Appearing on 'The Ezra Klein Show,’ Morris Katz admitted he had erred in continuing to champion the failed Senate candidate as he was repeatedly dogged by scandals
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Morris Katz appears on "The Ezra Klein Show" on July 24, 2026.
Add JewishInsider on GoogleMorris Katz, a close advisor to Graham Platner who stood by the embattled Maine Democrat until the final days of his Senate race, is now adopting a more contrite tone as he looks back on what went wrong in the campaign, one of the most closely watched in the country this year.
“The tattoo should have been enough,” Katz said in an interview on “The Ezra Klein Show” from The New York Times. He was referring to Platner’s tattoo of a Totenkopf, a symbol associated with the Nazi regime’s elite — and brutal — SS unit. Platner denied knowing what the tattoo, a version of a skull and crossbones, represented, though an ex-girlfriend has maintained that he told her and others that he knew what it was. Katz said her account should’ve been taken more seriously when she shared it.
Katz also referenced scores of old social media posts from Platner, a veteran and oyster farmer who was dogged from the start of the Democratic primary by a series of past posts and remarks invoking slurs, promoting violence and making light of sexual assault. “In hindsight, knowing what we know now, the Reddit posts alone probably should have been enough,” he added.
Throughout a steady drip-drip-drip of new revelations, which grew to include allegations that he was sending sexually explicit messages to women other than his wife and that he had a history of being manipulative and intimidating toward ex-girlfriends, Platner emerged with a similar message to voters: that he had changed, and was a better person now. A rape allegation ultimately ended his campaign.
“I think both things can be true: that we need different kinds of candidates running outside of the political arena,” Katz told Klein, “and that it’s the United States Senate, and candidacies should be held to an incredibly high standard.”
The 27-year-old Katz, who played a pivotal role in the election of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, was part of Platner’s campaign even before it began. He helped to recruit the candidate and had reportedly told people he wanted to see Platner run for president in 2028. Platner regularly drew large crowds, even as more reports about his background emerged, and won the Democratic nomination after his top competitor, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, dropped out.
Katz has emerged relatively unscathed from the chaos in Maine. Mamdani and Micah Lasher, the Democratic nominee for an Upper West Side-area congressional district, have both said recently they would continue to work with Katz.
In the interview with Klein, the consultant said he would continue to fight establishment politics in the Democratic Party but that he had erred in his continued support of Platner.
“I think that there are a lot of people who have made mistakes or said controversial things who we want to win the support of, who we need to earn the trust of. But I also think I was wrong,” Katz said in the interview. “There are a lot of incredible people who are not part of the political arena, a lot of incredible working-class Americans across the country, who don’t have those problematic Reddit posts or who don’t have a problematic tattoo or don’t have quite the level of controversy in their past.”
Katz acknowledged that a more thorough vetting process may have found further evidence of Platner’s past social media posts, but insisted that any campaign vetting would not have found evidence of the rape allegation.
“Essentially, there was the inclination that there were problematic posts on Reddit, not the full degree of what later came out,” Katz said. “An even more robust process would have found more of the specific Reddit comments and, potentially, the tattoo. But again, a standard vetting process probably doesn’t uncover most of the things that came after.”
Klein read to Katz one of Platner’s 2013 Reddit posts, which placed blame for sexual assault on women who drink too much.
“I think it should have been a red line,” Katz said. He argued that people should “not be exiled from society and day-to-day life if they’ve changed or are putting in the work to change.” But, Katz added, “that doesn’t mean that they’re entitled to a role in elected office.”
Klain claimed ‘the tattoo was a skull and crossbones to remember his fallen comrades from his service in Afghanistan’ — an explanation the campaign itself has not previously offered
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Ron Klain, the White House chief of staff under President Joe Biden, leaves an interview in the Rayburn House Office Building on July 24, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Ron Klain, the former chief of staff to President Joe Biden, defended Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner’s tattoo of a Nazi symbol in a comment responding to the Republican Jewish Coalition on Instagram.
The RJC, after Platner’s victory in Tuesday’s primary election, called on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to rescind his support for Platner. Klain, in a comment on the RJC’s Instagram post, declared, “This is just a partisan attack. The tattoo was a skull and crossbones to remember his fallen comrades from his service in Afghanistan.” Platner was deployed to Iraq, not Afghanistan, when he got the tattoo.
Platner has denied that he knew what the symbol was until late last year, when the campaign was contacted by media about it, but has not claimed, as Klain did, that it was intended to memorialize fallen comrades.
Klain, now the chief legal officer at Airbnb, has reportedly been quietly backing and advising Platner’s campaign, as well as several other prominent progressives, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, potential presidential candidate Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), California gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra, New York congressional candidate Jack Schlossberg and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA).
But he had previously declined to comment to Politico last week on his political activities, and had otherwise not discussed his involvement with Platner.
Platner’s former romantic partner, Lyndsey Fifield, who has accused him of domestic abuse, has said that he described the tattoo to her as “my Totenkopf” and would joke about it being a Nazi symbol. She said that Platner told her that he and his Marine colleagues chose the symbol because they saw a parallel between themselves and the Nazi SS as a “death unit.”
Fifield shared text messages with The New York Times showing that she had informed friends that Platner had a tattoo of a Nazi symbol in August 2025, months before it became public knowledge.
The RJC said on X that “Klain’s pathetic rationalization of a clear Nazi symbol is a total disgrace,” and that, as a former U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum board member, “Klain absolutely knows better.”
“Every Jewish family in America knows what the insignia of the Nazi SS — the unit that ran the death camps — looks like and Klain knows exactly what it is too,” the group said.
Following his victory in Maine’s primaries on Tuesday, some Senate Democrats who appeared wary of Platner after the domestic abuse allegations once again appear to be rallying around him.
“I think Graham showed a great deal of support in the primary, and I think … that’s going to build momentum and will assure that we win Maine,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, told CNN.
‘I find that tattoo and his commentary about it to be personally disqualifying,’ Auchincloss told CNN
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) participates in the House Transportation Committee hearing on Thursday, June 27, 2024.
Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) said on Monday that Maine Democrat Graham Platner’s tattoo of a Nazi Totenkopf was “disqualifying,” weeks after Gov. Janet Mills’ departed from the Democratic primary race, leaving Platner as the party’s presumptive nominee challenging Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).
“I find that tattoo and his commentary about it to be personally disqualifying,” Auchincloss told CNN. “I hope Maine voters agree with me. I think it would be a mistake for the Democratic Party to think that Graham Platner’s brand of the Democratic Party is what wins us durable majorities throughout this country.”
Jewish Insider reported last year that Platner had on at least one occasion identified the tattoo on his chest as a Nazi SS symbol, known as a “Totenkopf,” to a former acquaintance and had been fully aware of the tattoo and its meaning well before entering the race to replace Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), even bragging about having it.
Platner has since covered up the tattoo and dismissed wrongdoing, claiming he had no idea the tattoo symbol was a Nazi insignia when he got it with fellow Marines while in Croatia in 2007.
Far-left Democrat Saikat Chakrabarti, a cofounder of Justice Democrats who is mounting a bid for the seat being vacated by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), rebuked Auchincloss, writing on X, “Auchincloss is essentially endorsing Susan Collins in Maine. Absolutely no excuse for a Democrat in the House to back a Republican for Senate in a crucial swing seat. Auchincloss should be primaried. His primary election is September 1 in a safe, D+11 seat.”
Last year, Auchincloss became the first elected Democrat to call on Platner to drop out of the Senate race in Maine after news of his tattoo emerged.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has campaigned with Platner, dismissing criticism of him and describing him as “my kind of man.” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) has also defended Platner, saying “people should have second chances.”
The Massachusetts congressman is the first Democratic lawmaker to call on the scandal-plagued candidate to drop out
Courtesy
Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA)
Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) became the first elected Democrat to call on scandal-plagued Democrat Graham Platner to drop out of the race for Senate in Maine amid controversy over a tattoo on his chest with Nazi origins and other controversies.
Jewish Insider earlier reported that Platner had on at least one occasion identified the tattoo on his chest as a Nazi SS symbol, known as a “Totenkopf,” to a former acquaintance and had been fully aware of the tattoo and its meaning well before jumping into the race to replace Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), even bragging about having it.
Auchincloss urged Platner to abandon his Senate bid on Sunday, telling Politico that he finds the progressive candidate’s conduct “personally disqualifying.”
Platner has dismissed wrongdoing and claimed he had no idea the tattoo symbol was a Nazi insignia when he got it with fellow Marines while in Croatia in 2007.
“I am not a secret Nazi. Actually if you read through my Reddit comments, I think you can pretty much figure out where I stand on Nazism and antisemitism,” Platner said on the “Pod Save America” podcast last week.
Auchincloss expressed dissatisfaction with Platner’s defenses, in which the progressive candidate has said 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 told WCVB Channel 5 Boston on Sunday.
“I hope that Maine voters would agree with me,” Auchincloss said to Politico. “Democrats would be united in condemning a Republican candidate who has this episode, and we should be consistent.”
Platner is running against Gov. Janet Mills in the Democratic primary. The winner will face Collins in what is expected to be a hotly-contested race.
Some progressive members of Congress, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), have defended Platner amid his numerous scandals.
“He sounds like a human being to me,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said of Platner’s tattoo in a CNN interview on Sunday. “A human being who made mistakes, recognizes them, and is very open about it.”
Plus, Massie lands Trump-backed primary challenger
Graham Platner campaign
Graham Platner
Good Wednesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on comments from former staff and an acquaintance of Graham Platner who said the Maine Senate candidate lied about knowing the meaning behind his chest tattoo that resembles a Nazi symbol, and cover Vice President JD Vance’s comments, made yesterday in Israel, that Hamas will be “obliterated” if it does not disarm. We report on Paul Ingrassia’s withdrawal from consideration to head the Office of Special Counsel over recently revealed racist and antisemitic texts, and cover yesterday’s Senate hearing on Hezbollah’s operations in Venezuela. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Tzachi Hanegbi, Gov. Josh Shapiro and Rev. Johnnie Moore.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- Vice President JD Vance is in Israel today for meetings with senior officials. The vice president had separate meetings earlier today with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. More below.
- In a ceremony at the president’s residence in Jerusalem tonight, Herzog is awarding the 2025 Presidential Medal of Honor to nine individuals, including Dr. Miriam Adelson, Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner, Israeli historian Dina Porat, entrepreneur Yossi Vardi and Druze leader Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif. Read more in eJewishPhilanthropy here.
- Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) is slated to visit Lakewood, N.J., today as part of her outreach to the state’s Jewish community ahead of next month’s gubernatorial election. Sherrill’s visit comes as Republican Jack Ciattarelli faces criticism for a recent comment, made by his Muslim affairs advisor at a campaign event over the weekend, that the advisor wasn’t “taking money from Jews.”
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR
One of the defining characteristics of our age is the utter lack of institutional gatekeepers and red lines against hate in our politics and culture. Extremist rhetoric, antisemitism, racism and approval of political violence are all becoming commonplace in our discourse, to the point where Americans have become numb to the crazy.
Just take a look at the headlines over the last month of scandals that have captured national attention — and would have been unthinkable not long ago.
Paul Ingrassia, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel, withdrew himself from consideration yesterday after belated backlash over his history of racist and antisemitic comments — including a recently revealed text message chain where he said he has a “Nazi streak.” We reported on Ingrassia’s extremist record in May, revealing a string of antisemitic and racist public social media posts, including this shocking comment on X days after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack: “I think we could all admit at this stage that Israel/Palestine, much like Ukraine before it, and BLM before that, and covid/vaccine before that, was yet another psyop.”
Ingrassia also has been an ally of Nick Fuentes, a virulently antisemitic podcast host and far-right influencer who has long trafficked in Holocaust denial. He attended a rally in 2024 for Fuentes, and in 2023 defended Fuentes after he was banned from Twitter.
Ample documentation of Ingrassia’s bigotry didn’t stunt his nomination, though the new shocking revelations from the private text chain caused key Republicans — most notably, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI), Rick Scott (R-FL) and James Lankford (R-OK) — to withdraw their support and end his chances of getting confirmed.
But the fact that he got as close as he did to receiving a hearing for the plum role shows just how much antisemitism is becoming normalized.
Graham Platner, the embattled far-left candidate in Maine’s Senate race, already under scrutiny over social media posts declaring himself a communist and calling the police “bastards,” acknowledged he has a skull-and-crossbones tattoo on his chest that his just-departed political director characterized as “anti-Semitic.” A former acquaintance of Platner’s said he called the tattoo “my Totkenpof,” referring to a symbol adopted by a Nazi SS unit.
Platner is facing Maine Gov. Janet Mills, the favorite of the party establishment (for good reason) in the Democratic Senate primary. Platner has been endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), praised by several progressive senators and backed by a number of leading labor unions, including the UAW.
Despite Platner’s remarkable baggage and Nazi-themed tattoo, Sanders still is standing behind him. ”I personally think he is an excellent candidate. We don’t have enough candidates in this country who are prepared to take on the powers to be and fight for the working class,” Sanders said Tuesday, when pressed by reporters about the tattoo allegations.
TATTOO TALE
Graham Platner, a far-left Democratic candidate running for Senate in Maine who has captured the enthusiasm of the party’s grassroots base, sought to preempt rumors circulating in recent weeks that a black skull-and-cross bones tattoo on his chest is a Nazi symbol, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. On a podcast earlier this week, Platner, a Marine veteran and oyster farmer in Maine who has faced scrutiny over past online posts, confirmed the existence of the tattoo, seen in a video he shared displaying his bare chest, but suggested that his opponents in the race have been spreading claims that the symbol is affiliated with Nazism, which he forcefully denied.
Conflicting accounts: “I am not a secret Nazi. Actually, if you read through my Reddit comments, I think you can pretty much figure out where I stand on Nazism and antisemitism and racism in general,” said Platner, 41. But according to a person who socialized with Platner when he was living in Washington, D.C., more than a decade ago, Platner had specifically acknowledged that the tattoo was a Totenkopf, the “death’s head” symbol adopted by an infamous Nazi SS unit that guarded concentration camps in World War II. “He said, ‘Oh, this is my Totenkopf,’” the former acquaintance told JI recently. “He said it in a cutesy little way.” Platner’s former political director, Genevieve McDonald, who resigned from his campaign last week over her objection to his recently unearthed incendiary Reddit comments, said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that “Graham has an antisemitic tattoo on his chest.” McDonald wrote in the post, “He’s not an idiot, he’s a military history buff. Maybe he didn’t know it when he got it, but he got it years ago and he should have had it covered up because he knows damn well what it means.”
SELF-SABOTAGE
Graham Platner, a far-left Democratic candidate running for Senate in Maine who has captured the enthusiasm of the party’s grassroots base, sought to preempt rumors circulating in recent weeks that a black skull-and-cross bones tattoo on his chest is a Nazi symbol, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. On a podcast earlier this week, Platner, a Marine veteran and oyster farmer in Maine who has faced scrutiny over past online posts, confirmed the existence of the tattoo, seen in a video he shared displaying his bare chest, but suggested that his opponents in the race have been spreading claims that the symbol is affiliated with Nazism, which he forcefully denied.
Conflicting accounts: “I am not a secret Nazi. Actually, if you read through my Reddit comments, I think you can pretty much figure out where I stand on Nazism and antisemitism and racism in general,” said Platner, 41. But according to a person who socialized with Platner when he was living in Washington, D.C., more than a decade ago, Platner had specifically acknowledged that the tattoo was a Totenkopf, the “death’s head” symbol adopted by an infamous Nazi SS unit that guarded concentration camps in World War II. “He said, ‘Oh, this is my Totenkopf,’” the former acquaintance told JI recently. “He said it in a cutesy little way.” Platner’s former political director, Genevieve McDonald, who resigned from his campaign last week over her objection to his recently unearthed incendiary Reddit comments, said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that “Graham has an antisemitic tattoo on his chest.” McDonald wrote in the post, “He’s not an idiot, he’s a military history buff. Maybe he didn’t know it when he got it, but he got it years ago and he should have had it covered up because he knows damn well what it means.”
primary pressure
Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL and fifth-generation Kentucky farmer, launched his bid on Tuesday to unseat Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) after being urged by President Donald Trump to challenge the renegade, anti-Israel congressman in the GOP primary, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports. Gallrein’s campaign launch comes four days after Trump declared that the Kentucky native was his preferred candidate to take on Massie, whom Trump had soured on over his growing antagonism towards the White House’s agenda. Massie was one of the only congressional Republicans to oppose Trump’s landmark “big, beautiful” spending bill and has worked with Democrats to force a floor vote to release Justice Department documents on Jeffrey Epstein.
Announcement: “I’ve dedicated my life to serving my country, and I’m ready to answer the call again. This district is Trump Country,” Gallrein said in a statement announcing his bid. “The president doesn’t need obstacles in Congress — he needs backup. I’ll defeat Thomas Massie, stand shoulder to shoulder with President Trump, and deliver the America First results Kentuckians voted for. Thomas Massie has become one of the biggest roadblocks to President Trump’s America First agenda. When Trump fought for historic tax cuts, Massie voted no. When Trump tried to fully fund border security, Massie stood in the way. President Trump endorsed me because Kentuckians deserve a congressman who will stand with our president, not against him.”
HARANGUING HAMAS
Visiting the new U.S.-run Civilian Military Cooperation Center in southern Israel, Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday that he is “very optimistic” about the advancement of the peace plan, but warned that Hamas must disarm and cooperate with international interlocutors, or else it would be “obliterated.” The vice president’s comments came shortly after President Donald Trump, in a post on his Truth Social site, threatened Hamas with “elimination” should the terror group continue to carry out violence in Gaza and violate the terms of the peace deal, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov and Matthew Shea report.
Veep’s speech: “Hamas has to disarm,” Vance said. “They’re not going to be able to kill their fellow Palestinians. … If Hamas doesn’t cooperate, as the president of the United States said, Hamas will be obliterated. But I’m not going to do what the president of the United States has thus far refused to do, which is put an explicit deadline on it, because a lot of this stuff is difficult … In order for us to give it a chance to succeed, we’ve got to be a little bit flexible.”
WEST BANK WORRIES
Every Senate Democrat except for Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) wrote to President Donald Trump on Tuesday urging him to “reinforce” the White House’s pledge to oppose Israeli annexation of the West Bank, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
What they said: In a letter led by Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the senators offered their “support for your comments opposing any efforts by the Government of Israel to annex territory in the West Bank and to urge your Administration to promote steps to preserve the viability of a two-state solution and the success of the Abraham Accords.” The missive was sent weeks after Trump vowed publicly to not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, telling reporters in the Oval Office in late September that, “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, nope, I will not allow it. It’s not gonna happen.”
on the hill
The first congressional hearing on Hezbollah’s malign activities in the Western Hemisphere in a decade took place this week, highlighting Venezuela’s embrace of Iran as a geopolitical partner and the Maduro regime’s efforts to transform the country into a regional hub for narcoterrorism, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
Who, when, what: The bipartisan Senate International Narcotics Control Caucus convened the hearing, titled “Global Gangsters: Hezbollah’s Latin American Drug Trafficking Operations,” on Tuesday, to explore how Hezbollah’s influence in the region had expanded and determine the most effective ways for the U.S. to respond. Witnesses included Ambassador Nathan Sales, who served as the State Department’s counterterrorism coordinator in the first Trump administration; Marshall Billingslea, the special envoy for arms control and a former Treasury official during President Donald Trump’s first term; Matthew Levitt, the director of the Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy; and Robert Clifford, a former FBI official who worked in the counterterrorism space.
Worthy Reads
Threat Assessment: In The Wall Street Journal, Elisha Wiesel raises concerns about what a potential victory by New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani could mean for the city’s Jewish community. “Mr. Mamdani’s messaging has made class war and hatred of Jews great again. Smiling, polished, articulate, Mr. Mamdani lies. He lies about Israel as easily as he lies that he can freeze rent and offer free goods through higher taxes, as though the corporations and billionaires he targets can’t relocate. New Yorkers aren’t dumb, but we’re busy. Mr. Mamdani is lying to those too busy to learn the truth. His attack points: ‘occupation,’ ‘apartheid,’ ‘genocide.’ The casualties: truth, friendships, coexistence for New York’s Jews. Unlike Andrew Cuomo, he seeks to ‘other’ us and divide the city. Mr. Mamdani blamed Hamas’s butchery on the ‘occupation’ on Oct. 8, while Israel was reeling. He omitted that Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005 and that Hamas built rockets and tunnels with billions in aid.” [WSJ]
The Two Gazas: In The Washington Post, Palestinian lawyer and former Hamas political prisoner Moumen Al-Natour warns of the threat that Hamas’ continued governance poses for the areas of the Gaza Strip it still controls. “I have been deeply involved in Gaza’s underground civil society movement for many years, much of which was spent preparing for an unknown moment where we would have a chance to be free of Hamas’s cruel domination and break the cycle of war with Israel. That moment is now here, and I am certain that this is the chance for which I spent my life protesting, organizing and suffering. It was worth the scars and the terror to see that there can be a different future here. But on the other side of the yellow line exists another Gaza that will do anything to prevent this from happening. Over there the war continues, albeit not between Israel and Hamas but between Hamas and Gaza itself.” [WashPost]
Fear Factor: The New York Times’ Bret Stephens urges his readers to pause for thought as he lays out the reasons why many Jewish New Yorkers harbor fears concerning the views of mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. “What does it mean for Jewish New Yorkers that a mayoral candidate who pledges to fight antisemitism also proudly avows the very ideology that is the source of so much of the hatred Jews now face? Why, right after Oct. 7, could he do no better than to issue a mealy-mouthed acknowledgment that Jews had died the day before? Why couldn’t he even denounce the perpetrators of the most murderous antisemitic rampage in the past 80 years? … In the long, sorry tale of anti-Jewish politics, it hasn’t just been the prejudice of a few that’s led Jews to grief. It’s been the supine indifference of the many. That’s what frightens Jews like me.” [NYTimes]
Restraining the Hard Right: The Atlantic’s Yair Rosenberg cautions that while President Donald Trump’s new Gaza agreement earned cheers in Israel, it has begun to restrain the Israeli hard‑right’s settlement ambitions — a dynamic that could determine whether his peace deal endures and that will impact Israel’s path forward. “According to the agreement, in the early stages of the current deal, Israel will remain in control of much of Gaza’s uninhabited territory until Hamas is disarmed and displaced. These are precisely the areas that the far right hopes to settle and even annex to Israel. Hamas is dragging its feet on releasing the bodies of dead Israeli hostages, publicly executing Palestinians opposed to its rule, and showing no sign that it intends to give up its weapons. The Israeli army and Hamas are still skirmishing along the cease-fire line. Even if none of this is enough to capsize the accord, it will likely delay further implementation and provide a window for the settlers and their political allies to try to insinuate themselves into those parts of Gaza. Only Trump can stop this from happening — at least until Israel holds new elections next year that could boot Netanyahu and his partners from power.” [TheAtlantic]
Word on the Street
The Trump administration is nearing an agreement with the University of Virginia — the first public university to settle with the federal government — after months of negotiations amid a broader crackdown by the White House on college campuses that included the removal of the school’s president earlier this year…
Efforts to establish a multinational peacekeeping force in Gaza are facing hurdles as countries hesitate to send troops to the enclave due to Hamas’ continued control across broad swaths of the Gaza Strip…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi following media reports of disagreements between the two over Israel’s military strategy; Hanegbi, following his firing, said that the events of Oct. 7, 2023, “must be thoroughly investigated to ensure that the necessary lessons are learned and to help restore the public trust that has been shaken”…
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Rep. David Trone (D-MD) are co-chairing a new national campaign aimed at implementing congressional term limits to curb the degree to which Capitol Hill is “dominated by career politicians, buoyed by re-election rates that routinely exceed 90 percent, who seem more concerned with clinging to power than serving the public”…
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will announce her future political plans following next month’s vote on California redistricting…
State senators in North Carolina approved a new congressional map that would give the GOP an extra seat in the Tarheel State, amid a broader push by the Trump administration for mid-decade redistricting that would secure additional seats…
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, widely viewed as a likely 2028 Democratic presidential contender, plans to publish a memoir early next year, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports…
The Federman family is transferring control of its 29% stake in Maccabi Tel Aviv to Mark, Zyg and Leonard Wilf, and will continue as limited partners in the team…
OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved is transitioning to a new role as the company’s chair following his diagnosis of ALS…
Israel received the bodies of Kibbutz Nir Oz residents Tamir Adar and Arie Zalmanowicz from Gaza; Adar was killed during the Oct. 7 attacks, while Zalmanowicz, one of the kibbutz’s founders, was injured when he was taken hostage, and is believed to have died in Hamas captivity in November 2023…
The Financial Times looks at Iran’s efforts to speed up production of solar energy projects as the Islamic Republic faces energy shortages due to international sanctions and aging infrastructure…
Former Gaza Humanitarian Foundation head Rev. Johnnie Moore is joining Pepperdine University as its vice chancellor in Washington, D.C., and managing director of the school’s master of Middle East policy studies program in its school of public policy…
The body of Bipin Joshi, a Nepalese kibbutz worker who was taken hostage by Hamas and killed in captivity, was cremated in a funeral ceremony in Nepal after his remains were repatriated earlier this week after being turned over by the terror group in Gaza…
Rabbi Arthur Waskow, the author of The Freedom Seder, died at 92…
Pic of the Day
Eli Taher, the chairman of Yad L’Banim, which commemorates fallen soldiers, planted a tree yesterday in honor of his son, Yossi Taher, who was killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, in the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund’s “Iron Swords Forest,” which was inaugurated yesterday outside Kibbutz Beeri. In his speech at the ceremony, Taher, whose brother and another son were also killed while serving in the military, discussed his struggles to overcome his grief.
“Every day when I wake up, at 5 a.m., I set for myself a hill to climb. I imagine my two boys sitting on that hill, with a bonfire and a bottle of beer. And every day, I climb that hill. I fall, I get hurt, I yell, I cry, I laugh, but at the end of every day, I drink that beer with my kids. Every day, I overcome that loss and destruction,” Taher said. “Like a tree can grow, so can we, bereaved families, continue to grow despite the pain and loss.”
Birthdays
Actor and producer, best known for his roles as a child actor starting at age 6, Jonathan Lipnicki turns 35…
Australian philanthropist, real estate investor and longtime chairman of Westfield Corporation, Frank Lowy turns 95… Pioneer of the venture capital and private equity industries, he is chairperson and co-founder of Primetime Partners, Alan Patricof turns 91… Retired EVP of the Orthodox Union, he was previously chairman of NYC-based law firm Proskauer Rose, Allen Fagin… Professor of education at American Jewish University, Ron Wolfson, Ph.D…. Actor who starred in many high-grossing films such as “Jurassic Park,” “Independence Day” and sequels to both, Jeff Goldblum turns 73… Agent for artists, sculptors and photographers, he is a son of Lillian Vernon, David Hochberg… Retired vice-chair of SKDK, she was the longtime CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America, Hilary Rosen turns 67… Composer and lyricist, he has won two Grammys, two Emmys and a Tony, Marc Shaiman turns 66… Author of two novels and three other books, Susan Jane Gilman… Former NYC commissioner for international affairs, Edward Alexander Mermelstein turns 58… Bethesda, Md., resident, Eric Matthew Fingerhut… President of Argentina since December 2023, Javier Milei turns 55… Chief of staff of The Associated Jewish Federation of Baltimore, Michelle Gordon… Director of the Warsaw Ghetto Museum, Albert Stankowski turns 54… Screenwriter and executive producer, Eric Guggenheim turns 52… Actor best known for playing D.J. Conner on the long-running series “Roseanne” and its spin-off show, “The Conners,” Michael Fishman turns 44… Partner at West End Strategy Team, Samantha Friedman Kupferman… Dana Max Tarley Sicherman… Sports radio talk show host and podcaster, Danny Parkins turns 39… Psychotherapist with a private practice in White Plains, Maayan Tregerman, LCSW-R… Journalist and author, Ross Barkan turns 36… One of Israel’s most popular singers, his YouTube channel has over 2.4 billion views, Omer Adam turns 32… Freelance reporter, Ryan Torok…
A former acquaintance of the Maine Senate candidate said he called the tattoo ‘my Totenkopf,’ referring to a symbol adopted by a Nazi SS unit
Daryn Slover/Portland Press Herald via AP
Senate candidate Graham Platner acknowledges the large crowd that attended Platner's town hall, Sept. 25, 2025, at Bunker Brewing in Portland, Maine.
Graham Platner, a far-left Democratic candidate running for Senate in Maine who has captured the enthusiasm of the party’s grassroots base, sought to preempt rumors circulating in recent weeks that a black skull-and-cross bones tattoo on his chest is a Nazi symbol.
Speaking with Tommy Vietor on the “Pod Save America” political podcast, released on Monday night, Platner, 41, confirmed the existence of the tattoo, seen in video he shared displaying his bare chest, but suggested that his opponents in the race have been spreading claims that the symbol is affiliated with Nazism, which he forcefully denied.
“I am not a secret Nazi. Actually, if you read through my Reddit comments, I think you can pretty much figure out where I stand on Nazism and antisemitism and racism in general,” said Platner, a Marine veteran and oyster farmer in Maine who has faced scrutiny over past online posts. “I would say a lifelong opponent.”
But according to a person who socialized with Platner when he was living in Washington, D.C., more than a decade ago, Platner had specifically acknowledged that the tattoo was a Totenkopf, the “death’s head” symbol adopted by an infamous Nazi SS unit that guarded concentration camps in World War II.
“He said, ‘Oh, this is my Totenkopf,’” the former acquaintance told Jewish Insider recently, speaking on the condition of anonymity to address a sensitive issue. “He said it in a cutesy little way.”
The exchange occurred in 2012 at Tune Inn, a popular dive on Capitol Hill where Platner later worked as a bartender and was a frequent patron while he attended The George Washington University on the G.I. bill, according to the former acquaintance. He would often take his shirt off drinking with friends late at night at the bar, and on at least one occasion had stated he knew what the tattoo represented, the former acquaintance recalled.
Platner gave varying accounts of the image during this time, saying at one point he was aware it was a Totenkopf when he had first gotten the tattoo several years prior and at another time claiming he had not known, according to the former acquaintance.
The mixed accounts indicate that Platner has at least long been aware of the symbols’s connection to Nazism, even as he said in the podcast interview he was not familiar with any such association when he chose to get the tattoo.
Platner, who is running to unseat Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said he had gotten the tattoo in Split, Croatia, in 2007, when he and a group of “very inebriated” fellow Marines had time off while on deployment and decided to step into a parlor. “We chose a terrifying-looking skull and crossbones off the wall, because we were Marines, and skulls and crossbones are a pretty standard military thing,” he explained on the podcast.
“We got those tattoos, and then we all moved on with our lives,” he added, emphasizing he had later served in the Army and received a security clearance to work as a contractor for the State Department in Afghanistan. “I can honestly say that if I was trying to hide it,” he continued, “I’ve not been doing a very good job for the past 18 years.”
In a statement shared with JI on Tuesday, Platner said he did not know about the tattoo’s connection to Nazi imagery until recently. “It was not until I started hearing from reporters and DC insiders that I realized this tattoo resembled a Nazi symbol,” he said. “I absolutely would not have gone through life having this on my chest if I knew that — and to insinuate that I did is disgusting. I am already planning to get this removed.”
Platner’s former political director, Genevieve McDonald, who resigned from his campaign last week over her objection to his recently unearthed incendiary Reddit comments, said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that “Graham has an antisemitic tattoo on his chest.”
“He’s not an idiot, he’s a military history buff,” McDonald wrote in the post, which was reviewed by JI. “Maybe he didn’t know it when he got it, but he got it years ago and he should have had it covered up because he knows damn well what it means.”
McDonald said that Platner’s campaign “released it themselves to some podcast bros, along with a video of him shirtless and drunk at a wedding to try to get ahead of it.”
A spokesperson for the Anti-Defamation League said in a statement to JI that Platner’s tattoo “appears to be a Nazi Totenkopf tattoo, and if true, it is troubling that a candidate for high office would have one.”
“We do understand that sometimes people get tattoos without understanding their hateful association,” the ADL spokesperson added. “In those cases, the bearer should be asked whether they repudiate its hateful meaning.”
Platner, a political newcomer who is facing Gov. Janet Mills and other candidates in the Democratic primary, launched his campaign in August and has raised more than $4 million while promoting a left-wing populist message — including staunch criticism of Israel and opposition to “fascists” — that garnered a high-profile endorsement from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
The Senate race is widely viewed by Democratic leadership as a major pickup opportunity in the midterm elections, as the party works to regain a majority in the upper chamber.
But Platner’s campaign has lost momentum in recent days amid the revelations that he had made several controversial comments while posting in Reddit forums. In a range of comments published anonymously, Platner, who has acknowledged that he wrote the posts and apologized for some of them, described himself as a “communist,” called all cops “bastards” and dismissed sexual assault in the military, among other remarks facing backlash.
In previously unreported posts reviewed by JI, Platner defended a man with a Nazi SS lightning bolt tattoo who later admitted to impersonating a federal officer at a Black Lives Matter protest in Las Vegas in 2020. “I will be sure to inform the black guys I know with bolts that they’re Nazis now and not USMC Scout/Snipers,” Platner said in a deleted Reddit post, referring to the Marines.
“Bolts were a STA icon since the ’80s at least, if not longer,” he wrote in another, using military jargon. “It was never official, but it sure as shit was tattooed on almost every HOG I knew between 2004-2012.”
Platner has also drawn scrutiny for appearing in a photo this summer with a white supremacist agitator in Maine, Richard Ward, who is running for a Bangor City Council seat.
Ward, a far-right activist who frequently spreads neo-Nazi rhetoric and imagery, wrote on Facebook in late August that he met and shook hands with Platner during an encounter at a Maine fair, posting a photo in which they are both seen standing side by side.
“Shaking hands with Graham Platner today at Blue Hill Fair,” Ward said. “Check out Graham Platner for U.S. Senate. We have a lot in common.”
In the photo, Ward is pictured wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the number “88,” an apparent reference to a widely recognized neo-Nazi code for “Heil Hitler.” The post, a screenshot of which was obtained by JI, has since been deleted from Ward’s Facebook page.
A spokesperson for Platner’s campaign confirmed the encounter had taken place but said that he had quickly ended the conversation. “Graham promptly told Richard to f*** off and get the f*** away, like he would tell any Nazi,” the spokesperson told JI last month.
Rep. Ritchie Torres said in remarks at the event, ‘We in the United States, both Jews and non-Jews, have a moral obligation to stand with our ally in ensuring that the Nova massacre is never forgotten and never repeated’
Haley Cohen
Mia Schem speaks at inaugural Tribe of Nova Foundation benefit held at Sony Hall, Times Square, May 30th 2025
Following her return to Israel, Mia Schem — who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and spent 55 days in Hamas captivity — famously had the phrase “We will dance again” tattooed on her arm.
On Thursday night, approximately 800 New Yorkers joined Schem in dancing again at the sold-out inaugural Tribe of Nova Foundation benefit held at Sony Hall, a concert venue in Times Square. The event was held with the goal of raising at least $1 million to aid families of victims and survivors of Nova, where 411 festivalgoers, mostly young people, were killed and 44 were taken hostage.
“In Gaza, I lost my innocence,” Schem told attendees. “I brought back strength and the promise to live life, to help others and to fight with everything I have for the release of all hostages.” The event was held as 58 hostages remain captive in Gaza — about a third of whom are believed to be alive.
The Tribe of Nova Foundation was founded two weeks after the Oct. 7 attacks by five survivors of the massacre. It quickly drew support from high-profile entertainment and business executives including music manager Scooter Braun and tech entrepreneur Joe Teplow, both of whom attended Thursday’s event.
Ofir Amir, co-founder of the Tribe of Nova Foundation who was shot in both legs during the attack, told attendees that he went through a long period of rehabilitation and still carries “a life-long injury.”
“The Tribe of Nova Foundation was born out of an experience that we shared, our mutual values and sensitivity to one another,” he said. “I got my life back, but forever I will carry the memories of the friends I lost and the many beautiful souls we lost that day, our tribe of angels,” said Amir.
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) delivered remarks at the event, saying, “Israel cannot tolerate Oct. 7 being ignored because the world’s only Jewish state cannot survive it being repeated. We in the United States, both Jews and non-Jews, have a moral obligation to stand with our ally in ensuring that the Nova massacre is never forgotten and never repeated.”
“Resilience and renewal is encoded in the Jewish DNA … there is no doubt in my mind that the Jewish people will emerge better and stronger, more unified and more resilient than ever before, and that Israel will outlive its enemies: the Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Torres continued, drawing applause from the crowd.
In North America, the foundation is best known for bringing the pop-up Nova Music Festival exhibition to cities including New York City, Miami and Toronto over the past year. The exhibit — an immersive experience that educates about the Oct. 7 attacks — is slated to arrive in Washington, D.C. this summer.
In Israel, the Tribe of Nova Foundation plans to open a community center to provide services and support by the end of the year, following a $2 million donation from UJA-Federation of New York in February. The UJA New York Nova House, projected to cost nearly $3 million, will provide rehabilitation, sports, cultural activities and workforce development to those directly affected by the attacks, as well as Israel Defense Force soldiers and individuals with special needs, according to the organization.
Attendees spotted on the dance floor included: Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League; Eli Beer, founder of United Hatzalah of Israel; Josh Kadden, CEO of the Nova Festival Exhibition; former Israeli hostage Andrey Kozlov, who had been working as a security guard at the Nova festival when he was kidnapped; Martin Hoffstein, co-founder of JAJA Spirits and singer-songwriter Jeryko.
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