Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Previewing his State of the Union address tonight, where it remains to be seen if he will make any announcements on Iran, President Donald Trump told reporters, “Iran wants to make a deal more than I do, but they just won’t say the sacred phrase: ‘We won’t build nuclear weapons,’” signaling that the two sides are still at an impasse ahead of the third round of negotiations scheduled for Thursday…

Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed the congressional Gang of Eight, the bipartisan set of leaders advised on classified matters by the executive branch, this afternoon to provide an update on Iran, with CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly joining the discussion. The White House did not brief the group before striking Iran last June, drawing ire from Democrats…

Ahead of the meeting, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told C-SPAN about potential Iran strikes, “Closed-door briefings are fine, but the administration has to make its case to the American people on something as important as this”…

Around a dozen U.S. F-22 stealth fighter jets departed from the U.K. today to be deployed at an Israeli Air Force base in the south of the country, as over 150 aircraft are being moved to the region. Military experts told The Washington Post that the “assets being assembled are indicative of a multiday campaign without a ground invasion”…

The Coast Guard is investigating a swastika drawn at its primary recruit training center in New Jersey, where Coast Guard commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday quickly flew to address recruits and staff about the incident. Lunday recently came under fire from Congress, and had his confirmation delayed, over a change in Coast Guard policy that downgraded the swastika from a prohibited hate symbol to “potentially divisive,” which was eventually walked back.

Regarding the recent incident, Lunday said in a statement to The Washington Post, “Anyone who adheres to or advances hate or extremist ideology — get out. Leave. You don’t belong in the United States Coast Guard and we reject you”…

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) is pushing for legislation to require an affirmative congressional vote prior to the U.S. reaching any nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports, following a notification from the administration to Congress indicating that it is moving toward a deal that could allow Riyadh to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.

The notification procedures, which do not include specific terms of a potential deal, suggest that Saudi Arabia will not be required to agree to more intrusive International Atomic Energy Agency inspections or “gold standard” safeguards — which would require Saudi Arabia to agree not to enrich or reprocess nuclear material — used for the U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates…

The Justice Department sued the University of California today under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination, alleging that the UCLA campus created a “hostile work environment against Jewish and Israeli faculty and staff.” 

During campus anti-Israel protests in 2024, the DOJ said, “the University allowed antisemitic harassment to continue unabated for days” and “has ignored, and continues to ignore, gross and repeated violations” of time, place and manner restrictions on student protest. The department further claimed Jewish and Israeli faculty at the school have been physically threatened, ostracized, harassed, forced to take leave and assaulted…

The New York Times details efforts by New York’s business community and Democratic establishment to organize and promote the moderate wing of the party in response to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rise to power. Some of the individuals involved, including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo allies Phil Singer and Steven Cohen, are considering forming PACs, watchdog groups, lobbying campaigns and more…

New York’s Working Families Party endorsed Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) yesterday over Mamdani’s objections. The mayor has been backing Assemblymember Claire Valdez, who, like Mamdani, is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and a vocal critic of Israel, and he had lobbied the WFP to endorse her or to stay out of the race. WFP’s director, Jasmine Gripper, told the Times, “At the end of the day, Zohran is an individual who gets to weigh in as an individual”…

A new poll from the University of New Hampshire found oyster farmer Graham Platner with a commanding lead among likely Senate Democratic primary voters, outdistancing Gov. Janet Mills by 34 points, with the primary less than four months away. In a general election matchup with incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Platner leads Collins by 11 points, while Mills and Collins are neck-and-neck…

Khalid Turaani, executive director of the Ohio branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), testified at the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee last week against a bill to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, where he claimed that Israel operates the world’s largest human skin bank and harvests the skin from deceased Palestinians. “And if I call them Nazis,” Turaani continued, “your law is going to punish me.”

The Anti-Defamation League’s Ohio River Valley office condemned Turaani’s speech, saying that the “antisemitic organ harvesting myth plays on the blood libel trope, which has spurred the torture, murder, and expulsion of Jews for centuries”…

The U.S. Embassy in Israel announced that, as part of the government’s “efforts to reach all Americans,” the embassy will be providing consular services for one day only at several locations across Israel and the West Bank, including Ramallah and the Jewish settlement of Efrat…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for the highlights from President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, taking place at 9 p.m. ET tonight, as all eyes are on possible U.S. military action against Iran.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Israel tomorrow, where he will be greeted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before addressing the Knesset. In the evening, the two leaders will have dinner at Jerusalem’s King David Hotel. Read JI’s interview on Modi’s visit with Israeli Ambassador to India Reuven Azar.

The New York City Council will hold its first hearing on Council Speaker Julie Menin’s bill aiming to create “buffer zones” around houses of worship to protect from disruptive protests. The bill’s language was updated last night to remove the original 100-foot figure, which had reportedly emerged as a point of concern for the NYPD.

Congressional candidates from Illinois’ 9th District, where pro-Israel spending is boosting state Sen. Laura Fine and attacking Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, will hold a debate on local news. 

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again voiced skepticism about the U.S.’ ability to reach an agreement with Iran as he departed Joint Base Andrews today, reports Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov, who is traveling with the prime minister’s delegation.

A day after his White House meeting with President Donald Trump, Netanyahu told reporters, “The president thinks the Iranians understand who they’re dealing with. He thinks the conditions he is setting, combined with their understanding that they made a mistake last time not reaching a deal, could bring them to agree to conditions that will allow a good deal to be reached.”

The prime minister’s view was more reserved: “I do not hide my general skepticism about the possibility of any deal with Iran.” Netanyahu said he told Trump that if a deal is indeed reached, “it must include the components that are important to us, the State of Israel, and, I think, the entire international community: not just the nuclear matter, but also ballistic missiles and Iranian proxies in the region.”

The Prime Minister’s Office also said Netanyahu will not be returning to Washington next week as scheduled, in order to speak at an AIPAC conference, and will instead appear virtually…

At a press conference this afternoon, Trump said the timeline for a potential deal with Iran is “over the next month … should happen quickly.” Asked why Netanyahu wants him to stop negotiating, Trump said, “He didn’t say that, we didn’t discuss that. I’ll talk to [Iran] as long as I like.” Trump additionally said Israeli President Isaac Herzog “should be ashamed of himself” and called him “disgraceful” for not issuing a pardon to Netanyahu…

The Trump administration smuggled around 6,000 Starlink terminals, used to establish internet connection, to activists in Iran during the regime’s violent suppression of nationwide protests, which included internet blackouts, U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal…

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his team refused to condemn antisemitic and pro-Hamas social media posts from the co-founder of the group ‘Hot Girls for Zohran’ when pressed by JI’s Will Bredderman and other reporters today.

Speaking from City Hall, Mamdani would only stress that Gilani’s organization operated independently of his official election effort: “This was an individual leading an outside group and was never paid for by our campaign,” said Mamdani. “If New Yorkers want to know my views then they can hear it directly from me.

But when JI pressed the mayor directly whether he condemned the content of Gilani’s posts, he refused to respond and left the room, similar to how he fled questions on the matter from Politico on Wednesday…

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) urged the Trump administration today to investigate reports that a clique of radical staffers at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene had launched an anti-Israel “working group” inside the agency, JI’s Will Bredderman reports.

In a letter addressed to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Stefanik decried reports that employees had met during work hours at the city bureaucracy’s Queens headquarters. She raised the possibility that the department’s federal funding might have gone toward a prohibited political purpose — or that the gathering may have violated civil rights protections by creating a discriminatory environment for Jewish New Yorkers…

The nomination of Jeremy Carl, tapped to be the assistant secretary of state for international organizations, appears bound to fail after Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) announced his opposition to Carl’s confirmation following his contentious hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this morning, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

Curtis and a series of Democrats questioned Carl over past antisemitic, anti-Israel and otherwise inflammatory comments that the nominee had made online and in a series of podcast appearances, including his assertion that the U.S. spends too much time and energy on Israel “often to the detriment of our own national interest” and that “the Jews love to see themselves as oppressed”…

CENTCOM announced today it had completed a “deliberate and conditions-based” withdrawal of U.S. forces from al-Tanf Garrison in Syria, handing control of the site on the country’s border with Iraq and Jordan to forces aligned with the Syrian government. The U.S. has had a presence at the base since 2016 as part of its fight against ISIS; over 7,000 ISIS detainees are also being transitioned out of Syria into Iraq, while the U.S. troops were relocated to Jordan…

Germany joined the growing calls today for U.N. Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese to resign, after France did the same yesterday, over her recent speech at the Al Jazeera Forum where she called Israel humanity’s “common enemy.” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul wrote on X, “I respect the system of independent rapporteurs of the UN. However, Ms. Albanese has already repeatedly failed in the past. I condemn her recent statements about Israel. She is untenable in her position”…

Israeli authorities arrested several people, and indicted one army reservist and one civilian, for allegedly using classified information to place bets on the popular prediction market Polymarket around the timing of Israel’s war with Iran last June, the Shin Bet announced today. The bets all correctly predicted the timeline of the strikes, raking in more than $150,000, Israeli media reported…

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 the race to succeed Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, where the congresswoman is coming out forcefully against the lone Jewish candidate in the race — for being too supportive of Netanyahu.

The Munich Security Conference kicks off tomorrow, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio leading the U.S. delegation and speaking from the main stage on Saturday. Dozens of members of Congress were also expected to attend — official travel was canceled due to the impending shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security tomorrow, but members still may attend on their own. One member making a foray into foreign policy is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who will be speaking on two panels at the high-level summit. Other Democrats in attendance will be California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

In observance of President’s Day, we’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Tuesday. Shabbat Shalom!

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The U.S. will continue pursuing diplomacy with Iran, President Donald Trump said following his White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier today, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports. 

“There was nothing definitive reached” in the meeting “other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue, to see whether or not a deal can be consummated,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference.”

If negotiations do not lead to a deal, the president added, “we will just have to see what the outcome will be. Last time, Iran decided they were better off not making a deal, and they were hit with [Operation] Midnight Hammer. That did not work out well for them. Hopefully, this time, they will be more reasonable and responsible.”

Netanyahu’s office said about the meeting, “The prime minister stood up for the State of Israel’s security needs in the context of the negotiations, and the two agreed to continue to coordinate closely”…

Even as Trump insists diplomacy will continue, the Pentagon has told a second aircraft carrier strike group to prepare for deployment to the Middle East, The Wall Street Journal reports, to join the USS Abraham Lincoln along with dozens of U.S. aircraft and other warships…

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of 23 senators, spanning the political and ideological spectrums, introduced a resolution today condemning the Iranian government for its crackdown on protesters and attempts to cut off internet access across the country, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

“Iranian civilians’ unprecedented nationwide protests and bravery, confronted with the regime’s unprecedented widespread extrajudicial killing of thousands and disruption of all electronic communication, have profoundly destabilized the country and constitute changed conditions in Iran,” the resolution reads, highlighting that the regime’s suppression and killing of protesters continues… 

The Trump administration expects to be able to announce several billion dollars in donations for Gaza reconstruction at the Board of Peace’s inaugural meeting in Washington next week, The Times of Israel reports, even as it is still working on a proposal to disarm Hamas. That plan so far reportedly envisions Hamas relinquishing its heavy weapons and destroying manufacturing sites, without fully addressing lighter arms…

Conservative activist Carrie Prejean Boller was removed from the White House’s Religious Liberty Commission today, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports, two days after the commission held its first public hearing on antisemitism, which turned contentious when Prejean Boller pressed Jewish witnesses about whether they would consider her antisemitic for not being a Zionist and for believing Jews killed Jesus.

“No member of the Commission has the right to hijack a hearing for their own personal and political agenda on any issue,” Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who chairs the commission, wrote in a post on X. “This is clearly, without question, what happened Monday in our hearing on antisemitism in America. This was my decision”…

France is calling for the resignation of U.N. Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced today, after Albanese called Israel humanity’s “common enemy” in a speech at the Al Jazeera Forum in Qatar over the weekend.

“France unreservedly condemns the outrageous and reprehensible remarks made by Francesca Albanese, which are directed not at the Israeli government, whose policies may be criticized, but at Israel as a people and as a nation, which is absolutely unacceptable,” Barrot said in remarks to lawmakers. Her latest comments add “to a long list of scandalous positions,” including “justifying” the Oct. 7 attacks and “comparing Israel to the Third Reich,” he said…

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced legislation seeking oversight into the hundreds of millions of dollars in Venezuelan oil proceeds that the U.S. has acquired, some of which officials have said is being held in an account in Qatar…

New York City’s only Ethiopian-Israeli restaurant is closing its doors to diners, Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports, and turning only to private events over rising anti-Israel harassment, which the owner, Beejhy Barhany, said escalated after the restaurant became kosher in February 2024…

The Department of Homeland Security hired a social media manager who had raised red flags at his previous position at the Department of Labor posting messaging that echoed white nationalist sentiments on official social media accounts, The New York Times reports.

Those posts “used evocative imagery, some reminiscent of the 1920s and 1930s, with phrases like ‘Restore American Greatness’ and ‘the globalist status quo is OVER.’ … Colleagues warned superiors that the department’s accounts could be seen as promoting white-supremacist rhetoric, Nazi imagery and QAnon conspiracy theories”…

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 Jason Friedman, a longtime Chicago Jewish federation leader making a bid for Illinois’ open 7th Congressional District.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a nomination hearing for conservative commentator Jeremy Carl to serve as assistant secretary of state for international organizations. Schumer denounced Carl and his nomination on the Senate floor this week, “citing Carl’s long history of racist, white supremacist, and antisemitic views.”

Sinai Temple in Los Angeles will host a summit tomorrow on faith and sports, ahead of NBA All-Star weekend taking place in the city. The convening will feature several NBA athletes, coaches and faith and civic leaders.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump is considering sending a second aircraft carrier group to the Middle East as a contingency if negotiations with Iran fail, he told Axios today. “Either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough like last time,” the president said, adding, “We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going.”

Still, Trump expressed optimism that Tehran “wants to make a deal very badly” and said the negotiations are “very different” since he authorized strikes last June on Iran’s nuclear facilities. He also said he doesn’t think Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is en route to Washington for his Wednesday meeting with Trump, is nervous about the negotiations, stating Netanyahu “also wants a deal. He wants a good deal”…

Trump also reiterated his opposition to West Bank annexation, days after Israel’s Security Cabinet voted to expand Israeli authorities in the area. “I am against annexation. We have enough things to think about now. We don’t need to be dealing with the West Bank,” he told Axios. While Trump’s meeting with Netanyahu tomorrow will ostensibly focus on Iran, the latest Israeli moves could drive a wedge between the two leaders…

On the campaign trail, former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) conceded the race for New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District to far-left activist Analilia Mejia today, after outstanding ballots broke decisively in her favor over the weekend. 

In his statement, Malinowski, the presumed favorite who was the target of over $2 million of ads by the AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project super PAC, claimed that “the outcome of this race cannot be understood without also taking into account the massive flood of dark money that AIPAC spent on dishonest ads” attacking him. He warned, “If AIPAC backs a candidate — openly or surreptitiously — in the June NJ-11 Congressional primary, I will oppose that candidate and urge my supporters to do so as well.”

Mejia was congratulated by New Jersey Democratic leaders including Sens. Andy Kim and Cory Booker and Gov. Mikie Sherrill, though it remains to be seen if she will retain their support in the June primary when she must run for the Democratic nomination again if she hopes to retain the office for a full term…

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) officially launched her reelection campaign today for her seat which Democrats likely need to flip if they hope to take back the chamber. Collins, who has been targeted by Trump due to her occasional votes across the aisle, will likely face either Maine Gov. Janet Mills or oyster farmer Graham Platner in the general, after they battle it out in a hotly contested primary…

New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado dropped his primary challenge to Gov. Kathy Hochul today, whom he had hoped to beat out in her reelection race from the left. The move comes after several progressive leaders, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, endorsed Hochul, which Delgado alluded to in his statement: “After much consideration, I’ve concluded that there simply is no viable path forward. And though my campaign has come to an end, I fully intend to do all I can in our effort to build a more humane, affordable, and equitable state that serves all New Yorkers”…

The Washington Free Beacon details several Mamdani administration staffers with a history of comments defaming Israel, including one who called Israel a “modern-day Nazi Germany” and one who called people ripping down posters of Israeli hostages “heroes”…

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, condemned rhetoric from the leader of the state Democratic Party’s Muslim Caucus, Elyas Mohammed, in a statement shared exclusively with JI’s Matthew Kassel. Mohammed recently described Zionists as “modern day Nazis” and as a “threat to humanity,” among other incendiary social media posts.

“Antisemitic comments and conspiracy theories have no place anywhere, including in the North Carolina Democratic Party,” the governor said, after the leaders of several prominent Jewish groups in the state sent a joint letter urging Democratic officials and lawmakers to publicly denounce Mohammed’s statements…

Columbia University is considering expanding and refocusing how its Middle Eastern studies department teaches about Israel, JI’s Haley Cohen reports. The provost’s regional review committee announced a set of recommendations this week for the department, including a stronger partnership with the school’s Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, marking a pivot in a field and at a school that have come under immense scrutiny from the federal government and Jewish leaders following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks…

Shaare Tefila, a Conservative congregation in Olney, Md., in the Washington suburbs, was defaced with antisemitic graffiti today, JI’s Haley Cohen reports. A swastika, the word “genocide” and the phrase “AZAB,” an acronym standing for “All Zionists Are Bastards,” were spray-painted on street signs and banners outside the synagogue.

Ron Halber, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, called the act “outrageous. While it is fortunate that no one was physically hurt, it is yet another sad reminder that antisemitic incidents have become common occurrences throughout our region,” he said…

Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, said the Justice Department intends to pursue and ultimately shut down groups that have engaged in disruptive protests at synagogues and other antisemitic activities, as well as those supporting those groups, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

Speaking today at a conference on antisemitism organized by The George Washington University Program on Extremism, Dhillon said her division’s work includes pursuing those funding, training and supporting groups such as American Muslims for Palestine and the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which she said are engaging in “acts of domestic terrorism”…

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 bilateral meeting with President Donald Trump tomorrow at the White House, as the Israeli PM seeks to provide input on U.S. negotiations with Iran.

The House Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on the potential impacts of a Department of Homeland Security shutdown, which looks likely as lawmakers struggle to reach a deal before its funding runs out on Friday.

The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on oversight of the Department of Justice with Attorney General Pam Bondi.

American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch will speak at New York City’s Temple Emanu-El on the organization’s annual State of Antisemitism in America survey, released today.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The IDF announced this morning it had identified the remains of the final deceased hostage, Ran Gvili, in Gaza and is returning them to Israel for burial, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports, marking the end of the hostage crisis that had gripped Israel and world Jewry for nearly 850 days in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.

Beyond the hostages taken on Oct. 7, Gvili’s return means that no Israelis — living or deceased — are being held by terror groups in Gaza for the first time since 2014.

While the IDF uncovered Gvili’s body in a Muslim cemetery where Hamas had buried it, President Donald Trump told Axios that the terror group “worked very hard to get the body back. They were working with Israel on it. You can imagine how hard it was.” 

“Now we have to disarm Hamas like they promised,” Trump continued, as the parties move into Phase 2 of his peace deal. For its part, Israel announced it will reopen the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza in a “limited” capacity later this week.

Remarking on Gvili’s return, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt added at a press conference this afternoon that “more than 20 new, additional countries have also signed up to join the newly established Board of Peace,” without naming the additions…

The New York Times lays out the latest developments in U.S.-Iran tensions, as American military assets reach the region and Iranian officials, as well as Iranian proxy terror groups, intensify their threats against the U.S. and Israel. 

Joe Kent, the director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, has warned Iraqi officials that if Iranian-backed militias in Iraq were to strike U.S. troops, the U.S. would retaliate, according to the Times…

Trump told Axios that the situation in regards to Iran is “in flux” but that the U.S. has “a big armada next to Iran. Bigger than Venezuela.” Still, the president left the possibility of diplomacy with Tehran open: “They want to make a deal. I know so. They called on numerous occasions. They want to talk”…

Despite the ongoing tensions, the Trump administration deported about a dozen Iranians back to Tehran yesterday, CNN reports. It’s the third such deportation flight to Iran during Trump’s second term, and the first since the regime began its violent crackdown on protesters…

Elsewhere in the region, Israeli and Lebanese officials were hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Jordan over the weekend to discuss “steps needed for a more peaceful and prosperous region,” according to the U.S. Embassy in Beirut…

Several leading Jewish and pro-Israel advocacy groups are expressing concerns about the impact of the recent rise in antisemitic and Islamist messaging out of Saudi Arabia, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports, as the Gulf kingdom’s rhetoric is increasingly raising questions about its standing as a reliable U.S. ally in the region.

Among other groups, the Anti-Defamation League said in a sharply worded social media statement last week that it was “alarmed by the increasing frequency and volume of prominent Saudi voices — analysts, journalists and preachers — using openly antisemitic dog whistles and aggressively pushing anti-Abraham Accords rhetoric, often while peddling conspiracy theories about ‘Zionist plots’”…

Turning to the U.S., progressive operative Waleed Shahid announced today that he will assume the newly created role of deputy communications director of economic justice in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office, JI’s Will Bredderman, joining us to cover New York City Hall, reports.

Shahid, the former spokesperson for Justice Democrats, was also a leader in the 2024 Uncommitted movement, which sought to deny support to former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris over the Biden administration’s support for Israel following the Oct. 7 attacks, and served as an advisor to former Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY)…

After the fatal shooting of a man by ICE officers in Minneapolis this weekend, Gov. Tim Walz compared immigration enforcement activities in Minnesota to Anne Frank’s persecution by the Nazis, drawing condemnation from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Many of us grew up reading that story of Anne Frank. Someone’s going to write that children’s story about Minnesota,” Walz said at a press conference yesterday.

Without referencing Walz or ICE, the USHMM responded in a statement today: “Anne Frank was targeted and murdered solely because she was Jewish. Leaders making false equivalencies to her experience for political purposes is never acceptable. Despite tensions in Minneapolis, exploiting the Holocaust is deeply offensive, especially as antisemitism surges”…

Israeli comedian Guy Hochman, whose New York City show was canceled last week amid protests by pro-Hamas groups, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about becoming an “international flashpoint” after his subsequent show in Beverly Hills, Calif., was also canceled and his visa to perform in Canada was revoked. 

“I’m not a politician. I’m a comedian. A very Zionist comedian. But it’s terrible to see it happening. But I am not giving up and I’m not giving in. I will not give them the pleasure. But I am getting a lot of threats on my life. I know there’s a big difference between us, but I don’t want to be the Israeli Charlie Kirk,” Hochman said…

Rapper Kanye West took out a full-page ad in today’s print edition of The Wall Street Journal apologizing for his erratic, and often antisemitic, behavior in recent years, claiming his actions stemmed from a brain injury sustained years ago that amplified his bipolar disorder. 

“In that fractured state, I gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, and even sold T-shirts bearing it,” West wrote in the ad. “I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change. It does not excuse what I did though. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people”…

The Washington Post reportedly informed its staff on a Zoom call today that up to half of employees will be laid off, with the biggest cuts to its foreign and sports desks…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a profile of Deni Avdija, the Israeli NBA star making his triumphant return to Washington tomorrow as his current team, the Portland Trail Blazers, takes on his former team, the Wizards, during their Jewish Heritage Night game.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s new memoir, Where We Keep the Light, is out tomorrow. We’ll be taking a look at how Shapiro discusses Israel and Judaism in its pages, as the swing-state governor potentially seeks the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.

Marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, representatives of the U.S. and Israel will speak at the United Nations, and the Trump-Kennedy Center in Washington will host “Enduring Music: Compositions from the Holocaust,” a concert of music composed in ghettos and death camps.

Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli’s International Conference on Combating Antisemitism will continue with remarks from Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama (who addressed the Knesset today), former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, former New York City Mayor Eric Adams, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and more.

In Berlin, Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat will deliver remarks at the WELT Economic Summit, the annual European business and political confab organized by media conglomerate Axel Springer.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Before officials departed from Davos, Switzerland, today, the Trump administration undertook a big task: laying out its complete vision for the demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.

Jared Kushner, speaking after President Donald Trump’s remarks at his founding ceremony for the Board of Peace, presented the administration’s “demilitarization principles” meant to be implemented in the next 100 days, including the destruction of “heavy weapons, tunnels, military infrastructure, weapons production facilities and munitions.” 

The ultimate vision sees a completely overhauled Gaza including a port and a tourism zone along the Mediterranean coast, as well as large residential areas and industrial complexes, while retaining the IDF security perimeter. 

But “this deal only happened because … we all worked together to make this happen,” Kushner said, urging countries, including Israel, to put aside their differences to bring the plan to fruition. “I see people criticizing Israel, or Israel criticizing Turkey and Qatar. Just calm down and work together for 30 days”…

Meanwhile, several of the highest-profile attendees of the Board of Peace ceremony hustled to a private lunch, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports, including Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. Princess Reema Bandar Al Saud and Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who both spoke hopefully about the future of the Abraham Accords.

Also in the room: Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell and more…

The Wall Street Journal lays out the concerns of the Board of Peace holdouts — including China, Russia, France and Britain, who are wary of joining a body where they don’t hold a permanent veto and that seeks to replace the one where they do, at the U.N. Security Council. There’s also the issue of its broad mandate: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said today that European leaders could work with the board “if we narrow it down to Gaza like it was meant to be”…

The U.S. is weighing a complete withdrawal of its troops from Syria, the Journal also reports, shortly after Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s forces carried out a campaign against the Kurdish-led and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, ultimately ordering it to disband.

The U.S. has around 1,000 troops in the country, many of whom are co-located with the SDF, where they carry out missions against ISIS (SDF forces were in charge of guarding ISIS prisoners until last weekend). Recent events have led the U.S. to question the viability of its mission in Syria, American officials told the Journal…

Elsewhere in the region, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a stark warning to the U.S. and Israel, even as Trump said this morning that he’s open to diplomatic dialogue with Tehran. 

The IRGC and Iran “have their finger on the trigger, more prepared than ever, ready to carry out the orders and measures of” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “a leader dearer than their own lives,” Mohammad Pakpour said, as Iran issued its first official death toll of the protests, putting the number killed at 3,117…

Stateside, California state Sen. Scott Wiener, who is running for retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) seat, announced today that he is stepping down from his role as one of the co-chairs of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports, capping off nearly two weeks of controversy and frustration among Jewish leaders in the state after the San Francisco Democrat declared Israel’s actions in Gaza to be a genocide. 

Wiener said in a statement, which was obtained by JI, that the decision was prompted in part by the fallout of his genocide comments. “My campaign is accelerating, and my recent statements on Israel and Gaza have led to significant controversy in the Jewish community. The time to transition has arrived,” Wiener said. He will remain in the role until Feb. 15.

In an interview with Politico this week, Wiener said he’s heard from unhappy Jewish voters and leaders in the days after his comments, but asked them to remember his record. “If you’re mad at me, if you feel betrayed, I respect and honor that. But just also remember how many times I’ve gone to the mat for this community, and the bullets I’ve taken for this community,” Wiener said…

In a new ad released today, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), facing a serious primary challenge from his right, calls “radical Islam” a “bloodthirsty ideology” that has influenced recent terror attacks targeting Jews, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports.

“It fueled the unspeakable crimes on Oct. 7,” Cornyn says in the 30-second ad, called “Evil Face,” before citing the mass shooting last month during a Hanukkah gathering in Australia that was allegedly motivated by ISIS. “It showed its evil face again at Bondi Beach.”

The ad comes as Cornyn’s opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, has also made combating “radical Islamist terrorist groups” a priority, as he engages in a lawsuit with the Council on American-Islamic Relations…

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro further clarified the questions he was asked by Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign as he was vetted to be her running mate, in an interview airing this weekend on “CBS Sunday Morning.” “They actually asked if I was an agent [of the Israeli government] and if I had ever spoken to an undercover agent of the Israeli government,” he said, to which he pointed out that he wouldn’t necessarily be aware if he had spoken to someone undercover. 

“I think it went beyond just checking a box on a questionnaire,” Shapiro said of his perception of the questioning. “I can tell you that it landed on me in an offensive way. I have dedicated my entire adult life to serving this country. … For someone to question my loyalty, particularly as someone who is as open about his faith as he is, was offensive to me”…

The Department of Homeland Security said Columbia University graduate student and protest leader Mahmoud Khalil could be deported to Algeria, JI’s Haley Cohen reports, shortly after a federal appeals court ruled Khalil could be rearrested.

Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, said on NewsNation yesterday, “it looks like he’ll go to Algeria. That’s what the thought is right now. It’s a reminder for those who are in this country on a visa or on a green card. You are a guest in this country — act like it. It is a privilege, not a right, to be in this country to live or to study.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement that Khalil “is a New Yorker. He should remain in New York City.” He called the “attack” on Khalil “part of a larger attack on the freedom of speech that is especially pronounced when it comes to the use of that speech to stand up for Palestinian human rights. I will make that clear to everyone. He deserves to be in the city just like any other New Yorker”…

Australia’s main opposition coalition, composed of the Liberal and National parties, split yesterday — during the country’s day of mourning for the Hanukkah Bondi Beach massacre — over a disagreement about the government’s proposed hate speech laws, which were introduced as a response to the attack. The Liberal party voted with the government to adopt the reforms, which increase penalties for hate speech and ban groups who promote it, while the Nationals were opposed, citing concerns around free speech…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a rundown of the state of the race in Illinois’ 8th Congressional District, where former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL) is fending off far-left Israel detractors.

Over the weekend, the Trump administration’s focus will shift back from Gaza to Russia and Ukraine, as the countries hold trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, UAE, tomorrow and Saturday. White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and advisor Jared Kushner headed from the Board of Peace ceremony to Moscow earlier today. 

Diplomats and Jewish leaders will head to Jerusalem for the 2nd annual International Conference on Combating Antisemitism, hosted by Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, which kicks off Monday evening. Last year’s inaugural conference was mired in controversy over the inclusion of far-right European politicians, causing several leading Jewish figures to cancel their appearances (many of whom similarly do not appear on this year’s agenda).

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump took center stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this morning, and while headlines were dominated by his proclamations of the U.S.’ intent to acquire Greenland (and subsequent announcement that he and the NATO secretary general are coming to an agreement on the issue), Trump also issued a stark warning to Hamas in his remarks, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.

“Hamas has agreed to give up their weapons,” Trump told a packed room of attendees. “If they don’t do it, they’ll be blown away very quickly.” 

The president has made similar statements since the adoption of the ceasefire in October, though he laid out a more concrete timeline for his expectation of disarmament: “They’ve got to do it, and we’re going to know over the next two or three days, certainly over the next two or three weeks, whether or not they’re going to do it,” said Trump…

Ahead of the signing ceremony for the Board of Peace that Trump is hosting in Davos tomorrow, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar and the UAE issued a joint statement accepting his invitation to join. 

White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told Bloomberg News “20 or 25 leaders have already said yes” to attend the signing ceremony, despite other world leaders already having departed from Switzerland. “Everyone wants to be a part of this,” he said…

On the sidelines of the confab, Trump spoke with CNBC about U.S. relations with Iran amid heightened tensions and American military assets moving into the Gulf. “We hope there’s not going to be further [military] action, but they’re shooting people indiscriminately in the streets,” Trump said of the Iranian regime. 

Asked by host Joe Kernen, “Should we stay tuned in Iran?” Trump was noncommittal: “I guess — I mean, look, it’s a rough place,” he said. But he added that if Iran continues to try to acquire nuclear capabilities, strikes like those the U.S. and Israel carried out in June are “going to happen again.” 

Witkoff similarly told Bloomberg, “Iran needs to change its ways, they need to do that. And if they do, if they indicate they’re willing to do that, I think we can diplomatically settle this.” Asked if he has the sense that Iran wants to take the diplomatic path, Witkoff said, “We don’t have that sense yet”…

The Treasury Department issued sanctions today against six “Gaza-based organizations that claim to provide medical care to Palestinian civilians but in fact support the military wing of Hamas, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades,” the department said. “The fraudulent nature of these organizations, which use deception to raise funds from international donors, demonstrates Hamas’s perfidy and deprives innocent civilians of the medical care they need.”

The department also designated the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad as a terror group, a move that lawmakers have pushed, for “not only work[ing] with, and in support of, Hamas — it operates at Hamas’s behest.” The group, which claims to be a Palestinian advocacy organization, was designated as such by Israel in 2021 and was alleged to have organized recent anti-Israel flotillas…

Meanwhile in the Big Apple, divisions between New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Comptroller Mark Levine over their positions on Israel surfaced, as Mamdani pushed back on Levine’s recent statements that he remains committed to resuming the city’s investment in Israel Bonds. 

“I’ve made clear my position, which is that I don’t think that we should purchase Israel Bonds. We don’t purchase bonds for any other sovereign nation’s debt. The comptroller has also made his position clear, and I continue to stand by mine,” Mamdani said at a press conference today…

While he is distancing himself from Levine, Mamdani is presenting a united front with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, The New York Times writes, as the two navigate their differences on policing, Israel and other issues…

Mamdani also said today that he was “sickened” by antisemitic vandalism found in Borough Park, which saw many swastikas painted around the predominantly Orthodox Jewish neighborhood. “I stand shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish New Yorkers who were targeted. My administration is working closely with the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force as well as our Parks Department, and those responsible will be investigated and held accountable,” he said in a statement…

Not 24 hours earlier, a Manhattan comedy club canceled Israeli comedian Guy Hochman’s show last night after pro-Hamas groups protested outside of the venue, JI’s Haley Cohen reports. “The owner of the place was afraid and canceled the show,” Hochman told JI, referring to Broadway Comedy Club, located near Times Square. “So, I did an alternative show for my audience outside freezing to death”…

Some of the candidates competing for retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler’s (D-NY) seat in New York’s 12th Congressional District provided insight into their positions on Israel in a candidate questionnaire to receive the endorsement of the Working Families Party, Politico reports.

Kennedy heir Jack Schlossberg and state Assemblymembers Alex Bores and Micah Lasher all said they would not support a resolution sponsored by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) calling Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide; Bores and Lasher said they would not support the “Block the Bombs Act” placing sweeping restrictions on U.S. aid to Israel, while Schlossberg said he’s unsure; and Schlossberg said he would support a bill brought several years ago that sought to prohibit U.S. aid to Israel from being used for a variety of military operations, while Bores said he would not and Lasher was unsure…

After Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro alleged that Vice President Kamala Harris’ team asked if he had ever been an Israeli agent as he was being considered to be her running mate, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, another potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, told reporters yesterday that he didn’t think the questions during the vetting process were inappropriate. “The questions are tough. I think you’ve got to be tough during the process,” he said.

“I mean, what’s appropriate and inappropriate in the context of getting, as one pundit calls it, ‘an MRI for your soul,’ when you’re out there in the national political arena?” Pritzker, who was also vetted by the Harris team, asked. His comments are at odds with moderate Democrats on Capitol Hill, who told JI that Shapiro’s account was “totally insane,” “problematic” and “incredibly disturbing”…

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 Paige Cognetti, the Democratic mayor of Scranton, Pa., seeking to flip a northeast Pennsylvania swing seat by emphasizing her pro-Israel bona fides.

President Donald Trump will hold the signing ceremony for his Board of Peace with several world leaders in Davos, Switzerland, tomorrow morning local time (around 4:30 a.m. ET). 

Australia will hold a national day of mourning to honor the victims of the terror attack that took place at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney last month, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced.

The Sundance Film Festival kicks off in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah: For the cinephiles keeping track, on the docket this year is a Hebrew coming-of-age film set in the ‘80s titled “Tell Me Everything,” a documentary about three doctors providing humanitarian care in Gaza, a panel by the Jewish Institute for Television & Cinema on combating antisemitism through film and more.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump continues to promote his Board of Peace ahead of its launch at the World Economic Forum later this week: In its charter sent to leaders around the world, the president laid out a vision for the body, which has grown into a U.N.-like institution that would mediate global conflicts and would require countries to pay $1 billion to secure a permanent seat, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Asked at a press conference this afternoon if he intends for the body to replace the U.N., Trump said it “might.” “Wish the United Nations could do more, wish we didn’t need a Board of Peace,” he said.

More than 10 countries have reportedly signed on to join the board, whose charter does not mention Gaza, including the UAE and Hungary. But its expanded mandate has made other countries wary: When told France does not intend to accept the invitation to join, Trump threatened to put a 200% tariff on French wines and Champagnes…

At the WEF in Davos, Switzerland, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent credited the U.S.’ “maximum pressure” sanctions on Iran for the protest movement that wracked the country in recent weeks. “It’s worked because in December, their economy collapsed. … They are not able to get imports, and this is why the people took to the streets. … This is economic statecraft, no shots fired, and things are moving in a very positive way here,” Bessent said…

Asked about the remaining potential for U.S. military action in Iran over its violent crackdown on the protests, Trump said at this afternoon’s press conference, “I can’t tell you what’s going to happen in the future” and once again praised the regime for not proceeding with its plans to hang 837 protesters. “We’re just going to have to see what happens,” Trump said…

Israeli authorities began demolishing the compound that previously housed the U.N. Relief and Works Agency in Jerusalem, a year after Israel passed a law banning UNRWA from operating in the country over the  involvement of its employees in terror activities, including the Oct. 7 attacks. 

The Israeli Foreign Ministry denied U.N. claims that the compound has diplomatic immunity, saying in a statement, “Even prior to the passage of legislation in January 2025, UNRWA had already ceased its operations at this site and no longer had any UN personnel or UN activity there. The compound does not enjoy any immunity and the seizure of this compound by Israeli authorities was carried out in accordance with both Israeli and international law”…

Several European countries have not sent their representatives back to the U.S.-led Civil-Military Coordination Center in southern Israel after the holidays, Reuters reports, as the countries, including Germany, France and Britain, consider the value of engaging with the body that diplomats called “directionless” and a “disaster”…

In campaign news, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) condemned as antisemitic an ad running in New York’s suburban 17th Congressional District that targets him for his support for Israel and for receiving backing from pro-Israel donors, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

“This ad is a disgrace,” Lawler said in a statement. “This kind of politics has no place in the Hudson Valley. I am calling on every candidate running in NY-17 to publicly and unequivocally denounce this ad immediately. Silence is an endorsement.”

The ad, paid for by the anti-Israel Institute for Middle East Understanding, states in part, “Israelis enjoy universal healthcare, while Americans go bankrupt from medical bills. Lawler’s reward? Giant campaign donations from AIPAC and the pro-Netanyahu lobby.” The 17th District, one of Democrats’ top targets in November, has a sizable Jewish population and many pro-Israel swing voters, which have been key to Lawler’s past victories…

The Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC with ties to Senate GOP leadership and one of the largest independent spenders in Senate races, announced an initial investment of $42 million to back Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in Maine. It’s the super PAC’s largest spend ever in the state, which will be rolled out in August, as Collins enters a general election likely facing either Gov. Janet Mills or oyster farmer Graham Platner…

Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) launched her bid to challenge Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) this morning, days after Trump endorsed her on social media. Cassidy, who already has several primary challengers, drew the ire of the president when he voted to convict during his 2021 impeachment proceedings, though Cassidy had told other senators privately that he believed Trump would stay out of the race… 

The University of Pennsylvania, which is being sued by the Trump administration over its alleged failure to comply with subpoenas related to an investigation into antisemitism at the Ivy League school, is fighting back against the administration’s request for records about Jewish employees, calling it “disconcerting” and an “extraordinary and unconstitutional demand.”

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had reportedly sought information about university employees who submitted complaints about antisemitic discrimination and those who were members of Jewish campus groups; Penn said in its filing that the EEOC is “entirely disregarding the frightening and well-documented history of governmental entities that undertook efforts to identify and assemble information regarding persons of Jewish ancestry”…

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 J Street’s embrace of Democrats seeking to create distance between the U.S. and Israel. 

The World Economic Forum continues in Davos, where President Donald Trump will give an address at 8:30 a.m. ET. Also appearing onstage tomorrow are Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa; Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi; governors Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Kevin Sitt of Oklahoma; Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud; Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency; Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang; JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon; and David Sacks, the White House AI and crypto czar.

Mark your calendars: AIPAC will host its Congressional Summit from Feb. 22-24, with a potential appearance by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a Jewish communal source confirmed to JI.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

U.S. officials advised President Donald Trump that a large-scale military campaign against Iran is unlikely to topple the regime and could spark a wider regional conflict, The Wall Street Journal reports, a message that coincided with the president dialing back his warnings to Tehran over its violent suppression of protests.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also reportedly weighed in yesterday, asking Trump to postpone any strikes, and Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Egypt have communicated similar messages.

U.S. officials told the Journal these developments have led Trump to hold off on strikes for now, though he directed military assets to be readied in case of action. The USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier strike group is reportedly being moved from the Indo-Pacific to the Middle East. 

In a similar vein, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir visited an Arrow missile defense battery site in Israel today and directed a drill simulating a missile attack, saying in a statement, “It is important that every citizen of Israel knows that the IDF is constantly prepared to defend the country”…

In the absence of military action, the U.S. is punishing Iran economically, issuing sanctions today against what it called “the architects” of the crackdown. The Treasury Department will “use every tool to target those behind the regime’s tyrannical oppression of human rights,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

Among the sanctioned Iranian officials are Ali Larijani, the secretary of the Supreme Council for National Security, who was “one of the first Iranian leaders to call for violence in response to the legitimate demands of the Iranian people,” according to the Treasury Department, and several commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces…

Turning to Gaza, American officials expressed their optimism about Phase 2 of the peace plan shortly after its launch yesterday, telling reporters, “For the first time in Gaza in almost a long time, there’s no Palestinian Authority and there’s no Hamas governing it.”

“We’ve talked to a number of Hamas people, and we’re hearing throughout the Arab world that people don’t want to be at war anymore. They want peace,” one of the officials said, claiming Hamas leaders “are indicating that there’s a real possibility” they will lay down their arms…

A new Emerson College poll released today shows the Republican primary for Texas Senate in a dead heat, with Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and his opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton, polling at 26% and 27%, respectively. With Trump refraining from offering his endorsement to either candidate, it’s likely the race will head to a runoff.

On the Democratic side, state Sen. James Talarico is leading the primary over Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), 47-38%. Talarico has recently caused concern in the Texas Jewish community over his increasingly critical rhetoric on Israel, leading some to tell Jewish Insider that, without concerted outreach from his team, they’re likely to back Crockett…

A competitive Democratic primary is also underway in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, where surgeon Adam Hamawy entered the race today to succeed retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) with a profile that may help him break through the field.

Hamawy, of Egyptian descent, served as a trauma combat surgeon during the Iraq War, where he operated on Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), who credits him with saving her life. In May 2024, he joined a delegation of American doctors to assist in health-care efforts in Gaza, where he was temporarily stuck during an Israeli border closure (he returned for a second mission in January 2025). 

Though Hamawy has not run for office before, he has spoken extensively about his experience treating “mass casualties” in the enclave and condemning Israel and the U.S.’ role in the “indiscriminate killing and destruction there.” Watson Coleman, also an outspoken critic of Israel, brought him as her guest to Trump’s 2025 State of the Union address…

Asked about his views on Israel, Antonio Delgado, New York’s lieutenant governor who is challenging Gov. Kathy Hochul from her left, said in an interview released Tuesday that the U.S. should not “fund, provide weapons or diplomatic cover to any military operation that causes catastrophic civilian deaths or mass starvation … Otherwise, we are complicit.” 

Delgado pledged not to take money from AIPAC, though the pro-Israel group does not contribute to gubernatorial races, and Delgado took a 2019 trip to Israel as a member of Congress with the AIPAC-affiliated American Israel Education Foundation. 

Delgado further described Netanyahu as “deeply problematic” and a “war criminal,” but when asked if Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza, he largely demurred. “I can see how people would want to argue it both ways and I’m sensitive to this, candidly, based on my own relationships,” he said. Delgado’s wife is Jewish and they are raising their children Jewish. “It’s hard to argue against scholars. … [But] wherever you fall on that question, we can’t fund it. … We can’t be complicit in it, anymore”…

A federal appeals court ruled today that former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of the school’s anti-Israel protest movement, could be rearrested, JI’s Haley Cohen reports. Khalil was released in June from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Louisiana, where he had been held for three months. 

In a 2-1 ruling, a three-judge panel decided that the federal district court in New Jersey that issued Khalil’s release did not have jurisdiction over the matter and that it should have been handled in immigration court, which is part of the executive branch overseen by the Justice Department, meaning Khalil is now liable to be rearrested.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani denounced the ruling, saying in a statement, “as the crackdown on pro-Palestinian free speech continues, Mahmoud is being threatened with rearrest. Mahmoud is free — and must remain free”…

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

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a profile of Amy Acton, the Jewish public health expert hoping to become the first Democrat to win an Ohio governor’s race in 20 years. 

The U.S. and Israel will sign a strategic framework on AI cooperation at the City of David tomorrow, led by Jacob Helberg, the U.S. under secretary of state for economic affairs, and Brig.-Gen. (res.) Erez Eskel, head of Israel’s National AI Directorate. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee are also expected to be in attendance. 

Also heading to Israel is Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who announced a last-minute trip this afternoon to meet with Netanyahu “at this crucial time in the history of the Middle East.”

Iran International will hold its second briefing of the week in Washington with former CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus. Read JI’s coverage of Wednesday’s event here.

Honduran President-elect Nasry Asfura will travel to Israel over the weekend, where he is expected to meet with Netanyahu, Sa’ar and President Isaac Herzog, as well as visit Yad Vashem and the Western Wall. Asfura, who will take office later this month, met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington earlier this week and was hosted by AIPAC leadership.

In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Tuesday. Shabbat Shalom!

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump indicated that his threats to Iran are making an impact; he told reporters this afternoon, “We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping, it’s stopped, and there’s no plans for executions,” referencing reports that an arrested protester was due to be executed today.

Trump later appeared to downplay protester deaths, calling it “one of those things … people were shooting at them with guns and they were shooting back.” It’s a notable change in tune from the president, who just yesterday told Iranian protesters to “save the names of the killers and abusers” and that “help is on its way.”

Asked if this means that military action against Iran is off the table, Trump responded, “We’re going to watch it and see what the process is, but we were given a very good statement” that the killing has stopped “by people that are aware of what’s going on”… 

Others are still bracing for potential military action: Some personnel were told to evacuate the U.S.’ Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar by tonight, Reuters reports. (Recall that Iran launched several missiles at Al Udeid after the U.S. strikes on its nuclear sites last June.)

A number of airlines have canceled or suspended flights to Iran; the Lufthansa group, in addition to avoiding Iranian and Iraqi airspace, said it will only operate day flights to Israel and Jordan through Jan. 19, avoiding overnight trips.

IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin warned on social media to avoid rumors and misinformation about the evolving situation, saying the IDF is “prepared for defense and on alert for surprise scenarios”…

White House special envoy Steve Witkoff announced the launch of Phase 2 of Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan today, “moving from ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction.” This phase “establishes a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration in Gaza … and begins the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza, primarily the disarmament of all unauthorized personnel,” Witkoff said. 

“The US expects Hamas to comply fully with its obligations, including the immediate return of the final deceased hostage. Failure to do so will bring serious consequences,” Witkoff added, though the U.S. has not taken action on Hamas’ failure to return the body of Ran Gvili, the final hostage, in the three months since the terror group was meant to at the outset of the ceasefire agreement. 

It is still unclear how the U.S. and its partners will disarm Hamas or remove it from power, with the International Stabilization Force still not in place and foreign nations refusing to engage with Hamas militants…

Meanwhile, the midterms are picking up speed: New polling out of the Michigan Senate race shows Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) looking like the most electable Democrat against former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), the expected GOP nominee. 

In a Detroit News poll testing general election matchups, Stevens and Rogers were tied at 44% each, while physician Abdul El-Sayed, who has made criticism of Israel central to his campaign, fared the worst, losing to Rogers 48-42%. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, another critic of Israel, would also trail, 46-42%, the poll found…

In the Garden State, Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ) secured the endorsement of Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) today, a meaningful show of support from the progressive-minded senator as Menendez may face a primary challenge from his left from Mussab Ali. 

Ali, who is expected to join the race shortly, is a vocal opponent of Israel and has been a champion for the anti-Israel protests and encampments that roiled college campuses in recent years; Kim has also been criticized by Jewish leaders for his support of measures blocking some arms sales to Israel… 

Trump will not be endorsing three Republican senators facing competitive reelection campaigns: Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), John Cornyn (R-TX) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Politico reports. Cornyn and Cassidy are facing serious Republican primary opposition, while Collins is facing the likelihood of a hotly contested general election…

The State Department is indefinitely suspending immigration visa processing for individuals from 75 countries starting Jan. 21, building on the Trump administration’s total and partial immigration bans that already exist on nearly 40 countries. The pause will impact those looking to permanently immigrate who may “become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people,” the State Department said…

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 Ryan Crosswell, the Marine veteran and former Republican looking to win the Democratic nomination in a key Pennsylvania swing district.

The technocratic Palestinian committee launched with Phase 2 of the Gaza Peace Plan — which will be headed by Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister for the Palestinian Authority — is expected to hold its first meeting tomorrow in Cairo, also attended by Nickolay Mladenov, the former U.N. envoy to the Middle East now leading the Gaza Board of Peace.

The Israeli American Council kicks off its annual summit tomorrow in Hollywood, Fla., with a plenary including Adm. (res.) Daniel Hagari, the previous IDF spokesperson; Boaz Levy, the CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries; and Betsy Korn, the chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

• President Donald Trump is meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio this morning, followed by a lunch between the president and Vice President JD Vance. Trump will meet in the afternoon with oil and gas executives to discuss the situation in Venezuela.
• Jacob Helberg, the undersecretary of state for economic affairs, is traveling to the Middle East through next weekend. He’s slated to meet with senior officials in Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In the UAE, he’ll lead the U.S. delegation to the U.S.-UAE Economic Policy Dialogue.
• We’re continuing to monitor the situation in Iran, where protests escalated last night as the regime cut off internet and international phone calls, limiting the amount of information that could leave the Islamic Republic. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a video address that Trump’s hands were “stained with the blood of Iranians” for having voiced support for the protesters.
• Ongoing current events coincide with the long-delayed release of the third season of the Israeli series “Tehran,” which drops today on Apple TV in the U.S.
• Tomorrow, Rabbi David Wolpe will sit in conversation with the Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt at Los Angeles’ Sinai Temple, where Wolpe is the Max Webb Rabbi Emeritus.
• Awards season kicks off on Sunday night with the Golden Globes. Up for Best Motion Picture and Best Screenplay is “Marty Supreme,” based on the life of table tennis player Martin Reisman (with star Timothée Chalamet nominated for Best Actor). “It Was Just An Accident,” a thriller by acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi (who also received nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay), and “The Voice Of Hind Rajab,” about a young Palestinian girl who died during the Israel-Hamas war, are both nominated for Best Film in a non-English language. Adam Brody was nominated for Best Actor for his starring role in the TV show “Nobody Wants This,” and Jason Isaacs was nominated for his “White Lotus” performance in the Best Supporting Actor category. Comics Sarah Silverman and Brett Goldstein are both nominated for their stand-up specials.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MATTHEW SHEA

The United States, Israel and their regional allies are watching closely as sustained unrest in Iran puts renewed pressure on the regime at a moment of economic strain, international isolation and lingering fallout from the 12-day war with Israel last June.

Recent demonstrations have spread across all 31 of Iran’s provinces, fueled by public anger over a collapsing economy, inflation exceeding 40% and aggressive crackdowns by security forces. Economic pressure — intensified by costly proxy wars and United Nations sanctions — have sent Iran’s currency into a sharp decline.

Jonathan Ruhe, a fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, said the regime’s “unwillingness to be responsive to its people’s basic demands and rights,” is also a factor. Adding that Tehran has a “clear preference to spend the country’s resources on military projects like its proxies, missiles and nuclear program instead of its citizens’ well-being.”

More than 400 demonstrations took place this week alone, with at least 743 recorded over the past month, according to a tracker from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The death toll has reached at least 38, with more than 2,200 arrests reported. The demonstrations are the largest since April 2025 and among the most sustained since late 2022 as videos continue to circulate online of Iranians flooding the streets, burning regime flags and lighting fire to statues of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Ruhe said that uprisings by the Iranian people against the regime are not uncommon. “In 2009 it was political corruption, when the regime clearly stole the presidential election to get [former President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad reelected,” he said. “In 2017-18 it was economic and foreign policy issues, for instance Iranians being killed in the Syrian civil war and the regime’s lavish spending on its proxies instead of at home. In 2022 it was social and cultural issues, namely hijab enforcement.”

But experts say what is unfolding now could be more significant than protests of the past, expressing to Jewish Insider that recent developments could pose an unprecedented challenge to a regime already under strain. 

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

Softer Touch on Protesters: In The Wall Street Journal, Reuel Marc Gerecht and Ray Takeyh posit that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian are taking a less hard-line approach to the protests sweeping the country. “The government hopes a softer touch will cause the marchers to be satisfied with making their point. If not, the emollients favored by [Parliament Speaker Mohammad] Qalibaf and Pezeshkian will likely give way to the severity favored by the supreme leader and encouraged by Mr. Trump’s provocative challenge. For at least a century, the Iranian public has sought meaningful political participation while central governments resisted. With the exception of the 1979 revolution, the regimes prevailed. But Iranians have never remained satisfied with national bargains in which they forfeit political rights for economic dividends or social emancipation.” [WSJ]

Clash in the Gulf: In Foreign Policy, Marc Lynch looks at the dynamics between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as the countries clash in a number of theaters, including Yemen and Somalia. “[After the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks,] the UAE maintained its relations with Israel, positioning itself as the key Arab interlocutor for a post-Hamas Gaza and hoping to claim vindication for its strategy of tight alignment with Israel and Washington. Saudi Arabia, with a much more challenging domestic environment and its own ambitions for regional leadership, reverted to its traditional position of conditioning normalization with Israel on a credible path toward a Palestinian state. Unstated, but well understood, was that Riyadh never had any intention of joining an Abu Dhabi-led initiative. The crystallization of a divide between Saudi Arabia and the Emirati-Israeli alliance would force everyone in the region to take sides — something smaller states usually prefer to avoid. Most of the other Gulf states, such as Egypt, seem to be falling in line with Saudi Arabia. The competition could inflame civil wars, just as it did a decade earlier.” [FP]

Five Senate Republicans — Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Susan Collins (R-ME), Todd Young (R-IN) and Rand Paul (R-KY) — voted with Democrats in favor of a war powers resolution limiting further military action in Venezuela without congressional approval… 

Bloomberg reports on the White House’s exclusion of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard from the planning of the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro earlier this month due to Gabbard’s past opposition to U.S. military action in Venezuela…

Massad Boulos, the Trump administration’s senior advisor on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs, said that the U.S. will make an announcement about the Muslim Brotherhood in the coming days…

Politico looks at the wave of far-left Democrats critical of Israel who are who are mounting congressional bids, deepening divisions within the party and raising concerns that far-left candidates focused on Israel will drain campaign resources and damage eventual candidates’ efforts to win in the general election…

The Cooper Union settled a lawsuit brought forth by 10 Jewish students at the school who had been trapped in the New York university’s library for 20 minutes while anti-Israel students protested outside in an October 2023 incident …

Four former University of Rochester students pleaded guilty to intentionally damaging university property for their roles in posting “Wanted” posters accusing faculty and staff members of committing war crimes in Gaza; the students were expelled weeks after they were arrested…

New Jersey State Police are investigating an incident that took place on the New Jersey Turnpike on Wednesday in which a rock was thrown through a school bus window, fracturing the skull of an 8-year-old girl…

Approximately 30% of the workforce across the six locations of New York City eatery Breads Bakery is unionizing and making demands of the shop’s Israeli owners — including “a redistribution of profits, safer working conditions, more respect and an end to this company’s support of the genocide happening in Palestine”…

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a royal commission investigating antisemitism, following the terror attack targeting a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach last month…

The board of the Adelaide Writers’ Week festival in Australia disinvited anti-Israel activist and writer Randa Abdel-Fattah, saying her participation in the event would “not be culturally sensitive” during what the board described as an “unprecedented time so soon after Bondi”; Abdel-Fattah’s disinvitation prompted the withdrawal of several participants who had been slated to speak at the festival…

Politico breaks down the significance of the U.S.-brokered meeting between senior Israeli and Syrian officials in Paris this week, during which the parties agreed to create communications channels to more effectively coordinate on security, diplomatic and commercial issues…

The United Arab Emirates ceased funding scholarships for citizens who plan to study in the U.K.; the cut comes amid frustration from Emirati officials over London’s refusal to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization…

A new report from TRM Labs found that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps used two U.K.-based cryptocurrency exchanges to move approximately $1 billion over the last three years…

The Wall Street Journal does a deep dive into a shadow fleet with ties to Russia, Iran, China and Venezuela that moves oil around the world in violation of international sanctions…

Ahmed al-Ahmed, the Syrian-born man who tackled and disarmed one of the two gunmen in the Bondi Beach terrorist attack in Sydney that killed 15 people, visited Capitol Hill on Thursday, his arm still in a sling after being shot twice.

“What I want to say for the whole world around everywhere, in America, Australia, England, everywhere in the world, we must stand by each other and stay united, and peace for everyone. That’s my message,” al-Ahmed told Jewish Insider in between meetings with officials including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). Al-Ahmed was accompanied by Rabbi Yehoram Ulman (second from left), a Chabad leader in Sydney whose son-in-law was killed in the attack, and Rabbi Levi Shemtov (far left), the executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch. Al-Ahmed and Ulman also met jointly with Sens. Dave McCormick (R-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA).

Actor with a recurring role in “Sex and the City” and author of two books on his recovery from acute myeloid leukemia, Evan Handler turns 65 on Saturday… 

FRIDAY: Law professor at Georgetown University, Peter Edelman turns 88… Former member of the Swiss Federal Council and president of the Swiss Confederation in 1999, she is the first woman to ever hold this position, Ruth Dreifuss turns 86… Rabbi emeritus of Kehilath Israel Synagogue in Overland Park, Kan., Herbert Jay Mandl turns 81… Vice chairman of Gilbert Global Equity Partners, Steven Kotler… Pulitzer Prize-winning Supreme Court reporter for The New York Times for 40 years, she is now a lecturer and senior research scholar at Yale Law School Linda Greenhouse turns 79… Retired MLB umpire, he worked in 3,392 major league games in his 26-year career, his family name was Sklarz, Al Clark turns 78… Presidential historian, spokesman for the 9/11 Commission, and university lecturer, Alvin S. Felzenberg turns 77… Composer, singer, radio show host, and author, he has released seven albums under the name “Country Yossi,” Yossi Toiv turns 77… Actress, singer and songwriter, she is the half-sister of Barbra Streisand, Roslyn Kind turns 75… Australian author of more than 40 books of children’s and young adult fiction, including a five-book series about a 10-year-old Jewish boy in Nazi-occupied Poland, Morris Gleitzman turns 73… Former governor of the Bank of Israel from 2013 to 2018, Karnit Flug turns 71… International president of the Rabbinical Assembly, he is the rabbi of Beth El Synagogue in East Windsor, N.J., Rabbi Jay M. Kornsgold turns 61… Dean of the Bar-Ilan University law school, Michal Alberstein turns 57… Investment banker, Joel Darren Plasco turns 55… Justice of the High Court of Australia, James Joshua Edelman turns 52… Russian-born American novelist, journalist and literary translator, Keith A. Gessen turns 51… Filmmaker, she is the second lady of New York State, Lacey Schwartz Delgado turns 49… NFL insider and reporter for the NFL Network, Ian Rapoport turns 46… Chairman and CEO of Paramount Skydance and founder of Skydance Media, David Ellison turns 43… Israeli actress and model, best known for her role as Nurit in “Fauda,” Rona-Lee Shimon turns 43… Director of development and community relations at Manhattan Day School, Allison Liebman Rubin… Pulitzer Prize-winning staff writer at The New Yorker, Ben Taub turns 35… Enterprise account executive at Built, Madeline Peterson… Television and film actress, Nicola Anne Peltz Beckham turns 31…

SATURDAY: Physician and medical researcher, Bernard Salomon Lewinsky turns 83… Editor and publisher of Denver’s Intermountain Jewish News, historian and teacher of the Mussar movement, Rabbi Hillel Goldberg turns 80… President of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston for 30 years, now a professor at Brandeis, Barry Shrage turns 79… Former President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Baron David Edmond Neuberger turns 78… Musician, singer-songwriter and co-founder of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band Steely Dan, Donald Fagen turns 78… World-renowned Israeli cellist, he has over 50 recordings on the Deutsche Grammophon label with many top orchestras, Mischa Maisky turns 78… U.S. senator (R-MO) from 2011-2023, Roy Blunt turns 76… Long-time editor at Bantam Books, Simon & Schuster and Crown Publishers, Sydny Weinberg Miner… Retired executive director at Beta Alpha Psi, the international honor society for accounting students, Hadassah (Dassie) Baum… Founder and CEO at Los Angeles-based Quantifiable Media and Tel Aviv-based Accords Consulting, Rose Kemps… Fellow for Religious Freedom at the Forum, Richard Thomas Foltin… Professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University, he taught his last class in December 2024, Jonathan D. Sarna turns 71… President and CEO of the Nellis Management Company and past president of The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, Mark A. Levitt turns 70… Majority owner of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, Joe Lacob turns 70… Member of the Knesset for the United Torah Judaism party, Uri Maklev turns 69… U.S. senator (D-MD), Chris Van Hollen turns 67… Member of the U.K.’s House of Lords and advisor to the government on antisemitism, Baron John Mann turns 66… Theatrical producer, playwright and director, Ari Roth turns 65… Vice chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples, Beth Ellen Wolff… Author and journalist best known for his novels Gangster Nation, Gangsterland and Living Dead Girl, Tod Goldberg turns 55… Member of the Knesset for Likud, Galit Distel-Atbaryan turns 55… Film director and screenwriter, Joe Nussbaum turns 53… Caryn Beth Lazaroff Gold… Private equity executive and unofficial troubleshooter for the Trump administration, Jared Kushner turns 45… Communications manager for Ford Motor Company, Adam David Weissmann… Former spokesperson on terrorism and financial intelligence at the U.S. Treasury, Morgan Aubrey Finkelstein… Israeli rapper, singer and songwriter, Michael Swissa turns 30… Andrew Tobin… Debbie Seiden…

SUNDAY: Psychologist and the author of 27 books, he lectures at NYU, Michael Eigen turns 90… Retired judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago, author of 40 books on jurisprudence and economics, Richard Posner turns 87… Violinist and music teacher, Shmuel Ashkenasi turns 85… Film, television and theater director, best known for his TV series “Full House” and “Family Matters” and his films “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and “Fat Albert,” Joel Zwick turns 84… Las Vegas resident, Stephen Norman Needleman… Economist and professor of banking at Columbia University, he was a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Frederic Stanley “Rick” Mishkin turns 75… Noted gardener and florist, Lynn Blitzer… Professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and chief of experimental medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, he is the author of five books, Dr. Jerome E. Groopman turns 74… Former member of the Canadian House of Commons, Susan Kadis turns 73… Former director general of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Avi Gil turns 71… CEO of Sense Education, an AI company, Seth Haberman turns 66… Attorney, author, speaker and activist, Brian Cuban turns 65… Partner at Magnolia Marketing LLC, Alan Franco… Rabbi at Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto (BAYT), Rabbi Daniel Korobkin turns 62… Former National Hockey League player for 12 seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and San Jose Sharks, Ronald “Ronnie” Stern turns 59… Actress, socialite and reality television personality, Kyle Richards Umansky turns 57… Defensive tackle in the Canadian Football League for 12 seasons, he is a co-owner at Vera’s Burger Shack based in Vancouver, B.C., Noah Cantor turns 55… Film, stage and television actress, Amanda Peet turns 54… Hockey coach, he is a former goaltender with the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes, he also played in six other leagues, Josh Tordjman turns 41… Member of the Knesset for the Democrats party, Naama Lazimi turns 40… Executive chef and restaurateur, Yehuda Sichel… VP and head of strategic partnerships at Penzer Family Office, Michal (Mickey) Penzer… French-American actress, Flora Cross turns 33… Director of football strategy and assistant quarterbacks coach for the Baltimore Ravens, Daniel Stern turns 32… Founder when she was just 12 years old of Nannies by Noa, Noa Mintz turns 25…

• We’re continuing to monitor developments in Australia. At a Sunday vigil in Sydney for the victims of last week’s Bondi Beach attack, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was jeered and booed over what the country’s Jewish leaders have derided as inadequate efforts to address antisemitism before and since the attacks. 
• Earlier today, an Australian court released police charging documents for the alleged shooter who was not killed during the attacks. The documents noted that Naveed Akram and his father had also hurled explosive devices into the crowd that had failed to detonate, and prior to the attacks had recorded a video explaining their motivations while standing in front of an ISIS flag. 
• In Israel, Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies, in collaboration with the Ruderman Family Foundation, is hosting a conference this afternoon examining the U.S.-Israel relationship, including the connection between Israel and American Jewry.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S Josh Kraushaar

The kids aren’t alright.

That’s the unmistakable takeaway from a weekend filled with shocking developments surrounding the views of young conservatives, punctuated by a Turning Point USA conference that turned into a proxy war between mainstream voices led by Ben Shapiro, looking to create guardrails against antisemites and conspiracy theorists within the MAGA movement, against a growing cadre of bad-faith right-wing influencers leading the charge to embrace extremist voices into the conservative coalition.

The conference concluded with Vice President JD Vance all but taking the side of the extremists, while offering fulsome praise to his friend, Tucker Carlson, as an essential part of the Republican Party coalition.

The last several days also featured news of an eye-opening Manhattan Institute focus group of Gen Z Nashville-area conservatives reluctant to offer any negative reaction toward Adolf Hitler and sharing numerous antisemitic stereotypes about Jews. (One 29-year-old woman offered this representative reaction about Hitler: “I think he was a great leader, to be honest. I think what he was going for was terrible, but I think he showed very strong leadership values.”)

The weekend ended with a Jewish Insider scoop that a Trump administration nominee for a senior position at the State Department has a long track record of making derogatory comments about the Jewish community, characterizing Jews as religiously incorrect and in need of conversion.

This moment was further underscored by the hideously antisemitic tirade that Candace Owens went on over the last few days, barely eliciting any serious pushback from conservative movement leaders. Meanwhile, former journalist Megyn Kelly, during her own speech Friday at the TPUSA conference, chose to go after Shapiro and CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss even as Kelly has publicly steered clear of criticizing Owens, citing the fact that she’s a young mother and a personal friend. (Shapiro, she said, is no longer a friend after he criticized her in his speech Thursday night.)

Shapiro, long one of the leading voices on the right, opened the conference with a warning that the conservative movement is in danger from “charlatans who claim to speak in the name of principle but actually traffic in conspiracism and dishonesty, who offer nothing but bile and despair.”  

He called out Tucker Carlson, Owens and Kelly by name. “We must not let fear of audience anger deter us from telling the truth; we must not let fear of other hosts deter us from telling the truth,” Shapiro warned. “The fact that Candace has been vomiting all sorts of hideous and conspiratorial nonsense into the public square for years on end while others fly cover for her is … cowardly.”

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

• President Donald Trump will attend the World Cup draw this morning in Washington. Also attending is the head of Iran’s national team, which previously said it would boycott the draw over the U.S.’ refusal to grant visas to some members of the team.
• The two-day Reagan National Defense Forum kicks off today at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. This year’s speakers include Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, Sens. Jim Banks (R-IN), Chris Coons (D-DE), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Rick Scott (R-FL); Reps. Ken Calvert (R-CA), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Adam Smith (D-WA) and Rob Wittman (R-VA); JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, 8VC’s Joe Lonsdale, Palantir’s Mike Gallagher (formerly a Republican congressman from Wisconsin), former National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster; former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and former Deputy National Security Advisor Alex Wong.
• The Doha Forum begins tomorrow morning in Qatar. More below on the two-day confab’s speakers, including the recent addition of Tucker Carlson.
• Israeli President Isaac Herzog is traveling to the U.S. this weekend for a series of events taking place over the next week. On Sunday, he’ll be honored at Yeshiva University’s 101st Annual Hanukkah Dinner in New York. He’s also slated to attend the American Zionist Movement’s Biennial National Assembly, which is taking place this weekend in New York City.
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will arrive in Israel this weekend for meetings with senior officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Merz’s trip, his first official visit since becoming chancellor in May, will also include a visit to Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem and a meeting with Herzog before the president heads to the U.S.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S GABBY DEUTCH

As the holiday season gets underway, Jewish Washington is abuzz with a bipartisan tradition: gossiping about who got invited to the White House Hanukkah party — and how those who did not make the list can still score an invitation. 

This year, there’s another conversation as well, in group chats of people who were invited to a Hanukkah party at the Naval Observatory, hosted by Vice President JD Vance: What’s with the Christmas branding on the invitation? 

The top of the green-and-gold virtual invitation reads, “The Golden Noel: Celebrating 50 years of Christmas at the Vice President’s residence.” The invitation to President Donald Trump’s White House Hanukkah party, in contrast, looks, well, like a Hanukkah invitation — royal blue background, with white text. 

“Would I have preferred something to be a little more Hanukkah-like? Perhaps, but I don’t see it as a very big deal,” said Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad). Shemtov oversees kashrut at the White House Hanukkah celebration, whether it is hosted by a Democrat or a Republican. 

Several people who received the invitation told Jewish Insider they found the decoration puzzling. Ultimately, though, they aren’t concerned. Many Jewish Republicans are pleased that Vance is hosting a Hanukkah celebration at all. 

“Noticed that as well, but haven’t heard any complaints,” said one Republican who was invited to the party. “I’m happy he’s having one.” 

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

Conserving Conservatism: In The Washington Post, Princeton University professor Robert George cautions against the embrace of far-right figures, including Nick Fuentes, by some elements of the conservative movement. “A plea to my fellow conservatives to draw a bright line against bigotry is not a call to ‘cancellation.’ Individuals who hold extremist or bigoted views possess the same right to express their opinions as everyone else has. I would fight — indeed, I have fought — to protect their free speech rights despite my profound rejection of their beliefs. What I am doing is reminding conservatives that we stand for certain things. Therefore, not everything is up for grabs or negotiable. Nor is everyone, irrespective of their beliefs, welcome in the conservative movement. Unless you share conservatism’s core values, then you are not with us in standing for what our movement exists to conserve.” [WashPost]

Sanctuary City: Commentary’s Seth Mandel reflects on recently introduced legislation that would create a “buffer zone” protecting places of worship from protesters, following a demonstration outside Manhattan’s Park East Synagogue last month. “Indeed, the mere introduction of such legislation is an admission that incoming mayor Zohran Mamdani has already inaugurated bleaker times for the city and, perhaps, for the nation. … It should be noted that it is a violation of civil-rights law to prevent people from entering a house of worship. That is because such behavior is a direct assault on the First Amendment. Though Mamdani has exacerbated the problem, he did not create it. Even before his lies about ‘international law,’ the protest itself shattered civic norms. The result is a proposed law on top of a law. And that law might pass and it might make going to shul safer. But what kind of society needs such a law?” [Commentary]

In an interview with NBC News, Vice President JD Vance complimented Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, while downplaying the degree of rising antisemitism in the Republican Party…

Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the Trump administration’s nominee to be the State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, is expected to come before the full Senate for a confirmation vote before the end of the year, two sources familiar with the situation confirmed to Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod…

Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso announced his bid for the House seat being vacated by Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), covering portions of Brooklyn and Queens…

Netflix entered into exclusive negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery amid concerns from David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance that Warner Bros. “appears to have abandoned the semblance and reality of a fair transaction process” and that the selection of Netflix was predetermined by Warner Bros. management…  

UCLA’s library finalized the processing and digitization of extensive archives — including interviews, membership directories and yearbooks — from the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center; the century-old synagogue’s campus and much of its paper records were destroyed in the Altadena wildfires earlier this year…

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission began the claims process for Jewish students and faculty at Columbia University who reported having experienced antisemitism on the campus between Oct. 7, 2023, and July 2025; the payments will come from a $21 million class claims fund established by the university as part of its $221 million settlement with the Trump administration reached earlier this year…

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by a Jewish Harvard Business School graduate who claimed the school violated his civil rights in its decision not to discipline two student-employees involved in an incident at an anti-Israel protest on campus in October 2023…

The New York Times spotlights artist Cornelia Foss, whose new exhibit, “Little Red,” was inspired by her childhood escape from Nazi Germany in 1939…

Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Slovenia pulled out of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest after the European Broadcasting Union determined on Thursday that Israel will be allowed to compete…

A Lithuanian court fined the leader of the country’s populist Dawn of Nemunas party €5,000 after finding him guilty of inciting antisemitism and downplaying the Holocaust; among the comments made by Remigijus Žemaitaitis, whose party is in a coalition with the ruling Social Democrats, was a social media post blaming Jews for the “destruction of our nation”…

A new report from the office of Israel’s public defender found that treatment of Palestinians in Israeli prisons rapidly deteriorated following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks…

Israeli media reported the death of Gazan clan leader Yasser Abu Shabab, who led one of the main groups opposing Hamas rule in the enclave and had been targeted for assassination by the terror group…

The Israeli cabinet approved the defense budget for 2026 at 112 billion shekels ($34.63 billion), a 22 billion shekel increase from a previously presented draft budget…

The Wall Street Journal reports on European interest in Israeli military technology amid concerns about Russian aggression across the Continent…

Israeli series “Tehran” will return for its third season on Jan. 9 after delays related to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack and ensuing war; filming for the fourth season is already underway… 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi extended an invitation to his Lebanese counterpart to visit Iran to discuss bilateral ties between Tehran and Beirut…

An Instagram post from the account of Sheikh Mansour bin Jabor bin Jassim Al Thani, the head of Qatar’s Government Communications Office, featured an image of a drone show marking the end of The Wall Street Journal’s Tech Live conference in Doha. Read more about the Journal‘s expanded ties with Qatar here.

Former manager of the Israel national baseball team including at the 2020 Olympics, Eric Holtz turns 60…

FRIDAY: Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist, emeritus professor at Harvard and professor at Boston University, Sheldon Lee Glashow turns 93… St. Louis-based luxury senior living developer, Charles J. Deutsch turns 76… Professor in the school of journalism at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Stuart Neil Brotman turns 73… Former U.S. ambassador to France and Monaco, she was a co-owner and CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Jamie Luskin McCourt turns 72… Mediator and arbitrator for JAMSand J Street board member, Michael D. Young… Golfer on the PGA Tour and later a golf teaching professional, Anthony Irvin (Tony) Sills turns 70… Professor of Jewish history at Ben-Gurion University, she is focused on Sephardic heritage, Haviva Pedaya turns 68… Venture capitalist, speaker and investment advisor, Pascal Norman Levensohn turns 65… NYC-based author and clinical psychologist with specialties in aging and cancer, Mindy Greenstein, Ph.D…. Film, television and theater actress, Ilana Levine turns 62… Professor at the University of Chicago Law School, Eric A. Posner turns 60… Professor and dean emeritus of Columbia Law School, he served as CEO of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and was once a law clerk for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David M. Schizer turns 57… Urologist in Westchester County, N.Y., Judd Boczko, M.D…. Ontario-born supermodel and actress, Shalom Harlow turns 52… President of The LS Group and political fundraiser, Lisa Spies… Co-founder and CEO of Axios, Roy Schwartz… Emmy Award-winning author and reporter, he is the chief national correspondent for ABC News, Matthew A. Gutman turns 48… Israeli-born, acclaimed video game developer, Neil Druckmann turns 47… Musical songwriting and producing duo, identical twins Ryan and Dan Kowarsky turn 46… Communications and marketing consultant, Adam S. Rosenberg… Senior managing director at Liberty Strategic Capital, Eli H. Miller… Emmy Award-winning senior personal technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal, Joanna Stern turns 41… Media correspondent for The New York Times, Michael Mendel Grynbaum… Israeli film and television music composer based in Los Angeles, Naama “Nami” Melumad turns 37… Reporter on the obituary desk of The New York Times, Alexander E. Traub… Chess master and commentator, his YouTube page has 5.7 million subscribers and over 3 billion views, Levy Rozman turns 30… Principal at Envision Strategy, Jonathan Shabshaikhes… Israeli model, Adar Gandelsman turns 28…

SATURDAY: Moshe Hochenberg… Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for 20 years until 2014 and active in a range of Jewish organizations, Lawrence S. Bergman turns 85… Renowned artist whose sculpture, photography, neon and video works appear in museums worldwide, Bruce Nauman turns 84… Israeli-born art collector and producer of over 130 full-length films, Arnon Milchan turns 81… Founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure (named after her late sister), she also served as U.S. ambassador to Hungary and chief of protocol of the U.S., Nancy Goodman Brinker turns 79… Professor emeritus of Talmudic culture at the University of California, Berkeley, Daniel Boyarin turns 79… Senior U.S. district judge for the Northern District of Ohio, he has served as a trustee of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, Judge Dan Aaron Polster turns 74… Cell and molecular biologist, he is a professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, David L. Spector turns 73… Founder of Craigslist, Craig Newmark turns 73… Film, stage and television actress, Gina Hecht turns 72… Faculty member at Harvard Law School since 1981, she served as dean from 2009-2017, Martha Minow turns 71… Author of a bestselling novel, Memoirs of a Geisha, with over 4 million copies sold, Arthur Sulzberger Golden turns 69… SVP and general counsel at United Airlines, Robert S. Rivkin turns 65… Former EVP and COO of the Inter-American Development Bank, Julie T. Katzman turns 64… Emmy Award-winning producer, writer, director, actor and comedian, Judd Apatow turns 58… Israel’s minister of education, he was a fighter pilot for the IDF and then a civilian pilot for El Al before entering politics, Yoav Kisch turns 57… Professor of economics at the University of Chicago, he previously served as the chief economist for President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors, Michael Greenstone turns 57… Professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, he is a son and grandson of rabbis, Julian E. Zelizer turns 56… Editor-in-chief of J. The Jewish News of Northern California, Chanan Tigay turns 50… Communications advisor at nexos.ai and host of the “The Dejargonizer” podcast, Amir Mizroch turns 50… Managing director in the NYC office of PR firm BerlinRosen, Dan Levitan… Editor-in-chief at The Air Current, Jon Ostrower… Venture capitalist in Israel, Ilan Regenbaum… Licensed community association manager in South Florida, now a regional associate at Bozzuto, Beth Argaman… Assistant professor in international relations and global politics at the American University of Rome, Andrea Dessì… Joe Blumenthal…

SUNDAY: Linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, political activist and professor emeritus at MIT, Noam Chomsky turns 97… Author or editor of 40 books including The New York Times best-selling Chicken Soup for the Jewish Soul, Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins turns 88… Actor, director and producer, Larry Hankin turns 88… Hedge fund manager, he is the co-founder of Taglit-Birthright Israel and the founder of Hebrew language charter schools in NYC, Michael Steinhardt turns 85… Professor of mathematics at Princeton University, Nicholas Michael Katz turns 82… Novelist, essayist and screenwriter, Susan Isaacs turns 82… Former Israeli Foreign Ministry legal advisor and then Israeli ambassador to Canada, now at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Ambassador Alan Baker turns 78… Chair emeritus of the Longmeadow, Mass., Democratic Town Committee, Candy Glazer… Director and vice chairman of Simon Property Group, Richard S. Sokolov turns 76… Past board chair and president of AIPAC, Lillian Pinkus turns 74… U.S. senator (R-ME), Susan Collins turns 73… Chairman of Loews Hotels and co-owner of the NFL’s New York Giants, Jonathan M. Tisch turns 72… Haifa-born composer and professor of music at Harvard, Chaya Czernowin turns 68… Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention throughout most of the Obama administration, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden turns 65… Teacher in the Elko County School District in northeast Nevada and leader of the local Jewish community there, Shawn Welton-Lowe… Provost and interim dean of the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at The Jewish Theological Seminary, Dr. Jeffrey Kress turns 57… Co-founder of Laurel Strategies, a CEO advisory firm based in Washington, Dafna Tapiero… Director, producer, writer, actor and comedian, best known as the director of “Modern Family,” Jason Winer turns 53… President of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs, Jed Hoyer turns 52… Leading actress in multiple television series including “Roswell” and “Unreal,” Shiri Appleby turns 47… Managing partner of NYC-based Capitol Consulting, he was previously at the UJA-Federation of New York and at the Orthodox Union, Jeffrey Leb… Food critic for The New Yorker, she received a 2024 James Beard Award, Hannah Goldfield… Co-author of Union: A Republican, a Democrat, and a Search for Common Ground, he is the managing partner at America’s Frontier Fund, Jordan Blashek… Executive director at NYC’s Mission Staffing, Jaime Leiman… Founder and CEO of Go Dash Dot, an active wear accessories brand, Hannah Fastov… Physician practicing in the U.K., Carine Moezinia… Freelance content creator and social media manager, Hannah Vilinsky… VP and head of the startup division at the Israel Innovation Authority, Hanan Brand… Jeff Blum… Toby Lerner…

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

We’re watching developments in ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations after President Donald Trump called for Hamas to accept the latest U.S.-sponsored deal over the weekend, which would see all the hostages, living and dead, released on the first day of the ceasefire. 

Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and former Trump Mideast advisor Jared Kushner met with Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer in Miami today to discuss developments in Gaza, Axios’ Barak Ravid reports.

Hamas had claimed it was ready to “immediately sit at the negotiating table” in response to Trump’s statement, but sources for the terror group told a Saudi newspaper today that a complete hostage release would not be possible immediately, claiming a ceasefire would have to go into effect first to reach all the bodies…

In other national security news, The New York Times spotlights the race between defense firms to develop technologies for a future “Golden Dome” missile-defense system.

“Companies chosen for Golden Dome are likely to become the new cornerstones of U.S. defense, military officials involved in the project said,” and firms including Palantir and Anduril as well as innovative startups have been in discussions with the Trump administration, the Times reports. 

Mark Montgomery, senior director of the Center for Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said, “There are more than 100 companies out there with a sensor, satellite or other devices they want to sell to Golden Dome. This is the Wild West, and this is a massive opportunity for whoever is selected”…

Diplomatic tensions are rising between Israel and Spain after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced today that his country would be formalizing an existing de facto arms embargo against Israel and banning anyone who has participated in “genocide” in Gaza from entering Spain as well as ships carrying fuel for the IDF from Spanish ports. 

“This is not self-defense, it’s not even an attack — it’s the extermination of a defenseless people,” Sanchez said of Israel’s war in Gaza.

In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced that Israel had banned two anti-Israel Spanish ministers from entering the country; Spain then summoned its ambassador in Tel Aviv, all shortly after a young Spanish immigrant to Israel was killed in this morning’s terror attack on a bus stop in Jerusalem…

The U.K. has come to a different conclusion about Israel’s actions in Gaza, according to a letter sent last week by former Foreign Secretary David Lammy before he was replaced in a reshuffling of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Cabinet. 

Lammy wrote to the chair of the U.K.’s international development committee that the Foreign Office had found in an assessment that Israel was not committing a genocide as it was missing “intent” to do so. It’s the first time the U.K. has said so explicitly, previously holding that the matter of genocide was up to international courts to determine, just weeks before the country is expected to recognize a Palestinian state…

Former Hudson Institute CEO and President Kenneth Weinstein will serve as CBS News’ ombudsman, a new role that oversees editorial concerns from employees and viewers, Paramount announced Monday. Alongside reports that Paramount is expected to purchase Bari Weiss’ Free Press and bring her into an editorial role at CBS, the moves mark a new era for the network that has been accused of systemic anti-Israel bias…

Embracing their anti-Israel bona fides, hundreds of actors, filmmakers and film industry workers recently signed a pledge to boycott Israel, which says it was inspired by filmmakers who refused to screen their films in apartheid South Africa.

The signatories, including Hollywood stars such as Alyssa Milano, Mark Ruffalo, Anna Shaffer, Ayo Edebiri, Cynthia Nixon, Hannah Einbinder and Ilana Glazer, promised “not to screen films, appear at or otherwise work with Israeli film institutions — including festivals, cinemas, broadcasters and production companies — that are implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people”…

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said in comments to Jewish leaders in New York City today that some of her fellow Democratic lawmakers are inadvertently fueling antisemitism through the rhetoric and slogans they use, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

“When they say words like ‘river to the sea,’ whey they say words like ‘globalize the intifada,’ it means end Israel. It means destroy Jews,” Gillibrand said. Intifada, she continued, is “not a social movement. It’s terrorism, it’s destruction, it’s death.”

The New York senator had previously offered strong condemnation of NYC Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani for his refusal to condemn the “globalize the intifada” slogan and has not endorsed his bid for mayor…

Mamdani’s opponent, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, meanwhile, officially dropped the ballot line “EndAntiSemitism,” running only on the “Safe & Affordable” line, after the New York City Board of Elections said he couldn’t run on both. Adams’ campaign spokesperson said he intends to pursue legal options over the issue…

Graham Platner, an anti-Israel Democratic Senate candidate in Maine, wrote in a high school op-ed shortly after 9/11, during the Second Intifada in Israel, that the media provides an “incomplete story” of terrorist acts and writes “incomplete coverage” of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “where a sometimes-oppressive Israeli state can be, and often is, portrayed as a victim.” 

Platner and his co-authors argued in the article in a local Maine outlet, unearthed by the Free Beacon, that ending terrorist acts would be “best achieved by understanding the circumstances under which they were committed”…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for an interview with former Obama speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz, whose new book As A Jew: Reclaiming Our Story From Those Who Blame, Shame, and Try to Erase Us, comes out Tuesday. 

It’s a busy week in Washington, where the 2025 MEAD Summit will kick off tomorrow. The high-profile but elusive gathering will bring together top American and U.S. security officials, diplomats, lawmakers, philanthropists, CEOs and journalists. If you’re attending, make sure to say hello to JI’s Josh Kraushaar and Gabby Deutch!

The Iran Conference, hosted by the National Union for Democracy in Iran, will also begin in Washington tomorrow for analysts, policymakers and activists to discuss Iran policy, just two months after U.S. and Israeli strikes decimated Tehran’s nuclear and military infrastructure.

On the Hill, the House Education and Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions will hold a hearing on “unmasking union antisemitism.”

Virginia’s 11th Congressional District is holding its special election tomorrow to fill the seat of the late Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA). James Walkinshaw, Connolly’s longtime former aide, is the heavy favorite to win. Read JI’s interview with Walkinshaw here. 

Looking to New York City, The MirYam Institute will hold an international security benefit briefing tomorrow featuring former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett; nearby, the Soufan Center will begin its Global Summit on Terrorism and Political Violence, meant to honor the memory of 9/11 victims and address emerging global threats.

The Florida Holocaust Museum is reopening tomorrow with a ribbon-cutting ceremony after an extensive period of renovation.

Abroad, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem will host its belated July 4 party tomorrow, and the Hili Forum will convene its last day in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, covering trade, tech and governance. DSEI U.K., a large defense trade show, is starting up in London, where protests are expected against the dozens of Israeli firms that are participating.  

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Kicking off the new school year, embattled Northwestern University President Michael Schill announced today he is stepping down as president, remaining in an interim role until his successor is chosen.

Schill’s tenure coincided with a period of antisemitic turmoil on the Chicago-area campus and he was accused of handling the issue poorly, leading some lawmakers to call for his resignation. 

A brief recap of Schill’s troubled tenure: He acceded to several demands of an anti-Israel encampment on campus in the spring of 2024, drawing condemnation from Jewish leaders and leading several Jewish members of Northwestern’s antisemitism advisory committee to step down. He then defended the move in a heated House Education and Workforce Committee hearing as being in the interest of Jewish students and was recalled by the committee this spring due to his alleged failure to live up to his own commitments from the previous hearing.

Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) said in a statement today that “President Schill will leave behind a legacy of not only failing to deter antisemitism on campus but worsening it. … Northwestern’s next president must take prompt and effective action to protect Jewish students.”

In his resignation announcement, Schill said that “from the very beginning of my tenure, Northwestern faced serious and often painful challenges. … I was always guided by enduring values of our University: protecting students, fostering academic excellence, and defending faculty, academic freedom, due process and the integrity of the institution”…

Columbia University, meanwhile, hired Jonathon Kahn as its senior associate dean of community and culture, a new position created to “build and lead initiatives that cultivate curiosity, civic purpose and meaningful dialogue” and “reimagine what a liberal arts and sciences education can be in the next century,” Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.

Kahn signed a 2021 letter supporting the Palestinian “indigenous resistance movement” and rejecting “the fiction of a ‘two-sided conflict,’” accusing Israel of carrying out “settler colonialism, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing”…

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called an Israeli proposal by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to annex parts of the West Bank “wholly predictable” in response to European countries’ planned recognition of a Palestinian state. 

Rubio said, “We told all these countries. We said, if you guys do this recognition stuff — it’s all fake, it’s not even real — if you do it, you’re going to create big problems. There’s going to be a response from Israel … and it may even trigger these sorts of actions that you’ve seen, or at least these attempts at these actions. So we’re watching it closely.”

Rubio, who was asked about the issue today at a press conference in Quito, Ecuador, continued, “What you’re seeing with the West Bank and the annexation, that’s not a final thing. That’s something that’s being discussed among some elements of Israeli politics. I’m not going to opine on that today.”

“And by the way, let me tell you something. The minute, the day that the French announced their [intent to recognize a Palestinian state], Hamas walked away from the negotiating table. … We also warned that that would happen, and it did. Sometimes, these guys don’t listen,” Rubio said.

The issue of West Bank annexation was due to be discussed in a high-level meeting convened by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today but was reportedly removed from the agenda after the UAE warned such a move would be a “red line” for regional normalization…

Israeli officials told The Wall Street Journal that Mossad Director David Barnea and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar have joined IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir in expressing hesitation to Netanyahu over the IDF’s plan to expand its offensive into Gaza City. They have also argued in favor of reaching a partial hostage-release deal with Hamas as an alternative to the comprehensive deal Israel is currently seeking…

A viral accusation that the IDF killed an 8-year-old Palestinian boy at a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid site in May was proven false when the boy was found to be alive and safely extracted from the Gaza Strip. The claim had been made by Anthony Aguilar, a former GHF contractor and Green Beret, who repeated the story on far-right and far-left media outlets.

Johnnie Moore, head of the GHF, said in a statement today, “When this lie was brazenly, cravenly shared from the press to the halls of Congress, our team set out to find this little boy — whatever it took.” He attributed the success to “veterans who never stopped working to find him and bring him to safety in the most complex environment imaginable”…

A report by the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency, obtained by the Associated Press, found that, as of one day before Israel’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities began, Iran had escalated its nuclear enrichment and increased its stockpile of near weapons-grade enriched uranium to where it could soon produce at least one atomic bomb…

On the Hill, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) asked the FBI to investigate the Palestinian Youth Movement as a “threat to U.S. national security” after one of its leader, Aisha Nizar, called for Palestinian activists to “disrupt” the supply chain for F-35 fighter jets at the recent People’s Conference for Palestine in Michigan…

Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA), who is running for Senate in Georgia, filed a resolution today to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for “promoting and cheering on terrorism and antisemitism” at the same conference…

Semafor’s David Weigel reports from this year’s National Conservatism conference, which is winding down in Washington today and featured a host of high-level right-wing personalities from Trump administration officials to lawmakers and influencers. 

Conference speakers and attendees were jubilant over what they view as conservative successes in President Donald Trump’s second term, but there was one “possible future sore point that conference organizer Yoram Hazony acknowledged openly: Israel.”

“Hazony was upset by the ‘depth of the slander of Jews as a people’ that he saw in corners of the online right. The Israel critics in their fold could make the nationalist ‘revolution consume itself,’ he added, and risk everything,” Weigel wrote…

In long anticipated news, United Airlines announced today it’s restarting direct flights to Tel Aviv from Chicago O’Hare and Washington Dulles in early November…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reporting on a new cross-faith initiative to address antisemitism led by Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism.

This weekend, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will be campaigning with New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani in the next installment of Sanders’ Fighting Oligarchy tour, after an appearance in Maine last weekend with anti-Israel Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner. 

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