Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are back in Geneva for Omani-brokered talks with Iran. The meeting comes two days after Witkoff, speaking at AIPAC’s Congressional Summit in Washington, said that any future nuclear deal with Iran should last indefinitely — a departure from the Obama administration’s 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which included sunset clauses.
• President Donald Trump will receive an intelligence briefing at 11 a.m.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wraps up his two-day visit to Israel today. In a speech yesterday at the Knesset — which was also attended by former New York Mayor Eric Adams — Modi, who was the first Indian leader to address the Israeli body, pledged that “India stands with Israel firmly with full conviction in this moment and beyond.”
• In California, JCRC Bay Area, the Jewish Federation Los Angeles and JPAC are hosting the Jewish California 2026 Governor Candidate Forum at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles. Speakers at the forum are set to include entrepreneur Tom Steyer, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), political commentator Steve Hilton, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
• Jewish Alumni Strong is hosting a screening on Capitol Hill this afternoon of Duki Dror’s 2025 film “Unraveling UNRWA,” about the embattled U.N. organization. 

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR

A pair of new polls — one in a Democratic Senate primary in Maine and one in a Republican gubernatorial primary in Florida — should sound alarm bells about the political and ideological trajectory of Gen Z voters, and the younger generation’s creeping tolerance of antisemitism that transcends party ID.

While the top lines from the polls generated the most headlines, the more notable takeaway was just how different the preferences of Boomers and Gen Zers were — even among those affiliated with the same party. The younger voters gravitated toward the candidates with checkered (at best) records on antisemitism. 

James Fishback, a 31-year-old Republican investor who made a name for himself with incendiary social media posts attacking Israel and invoking antisemitic tropes, is barely winning a following among most Florida Republicans as he runs for governor. But among younger Republican voters, he appears to be building a growing base of support.

Graham Platner, an anti-establishment oyster farmer who for years had a skull-and-bones Totenkopf tattoo on his chest, a symbol adopted by a Nazi SS unit, is barely facing any backlash from Maine voters in his outsider Senate campaign. (He had the tattoo covered up during the campaign, amid widespread controversy.) Indeed, he may soon become the favorite to win the Senate seat in Maine, fueled by near-universal support among younger Democratic voters.

The polling underscores the dramatic generational disconnect.

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

The Brown-Bag Candidate: The Atlantic’s Mark Leibovich interviews former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) as Brown aims to flip the seat that he — and Democrats — see as a possible pick-up in the midterms. “I asked Brown why he thought Democrats had lost so much credibility with blue-collar, lower- and middle-income citizens. In a historic flip of party identity, voters are now more likely to view Republicans as better attuned to the concerns of working-class people, whereas Democrats are more associated with affluent, college-educated elites. ‘From your perspective, what has that evolution been like over the years?’ I asked. Brown blew off my question. ‘I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it,’ he said. ‘This might surprise you.’ … But it is perhaps another element of Brown’s appeal that he tends not to get bogged down in hifalutin theories or sociology (his Yale degree notwithstanding). He prides himself on being an unglamorous advocate, who has earned enough trust with enough voters to defy Ohio’s Republican trend lines. At least until he didn’t.” [TheAtlantic]

Angst Over AIPAC: In The Times of Israel, Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt, the chair of the Zionist Rabbinic Coalition, raises concerns about recent pledges by candidates and elected officials not to take donations affiliated with AIPAC. “This approach feeds stereotypes about Jewish money and political influence that can lead to antisemitic targeting of Jews. No other community is similarly vilified for donating money to candidates who support their policy priorities, nor would it be tolerated. Most candidates have no problem accepting funds from special-interest groups or corporations who have a particular cause to promote, including those who overtly advocate for policies from which they will personally benefit. Perhaps the time has come to pay more attention to candidates who support certain oil-rich countries in the Middle East who have sought to buy influence and the source of their funding, rather than American Jews.” [TOI]

The NYPD declared before the New York City Council on Wednesday that it has “no objections” to Council Speaker Julie Menin’s proposal compelling the department to develop a policy for establishing “buffer zones” outside houses of worship during protests, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports…

Protests tied to the San Francisco chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America at an event on tax reform with San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie included chants to “Tax the rich” that morphed into calls to “Tax the Israel” and at least one person shouting “Tax the Jews”; the X account for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office called the incident “[d]isgusting,” while former Obama administration advisor David Axelrod called it “really alarming. Echoes of another, very dark time”…

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating an incident in which a swastika was found at a recruit training facility in Cape May, N.J.; the incident comes months after the Coast Guard temporarily downgraded the image’s designation as a hate symbol…

Attorneys for rapper Kanye West, now known as Ye, are appealing a lower court ruling that rejected his effort to squash a workplace discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee who alleged she was subject to antisemitism while an employee of West; attorneys for the rapper are arguing that West’s comments, which including describing himself as a “Nazi” and “Hitler,” are protected as artistic expression…

Former Harvard President Larry Summers will resign from teaching at the university following the release of documents that showed a close relationship between Summers, a former Treasury secretary, and Jeffrey Epstein… 

The U.K. is delaying a parliamentary vote on the decision to transfer the Chagos Islands, which houses the U.S.’ Diego Garcia military base that serves as a counterweight to Chinese influence in the region, to the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius, following criticism of the deal by President Donald Trump…

The New York Times interviewed dozens of medical professionals in Iran about treating patients who were injured in the recent widespread protests and violently suppressed by the government…

KLM announced a “temporary” suspension of flights between Amsterdam and Israel, effective March 1…

Legislation that would amend Israel’s 1967 Protection of Holy Places Law and effectively criminalize egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall in Jerusalem passed its first legislative reading, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross reports…

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem announced it will set up for one day later this week in Efrat, the first time the embassy will offer consular services in a West Bank settlement; an embassy spokesperson said the move did not reflect a change in U.S. policy toward the West Bank…

Right-wing Israeli activists staged a third protest in as many weeks outside the home of Lucy Aharish, stemming from comments the Israeli Arab news anchor made earlier this month criticizing the government’s lack of response to a recent uptick in violence in the Israeli Arab community…

The New York Times spotlights the growing popularity in Australia of the One Nation party and its leader, anti-immigration activist Pauline Hanson, amid shifting public attitudes in the country around immigration that spiked following the December 2025 terror attack at a Sydney Hanukkah celebration…

Former Wall Street Journal reporter Jay Solomon is joining The George Washington University’s Program on Extremism as executive head of investigations…

Book publisher Ann Godoff, who led Random House before moving over to Penguin Press, died at 76…

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was honored yesterday by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana with a medal for his “significant contributions to the State of Israel and the Jewish people.”

Founder and editor-in-chief of Tablet, Alana Newhouse turns 50… 

Professor emeritus of sociology and Jewish studies at Rutgers University, Chaim Isaac Waxman, Ph.D. turns 85… Businessman, art collector and political activist, he is the president of the World Jewish Congress since 2007, Ronald Lauder turns 82… Professor emeritus in the sociology and anthropology school of Tel Aviv University, Yehouda Shenhav turns 74… Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter in multiple musical genres, he has sold over 75 million records, Michael Bolton turns 73… Former member of the Knesset for the Labor Party, she is now president of Beit Berl College, Yael “Yuli” Tamir turns 72… Julie Levitt Applebaum… Member of the Knesset for over 30 years, he is the former Israeli national security advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi turns 69… Former U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, now a partner at Arnold & Porter, Paul J. Fishman turns 69… Professor of sociology and bioethics at Emory University, he is the older brother of Rabbi David Wolpe, Paul Root Wolpe turns 69… CEO and Chairman at Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals, Jonathan Sporn, M.D. turns 68… U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) turns 68… Partner at Unfiltered Media, Alan Rosenblatt, Ph.D…. Theoretical physicist who works on astrophysics and cosmology, Abraham “Avi” Loeb turns 64… CEO at Rutgers University Hillel, Lisa Harris Glass… President of MLB’s Miami Marlins from 2002-2017, he was a contestant in the 28th season of “Survivor” in 2014, David P. Samson turns 58… Motivational speaker, focused on anti-bullying, Jon Pritikin turns 53… First violin and concertmaster (since she was 26) for the D.C.-based National Symphony Orchestra, Nurit Bar-Josef turns 51… Member of the House of Representatives (D-NY-10), he is an heir to the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune, Daniel Sachs Goldman turns 50… Entrepreneur, she launched “Student of Life, For Life” in 2020, Rebekah Victoria Paltrow Neumann turns 48… Special assistant to the president and director of Jewish engagement in the White House Faith Office, Martin J. Marks turns 45… Brett Michael Kaufman…

• The annual Web Summit conference kicked off on Sunday in Doha, Qatar. Earlier today, Issam Hijazi, the founder of new social media app UpScrolled, took the main stage, from which he boasted that the app “[doesn’t] have to rely on Zionist money, or Silicon Valley money.” Read more on Hijazi’s remarks from JI’s Lahav Harkov here.
• Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal is in Washington today for meetings with senior U.S. officials, two months after a previously planned trip was scrapped at the 11th hour over a statement put out by the military criticizing Israel.
• Following last week’s decision by the European Union to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terror group, Iran summoned EU ambassadors stationed in the country over the designation. The move comes shortly after Iran’s parliament speaker said that the country considers the militaries of all EU member states to be terrorist groups.
• LionTree’s Aryeh Bourkoff is hosting his annual MediaSlopes gathering in Park City, Utah, ahead of the 10th Annual Silicon Slopes Summit, which kicks off Wednesday.
• Pedestrian transit resumed at the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt today, 10 months after it was closed following the collapse of a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR

Pro-Israel candidates and organizations showcased healthy financial hauls over the final three months of 2025, according to newly released fundraising reports. The strong totals were headlined by AIPAC’s United Democracy Project super PAC, which ended last year with an imposing $95.8 million on hand (up significantly from $40.7 million last cycle at this time), after raising $61.6 million in the final six months of 2025.

In many of the closely watched Democratic primaries pitting pro-Israel candidates against anti-Israel antagonists, both sides posted strong fundraising figures.

In Michigan’s hotly contested Senate race, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) raised $2.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2025 and banked $3.05 million at the end of the year. Stevens, a stalwart ally of the state’s Jewish community, narrowly outraised physician Abdul El-Sayed ($1.8 million raised), who has made hostility to Israel central to his campaign, and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow ($1.7 million), who has tagged Israel’s war against Hamas as a genocide.

Stevens also has significantly more cash on hand ($3 million), aided by her time spent raising money in the House. Both McMorrow and El-Sayed have just under $2 million cash on hand.

In Illinois’ closely watched open 8th District race, former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL) showcased her fundraising skills to comfortably lead the crowded primary field, bringing in $772,000 in the fourth quarter. Bean, a pro-Israel moderate during her last stint in Congress, nearly doubled the fundraising haul of Junaid Ahmed, a leading anti-Israel challenger, who brought in $360,000. 

In the race to succeed retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), pro-Israel state Sen. Laura Fine raised an impressive $1.2 million — three times her fundraising total in the previous quarter — and banked $1.4 million. Her haul outdistanced her two anti-Israel rivals: Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss (who raised $659,000 and banked $1.37 million) and social media influencer Kat Abughazaleh (who raised $1.1 million, but spent $1.4 million, leaving her with $811,000 cash on hand). 

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

‘Loose’ Nukes: In The Wall Street Journal, David Albright and Andrea Stricker address concerns about the fate of Iran’s stockpile of nuclear material should regime change occur in the Islamic Republic. “These ‘loose’ assets risk falling into the hands of rogue actors, militias or nonstate groups. They also pose severe hazards to people in the region through accidental release or abandonment. The international community, led by the U.S. and Europe, with Russian and Chinese buy-in, must develop contingency plans to prevent this. … Risks to nuclear and radioactive materials during state collapse aren’t new, and effective prevention depends on proactive planning. Disaster following the collapse of the Soviet Union was averted largely by quick actions of the U.S. government, working in cooperation with former Soviet states.” [WSJ]

Red Sea Signal: In his Substack “The Abrahamic Metacritique,” Hussein Aboubakr Mansour considers the role of the Red Sea corridor in the political shifts underway across the Middle East. “If the Saudi pivot is a strategy, the Red Sea littoral is its primary theater of application; if the Abraham Accords represented a vision of an integrated regional order anchored in normalization and infrastructure interdependence, the Red Sea is where that vision encounters the structural obstacles to its realization. … What appeared as discrete events — Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, the Southern Transitional Council’s (STC) military offensive across southern Yemen, Saudi airstrikes on Emirati weapons shipments, Somalia’s abrogation of all agreements with the UAE — are, as a matter of fact, moves within a single interconnected contest, each triggering countermoves across nominally separate theaters.” [AbrahamicMetacritique]

President Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh, the son-in-law of philanthropist Ronald Lauder, to be chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve on Friday, elevating an outspoken critic of the Fed’s current leadership who has recently indicated support for Trump’s broad goals of lowering interest rates, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports…

The U.S. would prefer a negotiated agreement with Iran to dismantle its nuclear program, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said in an interview that aired on Israel’s Channel 12 on Saturday night, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports…

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, alleged on Friday that the Trump administration sidestepped standard congressional review procedures to fast-track a $6 billion arms sale to Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…

Gregory Bovino, the head of U.S. Border Patrol, reportedly made antisemitic comments about Daniel Rosen, the U.S. attorney in Minnesota, who was unavailable to work on Shabbat, during a recent phone call with federal prosecutors; read JI’s October 2025 interview with Rosen, during which he said he was motivated to take the position because of the “rapid escalation of violent antisemitism”…

Former Harris County, Texas, Attorney Christian Menefee won the special election in the state’s 18th Congressional District to succeed Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-TX), who died last year; Menefee runoff victory over former Houston City Councilmember Amanda Edwards further shrinks House Republicans’ majority, 218-214…

The California Department of Education found that the Oakland Unified School District engaged in antisemitic discrimination in multiple instances since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks and called for the Bay Area district to take corrective measures, including training for faculty and students regarding antisemitism awareness…

In the 46th annual State of World Jewry address at the 92NY in Manhattan, The New York Times‘ Bret Stephens said that the effort to fight antisemitism, “which consumes tens of millions of dollars every year in Jewish philanthropy, is a well-meaning but mostly wasted effort,” Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports for eJewishPhilanthropy…

The New York Times profiles Forward senior political reporter Jacob Kornbluh, the “London-born former professional lox-slinger” who is “ubiquitous on the forever-circuit of Jewish politics” as he covers New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani…

Israeli basketball sensation and Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija has been selected as a Western Conference reserve for the NBA All-Star Game, becoming the first Israeli-born player to earn an appearance in the league’s marquee midseason showcase, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports…

Gal Hirsch, who who was appointed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to coordinate the government’s hostage-release efforts, said that the Biden administration’s pressure on Israel during hostage negotiations was “screwing up the negotiations” and “giving [Oct. 7 mastermind and former Hamas head Yahya] Sinwar exactly what he wants”…

Israel is halting the Gaza operations of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) over the group’s refusal to provide the names of its Palestinian staffers for vetting for possible links to terror groups; MSF slammed the decision, saying it was a “pretext to obstruct humanitarian assistance”…

The Wall Street Journal spotlights the Gen Z protesters who have taken to the streets of Iran in recent weeks during the country’s widespread protests…

Iranian screenwriter Mehdi Mahmoudian, who co-wrote Oscar nominee “It Was Just An Accident,” was arrested for signing onto a letter criticizing the Iranian government for its recent crackdowns on protesters in the country…

Emirates is preparing to restart flights to and from Israel in the coming months after a two-year pause following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza…

United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed canceled a planned trip to Japan this week amid elevated tensions between the U.S. and Iran, citing “domestic circumstances”…

The Wall Street Journal reports on a $500 million investment deal between a UAE-linked investment fund and the Trump family’s crypto company, World Liberty Financial, that will give the Emirati firm a 49% stake in World Liberty; meanwhile The New Yorker’s David Kirkpatrick does a deep dive into the Trump family’s finances and recent business dealings, finding the family had made $4 billion since Trump’s second inauguration by leveraging the power of the White Hosue…

The New York Times covers a clandestine Egyptian military base in the country’s west that is being used to aid in drone warfare in neighboring Sudan, where Cairo is carrying out strikes targeting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces battling the country’s military…

Philanthropist and Craigslist founder Craig Newmark addressed the Jewish Community Relations Council-New York’s annual Congressional Breakfast on Sunday in New York. Speakers at this year’s breakfast included Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), and Reps. Dan Goldman (D-NY) and Jerry Nadler (D-NY).

Actress and comedian, Lori Beth Denberg turns 50… 

Chairman of IAC/InterActiveCorp and Expedia, Barry Diller turns 84… Mayor of Irvine, Calif., Larry Agran (family name was Agranowsky) turns 81… Host of the Food Network program “Barefoot Contessa”, Ina Rosenberg Garten turns 78… Actor, comedian and singer, Brent Spiner turns 77… Journalist, novelist and author, Michael Zelig Castleman turns 76… U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) turns 74… “Washington Secrets” columnist at the Washington Examiner, Paul Bedard… Science fiction publisher and author, Selina A. Rosen turns 66… Rabbi at the Pacific Jewish Center (the Shul On The Beach) in Venice, Calif., he is also a practicing attorney, Shalom Rubanowitz… Sportscaster who currently does play-by-play for the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, Kenny Albert turns 58… Movie and theater actress and screenwriter, Jennifer Westfeldt turns 56… Tony Award-winning actress, Marissa Jaret Winokur turns 53… Board-certified ophthalmologist, she is married to New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and sits on the board of the Kennedy Center, Dr. Dana Blumberg… Basketball coach for many Israeli teams over more than 20 years, Dan Shamir turns 51… Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose stage name is Mayer Hawthorne, Andrew Mayer Cohen turns 47… Assistant professor at Clemson University, Rebecca Shimoni Stoil, Ph.D. … Senior staff writer at GovCIO Media and Research, Ross Gianfortune… U.S. senator (R-AL), Katie Boyd Britt turns 44… Television and radio host, David Pakman turns 42… Deputy special envoy to combat and monitor antisemitism during the last three years of the Biden administration, Aaron Keyak… Actress and musician, Zosia Russell Mamet turns 38… Former Team Israel baseball catcher, he is now director of business development at a hospital in Las Vegas, Nicholas Jay “Nick” Rickles turns 36… Avi Katz…

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The suspect in the arson attack that destroyed Mississippi’s largest synagogue early Saturday morning confessed to targeting the building because of its “Jewish ties,” Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.

In an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Mississippi more than 48 hours after the attack, the FBI said the suspect, Stephen Spencer Pittman, 19, admitted to starting the blaze at Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Miss., due to “the building’s Jewish ties” and referred to the institution as the “synagogue of Satan” in an interview with the Jackson Fire Department. Pittman was charged with “maliciously damaging or destroying a building by means of fire or an explosive”…

President Donald Trump said Iranian officials made contact with the U.S. over the weekend and proposed restarting nuclear negotiations, telling reporters, “A meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting,” referring to the U.S. potentially taking military action in Iran over its violent crackdown on protesters around the country. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also spoke with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff in recent days about the protests, Axios reports; White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters today that an Iranian government official who spoke to Witkoff “express[ed] a far different tone than what you’re seeing publicly.”

Trump is currently leaning toward authorizing military strikes rather than engaging in diplomacy, The Wall Street Journal reports, and he is scheduled to hold a briefing tomorrow with advisors, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, to make a determination…

California Jewish communal organizations released a joint statement today condemning state Sen. Scott Wiener’s remarks on Israel, after the Jewish House candidate said in a video statement yesterday that he is changing his position and will now call Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide. 

“We recognize that Senator Wiener has been a strong supporter of the Jewish community throughout the Israel-Hamas war and his many years of public service, and that he has directly experienced antisemitic attacks simply for being Jewish. Unfortunately, Senator Wiener’s newly stated position is both incorrect and lacks moral clarity. … We call on the Senator and our elected, civic, and education leaders to recognize and reflect on the consequences of their words in this fraught and polarizing environment,” the statement read…

In a major recruiting win for Senate Democrats, former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) announced her run against Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) today, JI’s Marc Rod reports, giving Democrats an outside chance of picking up the red-state Senate seat.

Peltola maintained a strongly pro-Israel voting record during her one term in the House, breaking on numerous occasions with a majority of her party to vote for measures supporting the Jewish state post-Oct. 7, including supporting a stand-alone Israel aid package opposed by many Democrats. Sullivan, for his part, has been a hawkish pro-Israel voice in the Senate, and has pushed for a more aggressive stance toward Iran…

Democratic Maryland state Del. Adrian Boafo is launching a bid to succeed his former mentor, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), as the former House majority leader retires. Boafo, who served as campaign manager for Hoyer, is expected to be the party favorite in the primary, Politico reports. Former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who rose to prominence after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, is also considering joining the race…

In another race to watch, Rep. Nellie Pou (D-NJ) in New Jersey’s 9th Congressional District gained another opponent in Tiffany Burress, a Republican political newcomer and wife of former NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress. On the first day of her campaign, Burress has already secured the backing of several GOP county chairs, as the party looks to flip the seat away from Pou after Trump unexpectedly carried the district in 2024…

Former Obama administration officials and Crooked Media hosts Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett and Ben Rhodes are hosting a fundraiser in Hollywood, Calif., on Thursday for Abdul El-Sayed, a far-left, anti-Israel candidate running for Senate in Michigan, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

El-Sayed, a physician and former director of the Wayne County Department of Health, has made his criticisms of Israel a centerpiece of his campaign, blasting other candidates in the race as being insufficiently hostile to the Jewish state. Favreau, Lovett and Rhodes, on their “Pod Save America” and “Pod Save the World” podcasts, have also emerged as a vocal force against Israel and AIPAC in the Democratic Party, and have boosted prominent anti-Israel candidates in other hot-button primaries…

The future of the Israeli Lounge at the Trump-Kennedy Center is reportedly in peril, eJewishPhilanthropy‘s Judah Ari Gross reports, “unless a major donor from the Jewish community steps up and makes a large donation,” far-right commentator Laura Loomer said over the weekend. The center’s president, Richard Grenell, is seeking to renovate the space; Loomer has suggested Qatar may look to provide the funds for the room’s overhaul…

The New York Times reports on the brewing fight between states over the order of 2028 Democratic presidential primary elections…

Dina Powell McCormick, a banking executive, former deputy national security advisor to Trump and wife of Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA), was named president and vice chair of Meta, reporting to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Axios reports. Zuckerberg said in a statement that Powell McCormick will focus on “partnering with governments and sovereigns to build, deploy, invest in, and finance Meta’s AI and infrastructure”…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for more details on the motives and background of the suspected arsonist who set fire to the Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Miss., over the weekend.

President Donald Trump will receive a major briefing on avenues for responding to Iran’s violent suppression of protests, including cyber, economic and military options.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will deliver her State of the State address in Albany, where she plans to announce her proposal to create a 25-foot buffer zone around houses of worship and health-care facilities. (The legislation, while welcomed by major Jewish groups, would not have prevented the pro-Hamas protest that disrupted a Queens community last week, which took place approximately 300 feet away from the targeted synagogue.) New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is expected to be in attendance.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Protests are escalating across Iran, with videos showing masses of demonstrators taking to the streets and security forces at times overwhelmed. Human rights groups estimate dozens of protesters have already been killed and reports indicate the country is experiencing an internet blackout. Storeowners are reportedly shuttering their businesses in an economic boycott, further deepening the economic crisis that spurred the unrest.

President Donald Trump reiterated his warning today that the Iranian regime will “have to pay hell” if “they start killing people, which they tend to do,” speculating that the deaths so far have been caused by stampedes and not law enforcement. Vice President JD Vance said at a press briefing that the Iranian regime “has a lot of problems” and that “the smartest thing for them to have done … is for them to actually have a real negotiation with the United States”…

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced today that he is establishing a royal commission into antisemitism in the country, after the deadly terror attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney last month. The commission, considered a powerful tool in Australian governance, will investigate the scope and causes of antisemitism and make recommendations for law enforcement, in a report due on the year anniversary of the Dec. 14 attack…

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Spain would send “peacekeeping troops” to the Gaza Strip “when the opportunity presents itself.” Speaking to a gathering of ambassadors in Madrid today, he said, “Of course, we have not forgotten Palestine and the Gaza Strip … Spain must actively participate in rebuilding hope in Palestine.” Many countries remain wary of contributing troops to stabilize Gaza over concerns of being required to engage with Hamas…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today with Nickolay Mladenov, former U.N. envoy to the Middle East and soon-to-be representative of the U.S.-led Board of Peace in Gaza…

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been silent thus far today about a protest taking place tonight organized by the radical anti-Israel group responsible for a similar protest outside the Park East Synagogue in November, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.

The group posted the address of the real estate event they intend to protest, which is taking place at a synagogue in Queens’ heavily Jewish neighborhood of Kew Gardens Hills. The synagogue canceled prayer services and two nearby schools, Yeshiva of Central Queens and PS 165, announced early closures. Democratic state Assemblymember Sam Berger, who represents the area, told JI that local principals, staff and parents are “very concerned.” The surrounding area has been “completely upended,” he said…

The New Jersey Legislature will not give further consideration to a bill seeking to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism into state law during this legislative session, the bill’s lead sponsor announced, after several years of the Jewish community’s urging for the measure to be adopted…

Rob Sand, the state auditor and Democratic candidate for governor of Iowa, announced he raised over $9.5 million in 2025, more than double the record for off-year fundraising for a gubernatorial election in the state. Sand told Jewish Insider in 2019, when he first took office as auditor, that he conducted what was “definitely the first audit” to ensure agencies were in compliance with a state anti-BDS law. “When you say [you are] willing to be supportive of your ally [Israel], you need to put your money where your mouth is,” he said at the time…

Far-left New York state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez joined the race to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) today in the progressive 7th Congressional District covering parts of Brooklyn and Queens. The Democratic Socialists of America and Mamdani are expected to endorse Valdez, a move that could prove consequential in the district that The New York Times said will “pit left against lefter.” 

Valdez, who has already brought on several of Mamdani’s advisors, was a vocal critic of Israel’s war in Gaza and pro-Israel political groups; her opponent, Antonio Reynoso, takes similar stances but is viewed as a more “traditional progressive” and is expected to secure Velázquez’s support, the Times reports…

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) officially announced his retirement today after serving 23 terms, one of the longest-serving House members in U.S. history. Speaking on the House floor, the former majority leader and pro-Israel champion warned he was “deeply concerned that this House is not living up to the founders’ goals” and that the country “is heading not toward greatness, but toward smallness, pettiness, divisiveness, loneliness and disdainfulness”…

In his first State of the State address since 2020 — and final before his term ends next year — California Gov. Gavin Newsom heralded his state as a “beacon” and a “policy blueprint for others to follow.” He denounced Trump and laid out a policy agenda including clean energy, increased wages and lowered housing costs, in a speech seen as laying the groundwork for his potential 2028 presidential run…

The Qatar Investment Authority and Emirati-based MGX, linked to a UAE sovereign wealth fund, participated in the latest fundraising round for Elon Musk’s xAI, which raised over $15 billion total. Gulf investors including QIA and the Saudi and Omani sovereign funds have taken part in previous fundraising rounds for the company that owns the Grok AI chatbot on X…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at how legislation in New Jersey to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism was scuttled — and who was behind the bill’s demise. 

The third season of the hit TV show “Tehran” will premiere in the U.S. on Apple TV tomorrow, after a delay of several years. The popular international thriller, which follows a Mossad agent operating undercover in Iran, was indefinitely postponed at the outset of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The season ran in Israel in December 2024, and Apple has announced the fourth season is already in production.

On Saturday, Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt will sit in conversation with Rabbi David Wolpe about the “golden age of American Jewry” at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles.

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Qatar is the top country donating foreign funds to American universities, and Cornell University is its leading recipient, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.

According to a new dashboard from the Department of Education, Qatar holds the No. 1 spot for funds provided to U.S. universities at a whopping $6.6 billion — $2.3 billion of which has gone to Cornell, making up the vast majority of the school’s $3 billion in foreign funding. Qatar has provided significantly more funds than the next leading countries, bolstering criticisms of the Gulf state’s influence over American higher education…

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud this afternoon “to advance ongoing bilateral cooperation” following President Donald Trump’s meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in November. Rubio and Al-Saud discussed issues including Gaza, Yemen, Sudan and Syria, according to a State Department readout.

The Saudi foreign minister also met with lawmakers on the Hill, including Reps. Brian Mast (R-FL) and Gregory Meeks (D-NY), the chair and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee…

Trump is expected to kick off the second phase of the Gaza peace plan next week, Axios reports, including announcing the formation of the Gaza Board of Peace. Among the countries expected to participate are the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, with former U.N. envoy to the Middle East Nikolay Mladenov at the helm…

In a Truth Social post this afternoon, Trump called for the U.S. defense budget to be raised to $1.5 trillion in 2027, an increase of approximately 50% from his 2026 request…

Likud lawmaker Dan Illouz, in a speech to the Knesset on Monday, warned the American right about the dangers of rising antisemitism within its ranks, JI’s Lahav Harkov reports.

“I stand here in Jerusalem to sound an alarm,” Illouz said. “We are used to enemies from the outside … but today, I look at the West — our greatest ally — and I see a new enemy rising from within.” Illouz, who was born and raised in Montreal, took the unusual step of speaking from the lectern in English.

The right-wing lawmaker called for American conservatives to reject what he called the “poison” of Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, mentioning the podcasters by name. “They claim to fight the ‘woke left.’ They are no different than the woke left,” Illouz argued. “The woke left tears down statues of Thomas Jefferson, the woke right tears down statues of Winston Churchill … It is the same hatred of the West dressed up in a different costume”…

New York City Councilmember Julie Menin was unanimously voted speaker of the council today, as expected, after she announced in November that she had garnered enough support to secure the position.

Shortly after being elected, Menin, the first Jewish council speaker in the city with the largest Jewish population in the world, said she will look to codify legislation to protect the Jewish community, including establishing safe perimeters for protests around synagogues…

A new poll by the Honan Strategy Group found Jewish and non-Jewish New York voters split in their views about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the Forward reports. Fifty-five percent of non-Jewish respondents said Jews who say they feel threatened by Mamdani’s views on Israel are overreacting, while 53% of Jewish respondents said they are justified to feel that way. Fifty-one percent of Jews said Mamdani’s election is a troubling sign that antisemitism is being normalized, while 61% of non-Jews see it as evidence of healthy debate and diversity…

The New York Times lays out an ongoing lawsuit in New York over redistricting that could see the 11th Congressional District redrawn, which could impact the boundaries of Rep. Dan Goldman’s (D-NY) neighboring district and further complicate his reelection prospects…

In New Jersey, congressional candidates are raking in donations for what’s shaping up to be one of the state’s most expensive primary cycles ever. In the special election in the state’s 11th Congressional District to replace Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill, former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) announced he’s raised more than $1 million in the two months since he launched his bid.

Three Democratic candidates vying for Malinowski’s old seat in the neighboring 7th District, now held by Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ), have also raised over $1 million each, including former Navy pilot Rebecca Bennett. The large fundraising hauls are unusual for an off year, though Democrats see the 7th as a promising opportunity to flip a House seat, given that the swing district narrowly voted for Sherrill, a Democrat, in November…

Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a far-right Republican, announced today he will not pursue a rematch against Gov. Josh Shapiro, to whom he lost decisively in the 2022 gubernatorial race, amid speculation that he would once again seek the office…

Warner Bros. rejected a hostile takeover bid from Paramount, in the latest development in the battle to acquire the media giant. The company’s board voted to maintain its existing deal with Netflix for $72 billion, calling Paramount’s amended $77.9 billion offer with a personal guarantee from Larry Ellison “inadequate”…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at the dynamics that may play out between New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the newly inaugurated City Council Speaker Julie Menin as she plays a critical role in potentially providing a check against the mayor’s policy agenda.

Temple Emanu-El’s Streicker Center in New York City will host a screening of the documentary “The Road Between Us” about Gen. Noam Tibon’s historic rescue of his family amid the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, as well as a discussion with Tibon and director Barry Avrich. Read JI’s interview with Tibon and Avrich.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Bolstering concerns that Iran could attempt to strike Israel to rally domestic support amid nationwide protests, Iran’s Defense Council warned today that Tehran could act against its “long-standing enemies” over their “hostile behavior.”

The body, formed after the June war with Israel, said in a statement that “Iran’s security, independence and territorial integrity are an uncrossable red line, and any aggression or continuation of hostile behavior will be met with a proportionate and decisive response.”

“The long-standing enemies of this land” are “repeating and intensifying threatening language and interventionist statements in clear conflict with the accepted principles of international law, which is aimed at dismembering our beloved Iran and harming the country’s identity,” the statement continued, as President Donald Trump has threatened to intervene if Iran cracks down on the protesters…

Wrapping up a U.S.-mediated dialogue in Paris, Israel and Syria made progress towards improving relations as they agreed to accelerate the pace of negotiations going forward, considered a U.S. proposal to establish a demilitarized joint economic zone and agreed to set up a communication mechanism to facilitate coordination on military deescalation, intelligence sharing and diplomacy…

Domestically, midterm election year is in full swing: Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) officially launched his reelection bid today in New York’s 10th Congressional District, highlighting the date as the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and his role as the House’s lead counsel during Trump’s first impeachment.

Goldman came out of the gate against his opponent, former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, with a slew of endorsements, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-CA). 

Goldman told The New York Times that he understood his continued support for Israel “ran the risk of engendering a primary” in his progressive district but that he made his decisions based on “what I genuinely thought was best for the state of Israel, the people of Israel, Palestinian civilians and the future state of Palestine”…

Nearby in New York’s 12th Congressional District, George Conway, a former Republican lawyer and prominent critic of Trump who launched his run today as a Democrat, raised several concerns about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s approach to Israel and antisemitism in recent interviews, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.

Conway, who recently relocated to Manhattan in order to run for the seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), said in an interview with The New York Times that he was “disturbed” by Mamdani’s sharp criticisms of Israel, even as he called the mayor “a great politician” and voiced admiration for his “focus on affordability.”

Conway added in an interview with NBC News that he was “concerned about some of the language” Mamdani has “used in the past about Israel,” as well as the mayor’s recent decision to revoke a pair of executive orders related to Israel and antisemitism on his first day in office. “His focus really has to be on bringing people together,” Conway said of Mamdani, “not sending the wrong message to individual groups of people”…

In the crowded Democratic primary in New York’s 17th Congressional District to take on Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Peter Chatzky, the deputy mayor of Briarcliff Manor, injected $5 million of his own money into his campaign, Politico reports. Chatzky has stood out from the crowd in the competitive swing district in the northern suburbs of New York City with his comparatively critical stance of Israel.

Cait Conley, meanwhile, a national security veteran strongly supportive of Israel who is considered one of the front-runners in the seven-person race to take on Lawler, announced yesterday that she raised more than $560,000 in the last quarter of 2025 and has over $1.2 million in cash on hand…

Former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) is considering mounting a run for Senate to challenge Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Axios reports. Peltola narrowly lost her seat in 2024 when Trump carried the state in the presidential election; if she does make a bid, she would give Democrats the opportunity to contest a red-state race, giving them an outside shot to win back the upper chamber…

Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) died today at 65, Republican leadership announced. AIPAC mourned him as “an outspoken pro-Israel leader in Congress.” The congressman’s seat, a largely rural district he represented since 2013, was redrawn last year to be more favorable to Democrats, but a special election to fill his seat will be held under the old map friendlier to Republicans due to the timing of the vacancy…

Speaking at a press conference on the latest crime statistics out of New York City, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, standing next to Mamdani, said that antisemitic hate crimes in the city declined 3% from 2024 to 2025 but, at 57%, still make up the majority of all hate crimes reported…

In an interview released today on CNN commentator Scott Jennings’ podcast, Vice President JD Vance, asked about the rise of antisemitism in the conservative movement, said, “we need to reject all forms of ethnic hatred, whether it’s antisemitism, anti-Black hatred, anti-white hatred,” JI’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports.

“I think that’s one of the great things about the conservative coalition, is that we are, I think, fundamentally rooted in the Christian principles that founded the United States of America and one of those very important principles is that we judge people as individuals,” Vance continued…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a deep dive into the geopolitical ramifications of Israel’s choice to formally recognize the African nation of Somaliland — and whether the U.S. might follow suit.

The New York City Council will vote to elect its speaker tomorrow, which is widely expected to be Councilmember Julie Menin. Menin, who will be the first Jewish speaker of the council, has already begun to push back on Mayor Zohran Mamdani, expressing her concern to him over his repeal of former Mayor Eric Adams’ executive orders related to Israel and antisemitism.

In Washington, the Atlantic Council will host a discussion on the “future of humanitarian assistance,” including remarks from IsraAID CEO Yotam Polizer.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Dominating the headlines, deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty to charges including narco-terrorism during their arraignment in New York City today. “I am still president of my country,” Maduro told the judge, who set their next hearing for March 17.

At the same time, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, whom the Trump administration has said it will work with, was sworn in as interim president in Caracas, though she insisted that Maduro is still president and that he is being held hostage by the U.S…

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced today that he will no longer seek reelection to a third term after facing weeks of criticism due to revelations of widespread fraud primarily among the state’s Somali diaspora population. 

“I came to the conclusion that I can’t give a political campaign my all. Every minute I spend defending my own political interests would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity and the cynics who prey on our differences,” Walz, who has increasingly played to the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, said in his announcement.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), a moderate with a record of winning over independent voters, is considering running for governor in his stead, after she and Walz met yesterday. On the Republican side, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and Speaker of the Statehouse Lisa Demuth are already vying for the office…

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani denied that his executive order altering the relationship between the NYPD and his office — which appeared to indicate that NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch would no longer report to him but to a deputy mayor — will be meaningful in its impact, telling reporters today that the commissioner “will continue to report directly to me … The executive order is in terms of the question of coordination.”

The direct line between the mayor and NYPD head has been in place at least since the terror attacks of 9/11, after which the commissioner began to hold daily intelligence briefings for the mayor. The National Jewish Advocacy Center called the restructuring “unprecedented” in a letter to Mamdani and said that “The close relationship between the NYPD and the Mayor’s Office has been key to averting disasters for the Jewish community,” including during Hanukkah last month.

The move came as Mamdani revoked an executive order adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and an anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions order, which also drew backlash from Jewish leaders…

Meanwhile, in one of his final acts in office, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares sent a letter today reminding all K-12 superintendents and school boards in the state of their obligation to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism into their codes of conduct and discrimination policies, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. 

“As part of your compliance with Federal and Virginia law, you must implement the IHRA definition and its contemporary examples into your codes of conduct and discrimination policies to assess unprotected activity,” Miyares wrote, referencing a law passed by the state legislature in May 2023 requiring use of the IHRA definition by all state agencies… 

Harvard President Alan Garber said that the university was wrong to let professors express strong stances on controversial issues in the classroom, causing students to feel they couldn’t share their views, including faculty espousing anti-Israel views in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks. “It did happen in classrooms that professors would push this,” he said in a live taping of the Shalom Hartman Institute’s “Identity/Crisis Podcast” last month…

Leslie Grinage, Barnard’s dean and vice president of campus life and student experience, left her position today, the Columbia Spectator reports, after she came under intense criticism for her role in disciplining students who had violated school rules during anti-Israel protests on campus. Dozens of protesters staged a sit-in outside her office last year to demand the reinstatement of two students who were expelled after they disrupted a History of Modern Israel class…

Speaking in the Knesset today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he and President Donald Trump “will not allow Iran to rebuild its ballistic missile industry, and we certainly won’t let it renew its nuclear program” and that the two leaders agree that Iran must have no enrichment capabilities, all of its enriched uranium must be sent out of the country and there must be close oversight of its nuclear facilities…

Netanyahu also met with Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) in Jerusalem today…

The Israel Defense Forces and Moroccan Armed Forces signed a joint work plan for 2026 during the third meeting of their Joint Military Committee in Tel Aviv this week…

A man was arrested for vandalizing the personal residence of Vice President JD Vance in Cincinnati this morning. Nobody was home at the time. “As far as I can tell, a crazy person tried to break in by hammering the windows. I’m grateful to the secret service and the Cincinnati police for responding quickly,” Vance said on X…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at Judge Alvin Hellerstein, the 92-year-old Orthodox Jewish federal judge overseeing the trial of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The Academic Engagement Network is convening a three-day “boot camp” in Miami Beach this week for university faculty combating antisemitism and anti-Zionism on campus. Speakers will include Israeli journalist Nadav Eyal, the Atlantic Council’s Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, antisemitism researcher Miri Bar-Halpern and past president of the American Association of University Presidents Cary Nelson.

Tomorrow, former Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and commentator Dan Senor will speak about “Israeli strategy in war and peace” in West Palm Beach, Fla., for the Palm Beach Synagogue’s “Critical Conversation Series.”

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Two men in Manchester, England were found guilty of planning a terror attack on the city’s Jewish community, in the same area where two people were killed in a car ramming and stabbing attack at a synagogue on Yom Kippur.

Police warned it would have been the “deadliest terrorist attack in U.K. history”; the would-be assailants were affiliated with ISIS and had obtained guns and ammunition for an extended shooting spree, which they indicated was revenge for Israel’s actions in Gaza. One told an undercover officer, “We start with the Jews and if there any Christians caught in the act, that is a bonus, but we start with the Jews”…

At the same time, British police dropped a criminal investigation into Bob Vylan, the rap duo who led “death to the IDF” chants at the Glastonbury music festival in June, citing “insufficient evidence for there to be a realistic prospect of conviction”…

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) wrote to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem today pushing for additional information about Nonprofit Security Grant Program allocations, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports, as well as criticizing the $330 million funding allocation for the program proposed last week by Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“As I travel around Connecticut and hear from community leaders here and around the country, I am struck by the severely heightened anxiety and apprehension about physical threats to places of worship and community centers involving hate-based violence,” Blumenthal said.

The senator requested data on grant applications and acceptances, the reasons why FEMA has provided less funding than requested to some institutions and the resources FEMA provided to unsuccessful applicants for each year from 2023 to 2025…

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz walked back comments he made earlier today claiming Israel would reestablish settlements in the Gaza Strip; he said in a statement shortly after that “the government has no intention of establishing settlements” in the enclave and his comments were “made in a security context only.”

A U.S. official told Fox News about Katz’s initial remarks that “the more Israel provokes, the less the Arab countries will want to work with them”…

Israel covertly airdropped weapons and ammunition to a Druze militia in Syria shortly after the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad, The Washington Post reports, over concerns of then-nascent President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s allegiances. Israel stopped providing weapons to the Druze after Al-Sharaa met with President Donald Trump in the White House earlier this year, though it continues to provide supplies including money, body armor and medical provisions.

“We were helping when it was absolutely necessary and are committed to minorities’ security, but it is not as if we are going to have commandos take positions next to the Druze or get in the business of organizing proxies,” one Israeli official told the Post…

At a meeting of the U.N. Security Council today, Iran accused the U.S. of violating its rights as a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty by insisting that the country have no domestic uranium enrichment. (The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency declared Iran in violation of the NPT in June.)

U.S. deputy Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus said in response, “We’d like to make it clear to the entire world: the United States remains available for formal talks with Iran, but only if Tehran is prepared for direct and meaningful dialogue. … We have been clear, however, about certain expectations for any arrangement. Foremost, there can be no enrichment inside of Iran, and that remains our principle”… 

Estimated private funding of Israeli tech businesses reached $15.6 billion in 2025, according to early numbers from Startup National Central, a nonprofit that tracks and promotes the Israeli innovation ecosystem, up from $12 billion in 2024. “At the same time, deal volume declined to 717 rounds, the lowest in the last decade. This divergence tells a clear story: investors are doing fewer deals, but committing significantly more capital to each one,” the organization wrote….

Ben Sasse, the former Republican senator from Nebraska and previous president of the University of Florida, announced today that he has terminal Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. As UF president during the disruptive campus protests in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, Sasse was heralded for taking a uniquely firm stance against the protesters; he resigned from UF in July 2024 due to his wife’s failing health…

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

This is the last Daily Overtime of 2025 — we’ll be back in your inbox on Monday, Jan. 5. 

Until then, keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for reporting on Jewish communal organizations’ 2026 legislative agenda, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with President Donald Trump in Florida next week (read JI’s Lahav Harkov’s preview of the meeting here), Zohran Mamdani’s first days in office after being sworn in as New York City mayor on Jan. 1, and more. 

Happy New Year!

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Over a dozen of the Heritage Foundation’s top legal and economic staff are departing the think tank to join former Vice President Mike Pence’s Advancing American Freedom group, in the latest sign of the continued internal dysfunction racking Heritage since its president, Kevin Roberts, embraced Tucker Carlson after he platformed neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes.

“Why these people are coming our way is that Heritage and some other voices and commentators have embraced big-government populism and have been willing to tolerate antisemitism,” Pence told The Wall Street Journal. 

More than 30 of Heritage’s employees have reportedly resigned or been fired in the last several days, and at least three trustees have also dropped their affiliation with the group. Josh Blackman, who announced he’s stepping down as senior editor of The Heritage Guide to the Constitution, told Roberts in his resignation letter that his comments on Carlson “were a huge unforced blunder, and gave aid and comfort to the rising tide of antisemitism on the right”…

A straw poll conducted of attendees at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest summit found that the anti-Israel views of some of the event’s speakers were not largely shared by the audience — only 13% of respondents said they don’t view Israel as an ally of the United States (one-third thought Israel is a “top ally” while an additional 53% said it’s one ally of many).

Brent Scher, editor-in-chief of the conservative Daily Wire, wrote on X about the poll, “For those who think Tucker and Candace [Owens] are winning … they’ve convinced nobody.” The same poll found 84% of respondents would like to see Vice President JD Vance as the 2028 Republican presidential nominee…

A new report from the Anti-Defamation League finds that more than one-fifth of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s appointees to his transition team have extreme anti-Israel backgrounds, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. 

Among the advisors, Youssef Mubaraz, who was appointed to serve on the committee on small businesses, dismissed a Facebook video about Hamas’ widespread use of sexual violence on Oct. 7 as “propaganda,” according to the report. Mohammed Karim Chowdhury, a member of the worker justice committee, previously shared a post claiming that “Zionists are worse than Haman of ancient times, the Inquisition, and the Nazis.”

Mamdani said about the report at a press conference today that “we must distinguish between antisemitism and criticism of the Israeli government” and that the “ADL’s report oftentimes ignores this distinction”…

George Conway, co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project group, filed paperwork today to join the crowded Democratic primary in New York’s 12th Congressional District to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY). The once decidedly conservative lawyer abandoned his affiliation with the Republican Party over his disagreements with President Donald Trump and became a significant donor of former President Joe Biden, though Conway’s decision to run as a Democrat himself is a step further than he’s gone before. 

The New York Times reported last month that Conway told a group of donors he would aim to act as a “wingman” to Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Dan Goldman (D-NY), also both lawyers fiercely opposed to Trump, if elected to Congress…

Meanwhile Erik Bottcher, a New York City councilman, dropped out of the NY-12 primary in order to run for a state Senate seat…

Brad Lander, the outgoing New York City comptroller trying to unseat Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), received an endorsement today from anti-Israel City Councilmember Shahana Hanif, who has faced backlash from her sizable Jewish constituency for her refusal to explicitly condemn Hamas in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks and blaming Israel’s “unjust occupation of the Palestinian people” for the violence, her inaction on incidents of antisemitism in the district and her endorsement of calls to “globalize the intifada,” among other issues…

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee echoed warnings Jerusalem is reportedly providing to the Trump administration around Iran’s preparations for another military conflict with Israel while speaking at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies conference today.

“Iran, I don’t know that they ever took [Trump] seriously until the night that the B-2 bombers went to Fordow. I hope they got the message but apparently they didn’t get the full message cause … they appear to be trying to reconstitute and find a new way to dig the hole deeper, secure it more,” Huckabee said…

The Trump administration is recalling senior diplomats from at least 29 countries, State Department officials told the Associated Press, largely from Africa and Asia with several in Europe and the Middle East, as part of its continued effort to “advance the America First agenda”…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted the prime minister of Greece and president of Cyprus in Jerusalem today to “strengthen security, promote economic development and deepen the ties between our countries,” he said in a statement…

In the latest development in the bidding war over Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount amended its offer to acquire the company to include $40.4 billion of equity financing personally guaranteed by Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle and father of Paramount’s CEO, David Ellison. Warner Bros. had previously advised shareholders to reject Paramount’s offer due to concerns over its ability to provide the financing…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a preview of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort at the end of the month.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s newly tapped director of appointments, Catherine Almonte Da Costa, abruptly resigned this afternoon after her history of antisemitic online posts — including complaining about “money hungry Jews” — was unearthed, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.

Da Costa, who previously served as executive assistant to former Mayor Bill DeBlasio and was appointed by Mamdani yesterday, posted a series of antisemitic comments in 2011 and 2012, which were obtained by the Judge Street Journal.

Among other X posts — deleted along with her account today — Da Costa wrote in January 2011, “Money hungry Jews smh,” according to screenshots. “Woo! Promoted to the upstairs office today! Working alongside these rich Jewish peeps,” she posted in June 2011.

After outcry from the Anti-Defamation League and others, Mamdani’s team told JI that “Catherine expressed her deep remorse over her past statements and tendered her resignation, and [Mamdani] accepted.” Da Costa said in her own statement that her posts were “not indicative of who I am” and had “become a distraction from the work at hand”…

In another incident of antisemitism proliferating online, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua garnered widespread backlash — including from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s foundation focused on combating antisemitism — for performing an antisemitic dance on social media on Tuesday, JI’s Haley Cohen reports, leading Nacua to issue an apology this afternoon.

During streamer Adin Ross’ livestream on Tuesday, he taught the wide receiver a touchdown celebration that ended with Nacua looking into the camera and rubbing his hands together — a stereotypical movement indicating greed that Ross’ fans refer to as his “iconic Jewish dance.” Ross then asked Nacua to perform the dance during the Rams’ game against the Seattle Seahawks tonight, to which Nacua agreed. 

In his apology, Nacua stated that at the time of the livestream, he had “no idea this act was antisemitic in nature and perpetrated harmful stereotypes against Jewish people”…

In response to the Hanukkah terror attack in Sydney, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced today that his government will introduce new legislation to strengthen hate speech laws in the country and allow the government to cancel or reject visas of people deemed likely to spread hate.

The move comes after Australia ignored repeated warnings from local Jewish communities and Israel that rising antisemitism in the country posed a threat to Jewish safety; Albanese conceded the point in his announcement, claiming, “Governments aren’t perfect. I’m not perfect”…

Scott Singer, the Republican mayor of Boca Raton, Fla., announced a run for Congress today for the seat held by Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL). The district, already competitive, is facing a possible redistricting effort by state Republicans which would further endanger the pro-Israel congressman’s hold on it. Singer, who sits on the U.S. advisory board of Combat Antisemitism Movement, has been a strong supporter of Israel as well… 

NOTUS asked over 120 House Republicans if they intend to run for reelection amid rumors of a mass wave of retirements in the party. Several, including Reps. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) and Mark Amodei (R-NV), gave noncommittal answers…

The State Department issued new sanctions today against dozens of ships and related companies involved in Iran’s “shadow fleet” used to evade existing oil sanctions, as well as against two International Criminal Court judges involved in prosecuting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, citing the judges’ votes against an Israeli appeal to drop arrest warrants for the two earlier this week…

President Donald Trump contradicted an announcement made weeks ago by Netanyahu’s office that the two have set a meeting at the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., for Dec. 29, telling reporters in the Oval Office today, “We haven’t set [a meeting] up formally, but [Netanyahu] would like to see me. … He’ll probably come see me in Florida.”

Asked if Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi will join them, as speculated by the signing of a major gas deal between Israel and Egypt yesterday, Trump said, “I’d love to have him. El-Sissi is a friend of mine”…

D.C. City Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, a democratic socialist running for city mayor, committed to standing up for the Jewish community and taking proactive steps to ensure its security on a panel at a Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington breakfast this morning, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

Lewis George’s presence at the event and comments are particularly notable given that she’s a self-identified democratic socialist. (Many DSA-aligned elected officials across the country, including Mamdani, have had combative or nonexistent relationships with mainstream Jewish organizations in their cities and districts.)

“I learned at a very young age how important it was to loudly condemn and loudly stand up for our Jewish neighbors,” Lewis George said. She recalled that she realized through education programs in D.C. schools “how important it was that we support each other in solidarity, in our connected struggles, our connected history”…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for an interview with a longtime Jewish activist mounting a bid for Washington, D.C.’s congressional delegate seat.

White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will meet with the Qatari prime minister and Egyptian and Turkish foreign ministers in Miami tomorrow to discuss implementation of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan. 

Turning Point USA’s AmFest continues over the weekend, including a debate over Israel on Saturday between political commentator Steve Deace and Christian nationalist leader Pastor Doug Wilson. 

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

In the wake of the Hanukkah terror attack in Sydney and the deadly Yom Kippur attack in Manchester, the heads of Britain’s Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police said they will change their policies on arrests in connection with the use of threatening slogans, including “globalize the intifada.”

“The words and chants used, especially in protests, matter and have real world consequences. We have consistently been advised by [the Crown Prosecution Service] that many of the phrases causing fear in Jewish communities don’t meet prosecution thresholds. Now, in the escalating threat context, we will recalibrate to be more assertive,” their joint statement read.

“We know communities are concerned about placards and chants such as ‘globalise the intifada’ and those using it at future protest or in a targeted way should expect the Met and GMP to take action. Violent acts have taken place, the context has changed — words have meaning and consequence. We will act decisively and make arrests,” they pledged. The Israeli Embassy in the U.K. welcomed the move but called it “disappointing” that it only came “after more Jews have been killed”…

Daniel Flesch, a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, emerged as a critical voice raising the alarm on right-wing antisemitism from within the institution in a speech on Monday night, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports, as the think tank continues to grapple with fallout from its president’s embrace of Tucker Carlson after his controversial interview with neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes.

“The last couple of years, really for longer than that, the threat of antisemitism has largely been the domain of the left,” Flesch said at a Hanukkah party hosted by the Young Jewish Conservatives. “Now, in some ways, the call is coming from inside the house.”

Flesch continued, “Right now, the issue we’re facing is a threat to the West. We see it on the left. Now we’re seeing it to the right. And those like Tucker Carlson and others present the greatest threat, I think, on the right. They are anti-conservatives in the conservative movement, seeking to destroy our movements, and in so doing, destroy the future of the United States”…

And on the left, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro called out his fellow Democrats in The Atlantic for their own turn against Israel, including his former Obama administration colleague, Ben Rhodes, who has emerged as one of the leading anti-Israel voices in the party. 

“The story of the [Oct. 7] attack and its aftermath — so often ignored in commentaries about the past two years — affirms that what the United States was dealing with was not a genocidal nation out to destroy all Palestinians but a deeply imperfect democratic partner beset by enemies, actual genocidal enemies, and terrorists sworn to its physical destruction,” Shapiro wrote.

“But there is a darker danger to the approach that Rhodes and others endorse. … If the test of fealty for the Democratic Party becomes supporting international efforts to pressure Israel to define itself out of existence, or expressing indifference to the campaign of Israel’s enemies to destroy it, we will be in a much uglier place. That is not a policy that would meet any moral test … Those calling for an end to U.S. support for Israel need to be mindful that, perhaps inadvertently, they are abetting this camp”…

Brad Lander, the outgoing New York City comptroller challenging Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), told the anti-Israel publication Zeteo News and its host Mehdi Hasan that politicians including former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Eric Adams and President Donald Trump are “delighted to weaponize antisemitism, to weaponize Jewish fear, against Muslims especially but really against inclusive, multi-racial democracy” in the wake of the Sydney terror attack. He also pledged to support efforts to recognize a Palestinian state if elected to Congress…

The Senate passed the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act this afternoon, sending the bill to the president’s desk. Read JI’s coverage of the bill’s components, including the full repeal of Caesar Act sanctions on Syria and funding joint programs with Israel…

The Senate also finally confirmed Jared Isaacman to head NASA, after he was initially nominated last December but then pulled by the White House during a spat between Trump and Elon Musk, who backed his nomination, and renominated in November…

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, Director Kash Patel’s right-hand, is contemplating leaving the bureau, multiple outlets report. Patel’s choice of Bongino for his deputy raised eyebrows at the time, given Bongino has no prior FBI experience — though he is a former Secret Service agent — and rose to prominence as a right-wing podcaster boosting claims that the 2020 election was “stolen”…

Israel signed its largest ever gas deal today with Egypt to the tune of around $35 billion, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced. The White House had reportedly pushed Israel to finalize the deal to set the groundwork for a trilateral meeting between the three countries…

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani today to “launch the seventh annual U.S.-Qatar Strategic Dialogue,” working to “deepen cooperation on shared economic and strategic goals in the Middle East and across the world,” according to a readout from Rubio…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for an interview with a moderate New York Democrat hoping to reclaim the party’s pro-Israel bonafides in a state Senate race in the wake of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s victory, and coverage of a fiery speech by conservative commentator Ben Shapiro at the Heritage Foundation today on antisemitism on the political right.

Turning Point USA’s annual America Fest summit will kick off in Phoenix, Ariz.; Opening night will include speeches from Erika Kirk, now CEO of TPUSA after the killing of her husband; Shapiro; actor and activist Russell Brand; and podcast hosts Matt Walsh and Tucker Carlson. The organization’s attempt to navigate its messaging about the identity of the GOP, including its stance on Israel, in the wake of its founder’s death will be on full display as both pro- and anti-Israel commentators, including Shapiro and Carlson, take the stage.

In Washington, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington will hold the last in its series of “Lox and Legislators” breakfasts in D.C. with speakers including outgoing Mayor Muriel Bowser and Attorney General Brian Schwalb.

The Brooklyn Nets vs. Miami Heat NBA game taking place at the Barclays Center in New York will pay tribute to the victims of the Hanukkah terror attack in Sydney, including participation by the nephew of slain Rabbi Eli Schlanger.  

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The co-chairs of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism are urging Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to act more forcefully to protect Australia’s Jewish community and implement months-old recommendations from the country’s antisemitism envoy, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

In a letter sent today, the lawmakers said that there were repeated “warning signs” before the Sunday massacre in Sydney targeting a Hanukkah celebration, including firebombings of synagogues, graffiti, assaults and threats of violence, which “have now led to a tragic reality.”

They noted that Jillian Segal, the Australian special envoy to combat antisemitism, released 49 recommendations to be implemented across a range of institutions in July, and questioned what the Australian government has done to enact that plan and how it will protect the Jewish community going forward…

The Coast Guard quietly implemented its new policy downgrading the status of swastikas from prohibited hate symbols to only “potentially divisive,” after having said it would scrap the change due to widespread backlash, including from members of Congress…

The Trump administration expanded its travel ban today to include individuals from five additional countries, among them being Syria, which the White House has otherwise been welcoming into the international community, as well as individuals with Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents…

The Department of Defense is preparing for a major restructuring, The Washington Post reports, including consolidating U.S. Central Command, European Command and Africa Command under a new organization called the U.S. International Command. “Such moves would complement other efforts by the administration to shift resources from the Middle East and Europe and focus foremost on expanding military operations in the Western Hemisphere,” sources with knowledge on the matter told the Post…

The U.S. and Qatar are drawing up contracts for Doha’s acquisition of F-35 fighter jets, Israeli media reports, raising concerns about the Jewish state’s qualitative military edge among Israeli officials. In response, they are reportedly compiling their own package of requests from the U.S., including more advanced fighter jets and munitions…

A conference hosted by CENTCOM in Doha today with dozens of countries to work on the International Stabilization Force for Gaza did not make meaningful progress, a European official told The Times of Israel, including failing to adequately determine the force’s mandate and its role in disarming Hamas…

A new Siena poll of New York voters released today found 35% of Jewish respondents view New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani favorably, up from the 18% of respondents who said the same last month. Among all respondents, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul led GOP challengers in head-to-head matchups with both Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman; Hochul received around 50% of the vote to Stefanik’s 30% and Blakeman’s 25%… 

Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice, said today that her office would investigate a disturbing video of several Orthodox Jews being harassed and physically assaulted in the New York City subway…

The guest list for a New York Young Republicans gala last Saturday, which was attended by members of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, also included a former producer for former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) show who was fired for posting an animated video depicting Jews as cockroaches counting money; Jared Taylor, the editor of a white supremacist website called American Renaissance; and a streamer who goes by Sneako, known for posting antisemitic content, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports. Neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes also claimed he received an invitation, which was rescinded at the last minute…

Administration officials lined up to release statements in defense of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles after a Vanity Fair interview released this morning quoted her maligning President Donald Trump and his top Cabinet secretaries, which she said was “disingenuously framed” (though Trump himself said he agreed with her characterization in the interview that he has an “alcoholic’s personality”).

In one of several conversations with author Chris Whipple, Wiles said about Trump’s October appearance at the Knesset, where he lauded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s war effort, “I’m not sure [Trump] fully realizes that there’s an audience here that doesn’t love it.”

Whipple also asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio if he would challenge Vice President JD Vance in the 2028 Republican presidential primary, to which Rubio said, “If JD Vance runs for president, he’s going to be our nominee, and I’ll be one of the first people to support him”…

Months after the merger of Paramount Skydance brought new leadership to CBS News, including The Free Press’ Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief, in part to address the channel’s perceived bias, Trump wrote on social media today, “For those people that think I am close with the new owners of CBS, please understand that 60 Minutes has treated me far worse since the so-called ‘takeover,’ than they have ever treated me before. If they are friends, I’d hate to see my enemies!” Trump has previously spoken positively of David Ellison, Paramount’s CEO, who has engaged extensively with the White House, including about an ongoing bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery…

New York magazine profiles Weiss’ journey from The New York Times to The Free Press to CBS News, where her hiring allowed Ellison to “signal with a single stroke that the new CBS News was pro-Israel, anti-woke, and MAGA-amenable — all attributes Weiss spent years cultivating in L.A. and that could come in handy in Ellison’s dealings with the Trump administration”…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a preview of the race for Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, where Gov. Josh Shapiro’s endorsement in the Democratic primary may be a sign of how he hopes to build political capital as he prepares for a possible 2028 presidential campaign.

Conservative pro-Israel commentator Ben Shapiro will sit for a discussion tomorrow with embattled Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts. Their conversation comes amid heightened debate on the political right about antisemitism and anti-Israel animus, sparked by Roberts’ defense of podcaster Tucker Carlson after he platformed neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes. (Two more Heritage board members resigned today over the scandal.)

The Israeli Embassy in Washington will host its Hanukkah reception and Jewish members of Congress — including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Craig Goldman (R-TX), Dan Goldman (D-NY), David Kustoff (R-TN), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Greg Landsman (D-OH), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Max Miller (R-OH) and Randy Fine (R-FL) — will host the annual Capitol Hill Hanukkah celebration.

In the evening, President Donald Trump will deliver an end-of-year address to the nation.  

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Just a day after the deadly terror attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia, U.S. authorities announced they had foiled an alleged terror plot by an anti-Israel, anti-American extremist group. The group — the Turtle Island Liberation Front — appears to also be one of the organizers of an anti-Israel protest that targeted a Los Angeles synagogue this month, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. 

Four members of the TILF were arrested over the weekend in the Mojave Desert over a plot to set off pipe bombs in a coordinated attack at midnight on New Year’s Eve targeting U.S. companies in Los Angeles and Orange County, Calif., authorities revealed today.

Earlier this month, TILF’s LA chapter posted a “call to action” on its Instagram urging followers to target the “bloody war criminals” and “genocidal monsters” from Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems and listed an address that corresponds with the Wilshire Boulevard Temple building where an event featuring a researcher from Elbit was taking place at the same date and time. Protesters entered the synagogue and disrupted the event, with one person shattering a glass vase and chanting profanities. Two people were arrested during the incident…

Jewish Senate Democrats released a joint statement on yesterday’s attack, saying, “The disturbing wave of antisemitism around the globe has struck anxiety and fear into the hearts of every Jewish community. Some have faced harassment, vandalism, and discrimination. Others, violence as brutal as what we saw yesterday in Sydney.”

“We must speak out against all discrimination, from heinous acts like today to the normalization of antisemitic rhetoric, and the attempts to blur the line between political disagreement and antisemitic hate,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) wrote. 

Missing from the signatories was Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) — he issued a separate statement yesterday calling antisemitism “a disgusting and cowardly ideology — and it is growing worldwide.” Sanders called for all to “come together to confront and defeat antisemitism wherever it exists — and we must be equally committed to fighting all forms of racism, white supremacy, xenophobia, and bigotry”…

Elsewhere on the Hill, Trump’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador for international religious freedom, former Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC), has not yet received a confirmation hearing due to behind-the-scenes opposition from his former opponent, Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC), who defeated Walker in a heated primary race three years ago, NBC News reports. Walker will likely need to be renominated in 2026 in order to receive a hearing…

The White House conveyed its displeasure with Israel’s Saturday strike on a senior Hamas commander in a private message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. officials told Axios, calling it a violation of the U.S.-led ceasefire. 

“The White House message to Netanyahu was: ‘If you want to ruin your reputation and show that you don’t abide by agreements be our guest, but we won’t allow you to ruin President Trump’s reputation after he brokered the deal in Gaza,’” a senior U.S. official told the outlet…

A senior State Department official and two GOP members of Congress met Friday with members of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has long faced accusations of extremism and pro-Nazi sympathies, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

The State Department meeting is in line with the recently released National Security Strategy, which stated that it would be U.S. policy to boost anti-European Union and anti-immigration parties in the European Union.

Special Envoy Ric Grenell said that those criticizing the meeting “don’t understand tough diplomacy.” Responding to critiques online, Grenell wrote, “Talking is a tactic. We are tired of failed diplomacy where you don’t talk to people and think it’s a punishment. Your guy [former President] Joe Biden didn’t talk to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin for 4 years while a war raged”…

Harvard Hillel’s Orthodox rabbi, Ethan Fried, and his wife, Bella, were placed on administrative leave on Friday pending an investigation, The Harvard Crimson reports. “The decision was announced less than four hours before the start of Shabbat in a Hillel WhatsApp chat for Orthodox students, without advance notice. Hillel leadership did not disclose the reason for the leave, which took effect immediately”…

Former Vice President Kamala Harris is laying the groundwork for another run for president in 2028, Axios reports, including expanding her book tour, appearing before the Democratic National Committee and changing her rhetoric to go after the “status quo”…

The Atlantic’s Yair Rosenberg writes about the alarming rise of antisemitism among America’s youth: “The research collectively suggests that America is becoming more anti-Semitic because its young people are becoming more anti-Semitic. This finding flies in the face of the folk wisdom that prejudice is the province of the old and will die out with them. That maxim may be true of some bigotries, but anti-Semitism is not one of them. Instead, in the United States, the opposite is happening: Anti-Jewish prejudice is growing precisely because it is the domain of the next generation, not the previous one”…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for more reporting on the fallout of yesterday’s terror attack in Sydney, including political ramifications in the U.S.

Tomorrow, the Hanukkah celebrations continue in Washington with the White House Hanukkah reception and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s (D-FL) annual soiree, as well as in New York with a reception at The Jewish Museum hosted by UJA-Federation of New York and the Israeli mission to the U.N. and another hosted by American Friends of the Anu Museum of the Jewish People honoring Albert Bouria, CEO and chair of Pfizer, and Adonis Georgiadis, Greece’s health minister.

On the Hill, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs will co-host a briefing on Jewish-Muslim solidarity with the Muslim Public Affairs Council, featuring Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Lateefah Simon (D-CA), JCPA CEO Amy Spitalnick and MPAC President Salam Al-Marayati. The MPAC has received criticism for its anti-Israel activism, including for backing a resolution by Rep. Rashia Tlaib (D-MI) claiming Israel committed genocide in Gaza and for repeatedly accusing U.S. officials of being beholden to Israel.

Meanwhile in Doha, CENTCOM will host a conference with more than 25 countries to continue to work out logistics for the International Stabilization Force for Gaza. 

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC) is preparing for a primary rematch in her deep-blue Durham-area district, where Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam, whom Foushee beat in 2022, announced she will challenge her once again. 

The race will look different this time around — four years ago, Foushee was one of the first beneficiaries of the AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project super PAC, which spent more than $2.1 million to help her defeat Allam, who has an extensive history of anti-Israel activism. The pro-Israel group was Foushee’s single largest donor in that race, which became the most expensive Democratic congressional primary in North Carolina history. 

Since then, though, Foushee has taken her own anti-Israel turn, including supporting efforts to block the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel, voting against numerous measures cracking down on Iran, the Houthis and the International Criminal Court as well as the Antisemitism Awareness Act, and announcing over the summer that she will not take money from AIPAC in 2026. It remains to be seen how the “AIPAC factor” will play into next year’s rematch, as both candidates now vie for the anti-Israel vote…

More candidate déjà vu: Former Rep. David Trone (D-MD) launched a primary challenge today against Rep. April McClain Delaney (D-MD) to win back his old seat in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, which he held from 2020-2024. Trone, the billionaire owner of Total Wine & More, has been a major AIPAC donor and was a staunchly pro-Israel member of Congress. 

During his failed 2024 Senate bid, though, where he was defeated in the Democratic primary by Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), he took a more critical line against Israel over its war in Gaza. Questioned at a campaign event by the anti-Israel group IfNotNow, Trone said, “What happened on Oct. 7 was absolutely horrendous and incomprehensible. But what’s happened since then is also horrendous and incomprehensible,” calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a large part of our problem”…

In nearby Virginia, local Jewish groups including the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington issued a joint statement this afternoon calling for Sam Rasoul, the state delegate with a history of inflammatory anti-Israel rhetoric who announced he’s exploring a bid for Congress, to resign his position as chair of the Education Committee in the state’s House of Delegates.

Without mentioning his potential congressional run, the groups said Rasoul is “no longer fit to serve” as he “uses his position and platform to regularly spew vitriol toward the Jewish people”…

Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow and an ally of President Donald Trump, joined the Republican primary for governor of Minnesota today, hoping to challenge Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who is running for a third term. Lindell, who rose to prominence for his promotion of the conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was rigged, ran for chair of the Republican National Committee in 2023, though Trump did not offer him his endorsement then…

In Indiana, Republican state senators dealt a political blow to Trump this afternoon when they joined together with Democrats to vote down a redrawn congressional map that would have given Republicans a leg up in the state. Trump and his allies had extensively pressured the GOP-held state Senate to pass the map with threats of primary challenges and potentially withheld federal funds…

With just weeks until his inauguration, New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is expected to meet with the New York Board of Rabbis today, CNN reports, which is led by Reform Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch. Hirsch was one of the foremost Jewish voices raising alarm bells during Mamdani’s election over his hostility to Israel. 

“Several rabbis who are attending are planning to propose a unified agenda, asking Mamdani to back away from his rejection of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state” and his support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, invitees told CNN. Several Jewish leaders also said they “will put pressure on other New York officials like Gov. Kathy Hochul and incoming city council speaker Julie Menin to not work with Mamdani more broadly if he follows through on promised anti-Israel moves and doesn’t provide more reassurances to Jews in the city”…

Politico chronicles Mamdani’s attempt to influence the city council speaker’s race between councilmembers Menin and Crystal Hudson, where Mamdani asked power brokers and organizations to hold off on their endorsements until he was able to assess the race himself. The mayor-elect’s sway seemed to be limited, though, as Menin, who was seen as less aligned with Mamdani, announced she had garnered enough support to win next month’s election, where she will become the first Jewish city council speaker…

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) prepared a letter to Israeli President Isaac Herzog requesting he pardon Netanyahu, Talking Points Memo scooped, weeks after Trump did the same. Without confirming if he had sent the letter, Fetterman stood by it: “It’s a pointless distraction,” he said about Netanyahu’s ongoing court proceedings. “I fully support it and I stand on the letter.”

In the correspondence, dated Dec. 2, Fetterman wrote, “In a world this dangerous, I question whether any democracy can afford to have its head of government spending valuable hours, day after day, in a courtroom rather than the situation room”…

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee struck a new tone on Israel’s September strike in Doha, Qatar, on Hamas operatives, telling the Turkey-based outlet Clash Report, “There’s been some talk that Israel attacked the country of Qatar — it did not. … There was one missile, it was aimed at one person. Now, unfortunately, there were some people who were near that missile strike that were injured or killed from it, but that was not an attack on the nation of Qatar. If that’s the new standard, then the United States must apologize for going after Osama bin Laden while he was in Pakistan being protected by the Pakistanis.”

Huckabee’s comparison of Qatar harboring Hamas operatives to Pakistan harboring bin Laden differs from the Trump administration’s policy thus far, where it has embraced Qatar and forced Netanyahu to apologize for the strike…

The New York Times reports on Syria’s effort to rebuild its military, which was entirely dismissed upon the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad. 

“The military’s new command structure favors former fighters from Mr. al-Sharaa’s former rebel group [an Al-Qaida affiliate] — even over those who may have more expertise, according to many soldiers, commanders and analysts. And religious minorities have not yet been included in the military, although Syria is a religiously and ethnically diverse country that has already witnessed waves of sectarian violence,” the Times writes…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for an interview with Soviet-born activist Izabella Tabarovsky on her new book, Be a Refusenik: A Jewish Student’s Survival Guide, in which she encourages Jewish college students to reclaim their Zionism and take inspiration from the Soviet refuseniks of the 1980s.

The Hudson Institute will host a daylong summit on “Antisemitism as a National Security Threat” tomorrow, with speakers including Sebastian Gorka, senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council; Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, former State Department special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism; author Walter Russell Mead; and CNN commentator Scott Jennings, among others.

The White House will host a meeting with representatives from Israel, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the U.K., the United Arab Emirates and Australia tomorrow to kick off an initiative strengthening supply chains for AI development.

Saturday night, Alex Edelman will appear at Washington’s Sixth & I synagogue to perform his new show, “What Are You Going to Do,” with shows to follow over the next week in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Philadelphia.

On Sunday, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore will host a Hanukkah brunch reception at his official residence.

That evening, the annual National Menorah Lighting will take place on the Ellipse, in front of the White House. 

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

As President Donald Trump pushes ahead in rolling out Phase 2 of his 20-point Gaza peace plan, the critical U.S.-led International Stabilization Force continues to be mired in confusion, even as a U.S. official told The Jerusalem Post that they expect the ISF to be deployed to Gaza “at the beginning of 2026, with one or two countries initially participating.”

Which countries that will include is unclear — U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz publicly named Indonesia and Azerbaijan as countries that may provide troops to the force last month, and Indonesia has indicated openness in public comments. 

But an Azeri official told The Times of Israel that the country has not committed to doing so and has many of the same reservations as the other Muslim-majority countries still holding out — namely, wanting to ensure that the ceasefire will help to advance a Palestinian state and that their troops will not be required to engage with Hamas. The U.S. has failed to properly explain what they are asking of these countries, the Azeri official said.

Adding to the uncertainty, the U.S. official told the Post that the ISF “will not be deployed in areas controlled by Hamas in the Gaza Strip,” contrary to the goals outlined for the force in the peace plan…

Speaking at the Post’s conference taking place on Capitol Hill today, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) appeared to dismiss the feasibility of the ISF altogether: “There is no air force [that is] going to disarm Hamas. You will find a unicorn quicker. Only Israel can do it,” he said.

On the prospects of Saudi-Israel normalization, the South Carolina senator argued that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “is not going to recognize Israel until he gets an outcome better for the Palestinians, or he will get killed.” However, before Israel can cede ground on the issue, Graham said, “Hamas needs to go. Hezbollah needs to be disarmed. I am not even approaching normalization until Iran’s proxies cannot generate another Oct. 7”…

Also speaking at the conference, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar poured cold water on another one of the Trump administration’s priorities in the region — an Israel-Syria security agreement. “At the moment, the gaps between us and Syria have widened. They have raised new demands. Of course, we want an agreement, but we are now further from reaching one than we were a few weeks ago,” Sa’ar said, without providing details on the new developments…

Looking to the campaign trail, New York City Councilmember Alexa Avilés dropped her prospective primary bid against Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) today, following the entry of Comptroller Brad Lander into the race.

Avilés, who had been endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, said in a statement, “My neighbors know that the era of dark money in politics, of letting AIPAC and the real estate lobby call the shots, must end. … What’s clear from my years in public services is that Dan Goldman has fundamentally failed our communities. A split field runs too great a risk of allowing him another damaging term.” Avilés did not, however, offer Lander her endorsement.

Along with the exit of former state Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, who bowed out yesterday also to avoid a split progressive vote, the primary is unfolding as a head-to-head matchup between Lander (who appeared to get hacked today on X) and Goldman. 

In one of his first statements about the congressman since launching his challenge, Lander told the New York Daily News that he and Goldman “have some disagreements” about Israel and Gaza, but the issue is secondary to fighting back against Trump, which he feels he can do a better job of. The comments raised questions about Lander’s apparent strategy — one of Goldman’s biggest political strengths is his credibility with the Democratic base over his role leading the 2019 impeachment efforts against Trump… 

The New York Times digs into Trump’s decision not to dissuade Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman from joining the GOP primary for New York governor, where Trump ally Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is already running. 

“Mr. Trump’s refusal to use his influence to halt Mr. Blakeman — and his subsequent neutrality since the announcement — sent shock waves through Republican circles, where many party loyalists had already committed to supporting Ms. Stefanik and wish to avoid a primary,” the Times writes…

Andrew Kolvet, executive producer of “The Charlie Kirk Show” and close confidant of the slain conservative influencer, has placed Turning Point USA on the pro-Israel side of the right’s debate about the U.S.’ support for the Jewish state… with caveats.

Kolvet told the Christian Broadcasting Network that, despite the weaponization of Kirk’s legacy by anti-Israel actors, TPUSA stands firm that “Israel has a right to exist, that it has a right to defend itself, that we fully reject hatred of Jewish people, antisemitism, all that stuff.”

But, “when it comes to how much we should fund Israel,” he warned, “should the status quo, the foreign policy status quo be continued, should it be altered? Those kinds of things are worthwhile debates to have,” otherwise “you’re going to alienate the young people that Charlie worked so hard to bring into the fold.”

Kolvet also asserted that the conservative tent, while continuing to embrace Israel’s right to exist, should be big enough to accommodate those who don’t. Kirk was “committed” to having Tucker Carlson speak at TPUSA’s annual AmericaFest, taking place next week in Arizona, Kolvet said, “and that is not going to change.”

But even as Carlson appears on opening night, so will Ben Shapiro, and “maybe the coalition needs to find a way to stay together and be big enough to have both of those perspectives in it, because I think if not, then we’re going to find ourselves in a really tricky spot in 2026, 2028”…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for an interview with anthropology student-turned founder of the Movement Against Antizionism, Adam Louis-Klein. 

On the Hill, the House Homeland Security Committee will hear from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent and Michael Glasheen, operations director of the national security branch of the FBI, on “worldwide threats to the homeland.”

The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the U.S. response to crimes against humanity in Sudan amid its ongoing civil war. 

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is set to launch a primary challenge to Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) as soon as tomorrow, Politico reports, with an endorsement from Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani — after Mamdani declined to give him a position in his administration. 

Goldman was one of the New York Democratic holdouts who did not endorse Mamdani during his election, largely over concerns about his rhetoric on Israel, but Goldman’s district, which covers Lower Manhattan and a section of Brooklyn that includes the progressive enclave of Park Slope, voted overwhelmingly for the mayor-elect.

The primary matchup will likely serve as a test of the Democratic electorate’s support for continued mainstream pro-Israel representation in New York City, as Goldman and Lander, both of whom are Jewish, take markedly different stances on Israel. Political strategists told Jewish Insider in October that Lander will be a formidable candidate, though Goldman, who is an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, will have the financial and incumbent advantage…

Axios unpacks the “Tea Party-style revolt” by progressives in the Democratic Party after the last-minute entry of Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) into the Texas Senate primary yesterday and amid concerns by party leadership that their favored midterm candidates in Maine, Michigan and Iowa are falling behind expectations. 

“Some Democratic senators are openly questioning their party’s leadership and working against [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer in primaries. Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) have spoken to, or plan to speak to, candidates challenging the party establishment’s picks, sources familiar with the discussions told Axios”…

Pressed on his position about AIPAC, Democratic Majority for Israel and the “Israel lobby” at large, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, considered a top 2028 presidential contender, told progressive Gen Z podcaster Jack Cocchiarella that AIPAC “has never been involved with me, I’ve never received a dollar from them in my entire political career, so I’ve had an opinion on that going back decades now.” 

Asked if he would take AIPAC funds at any point in his political future, Newsom said, “I don’t take tobacco money, oil money, I’ve never taken AIPAC money, there’s certain absolutes that are the lines that have been drawn for decades for me, and those will continue.” The pro-Israel group has not been involved in gubernatorial nor presidential races…

FBI Director Kash Patel signed bilateral security agreements with Qatar today, in a move that is drawing renewed scrutiny to potential conflicts of interest surrounding his past lobbying for the Gulf emirate, the details of which he has failed to disclose, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports.

During a meeting in the Qatari capital of Doha, Patel signed two memorandums of understanding with his counterpart “to advance mechanisms of security cooperation and coordinate efforts in training, the exchange of information and capacity-building,” according to Qatari state media. Neither Patel’s visit to Doha nor the agreements with Qatar have been publicly announced by the FBI. 

Patel, whose brief tenure leading the FBI has been mired in ethics controversies, drew scrutiny during his confirmation over undisclosed consulting for the Qatari government — provoking accusations that he improperly avoided registering as a foreign lobbyist…

The Columbia University task force overseeing efforts to combat antisemitism on campus released its fourth and final report today, spotlighting Columbia’s lack of full-time Middle East faculty who are not “explicitly anti-Zionist,” JI’s Haley Cohen reports.

According to the report, “Columbia lacks full-time tenure line faculty expertise in Middle East history, politics, political economy and policy that is not explicitly anti-Zionist.” The absence of ideological diversity is having an impact on course offerings — in listening sessions, the task force said it heard from students that classes at the university more often than not treat Zionism as entirely illegitimate…

On another New York campus facing allegations of antisemitism, New York City Jewish leaders sent a letter to the chancellor of the City University of New York yesterday condemning a recent interfaith event on campus that devolved into an antisemitic tirade by a Muslim leader as well as the school’s lackluster response, The Times of Israel reports. 

The signatories — which include New York City Councilmember Eric Dinowitz; Mark Treyger, head of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York; Eric Goldstein, CEO of the UJA-Federation of New York; and Miriam Elman, head of the Academic Engagement Network, among others — called for CUNY to amend its student code of conduct…

Responding to a video that purports to show the Syrian Army chanting in support of Gaza amid celebrations on the anniversary of the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad, Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli wrote on social media, “War is inevitable.” The Trump administration has been working to deescalate tensions between Jerusalem and Damascus…

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana met with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on the Hill today where the two “officially launched their effort to rally Speakers and Presidents of Parliaments around the world to join them in nominating President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2026,” according to a joint statement. 

Ohana also met with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, also visiting Capitol Hill, met with Fetterman and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch (R-ID)… 

The bilateral meetings continued overseas as well: Mike Waltz and Danny Danon, the U.S. and Israeli ambassadors to the U.N., respectively, continued their joint visit to Israel today with stops at Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, the Kerem Shalom humanitarian aid crossing into Gaza and the U.S.-led Civil Military Coordination Center in Kiryat Gat. They also held a meeting with the family of Ran Gvili, the last deceased hostage still held in Gaza…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for reporting on U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack’s off-message comments on the Middle East putting him at odds with Washington.

On the Hill, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will host the Congressional Menorah Lighting, with remarks from Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad).

 The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing titled “Understanding Judea and Samaria: Historical, strategic, and political dynamics in U.S.-Israel relations,” with speakers including Eugene Kontorovich, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation; Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America; and Jon Alterman, chair in global security and geostrategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Elsewhere in Washington, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar will meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Also taking place downtown, the Aspen Security Forum will hold its Washington meeting featuring remarks from Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA), Reps. Jason Crow (D-CO), Mike Turner (R-OH), John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL); Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal; NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska; and representatives from the Heritage Foundation, American Jewish Committee and American Enterprise Institute, among others.

Across the river, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington will host the Virginia edition of its annual “Lox and Legislators” breakfast, headlined by Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA).

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Dec. 29 at the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. 

Netanyahu is expected to depart Israel for what will be his fifth meeting with Trump in the U.S. this year on Dec. 28 and return on Jan. 3, meaning that the prime minister will begin 2026 stateside. Palm Beach is the only expected stop during the trip, according to Israeli media. 

The agenda for the end-of-year meeting has not been announced, though it is likely to cover implementation of the second phase of Trump’s peace plan, Hezbollah’s rearmament in Lebanon and efforts to reach a potential security agreement in Syria…

As 2025 winds down and we head into a midterm election year, headlines abound on the campaign trail: Sam Rasoul, a Palestinian American Virginia state delegate with a history of inflammatory anti-Israel rhetoric, announced today that he is considering running for Congress in 2026, pending the outcome of a redistricting effort in the state, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports.

Rasoul, a Roanoke Democrat who chairs the Education Committee in the House of Delegates, came under fire from prominent Jewish Democrats in the state earlier this year for a series of posts on social media, including ones in which he claimed “Zionism has proven how evil our society can be” and that Zionism is a “supremacist ideology created to destroy and conquer everything and everyone in its way.”

In a fundraising email announcing his intention to formally explore a congressional run, Rasoul made his opposition to Israel a central part of his pitch. “Virginians are looking for bold, experienced, progressive leadership that meets this moment and delivers results by … ending all military aid to Israel, which has waged a genocide in Gaza using our taxpayer dollars in violation of American law,” Rasoul wrote…

In Texas, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) filed paperwork to run for the Senate this afternoon, just hours ahead of the state’s deadline. She’s set to hold a press conference this evening formally announcing her candidacy.

The progressive lawmaker, seen as a tough sell for a general election in a solidly Republican state, hopes to take the seat of Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who is facing his own high-stakes primary. But first, Crockett will need to prevail in the Democratic primary against state Rep. James Talarico, considered a rising star in the party, who raised over $6 million in the first few weeks after his launch in September and has taken a critical view of Israel in his campaign.

Anticipating Crockett’s entry into the race, former Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) announced this morning he’s switching his candidacy from the Senate to Texas’ newly drawn 33rd Congressional District, which he used to represent parts of in the House. He’ll now face a primary against Rep. Julie Johnson (D-TX), who is running in the 33rd after her seat in the neighboring district was redrawn…

In Colorado, far-left candidates are lining up to take on establishment Democrats: Denver-area state Sen. Julie Gonzales, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, launched a primary challenge to Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) today, and Melat Kiros, an attorney who was fired in 2023 for criticizing her own firm in anti-Israel social media posts, secured the Justice Democrats’ backing last week for a primary bid against Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO)…

Hill watchers are waiting to see when Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) will host members of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party, which she said on social media last month would be happening in December… 

Politico’s Ian Ward discusses the intra-MAGA movement to turn the Republican Party away from Israel with the figures leading the charge: Curt Mills, editor of The American Conservative; former Trump advisor Steve Bannon; podcasters Tucker Carlson and Dave Smith; and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).

Mills said “he sometimes feels like a moderate compared to some of the Gen-Z conservatives. ‘They’re hardcore,’ Mills told me. ‘Frankly, some of them are so radicalized that they are, like, openly sympathetic to Hamas, which [they see as] close to pure freedom fighters’”…

On that note, a new survey by the Yale Youth Poll found that younger voters, and especially the conservatives among them, hold overwhelmingly more critical views of Israel and of the Jewish people than older generations, JI’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports. 

In a list of antisemitic statements — including “Jews in the United States are more loyal to Israel than to America,” “It’s appropriate to boycott Jewish American-owned businesses to protest the war in Gaza” and “Jews in the United States have too much power” — 70% of respondents overall disagreed with all three; however, only 57% of 18-22-year-olds and 60% of 23-29-year-olds said the same. 

Among those ages 18-34 who self-identified in their responses as “extremely conservative,” a sizeable majority of 64% said they agreed with at least one of the listed statements, far more than any other subgroup of younger voters — 38% of 18-34-year-olds overall said the same, already a notable minority…

The newly merged Paramount Skydance launched a hostile takeover bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery today, after Netflix announced it had acquired the media giant last week. Paramount said in an initial press statement that its bid — which values Warner Bros. around $108 billion, compared to the Netflix deal, which valued it around $83 billion — was backed by the Ellison family (David Ellison co-founded Oracle, while his son, David, runs Paramount) and investment firm RedBird Capital. However, a securities filing shows the bid is also backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the Emirati-owned L’imad Holding Company, the Qatar Investment Authority and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for updates on executive and legislative efforts to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. 

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Bolivian Foreign Minister Fernando Armayo will hold a signing ceremony in Washington tomorrow for an agreement to renew diplomatic relations between the two countries, which have been largely frozen since 2009.

The Jerusalem Post will kick off its conference on Capitol Hill, with a theme of “The U.S.-Israel Strategic Alliance: Security, Technology, and Strengthening Ties with American Jewry.” Headlining the two-day event are Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder, several Israeli officials and U.S. lawmakers.

Nearby, B’nai B’rith International is marking the 50th anniversary of the infamous U.N. resolution equating Zionism with racism on the Hill. Israeli President Isaac Herzog will address the gathering by video, along with remarks by B’nai B’rith CEO Dan Mariaschin, historian Gil Troy, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Ben Cohen and former Rep. Ileana Ros Lehtinen (R-FL).

On everyone’s minds and calendars: The yearly Washington-area holiday party scramble begins this week. Tomorrow evening, the Jewish Democratic Council of America will host its fourth annual Hanukkah party and the Vandenberg Coalition will hold its holiday party.

• In Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District today, Republican Matt Van Epps and Democrat Aftyn Behn face off in the special election to replace Rep. Mark Green (R-TN), who resigned over the summer. More below.
• In Washington, the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates is holding its annual National Day celebration.
• Elsewhere in Washington, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is hosting the premiere of “The Last Twins,” a documentary about the efforts of Erno “Zvi” Spiegel, a Hungarian Jewish man and prisoner at Auschwitz who protected twins imprisoned at the concentration camp.
• Israel Hayom is holding its first New York summit today in Manhattan. Speakers include the Israeli daily’s publisher Dr. Miriam Adelson, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz, outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams, U.S. Special Envoy for Hostage Response Adam Boehler, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder, TWG Global managing partner and former Biden administration senior official Amos Hochstein, the Justice Department’s Harmeet Dhillon and former hostages Guy Gilboa Dallal and Evyatar David.
• The Combat Antisemitism Movement is holding its 2025 North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism in New Orleans.
• In Miami, Art Basel kicks off today and runs through the weekend.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S Josh Kraushaar

Today’s special election in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District — covering parts of Nashville, its conservative suburbs and rural counties in middle Tennessee — was expected to be a sleepy affair, given that the district backed President Donald Trump with 60% of the vote in 2024. The state’s aggressively partisan redistricting in 2021 was intended to guarantee GOP dominance of the state’s congressional delegation, leaving just one Democratic district in Memphis.

But in a sign that Trump’s growing unpopularity is creating unforeseen problems for Republicans in conservative constituencies, the race between Republican military veteran Matt Van Epps, a former state Cabinet secretary, and Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn is highly competitive. 

The fact that polls show the race tightening — with one Emerson College poll showing Van Epps in a statistical tie with Behn — is a sign of just how treacherous the political landscape has become for Republicans. Gallup’s latest survey found Trump with a 36% job approval, close to an all-time low throughout his two terms in office.  

If Republicans are nervous about holding a seat that Trump won by 22 points, there’s a growing likelihood of a blue wave that would give Democrats comfortable control of the House and an outside shot at a Senate majority. (One useful benchmark: Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) carried the 7th District by just two points in her 2018 Senate race, the last election year when Democrats rode a wave to win back the House.)

The fact that Republicans are struggling to make the case that the unapologetically progressive Behn holds views out of step with the conservative district on everything from anti-police rhetoric to antipathy towards her home city of Nashville to a record of hostility against Israel is also a sign of how nationalized our politics have become. In today’s tribal world, candidate quality and specific policy views mean a lot less than the overall political mood (vibes) and the popularity of the president.

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

Target on Their Backs: The New Yorker’s Benjamin Wallace-Wells spotlights the rise in political violence targeting U.S. officials on both sides of the aisle, including the Passover firebombing of the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion targeting Gov. Josh Shapiro. “[Cody] Balmer had pleaded guilty in mid-October, not just to arson and terrorism but to attempted murder. But Shapiro was still reluctant to focus on his attacker. ‘The prosecutor felt it was important to introduce into evidence the bomber’s claims that he did that because of “what I did to the Palestinians,” so clearly there was some motivation because of my faith,’ Shapiro said. ‘But I think it is dangerous for you or anyone else to think about those who perpetrate these violent attacks as linear thinkers, meaning that they have a left-wing ideology or a right-wing ideology, or that they have a firm set of beliefs the way you might or I might. These are clearly irrational thinkers. And I think that’s true of others who have claimed lives, whether it’s [Minnesota] Speaker [Melissa] Hortman’s or Charlie Kirk’s.’” [NewYorker]

Bearing Arms: The Atlantic’s Isaac Stanley-Becker reports on Germany’s moves to rebuild its offensive military capabilities amid concerns over increased Russian aggression on the Continent and moves by Washington toward neo-isolationism. “[Colonel Dennis] Krüger told me about traveling to Tel Aviv to fine-tune a missile-defense system purchased from the Israelis that can intercept and destroy long-range ballistic missiles in space. … For decades, Germany has been a top exporter of arms to Israel, its commitment to the security of the Jewish state a legacy of the Holocaust. Arrow 3, the largest defense deal in Israeli history, reverses that logic by making Israel a guarantor of German safety. Krüger said that work on the weapons system turned representatives from the two militaries into a ‘family,’ and that they built camaraderie when his staff waited out missile attacks in Tel Aviv’s belowground shelters with their Israeli counterparts. The weapons acquisition from Israel is ‘one next step,’ Krüger said, ‘in overcoming our history.’” [TheAtlantic]

Following a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump called on Jerusalem to “maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria” and warned Israel to avoid scenarios “that will interfere with Syria’s evolution into a prosperous State”…

U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, the U.S.’ Syria envoy, met in Damascus on Monday with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in an effort to calm tensions between Syria and Israel following weekend clashes…

Politico looks at concerns among Republican Jewish donors over increasing antisemitism on the right…

Sam Altman’s OpenAI is taking an ownership stake in Josh Kushner’s Thrive Holdings and will integrate its AI tools into Thrive’s companies, which were acquired with an eye toward consolidating them and incorporating AI into their processes; Thrive had previously invested billions of dollars in OpenAI… 

Private equity firm Apax Partners acquired Israeli online marketplace Yad2 for $950 million…

Harvard hired a recent divinity school graduate who was filmed in late 2023 assaulting a Jewish student at a “die-in” at the Cambridge campus…

The New York Times spotlights Eli Zabar’s egg salad sandwich…

Israeli filmmaker Rachel Elitzur interviews religious Jewish couples about their first night of marriage in her short documentary “The First Night”…

The Norwegian government is struggling to reach a consensus on issues regarding oil drilling and Oslo’s sovereign wealth fund’s investments in Israel in its draft budget for the coming year ahead of a vote scheduled for Friday…

A synagogue and memorial in Rome to a 2-year-old Jewish victim of terror were vandalizedearlier this week, drawing condemnations from the city’s Jewish community and Italy’s foreign minister, who called the vandalism “unacceptable”…

Colombia expelled more than two dozen members of the Lev Tahor sect, including 17 children, after a raid on the hotel in which they were staying…

Israel’s Iron Beam system, which intercepts missiles with lasers, will be delivered to the IDF for initial operational use at the end of the month, Brig.-Gen. (res.) Daniel Gold, head of the Israeli Ministry of Defense Research and Development Directorate, said at the International DefenseTech Summit at Tel Aviv University on Monday, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports… 

Iran sentenced award-winning filmmaker Jafar Panahi to a year in prison in absentia; Panahi, whose “It Was Just an Accident” won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, is currently in the U.S. promoting the film…

The Sudanese Armed Forces offered Russia a 25-year naval base deal along the East African coast that, if Moscow accepts, would be its first position in Africa…

Apollo Global Management CEO and UJA-Federation of New York Board Chair Marc Rowan was honored with the Gustave L. Levy Award last night at the 50th UJA-Federation Wall Street Dinner in Manhattan.

Referencing New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s comments regarding the recent protests outside an aliyah event at the Park East Synagogue, Rowan declared Mamdani an “enemy” of the Jewish community, vowing that his organization would “call him out.” 

Read more from eJewishPhilantropy’s Nira Dayanim here.