we didn’t send more people to Congress from Chicago who would deny Israel access to even essential defensive weapons.”
His experience observing the Illinois primaries, where other special-interest groups linked to the crypto and artificial intelligence industries had also invested heavily, ultimately exposed what he called a “stark and deliberate” attempt to single out AIPAC and broader pro-Israel activism as a unique source of backlash, he said, arguing that such criticism had not been evenly allocated throughout the campaign.
“I don’t agree with everything Israel and AIPAC do. Like many Israeli leaders as well as elected officials who receive AIPAC support, I believe in a two-state solution,” Sacks wrote. “If you’re not for two states, you’re for endless war. I also believe in a big tent Democratic Party. Democratic leaders claim to be for those things as well. Yet we demonize AIPAC and pro-Israel Jewish Democrats, while accepting those who cannot even say they support a two-state solution that includes Israel.”
Sacks, who chaired the 2024 Democratic National Convention host committee in Chicago, concluded the op-ed with a call to “Democratic leadership to brave this issue,” saying “we need more thermostats and fewer thermometers.”
“Real leadership recognizes that we can hold complicated views about the Israeli government and still refuse to make Jewish identity and pro-Israel sentiment a political disqualifier in our party,” he said in his article on Tuesday. “We can defend the big tent when it is inconvenient, not just when it is easy.”
Blake now says he opposes efforts to target the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, after saying just months ago he opposed BDS
Derek French/Sipa USA via AP Images
Democratic congressional candidate Michael Blake speaks during the 'Mayoral Candidate Forum All Faiths, All Candidates' event at Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
Michael Blake, a far-left primary challenger to Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) who has grounded his challenge largely in criticism of Torres’ pro-Israel stance, flipped his view on the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement during his campaign.
In January, at a candidate forum, Blake affirmed his opposition to the BDS movement and highlighted anti-BDS legislation he helped sponsor as a state assemblyman. But in an X post on Friday, he reversed his position on the issue.
“I oppose efforts that punish [BDS movement] participation,” Blake said on X. “My previous support of NY bills was wrong b/c I didn’t understand the harm incl. the ‘Palestine exception’ on speech & academic freedom for Palestinian rights. Gov’t must protect Free speech & reject retaliation & fear.”
That stance is at odds with the position he staked out just two months ago in a forum with the Ben Franklin Club.
Asked whether he supports New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s efforts to divest the city from investments in Israel, Blake said during the forum, in audio obtained by Jewish Insider, “I have repeatedly — as it relates to the BDS movement itself — have not been in that same position. … As you’ve seen, when I was in the Assembly, I was one of the co-sponsors,” adding that “there is a broader variance.”
The longtime local political organization ultimately endorsed Torres.
In a position paper for a previous congressional campaign obtained by JI, Blake proudly touted his support for anti-BDS legislation. He said he was “pleased to see” bipartisan opposition to the BDS movement, as well as pledged to support anti-BDS legislation in Congress and described the movement as antisemitic.
Blake’s flip-flop on the issue is emblematic of his broader repositioning on Israel-related issues as part of his congressional campaign. Blake was once a close ally of AIPAC and a strong supporter of Israel, but has staked out a strongly anti-Israel line in the campaign.
Blake’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
In the same Ben Franklin Club event, asked initially about Mamdani’s divestment efforts, Blake focused his response on aid to Israel, saying that he supports “divestment” from the Israeli government while also suggesting he would protect funding for Iron Dome — a position unlikely to satisfy the far left.
“I’m not going to give a blanket answer on everything because obviously there’s variance to that question, but when we talk about what’s happening around the war itself, I think there definitely should be a divestment in place to what’s going on in the war,” Blake said in another clip obtained by JI. “I think it’s very different as it relates to the protection of the Iron Dome — I think there’s a different distinction that’s there but I’m giving that clarity of that position, because I think saying just holistically can be ambiguous there.”
Blake has also sought to simultaneously capitalize on the insurgent energy of Mamdani’s rise, and to draw support from the democratic socialist’s detractors. Earlier this month, he joined a rally of public housing advocates that attacked Mamdani’s decision to exclude tenants of city-run apartments from hearings on poor living conditions.
Blake has also repeatedly touted the support of local advocacy group Veteran Action Now and its founder Kevin Meggett, who has vocally criticized the mayor and his allies in the Democratic Socialists of America.
Pro-Israel candidates who received backing from AIPAC or AIPAC-aligned groups won two of the four targeted Democratic primaries in Illinois
Melissa Bean campaign page
Former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL)
Reports of the demise of AIPAC’s political clout in Democratic primaries, it turned out, were greatly exaggerated.
Pro-Israel candidates who received backing from AIPAC or AIPAC-aligned groups won two of the four targeted Democratic primaries in Illinois — and helped block all the Squad-aligned far-left candidates from winning nominations in all of the races.
It was a respectable, if not dominant showing, but one consistent with making an impact with the $22 million pro-Israel groups spent in the four open congressional races.
Former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL) held off a credible challenge from anti-Israel activist and businessman Junaid Ahmed, and looks like a lock to hold onto the suburban district as long as she wants.
Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, who benefited from about $4.5 million in outside spending from a pro-Israel group, comfortably outdistanced former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) by a double-digit margin (41-29%) — even though Jackson entered the race as the favorite. The anti-Israel candidate in the field, state Sen. Robert Peters, finished in a distant third place, with only 12% of the vote.
AIPAC’s biggest setback came in the affluent Chicago lakefront seat of retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), where Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss prevailed over pro-Israel state Sen. Laura Fine despite facing a barrage of attacks from an AIPAC-aligned group. But pro-Israel voters also dodged the worst-case outcome, with anti-Israel social media influencer Kat Abughazaleh finishing in second, and trailing badly in the district’s suburban precincts.
All told, Biss won with 30% of the vote, Abughazaleh finished with 26%, and Fine tallied 20%.
And despite AIPAC’s super PAC spending nearly $5 million in positive ads to boost Chicago city Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, state Rep. La Shawn Ford narrowly prevailed in the crowded primary, 24-20%. Ford was backed by retiring Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), with the congressman’s political machine ultimately making a bigger difference than the money spent on behalf of Conyears-Ervin.
Anthony Driver, Jr. and Kina Collins, the two candidates running on anti-Israel platforms, lagged well behind in third and fourth place, tallying a combined 20% of the vote.
AIPAC managed to block all six of the far-left candidates it viewed as potential Squad-aligned lawmakers, which a source close to AIPAC told JI was the group’s top goal in the home stretch of the campaign — once it backed off of anti-Biss attacks that failed to dislodge him as the front-runner and Abughazaleh closed in in second place. AIPAC is treating that as a win as well.
One way of looking at the Illinois results from a pro-Israel perspective is to consider whether the representation of any of the seats will be more or less favorable as a result of Tuesday’s results.
Biss is a self-described “progressive Zionist” in the mold of Schakowsky, another Jewish left-winger who gradually evolved into a reliable critic of Israel as progressive politics surrounding the Middle East shifted. Both Schakowsky and Biss have been embraced by J Street. Call it a wash.
The retiring Danny Davis had a fairly rocky relationship with Chicago’s Jewish community, and supported placing restrictions on aid to Israel. If his handpicked successor Ford follows in his footsteps (and he said he wouldn’t commit to unconditional Israel aid), there won’t be any change in representation — for better or worse. (J Street also endorsed Ford’s candidacy.)
But in Illinois’ 2nd District, Miller will likely be a decidedly more favorable vote than Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL), who campaigned as the candidate in the state’s Democratic primary most critical of Israel. That counts as a likely upgrade for pro-Israel forces in Chicago.
And Bean was one of the most moderate Democrats during her first stint in Congress, compiling a reliably pro-Israel record. She’s likely to maintain the same mainstream voting record that Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) held during his House tenure.
So all told, the Illinois delegation is likely to be slightly more pro-Israel next year as a result of this year’s primaries. Given the tough headwinds AIPAC is facing, that’s not a small accomplishment — aided by the successful fundraising of its super PAC.
And even though pro-Israel groups didn’t weigh in on the Illinois Senate race, AIPAC sounded a positive note on Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton’s victory over Kelly, whose recent actions, it said, “undermined the U.S.-Israel alliance.” Stratton’s leading opponent was Krishnamoorthi, whose record was viewed as the most pro-Israel of the three leading candidates.
Given that outgoing Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) has become a vocal critic of Israel, if Stratton is more aligned with AIPAC, that would also be an improvement for pro-Israel advocates in the state, or at minimum a wash.
Stratton’s win was also a big victory for Gov. JB Pritzker, who spent significant political and financial capital on behalf of his running mate in preparation for a potential presidential campaign — and came out a winner.
In the end, pro-Israel forces can be reassured that they held their own despite the rough political environment, defeated all of the most virulently anti-Israel candidates, and began to repair their image from the New Jersey blunder that set the cycle on a down note. Five states down, 45 to go.
Democrats will be choosing whether to nominate moderate-minded lawmakers, or elevate potential future members of the far-left Squad
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Illinois Democratic Senate candidate Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton speaks to voters during a campaign stop on March 13, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.
After months of an increasingly bitter campaign characterized by tens of millions in outside spending and increasingly heated debate over Israel policy, Democrats in the Chicagoland area head to the polls on Tuesday, with the outcome of the primaries potentially reshaping the political landscape in Chicago, one of the most Jewish cities in the country.
The races are also set to be a test of AIPAC and the pro-Israel community’s political strategy and heft. There are four House races that pro-Israel groups are reportedly engaged in, and their success rate in those primaries will be an early indicator of whether resources can overcome the shifting winds in a party that is becoming increasingly hostile to the Jewish state.
Broadly, a source close to AIPAC said, the group’s main goal in the primaries is to prevent six candidates — state Sen. Robert Peters in the 2nd District, activist Kina Collins in the 7th, activist Junaid Ahmed and Hanover Park Trustee Yasmeen Bankole in the 8th and influencer Kat Abughazaleh and Skokie School Board member Bushra Amiwala in the 9th — from being elected, as it believes those candidates would be aligned with the far-left ‘Squad’ on Israel policy issues if elected to Congress.
That’s an apparent change in strategy from the recent special election in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, where spending by the AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project against a relative moderate who had expressed an openness to conditioning aid to Israel helped elect a far-left candidate with more hostile views.
Here’s what we’re watching, and where the races stand.
Illinois Senate
This race appears to be effectively a two-way contest between Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL), who has been carving out the left-most lane (including on Israel policy), has been trailing further behind in most polling and will have the hardest climb to victory, despite backing from the Congressional Black Caucus.
Krishnamoorthi, who has taken the most moderate and most pro-Israel posture, would likely benefit most from Stratton and Kelly splitting the Black and progressive Democratic vote in the state. A super PAC backing Krishnamoorthi has taken to promoting both him and Kelly while attacking Stratton.
Some recent polling has shown Stratton, who has been trying to balance criticism of Israel while also maintaining support within the Jewish community, closing in on Krishnamoorthi in the final stretch of the race.
Though Krishnamoorthi has been the most prolific fundraiser in the race, Stratton has benefited from more than $13 million in spending by the Illinois Future PAC, backed by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his family, Stratton’s main political backer.
Stratton has hit Krishnamoorthi as overly supportive of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in part by pointing to his vote in support of a resolution condemning the attack on an Israeli hostage awareness march in Boulder, Colo., last year, which also included language thanking ICE.
Krishnamoorthi also took a hit last week with a story that described him as mistreating employees as he amassed his war chest for this Senate run. Meanwhile, Stratton’s campaign is touting what it says is a deathbed endorsement by Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died last month.
2nd Congressional District
Despite poor fundraising as compared to others in the field and a term in prison for a corruption scandal, former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) has long been the favorite to win the 2nd Congressional District seat, an effort likely aided by national attention over his father’s death.
Affordable Chicago Now, a new super PAC reported to be supported by pro-Israel backers, has been boosting Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, putting $4.3 million behind her campaign.
An AI industry-linked super PAC has stepped in to help boost Jackson’s chances. Miller has also faced attacks from the Working Families Party for receiving pro-Israel support.
Peters has been trying to carve out the far-left lane in the district, including by taking a strongly critical line toward Israel and AIPAC, though Jewish Insider reported that he had previously reached out to the group early in his campaign, offering a very different set of policy priorities.
7th Congressional District
The AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project and a cryptocurrency industry group have been supporting Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin in the race, helping push her toward the top of the field. UDP has spent more than $5 million in the race. Conyears-Ervin has also received support from the Chicago Teachers’ Union, which has been hostile toward Israel.
Other notable candidates include state Rep. LaShawn Ford, who is Rep. Danny Davis’ (D-IL) preferred successor, and has taken significant heat from the crypto-backed Fairshake.
The progressive Collins, who has long held hostile stances toward Israel, is making her third run at the seat, but attention from progressive and anti-Israel interests has also turned toward Anthony Driver Jr., a union organizer who has seen support from outside spending by an SEIU-linked group, among other progressive candidates. That group has spent more than $550,000 hitting Conyears-Ervin, in part for receiving pro-Israel support.
Jason Friedman, a Jewish real estate developer and longtime Jewish federation leader who has taken a largely pro-Israel stance, has led the field in fundraising, but it’s unclear how he might fare in a historically Black district. UDP’s ads have also directly responded to Friedman’s criticism of Conyears-Ervin’s past corruption issues, attacking Friedman.
8th Congressional District
Former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL) is seen as the strong front-runner in the race, and is the most likely victory for pro-Israel voters in the Chicagoland House primaries.
By contrast, Ahmed has consolidated support among the progressive left and has staked out an anti-Israel stance on the trail. A poll released Sunday showed Bean in the lead, but Ahmed closing in, just five points behind.
Bean has been backed by pro-Israel groups, the AI industry and cryptocurrency advocates. Meanwhile, Justice Democrats and the anti-Israel IMEU Policy Project have been spending in the district in an attempt to undercut Bean and boost Ahmed.
Chicago Progressive Partnership, a group rumored to be linked to AIPAC, has recently been hitting Ahmed from the left, putting $664,000 behind that effort.
Other candidates in the race include Bankole, Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison and entrepreneur Neil Khot. Khot has led the field in fundraising with around $2 million, though a majority of that has been self-funded.
9th Congressional District
The 9th District seat has become the most watched and most bitter of the four House primaries in the Chicago area — with Middle East policy and pro-Israel funding becoming one of the most contentious issues, to the extent that those issues dominated a recent televised debate.
The top tier of candidates includes Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, far-left activist and influencer Abughazaleh and state Sen. Laura Fine. Fine has charted out the most moderate and pro-Israel stance of the three, while Biss has leaned toward a progressive posture critical of Israel and Abughazaleh has taken an even harder anti-Israel line.
Though Biss and Fine at one point appeared to be the top candidates, recent polling has shown Fine falling behind and Abughazaleh closing the gap with Biss, who has consistently led in polling.
Abughazaleh finished out the race as the top fundraiser, pulling in $3.4 million, followed by Fine and Biss neck-and-neck at $2.6 and $2.5 million, respectively.
Elect Chicago Women, reportedly backed by pro-Israel donors, has put $5.8 million into supporting Fine and attacking Biss, but pro-Israel groups appear to have shifted their strategy in the final weeks of the campaign amid Abughazaleh’s surge.
Attacks on Biss have tapered off, while Chicago Progressive Partnership has been hammering Abughazaleh with more than $1.2 million in spending in just a few weeks. Most recently, the group has also been boosting Skokie School Board member Bushra Amiwala, in an apparent attempt to siphon off some of Abughazaleh’s base.
Meanwhile, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and actor and anti-Israel activist Mark Ruffalo offered endorsements for Abughazaleh over the weekend.
Though the pro-Israel community’s strategy in this race has been different than the one it took in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, where attacks on a liberal candidate helped elect another candidate from the far-left, there’s been longstanding fear among some in the local Jewish community that outside groups’ concerted anti-Biss attacks could end up electing the far-left Abughazaleh.
JI found that Biss reached out to AIPAC before formally announcing his campaign, and that his stances on Israel policy have also evolved significantly since he entered the race, including supporting efforts to cut off weapons transfers to the Jewish state.
Biss also faced grilling from the House Education Committee over his decision to withhold police support when Northwestern University sought to clear an anti-Israel encampment on campus in 2024.
J Street has spent around $150,000 boosting Biss.
Plus, Israel strikes back after 200-missile Hezbollah barrage
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Nick Fuentes, the leader of a Christian based extremist white nationalist group speaks to his followers in Washington D.C. on November 14, 2020
👋 Good Thursday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at the ties between neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes and Kai Schwemmer, the newly named political director of College Republicans of America, and spotlight the pro-Israel positions taken by Clay Fuller, who is expected to succeed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene following next month’s runoff in Georgia. We report on the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah following the terror group’s launching last night of 200 missiles at Israel, and look at the degree to which the United Arab Emirates is absorbing much of Tehran’s missile and drone attacks. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Howard Schultz, Adm. Brad Cooper and Dorothy McAuliffe.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is holding a hearing this morning on the influence of foreign funding in higher education. National Association of Scholars President Peter Wood, Foundation for Defense of Democracies Senior Fellow Craig Singleton and The Asia Society’s Robert Daly are slated to testify.
- The annual weeklong SXSW festival kicks off today in Austin, Texas. Mahmoud Khalil, the controversial former leader of Columbia’s anti-Israel protest movement who is facing possible deportation over his activities, will, according to the festival schedule, participate in a conversation this weekend “on the cost of dissent,” alongside his lawyer and The Guardian’s Betsy Reed. More below.
- First in JI: The Republican Jewish Coalition is set to announce endorsements of 16 House Republicans running for reelection, mostly in swing districts: Reps. Tom Barrett (R-MI), Rob Bresnahan (R-PA), Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), Gabe Evans (R-CO), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Zach Nunn (R-IA), David Valadao (R-CA) and Derrick Van Orden (R-WI).
- RJC also endorsed the four incumbent Jewish House Republicans: Reps. David Kustoff (R-TN), Max Miller (R-OH), Randy Fine (R-FL) and Craig Goldman (R-TX) — the largest group of Jewish Republicans in the House since the 1980s, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MATTHEW KASSEL
In a low-profile electoral upset that defied the difficult national political environment facing the GOP, a Republican candidate declared victory this week in a down-ballot race for a seat on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in Virginia — for the first time in nearly 40 years.
But while Republicans are now rejoicing over their narrow win, it otherwise largely demonstrated how Democratic leaders effectively sacrificed the seat to the GOP rather than elevate an extremist member of their own party who had claimed the nomination.
The result underscored the extent to which local Democrats had swiftly mobilized to oppose their own nominee, Muhammed Casim, who faced backlash over a series of recently uncovered past social media comments in which he used racist, misogynistic and antisemitic language. The posts, written more than a decade ago, used the n-word as well as demeaning rhetoric targeting women. He also accused Israel of genocide and promoted a conspiratorial post about U.S. financial assistance to the Jewish state, among other extreme comments.
More broadly, the outcome is an atypical example of how the Democratic Party worked to meaningfully confront extremism within its own ranks, even if its efforts came at the expense of an easily winnable local seat that instead flipped to Republicans for the first time in decades.
Casim apologized for his comments but refused bipartisan calls to drop out of the race, which had motivated a Democratic challenger to launch a write-in campaign that ultimately helped siphon votes away from his embattled bid. He lost to Republican Jeannie LaCroix by a margin of 258 votes. Write-in candidates pulled in 744 votes — a relatively sizable total that appeared to have made a difference in the closely contested race.
“Opposing antisemitism, racism or misogyny isn’t a partisan position,” Marc Broklawski, a Jewish vice chair of the Virginia Democratic Party, told Jewish Insider on Wednesday. “It’s a floor, not a ceiling, and the least we should expect from any party, official candidate or voter. When Democrats hold that floor even when it’s costly, that’s something to be proud of. When we don’t, voters notice that too.”
NORTHERN FRONT
Israel expands strikes in Lebanon after major Hezbollah barrage
Israel continued extensive strikes on Lebanon on Thursday morning, after Hezbollah shot about 200 projectiles at northern Israel the night before. About 120 of the rockets and missiles crossed from Lebanon into Israel during the Wednesday night barrage, with those not intercepted mostly striking Israel’s north, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
State of play: The Magen David Adom emergency service treated two individuals with mild injuries following the missile fire from Lebanon. A home, with the exception of its safe room, was destroyed, and two others were damaged in Moshav Haniel in Emek Hefer, a region of Israel 70 miles from the Lebanon border. Soon after, Iran launched missiles at Israel, a move officials said likely indicated that the two Wednesday night barrages were coordinated between Tehran and Beirut. A senior Israeli official briefed the media on Thursday morning that a significant expansion of operations in Lebanon would soon take place, but did not say whether that would include a broad ground invasion.
Bonus: In Al Arabiya, former White House Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt calls on Beirut to decisively crack down on and disarm Hezbollah, arguing that the Iranian proxy is at a particularly weak moment: “The aura of invincibility that Hezbollah cultivated for decades has faded. The pillars that sustained Hezbollah for years, money from Tehran, military dominance and political intimidation, have dramatically weakened.”
CAMPUS CONTROVERSY
Conservative students alarmed about College Republicans leader with Nick Fuentes ties
Some pro-Israel conservative students are voicing concern over the College Republicans of America’s new political director, citing his ties to neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes as evidence of the party’s increasingly “alarming” shift towards extremism, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. Kai Schwemmer was tapped last week as political director of the campus group, which has grown to more than 200 active chapters across U.S. universities since it was established in 2023 as an offshoot from the College Republican National Committee.
Friend of Fuentes: Schwemmer, known on social media as Kai Klips, has a channel on Fuentes’ invitation-only streaming platform Cozy, which he launched with far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Schwemmer appeared in a 2021 video promoting Fuentes’ “White Boy Summer” tour and was featured as a “special guest” at Fuentes’ 2022 APFAC III conference, the progressive advocacy organization People for the American Way reported. Schwemmer has also been outspoken about his affiliation with Fuentes’ political movement, “America First.” “It’s alarming but not surprising,” College Republicans of America would select a Fuentes ally as its leader, Felipe Avila, a senior studying nursing at Catholic University of America, who identifies as conservative, told JI.
FRESH PERSPECTIVE
Israel supporter Clay Fuller expected to replace MTG on Capitol Hill
Clay Fuller, a veteran and district attorney, is expected to succeed former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in the House, bringing a pro-Israel voice to replace one of the House’s most anti-Israel Republicans, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Fuller led all Republicans on the all-party primary ballot in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, winning 35% of the vote. Even though he finished narrowly behind Democrat and military veteran Shawn Harris, the Republican vote is likely to consolidate behind Fuller in next month’s runoff election.
Fuller’s positions: Fuller has expressed support for Israel and for the U.S. strikes on Iran. “President Trump tried the peace route with Iran not once, not twice, but THREE separate times — and they refused. He’s the peace President, but you can’t negotiate with a death cult,” Fuller said in a post on X last month, emphasizing he had supported operations against Iran during his time in the military and that the regime and its proxies had killed many Americans. The day after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, Fuller blasted the Biden administration for unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian funds as part of an earlier hostage deal, highlighting Iran’s support to Hamas.
President’s pitch: President Donald Trump ripped into Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) during a campaign rally in Hebron, Ky., on Wednesday to support Ed Gallrein, his endorsed candidate to take on the incumbent, describing Massie as “disloyal,” a “loser,” the “worst person” and a “disaster as a congressman,” JI’s Emily Jacobs reports.
ON THE TRAIL
Pro-Israel Democrats walking a fine line on U.S. operation in Iran
Remarks by pro-Israel stalwarts Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Brad Schneider (D-IL) on a Jewish Democratic Council of America webinar on Wednesday highlighted the delicate line that some pro-Israel Democratic lawmakers are walking on the war in Iran, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Notable quotable: “I can tell you assuredly: had I been presented with an Authorization for Use of Military Force, that made sense, and that we were properly briefed, and there was a demonstrative, imminent threat — which we have really yet to be shown — I am someone on our side of the aisle that likely would have voted for an AUMF if all of those things were in place,” Wasserman Schultz said. “Instead, [President Donald Trump] has blown an opportunity to go in in the most prepared way. … I have been careful about just blanket-ly condemning everything [Trump is] doing here, but most certainly, the way that we got into this was really unacceptable, and my constituents are very concerned.”
Friendly fire: A former top Obama administration foreign policy official said on Wednesday that any Democratic lawmakers who vote to support U.S. strikes on Iran should be primaried. “If you vote for the funding of this war, you should be primaried. I don’t want you in the Democratic Party,” said Ben Rhodes, co-host of the “Pod Save the World” podcast and former deputy national security advisor under President Barack Obama, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports.
CENTER STAGE
Mahmoud Khalil to speak at South by Southwest festival
Columbia University anti-Israel protest leader Mahmoud Khalil is scheduled to speak at this week’s annual South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. Khalil will participate on Sunday in a conversation “on the cost of dissent,” with The Guardian Editor Betsy Reed and Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center For Constitutional Rights who was a lawyer for Khalil in his deportation proceedings, according to the SXSW schedule.
Details: The weeklong festival each March convenes around 300,000 guests, including film and media professionals, executives and politicians to discuss culture, technology and innovation. “Khalil joins The Guardian for an unflinching conversation on his ordeal, the system that tried to silence him, and the personal and political stakes of resistance,” SXSW’s website states. At Columbia, Khalil was a key organizer of the anti-Israel encampment in April 2024, a two-week demonstration in the center of campus during Israel’s war in Gaza.
FEELING THE HEAT
UAE, more than Israel, absorbing bulk of Iranian strikes in war’s early weeks
As Iran retaliates against the U.S. and Israel’s joint military campaign, findings have revealed that the United Arab Emirates — not Israel — has thus far faced the majority of Tehran’s missile and drone attacks, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea and Marc Rod report. As of March 11, the UAE’s Ministry of Defense reported that its air defenses had “engaged” 268 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,514 UAVs.
Bearing the brunt: Iranian strikes have targeted American assets in the country, such as the U.S. consulate in Dubai, but also a range of civilian targets, including Dubai International Airport, where a drone attack wounded four people. Reports have indicated that Abu Dhabi has faced more than three times the number of Iranian drones and missiles launched toward Israel. The attacks come as Gulf allies are running short on missile interceptors. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Rick Scott (R-FL) argued to JI on Wednesday that, ultimately, the U.S. campaign against Iran will be to the benefit of the UAE and other Gulf allies, even if they’re feeling pain in the short term.
Winds of change: Despite Qatar’s anger with Iran over the regime’s continued attacks on its territory and civilian infrastructure, experts are divided over whether the conflict will ultimately force Doha to reconsider its long-standing policy of hosting Iranian-backed Hamas officials, JI’s Matthew Shea reports.
Worthy Reads
The War on Antisemitism: In Time, State Department antisemitism envoy Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun explains the Trump administration’s approach to fighting antisemitism. “Antisemitism proliferates from an ever-multiplying list of sources: voices from all sides of the political spectrum spew antisemitic rhetoric; foreign terrorist organizations espouse violent antisemitic ideologies; and online radicalization increasingly incites real-world antisemitic attacks against Jewish individuals and institutions globally.” [Time]
This War Has Roots: In The Washington Post, Geoffrey Corn and Orde Kittrie argue that the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran is a continuation of hostilities that have been ongoing for years. “International law does not require a distinct self-defense justification for every attack conducted once the right of self-defense is triggered. Once that right is initiated, military action is justified to achieve the overall self-defense objective, in this case terminating Iran’s capacity to strike the United States and its allies. … These facts justify the conclusion that the U.S. and Iran were already engaged in an armed conflict when the current round began. As a result, international law does not require the U.S. to refrain from further military action against Iran until just before the IRGC launches another assault.” [WashPost]
Risk Assessment: The Wall Street Journal‘s Yaroslav Trofimov looks at the risks Washington and American allies face if the war ends with the Iranian regime intact. “But leaving in place Iran’s theocratic regime — angry, defiant and in possession of its nuclear stockpile and what remains of its arsenal of missiles and drones — would essentially grant Tehran control over the world’s energy markets. It would also sacrifice the security of America’s partners and allies, and possibly make another, more devastating, regional war likely.” [WSJ]
Get Out of Jail Free: The Atlantic’s Graeme Wood considers the utility of former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has evolved from being the face of the Islamic Republic to an opponent of the regime and was rumored to have been killed by Israel early in the war. “ Contrary to early reports, Ahmadinejad is alive, his associates say. … The circumstances of his survival may prove significant as the war drags on. Whatever the intent, Ahmadinejad’s associates say the strike was in effect a jailbreak operation that freed the former president from regime control. Their description of the chaotic sequence of events that began before the war suggests that Ahmadinejad has friends on the outside.” [TheAtlantic]
Word on the Street
President Donald Trump announced his endorsement of Brandon Herrera, the far-right social media influencer who is the presumptive Republican nominee in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, following Rep. Tony Gonzales’ (R-TX) announcement that he was dropping his reelection bid, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…
The Cook Political Report moved the Pennsylvania governor’s race from “Likely Democrat” to “Solid Democrat,” citing Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s 60% approval rating, cash on hand and significant polling lead over his Republican challenger, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity…
Dorothy McAuliffe, the wife of former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, announced her bid for Congress in a potential new district that is expected to favor Democrats, the status of which will be determined in a statewide vote next month…
Nearly all Senate Democrats wrote to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Wednesday to raise “grave concern” about a strike on a girl’s school that killed at least 168 people in the opening phase of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…
The letter came amid findings from a preliminary U.S. military investigation indicating that the U.S. was at fault for the bombing, which took place on the same block as a number of buildings used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps…
Federal and state officials in California sought to assuage concerns after the FBI’s Los Angeles division sent out a bulletin that Iran could conduct retaliatory drone attacks on the West Coast, with a law-enforcement official telling CBS News that there was no credible intelligence that prompted the bulletin, which had predated the Iran war…
The Department of Justice is probing Iran’s use of Binance to evade U.S. and international sanctions after an internal investigation at the cryptocurrency company found that the platform had been used to funnel more than $1 billion to terror proxies…
The New York Times reports on Iran’s use of cluster bombs to strike Israel in violation of international law…
The Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which has historically served as an interlocutor for U.S. interests in the Islamic Republic, announced it is temporarily closing, citing “the war in the Middle East and the increasing security risk,” but “will continue to maintain an open line of communication” between Washington and Tehran…
The Wall Street Journal spotlights CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper, whom associates described as “thoughtful, decisive and cool under pressure” as he leads U.S. operations in the Middle East…
Yeshiva University is establishing the first new dental school in Manhattan in more than a century, with plans to enroll 150 students in an accelerated three-year program on its Midtown Manhattan campus…
Starbucks owner Howard Schultz became the latest executive to relocate to South Florida, purchasing a $44 million penthouse in Surfside, Fla….
The California Department of Education filed a lawsuit against the Oakland Unified School District, alleging that administrators failed to address “pervasive antisemitism” in schools in the Bay Area district following a directive in January to do so…
A judge in the U.K. tossed out the government’s appeal of a court ruling dismissing its case against Irish band Kneecap over a group member’s support for Hezbollah; the lower court had dismissed the case over a governmental procedural error…
Google completed its $32 billion purchase of Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz, started in 2020 by Unit 8200 veterans Assaf Rappaport, Yinon Costica, Ami Luttwak and Roy Reznik; the deal marks the largest purchase of an Israeli-founded company in nearly a decade…
Iran’s sports minister said that the Islamic Republic’s national soccer team could not play in this summer’s World Cup, a number of games of which are being played in the U.S….
Spain is permanently withdrawing its ambassador from Israel, months after Ambassador Ana Maria Salomon Perez was recalled to Madrid; the country’s embassy in Israel going forward will be led by a charge d’affaires…
Bloomberg looks at Israeli efforts to establish an intelligence base on the coast of Somaliland months after Israel became the first country to formally recognize the African nation, which is separated from the Yemen-based Houthis by the Gulf of Aden…
Axios reports on the role that hackers are increasingly playing in the war between the U.S., Israel and Iran, following a cyberattack on Wednesday targeting the U.S.-based medical device company Stryker that disabled employees’ phones and laptops…
The Qatari-backed Irth Capital Management submitted a bid to take over Papa Johns, in a deal that would give the pizza chain a $1.5 billion valuation…
Bernard Haykel is joining the Foundation for Defense of Democracies as a senior fellow…
Angelika Saleh, the namesake of the Angelika Film Center, which she opened in 1989 with her then-husband, Joseph Saleh, died at 90…
Pic of the Day
UJA-Federation of New York announced last night it was committing $1.3 million to build the Shalva Sharabi Family Center in Ashkelon, Israel, a new center dedicated in memory of the wife and daughters of former hostage Eli Sharabi, who were killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. The pledge for the center, which will support individuals with disabilities and trauma victims, was made at Shalva’s 36th anniversary gala, held at Gotham Hall in Manhattan, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Birthdays
Born in Haifa, he served as president of the Central Bank of Brazil and is now president of the Inter-American Development Bank, Ilan Goldfajn turns 60…
Photographer, musician and author of 15 children’s books, Arlene Weiss Alda turns 93… Carol Margolis… Retired U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) turns 79… Director, producer and screenwriter of movies and television including directing the first of “The Fast and the Furious” film franchise, Rob Cohen turns 77… British sculptor, he won the 2017 $1 million Genesis Prize for “commitment to Jewish values, the Jewish community and the State of Israel,” Sir Anish Kapoor turns 72… Pitching coach who has worked for the Yankees, Reds, Braves, Marlins, Cubs and Padres, Larry Rothschild turns 72… Past president of AIPAC, he is the founder and CEO of R.A. Cohen & Associates, Robert A. Cohen… Former member of the Knesset for the Likud party, he is from the Israeli Druze community, Ayoob Kara turns 71… Founder of hedge fund Lone Pine Capital, Stephen Mandel turns 70… Sales representative at Paychex, Lynne Blumenthal… Director of constituency engagement at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Diane Saltzman… Senior attorney in the D.C. office of Squire Patton Boggs, Stacey Grundman… Sportscaster for ESPN and a host of “SportsCenter,” Steve Levy turns 61… U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) turns 58… Chief Washington correspondent for CNN and co-host of the Sunday morning program “State of the Union,” Jacob Paul “Jake” Tapper turns 57… Founder and CEO at Miller Strategies, Jeff Miller… Israeli film and television actor, Tzachi Halevy turns 51… SVP of communications at the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, Brian T. Weiss… Founder and publisher of Fleishigs, a kosher food magazine, Shlomo Klein… Actor and comedian, Samm Levine turns 44… Writer, artist and social media personality, she is best known for her Daf Reactions series of videos explaining passages from the Talmud posted to TikTok, Miriam P. Anzovin… Senior public affairs specialist at the Association of American Medical Colleges, Talia Schmidt… Member of Congress (D-NY-15) since 2021, Ritchie Torres turns 38… Senior Middle East intelligence specialist at Vcheck, Aaron Magid… Founder and CEO of Serotonin and co-founder and president of Mojito, Amanda Gutterman Cassatt turns 35… CEO and co-founder of Wonder Media Network, Jennifer Manning Kaplan… Figure skater who won the 2016 World Junior championship, he competed for Israel at the 2018 Winter Olympics, Daniel Samohin turns 28… Israeli internet personality, model and singer, Anna Zak turns 25…
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said she would likely have voted to authorize force against Iran if the administration had approached Congress properly before launching the war
Annabelle Gordon/Bloomberg via Getty Image
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), during a news conference in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
Remarks by pro-Israel stalwarts Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Brad Schneider (D-IL) on a Jewish Democratic Council of America webinar on Wednesday highlighted the delicate line that some pro-Israel Democratic lawmakers are walking on the war in Iran.
Wasserman Schultz and Schneider, along with some of their Democratic colleagues, are longtime Iran hawks and have previously supported many of the stated aims of the war, but express deep skepticism of how the Trump administration is handling the operation and its decision not to seek congressional authorization.
Both Democrats voted for a war powers resolution last week that sought to bring an immediate halt to the war.
Wasserman Schultz said that, in addition to legal and constitutional concerns, Trump made a “colossally stupid” decision in not coming to Congress because some lawmakers, including her, might have voted to support an operation against Iran if presented with the proper intelligence and a clear plan.
“I can tell you assuredly: had I been presented with an Authorization for Use of Military Force, that made sense, and that we were properly briefed, and there was a demonstrative, imminent threat — which we have really yet to be shown — I am someone on our side of the aisle that likely would have voted for an AUMF if all of those things were in place,” Wasserman Schultz said. “Instead, [President Donald Trump] has blown an opportunity to go in in the most prepared way.”
By sidestepping Congress, the administration left the U.S. unprepared for the implications and blowback from the war, Wasserman Schultz said, highlighting, among other issues, the administration’s failure to evacuate American citizens from the region before the war started.
“I am so frustrated because I think everyone on this call knows how dangerous, deeply evil Iran is as a regime,” Wasserman Schultz said. “I have been careful about just blanket-ly condemning everything [Trump is] doing here, but most certainly, the way that we got into this was really unacceptable, and my constituents are very concerned.”
While Wasserman Schultz said she supported diplomacy with Iran, she also expressed skepticism about its chances for success, explaining that the Iranian regime would likely have sought to string the U.S. along until Trump left office, buying time to continue building its nuclear and missile programs.
Schneider said he believes strongly that the U.S. needs to address the threat from Iran, as well “help the people of Iran free themselves” from the regime, but added that “the Constitution is clear” that only Congress can declare war, and the administration has still not clearly identified an imminent threat that would have allowed it to legally take action unilaterally. He also said he does not trust the administration to properly carry through the mission without oversight.
“We can agree on the objectives in confronting Iran. We have no idea what the goals of this war are, or the strategy for achieving those goals, or the endgame that is trying to be ultimately accomplished that would bring the war to an end,” Schneider said. “My biggest fear is Trump … declares victory and goes home with Iran’s regime still in place, the nuclear program not completely defeated, [the] ballistic missile program damaged but not eliminated.”
He said that he’s afraid that, if the administration doesn’t set clear objectives, it will stop the war prematurely and ultimately leave the Iranian regime “more entrenched, feeling more powerful.”
The Illinois congressman speculated that Iranian leadership, by gathering in one central location, could have “present[ed] an opportunity that was too good to pass up” in launching the war but said that the administration still hasn’t properly articulated to lawmakers its thinking and strategy, so he does not know if that is the case.
Schneider said that an ideal outcome would require removing Iran’s enriched uranium from the country, which would necessitate international inspectors and a diplomatic settlement.
“There is no military solution to get us where we ultimately need to be. It has to be a political solution,” he said. “The military action always needed to be on the table to help us achieve that political solution. But with this President, I think it’s more ready, fire, aim, as opposed to ready, aim, fire.”
Schneider also called for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to be removed from his job, saying Hegseth has failed to prepare for easily anticipated Iranian responses like mining the Strait of Hormuz, or to ensure proper oversight to prevent civilian casualties.
Wasserman Schultz said that she would consider a supplemental funding request if and when the administration presents one, emphasizing that she wants to ensure U.S. troops have the resources they need because “it’s not their choice to be there,” even if she doesn’t fully agree with the administration’s approach.
Wasserman Schultz added that she’s concerned that the war is “compromising our ability” to protect the U.S. from Russia and China.
Asked about a supplemental request, Schneider emphasized that U.S. servicemembers have his strong support and are “doing their job, they’re succeeding, and we should all pray for the success of their mission and their safe return.”
But he said he’s disappointed with the political leadership in the administration, particularly its distribution of online videos intermixing footage from the war with movie clips and video games, even as U.S. servicemembers have been killed and injured. “No one should take glee in the killing of the enemy. It is a necessary act that is advancing our interests.”
JDCA itself also seems to be striking a delicate balance.
The group’s CEO Halie Soifer said JDCA agrees with the need to stop Iran’s missile and nuclear programs, but emphasized that Trump is going around Congress and that, while some Democrats might “support, perhaps, some of the short-term tactical gains” some also “believe the administration is lacking a long-term strategy for success in Iran.”
Schneider and Wasserman Schultz were also critical of comments by Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggesting that Israel had effectively dragged the U.S. into the war. Rubio has said those comments were mischaracterized. Both criticized that framing of the conflict as incorrect and as potential fodder for increased antisemitism.
“The president said it himself: He was not compelled, he may have compelled Israel,” Schneider said.
But he added, “in the end, it doesn’t really matter,” predicting a similar rise in antisemitism as occurred around the 1973 Yom Kippur War — launched by Egypt — when people in the U.S. blamed Jews and Israel for rising gas prices.
“Because this administration did not have that conversation with Congress and, through Congress, with the American people, people are going to look for scapegoats,” he said. “And when folks are looking for scapegoats, Jews are almost always one of those targets.”
Wasserman Schultz said that Rubio’s comments were “unbelievable” and “dangerous.”
“It is incredibly dangerous for Jews worldwide, and … unacceptable for him to have basically set it up that, ‘Well, we had to do this because it’s the Jews’ fault,’” Wasserman Schultz said. “Once it’s said, the impact — it remains.”
Speaking broadly, she said that the picture presented to lawmakers in a classified setting was “more subtle.”
Fuller has expressed strong support for Israel and for U.S. strikes against Iran
Megan Varner/Getty Images
Clay Fuller, the Trump-endorsed Republican candidate for Congressional district 14, speaks to members of the media after arriving early to his voting precinct to cast his vote on March 10, 2026 in Lookout Mountain, Georgia.
Clay Fuller, a veteran and district attorney, is expected to succeed former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in the House, bringing a pro-Israel voice to replace one of the House’s most anti-Israel Republicans.
Fuller led all Republicans on the all-party primary ballot in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, winning 35% of the vote. Even though he finished narrowly behind Democrat Shawn Harris, a military veteran, the Republican vote is likely to consolidate behind Fuller in next month’s runoff election.
Fuller has expressed support for Israel and for the U.S. strikes on Iran.
“President Trump tried the peace route with Iran not once, not twice, but THREE separate times — and they refused. He’s the peace President, but you can’t negotiate with a death cult,” Fuller said in a post on X last month, emphasizing he had supported operations against Iran during his time in the military and that the regime and its proxies had killed many Americans. He added, “This mission is not in vain. Victory through strength.”
Fuller’s Air Force career included work on counterterrorism operations, and he was deployed in 2024 to the Al Udeid airbase in Qatar supporting U.S. Central Command operations.
The day after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, Fuller blasted the Biden administration for unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian funds as part of an earlier hostage deal, highlighting Iran’s support to Hamas.
In 2024, he praised Israel and the IDF for eliminating senior Hezbollah official Ibrahim Aqil, pointing to Aqil’s involvement in the attack on the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut in 1983.
AIPAC congratulated Fuller on Tuesday’s results.
“AIPAC also congratulates Clay Fuller for advancing to the April runoff to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene, who worked throughout her tenure to weaken the U.S.-Israel relationship,” the group said in a statement. “Voters in Georgia’s heavily Republican 14th District now have the opportunity to elect a representative who reflects the values of thousands of pro-Israel Georgians and who understans the importance of the U.S.-Israel partnership.”
Harris has his own history with Israel — he served as defense attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Israel starting in May 2021, at the rank of brigadier general, according to his National Guard biography and a Facebook post by the Georgia National Guard.
But that hasn’t stopped him from taking a hostile stance toward Israel and its supporters.
“I’m not taking AIPAC money. I’m not taking money from outside groups trying to buy influence in this race,” he said on X on Wednesday, responding to AIPAC’s statement on Fuller. “No strings. No special favors. No backroom agendas. My loyalty is to the voters of Northwest Georgia. Always.”
The post was accompanied by a graphic reading “in case anyone was wondering… AIPAC is supporting Clay Fuller.”
Harris has also described the war in Gaza as a genocide, though he expressed support for the “people of the region, both in Israel and Palestine, who want to work hard and live their lives in peace, and deserve better from their leaders.”
“I am one of the very few candidates or currently serving Members of Congress who have lived in the region and worked on extraordinarily complex issues within Israel and the Middle East,” he continued.
Harris said previously he would not accept support from AIPAC or the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
His tone has changed significantly since Oct. 7, 2023, when Harris said, “Just as America has the right to defend itself, we must always support Israel’s right to defend itself, and we also must continue working to achieve a stable and just peace in the Middle East.”
He has also criticized the U.S. operations in Iran, citing the need for a “clearly defined mission and end goal” as well as consultation with Congress, and questioning whether the operation has “an achievable objective.”
The pro-Israel Democratic group warns that nominating far-left candidates will cost the party winnable seats against GOP incumbents
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City of San Diego Councilmember Marni von Wilpert rides in the Port of San Diego Holiday Bowl Parade on December 28, 2022 in San Diego, California.
As Democratic Majority for Israel prepares for the midterms amid growing divisions in the party over Middle East policy, the pro-Israel group is now focusing much of its energy on three under-the-radar House races for swing seats in California and Colorado that could be key to the party’s chances of reclaiming the majority in Congress.
In those primaries, DMFI’s political arm recently endorsed a trio of relatively moderate, pro-Israel Democrats facing opponents whom, the group feels, have demonstrated anti-Israel records or questionable positions on Middle East policy — qualities that could hamper their odds of winning Republican-held districts in the November election.
“These definitely rank high on our list of priorities,” Brian Romick, DMFI’s president and the chair of its super PAC, said in an interview with Jewish Insider on Tuesday. “These are all strong places where this matters.”
DMFI’s political arm is backing Marni von Wilpert, a San Diego councilwoman seeking the nomination in California’s 48th Congressional District; Jasmeet Bains, a California assemblywoman and a physician competing in the state’s 22nd District; and Shannon Bird, a former Colorado legislator running to unseat a vulnerable freshman Republican in the state’s 8th District. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has ranked each of the races as “toss-ups” in its election forecast.
“We think all three of these candidates are strongly pro-Israel and have great relationships and records with the community,” Romick noted, calling them “the kind of candidates we need who can win both primaries and generals” and “hold these seats over the long term.”
DMFI’s efforts underscore how the organization is choosing to highlight consequential races in which the interests of Democratic Party leaders converge with its own, a notable alignment during a moment when Israel — and outside spending from pro-Israel groups — has emerged as one of the most polarizing sources of internal conflict in reliably blue districts.
One of DMFI’s “major goals” this cycle, Romick explained, is to “both elect pro-Israel candidates and help Democrats take back the House,” citing Republicans’ narrow three-seat majority as partly motivating its calculus. “If we win these three seats, then Democrats are in the majority with pro-Israel candidates.”
“I don’t think that anyone else is in that lane, and I think that’s an important distinction for us,” he told JI.
Romick declined to share if DMFI PAC plans to invest in the three primaries, following election cycles in which the group has spent heavily to help unseat vocally anti-Israel Democrats in deep blue House districts. “Possibly,” he hinted. “But I don’t want to show my hand.”
Here’s a rundown on the state of play in those races:
San Diego showdown
In California’s 48th District, redrawn last year to give Democrats an edge, von Wilpert is running in a crowded open primary to replace Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who has long been a fixture in state and national politics. Her top opponent in the June race, Ammar Campa-Najjar, twice unsuccessfully competed for the seat in 2018 and 2020 — and is familiar to voters as a perennial candidate in a district covering the San Diego area.
Campa-Najjar outraised the field in the last quarter of 2025 and has claimed endorsements from a range of House members — including his girlfriend, Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA).
During his race against Issa in 2020, Campa-Najjar, who is of mixed Palestinian and Mexican-American descent, stressed support for Israel as an important strategic partner, broadly aligning with mainstream Democratic sentiment regarding Middle East policy. He said in a candidate questionnaire solicited by JI at the time, for instance, he believed the U.S. should maintain foreign aid to Israel.
In a statement to JI on Tuesday, Campa-Najjar said his “Middle East foreign policy remains consistent,” arguing that the “United States must help broker a lasting peace to end the bloodshed between Israelis and Palestinians.”
“As a new member of Congress, I’ll put forward a meaningful agenda for the day after that promotes a stable, secure, and prosperous future for both Israel and Palestine,” he continued. “That future is only possible with new leadership, with Palestinians no longer under Hamas rule and the Israelis no longer burdened by Netanyahu’s failures,” he added, in a reference to the right-wing Israeli prime minister.
Still, Romick echoed other critics of Campa-Najjar in noting that the candidate had previously changed his positions on key issues as part of a conservative makeover in his last election, raising questions over his commitment to upholding support for Israel as a lawmaker.
“He’s on record as anti-Trump. He’s on record as pro-Trump,” Romick said. “You never know what you’re going to get and that’s obviously dangerous when people shift a lot on Israel.”
Andrew Lachman, the political committee chair of California Jewish Democrats, said his organization reviewed questionnaires from both candidates and concluded that von Wilpert’s record in backing Jewish community causes was more substantive. The group gave von Wilpert a rating of “strong support” and is “neutral” on Campa-Najjar.
“Campa-Najjar seems interested in building a relationship with the Jewish community, but with respect to a record of resolutions and legislation to support the Jewish community, von Wilpert had a voting record and a record of supporting the Jewish community that was much more clearly defined,” he told JI.
For her part, von Wilpert said in a statement to JI that she “strongly” supports “Israel’s right to exist as a secure, Jewish democratic state and defend itself from the real threats it faces.”
“To me, ensuring Israel’s security and building peace for all in the region, including getting the two-state solution back on track, are inseparable, and U.S. leadership is indispensable to achieving both outcomes,” she added. “Only when a nation feels safe and secure, can it take the necessary steps to make peace.”
Both von Wilpert and Campa-Najjar are endorsed by J Street, the progressive Israel advocacy group.
Last week, Jim Desmond, a Republican member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, also filed to run for the seat that is now being vacated by Issa.
Under the newly drawn district lines, former Vice President Kamala Harris would have narrowly defeated President Donald Trump by three points.
Bakersfield battle
In a GOP-held district hours north of San Diego that includes part of Bakersfield, Bains is facing off against a progressive rival, school board trustee Randy Villegas, to challenge Rep. David Valadao (R-CA), who took office in 2021 but is now confronting a difficult national environment for Republicans. .
Villegas has gained endorsements from some of the most prominent Israel critics in Congress, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) as well as Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Ro Khanna (D-CA), along with the virulently anti-Israel AIPAC Tracker, which said in a social media post that Villegas had signed on to a January 2024 letter pressing for “an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and to end the weaponization of antisemitism claims against Israel’s critics.”
“In Congress, Randy will fight to end the flow of unconditional military aid to Israel that fuels the ongoing genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank,” AIPAC Tracker said in its January endorsement. “He is ready to champion a foreign policy that centers human rights over militarism.”
Villegas’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment about his foreign policy views concerning Israel.
Speaking with JI, Romick characterized Villegas as “the most obvious” source of concern for pro-Israel Democrats among the three primaries that DMFI is now eyeing, referring in part to his early demand for a ceasefire just a few months after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. “He consistently has an anti-Israel record,” Romick said.
Lachman, meanwhile, said his group had not yet weighed in on the primary. “I do know that Bains has a reputation as a fighter for progressive values, but one who can build coalitions in order to sustain them,” he told JI. “Whereas, I don’t think Villegas is known for that.”
In a statement shared with JI on Tuesday, Bains said she believes “in Israel’s right to exist, defend itself and live in peace as a secure nation.”
“As a doctor,” she pledged, “my priority will always be protecting all human life and for that we must ensure advancing lasting peace. That’s why I believe a two-state solution is a necessary path forward to ensure long-term security and the dignity of people across the region.”
Valadao, for his part, is backed by AIPAC, which calls the congressman “a steadfast supporter of the U.S.-Israel alliance throughout his six terms representing the Golden State’s Central Valley.”
Colorado clash
Meanwhile, in a Colorado House race to take on Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO), two Democrats are vying for their party’s nomination with differing records of public commentary on Israel as well as the rise of antisemitism.
Bird, who resigned from the Colorado legislature in January to focus on her congressional bid, has long been vocal in her support for Israel and opposition to antisemitism, which she recently called a “global cancer” after the terror attack targeting the Jewish community in Bondi Beach, Australia late last year.
During the war in Gaza, she frequently highlighted the plight of hostages on social media while issuing statements standing with Israel. “Lessons learned from history make clear that the world must stand with and protect Israel,” she wrote in one X post in 2024. Bird’s campaign did not return a request for comment from JI.
By contrast, her chief rival in the June primary, Manny Rutinel, a progressive state representative, has condemned recent instances of antisemitism — but does not appear to have clarified his stances on key issues regarding Israel.
While he has garnered endorsements from some pro-Israel House members such as Reps. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) and Rob Menendez (D-NJ), his past record of activism has raised some concerns among pro-Israel Democrats who privately worry he will assume a hostile approach to Israel if he is elected. Republicans have indicated that they are eager to run against him in the general election.
As an undergraduate at the University of Florida, for example, Rutinel attended a demonstration in 2014 that was co-organized by Students for Justice in Palestine, the extreme anti-Israel group that has recently expressed alignment with Hamas, according to a local news story covering the event at the time.
The campus demonstration was “aimed to raise awareness for police brutality in Ferguson, Mo., and military oppression in Palestine,” the article noted.
In a statement to JI, however, a spokesperson for Rutinel said he “has never affiliated with Students for Justice in Palestine.”
“While in college at the time of the Ferguson protests, he attended a demonstration to protest police brutality in the United States,” the campaign spokesperson explained. “Manny supports Israel’s right to exist and supports a two-state solution with secure borders to bring peace.”
Rutinel also “supports U.S. security assistance to Israel in line with the Obama administration’s 2016 memorandum of understanding,” the spokesperson added, when asked about his views on conditioning aid to Israel, which has become a litmus test of sorts for left-wing candidates.
Evans, an Army veteran endorsed by AIPAC, has cited his service in the Middle East as motivating his staunch support for Israel and opposition to a nuclear Iran. The first-term congressman is viewed as one of the most vulnerable House Republicans seeking reelection in a district north of Denver.
State Sen. Sharif Street supports continued U.S. aid to Israel but calls Israeli PM Netanyahu a war criminal
Sharif Street campaign page
Pennsylvania state Sen. Sharif Street
Sharif Street is walking a unique political path.
The Pennsylvania state senator running for a House seat in the heart of deep-blue Philadelphia is Black and Muslim, and has staked out positions largely supportive of Israel.
He traveled to Israel with the American Jewish Committee in 2017 “to gain some understanding” of the complexities facing Israelis and Palestinians.
He has indicated that he would not support conditions on U.S. aid to Israel, saying that the two allies need an “open dialogue,” yet he refers to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a war criminal.
Street’s nuances on Israel — he backs a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, while also urging a compassionate approach to the Palestinians — offer a sharp contrast with his most prominent rival in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District, who is a strident antagonist of Israel.
Street’s friends and allies in the Jewish community insist his stances aren’t a matter of political convenience or calibrated to win him a congressional seat, but rather are borne of years of study on the issue, personal conviction and decades-long ties to members of the Jewish community.
The nuances Street evinces on Israel extend to his reading of the Muslim community, too. While political analyses over the past two years have seen the Jewish and Muslim communities as generally at odds over the war in Gaza — including the three current Muslim members of Congress who regularly stake out anti-Israel stances — Street argued in an interview with Jewish Insider that doesn’t tell the full story of his community.
“The Muslim community is much more diverse than I think the American press tends to think,” Street told JI in a recent interview. “I’m an African American. We have had, historically, pretty good relationships with the Jewish community. … There are over 2 billion Muslims in the world, a third of the world population. And American Muslims are from South Asia, they’re from Europe, they’re from Africa, they are from the Middle East.”
“I think the perspective of the press is always just Middle Eastern Muslims who come to this country with a very long, recent history of … concerns about Israel in the Middle East. That’s not all Muslims,” he said.
Muslims from other parts of the world “have various perspectives and their issues are diverse.” And he said the African American Muslim community of which he is a part “does not have [that] kind of entrenched negative history.”
Many African American Muslims, he said, are converts, and grew up in Christian communities, with different perspectives on Israel and the Jewish community. Of the nearly 500,000 Muslims in the Philadelphia area, 80% are African American, according to Street.
“Every time they want to talk about Muslim-Jewish relations, they just focus on a very small sector — probably less than 10% of the Muslim community, which happen to be Arab American,” Street said. “And their perspective is important, but it doesn’t represent all Muslims.”
Speaking to JI, Street cast himself as a supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship, while also urging a compassionate approach to the Palestinians and a concerted effort to aid in the reconstruction of Gaza.
“Israel is one of the United States’ most important allies in the world and certainly in the region, and we need to make sure that we keep that relationship strong,” Street said. “We also need to understand that we have to rebuild Gaza for Palestinians.”
He argued that a failure to properly rebuild Gaza and provide it with the necessary resources will only fuel radicalization and help Hamas and other extremist groups grow. “That makes both Palestinians and Israelis less safe,” he said.
He said the U.S. should invest in rebuilding and use its influence to bring along Israel and a multinational coalition, including Arab states, to assist the reconstruction and ensure the security of Gaza and the region, which would improve trust and the chances of success.
“By investing in those communities, we increase the safety and security for Israelis and Palestinians,” he reiterated. “At the same time, we have to recognize their immediate challenges, and the United States has to continue to make sure Israel can deal with the immediate challenges, while we increase the long term safety and security for both Israeli and Palestinians as well.”
He also indicated that he wouldn’t support conditions on U.S. aid to Israel, saying that the two allies need an “open dialogue.” He said that the U.S. should “encourage peace and prosperity in the region,” something best done through a “partnership” rather than by “dictating to Israel.”
He emphasized that all sides suffered in the war, and said he believes both Israelis and Palestinians want change.
Street takes a more critical stance toward Netanyahu.
He was quoted by the Philadelphia Inquirer as saying, “Guess what? Benjamin Netanyahu is not the only leader of a major country in the world that’s committed war crimes, because Donald Trump has done the same thing. But none of us would talk about getting rid of the United States of America as a country.” He said at a recent candidate forum that Netanyahu should be prosecuted for war crimes.
Asked about the comments quoted by the Inquirer, he told JI that it is “possible” that Netanyahu was responsible for war crimes “and I certainly think that that needs to be investigated.” He highlighted that many Israelis are also concerned with and dissatisfied with Netanyahu’s leadership throughout the war, and want to see him out of office.
“Ultimately — and I think the Israeli people will do the right thing — but I think that the Israeli courts have to have a chance to really hear that and oversee those issues, and that’s not likely to happen while we’re still in an armed conflict,” he said.
About his trip with AJC to Israel alongside other Muslim leaders in 2017, Street said, “So often we oversimplify what’s going on in the Middle East,” Street said. “I don’t think Americans fully understand the depth and complexity of the issues. So I wanted to gain some understanding.”
David Hyman, a longtime attorney in Philadelphia who was an ally of Street’s father, former Philadelphia Mayor John Street, watched him grow up since he was a teenager. He said he remembers having a conversation with Street along similar lines following that trip.
“He said that what he really came away with on the trip [was] that slogans and simple answers are not what will help matters,” Hyman recounted.
Kevin Greenberg, an attorney who said he’s been friends with Street for 30 years, said he’s seen Street’s views on the Middle East grow and evolve over time, and the two had — prior to Street’s AJC trip — discussed visiting Israel together.
“I’ve seen a lot of politicians decide to be pro-Israel, pro-Jewish for contributions, and I’ve seen a lot of people be anti-Israel, pro-BDS … because you think there are votes there. That just doesn’t enter into his calculus on this issue,” Greenberg said. “It’s a core belief of who Sharif is. And he stands for the little guy in any situation.”
Hyman, a board member of AJC’s Philadelphia chapter, offered similar praise.
“He’ll speak about his support for Israel in a setting, in a context where there’s no political upside,” Hyman said. “For me, that’s the litmus test, because there’s so little political courage these days to say anything other than what’s politically expedient. He’s very upfront.”
Hyman said that, while Street may disagree with some of the Israeli government’s decisions, “in terms of standing behind the basic tenets of Zionism and the right for Israel to exist and defend itself, he distinguishes himself at a time where [other supporters are] peeling off.”
And he emphasized that Street will be accessible to groups across the Jewish community, who already have existing relationships with him. “When issues come up, it’ll be natural for us to talk to him and take his temperature.”
Robin Schatz, the director of government relations for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, also said that Street has “always been a friend” well before his run for Congress, and that he has always been accessible to her and the Jewish community.
At the beginning of their friendship decades ago, Greenberg said Street did not know much about the Middle East but wanted to learn more, growing up in a household more focused on the needs of Philadelphia residents. “Sharif has evolved from a curious, but unknowing person, to somebody who has a deep understanding, and respect for Jews qua Jews.”
Greenberg also said that Street has always maintained a diverse group of friends, and that both his social and professional circles have included many Jewish people, and that he was a prominent participant in both of Greenberg’s daughters’ bat mitzvahs.
Hyman noted that Street worked for a time at a historically Jewish law firm, and said that he has been active in a local AJC initiative bringing together Jews and Muslims.
Street condemned those in the United States who have turned their grievances over the war in Gaza into violent action against Jewish Americans.
“I think one of the things that happens is silent complicity. When people don’t speak out against the antisemitism that exists, that fuels it,” Street said. “We also can’t allow people who are having concerns to then turn into calling for violence in the U.S. … I will use my voice, as I have done as a state senator, as a congressperson to speak out against this and use the platform to do it.”
He additionally emphasized the importance of hate crimes legislation and pointed to his support for legislation in Pennsylvania to provide funding to protect houses of worship, which he noted helps Jewish, Muslim and other communities. He said he would support similar efforts at the federal level.
Schatz said that having a devout Muslim lawmaker like Street with strong ties to the Jewish community in Congress could be good for the Jewish community, especially given tensions that have appeared between the two communities.
“I think it’s good for the Jewish community to hear that somebody from a different faith group, especially from Islam, where people have been somewhat leery because of terrorism and Israel, to see that we do have true allies,” she said. “He’s consistently there for the [Jewish] community.”
Street’s friends and allies praised him for consistently being among the first leaders to speak out against antisemitic incidents, with more than one highlighting that he was the first elected official to condemn a recent pro-Hamas rally in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square last month.
“In 2024, when some of the far left were making antisemitic attacks on Josh Shapiro, when he was up to be nominated for vice president, Sharif basically went on a virtual tour of Black Muslims all over the country, saying, do not do that,” Greenberg recounted. “Josh is a perfectly good candidate. He doesn’t hate us. He’s great with us. He’s a great leader for us, and do not let people attack him because he’s Jewish. You don’t like him? You don’t like him. Say that.”
Street, at the time, was the chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. Greenberg said that Shapiro had backed another candidate for the post, but said Street maintained no ill will towards him and was insistent that attacks on Shapiro for his religion were unacceptable.
Speaking to JI before the U.S. went to war with Iran, Street said that Iran shouldn’t be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, and that the U.S. needs to work with all of its allies and partners to prevent that from happening, “but ultimately we want to [get there] in a way that avoids war, if possible.”
After the war began, in a statement shared on Facebook, Street condemned the Iranian regime and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli strike, but said that the “chaotic situation in Iran is perilous for the Iranian people and the world” and that Trump lacks the capacity to “successfully manage this situation.”
He also emphasized that the Constitution gives Congress the authority to declare war, not the president. “I am calling on Congress to immediately return to vote on a more narrowly tailored measure that will allow the US to defend its interests while exercising its oversight over this President to stop him from unilaterally starting wars all over the world,” Street said.
He told JI was similarly concerned that the administration failed to brief Congress, particularly Democrats, about the strikes it carried out on Iran last summer. He said he couldn’t judge whether those strikes were the right decision because of the administration’s failure to explain and provide intelligence about them to Congress or the public.
“Democrats and Republicans have worked in a bipartisan way under Democratic and Republican administrations to deal with the threat of Iran,” Street said. “President Obama was very strong on this issue. I would be strong on this issue, but the president can’t act unilaterally without congressional oversight. That’s the problem. It shouldn’t be partisan. … The leaders in Congress have to have the right intelligence to make those decisions.”
Street’s main competitor in the primary race is far-left state Rep. Chris Rabb. A Rabb win would likely cause significant concern among the district’s sizable Jewish community, given his record of anti-Israel activism and accusations of genocide against Israel.
At a recent candidate forum, several major candidates offered criticism of Israel and AIPAC. “F— AIPAC. They are a racist organization and I will not meet with them,” Rabb said, accusing the group of “destroying candidates’ lives.” At another forum, Rabb said he would vote to block further U.S. aid to Israel, while other candidates avoided weighing in specifically on the legislation.
Another candidate, Ala Stanford, a physician and activist, said that she supports a two-state solution but that the U.S. should not support wars “that harm and kill children and families.” State Rep. Morgan Cephas indicated she would meet with AIPAC but suggested she disagrees with the group’s positions. David Oxman, a physician, called Netanyahu the worst Jewish leader in millennia and accused AIPAC of conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
Schatz, the Federation official, said that Cephas is also “very good with the community,” Stanford is “learning about the community” and would likely be an ally and Oxman is Jewish himself. Rabb, she said, has been at odds with the Jewish community..
Street led the field in fundraising as of the end of 2025, with $701,000 raised and $527,000 on hand. He was followed by Oxman who has raised $498,000 and had $357,000 on hand; Stanford, who has raised $467,000 and had $392,000 on hand; and Rabb, who has raised $384,000 and had $99,000 on hand.
A Street campaign poll conducted by Lake Research Partners in mid-November found Street in the lead with 22%, followed by Rabb at 17%, Stanford at 11%, Cephas at 7% and Oxman at 2%, with 36% of voters undecided.
Street, a former chair of the state Democratic Party and the son of a former Philadelphia mayor, is seen as the establishment favorite, with an endorsement from former Gov. Ed Rendell, as well as endorsements from numerous labor unions and local elected officials.
Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA), the retiring incumbent, endorsed Stanford.
‘AIPAC may call itself pro-American. They may call themselves pro-Israel. But they are neither,’ the Maryland senator said
Eric Lee for The Washington Post via Getty Images
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) speaks during an Election Night party at in Baltimore, Maryland on November 8, 2022.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) took aim at the pro-Israel advocacy group AIPAC during an address on Sunday morning at the opening plenary of J Street’s convention in Washington and accused it of being un-American.
Van Hollen elicited a loud chorus of boos in response to his description of AIPAC’s opposition to legislation he had sponsored seeking to place conditions on U.S. military assistance to Israel.
“I put forward months and months ago a proposal that said, with respect to any country, any country that receives U.S. military assistance — has to agree to, No. 1, comply by American law and by international law. You know who came out against that? AIPAC came out against that,” Van Hollen said.
“AIPAC came out against a proposal that says American taxpayer dollars that are used for military assistance — it’s OK to give them to any country in the world, even if that country doesn’t agree to abide by American law or international law,” said Van Hollen. “I will tell you that AIPAC may call itself pro-American. They may call themselves pro-Israel. But they are neither.”
Van Hollen accused Israel of violating American and international law during its war against Hamas in Gaza, and earned cheers for saying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions should be reined in.
“There can’t be a continuing blank check when the Netanyahu government is operating in violation of American law, which they have repeatedly, or in violation of international law,” he said.
Van Hollen has emerged as one of Israel’s staunchest critics in Congress over the course of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza in response to the terror group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. In his speech, he gave a shout-out to his wife, Katherine Wilkens, a longtime liberal analyst on the Middle East at think tanks in Washington.
“I’m also very pleased to be joined here today by the real expert in the Van Hollen family on the Middle East, and that’s my wife and partner, Katherine,” he said.
Van Hollen used his speech to tie the U.S. strikes against Iran that began early Saturday morning to President Donald Trump’s “lawless” actions domestically.
“What we see is this lawlessness and attack on freedoms here at home also infecting our foreign policy,” said Van Hollen. “It is a gross violation of international law just to go all off and attack another country. It’s not a preemptive strike … It also is a gross violation of your constitution. This isn’t a close call.”
Van Hollen criticized Trump’s stated goal of regime change in Iran, and said the president’s actions will harm civilians in Iran.
“Yes, we hate the Iranian regime. It’s been brutal against its own people,” said Van Hollen. “But I don’t think you’re going to help the Iranian people by watching bombs that kill civilians. We’ve seen over 140 school kids killed in one of the very first attacks of the war. That is not a way to bring solidarity and support from the people of Iran.”
Iranian forces said more than 150 people were killed after a strike hit a school in the county’s south, but the Israeli military said it was “not aware” of any IDF operations in that area. A CENTCOM spokesperson told The New York Times it is “aware of reports concerning civilian harm resulting from ongoing military operations. We take these reports seriously and are looking into them.”
Van Hollen was the only member of Congress to speak at J Street’s opening session. Other congressional speakers slated to address the conference on Monday include Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), as well as Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sean Casten (D-IL), Madeleine Dean (D-PA) and Sara Jacobs (D-CA).
The Pennsylvania Democratic senator’s criticism of his party drew loud applause from pro-Israel activists
Gabby Deutch
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) speaks at a NORPAC advocacy event in Washington on May 20, 2025.
As Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) faces attacks from the media and fellow lawmakers in the Democratic Party, he hit back at members of his own party on Tuesday in remarks to a group of bipartisan activists in Washington.
Speaking to members of NORPAC, a pro-Israel advocacy organization, Fetterman offered some of his sharpest criticism yet of the Democratic Party’s approach to Israel after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
“Israel and your community deserves much better from my party,” Fetterman said, earning loud applause.
He described how American universities have produced a “monoculture that produced, actually, rampant antisemitism,” and called to address it — but suggested Democrats are not interested in doing so.
“We have to address that. But in my party, you will pay a price,” said Fetterman. “That’s OK. I think that’s what defines character … that you’re going to support things even if it moves against your own political interest.”
Several recent reports have suggested that Fetterman is struggling with mental health challenges, which Fetterman has denied.
The RJC’s decision to back Colby comes even as the group has differed with the foreign policy analyst on key issues — especially Iran
Dominic Gwinn / Middle East Images /via AFP)
Elbridge Colby speaks at the National Conservative Conference in Washington D.C., Tuesday, July 9, 2024.
The Republican Jewish Coalition urged the “swift confirmation” of Elbridge Colby as undersecretary of defense for policy in the Trump administration, according to a new letter, even as he faced scrutiny from pro-Israel conservatives over his dovish views on Iran and frequent calls to scale back U.S. involvement in the broader Middle East.
In the letter, which was sent on Thursday to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, RJC leadership said it was “confident” Colby “will enact the strong pro-Israel policy of” President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, arguing the nominee “will be an asset to” the administration’s national security team.
“Mr. Colby understands that a strong and secure Israel is in America’s interests as well,” RJC CEO Matt Brooks and Norm Coleman, the group’s national chairman, wrote in their letter backing Colby. “He fully supports the continued robust U.S. political, military and financial support of Israel,” they added, noting Colby has “called Israel a model ally” and “will ensure that Israel can continue to check the aggression of our common enemies in Iran and its proxies in the region.”
The letter suggested the RJC was willing to overlook major potential differences with Colby, as Trump’s allies continued to fall in line behind some of his more divisive nominees awaiting confirmation.
Colby’s possible ascendancy also underscores how a new generation of defense advisors deeply skeptical of U.S. engagement abroad is poised to shape the Trump administration’s foreign policy — overshadowing more traditionally conservative voices raising concerns about recent hires at the Pentagon.
In contrast with the RJC, Colby, a so-called defense “prioritizer,” has voiced a more sanguine assessment of Iran, which he regards as a less urgent threat to U.S. interests than China. Colby has also argued that containing a nuclear Iran “is an eminently plausible and practical objective.”
Colby, who has called the Middle East “relatively unimportant,” has supported a withdrawal of U.S. military forces in the Persian Gulf that have helped defend Israel from Iranian missile attacks, saying that the U.S. can “more efficiently” deter Iran “by bolstering the military capabilities of its partners in the region.”
“If Iran’s provocations need to be answered, Washington must do so in a way that limits military involvement in the Middle East,” he wrote in a 2019 article. “If this means doing less than we might like against Iran, so be it.”
More recently, Colby questioned the Biden administration’s efforts to counter the Houthis, the Iran-backed proxy group in Yemen that has targeted Israel and global shipping lanes. While Colby has voiced support for Israel, he has called for a “reset” on the U.S.-Israel alliance to confront Beijing.
“America should be ready to provide potent material and political support to Israel,” Colby wrote shortly before the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. “But at the same time, Israel should understand that the United States, which cannot afford to be enmeshed in another Middle Eastern war, will take a supporting role.”
He has otherwise opposed U.S. military assistance to Ukraine amid its war with Russia, which he has dismissed as a “peripheral conflict” with respect to U.S. national security interests. For its part, the RJC has urged Congress to back aid to Ukraine, saying “it is in America’s national interest to see Russia’s military might diminished and its malign strategic aims thwarted.”
Colby, whose confirmation hearing has not yet been scheduled, served in the first Trump administration as a deputy assistant secretary of defense and more recently worked at WestExec Advisors, a consulting firm co-founded by former Secretary of State Tony Blinken. Colby is an ally of Tucker Carlson, who has also pushed his inclusion in the Trump administration.
Sam Markstein, a spokesperson for RJC, said that “the letter in support of Mr. Colby came about as a result of extensive conversations with” Brooks and Coleman, “as we do with a wide range of various appointees and nominees for key administration positions.”
“After the conversation, in which we asked a wide range of questions and drilled down on his views, his commitment to support for Israel is clear,” Markstein told Jewish Insider on Sunday, “and as we said in the letter, Mr. Colby ‘will be an asset to President Trump’s solidly pro-Israel national security team.’”
Robert O’Brien, a former national security advisor in the first Trump administration, said he believed Colby’s foreign policy approach has “in some ways” been “mischaracterized,” calling Colby a “hawk when it comes to Israel and the Middle East.”
“I think Bridge’s concern is that the United States can only do so much,” O’Brien explained in a recent interview with JI.
Colby did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
In addition to Colby, some other Pentagon picks have also recently drawn backlash from pro-Israel Republicans, including Michael DiMino, the newly appointed deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, who has called for a reduced U.S. presence in the Middle East and said the U.S. does not have any critical interests in the region.
Dan Caldwell, a Pentagon advisor who helped lead the transition process at the Defense Department, has likewise advocated for a more restrained foreign policy that would have the U.S. “significantly” pull back its long-standing focus on the Middle East and regional adversaries such as Iran, while expressing a largely skeptical attitude toward Israel, among other views espoused by a growing isolationist wing of the GOP.
As Colby awaits Senate confirmation, his position is currently being held by a protégé, Alex Velez-Green, who most recently worked as a senior policy advisor at the Heritage Foundation.
One Republican foreign policy expert who served in the first Trump administration recently speculated to JI that Colby’s confirmation will be “a real tough one” — though the RJC’s recent letter could serve as a valuable stamp of approval amid broader skepticism from the pro-Israel community.
Eric Levine, a top GOP fundraiser and RJC board member who has vocally opposed the confirmation of Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick to serve as the director of national intelligence, expressed comfort with Colby in an email to JI on Friday. “I’m with RJC,” he said.
An outspoken faction of the Democratic Party is openly criticizing Israel, but where does the mainstream stand?
Graeme Sloan/Sipa via AP
The U.S. Capitol Building at sunset in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, March 6, 2021.(Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)
Pro-Israel Democrats are grappling with how to reconcile widespread support for the Jewish state with vocal and occasionally misleading attacks from an outspoken faction of the party amid escalating violence between Israel and Hamas. In recent weeks, a group of House members critical of Israel have amped up their rhetoric, accusing Israel of “apartheid” in sharply worded social media statements while renewing calls for conditioned U.S. military assistance and seemingly downplaying threats from Hamas.
Even a pair of well-established Israel supporters in the Senate have veered from their usual pronouncements. On Saturday, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) said he was “deeply troubled” by Israel’s recent military actions, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has been conspicuously reticent on the issue.
Still, longtime pro-Israel advocates in the party argue that support for the Jewish state remains strong even as social media platforms like Twitter appear to have empowered the Democratic Party’s more extreme Israel critics. “I’m not overly concerned about where the House Democratic Caucus is on Israel,” former Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), who chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee from 2011 to 2015, said in an interview with Jewish Insider on Wednesday. “They support U.S.-Israeli relations.”
“I do get concerned with imbalanced news coverage and social media,” Israel added, “because neither of those platforms are providing the context that’s necessary to truly understand the conflict, and how to resolve it.”
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), a long-standing pro-Israel stalwart, echoed that view. “We have a small group of loud voices,” she said. “The overwhelming majority of Democrats in the nation, and Democrats in Congress, are strongly supportive of Israel, of the U.S.-Israel relationship, of Israel remaining a Jewish and Democratic state.”
“From the president on down, there are still many, many, many Democrats who will always have strong support for Israel,” said Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC), the former chairwoman of the Jewish Federations of North America. “I think we’re seeing some weariness by some Democrats because if all you do is watch the news, what you see is heartbreaking,” she added. “But people need to understand that Hamas brought this up.”
Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC) speaks in support of Israel on the House floor on May 13, 2021.
According to AIPAC spokesman Marshall Wittmann, “bipartisan congressional solidarity with Israel has been expressed in nearly 400 statements of support during the current conflict.”
Recent polling, however, has also contributed to the impression that Democratic support for Israel may be diminishing, as two separate surveys released on Wednesday appeared to suggest. While a plurality of registered Democratic voters — 36% — said they sympathized with both Israelis and Palestinians, 34% of respondents were either unfamiliar with or didn’t have an opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to a Morning Consult/Politico survey of 1,992 voters. Moreover, the poll revealed that 18% of Democratic respondents sympathize with Palestinians and 12% with Israelis.
Those numbers were further underscored in an Economist/YouGov poll published yesterday, indicating that 35% of Democratic voters were equally sympathetic to Israelis and Palestinians while another 23% of Democrats sympathize with Palestinians and 16% with Israelis.
Despite the variety of opinion, the new polls simply demonstrate that more Democrats now harbor positive attitudes toward both the Israeli and Palestinian causes, views that dovetail with Democratic support for a two-state solution, according to Tamara Cofman Wittes, a senior fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.
“Being an ally of Israel,” Wittes told JI, “doesn’t mean, based on the polling data we have, that Americans don’t care about Palestinians or their aspirations or their rights.”
A recent Gallup poll indicated that three-quarters of Americans hold a favorable view of Israel — a number that has held steady since at least 2018.
“Pro-Israel Democrats, who represent the overwhelming majority of the party, are making it clear that support of Israel’s right of self defense and support of Palestinian rights are not mutually exclusive,” said Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has not been the subject of such heated debate since the 2014 war between Israel and Gaza, according to Soifer, and recent tensions in the region have cast light on what she describes as a “new pro-Israel paradigm” within the Democratic Party that may have gone undetected until now. “People no longer view being pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian as a binary choice,” she said.
In this July 15, 2019, file photo, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn, right, speaks, as U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. listens, during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
In that time, however, digitally savvy Israel critics such as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) — all of whom were elected in the last few years — have also become adept at using social media to disseminate their views.
“I think the anti-Israel forces were more determined, more creative, and worked harder in getting their message out,” Ann Lewis, co-chair of Democratic Majority for Israel, told JI. “They felt they were the underdogs, and therefore, they were more committed to telling this story and telling it in some pretty loud way.”
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), a leader among Democrats skeptical of Israel who organized an hour of House floor speeches criticizing Israel’s policies and behavior toward Palestinians last week, claimed that an increasing number of Democrats in Congress are siding with him on this issue.
“You’re seeing more members who are raising questions,” Pocan told reporters on Wednesday. “Last week was the first time we filled an entire hour — we had more people that wanted to speak than even could.”
But Pocan also acknowledged that left-wing Israel critics are at odds with Democratic Party leaders, telling reporters that he is unsure if House Democratic leadership will allow a vote on a resolution introduced by Ocasio-Cortez seeking to block a $735 million arms sale to Israel.
Pocan said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict represents one of the progressive caucus’s biggest areas of disagreement with President Joe Biden, who has reiterated his belief that Israel has the right to defend itself while expressing support for a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza.
“I don’t feel like Israel’s position, its security, its American diplomatic support globally, is imperiled,” said Scott Lasensky, who served as a senior policy adviser on the Middle East and Israel in the Obama administration. “But it will make some uncomfortable. If some want Americans’ support and congressional support to be zero sum and to be uncomplicated, that’s not the reality that we’re in right now.”
Joel Rubin, executive director of the American Jewish Congress who served as director of Jewish outreach for Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-VT) 2020 presidential campaign, said he has been concerned by some of the charged rhetoric used by progressive Democrats on social media, particularly amid rising incidents of antisemitism.
“I think we’ve kind of lost our way a little bit in the language on this,” Rubin said in an interview with JI, noting that some progressive Israel critics are “pushing away” potential allies as they rush to denounce the Jewish state. “That’s distressing.”
But while the conversation may be somewhat raw at the moment, Rubin is optimistic that Democrats can ultimately find room for productive debate as intraparty disagreement over Israel comes to a climax. “It’s always been a fascinating and intriguing tension point,” he said. “But it’s healthy in a lot of ways.”
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